(To Mantis really, but to everyone else as well),
If the first Severian really was cruel, as Mantis thinks, I would ask for citation, which hopefully consists of more than "uh, well, he failed the test in Yesod!" However, I don't think the first Sev was totally cruel. Severian writes (volume 4, "Resurrection") that the first Severian did indeed flee from Thrax and went to the war to escape the troops of the archon (which I guess could have been Abdiesus1). Why did Sev1 have to run? Perhaps in this iteration of time he too saved Cyriaca, or some other person the archon wanted killed, which would have been a sign of great mercy.
Christopher R. Culver <crculver at aol.com>
http://members.aol.com/crculver/index.html
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"Laborare est orare."