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Messages - cass

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1
Cinder Spires Books / Re: Albion
« on: January 01, 2016, 11:48:19 PM »
I grew up near what is quite possibly the only 'Lincoln' in the U.S. *not* named for Abe-- it's named for the place the town founders emigrated from. Lots of towns in New England have old world parent/sister cities-- unfortunately, sometimes it means you have to ask which state, since the names are often repeated!

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It doesn't have to be *all* that far to the pole--it's just less common the farther away you go.  (Actually, I think it's less common close to the poles than it is in a band surrounding it. See, e.g., http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast -- it's over the northern portions of the British isles.)

Assuming-- and it's a big assumption-- that the Spires were built on a version of Earth, then they are limited to current/near-future landmasses.  (Near future in geologic terms-- no new supercontinents, etc.)  If Albion is indeed built in somewhere in England, then Aurora could be as close as northern Scotland-- to get regular visitations from its namesake) or much, much farther away.

Since Spire Aurora doesn't seem to be visible from the top of Spire Albion (which is above the mists), we can find a minimum distance between the two-- The horizon is ~125 miles away from two miles up (which is, I believe the approximate height of Albion.  And we know that ships can go up to 7-8 miles, given a powerful enough lift crystal and breathing apparatus for the crew, which would broaden the range to ~250 miles. (Of course, that's to the base of Spire Aurora-- since it, too, probably protrudes from the mists, the minimum distance is actually farther, but not by much.)

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Cinder Spires Spoilers / Re: Core Crystals...
« on: October 06, 2015, 12:12:06 AM »
Hmm. Raises some questions about the Itasca-- a ship that has been considered an elite appointment, one that is known to be very, very powerful.  I imagine the crew would have quite a bit of loyalty to that ship, which would feed into the core crystal, which would make it more likely to be successful, which would inspire more loyalty...yay for feedback loops!

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Cinder Spires Spoilers / Re: Cinder Spires Airship Specs So Far
« on: October 05, 2015, 04:05:36 AM »
I'd assume it's more of a reference to the historical HMS Dreadnought whose design was so influential that post Dreadnought battleships (who used the Dreadnoughts armament layout) were often referred to as 'dreadnoughts] and battleships completed using the old design scheme were relabeled as 'pre-dreadnoughts'

Plus the meaning of the name itself was very appropriate for an extremely powerful battleship -- dreadnought = dread + nought, literally fear-nothing, or, a ship that has nothing to fear.

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Cinder Spires Spoilers / Re: Social Status of Warriorborn
« on: October 05, 2015, 12:58:51 AM »
Because, well, they're part-Cat, at least at some level.  And given the view of cats among the elite of society--even among those knowing that they're sentient and intelligent-- it wouldn't surprise me that Warriorborn are associated with (tainted with) those views.  So, as brightbane said, in short: racism.

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Should we add a Cinder Spires section?
CS- cinder spires
TAW- the aeronaut's windlass (first book)

7
Dunno if this is the place for it or if it's been moved, but I transcribed the Skokie TAW signing Q and A from MX's video.  The transcript is here: http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,46159.msg2184777.html#msg2184777

I also have a word document, if there's a gdocs repository or something.

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Cinder Spires Spoilers / Re: Sneaky line?
« on: October 03, 2015, 02:23:13 AM »
Furies being prominent in parts of Greek mythology, and Olympus being the home of the (Greek) gods, it could just be an historical pun.  Doesn't mean it's Alera, just means it shares at least some history with Earth.

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Cinder Spires Spoilers / Re: Duel with Reggie
« on: October 02, 2015, 03:43:25 PM »
We should probably start a thread for listing unresolved bits and pieces like that...I'd give it a week or two for people to get the book and finish reading.

10
Cinder Spires Spoilers / Re: [Spoiler]Favorite quote thus far...
« on: October 01, 2015, 04:34:22 PM »
I am particularly amused by the Albion/aeronaut's expressions for suggesting that someone is not entirely sane:
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Cinder Spires Spoilers / Re: Does anyone else picture Folly as...
« on: October 01, 2015, 04:21:02 PM »
Captain Grimm reminds me more of Captain Lawrence from the Temeraire Series by Naomi Novik than Mal.

Yeah, Mal is somewhat less-than-impressed with the idea of always being calm, collected and utterly unflappable in front of the crew.  Maybe Mal pre-Battle of Serenity, but I doubt it.  Captain Laurence has the advantage of commanding a similarly greater number of crew members than Mal, however, plus his 'ship' is very much sentient. (I don't think I've ever heard a better description of Temeraire than 'insouciant but understands the need for cooperation'...)

I'm torn between Folly as an Odiana (albeit a non-sadistically malicious one) and a River Tam-type.  They're both far more dangerous than they'd seem, and both a few rungs short of a ladder to  the point of needing to be guided about.

Rowl is Kitai or Doroga. From his very first lines he sounded like a Marat.  (Probably due to the Marat thinking more about the here-and-now than Alerans, just as the cats think more about the here-and-now than do the humans.)

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Cinder Spires Spoilers / Re: Core Crystals...
« on: October 01, 2015, 02:31:02 AM »
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OK, going back through to get all the info on the Predator's crystals as I can before I have to return the book :(
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13
Cinder Spires Spoilers / Re: Core Crystals...
« on: September 30, 2015, 10:11:04 PM »
There were definitely times when I had to stop and remind myself that this was NOT the two-or-three centuries later, steampunk-y revisitation of Alera. At least, I don't *think* it is....

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14
Cinder Spires Spoilers / Re: Character Development
« on: September 30, 2015, 07:42:52 PM »
I read it last year but isn't it Grimm's

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Cinder Spires Books / Re: So just what the heck is a Habble?
« on: September 30, 2015, 03:53:29 AM »
They're physically (and probably culturally and economically) separated political entities.  More like cities or greek polises than countries.  Maybe the closest analogue is the early days of the US (or current EU) where there is, technically, centralized leadership but in practice each unit governs itself mostly-independently.

Spoilering to be safe, but it's not anything beyond Serack's level of info.  No plot stuff.
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