Importance of Stormlight?

[DalinarsThrill he/him]

So Iv'e been perusing the Arcanum along with some threads on this site, and I haven't seen much on Stormlight. I feel like this is a very important aspect. Are the highstorms connected to the spiritual realm somehow, since they're the only thing (besides Dalinar's little stint at the end of OB) that recharge spheres?

Also the Chasmfiends. They have gemhearts and those obviously need refilled with Stormlight for them to live, so does that make them good, possibly some sort of protection that was left? I remember a section in WoK where they think one is a voidbringer, but if (to dumb it down,) they run on storm and not voidlight so they should be naturally good, right? They seemed to be quite prominent in books 1 & 2,-- in OB I barely remember mention of them at all...could this be some important foreshadowing? 

This is my first post and would love to be enlightened/hear everyone's thoughts!!

 

[Kered he/him]

On 26/12/2017 at 1:34 PM, DaLINar04 said:

So Iv'e been perusing the Arcanum along with some threads on this site, and I haven't seen much on Stormlight. I feel like this is a very important aspect. Are the highstorms connected to the spiritual realm somehow, since they're the only thing (besides Dalinar's little stint at the end of OB) that recharge spheres?

Also the Chasmfiends. They have gemhearts and those obviously need refilled with Stormlight for them to live, so does that make them good, possibly some sort of protection that was left? I remember a section in WoK where they think one is a voidbringer, but if (to dumb it down,) they run on storm and not voidlight so they should be naturally good, right? They seemed to be quite prominent in books 1 & 2,-- in OB I barely remember mention of them at all...could this be some important foreshadowing? 

This is my first post and would love to be enlightened/hear everyone's thoughts!!

 

Welcome to the Shard!

This WoB should answer your question regarding the highstorms. 

Quote

Narkac

Where does the Stormlight in highstorms come from? Is there like a "rain cycle", but for the Stormlight?

Brandon Sanderson

The Stormlight in the highstorm is transferred from the Spiritual realm through the Stormfather into the highstorm.

 

 

https://wob.coppermind.net/adv_search/?query=Greatshells

OB spoilers

Spoiler

 

^That link should answer your chasmfied questions. Due to the sheer weight of chasmfieds and greatshells they need the help of spren to move around and function. And it hasn't been stated by Brandon that if the gemhearts inside of a living greatshell infuses with stormlight but I could be wrong about that. As far as not hearing much about them in OB, there is a bit of info dropped that the Alethi and Parshendi have hunted the chasmfiends almost to extinction, therefor they're haven't been that many sightings as they were before. 

Also, a huge focus point in WoK, and even WoR to an extent, were plateau assaults aka bridge runs. Most of the setting for those two books were the Shattered Plains, so of course we would see more of the chasmfiends because they were apart of the every day going on's of the war. In OB, with the Oathgates now active, the book expands to a much broader setting, so certain focal points from the previous books will understandably get less screen time. We've seen two books worth of Chasmfiends and gemheart harvesting, I think that Brandon just doesn't want to beat the concept to death or appear stagnant. 

Now Stormlight is vastly important to the series, it's what fuels the magic system's of the Knights Radiant. Without stormlight Kaladin, Jasnah, Shallan and the others would only have their shardblades to depend on. With some of them not having formal combat training, this could be bad. Also in the Shadesmar we see stormlight used as a sort of currency with the spren. Stormlight is basically the power source of the series, not only for surgebinding, but for faberials as well. We see in OB that with the coming of the Everstorm, stormlight is scant because people weren't able to follow the same pattern of leaving their spheres out. Because of this we get a tiny glimpse of just how much the people of Roshar depend on stormlight. 

Hoped that helped! 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2017 by Kered

[DalinarsThrill he/him]

Thank you so much, I appreciate the time put into your answer! 

9 minutes ago, Kered said:

Also, a huge focus point in WoK, and even WoR to an extent, were plateau assaults aka bridge runs. Most of the setting for those two books were the Shattered Plains, so of course we would see more of the chasmfiends because they were apart of the every day going on's of the war. In OB, with the Oathgates now active, the book expands to a much broader setting, so certain focal points from the previous books will understandably get less screen time. We've seen two books worth of Chasmfiends and gemheart harvesting, I think that Brandon just doesn't want to beat the concept to death or appear stagnant. 

I realized this as I was reading OB, but again I still think they're more important than they seem. They have Emerald (supposedly able to hold the most stormlight) gemhearts. I'm pretty sure different gems/polestones correlate with different orders, so again I'm back on Greatshells being left as some sort of protection for Roshar. Could the Herald that is in charge of Emerald have left them as an emergency source of Stormlight? I dont know, just rambling thoughts here/ 

[Kered he/him]

22 hours ago, DaLINar04 said:

Thank you so much, I appreciate the time put into your answer! 

I realized this as I was reading OB, but again I still think they're more important than they seem. They have Emerald (supposedly able to hold the most stormlight) gemhearts. I'm pretty sure different gems/polestones correlate with different orders, so again I'm back on Greatshells being left as some sort of protection for Roshar. Could the Herald that is in charge of Emerald have left them as an emergency source of Stormlight? I dont know, just rambling thoughts here/ 

OB spoilers

Spoiler

 

Could be. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that either Honor or the Heralds put in place some security measures for Roshar. If that's the case, the Reshi Islands would make for some terrifying attack dogs. I also agree that gemhearts are very important and that will continue to be in the case. Just in OB alone we saw an Unmade and a Herald's soul get trapped in a perfect gemstone. Unless they don't devise a new way, I expect that's going to be the number one way the characters will try and trap the other Unmade. But we don't currently know much about "perfect" gemhearts. We don't know if gemhearts can come out of greatshells perfect or if they have to be altered. 

There is also a standing theory that a KR will get more use out of a infused gemstone that belongs to their order. For example Kaladin being a Windrunner, he would get more use out of a infused sapphire than say Shallan would.

We won't know if the Heralds left the greatshell gems behind as an emergency source until we find out if gemhearts  can be infused while still in the body. There have been some implications that gemhearts behave differently and have different properties if they are still attached to a living thing. 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2017 by Kered

[The One Who Connects he/him]

On 12/26/2017 at 3:01 PM, DalinarsThrill said:

They have Emerald (supposedly able to hold the most stormlight) gemhearts.

Mind if I ask where this info comes from? (I remember that emeralds are used to soulcast food, making them the most important, but not necessarily anything about capacity)

On 12/26/2017 at 3:11 PM, Kered said:

We don't know if gemhearts can come out of greatshells perfect or if they have to be altered. 

We do know a little:

Quote

Question

Are gemhearts, the gems in those chemically identical to mined gemstones?

Brandon Sanderson

They are very similar. Not 100% chemically identical, they are far more pure for one thing. You would call them the same thing, but you would say "wow, this gem has no impurities." They may have flaws, but no impurities.

---

On 12/26/2017 at 0:34 PM, DalinarsThrill said:

I feel like [Stormlight] is a very important aspect.

Biggest understatement I've heard in centuries.

On 7/18/2017 at 8:14 PM, The One Who Connects said:

Highstorms are the source of Crem and Stormlight. Without those two things, Roshar grinds to a halt. I could make a flow-chart of just how ruined Roshar would be.

No Stormlight, no Gemstones. No gemstones, no Fabrials. No Fabrials, no Soulcast grain. Malnutrition, Mass Depopulation, Societal Collapse.
No Infused Gemstones, their use as currency goes out the window b/c counterfeits. Economic Collapse. (No use as lights anymore either)
No Stormlight, no ambient Investiture. No ambient Investiture, no high healthiness. Medical Pandemics out the wazoo, Societal Collapse x2.
No Soulcasters, old-fashioned way only. You think the Desolations sent them back to the Stone Age? Just you wait.
No Infused Gems, no Fabrials. No Fabrials, no Spanreeds, no widespread communications.
No Stormlight, no Gemhearts. Greatshells as a whole could go extinct because they can't pupate anymore. No Lanceryns, no Chasmfiends, the Reshi Isles sink to the bottom of the sea(depending on how long the Tai-Na's legs are)
If the Apex predators go, their food source grows in population, and then overconsumes it's own food source, they go extinct from lack of food, and the cycle continues with a lower predator. It's a ripple effect, leading to multiple extinctions, since there's hardly any grass to support a herbivorous population boom if they lose their predators.
Mass extinctions, no horses. No Spanreeds or Horses, no transfer of information. Societal Collapse x3, Go directly to the Dark Ages, do not pass Go, do not collect $200.
No animal kingdom, no fish. Assuming the Reshi Isles haven't sank, the starving survivors will certainly wish they had.
No Stormlight, no Listener Forms(they need Stormlight for their Spren bond right?). Entire way of life gone in a flash.
We have a WoB that Stormlight helps plants grow. I can't imagine what slower plant growth would do to the animal ecology, much less the human one.

So that's humanity collapsing economically, medically, technologically, agriculturally, and societally. The Parshendi way of life falls apart, as they'd be locked in birthform. If they aren't born in Mateform/Slaveform, they'd go extinct. Greatshells go extinct, potentially causing trickle-down extinction of the animal kingdom itself. Forget the conflict with Odium. Odium's entire existence becomes irrelevant if Stormlight disappears.

As for your Chasmfiend ideas, I'm not sure I buy into it. Theoretically, they should predate the Shards arrival, just as the Parshendi do.

Edited December 30, 2017 by The One Who Connects

[DalinarsThrill he/him]

Mind if I ask where this info comes from? (I remember that emeralds are used to soulcast food, making them the most important, but not necessarily anything about capacity) <----- Not sure how to insert only this as a quote, sorry I'm still new here!

As for your answer I think it was mentioned a few times in OB. I'd have to go back and find an exact quote, but from what I remember something was said about this. Kaladin and the gang using them to open oathgates and such. If another gem was able to hold more stormlight you would think that they would have taken them and not the Emeralds. 

Your response is fantastic. I love the longevity and intricacy of it! 

[Bort he/him]

I think I know which part you mean, where Bridge Four get the emeralds from the royal reserve for Windrunner training? They're big, because they are chasmfiend gemhearts, and they are emeralds, because they are the emergency reserve in case they are needed for food. It's not because they hold stormlight more efficiently than other gems, although their sheer size probably means they do hold more stormlight then other gems. Also, the larger the gemstone is, the less likely it is to break when used in soulcasting, so the enormous gemhearts of the chasmfiends will last longer.

I'm also pretty sure the chasmfiends predated humans on Roshar.