Spiritweb

The spiritweb is a mysterious concept in the cosmere. To this day, very little is known about it. However, it seems likely that the spiritweb is an individual's spiritual aspect. Evidence suggests that spiritweb are laid out in a specific pattern in a person. This pattern forms a network of lines and points ... or veins.Lines, points ... veins
In the Spiritual Realm, every person has a latticework of lines that makes up his/her spiritweb. The particular "shape" of this spiritweb is affected by two different things: a) the sDNA of the indivual (that determines the layout of the spiritweb), and b) outside trauma that can "break" the spiritweb itself (i.e., Kaladin's witnessing Tien's death).
When a spiritweb is "cracked" by a traumatic event, it leaves gaps into which something else can fit. On Roshar, this is achieved through a Nahel bond; a spren attaching itself to someone's spiritweb and repairing the connection that was severed.
It is important to note that an individual's spiritweb was never severed completely away from the whole. In the same way ripping a fishing net doesn't destroy the threads, the pieces are still there, just separated. Adding more thread (in this case, a Spiritual bond with a spren) leaves one with a bigger web than one had before. That, coupled with the fact that this material is a portion of the power of Adonalsium itself, is what grants someone the ability to Surgebind.
The spiritweb is related to 'spiritual DNA' - a person's spiritual heritage from living on a specific Shardworld.Spiritual DNA It is also passed down like Earthly DNA, from parents to children.Earthly DNA The spiritweb is also implied to determine which types of Investiture a person can utilize.Investiture
As a Shardblade can be stolen with Hemalurgy,Stolen Shardblade it seems likely that it is attached to a point in a person's spiritweb as well.
==Notes==
With regard to one's spiritual, cognitive, and physical aspects, Connection, and compounding ...
According to Brandon, any looking into the future involves looking at Spiritwebs.Oathbringer release party, Provo, UT, 11/13/17
==Q&A with Brandon==
Q. A spiritweb is composed of a bunch of chunks that are added based on certain circumstances. Could you manufacture spiritweb patterns out of raw Investiture in such a way that, instead of cutting something from someone and grafting it to someone else, actually manufacture the chunk desired from Investiture and put it on the person?
A. Yes. They don't know how, but you could. Synthetic meat, synthetic souls, possible.Dragonsteel Mini-Con 2021, 11/22/21
==References==
Category:Cosmere