Hey Everyone! I have a few ideas and theories about the Elderlings and their creations. I have read all the Hobb books many times, so I will do my best to cite from the books, but if I am wrong let me know! I am just curious to see if what I think makes sense to other Hobb fans! And I apologize in advance for it being so long...
Basically I came to the conclusion that the Elderlings used the Skill or a variation of it to created all the wonderful art and objects with in the sunken cities as well as the mountain city.
It seemed to me that the Elderlings developed a Skill link with the dragons they were close with. Reyn, Malta, and Seldon had a mental link (very much like the Skill link from the Six Duchies) with the Dragon Tintaglia. What solidified this in my mind was after Seldon came to the Six Duchies he seemed to sense Fitz skill to Dutiful. And later when he spoke to Fitz, it seemed that during the conversation he skilled to Tintaglia.
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!
Basically I came to the conclusion that the Elderlings used the Skill or a variation of it to created all the wonderful art and objects with in the sunken cities as well as the mountain city.
It seemed to me that the Elderlings developed a Skill link with the dragons they were close with. Reyn, Malta, and Seldon had a mental link (very much like the Skill link from the Six Duchies) with the Dragon Tintaglia. What solidified this in my mind was after Seldon came to the Six Duchies he seemed to sense Fitz skill to Dutiful. And later when he spoke to Fitz, it seemed that during the conversation he skilled to Tintaglia.
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!
"Everyone thinks that courage is about facing death without flinching. But almost anyone can do that. Almost anyone can hold their breath and not scream for as long as it takes to die. True courage is facing life without flinching. I don't mean the times when the right path is hard, but glorious at the end. I'm talking about enduring the boredom, and messiness, and the inconvenience of doing what is right." -Amber