Difference between revisions of "Forgery"

In order to carve a soulstamp, one must have two bases of knowledge. The first base of knowledge is of the forms necessary to program the stamp. The forms imprinted on the stamp act like symbolic functions in a computer program, and it is necessary to put the correct forms in the correct positions to achieve the desired effect. The modifiers and forms required to encode a soul stamp function in a way similar to those of the [[AonDor]], though different shapes are used.{{qa ref|?|948|5|Selian magic is similar to code}}{{qa ref|?|987|9|How magic on Sel works}}

Forgery involves the use of [[Investiture]] present in the [[Dor]] accessed through a medium of a [[soulstamp]]. The seal on the soulstamp acts as the [[focus]] through the specific symbols carved upon it.{{qa ref|?|977|16|Does Forgery use the Dor?}} Like other [[Sel]]ish magic systems, Forgery uses a series of symbols that represent linguistic concepts applied with a variety of modifiers to encode the [[intent]] of a given action into the focus directly. Though the Selish magics are often considered to use the concept of 'form' as their focus, it is more correct to think of these symbols as being a type of programming language using symbolic representation.{{qa ref|?|1019|5|Are the Investitures on Sel form-based?}}{{qa ref|?|948|5|Advanced uses of Forgery are like writing code}} A Forger must detail their intent with the correct pattern and arrangement of symbols and modifiers. The Dor is accessed through a connection to [[MaiPon]], and each Soulstamp carries an impression of MaiPon on the reverse.{{ref|b|tes|day|30}}{{qa ref|?|949|7|Do Soulstamps act like Aons?}}

Forgery utilizes a relatively small amount of Investiture in comparison to may other systems. As such, Forgers do not seem to be particularly Invested in ways that manifest outwardly, like the highly Invested [[Elantrian]]s or the [[Dahkor]] Monks.{{qa ref|?|1034|28|Could you soulstamp shardplate to become a robot?}}{{qa ref|?|1047|12|Rank me the Investment in objects.}} Another side effect of this is that Forgery has difficulty affecting Invested objects, though the unusual nature of Forgery has a number of loopholes available to it that offset that particular issue.{{17s ref|post=7267|text=Would it be possible to Soulforge NIghtblood and change the command that was given to him when he was Invested?}}

The nature of Forgery makes it unusually Realmatically aware. Realmatics are in fact part of the core of the theology surrounding Forgery.{{qa ref|?|986|11|Is Sel Realmatically knowledgeable by this point, or is it specific to forgery?}}. Shai demonstrates this by offering the most complete in-text definition of the three realms currently known.

Soulstamping an object functions by rewriting the history of an object or individual to match the encoded intent of the seal.{{ref|b|tes|day|3}}{{qa ref|?|977|115|Tell me about Forgery?}} The likelihood of a soulstamp "taking" is dependent in part on the plausibility of a stamp. This includes both how the object views itself (the object's history) and how others view it. This is congruent with what we know of the Cognitive Realm, and suggests Forgery is similar to [[Soulcasting]].{{qa ref|?|979|15|Do soulstamps work similar to Returned?}}{{ref|b|tes|postscript}} It is also likely that Forgery draws heavily on the spiritual aspect of an object, as connections that should be otherwise unavailable to the object cognitively affect the plausibility of a stamp, such as the instance where the room [[Atsuko]] of Jindo was placed in was modified in order to influence the drawing of a mural.{{ref|b|tes|day|76}}

It is necessary to be born in the area of [[MaiPon]] or have a bloodline connection to the area in order to have the requisite sDNA to forge an object. Like other Selish magics, the distance to MaiPon affects the amount of Investiture available, and thus Forgery is limited to the area around MaiPon. For the same reason as the bloodline, the glyph of MaiPon cannot be simply changed to another glyph (such as Aon Aon) to correspond to a new area to power Forgery.{{qa ref|?|979|14|Could an Elantrian forge a soulstamp?}}

Forgery shares a number of Realmatic similarities with other forms of magic. As with all Selish magics, it is powered by the Dor, limited by location, limited by bloodline, and encoded with symbols in a programmatic fashion. {{qa ref|?|979|14|Could an Elantrian forge a soulstamp?}}{{qa ref|?|1019|5|Are the Investitures on Sel form-based?}}{{qa ref|?|948|5|Advanced uses of Forgery are like writing code}}{{qa ref|?|949|7|Do Soulstamps act like Aons?}} Forgery is similar to [[Soulcasting]], however instead of influencing a Cognitive aspect directly, it offers the change through the encoded symbols. It is theorized that the plausibility factor of Forgeries is why a physical transformation from a Forgery takes vastly less Investiture than the more forceful change from Soulcasting. The careful encoding also makes Forgery more precise and detailed than Soulcasting. The subtype of Forgery known as [[Forgery#Resealing|Resealing]] is suspected to work in a similar fashion to [[Aon#Ien|Aon Ien]], and to a lesser extent other healing methods throughout the [[cosmere]] such as [[Ferring#Gold|Feruchemical Gold]] or [[Stormlight]] Healing. The physical medium of stamps and seals are shared with the cousin system of [[Bloodsealing]], as is the use of organic inks.

The idea for Forgery as a magic system was developed during a trip to the [http[Wikipedia://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Palace_Museum |National Palace Museum]]] in [http[wikipedia://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan Taiwan|Taiwan]]. While investigating the museum, author [[Brandon Sanderson]] was inspired by the [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/: Seal_(East_Asia) |east asian seals]] which had been applied to works of art by ancient Chinese nobility who appreciated the works. They would stamp the work of art with their personal seal to indicate their approval, sometimes covering works of art with stamps of various patrons.{{ref|b|tes|postscript}}