Necessary Eagle she/her Posted September 18, 2017 Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 So I've been wondering about what it's like to be a Returned in Idris (mostly because I'd want to read that fanfic). And I realized that, as far as I'm aware, we don't have either canon info or WoBs for, like ninety percent of it. So I'm not asking for answers per se, just informed speculation. Or baseless speculation, if there's nothing to be informed by. Or headcanons. - Is there any reason Idrians would keep a Returned's past a secret, like they do in Hallandren? Or is it, "Hey, Bob! Yeah, your name is Bob*. Also, that's your parents and your sister and your favorite dog over there." - Idrian Returned re-die at the end of the week. I'm assuming that there's not much time to go around healing people**. There's also not much time to make a long-term social difference. So what sort of task does Endowment send them back for? Do they all have visions like Vo? - Also, do Returned whose task doesn't involving giving up their Breath have that moment of recollection like Lightsong had? Or do they just muddle along? - Since Idrians are all about being ostentatiously non-ostentatious, do you think their Returned look smaller and plainer than they did when alive? - How do you think they feel about knowing they're going to shortly die again? And that if they ate Breath they'd live? Do you think they ever try to run away to Hallandren or something? *Unless Lightsong's drunken monkey of naming has a gig in Idris, too, then it would be "Hey, Nounverber the Adjective! Your name used to be Bob!" ** I suppose if they were already in the same general area as the person who needed healing, it would be possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The One Who Connects he/him Posted September 18, 2017 Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 37 minutes ago, Necessary Eagle said: - How do you think they feel about knowing they're going to shortly die again? And that if they ate Breath they'd live? Do you think they ever try to run away to Hallandren or something? It's happened before. Quote Q: Has an Idrian Returned ever realized he was going to die (again) and went to Hallandren to be revered instead? A: This sort of thing happens. 38 minutes ago, Necessary Eagle said: - Also, do Returned whose task doesn't involving giving up their Breath have that moment of recollection like Lightsong had? Or do they just muddle along? Well, Calmseer got that moment of recollection and understanding before giving her Breath away, so... Quote She didn’t give up her Breath because of what Lightsong assumes, that she felt so guilty for not being able to do more for people. Instead, she saw her daughter come through the petitions line. The woman was brought by her husband, who felt he had no other option. His wife had the same disease Calmseer had. She remembered, at that moment, why she had come back—indeed, she remembered her entire life (that’s common for Returned the moment before they give up their Breath)—and gave away her life to heal her daughter. Brandon appears to be implying that their purpose will always involve giving up that Divine Breath, but that's a good question to ask him about sometimes. 42 minutes ago, Necessary Eagle said: - Idrian Returned re-die at the end of the week. There's not much time to make a long-term social difference. So what sort of task does Endowment send them back for? RAFO, I'm afraid. Quote Q: If I might bother you since you've answered a few Realmatic questions... Do Idrians Return with a "purpose" they can reasonably complete in a week? From the book and annotations, purposes that we saw tended to be long-term goals. Does Endowment realize this, and only send back Idrians with tasks that can reasonably be accomplished in their shorter lifespans? A: This is somewhat RAFO territory. (Sorry). And now we get into speculation. 51 minutes ago, Necessary Eagle said: - Is there any reason Idrians would keep a Returned's past a secret, like they do in Hallandren? Or is it, "Hey, Bob! Yeah, your name is Bob*. Also, that's your parents and your sister and your favorite dog over there. I see this going one of two ways. 1) You'd die among family/friends/coworkers, and they'd probably still talk to you as you when you return. 2) Idris is historically quite anti-awakeners, so tensions could run high. You might even get cast out, which could segue into moving to Hallandren. It isn't that far away, and if your family went with you... 56 minutes ago, Necessary Eagle said: - Since Idrians are all about being ostentatiously non-ostentatious, do you think their Returned look smaller and plainer than they did when alive? I would imagine, but even Lightsong had difficulty doing so. We only know for sure that 3 Returned have done it so far: Vasher, Denth and Yesteel(I think). An Idrian would have a better head start, but suppressing that Divine Breath probably takes more practice than could be done within that one week. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weltall Posted September 18, 2017 Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 On the appearance thing, Brandon has said that it's mental. Hallandren Returned look the way they do because that's how they subconsciously think a god should appear. Vasher looks scruffy because that's how he sees himself. Brandon mentioned in the Warbreaker annotations that this is part of how he supresses his Divine Breath but it's not all of it. Quote And yes, the scraggly miscreant is how Vasher sees himself. Not noble and Returned, which is part of how he suppresses his divine Breath. He's also mentioned that Returned appearance follows the same realmatic fundamentals as whether Forgery will 'take' or not based on plausibiility, so it's clearly a contextual matter. So an Idrian would probably not change in appearance much upon Returning since culturally they don't think of Returned in the same way that the people of Hallandren do. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Necessary Eagle she/her Posted September 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2017 Wow, that was way more actual information than I expected. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmosiman Posted October 9, 2017 Report Share Posted October 9, 2017 I would bet that they change some and possibly a bit more than expected due to the influence of Austerity. If the appearance of a Returned is based on their mental perception of themselves, they would probably change even more due to the cultural suppression of vanity. I'm thinking of the phrase "The camera adds 10 pounds". The camera doesn't actually add anything, it just takes a picture of how you actually look. Mentally I gloss over being slightly overweight and my mental image is also a bit more handsome, taller, and hasn't lost as much hair. However, I look at myself in a mirror everyday, so I ground my mental perceptions in reality. I think that an Idrian Returned could end up changing more than normal; especially if they don't know what they actually look like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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