Ashyn
| Ashyn | |
|---|---|
| |
| Shards | None |
| Investitures | Unknown, disease-based |
| System | Rosharan system[1] |
| Universe | Cosmere |
![[1]](#cite_note-Starchart_roshar_color.jpg-1){kind=link}
“There is Ashyn, the burning planet, which suffered a cataclysm long ago. ”
Ashyn is a planet in the Rosharan system that will be the setting of The Silence Divine.[3] It is the first planet from Roshar's sun [1].
Geography and Ecology
In the past, Ashyn was largely Earth-like, with animals such as birds and horses, and plants like grapes.[4][5] Although it is not known what the ecology of Ashyn was precisely like, it likely closely resembled the Shinovar region on Roshar, as the plants and animals there are ones brought by the original refugees.[6]
An ecological catastrophe in the past has destroyed most of the planet, annihilating its biosphere.[7] In the present day, the planet is mostly barren, with a few fertile patches.[3]
Population
Ashyn is sparsely populated by humans. There were far more of them in the past, although whether their presence on the planet predates the Shattering is uncertain. At some point, they used the Dawnshards and/or Surgebinding to destroy most of Ashyn.[7][6] Some people fled the destruction and traveled to the neighboring planet of Roshar, while others stayed in small pockets of habitable land.[8] In the present day, this land includes the floating cities Ashyn is known for.[2]
For modern Rosharans, Ashyn is a mythical place, known only as the Tranquiline Halls.[9] On Ashyn, there are in turn some people who are aware of Roshar.[10] Their level of technology relative to one another is difficult to establish; while Ashynites do not have fabrials, they appear to have discovered gunpowder, as some are mentioned carrying flintlock pistols.[11]
Magic
Ashyn currently has no Shard, but Odium possibly spent some time there, as he followed the Ashynites to Roshar.[12][13] Like most of Rosharan system, the planet is 10-centric.[14]
The magic of Ashyn is disease-based. As the bacteria and viruses there seek to keep their hosts alive, they provide them with access to supernatural abilities, which differ depending on the disease. The Ashynites harness this by lowering their immune systems and deliberately infecting themselves to gain various powers.[15][16] People who do so are called Incubators.[11]
Very little is known about the specific forms of magic granted by the illnesses, though a few have been described. The most important from the survival standpoint causes hearing loss while allowing its host to manipulate gravity. As such, it's crucial to the functioning of Ashyn's flying cities, which are kept aloft by conclaves of people infected with it.[17] Other abilities granted by diseases include flight, changing the color of objects, prophecy, and passing through walls.[18][11][19] However, the diseases can come with side effects, such as physical weakness, seeing hallucinations, and deadly fevers.[11]
The ability lasts as long as the person is infected by the disease, and disappears when their immune system overcomes it.[19] Diseases can last anywhere from a week to years. Occasionally, there are some symptoms left behind after the disease is over, called Echoes, which take some time to fade, or don't disappear at all.[11]
Ashyn's magic system was not sickness-based from the start.[20] The original magic, which brought about the cataclysm, wasn't exactly like Surgebinding, but shared the same basic principles.[21] It might've also been related to Roshar's Old Magic.[22] The Eila Stele mentions humans using the powers of spren and Surges, suggesting that the shift to bacteria and viruses as the focus of Ashynite magic might've happened some time after most people have already evacuated from the planet.[7]
Trivia
- The earliest reference to Ashyn, though not under that name, can be found in Brandon's blog post from March 10, 2006. Back then, he considered it the sillier of his two ideas for magic disease stories, the more serious of which would involve a doctor combating an illness with various magical effects on its victims.[15]
- The symbiotic relation between the bacteria and their hosts is similar to that of the Aviars and the worms that grant them powers from First of the Sun, albeit here the humans interact with the magic-granting microorganisms directly rather than through intermediaries.
Notes
- ↑ a b Map of Roshar system
- ↑ a b Arcanum Unbounded - The Rosharan System#
- ↑ a b SpoCon 2013
— Arcanum - 2013-07-10# - ↑ Stuttgart signing
— Arcanum - 2019-05-17# - ↑ Idaho Falls signing
— Arcanum - 2018-12-29# - ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 113#
- ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 115 epigraph#
- ↑ Oathbringer signing Portland
— Arcanum - 2017-11-16# - ↑ Oathbringer Chicago signing
— Arcanum - 2017-11-21# - ↑ Skyward release party
— Arcanum - 2018-11-06# - ↑ a b c d e Words of Radiance Los Angeles signing
— Arcanum - 2014-03-05# - ↑ Words of Radiance Chicago signing
— Arcanum - 2014-03-22# - ↑ Oathbringer chapter 117 epigraph#
- ↑ Arcanum Unbounded San Francisco signing
— Arcanum - 2016-11-30# - ↑ a b Brandon's Blog 2006
— Arcanum - 2006-03-10# - ↑ Ad Astra 2017
— Arcanum - 2017-05-05# - ↑ Idaho Falls signing
— Arcanum - 2018-12-29# - ↑ /r/fantasy AMA 2011
— Arcanum - 2011-09-01# - ↑ a b Phoenix Comicon 2013
— Arcanum - 2013-05-24# - ↑ Skyward Pre-Release AMA
— Arcanum - 2018-10-04# - ↑ Oathbringer London signing
— Arcanum - 2017-11-28# - ↑ Stuttgart signing
— Arcanum - 2019-05-17#
