Information AboutDeryni |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT DERYNI | |
| deryni series | |
| characters in written fantasy | |
| characters in written fiction | |
| fictional human races | |
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The Deryni consider their powers to be God -given, but their enemies consider them the work of the Devil . Thus the Deryni stories can be seen as Allegories of real-life conflicts of belief. There are also scenes in which Deryni performing Ritual s become aware of the presence of powerful forces or beings which they identify with Angel s. GENETIC BASIS OF DERYNI POWER It is clear from the books that Deryniness is inherited; if one's parents were Deryni, one will be Deryni him/herself, and contrariwise, if one's parents were human, one will be only human. However, humans and Deryni often interbreed, and half-Deryni people are known to be able to wield a not inconsiderable amount of power. In an epilogue to the book ''High Deryni,'' The Author sets forth one possible theory explaining the Genetic basis of Deryni heredity. In the book ''The Quest For Saint Camber,'' some characters encounter blind cave fish, indicating to the reader that Evolution is at work. These things clearly indicate that the world of the Deryni is based on Scientific laws, and that presumably Deryni magic itself has a scientific basis. However, the theory from ''High Deryni'' was admitted to be purely theoretical and not canonical, and later books make points that seem to contradict this theory. This has given rise to several theories among the fans as to precisely how Deryniness is transmitted from parents to children. THE HALDANE POTENTIAL The Haldane Potential is an ability of certain humans with no Deryni heritage to receive full Deryni powers. So far as is known, the only humans able to do this are the Haldanes, regnant line of the kingdom of Gwynedd . This ability was discovered in 903 by Earl Camber Of Culdi , who gave Deryni powers to the human King Cinhil Haldane as part of a strategy to overthrow the tyrant and usurper King Imre of Festil. Since that time, the ability is known to have passed through the male Haldane line, from king to king. It once was believed that only one Haldane, ideally the crowned King, could use this ability at any given time. However, this was disproved in 1124-1125 when Conall Haldane, cousin to the King Kelson Haldane, was given Deryni abilities by a renegade member of the Camberian Council . The powers themselves are normally instilled into a crown prince at a very young age, and usually in a Ritual which the prince may have no later recollection of. After the death of the King, the new King undergoes a power ritual which "awakens" his latent powers and gives him the full arsenal and capabilities of a full-blooded Deryni. This potential is a constant fly in the ointment to those who attempt to work out a genetic theory of Deryniness, because it is a hereditary trait related to, but not identical to, the Deryni heritage. HEALERS Healing is a specific talent of certain Deryni Adepts. Not all persons with Deryni abilities are able to make use of healing, and it is unknown what percentage of Deryni might be skilled with Healing. BLOCKING ABILITY The powers of the Deryni seem to have a physical component, not only are Deryni affected differently by certain drugs, such as Merasha, certain healers are capable of completely eliminating the Deryni powers. Exactly how this mechanism functions is unknown, but it does involve the brain in some way. |
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