Aon Rao and the Pool

[Mistdork she/her]

Originally, this was going to be more world-hopping based, but I lost some stuff and this turned into a topic on realmatic transportation (physical to cognitive) hopping instead. It’s not a theory, though this is probably not the best topic to dabble in lightly; unfortunately, I was a little bored, it was late, and I wanted tea. So forgive me if my thoughts are not well-explained or if it seems to just go on and on about rabbits…What I’m saying is that I expect to be shot down by the self-proclaimed real experts on Realmatic Theory. Well, at least I tried? Heh, I just hope no one stole my thunder…but anyways, enough of my blab… Geronomo!

 

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First though, I want to bring up Aon Rao. As we know, the shape of Elantris and the landscape around it is based on this Aon and creates Elantrians and allows them access to that magic. But at the heart of this giant Aon, is the pool or the "dot" in the middle of Rao. This Aon Rao can be seen as a gateway, one that allows Investiture in from the Spiritual Realm into the physical realm; or a place where Investiture is moving from a place of “high spiritual pressure to a place of lower pressure.”  A giant Aon, perhaps even (in some way) a giant Seon, though for this topic, it doesn’t particularly matter if the pool we are dealing with is a splinterpool or a shardpool. It only matters that it’s a big gateway.

 

What really matters is this: when one draws an Aon, when one uses stormlight, when one burns metal, et al.; one opens a gateway for Investiture to flow through. Notably, the pool in Elantris is at the certain of an incredibly large and powerful Aon that continuously draws in Investiture. It operates as a gateway, but as anyone can tell you, gateways can be entered through both ways. If one opens a big enough gateway (and maintains it), one should be able to go through it. Essentially, this means that a big enough gateway can be used by a person just as a big enough gateway let’s in a lot of Investiture. Pools, like the one at the center of the giant Aon Rao, are this, but I think is easier to see with Aon Rao because we already know what Aons do.

 

Aons let Investiture into the physical realm, and should also be able (if they’re big enough) to let physical beings out. This means, that if something opens a gateway (or uses Investiture), it opens a gateway for a person to go through, allowing for further realmatic shenanigans on the other side. No, this point doesn’t explain how world hopping is conducted (when we see Elsecalling in action, I think we might have a better idea), but it does explain how someone can enter the cognitive and possibly the spiritual realms. I’m not proposing that this idea is revolutionary (I’m sure someone brought it up before me). Instead: I’m only proposing that the Pool on Elantris reveals that this pool exists in that particular spot because of the giant Aon Rao, and this giant Aon Rao draws on AonDor in such a way that it opens a gigantic gateway between realms.

 

Essentially, all you need is a big enough gateway…and the ability to open it (except, perhaps, if someone did it for you…) for realmatic transportation, however, I will say that this only for certain worlds and really only a basic idea. I’m not doing application, only proposing that by opening gateways for Investiture to seep through (like the giant Aon Rao, but it should work on a smaller scale, like with Soulcasters and Elsecallers, though not quite in the same way), one can enter another realm and eventually worldhop.

 

(That’s the best I could come up, and yes, I probably did not hit the dot.  Just don’t kill me, this is still my first topic…)Originally, this was going to be more world-hopping based, but I lost some stuff and this turned into a topic on realmatic transportation (physical to cognitive) hopping instead. It’s not a theory, though this is probably not the best topic to dabble in lightly; unfortunately, I was a little bored, it was late, and I wanted tea. So forgive me if my thoughts are not well-explained or if it seems to just go on and on about rabbits…What I’m saying is that I expect to be shot down by the self-proclaimed experts on Realmatic Theory. Well, at least I tried? Heh, I just hope no one stole my thunder…but anyways, enough of my blab… Geronomo!

 

 

First though, I want to bring up Aon Rao. As we know, the shape of Elantris and the landscape around it is based on this Aon and creates Elantrians and allows them access to that magic. But at the heart of this giant Aon, is the pool or the "dot" in the middle of Rao. This Aon Rao can be seen as a gateway, one that allows Investiture in from the Spiritual Realm into the physical realm; or a place where Investiture is moving from a place of “high spiritual pressure to a place of lower pressure.”  A giant Aon, perhaps even (in some way) a giant Seon, though for this topic, it doesn’t particularly matter if the pool we are dealing with is a splinterpool or a shardpool. It only matters that it’s a big gateway.

 

What really matters is this: when one draws an Aon, when one uses stormlight, when one burns metal, et al.; one opens a gateway for Investiture to flow through. Notably, the pool in Elantris is at the certain of an incredibly large and powerful Aon that continuously draws in Investiture. It operates as a gateway, but as anyone can tell you, gateways can be entered through both ways. If one opens a big enough gateway (and maintains it), one should be able to go through it. Essentially, this means that a big enough gateway can be used by a person just as a big enough gateway let’s in a lot of Investiture. Pools, like the one at the center of the giant Aon Rao, are this, but I think is easier to see with Aon Rao because we already know what Aons do.

 

Aons let Investiture into the physical realm, and should also be able (if they’re big enough) to let physical beings out. This means, that if something opens a gateway (or uses Investiture), it opens a gateway for a person to go through, allowing for further realmatic shenanigans on the other side. No, this point doesn’t explain how world hopping is conducted (when we see Elsecalling in action, I think we might have a better idea), but it does explain how someone can enter the cognitive and possibly the spiritual realms. I’m not proposing that this idea is revolutionary (I’m sure someone brought it up before me). Instead: I’m only proposing that the Pool on Elantris reveals that this pool exists in that particular spot because of the giant Aon Rao, and this giant Aon Rao draws on AonDor in such a way that it opens a gigantic gateway between realms.

 

Essentially, all you need is a big enough gateway…and the ability to open it (except, perhaps, if someone did it for you…) for realmatic transportation, however, I will say that this only for certain worlds and really only a basic idea. I’m not doing application, only proposing that by opening gateways for Investiture to seep through (like the giant Aon Rao, but it should work on a smaller scale, like with Soulcasters and Elsecallers, though not quite in the same way), one can enter another realm and eventually worldhop...

 

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That’s the best I could come up, and yes, I probably did not hit the dot.  Just don’t kill me, this is still my first topic…be nice! I'm gonna sleep now...also, since the Pool is at the center of a giant Aon Rao, I think it might be more of a splinterpool by the time of Elantris...or even the center of a giant "Seon". One might say it's not quite a shardpool..., indeed. Now for some wild speculation (just for fun):

 

Just like the green splinterpool in Sixth of the Dusk. This is another point, if you can do realmatic transportation with a splinterpool then smaller gateways should be possible as well, but I mainly just wanted to talk about Elantris, not a new novella or about the pools in Stormlight in the Horneater Peaks. I mean, splinterpools? How big does...okay, enough rabbit trails. Now I flee!

[WeiryWriter he/him]

Okay, I'm not sure I understand everything, but it seems to be predicated on the idea that the "dot" in the Aon Rao formed by the Elantrian Metropolitan District is the Lake?  Which can't be the case since it is on a mountainside *outside* of the city.  From what I can tell the dot is the Palace, which, according to Galladon, is at the exact center of Elantris.

[Oudeis he/him]

Actually I'm fairly certain the "Dot" is the well in the palace that leads down to the river. The secret room is at one edge of the city and give access to a tunnel that leads to the Shardpool, which is up the mountain and quite some distance from the city/Aon Rao.

 

They're also both different from the actual very large lake in the center of Arelon which repesents the "dot" that you must draw to make the Aon Aon, which would be many (possibly hundreds) of miles away.

[WeiryWriter he/him]

Actually I'm fairly certain the "Dot" is the well in the palace that leads down to the river.

 

I just went back to check and it does seem like that might be the case, I remembered the well being much further away from the palace than it is.  I think I was thrown by the fact that on the previous page Galladon describes the spire on the Palace as the exact center of Elantris.

[11thorderknight]

We're told at some point that Aon Aon, the basic shape that's at the heart of every other Aon, is two lines and a dot, which are known to represent the shore, the mountains and some lake in Arelon. So, the Pool is not the dot. 

 

Also, the Elantris city-Aon does NOT create Elantrians. It simply magnifies the potency of their AonDor in the area around the city. Remember, Raoden got AonDor to work before he ever realized the truth about Elantris; it simply worked at its baseline power level. 

[Lightsworn Panda he/him]

Hmm... there's still the possibility that there's a secret underground city that's part of the plot of the second Elantris. 

Edited July 23, 2014 by Lightsworn Panda