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Soulcasting, the perfect crime


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1 hour ago, equinox said:

Is Odium able to say goodbye to the cognitive remnants of Rosharans? He manifested visibly on Roshar, even though he is bound to Braize...

Even bound to Braize, he can still effect the system as a whole. 

Major Mistborn spoilers. 

Spoiler

Questioner

How far does Sazed's power actually extend?

Brandon Sanderson

It is mostly limited to his immediate sphere of influence, so the planet.

Questioner

...But doesn't he move stars at the end?

Brandon Sanderson

No, he moved the planet. His solar system, he can definitely have influence on the whole solar system. But none of the other planets around Scadrial are inhabited.

Firefight Miami signing (Jan. 8, 2015)

 

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Thanks @Calderis. I still don't get how Odium's "prison" works. He is clearly less restricted as a certain other Shard from another series was, but I always imagined his influence is limited. So I guess these limitations rather result from the fact that Odium did not create Roshar and its inhabitants. And of course, he has the Unmade. Could one of them access the Spiritual Realm to investigate the murder?

As murder investigations go, the Alethi have a lot to learn anyway. Adolin was never identified though Sadeas' murder was an unplanned close contact kill without using any magic at all.

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On 4/12/2019 at 9:43 PM, Calderis said:

I thought that bit was most likely referring to an Unmade. 

My assumption was the unmade could glean the information from the cognitive self of the person passing. 

On 4/13/2019 at 0:28 AM, galendo said:

Interesting quote, and thanks for the reference; though with respect to @Pathfinder it's actually almost the opposite of what I suggested.  It sounds like Brandon was thinking of having the Radiants be able to turn their element into anything, while I was imagining the reverse: being able to turn anything into their element.  I can see how the former would have been too same-y.  I wonder if he ever considered my version, though.

Not a bad idea, but it requires the mark to be both unfamiliar with his surroundings and in a sufficiently dangerous location for such an accident to take place.  Not the sort of trick you could use if the mark were at home, or at a friend's house, or at their favorite pub, or really in most locations.  Now if Lightweaving could make things invisible, then you'd be onto something.  But I don't think it can do that.

It could also be due to the fact that the more someone uses the magic, the longer their Cognitive image can stick around.  And it was very clear that Kaza had been using the magic enough for it to make some very significant changes to her.  Not to mention the fact that there's a very real possibility that Odium might take a direct interest.

I found before another WoB about this, that made me think it was being able to transform anything into your element, but I will need to refind it to see if its all in my head lol. 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 4/15/2019 at 0:29 PM, Pathfinder said:

My assumption was the unmade could glean the information from the cognitive self of the person passing. 

There are theories that the primary purpose of Moelach, the death rattle Unmade, isn’t to give people death rattles but instead to glean information from the minds of people as they die. And, this process would result in the dying person getting a glimpse of the Spiritual Realm. So, if you don’t know what Moelach wants to know, then you can’t give him that information when you die. 

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15 hours ago, StrikerEZ said:

There are theories that the primary purpose of Moelach, the death rattle Unmade, isn’t to give people death rattles but instead to glean information from the minds of people as they die. And, this process would result in the dying person getting a glimpse of the Spiritual Realm. So, if you don’t know what Moelach wants to know, then you can’t give him that information when you die. 

So then keeping in line with this thread, do you think soulcasting a person to air would prevent that function for Moelach? Or do you think it could somehow still accomplish gleaning information from the soulcasted person? Genuinely asking your thoughts. 

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7 hours ago, Pathfinder said:

So then keeping in line with this thread, do you think soulcasting a person to air would prevent that function for Moelach? Or do you think it could somehow still accomplish gleaning information from the soulcasted person? Genuinely asking your thoughts. 

I’m not sure. If soulcasting someone completely changes their cognitive aspect, meaning there’s no leftover cognitive shadow once they die, then I think this crime would work. If soulcasting someone counts as a death for the person, the energy released as they die could be harnessed by Moelach. This would be a really interesting question for Brandon.

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16 hours ago, StrikerEZ said:

I’m not sure. If soulcasting someone completely changes their cognitive aspect, meaning there’s no leftover cognitive shadow once they die, then I think this crime would work. If soulcasting someone counts as a death for the person, the energy released as they die could be harnessed by Moelach. This would be a really interesting question for Brandon.

I agree it would be a great question for Brandon. Personally I lean towards it would destroy the person's cognitive aspect as you a literally turning them into air, but got nothing to back that up than my own supposition. Guess only one way to find out! lol

16 hours ago, Lunamor said:

It would also likely make him pretty concerned. :P

Considering all the creepy hemalurgic questions he gets practically on the daily, I think soulcasting murder is the least of his concerns lol

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Okay, but is a Soulcaster soulcasting the person's actual soul, or the soul of their meatbag? Meatbag makes more sense to me, since I can understand meat deciding so easily it will change to fire or crystal, but if trying to get the person to agree to change, I feel like the answer would just be straight up "NO" unless the person was suicidal. As it is, I feel like the meat is being pretty traitorous throwing out the person it houses so readily, but I guess that's what I should expect when it has meat-for-brains.

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1 hour ago, CosmicSieve said:

Okay, but is a Soulcaster soulcasting the person's actual soul, or the soul of their meatbag? Meatbag makes more sense to me, since I can understand meat deciding so easily it will change to fire or crystal, but if trying to get the person to agree to change, I feel like the answer would just be straight up "NO" unless the person was suicidal. As it is, I feel like the meat is being pretty traitorous throwing out the person it houses so readily, but I guess that's what I should expect when it has meat-for-brains.

I would agree if the person reflected in the cognitive realm as a gemstone like everything else. The thing is living things do not. They represent as a flame. So that says to me the flame is the person, not the "meatbag" the person inhabits. As to convincing a person to change, I theorize that you are not speaking to the "person". You are convincing the cognitive aspect to change. So the person isn't aware of the "discussion". Brandon has also said soulcasters (the radiant type) are used to pushing through an object's/person's innate investiture enough that they could probably soulcast a feruchemical metalmind (his reference). In the deleted scene Jasnah commanded the ropes to change. They tried to resist briefly, and she said "you will change" and they did. So I think the person could say no all they want, and if the soulcaster involved has the skill, the will, and the stormlight, that person will change. 

Edited by Pathfinder
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  • 4 weeks later...

New WoB that answers whether or not a radiant soulcaster can soulcast directly from stormlight and what essences:

 

The Forumlurker (paraphrased)

If a Radiant tried to Soulcast directly with the Stormlight from the Highstorm, what essences could they create?

Brandon (paraphrased)

They could basically do whatever they want. There wouldn't be any limitations, but only for Radiant Soulcasters.

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