Connection

Connection
by Gar_leyva
Related to	Realmatic Theory
Type	Spiritual property
Universe	Cosmere

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Connection is a Spiritual attribute that represents spiritual connections and relationships between different entities -- living being, locations, items and so on. Like other Spiritual attributes in the cosmere, Connection is quantifiable and can affect or be affected by different Invested Arts.

The Nature of Connection

Connection uses spiritwebs, and connects them in the Spiritual Realm. Connection is thought to be part of the Spiritual aspect of a being. People are generally Connected to other people or certain locations, and can be Connected to more than one place at a time. 

As a Spiritual attribute, Connection is not bound by ordinary laws of time, and is thus capable of Connecting one to the past and future. One's Connection to the past allows the soul to know when the body it was associated with was born, and thus be aware of its "age." This network of Connections does not appear to be limited to only future possibilities, but all possible worlds, including ones based on counterfactual conditionals and predicates. These can be traced by various forms of Invested Art in order to see visions of possibilities.

Connection is not directly composed of anything, existing as something more akin to a spiritual force that binds things together.

When made visible in any Realm, Connection appears as glowing cords of light connecting things together; be it in a complex web, or a single string with the ends vanishing into nothing. The cords are considered difficult to read or understand.

Connection between Aspects

The Spiritual aspect is Connected to the Physical and Cognitive aspects of an entity or object. Furthermore, a Connection exists directly between the Physical and Cognitive aspects. Due to this, Cognitive and Physical Aspects of objects do not need to overlap due to how their interconnection operates, and can be separated by any distance.

The Spiritweb is capable of being "confused" on what constitutes the Physical aspect of an individual, via the manipulation of Connection. This can, for instance, make the soul and power believe that the ground is part of the body, and therefore have the Investiture attempt to flow towards and fill the ground.

Distance and Connection

Despite the Spiritual properties of Connection, Cognitive Shadows, splinters, and in certain instances Shards, can get tied to an area, or planet in the cosmere due to their Connection to it. This primarily occurs to beings that are heavily Invested or exist through Investiture. Forcibly separating such beings or objects can, in some cases, separate their spiritual component from their body. As one gets further from that which they have such a Connection to, they begin to feel a pulling sensation that gets stronger the further they travel.

There are methods that can bypass the movement restrictions on Investiture and Invested beings, without needing to sever the Connection, but the details are not fully understood. It is known that it is possible to "stretch" Connection, in order to allow two strongly Connected beings to travel a further distance from one another, stretching it too far, however, risks degradation of the Connection.

This does not appear to universally apply, as the Connection between Physical and Cognitive Aspects does not bind an object by distance. However, they will naturally move towards their Physical Aspect when not being moved by another.

Forming Connection

Connection is primarily formed through social relations, and other such relations, between various social actors; it can also be done through various other forms of relation between actors. With actors including not just sapient beings, but all things with a Spiritual Aspect to be Connected to. Connection can be affected by various forms of Invested Art, including Surgebinding and Feruchemy. Additionally, it is possible to alter Connection through artificial means, though the particulars of how this is accomplished are unknown.

Connection is capable of being inherited.

Uses of Connection

Accessing Investiture

Many methods of accessing Investiture have been observed throughout the cosmere, but all share certain cardinal similarities; an established Connection or ability to create a Connection to a source of power and a way of directing that power.

Linguistic Connection

Connection can be used in many ways to allow the user to speak the language of another person they are Connecting with or the native language of a specific location. This can be done without the user learning any of the language beforehand. Some methods replace their native language, tricking a person's soul into thinking they were born where they are currently located.

This ability has flaws however, as it will fill in local idioms and phrases on its own, but if the user is careless and focuses on a specific word or phrase the ability may fail and they will say the word verbatim in their own tongue or it may be said in an odd way. This includes slip-ups that confuse others, such as saying coin or bunny on Roshar. They may also interpret local words as something more familiar, even if it is less accurate.

Blanking Identity and tapping Connection can cause someone to gain an accent for a particular area.

• Feruchemical Duralumin: In Feruchemy, Connection is stored in duralumin. Using this, a Feruchemist can communicate with others on foreign lands. Connection can also be used by anyone by wearing unsealed metalminds. These medallions are worn by a person who is in a land that is not their own, and they are then able to speak the language of the place they are in. A person wearing their medallion in their own land will still speak their own language, not the language of the person they are communicating with. Occasionally, words do not translate fully.

• Spiritual Adhesion: Using the Surge of Adhesion to manipulate spiritual, rather than purely physical forces, a Bondsmith can touch another person and forge a spiritual Connection between them. This allows the Bondsmith to temporarily speak whatever languages this other person can speak.

• Regal Forms of Power: By staying out in the Everstorm, singers are capable of bonding with a Voidspren, which has the effect of changing their form, which alters their physical appearance and mental capabilities. One Regal form of power is envoyform, which allows the user to have Connection to other cultures and allows the user to speak and read their languages.

• Ones Above: The Ones Above have a handheld device that is a language translator and can even translate written words.

• Nalthian Technology: Fort uses a computer tablet from Nalthis that is said to use Awakened predictive Connection circuits. While Fort uses the tablet to communicate with people who read and write the same language as him, the individual he received the tablet from used it to translate between languages.

• Dawnshard: At least one Dawnshard can Connect a user to their current location, allowing them to speak and read the local language. For Sigzil, this requires at least two-thousand BEUs.

• Hoid: Hoid has access to some manifestation of Investiture that allows him to manipulate the Spiritual attribute of Connection. The full extent of this ability is unknown, but its primary known use is to help Hoid speak the various languages of the worlds of the cosmere that he visits. The ability allows him to Connect to whatever land he is in, temporarily altering his Spiritual aspect to believe that he was raised in that place, allowing him to speak as a native.

Possibility Sight

There are various methods in which one can trace Connection through time in order to display images from or visions of other possible worlds. This can range from the manifestation of ephemeral "shadows" representing an object or entity's alternate possibilities, to it manifesting as a complete vision.

• Allomantic Atium: Allomantic Atium is capable of tracing Connections to future possibilities in order to display them as an "atium shadow." As with all future-sight, it can be influenced by another using future-sight, as it multiplies the amount of possible world-states that could plausibly occur.^{[citation needed]}
• Allomantic Malatium: Flaring malatium allows an Allomancer to see not just a malatium shadow of a person, but seems to give them a glimpse into the Spiritual Realm, allowing them to see a vision of a past event in another person's life by seeing their Connection and their past. Given the only circumstance in which this effect is seen, it may be a result of flaring malatium at the moment of death and transition to the Cognitive Realm, rather than a result of simply flaring the metal in and of itself.
• Allomantic Gold: Allomantic Gold is capable of tracing Connections to alternative possibilities in order to display a vision of how one's life could have been, if it went down a different path.
• Allomantic Electrum: Allomantic Electrum is capable of showing your own future possibilities through the tracing of Connections.
• Sak: Sak is capable of displaying visions of near future possibilities via tracing future Connections. However, she is only capable of sharing these visions with those she is strongly Connected with.

Other Uses

• Lightweaving: In order to Lightweave properly, a strong spiritual component requiring a certain measure of Connection and a full mental picture of the desired illusion is necessary.
• Stoneshaping: Stoneshapers are able to trace Connection within stone through the generations, allowing them to create images of the past with the stone; displaying events, feelings, emotions, and ideas.
• Allomantic Lerasium: For normal people, burning lerasium forges a permanent Connection between them and Preservation, turning them into a very powerful Mistborn by rewriting their spiritual DNA. For people who are already Mistborn, the same effect increases their power.
• Selish Magic: All magic on Sel (including AonDor, Dakhor, ChayShan, Forgery, and Bloodsealing) requires a Connection to certain lands to function properly. The magics will decrease in power the farther from the land the user is, and will not normally work outside of Sel.
• Ba-Ado-Mishram: Ba-Ado-Mishram is able to Connect with the vast majority of singers on Roshar and is able to grant them forms of power. This made them into Regals. She also provided them with Voidlight. However, forcibly breaking these Connections by sealing Ba-Ado-Mishram away permanently damages the souls of those she Connected to, removing their Identity and Connection, and leaving them in Slaveform.
• Singers: Singers are able to speak to rhythms. Rhythms represent a certain state of mind, the feelings of the singer using it. The rhythms Connect the singers, and there is Connection between them and the songs of Roshar.
• Realms: Connection can be used to exist in different realms.
• Bondsmith powers: After the death of Honor, Bondsmiths can use their powers to affect Connection more directly. These expanded powers allow a skilled Bondsmith to see the Connections a person has when touching them, to actively drain Investiture from people, and steal another person's Nahel bonds.
• Tracking: Certain entities, such as the messengers used by Silverlight Mercantile, are able to follow Connection in order to find people.
• Body Swap: Manipulation of Connection in certain ways can allow one to swap souls between bodies. How this would be done intentionally is unknown, but it can be done on accident when creating a Connection between two people.

Bonds

Bonds are Connections between entities in the cosmere that exist outside the Physical Realm. All bonds are basically the same, with the powers and functions depending on the holders of the bond. Bonds are typically formed between entities with greater-than-normal Investiture and other entities, allowing them to gain enhancements. Forming a bond utilizes Connection and Identity in some manner. Lessening those attributes, such as by storing them in a metalmind, would affect the bond. Using Hemalurgy, bonds may be stolen and given to a new person. There is an upper limit to how many bonds a person can have.

Bonds on some planets provide the holders of the bonds with additional powers. Bonds other than the Nahel bond will provide powers to the constituent entities of that bond while on Roshar. What these powers are is unknown, and will not be of the ten Surges. The seon bond is confirmed to do this, as the Nahel bond and the seon bond are very similar.

Types of known Bonding Entities

• The Nahel Bond: The Nahel bond is formed between sapient beings and certain types of intelligent Spren. It gives access to Surgebinding, while granting the spren the ability to maintain their cognition in the Physical Realm. There are ten known forms the Nahel Bond can take, each giving access to two different Surges among the ten.
  • Lesser Spren Bonds: Non-intelligent spren can theoretically form symbiotic bonds with people.
  • Other Spren Bonds: Certain spren bond with animals native to Roshar, enhancing those animals and granting them abilities. Animals that are confirmed to have these bonds include chasmfiends, chulls, Ryshadium, Larkin and skyeels.

• Shardblades: Dead Shardblades are able to bond with people through the use of charged gemstones. The gem is placed in the hilt of the Blade and after a week of constant contact, the Blade is bonded and can be dismissed from and recalled to the Physical Realm. Once bonded the blade can be dismissed and recalled by syncing with the user's heart to the blade. Ten heartbeats are required. A person's irises will lighten during the bonding process.
• Honorblades: Honorblades grant Surgebinding abilities to humans who touch them, but require dangerous levels of Stormlight.
• Shardplate: There is some manner of bond between Dead Shardplate and its wearer that will disappear when the wearer dies, causing the Plate to fall off of their body. Specific lesser spren are able to bond with Surgebinders to form their Radiant Shardplate.

• Singer Bond: The singers can bond with a spren. Doing so grants the singer a form with a specific physical and mental change. Not all spren grant a unique form; most spren give the singers dullform. Without a spren, singers exist in what is known as slaveform (Parshmen).
  • Regal: Regals are singers who bonded with Voidspren, granting them a transformation called a form of power. These forms grant them supernatural abilities. This bond can drastically alter a singer's ways of thinking. It also allow singers to hear and use new rhythms, but makes hearing the old ones extremely difficult.

• Unmade: Several Unmade hold the ability to manipulate Connection and bond with sapient beings, granting various powers or psychological effects.
  • Yelig-nar: Yelig-nar is able to bond with a human or singer and gives his host command of the Surges. Hessi believes this bond grants the host the use of all ten Surges, though given the Voidbringers' view of the Surge of Adhesion, Yelig-Nar may only grant the other nine. The people he bonds with appear to remain fully in control of themselves, but they must control Yelig-nar if they do not wish to be consumed by him.
  • Nergaoul: Nergaoul is able to bond with humans who embrace the Thrill. This imbues them with bloodlust and the urge to fight above all else. With the help of Odium, he is able to fully control large groups of people through the bond.

• Seons: A seon can create bonds with humans, including Elantrians. Little is known of this bond other than that the seon follows and helps the person it is bonded to, functioning as a servant to the owner of the bond. Seons will automatically seek out a new person to bond with following the death of its master; often the new master has been prearranged. This bond is similar to the Nahel bond and would grant some sort of ability if manifested on Roshar.

• Aviar: Aviars create a bond with a person and grant a specific power based on the type of Aviar bonded. Aviar are granted their ability if raised on one of the pantheon islands and consume a worm native to the island.
  • Other Worm-Infected Animals: Other birds besides native island Aviar are able to eat the worms and create a bond with a new effect.

• Sentient Awakened Entities in an Inorganic Host: Also known as Type IV BioChromatic Entities. The only known entities of this kind are Nightblood and Vivenna's Blade, though much less is known about the latter. Nightblood is a sentient sword made using one thousand Breaths and the command destroy evil. Nightblood will bond with anyone they wish to communicate with, and is able to read and speak with minds directly. Distance appears to be a factor, but this may be a limitation of the mind of Nightblood and not their ability. While idle, Nightblood reaches out to other people, tempting them to draw the blade. "Pure" people who cannot be tempted would feel great nausea, even induce vomiting. Anyone who is able to wield Nightblood and survive bonds with the blade to a greater degree and is no longer repelled by or abnormally drawn to use it. Those unable to control Nightblood become controlled themselves, leading to them using Nightblood to kill everyone around them and allowing Nightblood to absorb all Investiture from the victims including the spark of life (i.e. the soul).

• The Luhel Bond: The Luhel bond is typically formed between sapient beings and aethers. It gives access to aether manipulation abilities in exchange for the sophont giving up water. This bond can be either symbiotic or parasitic depending on the context, and varies in duration and nature.

• Cognitive Shadows: It is theoretically possible for a Cognitive Shadow to form a bond with a human.
  • Nightmares: It is theoretically possible to form a bond with a nightmare. How exactly one would do this, or what effects such a bond would have on either party, is unknown.

Manipulating Connection

• Feruchemical Duralumin: In Feruchemy, Connection is stored in duralumin. Storing Connection lessens others' trust in and awareness of the Feruchemist, while tapping Connection allows the Feruchemist to form trusting relationships quickly. Tapping the metalmind will allow the Feruchemist to form stronger Connections, possibly depending on what Connections were stored. It can allow Feruchemists to form trust relationships with others much faster, for example. Duralumin Feruchemy can also change one's Spiritual Connection to a planet, which can help worldhoppers with magic systems. If a Feruchemist were able to compound duralumin, they would be able to use duralumin to have a nearly infinite supply of Spiritual Connection.
• Hemalurgic Duralumin: In Hemalurgy, Connection can be stolen by a duralumin spike.
• Singers: If a singers Connection and Identity is stolen, they will change into slaveform.
• The Ire's orb: The Ire's orb is an arcane device that can magically grant Connection. The members of the Ire intended to use it to allow one of their members to ascend as a Vessel of a Shard of Adonalsium.
• Aons: There is an Aon for Connection, but its use is unknown.
• Fabrials: Fabrials can be used to alter Connection, though how is currently unknown.
• Bondsmith powers: After the death of Honor Bondsmiths can use their powers to affect Connection more directly. These expanded powers allow a skilled Bondsmith to bind Surgebinders to the ground causing their Stormlight to be drained, or steal a Nahel bond.
• Dawnshards: At least one Dawnshard is able to shortly reinforce Connections between former holders, allowing one to appear to another as an illusion. This requires at least ten percent Skip capacity of Breath Equivalent Units.

Through an unknown manner, one can directly interact with and manipulate Connection. They can directly stretch it and check for issues in the Connection. Stretching it too far can risk degradation to the Connection. How exactly distance functions in relation to Connection, given the lack of such concepts in the Spiritual Realm, is unknown.

Connection with Shards

The closer the Connection between a human and a Shard, the more powerful the human becomes. How a person becomes Connected to a Shard varies between planets. It is assumed that the intent of the respective Shard influences these conditions. On Scadrial Connection to a Shard is determined by genetics. On Sel it will depend on a person's location and their Connection to the land, and on Roshar it has to do with a person's actions and how they live their life.

Since Shards are Connected to their magic, a Shard is able to directly interact with its users and provide the needed Investiture directly when needed.

Ascension

Connection has an influence on who can or cannot Ascend as the holder of a certain Shard, and Connection to a Shard is required to Ascend. Improper Connection decreases the vessel's ability to control the powers and weakens the vessel's power. Connection to an opposing Shard makes it more difficult to maintain Ascension. Proper Ascension can happen either forged artificially or driven by a natural inclination towards the Shard's intent.

Trivia

• Connection is vaguely inspired by the Jungian idea of the Collective unconscious, in which all minds are ultimately connected together in a great Collective unconscious, which underpins and surrounds the unconscious mind. Ideas and archetypes exist within this unconscious mind, and can filter into the conscious mind. Brandon Sanderson used this as inspiration, with beings being Connected by an unconscious "force" manifested through social relations and other such relations.

Notes

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