Elderling Creations Theory (Spoilers through all the books and Dragon Haven)

[Farseer]

I found Selden Vestrits' reaction when he came to Buckkeep very telling; when Fitz and Dutiful Skilled to each other, Selden startled as if he suddenly heard voices in his head and didn't know where they came from.

Yes! One of my favourite parts of all of the books but especially so when Selden encountered Fitz in the hallway and told him that Tintaglia had known he was lying regarding his status/level of importance...having Selden refer to Fitz as "someone of significance" in both his AND Tintaglia's eyes was exciting stuff!!

So my thought is that everyone in that world has the Skill to some extent, but they don't even know anything is going on. The Outislanders repress it as dirty magic, the Jamaillans (and with them all the lands under their influence) see it as communications with Sa, and the Rain Wilds simply don't know what it is. I believe the Six Duchies is the only land that has even recognized that there is such a thing as the Skill, and they are the only ones who have actively pursued any training in it.

I agree, Chrischa, but I would add that the priests of Sa do appear (to me) to undertake a form of formal Skill training (though they don't label it as such, as do those in the Six Duchies), when they go into their trance-like states to create their artforms eg stained glass windows liked Wintrow created in the memory stone-built area of the monastery, and this then mirrors such artworks as the Elderlings created (sorry, I think this last bit is a repeat of a post I may have made earlier in this or another thread).

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I finally found at least one of my previous posts re creations via the Skill etc...it was in the Which character is your favourite thread http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=34&page=5 , post #50.

Carrying on...I am very interested in Chalced (aren't we all?!) but particulalry so on the subject of the Skill. Part of my fascination comes from the fact that Burrich was Skilled but was also of Chalced...he was strong as a King's Man and only proved inpenetrable to the Skill after Chivalry's closing-off of him. Without this intervention on Chivalry's part, and possibly even with further, formal training, who is to say how Skilled Burrich may have become?

The use of elfbark is also extreme in Chalced. There it is supposedly used to plunge the slaves into the depths of the hopeless woe that comes in the wake of elfbark indulgence (as we know from Fitz's own experiences) and, from memory, it is also used to foster an addiction of its use in the Chalcedian slaves. I believe there is far more to it than that and wonder if there is not a darker purpose for this extensive overuse of elfbark eg to slyly eradicate any Skill ability that may crop up in the Chalced States due to its close proximity to the Cursed Shores, Mountain Kingdom, Skill River etc?