cometaryorbit Posted July 19, 2017 Posted July 19, 2017 So, if a Shardblade cuts through the spine it's fatal, and if it cuts through the core of a limb that limb becomes "killed"/permanently paralyzed. If it cut through an individual finger, would that finger be "killed", or is it major limbs only? If someone were stabbed in the stomach with a Shardblade, but not deeply enough to reach the spine, would it "kill" the internal organs or would it do nothing?
Calderis he/him Posted July 19, 2017 Posted July 19, 2017 49 minutes ago, cometaryorbit said: So, if a Shardblade cuts through the spine it's fatal, and if it cuts through the core of a limb that limb becomes "killed"/permanently paralyzed. If it cut through an individual finger, would that finger be "killed", or is it major limbs only? If someone were stabbed in the stomach with a Shardblade, but not deeply enough to reach the spine, would it "kill" the internal organs or would it do nothing? I think (and as usual, speculation. I can't find a single WoB on non-linear core/spine Shardblade wounds) that it would hurt, and depending on what organs it "died" it could still be fatal. I also think though, that without severing the limb core or spine, that the internal investiture system may allow the wound to heal. I think this because of the fight between Szeth and Kaladin. Kaladin scores multiple hits on Szeth, and while I imagine they were painful, they don't appear to impede his ability to fight. There's also no mention of grey flesh that I remember, which would imply that they were healed by the stormlight, which due to what we know of Szeth's belief means that either those type of wounds would heal naturally in order to be accelerated, or the Shardblade just does no damage. I simply can't believe it does nothing. As far as the fingers... I guess that depends on the spiritweb structure. Does each finger have it's own "core" or is it interconnected as part of the hand?
Windrunner he/him Posted July 19, 2017 Posted July 19, 2017 Internal organs can definitely be killed by Shardblades. I assume Kal's knife did damage, but even if he wounded Szeth's kidneys or stomach it's not like he would have died instantly. It would have taken longer than a few minutes.
Guest Posted July 19, 2017 Posted July 19, 2017 Good question... It makes me wonder, can a Shardblade inflicts regular wounds? If it grazes the skin, but does not cut through the limb, what happens? Does it make an injury? Does it turn grey?
Azul he/him Posted July 20, 2017 Posted July 20, 2017 On 7/19/2017 at 0:26 AM, Calderis said: . Kaladin scores multiple hits on Szeth, and while I imagine they were painful, they don't appear to impede his ability to fight. There's also no mention of grey flesh that I remember, which would imply that they were healed by the stormlight, which due to what we know of Szeth's belief means that either those type of wounds would heal naturally in order to be accelerated, or the Shardblade just does no damage. I simply can't believe it does nothing. Kaladin comments that Szeth didn't bother to heal his shoulder. One thing I think we need to keep in mind is our definition of 'killed' when it comes to shardblades, I'm guessing when a shardblade kills a limb it is doing it more spiritually than physically. Limbs may not function but I am guessing they still have blood flow, otherwise it would begin to rot and need amputation. For a stomach wound if the injury didn't kill the entire organ i imagine it could cause complications but would not always be a death sentence. The best example I can think of is Hobber who still has his legs, though grey and useless, weeks after the attack. 1
Calderis he/him Posted July 20, 2017 Posted July 20, 2017 6 hours ago, Azul said: Kaladin comments that Szeth didn't bother to heal his shoulder. One thing I think we need to keep in mind is our definition of 'killed' when it comes to shardblades, I'm guessing when a shardblade kills a limb it is doing it more spiritually than physically. Limbs may not function but I am guessing they still have blood flow, otherwise it would begin to rot and need amputation. For a stomach wound if the injury didn't kill the entire organ i imagine it could cause complications but would not always be a death sentence. The best example I can think of is Hobber who still has his legs, though grey and useless, weeks after the attack. True. I'd totally forgotten about that comment from Kaladin's thoughts, thank you. So basically we'd have injuries that present them selves as numb and discolored, and depending on location could create long term health problems due to underperforming muscles and organs due to dead portions.
cometaryorbit Posted July 22, 2017 Author Posted July 22, 2017 On 7/20/2017 at 9:20 AM, Calderis said: So basically we'd have injuries that present them selves as numb and discolored, and depending on location could create long term health problems due to underperforming muscles and organs due to dead portions. Sounds right. I guess the question is, does a Shardblade passing through any bit of flesh have that effect, or does a sufficiently superficial graze that doesn't reach the 'core' of any body part have no effect? Does it have to pass through one of the lines of the spiritweb 'Hemalurgic overlay' on the body that's been mentioned in WOB?
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