Or maybe he knows that a finger or something would grow back, but doesn't know whether the ability would extend to larger parts of the body?
That actually makes a lot of sense to me. In fact, if they can do that, it makes sense that not many Immortals would know about it. That kind of large-scale regeneration might be a really rare situation for any of them to encounter, partly because the adjustment period after losing a body part would make them more vulnerable in the Game, and partly just because of the law of averages catching up with them -- staying alive long enough to regenerate completely is probably rare even if a missing hand or foot doesn't actually change the playing field all that much in the long run, because most of them simply don't live that long.
And even for those who've done so, it might not be the sort of information that Immortals would be likely to share among themselves -- it seems to me that even the segment of the Immortal community who aren't obsessed with the Game (the Duncans and Fitzes and Roberts and Ginas of the world) would probably be somewhat paranoid when talking to their friends about fighting techniques and healing and such. You might trust someone with your life and still not exactly want to come out and say "So I got my leg cut off back in 1612 and it had grown back by the French Revolution; anything like that ever happen to you? :D?"
I'm still on the fence about it myself, especially in terms of actual canonicity -- it makes logical sense based on what we've seen (the near-total absence of canonically disabled Immortals, when you'd think there would be lots), but based on St. Cloud and possibly Kalas as well (the neck injury), I do get the impression that certain kinds of injuries don't heal. And I wrote the story from the point of view that it's permanent (or, at the very least, that the characters think it's permanent, though that's kind of an after-the-fact bit of retcon *g*). However, there are enough inconsistencies in canon, especially when it comes to the physical properties of Immortals, that you could probably make just about ANYTHING fit depending on circumstances. *g*
Re: Fill: Highlander, Fight Another Day (PG, no warnings, ~1000 wds)
That actually makes a lot of sense to me. In fact, if they can do that, it makes sense that not many Immortals would know about it. That kind of large-scale regeneration might be a really rare situation for any of them to encounter, partly because the adjustment period after losing a body part would make them more vulnerable in the Game, and partly just because of the law of averages catching up with them -- staying alive long enough to regenerate completely is probably rare even if a missing hand or foot doesn't actually change the playing field all that much in the long run, because most of them simply don't live that long.
And even for those who've done so, it might not be the sort of information that Immortals would be likely to share among themselves -- it seems to me that even the segment of the Immortal community who aren't obsessed with the Game (the Duncans and Fitzes and Roberts and Ginas of the world) would probably be somewhat paranoid when talking to their friends about fighting techniques and healing and such. You might trust someone with your life and still not exactly want to come out and say "So I got my leg cut off back in 1612 and it had grown back by the French Revolution; anything like that ever happen to you? :D?"
I'm still on the fence about it myself, especially in terms of actual canonicity -- it makes logical sense based on what we've seen (the near-total absence of canonically disabled Immortals, when you'd think there would be lots), but based on St. Cloud and possibly Kalas as well (the neck injury), I do get the impression that certain kinds of injuries don't heal. And I wrote the story from the point of view that it's permanent (or, at the very least, that the characters think it's permanent, though that's kind of an after-the-fact bit of retcon *g*). However, there are enough inconsistencies in canon, especially when it comes to the physical properties of Immortals, that you could probably make just about ANYTHING fit depending on circumstances. *g*