<P> Normally, a person and their dæmon must stay within a few yards of each other; Lyra Belacqua shows significant discomfort when her dæmon flies up to the second story window of a tower while she is standing outside the building . Another character expresses surprise when a shaman's dæmon is able to travel over forty feet from him without discomfort . Such separation from one's dæmon--sometimes called "pulling"--causes extreme pain and distress for both human and dæmon, and, given enough distance, results in death . </P> <P> The most detailed account in the books shows pulling to be torturous both physically--like "an iron hand pulling ones heart out between ones ribs"--and emotionally . To Will - who was also enduring the pain of his dæmon being separated from him for the first time - it felt as bad as if he had, within his mother's earshot, asked for someone who was about to kill him "instead to kill his mother because he didn't love her". A permanent separation between human and dæmon kills both and releases a huge burst of energy, which, for instance, is harnessed by Lord Asriel to blast a hole between two overlapping universes at the end of Northern Lights . The General Oblation Board initially accomplished this separation through simply tearing child and dæmon apart, but this generally resulted in the subject dying of shock . </P> <P> It is revealed in The Amber Spyglass that certain trained people, particularly witches and human shamans, have achieved the ability to survive separation from their dæmons by undergoing an initial voluntary separation that must be done at a special location . For the witches this is at a canyon underneath the earth in Lyra's world . Shamans endure grueling ordeals that involve leaving their dæmon as they embark on a spiritual quest, crossing an area of death where nothing may grow or live . After rejoining their dæmon they gain the ability to separate from them to a far greater extent than previously . Both witches and shamans regain their intimate bond with their dæmon, the only change is in the distance they can travel from each other . Lyra and Will achieve the ability to be distant from their dæmons by going through the World of the Dead . It is implied that their allies, the Gallivespians, endured a similar experience, but the Gallivespians died before they could meet their dæmons . </P> <P> Some humans, for example, Mrs Coulter, are shown to have the ability to go farther from their dæmons than most others . Mrs Coulter's dæmon, a golden monkey, goes into Lyra's room when she is staying with Mrs Coulter to find her alethiometer (truth reader) despite not having undergone intercision, with Mrs Coulter talking to Lyra perfectly normally at the same time . The reasons Mrs Coulter can do this are not stated . </P>

What is a daemon in the book of dust