Connection in the Spiritual Realm

[Stormgate he/him]

The Spiritual Realm has been described as a place with many lines, everyone made of these threads forming their Spiritweb. I have been trying, and I believe I have been successful, in identifying what kinds of lines exist. These lines, I believe, are Connection.
 
1) Person to person
This is the most common type of Connection, connecting people by their friendships and relationships. This is what allows Shai to use Forgery on the Emperor's close associate, and have it act like it was the Emperor. Fairly mundane, as Connection goes.
 
2) Person to location
This is a type of Connection formed by where someone is from or where they have spent a lot of time. This is likely what binds Shards to their planets, as well as the Connection implemented by (BoM spoilers)

Hoid and the Southern Scadrians to speak a foreign language. Note that Connection to location only lets you speak the common language spoken there.

It is also by this Connection that Elantrians, Forgers, and probably Dakhor Monks are able to get their respective powers, location Connection being more important there.

 

3) Person to Shard

This is probably one of the most important as far as Connection goes. This form of Connection is formed by adhering more to a Shard's Intent, which often leads to access to that Shard's magic system. Mistings and Mistborn want to be preserved in the moment they Snap, Knights gain more power as they adhere to their Honorable Ideals, Nalthians can become Returned if they die in selfless giving to others, such as saving someone's life or bringing criminals to justice, etc. It is also how Vin took in the mists, as well as the likely process by which Vessels take up a Shard.

 

4) Time lines

Honor has a famous quote about the future being like a window, the farther you go the more pieces it breaks into. This is the most common thing seen when people see into the Spiritual Realm, as well as how Allomantic electrum and atium function. Feruchemy, shuttling attributes through time, likely uses a form of this. More importantly, it is the basis of gold Allomancy and Forgery.

In Honor's window, the smaller and smaller pieces of window still exist, they never go away. They simply become Possibilities, What Could have Been. Gold Allomancers probably have the ability to see the two most likely alternate possibilities. Forgery likely functions by replacing what did happen with what could have, a broken stained-glass window being found by someone who lovingly restored it instead of a twisted glass frame that someone put in. Rewriting a history so that someone became a warrior or a beggar.

 

 

If anyone has anything to add or dispute, I would gladly accept it.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Stormgate

[Nashan’Elin he/him]

The only thing I have to add is an upvote.

[Blightsong he/him]

One thing I have to contest here is the portion about connection to a shard.

1. Bring connected to a shard does not necessarily lens you their magic system. Hoid tried to become an Elantrian by artificially creating a connection to the Shards there and it didn't work.

2. Snapping doesn't happen when someone is in a life threatening situation specifically, but in a situation where their spirit web is damaged by stressful or dangerous situations or events, but it had nothing to do with preservation. It actual happens to Knights Radiants as well, and it changes how their spinitial website are connected compared to normal humans.

I think you are lending too much importance to the idea of Connection. Things being 'connected' is such a broad statement it can be applied to any situation where anything interacts, but I think Connection as a force in the Cosmere is seperate.

[Runyan Firetree]

Nice post.  I imagine that #4 probably also applies to Truthwatchers.  Renarin seemed to correctly see the Everstorm before it was released, but incorrectly saw everyone dying as an immediate result of the storm.

[Stormgate he/him]

One thing I have to contest here is the portion about connection to a shard.

1. Bring connected to a shard does not necessarily lens you their magic system. Hoid tried to become an Elantrian by artificially creating a connection to the Shards there and it didn't work.

2. Snapping doesn't happen when someone is in a life threatening situation specifically, but in a situation where their spirit web is damaged by stressful or dangerous situations or events, but it had nothing to do with preservation. It actual happens to Knights Radiants as well, and it changes how their spinitial website are connected compared to normal humans.

I think you are lending too much importance to the idea of Connection. Things being 'connected' is such a broad statement it can be applied to any situation where anything interacts, but I think Connection as a force in the Cosmere is seperate.

1. Not necessarily, I agree. However, gaining access to the Shard's magic system is usually impossible without the connection.

2. Your point is one of debate, but to avoid it, I'll just say that Vin was only able to take in the mists when she wanted to be preserved.

With Connection and my focus on it, the basic principle comes from storing Connection in duralumin, as well as some significant details about connection in Secret History.

[Shardbearer he/him]

Vin was only to take in the mists when she didn't have her hemalurgic earring in. Unless we have WoB saying otherwise, it had nothing to do with wanting to be preserved. Although it does seem Preservation was grooming her from a young age, AND her ability to take in the mists improved after she became attuned by becoming a Sliver at the Well. So Connection does seem to be involved there.

[Blightsong he/him]

1. Not necessarily, I agree. However, gaining access to the Shard's magic system is usually impossible without the connection.

2. Your point is one of debate, but to avoid it, I'll just say that Vin was only able to take in the mists when she wanted to be preserved.

With Connection and my focus on it, the basic principle comes from storing Connection in duralumin, as well as some significant details about connection in Secret History.

Im not sure it's even 'usually, just sometimes. In Secret History it specifically says

Kelsier isn't really connected in any way to Preservation, yet he can still use the magic system.

Shallan is basicly making a career out of lying, the only honorable thing she had to adhere to is her oaths, but they ate an outgrowth of the magic which comes from the planets interaction with the Shard's investiture, not the Shard itself directly. Returned are specifically chosen by Endowment, so of course they are people who she thinks personalities like her shard. Same with Vin (and Wax) having drawn in the mists, she had been groomed to do so. In Wax's case he isn't even tied to Preservation exactly,

Sazed often says that he is Sazed's ruinous influence

.

Secondly, what part about my second statement was debatable? I'm genuinely curious if we are thinking different fundamental things here.

Your theory is cool in concept, I just think you are stretching the definition of Connection into something it isn't, which is easy to do because 'Connection' is an extremely broad term, and that some of the examples you used have done holess in them.

Edit: I also just want to point out that if your theory was correct, that the breaking I mentioned that KR and allomancers must go through to gain powers would mean that that breaking is somehow tired to loss of these 'Connections' which doesn't seem to be true.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Blightsong

[Stormgate he/him]

Kelsier was Connected to Preservation. Just not a whole lot.

This theory is not 100% correct, as in the case of Connection necessarily leading to the powers.

Shallan must act honorable in some sense of the word, or else she would be as powerful as a sleeping chull. I'm not sure what makes lying honorable, but that's a topic for another discussion.

For what is disputable, I don't believe that the process of creating a crack for Radiantism to come in is the same as Allomantic Snapping. I.e. it is a similar, but very different, process. Snapping is designed so that you want, more than anything at that moment, for your own preservation. The process of becoming a Knight is much more scarring emotionally, as you generally have to loose what is most important to you and then, in that darkness, look to one of Honor's ten sub-Intents as all that is left worth continuing for. Kaladin chose protection, Shallan chose concealment, or distraction, or something.

[Master_Moridin he/him]

Well, Stormgate is right that the soul/spiritweb is made of connections (at least partially).
 
We have a WoB on it
 

*snip*

The piece your missing is the nature of a person's Spiritual aspect. This is similar to a Platonic idea--the idea that there's a perfect version of everyone somewhere. It's a mix of their connections to places, people, and times with raw investiture. The soul, you might say.

*snip*

(source)

[Blightsong he/him]

Well, Stormgate is right that the soul/spiritweb is made of connections (at least partially).

 

We have a WoB on it

THIS is what Cosmere Connection is. Its not the entirety of the spirit web, but it's definitly part of it.

[Stormgate he/him]

I never said it was the whole of the Spiritweb. I thought it might be, but I was EXTREMELY uncertain about it. I was, prior to reading the WoB, decently confident that Connection was at least part of the Spiritweb.

Connection, I noticed, does in fact extend to time. The Connection to a Shard...

Maybe that's the definition of Investiture?

Keep in mind that this post (not necessarily this topic) is basically me thinking in words. I'm not sure if Connection to a Shard and that Shard's Investment (state of being given Investiture or having the potential to do i.e. Mistborn/Mistings, Radiants, etc.) are the same thing, but at the very least, they are connected.

[Master_Moridin he/him]

I never said it was the whole of the Spiritweb. I thought it might be, but I was EXTREMELY uncertain about it. I was, prior to reading the WoB, decently confident that Connection was at least part of the Spiritweb.

Connection, I noticed, does in fact extend to time. The Connection to a Shard...

Maybe that's the definition of Investiture?

Keep in mind that this post (not necessarily this topic) is basically me thinking in words. I'm not sure if Connection to a Shard and that Shard's Investment (state of being given Investiture or having the potential to do i.e. Mistborn/Mistings, Radiants, etc.) are the same thing, but at the very least, they are connected.

 

SH Spoilers

Kelsier was a Mistborn (so lots of Preservation Investiture), but had a weak Connection to Preservation

[Ari he/him]

With regards to the BoM Connection medallions, remember the reason they let you speak the local language only is because they're a store of Connection that has been anonymised, probably as an inherent result of storing identity at the same time as storing Connection.

 

So by contrast we should expect connections on the spritweb to always work in a way that ties into your identity, rather than in a generic fashion like the medallions did.

[Stormgate he/him]

How, then, do you explain Hoid's ability to speak Alethi, Arelish, etc. flawlessly?

[Blightsong he/him]

How, then, do you explain Hoid's ability to speak Alethi, Arelish, etc. flawlessly?

I'm not agreeing with Ari, bit probably because Hoid can store both identity and connection. We know he is a feruchemist of some sort.

[Stormgate he/him]

I do not have the information necessary to say that Connection to location, when tapped, allows you to speak the native language regardless of Identity status. I will say, though, that I don't believe that it is probable that the translation effect only occurs when Identity is at zero.