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“I Bind Things” A Realmatic Hypothesis of the Potential Ramifications of Connection in the Spiritual Realm Introduction: I was contemplating the following quote by Sylphrena in The Way of Kings, [1] when I was struck by an interesting disparity. Why would Syl state binding things as a distinguishing attribute of honorspren? The obvious answer, the one that I had previously assumed, is that she referenced the Adhesion-like ability she shares with windspren [2]. But the context of Syl’s declaration shows the fallacious nature of this assumption: Syl and Kaladin had both originally assumed that she was a windspren. Yet, when she first mentioned “binding things,” it was as she was discovering – indeed, telling Kaladin – that she was not, in fact, a windspren after all [3]. Thus, whatever Syl’s “binding things” attribute is, it is almost certainly not an attribute of common windspren. This line of thinking led me to the following conclusions: Potential Postulates of the Spiritual Realm The Spiritual Realm is a Realm of Ideals and Connections [4]. In my studying, I have come to believe that these Ideals are something akin to Kurkistan’s Forms [5]. (I had come up with a similar model independently, but Kurkistan explains it better.) I propose that Ideals are the Spiritual Realmatic aspects of everything. Much as everything has a “bead,” a mind, conscience, or whatever you prefer you call it, in the Cognitive Realm [6], everything has a similar aspect manifesting in the Spiritual Realm as an Ideal. I will also go one step farther and declare my second proposition: Interactions between beings and their Spiritual Ideals (whether natural or Investiture-related) creates Connections. Potential ramifications of these postulates are extensive, and I shall avoid wasting this opportunity by discussing minor, trivial possibilities. Certainly they lend merit to ideas such as Shaggai’s idea of Allomantic steel [7], and explains what, exactly, Feruchemical duralumin may store. Speculation on Shards and Shardworlds: (I will make a bit of a leap here; please understand that the spoiler section is much more speculative, pending further references.) Speculation Application to Investiture and the Laws of Magic The most important application of these statements of conjecture, I believe, is their potential applicability to Investiture and its interactions in current canon. And so I return to my analysis of Sylphrena’s statement. As Syl’s binding ability is likely not the Adhesion (for lack of a better term) demonstrated earlier in The Way of Kings, I present that Syl – and, by extension all Radiant spren – is binding Spiritual Ideals. As a spren begins to form the Nahel bond with an individual, the spren is using itself, a Splinter of Adonalsium, to create a Spiritual Connection between the Radiant candidate and the Ideal of the Radiant Order that the spren is associated with [11]. The candidate’s Spiritual Ideal must already be similar in nature to that of the order he/she will join for a spren to be able to start the bond. Example: (spoilered for length) Acting in accordance with the Radiant Oaths aligns the candidate’s Spiritual Ideal more closely to the Ideal of the order he/she will join, allowing the spren to gradually bond the individual closer to the Ideal. Speaking the Oaths is an essential part of the bonding process, markedly increasing the strength of the spren’s Connection. Much of the growth of the Connection is done over this series of five “steps.” Breaking Oaths and misaligning the candidate’s Ideal from that of the Radiant Order strains and eventually breaks the Connection, effectively killing the spren [13]. The Connection between the Spiritual aspect of the candidate and the Spiritual Ideal of the Radiant Order allows the individual’s Ideal to become more like the Ideal it is Connected to; in effect, this allows the candidate to gain the Surgebinding abilities. On Roshar, this system would have been begun initially by Honor. By making the ten Honorblades, the Spiritual interaction between Honor and Roshar created the ten Spiritual Ideals of the ten Orders. The Heralds then were able to bond to these “magic system Ideals” through the Honorblades to create their Connection; the Spren, imitating the Honorblades, began doing the same process with other individuals – Surgebinders [14]. While the other Cosmere “magic systems” clearly differ from this Spren-Binding Process, there are certain similarities that indicate that all seem to rely on Connection to function. This has led me to develop my Connective Law of Magic: All Investiture-Related Phenomena are facilitated through Connections between Ideals in the Spiritual Realm. Through simple observation, with the aid of this Connective Law of Magic, it is easy to see how similar Connections between the Spiritual aspects of individuals and “magic system” Ideals are formed. Scadrial: Much of Scadrial’s magic is based on genetics, due to the extra bit of Preservation in each individual [15]. This is talked of as a connection to Preservation, allowing access to his (or her, depending) “body” or power. It seems that the innate pieces of Ruin and Preservation create a Connection to the power of these Shards. Nalthis: A WOB from Kurkistan [11] indicates that each Breath carries with it the Ideal of being given power from Endowment. The ability to give Breaths allows Nalthians to pass on this Connection to another individual (Heightening) or an object (Awakening). Sel: Every type of Selian magic seems to require not only the mandatory Spiritual Connection to the planet, but also to a specific region. Each regional Connection then grants access to the Dor in its own way: AonDor for Arelon, Dakhor for Fjordell, ChayShan for Jindo, Forgery for MaiPon, etc. Conclusion To summarize, I presented a potential Connective Law of Magic: All Investiture-Related Phenomena (“magics”) are made possible by Realmatic Connections between Ideals (the Spiritual aspects of people and objects as per Realmatic Theory) in the Spiritual Realm. This concept was based off of two postulates about the nature of Ideals: First, that Ideals are, as stated above, Realmatic Spiritual aspects; and second, that interactions between beings and Ideals create Connection. I hope my thoughts are intriguing, or, at the least, thought-provoking. Thank you for taking the trouble to read out my ideas! (Note: This is a rough draft; I still have some work that I need to do. I just think that it is time to begin discussion so I can progress my ideas. Thank you.) Sources