Blood Elf Children

Discussion on playing Earthdawn. Experiences, stories, and questions related to being a player.
Belenus
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Re: Blood Elf Children

Post by Belenus » Wed Jul 17, 2019 3:59 pm

Hi,

yes, I meaned "Little Treasures", but I couldn't find the correct english translation so I refered to it as novel 7, didn't know there was a difference between the german and english sequence :oops:
I could quote from the book but it would be in german, so not very helpfull.
But it is Aithne Oakforest (a blood elve if not known), who explains how they get their thorns.

TheOracle
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Re: Blood Elf Children

Post by TheOracle » Wed Jul 17, 2019 6:54 pm

Belenus wrote:
Wed Jul 17, 2019 3:59 pm
Hi,

yes, I meaned "Little Treasures", but I couldn't find the correct english translation so I refered to it as novel 7, didn't know there was a difference between the german and english sequence :oops:
I could quote from the book but it would be in german, so not very helpfull.
But it is Aithne Oakforest (a blood elve if not known), who explains how they get their thorns.
Oh, please do quote! Here we got enough Germans. ;)

Belenus
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Re: Blood Elf Children

Post by Belenus » Thu Jul 18, 2019 4:44 pm

Ich wusste, dass Kinder von verderbten Elfen ihre Dornen erst nach der Geburt entwickelten.
Als Lily vier Monate alt war, hatten sich noch immer keine Dornen bei ihr ausgebildet. Wenngleich ich es Aithne gegenüber nicht erwähnte, war ich
dankbar dafür. Ich wusste, dass Kinder die Dornen manchmal nicht überlebten. Und ich konnte die Vorstellung nicht ertragen, dass sie ihre Haut verunstalteten. Die Vorstellung, dass das Leuchten ihrer Augen durch die Schmerzen getrübt wurde, durch das ununterbrochene Leiden, das sie ihr Leben lang begleiten würde. Es machte mich stolz, dass irgendetwas in mir stärker war als die Verderbtheit.
Lily wurde sechs Monate alt, und ihre Haut war immer noch glatt wie Seide. Eines Morgens sah ich Aithne, der sich über Lilys Krippe gebeugt hatte und ein finsteres Gesicht schnitt.
»Sieh sie nicht so an«, sagte ich. »Du wirst sie noch zu Tode ängstigen.«
Ich versetzte ihm einen spielerischen Rippenstoß, aber er reagierte nicht. Derartige Hänseleien waren uns in letzter Zeit zur zweiten Natur geworden. Als er nicht darauf reagierte, war ich augenblicklich beunruhigt.
»Was ist los?«, fragte ich.
»Sie hat keine Dornen«, sagte er. »Und ich kann keine Anzeichen dafür erkennen, dass sie je welche haben wird.«
If not known, I can recommend https://www.deepl.com/translator for the translation.

Panda
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Re: Blood Elf Children

Post by Panda » Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:00 pm

Greetings,

While ostensibly in an Earthdawn novel, that's a non-canon take on the Ritual of Thorns (and Aithne probably knows better), unless it is a joke of sorts that doesn't come across. A big metaphysical problem is being a blood elf doesn't simply mean thorns grow from their skin, like an ethandrille, but a wood spirit is bound to their pattern. Wood spirits bound to patterns aren't hereditary. As well, there's no indication of elves being born Protected, which would be a big deal, but there's lots of discussion about performing it on children.

Anunnaki
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Re: Blood Elf Children

Post by Anunnaki » Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:54 pm

Hiya,

Thanks Belenus! That helped me track down the same tract from the (unpublished, sorry folks) English novel. Here are the salient English sections, from the manuscript.

"When I thought I couldn’t stand the pain anymore, a new fear blossomed in me. Perhaps the problem had to do with the Corruption. I knew that children who were born to corrupted elves didn’t manifest their thorns until after birth. But if Alachia was right and this child was different, maybe it already had its thorns."

"By four months old, Lily had not yet manifested her thorns. Though I didn’t tell Aithne, I was grateful. I knew that some children didn’t survive the thorns. And I also couldn’t bear the idea of her skin marred by them. Of imagining how the light in her eyes would be dimmed by the pain, the almost constant agony with which she would then lead her life. It made me happy that something of me was stronger than the Corruption."

So, couple of things.

One, the Little Treasures novel was only published in German, so sadly didn't make it into the English text (unlike Scars, which we managed to get complete during the RedBrick era). It is, however, the author's take on how this kind of thing happens (or not), with (if I interpreted it correctly) the fears of the mother masking the "truth" that children have to undergo the ritual. (Alachia was possibly telling Aithne untruths in this instance, intentionally or not). Regardless, Earthdawn novels as compared to the roleplaying game have many differences when compared to background/rules/whatever as published in game supplements. Whether novels should be considered "canon" is up to the GM and players, IMO.

Two, there is no "ostensibly in an Earthdawn novel." It *is* in a published Earthdawn novel, licensed by FASA Corporation. Aithne might indeed know better, but that's speculative as only the author (Caroline Spector) could really confirm what her character was thinking or the reasoning behind this.

Yes, the ritual does involve a wood spirit being bound into the elf's pattern (as per the ED1 Blood Wood sourcebook, cited earlier).

Take kaer, James

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Mataxes
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Re: Blood Elf Children

Post by Mataxes » Thu Jul 18, 2019 11:59 pm

Anunnaki wrote:
Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:54 pm
..from the (unpublished, sorry folks) English novel.
Unpublished so far.

(I've been talking to people.)
Josh Harrison - josh@fasagames.com
Earthdawn Developer, Forum Admin

Personal Website: www.loremerchant.com

Anunnaki
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Re: Blood Elf Children

Post by Anunnaki » Fri Jul 19, 2019 1:12 am

Mataxes wrote:
Thu Jul 18, 2019 11:59 pm
Anunnaki wrote:
Thu Jul 18, 2019 5:54 pm
..from the (unpublished, sorry folks) English novel.
Unpublished so far.

(I've been talking to people.)
;) :D

hojoos
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Re: Blood Elf Children

Post by hojoos » Mon Sep 02, 2019 9:03 pm

They are born as normal elves, but undergo the Ritual of Thorns like other blood elves. Reference ED1 The Blood Wood, p.14 specifically (Current Attitudes section) and the earlier parts of the Ritual of Thorns section.

Boneguard
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Re: Blood Elf Children

Post by Boneguard » Tue Sep 03, 2019 10:52 am

TheOracle wrote:
Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:11 am
The German versions of the novels do indeed have numbers.

Number 7 would be "Little Treasures".

https://www.amazon.de/Earthdawn-Kleine- ... B015EMVKRU
Or, if you read French, Number 5 "Petits Trésors

https://www.amazon.ca/Petits-tresors-ea ... oks&sr=1-6

But yes, currently, it is only available in German or in French.

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