RE: Re: Bat-blat, Aroka

From: Jeff Richard <richj_at_...>
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 13:07:02 -0800

OK - so here is one of our gut-check questions: does it advance our story to have the defenders kill the Bat or merely drive it off? I'm strongly in favor of killing the Bat (it'll come back in a few years anyways) - because that establishes Leika as the paramount heroine of the Colymar (causing all sorts of cool roleplaying problems for Kangharl who will have to become more repressive and pro-Lunar) and explains why she becomes king of the Colymar after the Dragonrising.  

It means that the Orlanthi succeeded in identifying their cause with that of Orlanth - which Tatius recognizes creates a tremendous opportunity for the Lunars. If the Orlanthi failed in killing the Bat, then it is harder for Tatius to exploit that mythic identification and kill Orlanth.  

Finally, I have always thought the "defenders drive off Bat which then goes berserk and wanders away" explanation was a cop-out and was not likely to be Greg's final version of the event. "Gregging" the digest explanation is thus ironically more likely to create the right answer - if it feels right for the mythic importance of the story (which I think it does).  

Jeff  

 -----Original Message-----
Sent: Friday, March 19, 2004 12:57 PM
To: whitewall_at_yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: Re: Bat-blat, Aroka

• Jeff Richard <richj_at_...> wrote:

> Nice parallel - so what does Orlanth free by killing
> the Bat?
        

        What's it swallowed that it shouldn't have?         

        Those souls. All the Colymar ones, and all the rest.         

        *IF* we manage to kill it, not just drive it off.         

	An interesting paradox. From the Colymar POV, "merely"
	driving the Bat off, as we suspect actually happened,
	is a *failure*.
	
	
	
	
	
	=====
	Jane Williams