AnthonyC4 Posted October 31, 2024 Posted October 31, 2024 Resonances are weird, and there's quite a few question marks in regards to what exactly they are. Though in my initial readthrough, I was under the impression that Resonances were unique to the individual, it appears they are actually consistent among combinations. Reading from the Coppermind, it appears that all Lightweavers have the same Memory skill that Shallan has, and all Windrunners can produce more than the usual number of squires. By extension, I suppose all A-Steel/F-Iron Twinborn have the ability to create a selective Steelpush bubble. I take this to mean that when a person has two powers, the host Spiritweb sort of adapts to it, much like plasticity in the brain, making certain Spiritual Connections between those powers in the Spiritweb more efficient. These efficiencies in the Spiritweb result in the Resonance. From this, I have a few questions (though I recognize that answers probably aren't here, but I like to point them out for the purposes of speculation): If someone's Spiritweb were significantly altered, would that change the form of the Resonance? Do non-humans, such as dragons or Sho Del, have different Resonances for the same powers? Some Resonances seem to favor one power over another (Memory heavily prefers Lightweaving, Wax's Resonance prefers A-Steel), what decides which power takes precedence when forming a Resonance? We know that there are varying degrees of strength for something like Allomancy and Feruchemy. Does the strength of each magic have an impact on the formation or shape of the Resonance? This might seem a bit of a leap, but from what I can tell, all known Resonances seem to operate upon Connection as a basis. (More squires = more Connection to people; Memory is a Spiritual Connection; Wax can selectively choose which metals to push upon in his bubble) Is this true of all Resonances? Shallan was able to access her Resonance of Memory even after breaking her bond with Testament and before she bonded with Pattern. She lost her Surgebinding abilities, yet retained the ability to use Stormlight to fuel her Resonance. This seems to imply that the powers occupy separate sections of one's Spiritweb, and are Connected by the core of one's Spiritweb. Sando said that people with many powers are unable to form resonances, but is it possible to acquire all Resonances piecemeal? By possessing only two powers at a time until the Resonance forms, then removing them and acquiring two more? Are Resonances for powers that are no longer present subject to decay or weakening over time? Can you lose a Resonance once it's been obtained? How long does it take for a Resonance for form? If you can have multiple Resonances, would they affect each other? The odds of a Resonance forming goes down the more powers one acquires, but theoretically, you could have a triplicate Resonance. Would that be an extension of the three Resonances each pair individually could form, or would it be its own thing? Shards can directly alter the Spiritwebs of people, can they prevent Resonances from forming? Could they force a Resonance to form, even if the host doesn't have the powers for it? Just some ideas. Open to discussion. 1
Trusk'our he/him Posted October 31, 2024 Posted October 31, 2024 (edited) 6 hours ago, AnthonyC4 said: Resonances are weird, and there's quite a few question marks in regards to what exactly they are. Indeed they are, though unfortunately not a ton is known about them yet. 6 hours ago, AnthonyC4 said: By extension, I suppose all A-Steel/F-Iron Twinborn have the ability to create a selective Steelpush bubble. I don't think that this is Wax's Resonance. We seen a second Coinshot with this bubble ability in BoM (in the train fight), and considering that there have only been three Crashers recorded in Scadrial's history, I think it unlikely that they were one as well. I think Wax's Resonance Resonance boosts his skill with his aim, as he's made seemingly impossible shots and very difficult shots consistently (most notably shooting one of his bullets midair to ricochet it behind Marasi and into the head of Tarson). Quote I take this to mean that when a person has two powers, the host Spiritweb sort of adapts to it, much like plasticity in the brain, making certain Spiritual Connections between those powers in the Spiritweb more efficient. These efficiencies in the Spiritweb result in the Resonance. This seems like a reasonable take. We don't know the exact mechanics of how Resonances boost your traits, but since the Spiritweb seems to be nothing more than Investiture bound by Connections, Identity, and Fortune, Connection is probably the manipulated trait. Spoiler https://wob.coppermind.net/events/3-firefight-chicago-signing/#e115 Kurkistan Is there-- Can you explain the relationship between Spiritual DNA, Spiritual aspects, and the spiritweb, or are they all just terms for the same thing? Brandon Sanderson They are all similar terms for the similar stuff, yeah. Kurkistan Okay. So it's not like the core is Spiritual DNA then things as you spread out is all Spiritual aspect? Brandon Sanderson No. 6 hours ago, AnthonyC4 said: If someone's Spiritweb were significantly altered, would that change the form of the Resonance? Not sure, though given that a significantly altered Spiritweb can impact your attributes for Hemalurgy, I would think it's plausible. Spoiler https://wob.coppermind.net/events/522-dragonsteel-2023/#e16322 Questioner If Mraize took an atium spike and put it through Hoid's chest and then into himself, would he gain different abilities because of Hoid's altered spiritweb? Brandon Sanderson Yeah, he probably would. That's really terrifying to think about. 6 hours ago, AnthonyC4 said: Do non-humans, such as dragons or Sho Del, have different Resonances for the same powers? Don't know, but it probably depends on the severity of their Spiritweb differences. Quote Some Resonances seem to favor one power over another (Memory heavily prefers Lightweaving, Wax's Resonance prefers A-Steel), what decides which power takes precedence when forming a Resonance? Also don't know about this one. Hopefully we'll learn more abound Resonance mechanics in Era 3 Mistborn. Quote We know that there are varying degrees of strength for something like Allomancy and Feruchemy. Does the strength of each magic have an impact on the formation or shape of the Resonance? I believe it would impact it, yes. More Innate Investiture is present in Radiants (more actual Investiture from their powers) and the Ars Arcanum makes it clear that their Resonances are more noticeable and impactful than Twinborn Resonances. Spoiler https://wob.coppermind.net/events/444-dawnshard-annotations-reddit-qa/#e14328 tskyeguye From Rysn's observations in the epilogue, it seems like she has a lot of the same aspects of a Fifth Heightening/Returned at the least. Is this because her Dawnshard is particularly connected to Endowment or because the effects of a certain level of Investment result in similar effects? Brandon Sanderson The latter. Skrimyt Interesting. So are actively Surgebinding Radiants or metal-burning Allomancers just not Invested enough to gain those passive effects, or do they not experience perfect pitch/color/etc. because their Investiture is just not as tightly bound to their Spiritweb as Endowment's Breaths or a Dawnshard would be? Brandon Sanderson Be aware that the two groups you mention don't generally hold much Investiture themselves, at least not in large quantities over time. More in Surgebinding. Almost none in Allomancy. But RAFO to specifics. Quote This seems to imply that the powers occupy separate sections of one's Spiritweb, and are Connected by the core of one's Spiritweb. Sando said that people with many powers are unable to form resonances, but is it possible to acquire all Resonances piecemeal? By possessing only two powers at a time until the Resonance forms, then removing them and acquiring two more? Are Resonances for powers that are no longer present subject to decay or weakening over time? The change made to the Spiritweb by Resonances take time to show up, where it seems you have to actually use the powers, let the Investiture flow through you. For example, if Wax were to use the Bands of Mourning, he'd develop a new Resonance between abilities and the Bands over time. However, based on how Mistborn and Full Feruchemists have very weak Resonances, I think the sheer number of powers provided by the Bands would wash out any usefulness from this. Spoiler https://wob.coppermind.net/events/332-jordancon-2018/#e9494 yulerule Okay, so Twinborn have [resonances], but full Mistborn don't, right? Brandon Sanderson Yes. yulerule So then I assume that a nonmagical person, like someone who doesn't have magic, holding the Bands of Mourning will not have no perks. Brandon Sanderson I would say they would not. yulerule Will a Twinborn that's holding the Bands of Mourning still have their original perk? Brandon Sanderson Yes. yulerule Or, if a Ferring is holding the Bands, and they use just one ability, will they develop a perk, tied to the one second ability they are using? Brandon Sanderson The longer they use it, the more likely that this is to happen. yulerule Using Investiture a lot over a long period changes your Spiritweb. So what happens if a nonmagical uses the Bands for a while? Brandon Sanderson Same thing that would happen to someone else, um, it would have a definite effect on them. *laughter* It would change them, as... in similar ways. Not exactly the same, but in similar ways. Spoiler https://wob.coppermind.net/events/385-orem-signing/#e12608 OrangeJedi Do Mistborn have resonances? Brandon Sanderson *Hesitantly* Everybody does, but they're not as pronounced. OrangeJedi Is that because they just have so many powers? Brandon Sanderson Yeah. So, I don't think you can functionally gain multiple Resonances, at least not as it's currently understood. You might be able to hold multiple for a time by obtaining and using new powers, but I suspect as your old Resonance isn't maintained it will fade as a new Resonance develops. I do think, however, you could track the Spiritweb alterations made by bearing a Resonance somehow, then replicate the effects through another method, such as a tweaked Metalmind or Hemalurgic spike. I also find it worth adding that you cannot Hemalurgically generate Resonances (most of the time), nor steal Savantism's perks. Which is weird, since it can take basically anything bound to the Spiritweb, even certain bindings by oath. Spoiler https://wob.coppermind.net/events/373-skyward-chicago-signing/#e12024 Questioner As far as Hemalurgy, when you give that-- when it's done to somebody, would that create a new resonance? Brandon Sanderson It's possible that it could. Though I'm gonna say, most of the time, no... Lots of things are possible, but I'll give you a "mostly no" on that one. Questioner What about savantism? Is that possible with Hemalurgy? Brandon Sanderson Yes, it is. As such, there is a possibility that Resonances are something built purely out of a power's direct interactions with the rest of the Spiritweb. You probably can't take those interactions, though you could take the powers themselves. Similarly, Savantism is more of a change to your own Spiritweb and how it interacts with the power than the power itself, so Hemalurgy cannot steal that, though you can replicate it by using the stolen power enough. Hemalurgy specifically may also prevent Resonance generation by putting up a barrier between the Spike's Spiritweb and your own (also preventing genetic powers from affecting your progeny). Quote Shards can directly alter the Spiritwebs of people, can they prevent Resonances from forming? Could they force a Resonance to form, even if the host doesn't have the powers for it? Shards can theoretically do nearly anything that can be done, even reversing Savantism, so I don't think this is outside the realm of plausibility. Quote Shallan was able to access her Resonance of Memory even after breaking her bond with Testament and before she bonded with Pattern. She lost her Surgebinding abilities, yet retained the ability to use Stormlight to fuel her Resonance. Have you read the WaT spoilers? Here's a little excerpt from a relevant one, with very few spoilers except for Shallan's interaction with Pattern and Testament. Spoiler In one of the earlier ones it's explained that Shallan never completely severed the Bond between her and Testament, allowing her to retain some semblance of power. "Can I heal her?" Shallan asked. "Maybe if I bond her again?" "I think, after talking to Kelek," Pattern said, "I think you are still bonded to her." "But..." Shallan looked over her shoulder at him. "I broke the bond. That did this." "Some breaks are messy," Pattern said. "A slice with a sharpened knife is clean. A slice with a dull one is ragged. Your break, done by a child without full intent, is like the one ragged. In some ways, that makes it worse. But it does mean there is still some Connection between you two." This could also help her Resonance stay intact over the years. Overall though, these are great questions! There's a lot of flexibility in what could happen here, I suspect, though we won't know until we can read and find out. Edited October 31, 2024 by Trusk'our 3
+Lewis Nethur He/Him Posted November 1, 2024 Posted November 1, 2024 On 10/31/2024 at 3:41 AM, AnthonyC4 said: Resonances are weird, and there's quite a few question marks in regards to what exactly they are. Though in my initial readthrough, I was under the impression that Resonances were unique to the individual, it appears they are actually consistent among combinations. Reading from the Coppermind, it appears that all Lightweavers have the same Memory skill that Shallan has, and all Windrunners can produce more than the usual number of squires. By extension, I suppose all A-Steel/F-Iron Twinborn have the ability to create a selective Steelpush bubble. I take this to mean that when a person has two powers, the host Spiritweb sort of adapts to it, much like plasticity in the brain, making certain Spiritual Connections between those powers in the Spiritweb more efficient. These efficiencies in the Spiritweb result in the Resonance. From this, I have a few questions (though I recognize that answers probably aren't here, but I like to point them out for the purposes of speculation): If someone's Spiritweb were significantly altered, would that change the form of the Resonance? Do non-humans, such as dragons or Sho Del, have different Resonances for the same powers? Some Resonances seem to favor one power over another (Memory heavily prefers Lightweaving, Wax's Resonance prefers A-Steel), what decides which power takes precedence when forming a Resonance? We know that there are varying degrees of strength for something like Allomancy and Feruchemy. Does the strength of each magic have an impact on the formation or shape of the Resonance? This might seem a bit of a leap, but from what I can tell, all known Resonances seem to operate upon Connection as a basis. (More squires = more Connection to people; Memory is a Spiritual Connection; Wax can selectively choose which metals to push upon in his bubble) Is this true of all Resonances? Shallan was able to access her Resonance of Memory even after breaking her bond with Testament and before she bonded with Pattern. She lost her Surgebinding abilities, yet retained the ability to use Stormlight to fuel her Resonance. This seems to imply that the powers occupy separate sections of one's Spiritweb, and are Connected by the core of one's Spiritweb. Sando said that people with many powers are unable to form resonances, but is it possible to acquire all Resonances piecemeal? By possessing only two powers at a time until the Resonance forms, then removing them and acquiring two more? Are Resonances for powers that are no longer present subject to decay or weakening over time? Can you lose a Resonance once it's been obtained? How long does it take for a Resonance for form? If you can have multiple Resonances, would they affect each other? The odds of a Resonance forming goes down the more powers one acquires, but theoretically, you could have a triplicate Resonance. Would that be an extension of the three Resonances each pair individually could form, or would it be its own thing? Shards can directly alter the Spiritwebs of people, can they prevent Resonances from forming? Could they force a Resonance to form, even if the host doesn't have the powers for it? Just some ideas. Open to discussion. One thing to bear in mind here is that lore and power circulation dynamics in the cosmere tend to obey literalist interpretation to their real-world literary devices. For example: Seers are simply a type of misting that literally can see future events before they happen in a pre-determined way. With that principle in mind, I would expect Resonance phenomena to behave like oscillators and standing waves. In classic mechanics, an object (or person, for cosmere purposes) achieves Resonance when they are subjected to an oscillating force (form of Investiure) which closely matches their natural frequency. To your discussion points: 1. By definition, Resonance implies a connection to one's natural unmodified state, so I would opine that, no, it probably can't be gained or lost. Burning Malatium while looking at someone who has been altered significantly would probably give clues to what their true Resonance would look like. 2. They will have different natural Resonances under the same conditions, so possibly yes. This could present itself either as totally weaker/stronger versions of the same powers, the absence of Resonance, or something totally different though; the problem is too multivariable for a succinct general rule unfortunately. 3. This is going to be case by case and defined by what characters observe in their governing physic and metaphysic systems unfortunately. I wouldn't expect it to ever come down to fewer than 3 independent variables so it's hard to predict when there are variants that still have never been demonstrated and entire systems that remain physically unclassified. 4. It actually seriously should in my opinion, but it could easily have counter-intuitive or outright peculiar outcomes. For example, it could be that Wax being a Steel-savant dampens some aspect of his iron feruchemy in some as-yet unknown way, and that if he was weaker with steel, he could demonstrate some grander usages of iron; it going to take a very great many observations to ever be sure. 5. I think is going to be a "yes, but only kind of..." situation. Resonance should exist as a resultant function of the orientation and nature of the Connections which make up one's spiritweb. So...some types of Connection magic may be able to turn Resonances on/off in some cases I'd think. 6. I chalk that one up to Resonances being innate and defined as a product of Destiny. Not a good answer, but it's my best guess. 7. I don't believe so, no. That's a very exotic and tragic situation you're describing though. 8. Hopefully not, but it can probably be suppressed or exacerbated in some cases? 9. It should be present from creation? 10. Yes absolutely. In order to not be ripped apart by ordinary daily life I would expect that one could only sustain a small number of such Resonance phenomena. 11. It'll probably have to be its own thing (speculative) 12. I'm actually inclined to say no, but it's difficult to say for sure. I expect that they could all definitely alter a spiritweb to be powerful enough to be incapable of Resonance though, so that's almost as good in most cases.
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