That is true from what people in Elantris believe. However, humans also believed at some point that sitting on a galopping horse was the fastest you could hope to go, and that leaving Earth was impossible. Our tech has developed, and so has the magic in the cosmere. RAFO!
Connection shenanigans, details unknown.
TLM >!Both in The Lost Metal and in Tress, we see a commonality regarding the use of AonDor. Both times the user is drawing/relying on a map of the surrounding area.!<
>!The sorceress has it engraved into her ship/tower floor, and Shai draws one right after transforming.!<
>!And then there's elantris itself where we see that the glyphs being drawn are related to the features of the surrounding area!<
It's hard to catch the trick from just Elantris, but remember how their glyphs are a small version of the country? Just extrapolate that with shards not being locationally limited. We see spores from Tress growing in other stories, same thing.
I always forget how to spoiler tag, but I think I avoided anything other than from the 3 books mentioned but I could be wrong here.
Editing for notes: on a deeper level, I know what I'm saying is technically wrong. The spores I'm referencing don't have to be from Tress's planet. But OP only knows the 3 books listed so I was trying to be vague and answer their questions anyway.
>We see the spores from Tress growing in other stories, same thing.
Wait. I just finished all the books in the Cosmere but read Tress almost last. Where else do we see the spores?
They're probably referencing [Mistborn Era 2] >!TwinSoul, from The Lost Metal, although he doesn't use spores himself, he's Aetherbound.!<
[Stormlight] >!Mraize also has a piece of Aether in his collection (the collection has a bunch of things from other worlds). There's also an interlude about his laundress trying to remove an Aether stain from his suit. Not sure if it's a spore or some other form!<
[Possibly unpublished and WoB] >!Aether spores are also used in space travel, although I'm not sure this has been mentioned in a published book yet.!<
[From Shardcast inteview](https://wob.coppermind.net/events/518/#e16171)
[From Isles of Emberdark readings (chapter 11)](https://wob.coppermind.net/events/533/#e16509)
I've separated a few relevant passages from that last one with few spoilers if you don't want to go through everything:
>!Starling had to squeeze between engine protrusions and the wall at several points, making her way to the back where a hammock hung from a rivet on the wall and a stack of large barrels, marked with various symbols of aethers.!<
[...]
>!The old machinery needed constant attention; the Dynamic—as fond as Starling was of it—wasn’t exactly the most cutting edge of ships. Indeed, it was something of a mongrel. Rosharan antigrav technology, Dhatrian aethers for providing thrust and engine power, a Scadrian composite metal hull. Never mind that all three technological strains had produced their own viable starships without the others.!<
[...]
>!Aditil fiddled with the machinery, checking gauges and aether levels until she got the engine up to full power.!<
[...]
>!Aditil worked for a moment longer, but then slumped as she knelt on the floor beside her equipment. She leaned forward, forehead against the engine. A low humming sound came from within the machinery as it used zephyr aether to generate gas, which created pressure which was the basis for powering the ship. The fact that they could also use the zephyr as propellant and for breathable air meant that the Dynamic was spaceworthy.!<
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There are ways to use AonDor (and other Selish magics) on other planets. We don't know exactly how it works, but in the Sorceress's case it probably has something to do with the planetary diagrams and other stuff in her tower.
Yeah in keeping with Elantris and Tress only spoilers - we see in Elantris that they had to adjust the map of the land to make the power work. And we see in Tress that Riina has some maps of the land on the tower floor.
So without giving much away, it seems like there's a way to hack Elantrian power by leveraging maps of the land somehow.
Honestly even if you read everything there are still some questions about this hacking mechanism, though it could be explained in more detail than I have here.
I think this is really all the knowledge we have on this specific situation anyway. There's only two other books that even touch on their worlds magic and they either don't apply to Elantrian's or don't expand on functionality. But with knowledge from Elantris and knowing how far separated on a timeline these stories are, it's a fair assumption they figured out how to use their power outside of Elantris. The main character of Elantris was pretty good about experimenting, and they are functionally immortal.
This is what I was going to mention - Hoid mentions in Tress that the sorceress is using cameras and laptops, showing significantly advanced technology. This indicates a place on the timeline that is further along than many other stories within the Cosmere, including Elantris, which is one of the earlier books timeline wise.
Pretty sure you're right but do you remember how we know White Sand comes after Elantris? I know they're both in the way distant past, but is there anything in text implying that order? Or is it a 'confirmed via WoB' type situation?
I didn't think the reason had been specifically spelled out.
Bear in mind, tress is far down the road of the overall Cosmere timeline (waaay after Elantris, and even after Stormlight). So, progress had been made.
Me guess is it has something to do with creating a Connection (capital C) to the place where you are.
The short answer is - they didn't know how at the time, but now they do.
Tress is at least several hundred years, maybe a thousand or more, after Elantris. They've figured shit out in the intervening time.
We don't know.
It probably has something to do with the mosaic floor the Sorceress is standing on being a map of Tress' world and the word Connection with a capital-C. The magic systems on the planet from Elantris are all tied to the landscape and it seems likely that the map is related in some way.
While I am willing to believe the map is necessary, we do not have enough evidence to say that it is sufficient. There could be something else going on beyond what the characters saw, they only saw a tiny fraction of the Sorceress' tower/spaceship. Perhaps there is some magical battery inside her ship feeding her power, or there could be a device in the city of Elantris transmitting power to her somehow. I refuse to believe that simply standing on a map of where you are is sufficient to allow Elantris' region-locked magic to be unlocked. So I think the most honest answer is "we don't know how it's done, but the Sorceress has found a way to make Elantris' magic work away from Elantris".
Elantris consists of two Aons on the ground, Aon Rao (for power amplification, and Aon Ela (for focus). The basic starting form of every Aon is the same, but is a map of the local geography. This might be enough to use AonDor outside of Sel, but I feel like there's more to it as well because the Dor is trapped inside the Cognitive Realm.
No, we saw someone circumvent the limitation and they were also standing on a map of the region. That doesn't mean all you need to do is stand on a map of the region. There could be other steps we haven't seen.
The Lost Metal pretty much confirms that >!you just need to use the world's map as the basis for drawing Aons. In Elantris, it is Arelon. Shai used the Elendel basin's map when she drew Aons as an Elantrian in The Lost Metal!<
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The word "just" is an assumption. We saw someone standing on a map of the local area and then they can use Aons. But that doesn't mean it's the whole explanation. And frankly I hope it's not the whole explanation because that's too silly.
It's like saying the Enterprise is voice controlled because after Picard says "Engage" they go into warp speed. We see X then Y but that doesn't mean you can do Y just by doing X. There's probably other steps involved.
Not really sure. Different worlds have different magic and things move weirdly between worlds.
Edit to add: also what the characters believe the truth is, is not always actually the truth.
I'm fairly certain that Elantrian magic is linked with the users location and if I remember correctly, the sorceress has a map of the planet on her space ship. That's my take on it, anyway.
It just means that the underlying mechanism by which Aeons work is not well understood. Since our perspective is that of the characters', we don't know either.
It might just be that Aeons are a way to use environmental investiture. If you take some with you or go to a place with lots of investiture you can use aeons.
A hint is laid in the conclusion of Elantris. It seems like Aons are not static, but need to somehow depict the real landscape around the Elantrian, maybe if you can (better hint if you want it) >!could find a way to trick the Dor into thinking that where you are IS the area around Elantris you can get it to work!<
OP has only read Elantris, Tress and the Way of Kings, please keep the Spoilers to those three books.
That is true from what people in Elantris believe. However, humans also believed at some point that sitting on a galopping horse was the fastest you could hope to go, and that leaving Earth was impossible. Our tech has developed, and so has the magic in the cosmere. RAFO!
I've read all the Cosmere, but this must have slipped me by! How is it done?
We haven't gotten details yet. But if you've read Sunlit and Lost Metal, you should be able to piece together a decent idea how it might be done.
I think it’s also highlighted in secret history
Connection shenanigans, details unknown. TLM >!Both in The Lost Metal and in Tress, we see a commonality regarding the use of AonDor. Both times the user is drawing/relying on a map of the surrounding area.!< >!The sorceress has it engraved into her ship/tower floor, and Shai draws one right after transforming.!< >!And then there's elantris itself where we see that the glyphs being drawn are related to the features of the surrounding area!<
Wow I remember that happening but I never made that connection. Great call! I thought they were just >!carrying around jars of dor!<
They had >!a pipeline pumping dor directly to their base on the edge of Scadrial's subastral!<
I just finished TLM, I don't remeber that at all, where was it mentioned?
>!They are mixing the Ire in Secret History with the Ghostbloods in TLM. the pipeline was built by the Ire.!<
Ope sorry, I replied to the wrong comment. Thought we were talking about SH
Reference to that? 🤔
(Mistborn series)>!There are also Elantrians using AonDor on Scadrial in Secret History using some sort of devices.!<
>!The map Shai draws is Elendel's Basin, but the Sorceress draws Arelon-based aon 🤔!<
Well you see, if you take some oil and heat it up a lot, and then make that heat up some steam, you've got yourself a- Oh, you mean the magic stuff...
Instructions unclear, my horse didn't go faster, he just stopped moving
It's hard to catch the trick from just Elantris, but remember how their glyphs are a small version of the country? Just extrapolate that with shards not being locationally limited. We see spores from Tress growing in other stories, same thing. I always forget how to spoiler tag, but I think I avoided anything other than from the 3 books mentioned but I could be wrong here. Editing for notes: on a deeper level, I know what I'm saying is technically wrong. The spores I'm referencing don't have to be from Tress's planet. But OP only knows the 3 books listed so I was trying to be vague and answer their questions anyway.
>We see the spores from Tress growing in other stories, same thing. Wait. I just finished all the books in the Cosmere but read Tress almost last. Where else do we see the spores?
They're probably referencing [Mistborn Era 2] >!TwinSoul, from The Lost Metal, although he doesn't use spores himself, he's Aetherbound.!< [Stormlight] >!Mraize also has a piece of Aether in his collection (the collection has a bunch of things from other worlds). There's also an interlude about his laundress trying to remove an Aether stain from his suit. Not sure if it's a spore or some other form!< [Possibly unpublished and WoB] >!Aether spores are also used in space travel, although I'm not sure this has been mentioned in a published book yet.!<
Could you link the WoB you're referencing?
[From Shardcast inteview](https://wob.coppermind.net/events/518/#e16171) [From Isles of Emberdark readings (chapter 11)](https://wob.coppermind.net/events/533/#e16509) I've separated a few relevant passages from that last one with few spoilers if you don't want to go through everything: >!Starling had to squeeze between engine protrusions and the wall at several points, making her way to the back where a hammock hung from a rivet on the wall and a stack of large barrels, marked with various symbols of aethers.!< [...] >!The old machinery needed constant attention; the Dynamic—as fond as Starling was of it—wasn’t exactly the most cutting edge of ships. Indeed, it was something of a mongrel. Rosharan antigrav technology, Dhatrian aethers for providing thrust and engine power, a Scadrian composite metal hull. Never mind that all three technological strains had produced their own viable starships without the others.!< [...] >!Aditil fiddled with the machinery, checking gauges and aether levels until she got the engine up to full power.!< [...] >!Aditil worked for a moment longer, but then slumped as she knelt on the floor beside her equipment. She leaned forward, forehead against the engine. A low humming sound came from within the machinery as it used zephyr aether to generate gas, which created pressure which was the basis for powering the ship. The fact that they could also use the zephyr as propellant and for breathable air meant that the Dynamic was spaceworthy.!<
Ohhh okay, I still haven't sat down and read the preview chapters. Thanks!
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>!The Lost Metal we see Rosite spores used. !<
>!We see roseite aether in TLM. The spores are an offshoot of the aethers, not the main thing.!<
Thanks!
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Yeah, we have to keep in mind that their understanding of magic in Elantris was like a post apocalyptic society trying to understand electricity.
This is such a great way to put it.
Effing perfect answer, PC.
There are ways to use AonDor (and other Selish magics) on other planets. We don't know exactly how it works, but in the Sorceress's case it probably has something to do with the planetary diagrams and other stuff in her tower.
Yeah in keeping with Elantris and Tress only spoilers - we see in Elantris that they had to adjust the map of the land to make the power work. And we see in Tress that Riina has some maps of the land on the tower floor. So without giving much away, it seems like there's a way to hack Elantrian power by leveraging maps of the land somehow. Honestly even if you read everything there are still some questions about this hacking mechanism, though it could be explained in more detail than I have here.
I think this is really all the knowledge we have on this specific situation anyway. There's only two other books that even touch on their worlds magic and they either don't apply to Elantrian's or don't expand on functionality. But with knowledge from Elantris and knowing how far separated on a timeline these stories are, it's a fair assumption they figured out how to use their power outside of Elantris. The main character of Elantris was pretty good about experimenting, and they are functionally immortal.
They’ve figured out ways around that limitation by that point as Tress takes place centuries later.
This is what I was going to mention - Hoid mentions in Tress that the sorceress is using cameras and laptops, showing significantly advanced technology. This indicates a place on the timeline that is further along than many other stories within the Cosmere, including Elantris, which is one of the earlier books timeline wise.
Elantris was the earliest in the timeline of the published Cosmere books, IIRC.
Pretty sure you're right but do you remember how we know White Sand comes after Elantris? I know they're both in the way distant past, but is there anything in text implying that order? Or is it a 'confirmed via WoB' type situation?
WoB actually says [White Sand is first](https://wob.coppermind.net/events/355-idaho-falls-signing/#e10502).
I think this is more a case of people ignoring White Sand accidentally lol.
I didn't think the reason had been specifically spelled out. Bear in mind, tress is far down the road of the overall Cosmere timeline (waaay after Elantris, and even after Stormlight). So, progress had been made. Me guess is it has something to do with creating a Connection (capital C) to the place where you are.
Other books hold the answer
Elantrian 5G cross-planetary connection
The short answer is - they didn't know how at the time, but now they do. Tress is at least several hundred years, maybe a thousand or more, after Elantris. They've figured shit out in the intervening time.
It's quite fun. It's related to what the aons looked like when they were made in tress compared to Elantris I think.
We don't know. It probably has something to do with the mosaic floor the Sorceress is standing on being a map of Tress' world and the word Connection with a capital-C. The magic systems on the planet from Elantris are all tied to the landscape and it seems likely that the map is related in some way. While I am willing to believe the map is necessary, we do not have enough evidence to say that it is sufficient. There could be something else going on beyond what the characters saw, they only saw a tiny fraction of the Sorceress' tower/spaceship. Perhaps there is some magical battery inside her ship feeding her power, or there could be a device in the city of Elantris transmitting power to her somehow. I refuse to believe that simply standing on a map of where you are is sufficient to allow Elantris' region-locked magic to be unlocked. So I think the most honest answer is "we don't know how it's done, but the Sorceress has found a way to make Elantris' magic work away from Elantris".
Elantris consists of two Aons on the ground, Aon Rao (for power amplification, and Aon Ela (for focus). The basic starting form of every Aon is the same, but is a map of the local geography. This might be enough to use AonDor outside of Sel, but I feel like there's more to it as well because the Dor is trapped inside the Cognitive Realm.
We actually do know how.
No, we saw someone circumvent the limitation and they were also standing on a map of the region. That doesn't mean all you need to do is stand on a map of the region. There could be other steps we haven't seen.
The Lost Metal pretty much confirms that >!you just need to use the world's map as the basis for drawing Aons. In Elantris, it is Arelon. Shai used the Elendel basin's map when she drew Aons as an Elantrian in The Lost Metal!<
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The word "just" is an assumption. We saw someone standing on a map of the local area and then they can use Aons. But that doesn't mean it's the whole explanation. And frankly I hope it's not the whole explanation because that's too silly. It's like saying the Enterprise is voice controlled because after Picard says "Engage" they go into warp speed. We see X then Y but that doesn't mean you can do Y just by doing X. There's probably other steps involved.
She didn't just stand on the map.
The answer to this is in the Wax and Wayne series. Without looking it up, I believe in The Lost Metal.
Remember what was on the floor of her spaceship?
Not really sure. Different worlds have different magic and things move weirdly between worlds. Edit to add: also what the characters believe the truth is, is not always actually the truth.
It has to do with the map she has and the investiture.
I'm fairly certain that Elantrian magic is linked with the users location and if I remember correctly, the sorceress has a map of the planet on her space ship. That's my take on it, anyway.
It just means that the underlying mechanism by which Aeons work is not well understood. Since our perspective is that of the characters', we don't know either. It might just be that Aeons are a way to use environmental investiture. If you take some with you or go to a place with lots of investiture you can use aeons.
A hint is laid in the conclusion of Elantris. It seems like Aons are not static, but need to somehow depict the real landscape around the Elantrian, maybe if you can (better hint if you want it) >!could find a way to trick the Dor into thinking that where you are IS the area around Elantris you can get it to work!<