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Many thanks for your answers, Mr Hickman. I will eagerly await future news about that RPG.

One last, rather silly IMO, question prompted by my brother, who has read many of your works too (although he favours Dragonlance). Who is more powerful magic-wise Raistlin Majere or Xar the Patryn Lord?

Hi again Mr. Hickman,

I never thanked you for your last reply and I think that I ought to do so before asking a few new questions prompted by a recent rereading of your saga. Thus, thank you.

Now to make those pesky questions:

1- Just how big is Arianus and what is beyond its known limits? I did a rough scaling a while back and apparently some of the Middle Realm continents are the size of Asia, but what I mean if Arianus has some kind of defined limit or beyond the known floating clusters there is just a boundless expanse of empty sky. Also, does any figure (even rough ones) exist for the populations in Arianus?

2- A similar question. How big is the Pryan Dyson Sphere supposed to be (I find the Realm of Fire to be quite a novel and refreshing concept), other than really, really big? And another thing that I noticed reading Elven Star: Zifnab predicts Haplo's arrival with accuracy. Does that mean that the avatars of good/evil (and their agents, like Zifnab) can see the future? Or did they orchestrate everything (including the Tytans' arrival to ensure the reoccupation of the citadels?

3- Now, there is a question I suppose that every reader of Deathgate has wanted to ask. How did Alfred know necromancy and why was Hugh's resurrection so different from those of the Sartan lazars?

4- Rereading the series has made me notice a couple of oddities in some spellcasting instances and my doubts here have spawned a couple other questions.

a) Sometimes it seems that powerful Sartan and Patryn can "cast" spells just by concentrating, instead of using the chanting and drawing mandatory everywhere else. For example, Xar appearing behind Aleatha in the citadel, Alfred becoming a dragon and others. Is this an advanced skill reserved for the more powerful representatives of both races?

b) Another question is how long does it usually take to prepare a rune spell. Although the actions seem to be complex, they seem to be able to prepare spells at a moment's notice.

c) Finally, there is the question of just how powerful both "demigod" races are. We are told that they are stronger than mysteriarcs (that is plenty impressive) and some other similar statements, but we never witness them going truly "all out" against an enemy. What could one of them destroy in short order if he used all his power? A building? A city? A mountain? A country?

6- Finally, a question that is a point of some contention with other readers. Did the Seventh Gate sunder just the Solar System or reality as a whole? Haplo was surprised to find stars in Pryan, because Xar believed them destroyed, but we aren't sure whether Xar was actually right.

That is all, really. Of course, it is not my intention to pester you with questions you don't have the answers for or don't want to answer, so if any of my questions are annoying, you have my apologies.