Landis963 he/him Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 We know that each Radiant has access to two surges and a catch-all healing ability. We know that each Radiant has access to one specific type of spren, at the cost of maintaining the behaviors that attracted the spren in the first place. We know that without the bond created by the spren, the Radiant can't use Stormlight to power their healing or their Surges. What if the nahel bond causes Stormlight to act in a distinct way for each Radiant Pair? I had a whole run through of each Radiant order, but it got deleted by a misclick, so here are my connections in a more condensed fashion: The Windrunners and Skybreakers are both powered by Stormlight-emulated magnetism, only the Windrunners are pulled while the Skybreakers are pushed. Dustbringers and Edgedancers are powered by Stormlight-induced motion, manifested in vastly different ways (my notes compared a Dustbringer's powers, especially the scorch marks they were supposed to leave behind them, to a microwave blast). Lightweavers and Elsecallers are the persuasive orders, but Lightweavers persuade and manipulate while Elsecallers simply command. And we don't know enough about the last 4 to really speculate anything. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giginss he/him Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 Heh. Reminds me of the Allomancy system where the metals were ordered based on what they did. I see your point, and it makes sense, because Cosmere magic always has a definite logic and structure behind it. The orders you have pointed out to be similar share a Surge. Coincidence? I think not. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnightGradient Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 I've been thinking about this exact thing for a while. You beat me to it though. I think a key clue is the differences between Shallan and Kaladin's reaction to holding in Stormlight. Kaladin notices how it pushes him to fight, to attack. Shallan remarks on how it makes her want to act and be proactive. Don't know what that says, but you're on to something Landis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSC01 he/him Posted November 21, 2015 Report Share Posted November 21, 2015 It seems to me that Shallan and Kaladin were both experiencing the same feeling and interpreting it through the lens of their respective life experiences. However, I do think that there is something to the idea that different orders with overlapping Surges each access the Surge a little bit differently. The first time I read WoR, I was confused about Renarin, as a Truthwatcher, saying that he sees things. I wondered if maybe it was something peculiar to his spren or something, since we'd already seen how the Illumination Surge works, through Shallan's POVs. But on a reread, I noticed that Shallan also has some kind of precognitive/clairvoyant elements to her Illumination abilities. When she lets her mind go blank and does random sketches (as she does when she draws the Cryptics in TWoK), she draws a couple of pictures that show events from elsewhere and possibly the future. I don't have the book in front of me, but as I recall, it happens shortly before she arrives at the Shattered Plains, when she's sketching plants at the mini-lait they find. I remember that one of them appeared to Shalash destroying a representation of herself. Based on that, I'd say that it's possible that Renarin doesn't really have as much of an affinity for Lightweaving, but he is still using the Illumination Surge fairly well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landis963 he/him Posted November 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I've been thinking about this exact thing for a while. You beat me to it though. I think a key clue is the differences between Shallan and Kaladin's reaction to holding in Stormlight. Kaladin notices how it pushes him to fight, to attack. Shallan remarks on how it makes her want to act and be proactive. Don't know what that says, but you're on to something Landis. In both cases, it pushes them away from lethargy. I suspect that it does that for every Knight, seems perfectly fitting for Stormlight in almost every respect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormgate he/him Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 When proto-Radiants snap, they are likely driven to be lethargic and mopey. Stormlight perfects, and so it perfects their efforts to remain useful instead of wallowing in self-pity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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