Farnsworth Posted November 27, 2016 Report Share Posted November 27, 2016 In The Emperor's Soul, Shai mentions that any material can be used to make a soulstamp, but crystal is the best material for making stamps that take. However, few people use it because it is difficult to carve, and Soulstone is almost as good, as well as easy to carve. In Khriss's essay about Sel in Arcanum Unbounded, she says that Spoiler "Indeed, I believe that the very landscape itself has become Invested to the point that it has a growing self-awareness, in a way unseen on other planets in the cosmere." So my theory is: THINGS THAT ARE PHYSICALLY ORDERLY ARE THE MOST SELF AWARE. Crystals are orderly. That is the definition of a crystal. Shai mentions wood as something that is very difficult to carve. That makes sense, as wood is not orderly. Soulstone is different because it is a part of Devotion and Dominion. It came from those rocks that fell from the sky that the MaiPon used to worship. So the only advantage that crystal could possibly have over it is its order. Ideas? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oversleep Posted November 27, 2016 Report Share Posted November 27, 2016 I'm not sure what you mean by "order" but the comments Shai makes on different materials are about its properties related to precise carving used in Forgery. How hard it is to carve it and how rigid it is and things like that. Soulstone is very special as it's soft and easy to carve but after burning it it becomes very hard so it combines two very different properties and that's why it's so precious to Forgers. There is no inherent property of crystal that makes stamps carved in it more likely to take. I don't recall such statement. Anyway, on Sel is the shape that matters, not what you made the shape with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farnsworth Posted November 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2016 In day three of The Emperor's Soul, Shai says that "The only way to get a better stamp was to carve one from crystal itself, which was incredibly difficult." It's on page 35 of Arcanum Unbounded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yata Posted November 28, 2016 Report Share Posted November 28, 2016 7 hours ago, Figberts said: In day three of The Emperor's Soul, Shai says that "The only way to get a better stamp was to carve one from crystal itself, which was incredibly difficult." It's on page 35 of Arcanum Unbounded. Because you can carve with more precision and detail. Also if it's hard as hell 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leviathan Posted January 6, 2017 Report Share Posted January 6, 2017 I just read that as carving crystal is hard because, well, it's a hard material and I don't really see Sel as having a lot of diamond-bit carving implements around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farnsworth Posted January 19, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2017 It makes sense that it's hard to carve, because it's crystal. I was referring to the fact that it's the best at making Soulstamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teknopathetic Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 I think crystal is better because it is virtually unbreakable. Now, what would be interesting would be to see hom Gem-Hearts react. Shai says 'Organic inks are better than inorganic inks". I wonder if Organic Gemhearts (if they are technically organic) would give a certain advantage. Would an Infused Gemheart Stamp be more powerful? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoolofwhool Posted January 20, 2017 Report Share Posted January 20, 2017 2 hours ago, Figberts said: It makes sense that it's hard to carve, because it's crystal. I was referring to the fact that it's the best at making Soulstamps. It's best at making soulstamps because it's rigid, which is also why it's hard to carve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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