Difference between revisions of "Cognitive Realm"

Shadesmar is a bustling land and home to the spren. Shadesmar is composed of an inverted ocean made of beads that represent the souls of Physical Realm objects, while living souls from the Physical Realm are represented by flames. There is a thriving society that lives in the area with both spren specific and mixed spren cities being found in the region. Humans can also be found living in Shadesmar however they are rarer and are more commonly travelers. Trade is common between Rosharan'sRosharans and off worlders, with goods being bought and sold using the local investitureInvestiture, Stormlight. Relations, however, between spren and humans are not always positive with many spren treating humans poorly due to the lingering effects of the Recreance on their peoples. As well as this, several factions, including Odium's Forces and the Ghostbloods became active in the area c. 1174. Odium's forces have worked to gain influence over the Realm, while the Ghostbloods have sought to build a network for Stormlight trade off world.

==== ScadrialScadrian Subastral ====

Worldhoppers have been known to travel by boat across the misty fluid of the Scadrian Cognitive Realm,{{wob ref|1542}} but [[Cognitive shadow]]s, [[Shard]]s, and the souls of the dead appear capable of walking on the fluid. It is not known whether such beings can also walk ofon the Cognitive seas of other worlds.

* [[Silverlight]] - a Realmatically aware city based somewhere in the Cognitive Realm.

The Cognitive Realm looks different on every planet, with its traits partially influenced by perception,{{wob ref|11688}} and although the composition of each subastral differs, there are certain shared characteristics between the different parts of the realm. The landscape is also not fixed - as it is a reflection of the Physical Realm, changes in that Realm, such as a body of water getting filled in with dirt, will be reflected in the Cognitive Realm, albeit with a delay.{{wob ref|12569}} The Cognitive Realm is flat, and does not have a curvature; it is unknown which projection it uses.{{wob ref|16521}}{{wob ref|640}}{{wob ref|15598}}{{ref|group=fn|text= Peter Ahlstrom has stated that it may be a Dymaxion map, but with the edges connected so that one can seamlessly walk into the next section even though a gap should exist. But this has yet to be entirely confirmed.{{wob ref|15598}}}}

There is a variety of planetplant life that blooms in the Cognitive Realm, although its substance differs between planets. Plant life blooms on the inverted ground of the Cognitive Realm as it corresponds to bodies of water. On some subastrals, water in a cup in the Physical Realm is enough to allow the plants to bloom.{{msh ref|4|2}}

Living beings reflect in the Cognitive Realm in some manner.{{book ref|sa2|7}}{{msh ref|1|1}} If someone is to die in the Physical Realm, their soul will disappear. In some subastrals they may appear briefly in the Cognitive Realm before passing onto the Beyond, although this does not appear to be the case on all planets.{{book ref|sa3|89}}{{wob ref|11427}} Through [[Investiture]], a soul can last longer in the Cognitive Realm, and some even hold on long enough to be considered [[Cognitive Shadow]]s, souls that fail to pass on and are stuck in the Cognitive Realm. Similar to objects, touching a person will give the impression of the person it represents and it is possible to feel their emotions and general thoughts.{{book ref|sa3|89}}