Magic Systems

Magic systems within The Stormlight Archive include fabrial science, Surgebinding, Voidbinding, and the Old Magic.Magic Gemstones and Stormlight contribute significantly to the functioning of fabrial science and Surgebinding.
Each of these magics (other than the older non-spren fabrials) rely on spren for their efficacy, including the Old Magic. The three systems all use the same powers of creation in some fashion. They differ from one another only in how each system gives access to and expresses the powers. The Old Magic, in contrast, seems to use only a few of the powers of creation - if any - which differentiates it from the other systems.
Brandon has said that the powers of creation are simply tools. However, the means by which one gains powers (i.e., Ruin stealing, Preservation gifting) are related to the Shards, but not to the powers themselves.Tools ...
==Fabrials==
There are two broad types of fabrials – the modern fabrials mentioned in the Ars Arcanum and ancient fabrials that seem not to rely on spren at all. There are two examples of ancient fabrials: those that enable Soulcasting and Regrowth (the Transformation and Progression Surges). It isn't yet known whether the magic system of fabrials includes both modern and ancient fabrials or one or the other. Brandon has said that ... "Fabrials can replicate all of the Surgebinding abilities."Book signing, Chicago, IL, 10/5/13
Arguably, the Honorblades themselves are non-spren fabrials that grant the ten Surges. The Oathgates are another ancient fabrial, but they require a living Shardblade – a spren; these may be more akin to modern fabrials, but maybe not. All fabrials of whatever kind require Stormlight to operate.
 
The Ars Arcanum author, Khriss, is " ... more and more convinced that [modern fabrial creation] requires forced enslavement of transformative cognitive entities, known as spren to the local communities." (Khriss confirms that spren are composed of Cognitive Investiture.) Modern fabrials lock the spren into specific types of gems. The color, cut and size of the gems appear responsible for attracting the spren, each ... its imprisonment, the amount and wavelength of Stormlight to which each spren gains access, and/or the type of magical output the fabrial creates.
 
Khriss categorizes fabrials into five groups:
* Altering (Augmenters and Diminishers)
* Pairing (Conjoiners and Reversers)
* Warning
Fabrials " ... appear to be the work of dedicated scientists, as opposed to the more mystical Surgebindings once performed by the Knights Radiant." While Khriss seems to write the Ars Arcanum contemporaneously with the events of Words of Radiance, she knows of the Jah Keved Half-Shards, a recent development. (She seems ignorant of the re-emergence of the Knights Radiant.)
 
The two distinguishing features of modern fabrials are the use of gemstones to capture spren and the reliance on merely sentient spren. Surgebinding uses the more heavily invested sapient "Radiantspren" for its magic. Altering fabrials, for example, seem to work best with forces, emotions or sensations, like heat, pain or wind. Sentient spren have access to the Surges too: windspren, for example, can use the Surge of Adhesion to trip people.
==Surgebinding==
The essence of Surgebinding is the Nahel bond. That is the means by which Surgebinders are afforded the ability to use the powers of creation, which - on Roshar - are called Surges.
Honor's mandate is to bind, as expressed by Syl. Honor's Investiture creates the Nahel bond. But bonded spren are a mix of Honor's and Cultivation's Investiture. The two exceptions are the spren of the Bondsmiths (i.e., the Stormfather, Honor’s Cognitive Shadow comprised of pure Honor Investiture); and Truthwatchers' spren (pure Cultivation Investiture, though connected to each their Knight Radiant's spiritweb by Honor's Nahel bond).
==Voidbinding==
According to the Ars Arcanum, there are ten levels of Voidbinding, similar to the ten levels of Surgebinding. However, it is unknown if the ten levels of Voidbinding are associated with the ten numbers and Essences like the ten levels of Surgebinding are.
==Old Magic==
Little is known about the Old Magic, other than by those who seek it; those who travel west to the Nightwatcher, who is widely believed to be a kind of super-spren, similarly as the Stormfather is.
The Old Magic does require a certain trigger for the magic to be accessed. In this case, it is the rewriting of a person's spiritweb that allows for the change.
==Notes==
According to Brandon, one can Awaken on Roshar, though it’s been really subtle thus far.Starsight Release Party, Orem, UT, 11/26/19 Azure has her cloak, and readers have witnessed Hoid Awakening.
Also according to Brandon, Intent and Command can't be a major feature of every magic, otherwise it's too restrictive. There'd be too many magics that would feel the same.JordanCon 2021, Atlanta, GA, 7/16/21
==Trivia==
Additionally according to Brandon, sympathetic magic is the classical science idea that "Like influences Like." He states that Voodoo dolls are a more contemporary example, though even spontaneous generation and the humors connect to the idea slightly. It was the basis for Awakening, and (he believes) the sympathetic magic of Rothfuss. It's a common theme in fantasy magics, much like alchemy and astrology.Stormlight Three Update #4, /r/Stormlight_Archive, 9/8/16
==Q&A with Brandon==
Q. When you put together different magic systems, do you just have a file of those that "this is going to work for this one"?
A. I have a file of magic systems, characters, and settings, and plots. Usually I review it for a while, periodically I mean, and certain connections are made. I build on those in my head, then eventually stick them back in if it doesn't end up working. But ocasionally it's like ... Like Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell, I wanted to write a book about a bounty hunter woman who runs an inn and kills the people who come to the inn. I developed that all without the magic system or anything like that, and then said what world would this fit on? Would it fit on any of them? Do I need to make a new story? And I'm like "This worked really well on Threnody" so I put it there and put the magic in. Usually it's the other way around, I've got the world and things and I need some characters to plug in.Book signing, Chicago, IL, 12/6/16
Q. Would magic from one world work on another and if so, how?
A. Generally, magics in the cosmere work on different planets. But it depends on the magic. Things like the Dor on Sel are locked to the geography, so it gets difficult. The Metallic Arts work pretty much universally though. Making Surgebinding work on another planet would require Stormlight and the spren are bound to Roshar, so getting them off planet is quite hard.
So the magics kind of work differently depending on whether a sentient being is involved, how the magic works and how it's powered. It would be very easy to take some Breaths off of Nalthis, which is a problem for them. It gets very complicated.
Q. Can there be a mixing of magic?
A. Yes, there can be.Book signing, Stuttgart, Germany, 5/17/19
Q. Is there going to be a magic system for every Shard? 
A. Uh, yes, whether there'll be books? We get into a problem here ... is ... what is a magic system, right? 
So for instance like, would you count all of Surgebinding as one magic system, or is it ten magic systems, right? Is Windrunning a separate magic system from Skybreaking? Right, and is it the Surges? Is it that? What do you call a magic system? Is the system of fabrials a magic system, or is it a subset of what's happening on Roshar? And in that case, it's like I delineated it pretty strongly in Mistborn, but in Stormlight, it's like ... kind of Surgebinding is kind of Honor and Cultivation, right? And so is there a magic system for each of them or not?
So the answer is yes and no, in that every one of the Shards will inspire really interesting magic systems. But is there a one to one? What do you call a magic system? And beyond that, will I have time to write books about all of these, I don't know. You could even look at Sel. Sel has how many magic systems, is it one? Is it lots? Is Forging a different magic system from AonDor, or is it two aspects of the same magic system and so ... It's tricky.YouTube Livestream 32, 6/3/21
==References==
Category:Magic System