Regarding length, I restrained myself a bit for the original to keep it at (just) under 2000 words, and do have some ideas I couldn't explain in that space. That ties into your last comment about the time the rukai had Sharon. Even I don't have a full answer to that yet. In hinting at the rukai prowess in genetic engineering, I toyed with the thought that they can modify genetic expression in adults instead of zygotes. Details of Sharon's abduction need clarification in my own mind. I can't count how many times I missed content versus continent. Of course, my brain KNEW it said "continent" and that's what I saw, and the darn spell checker didn't help a whit on that one! I agree with you on all three phrases you tagged. They even went through a few drafts, but as the clock ticked down to submission time and my brains got gooey, I left well-enough alone. I am extremely pleased that you understood the implication of James resisting the suggestions of the sam-alruk in spite of the mangled phrasing. I worried that I was being too subtle. Just before posting, I looked at the sentence containing both "rukai" and "Moors" and noticed the inconsistency in capitalization. I yield to the wisdom of the jury. I'm glad you enjoyed it and extremely appreciative of your thoughtful critique. And I'll take a look at WritersWrite.com.