[Dragaera] Vlad as an Earth name

[Scott Schultz]

>Given what we know about human history on Earth, that degree of continuity
>over 250,000 years is not *remotely* plausible -- without some serious
>mitigating factors.  Two that come to mind are "the gods" and "The Cycle".

This has been my opinion all along. The Lords of Judgement have the 
Easterners effectively in a kind of stasis, culturally speaking. In fact, 
this is really the whole point of _Brokedown Palace_, from a Dragaeran world 
standpoint. (Obviously, thematically it's about faith, renewal, and such.) 
Bolk is the rebel, attempting to release them either for their own good or 
for his own reasons. Considering Zelazny's influence on Steve, it's not 
surprising that there's a very _Lord of Light_ flavor to the whole thing, 
with Bolk in the role of Sam and Verra in the role of the pantheon of the 
Gods.