Steingeweser (87876)

[JH]

In rereading the story, I got to thinking about the pivotal part of the story in which Astra is transformed and the dragon is killed. It looks as though Simon wasn't actually a traitor, even though at first sight it seemed as though he was and the survivors in the valley are still assuming that he was. But it seems clear from his having covered the muzzle of the dragon with a presumably inflammable substance that his aim was to kill the beast with the "fire at a distance" spell, especially as from recent episodes it appears that there is no such spell as the "control a steingeweser" one that he claimed to know.

So the transformation of Astra must have been a ruse to gain the dragon's trust. Whether Simon was morally justified in doing that is a debatable point. Can the ends ever justify the means? (I suppose that it's possible that he had taken Astra into his confidence beforehand, and that she had consented to it, but there's nothing to indicate that in the subsequent sections of the story told from her POV.)

Simon's plan could not have been put into effect if the bombardment by the cannon had taken place as intended. So either he had come up with it on the spur of the moment, displaying very quick thinking, or he had had it in readiness as a contingency plan in case the bombardment had failed to take place for any reason. I favour the latter, since he had the inflammable powder on his person. If we hadn't known that a genuine Nuthatch had been responsible for the calling off of the bombardment, I would have suspected Simon of having made that second call himself, so that he could go ahead with his own plan. (It's not possible to "retcon" the Nuthatch out of existence, as that wouldn't work for anyone who in future might want to take one of the other options instead of the one in which Simon claims to be a wizard.)

[Anableps]

I think that steingewesers might have emotions, but would react in different ways than humans. For example, they might have a form of the fear of the dark. But they are relatively indestructible, so they would be naturally less excitable and impulsive than humans. And some of the ways that we show emotions - such as tears and reddening of the face - might not be physically possible with steingeweser.

As far as the light "waking up" a steingeweser with closed eyes - yes, I think that would be realistic to have the skin sense light in some way.

[JH]

As far as steingewesers (or should the plural be the same as the singular?) being almost indestructible is concerned, I've been wondering how long their normal lifespan might be. That's just idle curiosity, as it isn't going to become relevant to the story for a very long time, if ever.

[JH]

I've used my ability as a moderator to edit any episode to alter my 88754. I've expanded the description of Astra's final vision a bit. Instead of reading Finally she showed herself climbing up the side of the valley it now reads Finally she showed herself climbing up the side of the valley, with her companions remaining behind and waving her on her way.

I had been concerned that with the original version it wouldn't have been clear to Viani that Astra's companions had remained behind in the valley and needed rescuing.