Question about Selish magic

[Samaldin he/him]

We know that Selish magicsystems are based on Locations because the Dor is in the Cognitiv realm, which is somewhat formed by belief. It also seems like every country has their own unique magicsystem. So my question is, if we assume that some country, let´s say Arelon because Elantrians, conquered another nation and makes it part of itself. After a long time most people don´t think about those two nations as seperate anymore, for them it´s just Arelon. Would that change the cognitive realm of the conquered country enough to allow it´s citizens to become Elantrians and remove their own magic system, or would the magicsystems somehow fuse, or would nothing change about them?

I´m wondering because Bloodsealing is drastically different from Forgery in effect, but the method by which the Investiture is drawn in/used is strikingly similiar. Could that be a hint that the Rose empire is on it´s way to a single magisystem?

[Yata he/him]

I don't think.

Probably countries arose along the different "Dor areas"...For example The Shaod may take people from Arelon, Teo and Dula.

As a possible proof you may see how Forton (maybe I miswrote his name) retain his region potion magic also if his country is under Fjordel's domination from years at lest.

[Weltall]

I'm not sure Forton really tells us anything one way or the other. He's from a region that's technically located within Fjordell but has access to a different magic system. We don't know how long that region has been part of Fjordell but the text suggests that neither its people nor the Derethi priests really see Hrovell and Fjordell as 'the same land'. The former apparently don't visit the latter that often and still think of them as heathens (Forton still believing in the Mysteries for example) and the latter are described as 'oppressed' and 'living in fear'. So it's very doubtful that there could be any kind of Cognitive 'synthesis' of the two lands at this point. Ergo, it doesn't necessarily disprove the theory and it also doesn't prove it. Similarly, we know how long JinDo has been part of Fjordell (about a century) but they clearly retain a sense of separate identity and obviously have their own magic system.

I like the idea, though on the assumption that cultural synthesis or assimilation can influence the magic systems I'm not sure we'll get a long enough timeframe on Sel to see whether or not such a thing is possible. Brandon's announced plans for the followup Elantris books give us a decade worth of timeskip while I imagine that something like this theory would take a lot longer. A couple generations at least where everyone thinks of themselves as a single culture. Even then I'm not sure the result would necessarily be a merging of the systems but perhaps what you'd get is that Initiation would change. So for example, let's say that Arelon, Duladel and JinDo merged (the latter two booting Fjordell out) somehow. What I'm thinking is that after enough time of thinking of themselves as a single entity, you'd have JinDo who could be taken by the Shaod and Aonic people could learn ChayShan.

[Jofwu he/him]

This is an interesting question...

I think the answer is no. I would argue that AonDor is clearly based on geography rather than national borders, so without evidence to the contrary I think we have to assume Selish magic is tied to geographical location.

But I have always wondered what's going on with magic in Emperor's Soul. Is there a WoB on it? It's odd that we see multiple magic systems at work, but no mention of their relative strengths with respect to location. Is Shai very far from home? I've always assumed not. What happens if she travels somewhere distant? How does weakened Forgery work? Stamps just don't stick as easily? What happens if Ashravan goes on a diplomatic mission to Arelon? Will the magic holding him together fail, or is he okay, or is he okay as long as he doesn't need to be restamped?

[Itchy Savant he/him]

It is a very interesting question, however due to the Dor not actually being a cognitive entity (originally) I feel that they won't synthesize.  If the Dor had been created in the cognitive realm due to Cognitive thought that would be a different story.  However if the land is becoming self aware I feel that way in the future the Dor/Land hybrid may force them all together and create a universal Selish system, if that makes sense.

[DocHoliday he/him]

Given enough time, I'm sure said conquered lands would see them selves as "Elantrians" land. The cognitive is formed of belief after all. IRL Texas is seen as Texas to most of its inhabitants, but they still have homogenous belief that they're American. 

IDK if I explained that well....