Fabrials - Magic System and Endsheet Cracked Code?

[C. James-Mayer]

Hello Everyone,

I think I cracked the code of the Fabrial Endsheet Table(Now I'm certain it's the Fabrial Table)! It is possible that someone else already did it, for which I apologize and hope that I might bring some more insight on his theory.

 

Of course, we need more canon fabrials, which we can examine with their proper gemstone types, but this is for now.

EDIT: Resources for viewing in the spoiler tag.

Rule Number 1: When you look at the table, imagine that the glyphs of the Orders are actually the glyphs of the 10 Gemstones. Each Gemstone is corresponding to that Order's Gemestone from the Ars Arcanum Table. From now on, when I say Amethyst, you look at Willshapers in the Table. When I say Ruby, you look at Dustbringers in the table. And so on. There are no Orders here, only Gemstones.

Rule Nubmer 2: Amethyst and Ruby are opposite, and that is further indicated by the lightning bolt. In other words, this way we can actually check in the table, which Fabrials are Pairing Fabrials:

      Conjoiners are sensitive fabrials. They are created by splitting one gemstone - specifically, a ruby - which will in turn act as a whole, with the actions of one half affecting the other half. The most common example of this type of fabrial is the spanreed by which means communication can be affected over a vast distance.
      Reversers act in the opposite way to conjoiners and are created by the splitting of an amethyst instead of a ruby. The reaction of each half is the exact opposite of what one half undergoes; to lift up one half would cause the other half to be forced downwards.

As you can see, both Gemstones have exactly the opposite effects.

Altering Fabrials:

      Augmenters are fabrials which enhance something. They can be used to increase heat or movement, to warm a room or generate a breeze. The Half-Shard shields invented in Jah Keved are an example of an augmenting fabrial.
      Diminishers are fabrials which work opposite of Augmenters. They are used to reduce something, such as pain or heat. The device used by Navani to reduce the pain in the wrist of her nephew, Adolin, is an example of this type of fabrial.

Again, we have Fabrials that work the opposite, but this time, as you can see, nowhere is mentioned that the Gemstones are split in two halves like in the Pairing Fabrials. Unfortunately, it is not mentioned in the books what type of Gemstones are used for the Painrial, Half-Shards and etc. If I remember correctly, the heating fabrial is with Ruby, but please correct me, as I can't open the book at the moment.

That leads us to the next Rule.

Rule Number 3: There seem to be two very important rules in creating a Fabrials:

1. Discover how to cut the Gemstone.
2. Discover the type of Gemstone for the desired effect.

Rule Number 4: Some Gemstones have more pairs/opposites from other Gemstones, as you can see in the table.

Sapphire -> Smokestone, Diamond, Garnet, Heliodor.
Smokestone -> Sapphire, Zircon, Ruby
Ruby -> Smokestone, Amethyst, Diamond
Diamond -> Sapphire, Ruby, Topaz, Emerald
Emerald -> Heliodor, Diamond, Garnet
Garnet -> Emerald, Sapphire, Topaz, Zircon
Zircon -> Garnet, Smokestone, Amethyst
Amethyst -> Zircon, Ruby, Topaz
Topaz -> Amethyst, Garnet, Diamond, Heliodor
Heliodor -> Sapphire, Emerald, Topaz

Rule Number 5: I believe, the Ars Arcanum Table is quite important in this, because the water-attracting fabrial is powered by Garnets, which are connected to Blood, all non-oil liquid.

Attracting Fabrials:

    These devices were demonstrated in Words of Radiance. Navani used water-attracting fabrials powered by garnets to keep bowstrings dry during the battle against the Stormform Parshendi. Mraize also owns one of these, powered by a smokestone, to draw smoke through his chimney. Given the way most fabrials seem to be paired by their effects, repulsing fabrials are likely possible as well.

 

By following the Pairs rule, we can get a Gemstone that instead of drawing Smoke and Gas, it would release Gas.

Rule Number 6: It proves what Brandon Sanderson is smirking and saying around that one magic system doesn't really mean only 10 types of powers (Like Surgebinding), but more types and variety. Imagine the possibilities.

 

 

Final note, we know that Sanderson classified the Magic System as 30 types. That leaves us with 10 types of main Fabrials, each with subtypes depending on the type of Gemstone.

 

This is pretty much a rough explanation of the Fabrial Magic System. I leave the imagination to you, as I am a bit wasted by trying to explain all of this at once.

 

Please, ask any questions and critizise.

Side Note

Examples:
Warning Fabrials

    These are devices created to warn the user of something nearby, be that a person or a sensation or an object; a larger gemstone infused in this type of fabrial increases the range at which the user can be warned. The device is used by Rysn to warn of the approaching Shin is an example of how this type of fabrial can be used.
    
Clock Fabrials

    There are also clock fabrials. Lirin's clock fabrial was described as small, baring a single dial at the center and a glowing smokestone at its heart, it could measure the minutes and hours.
    
http://coppermind.net/w/images/TWoK_Rear_Endsheet.jpg
http://stormlightarchive.wikia.com/wiki/Ars_Arcanum- Transcribe Table lower in the article, in a very nice readable condition. (not the picture)
http://stormlightarchive.wikia.com/wiki/Fabrial- good explanation of fabrial types.

Edited April 14, 2016 by C. James-Mayer

[Nyali]

I totally agree that this end-sheet has to do with Fabrial Science. As mentioned in another thread, I feel that the fact that the background is reminiscent of Shadesmar supports the idea, as well as the use of lightning bolts between glyphs (which, to me, suggest current and circuitry) and the large cut gem in the middle containing glyphs within it strongly suggests fabrials like you said.

 

 

Now, that said, some questions:

 

1. Why does a flamespren trapped in an emerald cause pain? (Navani's notebook, first page: http://coppermind.net/wiki/File:Navani1.jpg)Emeralds are not linked to either Abrasion or the "Dustbringer" glyph.
    
2. Can any spren be trapped in any gemstone with the right cut, or can you only trap "associated" spren?
    
3. Which determines the effect of the Fabrial, the spren's type or the gem's type? In other words, which modifies which?
    
4. Do specific spren lend specific qualities to the fabrial? Like, flamespren generate heat/abrasion, groundspren alter gravity/direction/orientation?
    
5. Do specific gems lend specific qualities to the fabrial? Like, Ruby binds things together (weird that Ruby would, but conjoiners...) and Diamonds allow for viewscreens or something?
    
6. How do the properties of the spren and the properties of the gem combine? Would a groundspren trapped in a diamond allow you to make a moving viewscreen?
    
7. Who does that make the woman at the edges of the diagram? Navani? (I don't think she has blond hair though)
    
8. Does it mean anything that the ten main glyphs are in three groupings?
   1. Sapphire, Smokestone, Ruby, Diamond (mirror of 3)
   2. Heliodor, Emerald
   3. Garnet, Zircon, Amethyst, Topaz (mirror of 1)
       
9. Does it mean anything that the ten sub-glyphs are in four groupings?
   1. Gravitation, Division, Abrasion (mirror of 3)
   2. Progression, Illumination (mirror of 4)
   3. Transformation, Transportation, Cohesion (mirror of 1)
   4. Tension, Adhesion (mirror of 2)
       
10. What do the links between the sub-glyphs represent?

[Runyan Firetree]

I've made a google doc that combines the essences table with the KR/surgebinding table along with the images of the fabrial endsheet table and surgebinding table.

 

Google Doc Link: http://coppermind.ne...le:Navani1.jpg)Emeraldsare not linked to either Abrasion or the "Dustbringer" glyph.

 

Curiously, Emerald and Heliodor don't even have small lines connecting to their nearby glyphs in the same way that the Truthwatchers & Bondsmiths connect to their associated glyphs.  Perhaps Emerald and Heliodor connect to all of the glyphs associated with their gemstone connections (large yellow lines); this would give Emerald/Heliodor access to all of the glyphs except the middle glyph on each side.

Edited April 15, 2016 by runyan_ft

[Nyali]

Oh! Something I just noticed, though others have probably already noticed this, is that the Essences (and thus the Fabrial "surges") are grouped into five distinct groupings. Four of these groupings roughly correspond to the classical elements, while the last one represents life. This fifth, different category is the one with the special glyphs in the middle of the gem in the diagram, set apart from the rest:

• Air: Sapphire and Smokestone (inhalation and exhalation, air and smoke)
• Fire: Ruby and Diamond (soul and eyes, fire and glass)
• Water: Garnet and Zircon (blood and oil, non-oil liquid and oil)
• Earth: Amethyst and Topaz (nails and bone, metal and stone)
• Life: Emerald and Heliodor (hair and flesh, plants and flesh)

All glyphs are connected to the other one in their pair. Each of the "air" glyphs are also connected to one of the "fire" and one of the "water" glyphs, but neither are connected to any of the "earth" glyphs (Air and Earth are generally seen as opposites in the classical elements). Similarly, each of the "earth" glyphs are connected to one of the "water" and one of the "fire" glyphs but no "air" glyphs. In the same vein, Water and Fire are generally seen as opposites, and each of the "water" and "fire" glyphs are connected to one "earth" and one "air" glyph, but neither to any of each other.
 
One of each set connects to a "life" glyph - "air" ("air") and "earth" ("stone") to flesh, and "water" (blood) and "fire" (glass) to plants. I do not have any suggestions for what the significance of that is.
 
 
EDIT: I can't figure out how to do a real table in this editor, so here's my best approximate:
 
Connection Table
_________________________________________________________________________
|      Gemstone      |                   Connections                    |
| Gem         Element| Air         Fire     Water   Earth     Life      |
| Sapphire    Air    | Smokestone  Diamond  Garnet            Heliodor  |
| Smokestone  Air    | Sapphire    Ruby     Zircon                      |
| Ruby        Fire   | Smokestone  Diamond          Amethyst            |
| Diamond     Fire   | Sapphire    Ruby             Topaz     Emerald   |
| Emerald     Life   |             Diamond  Garnet            Heliodor  |
| Garnet      Water  | Sapphire             Zircon  Topaz     Emerald   |
| Zircon      Water  | Smokestone           Garnet  Amethyst            |
| Amethyst    Earth  |             Ruby     Zircon  Topaz               |
| Topaz       Earth  |             Diamond  Garnet  Amethyst  Heliodor  |
| Heliodor    Life   | Smokestone                   Topaz     Emerald   |
 
 
EDIT 2: Expanding on this, look at the Forces ("surges," but I don't want to call them that) and their links. There are three distinct categories of Forces if you divide them based on what they link to.

 

First, there are what I'm going to call the Elemental Forces. These are the four Forces that are linked exclusively to one element (both gems of that element and no gems of another element, though they all do also link to one Force, but I'll get to that later):

• Air: Gravitation
• Fire: Abrasion
• Water: Transformation
• Earth: Cohesion

I feel like all of these fit their "element" really well.
 
There are two Forces are shared between two elements. I guess I'll call these the Independant Forces:

• Air (Smokesmoke) + Fire (Ruby): Division
• Water (Zircon) + Earth (Amethyst): Transportation

These don't fit their elemental pairs as well, or at least don't seem to. I guess you could say that air and fire are discrete and disconnected and temporary, all qualities that could be associated with division? And maybe you could say that water and earth are tangible elements in that you can gather them up and carry them away, but you can't do that with air and fire? I know it's weak.
 
The last four are odd. They each link to one gem of one element and two Forces. I'll call these the Complex Forces:

1. Air (Sapphire) + Gravitation + Tension: Adhesion
2. Fire (Diamond) + Abrasion + Illumination: Progression
3. Water (Garnet) + Transformation + Progression: Illumination
4. Earth (Topaz) + Cohesion + Adhesion: Tension

Maybe you can say stuff like: gravitation and tension both work for and against adhesion, both either pulling an object away from another object, or pushing it into another object? I dunno, it feels weak as well.

 
Also, if you don't like the idea of classical elements, then what about seeing them as states of matter? Air = gas, Fire = fire?, Water = liquid, Earth = solid, Life = organic. I know "fire" isn't really a state of matter, and "plasma" wouldn't work because fires aren't made out of plasma (nor is glass), but fire can certainly be seen as a different state of matter through the beautiful lens of pseudoscience ("organic" too!)
 

 

 

EDIT 3: And if someone else already pointed some of this stuff out elsewhere on another thread and I just missed it in a quick skim of the forums (sorry, I'm new here!), then I guess Hoid was right in saying that timeliness is of most worth, not ingenuity <.<

 

 
Thoughts?

Edited April 15, 2016 by Nyali

[Harakeke]

Interesting. Is there a reason Kharbranth might be associated with Ruby fabrials?

Edited April 16, 2016 by Harakeke

[skaa]

...

 

Yeah, I noticed several problems with the Essence-Surge connections a few years ago, and posted a sort-of half-baked solution shortly afterwards. Not sure what you'll think of that bit of strangeness.

 

As for the OP, good work, C. James-Mayer! These patterns have been discovered before, but it's great to see people rediscovering them.

[Stormgate]

The gemstones alone are apparently not enough. The spren, and more importantly type of spren, contained inside a gemstone likely change the way the fabrial fundamentally works.