Hello, all! I hope this is the right area to post this in, but I have a theory regarding the ancient stones and the first well that I'm looking to investigate further, and this seemed like the best category for that.
I had posted this on r/reddit, and one person offered a few helpful insights (now folded into the text below) but I was wondering if anyone else might be able to help me dig a bit deeper into this matter.
So, in the books, we learn about two magic sources of great power: the ancient stones and the first well.
Both are described as foundational to Aerwiar, and it is said of both that they keep the world alive and growing. Their magics are both described as and reported to be similar to each other.
But what I'm wondering is, *how* similar are they?
Beyond the report that they keep Aerwiar alive and growing, we see one magic act from each:
- The stones are used in melding creatures, and thus in the creation of fangs and cloven
- The water is used in healing, reviving (possibly even resurrecting, though that remains unclear), and maintaining good health
The question now becomes:
- Can the water be used for melding?
- Can the stones be used for healing? Considering Yurgen's tale and their being called ‘healing stones’ at one point, it certainly seems so!
We also see the power of music in this world, and how music was necessary to bring out the melding power of the ancient stones. Might there be *other* songs with different powers?
And following the concept of the power of music, does it interact differently with the stones than how it does with the water? That is to say:
- Do the stones always have to be triggered by music? If not, what power might they radiate without prompting?
- Can the water be triggered by songs just as the stones can?
Just some questions into the deeper lore that have got me thinking.
To answer your questions:
Can the water be used for melding?
No. If it could have been, Ouster will wouldn’t have needed the stones, so the dragons wouldn’t have dug, and the Well wouldn’t be lost.
Can the stones be used for healing?
Yes and no. Yes, in the sense that they can heal wounds and probably even slow or reverse aging; but no, in the sense that they cannot do so without melding. This is part of why Fangs need to return to Throg to be re-melded (it’s mentioned somewhere in book 1 or 2, if I recall correctly).
The Water doesn’t need to be triggered by music, as evidenced by the people and animals healed by it.
The phrase “sing the blowing of the ancient stones and the blood of the beast imbues your bones” is probably just a mantra. This is because it is said multiple times in the presence of the stone and in two different ways without melding occurring (book 4, the melding room, and the Healing). I believe in book 2 it also mentions the beginning notes of the song, but never mentions any words — making me think that either there are no words, or that the lyrics are knowledge that we are not meant to possess.
@ember wingfeather and @J. M., a Throne Warden (that has ADHD and sometimes acts a bit more like a High King) to two sisters, a tinkerer/fixer of things, and a science, engineering, and aerospace aficionado extraordinaire have some very good theories about the stones and water! I don't entirely agree with them because it somewhat contradicts another theory I have that I think is supported by the books, but they're very logically sound!
My theory regarding where the song came from is that Dwane learned about it from the Maker (though I can't imagine any melding going on back then), and Ouster Will sneakily learned it from his father - maybe a twisted version of it, though. Gnag would have learned the song from Will and then learned better how to use the song more effectively. Maybe the original version of the song didn't meld in the same way? Maybe it allowed one person to share their health with another without melding their essence? I'm coming up with this off the top of my head now...
That would be really interesting if there was a song that affected the use of the water! Maybe there was, and memory of it was lost after Dwane and Gladys died! Maybe Leeli stumbled upon the song while they were at the well waiting for you-know-what to work! Maybe that's the key to getting the water to do even more than heal!!!
It's also my theory that being in such close proximity to the stones is what kept Amrah young for so long, even though she didn't song the song.
I wonder where the song of the Ancient Stones came from. Maybe the Stone Keepers wrote it, but if so I wonder why it has such unusual effects.
Janner used the Stone to heal all of the Cloven. The Stones weren't "healing" in the typical sense from what we see in the book, that is to say that they wouldn't heal an injury, but with proper sacrifice they could be used to mend what Gnag and Ouster Will had marred.