#skyweavers

I finally learned how people do these page breaks on Tumblr, so I'm going to separate the little model presentation for people who just see my shit for the first time and just like the pretty models, and the longer explanations for people who maybe followed for a while and care a bit more. I hope that increases the readability and overall enjoyment of my posts going forward.

I try to paint 20-23 units of models each year (so a squad of infantry is a single unit, but so is a hero or a massive monster). So far, this is my 18th unit, so I am a bit on the low side. Partly because I've been very busy this year (with stuff both good and bad), but also due to the increased care I put into painting, since I want my children to look pretty for you guys :).

I'm gonna try to push myself a little more and focus on single, hero-scale models (I think I paint these the fastest), so I can get this number up a smidge.

Next on the chopping block is Lady Malyss (since I want to use her in this Reaper's Wager detachment). After that... I don't know exactly. It's either going to be human Miao Ying, one of the two heroes planned for my AoS Skaven army, a Necron Cryptek, or something small and stupid. All of these are set to the side as having "priority queue", so I'll pick whatever hits my whimsy. I may also weave in HoMM board game models if I feel extremely threatened by the deadline. But by New Year's Eve, I hope to have painted and ready on the shelf 23 models started this year.

Philosophy

They Skyweaver order attracts people who are most accurately described as "passionate hopefuls". Moreso than other orders, individuals who join the Skyweavers strive towards a better, almost idyllic future. The order finds it important to distinguish the ideal of something from its present state, in order to find the optimal path to move something towards its ideal form. Both critical and creative thought are trained separately.

Before the Recreance, the Skyweavers were more grounded in reality, and took a more objective stance on most matters, treating the ideal forms of people and issues as something to suffer towards, rather than something anyone could actually hope to achieve. In the present day, the new Skyweavers have changed course almost radically to see the ideal as something that needs to be achieved--instead of something that can never be. They strive for perfection, regarding it in an almost mythical way, and their standards are often too high and too harsh. A Skyweaver would have you run off a cliff and keep running on air to try and catch the horizon.

Ideals of the Skyweavers

The Ideals of the Knights Radiant, also known as the Immortal Words, are a set of rules by which the Radiants live. The First Ideal is shared by all of the orders, and is used as a motto for the Knights Radiant as a whole. Each of the orders then has an additional four Ideals that are unique to that order.

The Ideals of the Order of Skyweavers are very different from those of the other orders. Instead of swearing oaths centered around a specific theme, Skyweavers instead recognize qualities of their ideal selves and how they fail to meet them. Some have theorized that Skyweavers' progression is tied to failings like this because their actions frequently blur the line between objectivity and ideology and they need to learn to distinguish the distance between the two. It has also been posited that their more flexible Ideals are because they are closer to the Spiritual Realm.

The First Ideal

"Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination."

The First Ideal is also known to the Skyweavers as the Ideal of Radiance. Before swearing this Ideal, hopefuls travel with the Skyweavers on a mission. They must prove their dedication and willingness to change on that mission to a full Skyweaver before they are deemed worthy of saying the Words. The Ideal of Radiance does not give powers or the ability to draw Stormlight, but it does qualify them for further lessons from the Skyweavers so that they can become closer to their Ideal Self; so that they can become Radiant in all things.

The Later Oaths of the Skyweavers

The later oaths of the Skyweavers are related to speaking individualized admissions of failure as it pertains to their ideal selves. These are related to deep introspection, along with a readiness to confront harsh personal realities. The second ideal can be a simple emotional one, while later ones need to be more uncomfortable and intrinsic. At the third ideal, a Skyweaver and Highspren fully bond, and they are considered a full Skyweaver. They manifest their Highspren as a Shardblade as soon as they are truly bonded. At the fourth ideal, a Skyweaver gains their Shardplate, which is formed of starspren.

Abilities

The Skyweavers are able use the Surges of Gravitation and Transformation. Like most Knights Radiant, the Skyweavers have squires, though only those of the Third Ideal or above can accept them. They have an uncommon affinity with storms in Shadesmar.

Gravitation

Gravitation allows the Skyweavers to change the direction and strength of an object's gravitational attraction. While there are slight differences in how the Surges behave between orders, Gravitation largely looks the same between them and the Order of Lightrunners. Skyweavers can Lash an object as they Soulcast it by expending more Stormlight.

Basic Lashing

The Basic Lashing allows a Surgebinder to bind people or objects to different surfaces or in different directions, effectively changing the direction that gravity pulls them.

Transformation

Transformation can be manipulated to change an object into one of the ten essences. To Soulcast, the Skyweaver shifts their perception to see into the Cognitive Realm and communicates with the Cognitive aspect of the object they want to transform. This is normally done through direct contact with an object, though it can be performed from a distance. Elsebreakers are more skilled at doing this, though it is not impossible for a Skyweaver to be able to Soulcast from objects in their immediate surroundings. This surge is often used to Soulcast the air beneath the Skyweaver into another material to lash in a direction, or to manipulate immediate weather patterns.

Resonance

The knowledge of the Ideal states and forms of things is tied to Spiritual Identity and their affinity towards storms in the Cognitive Realm may also be related, as the storms that bring light in the Cognitive Realm are openings into the Spiritual Realm.

Nahel Bond Abilities

Highspren seem to have some kind of empathic connection to their Skyweaver that other spren lack, as they can let the Radiant know their feelings without speaking, even when not in Shardblade form. With a powerful enough bond, Skyweavers and their Highspren are able to sense each other's emotions, as well as communicate with their minds.

Shardplate Abilities

Skyweavers' Shardplate is formed of a single starspren, and glows a silvery grey color. The starspren's size allows it to manifest as multiple plates in the Physical Realm, with each plate connecting to each other like a constellation. Durability is spread across the entire suit of armor as well, and if any part would break, the entire suit breaks as well.

Before becoming armor spren, starspren must be met and tamed by the Skyweaver's Highspren, which will often involve the Skyweaver following as well. A starspren bonds with a Highspren much in the same way a Ryshadium bonds its rider.

Trivia

The Skyweavers were the first order I came up with for the Cosmere Remix AU, and inspired me to make the rest of the orders as well.

I think that Skyweavers are like the hippies of the modern Radiant Orders, and they love telling people how far off they are from being perfect.

The Skyweavers are most heavily inspired in temperament by the Skybreakers, and that kind of connection will be present across the board, but where the Skybreakers take a Lawful Neutral approach to being perfect, the Skyweavers are looser and take a Neutral Good approach to it.