Soulcasters in Shadesmar?

[Jasqueen]

So what do soulcasters look like in the cognitive realm? Dead eyes? Maybe deadeye inkspren?

How has Shallon, Navani, and/or Jasnah not thought to take a quick peek at one of their world’s biggest mysteries?

[Frustration]

22 minutes ago, Jasqueen said:

So what do soulcasters look like in the cognitive realm? Dead eyes? Maybe deadeye inkspren?

How has Shallon, Navani, and/or Jasnah not thought to take a quick peek at one of their world’s biggest mysteries?

They look like a Radiant spren but different.

[Jasqueen]

What kind of radiant spren? Different how?

[Seloun]

Short answer, they did take a peek at them:

Quote

But was that really true? Or could she, with study, eventually discover their secrets? For years, they’d assumed no spren were trapped in Soulcasting devices. But with the Oathgates, Navani could travel into Shadesmar—and everything in the Physical Realm reflected there. Human beings manifested as floating candle flames. Spren manifested as larger, or more complete versions of what was seen in the Physical Realm.

Soulcasters manifested as small unresponsive spren, hovering with their eyes closed. So the Soulcasters did have a captured spren. A Radiant spren, judging by their shape. Intelligent, rather than the more animal-like spren captured to power normal fabrials.

Sanderson, Brandon. Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive) . Tom Doherty Associates. Kindle Edition. 

This is as much detail as we get, I believe. This is from early in the book, before Navani realizes that the Soulcasters are actually the spren themselves, and that soulcasters don't have captured spren.

Quote

Raboniel hummed a rhythm. “I am a quick learner.” She gestured to the notes on Navani’s desk. “In the past, my kind found it difficult to persuade spren to manifest themselves in the Physical Realm as devices. It seems Voidspren are not as naturally … self-sacrificing as those of Honor or Cultivation.”

Navani blinked as the implications of that sank in. Suddenly a dozen loose threads in her mind tied together, forming a tapestry. An explanation. That was why the fabrials of the tower—the pumps, the climbing mechanisms—didn’t have gemstones with captive spren. Storms … that was the answer to Soulcasting devices.

Awespren burst around her in a ring of blue smoke. Soulcasters didn’t hold spren because they were spren. Manifesting in the Physical Realm like Shardblades. Spren became metal on this side. Somehow the ancient spren had been coaxed into manifesting as Soulcasters instead of Blades?

Sanderson, Brandon. Rhythm of War (The Stormlight Archive) . Tom Doherty Associates. Kindle Edition. 

So not quite like deadeye, but in a coma-like state instead.

[quackquack]

We have shardblades represented as dead eyes in the cognitive realm.  Shardblades are sapien radiant spren.  

Shardplate does not manifest in the cognitive realm.  It's made of lesser non sapien spren.  

Soulcasters are represented as small closed eyes, unresponsive spren. Not dead eyes.  This leads me to believe their sapien, as they manifest like blades and unlike plate.  

There lack of scratched out eyes lead me to think they arent necessarily a radiant spren.  Or their weren't necessarily betrayed.    

The only other unique spren I can think of, are the oath gate spren.  I dont think they are related though. 

This begs the question what happens if you take a spren captured in a gem I to shadesmar  what happens? Do fabrial work in shadesmar? I cant think of an example of them being used.  

Singers/fused can enter the cognitive realm, and they do have captured spren in their gem heart.   This leads me to believe that captured spren would still be in a gem in shadesmar.  

 

[Jasqueen]

11 hours ago, quackquack said:

There lack of scratched out eyes lead me to think they arent necessarily a radiant spren.  Or their weren't necessarily betrayed

So here’s the thing, we know from the “dead eye” cryptic that it looks different to a dead eye honorspren looks. But! We haven’t seen a deadeye inkspren, yet....unless you know, we have in those soulcasters.  

Edited December 5, 2020 by Jasqueen

[Jasqueen]

13 hours ago, Seloun said:

Soulcasters manifested as small unresponsive spren, hovering with their eyes closed. So the Soulcasters did have a captured spren. A Radiant spren, judging by their shape. Intelligent, rather than the more animal-like spren captured to power normal fabrials.

 

This was a badass answer. I’m listening  the audiobook and that’s how I missed it. Thanks!