Questions about Visitor

[MaggieoftheOwls]

I don't have a number or even really a ballpark for the size of Serene's underground court, but the part where people might be able to slip away is much less of a concern there because there is always a finite amount of space for them to slip away into and creating more space is a nontrivial endeavour. I don't think she has a million vassals but it's likely that she has a few more than a surface-situated court could readily keep.

Also, given that Serene is a Gregor, I imagine that her vassals are less likely to want to get out from under her thumb than the vassals of some more typical fairy master.

[Marri]

Are there any kinds yet where their word is binding? It seems Barrayaran.

[Kappa]

I forget if I've gone into this, but my broad notion of how Serene runs the fairy cave is that she is mainly interested in ensuring that people don't abusively vassalize or otherwise egregiously harm each other, so there are widespread orders forbidding non-authorized persons to seek vassals or enforce orders, and new fairies are expected to follow these rules without being vassalized and ordered to, and if they do there's no trouble, and if they do not then someone either extracts their name or puts them into indefinite sorcerous stasis.

...Marri you're a genius. I'm not sure if that's a viable kind magic, but it's a brilliant idea.

[atheistcanuck]

actually now I'm imagining something like Elspeth's power where if they are being honest it is unusually believable.

[DanielH]

A fairy’s word being binding sounds… too powerful without some sort of conditions on it. Otherwise one could vow to never give anybody their name or something. How about “can’t lie under oath” or something, meaning that you couldn’t take a vow if you don’t intend to keep it but that you can break it later without problems (under torture, if ordered to, etc.).

Preview edit: I also thought of Elpeth’s power, but that doesn’t seem right flavor-wise. Barrayarans do lie (see: Miles), but not break vows. I think “lying under oath” is different because then you’re swearing that you are telling the truth in this instance.

[Kappa]

Kind magics can't override legitimate orders, so you could get somebody's name by feeding them and ordering them to tell it.

[DanielH]

I was thinking that making such a vow would protect you from being tortured for your name, because everybody would know that you couldn’t give it up to torture. Depending on how powerful the kind magic was, making a vow not to eat vassalizing food could even make you unable to swallow the food whether or not you knew it belonged to somebody else[/url].

[rockeye_stonetoe]

How about a kind who, if vows are made to them under sufficient conditions, the vows are enforced like orders?

[Kappa]

Nifty, Rockeye.

Daniel, I definitely wouldn't make the kind magic powerful enough to prevent someone unintentionally breaking a promise - I would keep it on about the level of orders, and I think orders have been proven not to care about things that are true but unknown to the person carrying them out.

Alicorn, which if any of these notions are legit?

[Alicorn]

If I were inventing a kind magic in this neighborhood I would allow the kind to give themselves orders. More recent orders would as usual take precedence, of course.