actually, I just started a carrion wood game, and my pretender (Lord of the Wild) got the ol javelin put to his eye. But after 2 turns researching in the capital, I noticed that his affliction is...gone. a bug? or the beta
Your Lord of the Wild has the Recuperation ability, which allows him to heal afflictions over time (the same would go for Immortal Pretenders). You cannot get the Recuperation ability in the course of the game, so you will have to start with it.
No, that is perfectly normal for a Lord of the Wild, since he has an ability called "Recuperation" (The symbol with the snake). Take a look at liga's skill explanation page, if you find that the information you get by right-clicking the symbols is not enough (which it sometimes truly is).