MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 2270 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Firesong by Raisse the Thaumaturge 2) Re: Herald to Companion? by Sharry Adams 3) Just A Thought... by Nicole 4) some digests and Owlknight by Laura Jean Rossier 5) Re: Firesong by "Kerowyn." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 22:15:02 +0200 (CEST) From: Raisse the Thaumaturge To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Firesong Message-ID: On Fri, 14 Apr 2000, Julia Gray wrote: > Although I can't say that I HATE Firesong, he does get on my nerves somewhat ... > it seems that all of his arrogance when we first meet him and for a while after > that is always deemed okay since he is so good at what he does. I never bought > that ... and that's just my opinion (humble as it is.... :-) Me too! I've just finished the Winds books, and when I first met him I *did* hate him - he does get a bit better in Winds of Fury when he learns compassion, but it's too late to endear him to me. I think his problem is that he's *always* been the best, he didn't have to fight for recognition like Talia or Elspeth or Darkwind (or any of the "master-class" characters from our role-playing campaign that my husband and I compared Firesong to when talking about him the other day). So naturally he thinks he's the bee's knees (I like that phrase, nice to have an excuse to use it!). He expects everybody to fall for him, and it doesn't help that he really *is* the best, there's nothing for it. Only I wish he'd *fail* once in a while (not fatally, at least not with fatal effects for those we know and love)... Raisse irina-+AT+-valdyas.org www.valdyas.org/irina Raisse the Thaumaturge ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Well, now that we _have_ seen each other," said the Unicorn, "if you'll believe in me, I'll believe in you. Is that a bargain?" "Yes, if you like," said Alice. - Lewis Carroll, _Through the Looking-Glass_ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 18:01:45 -0700 (PDT) From: Sharry Adams To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Herald to Companion? Message-ID: <9575626.956019705031.JavaMail.imail-+AT+-slippery> Heyla listsibs! I've finally gotten a chance to sit down and read my list mail, so I've got to throw in my 2 cents! First of all, I think Firesong needs some championing! I know most people dislike him, but I think he's quite intriuging. Just the fact that one character can change so much is interesting in itself. It's been a while since I've read those books, and I haven't gotten to the Owls yet, & my memory is a little dusty, so I can't give any specific references. I know I really liked the Storms trilogy, despite all the negativity I had heard about it before I read it. Another thing on the Storms, didn't Florian say he was going to come back as a herald? So, I suppose it is possible for a Companion to come back as a Herald, but he wouldn't be able to retain his collective memory as he would if he'd be a Companion. As for when two Companions give birth to a foal, I would think that physically the foal is of the parents (genetically and whatnot), but the "spirit" of the foal would be a re-incarnation of some older being (be it a herald, Companion, etc.) Another answer to the "Who's the most powerful mage" question.... I really don't think there is any grounds for accurate comparison. I'd have to say that Vanyel was more powerful than Firesong, because he had more of the other heraldic gifts....but who's to say which had more inate mage power? As for M'ar, yes he was defeated by Van & Yfandes as Leareth, then again by Firesong as Falconsbane, but I would tend to think that his power was slightly weakend with each successive incarnation. So that would beg that the original M'ar was more powerful than Vanyel & Firesong, but one must take into account the nature of magic at the times they each lived. Before the original Cataclysm, magic was quite different than afterwards. Also, one major deciding factor on the extent of a mage's ablities is the knowledge the mage posesses. A lot of this knowledge was lost after the Mage Wars, so it really isn't possible for Vanyel or Firesong to be as strong a mage as M'ar or Uthro living in the time period that they did. Now, between Uthro & M'ar...I would like to say Uthro, 'cuase he's the good guy, but really I think they were about equal. True, Uthro created free-thinking creatures (gryphons, hertasi, etc.) and M'ar could only create poor copies, but you have to look at where their priorities were. Uthro created out of love and curiosity. M'ar created out of hate, revenge, and destruction. If you look at the effects this qualities have on life in general, it's no wonder that M'ar could not create beings to rival those of Uthro. But, if he had the same outlook as Uthro, I believe he had the power to come to the same conclusions. Then, there's the matter of M'ar's "hiding place" in the Void & his successive reincarnations. Just because Uthro didn't also have a hiding place, doesn't mean he couldn't have created one. Again, a matter of priorities. Well, I think I've just about exhausted every possibility there. *L* That was a lot longer than I expected! I guess that's what I get for being quiet for so long! Chocolate-chip sheep to everyone who actually read all of that! :) Wind to thy wings, Lovesinger _______________________________________________________ Get 100% FREE Internet Access powered by Excite Visit http://freelane.excite.com/freeisp ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2000 19:12:04 -0600 From: Nicole To: mercedes lackey Subject: Just A Thought... Message-ID: <38FBB663.5ADB2531-+AT+-telusplanet.net> Hey-la! *Grins and waves* OK this is just a thought about the whole Tarma, Warrl, and Kethry thing... How come the mage who brought Thalhkarsh in the first place, his apprentice, the second mage to summon that demon and just about every other mage mentioned doesn't even hint at having a companion , bond-bird or familiar unless they are Heralds, Tale'edras or a main character. I mean, even Urtho never had anything like that mentioned! If Kethry was not even a Master class mage when she tried to get her familiar then why didn't Urtho or Ma'ar have one?! I mean they were two of the most powerful adepts ever! The answer isn't coming to me but, I'm stupid, it could be just a question of Mage-schools! Anyway, if you have any input, please add-on! ~ Nicole (a.k.a. Mage Of Creation / Storm-Rider. Check out my lair at: http://expage.com/page/stormriderslair ) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 10:26:24 -0400 (EDT) From: Laura Jean Rossier To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: some digests and Owlknight Message-ID: Thanks to all those who filled in Sarantium for me. Brain goes fuzzy too often these days. So I just read Owlknight (I don't think any of this will count as a spoiler, I won't really get into plot)...I enjoyed it. I always love the humor and characters in her books. I was kind of bemused as to why the first 90 pages of the book had to be taken up with descriptions of ceremonies. They were nice and detailed and all but I just wanted to scream "enough already!". Also...are the northern tribes supposed to resemble american indians or was this just something that my mind added? list etiqette question...how do you decide whether it's more appropriate to direct a reply to the whole list or to an individual person? Laura ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2000 07:57:01 -0700 (PDT) From: "Kerowyn." To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Firesong Message-ID: <20000418145701.3345.qmail-+AT+-web1305.mail.yahoo.com> Firesong doesn't seem necessarily like a bad person. He is arrogant but I think a lot of his kind are. I think that maybe perhaps the reason that some of us see him that way is because the Hawkbrother's see each other differently than we would see someone in our world. He could do with a small failure but for the most part I simply thing he's just that way and doesn't see anything wrong with it. --- Raisse the Thaumaturge wrote: > On Fri, 14 Apr 2000, Julia Gray wrote: > > > Although I can't say that I HATE Firesong, he does > get on my nerves somewhat ... > > it seems that all of his arrogance when we first > meet him and for a while after > > that is always deemed okay since he is so good at > what he does. I never bought > > that ... and that's just my opinion (humble as it > is.... :-) > > Me too! I've just finished the Winds books, and when > I first met him > I *did* hate him - he does get a bit better in Winds > of Fury when he > learns compassion, but it's too late to endear him > to me. > > I think his problem is that he's *always* been the > best, he didn't > have to fight for recognition like Talia or Elspeth > or Darkwind (or > any of the "master-class" characters from our > role-playing campaign > that my husband and I compared Firesong to when > talking about him the > other day). So naturally he thinks he's the bee's > knees (I like that > phrase, nice to have an excuse to use it!). He > expects everybody to > fall for him, and it doesn't help that he really > *is* the best, > there's nothing for it. > > Only I wish he'd *fail* once in a while (not > fatally, at least not > with fatal effects for those we know and love)... > > Raisse > > > irina-+AT+-valdyas.org www.valdyas.org/irina > Raisse the Thaumaturge > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > "Well, now that we _have_ seen each other," said > the Unicorn, "if you'll > believe in me, I'll believe in you. Is that a > bargain?" > "Yes, if you like," said Alice. > - Lewis Carroll, > _Through the Looking-Glass_ > > ===== "And I wonder day to day... I don't like you anyway... I don't need your shit today... Your pathetic in your own way I feel for you... I will be there Better f*ckin' go away..." __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send online invitations with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com ------------------------------ End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 2270 **********************************