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Found 9 results

  1. So, this is a bit of a niche question, but I've been wondering - Progression can obviously cause plants to rapidly grow, but could it be used to make plants rapidly rot as well? I ask because I was thinking of the ability to use seeds to rapidly generate topsoil via Progression; you'd plant some seeds, accelerate their growth, accelerate their rotting, and repeat the process, in a fashion similar to an accelerated version of the way that pioneer species colonize things like new volcanic islands. You'd probably need to mix in some manure or stuff like that, and use nitrogen-fixing species for the best effects, but it seemed like it might be a useful ability (albeit somewhat redundant with Soulcasting, probably). On the other hand, I wasn't sure if Progression could be used to accelerate rot in the first place, or whether the fact that Investiture is fuelling the growth would prevent you from using saprotrophic organisms (e.g. fungi) to do the decomposing - if you're supplying the energy, would they consume the plants you put them on?
  2. So, let's say you have a gold compounder, who is healed by either an Edgedancer or a Truthwatcher. Would it maybe be possible to absorb tonnes of Stormlight, use it to heal someone, and then have them store that healing in a Goldmind at just the right moment? This would then allow them to burn the Goldmind at any point (granting them an extra boost which I expect would make the healing greater than it originally would have been if just taken directly from the Stormlight), so the healing would be stored away safely for later use (as opposed to it slowly fading away in the form of Stormlight). As Stormlight is easily accesible (at least if you are on Roshar) and the healing power gained from the Surge of Progression seems to be great, at least compared to just Feruchemical gold, this could be an interesting way of easily storing lots of healing, or maybe other Feruchemical attributes too. For example, what if you could Lash yourself through the air at great speeds and then stop yourself by storing that speed in a Steelmind? The basic idea is just to combine the large raw power of the Surges with Feruchemy, which directs and controls power well. In my mind this works a little to well, so I might just have made it all up. I can see some things that might get in the way (at least with healing). For example, i don't think Radiants can heal somebody who don't percieve themselves as injured or sick. Could you bypass this by changing their/your Perception somehow? Another problem could be that Surges don't count as attributes you can store, because they aren't seen as belonging to you but to the Stormlight itself? Also, I didn't really do my research before writing this. It's likely all wild speculation, so please tell me what you think about combining Surgebinding and Feruchemy.
  3. With humans, it basically works that Bob (a holy name in Vorinism) loses his hand in a an unfortunate accident (involving Horneater ale, three chickens, and Hoid, but we won't go into that). Bob sees himself as a guy with two hands. Renarin uses Bob's perception of himself as a template to regrow the hand. So. How much self-awareness is required in the process? If an axehound loses a leg, how does that change its Cognitive aspect? If it doesn't have awareness outside of now, and now is pain and hobbling around, is healing impossible? If it is intelligent enough to remember that there was a time that wasn't, pain, would that be enough, or would it have to have some recognition that pain =\= normal? Is Dalinar's "healing" of Taln's temple relevant in any way to this discussion? Or do inanimate objects and/or Bondsmiths just work under different rules?
  4. So I know this a wild crackpot theory but for some reason I really think it should work . I also would like for anybody to think you could theoretically do with a surge that it’s really not intended for but theoretically should work. Ok here it goes . Progression can make plants grow . A sapling can grow into a tree . A tiny rock bud can grow into large one . So I wonder can you use it to make a young person grow into adulthood ? The plants on Roshar are animate . Grass moves and drinks water . Rock buds open up in the rain . So plants are animate life forms . How come you can make a plant . Grow , and not a person? You can heal people , ressurext people , and even grow back appendages that were lost . So I think you should be able to age a person . You might wonder why you would want to age a person . Well they are fighting a War of attrition .. in past Desolotions nine out of 10 people died . You might to age people to just to replace the fighting force . Just like you need to grow plants for food . I’m sure it sounds callous , but theoretically do you think it’s possible.
  5. This is a theory, that I've been forming in the current Shalladin thread here yesterday. Well, the thread moved on and never really got into any discussion about it. I believe the theory alone is enough to allow for a whole thread. I don't want this thread to become part of the shipping war. I want to see opinions about this. So, please refrain from getting too worked up about any of it. It's just a theory. (And I know, that I have problems with not getting worked up, too. I try to work on it. ) ---- So, in Chapter 15 of Oathbringer we see Shallan getting confronted by Adolin with the fact, that she actually has a Shardblade, a fact she has been trying to forget by splitting Pattern into two personalities - the spren and the Blade. Now, I'm a pretty vocal fan of the Shallan/Kaladin pairing, so this might seem a bit biased, but I hope you try to understand my perspective, when I try to explain the Shallan/Adolin relationship in it's current form - from Shallan's perspective - Adolin's is pretty short, he is infatuated with her, maybe even in love, and wants to keep her. But I digress, Shallan's perspective: The world is ending, listeners all around Roshar are turning into mindless murder machines threatening mankind. And damnation, Shallan is supposed to be a Radiant. To step up and help save mankind? Imagine the pressure. Imagine the uncertainty. Adolin is the only thing, that currently is certain in Shallan's life. She clings to it, she bends herself to make it work, like when she wouldn't tell Adolin, that she rather would not train duelling stances. That is also why her subconscious starts to kick in and panicks, when she gets the feeling, he might blow off the betrothal. But only the betrothal, she's so focused on the betrothal, of that anchor, that she is afraid of losing that. But I don't blame her, it's human. It is true, that she likes Adolin, but in my opinion, there is little true textual evidence, that she loves him. She never says, "Oh no, Adolin is going to leave me.", but, instead, says "Oh no, he's going to blow off the betrothal." Now, how does Adolin inhibit Shallan's character growth? By being that one anchor in her life, she is too afraid to lose it. So, in order to not disappoint him, she creates Brightness Radiant, just so she can have a good time with him. It would be fine, but it is not what she has to do to progress. Pattern basically confirms that. Shallan needs to become a Knight, but she needs to be it herself. Not Brightness Radiant. Not Veil. It needs to be Shallan. As seen above, when Shallan denies the fact, that she can be a Knight Radiant, Pattern is confused. Or, at least, Shallan recognizes it as confusion. Maybe it is irritation. Anyway, I don't believe, that Pattern can help her with this. He blames himself for her state of mind and even offers to kill himself for Shallan. So she can become, who she needs to be. He thinks, that she hates him. Even if Shallan tells him, she doesn't. He is confused, because he is oblivious to the fact, that Shallan, in her mind, has been splitting Pattern in two. I really is a strange relationship Shallan has been creating for them after the hard truth at the end of WoR. One might argue, that Brightness Radiant is just a role, like an actor would play, but I don't agree with that. She is a different personality, which takes over. A facade. A Shallan-influenced, but different soul. The biggest takeaway for that is, that Brightness Radiant apparently can't draw, one of Shallan's best skills. She's even talking of Radiant as a different person. Anyway, the bottom line is, that Shallan is already building walls again. And, though not through his intent, Adolin is enabling it. The worst part is, that he doesn't even see the change in Shallan, when she takes on the Brightness Radiant persona. I have seen some arguments about Shallan being able to overcome her fear of Pattern, by Adolin's love of Blades rubbing off on her. Could be, the problem is, that it currently is rubbing off on Radiant, who is a completely different entity from Shallan. Even in Shallan's own mind! I can't emphasize that enough. Poor Adolin doesn't know it, but he's doing her a disservice. And now he thinks, that she enjoys Shardblade practice, so I am positive, that it will become a regular thing. And everytime he won't be with Shallan, but with Radiant. Then I've been thinking: "What could help her then? If her own betrothed can't help her, because of their convolution in being betrothed in the first place?" And then it hit me: Kaladin. In the end, it always comes down to Kaladin. Why? I'll tell you. Remember after Kaladin killed that Veden Shardbearer (I won't call him Helaran here, because I'm still not 100 percent convinced it really is him. The description was suspiciously vague.), who killed his men? He refused the shards. He said, that he can't bear them, that he won't bear them. For one, because they were coated with the blood of his own men. See the parallel to Pattern being tainted by Shallan's mother's blood? And, secondly, because it would make him a lighteyes. Remember how Adolin offers Kaladin Shards after the duel? He still refuses. He still can't imagine ever carrying a Shardblade. He fears them for their killing power, he disrespects them for that. But he overcame his problems. He saw, that he needed to be a Knight Radiant, to wield a Shardblade and, if necessary, even become lighteyed in the process. Become one of those persons, that he hated for all his life. What I think is, that Shallan doesn't need someone, who tells her how great Blades are and that she should be happy for having one. She needs someone, who she can relate to. Who understands her problem. Someone, who says, "I know how you feel, I felt the same not so long ago. I hated the idea of wielding a Shardblade. But let me help you get over that fear. Let me help you become what you have to become. You don't have to do this all by yourself, you're not alone." And that someone is Kaladin. Because, if you break it down to bottom, they both have or had the same problem. The unability to use a Shardblade as a weapon. Hating them for their killing power. Plus it would give a wonderful opportunity to finally talk about Helaran. Kaladin also seems to be pretty good at noticing, when she's hiding herself again. Like he did in the carriage ride in WoR, where she was hiding some emotions from Adolin. Conclusion: Shallan is barricading herself in lies again. Pattern blames himself for it. Adolin is involuntarily enabling her. Kaladin might be the solution.
  6. So this is my first topic on here and I thought I'd share some ideas I've been having about Progression and specifically its Growth (as opposed to Regrowth or healing aspect). I think as a community (probably rightly) are more excited about the applications of Progression for battlefield healing etc but two things that we've learnt in the preview chapters have had me wondering as to whether the historical radiants also used it to produce food during desolations. One is the fact that Urithiru contains lots of fields, the other is the ability Dalinar showed to co-opt and possibly magnify the surges of others. It seems apparent that Urithiru was at least partially built as a final fortress for humanity in the eventuality that a desolation drove them from everywhere else in Roshar and this is obviously why it has these fields (as well as saving the Radiants from having to trade with others in times of peace). The problem though is that given that Urithiru has the capacity to hold very large numbers of people these fields seem insufficient. Now in present times, Rosharans survive sieges by turning things into food directly through Soulcasters, which is likely more Stormlight efficient than using progression to grow plants of which not all is edible, additional energy is required to be turned into bread and are generally less nutritious than meat. This is especially true as farming is far less time efficient than Soulcasting - why would the Radiants bother to spend the best part of a year growing crops when in that time multiple Highstorms will come to give additional Stormlight to use for Soulcasting food directly? The problem with the idea of using progression to speed up farming to near instantaneous is that it is likely that as with other surges you can only use it on plants you are actually touching. But when I read Dalinar co-opting Shallan's Lightweaving (with what I presume is his Resonance) to produce an effect she herself was incapable of I wondered whether it might be possible for a Bondsmith to use the Surge of Progression to cover an entire field and so accelerate the growth of the crops throughout. The visual image of her Stormlight spreading to fill out the room struck me as similar to that of a Truthwatcher or Edgedancer touching the soil under the influence of a Bondsmith and his Stormlight spreading to grow seeds instantly to maturity. As I see it there are two problems with the theory, one it is unclear whether Bondsmiths could, in fact, do this - especially if the seeds aren't touching each other, the other is it is unclear how the Stormlight efficiency of this would line up next to Soulcasting. The fact does remain, however, that Urithiru's fields seem both insufficient and redundant when servicing its population given the existence of Soulcasting. If anyone has any relevant WOBs or thoughts on the Growth aspect of Progression or the fields of Urithiru I'd love to hear them but thanks for reading this longish post
  7. So I was thinking about the fact that Renarin, we know, is a Truthwatcher and so has the two surges of Illumination and Progression. From the interludes, we know that Lift can use the food she eats to surgebind and heal herself but if she uses it too much it makes her tired and weak. My theory is that Renarin is doing this unknowingly and using up his energy which may be why he apeares 'weak' or 'sickly'. What do you guys think??
  8. So I was thinking about the fact that Renarin, we know, is a Truthwatcher and so has the two surges of Illumination and Progression. From the interludes, we know that Lift can use the food she eats to surgebind and heal herself but if she uses it too much it makes her tired and weak. My theory is that Renarin is doing this unknowingly and using up his energy which may be why he apeares 'weak' or 'sickly'. What do you guys think??
  9. First, this forum is such a cool space to have conversation and speculation among people with similar interests yet such different backgrounds. The different experiences that we have definitely feeds into how each of us reads and interprets, which makes for such a fascinating opportunity to share insights and see things in ways that we might not have thought of or picked up on. Certainly, there are aspects of the fantasy genre that are meant for entertainment – I, for one, love to get lost in a different world every once in a while, disconnecting from ‘reality’ and plugging into dreams and imaginations. However, much of the world deems writing, poetry, imagination, fiction, especially fantasy, as a luxury that is separate from and irrelevant to what is commonly known as ‘real life.’ So I wanted to begin, since this is my very first post in the forum, with a word of encouragement to you fine folks. As the saying goes, fiction is the lie through which we tell the truth (I am sure the progression of Shallan Davar and Pattern would agree with this), and fantasy, as removed from ‘truth’ as it often seems, is a pertinent example of lies through which much truth is often spoken. To those of you who are mocked for choosing to spend your time in a corner, head buried in a book, take heart and confidence in what you learn from your imagination, and in that confidence share your insights with those who might be afraid of the truths they might find within the lies they tell themselves: that reality is what it seems, fantasy is only escape and distraction, and survival is for the ‘fittest.’ Imagination is not a luxury, it is life. I think Brandon Sanderson does well in showing this in the Stormlight Archive, making manifest what we cannot naturally see in our world through spren. As said in one of the books, spren is change, or, at least in Roshar, a visual manifestation of change. To relate this to our world, things are changing all the time. We do not notice, and we take it for granted, but it’s true. Cells are constantly dying and growing; when we stand still, we are moving with the earth’s rotation; we are thinking, always thinking; etc. etc. One thing I wanted to touch on specifically, however, is the nature of light, which I promise I will relate to Truthwatching and Illumination eventually, so bear with me. Questions of sight do not usually inspire responses of detailed reality, with the physics of how one actually sees, in terms of what might even allow for sight – that is, for example, one does not think to tell of the light that reflects off of opaque surfaces and into eyes, or the lack or distortion thereof that might affect vision, or the scattering of such that red might be distinguished from blue, black and white and the shades between. For most, light is rarely thought of as an independent actor, but just a medium through which we see. Even for the blind, however, light exists: at the very least they can feel its warmth, its energy – they would not see in the same way because light exists differently for them. The point is that light is everywhere but it is often not considered – perhaps we actually see more than we think. Perhaps spren really do exist. I first noticed the correlation between spren and quantum theory in the interlude chapter in Way of Kings where two ardents are measuring spren. As a disclaimer, I am not a theoretical physicist, nor will I include any math here on this forum, but it is fascinating to compare the similarities. In classical physics, what we all perhaps learned in high school in one form or another, measurement does not change the state of what is being measured. For example, the weight of one paperclip today will be the same tomorrow, more or less. In quantum physics, however, the rules are different – measurement changes everything. To tangent a little, this discovery in the early 20th century has made physicists rethink how even reality works – what if quantum theory applies not just at the quantum (very very miniscule) level, but to everything? Not just physically, but cognitively as well? This is the context I am placing the Stormlight Archive in. Through fantasy, Sanderson has made manifest and broken down certain theories that pervade contemporary thought. In the previously mentioned interlude chapter, spren stop moving when they are measured. This is similarly the case in quantum theory (if interested, look up wave function collapse). Okay, cool. But so what? Here is where my theory on Truthwatching comes in. When Renarin says he sees, what he means is that he actually sees. Not ‘see’ in the conventional sense, but literally sees. Wow, really clear man. I know, I know. The closest analogy I could think of is The Matrix, where at the end -SPOILER-, Neo literally sees reality as the code of the Matrix since it is a computer program. What I’m saying is the Truthwatching is a similar thing, except instead of code, what Renarin, and other Truthwatchers, see is the spren (quanta) of everything. Everything. This has nothing to do with his visions. I am in the camp that says his visions are not a result of Truthwatching since Dalinar, Kaladin (dream), and Shallan (drawings), have the same experience (I believe FeatherWriter has a really good and well-written post on this). This brings a new connotation to Illumination. What “illumination” means is to shed light on or clarify. If Lightweavers use Illumination to create illusions (perhaps because of its combination with Transformation), maybe Truthwatchers see through illusions. To relate, if we look at an apple sitting on a table, we see it as still. If we shine a strong light (must be coherent light) on it, however, the shadow that appears will show a hole in the middle; i.e. the solidity of the apple is an illusion. Or, if we shine a light on any object, the boundary of the shadow will appear fuzzy even though the boundary of the object is solid; i.e. static boundaries are illusions – this is due to the property of diffraction and the wave-particle duality that light has, another consequence that quantum theory attempts to explain. The perfect place to extend this theory from merely the physical to the cognitive, emotional, spiritual, etc., is the space of imagination and fiction, which are as real as physical reality. I think this is what Sanderson is experimenting with through the separation of Physical Realm, Cognitive Realm, etc. Truthwatchers might be the only ones able to see what is actually going on. In our world, our eyes often deceive us. Perhaps to see as Renarin does would be to see through the deception of reality. See spren. See what matters. See the stories behind people (Ym). See beauty. And to be able to see would certainly help knowing how to heal whatever is damaged – I am defining ‘heal’ here not as cure or fix, which implies some sort of wholeness, but ‘heal’ as in growth (i.e. Progression not towards, but Progression from). Sometimes a word of encouragement or a pair of comfortable shoes might go a longer way than stabbing someone with a Shardblade, deposing an incompetent king, or summoning highstorms, and this is what Renarin can see. Of course, this is all speculation, and I’m sure what I’ve written is full of holes. So, thoughts?
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