Laran (Exile's Song reading notes)

Instances of a person with laran hearing thoughts of non- telepaths. (ES24,27,118-119,127-128, 154,162,167,261)

It is possible for a non-telepath to think a thought specifically for a telepath to hear. (ES263)

It is believed that even people with no laren can catch thoughts spoken under strong emotion. (ES288)

Someone who claims to be not a skilled telepath can still pick up the surface thoughts of another (unshielded) telepath, at least at close range (ES88)

Instances of clairvoyance (ES63-65)

Signs of developing laran: headaches, "hearing the voices" of everyone at once (ES61-63)

Foretelling is another aspect of Laran (ES88) Example of foreseeing that an unborn child will grow into a beautiful woman, what its name will be, and that it will not love its mother. (ES329)

Repeated examples of a telepath hearing the thoughts of another telepath(ES95,265,267)

Feelings of foreboding. (ES154)

Special abilities in Laran are referred to as "gifts". (ES193)

Alton gift is Forced Rapport. Eye contact makes this easier. (ES83) Forced rapport can kill. (ES292) The Command Voice is also part of the Alton gift. The Command Voice compels a listener to do as he is told. (ES346) This can have unexpected consequences, such as sending someone to the overworld without intending to. (ES347-348)

The Aldaran Gift is precognition. (ES292)

The Ridenow Gift is that of empathy. (ES193)

The Ardais Gift is that of catalyst telepathy (triggers undeveloped laran abilities in others). (ES249)

The Hastur Gift is that of the living matrix (can do many things with laran without a matrix that other telepaths need a matrix to accomplish). (ES394)

Threshold sickness often accompanies the development of Laran usually around the age of 12 or 13 but sometimes later. (ES134-35) Person with this sickness can be feverish, giddy, have severe headaches, an upset stomach, a parched throat, or exhaustion. (ES150) Head spinning, light from windows painful. (ES159) High fever three days and nights. (ES161) Fevers, chills, vomiting, aching all over, sensitivity to noise and light (ES210). There is a theory that during threshold sickness laran channels are being impressed in the mind. (ES212)

Not all telepaths have red hair. Example of a fair haired telepath. (ES180)

One of the problems with a telepathic society is that of privacy. (ES193)

Laran in a person flows through channels. Blocking these channels inhibits laran. (ES196) Marguerida Alton has had new channels created. (ES212)

"the energy of passion is like nectar to the bee for a telepath, especially when the people love one another" (ES199)

Matrix crystals can be used to focus the mind, to enhance a person's basic laran abilities, and enhance or increase the scope of special laran abilities or gifts. A matrix can be very useful in the exercise of Laran but it is not necessary. Each matrix is keyed to a specific individual. (ES201) One must never touch the keyed matrix of another as this can cause shock or even death. (ES293)

Trap matrixes exist but have not been used in decades. (ES201)

A Shadow Matrix can be brought back from the overworld. (ES295)

Kirian is a blue liquid with a slight perfume. It is a plant distillation that releases the grip of the conscious mind. A small dose can bring on a light trance but everyone has a different reaction. The taste is described as being like flowers and sunlight. (ES202-204)

It is possible with laran to communicate with someone in the next room. (ES203)

It is possible with laran to monitor another while not physically in the same place. (ES203) Monitoring is so intimate it is improper for any man to do it for a woman outside of a tower circle. (ES286)

A trance induced by kirian can result in a feeling of moving upward. In a trance state one can visit the overworld, perceived by Margaret Alton as a featureless plain with structures made of starlight. (ES204) These structures are the overworld reflections of the Towers on Darkover. In the overworld one can perceive the movement of dreamers and encounter the spirit of a recently deceased person. (ES355-356)

Overshadowing: "the personality of one person is shoved down, bottled up ... and dominated by that of another"(ES220)

For hundreds of years the tradition was that a Keeper had to be female and had to be celibate while serving as a keeper. (ES233)

Cleindori, a Keeper, began a formal science of matrices. (ES235)

Tramontana Tower mentioned. (ES256)

It is sometimes possible for a person with laran to know if a child has been conceived and/or what the sex of the unborn child is. (ES292)

Telepath to telepath communication is a common use of laran. Even someone new to the use of laran is able to engage in this easily. (ES327-330,332-334,340-341)

It is possible for someone with Laran to have a vision of something that existed in the past but which no longer exists. (377)

There is an archivist at Arilinn Tower. (ES394)

Devices exist to impede the use of telepathic abilities. These are known as telepathic dampers. (ES415)

source file (Last modification: Wed Apr 21 17:21:45 1999)