The Body's Spiritweb

[Trusk'our he/him]

I am ready to post another convoluted theory.

We know that when a Spiritweb possesses another's body it can have some complications. For example, highly Invested beings will actually change their host body to match their Identity- Yumi did this with Painter's body and Fused, while less Invested and therefore more limited, can do this to some extent.

But, why are Fused more limited in this regard? Shouldn't they just be able to breath in more Voidlight over time, healing to match their true appearance?

They're not limited to a super finite supply of Investiture when they need- which we know from the Pursuer they can do via the Rhythm of Prayer.

I hypothesize that this limitation is actually because the body itself is resisting the change. The body has its own Identity that is actively pushing against the Fused's own, much like TLR's body trying to match its true age while his Atium Feruchemy pressures against it.

This could also explain why Painter's body reverted to normal after his bond with Yumi was largely severed despite the fact that, according to Design, Painter is about as Invested as the standard person on a minor Shardworld (there's a WoB that contradicts this in-world statement, saying that Painter became Invested enough to become a Cognitive Shadow after dying. I suspect this is more due to a lingering Connection, maybe like a Sliver? Or its just a misremembering by Brando Sando, as even he said he'd need to double check). His body was already pushing for that state, so Painter didn't need any extra Investiture, either from healing or just a baseline increase, to reestablish his form.

 

We also know that bodies can have their own Intent. For example, a Surgebinder can subconsciously breath in Stormlight to survive, and Pewterarms can do the same with Pewter.

 

Together, these form the basis of my theory: the body itself has a Spiritweb, part of the whole of a person's Spiritweb and not a truly distinct entity, but you could classify it as a notably different section that can be torn apart from the whole.

Basically, my thinking is that this bodily part of the Spiritweb is a bit separate from the conscious part of a person's soul. For example, Ashravan was braindead but was still technically alive. That extra Investiture that gave him true sapience and personality was lost when he received his head trauma, and it was replaced with another, very similar piece of Investiture by Shai in order to restore full cognition and will (albeit with a different being, not Ashravan himself).

I think this could be similar to how Preservation needed to add a little extra piece of itself when creating Scadrians- that "higher" piece of Spiritweb that bestows sapience is probably not directly tied to the body- though it will remember its configuration and try to match that since that's what the person knows. This separation between the body's Identity and the soul remembering and trying to match it might also help explain why Cognitive Shadows appear to be capable of modifying their appearance more than others. They just need to change their perception since they don't have an anchor like true mortal individuals (except Fused, and they don't have the raw power to overwhelm the native Identity of their host body's lingering Spiritweb). 

You could also argue this is just a manifestation of being highly Invested though, so there is another plausible avenue.

 

Last thing I want to bring up, I believe the body having a kind of basic Spiritweb could also help explain why Fused cannot just bond a corpse and repair it with Voidlight- they need that extra Spiritweb piece to help anchor them to the PR, since they no longer possess it naturally and Odium doesn't want to expend too much power on them.

 

So TLDR: I believe that in the Cosmere the Spiritweb consists of two primary parts, the body's basic Spiritweb, and the higher piece that allows sapience and greater free will.

[Treamayne]

57 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

But, why are Fused more limited in this regard? Shouldn't they just be able to breath in more Voidlight over time, healing to match their true appearance?

Because there is a significant difference - In YNP Yumi's Cognitive Identity supplanted Painter's (who was temporarily evicted from his body) and was the sole inhabitant. On Roshar, the Fused inhabits the body's Gemheart and forms a Nahel Bond with the body, evicting the Conciousness (Cognitive Identity) - but not removing the entire spiritweb of the individual they have replaced. OB I-3:

Spoiler

Venli said. “Power beyond even that of stormform?”

“Great power,” Ulim said. “You’ve been chosen. You’re special. But you must embrace this. Welcome it. You have to want it, or the powers will not be able to take a place in your gemhearts.”

Similar effects, but not quite the same. 

Edited January 23 by Treamayne
SPAG

[Frustration]

16 minutes ago, Treamayne said:

Because there is a significant difference - In YNP Yumi's Cognitive Identity supplanted Painter's (who was temporarily evicted from his body) and was the sole inhabitant. On Roshar, the Fused inhabits the body's Gemheart and forms a Nahel Bond with the body, evicting the Conciousness (Cognitive Identity) - but not removing the entire spiritweb of the individual they have replaced. OB I-3:

  Reveal hidden contents

Venli said. “Power beyond even that of stormform?”

“Great power,” Ulim said. “You’ve been chosen. You’re special. But you must embrace this. Welcome it. You have to want it, or the powers will not be able to take a place in your gemhearts.”

Similar effects, but not quite the same. 

If it were just the gemhearts though it wouldn't kill the host or change their carapace and skin patterns.

The gemheart might be the entry point, but the whole body is bound to the soul.

We can even see this with Abidi, who despite his gemheart being cracked still survives.

[Treamayne]

6 minutes ago, Frustration said:

If it were just the gemhearts though it wouldn't kill the host or change their carapace and skin patterns.

The gemheart might be the entry point, but the whole body is bound to the soul.

I did not say "just the gemheart" - I said that because the Fused Bond begins there - the body's portion of the spiritweb is not evicted with the Cognitive Identity. 

1. In YNP, very little of what is "painter" remains (but enough that Yumi's she-painter body is close enough to be considered family)
2. In the Fused - the body remains of the host, the mind and identity are evicted and die; so the markings (the expression of Identity) change to fit the Fused now riding the controls. 

Edited January 23 by Treamayne
SPAG

[Frustration]

1 minute ago, Treamayne said:

I did not say "just the gemheart" - I said that because the Fused Bond begins there - the body's portion of the spiritweb is not evicted with the Cognitive Identity. 

1. In YNP, very little of what is "painter" remains (but enogh that Yumi's she-painter body is close enough to be considered family)
2. In the Fused - the body remains of the host, the mind and identity are evicted and die; so the markings (the expression of Identity) change to fit the Fused now riding the controls. 

Sorry, I don't think I explained myself very well.

I think a better comparison between the Fused and the body is not that of a Nahel bond, but that of Hemalurgy.

When Dalinar breaks the gemstone in Oathbringer he is unable to dismiss the blade. If the Fused worked similarly we would expect the body of Abidi to show signs of paralysis, or incomplete control.

Instead we saw a lack of power, closer to a misplaced spike.

 

While the center of power is 100% the gemstone, I don't think it's a sprenlike bond with the body that causes a change.