Eric's condition

[alylime]

I find Eric's story arc to be one of the most tragic in the book. Is his condition human or supernatural?

 

I'd think it a PTSD-type response to his upbringing except:

• Baon is shocked to find him a warrior, and Baon is established as one perhaps the most perceptive and expert viewpoints in the story, particularly in martial matters.
• After snapping back into PassiveEric, his inner voice fights to get out in a way reminiscent of (WoR spoilers)
  Eshonai fighting storm form

   

• There is also one time when he's talking to himself and it almost seems like a separate aspect answers back.
• His fighting quickness is described as superhumanly fast. 

Acron was also described as moving extremely fast, particularly for being obese. Given his elite training, I was halfway unsurprised and halfway expecting a reveal about Eric that also explained Acron's speed. But overall, I find Acron way less suspicious.

[swablueme]

I'm pretty sure it's human maybe he has multiple personalities or perhaps more likely he just crushes his true self in the sake of duty. 

[Lurky McLurkerson]

I definitely felt like there was something supernatural involved upon first reading.

[Yata]

I don't rememeber, Did Kenton notice something strange about Eric's Abilities ?

 

Because if Eric was so skilled also before his trip on DarkSide, we may esclude some Darkside's Magic.

 

About his "mental's condition" I am unsure about, but I think may be also a Mundane effect, his personal history and a visit a foreign place where the society are different, give him a the possibility to change himself.

PS: But in the end is possible that Eric was also influenced by some magic effect, or maybe the influence of Darkside Magic with his own Dayside's Spiritual Aspect

Edited April 24, 2016 by Yata

[Otto Didact]

I got the impression that Eric and Ais were just broken in different ways. Eric is an extraordinarily gifted warrior, so much so that it frightens him into repressing that part of himself. Ais has intense rage and has to suppress it in order to function as a tract. I personally didn't think there was anything supernatural about it, though Baon's surprise at Eric's skill does say something to that effect.

[The Invested Beard]

Did happy go lucky Eric remind anyone else of Hoid? Not saying there's a connection, but I feel like Brandon may have been trying out some characterization stuff with Eric that he liked and stuck into another character.

[Master Elodin]

I actually thought that he was Hoid for 1/3 of the book.

[Stormgate]

Eric is a tragic story. A boy, raised in the shadow of the Lord General, is instructed every waking hour on how to be a leader, a fighter. He was likely never allowed to have fun like other boys, and I'm willing to bet his adventures with Kenton were mostly or entirely forbidden. Even then, his father's voice echoed in his mind, preventing him from doing what he wanted.

He spent his entire childhood learning how to be an adult, he never took time to learn how to be a child. During childhood, we form and develop the core of our personalities. Eric was never given the chance. Who he is, though, deep down, is a carefree, happy little boy who doesn't want others to suffer, from his actions or from his leadership.

I doubt his father ever knew who he was. He himself was in league with Sharezan, and likely wanted his son to be a better Lord General than he was.

I once had the thought of what would make Peter Pan want to grow up? Apparently, responsibility. And he was never very happy being grown up.

I apologize, I'm feeling sad right now, and this is what happens when I talk philosophy when I'm sad.

[alylime]

I do think it useful to separate his combat skills from his mental condition.

 

I don't rememeber, Did Kenton notice something strange about Eric's Abilities ?

 

Because if Eric was so skilled also before his trip on DarkSide, we may esclude some Darkside's Magic.

 

About his "mental's condition" I am unsure about, but I think may be also a Mundane effect, his personal history and a visit a foreign place where the society are different, give him a the possibility to change himself.

PS: But in the end is possible that Eric was also influenced by some magic effect, or maybe the influence of Darkside Magic with his own Dayside's Spiritual Aspect

 

Kenton didn't find Eric's abilities unexpected.

 

Here was Baon's response, after Eric picks up a sword.

 

Baon was inspecting the dead, too far away to hear their conversation.  “Who did this?” he demanded, standing.  “Not you, sand master?”

Kenton shook his head.  “Eric,” he replied.

“Impossible,” Baon responded, not argumentative, just firm.

“It’s true.”

Baon frowned.  “If he were a warrior, I would have been able to sense it.  Men who fight carry themselves in a certain way, sand master.  You do so, I do so, whoever did this should definitely do so.”

Kenton paused.  “Eric is a special case, Baon,” he said.

“Apparently,” Baon said, still looking disturbed.

 

But Yata has a good point in that Eric's skill wasn't acquired through darkside magic, since he was evidently as talented before setting foot there:

 

 

Eric’s skill was still there.  His motions had been less fluid than Kenton remembered, his thrusts a little less precise, but even an out-of-practice Eric was an awesome sight to behold.

 

I guess that means that if there is anything supernatural to his fighting it would be from lightside. It is actually not dissimilar to Kaladin's prowess with the spear--lots of hard work, but maybe something else contributing as well.

 

Edited to add: Looking at the quotes in question again, I'm leaning toward it being more likely that his skills are natural hard work than magic. I still find his story horribly tragic and shame on Kenton for causing his friend so much suffering and then doing so little to try to alleviate the pain. I know he was busy leading up to the fight and decision, but surely he'll try to talk to Eric before fleeing to Darkside, right?!!

Edited April 26, 2016 by alylime

[Yata]

Yeah I wanted just to notice that we may (and you provide a quote, thanks) discover if his Abilities recive and upgrade/boost from the reaction of someone who knowed him before Darkside (and Kenton said He was a better fight before).

 

I think that also his "change" was mundane. Baon (as far as we know) is the best informed character on Darkside's Magic. I think that he have to notice some sign in Eric if he was manipulated by somekind of Darkside's Magic

[Otto Didact]

As someone who had a disapproving father all through childhood, I totally understand Eric having that critical voice always following him around, even when he thought he'd escaped. To this day, whenever I'm self-critical, the voice in my head is my dad's.

[Lurky McLurkerson]

But broken people are those whose spirit webs are open to shardic influence. He seems a prime candidate for something hinky. Good or bad. And the shard is Autonomy, Eric is trying to be his own man... there could be story mined there.

[+Authweight]

But broken people are those whose spirit webs are open to shardic influence. He seems a prime candidate for something hinky. Good or bad. And the shard is Autonomy, Eric is trying to be his own man... there could be story mined there.

I hadn't thought about the Autonomy angle, but it seems obvious now. It might just be thematic, but the link to Autonomy is clearly there.

[Knotai]

Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised at all if Eric shows up in later books, either as a revenge-seeking worldhopper or a Shardholder. Last time we saw him, he was walking away from Kenton's appointment (or whatever it was) depressed. He doesn't even get a proper ending.

 

Which is tragic, but it also opens the door for his story to continue. It's one of the things I want to ask Brandon if/when I get a chance.

[Pathfinder]

Admittedly we do not know if there is other darkside magic, but Khriss did state how she could not use her skycolors on dayside. So at least we can rule out any ability from skycolors on Eric's part. 

[hoidhunter]

Yeah...I'm with Lurky and Weight here.  In other books, main characters who hallucinate, talk to themselves, hear voices, etc, have primarily been people who are being influenced by a shard.  Considering that the active shard on the world at this point in time is Autonomy...and Eric has a weird obsession with remaining independent and avoiding responsibility...it can't be a coincidence. 

[Subvisual Haze]

On 5/12/2016 at 7:28 PM, hoidhunter said:

Yeah...I'm with Lurky and Weight here.  In other books, main characters who hallucinate, talk to themselves, hear voices, etc, have primarily been people who are being influenced by a shard.  Considering that the active shard on the world at this point in time is Autonomy...and Eric has a weird obsession with remaining independent and avoiding responsibility...it can't be a coincidence. 

Yeah, Eric's madness reminded me a great deal of how Vin would hear the twisted influence of Ruin in her thoughts.  Eric's strange thoughts encouraging him to abandon all attachments certainly points towards the shard influencing him being something like Autonomy/Freedom.

Indeed, intrusive thoughts like this would do a perfect job of explaining (Shadows of Self speculation)

Spoiler

 Paalm's actions in Shadows of Self.  That obsession with being free from the influence of others.  I know others have suspected that Autonomy is the shard encroaching on Scadrial, but Eric's and Paalm's weird thought patterns seems like the strongest link to me of Autonomy being the force behind the rusted spikes and the unknown threat that Harmony is trying to counter.

 

[emailanimal]

On 10/9/2016 at 0:16 PM, Subvisual Haze said:

Yeah, Eric's madness reminded me a great deal of how Vin would hear the twisted influence of Ruin in her thoughts.  Eric's strange thoughts encouraging him to abandon all attachments certainly points towards the shard influencing him being something like Autonomy/Freedom.

I know, this conversation is going very sloooow, but still.... 

With the new revelations about Bavadin/Autonomy, it is clear that she chooses to influence different people through different means.  Our observations about Eric wanting to be independent are very much in line with this. At the same time, I want to point out that there is no need for Investiture to be involved here (i.e., no need for Eric to be affected by "magic"): he is under the influence of Bavadin through one of her avatars for whatever reason she chose to influence him.  This chimes with the recent WoB about Bavadin's levels of White Sand involvement.

 

 Eric always struck me as an odd person out in White Sand - he showed up for the first time very late in the book, played a *minor deus ex machina* and then tended to show up and be an appendage to the action.... A newer improved Brandon probably would've put an Eric cameo at the scene of Khriss&Co disembarkation (this one sounds kind of obvious), and perhaps another one of him spotting the carnage in Kerla.  

But if he is in the novel to be the conduit of Autonomy's will/control/whatever - this would make more sense.

And for the record: yes, I too thought he was Hoid.

 

[XenosHg]

Is this considered a necropost it the topic is on the first page? I hope not.

I really feel Eric's pain. One of my favourite character dramas (in another work) is a person who feels there's no place for him in the world, until he discovers something he was literally born for - it's his gift, his ability, his soul, preserved through reincarnations and giving him superpowers - and it also happens to be killing others and eating meat, because he's a predator accidentally reborn as human.

Eric is something similar, but opposite: he's a son of a general, but he also wants to just live his life however he wants and do whatever he likes, and not be the warrior like expected. But the problem is, he's deadly like no other. How would you feel, having great talent for something you really hate? Like murder, or math.

The main character from Megan W. Turner's "Thief" has a similar problem, but at least he's complete crap at riding horses, so it's an argument saving him.