User:Skaa/Shardworld Essences

This is a repository of all my notes regarding my theory that each Shardworld represents an Essence.

Scadrial: Foil

• The focus of Investiture on Scadrial is metal.

• Cohesion, a Surge of Foil, is synonymous to Harmony.

• If my god metal theory is correct, then harmonium would actually be "amethyst gold" (AuAl₂).

• Ancient Greeks believed that amethyst can protect against intoxication. Alcoholic drinks are commonly used as the liquid component of Allomantic vials. Also, Allomancers are curiously less susceptible to the toxic effects of certain metals.

• To continue with the alcohol connection, the main protagonist of the first Mistborn trilogy is Vin, whose name means "wine" in French (note that the first trilogy had plenty of French elements).

• Eight (Kak) is the number of Foil, and is also an important number on Scadrial. There are eight Metallurgic elements and eight alloys. Elendel is divided into Octants (eighths of a circle).

• Though nails (the body part) do not seem to be useful in the Metallic Arts, nails (the pointy bits of metal) certainly are.

Roshar: Lucentia

• Rosharian Shadesmar seems to be filled with things associated with Lucentia (the glass Identity beads, the obsidian land, the crystal trees).

• Gemstones, able to hold both Stormlight and spren, and are impossible to Soulcast, are crystals.

• Prisms are glass objects that can divide white light into all colors. Diamonds also exhibit this color dispersion. Roshar Investiture is known to manifest all the Essences, and therefore acts like a prism for Investiture.

• Assuming my Essence-Surge theory is correct that Lucentia is connected to Illumination and Division, then this fits Roshar because light (in the form of Stormlight) and division (in the form of the spren, being small Splinters of Shards) are central to Rosharian Investiture.

• If the gods of the Purelakers are somehow based on Honor and Odium, then the Shards on Roshar might be blinded by the Purelaker holy grottos, just as the Shards on Scadrial are blinded by metal. It is likely that these grottos are caves lined with crystals.

• Four (Vev) is the number of Lucentia. The Iriali believe that Roshar is the Fourth Land. There are four cities built on cymatic rock formations. The Weeping at the end of a Rosharian year is marked by four weeks of rain. (There is also Bridge Four, but while this may be a clue left by Brandon, the name doesn't mean anything significant in-universe.)

Nalthis: Vapor

• Use of Breath and spoken Commands require exhalation.

• The concept of commands is important for both Awakeners and Skybreakers.

• The Vapor Herald Nalan'Elin considers Nightblood, a Nalthian artifact, as a suitable weapon for a Skybreaker.

• Black is the color of smokestone, the color of Nightblood, and a symbol of BioChromatic power, being the combination of all colors used to fuel Awakening.

• Nightblood is described as being "too heavy", and producing black smoke that sometimes pours down and sometimes rises up. The Surge of Gravitation is one of Vapor's Surges.

• Assuming my Essence-Surge theory is correct that Vapor is connected to Transformation, then Nightblood's ability to transform things to smoke is another connection to Vapor.

Sel: Talus

• Selish Investiture focus on various regions of the Shardworld's landmass.

• Aside from land regions, forms and shapes are also central to Selish Investiture. The body's form and shape is dependent mostly on its skeleton. Bones are the Body Focus of Talus.

• The Dakhor and Dzhamar Investiture systems are both centered on bones. The ChayShan system of the Jindoese might also be considered bone-centric, though the connection is not as strong as the others mentioned.

• Assuming my Essence-Surge theory is correct that Talus is connected to Division and Cohesion, both of those Surges fit Sel, as Investiture is divided among the planet's regions into different magic systems, yet these systems may all be considered part of a single cohesive Dor-based system.

Taldain: Pulp

• Sand Mastery seem to use lichen as the focus.

• Other seemingly-Invested flora would include the dorim vines and the shalrim.

Vaeria: Sinew

• All Investiture in Vaeria is accessed by bonding oneself to an Aether, becoming embedded into the user's flesh.

• Two of the Aethers, Bestarin and Ferrous, actually transform the user's body, making it metallic in the case of Ferrous, and bestial in the case of Bestarin.

Yolen: Blood

• Lightweavers like Hoid are experts at manipulating emotions (whether supernaturally or not). The heart is traditionally seen as the seat of all emotions, and is strongly linked to Blood.

• According to the ancient Greek humoral theory, Blood has preeminence among the four Humors since it is through blood that all the other humors are delivered in the body. Similarly, Yolen has preeminence among the Shardworlds, being the origin of the first humans in the Cosmere.

• Also according to the Greeks, while each of the humors are associated primarily with one Element (with Blood being associated with Air), Blood's role as a vessel for all the Humors means it also contains all of the Elements. Similarly, Yolish Investiture can harness the all the Essences, as can be seen by the existence of both Sinew (Aether) and Lucentia (Lightweaving) Investiture there.