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

[Garetha]

The Elderlings came to be due to the close proximity they had to dragons, so I assume all Elderlings had this skill ability. Some most likely stronger than others.

I think this skill gave them the ability to create such wonderful works of art and objects. And the ability to bend the memory stone to their will more so than just creating temporary living beasts (like the ones that rest in the garden in the mountains). They used it as the walls in the sunken city, roads the mountains, as well as many other places.
I think they could bend some elements to their wills or be able to understand them so deeply that they could bring out characteristics in them that no one else can. For example the glowing power of jizdin or the sparkling of flame gems.
I assume they could do this with the skill because the Fool/Amber used his skill touched fingers to better understand wood and carve it in ways no one else could. And Verity, before he gave his sword to Fitz used the skill to make the blade sharp and new again only buy dragging his hand over it. This led me to believe that the reasons the Elderlings created such wonders was because they all had a skill ability, which they received from the proximity to Dragons. And once dragons left the world, so did the Elderlings, as well as their knowledge and ability to create such wonderful objects.

Let me know if this makes sense, if I am way off in my thinking, or if I am an idiot for only realizing this after reading them so many times!

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I agree that the Elderlings appear to have the 'Skill' to some extent, and use it to communicate with Dragons. I had reached the conclusion that Elderlings were evolved from Humans, such evolution occuring due to the Humans Skill-link with a Dragon and / or from a Dragon's Breath?. The demise of the Elderlings being therefore all but inevitable following the death of all Dragons from the world. The wonderful works of art that were created IMHO would then have resulted not only from Skill ability, but more from the vast wealth of memory available through Dragon's and memory stone. Centuries of knowledge passed from Dragon to Dragon, and also stored in memory stone, could be drawn on by the artists among the Elderlings in creation of ever more wonderful creations. What do you think?

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If you form a bond with a dragon then it can change you (though is this by the dragons will or just something that happens?) and you'll sort of become partners with it. And that this bond is some what despised by other dragons but the human will not only change physically but mentally.

I don't think the Dragons despised the Elderlings, they looked on them more like pets, I think. I think they despised changes wrought on Dragons by their proximity to Humans - ie. the 'Others'.