> So does this mean that Ernalda's healing magic (or all healing magic?) is derived from her association with Chalana Arroy, or is Ernalda's healing an aspect of what her magic does for the Community?
That is a matter for myth. The gods do not exist is independent beings that stand alone, they are all threads that are woven together into the same tapestry of myth, which forms the fabric of the world.
> My ultimate point, I guess, is this: why does Ernalda need Chalana Arroy in order to perform her (unspectacular but useful) healing feats? Why can she not do so using her own powers?
Shoe does so using her own powers, but perhaps she was awoken to those powers by Chalana Arroy in myth. If Chalana Arroy taught her the power, then Chalana Arroy is also there when an Ernaldan uses that magic - when she uses that myth.
Simon Hibbs
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