How deep to cut.

It partly depends on how total that curse is. The flesh never rebuilds, but can the blood clot over so it stops bleeding as long as you don't tear it open again? If not, you'd need to keep bandages on tight for the rest of your life.

 

If you want her to still be able to use the arm, you can't go too deep.

Is she constantly bleeding? She'll need to keep the wound bound to slow the bleeding. If she bleeds too much, she'll be weak.

Is the wound infected or in danger of infection? That can cause all sorts of other problems... gangrene, bacterial infection of the blood system, etc. It would need to be carefully cleaned out & dressing changed at least a few times a day. Infection would be constant (and potentially deadly) risk.

 

Tricky..
Does the MC know how/when/soon it will get healed? Or how likely that is to happen?
She might take more risks and therefore receive a worse wound if she knows that "tomorrow" everything is going to be okay... there is less ultimate risk to her.
If she thinks that she has [or will get] an unhealing and permanent wound, even a small wound is likely to affect her actions and reactions far more.

 

You could treat the cut as a psychological thing. The wound may have physically healed but the curse causes it to burn constantly or makes it numb or something. Its purely in her head but it is just as devastating.

 

A constantly seeping wound could be ignored most of the time, but if ignored to long the dressing can breed infection.
It can be forgotten about until using the arm or even moving the hand in a specific way or at one angle.

Daily changing (or more frequent) of the dressing would get annoying, use time that they need for something more important, the smell could be bothersome too, even if not infected. Cost might also be burdensome, clean cloth isn't to hard to find, but herbal wound medicines might cost, or require so much they add up.

Drainage can also draw flies(later maggots) or cause a morning of dealing with ants in the wound. Other bugs getting in the damaged skin, to lay eggs or feast from the inside? Bugs love a good meal.

 

Hi,

Given the scenario I don't think you can afford to cut let alone sever the muscle. That would be crippling, and even though it could be sewn back together, if the wound can't heal, the tissues can't knit and the muscle would never work again. So neither would the hand.

My thought would be that if its cursed, a nick would be enough. As others have said if the wound won't close then you have ongoing blood loss, and the certainty of infection. This would in turn lead to fevers, which I'll assume the character can treat, and pain. Wounds hurt. Think throbbing and aching. Also if there is infection, then there will likely be inflammation. That would lead to stiffness in the arm.

Cheers, Greg.

 

Double post

 

If it were me...I'd cut the arm off completely just because its unexpected and adds an extra element of struggle and character development.

 

Not to deep because muscle does not regenerate.

 

One of my knives? Right through the jacket, the shirt, the muscles, tendons, arteries and into the bone.

If it doesn't, the client brings it back for a free touch-up.

If you doubt this, talk to my clients who are hunters. Some butcher their own deer.

A sushi chef can block a section of tuna with one swipe.

japanese slicing tuna - Bing Videos

 

I sharpen axes all of the time. Just sold a United M48 Zombie axe to a client.

M48 Zombie Killing Axe » Design You Trust – Design Blog and Community

The actual axe: