'newts

From: peter metcalfe <metcalph_at_voyager.co.nz>
Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 23:41:01 +1300 (NZDT)


Stephen Martin:

Me>>The human-dragonewt relationships are good but the Kralori
>>did not learn their dragon magic from the dragonewts

>Actually, there really is no evidence for or against this statement, as
>far as I interpret what little we know.

I disagree. The Kralori (or at least a significant proportion) are descended from the Dragon People who are not 'newts AFAIK. I think it more appropiate that the Kralori relied and developed upon their own ancestral traditions rather than being forced to learn it from 'newts. That explains why the Dragons aid Kralorela - they are aiding their own kith and kin. Lastly I want to get away from this pernicous idea of dragonewts being the bearers of the one draconic truth. They are just as correct about dragons as the Dara Happans are about the Sun or the Rokari about the Invisible God. But that doesn't mean that any culture associated with dragons has to go through the 'newts - that's been done to death already with the EWF.

>Somehow I think dragonewts in Kralorela have somewhat more influence on
>affairs than the Char-Un do in Peloria.

I don't. There are no Dragonewts in the Army but sizable numbers of draconic students and the Cult of Immanent Mastery. Nor does Godunya bother to surround himself with Dragonewts but 'mortal men whose devotion and dedication allows them to assume the form of dragons'. This is despite the alleged presense of 'three dragonewt cities' on the Hum Chang. It is my opinion that one of these cities are actually a monastic fort-cum-headquarters for the penal brigades of the Path of Immanent Mastery.

The second is a city for the people who have been damaged by some strange malady which causes them to physically mutate into dragons but they retain the mind and soul of humans - they are there because the mandarins do not want the supposedly contagious malady corrupting others. An army brigade is formed from the sorrowful inhabitants of this city seeking an end to their unhappy existance - the brigade is traditionally used for suicidal tasks.

The third is actually a city composed of normal humans. There is however a cunning mirror in the centre of the city which projects images so that an observer in the city sees only dragons where one would normally see humans. The observer sees himself as human however. This city is frequented by the draconic students who seek insights into the nature of dragons (ie how a dragon would act) so they can better understand the draconic form. The mirror is actually a curse by Godunya upon the city after the citizens publically mocked the potency of his draconic powers. The citizens of this city see each other as humans because they have forsworn draconic powers thus negating Godunya's curse. They re-enact this forswearing on the anniversary of the original mocking of Godunya.

I do think the Fanzai Dragonewts are authentic or at least a kindred race to the 'newts of Dragon Pass. It is my belief that they were originally some other species who served the Kralori in some bygone age and recieved the lore of Daruda for their pains.

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