:My apologies for giving offense: Raistlin thinks swiftly. :I thought perhaps you could maintain the effect as long as necessary, though in hindsight that was idiotic. I have no excuse; my explanation is that healing magic does not exist in my world, except as a gift of the gods. And they have been absent from human affairs for centuries, save for the gods of magic.:

It was idiotic because it had come out of hope - a small, flickering hope, hiding in the margins of mind, that magic could do more than just provide an alternative to a healthy body. He sneers at himself, irritated at the weakness that hope implies, and shoves it somewhere he doesn't have to look at it.

:Even if temporary, this technique could be life-or-death, especially here. If it can be taught, I would learn it gladly.: