While Allirea makes a very effective bodyguard in the combat sense, she is less helpful in the intimidation sense because, of course, no one can remember that she’s there. What would happen if a vampire who had a reasonable expectation to win against Bella alone, and was not talked by Elspeth into believing that he could not win a fight, attacked Bella and was taken apart by her and Allirea? Would he know what was happening? What would his relevant memories suggest? Would said memories become clear while Allirea was unfaded? Is this a valid method to control the vampire population? (It might actually be quite effective—anyone who attacks Bella is taken apart by something they can’t remember happening. Great creepy factor.)
The thought process would probably go something like, “I attacked the Empress, and the next thing I knew I was scattered across the ground in bits the size of Tic-Tacs. I don’t think I’ll try that again.”
That implies something very interesting about Allirea’s power. The usual criterion for the spreading of umbrella-type effects attached to persons is that events that are heavily influenced by the person are under the umbrella, apparently, and I’m going to assume that that applies to Allirea’s fading as well. This means that Allirea can trick someone into thinking that something vitally important to their survival is simply unimportant—that the fact that someone is currently reducing them to gravel is not worth remembering. Wow.
Well, they can tell that they are being reduced to gravel, and that this is important, but they can’t ascribe an important action like “reducing me to gravel” to someone as unimportant as Allirea; she is too inconsequential. Something else must be responsible for the gravel-reducing, clearly.
While Allirea makes a very effective bodyguard in the combat sense, she is less helpful in the intimidation sense because, of course, no one can remember that she’s there. What would happen if a vampire who had a reasonable expectation to win against Bella alone, and was not talked by Elspeth into believing that he could not win a fight, attacked Bella and was taken apart by her and Allirea? Would he know what was happening? What would his relevant memories suggest? Would said memories become clear while Allirea was unfaded? Is this a valid method to control the vampire population? (It might actually be quite effective—anyone who attacks Bella is taken apart by something they can’t remember happening. Great creepy factor.)
The thought process would probably go something like, “I attacked the Empress, and the next thing I knew I was scattered across the ground in bits the size of Tic-Tacs. I don’t think I’ll try that again.”
Well, that would be a normal person’s thought process, at least.
That implies something very interesting about Allirea’s power. The usual criterion for the spreading of umbrella-type effects attached to persons is that events that are heavily influenced by the person are under the umbrella, apparently, and I’m going to assume that that applies to Allirea’s fading as well. This means that Allirea can trick someone into thinking that something vitally important to their survival is simply unimportant—that the fact that someone is currently reducing them to gravel is not worth remembering. Wow.
Well, they can tell that they are being reduced to gravel, and that this is important, but they can’t ascribe an important action like “reducing me to gravel” to someone as unimportant as Allirea; she is too inconsequential. Something else must be responsible for the gravel-reducing, clearly.