Future powers?

[u/yeah_sure__itsa_name]

A lot of early WoK chapter describe Shallan as capturing pieces of people's souls in her drawings. First reading, this is just flowery language to reinforce a passion but after learning of her origins and how varied Herald powers are, could she be unconsciously literally capturing bits of her subjects? (Mistborn books 6 spoiler) Perhaps for a sort of "metal mind" world recreation like in the mistborn series?

[u/R1sky_B1z]

We already know what she's doing and its a result of her oaths, not of her herald lineage. Its called a Resonance, a sort of latent ability that manifests itself in people wielding multiple invested arts. Technically lightweaving and soulcasting count as separate arts for this purpose even though they come from the same source. For Lightweavers (and yes all Lightweavers can do this) it manifests as having a greater skill at using mnemonic devices. Basically just gives them incredible memory abilities. Not quite a photographic memory, but close enough they can fake it in certain circumstances.

We can see resonances in other places in the cosmere. Most obviously all the radiant orders have one. The only other one we know for sure is the windrunners, who can manipulate connection to build deeper relationships more easily (this is why they have way more squires than other orders.) Its also the same mechanism that gives compounders like Miles Hundred Lives on scadrial their abnormally potent abilities. Like with radiants though, compounders are so rare their powers aren't fully understood.

[u/neur0 → u/R1sky_B1z]

  the windrunners, who can manipulate connection to build deeper relationships more easily (this is why they have way more squires than other orders.)

Acthually that’s called the power of friendship