Dilaf's wife and the spell that went wrong

[Crabtree]

I'm sorry if this has already been asked and answered.  I'm new here but I searched through the archives and didn't find an answer.  My question concerns Dilaf's wife and the spell that disfigured her.  We know that Dilaf has something in him that causes AonDor to go wrong.  Is it possible that his proximity (possibly even being in contact with his wife) during the invocation of the spell caused it to fail in such a spectacular way?  Both the transformation of Dilaf's wife and the Shaod seem to be alteration spells (although one is based on the wisdom aon and the other on the change aon) that went wrong.  Actually, because we never see what causes the Shaod it may also be or have an aspect of the wisdom aon in it. Wisdom, after all, is a famed trait of the Elantrians.  It may even be possible that Dilaf's interference caused some kind of buildup in the Dor (like the one that Raoden experiences), a buildup that eventually caused the earthquake which in turn caused the chasm and the Reod.  I understand that Brandon Sanderson has already stated the the chasm was not natural and this is the best theory I can come up with.

[A Joe in the Bush]

It seems unlikely. Raoden later talks about Dilaf's Wife, and the Failed healing. He mentions they forgot to put in one of the basic Lines.

[Creecher he/him]

It could be possible. I may also be remembering this wrong, but Raoden talks far earlier in the book about someone the Elantrians healed wrong; I can't remember the exact words, but apparently that someone killed themselves due to the pain.

[gjustice99 she/her]

I'm pretty sure the chasm and the build up in the Dor was caused by the shattering of Devotion

[WeiryWriter he/him]

I'm pretty sure the chasm and the build up in the Dor was caused by the shattering of Devotion

 

Only tangentially I would say, Devotion and Dominion were shattered /long/ before the Reod.  So while I would say that the Reod was caused by a build-up of the Dor, which is a result of Devotion and Dominion being Shattered, it's not as simple as one causing the other, there is a chain of cause and effect over hundreds/thousands of years.

[Bort he/him]

Do we have WoB that Devotion and Dominion were shattered long before the Reod?

[WeiryWriter he/him]

Do we have WoB that Devotion and Dominion were shattered long before the Reod?

 

Devotion and Dominion were Splintered at the same time the Seons were created, there were Seons around long before the Reod.

 

Kogiopsis

How long before the events of Elantris did Odium kill Aona/Devotion and Skai/Dominion?

Brandon Sanderson

Same time as the origins of the Seons.

 

(source)

 

Also this:

 

Chris King (Miyabi)

And here is the last one for Sel: Does Shu-Keseg predate the splintering of Devotion and Dominion?

Brandon Sanderson

No, I don't believe it does.

 

(source)

[Bort he/him]

Thanks

 

I always assumed it was a more recent event, and that the events that led to Elantris falling were a direct result.

[Guest]

It could be possible. I may also be remembering this wrong, but Raoden talks far earlier in the book about someone the Elantrians healed wrong; I can't remember the exact words, but apparently that someone killed themselves due to the pain.

That woman was Dilaf's wife (WoB confirmed in the Elantris Annotations)

And if I remember correctly, she ATTEMPTED suicide, but just like a Reod Elantrian didn't die. Dilaf had to burn her.

As to the original question, it's confirmed that the Aon was incompletely drawn but still caused a partial result. However, that doesn't mean that Dilaf's resistance wasn't sensed by the Elantrian which could have distracted him, and that was the reason for the error.

[Observer]

Something tells me that if you're going to go to the heathen god city in your desperation to heal your wife, you'd remember your godmagic-cancelling powers that took 50 people's lives to create, and not touch the healing aon. It always read like Dalif had to actively use his powers, as he was able to break Raoden's disguise long-distance, and the wall he set up at the end only broke when Dilaf willed it to shatter. I find it very unlikely somebody who'd gone so far would be so careless at the healing. But then again, we know almost nothing about the Dahkor powers, so there's not really a way to be completely sure.

Edited June 1, 2015 by Observer

[Guest]

Something tells me that if you're going to go to the heathen god city in your desperation to heal your wife, you'd remember your godmagic-cancelling powers that took 50 people's lives to create, and not touch the healing aon. It always read like Dalif had to actively use his powers, as he was able to break Raoden's disguise long-distance, and the wall he set up at the end only broke when Dilaf willed it to shatter. I find it very unlikely somebody who'd gone so far would be so careless at the healing. But then again, we know almost nothing about the Dahkor powers, so there's not really a way to be completely sure.

 

Depends on how exactly it works. If it has a passive effect of making him always resistant to Aons that he wasn't aware of, then it could have affected the Elantrian attempting the Healing.

[Oudeis he/him]

Depends on how exactly it works. If it has a passive effect of making him always resistant to Aons that he wasn't aware of, then it could have affected the Elantrian attempting the Healing.

 

As Observer says, it's unlikely he'd be "unaware of" the thing men died in order to painfully warp his bones and grant him the power.

 

That said... I could see something happening. He gives in and goes to save his wife, but when he sees the magic actually happening, right in front of him, he panics and changes his mind, deciding it's better she die than be saved by heathen gods, so he fights back with his hidden anti-Aon magic and this results. We have very little insight into what actually happened at that moment.