Crem Theory

[bartbug]

Alright guys, first theory. I hope this has not been said.

 

What if Crem is the leftover of spren, kind of like the crystal vines are for Wyndle? When the highstorms come over with all of their windspren, then they deposit the massive amounts of spren because of how coporeal these spren are, due to the massive windiness of the highstorm. Then it's filled with nutrients because of the cultivation part of these spren, or because there are other spren inside the highstorm that are more Cultivation.

That's my theory. Please tell me what's wrong with it, or not clearly said.

[Oudeis]

Possible, though I suspect the Invested nature of the highstorms has something to do with it, not simply an overabundance of spren. It's nice how you tie in what we know, that some spren have some Cultivation in them, and the fact of Wyndle's leavings.

You've led me to an alternate theory that I sort of can't believe took me this long... Maybe those two things are what the Storms bring, the two things from the two Shards. From Honor we get stormlight, and from Cultivation we get crem, which has been stated (I believe) to be good food for plants, and apparently also for Parshendi.

If so, and if crystals are Roshar's universal focus... then perhaps crystals plus crem is how one accesses Cultivation's Investiture? Crem solidifies around objects. Tien used to find special rocks that looked like just rocks but seem to have had something special. What if Tien were Cultivation's form of surgebinder, somehow drawn to gems that were covered in crem, and able to lift his brother's melancholy with them?

[bartbug]

Well, the overabundance of spren is Investiture, since each Spren is either part Adonalsium, Honor, or Cultivation. And for the crystal crem with Tien... ask Brandon? I've always thought that something was weird about Tien, but nothing really made any sense. (Also, I think at least part of crem actually is the minerals that highstorms have kicked up. Maybe you need 'pure' crem, the equivalent of Stormlight)

[king of nowhere]

possible, however if that is the case there is one fundamental question: where is all that matter going eventually? is it created  every time there is a storm? we know for sure it never disappears, because hardened crem is a rock like any other. so if the exxistance of a spren caused some crem to come into being, does it mean that the mass of roshar is increasing over time? if it is, is that going to bi significant in the long run? if it is not, matter is disappearing somewhere; where? we never saw anything disappear to give a physical body to a spren.

 

overall, i don't think it's likely

[bartbug]

 

 

Wyndle grew up to her, leaving a small trail of vines behind him. People didn’t appear to see those, except sometimes after they had been there for a while. The vines seemed to harden after a few moments of sitting, as if becoming solid crystal, then they crumbled to dust. People spotted that on occasion, though they certainly couldn’t see Wyndle himself.

If they can see the dust, then unless they have some cognitive magicness like Rock or Lift, then it stands to reason that it is actually there. Couldn't that be considered matter being generated? Normally, I would agree with you on that physics point, but once you throw in Investiture, normal physics gets thrown out the window. (On a side note, investiture has already been used to make matter out of nothing. Scadrial was created (or modified) by Ruin and Preservation. A Scadrian rock is half and half).

And, I assume that given this theory as accurate, crem is maybe nine parts dust and stuff that is has picked up as the highstorm has moved, and maybe one part magic spren substance. The one part would be like Cultivation's stormlight.

[bookspren]

With respect to the dust Wyndle leaves behind, I got the impression it disappeared after a while. I mean, a thief leaving a dust trail everywhere she goes would be a major problem. You wouldn't need to be Darkness to figure out where she went.

That crem is Cultivations body has been discussed before in several threads. I think this is a real possibility.

Here's why:

1. Crem is good for cultivating. Kaladin notes that crops given stormwater (which has crem) grow better. There's also been speculation that crem allows the crustaceans to grow stronger carapace.

2. I think it fits for Honor and Cultivation to be linked. IMO, the storms are Honor's body; the crem is Cultivation's. We know they were united, so why wouldn't they physically manifest together in something like a highstorm.

3. I don't see how any storm could carry that much matter along with it. It does not seem natural.

[Arook]

I always figured that the storm broke apart some existing rock as it went and pulverized it and droped it back as crem.

[dungeonfood]

In the Lift chapter, it's stated that only Lift can touch Wyndle. While this dust that Wyndle leaves behind is occasionally notices by people, it doesn't say whether or not people can feel it. In order for this theory to work people would have to be able to. Crem is definitely not in the cognitive realm by the time it reaches earth. If Wyndle's leftover dust really does go fully from the cognitive to physical realms, then this theory holds some weight.

Edited December 1, 2013 by dungeonfood

[Swimmingly]

With respect to the dust Wyndle leaves behind, I got the impression it disappeared after a while. I mean, a thief leaving a dust trail everywhere she goes would be a major problem. You wouldn't need to be Darkness to figure out where she went.

That crem is Cultivations body has been discussed before in several threads. I think this is a real possibility.

Here's why:

1. Crem is good for cultivating. Kaladin notes that crops given stormwater (which has crem) grow better. There's also been speculation that crem allows the crustaceans to grow stronger carapace.

2. I think it fits for Honor and Cultivation to be linked. IMO, the storms are Honor's body; the crem is Cultivation's. We know they were united, so why wouldn't they physically manifest together in something like a highstorm.

3. I don't see how any storm could carry that much matter along with it. It does not seem natural.

*cough cough* But these are MAGIC storms!

 

In all seriousness, they are. Even if they weren't, think about the weight of the water the storm carries. Water is incredibly dense. It might not seem like it, but it is. The dust could easily be carried along, with a bit of Invested help.

[Aether]

In the Lift chapter, it's stated that only Lift can touch Wyndle. While this dust that Wyndle leaves behind is occasionally notices by people, it doesn't say whether or not people can feel it. In order for this theory to work people would have to be able to. Crem is definitely not in the cognitive realm by the time it reaches earth. If Wyndle's leftover dust really does go fully from the cognitive to physical realms, then this theory holds some weight.

Wyndle states that Lift is not even rare, but unique in that she can actually touch him (and use him to climb), since he's mostly of the cognitive and spiritual realm. If he leaves behind anything physical at all, then I highly believe it is negligible. And remember, others (Rock excluded) could see Syl too from time to time. I don't think that means that she leaves physical droppings.

[Swimmingly]

Wyndle states that Lift is not even rare, but unique in that she can actually touch him (and use him to climb), since he's mostly of the cognitive and spiritual realm. If he leaves behind anything physical at all, then I highly believe it is negligible. And remember, others (Rock excluded) could see Syl too from time to time. I don't think that means that she leaves physical droppings.

Other spren seem very... spirity and effervesent. Like ghosts or holograms or something. Wyndle is a bundle of moving plants. They seem totally different to me. Is this just Lift's perception?

[Aether]

They take appearances that reflects their nature, it seems. Just because he looks like a bunch of talking vines doesn't mean that he is physical, moving plants. From what I understand - despite what one might intuitively think - he is still mostly spiritual/cognitive.

[hoser]

Other spren seem very... spirity and effervesent. Like ghosts or holograms or something. Wyndle is a bundle of moving plants. They seem totally different to me. Is this just Lift's perception?

I agree, the voidbringers seem totally different . 

 

I think it is partly for pacing and interest that Brandon has paired the curious and depressive Kaladin with the spirited and ignorant Syl, while providing the irrepressible and incurious Lift with the more stolid and didactic Wyndle. 

[askthepaperclip]

I don't know about this...

 

Crem seems to follow a very natural (even for our world) cycle of erosion, dissolution, and deposition. If you have ever been through a hurricane, you know that big storms can and do carry sediment. I assume the highstorms pick of a lot of theirs from the shattered plains, since it was commented upon in the books that the chasms appear to have been eroded by years of highstorms. So that explains the silt at the bottom of all the rain buckets.

 

As far as the "magical rock" that crem forms, this is the exact same mechanic by which stalactites are formed in caves: dissolved minerals in water precipitating out of solution to rock/crystal formations. Not really surprising.

 

As for crem being good for plants/animals, come on guys, this is a rock based ecosystem. if you have crops growing directly out of the rocks, it makes perfect sense that they would be evolved to benefit from nice tasty helping of more rocks. And yes, I would imagine that having stalactites form on your back every time it rains would indeed make your shell stronger. 

[drew9777]

I think Crem is literally all that holds the planet together. Kinda like chewing gum… ok not really but I do think it serve a purpose to help stabilize the lands after highstorms. It hardens to rock if left, plants feed on it when it still holds moister and it comes with every rain or highstorm.