Medallions and Mind Speech range

[MerchantDeryni]

I seem to recall that Medallions have been used to create a psychic radio to allow practicioners to get in touch with one another.

Does anyone remember the range on these little trinkets?

[DesertRose]

I know Morgan could communicate with Derry via the St. Camber medallion over quite a distance, I want to say at least Coroth to Dhassa, but I don't have my books handy, so I hope someone else whose books are readily to hand chimes in with the information.

[Evie]

I know Morgan could communicate with Derry via the St. Camber medallion over quite a distance, I want to say at least Coroth to Dhassa, but I don't have my books handy, so I hope someone else whose books are readily to hand chimes in with the information.

I know the range was insufficient for finding Kelson and Dhugal that way until Alaric and Duncan were fairly close (maybe a day's ride?), but then again Coroth to Dhassa is also about a day's ride, so maybe that will work as a range determiner.

Although I don't think "psychic radio" is quite accurate, as I'm not sure the medallions have some special property in and of themselves that made them function as telepathy transmitters. They were objects normally worn daily by their users, and therefore served the purpose of being highly attuned to them and perfect objects to focus in on during a psychic search and attempt to telepathically project thoughts to the wearer.  The fact that they happened to be St. Camber medallions might have bestowed some secondary benefit, real or perceived (maybe the saint would take some special interest in their success?), but another object such as a signet ring might have worked just as well.  (Except that in the case of Kelson's ring, they'd be more likely to reach Rothana or just pick up on random images of the bottom of a moat. LOL!)  In the case of Derry's medallion, while that one would not have been attuned to Derry, it was attuned to Alaric, so Alaric would have been able to focus in on it more easily than some random bit of jewelry or clothing that Derry might not have had on his person at any given moment.

[Bynw]

I would have to look at the map to check on ranges as well. But I'm also thinking the issue with Kelson and Dhugal were because they were also underground.

It wouldn't call them a radio. I would consider the mind link medallions more of a very private and secure form of communication. Encrypted even. One could probably detect the use but not the message.

[DesertRose]

I know Morgan could communicate with Derry via the St. Camber medallion over quite a distance, I want to say at least Coroth to Dhassa, but I don't have my books handy, so I hope someone else whose books are readily to hand chimes in with the information.

I know the range was insufficient for finding Kelson and Dhugal that way until Alaric and Duncan were fairly close (maybe a day's ride?), but then again Coroth to Dhassa is also about a day's ride, so maybe that will work as a range determiner.

Although I don't think "psychic radio" is quite accurate, as I'm not sure the medallions have some special property in and of themselves that made them function as telepathy transmitters. They were objects normally worn daily by their users, and therefore served the purpose of being highly attuned to them and perfect objects to focus in on during a psychic search and attempt to telepathically project thoughts to the wearer.  The fact that they happened to be St. Camber medallions might have bestowed some secondary benefit, real or perceived (maybe the saint would take some special interest in their success?), but another object such as a signet ring might have worked just as well.  (Except that in the case of Kelson's ring, they'd be more likely to reach Rothana or just pick up on random images of the bottom of a moat. LOL!)  In the case of Derry's medallion, while that one would not have been attuned to Derry, it was attuned to Alaric, so Alaric would have been able to focus in on it more easily than some random bit of jewelry or clothing that Derry might not have had on his person at any given moment.

I would have to look at the map to check on ranges as well. But I'm also thinking the issue with Kelson and Dhugal were because they were also underground.

It wouldn't call them a radio. I would consider the mind link medallions more of a very private and secure form of communication. Encrypted even. One could probably detect the use but not the message.

I think another part of the problem re: Duncan and Morgan trying to find Kelson and Dhugal is that neither Kelson nor Dhugal were aware that Morgan and Duncan were trying to reach them, whereas Derry and Morgan had established plans to make contact via Derry's St. Camber medallion.  Both parties being aware of and prepared for the contact probably made a difference. 

[revanne]

Morgan was able to touch Derry at least briefly while the latter was in Wencit's dungeon (the name escapes me) which I think is some considerable distance from Dhassa. The situation was not ideal for either of them since Morgan was lying pentitentially prostrate in the Cathedral at the time and passed out with the effort, thus getting himself into a heap of trouble with Denis Arilan.

I think the difference is that the medallion that Derry was wearing had been specifically bespelled for contact between the two of them (which didn't do Derry any good with Wencit) whereas the St Camber medals which Duncan, Morgan, Kelson and Dhugal had were not specifically attuned for that purpose (at least I don't think so) but had just caught something of their wearer's essence so to speak.

[DesertRose]

Morgan was able to touch Derry at least briefly while the latter was in Wencit's dungeon (the name escapes me) which I think is some considerable distance from Dhassa. The situation was not ideal for either of them since Morgan was lying pentitentially prostrate in the Cathedral at the time and passed out with the effort, thus getting himself into a heap of trouble with Denis Arilan.

I think the difference is that the medallion that Derry was wearing had been specifically bespelled for contact between the two of them (which didn't do Derry any good with Wencit) whereas the St Camber medals which Duncan, Morgan, Kelson and Dhugal had were not specifically attuned for that purpose (at least I don't think so) but had just caught something of their wearer's essence so to speak.

Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I thought Morgan and Duncan were trying to find Kelson and Dhugal using a silk ribbon Dhugal had often used to tie the end of his border braid/g'dula, not a medallion.  When that incident is covered in Deryni Magic, KK talks about how silk is the best textile for picking up and holding a psychic charge (with a slight digression into the use of silk in altar cloths, priestly vestments, and covers/cloths to cover the table during a reading for Tarot decks).

[Evie]

Morgan was able to touch Derry at least briefly while the latter was in Wencit's dungeon (the name escapes me) which I think is some considerable distance from Dhassa. The situation was not ideal for either of them since Morgan was lying pentitentially prostrate in the Cathedral at the time and passed out with the effort, thus getting himself into a heap of trouble with Denis Arilan.

I think the difference is that the medallion that Derry was wearing had been specifically bespelled for contact between the two of them (which didn't do Derry any good with Wencit) whereas the St Camber medals which Duncan, Morgan, Kelson and Dhugal had were not specifically attuned for that purpose (at least I don't think so) but had just caught something of their wearer's essence so to speak.

Maybe I'm remembering wrong, but I thought Morgan and Duncan were trying to find Kelson and Dhugal using a silk ribbon Dhugal had often used to tie the end of his border braid/g'dula, not a medallion.  When that incident is covered in Deryni Magic, KK talks about how silk is the best textile for picking up and holding a psychic charge (with a slight digression into the use of silk in altar cloths, priestly vestments, and covers/cloths to cover the table during a reading for Tarot decks).

You could be right. It's been about a zillion years since I last read QFSC in print. I "read" the audiobook version more recently, but that was one of the ebooks with the annoying narrator I wanted to strangle, so I probably didn't catch the full details.   

[MerchantDeryni]

I was thinking of the medallion Queron used while in disguise amngst the Willimites. Was that Harrowing of Gwynned? (I am at work so cannot look it up.)

If memory serves he was able to use the medallion to link to the receiver and send a burst of information.

Me being me, I am loooking at this in 2 ways.
1: awesome spy tool to get messages out of an area. No radio to tansport, no code books etc. Just a telepathic link.

2: For a Merchant House they could send information up and down the chain of Houses and act like a telegraph station.

This of course all depends on range. If the range is 30 miles or so, then it is of limited use (for commercial purposes). If the range is 100 miles or longer then it starts to get interesting.

Heck even at 30 miles there would be a city to city link for military and government information purposes. You just need a lot of Deryni to man it.

I just had another thought and will start a new thread on it. Transfer Portals as morse code conduits.