The Aonic Equation of Elantris and the Shaod

[+TheFoxQR]

There isn't much terminology for what I'm about to discuss, so I'm just talking about it in terms we do know - it might be hard to read because of that fact, but bear with me. If what I write here doesn't make much sense to you right now, come back after a couple of days when this statement is removed. I may have improved the write up significantly.

Premise:

1. Elantris is a simple Aonic equation made up of two Aons - Aon Rao (Spirit) and Aon Ela (Focus, Center)
2. Aon Rao, when used in other Aonic Equations acts as a power amplifier. (Why? I suspect that amplification of power is a side effect, and the actual effect involves the spiritual realm somehow - it adds a sort of spiritual weight to any equation, making an imprint of the idea back into the spiritual - thereby increasing efficiency and thus output. A similar principle seems to be at play on Roshar with Lightweaver Illusions)
3. The effect of the Aonic Equation of Elantris is to focus the Dor and to increase the power/efficiency of all other Aons drawn in it's vicinity. This effect is strongest within Elantris, and weakens the farther you go from it.
4. There isn't an Aon Shao anywhere in or around Elantris - making me think that Elantris isn't a direct cause of the Transformation, but rather a side-effect of some other phenomena that Elantris causes.

Let's doscuss the nature of Aons in brief. Aons are cognitive structures that allows you to make the right connections. As such, they have to include stuff that would be in the general background cognitive perception of the concept they represent. Thus, the Aon for Water uses the lake and the Aredell river to cognitively conceptualise water. Similarly, the Aon for wood incorporates the location of actual Arelene woods. Aon Reod (Punishment) look like a crown of thorns. The Aon has to conceptually make sense. Let's take a look at Aon Ela and Aon Rao in this sense.

All Aons "pull" the Dor, and shape it. Aon Ela pulls the Dor to it's center. I'm asking you to think of this as an increase in pressure in the Dor, focused at it's center. Aon Rao serves one primary purpose - it creates a conceptual channel into the spiritual to the idea of the land of Arelon (as this idea is incorporated into the shape of all Aons), and connects all of the Dor in that land to the Ela drawn. This has an effect of creating a much stronger baseline pull in the Dor towards the center of the drawn Ela, increasing the "pressure" significantly. When any other Aon is drawn in it's vicinity, this existing pressure adds to the pull created by that new Aon, in effect pulling the Dor out much more strongly, thus increasing the power drawn out of that Aon. Keep this in your mind when you read Elantris next and the effects will make more sense.

Everything on the Spiritual seems to exist in two forms - as ideas and connections between ideas. So there is an idea of every person, an identity of who they are. And then there will be literally thousands of two-way connections between them and all the different spiritual ideals conceptually connected to them. One such connection of import is their connection to the land of Arelon. This would naturally be strongest in those who are born there, but even people who are simply travelling there will form some level of connection to the spiritual ideal of that land. In other words, we can say that there will be a connection between the spiritweb of the person and the spiritweb of the land of Arelon - a channel of sorts.

The Shaod could then be a side effect of this pressure. Kind of like how pressure beneath the Earth's crust will find weak spots and periodically explode outwards to relieve itself (the technical term for these is "Earth Pimples", but in the common tongue they have been called Volcanoes), the cognitive nature of the Dor, it's connection to the land, the Spiritual channel created by Aon Rao, and the massive amounts of pressure created by the Aon Rao enhanced Aon Ela will all combine to periodically push the Dor along the "strongest" spiritual connections that are connected to it and into the spiritwebs of individuals who are on the other end of that connection. This sudden infusion of the Dor will significantly warp their spiritwebs - an effect which cascades out into the physical. This is what they call the Shaod.

Just like once a Volcano is formed, it takes much less pressure to push stuff out of it, once you get taken by the Shaod, your connection to Arelon has been immensely expanded. This makes it much easier for the Dor to be channeled through you.

Does this make sense to anyone, or is the write-up too confusing?

TLDR: Getting "taken" by the Shaod might be equivalent to the formation of a new volcano on the Earth's crust. Elantris the city creates and maintains a constant pressure on the Dor, which makes it easier for the Dor to flow through when the metaphorical tap is opened by drawing an Aon in the air. A side effect of this is that the pressure constantly wants to relieve itself, and sometimes it does so by flowing through someone's connection to the land. The result of this is the Shaod.

Edited August 5, 2019 by TheFoxQR

[Fezzik]

Unfortunately, Elantrians pre-dated Elantris. No word on what they would have been called, though.

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/133-elantris-annotations/#e2173

[+TheFoxQR]

3 hours ago, John203 said:

Unfortunately, Elantrians pre-dated Elantris. No word on what they would have been called, though.

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/133-elantris-annotations/#e2173

Nope. That does not say Elantrians pre-clude Elantris.

It says that Aons preclude Elantris, and to draw them in the air you need to be an Elantrian.

However, the existance of Elantris the City, and the fact that Raoden's carving a chasm line worked, is that Aons don't necessarily have to be drawn in the air - they can be carved with intent, which anyone should be able to do. They just can't draw Aons in the air, without the extra bit of Dor constantly pumping through their spiritual veins. In fact an Elantrian is basically a pen, with the Dor their ink.

The idea is pre-Elantris scholars created the Aonic Equation that is Elantris to make things easier for them, and the Shaod came later, as a side effect. Whether they knew that would happen or not is a different thing entirely.

Or, you can maybe manually get taken by the Shaod, by putting yourself at the center of an Aonic Equation.

Quote

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

The Shaod is an effect of Elantris.

Alloy of Law 17th Shard Q&A (Nov. 5, 2011)

 

Edited August 3, 2019 by TheFoxQR

[Fezzik]

33 minutes ago, TheFoxQR said:

Aons don't necessarily have to be drawn in the air - they can be carved with intent, which anyone should be able to do.

Nope. Anyone could type code using Aons, but an Elantrian would have to re-type it and execute it. (This crops up (outside the cosmere) again in Rithmatist; Joel knows what he is doing, but Melody has to trace the lines after him to make it work.) You must be an elantrian to access the Dor through Aons.

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/124-drogakrolowpl-interview/#e1824

[+TheFoxQR]

2 minutes ago, John203 said:

Nope. Anyone could type code using Aons, but an Elantrian would have to re-type it and execute it. (This crops up (outside the cosmere) again in Rithmatist; Joel knows what he is doing, but Melody has to trace the lines after him to make it work.) You must be an elantrian to access the Dor through Aons.

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/124-drogakrolowpl-interview/#e1824

I... don't know. I'm leaning towards there being a misinterpretation of that WoB. It seems a little bit of a stretch that only the Shaod allows you to draw Aons, when Soulstamping - on a different continent - can be done by anyone, even though technically it's the exact same magic, just one where people discovered patterns for the soul, rather than the physical.

There is also a bit of a chicken and egg problem - if the Shaod is not dependent on the Aonic Equation of Elantris the city, why was adding the chasm line to it needed to fix the Shoad and allow it to complete? If the Shaod is required to draw Aons - period - then how did people discover the first Aons before the city of Elantris? It's like, one can't exist before the other. If the Shoad is independent of the city Aon, then nothing you do to the city would fix it. On the otherhand, if the fixing the city Aon fixed the Shaod, then there can't be a Shaod before the city came into play.

The other thing is, Aons work the way they do because the Dor is in the Cognitive - ergo Aons should not predate the Splintering of Aona and Skai, when the Dor didn't exist at all.

Hopefully we'll see.

[Fezzik]

1 hour ago, TheFoxQR said:

Soulstamping - on a different continent - can be done by anyone

You need the proper bloodline/connection to Maipon to make a soulstamp, (I assume similar prerequisites to get chosen by the Shaod). I assume the same regional/bloodline requirements apply to Dakhor, but on the part of the sacrifice or monk (or both) I don't know.

I think the Shaod began choosing people,

People figure out Aons (super weak)

Elantris is built to amplify power 

Modern day(all that they can remember) Elantrians create powerful Aons

Edited August 3, 2019 by John203
Added timeline

[+TheFoxQR]

25 minutes ago, John203 said:

You need the proper bloodline/connection to Maipon to make a soulstamp, (I assume similar prerequisites to get chosen by the Shaod).

I haven't heard of the bloodline thingy, can you give me a source?

The connection requirement I understand, and that's sort of the whole crux of my argument up there.

And for all the other stuff, I gave you my argument. It works within the magic system. If that isn't enough for you, and you still want to believe in something external and arcane which we can't understand/know because Brandon didn't give us the tools for, then go ahead.

[+Harrycrapper]

I bet there is a way to use AonDor using whatever the equivalent of a God Metal is on Sel. This is a common thing in most of the magic systems we've seen by Brandon, there are multiple ways to access them and the physical manifestation of the Shards seems to be the easiest way to gain access. On Scadrial you can be snapped by the Mists, be a descendant of a Lerasium mistborn, burn Lerasium yourself, or the medallions and the Bands of Mourning. Stormlight has the Honorblades, the Radiant Spren, or fabrials. While God Metals are tough to find, they are usually the easiest way to gain access to a given shards magic system once you find them. I could imagine the proto-Elantirans having access to something like that back before Aona was Shattered.

[Fezzik]

This is the coppermind's source, which was not nearly as specific as I thought. Just because you are from maipon and wherever Chayshan is practiced does not qualify you to learn them, there is something additional.

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/10-calamity-chicago-signing/#e6563

[cometaryorbit]

"The Shaod is an effect of Elantris" I always took to mean, originally becoming an AonDor user worked a different way & was much more widespread (maybe just a matter of learning how) but they were much weaker. When Elantris was built the Elantrians started glowing and their Aons became more powerful, but from then on many fewer people became Elantrians.

8 hours ago, John203 said:

This is the coppermind's source, which was not nearly as specific as I thought. Just because you are from maipon and wherever Chayshan is practiced does not qualify you to learn them, there is something additional.

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/10-calamity-chicago-signing/#e6563

That WOB doesn't even necessarily prove that, it might just be that many people can't do those arts because they never learned how. Probably it requires something special, but I'm not sure we can take that as definite.