Plot holes (spoilers included) in RotE

[Syrocko]

Hi Syrocko
Welcome to the board!
Hmm unfortunately I can't recall the exact point being made by Verity in AQ that is it not possible to use the Skill to kill another person (unless they 'choose' to die?). Seems kind of a weird thing to say, particularly bearing in mind the cases that you mention. And also, didn't Kettle kill another member of her coterie using the Skill in a jealous rage or something like that?
I would guess the likelihood of such an attempt succeeding would depend on a number of factors such as how strong and how experienced each party was with the Skill (and maybe their general physical health - thinking of Shrewd his age may have had something to do with it).

I also don't recall that Realder even had a (real) dragon? Let alone that it was part of the stone dragon known as 'Realder's dragon' (aka GOAD). Where in Fool's Fate do we learn that? Geee it'd be weird to find that actual dragons go into stone dragons!

In relation to repelling, I must admit I did find myself a little confused as to why it wasn't used more. I would have to do a re-read to see if I thought there was any more indications as to why not, apart from maulkin's points. I cannot recall if repelling causes a huge physical drain on the person doing it?
That I guess would mean they would hesitate to do it unless they were more confident of avoiding a fight by repelling than by winning the fight through simple physical prowess. (assuming it isn't purely instinctive - I suspect that it is if you are not trained in using your Wit and that it is intentional if you are trained in using your Wit).

Thanks for answering.

I didn't mean that Realder had an actual dragon, only that it was one of the stone dragons in the garden. At least this is what we are told in AQ. Then in FF, we learn instead that Realder had been part of the coterie who had tried to create girl on a dragon. In both cases it was the Fool who tells it to Fitz. However, I guess we could put it down to either the Fool aquiring more accurate knowledge when he rides girl on a dragon for the second time. Or perhaps that the fool was doing his thing of not revealing the full story until he was ready to. Not that this point is so important anyway.

With the Skill issue, the idea of it not being possible to Skill-drain someone to death was key to 2 plot points in AQ. First was that Verity needed to create such a force in order to kill Burl that it burned the Skill out of himself until Kettle was able to reawaken it in him. Second was when Regal warns Fitz that if he uses the Skill to kill him, it will burn his magic out completely. I guess, like you say it depends on a number of factors. And since much knowledge of the Skill is missing at that time, all of it's users are probably struggling to understand how it works.