How a Mind can be broken
- Guilt- As mentioned multiple times within the series, elves can't handle the guilt. If an elf feels guilty enough, they can completely fall apart, and their mind can break.
- Mind Break- A mind can be purposely broken if one has committed a serious enough crime, and the Council believes that they are hiding information.
What Having One is Like
When one has a broken mind, they can't quite function correctly. All of their memories are jumbled up, and nothing is coherent. Reality is messed up; however, if one is trained properly, they can retreat to a "nook" so that a solid piece of themselves remains. Although breathing and alive, their thoughts aren't coherent, and they can't control their bodies much. As described in many of the books, a person with a broken mind can frequently be seen with glazed eyes. A person with a broken mind may also frequently thrashes their body.
It also appears that they travel around their own mind and suffer from memory loss as shown in Lodestar; however this could just be for those with very strong mind.
What Being Inside One is Like
It is unsafe to go inside a broken mind, unless your name happens to be Sophie Elizabeth Foster. You can be pulled into a broken mind and lost. A broken mind is described as "Cold, Dark, Black, and Sharp."
Known Elves with Broken Minds
- (Healed by Sophie) Alden Vacker: His mind was broken in Book Two Exile after seeing Prentice in his broken state while visiting Exile because he felt guilty that he played a part in breaking Prentice’s mind.
- (Healed by Sophie) Prentice: His mind was broken before Sophie came to the Lost Cities for hiding information about Sophie.
- (Healed by Sophie) Fintan: Mind broken by Alden Vacker assisted by Sophie in Book Two Exile for withholding information important for the safety of the Lost Cities.