[Dragaera] Some speculation about The Silver Tiassa -- SPOILERS

[Scott Schultz]

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>Only if the tiassa's can have effects outside of the temporal span of its
ownership.  
>Vlad gains the tiassa after the main storyline of _Dragon_, and 
>gives it up well before _Jhereg_.  So the witchcraft teleportation, and his
out-thinking 
>of Mellar, both happened when he wasn't in possession of it.  So he only
had it 
>during _Yendi_, bits of _Tiassa_ itself, and possibly the frame sequence of
_Dragon_.

Yes, I see what you mean. I had been misremembering when Vlad's first
meeting with Devera happened, chronologically, and that threw off the rest
of my reckoning.  

You're correct. In fact, now I'd go so far as to say that he didn't have it
during Yendi either.  He was telling the truth to Sethra; basically playing
the same game he accused her of playing: telling the truth in a way you hope
won't be believed. He literally means that the tiassa was given to him by
someone he met in a dream, or close enough as makes no difference. The
meeting where Devera gives him the tiassa is his confirmation that his first
meeting with her wasn't really a dream at all.

Even if he gave it to Sethra in the middle of Yendi, that just puts it in
Sethra's possession during that story. We don't know when she gave it back
and there's no need for her to do so until after Yendi ends.

Essentially, Vlad isn't required to own the tiassa at all during any story
except _Tiassa_. That's reassuring in a way, though also disappointing that
I was so far off in left field. Heh. I have to give some kudos to Steve,
then. That actually means that instead of making Vlad the subject of yet
another divine McGuffin that he, instead, did a fairly intricate dance
around the established stories in such a way as to avoid having him subject
to the McGuffin.