Dawnshard Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 So I haven't seen any posts about this. Not that they don't exist I just haven't seen any. In all other worlds the immortality has been explained through the magic systems. The Elentrians are immortal through AonDor. the Lord Ruler use compounding to become immortal. In Warbreaker anyone above the 5th Heightening is immortal. How are the Heralds staying young after all this time. there is no lashing as of yet that allows Immortality. I doubt it was the Almighty because he is dead and the Oathpack was broken. So how are they still alive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoser Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Good question. Without any understanding of the mechanisms, it is clear to me that the Heralds are heavily invested. The fifth heightening is also investiture. I'm guessing that the spren did not copy that aspect of the Heralds and Radiants are mortal. If there were a Radiant lashing that gave immortality, then the Radiants could achieve it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightsworn Panda Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Also, bear in mind that the Heralds are 10 people personally chosen by Honor/Tanavast/the Almighty/whatever himself. Some of his immortality must have rubbed off onto them, or at least they were granted it (in a way that it lingered even after Honor died) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmurfAquamarineBodies Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Breath and Stormlight seem quite similar, except that Breath sticks and Stormlight dissipates. If immortality can be achieved by having lot's of Breath then Stormlight should do the same thing, if it could be held perfectly then it should give immortality. Perhaps the Heralds were given the ability to hold Stormlight perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 The Heralds seem to be very similar to the Returned. I expect the answer is that they each have a Divine Breath-equivalent from Honor. I also expect that the Radiants themselves are long-lived from sucking in Stormlight. It should act like Breath in that regard and extend their lifespans. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeployParachute Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 I also expect that the Radiants themselves are long-lived from sucking in Stormlight. It should act like Breath in that regard and extend their lifespans. The fact that me asking Brandon "what affect does the spren bond have on a human's lifespan" resulted in an RAFO card leads me to believe that you are most likely correct on this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefftucker0525 Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Also I'm pretty sure we have a WoB saying that all/some of the Heralds are from another planet in the Cosmere so its quite possible their Immortality stems from another magic system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeiryWriter Posted July 23, 2014 Report Share Posted July 23, 2014 Also I'm pretty sure we have a WoB saying that all/some of the Heralds are from another planet in the Cosmere so its quite possible their Immortality stems from another magic system. We do not have a WoB saying that, at least none that I have seen. There might be a question *asking* about that but I'm pretty sure it was RAFO'd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hoodie Mistborn Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) We do not have a WoB saying that, at least none that I have seen. There might be a question *asking* about that but I'm pretty sure it was RAFO'd. Definitely RAFO'd both times it was asked: INTERVIEW: Sep, 2012 Cosmere Q&A - 17th Shard (Verbatim) YADOS Are the Heralds native to Roshar? BRANDON SANDERSON RAFO (Man, you're good at asking those, aren't you?) INTERVIEW: Mar 11th, 2014 WoR Signing Report - Awesomeness Summoned (Verbatim)QUESTIONWere the heralds born on Roshar?BRANDON SANDERSONRAFO Personally, I'm going with heavy levels of investiture like a Returned. The question I have is, why don't they "glow" like someone with high levels of stormlight normally does? Returned glow unless they learn how to do "mental gymnastics", but none of the Heralds that we see are glowing in any meaningful way... Edited July 24, 2014 by Green Hoodie Mistborn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Personally, I'm going with heavy levels of investiture like a Returned. The question I have is, why don't they "glow" like someone with high levels of stormlight normally does? Returned glow unless they learn how to do "mental gymnastics", but none of the Heralds that we see are glowing in any meaningful way... Could be that the Heralds' Divine Breath-equivalents are their Honorblades. Those are external though, so I'm not sure if they'd provide immortality. I'd really like to know what happens to a Returned when they use their Divine Breath to Awaken - do they retain their super-speed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hoodie Mistborn Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 Could be that the Heralds' Divine Breath-equivalents are their Honorblades. Those are external though, so I'm not sure if they'd provide immortality. I'd really like to know what happens to a Returned when they use their Divine Breath to Awaken - do they retain their super-speed? Why would using their Divine Breath to Awaken be different than using it to heal? As far as we know, it is a single powerful breath. So if they use it for anything, they will die as it is what is keeping them alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted July 24, 2014 Report Share Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) Why would using their Divine Breath to Awaken be different than using it to heal? Well, what's the reason that you die when you give away your Divine Breath? The answer might be that it drains your color completely, killing you. When you give away Breath, you use your own color. When you Awaken with your Breath, you drain the color of objects around you. If you Awaken with a Divine Breath, you might retain your color and live. It might also be that the Divine Breath is what keeps Returned alive and losing it kills them. I'm not sure. There is a huge difference between giving away Breath and Awakening in color-usage, though. I also note that the reason Returned die after a week of no Breath is because they consume their own Divine Breath. It's not the Divine Breath itself that is consuming Breath, its their own bodies. (There's a WoB on this, but I'm still not sure on the actual mechanics of why they need to consume Breath.) It may just be that the process of Returning gives you super-speed, and the Divine Breath is just a side-effect that is meant to throw us off the real cause. Edited July 24, 2014 by Moogle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11thorderknight Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I'm sure we'll all read and find out about the Heralds; there's so little information to go on here that even speculation is fruitless. As far as the Radiants though, I'm going to extrapolate from what we already know and say that, since they don't need to breathe while holding stormlight, they also don't age while holding stormlight. Which means that their extra longevity is directly proportional to the length of time they go around holding stormlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Shadow Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 The Heralds seem to be very similar to the Returned. I expect the answer is that they each have a Divine Breath-equivalent from Honor. I also expect that the Radiants themselves are long-lived from sucking in Stormlight. It should act like Breath in that regard and extend their lifespans. I think you're right. Isn't it described like a cycle? Return->Battle->Death->Repeat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmurfAquamarineBodies Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Could be that the Heralds' Divine Breath-equivalents are their Honorblades. Those are external though, so I'm not sure if they'd provide immortality. I'd really like to know what happens to a Returned when they use their Divine Breath to Awaken - do they retain their super-speed? What do you mean by super-speed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 What do you mean by super-speed? Denth, like Taln with his dart-catching abilities, was capable of moving super-fast. He used a sword to kill a few people ridiculously quickly. Returned and Heralds seem to have physical abilities far superior to regular humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmurfAquamarineBodies Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I thought that was because he was a natural with a sword plus he had the peak physical capabilities of a Returned. Vasher wasn't nearly as fast with a sword as Denth and he's Returned. But maybe I didn't read that fight scene correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I thought that was because he was a natural with a sword plus he had the peak physical capabilities of a Returned. Vasher wasn't nearly as fast with a sword as Denth and he's Returned. But maybe I didn't read that fight scene correctly. One thing is that Vasher thinks he's average with a sword, but he's really not. He sucks compared to Denth and Arsteel, but he's way better than most regular humans. I'll try and find a WoB on that. I'm pretty sure Vasher himself is similarly quick with a sword, as he takes out 20 people in a bar fight before the novel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AerionBFII Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I have to admit i like this running theme in the Cosmere.....Immortality.... How would you guys achieve it if you could world hop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hoodie Mistborn Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 I have to admit i like this running theme in the Cosmere.....Immortality.... How would you guys achieve it if you could world hop? Breaths on Nalthis would seem to be the easiest method, just needs money. Otherwise hemalurgy to steal a/Feruchemical gold compounding would be the next "easiest"... if you know the right strike and bind points and were really capable of murdering someone to gain your own immortality. Gambling on becoming Elantrian doesn't seem great nor does trying to hold Stormlight to indefinitely slow the aging process. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AerionBFII Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 You ever think your a nice person? I always try to be nice! Then think if i was in the Cosmere i probably could do it lol Become like a Villain, i would use my Cosmere knowledge to locate a bead of L and used it to become an allomancer and i would try to join the 17th Shard learn to WorldHop i would use Emotion Allomancy to 'persuade' people to give me their Breath or just force them to hand it over.. Then i would travel the Cosmere and try to gather the different magics and do what the hell i wanted ....got a little dark there.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmurfAquamarineBodies Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 One thing is that Vasher thinks he's average with a sword, but he's really not. He sucks compared to Denth and Arsteel, but he's way better than most regular humans. I'll try and find a WoB on that. I'm pretty sure Vasher himself is similarly quick with a sword, as he takes out 20 people in a bar fight before the novel. He's definitely skilled a sword no denying that, but skill doesn't equal speed. Taking out 20 people in a bar fight with some 300 (?) years of fighting experience plus being returned with the perfect body that comes with it would be really easy. I know and have seen 1 guy take on a bar of about 15 people and win because he was angry, which Vasher admits he has problems with. Comparing Vasher to Arsteel and Denth in skill with sword is unfair because they were prodigies with a sword and had 300 (?) years to train. I have to admit i like this running theme in the Cosmere.....Immortality.... How would you guys achieve it if you could world hop? Nalthis get breaths. That is by far the easiest way to become immortal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 Breaths on Nalthis would seem to be the easiest method, just needs money. Otherwise hemalurgy to steal a/Feruchemical gold compounding would be the next "easiest"... if you know the right strike and bind points and were really capable of murdering someone to gain your own immortality. Gambling on becoming Elantrian doesn't seem great nor does trying to hold Stormlight to indefinitely slow the aging process. That makes me wonder: Miles can age, but could he die from that age? What if his organs restore themselves perpetually as they fail, growing weaker and weaker, eventually unable to eat or drink or even breathe, but the cells restore themselves each time they try to shut down from hypoxia or malnutrition, muscles atrophying away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Hoodie Mistborn Posted July 25, 2014 Report Share Posted July 25, 2014 That makes me wonder: Miles can age, but could he die from that age? What if his organs restore themselves perpetually as they fail, growing weaker and weaker, eventually unable to eat or drink or even breathe, but the cells restore themselves each time they try to shut down from hypoxia or malnutrition, muscles atrophying away. That is a great point! I would think at some point his mind would be unable to direct the healing and it would fall apart. I wonder how long that would take though. For some reason I was conflating Feruchemical gold compounding with Feruchemical atium compounding for storing age/youth. I think ideally you'd want or need both to be a really good immortal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts