Brandon Hasn’t Told Us Yet What Investiture Is??!!!

[Confused]

This post addresses a recent comment Brandon made that we should be “pretty confused” about investiture: “I haven’t even dug into really what it is.” Source [30:30] [Emphasis added.] After all this time and all his statements (the most relevant of which I cite below), Brandon hasn’t told us what investiture really is?!!

 

My “pretty Confused” attempt at an answer: Spiritual Investiture began as Adonalsium’s soul. He was the only thing extant in the Cosmere at the time. Every subsequent creation caused a rearrangement of his soul – Spiritual Investiture – to form the souls and essences of the people and objects he created and the Connections between them.

 

Like the Sistine Chapel’s God holding his hand out to Adam, Adonalsium breathed life into his creations. His soul transformed itself into the “building blocks” of the Cosmere: matter and energy. This transformation literally lessened his soul, since investiture obeys the laws of thermodynamics. Adonalsium took from his soul to create the Physical and Cognitive Realms and their populations of sentient entities.

 

When Adonalsium Shattered, the Shards invested themselves according to the same paradigm, converting their own souls into matter, energy and other forms of investiture. I believe the Shattering did not change the essence of the Spiritual Realm – it remained the same “true investiture” as when Adonalsium lived. All that changed were the Shards’ individual Connections to the powers of creation, causing each Shard’s power to be subject to its own mandate (intent). IMO these were changes solely in the structure of the Spiritual Realm, not in its composition.

 

Following are the sources I rely on for this conclusion:

 

• “Everything is related to Adonalsium in the Cosmere…” Source Q 37.

• “The effects of Adonalsium permeate everything.” Source.

• “Investiture is intended to be the building blocks of the Cosmere…it transcends the different realms. Probably more of the Spiritual if anything but more accurately it transcends them.” Source.

• Q: “Does investiture have a consistent form (regardless of magic system and its Physical form) in one of the other realms?

A: “[investiture is] consistent in the Spiritual Realm. Location isn't particularly important there.” Source

• “Investiture cannot be created or destroyed. It follows its own version of the laws of Thermodynamics.” Source.

• “Where [in our universe] we have energy and matter (simplified), the Cosmere has additional building blocks that make reality. Investiture is one of these. It IS possible to change matter, to energy, to investiture, and back. It IS possible to change matter, to energy, to investiture, and back.” Source

• “[The] Shards of Adonalsium [are] pieces of the power of creation itself.” Source Q 18.

• Q: “Is Adonalsium and the "power of creation" synonymous?”

A: “In some people's usage.” Source.

• Q: “Was Adonalsium the one who created the Cosmere universe as a whole?”

A: “That is widely assumed to be the case.”

• “Keep in mind that the Shards are mostly Spiritual.”

 

Finally, I note that Adonalsium was a “mechanistic” God. He created the Cosmere in accordance with whatever rules he established for himself and his creations. But he was not a moralistic or spiritual deity. Brandon has reserved that province to the “God Beyond,” since “that level of cosmology is influenced by your own beliefs in the hereafter and in deity.” Source.

[Stormgate he/him]

This is reminding me of the "One" religion in SA. Ym followed it. It basically states that God split himself into everyone (Shards, Splinters, and people) in order for God to experience life, and when they done, they go back to the One.

Perhaps Adonalsium Shattered because he allowed himself to be.

Perhaps Adonalsium still lives.