On re-reading The Phoenix Guards, it appears that revivification may well have existed in some form prior to the Interregnum.
When discussing the murder of the Marquis of Pepperfields by Kathana e'Marish'Chala (page 115), special mention is made of the fact that his spine was severed, and paint brushes stabbed into his eyes, which "because she had done these things, his life could not be saved."
This implies that had the spine not been severed, and the brain left intact, that his life would have been saved--which sounds exactly like the same kinds of limits as revivification as practiced after the Interregnum.
It seems likely that, similar to teleportation, revivification may have simply been much more exclusive to the upper-classes before the Orb was "improved" during its time in the Paths of the Dead.
For this reason, I've edited the article to include pre-interregnum revivification. --Majikjon 18:38, 2 Nov 2005 (UTC)
- Whoah. That's reading quite a lot into that. I think it's a bit of a stretch, particularly the way you've worded the article now. It's an intersting catch, but surely most of that is more speculation than fact. Yummy. - Attjen
- Okay okay. Time for a little more obfuscation in the the wording of the article, then? By the same token, I think this text example shows very clearly that making a conclusion that revivification did NOT exist before the Interregnum is just as speculative as saying that it did. --Majikjon 19:17, 2 Nov 2005 (UTC)
- Yup. I agree. We know it is much easier, not that it didn't exist. - Attjen
Yet, what, then, of this?
- "More than that," observed Kelchor. "In the northwest, a dying man was saved."
- "What of that?" said Ordwynac.
- "He was so close to death that, even in the days of the old Empire, he would have been called a dead man. His heart had stopped, and there was little activity in his brain. Yet, an Athyra sorcerer-"
- "So then," said Ordwynac, "the purification and enhancement of the Orb was successful. [...]"
- -- The Lord of Castle Black, pg 377
(thanks to Amazon Search inside)
Oh, and I think there's a problem with the bit you're basing the speculation on, from The Phoenix Guards - it is from Pel, and he's relating the latest gossip, not testifying to anything.
Kathana herself said that the paintbrushes were an exaggeration; she had no brushes with her, since she was about to present the painting, not working on it.
- "You know how stories grow with everyone who repeats it."
- -- The Phoenix Guards, pg 346
Also note that Paarfi is re-creating all of his scenes after the Interregnum. Perhaps he briefly forgot, while writing Pel's words, what was and was not possible before the Interregnum.
--Davdi 19:48, 2 Nov 2005 (UTC)
- This looks like good evidence for a counter-point in the speculation article. I don't think there's anything definitive that some FORM of Revivification might not have existed, especially considering the phrasing of the remark "..even in the days of the old empire..." which imply that they DID have some remarkable ability to bring back the very nearly (if not totally) dead. The comment goes on to say that modern revivification is even stronger, but I think we were already making that assumption. --Majikjon 20:05, 2 Nov 2005 (UTC)
- "Nearly dead" sounds more like a job for Miracle Max than for a Pre-Interregnum sorceror.
- Well, we could always go through his clothes, and look for loose change. --Majikjon 21:12, 2 Nov 2005 (UTC)