[Dragaera] Orca Reconsideration 1

[Damien Sullivan]

On Fri, Feb 05, 2010 at 05:43:30PM -0800, Sean Whalen wrote:

> 3.? In _Taltos_, Kragar says Sethra is a shape-shifter.? The specifics
> and implications of this are never discussed in the books, nor is it
> said if this is a unique ability, whether sorcerous or of unknown
> type, or the result of one of her other powers (such as being a
> vampire, being a wizard, or some other unknown being).? I consider
> this a unique or unusual ability and the most likely answer.

> ? What evidence supports this?? Going back to the real-world origins
> of Dragaera, it has been said that Adrian Morgan created Piara in part
> to tell a variation of the Arthur story (presumably medieval literary
> versions and later ones based on them) with Zivra ( >> Zerika) as a
> female Arthur who obtained a sword (Nightslayer) and reclaimed the Orb
> (analogous to a crown), and thus the Empire.? This likely means Sethra
> was a female version of Merlin.? The implications of this are vast.

Huh.

> ? The list of shape-shifters we know of includes gods, demons,
> were-beasts in the Paths of the Dead, and Sethra Lavode.? This

I don't remember much of anything being said about shapeshifting, just
that one line from Kragar, where's this other stuff?

List of characters we've seen in alternate form:
Setha/Kiera, if that's not illusion
Laszlo's familiars in _Viscount_, if that wasn't illusion
Devera being a dragon in _Issola_.  Shapeshift or possessing an
alternate body?  Don't know.

-xx- Damien X-)