Effectiveness of healing what is considered unhealable - Spoilerish

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Angrymom06
So I don't remember ever reading it... was it discussed why Nanaeve's healing of Logain was more effective than the healing of Siuan and Leanne?
My initial thought is that it requires Saidin to effectively (returned to the same power level from before the stilling) heal those that used Saidar and vice versa.

Was this mentioned anywhere?

What are some thoughts others have?
 

Ilverin Matriam

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Actually we have an interesting tidbit about your question in the Library:


Healing Severing
In the Age of Legends, severing was one of the few things, perhaps the only thing, that could not be Healed. It was uniformly believed that it was impossible and many, disapproved of even trying. Lelaine tried to talk Nynaeve out of it (LoC, Ch. 8) and Yellows such as Dagdara, who objected to the “foolish notions and wasting time” and Nisao who Nynaeve refused to even speak to Nynaeve until she stopped trying to “alter how the Pattern has been woven” had even stronger feelings (LoC, Ch. 8).

At first, Nynaeve feels they may be right, but she is able to get a sense of something torn or cut in Leane and when she then discovers that they can sense Moghedien through the a'dam, even if they can't do anything with it, she becomes convinced there is something there to Heal (TEotW, Prologue). She also practices on Logain, though the differences are enough that she is not convinced she could learn anything. Eventually, she does get a sensation of what is almost a hole, or a feeling that what seemed continuous was not, that what seemed smooth and straight was really skirting around an absence. By directing saidar into that are at he hole should have been, she finds the same “something cut” that she found in Siuan and Leane, and without thinking, bridges it with Spirit and Fire. This Heals him, to his original strength (LoC, Ch. 29).

She then Heals Siuan and then Leane the same way (LoC, Ch. 30), they are much weaker than before (LoC, Ch. 30). Some time after this, Damer Flinn decids to try Healing the women who Rand stilled. It is not known if he knew anything about Nynaeve Healing Logain, or tried of his own accord. He learned his own Healing after leaving the Black Tower, as Manfor was not aware of it (CoT, Prologue), but the men in the Black Tower are aware of it – Logain looks for men interested in Damer's type of Healing (WH, Prologue). Damer Heals Irgain and Corele asks Cadsuane permission to try with Sashalle and Ronaille (WH, Ch. 13), all three are restored to their original strength. The weave he uses is not the exactly the same as Nynaeve used, but this is not why he is more effective. To fully restore, a person must be Healed by the opposite gender (Robert Jordan's Blog, Tuesday, October 4th, 2005).

Burning out cannot be Healed .

I actually always thought that Nynaeve healed Logain in one way, because she tested on him specifically, and that is why she couldn't heal Siuan and Leane the same way, while Damer Flinn tested on women, so that's why he could heal them completely. :cheeseeni:
 

Ilverin Matriam

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Well, in this forum you can talk all the spoilers, but the titles of the threads are usually visible on the front page whenever there are new comments, so someone who hasn't read the books might see the title. This is why we advise keeping spoilers off the titles as well. (hence why I removed "healing the stilled" from the initial title)
 
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Well, in this forum you can talk all the spoilers, but the titles of the threads are usually visible on the front page whenever there are new comments, so someone who hasn't read the books might see the title. This is why we advise keeping spoilers off the titles as well. (hence why I removed "healing the stilled" from the initial title)
Thank you
 
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So there are a few things we know cannot be healed and also some limitations to healing.

  • Death cannot be healed - the scene where Rand tries in TDR is really heartbreaking.
  • We know there are certain types of mental illness which cannot be healed, even during the AoL. Graendel was one of the most renowned healers at the time but we also know Graendel was experimenting with peoples minds.
  • We know that Stilling could not be healed during the AoL - however it is also much less likely people would have been stilled or burned out, knowledge of the One Power was significantly more advanced and Stilling/Gentling was not routine - I think Channelers that did commit crimes were most likely to be bound by the Oath Rod.
  • We know that wounds from either Shai'tan or Mordeths dagger cannot be healed fully through One Power healing.

I think with this topic it might be useful to think about what can be healed in physical terms, it seems that many of the limitations are due to a lack of knowledge of biology and limits to how the One Power can work externally. Rand does things in TDR that Egwene thinks should be impossible, but this is due to a lack of understanding of the One Power and how Rand as the Dragon Reborn has an innate ability to understand flows. I think there would likely be a difference in healing proficiency between the sexes because of the disparate strengths in the One Power - I suspect that female Channelers, due to their dextrous weaving, would be more suited as Healers than Male Power users.

Those are my thoughts anyway.
 
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