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Difference between revisions of "Cognitive Shadow"
Add Eshonai as an example of a cognitive shadows from Rhythm of War, plus some other references and details
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(Add Eshonai as an example of a cognitive shadows from Rhythm of War, plus some other references and details) |
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|books=[[Mistborn (series)|Mistborn]],{{msh ref |1|1}} [[Warbreaker]], [[Stormlight Archive]], [[Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell]]
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{{spoilers|sa4}}
{{quote
| A force of mind, holding his spirit together, preventing it from diffusing.
| [[Kelsier]]'s recollection of [[Preservation]]'s description of a Cognitive Shadow{{msh ref|2|1}}
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{{quote
| And if you let a man die with too Invested a soul—or Invest him right as he’s dying—he’ll leave behind a shadow you can nail back onto a body.
| [[Zahel]]’s description of a Cognitive Shadow{{book ref|sa4|15}}
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'''Cognitive Shadow''' is a term used to refer to a spirit that has not yet moved into the afterlife.{{wob ref|8836}} While the manifestations of this kind of entity can vary depending on the [[Shardworld|world]] it occurs on, Cognitive Shadows can occur on any planet in the [[cosmere]]. [[Vasher]] refers to them as a Type Two Invested entity.{{book ref|sa4|15}}
Cognitive Shadows can be created by a variety of processes. Some of them are created when a person has sufficient attachment to something in the Physical Realm. When a [[Vessel]] that has held onto a [[Shard]] for a long time dies it becomes a Cognitive Shadow that can continue to act.{{wob ref|1391}} The Cognitive aspect of a recently deceased person can become a Cognitive Shadow by finding a source of Investiture to anchor themselves to the Cognitive Realm before passing on to the Beyond. The Investiture replaces the parts of the soul that connects it to the Three Realms, providing an anchor for it in the Cognitive Realm. {{wob ref|857}} Some [[Vessel]]s can prepare a Cognitive Shadow at or just prior to their death or [[Splinter|Splintering]], allowing a portion of their power to continue to function with a small amount of direction; the [[Stormfather]] is an example of this.{{wob ref|8439}} It is theoretically possible for a Cognitive Shadow to form a [[Nahel Bond]] with a human.{{wob ref|3239}} Cognitive Shadows look different in the Cognitive Realm, where how they became a Cognitive Shadow will influence how they look.{{wob ref|14504}}
A Cognitive Shadow can be permanently killed by the use of a [[raysium]] dagger touching a gem of anti-Light of the type of [[Investiture]] associated with the Cognitive Shadow.{{book ref|sa4|102}}{{book ref|sa4|97}} For instance, a raysium dagger with an [[anti-Voidlight]] gem can permanently kill a [[Fused]], and a similar dagger with [[anti-Stormlight]] can permanently kill a Herald.{{epigraph ref|sa4|91}} As raysium conducts Investiture, it can draw the Cognitive Shadow through the dagger and trap it in the gem—similar to the concept of [[Fabrial]]s—at which point the Cognitive Shadow and gem fade. The experience is described as having your soul ripped apart.{{book ref|sa4|
== Examples ==
;[[Stormfather]]
Prior to Odium's splintering of Honor, the Stormfather was just the [[spren]] of the [[highstorm]] and one of the three [[Bondsmith]] spren. After Honor's death, the Cogntive Shadow of its Vessel, Tanavast, merged with the Stormfather, though it does not appear that the Stormfather has Tanavast's memories.{{wob ref|4268}}
;[[Eshonai]]
Eshonai dies while heavily [[Invested]] since she died as she was becoming [[Radiant]]{{book ref|sa4|117}}. Therefore she was able to become a Cognitive Shadow for several minutes before going to the great beyond.
=== Scadrial ===
=== Nalthis ===
;[[Returned]]
When [[Endowment]] Returns someone after death, she uses a [[BioChromatic_Breath#Type_I|Divine Breath]] to "staple" the Cognitive Shadow of the deceased person back to that person's body.{{wob ref|4995}} This process results in the Returned losing any memories of their prior life. Returned must consume one Breath every eight days to fuel their Divine Breath.{{wob ref|6776}} [[Vasher]] states that he is a Type Two Invested Entity because he died while “drenched in power” and left behind a “fossil of a soul”.{{book ref|sa4|15}}
;[[Lifeless]]
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