Applications and abilities of lesser spren

[Frustration]

So I was transcribing the last of my notes on RoW when I came across the scene where Kaladin had the Windspren part the Highstorm so he could find his father, and not for the first time I wondered if the spren that formed Shardplate have their radiant additional powers, such as manipulating the wind.

So I started looking, and my mind was drawn back to this specific except from Words of Radiance (the in world book), which as transcribed by the Coppermind is as follows:

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The considerable abilities of the Skybreakers for making such amounted to an almost divine skill, for which no specific Surge or spren grants capacity, but however the order came to such an aptitude, the fact of it was real and acknowledged even by their rivals.

—Chapter 28, page 3[16]

If the powers of Radiants is only in surges why did the author go through the effort to say that no surge or spren granted that power?

 

Given that passage and the example we got from the Windspren I think that the plate spren granting additional abilities is almost guaranteed, so I decided to try and find some potential uses for them, though these all just thought experiments

Flamespren are the theoretical plate spren of Dustringers, and would probably grant some ability to control or manipulate fire.

Lifespren are heavily implied to be the plate spren of Edgedancers and would probably grant some form of life Sense, or the ability to manipulate growing things, even though that ability is granted by progression.

Lightweavers have plate made from Creationspren which might allow them to make illusions of things they haven't seen or don't have a preexisting Connection to by transforming themselves into the desired object, and allowing themselves to be studied. Alternatively it could make Lightweaver plate able to form shapes and textures that other orders couldn't.

Elsecallers have Logicspren plate which could improve their ability to process information, or regulate their emotions. Alternatively it could allow them to do that to others.

Stonewards have been theorized (and I agree) to have painspren plate, this could allow them to ignore, or even become immune to pain, or even inflict it on others.

Bondsmiths have been theorized to have gloryspren plate, but other than making people feel good I can't think of any applications for it.

Anyway what potential uses for platespren can you think of?

[offer]

This quate is about skybreakers being able to decide who are guilty - It come imediatellly after this:

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“There came also sixteen of the order of Windrunners, and with them a considerable number of squires, and finding in that place the Skybreakers dividing the innocent from the guilty, there ensued a great debate. ”

—Chapter 28, page 3^[15]

I don`t think we know what is the skybreakers lesser spren but I can`t think of a spren type that will help with that and is related to skybreakers.

 

From the example of windspren I think that if such abilities will be very minor and will relate to thinks the spren do without the bond - Flamespren slightly manipulating fire seems reasonable and maybe lifespren can do some kind of progression but your other suggestions seems too strong and we would have seen clues for it if it was happening (e.g. we saw shallan a lot but she doesn`t seem to do things with creation spren except attract them).

[Frustration]

3 minutes ago, offer said:

This quate is about skybreakers being able to decide who are guilty - It come imediatellly after this:

I don`t think we know what is the skybreakers lesser spren but I can`t think of a spren type that will help with that and is related to skybreakers.

It says that no surge OR spren have that ability, which is what I pointed to as odd.

Sorry if that wasn't clear.

4 minutes ago, offer said:

but your other suggestions seems too strong and we would have seen clues for it if it was happening (e.g. we saw shallan a lot but she doesn`t seem to do things with creation spren except attract them).

Shallan isn't 4th ideal yet, or at least she wasn't until the end of RoW.

[AquaRegia]

4 hours ago, Frustration said:

Bondsmiths have been theorized to have gloryspren plate, but other than making people feel good I can't think of any applications for it.

I can imagine gloryspren plate giving off light bright enough to disorient or blind opponents; also, gloryspren can FLY.

[Treamayne]

Very interesting theory.

5 hours ago, Frustration said:

RoW when I came across the scene where Kaladin had the Windspren part the Highstorm so he could find his father, and not for the first time I wondered if the spren that formed Shardplate have their radiant additional powers, such as manipulating the wind.

This was first seen in Oathbringer, Ch 31:

Spoiler

Consumed by his pain and feelings of betrayal, Kaladin surged with Stormlight and flung his hand forward as if to try to push back the wind itself.

A hundred windspren spun in as lines of light, twisting around his arm, wrapping it like ribbons. They surged with Light, then exploded outward in a blinding sheet, sweeping to Kaladin’s sides and parting the winds around him.

Kaladin stood with his hand toward the tempest, and deflected it. Like a stone in a swift-moving river stopped the waters, he opened a pocket in the storm, creating a calm wake behind him.

The storm raged against him, but he held the point in a formation of windspren that spread from him like wings, diverting the storm. He managed to turn his head as the storm battered him. People huddled behind him, soaked, confused—surrounded by calm.

“Go!” he shouted. “Go!”

They found their feet, the young father taking his son back from Kaladin’s leeward arm. Kaladin backed up with them, maintaining the windbreak. This group was only some of those trapped by the winds, yet it took everything Kaladin had to hold the tempest.

 

[offer]

12 hours ago, Frustration said:

It says that no surge OR spren have that ability, which is what I pointed to as odd.

Sorry if that wasn't clear.

 

Now I see that I fogot to write my entire thought (sorry). I meant that I cant think of a spren that will grant this ability so probably they are just good at it (or have such reputation) because they are focusing on it and learn to be good at it without "magical" help (maybe with herald help).

 

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Shallan isn't 4th ideal yet, or at least she wasn't until the end of RoW.

We saw Kaladin using windspren even before he got to the 4th ideal - as treamayne said it happened in OB.

[alder24]

Lesser sprens seems to have some lesser abilities related to surges. I remember Kaladin thinking that Windsprens stick things together (that was when he was slave in Tvlakv's caravan, and Syl was doing that, but it wasn't a surprise to him). But are they granting those to Radiant or they just extending the reach of Radiant by transmissing their surges? What Kaladin did was just pressure manipulation - adhesion. Windspren allowed him to precisely target it. So this tunnel Kaladin made was because of Windsprens innate abilities, or Kaladin's surges used by those Windsprens? Both possibilities seems valid to me.