The Man Who Bit a Fell-Beast

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Formendacil

Now, it's probably a stretch to suggest that the Black Breath is a viral pathogen, given that it certainly seems to be more of a supernatural malady than a psysiological illness, but what if it didn't come about until sometime later in the Third Age?

The correctile dysfunction has flared up, and I want to say that while I do not think the Black Breath is a form of infectious pathogen, technically those symptoms could be caused by one. After all, there are also very physical "symptoms" of coma and death. If we're talking about viruses, then viral encephalopathy is on the table. There are parasitic infections like Sleeping Sickness. And prion diseases, which don't give these exact symptoms but are more like infectious rapid dementia, but are another form of "infecting" the brain. Can't think of a bacterial infection that would make you go to sleep and die without also giving prominent other symptoms, but it's not impossible.

Honestly though, I think that the Black Breath is indeed an illness of the will, putting it more in the realm of the psychological. And I thought Aragorn equally was able to rescue the victims not through a specific taught skill, but through his own willpower and its interaction with those around him. I think Faramir's passage in the Houses of Healing is what most supports that interpretation. Perhaps is was a passed down knowledge that a person who is able to feel another's soul or what have you with his own would be able to interact with it directly, but credit goes to Aragorn for being that man rather than just learning a forgotten skill.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Honestly though, I think that the Black Breath is indeed an illness of the will, putting it more in the realm of the psychological. And I thought Aragorn equally was able to rescue the victims not through a specific taught skill, but through his own willpower and its interaction with those around him. I think Faramir's passage in the Houses of Healing is what most supports that interpretation. Perhaps is was a passed down knowledge that a person who is able to feel another's soul or what have you with his own would be able to interact with it directly, but credit goes to Aragorn for being that man rather than just learning a forgotten skill.

Aragorn also had a kinship, very far removed, with the Master Healer himself, Elrond. I'm sure that was quite a bit of help.

[Boromir88]

Hmm..Aragorn believes that Merry was a victim of the Black Breath (in Bree) and yet seems to have escaped serious harm.

I agree that it seems to be a spiritual or psychological ill. As Merry was awoken from a disturbing dream, but I don't think suffered any other hurts from the Black Breath. Faramir's severe injuries come from multiple sources:

"Weariness, grief for his father's mood, a wound, and over all the Black Breath," said Aragorn.
...
"Walk no more in the shadows, but awake!" said Aragorn~The Houses of Healing

It's similar Theoden's words after being healed from Grima's crooked counsel: "Dark have been my dreams of late." Theoden's ailment was spiritual as well, words have meaning, and Grima's crooked counsel made him appear weak and sickly.

Perhaps, on its own, the Black Breath is not deadly? Merry is a resilient hobbit, who had his first brush with "sorcery" and he for the most part escaped harm; it gave him a bad dream. Faramir before riding out to war was troubled by Denethor's mood and as Aragorn remarks: "he had come close under the Shadow before ever he rode to battle.."

Edit: X'ed with Formendacil! Ahh this might be the first X'ed posting with a member outside of a werewolf game in years!

[Morsul the Dark]

Apparently I last logged in December 2019. Fascinating to come back on an active day.

To Boro’s point of patience, Sauron was also a trickster and manipulative. Certainly able to convince the people that a plague was overblown or not so dangerous. If we’re to pull on Covid a certain former president seems equivalent here.

To the Black Breath I would say it’s definitely of the mind and soul a sort of dismay that actually affects your physiology. Consider it like a concentrated use of their trait of general fear and malice that the nazgul project out.

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

The correctile dysfunction has flared up, and I want to say that while I do not think the Black Breath is a form of infectious pathogen, technically those symptoms could be caused by one. After all, there are also very physical "symptoms" of coma and death. If we're talking about viruses, then viral encephalopathy is on the table. There are parasitic infections like Sleeping Sickness. And prion diseases, which don't give these exact symptoms but are more like infectious rapid dementia, but are another form of "infecting" the brain. Can't think of a bacterial infection that would make you go to sleep and die without also giving prominent other symptoms, but it's not impossible.

I will absolutely defer to those who know quite a bit more than me on matters of their expertise, and I think that you're basically providing evidence for my "the Black Breath is a supernatural weapon patterned on a biological one" (by Sauron, I mean--though that exact statement applies to Tolkien too...).

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Honestly though, I think that the Black Breath is indeed an illness of the will, putting it more in the realm of the psychological. And I thought Aragorn equally was able to rescue the victims not through a specific taught skill, but through his own willpower and its interaction with those around him. I think Faramir's passage in the Houses of Healing is what most supports that interpretation. Perhaps is was a passed down knowledge that a person who is able to feel another's soul or what have you with his own would be able to interact with it directly, but credit goes to Aragorn for being that man rather than just learning a forgotten skill.

Yeah, the extent to which Aragorn brings healing knowledge that could have been known by someone else (I'm looking at you, loremaster) or also something that is more ontological is quite debateable. Tolkien very clearly has him, as the returning King, bringing something that no one else could bring and it's telling that Gandalf treats him as Faramir, Éowyn, and Merry's only hope. Nonetheless, I don't think I'm too far astray in thinking that there's SOME skill involved that could have alleviated things and that this lore was lost--the comments about Ioreth and old wives are especially directed this way.

A mixture of both the supernatural (the angelic blood of Lúthien) and the natural (lore) is very Catholic, perhaps even to the level of "consciously so in the revision," a case of grace building on nature. But it also fits that the Black Breath, which is clearly supernatural and natural (in the sense that it produces physiological symptoms, if not that it is caused by germs).