[Dragaera] Vlad's Destiny (Was: Re: Lavode - possible spoilers (Dzur))

[Howard Brazee]

On 3/15/2010 12:10 PM, Scott Schultz wrote:
> I don't really see how discussion of Lavodes is a spoiler, so I've dispensed with the spoiler space...
>
> Regarding Vlad's future:
>
> I feel safe in saying that most of us feel that Vlad is being "groomed for something". The nature of the Something is unknown and, therefore, debatable. Speculating on him becoming a Lavode is sort of the simplest answer, IMO, and therefore most likely incorrect.
>    

Or at least incomplete.    His story isn't about becoming a Lavode.   If 
it were, I suspect we would have been told that at the start to fit 
literary traditions.   But it is quite possible becoming a Lavode is a 
step in his grooming.    Or rejecting being a Lavode.
> The point of the ramble above is that Vlad is not being "groomed" by Sethra or at least not at her behest. He is not Sethra's tool. He's Verra's tool.
>    
Agreed.    Which doesn't mean Verra will find him an altogether safe and 
comfortable tool.
> It's my belief that he's being groomed by Verra, for purposes that she may not even fully understand. Recall that Verra explained the business with the vial of her blood as being a kind of intuition that she should give the vial to Sethra but that she had no clear idea WHY should should give it to her. The legend of Godslayer is well known, the more so given that the legend seems to have weirdly preceded the actual existence of Godslayer. (There's that Serioli timeframe wierdness again.) Verra would know of the prophecy that Godslayer will be her undoing, yet she's putting events in motion that produced both the weapon and someone appropriate to wield it.
>
> Here again, it's useful to note that Verra did not know about Spellbreaker or what it was until it was brought into her presence and she was forced to defend herself against it. Even then, she didn't kill Vlad or attempt to take it from him, despite the fact that she must have realized what it meant that he was carrying it. To the left, she had not realized that her machinations were leading directly to the recreation of Godslayer. On the gripping hand, she chose to continue with her plans despite that realization, though after taking some additional precautions on the chance that her tools turn against her. Given the way Vlad used the altar stone to "invade" her sanctum, she has to realize that no protection will ever be completely adequate, if the prophecy is a true one. To quote Vlad, "anyone can be assassinated". Even a Lord of Judgement.
>    
Gods seem to be quite constrained.    Arguably, people are also limited 
in our choices.   And this universe shows explicit predestination 
tendencies - which is common with epics here as well.
> Given that Vlad isn't dead or shunted to an alternate universe, it seems that she considers her larger plans to be more important than the threat that Godslayer represents. She may even realize that the success of her larger plan may require the sacrifice of her own life. She'd have to at least suspect it at this point, though what "death" really means for a God is open to debate. Perhaps the unraveling of Verra's "aspects of deity" (shades of Lord of Light) is the event which unravels Godslayer itself and reduces it to its component parts and allows the Gods to attempt to dispose of it in a way that insures that they'll eventually be found by an Eastern assassin and put together to form a weapon capable of destroying a God...
>    
She could be planning a risk with her long term goals in mind.

Or she could be simply following her nature.