Palaemon

thalassocrat at nym.hush.com · 04 Jul 2008, 06:39 · from 2008-July.txt.gz

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From: thalassocrat at nym.hush.com (thalassocrat at nym.hush.com)
Date: Thu, 03 Jul 2008 23:39:06 -0700
Subject: (urth) Palaemon
Message-ID: <20080704063907.86781158041 at mailserver6.hushmail.com>

The Terminus Est discussion raises a tangential issue which has 
bothered me: how does Palaemon come to have such a valuable antique 
in his personal possession? 

Not by inheritance, of course. 

Did he save up his torturer salary and buy it? Unlikely? I think 
probably somebody gave it to him, as he gave it to Sev. If in 
return for a service, I imagine it must have been a very valuable 
service. And he must like Sev *a lot*, to give it to him.

Anyway, I think Palaemon deserves more story-making-up than he's 
been given. Where did he get his sword? Where did he get his eyes? 
Why was he temporarily exiled? Can we connect him to Sev, family-
wise?

Was he the silent traveller who spent an evening with the old woman 
and her son in the Stone Town, sleeping beside his staff? 
(Recalling that Sev believes many must have mistaken Terminus Est 
for a staff during his travels.) There aren't many other 
candidates, if the traveller is somebody we know from elsewhere in 
the story.

And if he was the traveller, does he have anything to do with the 
Pelerine garment Sev finds himself lying upon after his encounter 
with Apu Paunchu? It would be nice if the garment were related to 
Catherine, somehow. Did he also encounter Apu Paunchu?

Palaemon was in exile about 30 years (maybe a little less) before 
Sev meets Winnoc in the Pelerine's lazarette. About 10 years before 
Sev's birth, by Sev's reckoning. IIRC, Winnoc gives the impression 
that Palaemon's exile was for a fixed, not very lengthy term.

Casdoe's father reminds Sev of Palaemon (except for the eyes). 

Ummmm ... dunno. Anybody care to make up a story from all this?

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