The true power of lightweavers?

[LePizzaRabbit]

Okay, so first post ever, probably filled with holes but here it is.

 

I have a theory that lightweavers could actually shapeshift, especially Shallan.

Why? Well, Stormlight healing works on their spiritual identity, and how they see themselves. So, what if a lightweaver such as Shallan could make a new persona, always wear the illusion until they “are” them, and then would that cause them to heal looking like said person?

[Quantus he/him]

I dont think so, especially in the face of Truths.  Even with her extreme fracturing of Self Shallan still needed to exert Lightweaving to change hair colors, rather than the Stormlight healing taking that over.    Also at a more fundamental Level, Lightweavers grow in power though Introspection and an Understanding of Who They Are, which I think is there to balance their tendency for Illusion and wouldnt be compatible with that sort disposable revisions of Self.  

[Returned he/him]

I agree that it seems like it would be difficult for a Lightweaver to do this, especially in a casual way. Over a longer period of time, and with the appropriate knowledge and skill, maybe a transformation could occur. It seems like it must be true that the self-image can change (or maybe that the healing can't simply do what you describe), else Lightweavers wouldn't appear to age (among other odd effects).

We have one other type of being in the Cosmere which can change its appearance in a manner perhaps like you describe, though the mechanism isn't understood. The Cosmere has generally shown, so far, that if something can be accomplished one way it can probably be accomplished in other ways too.

[Quantus he/him]

As a follow-up, I dont think its possible overall, because I dont think the Self Image is supposed to be that mutable; Radiant Healing can change Gender in specific people but that is a far cry from giving Radiants a Gender Switch at will.

That being said, if it's possible at all, I think an Elsecaller, specifically a Singer Elsecaller, would have the best shot.  Singer's have a different psychology relating to their physical bodies thanks to the Forms, so they might be a little more cognitively fluid overall.  Separately, Elsecallers are called out as being like Skybreakers and Lightweavers in that they are extremely personal and varied with their Oaths, only theirs is focused exploring and developing their own personal Potential, which thematically allows for more growth and Change than Truths that act as more of a personal Identity Anchor.