PeterZ wrote:
Re-read the coronation scene with Zindel. Text addresses what his ancestors did with the Crown of the Ternaithian Empire. Zindel's ancestors were free to accept the burden of the Crown, but once accepted the Crown forced its wearer to fulfill the Imperial Oath.
Zindel might well offer Chava a choice; live and accept the crown with its compulsion or reject the crown and die.
Humm... just reread. There are still a couple of holes in this that I can see. First is that the oath must be taken willingly. There are no circumstances under which Chava would take that oath that would not include coercion in some form.
Secondly, the compulsion is tied to the winged crown. Do we even know it can be duplicated for a different context? We really don't know that it can be tied to the crown of Uromathia or that it could force fealty in a vassal liege lord relationship.
Finally, reading through that oath Zindel took, the ideals are lofty, but it is so general and requires so much interpretation that it is hard to imagine what action the compulsion could enforce. For example, if Chava should become firmly and honestly convinced that Sharona would be better off without the Caliraths, the compulsion could conceivably help him accomplish that.
Dunno, Peter, it looks to me like it would be better to find a good man to take Chava's place to start with even with the possibility of unrest in Uromath. Howan Fai could be such a candidate but he is Andrin's consort and is needed in Tajana.
Don
-