Tsavardravast Posted August 15, 2024 Posted August 15, 2024 (edited) SPOILER ALERT! Will be taking about a few of the books, not in any great detail but just warning. Spoiler Recently, as I was rereading OathBringer and Rythm of War, I began thinking a lot about the different forms of Bonds discussed in the Cosmere. How they operate, what they are called and when we will see them explained. We already know of two: The Nahel Bond - The Cognitive Bond between Man/Singer and Spren The Luhel Bond - The Physical Bond between Aether and Man As seen in Tress of the emerald Sea So, there must be a third, right? a Spiritual Bond. And while thinking about this a few things began to Click. Not only have we already witnessed the Third Bond Type, and possibly are witnessing a new version of this in Rythm of War, but we have already been told what this bond is called. Hypothesis: The Returned are the third bond type, a Spirit Bond between god(Endowment) and the Flesh, the transaction being made possible by the transition to the Spiritual Realm upon death. The Name of this Bond type is the Zahel Bond Evidence-1: The nature of the Returned, their connection to endowment and the visions they receive all point to this being a connection with the spiritual realm Evidence-2: Vasher chooses to use the Name Zahel as his false identity while on Roshar. He did not use this initially but Adopted it after meeting Spren and re-evaluating the nature of Invested entities. This I feel is, while esoteric, slightly more compelling as we have seen that generally when people take on monickers in the cosmere there tends to be meaning behind them. I beleive that Vasher Chose this name because he is already aware of all three bonds and is using it on a non-cosmere aware world is kind of an "on-the-nose" joke and who and what he is. Id love to hear your thoughts regaridng this hypothesis. I feel like the pieces fit nicely and are consistent with the writing style and the nature of those residing within the cosmere. Edited August 15, 2024 by Tsavardravast adding tags 2
alder24 Posted August 15, 2024 Posted August 15, 2024 Hello, welcome to the Shard! Check out Sharder FAQ for some useful information. Next time know that the Cosmere Q&A section is for asking question, if you want to post a theory like you just did, you should post it in a subforum corresponding to the books you want to discussed - for a topic like this, it should have been posted in the Cosmere Discussion section. 4 minutes ago, Tsavardravast said: We already know of two: The Nahel Bond - The Cognitive Bond between Man/Singer and Spren The Luhel Bond - The Physical Bond between Aether and Man As seen in Tress of the emerald Sea So, there must be a third, right? a Spiritual Bond. And while thinking about this a few things began to Click. They are ALL Spiritual Bonds - they are all Connections. They all have different effects, the Nahel Bond is a bond between a Cognitive entity - spren - which grants them more Cognition in the Physical Realm, while the Luhel Bond is a bond in which you exchange a physical matter - water - for investiture. But they are all Spiritual in nature. All Connections are Spiritual. 7 minutes ago, Tsavardravast said: Hypothesis: The Returned are the third bond type, a Spirit Bond between god(Endowment) and the Flesh, the transaction being made possible by the transition to the Spiritual Realm upon death. The Name of this Bond type is the Zahel Bond Evidence-1: The nature of the Returned, their connection to endowment and the visions they receive all point to this being a connection with the spiritual realm Evidence-2: Vasher chooses to use the Name Zahel as his false identity while on Roshar. He did not use this initially but Adopted it after meeting Spren and re-evaluating the nature of Invested entities. This I feel is, while esoteric, slightly more compelling as we have seen that generally when people take on monickers in the cosmere there tends to be meaning behind them. I beleive that Vasher Chose this name because he is already aware of all three bonds and is using it on a non-cosmere aware world is kind of an "on-the-nose" joke and who and what he is. Id love to hear your thoughts regaridng this hypothesis. I feel like the pieces fit nicely and are consistent with the writing style and the nature of those residing within the cosmere. Returned are Connected to Endowment, that's true, but they are Cognitive Shadows - they were invested when they died and they became a kind of a fossil of a soul made out of investiture, which strongly Connected them to their Shard. Returned are like Heralds or Fused - they work the same, they are functionally immortal like them, they are very invested etc. However, unlike them, Returned are less Connected to their Shard - that's why they need to feed on Breaths and that's why they can leave Nalthis. A Divine Breath is like a Splinter of Endowment, just like Spren are Splinters too, but unlike Spren a Divine Breath isn't self-aware. It sticks their soul to their body and keeps their body alive. However, this Splinter isn't tied that heavily to Endowment. It's given to them with no strings attached and because of that they can leave their home planet, unlike other Cognitive Shadows who are directly Connected to their Shard and can't leave. But this allows Heralds and Fused to feed on their Shards to stay alive, while Returned can't and need to consume Breaths. So it's other Cognitive Shadows who are strongly Connected to their Shard, not Returned. It's not a type of a bond, but they are Connected to a Shard because they are very heavily invested and that investiture is tied to a Shard. It's because of their super-invested nature that they stay alive and can do all that stuff. Visions are specifically given only to Returned (no other Cognitive Shadow receive visions) because when they died, Endowment showed them those visions of the future and gave them a choice to return. It's because of their Divine Breaths - a Splinter of divinity - that they can peer a little into the Spiritual Realm and see what they saw when they died. RoW ch 15: Quote “Is there a … way to kill something like you? Permanently?” “Lots of ways. For the weaker ones, just kill the body again, make sure no one Invests the soul with more strength, and they’ll slip away in a few minutes. For stronger ones … well, you might be able to starve them. A lot of Type Twos feed on power. Keeps them going. “These enemies of yours though, I think they’re too strong for that. They’ve lasted thousands of years already, and seem Connected to Odium to feed directly on his power." Spoiler Skyler If a Returned gives away his/her Breath they die right? So why doesn't Vasher die after he gives his to Denth? Brandon Sanderson They will die the moment they run out of Breath to harvest. Once a week their body needs a Breath in order to survive. Each Returned has one single superpowered Breath. Imagine it as one breath that propels them up through the Heightenings, but it is only a single Breath. It's what we speak of in Shard world terminology as a Splinter. And when the seventh day comes, if a Returned does not have another breath for his body to consume to keep him alive, his body will actually eat his divine Breath and kill him. So they don't die immediately after they get rid of the Breath, they're sort of put into a state of limbo where if they don't find more Breath by the time that their feast day comes, then they will die. (Vasher did not give his Returned Breath to Denth, just a number of normal Breaths.) Goodreads Fantasy Book Discussion Warbreaker Q&A (Jan. 18, 2010) Spoiler Questioner I think there's a flaw in my understanding of Cognitive Shadows. I assume that... they would have more visibility into the Cognitive Realm, like a Herald would be able to see spren more easily, that kind of thing. Is that incorrect? Brandon Sanderson That is incorrect. A Cognitive Shadow simply means a copy of the Cognitive side made by a deep amount of Investiture. And everybody has a Cognitive side. Basically it's a fake soul. Or, fake is the wrong term. Fake is the wrong term. Even in-world they don't know if it's really them or not. It is Investiture has replaced the Investiture that is fleeing from them as they die, or enhancing it in some way to keep it around. So some Cognitive Shadows trapped on the Cognitive Realm are going to be-- have a lot of Cognitive-- I mean, they're there, right? But some Cognitive Shadows inhabiting a body in the same way that your mind inhabits your body, the way the cosmere works... So a Herald is going to feel like they are alive just like-- but their soul has been somehow transformed. It's not really transformed, it's been reproduced or copied by an injection of Investiture... And I'll say for the purpose of the recordings, I haven't canonized any of that terminology that I just used about Cognitive Shadows. I'm just talking about it, I'm not necessarily saying that this is how you are supposed to refer to it. You can refer to it however you want. I've often used the metaphor of how fossils get made. When a fossil is made there is a pattern and it is slowly replaced with another substance that is stronger and more endurant, and has the shape of it, but is it still the bone? When you have a fossil bone is it the dinosaur bone? In most cases no, but yes. It's the ship of Theseus sort of thing again. Is this the bone or is it not? Is this the soul? Is this the person or is it not? That's the same sort of thing is happening with Cognitive Shadows. And it's happening on all three Realms to an extent, though of course the body is not. The body stays. It's happening on two Realms. It's happening Spiritually, mostly Cognitively. Orem signing (March 10, 2018) Spoiler Badger1289 If Investiture can’t be moved beyond a certain point away from its world/solar system, how in the Cosmere did three Awakeners end up on Roshar? Brandon Sanderson Investiture from different systems acts in different ways. Certain people have managed, for example, to get some kinds of Investiture to leave their home world through the use of a kind of magical pipeline. Breaths attach to the identity of the individual, and are fully given away--freely, which removes some of this Connection. It's a nature of Endowment that the gift is given without strings attached, so to speak. But while it's a renewable resource, it's a difficult one. Roshar is extra "sticky" so to speak with Investiture. It's part of the nature of Honor, Cultivation, and oaths. So getting it off is a problem, though collecting it is not. Echono Wouldn't consuming it also be a problem? You need a direct or secondary Bond to take in Stormlight Investiture. It's not like metals or Breaths that anyone could absorb. Although a certain grouchy ardent might have found a way... Brandon Sanderson You are right in that Stormlight is more being seen as a power source, since certain systems in the cosmere can work on a variety of different kinds. Not just anyone could make use of it, at least not unless it is refined. Rhythm of War Preview Q&As (Oct. 8, 2020) 2
Tsavardravast Posted August 15, 2024 Author Posted August 15, 2024 4 minutes ago, alder24 said: Hello, welcome to the Shard! Check out Sharder FAQ for some useful information. Next time know that the Cosmere Q&A section is for asking question, if you want to post a theory like you just did, you should post it in a subforum corresponding to the books you want to discussed - for a topic like this, it should have been posted in the Cosmere Discussion section. They are ALL Spiritual Bonds - they are all Connections. They all have different effects, the Nahel Bond is a bond between a Cognitive entity - spren - which grants them more Cognition in the Physical Realm, while the Luhel Bond is a bond in which you exchange a physical matter - water - for investiture. But they are all Spiritual in nature. All Connections are Spiritual. Returned are Connected to Endowment, that's true, but they are Cognitive Shadows - they were invested when they died and they became a kind of a fossil of a soul made out of investiture, which strongly Connected them to their Shard. Returned are like Heralds or Fused - they work the same, they are functionally immortal like them, they are very invested etc. However, unlike them, Returned are less Connected to their Shard - that's why they need to feed on Breaths and that's why they can leave Nalthis. A Divine Breath is like a Splinter of Endowment, just like Spren are Splinters too, but unlike Spren a Divine Breath isn't self-aware. It sticks their soul to their body and keeps their body alive. However, this Splinter isn't tied that heavily to Endowment. It's given to them with no strings attached and because of that they can leave their home planet, unlike other Cognitive Shadows who are directly Connected to their Shard and can't leave. But this allows Heralds and Fused to feed on their Shards to stay alive, while Returned can't and need to consume Breaths. So it's other Cognitive Shadows who are strongly Connected to their Shard, not Returned. It's not a type of a bond, but they are Connected to a Shard because they are very heavily invested and that investiture is tied to a Shard. It's because of their super-invested nature that they stay alive and can do all that stuff. Visions are specifically given only to Returned (no other Cognitive Shadow receive visions) because when they died, Endowment showed them those visions of the future and gave them a choice to return. It's because of their Divine Breaths - a Splinter of divinity - that they can peer a little into the Spiritual Realm and see what they saw when they died. RoW ch 15: Reveal hidden contents Skyler If a Returned gives away his/her Breath they die right? So why doesn't Vasher die after he gives his to Denth? Brandon Sanderson They will die the moment they run out of Breath to harvest. Once a week their body needs a Breath in order to survive. Each Returned has one single superpowered Breath. Imagine it as one breath that propels them up through the Heightenings, but it is only a single Breath. It's what we speak of in Shard world terminology as a Splinter. And when the seventh day comes, if a Returned does not have another breath for his body to consume to keep him alive, his body will actually eat his divine Breath and kill him. So they don't die immediately after they get rid of the Breath, they're sort of put into a state of limbo where if they don't find more Breath by the time that their feast day comes, then they will die. (Vasher did not give his Returned Breath to Denth, just a number of normal Breaths.) Goodreads Fantasy Book Discussion Warbreaker Q&A (Jan. 18, 2010) Reveal hidden contents Questioner I think there's a flaw in my understanding of Cognitive Shadows. I assume that... they would have more visibility into the Cognitive Realm, like a Herald would be able to see spren more easily, that kind of thing. Is that incorrect? Brandon Sanderson That is incorrect. A Cognitive Shadow simply means a copy of the Cognitive side made by a deep amount of Investiture. And everybody has a Cognitive side. Basically it's a fake soul. Or, fake is the wrong term. Fake is the wrong term. Even in-world they don't know if it's really them or not. It is Investiture has replaced the Investiture that is fleeing from them as they die, or enhancing it in some way to keep it around. So some Cognitive Shadows trapped on the Cognitive Realm are going to be-- have a lot of Cognitive-- I mean, they're there, right? But some Cognitive Shadows inhabiting a body in the same way that your mind inhabits your body, the way the cosmere works... So a Herald is going to feel like they are alive just like-- but their soul has been somehow transformed. It's not really transformed, it's been reproduced or copied by an injection of Investiture... And I'll say for the purpose of the recordings, I haven't canonized any of that terminology that I just used about Cognitive Shadows. I'm just talking about it, I'm not necessarily saying that this is how you are supposed to refer to it. You can refer to it however you want. I've often used the metaphor of how fossils get made. When a fossil is made there is a pattern and it is slowly replaced with another substance that is stronger and more endurant, and has the shape of it, but is it still the bone? When you have a fossil bone is it the dinosaur bone? In most cases no, but yes. It's the ship of Theseus sort of thing again. Is this the bone or is it not? Is this the soul? Is this the person or is it not? That's the same sort of thing is happening with Cognitive Shadows. And it's happening on all three Realms to an extent, though of course the body is not. The body stays. It's happening on two Realms. It's happening Spiritually, mostly Cognitively. Orem signing (March 10, 2018) Reveal hidden contents Badger1289 If Investiture can’t be moved beyond a certain point away from its world/solar system, how in the Cosmere did three Awakeners end up on Roshar? Brandon Sanderson Investiture from different systems acts in different ways. Certain people have managed, for example, to get some kinds of Investiture to leave their home world through the use of a kind of magical pipeline. Breaths attach to the identity of the individual, and are fully given away--freely, which removes some of this Connection. It's a nature of Endowment that the gift is given without strings attached, so to speak. But while it's a renewable resource, it's a difficult one. Roshar is extra "sticky" so to speak with Investiture. It's part of the nature of Honor, Cultivation, and oaths. So getting it off is a problem, though collecting it is not. Echono Wouldn't consuming it also be a problem? You need a direct or secondary Bond to take in Stormlight Investiture. It's not like metals or Breaths that anyone could absorb. Although a certain grouchy ardent might have found a way... Brandon Sanderson You are right in that Stormlight is more being seen as a power source, since certain systems in the cosmere can work on a variety of different kinds. Not just anyone could make use of it, at least not unless it is refined. Rhythm of War Preview Q&As (Oct. 8, 2020) Hey there, Sorry about posting in the wrong spot, new to here and don't really do much posting anywhere else. Ill do better next time. I agree that they are All Bonds to the spirit but they take different forms. Spirit to Spren(cotnitive) Spirit to Aether(Physical) Spirit to Spirit? (Spiritual) I agree that Returned are Definitely cognitive shadows but generally cognitive shadows are left by people already heavily invested. though Returned follow the same rules or cognitive shadows its their making, molded directly by endowment and stuffed back in that makes me think they might have a special connection. Regardless I would still Submit that if we have the Nahel and Luhel a third bond most likely exists as this fits with the overall triune nature of the cosmere. And the Name Vasher Chose for his pseudonym while on roshar still seems to fit with the nature of the other two bonds and I suspect are him making a sublte joke of some sore that we may not understand yet. 1
alder24 Posted August 15, 2024 Posted August 15, 2024 52 minutes ago, Tsavardravast said: I agree that they are All Bonds to the spirit but they take different forms. Spirit to Spren(cotnitive) Spirit to Aether(Physical) Spirit to Spirit? (Spiritual) Spren, Aethers and even Shards all have spirit webs of their own and those bonds are all connecting them together. Connections are bonds between spirit webs and they all exist in the Spiritual Realm. The Nahel Bond exists also between Aviars and their owners - and Aviars are very much not from the Cognitive Realm. Spoiler Ethour Would an Aviar be capable of a spren bond? Brandon Sanderson What they do is the same thing, by cosmere terms. It is not as powerful; because of that it is easier to shift between people. What you gain is not as strong, but you also gain flexibility. But it would be, cosmerologically, considered the same thing. Skyward release party (Nov. 6, 2018) We suspect Luhel Bond is the way Sand Mastery works as you exchange water for the ability to manipulate White Sand - which is exactly what Luhel Bond with Aethers does. But with Sand Mastery you don't Connect to any Aether. Yes, there are different kinds of bonds. But why did you choose the number 3? Why do there have to be 3 special bonds? Why not 16? Why not any other number? 58 minutes ago, Tsavardravast said: I agree that Returned are Definitely cognitive shadows but generally cognitive shadows are left by people already heavily invested. Actually, it's the opposite. Most examples of Cognitive Shadow we know of were people who weren't heavily invested and became invested when they die - Fused included. 59 minutes ago, Tsavardravast said: though Returned follow the same rules or cognitive shadows its their making, molded directly by endowment and stuffed back in that makes me think they might have a special connection. Yes, the only special thing about Returned is that they have a Divine Breath. But I tried to explain that it actually makes them weaker, not stronger - their Connection to Endowment is weaker than Fused Connection to Odium. Fused can feed directly on Odium because of how strong is their Connection but Returned requires Breaths. Fused can't leave but Returned can with no problems. This clearly demonstrates that Returned Connection to Endowment is not that strong compared to other Cognitive Shadows. 1 hour ago, Tsavardravast said: And the Name Vasher Chose for his pseudonym while on roshar still seems to fit with the nature of the other two bonds and I suspect are him making a sublte joke of some sore that we may not understand yet. There is something to it. But Vasher is trying to imply with his name Zahel that he's connected to divinity, that he's a Returned, because that's what Nahel means: Spoiler Argent The namesake of the Nahel bond. Was that a person, or is just a name? Brandon Sanderson It's a word in original Alethi as I was working on it. And actually, the original didn't use "bond." Bond was implied by it. The word meant, "connection to the divine." It's gotten larger since then... Blightsong So when Vasher takes a similar name [Zahel], he's trying to imply that meaning? Brandon Sanderson Yes. Skyward Chicago signing (Nov. 16, 2018)
Treamayne Posted August 16, 2024 Posted August 16, 2024 (edited) This Q&A thread discusses bonds as well, and I posit an Emotion based bond here. Copied over from that thread (Spoilers: Mistborn, Yumi, SA, White Sand, Tress, Warbreaker): Spoiler On 4/20/2024 at 6:50 PM, Treamayne said: What we do know is: that the bond described in Tress is a Luhel Bond which exchanges water to form a bond. This bond allows some measure of Connection and control of a Spore growth/entity This bond also allows a Spore Eater to be protected by their Bond while providing water to the Bond We know that TwinSoul also shares a bond with Silajana that exchanges water, but never called it a Luhel Bond. We know that this bond allws Twinsoul to "create" physical matter out of Aether, as well as exercise control over those things as long as they remain connected. We also know that a Sand Master trades water for control of the Sand, which is also not explicitely called a Luhel Bond We do know that Overmastery allows this control to be improved and the bond become more efficient We do know that Tress appears to experience this effect, but without it ever being called "Overmastery" What we do not know, for sure, is that all three of them are truly Luhel Bonds (or just something similar/related). We do not know if Water is the only physical comodity on which the bond can be formed. We do not know if the "Control" and "growth" functions are similar, related or disparate examples of the bond (assuming they are both Luhel Bonds). On 5/1/2024 at 2:20 PM, Treamayne said: The bond I was talking about was the one formed by an Allomancer controlling a Hemalurgic Construct, which was specifically named to be a bond (of some type) and persists even when no metals are available or being burned. Summarized: Nahel Bond - the bond of Realmic Transition (a cognitive entity bonds to a physical entity and is pulled closer to the PR in echange for <effect>) Radiant Bond Singer Bond Rosharan Lifeform Nahel Bonds (Skyeels, Greatshells, Rhyshadium, etc) Luhel Bond - Bond of Physical Transition (an entity in a Luhel Bond receives "matter", likely through a version of Elsecalling that transitions that matter through some unknown SR shenanigans, in exchange for <effect>) Sand Mastery - The Sand received water from the Sand Master thorugh the bond (but no water is seen moving between them in the PR, hence the SR Elsecalling theory moving the matter without crossing intervening space) and the Sand Master gains some control of the sand and RSPs RSP - RequiredSecondaryPowers - as seen after Kenton overmasters the second time Sprouters - a Luhel Bond with some spores (e. g. Midnight) trades control for water Unnamed Bond - The proposed third bond occurs when emotion is lapped against a cognitive Identity resulting in a measure of influence (up to and including control when the bond is strong enough); but is not maintained by kinetic investiture or matter transference after the bond has been formed Seen in Allomantic control of Hemalurgic Constructs, as well as Ruin's influence and control with mad/spiked people Possibly (at least part) of the mechanism on which Nightblood influences bonded people Possibly part of the bond used by Father Machine to control the Nightmares, since we see that Liyun's bonds force her back to her role each time she gets free as a Nightmare Edited August 16, 2024 by Treamayne SPAG
Tsavardravast Posted August 16, 2024 Author Posted August 16, 2024 14 hours ago, alder24 said: Spren, Aethers and even Shards all have spirit webs of their own and those bonds are all connecting them together. Connections are bonds between spirit webs and they all exist in the Spiritual Realm. The Nahel Bond exists also between Aviars and their owners - and Aviars are very much not from the Cognitive Realm. Reveal hidden contents Ethour Would an Aviar be capable of a spren bond? Brandon Sanderson What they do is the same thing, by cosmere terms. It is not as powerful; because of that it is easier to shift between people. What you gain is not as strong, but you also gain flexibility. But it would be, cosmerologically, considered the same thing. Skyward release party (Nov. 6, 2018) We suspect Luhel Bond is the way Sand Mastery works as you exchange water for the ability to manipulate White Sand - which is exactly what Luhel Bond with Aethers does. But with Sand Mastery you don't Connect to any Aether. Yes, there are different kinds of bonds. But why did you choose the number 3? Why do there have to be 3 special bonds? Why not 16? Why not any other number? Actually, it's the opposite. Most examples of Cognitive Shadow we know of were people who weren't heavily invested and became invested when they die - Fused included. Yes, the only special thing about Returned is that they have a Divine Breath. But I tried to explain that it actually makes them weaker, not stronger - their Connection to Endowment is weaker than Fused Connection to Odium. Fused can feed directly on Odium because of how strong is their Connection but Returned requires Breaths. Fused can't leave but Returned can with no problems. This clearly demonstrates that Returned Connection to Endowment is not that strong compared to other Cognitive Shadows. There is something to it. But Vasher is trying to imply with his name Zahel that he's connected to divinity, that he's a Returned, because that's what Nahel means: Hide contents Argent The namesake of the Nahel bond. Was that a person, or is just a name? Brandon Sanderson It's a word in original Alethi as I was working on it. And actually, the original didn't use "bond." Bond was implied by it. The word meant, "connection to the divine." It's gotten larger since then... Blightsong So when Vasher takes a similar name [Zahel], he's trying to imply that meaning? Brandon Sanderson Yes. Skyward Chicago signing (Nov. 16, 2018) The Reason I'm thinking there are 3 bonds specifically and not 16 or some other number is due to the nature of the cosmere itself and as a larger literary device. 3 Realms, 3 bonds, 3 parts to a god [the intent, command, identity]. We see 3 repeated throughout the books almost as much as we see 16 or other numbers related to the various gods . it seems to follow better then 2. if there are 2 kinds of bonds then why 2? if there were 16 bond types I would also accept that as a reasonable number that would align with the state of the cosmere. The comment and WOB you used to comment on it being "connected to divinity" is exactly my meaning. this would be the Zahel bond. and I am assuming Nahel is also an alethi word. that would seem to point to this third bond and the bond being A Zahel Bond
bmcclure7 Posted August 17, 2024 Posted August 17, 2024 On 8/15/2024 at 3:11 PM, Tsavardravast said: SPOILER ALERT! Will be taking about a few of the books, not in any great detail but just warning. Hide contents Recently, as I was rereading OathBringer and Rythm of War, I began thinking a lot about the different forms of Bonds discussed in the Cosmere. How they operate, what they are called and when we will see them explained. We already know of two: The Nahel Bond - The Cognitive Bond between Man/Singer and Spren The Luhel Bond - The Physical Bond between Aether and Man As seen in Tress of the emerald Sea So, there must be a third, right? a Spiritual Bond. And while thinking about this a few things began to Click. Not only have we already witnessed the Third Bond Type, and possibly are witnessing a new version of this in Rythm of War, but we have already been told what this bond is called. Hypothesis: The Returned are the third bond type, a Spirit Bond between god(Endowment) and the Flesh, the transaction being made possible by the transition to the Spiritual Realm upon death. The Name of this Bond type is the Zahel Bond Evidence-1: The nature of the Returned, their connection to endowment and the visions they receive all point to this being a connection with the spiritual realm Evidence-2: Vasher chooses to use the Name Zahel as his false identity while on Roshar. He did not use this initially but Adopted it after meeting Spren and re-evaluating the nature of Invested entities. This I feel is, while esoteric, slightly more compelling as we have seen that generally when people take on monickers in the cosmere there tends to be meaning behind them. I beleive that Vasher Chose this name because he is already aware of all three bonds and is using it on a non-cosmere aware world is kind of an "on-the-nose" joke and who and what he is. Id love to hear your thoughts regaridng this hypothesis. I feel like the pieces fit nicely and are consistent with the writing style and the nature of those residing within the cosmere. Actually, I think the bond between the avatar and vessel is an example of type of spiritual bond
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