: I love your classification. Just one thing I noted: Alric
: channels magic using Balmung. I think Alric fits
: inside multiple schools of magics, and maybe because
: he's so skilled in all of them, we shouldn't try to
: classify him strictly?
I think that the Avatara, whilst apparently being part of an order which trains them in similar things (proabbly as starting points from which they can expand their skills), such as use of the sword, are too varied to really try to classify them at all. For all we know Shiver might be good with a sword, and SB certainly has pwerful magics (CLoudspine spell, for instance) - ok, I know I'm using the Flalne as an example but the same could easily apply to the Avatara.
: I wonder if there is any variety in Shades at all.
: They're intelligent creatures, able to think and
: converse, but may not be human for all we know. I like
: to think of them as tools rather than beings.
They seem to be more sword & Dispersal Dream-only things. They may have had (depending on how much their creator allowed them) varying degrees of independance and personality, but I still think that they were in the end just highly sophisticated tools.
: -Welly
