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Dor
Devotion and Dominion by Heatherly.png
by Heatherly (with map by Jeff Creer)
Related to AonDor, ChayShan, Forgery, Dakhor, Bloodsealing
World of Origin Sel
Universe Cosmere

At this point, the bulk of the Investiture that made up the powers of Dominion and Devotion is trapped on the Cognitive Realm. Collectively, these powers—which have a polarized relationship—are called the Dor. Forced together as they are, trapped and bursting to escape, they power the various forms of magic on Sel, which are multitude.

Khriss on the Dor[1]

The Dor is the source of Investiture on Sel, The Dor powers all Invested Arts on Sel,[1] including AonDor, ChayShan, Forgery,[2] Dakhor,[3] and Bloodsealing.[4]

AppearanceEdit

The Dor often shows its presence through some sort of bright glowing, whether through Seons, Aons, the twists of the Dakhor bones, in the wake of the movements of someone using ChayShan, or in the purified Dor in possession of the Ghostbloods or Ire.[5][6]

When stored in the Physical Realm, it takes the form of a brightly glowing liquid.[5][6][7][8]

Composition & NatureEdit

This power comes from a god’s corpse. Two of them actually, intermingled. It’s exceptionally difficult to recover. The things that you could do with this … well, that I could do with this. You’d only be able to use it as a hyperefficient replacement for your metals. You don’t know how good you have it here on Scadrial, being able to power your abilities with something so common.

The Dor is a mass of plasma-like substance[9] in the Cognitive Realm, a large amount of power left behind after Odium visited Sel.[10][11] It is the remnant of the combined powers of Devotion and Dominion after the Shards were Splintered.[12][13] The Dor exists in the Cognitive Realm and is very dangerous, appearing as a large source of mindless, uncontrolled power.[10] Due to being in the Cognitive Realm it has attained only rudimentary emotions.[14] Furthermore, this has shaped the nature of the magic systems, making them very dependent upon location, geography, intent, and perception, far more so than in other systems.[10]

The programming-esque way Investiture is drawn from the Dor is the result of the fact that its power is trapped in the Cognitive Realm, as well as the personalities of the original Vessels of Devotion and Dominion and the nature of Sel's focus: forms.[15] Those that use the Dor can sense when others are using it.[16]

The Dor can be purified, and carried to other locations. If unkeyed, anyone with powers can use it as fuel for their abilities.[6][17] This can also be used to bypass the geographic limitation of Sel Investitures.[6][7]

There is a God Metal that comes from the Dor.[18]

With a proper conduit, such as certain active Aons, Nightblood could feed on the Dor. They would, however, likely consume the Investiture of the conduit before consuming a significant amount of the Dor,[19][20] and, if given more stable access to the Dor, would still likely become saturated with Investiture before absorbing an appreciable amount of the Dor.[21][22]

CultureEdit

In Jesker, a religion practiced by many Dulas, the Dor is the overspirit, an unseen energy that permeates the world. They believe that Dor is a force that controls the world. Those who follow the Jesker think that the Dor leads those who understand it towards harmony.[23] It also keeps balance in the natural world. The followers of Jeskeri think that the Dor provides the motivation for all events in nature. It is responsible for everything from water "wanting" to flow downhill to teaching captive young birds how to fly.[24] The Jeskeri Mysteries, a splinter group, look at the Dor in a slightly different way. Instead of a simple passive energy, they see the Dor as fate. The people who follow the Mysteries perform rituals to try to harness the Dor, instead of trying to become in harmony with it like regular followers of the Jesker. They try to invoke it to bring good or bad luck on other people. How the followers of the Jesker became aware of the Dor's presence is still unknown.

NotesEdit

  1. a b Arcanum Unbounded - The Selish System#
  2. 17th Shard Forum Q&A
    Arcanum - 2012-09-25#
  3. Elantris chapter 63#
  4. /r/fantasy AMA 2013
    Arcanum - 2013-04-15#
  5. a b Mistborn: Secret History part 5 chapter 3#
  6. a b c d e The Lost Metal chapter 40#
  7. a b The Lost Metal chapter 42#
  8. The Sunlit Man chapter 44#
  9. Shadows of Self Lansing signing
    Arcanum - 2015-10-13#
  10. a b c Arcanum Unbounded - The Selish System#
  11. /r/Stormlight_Archive
    Arcanum - 2013-03-11#
  12. General Signed Books 2012
    Arcanum - 2012-12-08#
  13. Arcanum Unbounded Chicago signing
    Arcanum - 2016-12-06#
  14. Firefight Miami signing
    Arcanum - 2015-01-08#
  15. GenCon 2017
    Arcanum - 2017-08-17#
  16. Elantris chapter 56#
  17. The Lost Metal chapter 51#
  18. Starsight Release Party
    Arcanum - 2019-11-26#
  19. Barnes & Noble B-Fest 2016
    Arcanum - 2016-06-11#
  20. BYU Writing Class Wrap-up 2017
    Arcanum - 2017-04-25#
  21. The Dusty Wheel Show
    Arcanum - 2021-06-17#
  22. YouTube Livestream 23
    Arcanum - 2020-12-17#
  23. Elantris (book) glossary section D
  24. Elantris chapter 19#
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