MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 1642 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Re: braid (B&D, being in a book) by "Marv Watson" 2) Gryphons? by "Tracy Loh" 3) Tiger Burning Bright and other stuff by "Eleonora Scoseria" 4) Hi all and some other things. by Mad Wizard 5) Companions by Rainbow 6) Re: Misty Top Ten List, plus a question by efluharty-+AT+-juno.com (Ellen K Fluharty) 7) Welcoming, thanks, and more books to live in. by Joleth9652-+AT+-aol.com 8) Re: Companions by Reality continues to ruin my life 9) Re: braid (B&D, being in a book) by Kenneth Allen Hyde 10) character in a book by "Nelson Greenslade" 11) Re: A Question by "Thalionar the Fan-Girl" 12) Fact or Fiction?, being in a book braid by dprono-+AT+-planet.eon.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 23:50:43 -0700 From: "Marv Watson" To: Subject: Re: braid (B&D, being in a book) Message-ID: <002301bda64e$e8c00480$d18030cc-+AT+-default> Heyla! > First the question -- if you were suddenly a character in a book, what > author or authors would you most/least want to be the ones writing it?>> Oh heavens and stars above, did ya have to ask this question? There's so many to pic from......hmmm..let's see. I guess I'd like to be a part of Misty's world, C.J Cherryh's, but I think the neatest world to be in would be Tad Williams' world of Osten Ard (sp?). I would be one of the Sitha. Why? Because in his books remind me a lot of E.M Forster's _A Passage to India_. The attention to the detail of the landscape and the settings are amazing. But, I'd have to say, if I ever wound up in a novel, I'd like to KNOW I was in a novel. My least favorite authors to become a character for would probably be...Robert Jordan (even though I love his books), Steven King (the guy is just too twisted) and a few others I can't think of off the top of my head. ****************** In G.G. Kay's Tapestry (sp?) books, did anyone else get confused about Kevin's part in them? Who WAS Liadon and what's with the boar....? Sorry for such a random question, but it's been bugging me. ****************** I like the switching of view points in stories. i.e. Tad Williams, I think the guy has like 20 main characters or something...Anyway, the switching helps see different angles on the plots, and also lets you see different twists and turns. The more complicated the plot, the better I like the book. If the plots too simple, I guess the entire end and get bored halfway through. Hey, I guessed exactly what the killer in "Seven" was going to do in the entire movie. Scared the bootstrings out of my teammates. : ) Also, I'm a very curious person, and so seeing all the different points of view satisfies my nosiness. I mean, when you have a semi main character dissapear on an 'errand' and then appear ten pages later bruised and battered with crucial info/details to the story, and the author doesn't tell you WHY they're beaten and battered really gets my goat and I'll throw the book across the room. I guess I'm just weird. *shrugs*. ****************** As to fanfic: I like fanfic because when you have these characters you love and when they end up doing (to your oppinion) stupid things or get themselves killed, fanfic lets you revive them and play with them some more. As to whether or not it should be published; I think that should be up to the author. As long as YOU get to play with them, then cool. Have a ball. Knock yourself out. ****************** OBMisty.... I want Owlsight to come out!!!!! I'm bored and I want new Misty!!!!! (winks at her sarcastic whining tone) Anticipation is clawing up my spine and the release date is still months away. Grrrrr.......Oh! I got a good obMisty! Has anyone noticed if Mardic and Donni ever got reincarnated as Companions or not? I know this is coming from waaaaay out in left field, but it's just a thought. ******************* Boy is it quiet around here.....I'll stop chattering now... Swingfully Yours, Skywolf and Misha Priestesses of the Orders of: John the Guitar Player Buddah the Drum God & Rob the Guru Guy (who just got back from France!) Members of the OIB Members of the OOUH Priestesses of OOPS & the First Champions of Firesong "An' it don' mean a thin, if it ain't got that swing..." - Miles Davis ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 07:00:33 PDT From: "Tracy Loh" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Gryphons? Message-ID: <19980703140034.8383.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com> does anyone know the origins of the new gryphons that suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the book Storms Breaking? Please e-mail me at jumptall-+AT+-hotmail.com Thanks Tracy >Date: Thu, 2 Jul 1998 16:49:50 +0100 (BST) >Reply-To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk >From: Reality continues to ruin my life >To: jumptall-+AT+-hotmail.com >Subject: Re: Empire and urtho? > >On Tue, 30 Jun 1998, Traci E. Harriman wrote: > >> I was thinking that perhaps the Empire were from Urtho's group and they >> were the ones that got pushed out further than they had intended. Any >> ideas? > >I think the ones who got pushed out further than they had meant were the >Kaleda'in (sp?) (books-+AT+-home). I just re-read SWarning, and at one point, >Tremane's scholars report to him on the mage storms and their historical >precedents. The only thing they can come up with is that, long ago, before >the Empire began, the people who eventually founded the Empire served a >great leader-mage, who lost everything to another. However, he intended >his enemy's victory to be a hollow one, and therefore set off the >Cataclysm. Now, I haven't read the Mage Wars yet, but based on the >references in Storms this sounds Ma'ar-ish to me. But it is entirely >likely that I could be wrong. > >Seasong wrote: >Has it ever been decided if Elspeth and Darkwind are >lifebonded or not? I ask because the channeling of power to >each other that they do seems to me very like the way Vanyel >was able to send energy to 'Lendel when he was building the >gate. > >Hmmmm. This is a question that has never, I think, been truly settled to >anyone's satisfaction. The channeling of energy doesn't make sufficient >reason -- after Vanyel had mage-gift, he could meld energy like that with >other mages, IIRC. What's-his-face, in MPromise, (the bad guy) was being >supported and sent energy by his entire family. Leareth in MPrice was >being supplied with energy by several Adepts who stayed away from the >battle. In SWarning, when An'desha gets so jealous because of Firesong >flirting with Darkwind, Elspeth tells him that she and Darkwind are >"bonded," but she doesn't say what kind of bond. My inclination is to say >that they're not lifebonded, because I feel like we would have been told >if they were, especially in the Winds series, when Elspeth was so often >the viewpoint character. I think if it were a lifebond, there would have >been some mention made of it, somewhere, as such. But that's just MHO. > >Becky > >-------------- >Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives. > > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 11:39:06 -0300 From: "Eleonora Scoseria" To: Subject: Tiger Burning Bright and other stuff Message-ID: <01bda690$54b08d40$ad7303cf-+AT+-compu1> Hi, first of all a question. I just finished Tiger Burning Bright (a collab between MZB, Andre Norton and Misty) and Prince Leopold seems to me *a lot* like Duke Tremane. I was wondering what y'all think about that and about the book in general and the female characters in particular. On the what book, etc. I'd like to be part of, well..hmmmm*ponders*, I think I'd have to choose E.E. Doc Smith's classic Lensman series. I loved those books. And possibly some of the Star Wars saga as well. As for Fantasy....I'd say Misty's at the time of Vanyel =). Hmm....ok, that's all for now. Cheers, Ele Councilor of Mist ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 18:05:04 +0200 From: Mad Wizard To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Hi all and some other things. Message-ID: <3.0.3.32.19980703180504.006d4584-+AT+-szczecin.top.pl> First: I'd like to greet all of You and do a little introduction. I'm Polish, adult and student. If anybody wants more info, please, ask me. Second: my English is self-learnt, so I will make lots and lots of errors - please, don't kill me. Third: since I never had opportunity to read originals, all I'm living on are translations of Lackey's books. I've read only few, because of "hard-workin'" lifestyle, but I loved then all. Now, a propos translations, what is "Velgarth"? I never noticed that term. [possibility of that translator changed it into somethin' else]. Fourth: if I were a book character, I'd like to be in one of Szklarski's books, but since he's Polish author, You probably never heard of him.:) _____________________ Damian "Mad Wizard" Wojslaw. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 17:05:23 +0100 From: Rainbow To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Companions Message-ID: Very short post! I was wondering - If Talia had the option to 'give up' Rolan and not become MO, and Van didn't (we think!) THEN... how come in Winds it says that there would be fights among the Companions to who Chose Kris and Lyra? That suggests that the MOC can re-bond (well I think that as if the MO dies then the MOC HAS to Chose someone else, so can cope with being 'repudiated' by the potential MO (i.e. Talia)) Also 'normal' Choosings are take-it-or-the-Companion-dies as it were, so Van didn't get a choice. BUT.... Does that mean that a) Yfandes was the only Companion WILLING to have Vanyel as her Chosen (as she KNEW he'd Final Strike (she says she knew what the bond would come to in MPrice)) OR b) Yfandes was 'Chosen' to be his Companion? If the Companions can choose who they want as their Chosen (see Kris and Lyra) did Yfandes happen to be the only Companion around when Van was running? I would have thought EVERY Companion would want Van as 'theirs'. I always thought that Companions only had ONE SPECIFIC person that they would Chose, but it says they'd fight over kris and Lyra... Comments? Rainbow Unity! + Zhai'helleva! 'If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain' Dolly Parton 'I ain't flawed, I'm just a diamond cut in a unique way.' Tristan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 13:01:21 -0400 From: efluharty-+AT+-juno.com (Ellen K Fluharty) To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Misty Top Ten List, plus a question Message-ID: <19980703.130122.4998.0.efluharty-+AT+-juno.com> If I were a character in a book, (and it wasn't a Misty book), I would hope it would be one of Robert Heinlein's books...o.k. there aren't always happy endings, but life would be interesting, and there would be a chance to live for hundreds of years, being rejuvenated whenever there was a chance. (Read "To Sail Beyond the Sunset") Also, one of Heinlein's main story lines was that we are all characters in books, (Read "The Number of the Beast"). (Oz exists in its own parallel universe). So in essence, if I knew the main characters in his books, I would know that I was created by someone else, and I would have to live with it. I would definitely NOT want to be a character in any book by Stephen King, that would be too bizarre for me nor in anything that Ann Rice has written (UNLESS I could be the vampire!) If I were a character in a Misty book, I'm not sure who I'd want to be, nor if I'd have the dedication it took to be a herald...being a mage might be nice though. Ob Misty: When exactly is Owlsight coming out anyway? (and) Does anyone know what the basic plot is supposed to be? Wind to thy Wings, and plastic, mass marketed, rosy cheeked sheep to everyone! Ellen shena Liha'irden _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 14:43:54 EDT From: Joleth9652-+AT+-aol.com To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Welcoming, thanks, and more books to live in. Message-ID: Hello and Welcome! I haven't gotten the chance to be the first to greet someone! This is fun! I've noticed a few customs that will be performed-You will probably be drenched in a bucket of virtual seawater, and one of the ladies will give you a small present, also virtual, of course. (And thank you, lady. I'm wearing it on my ankle right now, wrist bracelets make me twitchy. It's quite beatuiful, and almost matches a medalion I made (in RL!)) Welcome to the list, and with the annoncement that you tought yourself english, if anyone is rude enough to be annoying about it, I'll smack them around for you. Also, I think that I could probably have a good time in either the universe from the Star Wars books, or Behind the Looking Glass (Alice in Wonderland). Ooh, ooh! Let me go to never-never land! So what if I'm offically adult, I never grew up! Ask anybody. They'll agree so fast it'll make your head spin! I'm a little out there. But it's so fun! Cackling madly, Joel ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 15:08:32 -0400 (EDT) From: Reality continues to ruin my life To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Companions Message-ID: On Fri, 3 Jul 1998, Rainbow wrote: > Also 'normal' Choosings are take-it-or-the-Companion-dies as it were, so > Van didn't get a choice. Well, no, they aren't really. Normal Choosings would be stupid to try to deny, because apparently the kind of bond that Rolan and Talia form over time immediately exists on some kind of level. It wasn't that Van was trying to repudiate Yfandes, it was that he was trying to kill himself. (For the prospective Herald trying to turn down a Choosing, see Sword of Ice.) Although I've said it before, I'll say it again: I don't think they were seriously offering Talia a chance not to be a Herald. I think that was a test, to gauge her reaction. I can't imagine that any companion, especially the MOC, would have such bad judgment as to Choose someone who honestly didn't want to be a Herald and was incapable of that level of self-sacrifice. > Does that mean that > a) Yfandes was the only Companion WILLING to have Vanyel as her Chosen > (as she KNEW he'd Final Strike (she says she knew what the bond would > come to in MPrice)) I seriously doubt that. And I'm not sure she knew exactly what end they'd come to, except that since Van had such extraordinary abilities, he was going to be put in extraordinary situations and therefore had not a chance of dying of old age. > If the Companions can choose who they want as their Chosen (see Kris and > Lyra) did Yfandes happen to be the only Companion around when Van was > running? I would have thought EVERY Companion would want Van as > 'theirs'. > I always thought that Companions only had ONE SPECIFIC person that they > would Chose, but it says they'd fight over kris and Lyra... Comments? Here's how I see it. A Companion Choosing someone is like forming a really close friendship, or falling in love. There are all kinds of people in this world, and most have at least one person who they care deeply for, and who cares deeply for them. But no matter how wonderful two people's personalities are, they still may not get along. Or there may be other people out there with whom they get along much better. I think a Companion's Choice is finding that optimal fit of soul to soul. Otherwise every Choosing would be fought over, and no Companion would ever really be able to make up his/her mind. It's not that Yfandes was the only one who wanted Vanyel, it's that they were the best matches for each other. As for Kris and Lyra, well, do you know any of those people that _everybody_ seems to love? Who just, for whatever reason, have such kind spirits that no one can dislike them? I think Kris and Lyra are probably like that. For them, any Companion would be a good fit. Van, on the other hand, was wounded, hurting, overwhelmed with loss, about to be rejected by his parents -- in other words, he had some serious issues. It would take a very particular Companion to not only be good for him but to be able to deal with him. Becky -------------- Radioactive cats have 18 half-lives. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 17:18:39 -0400 (EDT) From: Kenneth Allen Hyde To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: braid (B&D, being in a book) Message-ID: On Fri, 3 Jul 1998, Marv Watson wrote: > In G.G. Kay's Tapestry (sp?) books, did anyone else get confused about > Kevin's part in them? Who WAS Liadon and what's with the boar....? Sorry > for such a random question, but it's been bugging me. Liadon was a conglomeration of a number of mythic sacrificial figures, but was mostly a refiguration of Adonis, the mortal lover of Aphrodite who is part of one of the two major Greek myths about the return of springtime. Adonis was a beautiful young man who was the beloved of Aphrodite. He was gored by a boar (some legends claim that the boar was either Ares, Hephaistos or someone else, in disguise) and died. The drops of his blood became the anemone flower (also called wind-roses, and a symbol of the transitory nature of life and beauty). Aphrodite was so distraught by her grief that she neglected to inspire love in the world. Plants and animals died without reproducing and the winter dragged on forever without the inspiration of the Goddess to bring love (and hence life) back into it. Eventually, the other Gods persuaded Dis (the God of the Underworld) to return Adonis (although he was only allowed out for half a year) and Aphrodite restored her gifts to the world, so that spring returned with Adonis. Liadon, the sacrifice come freely to the Goddess, in Kay's work is clearly the primeval beloved male who dies and is restored to the arms of his Lover, bringing spring with him. Like most refiguring, the Liadon myth depends on inversion and borrowings (unlike Adonis, Liadon returns to the Goddess by dying, not returning *from* the dead; and there are clear echos of Celtic human sacrifice rites in Kay's myth). But the basis is clearly the Adonis story. ObMisty: Hmmmm. You know, it might be kind of fun to try and see what versions of the refigured myth and epic figures show up in Misty. For example, it occurs to me that Valdemar (the original Baron) is something of a Moses figure as well as an obvious King Arthur analog (he leads his people out of captivity and establishes a chivalric order for the protection of his land). > As to whether or not it should be published; I think that should be up to > the author. As long as YOU get to play with them, then cool. Have a ball. > Knock yourself out. No. Don't. And please don't use the Misty List to encourage it. FanFic is, whether the authors choose to prosecute or not, illegal in the US, unless the author has released their work into the public domain. However we may feel about that (and I know many people on this list disagree with the laws that protect authors' copyrights), this list is not a place to encourage others to commit crimes. I'm not sure what the laws are like in Britain, but in the US, encouraging someone to commit a crime can be a criminal offense all on its own. In the interests of letting the Misty List continue peaceably and unharrassed by legal troubles, please observe the basic rule: "Just say 'no' to fanfic." May the seas be your solace and the forests a refuge for your spirit, Cennydd Councilor of Mist Kenneth Allen Hyde | No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife Univ. of Delaware | between the shoulder blades will seriously Dept. of Linguistics | cramp his style -- Old Jhereg proverb kenny-+AT+-Udel.Edu | A mind is a terrible toy to waste! -- Me //www.ling.udel.edu/hyde/prof/ken.html ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 19:26:42 -0300 From: "Nelson Greenslade" To: "Misty" Subject: character in a book Message-ID: <01bda6d1$a756c820$LocalHost-+AT+-epzfbrwg> <> Nope, they were doing it before he came. Besides, Savil dod it with Mardic and Donni, and the Healer whose name reminds me of "Andrew" when Van commited suicide at the church. Hello Damian. *waves* <> Companions, as I understand it, are Guardian Spirits in the forms of horses. They're pretty much designated by the Gods to guard Valdemar, and I think who their Chosen will be is already, well, Chosen. Preordained. Yfandes would have been Van's Companion if she'd had to run to him from the Border that night. She waited twenty years for him. There was a story in Sword of Ice where a Companion chose a woman with grandchildren. He was born to Chose her, but he was born very long after her, and had to grow before he could come to her. It was rather sad, in a way. Elsa Knight of Fluff OoUH champion of Jonne and Moonbeam member of the Order of Drifting Ashes caller of monsters and devoted Vanyel Fan ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 16:43:00 PDT From: "Thalionar the Fan-Girl" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: A Question Message-ID: <19980703234301.7231.qmail-+AT+-hotmail.com> Heyla listsibs!!! First off: Happy Independence Day to everybody in the USA, Happy (belated) Canada Day to Canadians (what is it, 129, 130? I was in Ottawa for 125 and saw Elizabeth--what a rush!!! sorry--gushing. I was also *almost* freaking out about getting my picture and an "autograph" with a guy in a Captain America outfit *today* at a convention. Yes, I am a freak!) and happy Summer or whatever your closest holiday happens to be to everybody else! Second: IF i was in somebody's fiction I'd probably want to be in Anne McCaffrey's--she treats her characters well--hardly anybody gets physically ill from love (or goes mad, or dies, or gets really and truly horrible things happening to them or...) and when they do, they usually bounce back from it with minimal emotional scarring. But from a totally Fan-Girl point of view, I'd have to say I'd like to be in a Neil Gaiman story, even if I'd probably end up chased by monsters or have horrible Dreams, or go completely Delirious, or even Die. Hmmm. Having Death come to get me might not be that bad......... Third: Yippie!!! I FINALLY got Fiddler Fair!!! I would absolutely LOVE to see a full length novel with Martis, wouldn't you??? She realy and truely *is* almost a soul-sister to T&K-- too bad they aren't set in the same world--a crossover story would be seriously kickin'! Ummmm. Ok. Stick a fork in me...I'm done. Thalionar BTW--if any of you are in the charlotte area and are attending Heroe's Con this weekend, let me know privately, OK??? ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Jul 1998 22:56:45 From: dprono-+AT+-planet.eon.net To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Fact or Fiction?, being in a book braid Message-ID: <3.0.3.16.19980703225645.2df76b46-+AT+-planet.eon.net> Heyya all! Greg wrote: >(I don't think it's possible for a book character to *know* that (s)he's >a book character. He might guess, but absolute certainty could only >be achieved if he were to transcend his fictional existence and join us >in the "next level up", at which point he wouldn't be a book character >any more. Just my philosophical insight....) Umm... here's an example of a fictional character that KNOWS that he is in a book, or at least a story: >From 'The Last Unicorn' by Peter S. Beagle: [when Schmendrick first changes the unicorn to the Lady Amalthea] "The magician smiled wearily. "You will. You're in the story with the rest of us now, and you must go with it, whether you will or no. If you want to find your people, if you want to become a unicorn again, then you must follow the fairy tale to King Haggard's castle, and wherever else it chooses to take you. The story cannot end without the princess."" And again; [Molly and Schmendrick are just leaving Hagsgate] "Well, if they hadn't, he coundn't have grown up to be a prince. Haven't you ever been in a fairy tale before?" The magician's voice was was kind and drunken, and his eyes were as bright as new money. "The hero has to make a prophesy come true, and the villan is the one who has to stop him - though in another kind of story, it's more often the other way around. And a hero has to be in trouble from the moment of his birth, or he's not a real hero. It's a great relief to find out about Prince Lir. I've been waiting for this tale to turn up a leading man."" And a third; [same set up as before] ""That's different. Haggard and Lir and Drinn and you and I - we are in a fairy tale, and must go where it goes." Said by one Schmendrick the Magician, who may be just philosphically (sp?) musing, but seems somehow to have a solid notion of how stories work. Now, this is but one measly example of a character knowing for certain that he is just in a book and not real, and off hand, I can't think of another character in another book by another author that has this same knowlege... oh wait!! I've never read it myself, but what about 'The Neverending Story'? If the movie is anything like the book then that kid - what's his name - would know that he is in a story. He has to, to save Fantasia. (It is Fantasia, right??) >Happy (belated) Canada Day to Canadians (what is it, 129, 130?) It's 131. :) And thank you! :) If I were to be in a book, eh? Well, I think that I'd be in a fantasy novel, because horror books scare me too much, I can opperate my computer but not my VCR, so Si Fi is out, and every single mystery story that I've EVER picked up has been absolutly terrible. (I think that that's my RL Gift.) I wouldn't mind being in an Urban Fantasy (Ok, ok, I love the stuff...) especially if it was by Charles de Lint. He has wonderful, in depth characters who are extrordinarily ... HUMAN ... with honestly human emotions and desires, etc. (I adore his book 'Dreams Underfoot'. If you ever see it, read it. I highly recommend it.) If not that, I wouldn't mind being in a well written Misty novel. Or maybe in Sharon Green's Blending series, although I dont think that I could live through all the cliff hangers. ;P I'd choose her becaause, again, she has very honest characters who are all very different. When I look for a good book, I tend to gravitate towards believable characters (likeable or not) and then secondly to the plot. What about you all? Do you like good characters or an exciting plot better? And what's the best book that you have read for characters that you coulld totally imagine living just a few blocks down the street, even if they aren't in their book setting, but just as they are? Of course, that can't be possible because a) they're fictional, and b) their enviroment has changed, and therefore they COULDN'T be the same person. Enviroments shape a person to a huge extent. (Ok, that psychology course I took might have been a little much...) (remind me not to write posts late at night again) **************************** >Damian "Mad Wizard" Wojslaw. *Suddenly in a madly laughing spiral of steam, Yvonne appears with a nice, big, Enchanted Bucket (tm) of, you guessed it, SEAWATER!!!* ~~~SPLOSH~~~ Welcome to the MLML, and please concider yourself Officially Welcomed by one Yvonne Shadowshape. :) As for your English - I thought that it was fine, and I am in great awe of anyone that speaks another language well enough to participate in a list like this one. Bravo! :) Yvonne, bonded to Chiti, Chosen by Korla Goddess of Kelpies, Selkies, and the other Water-Borne Knight of Fluff Lady of the OOUH Bearer of the Enchanted Bucket (tm) *&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&* Tread softly because you tread on my dreams. -W. B. Yeats from 'He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven' ------------------------------ End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 1642 **********************************