Jasnah’s Soulcasting

[Theoryspren]

I just wanted to ask why is Jasnah all of a sudden so good at soulcasting botanical things that Kaladin trusts her to make medicine. I mean remember when at the end of tWoK when she made that foul thing of strawberry jam. Medicine needs to be precise and if you don’t use the right chemical compound it will at least not work, at most poison/kill someone. As we know she is horrible at organic substances so why would anyone trust her to make the correct medicinal compound so that it could be safely used.

Edited February 4, 2021 by Theoryspren

[AquaRegia he/him]

I have the impression that we're expected to think she's been practicing, although we certainly never see it.  I am a bit frustrated at what a mystery Jasnah still is, but it's not like the books are too short and could use some filler - there is a LOT going on behind the scenes.  Plus, she's got her own flashback POV novel coming.

Also, in principle, "medicine" could mean 100% pure compounds (like aspirin or acetaminophen), which would be MUCH simpler to soulcast than a complex mixture like strawberry jam.

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

She may have sworn more oaths since Kharbranth, allowing her to gain greater control over her abilities. Do we know what Oath she was on in Kharbranth? She didn’t seem to have plate in her deleted scene.

[Frustration]

34 minutes ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

She may have sworn more oaths since Kharbranth, allowing her to gain greater control over her abilities. Do we know what Oath she was on in Kharbranth? She didn’t seem to have plate in her deleted scene.

based on WoB and the geometric lines around her, probably Oath 4.

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

Just now, Frustration said:

based on WoB and the geometric lines around her, probably Oath 4.

We only see those in book three though. The question is if she had them in book one. There’s no mention of cousin Spren in her deleted scene, and it makes sense that she’d have sworn an oath while in Shadesmar.

[Frustration]

Just now, Kingsdaughter613 said:

We only see those in book three though. The question is if she had them in book one. There’s no mention of cousin Spren in her deleted scene, and it makes sense that she’d have sworn an oath while in Shadesmar.

Oh, duh, I thought you were say Theylan city for some reason.

[+Invocation]

The issue with the strawberry jam was that she had never had it before, so she didn't know how to make an approximation. Meanwhile she's been absorbing knowledge about fancy medicines on-world and off-world through her time in Shadesmar and using all the resources being the sister of the king of one of the most powerful nations of Roshar gives her, and anything she missed off-screen she'd be able to catch up once she's queen and be just fine.

[Dreamwa1ker she/her]

12 hours ago, Theoryspren said:

I just wanted to ask why is Jasnah all of a sudden so good at soulcasting botanical things that Kaladin trusts her to make medicine. I mean remember when at the end of tWoK when she made that foul thing of strawberry jam. Medicine needs to be precise and if you don’t use the right chemical compound it will at least not work, at most poison/kill someone. As we know she is horrible at organic substances so why would anyone trust her to make the correct medicinal compound so that it could be safely used.

Doesn't she also literally save Shallan by Soulcasting her blood to remove the poison in the same scene? That seems pretty medical.

[Crucible of Shards he/him]

50 minutes ago, Dreamwa1ker said:

Doesn't she also literally save Shallan by Soulcasting her blood to remove the poison in the same scene? That seems pretty medical.

Yes, but I believe she says that since blood is one of the essences, the skill required is much lower.

[18th Shard he/him]

Medicine also tends to be a single substance in many cases, whereas jam is a mixture of the fruit and sugar.

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

4 hours ago, 18th Shard said:

Medicine also tends to be a single substance in many cases, whereas jam is a mixture of the fruit and sugar.

Fruit, sugar, pectin, and water, actually. Strawberries don’t have their own pectin, so the gelling agent probably came from a lemon or orange jam. Citron Jam is also very good for it.

So to soulcast strawberry jam Jasnah would have had to soulcast two kinds of jam since most jams actually contain a second jam as an essential ingredient.

Yes, I make my own jams.

[+Cyprian Wiley]

When Jasnah made it look like she used her Soulcaster to Shallan the Smokestone broke. Was this just a coincidence? If never seen a stone being broken because another radiant used it. And as far as I undrrstand they can not specify from wich stone they want to suck in the stormlight. 

So she already had an immense control over her soulcasting and usage of investiture in general in book one.

[+Bzhydack he/him]

1 hour ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

So to soulcast strawberry jam Jasnah would have had to soulcast two kinds of jam since most jams actually contain a second jam as an essential ingredient.

Not even mention food is most complicated thing to soulcast. Weve seen practicly only soulcasted grain, and has relativly simple structure.

Another factor - strawberry jam is probably one of the rarest food on Roshar. Jasnah is kings sister, but probably even she didnt eat jam many times (correct me, but I remember she even doesnt like Jams), so she simply dont know how to visualise it (mean: Comand).

[Bejarden he/him]

1 hour ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

Fruit, sugar, pectin, and water, actually. Strawberries don’t have their own pectin, so the gelling agent probably came from a lemon or orange jam. Citron Jam is also very good for it.

So to soulcast strawberry jam Jasnah would have had to soulcast two kinds of jam since most jams actually contain a second jam as an essential ingredient.

Yes, I make my own jams.

The medicine was probably also very complicated 

and being a radiant she probably hasn't gotten sick in years and hasn't had any

So how does she know how to make it?

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

Just now, Bejardin1250 said:

The medicine was probably also very complicated 

and being a radiant she probably hasn't gotten sick in years and hasn't had any

So how does she know how to make it?

Medicine can actually be quite simple, especially if she’s just creating the component parts. I doubt Jasnah knows how to make jam.

[+Bzhydack he/him]

Just now, Bejardin1250 said:

So how does she know how to make it?

She can have sample. When she soulcast jam, she soulcast all and she didnt have anything as example.

[Karger he/him]

Practice.  A lot of very rare medications are hard to grow but assuming there is not a time crunch she can repeatedly make the exact same thing over and over again until she gets it right.  Medications can also be quality controlled by a good chemist who would be able to tell Jasnah if she was doing things right.

Edited February 5, 2021 by Karger