Speculation on Stormlight & Radiants given new WoR info

[Paradox]

In Wor we see the amazing healing capability of both the Growth surge (the Regrowth from Lift's interlude) and the passive healing ability given by holding stormlight. Indeed stormlight has been seen to heal the severed soul links from wounds cause by a shardblade, and to straight up regrow limbs.

 

Given that stormlight seems to be all about repairing damage and regenerating cells. What happens to the aging process in surgebinders that frequently use stormlight. Think about it, old age is just the cells in the body being heavily damaged and degraded over time due to the enviroment and cell division. Based on what we have seen so far in WoK and WoR, it should be trivial for stormlight to heal any damage to the body caused by aging.

 

The only way i can see stormlight as not granting extended life or immortality is if it heals by restoring the body to the state that one believes themself to truely be. For example, a surgebinder will still age becuase they think they should still be aging. As in if the effects of stormlight healing are closely tied to the cognitive realm.

 

Penny for your thoughts (not really, I don't have any pennies).

 

 

[Natans]

To gain immortality they would have to be heavlly invested all the time(what are a dificult thing to do given the fact that thy leak ligh). Maybe when they are able to perfect hold the stormlight they will stop aging, so old Radiants could survive long times. What would be perfect with small orders like the bondsmith where they have a few member.

 

Also, this give hope that even after the timi skip we will have Kal and others character keeping relevant in the history =)

[Velnica]

At this stage it's all conjecture as to the lifespan of KR. IMO The Radiants, on top of being superhuman, do live longer not because they stop aging, but because their body's natural destruction is delayed when they hold Stormlight. The longer they do it - the longer they'd live. 

 

WoB did mention that Stormlight heals people to what they envision themselves to be (Kaladin at the time of the tattoo still believes his brand was what defined him). I would think that Natans is correct - to stop aging completely they need to be Invested all the time. Imagine the amount of Stormlight they'd need! I have a feeling we'll see later how all of the seemingly "immortal" characters stay alive (Vasher, Hoid, the Heralds, etc).

 

My guess: they're being fed some kind of Cosmere-power directly through the shards, or they can tap into the Fount of Youth Stormlight.

 

Relevant WoB: (search for "knitwitz")

 

 

 

I also asked about healing something like eyesight and whether that would require Regrowth or if it was just the result of holding Stormlight and he said it would all depend on how the person envisioned himself.

[Paradox]

I imagine then, that being able to surgebind, and doing it regularly. Like how Kaladin does (almost constantly if i recall) should at the very least increase lifespan quite a bit. due to the body repair while holding it I don't think that surgebinders would age whilst surgebinding.

[Bramble Thorn]

Who says they are not long living/ageless? Until age actually hits you, the young seem to think they will live forever. Growing older is not something many people have to think about, just what happens. So if you see yourself as 20, or just don't accept that you have to be old and decrepit, stormlight should heal physical aging, repairing decayed telemeres or whatever.

 

You should not need to keep holding stormlight constantly to not age; I think if you regularly hold stormlight, it can heal your aging to the age you think you should be faster than your body can age you. And for those who think they should be getting older, send them to a shrink until they get over it

 

Veteran Surgebinders may only die from external forces (many during a Desolation) or when they have lived so long they are tired of living and (sub)consciously allow themselves to stop renewing their youth...