Difference between revisions of "Seon"

|image=Seon IenBox and Ala by Connor Chamberlain.pngjpg

|magictype=[[AonDor]], {{tag+|Splinter}}s of [[Devotion]]

|books=[[Elantris (book)|Elantris]], [[The Stormlight Archive]]

'''Seons''' are sapient magical beings that originate on [[Sel]]. They are [[Splinter]]s of [[Devotion]]{{wob ref|5991}} thatwho serve human masters.

Seons take the form of floating orbs of light, each with a glowing [[Aon]] at their core for which they are named.{{book ref|Elantris|2}}{{book ref|elantris|part=ars}} There is only one seon for each Aon.{{wob ref|14410}} They are described as "small"{{book ref|Elantris|2}} and "melon sized".{{book ref|Elantris|2}} Seons have control over the level of their brightness,{{book ref|Elantris|17}} and they often pulse while speaking or laughing.{{book ref|Elantris|5}} ItThe light of seons has a mother-of-pearl iridescence, at least in the [[Cognitive Realm]],{{book ref|sa4|20}} and it can be difficult to discern their Aons through the light without close examination.{{book ref|Elantris|2}}{{book ref|Elantris|32}} The general appearance of seons is similar in the Cognitive and [[Physical Realm]]s;{{book ref|sa4|115}} however, this may not always be the case,{{wob ref|8663}} and is likely related to the unusual history of the [[Dor]] on Sel and its effect on Selish magic systems.{{wob ref|14644}}{{wob ref|14522}} Seons are tangible, although they weigh very little; they cannot pass through solid matter and can therefore be imprisoned.{{wob ref|7816}}{{book ref|sa4|115}} [[Hrathen]] believes that seons need to sleep.{{book ref|Elantris|12}}

EachThere seonis hasonly anone individualseon personality.for Theyeach are generally agreeableAon, but can be affected by stress.{{wob ref|2068}} Raoden and Sarenethey eachintrinsically noteknow thatwhat their seonsAon are incredibly wisemeans.{{bookwob ref|Elantris|514410}}{{bookwob ref|Elantris|1014959}} Each seon has an individual personality. Seon personalities are very similar to those of humans and they are able to convey emotions easily; they may even have superstitions.{{book ref|Elantris|2}} They are generally agreeable, but can sometimes suffer negative psychological effects from stress or abuse.{{wob ref|2068}}{{book ref|sa4|115}} Raoden and Sarene each note that their seons are incredibly wise.{{book ref|Elantris|5}}{{book ref|Elantris|10}}

Known seons tend to have soothing voices. [[Ashe]]'s voice is described as "deep" and "sonorous", with well-enunciated words.{{book ref|Elantris|2}}{{book ref|thoe}} [[Ien]]'s voice is "indulgent",{{book ref|Elantris|16}} [[Dio]]'s is "melodious",{{book ref|Elantris|45}} and [[Riika]] needs [[Mai]] to tell her a story when she goes to sleep.{{book ref|thoe}} However, [[Opa]]'s voice is formal and unemotional, which [[Sarene]] notes as unusual, particularly compared to seons in [[Teod]].{{book ref|Elantris|32}} It is not clear if the seons have a gender, but some of them sound masculine while others sound feminine.{{book ref|Elantris|12}}

Seons can form bonds with individual humans. The human does not have to be an [[Elantrian]]. They love their masters and act as loyal companions and advisors.{{book ref|Elantris|16}} The bond works through [[Spiritual Realm|Spiritual]] [[Connection]]{{wob ref|10049}} and has similarities to the [[Nahel bond]] on [[Roshar]].{{wob ref|3488}} The seons are bound only by love and are not obligated to serve.{{wob ref|1965}} The bond typically makes the seon and its master very close. Raoden sees [[Ien]] as more than a servant or even a friend; he sees him as the embodiment of his god's love.{{book ref|Elantris|16}} A seon could theoretically abandon its master,{{wob ref|893}} but how and why this could happen is not known; [[Hrathen]] views seons as heresy and is shocked upon learning that [[Wyrn (title)|Wyrn]] [[Wulfden the Fourth]] uses them. He uses his seon as a necessary tool to achieve higher goals, hating it and keeping it in a box, but it is always ready and willing to serve him when called upon.{{book ref|Elantris|12}} Unlike the [[Nahel bond]], the bond between seons and humans has not been shown to give either party any new abilities.

The bond can be Passed from person to person.{{book ref|Elantris|5}} The Passing is initiated when the seon's master instructs it to form a bond with a new person,{{book ref|Elantris|34}} but the mechanics of the change in bond is not clear. Passing can occur even if the human is an infant.{{book ref|Elantris|5}} It is not uncommon to keep a seon in the same family for hundreds of years.{{book ref|Elantris|5}}{{book ref|Elantris|34}} Raoden believes that the seons inherently need to serve and that they would seek out a new master if theirs suddenly died.{{book ref|Elantris|34}} In some cases, it appears that seons can be assigned by an authority figure; Wyrn gives one to Hrathen{{book ref|Elantris|12}} and Raoden gives two seons to [[Dashe]].{{book ref|thoe}} Unbound seons are quite rare.{{book ref|sa4|115}}

They are able to link to each other over long distances to allow their masters to communicate instantly. This ability seems to function similarly in the [[Physical Realm]] and the [[Cognitive Realm]], and seons are therefore one of the few ways to instantaneously communicate between the realms.{{book ref|sa4|20}}{{book ref|sa4|115}} They can temporarily transform into a three-dimensional image of the person speaking on the other end of the link.{{book ref|Elantris|2}}{{book ref|Elantris|12}} The image shows only the person's features and not anything else in their surroundings.{{book ref|Elantris|2}} It is not clear if they can transform for any other purpose.

Although [[Sel]]ish magic generally does not function properly away from Sel.,{{wob ref|6164}} Itseons isare technicallycapable possibleof for a seon to traveltraveling to another planet.{{wob ref|736}} butTheir itability wouldto leave the planet is somehow related to the unusual properties of Investiture on Sel, and does not benecessarily easyapply to similar magical beings.{{wob ref|976014522}} The [[Ghostbloods]] were able to bring at least two seons to [[Roshar]], including [[Ala]].{{book ref|sa4|115}}

Seons were created by the Splintering of [[Devotion]], a [[Shard of Adonalsium]].{{wob ref|7103}}{{wob ref|4679}} [[Odium]] traveled to [[Sel]] and killed both [[Aona]] and [[Skai]], the [[Vessel]]s of Devotion and [[Dominion]].{{wob ref|7103}} After they were killed, the power of their Shards' power was left in the [[Cognitive Realm]] and formed the [[Dor]].{{wob ref|1625}} The seons were bits of Devotion's magic that became sapient.{{wob ref|3885}}{{au ref|sel}} They had counterparts formed from Dominion's magic known as the [[skaze]], and there were some similarities between the two groups.{{au ref|sel}} The presence of the uncontrolled power of two Shards made the Cognitive Realm on Sel extremely dangerous, as the seons and skaze did not provide an adequate "release valve", unlike the [[spren]] on [[Roshar]].{{wob ref|4129}}

The people of [[Opelon]] and [[Teod]] did not know the true origin of the seons. The most common assumption was that they were created by Elantrians through AonDor,{{book ref|Elantris|12}}{{book ref|Elantris|34}} butdespite therea waslack noof documented proof of this. Raoden realized that this maymight be inaccurate, and planned to continue researching the origin of seons.{{book ref|Elantris|63}} The seons themselves had some awareness of their origin,{{wob ref|3024}} but they arewere not known to have shared this information with any humans.

The [[Reod]] had a significant effect on the magic used in Arelon, including seons. The Reod disrupted the Elantrian connection to the Dor and corrupted the [[Shaod]].{{book ref|elantris|1}} seonsSeons of Elantrians lost their thinking capacity, wandering aimlessly and silently within the walls of Elantris.{{book ref|elantris|4}} These seons usually avoided people{{book ref|Elantris|28}} and their movements were lazy and sometimes wobbly.{{book ref|Elantris|10}} The change in the seons of Elantrians was caused by the Reod's effect on the Connection to their masters.{{wob ref|1267}}{{wob ref|10049}} Infrequently, a mad seon might show some unconscious recognition of its Elantrian master, but only through classically conditioned actions, not communication.{{book ref|elantris|10}}{{book ref|elantris|16}} Additionally, if closely inspected, the [[Aon]] of a seon who had lost its master to the Shaod would appear patchy and incomplete.{{book ref|Elantris|16|p|174}}