Listener forms are similar to surges

[FelisDraconis]

I'm new here, so I'm not sure if this has been discussed before. I tried googling it, but didn't find anything like the idea I had earlier while looking into the Listeners - and it feels like something everyone has probably already thought of, but I thought I'd post it anyway just in case. 

 

When I first saw the "Voidbinding Diagram" (that's what I've heard it called, so that's what I'm going to call it) I actually thought it was just the same as the Surgebinding one but with a more stained-glass design to it. After seeing another post on the subject where the two were compared, I realized they weren't the same thing (that's also where I heard it called the voidbinding diagram!). 

 

I've also noticed that color really seems to play a large role on Roshar, as the gemstones related to the orders of the Knights Radiant each have unique colors to them. Gemstones also seem to play a huge role in everything on Roshar, especially since it's all the same 10 gemstones - do other gems just not exist? Also, I was curious as to why the value of spheres doesn't follow the rules of the order of surges (what with 1 being sapphire, 2 smokestone, etc) but then it was explained that emerald is most valuable because it can be used to make food. Interesting still that economics is more important than the traditional ordering of gemstones. 

 

The Listeners have different forms, but it's been made clear that there is a difference between normal forms (like workform, warform, and nimbleform) are very different from the forms of the gods (like stormform). We've only seen stormform from what I know, but it is stated over and over that the spren associated with it is like red lightning - when I first read WoR, I thought it was just meant to give it an angry vibe, but now I think that it means more than that. 

I think that there are ten forms of the gods, each associated with a color and therefore associated with an order. 

Among these are likely Nightform, Decayform, and Smokeform. Possibly Meditationform as well, based on its stanza. 

Back to colors. If Stormform's color is red, it is likely attached to either ruby or garnet, which would make it the voidbinding equivalent to either Dustbringers or Lightweavers. My money's on Dustbringers...

It seems impossible to guess at this time what the other 3-4 named forms of the gods will have for their colors. Also, since the other post (I lost it or else I'd link it) mentioned comparing the smaller glyphs ("surges" for both) and pointed out how most of the Voidbinding ones just seemed to have half of them flipped over, I wonder what that means about their powers? Are they somehow different from or the same as the surges? Does that mean Eshonai is going to have powers like those of Abrasion and Division? 

Also, I can't be the only one curious as to why the frame of the Voidbinding diagram depicts four women with safehand covered, and also why it fades from warm to cool colors? And what's up with the giant gemstone thing in the middle surrounded by lightning, and why is it red? 

 

Sorry for all the rambling, and I'm sure this has topic been discussed a dozen times already, but it can't hurt to have a fresh view of the matter, right?

[Yata he/him]

If I am not wrong this thing was discussed also in another post.

 

And I am pretty sure that the voidbinding also use the surge in some way.

But there is a little problem about what you wrote. In all the traditional folklore of the Voidbringer, they are always associated with red eyes. It's a so famous trait of them, that also the KR with the red eyes was a little associated with them.

Therefore I find unlikely that all the Listener during the Desolations was in Stormform alone.... Maybe the Listener in every form have always red eyes.

 

This may be for some reason like "The Voidbinding has 9 forms everyone of them gifts a specific twisted Surge and they all have a single twisted Surge in common" or some other reasons...

Edited March 6, 2016 by Yata

[Argent he/him]

I had a similar idea a while back, but I used the themes of the voidforms to connect them with Radiant orders, not colors. See The Voidbringers Explained link in my signature if you want.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Argent

[Stormgate he/him]

On the other hand, nice theory for a new Sharder!

[Yata he/him]

Just a thing, because I read it yesterday:

 

Questioner: How many magic systems are in The Stormlight Archive, and how many of them [have been seen?]

Brandon: I would see the only major one you haven’t seen is Voidbinding, it depends on how you count them.  I count fabrials as one, Surgebinding as one, and Voidbinding as one.  And then the Old Magic is kind of its own weird thing.

From this WoB now we know that Voidbinding isn't see yet... Therefore the Listener's Form of Power are not Voidbinding .... This changes a lot of things.