Julianus :
I would like to know about that oil bubble of Sotha Sil's. It seems pretty metaphorical but is it really that? If its not, that whole business with engines shaping the future seems pretty mythopoeic to me, or should I say reality making?
I wasn't able to go to the Clockwork City in doing research for 2920, so I had to rely on outside sources for a brief description of what it was like and what the Wizard did within its walls. At the end of the First Era, Sotha Sil had built it up over two thousand years. Brother Mikhael Karkuxor in 'Varieties of Faith in the Empire' repeated the most common understanding, that in his Clockwork City, Sotha Sil was 'reshaping the world.' I think this is true, but I don't believe his machines only went one way. The oil bubble burst at the end of the novel was perhaps obscure, for it is unclear whether the chaos of the Second Era was caused by a simple malfunction of the clockworks, or if the death of the Emperor Reman triggered that tiny little change in the machine. As a historian, I dislike ambiguity, but as a writer, I recognize its usefulness. The world and the machine are one, and the cause may be unknown, even when the effect becomes visible.
Either way, I don't think Sotha Sil's machines did (or do?) shape the future, but the present.
Gez:
Mister Townway, this may be a bit more esoteric than your domain of predilection, but are you familiar with the symbology of the Towers? Because from my limited understanding of them, if Sotha Sil used his Clockwork City to reshape the world, then the Clockwork City is a Tower.
I've always heard it described as being underground. If it is a tower, it's ... an underground one. Peculiar that.
Marlo LaCroa:
While you are here Mr. Townway, would you mind sharing your progress on "The Last Year of the Second Era?"
Considering that it is more recent, it's much harder to write than 2920. Everytime I write up a cast of characters, some expert comes along and says that two characters are one, and I have to research that. Slow moving, and my editor is very cross with me.
Arklon:
Uh... find out the summoning ritual for Ehm'Kaye.
That's all right, whenever I get bogged down, I just turn to ME 1, and 3E 433.
DragoonWraith:
Since we have the author here, and 2920 is just about my favorite book in the series, I was wondering - just how accurate can we take the book? I have often pointed out the descriptions of the Tsaesci in it, and other scholars have pointed out that the book is fiction and more-or-less discounted it - how sure are you of those descriptions? Do you care to explain why your description of the Tsaesci is as "ivory-yellow" when others have claimed that they are "covered in golden scales" - I have theorized, and would like to hear your thoughts on, that the Tsaesci are scaleless and pale in the torso and head, but the Dragonscale armor that they wore covered these areas too with golden scales...
So, I know you research your works very carefully, but there is certainly limited data on the subject - how much do you stand by the descriptions in that book? Even the serpentine tails of the Tsaesci has been questioned, can you be certain of even that?
I appreciate your kind words about my work. I recognize that there are some who reject my work as pure speculative fiction, and believe it or not, I respect skepticism. I would only ask them, 'What works do you believe are firmly grounded in truth? On what basis do you make that evaluation?
There is always some speculative aspect to all histories, and mine is no exception. I write conversations when I wasn't there to witness them. I attempt to ascribe motivations to people I do not know. I can only research what is known about Tavia, Turala, Reman, Juilek, Dro'Zel, Brindisi Dorom, Cassyr, Rijja, and all the other personalities of that moment in history, and offer my own opinion about what they were like, and why they did what they did. I'm not guessing, but can I be completely sure, without a shadow of a doubt? Of course not. Only fools have no doubts.
I stand by my work I think the Tsaesci Potentates, from interviewing people who were alive at that time, had strong serpentine features. Some descriptions have varied, so I was careful not to be overly detailed with their descriptions. I think the difference between 'golden scales' and 'yellow-ivory' is negliable.
And if I'm wrong, it is not the end of the world. I've contributed what I believe to be true.
DragoonWraith:
Thank you for the response, I do appreciate that. May we take this to mean that the descriptions you found generally agreed on the serpentine tail of the Tsaesci, since that characteristic was quite certain? Or was that just a matter of having to go one way or the other with it, and choosing your own thoughts?
I've read a number of descriptions of the Tsaesci having tails, and a number where no tail was mentioned, but did not contradict the notion of there being tails. Like I said, I didn't guess ... But if contradictory evidence surfaces, I would certainly reconsider my description.
