MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 2447 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Important Non-Heralds by "Layla Voll" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 08 Nov 2000 22:45:29 GMT From: "Layla Voll" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Important Non-Heralds Message-ID: I'm just curious: what important positions in Valdemar are *not* held by Heralds? Partly, I'm curious: if you're not hereditary nobility, and don't have a Healer's Gift, what options other than Herald are open to you? I know Healers are not Heralds, and there seems to be an understanding that Healers are actually needed more than Heralds (or that the Gift is rarer), so that someone capable of being both a Healer and a Herald would be pushed towards being a Herald. The various Lords/Ladies aren't Heralds, and I think that you're required to fulfill your hereditary duties as Lord of Wassnut, rather than become a Herald, if you're the sole heir to the Baronacy of Wassnut, for instance. Are the Lord Martial and the Senechal Heralds? Or do they just have Heralds attached to them? Are they appointed positions or hereditary? I know that Bards aren't Heralds, but I think the implication (from Jadus, for instance), is that Heralds are more needed than Bards, so that someone with Talent who was Herald material would be Chosen as a Herald. Likewise, the artisans of the Guilds aren't Heralds, but I think, again, that any Guild member who *could* be Chosen as a Herald *would* be Chosen. Ditto for the Guard. Similarly, there are mayors, judges, priests, and other important people, but, again, if those people were Herald material, I think they would have been Chosen. I guess what I've also been wondering is this: is there a stigma about not being Chosen? Let's say you're the Mayor of Pleasantville, you've been elected to multiple consecutive terms in office by unanimous vote, under your administration Pleasantville has gone from being a decrepit, filthy slum to a vibrant, bustling town, etc., etc. There is no doubt that you have touched thousands of lives in a positive way and made your corner of the world a much better place. Would there still always be a question in the back of your mind of why you hadn't been Chosen? Layla Layla Voll Layla_Voll-+AT+-hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ------------------------------ End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 2447 **********************************