What is Stormlight?

[Humph]

There have been hundreds of topics posted about The Stormlight Archive, but in my perusal of the list of topics I did not spot one that dealt with one of the most open questions of all:  What exactly is stormlight?  Perhaps there exists one but I overlooked it.

 

It appears that stormlight is simply taken for granted, as perhaps is normal for the science fiction and fantasy genre.  There are just certain aspects of the world which one simply accepts and uses as the basis for understanding the world depicted.

 

Yet, "All men by nature desire to know", and this question has started to bug me.  I guess there are lots of ways of approaching an answer.  A good Aristotelian would immediately attempt to define the four causes (material [the 'stuff'], formal [its intellectual content, that which makes it itself and distinguishes it from other intelligible objects], efficient [its maker, cause or originator] and final [its purpose]).  I suspect this approach will be of limited assistance initially, if only because the Cosmere appears to be established more along the lines of a neoPlatonic world than an Aristotelian one (more specifically, along Plotinus' division of material world / the world of Forms / the world of Nous).  (I would however be surprised if Mr. Sanderson ever had Plotinus in mind though).

 

The more profitable approach probably is to posit various questions and gradually chip away at the excess in order to get a better picture of the "shape" the answer would take.  Where does it come from?  Why is it collected by gemstones?  Is it only gems that can serve as collectors?  Why or why not?  Can clear glass collect it?  Why not?  Where does it go when a sphere runs out on its own?  Is its source renewable or ultimately non-renewable?  Is there an equivalent of a "black hole" collector, that collects it and doesn't release it?  Its origin seems to be associated with a pressure wave that someone else in the forums has describe as a wave released by an explosion (I forget who said it; my apologies).  What would cause such an explosion?  Is it the stormlight itself or something else?

 

Et cetera.

 

It occurs to me as I type that this is a Sizgil-type topic, although he is currently more interested in "What can Kaladin do with stormlight".

 

Any theories or insights?

[AerionBFII he/him]

Stormlight is a glowing substance brought by the Highstorms like an energy source.

 

Gemstones whether bare or encased in glass spheres, left outside during a highstorm will become infused with Stormlight, which will remain within the stones for a week or so, the Stormlight can then be used to fuel the operation of fabrials and lamps or used to fuel Surgebinding abilities. When held by a Surgebinder or leaking from damaged Shardplate, Stormlight appears as a luminescent white vapor.

Edited March 2, 2014 by WEZ313

[marianmi]

Stormlight is discussed on the forum.

My theory was that it's the power of creation leaked from the spiritual realm into the physical during highstorms.

It can only be stored into gemhearts since gemhearts are formed also through a rift between realms (WoB).

So neither gems or stormlight are of "physical".

[Moogle]

This post is somewhat scattered. Sorry!

 

Stormlight is Investiture, the energy or stuff that makes up Shards of Adonalsium. What Shard it comes from, we don't know. We can make a reasonable guess that it is a gaseous form of Investiture, like the mists of Mistborn.

 

Every Shardworld has something Investiture sticks to. Nalthis had life, Scadrial had metals (and it is interesting to note that metals could capture the mists like gems can capture Stormlight), and Roshar has gems.

 

All Investiture is renewable, so far as I can tell. Once used, it returns to the Shard it came from. Brandon has described it as Investiture being like a stream that, after being run through a waterwheel (when a magic user uses it), returns to the ocean.

 

It's unlikely that the highstorms are a pressure wave. WoR spoilers:

Highstorms can be summoned and controlled.

 

The question of 'why gems' is interesting. It's like asking 'why metals' for Mistborn. I've speculated that Investiture supercharges identity, so perhaps it is simply that Roshar had a great amount of gemstones and considered that to be a core part of its identity; once Invested by Adonalsium, gems took on a supernatural role in relation to Investiture. This is speculation, however.

 

Clear glass will not hold Stormlight. That's not to say it couldn't be Invested, though. Honorblades appear to be metal Invested by Honor, after all. Unless Honor made Splinters of himself and they just so happened to take the form of swords, but that seems unlikely.

 

As to things that hold Stormlight and doesn't release it, we might consider the legends of Voidbringers. According to Szeth, they can hold it perfectly without leaking it.

[HydrogenAlpha he/him]

We all know that something weird is happening to Roshar. Sprens are presumably living ideas. Mankind always projected some human attributes to natural phenomena and somehow on Roshar those images gain sentience and start showing up. Just on Roshar and nowhere else in the cosmere ( as far as we know ). There it seems so be easier for things to transist from the cognitive realm to the physical.
I for myself think that either humanity creates stormlight themselves with their believes and all and it leaks through the realms every highstorm, because maybe the fabric between the realms is pretty weak then , or it's like Atium the "body" of a god leaking through. 

[Humph]

A plethora of further questions pop into mind from the responses given.  As can be gathered, I am next to clueless when it comes to the Cosmere aspects of Sanderson's works.

 

 

Stormlight is a glowing substance brought by the Highstorms like an energy source.

 

.... Stormlight appears as a luminescent white vapor.

 

 

If Highstorms merely carry, do they have an immediately prior source of stormlight in the physical realm; and what starts the highstorm on its way?

 

It "appears" as a luminescent white vapor.  Is it a vapor, or does it merely give that appearance?  If a vapor, when it collects inside a gemstone, shouldn't the gemstone turn opaque or translucent on account of the cloudy vapor inside it?  It appears that the higher the quality (with greater clarity for instance) the more quantity of stormlight can be held.

 

 

My theory was that it's the power of creation leaked from the spiritual realm into the physical during highstorms.

It can only be stored into gemhearts since gemhearts are formed also through a rift between realms (WoB).

 

I must confess that all my initial instincts was to agree that its origins are somewhere in the spiritual realm.  Moogle however indicates a WoB that its origin is not ultimately from the spiritual realm but from the Shard.

 

Stormlight is Investiture, the energy or stuff that makes up Shards of Adonalsium. What Shard it comes from, we don't know. We can make a reasonable guess that it is a gaseous form of Investiture, like the mists of Mistborn.

 

Every Shardworld has something Investiture sticks to. Nalthis had life, Scadrial had metals (and it is interesting to note that metals could capture the mists like gems can capture Stormlight), and Roshar has gems.

 

All Investiture is renewable, so far as I can tell. Once used, it returns to the Shard it came from. Brandon has described it as Investiture being like a stream that, after being run through a waterwheel (when a magic user uses it), returns to the ocean.

 

Could it come from the Shard through the spiritual realm? But if so, how (by what path or mechanism) would it leak in?  Does the Shard have a form of conscious agency that enables it to open and close the spigot at will?  Or it is constrained to act in that way by its very nature?  And is there a path or mechanism through which it returns to the Shard?

 

If it can be only stored in gemharts, does that make all gemstones in Roshar simply splinters and fragments of gemhearts?  If gemhearts are formed through a rift between realms, which realms?  Are there three overarching categories of gemhearts (i.e. physical-cognitive, cognitive-spiritual and spiritual-physical)?  If so, which category would chasmfiends be placed in?

 

Diamond is a clear gemstone.  It can hold stormlight, but not glass?  Would it be on account of its crystalline structure?  Or is it "just because"?

[Swimmingly he/him]

A plethora of further questions pop into mind from the responses given. As can be gathered, I am next to clueless when it comes to the Cosmere aspects of Sanderson's works.

If Highstorms merely carry, do they have an immediately prior source of stormlight in the physical realm; and what starts the highstorm on its way?

It "appears" as a luminescent white vapor. Is it a vapor, or does it merely give that appearance? If a vapor, when it collects inside a gemstone, shouldn't the gemstone turn opaque or translucent on account of the cloudy vapor inside it? It appears that the higher the quality (with greater clarity for instance) the more quantity of stormlight can be held.

I must confess that all my initial instincts was to agree that its origins are somewhere in the spiritual realm. Moogle however indicates a WoB that its origin is not ultimately from the spiritual realm but from the Shard.

Could it come from the Shard through the spiritual realm? But if so, how (by what path or mechanism) would it leak in? Does the Shard have a form of conscious agency that enables it to open and close the spigot at will? Or it is constrained to act in that way by its very nature? And is there a path or mechanism through which it returns to the Shard?

If it can be only stored in gemharts, does that make all gemstones in Roshar simply splinters and fragments of gemhearts? If gemhearts are formed through a rift between realms, which realms? Are there three overarching categories of gemhearts (i.e. physical-cognitive, cognitive-spiritual and spiritual-physical)? If so, which category would chasmfiends be placed in?

Diamond is a clear gemstone. It can hold stormlight, but not glass? Would it be on account of its crystalline structure? Or is it "just because"?

I assume gemstones work for the same reason that metals do on Scadrial - the Investiture of a Shard/Shards has modified their Cog, Spiritual, and Physical identities to accommodate the magic system. In the case of Roshar, the gems may also be created through the magic system, so there's that as well. Remember, this is fantasy - no matter how well-thought out the ideas, they can generally find their root in seven words: It Sure Would Be Really Cool If...

And that's all right. When you get down to it, gems are magical and glass is not because that makes for a more interesting, coherent story - and the story always comes first.

[Moogle]

If Highstorms merely carry, do they have an immediately prior source of stormlight in the physical realm; and what starts the highstorm on its way?

 

Unknown. I almost suspect that the highstorm does not contain the Stormlight, but acts as an opening for Stormlight to come through.

 

 

 

It "appears" as a luminescent white vapor.  Is it a vapor, or does it merely give that appearance?  If a vapor, when it collects inside a gemstone, shouldn't the gemstone turn opaque or translucent on account of the cloudy vapor inside it?  It appears that the higher the quality (with greater clarity for instance) the more quantity of stormlight can be held.

 

It likely is a vapor, in the same way that the mists were actual mists. Atium/lerasium were 'real' metals but with a different Spiritual makeup, according to WoB. It probably doesn't turn the gem cloudy because it 'bonds' with the gem, much like how a Shardblade disappears when bonded to someone. The Stormlight ends up becoming a part of the Spiritual aspect of the gem, perhaps? I'm not sure.

 

 

I must confess that all my initial instincts was to agree that its origins are somewhere in the spiritual realm.  Moogle however indicates a WoB that its origin is not ultimately from the spiritual realm but from the Shard.

 

Shards exist in all the realms, so just because it's from a Shard doesn't mean it isn't from the Spiritual.

 

 

Could it come from the Shard through the spiritual realm? But if so, how (by what path or mechanism) would it leak in?  Does the Shard have a form of conscious agency that enables it to open and close the spigot at will?  Or it is constrained to act in that way by its very nature?  And is there a path or mechanism through which it returns to the Shard?

 

It is interesting to note that Investiture seems to act as a fluid. It has a pressure, and it wants to go to where there is a low pressure area. The AonDor desires to go from the Cognitive/Spiritual into the Physical, and all Elantrians have to do is rip a tear in the Realms to let it through. It can't just go through, though - the Elantrians have to draw the right symbol. So perhaps it might be more appropriate to say that Investiture acts as a sort of wave, and can only go through certain types of opening. This has links to the ability to burn bronze in Mistborn, where Mistings hear metal-use as a sort of drumbeat.

 

You might even think of gems as a sort of low-pressure area for Investiture on Roshar.

 

This is a long-winded way of saying we don't know. Welcome to 17th Shard. Theorize away.

 

 

If it can be only stored in gemharts, does that make all gemstones in Roshar simply splinters and fragments of gemhearts?  If gemhearts are formed through a rift between realms, which realms?  Are there three overarching categories of gemhearts (i.e. physical-cognitive, cognitive-spiritual and spiritual-physical)?  If so, which category would chasmfiends be placed in?

 

Diamond is a clear gemstone.  It can hold stormlight, but not glass?  Would it be on account of its crystalline structure?  Or is it "just because"?

 

Unknown. Gems can likely be mined the usual way. I don't think they're all from gemhearts. That said, we have a WoB saying that gemhearts are formed from a leak from the Spiritual into the Physical.

 

As to why glass wouldn't work:

 

ArsenoPyrite ()

I have a technical question here re: gemstones in The Stormlight Archive. How are the lines drawn between different types of gems? Emerald and Heliodor are both varieties of the mineral beryl. Emerald can get its color from trace amounts of chromium, vanadium and/or iron. Heliodor gets its color from iron combined with microscopic crystal defects. So, is the line between these two defined by color? If so, would a heliodor lose its usefulness if it were heated (which would turn it colorless or pale blue). Is it defined by trace elements—in which case, how do you deal with emeralds, or with aquamarine (the blue variety of beryl, which can also contain chromium or vanadium in small quantities and is mostly colored by iron)? Sorry for getting so technical, but this gem nerd needs to know!

Brandon Sanderson

I actually spent a long time working on this while building the world. You'd probably be amused by how long I spent on it. Chemically, many of them are actually very similar, as you pointed out. I tried doing the book originally with them all being different, not using any that were basically the same crystal with different colors, but it didn't work out. There weren't enough, and so I had to stretch to make it all work.

So, I went back to the original, and decided that color was enough to differentiate them. Just as steel and iron are very similar in the Mistborn world, emerald and heliodor can be very similar—but produce different effects. The idea here is that the physical items (like the metals or the crystals) provide a key by which magical interaction occurs.

So, in a long winded answer, a gemstone with an impure color would be considered like a bad alloy in the Mistborn magic—it either wouldn't work at all, or would work very poorly. The chemical and color signature needs to be of a specific variety to provide the proper key to accessing the power of transformation.

 

That WoB gets to the heart of the issue. Apparently, there are only certain ways for Investiture to act or travel. You've got chemical bonds acting as 'keys' for Investiture in Mistborn, and there may be links to gems in Stormlight.

 

This doesn't answer the 'why', in any case. We don't have much in the way of theories on that. I've speculated that Investiture supercharges the identity of a planet (every planet has a soul according to WoB; the Cosmere is a mishmash of Platonic ideals and Asian style everything-has-a-soul), and this locks how Investiture acts on that planet into certain defined rules. This still is not quite a why, but it's the best I've got. Again: any theories would be welcome.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Moogle

[Bramble Thorn]

http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/4761-stormlight-investiture-invested-oaths-also-surgebinding-type-zero/
 
are where my thoughts on the subject is in the first post. The only difference is instead of saying "stormlight is not investiture" I should be saying "stormlight is investiture,but that word, I do not think it means what you think it means"
 
When a Feruchemist stores stuff in a metalmind the stuff in a metalmind is also called investiture.
 
 
Basicially, I think Stormlight is investiture in the same way that strength stored in pewter is investiture, where the strength is NOT the power of creation being used up (to be regenerated later), but created by a natural process (your body) and shardic power is only being used in that something is allowing the strength of your body to be stored in the metal.
 
I think that assuming investiture means "the energy or stuff that makes up Shards of Adonalsium" is lazy thinking.
 
I think stormlight is related to the Cognitive realm, and natural processes there, not the highstorm. This is because Lift can metabolize stormlight from food, because she exists partly on the cognitive. This is due to a blessing/curse of the nightwatcher, whose gifts/costs all seem to have a cognitive aspect thus far. All this leads to stormlight being NOT the raw power of Adonalsium, but something natural to the cognitive, and any "power of creation" used is limited to allowing it to be stored in gems, used by surgebinders, brought into the physical realm and exist there. And even then the highstorms may be more based on natural prcesses than shardic power. Not enough is known yet.

[Moogle]

Basicially, I think Stormlight is investiture in the same way that strength stored in pewter is investiture, where the strength is NOT the power of creation being used up (to be regenerated later), but created by a natural process (your body) and shardic power is only being used in that something is allowing the strength of your body to be stored in the metal.

 

Investiture from Preservation was given to every human on Scadrial. It's why they're sentient. I imagine when you're storing mental speed, you're storing a portion of the innate Investiture that came from the Shards. The 'natural' Investiture from a human seems to be ultimately sourced from the Shards. I am fairly confident that innate Investiture does not 'belong' to a Shard anymore, but I do think that Shardic Investiture ultimately acted as a seed for innate Investiture.

 

So... I guess I disagree with you saying it's lazy thinking.

Edited March 5, 2014 by Moogle

[Catchfraze he/him]

Spoilers for WoR

There is a character that can convert food into stormlight in an interlude. Her spren suspects she exists part way in the cognitive realm as part of a boon granted to her by the spren's mother.

I am not sure how this changes the current conversation on the nature of stormlight, but I thought it was a neat revelation.

[Quazar87]

Stormlight is a glowing substance brought by the Highstorms like an energy source.

 

Gemstones whether bare or encased in glass spheres, left outside during a highstorm will become infused with Stormlight, which will remain within the stones for a week or so, the Stormlight can then be used to fuel the operation of fabrials and lamps or used to fuel Surgebinding abilities. When held by a Surgebinder or leaking from damaged Shardplate, Stormlight appears as a luminescent white vapor.

Note, it's not really stormlight fuelling modern fabrials. See the ars arcanum in WoR.

[skaa he/him]

From everything I've seen in WoK and WoR, I think it's very likely that the Stormfather himself is the one responsible for filling gemstones with Stormlight during a certain part of a highstorm.

He's also the one responsible for Parshendi spren-bonding, and for Dalinar's visions. Yeah, so many responsibilities given to that obedient, predictable, but seemingly corrupted spren.

 

I must confess that all my initial instincts was to agree that its origins are somewhere in the spiritual realm.  Moogle however indicates a WoB that its origin is not ultimately from the spiritual realm but from the Shard.

 

The Shards' Investiture does ultimately come from the Spiritual Realm because Investiture is spiritual power. More specifically, Investiture is Adonalsium's power of creation. The Shards are pieces of this Spiritual power that a group of sixteen humans have taken for themselves at some distant point in the past in the event called the Shattering. Each of them united with the Shard he or she took, becoming the Cognitive aspect of the Shard.

 

Thus, a Shard usually consists of a Spiritual aspect (Investiture, filtered by the Shard's Intent, e.g. Odium, Devotion, etc.) plus a Cognitive aspect (usually a mind that was formerly human, e.g Rayse, Aona, etc.). The exceptions are the Shards whose holders have died, rendering them basically mindless (though Brandon did say that a mindless Shard will eventually develop sentience on its own).

Edited March 11, 2014 by skaa

[WeiryWriter he/him]

Note, it's not really stormlight fuelling modern fabrials. See the ars arcanum in WoR.

 

Umm actually: (Words of Radiance spoilers)

 

The WoR Ars Arcanum would beg to differ:

 

 

They are powered—like all fabrials—by Stormlight.

 

So yes it is Stormlight that powers/fuels fabrials.

[Youngy he/him]

Mistborn Spoilers

 

I'd always thought that Stormlight was equivalent to the Mists on Scadrial. So it would be the power of a shard in gaseous form. Interesting that it kinda looks similar to mist when it is breathed in.

The other thought, which I think has been thrown around here a bit is that if Stormlight is equivalent to the Mists, is there another way to access the power of creation (ie. An equivalent to the metals for the metallic arts)

[Tyfariel she/her]

Storing Stormlight in gems reminds me much of how magic/mana can be stored inside of cut gems in the Eragon books (it's been a while since I read those, but I liked the concept of it). The better cut the gem, the more that it can hold. This seems to work with Stormlight too, as uncut gems can hold it, but not nearly as much or as well. In Eragon, stored mana can be sensed inside of the gems but not seen, unlike Stormlight which can be seen and not sensed, exactly.

 

Perhaps, somehow, the cut gems have "pockets" or "levels" in which the mana/Stormlight can be held in? It would make some sense, sort of like a building with many floors can hold a lot more people than a building with only a ground floor but a very tall ceiling. Which might be why glass, among other things, can't be used to contain Stormlight.

 

Being that Surgebinders breathe the stuff in, the description of it taken the form of vapor seems pretty spot on for me.

[KasA97]

Just like spren are of Honor, I think stormlight is of Cultivation (the other shard on Roshar).