[amirebram]

Note: I know that each of these subjects has been discussed before, but I am trying to find a new thread that I am sure many of you have noticed.

First every Boncaster we have seen so far has been a Soletaken. This suggests a certain link. At the end of Deadhouse Gate, after the Soletaken had been taken care of, we saw a Soletaken Dragon/Imass show-up. Pust says something like "you have come to take care of your children." This could be taken in two ways: one is that human-beings came from the Imass, another is that Imass were responsible for the start of Shapshifting.

The second comment came from L'oric during HOC. He said that Togg and Fanadry may consider themselves Lords of the Shapshifters because of their occupation of the Beast Thrones. We know that the Beast Throne was once the home of the Imass gods (who are gone). So again we see a link is suggested. However note that Togg and Fanadry are not Soletaken themselves; they are Ancient wolf gods who came before humans or even the Elder Gods.

The third fact is reveled in MT. The fall of the First (human) Empire was brought about after some crazy ritual related to Shapshifting. For some reason this event drew the T'Lan Imass, who for unknown reasons distroyed and killed the Empire. We know that the T'Lan Imass' main purpose is to fight tyranny (mainly Jaghut), but the Frist Empire was not a tyranny as such. Yet T'Lan Imass took the time to distroy what came from a Shapshifting ritual. Again this suggests a certain link.

An observation: Shapshifting is unrelated to the warrens, since people with completly different warens (Menas or Tellan) can be shapshifters.

One more obsevation: Have we ever seen a Jaghut, Furkull Assial, or K'Chain Chamelle Soletaken? No. Why not? I suggest that Shapshifting is limited to Imass and their decendants (humans). I know that everyone will point to Rake and Korlat; Tiste Andii Soletaken. But that is NOT True! Rake, Ossric and the other Tiste Andii/Edur/Liosen Soletaken are all Elient, an Elder Draconin race. They are not simple shapshifters! Have you ever seen a Tiste Soletaken who was not a Dragon? No. I suggest that the Draconin issue is different from the common Soletaken. Thus: Soletakne are all from Imass stock.

There was some rather vauge disscussion about shapshifters durring Deadhouse Gates where Feslin and Heboric went into the old ruins. I cannot make head or tail from that.

So there is a common Shapshifting thread running thru Imass, the Beast Hold, and the human First Empire. This will without doubt revel some history and effect future development. The Beast Hold is re-awakened, the T'lan Imass are not yet done, and humans will be effected.

Any ideas on the above?