Elantris

Overview/Setting

The book Elantris is a stand-alone novel that takes place on the world of Sel. The shards that inhabit that world are Devotion and Dominion, but they have both been destroyed by Odium prior to any event in the books. The story is set in the city of Elantris, and the main magic system is known as the Dor. A mysterious cataclysm known as the Reod occurred that changed broke the Elantrian magic. Instead of getting the power to shape reality, you got a curse. The Reod cause Elantris to fall from a city of splendor and beauty to a city of gloom, slim, and despair. For instead of getting the power to shape reality, you were cursed to an existence of pain. An Elantrian who was taken by the Reod would know longer age or need food. However, they still felt the pains of hunger, and they no longer healed. Any injury they sustained would keep hurting forever until the pain drove them mad. This was the curse of Elantris until Raoden fixed the Dor throughout the course of the book.

The Dor

This is one of the most powerful magic systems that Sanderson has created. However it is limited by location, the further you get from Elantris the less powerful the magic becomes. The main way to use the Dor is by drawing symbols in the air called Aons. These Aons are based on the geography around Elantris and by drawing them very precisely you can channel the power of the dead shard Devotion to do what you specified. In a way it is writing code and then the power executes what you wrote. The only limit to what you can do is your ability to draw the correct Aon and your proximity to Elantris.

The Reod

The Reod happened because an earthquake drastically changed the geography of the area around Elantris. Because Dor is based on geography, when that changed “program” that was used to create Elantrians was missing a key element, thus instead of giving power it gave a curse.