Kandra and Parshendi

[PewterKrogan]

Ok Kandra consumes and emulates a Parshendi. Would they still need to take a spren into their gem heart to change forms? Or would the spike that gives the Kandra sentients prevent a spren from Bonding with the Kandra in any way? Sorry if this has been brought up somewhere else already.

Edited May 26, 2022 by PewterKrogan

[Tamriel Wolfsbaine]

So my knowledge in this is super limited but I feel like there are a few WoBs that say a spren would not like being around a spike.  

That said, I am confused by how the parshendi swap forms anyways (I have only read the first 2 books) and I feel like I had this feeling that they were trapping spren and forcing them to bond with them.  

If that is the case I don't see how a kandra couldn't trap and force a bond in the same way but I do believe it is WoB that spren would not willingly bond a hemalurgic construct.  

[+Invocation]

They wouldn't be able to make a gemheart, and I do not think simply eating and mimicking a singer with a gemheart would provide the Connection necessary to the gemheart in order to take a spren in and have it have any actual effect. Also, I don't think Kandra physiology would work with the massive reshaping of the form change.

Edited May 27, 2022 by Invocation

[Weltall]

Brandon has said a kandra could maybe mimic the appearance of a singer but couldn't bond a spren or take a form of power.

Quote

Questioner

If a kandra were a Parshendi, would he be able to take the forms?

Brandon Sanderson

The Forms? The actual-- To an extent, yes. To an extent, yes, but part of that is the spren bond. You're not gonna get everything. You could look like one, but there'll be certain things you won't be able to do, even with the Form. You couldn't take a form of power... You could pass.

Oathbringer Portland signing (Nov. 16, 2017)

There's an older WoB where he said a kandra can't reproduce the carapace but he may have changed his mind on that.

Edited May 26, 2022 by Weltall

[Tamriel Wolfsbaine]

Just now, Invocation said:

They wouldn't be able to make a gemheart, and I do not think simply eating and mimicking a singer with a gemheart would provide the Connection necessary to the gemheart in order to take a spren in and have it have any actual effect. Also, I don't think Candra physiology would work with the massive reshaping of the form change.

I agree with this as well.  I think a kandra is probably set in whatever form it were to ingest.  

Kandra physiology is pretty awesome with what it can do and it seems Kandra are able to evolve to become far better are shaping themselves over time... but shifting from one form to another I think is nearly impossible.  

Also I figure carapace will be much closer to bone than skin for the kandra.  They can't make their own bones or even grow them back as it seems they can grow other organs but not bones... so I think that is further evidence against kandra switching forms.  Could likely hold together a form it ingests but it would be stuck that way. 

 

[Quantus]

On the up-side they should be able to freely manipulate their patterning, so they'd be able to fake a Fused take-over of their initial Singer cover identity (so long as they dont have to demonstrate the fused surges).  

[EmulatonStromenkiin]

3 hours ago, Quantus said:

On the up-side they should be able to freely manipulate their patterning, so they'd be able to fake a Fused take-over of their initial Singer cover identity (so long as they dont have to demonstrate the fused surges).  

they could even fake that with the  surge of lightweaving, at least on themselves.

[Frustration]

3 hours ago, Quantus said:

On the up-side they should be able to freely manipulate their patterning, so they'd be able to fake a Fused take-over of their initial Singer cover identity (so long as they dont have to demonstrate the fused surges).  

Can Kandra make their eyes glow?

[Quantus]

2 hours ago, Frustration said:

Can Kandra make their eyes glow?

Excellent point, I assume not (unless they find something bioluminescent to digest and repurpose or some such).  A Kandra Lightweaver would be several kinds of cool, though it might take an Enlightened Spren to go for it.  Or a desperate one like with Hoid.  

 

EDIT: Chasing a tangent idea, What would be the challenges on a Dysian to impersonate a Singer? 

Carapace might make it easier to hide the cremling seams, and with enough time they can evolve some investiture effects (at least some psuedo-larkin drainers) so investiture glow in the eyes might be on the table.  

EDIT #2:  If Kandra are placing each hair individually and consciously from a digested corpse, could they fill their eyes with enough Garnet dust to glow red when infused? With tiny gems it limit the glow to the actual duration of a Highstorm, but with good timing perhaps could sell the effect.  

Edited May 27, 2022 by Quantus
for clarity

[Morningtide]

I would guess that the kandra would be able to look like any form that they wanted, but wouldn't experience the mental changes of the form. 

Kandra always have this own mind, even when in others' forms. This probably means that when they took the form of a parshendi, they wouldn't have the mental restrictions if the forms. For example, is they became a dullform parshendi, they would still function as themselves, and have full mental capacity. I would imagine that if a kandra can change the facial features of a human, they could change the form if a kandra.

Not that it wouldn't be difficult it time consuming to change forms without digesting a whole new body. 

[Stockman]

You know, kandra have a hard time imitating hair... and possibly other keratinized parts of the body like carapaces. If a kandra imitated a singer, they might not have the carapace, they wouldn't be able to hear the songs.

Wouldn't it be weird if a singer like that showed up? Maybe they replaced all their carapace with metal.

[Psych0k1ll3r]

I read a WOB somewhere once that said a kandra could use a true crystal skeleton in the same way that a parshendi uses the gem heart iirc I don't think that actually bonding the spren inside the skeleton was specifically mentioned however.