Nature of the wild chalkings (spoilers)

[Nexus]

So are all Harding's chalkings Rithmatists?

 

Calloway (the third kidnapped student) said "there seem to be hundreds of them" (and I think  hundreds of people appearing when Harding is defeated would have been mentioned).

 

 

If so, what happened to the rest of the chalkings when the captured Rithmatists reappear?

 

PS: aren't we all glad the wild chalkings reformed when killed or doused in acid, knowing now what they really were ?

 

 

 

[Kurkistan he/him]

I would guess that it's a combination. Probably a lot of more "ordinary" (for certain definitions of ordinary) wild chalklings stiffened by some soul-fed immortals.

 

Or everyone could have been exaggerating. I think it was "dozens" of Rithmatists who were freed at the end of the day, and a swarm of death-dealing, shape-shifting immortal evil might not be easy to count.

[Windrunner he/him]

A part of me wonders how many of the wild chalklings still at Nebrask were once the original inhabitants of the American isles. I'm sure all of them didn't turn into chalklings, but I wouldn't be surprised if at least some did.

[Ender he/him]

But where did the first wild chalking come from? They can't all be actual people!

[Ender he/him]

You know what? Maybe forgottens existed before wild chalklings. A forgotten turned someone into a wild chalkling and used that chalkling to turn another person into a chalkling etc. until they were trapped in Nebrask. Maybe all the wild chalklings are people!

[Shardlet he/him]

I don't think all the wild chalklings are all people. Harding's chalklings reform after destruction, but Fitch had never heard of such a thing (see loc. 2985). Fitch wasn't at Nebrask for long, but he was there. If all wild chalklings worked that way then Fitch would have heard about it. As to all of Harding's chalklings being Rithmatists, Melody says before the melee that "about thirty rithmatists" were saved (see loc. 4673).

Edited July 16, 2013 by Shardlet

[Crysanja]

maybe there is a time component how long you can stay a calkling until there is no way back.

 

btw dont forget that harding had lots of calklings when he took thouse ppl, if they were all wild calklings where did he hide them.

where did he take the lost ppl. there is more to this thing then we have seen.

[Binnut he/him]

As I understood it one person was "converted" into multiple chalklings and that there was a need for these same chalklings to meet to "convert" back to human form.

[Shardlet he/him]

I do not recall seeing any indication of that, Binnut.  Do you have some specific passages that suggest that to you? 

[Binnut he/him]

I do not have the book at the moment so I cannot look for it, but that is how I remember it.

It could have something to do with that after Harding was defeated the chalklings needed to be let out of the "boxes" before they actually could reform to human form. To me that suggested that multiple chalklings were put together as one person.

As I said, this is from memory, so I cannot confirm what I remember.

[Tarontos he/him]

I do not have the book at the moment so I cannot look for it, but that is how I remember it.

It could have something to do with that after Harding was defeated the chalklings needed to be let out of the "boxes" before they actually could reform to human form. To me that suggested that multiple chalklings were put together as one person.

As I said, this is from memory, so I cannot confirm what I remember.

i would assume that it is simply a matter of space between the lines of forbiddanc. with the body being bigger than the area in between.

[Shardlet he/him]

Yes, I agree Tarontos.  Once Joel realized that the chalklings were the missing rithmatists he realized that there mere many trapped in a small space and he was concerned about them being crushed within that space as they reformed.

[Binnut he/him]

Yes, that sounds plausible.

[junior]

btw dont forget that harding had lots of calklings when he took thouse ppl, if they were all wild calklings where did he hide them.

where did he take the lost ppl. there is more to this thing then we have seen.

 

Hiding chalklings is easy enough.  They're two-dimensional creatures, which makes it much easier to hide them from others.  You could hide them on the bottom of your shoe.  Or inside your clothes.  In either case, the chalklings would be immediately at hand so that they could be used when needed.  But they'd also be completely undetectable without a very close inspection of the person transporting them.

[happyman he/him]

Hiding chalklings is easy enough.  They're two-dimensional creatures, which makes it much easier to hide them from others.  You could hide them on the bottom of your shoe.  Or inside your clothes.  In either case, the chalklings would be immediately at hand so that they could be used when needed.  But they'd also be completely undetectable without a very close inspection of the person transporting them.

 

Which makes me wonder what the security precautions they take at Nebrask are.  IIRC, the chalkings hid inside Harding.

[junior]

Which makes me wonder what the security precautions they take at Nebrask are.  IIRC, the chalkings hid inside Harding.

 

From the sound of things, at Nebrask you don't typically need to worry about wild chalklings trying to *sneak* out.  The tid-bits of history that we have (in particular the attack on the settlement) and what little we know about Nebrask make it sound as if wild chalklings in their natural state are rabidly aggressive toward humans.  It's only when they're being controlled by their three-dimensional allies that they refrain from immediately swarming any human who comes too close.

[Era]

btw dont forget that harding had lots of calklings when he took thouse ppl, if they were all wild calklings where did he hide them.

where did he take the lost ppl. there is more to this thing then we have seen.

 

The Chalkings came out of hard hardings mouth.

 

 

So are all Harding's chalkings Rithmatists?

 

Calloway (the third kidnapped student) said "there seem to be hundreds of them" (and I think  hundreds of people appearing when Harding is defeated would have been mentioned).

 

Harding must have only had control of a small portion of the chalkings. Nalizar has the rest

 

A part of me wonders how many of the wild chalklings still at Nebrask were once the original inhabitants of the American isles. I'm sure all of them didn't turn into chalklings, but I wouldn't be surprised if at least some did.

 

I agree, i think only people with rithmatic abilities can be transformed into chalklings, it makes sense that a person can be transformed in this way since they share a common connection (the power that makes rithmatics and forgotten exist)

 

But where did the first wild chalking come from? They can't all be actual people!

 

It clearly has something to do with the forgotten, i think they have an agenda to eradicate man kind.They drew the first wild chalkings, think about how different melodies chalkings are to other peoples. And at the mele at the end nalizar was fascinated and said he needed to keep his eye on BOTH of them. Why would he say that if all she was doing was tracing.

[Curiosity he/him]

Can normal people even be turned into these re-forming chalklings? I postulate that the ones who become chalklings are only Rithmatists. When the servants were attacked at Senator Calloway's house, why weren't they absorbed into the chalkling horde? It seems as if the Shadowblazes which bond with Rithmatists are really the fuel for these crazy chalklings. 

 

Edit: Why I didn't see these things above in the thread, I don't know. Sorry for repeating. 

Edited May 8, 2014 by Curiosity