| abstract | - It's bad enough that scars tend to be permanent and sometimes painful in fiction. The really unlucky, however, get something even worse: a wound that won't heal at all, and remains open and raw long after it ought to have healed. This usually happens for supernatural or highly symbolic reasons. Either the wound was made by something powerful enough to prevent healing, or it was received as the result of treachery, cowardice, or evil so potent that the recipient of the injury must go on paying for it indefinitely. Either way, normal medical care simply won't do the job. The wound will have to be somehow purified of its taint, and the symbolic meaning behind the injury will have to be somehow rectified, before the sufferer will stand any chance of being healed -- if that's even possible. The really unfortunate can never be healed, and go on bleeding for the rest of their lives. Compare Scars Are Forever and Achey Scars, which at least heal enough to leave a scar, even if it still hurts sometimes. Examples of Wound That Will Not Heal include:
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