- Ichor
In
Greek mythology , ichor (Greek polytonic|ἰχώρ) is themineral Fact|date=April 2008 that is the Greek gods'blood , sometimes said to have been present inambrosia or nectar.Fact|date=April 2008 When a god was injured and bled, the ichor made his or her bloodpoison ous to mortals.Fact|date=April 2008In
pathology , an antiquated term for a watery discharge from a wound or ulcer with an unpleasant or (offensive) smell. [ [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/ichor ichor - definition of ichor by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia ] ] [http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ichor]Ichor has also been used to mean the blood in a
vampire 's veinsFact|date=February 2008. Whereas manyvampire stories and movies describe them as having reddish or dark red blood, others describevampire blood as being different from human blood altogether—an ichor that is traditionally dark green in color.H. P. Lovecraft often used ichor in his descriptions of other-worldly creatures, most prominently in his nightmarish detail of the chimeric remains of Wilbur Whateley, in "The Dunwich Horror ".The term ichor is often misused in fantasy contexts by authors trying to find a different word for "blood" or "ooze", to the point that it has become
cliché . AuthorUrsula LeGuin , in "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie", calls the term "the infallible touchstone of the seventh-rate." [Ursula K. LeGuin, "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie", p 80 "The Language of the Night" ISBN 0-425-05205-2]Ichor has also been used in
science fiction as an alien substitute for blood, as in Garth Nix's book "Shade's Children ". Additionally, in the "Dragonriders of Pern " novel series,Anne McCaffrey refers to the blood of the alien (but genetically enhanced by humans) Pernese dragons as ichor.ee also
*
Mana
*Ectoplasm
*TheScrin alien race, from "Command and Conquer 3 ", refer toTiberium as "Ichor", which is a powerful and precious mineral though toxic to humans, much like the Greek mythological mineral.References
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