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[OB] Dragonsteel WoB


NotBurtReynolds

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I just received my Well of Ascension Dragonsteel edition so I thought I'd share my Q &A.  I was trying to leave as little wiggle room as I could, but I couldn't be as specific as I wanted due to the constraints on numbers of characters. But, it's still an answer ;):

Q: "Can Stormlight give enough extra strength that a humanoid could use a Shardbow w/out Plate?

A: "Not normally"

This was basically me trying to hammer down what was going on with Rock and the Shardbow. There was a good conversation a while back about Rock and the Shardbow that can be found here:The Future for Rock.

Don't want to type out all my thoughts again, so I'll just paste what I was saying then:

 

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Kaladin glanced toward Rock, who stood over Amaram’s body, looking down, the enormous bow held limply in one hand. How had he drawn it? Stormlight granted great endurance, but it didn’t vastly improve strength.

Sanderson, Brandon. Oathbringer: Book Three of the Stormlight Archive (p. 1189). Tom Doherty Associates. Kindle Edition. 

So, if Stormlight doesn't vastly improve strength then I think Rock being able to shoot it accurately, twice, can only be explained by so many things:

1. Rock is not just strong, or unnaturally strong;  he is the strongest man on Roshar. I find this hard to believe.

2. Rock is aided by something or someone unknown and unseen.

Now, I think it has to be #2 but what is he aided by? I don't think he's bonded an honorspren, but I wouldn't be surprised if he is(and has been since we've seen him) already bonded to an unknown spren. But I actually think it is less of a 'traditional' bond but more of a symbiotic relationship that Horneaters have with spren, a la' greatshells, Ryshadiums, and the like that grants extra strength and other abilities. Maybe it's all Horneaters,  or maybe Rock's bloodline makes him extra special(I'm inclined to the latter) but I think Rock has a deeper relationship with spren, then he wants to admit. Not because he's unnaturally secretive, but because if true, it's likely one of the great secrets of Horneaters..You know? The one you don't tell anyone. Ever.  I think spren-symbiosis could go a long way towards explaining the weird 'spren-things' around Rock. And Rock is certainly a man of secrets:

Quote

She walked the children across the bridge.  He watched, and was glad to hear Unkalaki again, a proper language. Glad that the other men did not speak it.  For if they did, they might have picked out the lies that he had told them.

I think the lies he has been telling them, is everything he's ever told them about spren and his abilities with them. I can't wait to my next reread so I can go through Rock's parts, looking for lies ;)

 

 

So anyways, Brandon's answer isn't exactly a definitive one since there's a ton of wiggle room in "Not Normally",..But by using the powers of confirmation-bias I'm going to claim it as a point in my favor! ;)

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Edited by NotBurtReynolds
-added picture..Have no idea why it's turned that way.
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While this is possible I think the main lies Rock was worried about was the fact he is likely something close to royalty, and possibly the heir of a peak now that some of his brothers are dead.

Even if bonded to spren would that increase his strength? Singers change their strength as they bond spren, but they literally change mentally, physically and emotionally with each different bond.

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4 minutes ago, WhiteLeeopard said:

Even if bonded to spren would that increase his strength? Singers change their strength as they bond spren, but they literally change mentally, physically and emotionally with each different bond.

While I don't have a solid theory or anything, what I'm thinking is that what's going on with Rock and a possible spren relationship is the same principles behind the relationships between spren and Ryshadium/greatshells/any creature exists in a way that shouldn't be possible given their size.

Quote

Questioner #1 (in Mistborn cosplay) (paraphrased)

Do Ryshadium exist because of a spren bond, like greatshells?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yea, they evolved symbiotically with spren, unlike other horses. They can still mate will other horses, but they are genetically distinct.

source
Quote

AhoyMatey (paraphrased)

Do all greatshells have spren?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

In order to survive with the science that I built, the greatshells almost all require some sort of spren to keep them from collapsing. (I suspect greatshells in the water may not require them.)

source

 

So I'm thinking that Horneaters are similar in that they have evolved symbiotically with spren, which gives them all sort of "extras"..I hesitate to guess what those are because it would be just guesses, but I don't see it as the same relationship that the KR have with their spren...ie..bond spren and get specific powers.

I think there is a greater than zero chance that Horneaters have gemhearts. If so, then I think having a spren in his gemheart could explain a lot of 'mysterious' Rock stuff..Once again, I have no guesses how this would work but I think that it could. Maybe Horneaters are born and have to get a spren immediately in order to survive?. .Maybe it's a rite of passage that happens at a certain age? Maybe all Horneaters get spren, but you get a specific one depending on your birth order?  I don't believe that every Horneater gets some "powerful' spren, perhaps most get the basic Horneater spren package that they need to survive but Rock is a special case given his possible royal lineage so he gets a unique spren, lending him unique abilities. I don't know, but I got my eye on you Rock ;)
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3 hours ago, Melovespie said:

Rock being somehow fused with a spren would make some sense, as Horneaters have Singer blood in them. Maybe Rock's family (which seems to be the royal family) in particular are all bonded with a spren that grants increased strength?

That's what I'm thinking; that because of Rock's royal line that he has something extra special going on in the spren department.

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17 hours ago, NotBurtReynolds said:

While I don't have a solid theory or anything, what I'm thinking is that what's going on with Rock and a possible spren relationship is the same principles behind the relationships between spren and Ryshadium/greatshells/any creature exists in a way that shouldn't be possible given their size.

 

So I'm thinking that Horneaters are similar in that they have evolved symbiotically with spren, which gives them all sort of "extras"..I hesitate to guess what those are because it would be just guesses, but I don't see it as the same relationship that the KR have with their spren...ie..bond spren and get specific powers.

I think there is a greater than zero chance that Horneaters have gemhearts. If so, then I think having a spren in his gemheart could explain a lot of 'mysterious' Rock stuff..Once again, I have no guesses how this would work but I think that it could. Maybe Horneaters are born and have to get a spren immediately in order to survive?. .Maybe it's a rite of passage that happens at a certain age? Maybe all Horneaters get spren, but you get a specific one depending on your birth order?  I don't believe that every Horneater gets some "powerful' spren, perhaps most get the basic Horneater spren package that they need to survive but Rock is a special case given his possible royal lineage so he gets a unique spren, lending him unique abilities. I don't know, but I got my eye on you Rock ;)

 Rock discusses going on a journey to hotsprings and meeting Hoid. Maybe during this trip, which sounded like it is some sort of rite of passage all Horneaters undergo, he gets bonded with some sort of special spren.

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17 hours ago, NotBurtReynolds said:

Questioner #1 (in Mistborn cosplay) (paraphrased)

Do Ryshadium exist because of a spren bond, like greatshells?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yea, they evolved symbiotically with spren, unlike other horses. They can still mate will other horses, but they are genetically distinct.

Now I'm curious.  Horses can mate with donkeys, and produce offspring, mules - which are not genetically viable and are sterile.  So, when a Ryshadium mates with a horse, what is produced?  Is it A Ryshadium, a half-Ryshadium, a horse, or a genetically non-viable hybrid, like the mule?  Which traits are dominantly expressed, Ryshadium or horse?  How genetically distinct are they?

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4 hours ago, Melovespie said:

 Rock discusses going on a journey to hotsprings and meeting Hoid. Maybe during this trip, which sounded like it is some sort of rite of passage all Horneaters undergo, he gets bonded with some sort of special spren.

I'm with you...I've never felt like the story of Rock meeting Hoid was just by happenstance...As in, Rock just happened to be there when Master Hoid arrives? Perhaps, but Rock being there for a specific, special reason makes sense too.

 

4 hours ago, Stark said:

Now I'm curious.  Horses can mate with donkeys, and produce offspring, mules - which are not genetically viable and are sterile.  So, when a Ryshadium mates with a horse, what is produced?  Is it A Ryshadium, a half-Ryshadium, a horse, or a genetically non-viable hybrid, like the mule?  Which traits are dominantly expressed, Ryshadium or horse?  How genetically distinct are they?

I have zero evidence, but I would expect that the offspring would not be a Ryshadium, given the seemingly sparse population of them..Maybe sparse is the wrong word, but Ryshadiums don't seem to be in overabundance. I also doubt there would be "half-Ryshadiums", in the sense that the "preferred" traits of the Ryshadium would be expressed in the offspring...ie..increased strength, stamina, and near-sentinence. Only because one would think that if that were the case then the military would use Ryshadium as studs(if they would allow it;) to give themselves a cavalry of just these half-breeds.

We know that Ryshadium evolved symbiotically with spren, which leads me to believe that their "preferred" traits are a result of this spren symbiosis. If that's the case then I don't know if they could pass this spren-symbious down to their offspring unless they were bred true. And if they did, wouldn't we see music spren around half-breeds?(Granted, perhaps we just haven't seen it on page)

I'm also of the opinion that there is a good chance that Ryshadium's have gemhearts, not that Brandon's saying anything about it ;)

Quote

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

Do Ryshadium have gemhearts?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Um... I'll RAFO that for now. I'm just kind of staying really dodgy about Ryshadium, on purpose. I will dig into them later on.

source

I know assuming gemhearts in Ryshadium is just that, an assumption. But it follows logically(given what we know about greatshells and their spren-symbiosis) that if Ryshadium are granted strength, stamina, and intelligence from a spren relationship, then its not a big stretch for them to have gemhearts.(Once again, I hate making big assumptions like that). If that is the case, then in order to have those "preferred" traits the offspring would have to have gemhearts. So maybe the offspring are genetically just a "normal" mix of the 2...ie...maybe they're a little bigger or a little faster just because the sire was, but without a gemheart the offspring wouldn't get the true benefits that the spren-relationship would grant them.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, NotBurtReynolds said:

Only because one would think that if that were the case then the military would use Ryshadium as studs(if they would allow it;)

I completely agree with you on the tail end of this point.  Everyone makes a big deal about how intelligent Rhyshadium are, arguably as much as humans - I don't think they would willingly participate in a breeding program for pure Rhyshadium, let alone half breeds, which is probably why no military does that.  Plus the cost.  1000 Emerald broams, or 2000, for a normal horse?  It would be ludicrously expensive to outfit a cavalry with half-Rhyshadium, partially due to cost.  Partially due to the nature of Rhyshadium, choosing their rider.  So I don't quite agree with your logic that the 'Rhyshadium gene' is not the dominant expressed because we have not seen a cavalry of half-breeds.

 

The Ryshadium, while able to breed with normal horses, are intelligent enough that they may view breeding with normal horses the same way we view breeding with children - wrong on so very many levels, and very likely a form of abuse.  Normal horses are to be protected and nurtured by their wiser counterparts, not sexually exploited. I think that is why we do not see much about half-breeds.  More societal than genetic.

 

But you could be entirely right, and the Ryshadium genes might be the non-dominant gene in a mix, or be a co-dependent gene that requires numerous factors not necessarily present in a half breed to be expressed.

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2 hours ago, Stark said:

The Ryshadium, while able to breed with normal horses, are intelligent enough that they may view breeding with normal horses the same way we view breeding with children - wrong on so very many levels, and very likely a form of abuse.  Normal horses are to be protected and nurtured by their wiser counterparts, not sexually exploited. I think that is why we do not see much about half-breeds.  More societal than genetic.

I think a comparision with apes would be better, to be honest. It's not like a horse grows into a Ryshadium.

Nitpicking, I know, but I still wanted to mention it.

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1 hour ago, Leyrann said:

I think a comparision with apes would be better, to be honest. It's not like a horse grows into a Ryshadium.

Either way, it is a comparison designed to make the idea seem awkward and uncomfortable.  Both work.  Both have issues.  As far as I know, apes and humans cannot have hybrid children.  But horses and Ryshadium can?  Best would maybe be a human master breeding with a Parshman slave?

Ugh, the comparisons make me uncomfortable just typing them.  Let's move on, back to what level of genetic similarity exists between horse and Rosharan super horses.

4 hours ago, NotBurtReynolds said:

If that is the case, then in order to have those "preferred" traits the offspring would have to have gemhearts.

But the idea that the 'gemheart gene' is the recessive, determining factor is interesting.  Because then we can have very closely related genetic traits with a minor, yet key difference.  Then, the rest of the characteristics (endurance, inteligence, strength) are secondary from the music spren bond, which is not possible without a gemheart symbiosis.  That definitely gets more interesting.

And if recessive, it may account for the Herdaziens and Horneaters not having gemhearts?

 

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4 hours ago, NotBurtReynolds said:

I'm with you...I've never felt like the story of Rock meeting Hoid was just by happenstance...As in, Rock just happened to be there when Master Hoid arrives? Perhaps, but Rock being there for a specific, special reason makes sense too.

You know, I never thought of it that way, but that does seem like an odd coincidence, doesn't it?  Hmmmmmm

Did we decided if Rock does or doesn't have a gemheart?  I can't decide on this one, because I feel like there's evidence either way.  He *is* abnormally strong.  But are all Horneater warriors strong?  They might be.  Is it because of a spren bond or living near to Cultivation's Perpendicularity or just due to their large size?  Food for thought, hmmm.

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2 hours ago, Stark said:

But the idea that the 'gemheart gene' is the recessive, determining factor is interesting.  Because then we can have very closely related genetic traits with a minor, yet key difference.  Then, the rest of the characteristics (endurance, inteligence, strength) are secondary from the music spren bond, which is not possible without a gemheart symbiosis.  That definitely gets more interesting

My thinking has been along the lines of a so-called "ryshadiumspren" living in their gemheart, and that is the bond which gives them their elevated characteristics, with the musicspen being a secondary spren along the lines of the KR having secondary spren..ie..windspren for windrunners, etc. Just spitballin' here, but maybe the "ryshadiumspren" pulses the Rhythms and that is what leads the musicspren to always be near them.

 

Quote
1 hour ago, RShara said:

You know, I never thought of it that way, but that does seem like an odd coincidence, doesn't it?  Hmmmmmm

Did we decided if Rock does or doesn't have a gemheart?  I can't decide on this one, because I feel like there's evidence either way.  He *is* abnormally strong.  But are all Horneater warriors strong?  They might be.  Is it because of a spren bond or living near to Cultivation's Perpendicularity or just due to their large size?  Food for thought, hmmm.

 

My thinking is along the lines of all Horneaters are probably stronger than the average Rosharn, in the way that I've generally found even "small" Samoans look like they could pulverize the average bear ;), but with Rock's royal lineage playing a part in him having a higher spren to bond with thereby making him a Horneater Superman...or to be more culturally timely, a Horneater Black Panther. Instead of eating the special herb, Rock gets the special spren. And to continue the Black panther analogy, I have to think that living on/near Cultivation's Perpendicularity has lended itself to infusing the Horneaters in some way..ala Wakanda existing on top of a magical metal that infused all the life around.

Edited by Greywatch
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Hmmmm.  As you all likely know (hah) I hate to theorize without evidence.  So let's look at it.

1.  Rock is very strong, abnormally so.  This is noted in several instances.

2.  Rock's family ruled their particular peak.

3.  Rock has trained as an archer and a warrior.

4.  Rock has (coincidentally?) met with Hoid.

5.  Horneaters live near Cultivation's Perpendicularity.

6.  Horneaters have Listener blood.

7.  Horneaters have Listener physical characteristics, namely the extra jaw bits (Leaving the height and hair out because that could come from a number of sources).

8.  Some Horneaters can see spren, even when they aren't showing themselves on purpose.

9.  Rock can almost hear the Rhythms at times.

 

From all this, it does seem very possible that Rock has a rudimentary gemheart, at the least.  I'm not as sure about having a spren, even a minor one.  Maybe they are more like how skyeels are--they have spren around them (not always visible) that aid their strength without being bonded to them?  Ehhhhh nah, that's not any more likely than that they have spren.

It's definitely interesting.

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1 hour ago, RShara said:

Hmmmm.  As you all likely know (hah) I hate to theorize without evidence.  So let's look at it.

1.  Rock is very strong, abnormally so.  This is noted in several instances.

2.  Rock's family ruled their particular peak.

3.  Rock has trained as an archer and a warrior.

4.  Rock has (coincidentally?) met with Hoid.

5.  Horneaters live near Cultivation's Perpendicularity.

6.  Horneaters have Listener blood.

7.  Horneaters have Listener physical characteristics, namely the extra jaw bits (Leaving the height and hair out because that could come from a number of sources).

8.  Some Horneaters can see spren, even when they aren't showing themselves on purpose.

9.  Rock can almost hear the Rhythms at times.

 

From all this, it does seem very possible that Rock has a rudimentary gemheart, at the least.  I'm not as sure about having a spren, even a minor one.  Maybe they are more like how skyeels are--they have spren around them (not always visible) that aid their strength without being bonded to them?  Ehhhhh nah, that's not any more likely than that they have spren.

It's definitely interesting.

Thank you for listing all of that so succinctly. The idea of a rudimentary gemheart hadn’t occurred to me and it would make sense given all the other rudimentary Listener characteristics Horneaters have. However the gemheart breeding true would also make sense to me given its importance to the host, making it more of an all or nothing proposition. I feel like a rudimentary gemheart is more likely but a true one is what I hope for given my proclivity for Rock. Interesting indeed.

 

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One possibly interesting thing to think about is that Rock mentions swimming in Cultivation's shardpool, and that this is something that only horneaters are able to do. Like the Hoed that have given up on Sel and are put into Devotion's shardpool, it seems the natural state of a being entering a shard pool perpendicularity is physical transition to a different realm. In Secret History, Hoid uses his corpse canoe to control the specific spot at which he transitions to the PR. Maybe the horneater's additional Strength is more like Achilles being dipped into the River Styx. Maybe being able to resist the transition between realms allows them to osmotically absorb pure Investiture.

I don't remember exactly what happens when Roaden dipped into the Selish perpendicularity, it's been a long time since I've read Elantris, but if the details of that aren't in direct conflict with this idea, it's at least another interesting possible explanation for Rock's ability to use a shard bow.

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2 minutes ago, hoiditthroughthegrapevine said:

 

I don't remember exactly what happens when Roaden dipped into the Selish perpendicularity, it's been a long time since I've read Elantris, but if the details of that aren't in direct conflict with this idea, it's at least another interesting possible explanation for Rock's ability to use a shard bow.

 

Quote

THE WATER HELD Raoden in a cool embrace. It was a thing alive; he could hear it calling in his mind. Come, it said, I give you release. It was a comforting parent. It wanted to take away his pain and sorrows, just as his mother had once done.

Come, it pled. You can finally give up.

No, Raoden thought. Not yet.

It doesn't sound like it gives any particular effects, alas.  And you only transition if you Intend to.

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Thanks for the the scene dump Rshara, I thought I remembered Raoden going into the pool but not transitioning, but it's good to see the actual text.

Looking on Arcanum, there are some interesting WoB's that make me think that there might still be some merit in the line of speculation that Rock's strength is derived from an Achilles dip into Cultivation's shardpool, or rather that the idea that Horneaters can swim in Cultivation's shardpool might still be significant.

All WoB's are spoilered because this is only tangential to the point of this thread.

It is technically possible for non-human life to pass through a perpendicularity, possibly (but not definitively) showing that the default state of a shard pool is to cause sentient beings to transition to the Cognitive Realm:

Spoiler
Quote

Titan Arum

Is it possible to worldhop from/through Patji's Eye? If yes, could a naturally Invested creature like a nightmaw worldhop?

Brandon Sanderson

Worldhopping is hard if you are not sapient--but yes, it happens.

As for Patji's Eye, RAFO.

source

The disclaimer about it being hard if you are not sapient I think applies to the "Worldhopping" part. A less intelligent being would have a very hard time navigating between subastrals and would most likely perish if they didn't just use the shardpool to pop back into the PR.

And this:

Quote

JoyBlu [PENDING REVIEW]

The Patji lake, theoretically, could an Aviar fly into the lake on its own and enter the Cognitive Realm? Like, have a bird catcher on the other side waiting for the bird to fly in and catch it?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Theoretically... I'm going to RAFO that, but it's not a big RAFO. It's more along the lines of, I'm going to get into the mechanics of how things go through Shardpools in future books. Um, what you just described is not outside of reason.

JoyBlue [PENDING REVIEW]

And could also, one of the grubs or one of the parasites or the rotten fruit, whatever, could that have fallen through the lake?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

That is plausible. The question is, once it gets to be a non-sentient thing, how does going through the--- to the Realms work, and that's where it starts to get-- that's where you get your asterisk. Like, just a piece of fruit falling. I'm going to asterisk that one.

source

Seems to possibly set a bar of "sentience" on the ability for matter to transition through a perpendicularity.

 

As far as the scene where Raoden doesn't transition through the Devotion's pool, the actual text is very interesting. We know that Devotion and Dominion have already been shattered, and that their power has been trapped in the Cognitive Realm on Sel. Yet when Raoden goes into the pool, he feels like the pool is alive and further he hears it calling to him in his mind. Like RShara say, he doesn't transition because he doesn't intend to. But I think this might be a special case. We know that anyone that transitions to the CR from this shardpool would most likely be torn apart by the force of the Dor, so I think that this voice that Raoden hears might be a cognitive shadow of Devotion, and that the barrier to entry to the CR on Sel might be because this cognitive Shadow of Devotion realizes that certain death awaits the transitioner. The bar to entry being an Intent on the part of Hoed to end their pain filled miserable life could be a compassionate, willfully enforced safeguard.

 

And there is definitely precedence for an Achilles like effect of being immersed in a Shardpool (an analogy Brandon made to show how Kelsier was able to stave off the transition to the Great Beyond in MB:SH)

Spoiler

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

In Secret History, Nazh briefly mentioned that there's requirements or conditions to become a Cognitive Shadow. Can you tell us one of those?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Uh, lots of Investiture. Is one way. As a certain person discovered.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

If that person were to not have entered Preservation's pool, it still would have given the same result?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

If they had not, they would be gone.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

I wasn't clear. If they had done a different pool, not Preservation's.

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

Oh, if they had been able to Invest themselves heavily, then they could have stuck around, yes. That wasn't Preservation's pool, that was more a function of--dipping themselves, pulling an Achilles inside of a Shardpool when you are dead, turned out to work. It's not the only way, not everyone on... Threnody, for instance, is heavily Invested.

source

 

And finally here are a couple of WoB's that show that it could be possible for the Kings on the Horneater peaks to drink Rosharan Ambrosia like the Gods of Olympus (this is actually pretty rad):

Spoiler

 cup of Cultivation Ambrosia, anyone?:

Quote

The_Carpathian

Can aluminum be used to take liquid from a Shard pool, and will it stay Invested?

Brandon Sanderson

That would work.

source

And this, Nalthian's can feed off a Shardpool directly:

Quote

Questioner

This is about certain people from Nalthis... living on Roshar and how they are living on Roshar. Could they also do that on Scadrial?

Brandon Sanderson

Scadrial would be a lot harder because getting the Investiture out of things on Scadrial is tough, there are ways you could do it but it would be much more difficult.

Questioner

Does that have to do with the Investiture being more directed?

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, it's more the genetic component is a big part of it. The directed component-- In Roshar its just flowing around all over the place. For instance, if he could get to a Shardpool he could feed off that, but then he's at the Shardpool and that's kind of dangerous and things. Roshar is really the easiest place in the cosmere for him to consistently get this sort of stuff. Taldain would not be bad either, that's the White Sand world but it is inaccessible currently in the cosmere

source

Now I know what to get Vasher for Middlefest, an Aluminum hip flask filled with pure Cultivation ambrosia. Save your breath Vasher, take a tibble of the good stuff during those wet soggy days of the weeping.

 

Edited by hoiditthroughthegrapevine
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