[Dragaera] it's late and i'm a little punchy

[Alexx Kay via Dragaera]

>> Yeah, we've had some discussions about the Cycle in the past. One of the
>> conclusions by the number crunchers was that it is *possible* for a
>> House's
>> reign to last beyond the ordinary lifespan of a dragaeran. (Note that we
>> do
>> not have any text examples of such a thing to say whether it ever
>> actually
>> happens.) The possibility implies that the Orb must have a way of
>> handling
>> the eventuality.
>
> This is just based on Vlad saying 17**3, right?  Which might just be
> religious.  Or maybe it's healthy to wear the Orb.  Or some Dragaerans
> live to 5k.

My figures show an *average* House Reign length of 775 years, well within
a typical Dragaeran lifetime.  And we know at least two Dragaerans who
appear to have found a way to avoid death by old age (Sethra, The
Sorceress in Green).

[...]
> I think it's because there can be one Emperor/turn (the Teckla Republic
> requires an extra level of abstraction, presumably).  I believe here's not
> a hint in Paarfi about the possibility of T. handing the Orb to another
> Phoenix, which would be a very sensible compromise if it were possible.
> (Hmm, the Goblets affair might be relevant.)

Tortaalik's sister attempted to poison him fairly early in his reign (well
before 17^2 years were up).  I have long assumed that she felt she could
take the throne, because if she moved early enough, the Cycle couldn't
turn.

Though, looking at the relevant texts, they don't actually say that the
poisons were intended to be fatal.  Maybe she just wanted to weaken him,
and "rule from behind the throne"...

Alexx

"I'm sure that these are someone's genuine opinions, but opinion is surely
 such a devalued currency at this juncture of the twentieth century,
 simply by virtue of the vast amount of it there is flooding the market."
    -- Alan Moore in correspondence with Dave Sim about _From Hell_