Confused Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) “The pen is mightier than the sword.” - E. Bulwer-Lytton, Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy, 1839. The first four words of this quote were combined into three in a famous Saturday Night Live spoof of Jeopardy The draft, non-canonical SLA 3 Jasnah chapter shows us some of “Jasnah’s Adventures in Shadesmar-land.” Jasnah falls through a rabbit hole…I mean a “juncture,” and follows a vest-wearing white rabbit…I mean a dapper spren, through Shadesmar-land, seeking a way home. I’m sure the chapter’s details will radically change by publication. Still, all parody aside, the draft hints at what goes on in the Cognitive Realm – it’s a jungle out there. This look into Shadesmar fits with much of what Brandon says about the place. I consider the basic description of Shadesmar – with “harmmore” painspren – reliable. Theory The Cognitive Realm is a place of ideas. These ideas do not achieve permanence unless they become Spiritual Realm “ideals.” If they do not achieve permanence, they will die. They fight hard – against each other – to achieve that permanence. It is a war of personal and ideological survival. The very idea of pain panicks the normally calm and staid Ivory. Thoughts can kill. The Shards’ mandates (intents) define the overall scope of this war. The War of Ideas, as so defined, is how I believe Shards fight each other. For those who haven’t seen my thinking on this, you might check out the following threads. Many of these ideas are controversial, but I’m trying to present a cohesive theory, of which this thread is a part. The Origin of the Cosmere: Its Composition, Realmatic Interactions, and the Workings of Magic The Shattering: Origin, Power and Nature of the Shards and Their “Intents” “Mandates” of the Known Shards To summarize the theory: Power, like people and other "things," exists in all three Realms simultaneously. Power needs a “mind to direct it,” according to Sazed. Without such a mind, Power becomes “frantic,” ultimately attaining sentience on its own with “bizarre” effects. Shards generally express their power under the compulsion of their mandates (a word I define in the “Mandates…” post above). A strong-minded Shard can fight against that compulsion. In that post, I interpret the mandates of each known Shard. Briefly, they are Cultivation: Survival; Devotion: Love; Dominion: Control; Endowment: Generosity; Honor: Relationships; Odium: Aggression. HoA established Preservation and Ruin as Stability and Intelligent Decay, respectively, so I did not discuss those Shards in that post. There, and here, I emphasize the importance of thinking of mandates broadly and abstractly. In this post, I extend the theory. If power needs a mind to direct it, then how can Shards cripple each other? Through the War of Ideas, killing off each other’s ideas, stripping away their consciousness, their ability to direct their power. (I’m not suggesting this is the ONLY way, but it is an effective way.) Edited August 5, 2015 by Moogle 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggai Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) It's not war, any more than evolution is war. What you're getting at is basically memetic theory, except embodied in a quasi-physical state. I may add more to this response later, once I've gotten through the implications. Edit: Actually, sentient ideas has massive implications when it comes to memetics. Azathoth, I'm really glad I don't live on Roshar. This could be the basis for some serious horror material somewhat similar to the Tragedy of the Three Shards theory I have in my sig. Edit edit edit edit: Deleted the other edits. They're not really relevant. I'll get the full analysis up at some point eventually. Edited August 5, 2015 by Shaggai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmurfAquamarineBodies Posted August 5, 2015 Report Share Posted August 5, 2015 Theory The Cognitive Realm is a place of ideas. These ideas do not achieve permanence unless they become Spiritual Realm “ideals.” If they do not achieve permanence, they will die. They fight hard – against each other – to achieve that permanence. How does the Physical realm affect that war? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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