MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 1589 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Re: Valdemar Government by Laura Becht 2) Re: Focus stones, lifebond, Robin Hobb, fluff by DragonFriend-+AT+-webtv.net 3) Re: Braid:Focus stones, Robin Hobb, fluff by "Jen Wrenn" 4) Re: Braid:Focus stones, Robin Hobb, fluff by Greg Wooledge 5) Re: Braid:Focus stones, lifebond, Robin Hobb, fluff by AprilS81 6) Re: Focus stones, lifebond, Robin Hobb, fluff by AprilS81 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 22:31:09 -0500 From: Laura Becht To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Valdemar Government Message-ID: <355D0879.BA1E9A53-+AT+-nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu> Heyla all!! I don't know if this has been discussed before, but I just noticed something when I was rereading TL&TW. on pp 142-144 Tonno discusses his view of government and what he considers to be the ideal government "...Government is what takes care of things beyond you. Good government cares for the well-being of the people it serves. Abusive government cares only for its own well being..." What struck me was that this "ideal government" sounds an awful like the way Valdemar is run. What do y'all think? Sorry about the y'all, but I'm from the South (Florida) and it just sort of popped out. **Fluff zone** Seasong looks through the mist into the Hall from rl and notices a new newbie. "Welcome Snowcat, and as far as I know the name isn't already taken. I'm Seasong, the black and white short-hair you might see around (probably in the garden eyeing the birds) is Sheba, and the white fur stole around my neck is my bondmate SnowFeather (she's a cat also, she just likes to ride wrapped around my neck). My gift to you is an amethyst amulet shaped like a unicorn that has the ability to create something akin to a holosuite. It will take you as far as your imagination can reach. Enjoy!!" With a final wave she fades back into the mist and rl. Seasong Priestess of the Goddess of Elves and Unicorns Sheba the cat SnowFeather the bondmate ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 22:46:15 -0500 From: DragonFriend-+AT+-webtv.net To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Focus stones, lifebond, Robin Hobb, fluff Message-ID: <199805160346.UAA23556-+AT+-mailtod-101.iap.bryant.webtv.net> I did not see any refference to focus stones in Elspeth and Firesongs time when I read the books. *************************************************** I think that lifebond is a gift of the gods and that the gods are not likely to make it a one way thing. *************************************************** Is Robin Hobb going to write anoter book about the Farseers? *************************************************** Caliet thank you for the pendent. Suger-free caremle sheep for everyone WTTW Vanisa ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 14:40:52 -0400 From: "Jen Wrenn" To: Subject: Re: Braid:Focus stones, Robin Hobb, fluff Message-ID: <006a01bd80fa$2842fce0$0401a8c0-+AT+-brat> Heyla listsibs! It's been quiet around here of late, so I thought I'd just offer some of my thoughts to perhaps somehow fill a bit of the silence. :) Cailet Flameflower said: *snip* >Vanyel's time they used stones >that were particular to their magic for focus stones to help >focus their energy so they didn't have to use raw node power. >Does anyone know if they used this during Elspeth and >Firesong's time? *snip I don't recall reading anything about using focus stones in Mage Winds or Storms, or even in Vows and Honor. However, what little we saw of the Tayledras in Vanyel's time didn't show that they used focus stones either. And since that's where Elspeth and Firesong both got their training, it's possible that they simply don't know that stones can be used as a focus. Wouldn't *that* be an interesting addition to their arsenal. *grin* But perhaps the drumming/light weaving that Elspeth and Darkwind do could be something of a similar process. That was basically a process they used to concentrate and direct their magic, right? I wonder why Misty never brought up that sort of magical accessory again. It seems hard to believe that the secret of using focus stones could have died with Vanyel.. Surely some other mage group knows about it and uses it. Well, who knows? But it would be an interesting concept to bring back, I think. Cailet also said: >Ah there are more Robin Hobb Fans!!! >I am definitely a Farseer! Read all three and thought >they were great. Never would have guessed the ending. Yay! I love those books. I wouldn't have guessed the ending either, but I was so..sad. It was sort of anticlimactic, somehow, and yet completely fitting. And finally, Cailet said: >And last but not least Snowcat, I give you one of my kittens >(I have eleven) as a bond mate, she will get larger than a house >cat about knee height. I know not if she has a name but she >is long haired and white with green eyes." Many many thanks to you, milady Cailet for the gift, and also to Seasong for the amulet! Yummy chocolate sheep for everyone, and sugar-free ones for those who want them! =) Stars light thy paths, Snowcat and Kitiana the kitten bondmate *purrr* ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 18:21:57 -0400 From: Greg Wooledge To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Braid:Focus stones, Robin Hobb, fluff Message-ID: <19980516182157.03905-+AT+-phoenix.local> Jen Wrenn (kiti-+AT+-vt.edu) wrote: > I don't recall reading anything about using focus stones in Mage Winds or > Storms, or even in Vows and Honor. I seem to recall some mention of power sources other than nodes and heartstones. I believe Kethry's school (White Winds) uses them. There might be some mention in one of the Oath books. I don't know how portable these power sources were supposed to be, though. -- "Daddy, why do those people have to | Greg Wooledge use Microsoft Windows?" | wooledge-+AT+-kellnet.com "Don't stare, son; it's not polite." | http://www.kellnet.com/wooledge/ ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 19:10:50 EDT From: AprilS81 To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Braid:Focus stones, lifebond, Robin Hobb, fluff Message-ID: <1a181941.355e1cfb-+AT+-aol.com> In a message dated 98-05-15 20:59:19 EDT, you write: << Ah there are more Robin Hobb Fans!!! I am definitely a Farseer! Read all three and thought they were great. Never would have guessed the ending. >> I would never have read them if I hadn't run into a friendly guy in a bookstore who told me I had to try them. Funny how things work out! Hobb has a new book out, set in the same world as the Farseer, but with very different characters. I can't remember what it is called, though. A few weeks ago I participated in a day of silence for homosexual and bisexual rights, then I read LHM. Wow. those books really do say alot, even though I read them about once a month, they really managed to get to me this time. Misty does a great job with homosexual characters, and I am sure many besides me appreciate it (excluding my crazy homophobic parents, of course!). april ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 16 May 1998 19:17:11 EDT From: AprilS81 To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Focus stones, lifebond, Robin Hobb, fluff Message-ID: <7459c443.355e1e78-+AT+-aol.com> In a message dated 98-05-16 00:19:18 EDT, you write: << Is Robin Hobb going to write anoter book about the Farseers? >> don't think so, but it would be ever so nice...yet, the characters weren't doing so well, last I remembered... ------------------------------ End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 1589 **********************************