Theoryland of the Wheel of Time

For Alys Kinch, the Healing of stilling must be done by the other gender to be fully effective. A woman Healing a woman or a man Healing a man results in less than full restoration. It all ties into that theme I keep harping on. Men and women have to work together to be their most effective. And while the weave used by Flinn for Healing is not exactly that used by Nynaeve, either would use the same weave on a man or a woman.

The above MAFO on Souls, Channeling and Talents [this can be found in the MAFO thread stuck at the top of The Gathering Storm Forum].

Beyond the MAFO, I was going to ask for a clarification on this. Firstly I would point out a curiosity—in KoD:23, Call to a Sitting, Tiana notes that many of the women who are strong in Nynaeve's method of Healing used to be village Wise Women. She wonders why that should make any difference, and indeed it does seem to imply that their life experience in some way affected their degree of Talent. How would this work out under the understanding of Talent as a soul-ability? Does life experience change the strength of the Talent, whilst soul-ability decides if you have it? Or should we make a distinction between Talents which are Skills—like Healing, or that Shielding Talent Berowin of the Kin has—and Talents which are Abilities—like Foretelling, Wolfbrothering or Dreaming?

Okay, let's look at this. Why did these women choose to be village Wise Women? Maybe they haven't sparked, but the Talent is there. They may not understand it, but they feel that they should be healing the sick. So, instead of life experience affecting the Talent, I think that it's more that the Talent affects the life experience.

Also, Aes Sedai have been taught that Healing is done one way, and that way is the only proper way. It's sort of like the gesture limitation; if an Aes Sedai learns to make weaves using gestures, she'll have a really hard time making the weave without making the gesture. I think that the former Wise Women are more open to learning the new way, and that gives them another advantage at it.

(for WSB): The next question is from a Theorylander. Did Ishamael’s healing of Lews Therin back in the prologue of The Eye of the World create the same doctor-patient bond as when Nynaeve healed Egwene?

No, not that I know. I think that I would know, but no.

There are some channelers who have lost strength in the Power (Siuan and Moiraine), is this something that can be Healed?

Cory

You have to still/gentle them again, and then have them "Healed" by a channeler of the opposite sex...thats why when Nynaeve healed Logain, he regained all his power.

It's times like this it's nice to be short; you don't have to worry about the microphone. [laughter] I'm Ben Leveridge; I'm from here in Orem and Provo, and my question is probably mostly for Maria.

So we have seen several examples in the books recently about things being Healed that we didn't think could be Healed—severing, madness. We've also seen in the past that there are links that a person can have physically to the Dark One; Asmodean had a link to the Dark One, which allowed him to funnel off some of the madness, and Rand severed that.

So my question is along those lines. Can a similar kind of thing happen to one who has forcibly turned to the Shadow with a circle of Myrddraal and channelers—can that be severed or Healed, turning them back to the Light, or to whatever their normal state of mind would be?

Read and find out!

Ben Leveridge

Yes! First RAFO! Thank you. [laughter, cheers]

Brandon Sanderson

She was just so excited to give a RAFO. We don't get to RAFO much in these things.

Regarding burning out, is it Healable?

Not in the same way that stilling is Healed. All it says in the notes is what I just said. And that Nynaeve would not be able to Heal Setalle. Being reborn would heal burning out, but transmigration would not. That's why even though Lanfear shifted bodies, she was still reduced.