Any Highlander fans out there? I have some questions.

[thefourthvine]

Do you know HL? I need some help from people who have seen Highlander canon. Here's what I'd like to know:

1. What are all the ways to permanently kill an immortal? I know cutting off heads, but is there anything else? And is it different the first time they die? And does it matter if the whole head doesn't come off - like, can they come back if the neck is only mostly severed?
   
   
2. What happens the first time they (don't) die? I mean, they think they're mortal for a period of time, right? And then they die, except they don't, and they say, "Whoa, dude. I must be immortal, because that sure as shit should've killed me." (Although I think most people would assume the injury or whatever just hadn't been as bad as they thought, so - do some of them have to die a lot before they figure it out?) But I'm a little foggy on the whole deal, frankly. Do they have to be buried and then rise again, like vampires? Or is it more of an instantaneous thing?
   
   
3. What happens if you shoot an immortal (who has already done the first not-death, if that matters) in a way that would kill a human but won't kill him? (Like, gaping chest wound, something like that.) I'm pretty sure he has at least a period of, shall we say, limited activity, but how long is he down for? And exactly how limited is his activity? And what happens - like, do the wounds visibly close over and heal, or does he just suddenly sit up all better, or what?

As much detail as you've got, that's how much I'd like.

And if you know any sources for getting this kind of information without bugging my friends list - like, a Highlander encyclopedia or whatever - I would love to know about it.

Comments

[starwatcher]

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Whee! My first fandom; ask what you will. Everyone else has answered the basics, so here's a few odds and ends --

1. Yes, Immortal is usually capitalized, depending on usage. "Yes, he's an Immortal," or "Yes, she's Immortal" (the 'an' may or may not be used), but "Do you seriously expect me to believe that he's immortal?"

2. It is hinted that Immortals aren't strictly human. There are no recorded incidences of an Immortal woman giving birth -and- no one knows where Immortals come from; they are always found as foundling babes.

3. Check out highlander_lj; I'm sure they can point you to sources. And here's a FAQ I found about some HL stuff. Scroll down for synopses of most of the episodes.

4. What I haven't seen mentioned is that, when one Immortal cuts off another's head, he receives the other Immortal's "quickening" -- a frequently violent surge of life-force flowing from the dead to the living. It can be lightning-like, and explosive enough to blow out lights (streetlamps, auto headlights, etc) and break glass in the area.

5. Therefore, there are some Immortals who make a habit of hunting and killing other Immortals; they believe that more quickenings makes them more powerful. Also, the belief is that "there can be only one" -- their fate is to fight each other until only one remains, and he/she will receive some unknown, mystic "prize".

6. Receiving a quickening appears to be painful, and the Immortal is frequently temporarily weakened afterward. BUT fanon holds that, when recovered from that temporary weakness, the Immortal becomes unbelievably aroused, almost to the point of no control. There are quite a few fics floating around of post-quickening sex.

And here's Seventh Dimension, the main HL fiction archive, with links to other, author archives.

Have fun.
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[starwatcher]

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Oh! Another one!

7. No beheadings on consecrated ground, ever. Any religion, it doesn't matter. No Immortal knows what will happen, but they all believe it will be bad. (The legend is that Pompeii exploded because one Immortal killed another on Holy Ground.) Thus, if an Immortal can reach Holy Ground, the fight is over until he leaves the premises.
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