Fabrialism (60% Theory 40%Fanfic) Edit:Possible spoilers for The Sunlit Man

[Dofurion]

Firstly, this post is not to say how I think fabrials will operate in the future, but rather how I would like it to be. I also wrote it from the point of view of a Silverlight inhabitant in Era 4, since it greatly facilitated my inspiration when writing. If you have questions, I will answer them, since I am aware that there are some argumentative holes ;-).

Mechanical Fabrialism is the use of Spren and their interactions with polestones. We could classify them into four classes of Fabrials: α, 0, 1 and 2. Categorized according to their realmatic implications.

To start with the α class fabrials we have Urithiru, a giant tower-shaped structure with multiple mechanical functions, in addition to the structure itself and its functions being modifiable by the Sibling (a Godspren) and his linked radiant knight. The mechanical functions of this type of fabrial seem to be influenced by the properties of the essences associated with the polestones; see, the reason why the Sibling is inside a Ruby and not a Heliodor (as might be expected) is because the function of the properties associated with the Ruby will be those necessary for the work it is expected to perform: Soul, the Sibling being the metaphorical (some would say literal) soul of the tower, and the Spark possibly being the property that allows it to generate light. In addition, all the Garnet veins that are distributed seem to play the role of the “blood” that forms the entire interconnection system of the tower.

Class 0 fabrials are those that require two true sprens, these fabrials appear to be directly under the command and administration of the Sibling and act on some of the Surges. An example we have of this class of fabrial is the Oathgates, a fabrial Surge that manages the transportation surge.

The manufacture of these fabrials as far as I have been able to investigate, consists of 4 steps: the first is to obtain a perfect gem according to the fabrial that we want to create; then that perfect gem is filled with light from the tower; then 2 Sprens that share a surge enter the gem (now called seed) and are finally taken to the place where it will manifest so that the Bondsmith of the Sibling accepts the oath of the Sprens to form said fabrial.

There are two aspects of these factories, push and pull. The difference between these two lies in the perfect gemstone used for the creation of the fabrial, below is a list of the 8 types of push-type class 0 fabrials:

• Gravitational engine (Sapphire | Honorspren & Highspren)

Gravitational engines are estimated to have been created even in the heraldic era of Roshar, but given the technological capabilities and the political environment that existed, they did not see much use in them. Gravitational engines are the means by which Rosharian ships sail through space in the physical realm. This is done through a process that some call great lashing, where the ship is introduced into a gravitational singularity that bends space and creates a fast track towards the desired destination.

• Splitter Cannon (Smokestone | Highspren & Ashspren)

Splitter Cannons are, as their name indicates, cannon-shaped artifacts. They are the main defense mechanism of the Rosharian ships during any battle carried out in space; their range of action and damage to other structures varies depending on the design with which they manifest in the physical realm. According to a Rosharian legend, these were not created due to the opposition of the herald Ishar, although for my part, I consider this legend as apocryphal given the existence of the Hierocracy as a historical period in Roshar, a historical period where a large part of the records were lost due to the intentional modification of the history. In more recent times, they have entered into "production" given the need to stop depending on the 4th ideal Windrunners or the even rarer 5th ideal Skybreakers for deep space battles.

As an additional note, these are the class 0 fabrials that can vary the most in size, ranging from occupying the volume equivalent to an Oathgate (more information below) to being as small as a standard pistol (this being its rarest form).

• High-Bubble (Ruby | Ashspren & Cultivacispren)

High-Bubbles are one of the most curious class 0 fabrials. At first, they look like 10 square-meter spheres that are completely smooth except for the gap where the shardblade necessary to activate it fits. Once activated, it generates something very similar to the speed bubbles that cadmium and bendalloy allomancers can create a bubble that, although it does not have properties as mystical as time manipulation, has the subtle effect of deflecting most physical projectiles. With a radius of less than one inch, I know it doesn't sound very spectacular, but it is essential for ships that travel in space. This is the perfect cover for microparticles that travel in a vacuum at speeds high enough to pierce thick metal covers.

• Great sowing (Diamond | Cultivacispren & Mistspren)

What can I say about the Great Sowing? If I said that the previous fabrial was curious, this one is downright strange. To begin with, this fabrial works only with lifelight, yes only and exclusively lifelight. This is strange considering that the others, besides Stormlight can run on hybrid lights and even purified Dor (the common fuel for gravitational engines). And the strangeness doesn't end there. The great planting in its retracted form is composed of four pillars that, to begin to function, require 13 "units of measurement" to be separated; no matter which one you choose, they have to be 13. When it begins to function, the entire area within its perimeter begins to become the best type of soil for whatever you decide to plant. Each cycle lasts a local week, and in Roshar, for example, it works very similar to the Urithiru sowing, attracting lifespren... during that first cycle. If the fabrial is used again in the same area for a second time, instead of attracting only lifesprens, it begins to attract all kinds of emotional sprens (there are recorded cases of sightings of Alesprens). This creates slight mutations in the planted flora that can be summarized in a slight streak of color that goes from the root to the highest stem and a change in the flavor of what is harvested. It is believed that this is due to the sprens beginning to bond to the plants. If the fabrial is used a third time in the same area, it begins to attract natural sprens and these trigger deeper mutations in the plants, from changes in color, thickness of the bark, alteration in size, etc.

Although it may seem wonderful to some, the possibility of bonding more problematic sprens such as Anguishspren is still worrying.

When I was researching for this entry, one of my colleagues told me that there was a rumor that this type of fabrial began to be more regulated when a Truespren ended up bonded in one of those plantations.

The fine workings of this fabrial are also fascinating. The particular reason why it can only be activated by lifelight is because the fabrial enriches the earth (or Rock) with small traces of Koravedium, which, throughout the week in which the fabrial is in operation, is absorbed by the plants in the specified area.

As final notes, while this fabrial is known to have been used outside of Roshar, the effects appear to be more attenuated on planets where no cognitive entities are present, presenting slight mutations. And it is not known what would happen if it were activated in Treno

• Lighthouse (Emerald | Mistspren & Cryptic)

The truth is, I don't have much to say about the lighthouse beyond being the neuralgic center of all Rosharian research regarding gaseous investiture. I think that if it had been planned to build it during the so-called desolations, everything would have been finished in less than a year. Although information is scarce given the incredibly intense surveillance that the Urithiru government has over the building, it is known that its control allows the easy conversion from investiture to anti-investiture, and the same for the creation of hybrid lights.

• Landcasters (Garnet | Criptic & Inkspren)

Landcasters are, for some, one of the greatest milestones of fabrial science and, for others, one of the greatest weapons it can provide. I will say it clearly: Landcasters are terraforming fabrials as they were used in the kingdom of Aimia to modify its terrain, flora, fauna and climate. Being one of the most complicated class 0 factories to manifest, and also one of the most difficult to control. Landcasters works similarly to conventional soulcasters, only that instead of dealing with an individual object, you end up dealing with an entire region (or at least the cognitive ideal of what a region represents). This type of fabrial requires a lot of willpower to use, as well as a very specific idea of what you are looking to achieve.

After its first activation, the factory needs a constant supply of investment to solve the small details that arise until the change in ecology is stable. If said change cannot be stabilized for any reason, the supply must be perpetual.

• Oathgate (Zircon | Inkspren & Reachers)

I don't think I have much to explain about the Oathgates, they are the most famous class 0 fabrials as they were the first to be rediscovered by the Rosharians. They allow instant movement to another Oathgate in the physical realm and also transport users to the cognitive realm.

• Soil fluidizer (Amethyst | Reachers & Peakspren)

The Soil fluidizer is one of the most used fabrials for landing Rosharian ships. Although they usually remain in orbit when for some reason it is decided that the ship should go down to the planet, this fabric allows it to penetrate below the surface and stay there, allowing an easy landing and making it easier to hide the location of the ship.

Something interesting to comment on is that, in several records, I find that these first 8 fabrials are easier to manifest as Bondsmith than the next 8. It seems worth mentioning to me given that certain characteristics of the push-type fabrials seem well... pushing nature out of its normal course. While the pull-type, fabrials seem to reinforce the already-existing characteristics.

• Gravity Normalizer (Smokestone | Honorspren & Highspren)

The Gravity Normalizer is a fabrial that allows you to control the intensity of gravity in an area. It is common for a Rosharian ship to have one of these to adjust the gravity within the ship.

• Cold oven (Rubí | Highspren & Ashspren)

The cold oven is a fabrial that allows the user to systematically and organizedly decompose anything that is inside. Commonly, the radiant orders use it to recycle materials from any object by breaking it down into its simplest materials. But in the case of the Dustbringers, this fabrial has a truly fascinating use, being able to deconstruct any artifact without minimally damaging its pieces. This has allowed the Radiants to reverse engineer many of the inventions of the other societies in the Cosmere.

It is known that he has been able to extract a breath from an awakened object, but when exposed the breath dissipates (perhaps returning to Endowment)

• Practice room (Diamond | Ashspren & Cultivacispren)

To be honest, the Practice Room is more of a tourist attraction than a real training place. Within this place everything is affected by the surge of abrasion, that is, everything slides. Originally intended as a safe place for squires to practice their fencing or other martial arts in difficult environments, over time it became used by the children of the tower as a play area.

• Healing room (Emerald | Cultivacispren & Mistspren)

I think the best presentation for this fabrial is on the sign at its entrance, "No Drabs or Trenodites Allowed".

The first time I went to Urithiru for field research, I really missed that sign. Why would they place such a message there? The answer came to me from my guide: it seems that the healing room is an extremely powerful healing fabrial, too powerful. During the first contacts of the Rosharians with the rest of the inhabitants of the cosmere this was one of their offers of friendship. In a place where even poorly anchored cognitive shadows can adjust correctly to their bodies, people pierced by hemalurgic nails can fully recover, as well as completely recover a body regardless of the patient's self-image. This is apparently because this fabrial connects directly with the spiritual realm to perform the cure, without cognitive filtering. The problem came when an attempt was made to treat a Trenodite and the poor madman suddenly turned into a living Umbra. Regarding the issue of the Drabs, it is also for their own good, more or less. As soon as a Drab (a person native to Nalthis who has given up his BioChromatic breath) enters the factory, he recovers something very similar to a breath, except that it is Cultivation investiture (Yes, like its fabrial pair, this one only works with lifelight). What at first seemed like good news soon showed signs of turning into a very big social problem, as many tried to turn this into an infinite breath machine, injuring Drabs in some towns and then extorting them and asking in exchange for leaving them alone. The new "green breaths". When the Knights Radiant found out, they put an end to the matter by prohibiting their entry (although there is evidence that at least the Windrunners travel in small groups to Nalthis themselves, looking for Drabs who need medical assistance).

• Theater (Garnet | Mistspren & Criptic)

The Theater is by far the most difficult fabrial to manifest, basically because, like the Landcasters, they require a perfect garnet to create, this being the most difficult polestone to get (even counting with the next fabrial on the list) and also belonging to the fabrials pull-type. According to the data I have, there is only one copy of this fabrial, located in a chamber deep in Uritiru. It is managed by the Lightweavers and can replicate a scene exactly. There is not much more I can say since, although the Lightweavers are not as suspicious of the Theater as the Elsecallers and the Truthwachers would be with the Lighthouse, they do tend to disguise the statements of what can really be done there, to the point of having a lot of conflicting information about its operation.

• Mother shaper (Zircon | Criptic & Inkspren)

I believe without a doubt that Mother shapers are the most important factories in Rosharian technological development. Basically, these allowed the mass creation of class 0 factories by being able to cast a perfect polestone.

They look like a black box at least 3 meters high and with a lid to enter the materials to be used for Soulcasting. Although technically any radiant can use it, the laws of Uritiru state that only a 4th ideal Elsecaller or a specially approved Truthwacher or Dustbringer can use them. It is not known exactly why this regulation was created, but it reportedly came into effect after a Midnight Essence infiltration incident.

Mother shapers are extremely precise Soulcasters, allowing perfect polestones to be replicated through the use of the essence of Lucentia, as long as their user knows exactly what the required crystalline structure is and the arrangement that the axes must take to replicate it. Beyond this, it has also allowed the easy manufacture of high-entropy materials on scales high enough to verify their mechanical properties. Surpassing in this aspect the Skadrians whose technology is somewhat limited by the allomantic properties of the metals with which they usually build their ships.

• Shardrive (Amethyst | Inkspren & Reachers)

Yes, in the previous position on the list, I said that it was the most important fabrial for Rosharian technological development. Well, this is the most important for your expansion in the Cosmere. The Shardrives allow space travel as it is currently conceived; although the gravitational engines create the path through which the ship traverses, the Shardrives are the wheels that travel that path. Using the Transportation surge, they can keep a ship running in space for a long period of time.

• Stone Pantheon (Topaz | Reachers & Peakspren)

Concluding with the Stone Pantheon, this fabrial has the peculiarity that, unlike the previous ones, it manifests the sprens that make it up in the physical realm, such as two 4-meter statues at the entrance. Within the pantheon, there are multiple humanoid forms with which one can converse; these are actually the souls of the stones that take that form when exercising the surge of Cohesion. The purpose of this fabrial is to be an easy record of history, accessible for any query.

As you can read, class 0 fabrials cannot use Tension or Adhesion. This would be due to the logical limitations involved. Resulting in a total of 16 class 0 fabrial. A good number.

Class 1 fabrials are all those ancient fabrials that require a true sprens to function. These fabrials, like what happened with the bonds that the sprens formed in yesteryear to provide the surges, are speculated to be a product of the sprens seeking to imitate the type 0 fabrials, but unlike the first ones (the orders), they may have required the intervention of the Bondsmith and perhaps an Elsecaller, to be produced.
Just as type 0 fabrials present the peculiarity that the Spren is not found in the inserted gem, instead they seem to have a more intrinsic bond in the structure, some believe the spren manifests directly in the physical realm, while others They postulate that they are found in the crystalline structure of the metal itself. I have not been able to obtain one to refute any claims in this regard, but I particularly believe that it may be a middle ground, so to speak, where the spren manifests in the physical realm but requires the presence of additional materials to "attach" to. I can confirm the existence of 9 types for this class of fabrials:

1. Lashing fabrial
2. Decay fabrial
3. Slicking fabrial
4. Regrowth fabrial
5. Lightweaver fabrial
6. Soulcaster fabrial
7. Elsecaller fabrial
8. Stoneshaper fabrial
9. Reinforcer fabrial

They are currently out of use given the ease of building class 2 fabrials and that they do not meet the level of results of class 0 fabrials, in the words of some Rosharians that I have interviewed, "it is more useful to have more radiants."

Finally, class 2 fabrials would be all modern fabrials, fabrials that function due to the interaction of the spren contained in gems and their respective metal cages. The metals used to create these fabrials are allomantically viable metals.

Quote

Iron, Steel, Tin, Pewter, Zinc, Brass, Copper, Bronze, Aluminum, Duralumin, Chromium, Nicrosil, Gold, Electrum, Cadmium and Bendalloy

In their first versions, the class 2 fabrials had the spren locked in the polestones with a cage made of a specific metal to stimulate the spren's reaction. Part of the cages were drilled into the gems in order to complete the circuit. Since the incorporation of duralumin, this is no longer necessary since it serves as a conductor of the effect of the metal and the investiture of the gem, thus creating a mechanism (very similar to that of class 1 fabrials) where the gems are inserted into a base of duralumin, thus maintaining the structure of the gem and maximizing the living space of the spren.

Although it may not seem like it, the type of spren used to operate a fabrial affects the requirements for the metals that will be used. Natural spren is affected by the metals of the physical quadrant of Allomancy, while emotional spren is affected by the metals of the mental quadrant. The metals of the improvement quadrant are a wild card in all their implementations, especially the pair of aluminum and duralumin, which ended up being a perfect insulator and a superconductor, respectively. And the last thing I have to mention regarding class 2 fabrials is the incorporation of temporary metals, especially gold and electrum. The incorporation of these into the construction of “smart fabrials” with the use of Logispren has created something that, for artifabrians that may result in a new technological leap comparable to that of awakened metalminds.

I want to end this essay by mentioning that no matter how hard I tried, I could not find information about those supposed fabrials that use Godmetals, and I think that if they exist, they should be one of the best kept secrets in Roshar.

Now, as for the real me, I appreciate that you have read this far; it took me about 3 hours to write and review everything. I apologize for any grammatical errors you may have read, and I would love to know what you think.

Edited February 8 by Dofurion

[Treamayne]

Can you please confirm if English is your native language?

If this is supposedly Era 4, why is your protagonist not using correct Realmatic Terminology?

3 hours ago, Dofurion said:

Sibling (a Godspren)

Sibling is a Splinter (specifically a Splinter of both Honor and Cultivation)

Spoiler

These Splinters can be composed of a single Shard's power or the Investiture of multiple Shards.

SPAG: Urithiru, Heliodor

3 hours ago, Dofurion said:

the reason why the Sibling is inside a Ruby and not a Heliodorus

The Sibling is not "in" any gemstone - They are the tower. And the Crystal Pillar through which Raboniel and Navani interface with them is made up of all Polestones, not just Ruby. The Crystal veins through which they communicate elsewhere are Garnet, not Ruby as well. 

I'll stop here, in case some of these issues are simply translation problems. 

[Dofurion]

4 hours ago, Treamayne said:

Can you please confirm if English is your native language?

If this is supposedly Era 4, why is your protagonist not using correct Realmatic Terminology?

No, is Spanish.
Many of the terms used are somewhat cumbersome to translate, since I do not have an English copy on hand to compare. For example, the Surges, if you were to try to translate it back into English with my version of the books, you would end up with something similar to "Potency"

4 hours ago, Treamayne said:

Sibling is a Splinter (specifically a Splinter of both Honor and Cultivation)

The term Godspren is a term that is usually used to encompass only the Sprens that, when bonded, would create a Bondsmith. I didn't invent it, it came out in the following WoB:

Quote

Aurimus

Firstly, is there a general name for all the Bondsmith spren? Along the lines of the word "honorspren" for all the Windrunner spren.

Brandon Sanderson

In world, they're just called Bondsmith Spren. But godspren isn't terrible for discussions, as it does relate a little to things like the god metals.

General Reddit 2020 (Nov. 16, 2020)

Also, it helps me a lot to summarize my Excel pages.

4 hours ago, Treamayne said:

SPAG: Urithiru, Heliodor

Thanks

4 hours ago, Treamayne said:

The Sibling is not "in" any gemstone - They are the tower. And the Crystal Pillar through which Raboniel and Navani interface with them is made up of all Polestones, not just Ruby…

I just checked and you're right, the truth is I was very sure it was a giant Ruby all this time, I have to do a re-read.

4 hours ago, Treamayne said:

…The Crystal veins through which they communicate elsewhere are Garnet, not Ruby as well.

 

8 hours ago, Dofurion said:

In addition, all the Garnet veins that are distributed seem to play the role of the “blood” that forms the entire interconnection system of the tower.

I think that's exactly how I wrote it. Precisely for this reason I mentioned the essence [blood]

Anyway, thanks for the comment. If you have anything else I'm all ears.

Edited February 8 by Dofurion

[Treamayne]

4 minutes ago, Dofurion said:

No, is Spanish.
Many of the terms used are somewhat cumbersome to translate, since I do not have an English copy on hand to compare. For example, the Surges, if you were to try to translate it back into English with my version of the books, you would end up with something similar to "Potency"

.The term Godspren is a term that is usually used to encompass only the Sprens that, when bonded, would create a Bondsmith. I didn't invent it, it came out in the following WoB:

Also, it helps me a lot to summarize my Excel pages.

Thanks

I just checked and you're right, the truth is I was very sure it was a giant Ruby all this time, I have to do a re-read.

I think that's exactly how I wrote it. Precisely for this reason I mentioned the essence [blood]

Anyway, thanks for the comment. If you have anything else I'm all ears.

No Worries. I think I stopped before I got to that "garnet" line. And I don't mind pointing out Spelling and Grammar - but I did want to verify if that was somethign you wanted before I spent a bunch of time on it. Some people like that kind of feedback, and others would just prefer feedback only on content. 

 

Also, please not that if you are using any material from unpubliched "previews" or "readings (such as SA 5 previews or the Sixth of the Dusk Sequel reading) then your thread title needs to have a "Preview spoilers" or SA5 spoilers" tag in the name (you can do that by clicking on the three dot menu (top-right) of the first post > click "Edit" and it will also let you edit the thread title. 

I know they are working on the Spanish Coppermind pages, so you should be able to access those here. So, especially for proper names, if you need to check spelling, translations, or changes you can go to the Spanish version of the page, and click "English" on the left hand menu bar and it will take you to the English page. 

Hope that helps, and I'll do a read and review once you have verified there are no preview spoilers present and I have some time after work. 

[Dofurion]

6 minutes ago, Treamayne said:

Also, please not that if you are using any material from unpubliched "previews" or "readings (such as SA 5 previews or the Sixth of the Dusk Sequel reading) then your thread title needs to have a "Preview spoilers" or SA5 spoilers" tag in the name (you can do that by clicking on the three dot menu (top-right) of the first post > click "Edit" and it will also let you edit the thread title

Well, in theory, everything I mentioned could be interpreted chronologically prior to the events of The Sunlit Man. If, with that book, it is also necessary to warn, I will change the title.

[Treamayne]

2 minutes ago, Dofurion said:

Well, in theory, everything I mentioned could be interpreted chronologically prior to the events of The Sunlit Man. If, with that book, it is also necessary to warn, I will change the title.

It's not about chronology, it's about where the information came from.

Many people (like me) are avoiding Preview material that has not yet been published in a book (SotD2, SA5). So, if you are referencing unpublished sources, it needs a spoiler tag. Sunlit Man has been published and is not preview material (though it is still in its spoiler period - more here)