Comments on: The Wonderful Wizard of Ounce [19 Thory 4385]

By: sythyry

sythyry — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:31:06 +0000

That is what I meant. Likely the law came in two steps: (1) Suicide is illegal; (2) except for Rassimel. A third step could add another species, but that has not been taken.

On more consideration, I don’t know for sure that there is such a law. I think there is; the city guard occasionally stops suicide attempts. But they might be acting beyond their official authority.

IANAL!

By: sythyry

sythyry — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:28:34 +0000

They have species-wide tendencies. Individuals are, of course, individual; but more of them are cruel than not, say. As for whether they care much about it: some female Sleeth I have known cared a great deal about having proper male Sleeth father their kittens; beyond that, nothing.

(OOC — it would be an interesting meeting! I daresay it would go fairly well.)

By: Veritas

Veritas — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:23:43 +0000

And I forgot a thing I wanted to ask, with that – what are the standards by which you’d judge a Sleeth?

By: Veritas

Veritas — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:22:47 +0000

I rather thought Sleeth were an independent enough lot that they didn’t have species-wide standards as such? Any given Sleeth might dislike another for reasons that are similar(Mharreff might be thought by most as rather stuffy, not a very good hunter, not in the finest physical condition, a city-reared softie, etc), but I didn’t get the notion that many of them judged value by them, nor whether or not someone was a “proper Sleeth”, so much as they gauged personal liking.

(Tangentially and OOCly – I find myself wondering how he and Sythyry might actually get along, come 4385. He lacks e.g. Rhedwy’s deliberate teasing nature – by that time he’s probably a bit more “properly” withdrawn, living out in the wilderness and hunting for his food, but he’s about as nice as anyone can expect a Sleeth to be, even if it is in large part from enlightened self-interest. And on a few fronts, he’s a colleague – a healer, an enchanter, though probably not a tailor or smith! They might not actually get along well, but it might be interesting to be a fly on the wall for THAT meeting!)

By: Veritas

Veritas — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:13:35 +0000

If anyone deserves to be in a hell here, it’s his parents – and perhaps that ritual mage. Fertile Union could be ethically used on a couple who are appropriate to breed but have fertility problems; somewhat more indistinct with a same-sex-same-species couple(probably female, unless they’re egg-layers) or a Herethroy diad. Condeming the poor child to a short, pain-marked life by performing the ritual on different species of prime, though…

At any rate, whatever popular attitude on the Tree may hold, the last one to deserve ongoing torment is Brondigance himself. There’s some element of “be careful what you wish for”, yes, but he doesn’t in any way deserve this.

By: Veritas

Veritas — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:08:43 +0000

My guess is that it’s part of the way Vae’s mind works. She has set up an elaborate rationale as to why this is the right thing to do – viz. for Lithia’s sake. If, by the time Lithia is about to die, Brondigance is no better, then there’s no visible hope for Lithia, no reason to subject her to it – and then the reason for keeping him alive becomes moot.

(Which, speaking OOCly, is part of what makes Vae’s convictions believable. She doesn’t just cling to them with no basis – she has very elaborate reasonings in her mind, which make perfect sense to her, and her nature keeps her from seeing any chance of flaw in them until after someone else has undone her works. At which point, she seems to be able to look on it rationally again.)

By: Veritas

Veritas — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:05:56 +0000

To expound on Sythyry’s remark: It was probably only considered for the populous species of primes. There are few enough of the other four in any given city for it to have ever become relevant in law – although they may be included under a blanket law(“It is illegal to commit suicide, Rassimel specifically excepted”).

By: sythyry

sythyry — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:51:30 +0000

A good point, which I shall raise to Vae should the situation arise.

By: Stormy Dragon

Stormy Dragon — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:18:52 +0000

He didn’t harm anyone else in the pursuit of his wish, so I’m not sure why merely not wanting to die at a tragicly early age causes him to deserve decades of torture. His predicament may be ironic, perhaps, but I don’t see any Justice in this at all.

By: Stormy Dragon

Stormy Dragon — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:16:49 +0000

If Vae was doing this because hir compulsion to help Brondigance get his wish is making hir do so, why would that compulsion suddenly disipate in 10 years?