I gave up on the Westeros mega-threads a while ago because of that, Francis. Some subjects keep getting repeated, others disappear into some kind of thread archive hell and it all happens quite quickly; I don't have time to read them every day anymore.
You have inspired me to ramble about sorcery though, please excuse the lengthy post.
You are right, souls are clearly tied into all forms of sorcery. Your example is a food one for the psuhke, evidence for the connection with the gnosis exists clearly in the case of the skin-spy-with-a-soul.
Titirga provides a strong hint that any of the few could master the psukhe and/or the gnosis.
If we start with the few as undifferentiated potential sorcerers, their uniting feature is the ability to perceive the onta.
The way that is described indicates it is akin to being able to see into a further visual spectrum. In this case, the metaphysical ontology of objective reality (how things exist rather than how they impose on you subjectively).
TJE takes it a step further and reveals layers of experience, an 'expertiential' perspective that radiates from all souls - an impression of the entirety of their existence rather than their current state.
I feel that perhaps the cishaurim are somewhere in-between these two layers of perception. By removing the subjective layer completely they focus on how things 'are' rather than how they appear. e.g. Meppa sees the ontological reality of Psatma; Moenghus shines in the third sight because he exists so completely in the now that he appears much more than his physical appearance (if that makes sense)/
In regards to the Mark, I have a hypothesis for that too. (Of course,
)
Starting from the fact that sorcery is the means of changing Earwa's physical reality, we note that the gnosis and anagogic magic both leave the Mark. This is a stain on the metaphysical ontology, the ontological state of being of objects changed is fundamentally changed as a side effect of the changes they affect in the mundane.
At the other extreme are the changes in the mundane that the gods work; Psatma, the white-luck etc. These leave no mark. Witness Sorweel's 'mask' that decieves the gnostic Serwe, Eskeles (and possibly Khellus). Likewise Malowebi sees Psatma as she
appears... but Meppa is not decieved.
So not only are the Cish able to detect the sorcery (refer Akka walking the shadow way) they can also see the truth of whatever sorcery the gods wield.
Now if consider what we know of how the various sorcerous disciplines work.
Gnostic: Uses mathematical abstractions (primarily geometry in the example of war cants) underpinned by two interpretations of how things must change - in the mundane ontology via the sorcerer's native tongue and from the 'objective' perspective of the Onta rendered in a dead tongue. Leaves lasting changes on the Onta and the mundane.
Aporetic: seems to be an extension of the gnosis based on obscure logical abstractions. It preserves and undoes the changes to the Onta. In the case of souls that have 'caused' said changes to metaphysical reality their existence is
negated. There are clear examples of sorcerers who are deeply marked being more vulnerable to greater effect; notr that chorae kill rather than salt Cish.
Anagogic: Uses linguistic anologies in much the same way as the gnosis but lacks the precision and power, which seems logical.
Psukhe: Changes mundane states of being without apparently affecting the Onta. The cish appear to use a version of analogies like Anagogic mages. The BIG difference is very likely that they use only one inutteral. They describe the metaphysical changes they want to affect without needing their subjective view of the mundane, thus it is transmuted into physical reality 'perfectly'. There is almost no dissonance and therefore no discernable mark. However, as noted under Aporetic - chorae still kill them, I guess logic always wins.
Bringing this rambling post back on topic - I said earlier that I suspect the Logos is a very subtle version of sorcery. It's functional dependencies seem to reflect the characteristics of the Judging Eye, minus the judgement. A deep understanding into who people really are.
E.g. Mimara's understanding of Galian's past is very similar to the insights into TDCTB that Khellus uses to fuel his manipulations. The only difference is how they use their perceptions.
The common types of sorcery all focus on mastering the mundane world through the metaphysical. The dunyain are working from the other direction.
I have not yet broached the Tekne, here we have another approach to mastering the metaphysical.
Where the dunyain have divorced all morality and emotion from their approach in order to master that which is (similar to the way the Cish blind themselves, I feel); the consult seek to replace and replicate their own immoral perspective.
In summation, the conduit between the mundane and the Onta are ensouled beings. There is no doubt that Kellhus has the tools and the potential to take apart and use any of the compatible techniques applied in any of the forms of sorcery. It's not just a question of using a third inutteral to unit two different physical places with one metaphysical reality, we should also consider his potential to wield magic with one inutteral to new effect, combining the Logos with the Tekne etc etc.
ps. sorry if this post is rambling or nonsensical in parts - 4 hours sleep, 10 hours working in a fridge and the Lord's Lettuce have had their way with me.
