+ILuvHats he/him Posted May 16, 2017 Posted May 16, 2017 While I was reading Arcanum Unbounded, I was struck by the diagram of the Rosharan system. The astronomical layout of the system seemed to share many similarities to the magic systems of Roshar. I looked at other planets and found other similarities between the astronomical system and the magics. I'll outline my findings below. 1. Rosharan System This solar system appears to reflect the local magic system extremely accurately. The three inner, inhabitable planets reflect the 3 shards currently residing there. True, Honor and Cultivation arrived before Odium, so it appears that the system did not originally match the number of Shards residing there. However, there are only 2 planets in the system that are inhabitable by organic life (Ashlyn and Roshar), and Braize possibly only became inhabited by sentient splinters after Odium arrived (this is an assumption on my part). Also note that the 10 outer gas giants correlate to the 10 essences/jewels, the 10 Heralds and orders of Knights Radiant, and the 10 surgebindings. 2. Scadrian System Here, there are 2 planets (I'm ignoring the dwarf planets). And guess what? There are 2 Shards, Ruin and Preservation. Of course, they eventually created a 3rd inner planet, which was warm enough to be habitable. Yet, when they Invested and created magic systems, there came to be 3 metallic arts, correlating to the now 3 inner planets. Of course, The metallic arts are a base-16 magic system, relying on the 16 allomantic metals, and their is no parallel between this number and the astronomical bodies. Note, though, that Ruin and Preservation created Scadrial to be an ideal world, mimicking Yolen. Thus, they would have created a base-16 magic system, with 16 being a number of Shards, and thus being an "ideal" number. Perhaps by creating their own planet, the Shards gained greater control over how their Investiture was manifested, making it unaffected by the layout of the solar system. 3. The Selish System Again, we have a dishardic system. There are 2 inner planets (Sel and Donne), separated by an asteroid belt from 2 outer planets. The various magic systems on Sel don't seem to exhibit any correlations with the astonomical layout of the system. But, remember that Odium killed Devotion and Dominion and then Splintered them, causing the Dor to form. This probably messed with the magic system a lot, skewing any correlations between the magic and the number of planets. 4. The Taldain System Taldain is the only planet in the system, and Autonomy is the only Shard in the system. Little is yet known about sand mastery and if there is any other form of magic. But, it wouldn't surprise me if a Manifestation of Investiture were present on Darkside, meaning there would be one magic system for each of the 2 suns. 5. The Threnodite System We barely know anything about Threnody. Noticeably, there are 3 inner planets, just as there are 3 Simple Rules related to the Shades. This could simply be a coincidence, though. Overall, there appears to be some connection between the physical realm and the Shard's magic systems. Some of the evidence could simply be me looking for connections where there are none. Yet, the Rosharan system in particular provides strong evidence of a correlation. It seems that the number of inner/habitable planets could attract a certain number of shards, as both Sel and Scadrial are dishardic worlds in systems with 2 inner planets. It also appears that the number of astronomical bodies in some systems effect the magic systems developed by the Shards. This correlation between the manifestations of investiture and the nature of the physical realm could reflect the nature of the Shards themselves. Although the Vessel's bodies were disentegrated when they Ascended, perhaps their minds continued to view the world on physical terms. Though a Vessel becomes realmatically aware of all 3 realms, they were formerly human; there minds are hard-wired to process physical phenomena. Thus, it is possible that the Shards became influenced by the physical nature of their evironment. The astronomical layout of their location limited the ways they can manifest their investiture. 6
+ILuvHats he/him Posted May 16, 2017 Author Posted May 16, 2017 Is this theory dumb? I just want some feedback.
+Extesian he/him Posted May 16, 2017 Posted May 16, 2017 (edited) Patience @ILuvHats I think like me (an Australian) you may be on a different timezone to most Sharders so it can take time. Your theory isn't dumb, no theory that points out correlations, speculates the reasons and is well-reasoned and well-explained is dumb. And there is a lot about the influence of the planet, and the system, on different magic systems that we don't know. We do know for example that the planet itself does influence the magic system, it's not purely the Shard. What we don't know is how and why. It could be that Adonalsium's original design of (or at least investing in) a planet confines the ways in which magic systems operate (but then Scadrial was created by Shards and even there the planet seems to mould or limit the system). It could be something physical about the planet. It could be something physical about the solar system. For example we have this. Quote QUESTION How much involvement does the other planet in the same system as Roshar have with Roshar? BRANDON SANDERSON *long pause* Your question has a fundamental flaw to it. QUESTION And that is? BRANDON SANDERSON That there are multiple planets that have an influence on Roshar. QUESTION I thought there were multiple planets in the system that-- BRANDON SANDERSON There are, but you said "the other", there are more than one so the phrase, "the other" doesn't make sense. QUESTION How much influence do the other planets have? BRANDON SANDERSON A great deal. There has been some speculation along your lines about the number of moons around Shardworlds, which match somewhat as well. So your speculation is worthwhile. And there are other points, like significant numbers for different planets. But then this varies by planet, not just system; Scadrial is 16 and Roshar is 10, but Braize, in the same system, is a number different to 10 (9 i believe though i forget if that is confirmed). My instinct is it's not right as I'm not sure why a Shard would be limited by the number of planets in a system when they're both investing in the same planet. But there is some correlation which makes it a topic worth opening up. I'm pretty good on Cosmere knowledge but not as good as many Sharders, and I haven't read every thread on here, so it may have been discussed before or others may have notable flaws to point out. But it's a well thought-out idea, especially for someone relatively new here Edit - I'll make some comments on your various comments Quote True, Honor and Cultivation arrived before Odium, so it appears that the system did not originally match the number of Shards residing there I have no problem with this, I think your idea would be a maximum number of Shards in a system, 1 per planet, as there are plenty of inhabited systems that don't have Shards at all. Quote The various magic systems on Sel don't seem to exhibit any correlations with the astonomical layout of the system Again, no issue with this since Sel is actually one magic system, the Dor, with regional variations because the Dor is trapped in the Cognitive realm. Quote Little is yet known about sand mastery and if there is any other form of magic Darkside is invested and has magic, but it's nowhere near as invested as Dayside and we know nothing about its magic system. I believe it's straight off Adonalsium, like First of the Sun. Quote We barely know anything about Threnody. We know Threnody was not home to a Shard but that Ambition was mortally wounded in that system and spread messed-up chunks of Investiture through it. So again no problem with inconsistency here as it is not a Shardworld. Quote Thus, it is possible that the Shards became influenced by the physical nature of their evironment. Definitely, there's plenty of WoBs about the planet influencing the system and the one I posted about even other planets in the system influencing it, though I think it's that the Shard's magic systems were influenced by it more than the Shards themselves. Edited May 16, 2017 by Extesian 1
Steeldancer he/him Posted May 16, 2017 Posted May 16, 2017 7 hours ago, ILuvHats said: While I was reading Arcanum Unbounded, I was struck by the diagram of the Rosharan system. The astronomical layout of the system seemed to share many similarities to the magic systems of Roshar. I looked at other planets and found other similarities between the astronomical system and the magics. I'll outline my findings below. 1. Rosharan System This solar system appears to reflect the local magic system extremely accurately. The three inner, inhabitable planets reflect the 3 shards currently residing there. True, Honor and Cultivation arrived before Odium, so it appears that the system did not originally match the number of Shards residing there. However, there are only 2 planets in the system that are inhabitable by organic life (Ashlyn and Roshar), and Braize possibly only became inhabited by sentient splinters after Odium arrived (this is an assumption on my part). Also note that the 10 outer gas giants correlate to the 10 essences/jewels, the 10 Heralds and orders of Knights Radiant, and the 10 surgebindings. 2. Scadrian System Here, there are 2 planets (I'm ignoring the dwarf planets). And guess what? There are 2 Shards, Ruin and Preservation. Of course, they eventually created a 3rd inner planet, which was warm enough to be habitable. Yet, when they Invested and created magic systems, there came to be 3 metallic arts, correlating to the now 3 inner planets. Of course, The metallic arts are a base-16 magic system, relying on the 16 allomantic metals, and their is no parallel between this number and the astronomical bodies. Note, though, that Ruin and Preservation created Scadrial to be an ideal world, mimicking Yolen. Thus, they would have created a base-16 magic system, with 16 being a number of Shards, and thus being an "ideal" number. Perhaps by creating their own planet, the Shards gained greater control over how their Investiture was manifested, making it unaffected by the layout of the solar system. 3. The Selish System Again, we have a dishardic system. There are 2 inner planets (Sel and Donne), separated by an asteroid belt from 2 outer planets. The various magic systems on Sel don't seem to exhibit any correlations with the astonomical layout of the system. But, remember that Odium killed Devotion and Dominion and then Splintered them, causing the Dor to form. This probably messed with the magic system a lot, skewing any correlations between the magic and the number of planets. 4. The Taldain System Taldain is the only planet in the system, and Autonomy is the only Shard in the system. Little is yet known about sand mastery and if there is any other form of magic. But, it wouldn't surprise me if a Manifestation of Investiture were present on Darkside, meaning there would be one magic system for each of the 2 suns. 5. The Threnodite System We barely know anything about Threnody. Noticeably, there are 3 inner planets, just as there are 3 Simple Rules related to the Shades. This could simply be a coincidence, though. Overall, there appears to be some connection between the physical realm and the Shard's magic systems. Some of the evidence could simply be me looking for connections where there are none. Yet, the Rosharan system in particular provides strong evidence of a correlation. It seems that the number of inner/habitable planets could attract a certain number of shards, as both Sel and Scadrial are dishardic worlds in systems with 2 inner planets. It also appears that the number of astronomical bodies in some systems effect the magic systems developed by the Shards. This correlation between the manifestations of investiture and the nature of the physical realm could reflect the nature of the Shards themselves. Although the Vessel's bodies were disentegrated when they Ascended, perhaps their minds continued to view the world on physical terms. Though a Vessel becomes realmatically aware of all 3 realms, they were formerly human; there minds are hard-wired to process physical phenomena. Thus, it is possible that the Shards became influenced by the physical nature of their evironment. The astronomical layout of their location limited the ways they can manifest their investiture. I like this correlation, that the planets might limit the number of shards. Not that we know anything about yolen, but perhaps that law forces them out (because I doubt I they have 16 inner planets anywhere at all lol). Perhaps it is the rules they abide by? By a sort of treaty or something. Or maybe it is the laws adonalsium set up.
Jofwu he/him Posted May 16, 2017 Posted May 16, 2017 7 hours ago, Extesian said: Darkside is invested and has magic, but it's nowhere near as invested as Dayside and we know nothing about its magic system. I believe it's straight off Adonalsium, like First of the Sun. I want to say that we know Darkside is invested via the Sun as well but in a more indirect manner. (and to a significantly lesser degree)
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