Trusk'our he/him Posted November 4, 2024 Posted November 4, 2024 Been thinking on Resonances and Savantism lately, and I wanted to compose another working theory on what they actually are and therefore how interactions with them could go. We know from WoBs that Savantism is caused by a warping and damaging of the Spiritweb, widening the cracks to allow more Investiture through. Spoiler https://wob.coppermind.net/events/161-words-of-radiance-washington-dc-signing/#e6931 IronCaf What other magic systems - because it seems unique from what we have seen - what other magic systems have that same, kind of, "If you use it a lot it gets better?" Brandon Sanderson So, imagine this way-- You're making a metaphor-- It is a little bit more like wedging open cracks in the soul by letting the flow come through, and the investiture comes in. IronCaf So it seems that in Allomancy, it seems to maybe enhance those cracks-- Brandon Sanderson It can open the cracks more. IronCaf Are there other magic systems like that? Brandon Sanderson Yes. IronCaf Will we see those anytime soon? Brandon Sanderson Maybe. Anytime soon? Let me RAFO that for you. Footnote: The question is a follow-up of the previous question about savantism. It's also interesting to know that sufficiently warped Spiritwebs can affect how Hemalurgy interacts with it, as the base attributes are effected. 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. Resonances, I'm thinking, are more like an organic merging of multiple Investitures into one. You gain a Resonance over time by using two or more Invested powers. My thinking for this is that as you use the powers the Investiture Connects your Spiritweb and the power more and more. This results in something of a bond, much like the bonds held between Singers and Lesser Spren, albeit less powerfully. This is also supported by the fact that Hemalurgically granted powers cannot usually generate Resonances, though Savantism through Hemalurgic powers can work. I think while Ruin's Intent seems to suppress Resonance growth (possibly by adding a layer of separation between your Spiritweb and the spike's that isn't naturally present in Allomancy or Feruchemy), it won't stop your Spiritweb from getting warped. This suggests if you Hemalurgically spike a power or attribute away from the Resonance bearer, you won't gain the Resonance or any extra effects because the parts aren't changed significantly, only the whole. In any case, I think there are a couple ways to utilize these mechanisms if they prove true. If a Twinborn were given an Unsealed Duraluminmind that allowed them to store and tap the Connection between their powers and their Spiritweb, I think they could weaken and augment their Resonance. A Twinborn with natural duralumin Feruchemy could also be interesting, as influencing and boosting their Resonance would come as part of their package. Similarly, a Full Feruchemist might be able to store Connection to their powers to selectively gain Resonances between them as they choose, maybe even using F-nicrosil to boost the raw potential of that Resonance (as more Investiture for the power seems to effect its level of expression, if Surgebinder Resonances are to be taken into account). A Mistborn could be similar, though they need spikes or Unsealed Metalminds to help them. It also might be that if you could overcome the Connection issue with Hemalurgic spikes you could develop Resonances. For example, if you were to have the donors for the powers tap Connection to you while excising the powers, you might be able to generate functional Resonances. Speaking of Hemalurgy, I wonder if there's a more extreme effect you could produce by utilizing power spikes. If Connecting Invested powers to your Spiritweb brings small but noticeable transformative effects, if you placed a power spike into the correct Bindpoint perhaps you could generate a Resonance-esc effect instead of it acting as a power. Basically using a power spike as an attribute instead. Perhaps comparable to how Singers bond Spren, though using different means. This last hypothesis is definitely the most extreme (and admittedly least likely to work), but at the very least I suspect meddling with Connection can significantly influence how Resonances are accessed and used. 1
Dalluminum he/him Posted November 5, 2024 Posted November 5, 2024 I think Resonances are super cool, and I hope we get to see them applied to more magic systems in future books. I like these theories. One thing I'd like to add: to what extent could a Bondsmith manipulate Resonances? If a F-Duralumin allows for strengthening/weakening Resonances, it seems reasonable that a Bondsmith could as well. Also, how far can Resonances be pushed? We see some pretty extreme examples between the two surges of each order of the Knights Radiant (that's Resonance, right? I'm not making that up?), but what could that look like for a Mistborn? Is Kelsier's absurd control over his Pushes and Pulls a result of Resonance between Iron and Steel? Thanks for this thread; I don't think Resonance gets talked about enough. Hopefully someone finds these musings of mine to be interesting! 1
Trusk'our he/him Posted November 5, 2024 Author Posted November 5, 2024 11 minutes ago, Dalluminum said: I think Resonances are super cool, and I hope we get to see them applied to more magic systems in future books. I think era 3 may have a deeper dive done into the mechanics of the Metallic Arts and Resonances in particular. Spoiler https://wob.coppermind.net/events/26-lucca-comics-and-games-festival/#e4570 Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) The "perks" ("secondary effect born with interaction between powers") also has not a 100% sure name, but the main one at the moment is resonances....We will discovered a lot of the in the third trilogy where the Scientific Method would be applied to the magic. 15 minutes ago, Dalluminum said: I like these theories. Thanks! Quote One thing I'd like to add: to what extent could a Bondsmith manipulate Resonances? If a F-Duralumin allows for strengthening/weakening Resonances, it seems reasonable that a Bondsmith could as well. Yes, I think that would be a natural outcropping of their Surges. Dalinar might be able to boost Kaladin's Resonance to allow for a whole battlefield to start swearing oaths to win over a tough fight, for example. 17 minutes ago, Dalluminum said: Also, how far can Resonances be pushed? We see some pretty extreme examples between the two surges of each order of the Knights Radiant (that's Resonance, right? I'm not making that up?), but what could that look like for a Mistborn? Is Kelsier's absurd control over his Pushes and Pulls a result of Resonance between Iron and Steel? Hmm, he is a lot more skilled in those metals, but I think it's mostly just a matter of skill there, not necessarily the product of a Resonance or Savantism. Spoiler https://wob.coppermind.net/events/360-legion-release-party/#e10845 Podman36 So, in the scene where Kelsier has all the metal around him, and he's Pushing and Pulling on [parts of the metal that are] not center of mass, is that something more along the lines of savantism, or is it just Rule of Cool? Brandon Sanderson No no, that I was pushing toward... I wouldn't call Kelsier a savant, but I would say that there were certainly steps toward that, and it's something I actually wanted people who were really skilled with the magic to be able to do. Podman36 So it's not Rule of Cool. Brandon Sanderson I would not call that one Rule of Cool, I would say that I want that to actually be part of the magic, that I wanted there to be some level, particularly in Pushing and Pulling, of skill that lets you deviate from the normal. And I've tried to show in other places that people who are really skilled can do some different things like that, particularly with Pushing and Pulling, both on emotions and on metals. So no, not Rule of Cool there, I do occasionally do Rule of Cool stuff, but I wouldn't call that one. The Resonances that appear in Mistborn and other individuals with many powers tend to get diminished, ironically. Spoiler https://wob.coppermind.net/events/131-general-reddit-2016/#e3959 Yata There is something that recently was debated by some fans and I hope you may give some clue about the "side effect of interaction between magic" as was pointed in the Twinborn and Surgebinder cases: Are those "perks" stackable? To say if I am a Fullborn like Rashek, wil I have all the possible Twinborn's perks or a specific "Fullborn's perk"? And about the same topic, a Mistborn or Full Feruchemist has his own perk/perks? Brandon Sanderson I've worked under the premise that if you hold too many of the powers, like a Mistborn, the result is a loss of these little quirks. The mechanics of it are interesting, but I'll leave you to theorize on that sort of thing. Though, since Resonances come into play as you use the powers enough, a Mistborn who was only aware of or intentionally only used a few might still develop a more unique and prominent Resonance (like how era 1 Mistborn only knew of Allomantic 10 metals). 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. 27 minutes ago, Dalluminum said: Thanks for this thread; I don't think Resonance gets talked about enough. Hopefully someone finds these musings of mine to be interesting! I thought they were pretty neat! And just considering the sheer number of possible Twinborn combinations, I'm really hoping we learn some guidelines for what determines what they do. 2
Trusk'our he/him Posted December 3, 2024 Author Posted December 3, 2024 On 11/4/2024 at 12:28 PM, Trusk'our said: Resonances, I'm thinking, are more like an organic merging of multiple Investitures into one. You gain a Resonance over time by using two or more Invested powers. My thinking for this is that as you use the powers the Investiture Connects your Spiritweb and the power more and more. This results in something of a bond, much like the bonds held between Singers and Lesser Spren, albeit less powerfully. This is also supported by the fact that Hemalurgically granted powers cannot usually generate Resonances, though Savantism through Hemalurgic powers can work. I think while Ruin's Intent seems to suppress Resonance growth (possibly by adding a layer of separation between your Spiritweb and the spike's that isn't naturally present in Allomancy or Feruchemy), it won't stop your Spiritweb from getting warped. This suggests if you Hemalurgically spike a power or attribute away from the Resonance bearer, you won't gain the Resonance or any extra effects because the parts aren't changed significantly, only the whole. Revisiting this topic, I have new evidence that suggests that my original proposal is incorrect. We know that it is possible to generate a Resonance by using a more external source of Investiture, such as the Bands of Mourning. 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. This makes me waver on my original stance, since it relies more on the powers being plugged into your Spiritweb more and more via Connections formed over time, which in turn has them act more like an attribute on top of being a power. Instead, seeing that external, removable sources can produce a Resonance, I now think that Resonances most likely are slight changes to one's Connection and possibly Investiture. This would in some ways be comparable to Savantism, but more like bodybuilding or training that boosts and tweaks you (your Spiritweb) over time, while Savantism is more forceful and damaging, like how steroids can greatly improve performance, but cause collateral damage screw up your natural functions. Hemalurgy might specifically be opposed to Resonances since it counts as a form of constructive interference, while Savantism is acceptable because it's more a more extreme, hostile takeover of the Spiritweb, a more destructive change. So, that changes a number of things, especially about the possibility of utilizing F-duralumin to affect Resonances, but perhaps if this idea holds true, other interesting abilities might prove possible. For example, if one were to use a medallion to use two or three powers, perhaps you'd develop a new Resonance through that method. Any other insights? 2
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