[Dragaera] Vlad and the Undead

[Alexx Kay]

When Vlad first encounters Sethra Lavode, almost the first thing Loiosh
says is "Boss, she's a vampire." (Tt 67).  Vlad is unsurprised by Loiosh's
ability to perceive this, and (much later in life), says that Loiosh "can
usually tell the undead with one sniff.” (O 284).  (Since Loiosh had just
notably failed to do so, 'usually' may have meant 'always, with this one
exception'; or there may be someone else who fooled him in the past.)  So
at some point before Vlad met Sethra, he had enough encounters with the
undead that he and Loiosh were somewhat familiar with them.  Perhaps there
will be a story in it some day.

How common are undead, anyways?  They are described as "few" (Tt 101),
which is uselessly vague.  Vlad asks H-what's-her-name in Orca (p. 22) if
she'd ever seen one, and she had, though it didn't seem that Vlad would
have been surprised if she hadn't.  One presumes that new ones are created
only rarely, but that they may end up un-living a very long time after
that.  Suffice to say that they are a definite minority, but far from
unheard-of.

Vlad's in-depth knowledge of undead -- and ways to weaken them -- in
_Athyra_ is suggestive. While Vlad does sometimes pick up obscure
knowledge for its own sake, he also does lots of research before doing a
hit.  Has he assassinated undead?

Later in life, Vlad claims that he has never assassinated anyone who
wasn't part of the Jhere Organization (P 32).  Does this imply that there
are undead within the Jhereg?  Well, no obvious reason that there
shouldn't be.  We know that there are "imperial rules against the undead
holding official imperial positions.” (Tt 163). Note that 'rules' is
plural.  One presumes that there are other restrictions placed upon
undead, both legal and social.  It can be argued that the fundamental
purpose of House Jhereg is as a safety valve to let ambitious individuals
circumvent such restrictions. Hence, one should not be surprised to find
at least some undead among their ranks.  And, in the normal course of
events, from time to time there may be a desire to assassinate one.

Speaking of undead, let's talk about Loraan a bit.  How *did* he manage to
not get his soul eaten by Blackwand?  I see three possible explanations.

1. Morrolan deliberately held Blackwand back.  Given the dubious legal
nature of the situation he was in, he probably didn't want to make it
worse by destroying the soul of a landed noble.  One expects that the
Empire takes a serious view on such matters. (Honestly, this is the most
straightforward explanation, and I wouldn't bother entertaining others,
except that the speculation leads to potentially Cool Stuff.)

2. Morganti weapons (and Great Weapons) can't affect the souls of undead. 
This is partially supported by Sethra's statement: "Morganti weapons
cannot destroy the soul of someone who is already dead" (Tt 76). She
appears to be referring to ordinary corpses, but undead might also be
included.

3. Loraan was protected from Morganti/Great Weapons because he "hides his
soul in a magic box." (A 156).  While Vlad doesn't seem to give the idea
much credence, he first met Loraan precisely because he *had* put a soul
inside an artifact.  So perhaps this folkore is based on fact.

The major reason for bringing up options 2 and 3 is that either of them,
if true, suggest the possibility that Loraan 'survived' the end of
_Athyra_ as well!

I can even see, in a very rough way, where it might be thematically
appropriate for him to re-appear.  So far, Vlad's life has moved in three
broad strokes: Ascending in Jhereg society from his beginnings in _Taltos_
through his high point in _Jhereg_; Descending, withdrawing from that
society to reevaluate his life, in _Teckla_ through _Jhegaala_ (and
perhaps further); ascending again to find his new place in society in
_Athyra_ through (so far) _Dzur_.  Loraan was present at the start of both
ascending motions.  If there is another descent/ascent, he might show up
yet again.

All idle speculation of course, but what else ya gonna do while waiting
for the new book?

Alexx

If the Vikings were around today, they would probably be amazed at
 how much glow-in-the-dark stuff we have, and how we take so much of
 it for granted.
  -- Deep Thoughts By Jack Handey