Difference between revisions of "Old Magic"

Contrary to popular belief, it is not possible to avoid the curse by carefully phrasing a request--or even to predict the curse that the Nightwatcher will bestow.{{book ref|twok|i|7}} Interestingly, it does not appear that balance is carefully maintained through an individual blessing and curse--often, highly visible curses are the result of relatively minor boons. The curses can be quite thorough, however--in one case, a man lost all feeling in both of his hands until the day he died. Whether these curses follow some cosmic justice, or are merely the result of a capricious spren, is unknown. Many people throughout centuries have tried to find ways of dealing with their curse and a cure for them, with no successful attempts.{{book ref|sa3|24}} There is no record of anyone ever having had their curse lifted,.{{book ref|sa3|111}} save for [[Dalinar Kholin]], who had his lifted by the design of [[Cultivation]].

[[Dalinar]] sought the Nightwatcher to end the pain he was feeling after accidentally causing the death of his wife, [[Evi Kholin]]. When he finally went to the Nightwatcher, he asks to be "forgiven", much to the confusion of the Nightwatcher. Eventually, Cultivation comes out and erases his memory of Evi. She describes it as "pruning" his memory, so he can grow and heal. She mentions that part of his curse is that his memories will eventually return.{{book ref|sa3|114}} He has no memory of killing her or anything involving her, although he is aware she existed. Additionally, when someone mentions her name, all that he hears is "''Shshshsh''".{{book ref|sa1|61}}