I've gotten this one in an accusatory tone several times, as though overtly ruling the world is the only possible thing the magi could want to do with their time. I'm being a bad little author by expounding on this, especially since many things about the magi will be made quite clear in The Republic of Thieves, but consider-- if they don't rule the world, what might be holding them back? Is their power perhaps not as omnipotent as they'd have others believe? Or do they suffer from internal strife concerning the destiny of their organization?

Who or what were the Eldren, and what happened to them?

Oooh, great questions. And if anyone ever finds out the answer, please write me! I'm eager to know myself. Is it true that Locke's name has something to do with a video game?

Locke's first name is an homage to a character in SquareSoft's Final Fantasy VI, also known as Final Fantasy III in the United States. This game had a huge influence on me when I was in my mid-teens; I think it's one of the most brilliant and heartbreaking console roleplaying games ever created, a real work of art. Are there any special tricks to pronouncing Camorri names?

Well, the 'e' in 'Locke' is absolutely silent, which is rare and special. Nine times out of ten, an 'e' at the very end of a Camorri name is pronounced as '-ay.' For example, 'Nicovante' is 'Nee-coh-vaun-tay,' and 'Evante' is 'Ev-aun-tay.' 'Jean' is 'Zhaun,' in the French fashion, rather than 'Jeen.' What's the difference between "Throne Therin" and "the Therin Throne?"

The Therin Throne was the common name of the empire that was once comprised of all the most powerful city-states on the southern half of the continent on which Locke lives. Throne Therin was its high courtly language. The 'contemporary' Therin tongue, as Locke speaks it, isn't actually descended from Throne Therin; rather, Throne Therin was a tarted-up version of plain Therin intended to show how elite and refined its speakers were. Okay. So Therin is spoken, more or less the same language, all over the place, right?

With regional dialects and accents, sure. Then how come the Therin language contains some words/phrases that are obviously French-derived, some that are obviously Italian, and so forth? How can "Vel Virazzo" and "Salon Corbeau," for example, be names in the same language?

Therin is an 'acquisitive' language, much like English, if not even grabbier. Its current form is cobbled together from several dozen languages that existed centuries in Locke's past; it's contained so many foreign phrasings for so long that they've become universally understood. Ooooh. You really dodged the fall of the axe on that question, didn't you?

Yeah, I kinda did. Hey, Tolkien was the guy that spoke seventeen languages. As for me, I... I'm, um, really good at Final Fantasy VI. CONTACT SCOTT All site contents copyright 2007 Scott Lynch.

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