What's going on with the lifespren near Lasting Integrity?

[+mdross81]

Was working on a different theory when I came across this brief bit from Adolin's perspective in RoW 75:

Quote

The other direction had its own less dramatic charms. Rocky obsidian shores gave way to growing forests of glass, lifespren bobbing among the trees. Lifespren were larger here, though still small enough that he wouldn't have been able to see them save for the bright green glow they gave off.

These lights blinked off and on, a behavior that seemed unique to this region of Shadesmar. Watching, Adolin could swear there was a coordination to their glows. They'd blink in rippling waves, synchronized. As if to a beat.

So when he sees this, he's looking south from Lasting Integrity towards the solid ground that corresponds to the Southern Depths in the Physical Realm. What do we think might be causing the lifespren to blink on and off in a coordinated wave in this area?

The only clue I can think of is the scene where we see how Rlain has taught the ardents at Urithiru to drum a specific rhythm to create an organic fabrial. The rhythm seems to draw Stormlight out of the gemstones, infusing the lifespren, which then presumably use the surge of progression to make the plants grow.

But what would be causing a similar phenomenon to occur in this region of Shadesmar? Is there something in the ocean in the Physcial Realm (or on the land in the CR) that is making a similar rhythm to interact with the lifespren? And is this truly unique to just this area of Shadesmar?

Curious whether others have any ideas on what this could be.

[Halyo_Alex]

Wait... Didn't you already post this a few months ago? I swear i've read this a while back.

 

Anyway, the only things I can think of are particularly crackpot, like, all the Lifespren are a hivemind and pulsing to the same rhythm as the ones at the Tower, for example.

[+mdross81]

21 minutes ago, Halyo_Alex said:

Wait... Didn't you already post this a few months ago? I swear i've read this a while back.

 

Anyway, the only things I can think of are particularly crackpot, like, all the Lifespren are a hivemind and pulsing to the same rhythm as the ones at the Tower, for example.

I didn't post it previously and I couldn't find any topics directly discussing this (but I only looked quickly).

And yeah, I don't have any particularly solid ideas either. I mean, Adolin is looking toward the Expanse of Vibrance (which I think is confirmed to be Nalthis) - so maybe there's something there with vibrations emanating? Or maybe we'll see some kind of underwater ecosystem where there's a an aquatic species that plays the rhythm to make plants or coral grow and then feeds on the plants or other fauna that's attracted? But that likely wouldn't explain why it only happens in this region.

[Halyo_Alex]

30 minutes ago, mdross81 said:

I didn't post it previously and I couldn't find any topics directly discussing this (but I only looked quickly).

Huh... Shrugs in Enlightened Truthwatcher

30 minutes ago, mdross81 said:

And yeah, I don't have any particularly solid ideas either. I mean, Adolin is looking toward the Expanse of Vibrance (which I think is confirmed to be Nalthis) - so maybe there's something there with vibrations emanating? Or maybe we'll see some kind of underwater ecosystem where there's a an aquatic species that plays the rhythm to make plants or coral grow and then feeds on the plants or other fauna that's attracted? But that likely wouldn't explain why it only happens in this region.

To be fair, Nalthis does seem like a place that might cause that... Hues and Harmonics, anyone? Maybe they're pulsing at the rate that Nalthians think "green" pulses at. I'm almost definitely wrong, but who cares, it's a fun thought until we get more information.

[ElMonoEstupendo]

A few possibilities:

1. Nergaoul was sunk into the ocean, right? But I suppose there's no reason to expect it to interact with lifespren like this. We don't know where Ba-Ado-Mishram ended up yet...
2. They're responding to a vast, coordinated lifeform. Perhaps a Sleepless?
3. Rippling waves in a beat implies a lot of Investiture and a point of origin. This reminds me of highstorms and the Everstorm - is there an equivalent for Cultivation, underwater?

 

[+Bzhydack]

On 29.06.2021 at 4:27 PM, mdross81 said:

So when he sees this, he's looking south from Lasting Integrity towards the solid ground that corresponds to the Southern Depths in the Physical Realm. What do we think might be causing the lifespren to blink on and off in a coordinated wave in this area?

I bthink this can be some massive or vast lifeforms - Rosharan equivalent of reef or seaweed field, or shoals (maybe on Roshar are Water Cremlings in Shoals). We are talking about Ocean, this can be anything. Maybe even Santhidyn Breeding Region?

[+mdross81]

7 hours ago, ElMonoEstupendo said:

A few possibilities:

1. Nergaoul was sunk into the ocean, right? But I suppose there's no reason to expect it to interact with lifespren like this. We don't know where Ba-Ado-Mishram ended up yet...
2. They're responding to a vast, coordinated lifeform. Perhaps a Sleepless?
3. Rippling waves in a beat implies a lot of Investiture and a point of origin. This reminds me of highstorms and the Everstorm - is there an equivalent for Cultivation, underwater?

 

The first two of these occurred to me as possibilities. Especially BAM, which had me excited. I hadn't considered the 3rd option you suggest here but I really like the idea of an origin for Cultivation's power on Roshar. I don't know why it would be out in the Southern Depths, but then we just know so little about Cultivation and what she's up to, so it could be.

4 hours ago, Bzhydack said:

I bthink this can be some massive or vast lifeforms - Rosharan equivalent of reef or seaweed field, or shoals (maybe on Roshar are Water Cremlings in Shoals). We are talking about Ocean, this can be anything. Maybe even Santhidyn Breeding Region?

The reef idea seems like a fairly likely, if not super exciting, explanation. And it reminds me of this WoB:

Quote

Straff Venture

Are any of your books' locations (barring Legion) based on real-life places? If so, where? If not, what propels your creative drive to make new worlds?

Brandon Sanderson

All of the keeps in the Mistborn series are based on real structures I've visited. The mists are based on a trip to Idaho, were I drove through a fog bank at high speeds.

Warbreaker's setting was inspired, in part, by a visit to Hawaii.

Much of Roshar is inspired by tidal pools and coral reefs.

17th Shard Forum Q&A (Sept. 26, 2012)

 

[Jondesu]

On 6/29/2021 at 10:57 AM, mdross81 said:

I mean, Adolin is looking toward the Expanse of Vibrance (which I think is confirmed to be Nalthis) - so maybe there's something there with vibrations emanating?

While he may be looking that direction, I doubt he seeing anywhere near far enough for anything to be affected by Nalthis. It’s a long ways off even in Shadesmar.

I like the coral reef idea even if it’s somewhat less exciting than other possibilities. It’s organic. Literally.

[drunkenbotanist]

On 7/2/2021 at 3:30 AM, ElMonoEstupendo said:

Is there an equivalent for Cultivation, underwater?

 

"It was captained by Derethil, who had the ship built to travel through highstorms. The ship sailed into the open ocean in an attempt to find the origin of the Voidbringers. It was shipwrecked on a ring of islands in the middle of the ocean that surrounded a giant whirlpool "where, it is said, the ocean drains".

 

Derethil and his men met a people known as the Uvara, or the People of the Great Abyss. The crew of the Wandersail were welcomed by the Uvara, and the ship was repaired in their shipyards. Eventually, Derethil and the crew uncovered some disturbing aspects of Uvara society and quickly left the islands on the Wandersail, using the momentum of the whirlpool to get them away from it. They were accompanied by a single Uvara woman named Nafti"

 

From https://coppermind.net/wiki/Wandersail

 

I'm not up for figuring out if the geography matches up (could origin of voidbringers mean they traveled to the origin of storms? And would this be the right direction?)

[+mdross81]

3 hours ago, drunkenbotanist said:

The ship sailed into the open ocean in an attempt to find the origin of the Voidbringers. It was shipwrecked on a ring of islands in the middle of the ocean that surrounded a giant whirlpool "where, it is said, the ocean drains".

 

3 hours ago, drunkenbotanist said:

I'm not up for figuring out if the geography matches up (could origin of voidbringers mean they traveled to the origin of storms? And would this be the right direction?)

This … actually could be a possibility. I went back to the section in OB 102 where an ashspren in Shadesmar is explaining the sudden arrival of voidspren:

Quote

“What?” Azure prompted.

“Shadesmar has been changing these last months,” Pattern explained. “Voidspren have arrived mysteriously just west of the Nexus of Imagination. Near Marat or Tukar on your side. Hmm … and they have sailed up and seized the perpendicularity.

So Derethil was searching for the origin of the Voidbringers. It’s mentioned that he had fought against the Voidbringers and so maybe he had good info on where they come from at the start of a Desolation.

And in OB we hear that the voidspren who have recently arrived in Shadesmar appear to be coming from near the area of Tukar/Marat, which is also around where Adolin is viewing the coordinated blinking lifespren. There might be a connection there. Maybe the giant whirlpool surrounded by a ring of islands is a real location and is responsible for the blinking? I don’t think it would be the origin of storms, but it could be related to the point where the Fused arrive at the start of a Desolation. 

[drunkenbotanist]

4 hours ago, mdross81 said:

 

This … actually could be a possibility. I went back to the section in OB 102 where an ashspren in Shadesmar is explaining the sudden arrival of voidspren:

So Derethil was searching for the origin of the Voidbringers. It’s mentioned that he had fought against the Voidbringers and so maybe he had good info on where they come from at the start of a Desolation.

And in OB we hear that the voidspren who have recently arrived in Shadesmar appear to be coming from near the area of Tukar/Marat, which is also around where Adolin is viewing the coordinated blinking lifespren. There might be a connection there. Maybe the giant whirlpool surrounded by a ring of islands is a real location and is responsible for the blinking? I don’t think it would be the origin of storms, but it could be related to the point where the Fused arrive at the start of a Desolation. 

And if the fused come through a perpendicularity, Cultivation's makes a bunch of sense

 

Also, kind of an aside, but correct me if I'm wrong but we don't actually have too much information that Cultivation is super disapproving of the war do we? 

 

[mathiau]

On 29/06/2021 at 4:57 PM, mdross81 said:

I didn't post it previously and I couldn't find any topics directly discussing this (but I only looked quickly).

And yeah, I don't have any particularly solid ideas either. I mean, Adolin is looking toward the Expanse of Vibrance (which I think is confirmed to be Nalthis) - so maybe there's something there with vibrations emanating? Or maybe we'll see some kind of underwater ecosystem where there's a an aquatic species that plays the rhythm to make plants or coral grow and then feeds on the plants or other fauna that's attracted? But that likely wouldn't explain why it only happens in this region.

The identity of the Expanse of Vibrance is not actually confirmed to be Nalthis but we don't have a better guess (like Taldain was our best guess for the Expanse of the Broken Sky before RoW). Anyway if it is Nalthis it will be because of vibrant colours, not because of vibrations

On 29/06/2021 at 5:30 PM, Halyo_Alex said:

Huh... Shrugs in Enlightened Truthwatcher

To be fair, Nalthis does seem like a place that might cause that... Hues and Harmonics, anyone? Maybe they're pulsing at the rate that Nalthians think "green" pulses at. I'm almost definitely wrong, but who cares, it's a fun thought until we get more information.

Probably not, green shouldn't pulse on Nalthis anymore than steel does on Scadrial (when not being burned/stored/ect)