Search the Community

Okay, so I initially proposed this as a possible Coppermind article, but I think the theory can apply to quite a few things we've seen so far in the Cosmere. Based on some recent interviews, particularly [1] these [2] questions from this Q&A, Brandon spitballs and generally agrees with a concept called Resonance - whether or not that ends up being an official term. In essence, it's the interaction between, and side effects of, the combination of two or more magic abilities. The abilities don't necessarily have to be from different Shards or even systems, though I imagine the side effects could be even weirder in these situations. This initially came from the suggestion of Lift having some kind of Perk based on her two Bindings. We don't know what it is yet, but Brandon more or less agreed with the concept and extrapolated that the Lightweaving of a Truthwatcher and a Lightweaver would be fundamentally different in some way. We can thus extrapolate that a Skybreaker's Gravitational bindings are going to be different to those of a Windrunner. Think about the combination of Gravitaion and Adhesion. Essentially - you're adhering gravity between different things. This thing will attract that thing (using gravity). I think Skybreakers may actually cause objects to repel with their lashings, and they may fly by essentially removing their connection to gravity and then repelling from a surface. One force is the same, but their interaction with it is totally different because of how the two Surges combine. This concept extends to other systems though. Much later on, someone asks if Waxillium has a Resonance, and Brandon suggests specifically his ability to bend projectiles around himself. His shield is related to this but not the totality of it. Wax himself is approaching or has reached Savant status with perhaps both of his metals - steel and iron - and this allows him to even more finely control this ability to bend trajectories - in addition to his reflexive use of the 'shield'. In a sense, he may actually be, perhaps even subconsciously, adjusting his weight on the fly to more carefully adjust his pushes and pulls - allowing for these feats. It's also stated that Wayne indeed has a Resonance, but it's not "as obvious" and is then RAFO'd. Moving back to Lift, we also know that she has some sort of Curse and Boon from the old magic. The interactions between this magic and her Surgebinding is probably also a kind of Resonance - which has caused her partial presence in the cognitive and ability to metabolize Stormlight and touch Spren. I think it's unlikely that these are her actual Curse and Boon. Are there any other combinations we know about where we can detect effects of "Resonance" such as these? After considering Brandon's answers more closely, I believe "merging" is a key word for Resonance, in this sense. A twinborn is going to have little to no Resonance if he or she is very new to their abilities. They're essentially going to be using them as individual powers. However, since Wax is at or approaching savant status with his abilities, they've started merging at a spiritual level. This merging brings out the Resonance between his abilities and allows him to bend trajectories with precision.