Healing Power

As the title implies, this is a place to discuss a healer's powers- the light and the dark.

Obviously, healing would be pretty sweet in the right environment; saving lives, curing disease, saving limbs, soothing troubled spirits...awesome. Absolutely awesome.

In the correct environment, where it can be utilized frequently and properly, in accordance to the (implied) healer's ethics.

As always, I'm going to drag Winnowill into this as an example: to me, her problems with her healing gifts going unused stemmed from more than feelings of uselessness or stagnation. I've been thinking...and perhaps stagnant healing power causes actual physical pain in the healer. Rather like a starving animal's body feeds off of itself, perhaps Winnowill's powers turned on her unless she used them, either causing mental/spiritual pain or physical pain (or all of the above!).

Now I'm not saying that this is something that excuses her- I don't think the hypothetical pain would be so great as to drive her completely. I think her fear of uselessness was also a great factor. The two combined were her motivations for lashing out, and led to depression, self-loathing and resentment of others.

This is all purely conjecture.

TL;DR: Do you think that its possible for a healer's power to start 'eating' at them if left unused for long enough?

If it did, that would explain a lot about Winny. Fortunately, Leetah had enough idiots around who carried too many bricks, etc.

It would explain some stuff about Winnowill...I always thought that huge power like hers might do some nasty stuff to her physically if left alone...not exactly like Madcoil, at least not at the start.

The only danger in this theory of mine is that it may lead to me accidentally giving Winnowill the 'Draco in Leather Pants' treatment. AKA: 'Bad people aren't really bad, they just suffer soooooo much!'

I, for one, do not feel that Winnowill would wear the Leather Pants with pride.

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Also, I have spent too much time on TV Tropes.

I think a lot of it has to do with power- as in, power over others. Leetah struggled with it as well. As a strong-willed person, and the only healer in Blue Mountain, Winnowil had the opportunity, force of personality and time to exercise control over the minds and bodies of the other Gliders. And she did.

It's easy to picture the same phenomenon happening with people. Imagine, first of all, that you feel you don't have any real outlet for expressing yourself. Perhaps a talent or gift you've never developed- or dreams you've never realized. Maybe you are stuck in middle management, when you know you are smarter and more competent than your boss. Maybe you are a parent, trying to live vicariously through your children- only to realize your child has different dreams, or have your offspring cease to be complacent. Maybe you wanted to be an amazing musician or artist, but ended up with a career in restaurant management. Or maybe you went into politics, full of ideals, only to discover the system was corrupt. What kind of frustration would you feel? How personally unfulfilled?

Now... imagine that you have the means- either through money or influence or simply a position of authority- to exercise your will over others. That might fill the gap. Now add in that you think you know what's good for the people under you better than they know themselves. You would probably behave just like Winnowil. You would manipulate the people above you- and control or bully the people beneath you.. all because you know best.

Yes, you might act like Winnowil... or an overbearing parent... a bullying boss... or a wealthy and corrupt politician.

When all that's holding you back is your ethics- it's very easy to slip into that kind of role.

That, I think, is why Leetah is a good contrast to Winnie. The only thing that separates them is ethics. Leetah holds herself in check- because she knows that it's the right thing to do to let others make their own decisions, even if she sometimes wishes they would choose differently. And she has clearly struggled with it.

This discussion reminds me of the time that the Wolfriders lived in the Forbidden Grove, and Suntop was forced to set aside his magic ability. I wonder how it would have affected him, had he been prevented indeterminately from using his magic? In such a supportive community and loving family, would he have still turned out like Winnowill?

But Suntop didn't have the kind of ability that gave him power over others- or the personality to exercise it, if he had. I think he would have ended up more like Skywise (pre Shards)... friendly but reserved, happy but not fully happy, making the best of it, but ultimately settling for less.

This quote; "A gift can fester, you know, turn upon itself when no one else has use for it." Made me believe that was just the case.

i always thought the festering was of the emotional variety

Leetah tells Arorree at the end of "Dreamtime" (p.158):
A new kind of healing! I've learned much! You must help KEEP all our dreams from now on.

The kind of healing that the Bird Tribe offers is to look at the elf and see what her nature is. Arorree herself spoke of the pleasures that came from first looking into another's dream. She also lamented when she realised that her gift was beset by losing a personal ability to dream.

Since Winnowill is shrowded in a mystery, the example of Arorree must suffice. Arorree learned this practice from Winnowill, so it possible that Winnowill became far less able to envision her individual destiny.

To see another's dreams is far off from the idea of receiving dreams out of a naive state of consciousness.

Cutter's tribe recognises the usefulness of dream-analysis. As chief, he also purposed that dreams SHOULD be analysed. The pair which would work the task was not Leetah & Winnowill, but Pike & Arorree.

Although in the pair, Arorree has the ability to "eavesdrop" on dreams, she has less ability to heal than Pike, who we suppose has the gift to interpret the dream-signs and stages.