Difference between revisions of "Lifeless"

The soul of a Lifeless is so diminished that, while it is possible to make a [[Hemalurgy|Hemalurgic spike]] from one, you could only get the barest hint of a charge, producing a very weak spike.{{17swob ref|post|115245|Dayton Signing|date=2014-03-19|2876|Words of Radiance Dayton Signing}} Nonetheless, Lifeless retain a certain amount of self-awareness after their Awakening, although the implications of this are as yet unexplored.{{annotation ref|book=wb|chapter=47}} The Lifeless known as [[Clod]] seems to help [[Vivenna]] beyond his commands on multiple occasions.{{book ref|wb|31}}.

A Lifeless will remain animate and useful for several years as long as the body remains in good condition. This period of usefulness may be extended by injecting [[ichor-alcohol]] into the blood vessels of the Lifeless.{{book ref|wb|46}}. Physical damage to a Lifeless may be repaired to an extent; lacerations may be sewn shut, damaged muscles replaced.{{book ref|wb|33}}. Yet in time the accumulated modifications lessen its resemblance to a living thing, making it more difficult for Breath to keep it functioning as intended.{{annotation ref|book=wb|chapter=33}}

Lifeless are useful soldiers due to the fact that they do not feel pain and require very little maintenance and no food. Furthermore, the Lifeless retains a measure of the skill that it possessed when alive.{{book ref|wb|33}}. This makes it exceedingly economical to reuse the dead soldiers in one's army as Lifeless, as doing so saves money on training costs as well as upkeep.