Why aon drawn in library with chasm did not work ?

[samsocial]

Rioden and Gellidon test adding chasm line in aon in library. 

First attempt results in explosion and burning of biology section. 

Next tests create aon but not to their expected power.

Why ? was Rioden's dip in lake water necessary condition for them to work to their fullest power ? 

[Quantus he/him]

Id have to find the passage to check, but off the top of my head: Elantris was supposed to be a massive funnel of Dor power into the Physical Realm, but with it non-functional and plugged for so long it (by the "incorrect" Aon) had built up a lot of pressure on the other side.  The much smaller and flimsier channel might have been overloaded by the backpressure.  

[alder24]

48 minutes ago, samsocial said:

Rioden and Gellidon test adding chasm line in aon in library. 

First attempt results in explosion and burning of biology section. 

Next tests create aon but not to their expected power.

Why ? was Rioden's dip in lake water necessary condition for them to work to their fullest power ? 

The city of Elantris was a giant Aon that amplified the strength of other Aons. Without it functioning properly, other Aons can't be as strong as they should be, thus they are simply weaker. One Elantris was restored, all Aons work at their full potential.

Spoiler

Brandon Sanderson

Weak Aons

Elantris is like a massive power conduit. It focuses the Dor, strengthening its power (or, rather, the power of the Aons to release it) in Arelon. This far away from Elantris, however, the Aons are about as powerful as they were before Raoden fixed Elantris.

If you consider it, it makes logical sense that the Aons would be tied to Elantris and Arelon, yet would work without them. The Aons had to exist before Elantris–otherwise, the original Elantrians wouldn't have known the shape to make the city. Their study of AonDor taught them a method for amplifying Aon power.

Elantris Annotations (May 12, 2006)

 

[ChillPenguin]

To add to this a little, Raoden didn’t understand the structure of Elantris until he was on the way to the pool. It’s been a very long time since I read it, but I remember feeling that passage was written so well, the tension when he finally solved the mystery of the Aon that made up Elantris and was about to be thrown in the pool.

I also want to add that we should have known even properly drawn aons wouldn’t have worked in the library because the Elantrians were still Hoed and so their connection to the investiture was still weak.

Edited August 30, 2024 by ChillPenguin

[Duxredux he/him]

My guess is that it's related to why Raoden was having his fits where he would get a wave of intense pain and start glowing as if he were an Aon himself. I'm not sure if we've ever had confirmation for why Raoden was a near valid conduit for Dor even as a fallen Elantrian, but he was. He was gradually Invested with power until it threatened to destroy him, and it is this buildup within his own body and soul, not within the Dor or Elantris, that he released. We know that his glowing fits stopped after that first valid Aon and as he continued to draw valid Aons. 

Full Cosmere spoilers

Spoiler

We know that an Elantrian off world can chug purified Dor to fuel AonDor. This is basically the same thing, but for someone who almost can validly use the power.

Reminds me of how Hemalurgic spikes cause tremendous pain if the placement is slightly off. Reminds me of how Surgebinders describe holding enough Stormlight until it threatens to rip them apart. Reminds me of Allomancers stoking their metals until they are as hot as the Ashmounts. In this case holding huge amounts of great power but without a valid way to consume or expel the energy.

This also goes into my theory that Raoden was somehow sufficiently Connected to Devotion to be considered a valid-enough Champion to be directly Invested, but that's a different discussion. Perhaps having his Spiritweb constantly flooded with this power started to warp it in the same way that drawing on the Mists changed Vin. Raoden seems faster at learning Aons and drawing them than seems probable without supernatural enhancement.

 

Edited September 3, 2024 by Duxredux

[Treamayne]

10 hours ago, Duxredux said:

I'm not sure if we've ever had confirmation for why Raoden was a near valid conduit for Dor even as a fallen Elantrian, but he was.

It was in the Elantris Annotations (right after the book was published):

Annotations to Ch 48:

Spoiler

 

Jan. 6, 2006

If you were wondering, most of the explanations we get in this chapter are true. The reason that Raoden was subject to the Dor attacks was because he spent so much time practicing with the Aons. He began to make a bridge between this world and the Dor, and because of that, he gave the Dor a slight opening into his soul. I imagine that he isn’t the first one to suffer something like this during the ten years that Elantris has been fallen. Other Elantrians probably practiced with the Aons, and the Dor eventually destroyed them. When it was done, they simply became Hoed.

By finally using the Dor effectively, Raoden relieved a little bit of the pressure, letting the nearby buildup of the Dor (the one that he himself had created by practicing so much) rip through him and fuel that single Aon.

Originally, I had Raoden’s conflict with the Dor continue on after this scene–I had it continue attacking him. In a later draft, however, I realized that I’d made a mistake. Raoden has other things to worry about in the upcoming chapters–he doesn’t need the Dor attacks to create conflict and tension. So, after this chapter, the Dor attacks actually became distractions. I also realized that the way I’d set up the magic system, this chapter was probably the place where the Dor should stop attacking, since Raoden had fulfilled what it wanted him to do.

 

Edited September 4, 2024 by Treamayne
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