Healing Limits

[Dan G]

In WOT, We see a great deal of Healing focused on wounds,  fatigue and One Power based ailments.

 

Are there mentions of more general healing discussed? 

 

Could diabetes be Healed, gout, cancer heart disease?

 

Or is there a limit to what is able to be done on a general age related spectrum?

 

Please forgive me if this was discussed before or commen knowledge.  

 

I have only done one complete read thru so this may have been answered. 

 

Dan

 

[Sabio]

The Big White Book said Yellow sisters are wholly devoted to healing sickness and injury as well as finding new cures and new methods of using the One Power to restore health, though in truth, few believe any better method exists than the one known since the breaking.  I'm not sure if it's ever said what they are capable of but there is really no desire to find better ways. Part of the reason is the risk of experimenting with new weaves, so most Aes Sedai aren't willing to risk burning themselves out to find a better way. I know things such as growing a limb back isn't possible.  

[Dedicated]

On 10/20/2024 at 10:49 AM, Dan G said:

Are there mentions of more general healing discussed? 

 

Could diabetes be Healed, gout, cancer heart disease?

 

Well, I'm sure the people of WoT didn't have diabetes because they didn't have corporations and legalized corruption as a part of their governing system. 

 

But I suspect that the Aes Sedai of the Age of Legend could heal/cure stuff like cancer, gout etc. It's just that so much was lost in the Breaking and I don't just mean the books: men who could channel died off and so did the feats that involved both saidin and saidar, the population of those that could weild the One Power dropped significantly and so there was less diversity in academic pursuits and what remaining resources the Aes Sedai had they put into politics and basically ruling the entire land from the shadows. 

 

It's often said that Semirhage could cure anything because of her knowledge of the human body. It's also what makes her so freaking scary. She can torture you in ways you can never imagine. That one scene with Cabrianna chills me. Simirhage used the pain and pleasure centers of the brain to break the will of Cabrianna and her Warder respectively and this was just her quickest way to break a subject. 

[Elgee]

Robert Jordan is very contradictory about Healing in the Books.

Sometimes he says that it's all just one Weave (check specifically when Lord Dobraine was Healed by Samitsu) and the only variation on that is that some Aes Sedai can "adjust the dosage", so to speak.

In other sections he makes it seem as if there are different Weaves for Healing.

[Dedicated]

10 hours ago, Elgee said:

Robert Jordan is very contradictory about Healing in the Books.

Sometimes he says that it's all just one Weave (check specifically when Lord Dobraine was Healed by Samitsu) and the only variation on that is that some Aes Sedai can "adjust the dosage", so to speak.

In other sections he makes it seem as if there are different Weaves for Healing.

 

I think this is because we're talking about Post-Breaking healing techinques vs. Age of Legend's healing techniques. I don't remember the exact moment you're referencing with Dobraine (probably Dumai's Well which I am very close to getting to in my second read-through of the series), but off the top of my head, The Aes Sedei we read about are probably using medical techniques that your local personal physician might use. The most generalized type of medicine with a broad scope. 

 

In the Age of Legends you probably had Aes Sedei of a multi-discipinary educational backgrounds with more specialized scopes. In other words they used multiple weaves which the Aes Sedei we see wouldn't think would/could be applied in a medicinal way (see: the way the Yellows react to Nynaeve healing a stilled person).

[Elgee]

Dobraine's Healing is a bit later - not related to Dumai's Well.

 

*nods* yes there's a big difference between the AOL Healing and current time Healing, but I was referring to just they way RJ describes current time Healing.

[Sabio]

The Companion described the Yellow's healing, before Nynaeve's revelations, as just a form of rough-and-ready, battlefield first aid from the War of Shadow, The skill of the healer was more important over the strength of the healer.

 

But under the healing section of the companion it goes to list 4 types of healing from full/everything healed (not even a scar remained, and the only way known to heal a wound from a Myrddraal's blade)  It took considerable amount of energy from the one being healed.  But also mentions some possible severe drawbacks which made its use rare on serious wounds.

2. Slow healing over time

3. Alleviation of pain

4. Washing away fatigue.

 

We know Rand's mom died if the Fever, so illnesses and epidemics happen.  There probably aren't many yellows skilled enough to do a full healing and the companion says the number of yellows prior to the last battle was 120 members.  My guess is even if some of this stuff can be healed that the chances of a healer finding you is pretty small.  If there is major outbreak they would probably go to help but overall you are probably screwed if you take ill.  You would probably have to be delved to find any illness in the early stages and it would take too much time.  

[Andra]

On 11/5/2024 at 12:11 PM, Sabio said:

My guess is even if some of this stuff can be healed that the chances of a healer finding you is pretty small. 

Which is why every village had its Wisdom or the equivalent.

It wasn't to run the Women's Circle; it was to provide the healing and other things the Aes Sedai weren't around to provide.