The Faradh'im....Sunrunners and Moonrunners.....

            The Sunrunners, or faradh'im, as they are known, have the unique ability to sense colours in sunlight, and with proper training, they are able to use the colours they sense to weave light into many different uses. With proper training, a Sunrunner is able to use the light from the sun and the moon to conjure with Fire or simply communicate to other fellow Sunrunners.

            However, Sunrunners are not supposed to use their gifts to kill. They have to take a vow never to kill with their gifts, and though a few of them, like Pol (who was not properly trained at Goddess Keep), have never taken the vow, still, it is an unspoken rule that faradh'im must not kill with Fire. Of course, the Lord of Goddess Keep Andry did kill with his gifts, using his Fire to kill traitors and a murderer, but he was exiled from his land of birth eventually by his own uncle, the High Prince Rohan, who had no choice but to abide by the own laws that he made.

            Here is a description of what Sunrunners can actually do:

• Sunrunners are known as faradh'im, that is, Silent Knowledge in the Old Tongue.
• They can sense the colours in light.
• They are able to communicate to each other on the strands of light that they weave.
• A faradh'im has to be a qualified Sunrunner before he/she can learn to use the light of the moon, as moonlight is fainter and not as strong as sunlight.
• A Sunrunner can be shadow-lost, or experience mind-death, if he/she ventures into shadows while working with light.
• A Sunrunner will die if he/she is hit by iron while using his/her gifts, thus, Sunrunners are effectively barred from battle.
• Each and every Sunrunner has a set of colours unique to himself/herself, the colours are identified by gem colours.
• With the aid of the Star Scroll, Sunrunners are now able to use the powers of sorcery in the name of Good.
• An example is the use of the Ros'salath, the Warrior's Wall of Dreams, or rather, Nightmares, for anybody encountering it will be filled with sudden terror and lose his/her mind.
• The Sunrunners were divided into two factions at a time: one side favoured Pol, the Sunrunner High Prince, while the other was on the side of Lord Andry, Lord of Goddess Keep.
• Colours are an important part of a Sunrunner, for a Sunrunner has to know colours to use the light, and a Sunrunner must always keep his/her colours in his/her mind, so as to be able to return to it.
• Sunrunners have another ability that is linked to their method of communication.
• That is the ability to talk to dragons with the aid of mental pictures and emotions.
• However, a dragon's colours is very complex, so a Sunrunner will always be dominated by the dragon during a conversation, and leave the conversation with a terrible headache.
• Each dragon will only talk to its own human, so a Sunrunner is like a favourite toy to a dragon...

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            Besides Sunrunners, there is still another group of people that can use the powers of light: the diarmadh'im, also known as the sorcerers. Most sorcerers are considered to be evil, though we are shown in the course of the story that they are similarly divided into two factions: one faction is power-hungry and seeks only to dominate, while the other faction seeks peace and hides from Sunrunners. Sadly, when Andry went around killing sorcerers, all that he destroyed were the people from the latter faction, peaceful people that tried to keep a low profile.

            Sorcerers are less limited than Sunrunners in the fact that they can kill with their gifts, and they can also use the light from the stars, while Sunrunners are barred from using that particular light. However, Lady Sioned did use starlight before, in Dragon Prince, when no other light was available. She used that light, and grabbing hold of every other gifted mind in the vicinity, especially that of the newborn infant Pol, used all that power to weave a dome of starfire around Rohan and Roelstra's duel, so as to prevent any external interference.

            Here is some information on the sorcerers:

• Sorcerers are known as diarmadh'im, which means Stoneburners in the Old Tongue.
• Sorcerers are immune to iron during a working, that is, they will not die when they are hit by iron during a working, they will just experience a great amount of pain.
• Sorcerers are able to use the drug dranath to enhance their own powers, Sunrunners can do it too, but they do not want to get addicted.
• As mentioned above, sorcerers can use the power of starlight, and prefer it to any other source of light, as they are superior at it, and so, sorcerers only work during the night.

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