Realmantics: Why can air be soulcast?

[Shaukan-son-Hasweth he/him]

So,
Shai teaches us that in forgery realmantics is very important. You can't just forge one stone out of the wall. The wall wants to be seen as a whole because people view it as a complete construct not as single bricks.

Ithink that concept is awesome and always assumed that soulcasting worked in the same way. As far as we know from Kazas interlude or from Shallans adeventures soulcasting works by conversing with the objects cognitve representation and bribing it with stormlight to change. When Shallan tries to soulcast Stick, it is insistant it is a Stick. Because people view it as one. in general we see people transform complete objects not just parts trough soulcasting.

But When Jasnah fixes the wall in Oathbringer or when the ardents create Buildings they soulcast them from air. But don't people view the air as one object? What seperates the air in the shape of a house that will transform from the air around it?

Does it just take more stormlight or practice to do such things? I found the foundations of realmantics to be pretty cool limitations to magic because it feels both mystical and scientific.

Do you have an explaination for this?

[Quantus he/him]

A lot of this comes from the skill of the Soulcaster to be able to conceptualize and then converse with smaller pieces. I assume fluid things are more versatile than others, though, like water or air.  Shallan is clearly a single entity, for example, but Jasnah was able to soulcast just her Blood that time; there was also the Soulcaster Kaza that soulcast a piece of the giant windblade stone surrounding Aimia which she said was a matter of her advanced skill.  

In general though, it appears that it is "easier" (but not actually easy) for a Soulcaster to target one piece of a Whole than to externally force multiple things to conceive of themselves as a single collective whole like a Building (which would probably a more long-term public/society identity).  And Jasnah mentioned that the style of Negotiation can vary wildly from essence to essence, and that Air is particularly difficult.  I took that to be because Air would have a less stable personal Identity so it would be hard to convince it to settle into a different one.

 

[+Harrycrapper]

I believe the perspective of the Soulcaster is also important. For example, in Mistborn when someone burns A-Steal or A-Iron they see metal objects connected to themselves with blue lines. If they try hard enough, they can perceive individual pieces of metal in objects like when Wax pushes a specific part of a bullet. Most people on Roshar probably don't understand that air is really a lot of small objects instead of one planet encompassing object. But, Jasnah knows this and is able to perceive the air as pieces of oxygen which likely makes it easier to influence with Soulcasting.  

[Frustration he/him]

There are multiple reasons and I don't think any one particular one is correct.

1. Jasnah is unusually skilled
2. When anyone soulcasts Air they are ususally turning it to stone, though one time it was oil, bith of which are pure essences and are thus easier to soulcast
3. A lot of people don't overly think about the air so it's possible that it has a much weaker cognitive acspect than other things.

[LewsTherinTelescope]

Seems like it is difficult, but doable if you have a firm enough will.

Quote

She willed steps to Soulcast beneath her feet. Individual axi of air lined up and packed next to each other, then Soulcast into stone—though in spite of the realms being linked, this was difficult. Air was amorphous, even in concept. People thought of it as the sky, or a breath, or a gust of wind, or a storm, or just “the air.” It liked to be free, difficult to define.

Yet, with a firm command and a concept of what she wanted, Jasnah made steps form beneath her feet.

Additionally, Kaza explains that while it's easier to Soulcast a whole object, it's possible to Soulcast a portion as well if you're skilled enough.

Quote

“Can you destroy one?” the captain asked her.

“No. They are much larger than you indicated.”

“But—”

“I can make a hole in them, Captain. It is easier to Soulcast an entire object, but I am no ordinary Soulcaster. I have begun to see the dark sky and the second sun, the creatures that lurk, hidden, around the cities of men.”

Edited April 2, 2021 by LewsTherinTelescope