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Would Woundhealer fix everything that was wrong about a person (such as a genetic disposition towards hypertension) or did it just work on active illnesses/ailments (such as fresh wounds)? If so, could it be used to reattach limbs? I am sorry if the question is a little basic, but I've actually just started reading the series. Thanks!

EDIT: As an add-on, would Woundhealer be able to cure mental illnesses as well (such as madness)?

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There is at least one instance where the Sword acts on a wound that is not fresh, albeit something that was acquired a long time ago.

In the Third Book of Swords

Jord's arm is regrown after it was cut by Hephaestus when the swords were created many years before.

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  • Thanks! Haven't quite got to that point yet, but I'll look out for it – Chetter Hummin Jul 3 '12 at 0:29
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    Woundhealer is shown to be very powerful. – KutuluMike Jul 3 '12 at 4:10
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It is shown in later books that Woundhealer will essentially heal anything, but that it will not give knowledge. It might heal a person who cannot walk, but they will still have to learn to walk after receiving their healing.

It is less clear on long term non-life threatening things, such as hypertension, madness, etc. I believe it would head a major case of blindness, but as hypertension is only something known to relatively modern medicine, and the books primarily consist of non-modern medicine, it is really impossible to know.

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Woundhealer would most likely rejoin a severed limb if it were available and in close proximity when used (say, less than a quarter inch away).

If the limb has been severed for too long, it would most likely just cause a new one to slowly grow.

It would certainly fix hypertension, but it's unclear if this would be a permanent effect.

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  • Some people have a tendency towards hypertension. Would it fix that as well or just active ailments/injuries? – Chetter Hummin Jul 6 '12 at 1:28
  • Saberhagen died a few years back, and only he had the authority to say for sure. These are all my guesses. Hypertension is fixable in the sense that the body is in a condition it should not be. Changing the condition to something more correct is something the sword would be able to do. The "tendency"... well, how do you even fix that? If there is some mechanism to modify, it could probably do that, but it's not going to go in and change your genes. I'm thinking just active stuff. – John O Jul 6 '12 at 13:12
  • Thanks, John. That was what I thought as well. If Woundhealer started removing all genetic 'imperfections', then we'd end up with virtual clones among the healed. – Chetter Hummin Jul 6 '12 at 15:33

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