User:Lyht/seon
{!{Magical Entities |magic= AonDor, Splinters of Devotion |appearance= Glowing, floating spheres with Aons at their core |world= Sel |books= Elantris }}
“You look at things as a human, young master. You see rank and distinction; you try to order the world so that everything has a place either above you or beneath you. To a Seon, there is no above or beneath. There are only those we love. And we serve those we love.”
(Make a note that Seons themselves are not splinters, the Aon at their heart are splinters. Link to http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/2979-new-hampshire-signing/?p=49247 the block that says Aons at the heart of the Seons are splinters of Aona)
Seons are sentient beings found on the planet of Sel. They look like floating, glowing orbs, about the size of a melon, with an Aon visible at their center(annotations?). The word "Seon" comes from the Aon "Seo", which mean "Loyalty" or "Service". They act as advisors or assistants, carrying messages and offering advice. They live a very long time, and can only die in very unusual circumstances. (http://brandonsanderson.com/books/elantris/elantris/elantris-glossary/#S) Seons are usually bonded to one person that they serve unconditionally. However, a Seon can love and serve a full family even though being bonded to one member of the family. More than one Seon can be bonded to a single person, as was the case with King Eventeo of Teod[2]. The Seon bond can be passed to another person. Usually this occurs within families[3], but they can be passed to anyone.[4] Unlike most of the humans on Sel, Seons do not seem to believe in any of the gods of Sel, or even have a religion at all. However, Ashe once said “If He [Domi] has brought me to you, then He has his first Seon convert”
History and Origins
In the context of Elantris, we do not have much information on the origin of Seons. Because of the Reod, all Elantrian scholars had died, and any information that remains is contained in the books in the city, many of which have been destroyed. However, in speculation and questions to Brandon, combined with information found in other books, a fair bit has been determined about the origins of Seons.
They did not exist before the Shard Odium came to Sel. At some point after Odium arrived, he killed both Devotion and Dominion, the Shards that were currently at Sel, and splintered their power. As a result of the death and splintering, the power of the Shards did not have a normal outlet. Sentient beings came into existence as a splinter of that power, Seons as splinters of Devotion, and Skaze as splinters of Dominion. It is unknown if the Seons as we see them in Elantris are the same as when Devotion was splintered, or if some form of Aon magic was involved in bringing them to their current level of consciousness. However, it is known that the Seons with an Aon at their core all originate in Arelon.
The historical event of the Reod, in which a large chasm appeared in Arelon where by it's Aon was changed, any Seon whose master fell victim to the Shaod lost sentience, and proceeded to "wander" aimlessly and silently. Rarely a Reod Seon might show some unconscious recognition of their Elantrian master, but only through classically conditioned actions, not communication. Additionally, if closely inspected, the Aon of a Seon who had lost their master to the Shaod would appear to be patchy and incomplete.[1]
After the restoration of Elantris' magic and the completion of the Shaod, the Seons recovered their sanity and returned to their former state, though they were unable to remember the time that passed while the Shaod was incomplete.
Abilities and Attributes
Seon are magical creatures that float and move through the air with no apparent mechanism for flight or movement. There seems to be no limit to where they can travel, over land and water. Dio traveled across the ocean from Teod to Arelon to deliver a message for his master. He traveled much faster than would have been possible by boat, the normal 5-day trip (chapter 2) taking him less than 3 days.(chapter 46).
They have no obvious method for making sounds, but they can speak human languages clearly and with perfect enunciation. They can even reproduce the sounds of coughing and clearing of the throat.
Seons can talk with other Seons at great distances. While in contact they can act as long-range communication devices for humans, passing along the actual words and voice of the people speaking. In addition, they can create a visual representation of the people speaking at the other end of the Seon connection, so people can see whom they are speaking to.
Seons are described as a melon sized ball of light (chapter 2) although it might be more acurate to say their Aon glows. Seons can control how brightly they glow, and can reduce their light to the point it is almost non-existent.
There does not seem to be any external source of energy or power for Seons. They dont require food, although it does appear they require sleep. They dont require sunlight, and can live inside a small, enclosed space for long periods of time with no adverse effects.
Seons have a very accurate sense of direction. They know the exact direction a location is from their current position, even if that location is hundreds of miles away. (http://brandonsanderson.com/annotation-elantris-62-2/)
Known Seons
There are a handful of known Seons:
- Ashe: Sarene’s Seon. His Aon means "Light, illumination".
- Dio: Eventeo’s Seon. His Aon means "Cold".
- Opa: Roial’s Seon. His Aon means "Flower".
- Ien: Raoden’s Seon. His Aon means "Wizdom".
- Mai: Riika's Seon from Hope of Elantris. There was also a Mai in Teod that contacted to Ashe, it could possibly be the same one. His Aon means "Honor".
- Aeo: Matisse's Seon from Hope of Elantris. His Aon means Bravery
There were also a few that were talked about, but where the name was never given. Hrathen spoke to Wyrn through a pair. Every gyorn in the Shu-Dereth priesthood was also known to have had one (Chapter 12). Hrathen later spoke to Forton, a man that created a batch of poison for him. (Chapter 18)
Deleted Scenes
- Early versions of Elantris contain information about how Seons were created, and how they died, as well as additional elements of their magic. Those ideas are not cannon and may never turn into actual elements of the Seon's nature.
- Early Seons were created by the Elantrians and were very, very tiny. Hundreds of the first Seons could fit on the head of a pin. The later, full-sized Seons were an offshot of those tiny ones. The tiny Seons had been commanded to reproduce. They did extensively, and covered every surface in Elantris which was why everything glowed.
- Seons could release or actualize their Aon, executing the magic of their Aon. However, they could only do so once, and in doing so they would die. When the Seons died, their bodies would leave a residue. At the Reod, all the tiny Seons died, and left behind a residue, which was why all of Elantris was covered in slime. After the Reod, the actualization of their Aon would have undesirable results. (http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=977#197)
- While not obvious, they had physical bodies. They could not pass through walls.
- There was some subtle variation to the size and color of Seons, Dio was described as smaller than Ashe, with a slight blue tint.
- If the Seon's master was taken by the Shaod, their lost of sentience was permanent, and was considered "death".
“For you Seon lovers out there, never fear! I intend to get back to the Seon origins in the sequel to Elantris, when—and if—I ever get around to writing it. Know, however, that none of the above material is cannon. I was working ideas out on the page, and eventually removed them because I didn’t quite like how they worked. So, some of these concepts may show up in the next book, but some may not. ”
—Brandon Sanderson
(http://brandonsanderson.com/elantris-alternate-ending-material/)
Theories
It is not known how Seons are created. Replicated, made. - Ashe seemed to think they could be created.
It is not know if Seons can die. It seems possible as it was mentioned that there were a lot less seons around after the Teod, and so perhaps they die if their current master dies. However, Raoden gave several Seons to what's-his-toes after the restoration of Elantris, Seons that seemed to have no master. This would imply that their master had died.
It is not known how seons communicate with other seons, but it can theorised that they do so through the shadesmar?
Notes
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