Spiritweb

Spiritweb
Related to	Realmatic Theory
Universe	Cosmere

“The actual outlet of the power is not chosen by the practitioner, but instead is hardwritten into their Spiritweb.”

—Alloy of Law Ars Arcanum

The Spiritweb is the network of Connections and Investiture which make up the soul of a creature, place, or obejct . Residing in the Spiritual Realm, Spiritwebs lack any tangeable shape or size, with their borders dinfined by their Identity. Contained within a Spiritweb are various pieces, including Spiritual DNA, the Spiritual Aspect, and one’s Spiritual Ideal.

Mechanics

Spiritual DNA

A person’s Spiritweb, closely related to Spiritual DNA, makes up their presence in the Spiritual Realm. Measuring and quantifying a Spiritweb is possible, if difficult, to do. Spiritual DNA can be passed from parent to child like regular DNA, yet does not function exactly the same as identical twins can have different Spiritual DNA. Some ways of utilizing Investiture are written into Spiritual DNA.

Damaging and Healing

A person's Spiritweb can be damaged either through physical or emotional trauma. This creates "cracks" in the soul. It is easier for Shards to Invest in people who are damaged in this way, as Investiture can enter the soul through these "cracks". This is why Allomancers need to undergo Snapping in order to awaken their powers, and is implied to be the reason why Surgebinders tend to have psychological problems. Spiritwebs can be damaged with weapons like hemalurgic spikes and shardblades. Those wounds can then be healed with a graft of Investiture. The healing process does leave a permanent wound on a person’s Spiritweb. Investing an object or person for a long period of time will warp and change their Spiritweb. In humans, this process leads to Savantism.

Healing the Physical

Most forms of healing work by using the three aspects of the user's self; their Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual. Healing typically heals the Physical version by matching it to their Spiritual Ideal, which is filtered through the lens of their minds (the Cognitive aspect). Almost all forms of healing in the Cosmere, even natural healing, are filtered through the perception of the user, which means that if a person hasn't accepted a wound as a part of themselves, they can still heal it regardless of how long they've had it. However, even if a wound is recent, if the person has changed their mindset to see it as a part of themselves, they will not be able to heal from it.

Interactions

All forms of Investiture which one can use are related to the Spiritweb. Some manifestations of Investiture are built into a person's Spiritual DNA, such as Allomancy and Feruchemy. Other abilities, such as Hemalurgy and Surgebinding, involve manipulating Spiritual DNA. A few types of Investature even work by manipulating or overwriting the Spiritweb directly, such as Forgery.

The Dor

AonDor

AonDor requires some innate Spiritual DNA, but the change that turns someone into an Elantrian likely involves some sort of change to the Spiritual DNA during the Shaod.^{[clarification needed][citation needed]}

Forgery

Forgery works by overlaying an object’s or person’s history and Spiritweb with an alternative one.^{[citation needed]}

Awakening

The ability to give Breath, which is a part of a person's Spiritual aspect, is built into a Nalthian's Spritual DNA.^{[citation needed]} The ability to Awaken is not limited to Nalthians, as shown by Hoid’s use of it.

The Metalic Arts

Allomancy

Multiple forms of Allomancy relate to the Spiritweb. Allomantic Zinc and Brass will work only on creatures with a sufficient level of Speienc and work better on creatures whose Spiritweb has been damaged, as with Hemalurgic Constructs.^{[citation needed]} The ability to use Allomancy is passed down via Spiritual DNA.

Feruchemy

Several of the Feruchemical Attributes are deeply connected to the Spiritweb, especially the Spiritual Attributes such as Aluminum and Duralumin, allow for Identity and Connection respectively, to be stored. Similarly to Allowmancy, the ability to use Feruchemy is passed down through Spiritual DNA.

Hemalurgy

In Hemalurgy, portions of the Spiritweb seem to be ripped off of one person and grafted onto another person's Spiritweb. This causes lasting damage to the Spiritweb of the creature in which a Hemalurgic Spike is placed.

Surgebinding

Nahel Bond

A Surgebinder's Nahel bond with a spren works in a similar way, a spren becoming spiritually attached to a certain point on a person's Spiritweb, merging together as the Surgebinder progresses in their Oaths.^{[citation needed]}

Soulcasting

Although it does not directly alter the Spiritweb, Soulcasting can alter a Spiritweb if the Cognitive aspect stays altered for long enough.^{[citation needed]}

Regrowth

Regrowth allows for healing both the Physical form of a living thing and its Spiritweb, as does a sufficient amount of Stormlight. Regrowth can even go so far as to reattach the soul of one recently defaced, as seen with Szeth.

Shardblades

A Shardblade can be stolen with Hemalurgy, because it is Connected to a person's Spiritweb.

Notes

This article is still missing information. Please help The Coppermind by expanding it.