Just finished reading the first chapter and really enjoyed it. It gave me quite a few ideas for characters and backgrounds tied to events in the past. It was interesting to read of the origins of the Ul. The blood wars section was definitely interesting especially when combined with the origins of the Ul.
It certainly sounded like all of the families that remain "val" participated in the war with perhaps a few exceptions - the val'Haupt come to mind as a family that hid. The val'Trisin and I'm forgetting another family. The val'Holryn only grow in mystery given the Sarishan findings. Either they were wrong about absorbing the various abilities of the other families or there is something even more odd about them.
Possibilities on the val'Holryn:
1. Found a way to get around the family limitation that the val'Mehans couldn't. Unlikely.
2. Descended of the line of the god of the PoM who was eaten / destroyed. If so, would there even be power there and why would it so mimic the other bloodline abilities?
3. Descended of a god other than of the PoM. Umor for example.
4. Descended of a god with an aspect that would explain it - some sort of deceit, enlightenment or something similar that would mimic or grant that access.
5. And most likely, something not covered by any of the options 1 - 4 above.
I am curious if we'll find out more about the Blood Guard, what became of the Second Blade or any of the other teasers thrown into the history.
Let me also say I'm a big fan of having the relevant ranks or background necessary to unlock certain knowledge. The 20 ranks for some of it, wow. I almost feel like I need to design a character around just having that kind of sage wisdom.
It's a great start and I look forward to the rest of the book.
With a sweep of his hat,
Paul