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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 4679053" data-attributes="member: 4937">There are obviously several wrinkles V is not getting.  It's quite possible there are several I'm not getting, but...Essentially, in exchange for getting access to ultimate arcane power for as long as he can hold it, V is promising to allow himself to be dominated by an evil power for an equal length of time three times.  V is interpreting this as 'after I die', but nothing in the bargain makes that explicit.Or in other words, V may be turning every critical decision in the rest of his life over to arch-fiends of the lower planes.  Their interest in V is clear.  At some point in his life (or in the lives of his associates), he's going to have in his power the destiny of the entire world.  They are getting to choose what he does at that critical moment.  They get free reign to use V to further whatever nefarious end they desire, and V's bargain now makes him fully consensual in those future decisions even if he doesn't know now exactly what they are.Even worse, as I interpret the bargain, nothing that they've said requires the period of time to be consecutive.  They can choose to borrow 10 minutes here, and another 10 minutes there as needed.There is one other nasty problem V hasn't considered.  Even if he accepts the bargain, he may be too late to save anyone.  He may simply arrive in time to wreck vengeance, but his family may already be dead.  V has not asked.Personally, I think 'for as long as you can hold it' is a very ambigious answer.  They seem to suggest without actually saying so, that the splice is hard to hold on to.  But its equally possible that its hard to get rid of, V may find that it is the temptation to retain the power that is one of the hard parts of the bargain.  After all, it isn't just a dragon whose made an enemy of V.  There is a certain arcane spellcaster out there who is the cause of V's current demented and desparate state.  Could empowered V think himself the equal of Xykon and Recloak?  And the longer V goes, the less of his future life (or afterlife, in the event he's awaiting a raise dead spell at some point in the near future) he will actually be in control of.  Personally, I suspect that controlling the soul splice will be alot like controlling an intelligent sword - its really easy as long as you are doing things that the will of the three approve of.</blockquote>

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