Crossplanet Investiture

[Walkingman]

Somewhere I picked up that almost all Magic systems in the Cosmere can be powered by any kind of Investiture. So a Radiant from Roshar could eat a metal from Scadrial and then use their Radiant abilities. If that is the case than could Characters from Warbreaker like Vashyr or Vivenna acquire almost Infinite Breath when they get to a system where Investiture exist in abundance? 

Worldhoppers that use Breath like Vashyr who traveled to Roshar, could they acquire almost infinite Breath with the Help of Stormlight?

[Treamayne]

First, can you please verify what works you have read, in case we need to avoid spoilers

4 hours ago, Walkingman said:

Somewhere I picked up that almost all Magic systems in the Cosmere can be powered by any kind of Investiture. So a Radiant from Roshar could eat a metal from Scadrial and then use their Radiant abilities. If that is the case than could Characters from Warbreaker like Vashyr or Vivenna acquire almost Infinite Breath when they get to a system where Investiture exist in abundance? 

Worldhoppers that use Breath like Vashyr who traveled to Roshar, could they acquire almost infinite Breath with the Help of Stormlight?

Here's a WoB about Vasher

Spoiler

Questioner

With Vasher on Roshar, is he collecting more Breaths, or just burning through slowly what he has collected?

Brandon Sanderson

He can use Stormlight instead. That's why he came to Roshar.

Questioner

Did he come voluntarily?

Brandon Sanderson

He came voluntarily because he was tired of sucking souls. Roshar is where he decided to "retire."

Questioner

How many Breaths <does he have now>?

Brandon Sanderson

He has the same number that he left with. Which, there are clues to what level of Heightening he at least has, in the books.

So, it doesn't seem like he "makes" breaths out of Stormlight - he just consumes Stormlight instead of Breath to maintain his returned nature.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Treamayne
Formatting

[Walkingman]

I finished all of Stormlight including Edgedancer and Dawnshard. I also finished Mistborn Era 1 and 2 and Warbreaker.

12 minutes ago, Treamayne said:

First, can you please verify what works you have read, in case we need to avoid spoilers

Here's a WoB about Vasher

  Hide contents

Questioner

With Vasher on Roshar, is he collecting more Breaths, or just burning through slowly what he has collected?

Brandon Sanderson

He can use Stormlight instead. That's why he came to Roshar.

Questioner

Did he come voluntarily?

Brandon Sanderson

He came voluntarily because he was tired of sucking souls. Roshar is where he decided to "retire."

Questioner

How many Breaths <does he have now>?

Brandon Sanderson

He has the same number that he left with. Which, there are clues to what level of Heightening he at least has, in the books.

So, it doesn't seem like he "makes" breaths out of Stormlight - he just consumes Stormlight instead of Breath to maintain his returned nature.

So he keeps the Breaths and than adds Stormlight using that instead of the Breaths he has?

[Quantus]

7 hours ago, Walkingman said:

Somewhere I picked up that almost all Magic systems in the Cosmere can be powered by any kind of Investiture. So a Radiant from Roshar could eat a metal from Scadrial and then use their Radiant abilities. If that is the case than could Characters from Warbreaker like Vashyr or Vivenna acquire almost Infinite Breath when they get to a system where Investiture exist in abundance? 

Worldhoppers that use Breath like Vashyr who traveled to Roshar, could they acquire almost infinite Breath with the Help of Stormlight?

Not quite, only SOME things can be fueled by any form of Investiture, and so far that list is actually pretty short (Nightblood, Larkin, White Sand charging (Kinetic only) and feeding a Divine Breath). There is nothing magical about Scadrian metal and Mistborn can use any mundane metal (of the correct alloys) to access their Preservation Investiture.

For the rest that it's that different types of Investiture can in theory and with a varying amount of work be Converted, is "usually not that easy to do) and figuring out those secrets seems to be the current goal of some of the Worldhopping interests. For example, WOB says the easiest way to Awaken using Stormlight would to first convert it to Breaths, and that Vasher has been trying but hasnt figured out how .  

 

That being said, the fandom has worked out several ways that should work to get infinite Investiture, and a few more that are more debatable (but I like them).  "Breaths are Easy" per WOB, and I think it's because they take on so much of their Command and target (Identity, etc) that I think you could just Command them to refill a Gem/Metalmind/etc and it would convert (at the high cost of one relatively rare pseudo-Soul).  WOB says Stormlight is "fairly easy" but I dont know of any theories more specific than "some Fabrial Tech and Spren shenanigans" and Spren in particular are very difficult to move off-world because their essence is tied to the system and Shards they come from.  Sel is very specifically Location locked so even magical effects from there stops working with distance, but Connection umbilical's through the Spiritual Realm should work by WOB and we think we've seen this with the Ire folks.  

I personally think you could take a Nathian that was ignorant of what a Breath was, talk them through the gifting Command, and then while they are still feeling terrible from the Investiture loss, heal them with ReGrowth or Gold Feruchemy to rebuild/restore their Breath.  Not a particularly happy (or moral, probably) method, but I think it would work realmically. 

 

Quote

 

Questioner

How difficult is it to transfer Investiture from one magic system to another, is it even possible?

Brandon Sanderson

How difficult is it to transfer Investiture from one magic system to another. It is possible. It is more difficult with different magic systems. Breaths are easy. Stormlight is fairly easy. Others from there on get pretty hard.

Firefight Atlanta signing (Jan. 24, 2015)

 

 

 

 

Quote

 

Questioner (paraphrased)

Would magic from one world work on another and if so, how?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Generally, magics in the cosmere work on different planets. But it depends on the magic. Things like the Dor on Sel are locked to the geography, so it gets difficult. The Metallic Arts work pretty much universally though. Making Surgebinding work on another planet would require Stormlight and the spren are bound to Roshar, so getting them off planet is quite hard.

So the magics kind of work differently depending on whether a sentient being is involved, how the magic works and how it's powered. It would be very easy to take some Breaths off of Nalthis, which is a problem for them. It gets very complicated.

Questioner (paraphrased)

Can there be a mixing of magic?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yes, there can be.

Stuttgart signing (May 17, 2019)

 

 

 

 

Quote

 

ZenBossanova (paraphrased)

Can Vasher use Stormlight to Awaken things?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

No, all it does is keep him alive. But he has tried and has not figured out how to Awaken things.

Firefight Phoenix signing (Jan. 21, 2015)

 

 

[Treamayne]

5 hours ago, Walkingman said:

I finished all of Stormlight including Edgedancer and Dawnshard. I also finished Mistborn Era 1 and 2 and Warbreaker.

The "Sel" things mentioned above are from Elantris - so that might not make sense until you have read that as well. I'll skip those topics for now. 

10 hours ago, Walkingman said:

Somewhere I picked up that almost all Magic systems in the Cosmere can be powered by any kind of Investiture. So a Radiant from Roshar could eat a metal from Scadrial and then use their Radiant abilities.

2 hours ago, Quantus said:

There is nothing magical about Scadrian metal and Mistborn can use any mundane metal (of the correct alloys) to access their Preservation Investiture.

To clarify a bit about what Quantus was saying, the metal used in the metallic arts are not, themselves, invested (with the exception of Godmetals like Atium, Lerasium, etc.). 

Instead, the metal acts as a "key" to access the investiture; so without the spiritual makeup to use the "key" a Radiant could not get any benefit from "eating a metal."

Conversely, it may be possible to use Stormlight as the investiture source to fuel Allomancy - but that would take an unknown process to achieve. 

WoB:

Spoiler

 

Zmann966

Is the metal on Scadrial specially Invested? Can an Allomancer use metals from other planets?

Brandon Sanderson 

Metal is a key, not the source of power itself. Most is not specially Invested. It glows because of the power seeking to come through it, not because of the power within it.

 

You wll see a similar "Key" principal in the Selish works - Elantris and Emporer's Soul.