that the Big Brother watches you for your own good
Yeah, but with Orwell, Big Brother isn't *just* watching; he's watching for something, and will get you in trouble when you do it. The Vrondi don't have that kind of follow-up, so it's like... to me it sounds like putting up a video camera in your store, but not storing the data. Lots of people will be deterred from robbing your store because they see the camera there, but if someone robs it anyway, there's no record of the deed, the camera isn't going to produce any evidence against them, and it isn't going to call the cops. That's maybe mildly creepy, but not very Orwellian to me. It's a valid measure to protect the lives of the people who work in the store, and it's not even a very strong measure. :D
As for your question: there was no Herald-Mage in Valdemar after Vanyel for ~500 years. There were probably visiting mages; in fact, we find out shortly before the anti-Mage spell ends that there was a Mage-gifted spy in the Palace for years. There may have been mages in the Rethwellan diplomatic service who came from time to time. And some mercenary Mages have passed through -- or tried to pass through -- the outskirts of Valdemar on their way to assignments elsewhere.
no subject
Yeah, but with Orwell, Big Brother isn't *just* watching; he's watching for something, and will get you in trouble when you do it. The Vrondi don't have that kind of follow-up, so it's like... to me it sounds like putting up a video camera in your store, but not storing the data. Lots of people will be deterred from robbing your store because they see the camera there, but if someone robs it anyway, there's no record of the deed, the camera isn't going to produce any evidence against them, and it isn't going to call the cops. That's maybe mildly creepy, but not very Orwellian to me. It's a valid measure to protect the lives of the people who work in the store, and it's not even a very strong measure. :D
As for your question: there was no Herald-Mage in Valdemar after Vanyel for ~500 years. There were probably visiting mages; in fact, we find out shortly before the anti-Mage spell ends that there was a Mage-gifted spy in the Palace for years. There may have been mages in the Rethwellan diplomatic service who came from time to time. And some mercenary Mages have passed through -- or tried to pass through -- the outskirts of Valdemar on their way to assignments elsewhere.