How can Cusicesh open honors perpendicularity?

[Sythrin]

I know he is a splinter and not a regular spren. Probably from Virtuosity.
But how can it control honors perpendicularity and not somebody else?

[Treamayne]

1 hour ago, Sythrin said:

I know he is a splinter and not a regular spren. Probably from Virtuosity.
But how can it control honors perpendicularity and not somebody else?

We do not know that it was Honor's Perpendicularity - we only know that Uma's unnamed Radiant called it "Honor's Gateway" (and we do not know why she used that term). Also,  Demoux specifically calls out "odd behavior for a perpendicularity of this nature" - implying that while it is a Perpendicularity (any sufficiently large concentration of investiture can form one) it is not necessarily tied to any single shard and may somehow be different than other types of perpendicularities (which we see because it only travels to Shadesmar, and people can see Shadesmar through the open passage). 

That said, if it is somehow tied to Honor, it could be that Cuisicesh is also tied to Honor because the Great Spren notes that he is "to be your guide for the Fifth Journey" - implying he does not travel with the Iriali on the Long Trail; he is only enabling the next leg of it. 

WaT I-11:

Spoiler

Cusicesh—breaking all tradition—waved his hands out to the sides, palms toward the city. And then, before him in the bay, the air split in a glorious radiant fountain. A column of light.

“The gateway to the land of shadows,” Mother whispered. “Honor’s gateway … Oh Father, Mother, ancestors who have become One … Dyel, fetch the travel packs! It’s time!”

Dyel froze. Time … the travel packs … All good Iriali kept them, but that was mostly a formality, unless …

It was time? A rare awespren burst around her, made of blue rings of smoke.

“People,” Cusicesh said. He never spoke. His voice was deep, and vibrated the city—somehow loud enough to make her soul shake, but not so loud it hurt her ears. “I am to be your guide for the Fifth Journey.”

<Snip>

Nearby, she spied the three strangers again, Demoux complaining about the “odd behavior for a perpendicularity of this nature.” Mother settled her down in some blankets, then went to find them a position in the caravans. Dyel clutched her pack to her chest, stunned by how fast it had happened. Her time in the city, with the shop, was over.

She whispered a quiet farewell.

WoB:

Spoiler

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Questioner

Hoid worldhops between places. How did he do it on Scadrial? With Ati's body?

Brandon Sanderson

So, there were two perpendicularities on Scadrial.

Questioner

I know he uses the pools, but how did he do it with Pits of Hathsin? There was no pool? The body was there...

Brandon Sanderson

So, it doesn't have to be going through the pool. What happens with a perpendicularity is, where there is a massive collection of Investiture, it pulls a conduit through. So, if you know what you're doing and where you are, you can get through that.

Questioner

So you don't have to use the pools, just where there's a huge concentration...

Brandon Sanderson

A huge concentration of Investiture will warp the realms.

Questioner

So can anyone worldhop that way, then? If they know what to do?

Brandon Sanderson

If they know what to do, in a perpendicularity, anyone should be able to get through there. But as proven with Raoden, if you don't know what it's supposed to do, nothing happens. He gets dumped int he pool, he thinks he's gonna die... nothing. So, it's more than just being there.

Arcanum Unbounded release party (Nov. 22, 2016)

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TheFulgid

Could you Invest... Could you use a nicrosil metalmind to Invest the sort of Investiture enough that you could open a Perpendicularity up to the Cognitive Realm?

Brandon Sanderson

So, I'll just say it this way. Enough concentrated Investiture in one point is going to pierce the Realms, no matter what form it takes. 

TheFulgid

...So, it doesn't have to be a nicrosil metalmind.

Brandon Sanderson

No. 

TheFulgid

Okay... But it could be?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. That is theoretically possible. 

Oathbringer release party (Nov. 13, 2017)

 

Hope that helps

Edited July 2, 2025 by Treamayne
SPAG