Glad you gave GT the thumbs up. Just to pick up on and clarify a couple of points.
> Sheep, Clouds, Thunder:
> One of the stated benefits of a
> succesful outcome is that 'now the Rebellion will take them
seriously'.
> Pshaw! Fighting at a climactic battle against hoards of Lunar
soldiers,
> when the heroes didn't even have all of their magic available, and
the
> survival of all their kin was at stake (OiD p57) just wasn't
enough for
> these people, apparently. No, they've got to nick some sheep from
their
> neighbours before they'll be taken seriously.
The point is that at Iceland they were essentially subordinates. One of the reasons you were lukewarm about that episode IIRC is precisely the lack of player-hero autonomy. Now they are proving that they can be given missions of real import. Sure, Orstalor is going along to help make sure the heroes (and sheep) get away, but he's also assessing them. It's no coincidence that after that, the heroes start getting given politically high-profile roles in which they have more autonomy than ever before.
Besides which, and as the arc progresses, it will become clear that there is a Big Reason behind 'nicking some sheep' and that this is not just penny ante (clack ante?) rustling.
> Orane's Spindle:
> What does seem odd, though, is
> that all the Orlanthi and Ernaldans in it seem to have their magic
> working normally, yet it seems unlikely they were all present at
> Iceland. The end of OiD, and information in the 'New Breathers',
both
> seem to imply that only those at the battle (NB actually
says 'fought',
> but I assume it means 'participated', or PC healers are in
trouble) get
> their magic back, and they can only give it to others 'briefly'.
In the immediate aftermath of Iceland, it is indeed only the New Breathers who are, well, breathing properly. However, in the 'Rest of the Year' section at the end of OiD (p64) it says that 'The "air hole" around Dragon Pass closes" -- essentially, life (and magic) begin to return to normal, but after the ravages of the Fimbulwinter, the New Breathers represent a political and religious force trying to help their clans and further the Rebellion. Sorry if this isn't clear, but throughout GT Orlanth and Ernalda magic is back and not just for the relative handful at Iceland.
(Oh, and purely on a personal note,thanks for the kind words about both Ernathora and the Black-and-Ivory Hunt, which were my contributions to the Narrator Resources section!)
All the best
Mark
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