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  1. I have the ebook so I was able to search for "leaves". There are a lot of them. The most memorable is the poison leaf Syl brought Kaladin. Also at least some of them come from trees. This is from Chapter 37, one of Kaladin's flashback chapters
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  2. So a prevailing belief at the moment is that Hoid is endeavoring to reform Adonalsium. With the recent revelation about the nature of Harmony, which I will be discussing further down, I no longer believe that reforming Adonalsium is possible. At least not in the way we are thinking. Hoid muses about taking things apart and putting them back together again when talking to Dalinar in Way of Kings. This is the quote a lot of people have been thinking supports the idea that Hoid is trying to put Adonalsium together again. The line “into something like them—yet wholly unlike them at the same time” has led some people, and now myself, to question whether reuniting all of the Shards would recreate Adonalsium. In this theory I will be arguing the negative, bringing the Shards together will not remake Adonalsium. (in a potentially roundabout way that may make absolutely no sense) For the purposes of this thread I will be referring to Adonalsium as if it was a sheet of glass as a nod to the Shardic Lens theory. So, originally there was an unbroken pane of glass through which the power of creation shone. Then for some reason it shattered, creating sixteen Shards. Each has a different intent that filters the light that shines through them, kind of like a distinct color. At the tail end of AMA Brandon answered this question: This quote has blown the minds of a fair number of people, including mine. Before I get to the point I am making, I want to add another quote that shows that even though Harmony is the Shard, Ruin and Preservation still exist. It is my opinion that Ruin and Preservation have become cognitively linked, they have begun to see themselves as part of a greater whole, Harmony. Like Shai describes in the following quote. So what’s my point? The two pieces of glass that are Ruin and Preservation haven’t come together and made a larger piece of glass. They’ve just been soldered together. If that is true for these two Shards I can’t see any reason why having all sixteen would make any difference. Rather than making the pristine sheet of glass that was Adonalsium, they would instead make a stained-glass window. Hopefully this makes since to someone other than myself. Quotes in order of appearance -Way of Kings: Chapter 54 -2013 Reddit AMA -Nov 21 2011 Alloy of Law Signing Report - Lord Juss -The Emperor's Soul: Day Twelve Edit: This section is based in part on Chaos’ Devotion, Dominion, and Convergence Theory. In his theory Chaos describes the concept of “fragments” of shards and differentiates them from Splinters. In regards to my stained-glass metaphor they would both be pieces of glass from their respective Shard but are differentiated by their clarity. Splinters would have the same clarity as the parent Shard while fragments would have be more like frosted glass, transmitting the light in a more diffuse manner. What makes one frosted while the other is clear you’re asking? In my opinion it has to do with the relative strength, for lack of a better term, of their cognitive aspect. The “strength” of the cognitive aspect has to do with its ability to think for itself, a person has a stronger cognitive aspect than a rock for example. But wait! Splinters aren’t sentient. No they are not, but all of the splinters we have seen are attached to something that does have a strong cognitive aspect (i.e. the Returned and the Seons). A strong cognitive aspect helps to focus, and control, the light that is coming through the glass. It is important to remember though that these fragments still have a cognitive aspect to them, not a very strong one, but it is there and helping with the “convergence,” as Chaos put it, of the two shards. In my opinion the history, or rather memories, of an object are a part of its cognitive aspect (supported by the fact that feruchemical copper is a cognitive metal). These fragments can remember being part of something larger and want to be a part of it again (like the wall Shai forged to be painted wanted to be beautiful). It actually has memories of being a part of two things, its respective shard and adonalsium. So if a fragment of Devotion met up with a fragment of Dominion it would be like “You’re different from me but we used to be together so let’s hang out.” It is somewhat similar to Ruin and Preservation but in their case they have Sazed and the people of Scadrial to help for a cognitive leading for the pieces of glass.
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  3. As some of you might know, I previously espoused the "The Focus on Roshar is Waveforms" theory. I liked that theory because a number of magical things on Roshar have wave/wavefunction/quantum dynamic properties (Stormlight, spren, Shardblades, Parshendi song, etc.). Recently I discovered that the theory's leader, Isomere, has changed his mind, preferring the Sound theory instead. On my part, after thinking a lot about Investiture while writing my own Realmatic theory, I found that I've changed my mind as well. My reason is different from Isomere's, though. He says that Stormlight is like the Mists on Scadrial, a way to bypass the actual Focus, which he theorizes is Sound. It's a valid theory, and I agree that Stormlight is probably a manifestation of a Shard. But my own understanding of what a Focus is leads me to a different conclusion: I think the Focus on Roshar are the Essences. Let me try to explain why. What is a Focus? From what we've seen so far in previous Cosmere books, I believe that a Focus is a thing with certain properties that narrow down the specifics (what I call the Intent) of Investiture. Basically, a Focus focuses the Investiture's Intent. A Focus does not need to be magical in itself. As far as I can tell, metals (The Metallic Arts), words (Awakening), body movements (ChayShan), and symbols on stamps (Forgery) are all pretty non-magical things. Even Aons can be written on the ground, something everyone can do. What makes these non-magical things special is that they dictate what kind of magic happens. Part I: Roshar's Focus So, what about Roshar magic? Well, here are some manifestations of Investiture that have been explained to some extent so far (in Spoiler tags due to length): As you can see, when I talk of Essences as the Focus, I'm including the Gemstones and the Body Focuses associated with the Essences. In short, this is my argument: All Investitures on Roshar have Intents determined by various forms of the Essences. Therefore, the Essences are the Focus on Roshar. Part II: Parshendi Song Let's talk about Parshendi songs. I think they may have something to do with exhalation (Vapor) and blood-flow (Blood). We know from Dalinar that Shardbearers can distinctly hear the ten heartbeats that summon a Shardblade: I will speculate that the Parshendi who are bonded to spren can hear various kinds of rhythms in their heartbeats depending on the situation and the type of spren they are bonded to. (Edit: This was confirmed in WoR.) I further theorize that groups of Parshendi can synchronize their blood-flow, allowing them to chant in harmony. In this way, the Parshendi's hearts basically act as synchronized metronomes, producing beats that the whole group can hear. This could explain why they like using drums when performing music for non-Parshendi people: it is their way of showing to non-Parshendi the sounds that their blood makes. As for Vapor, I believe that as the Parshendi learn more about their own magic system, they will one day discover chants that actually have magical effects. (Edit: This was confirmed in WoR.) The Focus of those magical effects would be the Exhalation of air produced by their singing. Each chant would correspond to a different Intent. I suppose Dawnsingers could have a similar capability, though we don't really know much about them at this point. But this does tie in with my other theory about Dawnshards being musical instruments. If Dawnshards are wind instruments, then the Focus of their Investiture's Intent would, again, be Exhalation. Part III: The Knights Radiant and the Essences (2015-03-07 Note: I have abandoned this part of the theory. You may still read it for the lulz if you want. I've spoilered it so it would no longer clutter the post.) *** So, what about the waveforms that I've been almost obsessed about before? I still think that they are important. I believe that the Shards on Roshar manifest their power through special waveforms (e.g. Stormlight), just like how Harmony's power manifests as the Mists, and how Endowment's power manifests as pigments. But the point is that Shardic power is separate from the Focus, which may not even be magical at all. (Edit: After WoR, we now know that the Illumination Surge manipulates both light, sound, and various waveforms.) Well, that's all for now. Tell me what you guys think!
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  4. So I've recently been rereading Triplanetary. It's by Doc Smith, the guy you might know of as the inventor of Space Opera, and thus most modern science fiction as we know it. Now, Triplanetary is the prequel to the Lensmen series (which is a ton of silly fun, start with Galactic Patrol if you can find it - most of Smith' stuff is public domain now). It's a fast-paced, breathless novel, and pretty fun. It's also got some weird mistborn similarities. In this scene, the good guys in the Boise have recently reverse-engineered the alien power generation technology. Their ships basically take any ferric matter (iron or steel), and disintegrate it, converting into raw energy. Once their ships start burning iron and steel, they create lines of force directly towards or away from themselves, which they use to push and pull, and get into a shoving match - the outcome of which is decided by the quality of their anchors. Sound familiar? Okay, but that's just a coincidence. It's not like they have some sort of weird FTL that you could easily achieve via feruchem... Yeah, they have some kind of weird FTL that can be easily achieved via feruchemical technology. Well, provided you ignore relativity, which at the time was rather more cutting-edge (heck, Smith started writing in 1915). And hey, if there's spiritual gravity, there's no reason we can't have some sort of spiritual preferred frame of reference to make Einstein sad. (The test drive of triplanetary FTL boils down to 'hey, we're two lightyears away now. Phone home on the ultrawave, ask them if it's been two years. It hasn't? So much for relativity then, let's zoom around space some more'.) Oh, yeah, where was I.... right, actually explaining the 'Bergenholm' drive. It's pretty simple in principle. You reduce the inertia/mass of your ship practically to zero, and then fire your thrusters. Cruising speed is reached when the friction of interstellar dust particles against your ship is equal to your thrust. In practice, this means that the first prototype ship can zip through the whole galaxy in a couple months. So all you *really* need to do is set up an artificial ironmind, and have it store all the mass inside the ship. You perfectly duplicate a classic FTL engine. Isn't that easy? None of this mucking about with time bubbles and spacewhatsits. Just get in and blast off. But wait, you ask, was the secret to using this technological application of iron ALSO given to inhabitants of an isolated nation by a near-omniscient guy, as part of a plan to thwart an all-destroying evil? Yes. Yes it was.
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  5. I don't believe enough attention has been given over to Talendel. Being one of only 2 scenes we KNOW to contain a Herald I believe the discrepancies of it deserve further review.(if this has been noted already, I apologize.) Taln's return to Kholinar has 2 distinct issues I'd like to focus on. #1: Taln's description outside the gates is remarkable. He is soaking wet, his hair is matted, and there are bits of wood and leaves in his beard. There is no mention of a storm that night, in fact the guards are specifically mentioned as being out of the guarhouse for fresh air. Far more telling is the mention of his beard. I imagine little twigs like floatsom on a pond surface. I cannot anywhere recall rockbuds having leaves , only vines, nor do I find mention of rivers or lakes any where save the Pure lake. Shinovar is described as being a verdant green valley. And such greenery requires vast amounts of hydration. #2: Delves much more into theory land, but I've been during to mention it. His Shardblade. Its too simple. Everywhere else they are Masterworks of flowing design. Even Kalak says that the Herald blades are finely wrought weapons. Taln has a long, simple, silver spike. This post has been reported for attempting to skirt the rules man! LoL. My connection to the Shin here is much more tenuous, mainly being that Sveth's blade is the only other deviation from the Shardblades we know. His is shorter, though still q long it's not 6 feet in length, and sharp on both sides instead of one. I understand the Odium-Sveth blade theory, but I thought I'd mention it.
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  6. He was given them as a loan to use as illumination, so Wistow needed Lirin to be able to reinfuse them.
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  7. I apologize for bumbling in here without a physics degree, but what's wrong with the Mass Effect model? In that world, they envelope an object (space craft) in a bubble, and pump in energy that lowers the mass of everything inside (relative to everything outside). Since increased velocity is essentially the same as increased mass (as far as relativity is concerned), you just need to continue to pump more energy in as you approach the speed of light. This shouldn't violate relativity -- it's changing the variables that dictate that "infinite mass" dead end. Likewise, the faster an iron feruchemist is travelling, the more effective weight they'd have to store. Still doesn't work unless he can include his whole ship and every molecule of matter on board, though.
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  8. Sorry to interrupt, but this sort of thinking has always troubled me, and I'd like to understand how it is patently true that one can only understand something through also knowing its opposite. Surely I don't need "cold" to understand "hot", surely I just need... "average"? What I mean is, you can love someone, hate someone and have no strong feelings towards someone, and I think I would still understand love even if hate didn't exist. That being the case, I think you could know Odium without having Devotion to compare it with. Does that make any sense? (I feel like I missed a big philosophical memo whenever this comes up )
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  9. I assume the20% population came from the fact that the only people who survived were those in the caverns. Since the largest group of surviving Terrismen made their way to the Kandra homeland, which was certainly saved by Sazed.
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  10. It's a country just downstream from the purelake. It actually prevents water from leaving the basin. It's the Dam-nation.
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  11. Locke lamora cause he's just too awesome...(The Gentlemen Bastard)
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  12. Don't take this glorious moment away from me, Phantom . I finally out-quoted you. . . Since I don't think this scheme of storing the weight of 3rd persons will work, I imagine you and Bob would be able to have a fun time playing anti-gravity tag. Other than that: No effect.
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  13. Umm... The impression I have been getting from the last few posts is that you are thinking of foci as being exclusively physical, which isn't the case. Foci can, theoretically, be in any of the three realms (we don't have confirmation of any spiritual foci at the moment though). Thank you for acknowledging that Focus is the wrong word for what you are describing, because that phrasing is imprecise and could lead to confusion in new members. I agree that there are aspects of all three realms in every magic system but the focus only exists in one of them, i.e. aons/metals in the physical and commands in the cognitive. Mental Commands are mentioned in Chapter 58 of Warbreaker (on page 576 in the ebook version on Brandon's website). In my mind, mental commands aren't really an exception to the rules of Awakening but rather is the rule. Commands are a cognitive focus so strictly speaking the vocalization is not necessary to accomplish Awakening. The words just aid in getting the Awakener's "mind" into the right shape to act as a focus. Only with a great multitude of breaths does someone have the clarity of thought that allows them to learn to get their mind in the right shape without vocalization. (does that make sense?)
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  14. I see parallels between the Shallan/Cryptic and Kaladin/Syl relationships. Syl was attracted to him when he was in Amaram's army. He doesn't become aware of her as anything but an annoying windspren until nearly the end of his time as a slave. Their relationship/bond strengthens when she starts asking him questions in chapter 2. The Cryptic (I am assuming that only one is talking with her although several seem present) communicates "What are you?" in chapter 42 and 45. But the communication in chapter 70 is lengthier: Truths could be a payment. OTOH I see a bond being established. When the bond exists, the spren can link Shallan to Shadesmar. These spren, being more cognitively associated than Syl, can remember how the process works and understand the bond more. One proof will be whether Shallan has to keep revealing truths every time. If there is a bond, then it should persist and she won't need to reveal a new truth every time. If the Cryptics don't gain cognition from Shallan, what do they gain? Perhaps they gain on the spiritual or physical side. Why are there multiples? I can imagine Honor and Cultivation working together investing in their people. Honor "honors" each person with a gift and Cultivation strengthens it when they "cultivate" it. I can see this in the Vorin religion. The Radiants didn't have the same restrictions. Overall, I see the way of Honor and Cultivation to connect (bind) people. This is why Honor is nostalgic about the Silver Kingdoms. I see Odium as corrupting people and creating separations. The thrill, national divisions, provincial divisions and gender divisions seem like the way of Odium to me. I agree that the gifts have to be universal. What happens to gifts that are undeveloped and undiscovered? Moash seems to have a similar gift for fighting to Kaladin. What if he never received training? Adolin seems to have a talent for fighting also. Rock could have a gift for cooking, but maybe just skill. Jasnah seems talented in many ways, she could be gifted. Navani likewise. But what is Renarin's gift? Teft's? Sadeas's? Elhokar's? Szeth seems skilled at combat. Maybe they haven't discovered or cultivated their gifts yet. Or maybe we just don't know them well enough.
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  15. One thing to note: many of you assume that somehow, Honor and killing are conflicting intents, while they are really not... In fact, most of what I know of honor (from history books, since the concept doesn't seem very prevalent nowadays), is connected to killing. For example, duels were a honorable way of replying to insults, vengeance was considered honorable, etc... In general, quick, clean killing was considered a honorable thing, while slow torture was largely seen as less honorable. Dying in battle? Honorable. Killing in battle? Honorable. Poisoning? Not honorable. As such, Shardblades seem to be more in line with Honor intent - quick, clean death, than Odium, which would probably prefer slow, painful death of both participants...
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  16. And then the descendants of the crew of the Wandersail would come back from around the Origin, with an absurdly evil culture and preposterously large collective ego. We will then be treated to far, far too much conflict with this group, when considered in proportion to the whole "dark god about to kill us all" threat that rightly ought to be slightly more central to the plot.
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  17. Makes you wonder about the The Way of Kings parts named "Above Silence" and "The Silence Above," huh? Considering it's the same solar system.... Wonder if anything that happens in those parts has something to do with planetary systems/relationships.
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