Awakening (Warbreaker)

"BioChroma is the power of life, and so it seeks patterns of life."

- Vasher

Awakening is a manifestation of Investiture on Nalthis. It is the art of combining color, BioChromatic Breath ("Breath"), and an Awakening Command in order to animate an object. It is an Invested Art associated with the Shard Endowment.

BioChromatic Breath
BioChromatic Breath, also known simply as Breath, is the common form of investiture on Nalthis, used for the Invested Art of Awakening. All Nalthians are born with one Breath, though it is possible to transfer Breaths from person to person through the use of the proper Command.

""My life to yours, my Breath become yours.""

- Command for Transferring Breath

Most forms of Awakening requires more than one Breath, therefore any Awakener must collect Breaths from others, and use them to fuel their Awakenings. Awakening also drains colour from its surroundings in order to fuel itself. This leaves the surroundings drained to grey, and Awakeners of the Tenth Heightening can even drain it to white.

When an object is filled with Breaths, these Breaths are locked to the Identity of the Awakener, much like the way in which Metalminds are locked to the Identity of the Feruchemist or stored within them. When one is given Breaths through Breath Transfer, said Breaths become Keyed to their own Identity. Due to this, much like Metalminds, it can be Unkeyed if one stores Breath into an object while Blanking their Identity, therefore be taken out by anyone.

Unlike most forms of Investiture, which are treated as an individual and continuous substance within an individual, Breaths are far more divisible and discrete, taking the form of a collection of individual units.

It is possible through a unknown method to transform other forms of Investiture into BioChromatic Breaths.

Through a currently unknown method, it is possible to be able to encode memories into Breaths, as shown with how Hoid uses it as a way to store his short-term memories.

Drabs
A Drab, also known as a Dull or Faded One is the name for those without any BioChromatic Breaths.

Without Breath, colors lose their vibrancy and their other senses are dulled. They also feel less emotion and are more susceptible to depression. They also become less alluring and their immune system weaken. This is due to how their immune system didn't need to work as hard when they had Breaths, so they didn't need to build up as much of an immunity.

They completely lack any form of Investiture, thus this is not solely defined by a lack of Breaths, but rather the lack of Investiture. Non-Nalthians who do not have Breaths are still more Invested than Drabs, so long as they still have some form of Investiture.

Awakening
Through Awakening, one invests an object with Breath and assigns a Command, with a clear visualization of the Command in their mind to further specify exactly what you want the Awakened Object to do. Simple Commands are easier and more likely to be followed properly, while more complex Commands require a greater visual picture of it in ones mind, and is more likely to go wrong. Awakening, is, in essence, forming a sort of artificial soul out of Investiture, and placing it within an object.

These follow two central laws,


 * 1) Law of BioChromatic Parallelism: The closer a host is to a living shape and form, the easier it is to Awaken.
 * 2) Law of Comparability: The amount of Breath required to Awaken something isn't necessarily indicative of its power once Awakened

To elaborate on the idea of the Law of Comparability, a cloth cut into a square would require more breaths than one cut into the shape of a human, although these both would be essentially the same once they are Invested.

Alongside this, the Commands one gives an object must be able to fall within the intrinsic properties of the object you are Awakening. For instance, one cannot order a blanket to "generate heat", but one can achieve this through ordering it to rub against itself, therefore producing heat through friction.

Awakening drains colour from the surrounding environment; or in the case of Lifeless, their own body ; to use as fuel for the Awakening, this leaves it drained to grey, however those of the Tenth Awakening can further drain it to white. Objects that are drained to white cannot be drained to grey, as it is not considered to be a colour by Awakening. If one does not have enough colour in their proximity, it would take far more Breaths in order to Awaken an object.

This ability to drain colour is not universal, and not all things are valid sources for colour, most notably living things cannot have colour absorbed from them, along with this, fire is not considered to be a valid source of colour by the system of Awakening. This does not just absorb visible light, but also light from outside the visible spectrum, such as ultraviolet and infared.

As with all Invested Arts, this has difficulty effecting highly Invested objects. Therefore, it would have immense difficulty Awakening Shardblades, Shardplate , Metalminds, and so forth.

Furthermore, as with all Invested Arts, it requires Intent in order to be properly used.

Awakened Objects tend to try to emulate the human form in some capacity, such as banners or scarfs that are Awakened take on a shape vaguely similar to arms and musculature.

Commands
Commands are the orders that one gives to an Awakened object for it to fulfill, or in Cosmere terms, Commands are the Focus of the Invested Art of Awakening.

The Concept of Commands reach far beyond just Awakening, but are a fundamental aspect of the Cosmere. As stated by Nikliasorm when explaining the Dawnshards, "The most powerful forms of Surgebinding transcend traditional mortal understanding. All their greatest applications require Intent and a Command." With the term "Surgebinding" in this sense being a general term for Invested Arts. This states that Commands are a part of the fundamental operations of Invested Arts that helps them become stronger, and take on the proper form.

Intent and Command are intrinsically linked, although Intent is far more all encompassing. For example, in the case of "fetch keys," the Command is exactly that whereas the Intent would include the Awakener's broader desire to escape whatever is imprisoning them and be free. The Command, in essence, serves to focus the Intent. Due to how closely linked they are, many scholars mistakenly conflate the two, such as Vasher.

A Command must be given in crisp, clear language, and the practitioner must have a clear visualization of what they want the Awakened object to do. Incomplete or mumbled Commands will take Breath but create no effect. This is shown to have to use the Imperative mood, of Hortative modality, and usually consist of a specific verb and a general object, although specific objects are used on occasion, such as in the Command "Attack and Grab Denth". The Subject is usually dropped, with the inherent implication that the subject is the recipient of the Command.

The more complex a Command, the more practice it takes to properly visualize and manifest, it is due to this that more complex Commands can take years for a person to master. Furthermore, more complex Commands require more Breaths, and drain more colour from the world around it.

Alongside this, the Commands one gives an object must be able to fall within the intrinsic properties of the object you are Awakening. For instance, one cannot order a blanket to "generate heat", but one can achieve this through ordering it to rub against itself, therefore producing heat through friction.

Due to the requirement of deep Connection to the language used for the Command, the Awakener most often needs to use their native language, however, having a strong enough connection to another language can bypass this requirement, and sign language can be used for Commands, given they have strong enough Connection to it.

Known Commands

 * "My life to yours, my Breath become yours." (Transfers Breaths)
 * "Your Breath to mine" (Retrieves Breaths)
 * "Untie"
 * "Grab things" "Hold things" (used most often on ropes)
 * "Protect me"
 * "Attack and grab Denth!"
 * "Upon call, become my fingers and grip that which I must"
 * "Become as my legs and give them strength"
 * "Fight for me, as if you were me"

BioChromatic Entities
An Awakened Object is known as a BioChromatic Entity.

While usually continuous, and organic, solids, it is possible to Awaken liquids, although it doesn't operate in the way one would intuitively think it would. Awakening liquid is also nearly impossible to do, especially if it lacks a container.

These Entities have been separated by Vasher into various groupings known as Types, there are Four Types of BioChromatic Entities according to this system of organization, based upon the material used, and their level of sentience.

Type I
Spontaneous Sentient BioChromatic Manifestations in a Deceased Host, also known as the Returned, are people that were resurrected by Endowment, retaining sentience and being endowed with a divine Breath, which brings them up the the Fifth Heightening. These are the only known naturally occurring form of BioChromatic Entity.

While Returned retain sentience, they retain no memory of their previous existence. Although despite this they retain various hints at their past through them retaining skills from their past, even if they lose the memory that they possess such skills.

If they give away or use their Divine Breath for awakening, they would perish. Therefore they use normal BioChromatic Breaths on top of their Divine Breath in order to Awaken objects. These Breaths are consumed every week in order to keep them alive, if a Returned does not collect more Breaths, this would consume their Divine Breath and kill them a second time. This system of using Breaths to keep them alive does not necessarily have to use Breaths, but any form of Investiture. Therefore a Returned would be, and has been shown to be able to be, kept alive by Stormlight.

Divine Breaths also cannot be transferred like a normal Breath, as when released they instantly convert into Kinetic Investiture. This would heal the recipient in the body, mind, and soul alike. However, it will not grant them the Fifth Heightening, and would kill the Returned who gave up the Breath.

They have various abilities due to their nature as a Returned and due to their reaching of the Fifth Heightening. Their bodies will not grow stronger from exercise or weaken from a lack of it. , they become immune to most physical sicknesses and ailments, and all toxins. They do not require physical sustenance in order to survive.

Hiding Divine Breath
Returned are capable of hiding their own Divine Breath through a specific method of denying their own divinity on a fundamental level, and in a specific manner. This makes the Divine Breath go into hiding and make them appear like a normal person. This is partially related to the way in which a Returned's body changes depending on how they view themselves.

This leads to the loss of the Heightenning that a Divine Breath grants. Essentially making them a normal person, and leading them to have to work to gain normal Breaths in order to reach Heightenings. A Returned masking their Divine Breath can easily stop doing so and return to their normal, Fifth Heightening, state.

When hiding the Divine Breath, they still consume one Breath per week, and would still perish when they have none to be taken, as it would still lead to the consumption of their Divine Breath.

Type II
"Awaken to my Breath, serve my needs, live at my Command and at my word"

- The Command by which Lifeless can be created with a single BioChromatic Breath

Type II BioChromatic Entity or Mindless Manifestations in a Deceased Host is the classification given to Lifeless, that is to say, non-sentient reanimated animal remains. They are able to understand, interpret, and act upon Commands. However the Commands it is able to follow are locked behind a Command Phrase, a sort of password, granted to them at creation. They would only follow Commands which include this added Phrase.

Due to the Law of BioChromatic Parallelism these are quite cheap to make, this is furthered by the use of Ichor-Alcohol, a clear fluid invented by Yesteel, which increases the length of time a Lifeless can go without requiring a new Breath, and reduces the amount of Breathes required to Awaken one. This is injected into the veins of the Lifeless and acts as their blood.

These act very different from normal Awakened objects, in that, for one, the Breath or Breaths used to Awaken them cannot be retrieved after use. Secondly, they are much more flexible and intelligent in obeying orders; this is ascribed to the fact that they have a brain and are therefore less reliant on the cognitive impulse from the Awakener to determine their actions. And they can be given further Commands, or have their previous Commands rescinded, without an infusion of more Breath, the ability to do this is locked by a Security Phrase, known as a Command Phrase. The way to use a Security Phrase is to state the phrase, and say the Command or set of Commands, and end it off with a repetition of the same Command.

Due to the fact that they are capable of thinking over the Commands given, they are capable of doing far more complex Commands then non-sentient Awakened constructs, they are, however, limited to Commands that they would be capable of understanding. For example, despite being given power by Breaths, a Lifeless Squirrel ultimately still has the mind of a squirrel, thus would have difficulty following complex Commands. Although it is more capable than one would assume, though its capacity is largely defined by the quality of the Commands and skill of the Awakener. Much like it is with Returned retaining skills from their life, Lifeless also retain a degree of the skills they had while living. For instance, Clod still displayed immense skill in swordsmanship as a Lifeless, due to the skill he had while living.

While Lifeless do not die like an ordinary person does when mortally wounded, they are effected by such wounds. This is due to how it takes them further away from a living form, or human form, and therefore by the Law of BioChromatic Parallelism, this makes them require more energy to be maintained, therefore they deactivate far faster. Thus one needs to patch up wounds to a Lifeless in order to get them back to their original form. Too much damage and repairing will ultimately leave them too far from it, and leave them unable to be restored to a viable state, therefore making them unusable.

Lifeless have a special aspect to the way in which they are fueled, in that they drain colour from their own body as fuel instead of their environment. This gives Lifeless their grey appearence.

Despite the fact that the Breath inside them keeps them alive without the need for food or water, they are still required to exercise in order to prevent muscular atrophy.

A Lifeless would not be capable of using the Invested Arts they were capable of using in life, for example, a Mistborn Lifeless would be unable to use Allomancy.

Lifeless are effected by Emotional Allomancy, and thus the emotional manipulation of Ashertmarn and Nergaoul in a special way. Further information on the nature of this "compelling effect" is not yet known. This seems to fall in line with how Hemalurgic Constructs are effected in a special way by Emotional Allomancy due to their pierced souls. However, this is currently just a theoretical connection.

This used to cost around fifty Breaths in order to Awaken, but the Five Scholars later discovered a method, using the newly discovered Ichor-alcohol and more powerful Commands, were able to make it possible to Awaken Lifeless with only a single Breath. This made them far more practical, and led them to making up the bulk of the Hallandren army.

Ichor-alcohol
Ichor-alcohol is a substance discovered by Yesteel, which allows one to increase the length of time a Lifeless can remain active without requiring a new Breath, this also makes Lifeless far cheaper to create, only requiring a singular Breath. To imbue this into a Lifeless, it is put into the veins of the Lifeless by using a small hand pump, in order to avoid damaging the blood vessels of the Lifeless.

It is described as being a clear liquid.

Due to how this acts as the blood of the Lifeless, it drains when cut, and if too much runs out the Lifeless can deactivate.

Ichor-alcohol is not perfect and can be corrupted or polluted, therefore it needs to be regularly checked and replaced.

Known Security Phrases

 * Fallen Rope (The squirrel used by Vasher)
 * Almond Grass (The new Security Phrase forced upon Vasher's squirrel by Lightsong's priests)
 * Howl of the Sun (Clod)
 * A Candle by Which to See (Hopefinder's Lifeless Command)
 * Verdant Bells, later Red Panther (Allmother's Lifeless Command)
 * Bottom line blue (Lightsong's Lifeless Command)

Type III
Type III is a BioChromatic Manifestation in an Organic Host Far Removed from Being Alive. That is to say, objects such as ropes, cloth, or skeletal remains. These lack sentience.

These are the most common type of BioChromatic host entity.

Awakened Objects tend to try to emulate the human form in some capacity, such as banners or scarfs that are Awakened take on a shape vaguely similar to arms and musculature. This effect is most notable in regards to Type III Biochromatic Entities, those which are furthest removed from the human form.

These are described as feeling like an extra muscle or extension of one's body.

Type IV
Type IV BioChromatic Entities are sentient objects made by Awakening inorganic materials like metal and stone, this is incredibly difficult and requires at least the Ninth Heightening, with Greater Awakening. The most notable example of a Type IV BioChromatic Entity is Nightblood.

Due to the Law of BioChromatic Parallelism, these are the hardest type of object to Awaken, for they are very far from any type of living form. This not only makes it require at least the Ninth Heightening, but it also makes it require a comparatively large amount of Breaths in order to Awaken. For instance, Nightblood required 1,000 Breaths in order to Awaken it.

Heightening
Heightenings are a method of organization for the amount of Breaths that one has based on the abilities they possess as a result of the high levels of Investiture within themselves, seperating it into ten discrete levels. This system is not perfect, but is rather just an approximate form of organization made by scholars, and is quite imperfect and misses out on much of the nuance in show Investiture effects the Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual Aspects of an individual.

As one gathers very large amounts of Breaths, they would begin to gain certain abilities as a result of their stores of Breath. This is not a precise list, as some might reach a Heightening with more or less Breaths than another person does. This is not to say they earn certain abilities when they reach a specific Heightening, but rather it is when these powers reach their peak. For instance, with each Breath, one's ability to distinguish colours increases, it simple reaches its peak at the Third Heightening.

First Heightening
The First Heightening is reached by those with around 50 Breaths, this grants the ability of Aura Recognition.

Aura Recognition is the ability to instinctively see the Breath Aura of others, and judge roughly how many Breaths an individual has. This goes further than just being able to tell the magnitude of Investiture within a person, but can also make out the exact magnitude of individual Breaths, for instance, the Divine Breath of a Returned appears as a singular Breath, but one that shines far brighter than an ordinary Breath.

Second Heightening
The Second Heightening is reached by those with around 200 Breaths, this grants the ability of Perfect Pitch.

Perfect Pitch is the ability to re-create a given musical note without the benefit of a reference tone. This allows one to be able to perfectly hear and discern notes, and perfectly mimic them. This operates on an extent that it is able to make out objective tones beyond the accuracy of any scale, beyond the realm of human intervention. This also gives one a far greater appreciation of sounds and the beauty inherent within them.

Those who lose it tend to feel that they lose their ability to properly hit a note.

Third Heightening
The Third Heightening is reached by those with around 600 Breaths, it grants one Perfect Colour Recognition.

Perfect Colour Recognition is the ability to instinctually determine the exact shades of colours and their hue harmonics. While this is granted by Breath in general, granting one a greater and greater appreciation of and ability to differentiate between colours, it is only at the Third Heightening where this reaches its peak. This goes beyond the levels of any normal human, and even goes beyond the subjective experience of colour and enters a Realm of objective hues beyond human intervention.

Fourth Heightening
The Fourth Heightening is reached by those with 1,000 Breaths, and it grants the ability of Perfect Life Sense.

Perfect Life Sense is the perfected ability to instinctively sense other people around you, and to tell when they are watching you. Like with Colour Recognition, this is held by all Awakeners, however, it reaches perfection at the Fourth Heightening.

This also allows one to feel the growing of grass or lichen surrounding them, even at a relatively far distance away.

This cannot let one feel that which lacks Investiture, that is to say, Drabs, and Soulbearers who store all of their Investiture in a Nicrosilmind; or those defended by detection, such as the area within a Coppercloud, or the cloaking abilities of Kokerlii.

Fifth Heightening
The Fifth Heightening is reached by those with around 2,000 Breaths, it grants the trait of Agelessness.

Agelessness is the resistance to aging and disease held by all Awakeners to an extent. However it reaches such a degree at the Fifth Heightening that the Awakener becomes effectively immortal. They become immune to most toxins, including the effects of alcohol, and most physical ailments.

Sixth Heightening
The Sixth Heightening is reached by those with around 3,500 Breaths, it grants Instinctive Awakening.

Instinctive Awakening is the ability to immediately understand and use basic Awakening Commands without training or practice. This makes more complex Commands easier for them to discover and master.

Rising above the Sixth Heightening is exceptionally rare, therefore any Powers above this point are poorly understood due to lack of research.

Seventh Heightening
The Seventh Heightening is reached by those with around 5,000 Breaths, it grants Invested Breath Recognition.

Invested Breath Recognition is the ability to recognize the auras of objects and tell if something has been awoken with Breath.

Eighth Heightening
The Eighth Heightening is reached by those with around 10,000 Breaths, it grants Command Breaking.

Command Breaking is the ability to instinctively cancel and override Commands in other Invested Objects, this is said to leave the Awakener exhausted. As shown by some of Lightsong's priests, this is held by even those under the Eighth Heightening. This is simply where it reaches its peak. For those below the Eighth Heightening, it is described as a very long and complicated process.

Command Breaking becomes harder the more Invested an Awakened object is, and thus the stronger an Awakener has to be in order to Break the Command (IA ∝ IO). For instance, Nightblood, with has Invested as they are, cannot have their Command broken by any living Awakener. Not even Susebron, with around 75,000 Breaths, is strong enough to Break the Command of Nightblood. This falls in line with how Investiture resists Invested Arts, and it is why Shardplate and other such materials are, in essence, impossible to Awaken due to their heavily Invested nature.

Ninth Heightening
The Ninth Heightening is reached by those with around 20,000 Breaths, it grants the abilities of Greater Awakening, and Audible Command.

Greater Awakening is the ability to create Type IV BioChromatic Entities, that is to say, the ability to Awaken stone and steel.

Audible Command is the ability to Awaken objects that they are not touching, but rather are just touched by the sound of their voice.

Tenth Heightening
The Tenth Heightening is reached by those with around 50,000 Breaths, it grants the abilities of Colour Distortion, Perfect Invocation, and Mental Command.

Colour Distortion is the natural and intrinsic ability to bend light around white objects within their BioChroma, creating colours from them as if from a prism. This is considered to be an incredibly beautiful effect.

Perfect Invocation is the ability to draw more colour from the objects Awakeners use to fuel their art. This leaves them able to drain the colour of objects all the way to white, instead of the usual grey. Objects that are drained to white cannot be drained to grey, as it is not considered to be a colour by Awakening. This prevents it from being able to be used for a form of infinite energy.

Mental Command is the ability to give Commands mentally, this is notably difficult to learn. This is the way that the God Kings of Hallendren are capable of passing on their Breaths despite lacking a tongue in order to utter Commands.

It is theorized that the Tenth Heightening gives far more abilities which are not understood and have not been made known by those who reached it.

Known Awakeners

 * Vasher
 * Shashara
 * Denth
 * Yesteel
 * Arsteel


 * Lemex
 * Rira
 * Ashu
 * Paxen
 * Llarimar
 * Treledees
 * Susebron
 * Vivenna
 * Hoid