How long does healing take?

[Hydroc Claw]

Everything from simply refreshing a person to bringing them back from the brink of death takes time, but how much time? I was debating with some people about the validity of healing times in the Wheel of Time D20 game, and I think that healing should never take as long as 20 or 30 minutes. So what's the consensus on how long healing(both regular and unique cases such as Mat with the dagger or Flinn healing Rands second wound) actually takes?

[trakand_01]

When the party got to Taren Ferry (or was it Watch Hill...?) after fleeing Emonds Field, Moiraine healed them all and their horses and was astonished to see that Bela didnt need 'refreshing' (Rand had done it without realising when he wanted Bela to carry Egwene to safety). She went around each of them in turn and I think each one took probably no more than a few seconds. Ten, perhaps at most for the most exhausted of them.

 

When Nynaeve heals the Aiel woman by the riverside when they first meet Aviendha, again a conversation takes place whilst she does it. There is no suggestion that this takes any longer than a few minutes.

 

What Flinn did to Rand when Fain slashed him with the dagger I think took around five minutes or so. We see the entire thing from start to finish, and a conversation ensues as he does it. It's not a long conversation.

 

When Dobraine is whacked over the head in the Sun Palace, Sumitsu delves to find him still alive, and then brings him back onto the ledge a little bit, although she's still concerned he might die. Again I think this takes around four or five minutes.

 

I think Mat's separation from the dagger however took a lot longer - it wasnt a simple case of finding the ailment and patching it or repairing it, it was a case of splitting his soul from the dagger and removing the taint from his body. I wouldnt be at all surprised to learn that this DID take around 30 minutes.

 

When Nynaeve 'healed' Logain however, although she had been praticing for days/weeks, I think on the occasion that she did it, it took her only a few minutes. Indeed I dont think Elayne had even sat down by the time she told her to fetch Sheriam.

 

When the Aiel woman comes in CoT to 'read' elayne's babies, when she tells her there are two, I think this takes around three, maybe four minutes. Again we have a conversation by which to time the actions.

[aussie_ashaman123]

it does depend on the injury. mats healing took about 30 minutes to an hour, by far the longest weve seen. Dobraines took longer, about 10 minutes, but that was inching along carefully, so as not to kill him. Most healing is pretty much instantaneous, several seconds to a minute, although it is said it feels longer.

[aevogt]

After Dumai's Wells, Alanna heals a very badly beaten Rand in a metter of seconds.

[trakand_01]

I always thought that the healing and the speed of it relative to the injury depended onthe strength of the patient. Rand, for example, is a strong man. He may be beaten and bruised but he can take a lot of battering before he falls. Healing uses the strength of the patient, which is why generally they need ot rest for a while afterwards.

 

Surely as badly battered as he was, his personal/physical strength made it possible for Alanna to heal him quicker? If she was healing the same injuries in say, I dont know... Nerim (Mat's bodyservant), it would either take longer or to be honest, he'd be dead to start with.

[Generic Aelfinn #2]

to trakand

 

during the nynaeve-aiel healing isntance, nynaeve was NOT healing the entire time(she still had her block at this point), rather it started very soon after she started yelling and only lasted for a few seconds.

[RAND AL THOR]

From all the evidence so far, healing takes just a few seconds, with a few exceptions for specific cases like Mat etc...

 

And trakand, I wondered whether what Moiraine did in the EotW counts as healing? She washed away the weariness. Is that the same as healing or different? In Book 4 after the attack on Rand by his reflections, she heals his injuries but it says that she left some weariness apurpose. This suggests that she healed his body and removed most of the weariness all at once. Then mayve both are the same?

[Generic Aelfinn #2]

i personally definitely including removing weariness to be healing

 

i guess the weariness in TSR was jsut so he would rest?

[Hydroc Claw]

Thanks everyone for the replies. They're pretty much what I had thought, but I wanted to see if I was just mistaken.

[trakand_01]

i personally definitely including removing weariness to be healing

 

i guess the weariness in TSR was jsut so he would rest?

 

I thought so too. It was late, he'd only just gotten rid of Berelain (who proved herself for the first of many times, in my estimation, by hitching her nightie and running for Moiraine) and Moiraine was already learning that if she took away all his fatigue, he'd just sit and stare at the mirrors all night, sword in hand.

[Elwinn Taron]

Perrin sent maidens to get Moiraine.  Berelain had already left, been intercepted by Torean (I could be wrong there, but it was some Tairen High Lord that wanted to get into her pants)ran into Rhuarc, and told him what happened.  But nope, she didn't send for any help.

[nashdude]

it does depend on the injury. mats healing took about 30 minutes to an hour, by far the longest weve seen. Dobraines took longer, about 10 minutes, but that was inching along carefully, so as not to kill him. Most healing is pretty much instantaneous, several seconds to a minute, although it is said it feels longer.

 

I would also think that it depends on how MUCH of the OP is being used toward this end, as well as the skill of the user. For example, if someone is particularly talented in Healing, it could be done much quicker than in someone who is not talented in that area. Also, if an AS is using an angreal or sa'angreal, or is in a circle, then the sheer force of the OP would speed the process.

 

Look at how the New Tower girls were creating cuendillar. Some of them were taking FOREVER to create a single piece, but when a stronger (Egwene) or more skilled (Leane) woman tried her hand at it, the piece was altered almost instantaneously. I know this is a far cry from Healing, but the same principle applies---altering the physical structure of a given item.

 

I don't think that the nature of the item (organic versus inorganic) matters a great deal. Granted, most old-school Healing uses the injured person's own lifeforce to facilitate the process, but we've also seen how Healing can be done COMPLETELY INDEPENDANT of the injured person's lifeforce. So if it can be done independantly, then again we are down to a relatively simple act---altering the physical structure (the stability and vitality of living tissue) of a given item, dependant upon the SCOPE of the alteration, the STRENGTH of the channeler, and the SKILL of the channeler.

 

My thoughts...