A way to end the war with chalced [posible spoilers]

[Farseer]

These beings get the feeling that you're pulling at straws here, farseer...

As opposed to any other post I've ever placed here?

Well, that was my share of laughter for the day, thanks 'thul!

just because elderlings in RotE were superior in most ways, does not mean everything good there stems from them...

Hmm...true........and in a number of examples that I can think of, eg subverting nature through the use of memory stone on the Skill Road and in the ruins of Kelsingra itself, the things that have come from the Elderlings have not always been well thought out and of benefit to all, either.

Yes, it's true that not all good in the realm has to have come from them, and we only have to look at our own world to see our 'human' capabilities, not to mention the recurring theme throughout the RotE books that the little guy is just as capable of contributing as much to the changing of the world as the big one.

It is also true that, as a RotE example, Tintaglia sought the assistance of humans to reconstruct portions of the Rain River so that the serpents were able to reach the cocooning grounds. She did this as she was aware of past evidence and use of human ingenuity (or was it also because there were no Elderlings truly available, outside of Reyn, Malta and Selden, so she had little choice but to make do with humans?).

Of course, the grand buildings could also simply reflect Chalcedian might and power...all too easy for Chalcedian rulers to construct such magnificent, outward displays of grandeur when there are slaves to build it all for them. There are many such examples of this in our own history...

['thul]

Tintaglia most likely knew that Elderlings were essentially gone, and while strong, no dragon is very good at finely constructing anything. Humans she knew were better at it...

As for that last paragraph, that seems very logical...