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Fannahn-im Actual surge and How They Build


Karger

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A lively debate has been going on about the fannahn-im.  Although their name, those ones of alteration, sounds like they soulcast they are known as builders and their order produces scholars some of whom work on biological warfare and others who study surges?  Quite a dilemma.  The obvious Radiant parallel to these people are truthwatchers but how could a illumination or progression fused make a building?  An answer eventually struck me while walking today.  That is when it hit me.  Remember this passage from chapter 14?

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The result was a curved conical shape, the peak resembling a crown. The architecture had a distinctly organic feel, enhanced by walls grown over with shalebark to give a rough, uneven texture. The palace vaguely resembled a plant: bulging at the base, with gentle blades sweeping up to the cap.

and now check out this WoB spoiler for length.

Spoiler
Quote

Questioner

Where does the fiber for fabric come from on Scadrial?

Brandon Sanderson

[Brandon misunderstands the question to be about Rosharan fabrics] Some of it comes from seasilk. The silk is not the same silk that we [have], most of it is from plant-based textiles. Most of the-- here we have insects, we can use their cocoons and stuff; cocoons on Roshar have rock in them. And so it's a little bit hard. But a lot of the plants do too, and there are a lot of plant-based textiles you can use, so...

Argent

Didn't you ask about Scadrial?

Brandon Sanderson

Oh, Scadrial! I was thinking about Roshar. Yeah, Scadrial is an Earth analogue. Scadrial is my place that if it's on Earth, you can assume it's on Scadrial. That is not the case for the other worlds, but it is for Scadrial.

Words of Radiance Chicago signing (March 22, 2014)

and then remember (if you can a lot was happening during the sanderlanche) Kaladin fights a fused that looks like and does this

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Kaladin sparred with the Fused who had the strange overgrown carapace, and couldn’t spare a glance. He used the screaming to judge that he was staying far enough from Amaram to not be immediately attacked...

The hulking Fused charged him. The creature’s cut arms had regrown, and—even as it swung its hands—a large club formed there from carapace. Kaladin barely got Syl in place to block.

The fannahn-im use progression.  In battle they sculpt their carapace to use as weapons and armor.  This allows them to alter their physical form considerably hence the name.  This also explains why Raboniel is a member of that order and how it helped her manufacture the plague. The ability to rapidly cultivate her cultures of pathogens makes bio-warfare scarily easy.   As to how they build those structures it is quite simple.  Rather then soulcasting(a highly inefficient use of limited voidlight reserves that are a problem for all fused) or even using cohesion they grow them.  Roshar has a verity of plants that incorporate the rock and crem of the world into their structure.  The fannahn-im use these plants to construct large structures and then allow the plants to fossilize. 

Edited by Karger
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This sounds like a pretty interesting theory and having literally living buildings would be very cool. I can't think of any reason why this wouldn't work but my initial thought was Cohesion because of the builder parallel and it would be very practical to transform simple rock into buildings(before Team "It's obviously Transformation" says  it: I think they can deal with the limited amount of materials and the potential wholes, after all normal builders have it much worse). Also Brandon naming something "of Transformation"  and then that actually being of Transformation seems way to eassy.

I don't think we have enough info right now to actually tell wich surge they actually have, but where would us Sharders be without a place to theorize?

BTW thanks @Karger for making this thread. It seemed like any other thread that mentioned the fannah-im turned into "What's their surge" thread. And with good reason: I can't seem to turn my eyes somewhere else before someone has come up with a new surge theory.

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20 minutes ago, Shardsplinter said:

BTW thanks @Karger for making this thread. It seemed like any other thread that mentioned the fannah-im turned into "What's their surge" thread. And with good reason: I can't seem to turn my eyes somewhere else before someone has come up with a new surge theory.

No problem.  Glad I am not completely crazy.

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This could also explain the process through which the Nine are built into the structure. I had assumed the stone was molded around them, but with Progression they could just literally be grown into the structure itself, as a living part of whatever makes up the structure.

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21 minutes ago, LuckyJim said:

This could also explain the process through which the Nine are built into the structure. I had assumed the stone was molded around them, but with Progression they could just literally be grown into the structure itself, as a living part of whatever makes up the structure.

I suggested this but someone on discord shot it down with the quote

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The stones had been Soulcast into shape—with people inside them

 

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Very good idea, but I still think that they are using Cohesion. We've seen in Dalinars Vision Stoneward who was using cohesion and this can be very easly used to build. Also, reshaping microbs should be possible, while hard (because Cohesion is very hard to use on living things) but this shouldnt be a problem for milenia-expirienced Fused.

Name of Fused can also reflect that - Those who Alter - change shape of object.

Edited by Bzhydack
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On 10/9/2020 at 7:02 AM, Bzhydack said:

Very good idea, but I still think that they are using Cohesion. We've seen in Dalinars Vision Stoneward who was using cohesion and this can be very easly used to build. Also, reshaping microbs should be possible, while hard (because Cohesion is very hard to use on living things) but this shouldnt be a problem for milenia-expirienced Fused.

I still reject the possibility of direct surgebindings to make a plague.  Breeding seems much simpler.

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1 hour ago, Halyo_Alex said:

I think there may be a way that involves both; Soulcasting common medicines from Roshar to breed a plague that has immunity to them.

Oh absolutely.  By direct surgebindings I was referencing the idea that you could somehow make a disease from scratch.  It is absolutely possible but without advanced computational systems old fashioned breeding seems way way way more practical.

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This is really interesting take! It would certainly explain the organic feel of the new structure and the need to break down the old structure to make room for this one.

really like that having Progression be the surge of the fannahn-im would make the parallel the Truthwatchers. Since the Truthwatchers seem to be the scientists of the Radiants, it emphasizes Raboniel’s mad scientist aspect even more and makes me think that Renarin could step up and have a role in foiling her plans!

Edited by Nightweaver
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On 10/16/2020 at 4:27 AM, Nightweaver said:

really like that having Progression be the surge of the fannahn-im would make the parallel the Truthwatchers. Since the Truthwatchers seem to be the scientists of the Radiants, it emphasizes Raboniel’s mad scientist aspect even more and makes me think that Renarin could step up and have a role in foiling her plans!

ITS ALIVE!

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  • 5 weeks later...

Some thought it was Soulcasting, me and some others thought it was Cohesion.

Part 2 spoilers

Spoiler

We, at least, have been proven incorrect as of Part 2 of RoW. Another type of Fused use Cohesion.

Welp, the Sibling confirmed that Raboniel has the Surge of Transformation. sorry, Karger

 

Edited by Honorless
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