In the Second Chronicles, the Haruchai don't have percipience. Brinn even asks Linden Avery to aid him with her special sight to guide the company through the Sarangrave.
But then in the Last Chronicles, they have percipience despite Kevin's Dirt.
What's up with that? Am I missing something here?
Land Sight
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This has come up before, but only briefly. So here's my recap.
First, some things Donaldson has said in the GI.
Why was this so? That's more speculative.
The Sunbane was a corruption of the very Earthpower of the Land. It seems to me that health-sense was a gift from the Land which it no longer gave. But Linden didn't get hers from the Land, it seems to be an innate ability, like Covenant's wild magic. So she is the only person in the Land with health-sense. That's not Donaldson's explanation, but I like it.
On the other hand, Kevin's Dirt blocked health-sense. Being a mere human, it worked on Linden, while on the Haruchai it worked less so, because they are tough bastards. But remember, when Linden got her hands on the Staff, she could dismiss the effects of the Dirt, and then she was her old very percipient self. The Dirt wasn't touching her innate ability, just blocking it.
It's all quite complicated, and I'm sure it was contorted to drive the plot the author desired. But there it is.
First, some things Donaldson has said in the GI.
The way I understand it, the Haruchai were influenced by the Sunbane, where Linden was not, but Linden was influenced by Kevin's Dirt, where the Haruchai were not.In the Gradual Interview was wrote:dlbpharmd: In 2nd Chronicles, Linden's health sense surpasses the Land sight of the Haruchai, but in ROTE (and again in the cruelly truncated preview chapter of FR) the opposite is true. Is there a reason for this difference?Unpech: Is Linden's own percipience more acute/effective/powerful than that which "once informed and guided all the people of the Land"? I.e. her health-sense unaugmented by other powers, periapts, etc. It 'seems' to be more powerful, but I do not recall any passage(s) where this is clearly stated.
- The obstacles to health-sense have changed. The Sunbane *fed* on Haruchai to a significant extent: it was, in a manner of speaking, tuned to them. And Lord Foul actively sought to make Linden as vulnerable as possible. Kevin's Dirt is an entirely different form of hindrance: it obscures rather than corrupts Earthpower. Naturally Earthpowerful beings (the Haruchai, the Ranyhyn) "pierce the veil" more easily than ordinary humans can.
(04/18/2007)
Very much looking forward to the next installment!
- My own perception has always been that Linden has more than most when it comes to natural, unaugmented "health-sense". (More than, say, the Old Lords? Who knows? Personally, I don't need answers to questions like that. But more than the Haruchai? In that comparison, I would say that she's more "sensitive" rather than more "discerning". She may not *see* more, but she *feels* what she sees more.) She has unique abilities which make her uniquely vulnerable to Lord Foul's manipulations, especially in "The Second Chronicles".
(12/18/2009)
Why was this so? That's more speculative.
The Sunbane was a corruption of the very Earthpower of the Land. It seems to me that health-sense was a gift from the Land which it no longer gave. But Linden didn't get hers from the Land, it seems to be an innate ability, like Covenant's wild magic. So she is the only person in the Land with health-sense. That's not Donaldson's explanation, but I like it.
On the other hand, Kevin's Dirt blocked health-sense. Being a mere human, it worked on Linden, while on the Haruchai it worked less so, because they are tough bastards. But remember, when Linden got her hands on the Staff, she could dismiss the effects of the Dirt, and then she was her old very percipient self. The Dirt wasn't touching her innate ability, just blocking it.
It's all quite complicated, and I'm sure it was contorted to drive the plot the author desired. But there it is.
