Crimes are based more upon means & opportunity....typically anyways.

Even quasi-shielded as he was...he could have done something. A simple flow of air could have saved him from all manner of physical attacks. Just because he was shielded didn't mean that he was any slower. It is purely my estimation that a physical attacker wouldn't have had a chance to kill him so efficiently. Besides that...there was no evidence of the attack...no blood, no body (no Dalas...if you know this movie reference, double points for you).

So thus...it is likely then that the killer had to have something special about their ability to kill....channeling or otherwise cool like that. Couple this with the fact that Asmodean recognized who his killer was...and that really begins to narrow down the list of suspects. The list of people this could be is further widdled down by those who *could* be in the palace.

For me, the biggest point of contention in the murder of Asmodean is whether the killer was sent there to kill him, or it was a chance encounter which resulted in his death. We do know several people whom it is not (from POV's which display their internal thought processes), and those who were limited in other ways. If one believes that author-speak (at signings, interviews, or conversations) is canon...then the list is pretty much narrowed down to just one person. If not, then there is only one logical choice, with the other choices depending on a vast degree of...shall I say...creative interpretation.

~Jeordam