Theory: A Different Essence-Surge Arrangement

[Tempus]

Alright, got a chunk of time to write my response, finally. I have a number of issues with this theory, which I will attempt to enumerate below, in no particular order. I'll only be addressing Part I.

 

 

First Issue: The surges are connected to the Orders/Essences

 

The basic premise of your theory is based on the Knights Radiant Chart. In the table of ten essences, each surge is connected to the two corresponding essence that embodies the order of Knights Radiant that they are associated with. Thus, each Surge is associated with two Essences.

 

This, however, doesn't seem to be true. I maintain the surges are not associated with Essences directly. There are a few things of note here. The first is, Surgebinders can absorb Stormlight from any gemstone to use with their Surge. A minor point, but as gemstones are directly connected in the table of Essences, it's relevant. The more major point is regarding Fabrials. Fabrials directly apply surges via gemstones. However, the type of gemstone is irrelevant for the Surge used; instead, it modifies the effect. Soulcasting Fabrials, for example, can only transform things when the slotted gemstone matches the essence of the desired result. Indeed, accidental Soulcasting such as Shallan's first instance seems to produce the Essence associated directly with the gemstone on the table of Essences - this may even be where the 'Essence' originates from in terms of in-world knowledge.

 

So notably, we see examples of specific essence locked relationships that can access any Surge, and no in-text support for the attachment of two Essences to a Surge in the fashion of the Knights Radiant Chart. So what does Tallow have to do with Transformation? Nothing at all. You are imputing a causal relationship here, that just doesn't seem to exist. The Surges are not reflections of the Essences as far as I can tell. I have brown hair, and brown is the colour of mud, but that doesn't mean I am made of mud. Or even hair. Hairmud man! Worst superpower ever.

 

Second Issue: Too much meddling, not enough reason

 

In your theory, Tanavast makes a few key changes. Firstly, he 'adds' two Essences to Surgebinding completely. This has the side effect of CREATING two completely new Surges, according to you. Secondly, he flips an entire set of four Surges and reorders them. Thirdly, the derived Surges as you propose are shuffled around - Cohesion and Gravitation are the only two Surges that retain their 'proper' associations. The rest are scattered with honestly zero pattern. So, Tanavast skewed the system by making thirteen different massive changes. Many of which have no particular reason for them (I'm not buying into the purely speculative overpowered thing).

 

Our only other example of a Shard modifying the system beyond it's normal parameters to accommodate something would be Allomancy, where Atium/Malatium were replacing Cadmium/Bendalloy. This was simple - a one step substitution, of two metals with Temporal effects for two others with Temporal effects. It's unclear whether the substitution even made Cadmium/Bendalloy Allomantically inert, or simply made Atium/Malatium mistings en lieu of Cadmium/Bendalloy ones (Mistborns could potentially burn em' all). In essence, the change was simple, straightforward, rational, and limited.

 

And this is what we're dealing with. The books are written by an author, Brandon, who looks at things logically, and only deviates when he has a reason to do so. The changes you propose are overly complex and inelegant, and generally do not seem to be designed with a concrete rationale in mind.

 

Third Issue: Thirty Systems

 

The last big issue I have here is that there are thirty systems of magic, grouped into three groups of ten (presumably). We've seen charts for at least two of these groups of ten. In your theory, Tanavast modifies Surgebinding to include two new essences/surges. First off, one of those you directly relate to Cultivation. So was Cultivation involved with the meddling too? Apparently so. Secondly, if Surgebinding originally had eight surges, why are there thirty systems now? Did Honor and Cultivation also modify the other systems to include new things? So not just one group of ten, but all three?

 

Does that include Voidbinding? Assuming the purple chart is a Voidbinding chart, it mirrors the Knight Radiant chart surges exactly. Did Honor change those too? Does he have power over Voidbinding? And if he changed those, why are Fabrial surges still independent of the gemstones used or the essences produced, as noted up at the top? Yet there would be ten surges in that system as well, to fill out the thirty.

 

It simply doesn't match up.

 

 

Conclusion:

 

I believe that the basic premise of your theory, that the Essences are somehow causative of the Surges, or directly related to them in a dependent fashion, is mistaken and has no support. Conversely support exists for them being independent, in the known examples of Fabrials. Also, the modifications you propose to the system do not seem to have an elegant and simple rationale, nor do they seem to match other existing world conditions in the other magic systems, which is generally incongruent with Brandon's writing style. So I just can't dig this theory.