KR order powers and surges.

[ChickenPlague he/him]

This will be rather short. It is a simple question about the orders and surges. Do the surges grant the same powers to both orders that use them?

For example- Would a Skybreaker have 2 lashings or would the Gravitation surge give him something else?

The reason I think it might be something else is because the 3 WR lashings seem to complement each other really well. They seem to be made to work together so I think that the other Orders would have powers that work together.

The best point against this seems to be Lift. Her powers don't work together at all.

P.s.- As I was writing this I realized that one of the reasons the powers seem to work together is them all being called Lashings. But these names are the ones given by Szetzh and Ars Arcanum. So unless the names are some ancient stone-shaman knowledge that can be duscounted as a point in this theories favor.

P.s.s.-This wasn't as quick as intended.

[Gagylpus he/him]

It seems likely that the Surges give pretty much identical powers to both Orders that have them. So Skybreakers would be able to do the Basic and Reverse Lashings, Truthwatchers would be able to use illusions like Lightweavers and access Regrowth like Edgedancers, etc. We've already seen that both Shallan and Jasnah can Soulcast and it appears to function similarly, though Jasnah has the Soulcasting-at-a-distance trick up her safepouch.

 

I think: (1) the Surges are probably a bit more flexible than we've seen, for instance, Kaladin can probably do a lot more with the Pressure Surge than just Full Lashings. So instead of just a couple odd powers, each Radiant Order can use two whole sets of powers. Some of these sets will work better with each other than others (see Kaladin vs. Lift as you've pointed out); (2) its been hinted that each Order has something extra, an effect or a bonus that arises from the combination of their two power sets; and (3) it may be that the different Orders access their Surges slightly differently, so for example a Truthwatcher might access illusions differently than a Lightweaver. (2) and (3) would help to give each Order a distinct and cohesive feel, alleviating the issue that you raise about their Surges not tying together well.

[Oversleep]

Outis

Is the crossover surge for each Knight the same?

Brandon Sanderson

To an extent, yes. Each of the combinations make a little bit of a tweak to how things act. But when you see the Skybreakers affecting gravity it will look much the same as what you saw on the Windrunners.

source

So when looking at them separately, they are the same. But their interaction causes an additional effect (Lightweaver's Memories, Windrunners' abnormal number of squires etc).

And of course, there is also synergy: There are Coinshots and there are Skimmers, but when you combine these powers together in Crasher, he will be able to do many cool things avalaible only thanks to this particular combination.

For example, Dustbringers can use Abrasion like Edgedancers to slide around or climb walls and they can use Division like Skybreakers, but (if my theory is true) they can do something others cannot: make things explode (look up 'dust explosion').

Edited March 21, 2016 by Oversleep

[baby he/him]

Well we know that when 2 surges interact, they have a 'third effect', so that could be the main difference in the same surge going to 2 different orders.

[+Authweight]

I think that the radiant orders would have built up their own system and paradigm for using their two powers together. The lashings are most likely a distinctly windrunner way of thinking about their set of powers. It feels cohesive because they came up with a cohesive way of thinking about it. We may see that the edgedancers had a particular paradigm and tactical approach that will make their separate powers seem more coherent. For instance, they may have seen themselves as playing a reserve/support role in battle, skimming to hot spots in a fight to heal the fallen and bolster their fighting strength.

[Islington]

It may be philosophical. A Lightweaver "lies" and actualizes that lie through metaphor and hope, leading to their use of Illumination, Transforming people and things into that hope. A Truthwatcher could "see" the way things are supposed to be, according to the actualization of Honor's design of what is right and use Illumination, Progressing things into that grand design. A Windrunner is overjoyed to use the Storm of stormlight to move, protect, pull together, and use Adhesion and Gravitation. The law divides the guilty and the innocent and the imperiousness of that law is above all; that's why Skybreakers have Division and Gravitation. Different mindsets for similar powers.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Islington