"Katherine Kurtz - The Priesting Of Arilan" - читать интересную книгу автора (Kurtz Katherine)

these phenomena. First there are the natural Deryni abilities, ESP-type
functions. Then there is the grey area of ritual procedures which, when
performed with suitable mental focus, concentrate the operator's own
power to produce certain predictable results. And finally, there are
supernatural connections that even the Deryni would regard as magical,
which tap into unknown power sources in unknown ways, at unknown cost
to the well-being of one's immortal soulтАФthe certain existence of which is
also unknown. The latter is a realm that has always been of profound
interest to those engaged in philosophical pursuits, whether those of
science, organized religion, or more esoteric disciplines. (And if we define
magic as the art of causing change in conformity with will, then perhaps
all Deryni powers are magical. Denis Arilan will have some thoughts on
supernatural agents in the story bearing his name.)
The Deryni, then, have abilities and power connections that are not
accessible to most peopleтАФthough Deryni are not omnipotent. At their
best, the Deryni might represent the ideal of perfected humankindтАФ what
all of us might be, if we could learn to rise above our earthbound
limitations and fulfill our highest destinies. One would like to think that
there is at least a little Deryni in all of us.
With few exceptions, the use of one's Deryni abilities must be learned,
like any other skill; and some Deryni are more skilled and stronger than
others. Primary proficiencies have to do with balancesтАФphysical, psychic,
and spiritualтАФand mastering one's own body and perceptions. Even
without formal instruction, most Deryni can learn to banish fatigue, at
least for a while, to block physical pain, and to induce sleepтАФ skills that
can be applied to oneself or to others, Deryni or not, with or (often)
without the conscious cooperation of the subject, especially a human one.
Healing is another highly useful Deryni talent, though rare and
requiring very specialized training for optimum use. A properly qualified
Healer, provided he has time to engage healing rapport before his patient
expires, can deal successfully with almost any physical injury. Treatment
of illnesses is necessarily more limited, confined mainly to dealing with
symptoms, since medieval medicine has yet to understand disease
mechanisms. (Physicians, both human and Deryni, have made the
connection between cleanliness and decreased likelihood of infection, but
lack the technology to discover why this is so.)
Few would take exception to the abilities we have just outlinedтАФother
than sleep-induction, perhaps, if it were used to the detriment of a subject
unable to resist. What is far more threatening to non-Deryni is the
potential use of Deryni powers outside a healing context. For Deryni can
read minds, often without the knowledge or consent of a human subject;
and they can impose their will on others. Some exceptionally competent
Deryni have even been known to take on the shape of another person.
In actual practice, there are definite limitations to the extent of all these
abilities, though most non-Deryni have wildly exaggerated notions of what
those limitations are, if they even acknowledge their existence. And
human fears are not reassured by the fact that some Deryni can tap into
energies outside even their own understanding, consorting with powers
that may defy God's will. Fear of what is not understood becomes a major
theme, then, as the human and Deryni characters interact in the stories.