Some Questions

Happy Halloween!

For a trick, I continue to have trouble with my legs.  Walking isn't too much of a problem, but standing still for more than 5-10 minutes is agonizing.  And so it goes.

For a treat, the cats are fine, now just over a year old but still acting like kittens.  Starbuck wakes me up each morning around 5:30 by knocking things off a nearby shelf, patting my face with his claws out, and/or standing on my CPAP, in the process turning it off.  After he chewed through two air hoses, I've taken to sleeping with the unit under the blankets near my head.  Not exactly comfortable, with six feet of tubing wrapped around my neck, but not as expensive as replacing hoses all the time.

Meanwhile, I'm making slow progress on the next novel.  Currently, I'm gearing up to write a chapter on the Merikit situation and going through the previous books looking for some details that I just can't remember.  Old age, too much material/complexity, or the passage of too much time?  It's been 45 years since I wrote God Stalk, heaven help me.  And I really dislike re-reading my old stories.  Anyway, as I go I'll be asking some questions here I'd really like help with, if anyone knows the answers.  Warning:  potential  spoilers.

1.     Where did I leave Graykin?  Doing what?  Do I need to touch base with him again before the end?
2.     Did Jame cut off the Master’s hand with the Ivory Knife? If so, did I ever explain why its touch didn’t kill him?  This is really important for getting the ending right.
3.     The hill tribe known as the Noyat/Noyet(?).  What novel covers them?  Did I say anything about them except that they have a nasty patriarchal society at odds with the Merikit?  Was Chingetai born a Noyat or to a related tribe? 
4.  Did I explain the Kenthiar collar anywhere as a Builders’ measuring device, subsequently misused by the Kencyrath to prove the true Highlord?  That first detail may only be in my notes.  I still haven't figured out what it would measure (thin columns?) or why it would lop off some heads but not others.  It seems to cauterize what it cuts (re: the Grindark's fingers), so there wouldn't be much blood, but maybe it leaves the trachea open so that the decapitated body can continue to breathe.  Suggestions?
5.     Blacklord, Black Lord, or Black-lord?  Graylord, Gray Lord, or Gray-lord?  Highlord?  I have a feeling that I haven't been consistent here.
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Published on October 31, 2025 08:33
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message 1: by Gina (new)

Gina Towner 1. I would have to reread the series (oh horrors, twist my arm, force me to do it) to remember where graykin was.
2. As far as I know its implied that she did, that someone else gave her the knife to kill him, but all she did was cut off his hand. I don't think that you ever explained in detail why he didn't die. I always assumed it had to do with time weirdness, being in his house, or that he was mostly dead to begin with.
3. See answer #1, I barely remember Chingetai, just that he was a jerk.
4. As far as I know, the Kenthiar collar was only referenced in relationship to 'the rightful Highlord' and cutting off things inside the circle. It was said to be a Builder's Artifact, and where it was found (I don't remember where) but nothing beyond that in my head.
5. Blacklord, Torison Blacklord. Ganth Grey Lord, Highlord. I don't think you ever had dashes, but maybe Blacklord was Black Lord once or twice. I don't remember it but it could have been. As far as I know, it was always Grey Lord and always Highlord.

I hope you're feeling better, is this the last book? If so, I am both sad and happy. Sad that its ending, happy that its all being wrapped up by the original author.


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