Proximity Magic

[killersquirrel59]

We know that AonDor only works properly in the proximity of Elantris (reasonably far range, still working in Teod, but still a bounded system based on proximity to Elantris). The question is though, is this inherent to the magic system or due to something else?

We know that Elantris and its four gate cities are a giant Aon Rao that serves to amplify the power of the Dor. I'm wondering if Elantris was built where it was because that is where AonDor works, or whether AonDor works there because that is where they built Elantris. Would it be possible for instance, that if another giant Aon Rao city was constructed by one attuned to the Aons elsewhere in the world if AonDor would suddenly start working there as well, and the Shaod start taking people from that region. Might make an interesting strategy if done in Fjorden...

[Voidus]

The Aons are based on Arelish landscape I would be very surprised if it worked elsewhere just because of an Aon Rao, even when the Aon Rao wasn't working they could still use Aons, they just didn't have the amplified power.

[killersquirrel59]

Then let's expand this further (perhaps to a ridiculous degree). They are based on the Arelish landscape. Let's say someone underwent a massive terraforming project and created an exact duplicate of the Arelish landscape elsewhere on the planet, including the Elantris metropolitan giant Aon Rao. Would AonDor suddenly start working there?

Essentially, is it the actual geographic location, is it the landscape features, or is it the man-made constructs on the land?

Edited September 23, 2014 by killersquirrel59

[Moogle]

The magic systems on Sel are all the same magic (including Forgery, ChayShan, AonDor, and whatever the Dakhor monks were doing). I imagine the local geography is what determines the alphabet for each area, so terraforming could work and create an area where a magic identical to the AonDor operated. That doesn't mean that would let an Elantrian use their powers in that place, though:

Nepene ()
In The Emperor's Soul and Elantris the magic systems have very different methods and powers, though both work through symbols. Assuming they adapted the symbols to their local geography could they use each other's methods? Could an Elantrian forge a soulstamp say?

Brandon Sanderson
Birth in a certain location on Sel gives a certain affinity for the local symbols, and their usage. To use the magic of another region, one would need to have a rewritten connection to that area instead.

 
But even then, this is not clear - Aon Mea, for example, is an 'X' placed in an area of unusually high Cognitive activity. You'd have to copy that over too, probably:

Zas678
What is the X in Aon Mea? Is it one of the Shard-pools?

Brandon Sanderson
Afraid not. Aon Mea references the expanded region within which the "Elantris Effect" will create Elantrians. The X is fertile valley with a high density of life, a place with a lot of cognitive activity. (Cognitive as defined by Realmatic Theory includes the 'thoughts' of all things that exist, not just human beings. The more complex the life form, the stronger its presence on the Cognitive Realm.)

 
Sel is just really weird. You could apparently replicate the AonDor elsewhere:

Question
Is there a region based magic like Elantris on any of the other worlds?

Brandon Sanderson
The Aon magic is unique to that planet because it is intrinsic to the shard that created it, but you could theoretically hack the magic system so that AonDor would work on another planet.

 
So, basically, we don't know a whole lot, and what we do know doesn't really match the rest of the Cosmere.
 
To use the AonDor elsewhere in the Cosmere, two theories (that I know of) have cropped up:

• You re-discover an alphabet in the area you want to use AonDor. This seems wrong because going to a different area gets you a different alphabet with new powers (at least, on Sel). You can't use Fjordish characters to do the AonDor, for example - if you try to use them, you make Dakhor monks or something.
• You somehow bring Arelon with you wherever you go, so the Dor thinks it's being used in Arelon. (This is complicated by the fact that the Dor seems to somehow be local to Sel, and its Investiture is not usable off-world... but then, Allomancy lets you use Preservation's Investiture off-world, so who knows?) How you'd do this is not certain - you could maybe terraform a small area around you to be like Sel, or maybe you could use Feruchemical duralumin and play around with connections, or maybe you could set up some sort of 'link' from Arelon to your location by creating linked Aons (so, operating on the same principles as conjoined fabrials on Roshar).

All we know is that Sel's magics are some of the harder ones to get to work away from their region:

Odium's_Shard
Can magic systems from one world work in any given other?

Brandon Sanderson
For some, it will take quite a bit of work, but it's possible to get them each to work. Sel's magics are regional, and so they are going to be tough. Scadrial's magics are the easiest.

 

Elantris was built after people determined how the Aons work. WoB:

Brandon Sanderson

Aons are an interesting part of this book—perhaps my favorite of the world elements. If you think about the system I've set up, you'll realize some things. First, the Aons have to be older than the Aonic language. They're based directly off of the land. So, the lines that make up the characters aren't arbitrary. Perhaps the sounds associated with them are, but the meanings—at least in part—are inherent. The scene with Raoden explaining how the Aon for 'Wood' includes circles matching the forests in the land of Arelon indicates that there is a relationship between the Aons and their meanings. In addition, each Aon produces a magical effect, which would have influenced its meaning.

The second interesting fact about the Aons is that only Elantrians can draw them. And Elantrians have to come from the lands near Arelon. Teoish people can be taken, but only if they're in Arelon at the time. Genetically, then, the Teos and the Arelenes must be linked—and evidence seems to indicate that the Arelenes lived in the land first, and the Teos crossed the sea to colonize their peninsula.

Only Elantrians can draw Aons in the air, so someone taken by the Shaod must have developed the writing system. That is part of what makes writing a noble art in Arelon—drawing the Aons would have been associated with Elantrians. Most likely, the early Elantrians (who probably didn't even have Elantris back then) would have had to learn the Aons by trial and error, finding what each one did, and associating its meaning and sound with its effect. The language didn't develop, but was instead 'discovered.'

There are likely Aons that haven't even been found yet.

 

Though the WoB is somewhat complicated by the fact that he uses words like 'most likely' and 'probably'.

Edited September 23, 2014 by Moogle