This tends to be a theme in my novels.

The only characters whose ancestry is related to their abilities are Tara-lin and Arilann, both half-elves who couldn't have the magic they have apart from their elven blood (which btw is known from the beginning of the novel). And that's about where it ends.

You will never discover a hidden ancestor, or an ancient prophecy or event that determines anything about her life: her people don't have any more connection to the events that lead to the near-extinction of the dragons than anyone else.

It doesn't matter who created them. If they're sentient, conscious beings.

And yes, the action is evil - regardless of the result. It is simply wrong to experiment on & torture other creatures.

I'd answer that failing is not evil. Doing evil is ... evil. Doing it for a "good end" does not make evil un-evil.

The fact that other people do evil doesn't make it right for her to do evil. She is not responsible for others' actions nor their fates. She is only responsible for what she does.

I'd argue with her that the good of the many is *not* more important than any one life, and that it is NOT okay to do evil things with the idea that "good might (or even will) result."

No worries, it's not really my question, except that it's my character's question: she deeply values both freedom & love, but she sometimes gets really confused about how the two relate to each other since ...well, it's so easy to trod on freedom ... apparently.

In that case, I imagine it might *theoretically* be possible for Camilla to understand it, as some of her thoughts almost go that way. But how do love & freedom coexist?

(Sometimes I REALLY wish I had the time / energy to finish this series.)

I am glad to hear that.

I can't imagine you'd ever stop missing your dog, I'd only hope that ... well, that you can keep living your life and make new friends (dog or not-dog).

I realize this is a very old post, but I just want to say, I hope you're doing better or have found some way to cope.

🫂

You use GIMP too!! I have made some globe maps like this!! This is cool!! Yeah, that line is kind of annoying. I managed to get some good pictures and even rotations though. But I don't remember how I dealt with it.

It is a deeper magic than the almost "accidental" effects of magic that wizard-mages tap into, and it is relatively unaffected by such measures as well. It has its own limitations - but the fact it can't be controlled may be one reason why certain powers regularly try to exterminate the dragons.

Their telepathy is untouched by any scientific whatever (yes, science is possible in Areaer, but the planet is hostile to advanced technology, though there was a very evil advanced society on it once), & operates on the deepest level of personality where drugs have no direct effect.

I write fantasy, and there basically isn't any. Draconic empathy (not that it is entirely exclusive to dragons, but dragons possess it more strongly than most & share it with their bonded) is one of the most impossible things to "regulate."