What magics in the cosmere would appear as lightning?

[DoctaDajman]

Simple question. I wanted to say sunlight aether could be manipulated to appear as lighting or act as it. Maybe Division surgebinding?  

Im sure there is some kind of aon combo that could do it. 

If someone in. The cosmere were to go full faith build (lightning from the souls game) how would you build it?  

[Quantus he/him]

Stormform explicitly does it so there should be a Surge approach for it, and I think it's an application of Division to create the charge separation involved (and why SkyBreakers are breaking the Sky). 

AonDor can do it, and any other Dor magic that lends itself to overt Energy attacks (maybe ChayShan or Dahkor bone-works). 

Awakening Cannot do it, since you cant use awakening for energies (per WOB you cant use Awakening Commands to make something warmer).

Metallic Arts cant do Lightning directly right now, but Steel and Iron can probably drive more complex electric generators eventually.

I wouldnt be surprised to learn that there's a Lightning Aether, but we dont know of one right now. 

 

[Entr0pic He/him]

With division surgebinding, i feel as if it could replicate the effects lightning could have on an object, although i dont think you  could produce it

i wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some unknown Aviar that could produce small electrical shocks

[alder24]

18 hours ago, Quantus said:

Awakening Cannot do it, since you cant use awakening for energies (per WOB you cant use Awakening Commands to make something warmer).

Technically, it can. You can Command an Awakened object to rub itself on something and gather static electric charge, which could be later discharged with an arch. Not a real lightning, but still something like Van de Graaff generator.

Spoiler

Oudeis

(Disclaimers so that you can't say, like, "well if a Shard...") If a regular Awakener, just a mundane Awakener with nothing more than a few hundred Breaths and not any other outside influences, is there some Command they could give a blanket to get the blanket to turn warm? Generate heat; is that a normal thing you can Command?

Brandon Sanderson

Not in just a normal situation. I mean, technically, you could tell the blanket "start rubbing one part against another part" or something like that, or "set yourself on fire," right? But that's not what you're asking. For Awakening to work, you have to work within the intrinsic properties of the matter you're making, except it can move around a bit and with a few little other things it can do.

It's not outside the realm of possibility you could activate those Breaths as Investiture to do something else, but you would need more than just the simple magic system of Awakening. 

JordanCon 2021 (July 17, 2021)

 

15 hours ago, Entr0pic said:

With division surgebinding, i feel as if it could replicate the effects lightning could have on an object, although i dont think you  could produce it

i wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some unknown Aviar that could produce small electrical shocks

The Surge of Division breaks the bonds between atoms in molecules. Those bonds are due to electromagnetic force, so Division already manipulates the same force responsible for creation of lightning. I think it's highly likely that Division can create lightning directly. 

Spoiler

Questioner

The Division Surge: does it actually split atoms or does it split the bonds of molecules?

Brandon Sanderson

It splits the bonds of molecules, it does not split atoms.

Questioner

That would be completely overpowered.

Brandon Sanderson

I have done an atom splitting magic originally in Dragonsteel. And wooow it was overpowered. So really, this is fiddling... You'll see what it does when I use it, but we'll not be splitting atoms. We're not creating nuclear reactio... or fission, so.

Leipzig Book Fair (March 24, 2017)

 

[Shatter He/Him]

Overall, the following Invested Arts can cause/create lightning.

Stormform actually creates red lightning that behaves the same as normal lightning. This is the closest the Cosmere has gotten so far.

AonDor might be able to directly create lightning.

The Surge of Division causes the bonds between axi (atoms) to break. This releases energy, and energy can be turned into lightning.

In Awakening, you can make the Awakened Object use a dynamo and therefore create energy.

In Allomancy, Steel and Iron can drive dynamos.

There may be an aether or an Aviar that can generate electricity.

Edited February 21, 2025 by The Shattered Cosmere