MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 2647 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Re: Choosing to be a herald by Jodie8581-+AT+-aol.com 2) Re: Choosing to be a herald by "Layla Voll" 3) Re: Choosing to be a herald by "Layla Voll" 4) Companion mindspeech, Talia, etc. by "Jenn H" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 14:13:33 EDT From: Jodie8581-+AT+-aol.com To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Choosing to be a herald Message-ID: --part1_be.17a37397.288b204d_boundary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I dont think that others could overhear when companions talked to their heralds. Yfandes and Vanyel talked all the time as do many companion and herald groupings. I think it has to do with the girt that the herald has. If the herald is not a very good mind speaker it makes it hard for them to mindspeak with their companion. Talia and rolan sent mental images to each other but not words. Also the companions did have the ability to talk to other people if they chose because yfandes did exactly that with stephan in magic's price. But I also remember in the vanyel books van would be talking into thin air and people would give him looks and made a comment along the lines that they would get used to seeing heralds talking into thin air. So i dont think when a herald and companion are talking it can be overheard, it just depends on the herald or person in question. Just my 2 cents Air conditioned sheep to those frying in the heat and warm winter blanket ones for those freezing in the snow Jodie --part1_be.17a37397.288b204d_boundary Content-Type: text/html; charset="US-ASCII" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I dont think that others could overhear when companions talked to their
heralds.  Yfandes and Vanyel talked all the time as do many companion and
herald groupings.  I think it has to do with the girt that the herald has.  
If the herald is not a very good mind speaker it makes it hard for them to
mindspeak with their companion.  Talia and rolan sent mental images to each
other but not words.  Also the companions did have the ability to talk to
other people if they chose because yfandes did exactly that with stephan in
magic's price.  But I also remember in the vanyel books van would be talking
into thin air and people would give him looks and made a comment along the
lines that they would get used to seeing heralds talking into thin air.  So i
dont think when a herald and companion are talking it can be overheard, it
just depends on the herald or person in question.  

Just my 2 cents
Air conditioned sheep to those frying in the heat and warm winter blanket
ones for those freezing in the snow

Jodie

--part1_be.17a37397.288b204d_boundary-- ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 22:22:45 From: "Layla Voll" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Choosing to be a herald Message-ID: Amy Kerry writes: >--- Roxanne Nolan wrote: > > What I don't get is why don't all Companions talk to > > their Heralds.... > >I think it might have to do with that whole Companions >only talk to their Chosen Herald thing. I got the >impression that when the Companions talk like that >everyone can hear them, not just their Chosen.... >Of course in the last few books >that have been put out that idea seems to be waning >anyway, Gwena tended to talk to Darkwind, and Sayvil >talked to whoever she wanted to at the time. I don't think anyone can hear the Companion speak -- I think it's like regular MindSpeech, which appears to be (almost always) one mind to one mind. In terms of the Companions talking to other people, I think that's a choice that the Companion makes, and usually only when there's a close relationship. Rolan talks to Dirk in Arrow's Fall when he needs to, and I seem to remember something that said that Rolan, being grove-born and the MOC, had enough MindSpeech to talk to anyone he needed to, including someone without the Gift of Mindspeech. Also in Arrow's Fall, Keren, Teren, and their respective Companions talk to each other, but it is noted that this is rare. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if Eric and Drake could each talk to their twin's Companion. Likewise, in Brightly Burning, Pol talks to Kalira, but this is (like with Rolan/Dirk) partly out of necessity and partly because there was already a bond there (since Kalira is Pol's Companion's daughter). So I think it makes sense that Gwena would talk to Darkwind (ie, to Elspeth's lover and teacher), and I can't imagine Sayvil not talking to anyone she thought needed talking to. I don’t think it's a new thing, but I think it's a limited thing. On the other hand, if Roxane were originally asking why all Companions don't talk to their own Chosen -- like, why doesn’t Rolan actually "talk" to Talia -- I think it's dependent on the Herald's own Gifts. All the Companions probably could talk to their Chosen if they wanted to, but if the Herald doesn’t have enough of the Gift of MindSpeech to talk to his/her Companion, then they won't. I think it has to do with teaching the Herald how to use his or her *own* Gifts, rather than relying on something that necessarily has to come from the Companion. For instance, Talia can't "talk" to Rolan, but it's made clear a couple of times in "Arrows of the Queen" that their bond is even stronger than most Herald/Companion bonds: it shows up earlier than most (when Rolan hears her "call" and pulls her out of the river, someone says later that he shouldn’t have been able to do that yet), and stronger than most (when they do the blindfold experiment, Talia does it blocked, meaning that the bond would still be there even if she was unconscious, and Ylsa says this is unusual). So, the way it developed -- *without* talking -- is probably more useful for Talia and Rolan than having Rolan always trying to MindSpeak words into her head. Also, early on in "Arrows of the Queen," Sherrill admits that she can’t really talk to her Companion properly, because she has no Gift of Mindspeech, or so she thinks. Later, her Gift is awakened naturally, when it's ready and when she tries to reach out to Keren. Had Sherrill's Companion tried to MindSpeak to her earlier, Sherrill's blocked Gift might have been forced open in a damaging, or at least an unnatural, way. Layla _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 23:25:01 From: "Layla Voll" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Re: Choosing to be a herald Message-ID: Becca writes: > >and then Kasebones asked: > > >> Just wondering,... but are there any Gifts that aren't or won't be > >> traumatic to the "gifted" or those around them? >serious effects? > > > The only one I can think of is the Bardic Gift, although I can't > >imagine anyone being truly bardically Gifted and *not* wanting to > get >trained and become a bard. >Talia had the Bardic Gift, Jadus said so, but she had no desire to become a >Bard. Also Jadus was traing to be a bard, but dropped it because He was >Chosen. Maybe this is becuase The "Heraldic Gift" or what ever it is that >makes you want to be a Herald is Stronger then the Bardic one and >overpowers it. Jadus says that Talia (like Jadus himself) has "Talent" which, at least according to the Last Herald Mage series, is different from a "Gift," although perhaps the distinctions between the Bardic Gift, Talent, and Creativity have gotten lost over a couple of thousand years. However: both Talia and Jadus do find teachers to give them musical training, which is mostly what I originally meant -- I can't imagine someone with real musical talent, whether it’s Talent or a Gift or whatever, not finding some outlet for it, and finding someone to teach them, whether or not they become full-fledged Bards. Thus, no out-of-control, untrained Bardic Gifts running around wreaking havoc. Layla _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2001 00:42:48 -0400 From: "Jenn H" To: mercedes-lackey-+AT+-herald.co.uk Subject: Companion mindspeech, Talia, etc. Message-ID: If I recall correctly, Talia said she could talk with Rolan, but only while deep-tranced. Ylsa said that even though her main gift is Empathy, she can use mindspeech if in a trance. Also, one time when she felt that Rolan was vaguely worried she said somrthing like "Is it serious enough for me to go in a trance so I can get a better idea of whats going on?". About when she was chosen, I always thought that she could hear him because the bonding is so powerful and deep that it gives the message a boost because of that moment. I don't think Rolan has even good broadcast-Mindspeech either because in Storm Rising he wants to talk to a group and Florian relays the message: Florian says "Rolan would like you to relay the rest, Karal. He can Mindspeak anyone he wished to, but it takes a lot of effort, and this will be faster." So Rolan can Mindspeak, but it takes a lot of effort, and if the person doesn't have Mindspeech, it's probably near impossible, or only possible in a deep trance. Next topic: Why Gwena and Sayvil talk to everyone. I think Sayvil prabably talks to every one because, well, she's Savil. She's always basically done what she wants, or what needs to be done, why stop now when she's a Companion? My theory on Gwena is that, first of all, she's grove-born, and maybe a little more inclined to "bend" the rules a bit. Second, before they went to the Vale, I don't think she ever talked to anyone but Elspeth and other Companions. I think she probably got used to talking to the dyheli, hertasi, gryphons, and even bondbirds, and then Darkwind and Firesong, that when they got back to Valdemar, she just forgot about the whole "Companion mysique" of not talking to anyone but their chosen. With no other Companions in the Vale except Skif's, she started talking to other people (or beings, I should say) so she wouldn't go crazy. She didn't need to uphold the mysteries of the Companies to the Tayledras anyway, because they knew immediatly what the Companions were. When they got back, she just didn't give a second thought to talking to other people. Vacation sheep to all, Jenn _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ------------------------------ End of MERCEDES-LACKEY Digest 2647 **********************************