ChickenBonanza

A short section of thoughts upon the life of dragons, mostly utilizing non-plot information from Isles of the Emberdark. Not an ounce of strict-plot stuff, but in case you wanna keep physiological and worldbuilding spoilers away, I suppose. Some of this information was previously revealed in WoBs, I recall. So really there’s actually no physiological spoilers, ha!

Anyway, in canon, dragons mate and spend the first portion of their lives in human form. Like amphibians, it is described. I, however, would like to suggest a slight variation upon this phenomenon.

Here’s the sitch. Dragons would be able to mate in both their draconic and humanoid forms, and produce offspring in both. Instead of always spending their childhood in solely humanoid form, dragons spend the first portion of their childhood in solely draconic or humanoid depending on what form their parent… produced them in. Weird awkward language.

Later, after the thirty years or whatever, they would gain access to their alternate form, as normal. However, this comes with some neat cultural divisions. Certain canon dragons would say that dragons spend the first portion of their lives in human form in order to learn humility and understanding for less grand life, in accordance with Adonalsium’s wisdom. This would apply to humanoid-born dragon children.

If draconic-born, however, this idea could be flipped on its head. Spending the formative years larger and stronger than most others, perhaps inspiring a pride or superiority over other life-forms. Obtaining access to their human form would mark the start of the time in which they might better infiltrate, command, and manipulate these lesser forms of life. Not a hard rule, necessarily, because their parents could also be perfectly benevolent dragons who simply prefer this method. The same would apply for the ‘canon’ method.

This could lead to a small gulf in dragon culture. Whether a dragon should be born humanoid or draconic, and what lessons they should take away from such. A more selfish type of dragon could be indicative of the draconic-born philosophy, or perhaps a proponent of it.

Very cool, I think. That be all.

Vague WaT talk. Reminded of something by reading a single line on the Kandra wiki page. Invested beings and their ties to planets. It boils down to one major consideration, in my understanding.

If Investiture is attached to a Physical form, then you are golden and you don’t really have to care about getting trapped in planetary systems. Kandra, Allomancers, Elantrians, Sand Masters, even Returned, they are all chilling. Their sDNA resides in a cozy Physical host they can attach to, and therefor don’t Connect to the planet as a Physical anchor. This consideration gets messy, however, when considering beings whose Physical forms are entirely comprised of Investiture, like the Heralds, and any bindings placed upon the whole of a Shard’s Investiture.

I am uncertain if Heralds were bound solely by the latter binding, or if they were also bound by their status as beings comprised of Investiture. The term ‘Cognitive Shadow’ means nothing to me, here. Only consideration is Physical form. Returned differ from Heralds, in that their bodies are not assembled wholly from Investiture. (And before you say, ‘Breaths can leave because of Endowment blah blah’ I HATE you. That’s a lame explanation when we see other Shardic Investitures casually leave, too.)

For beings without Physical forms, like spren or the vast majority of Cognitive Shadows caused by the death of a person, they are limited by Connection to planets. Become attached to a Physical anchor. I believe spren could get around this by forming a Nahel bond with a Physical being, as they would have replaced a planetary anchor for a mobile one. (Moving too far away from their bondmate would exhibit similar symptoms as attempting to leave a planet. However, this would have not been previously possible for spren specifically, do to the whole extra Shardic binding business. If that bond were to have not existed, but the Shard remained Invested in the planet, then spren would only be able to leave via forming a Nahel bond to a Physical being departing that way. Heralds are once again a weird case.)

Some exceptions exist, with very understandable explanations. Seons can form Nahel bonds, but their composite Shard/Shards are also not present in the Spiritual Realm, and thus technically not Invested upon Sel.

Anyway, that’s my impression. If you are Physical or bonded to a Physical being, you don’t got to worry about much. Only Cognitive beings without an Nahel bond to a Physical form are trapped, I think. (Unless your sire refuses to let your primal essence leave.)

Also, sidebar, hot take, Elantrians aren’t actually ‘very highly’ Invested. They only seem like that because most of them are CONSTANTLY chugging on Dor like there’s no tomorrow. Elantris is just one giant drug den frfr.

and before you ask, YES, i AM an idiot. sources? i have none and i never will.

absolutely fuming at latest livestream WoBs

hemalurgy is getting the awakening treatment >:,(

if ruin’s investiture is involved with the crystal variant then imma riot

cinderhearts less so, but it’d still feel weird. mourning the loss of the alternative, i think.

also just read a WoB from ten years again in which Breaths are described as not part of the soul, which is crazy to me because the hell you mean they aren’t? that breaks once again my understanding of Biochromatics—which is my name for and should be the official name of Nalthis’ Invested Art, cause it straight up doesn’t have one, for some reason. (please don’t bully me again, treamayne)

my original interpretation was that Breaths were merely a gaseous form of Investiture (like stormlight) that obtains certain traits from Endowment’s Intent (and therefore Nalthis wouldn’t have an Invested Art, by my definition), such as its ability to permanently remain with someone, unlike stormlight which has a penchant for running away.

Awakening, then, was simply a matter of Commanding any form of (gaseous, at least) Investiture, with the caveat that Breaths are easier to do so with by virtue of the Intent of Endowment. but that is not correct, right?

I had finally landed on the understanding that Breaths are special. that they are more than gaseous Investiture. they respond to Command in unique ways. that Breaths can do more than Awaken* (and when they do, they could do unique things like draining color, which other Investitures maybe couldn’t [and what does Endowment have to do with color? that cannot be a side-effect derived from Intent alone. but, then, color has interactions with other Investitures, too, like Polestones and Spren attraction. hmm.]). that certain Heightening effects are unique to amassing Breaths, like maybe Command Breaking or distorting color. from that, Nalthis did have an Invested Art, because Breaths had to be a form of sDNA to do what it does.
*memory storing is replicable with other Investiture, too. like that trick Midius taught to the Heralds/Kalak. my own memory is unclear on that.

but (maybe, i don’t know if the estimation of Breath has changed in the last decade) they’re not. i am lost once again.

Unsealed Metalminds have Nicrosil work like Feruchemical Copper. Power is lent, used, returned in whole* to the metalmind. (Minus natural memory degradation for Copper’s case.) The Bands of Mourning do end up mysteriously drained, but whether that is because of a property of Unsealed Metalminds or not is unclear, especially since other Unsealed Nicrosilminds keep functioning just fine.

Anyway, a question. Based on gut feeling, does Nicrosil Feruchemy behave like Feruchemical Copper (and maybe Bendalloy, Brass, and Cadmium, and very maybe Bronze and Steel) or does it behave like other Feruchemical metals, where storage does not ‘permanently’ remove the stored attribute, which recovers after storing has been ceased, like Feruchemical Iron, Tin, and Pewter?

Author words have said that Nicrosil in Unsealed Metalminds is ‘not exactly’ how a Nicrosil Ferring would would their metal, with medallions being ‘more restrictive’. Personally, it feels odd to me for a Ferring’s use of Nicrosil to be a semi-permanent removal, because it feels to me that other Feruchemical metals don’t behave the same. Copper would, of course, but memories are, in short, very weird and aren’t as hard coded into sDNA as, say, Physical Strength is. A new question arises, then. Why would storing Physical Strength in a Pewtermind not permanently remove strength, but storing an Allomantic Ability in a Nicrosilmind permanently remove that ability? They are both encoded in sDNA (as Hemalurgy removes pieces of sDNA, and Hemalurgy can steal both strength and Allomanticy), so why behave differently, hypothetically?

Hemalurgic Copper steals ‘mental fortitude, memory, and intelligence,’ but I am uncertain if this means memories—the things stored in Copperminds—or the ability to memorize and hold on to memories. The Kandra Blessing of Presence gives a sharp memory, from reviewing the Coppermind, so that could suggest that Hemalurgic Copper does the latter.

If it was the former, then memories would be some kind of sDNA for Hemalurgy to steal, which I don’t think is supported, really, because of other properties (like Strength) stolen by Hemalurgy are not permanently lost when stored Feruchemically like memories in Copperminds are. Spiritual Ideal related stuff. It could be that, since calories, oxygen, and memories are heavily transient properties, they are not accounted for by the Spiritual Ideal and do not ‘regenerate’ after a Feruchemist stores them, but are permanently kept when tapped, but are once again subject to being lost by human energy and oxygen consumption, and imperfect mental storage.

But who knows man I am rambling, it could very easily be that Feruchemical Nicrosil stores Investitures permanently and my own impressions are worthless.

just give me access to the magic wiki, brandon, i need to know

soothe and warmth

soothe and determination

riot and mental speed

which?

No place on Roshar was as free as the Purelake. To Talan, the place of his adolescence offered naught but the comfort of the sun and tides. And nostalgia. Thoughtfulness. Questions asked to night air.

“Did I do the right thing?”

Shimmers from turbulent waters responded. The lake, as always, lie placid. “One is alive when they could be not. What wrong has been committed?” There was little chance they missed his meaning.

“Things; plural,” Simulacra-Veritas corrected from her position on Talan’s shoulder. Standing firm and straight with hands clasped behind her back. Not half as tall as a hand. “Is this our most desired outcome? Of course not.” That was true. None of this could be happening.

Talan waded with light steps. Every footfall could be the one to hide a legbreaking abyss, smothered in shadow cast by low moons. He walked passed empty horizons through a dark night. Formulating his thoughts to explain needlessly aloud his inner turmoil, distracted and drawn away by paranoias of ubiquitous watchers hovering long in the sky; forced constantly into reiteration and repetition.

There were none to be found. A Skybreaker’ve executed him by now if they had. He had no Light left to bridge a way back to Shadesmar—and absolutely none to leave.

Another thing to mourn. Former compatriots oathbound to pursue your death. Friends who could still taste and breathe a great height’s thinning air. Talan had forgotten that feeling, already.

“I think I could describe my—our, I guess—time under the Skybreakers as a period of complacency,” Talan finally continued. “There were some who could have listened to us. Trusted us in our belief that we were misguided. Instead, I remained silent. Secure in refusing to risk myself to enact change. Hiding behind obedience and stoicism. They would’ve had to respect a formal inquiry—“

“There is a point,” Simulacra reminded, as Talan unclenched fists and massaged aching palms. “There is a decision. A direction to go from here. You have it.”

A sunbeam ran over his foot. “You will have to tell us where we’re going, eventually.”

“I have answers to all of your questions,” Talan admitted, willing himself to smile. “Do not worry yourselves, my companions, for we are pursuing perhaps the greatest ability a man can express.”

Simulacra gave her best impression of a sigh, while Deepest-Fathoms laughed in his head. They were the one to indulge all dramatic flair. “What might that be, o’ wise leader?”

Talan spread out his hands. “Change.”