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  1. (Quick disclaimer: I feel safe saying this since anyone who follows Peter on facebook already knows I've read this storming book.) Wait, we're allowed to post reviews? I didn't know that. Also, don't feel jelous. You guys are still waiting for book two. Those who have already read the book are waiting for a book that has yet to be written, or even outlined! It's torture I tell you, pure torture. Plus, the way we had to read it was not fun either. We were sent part one (and let me tell you, the cliff hanger that part one ends with is INSANE!), then we had to wait a week to get the next part. So, those of who you are fast at reading an planning on devouring the thing in one night, feel super lucky you weren't part of the beta. In other news, I think the book is better than WoK. And I can't wait to see the finished product and hold it in my hand.
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  2. OR. Mr. Sanderson was making a very innappropriate joke.
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  3. So, this is a theory that I came up with in response to the Shardic Lens theory, and posted in rough form on that thread. I will restate it here, so that it is a little easier to find (plus I don't want to hijack that thread). So, based on my understanding of the Shardic Lens theory, Adonalsium is basically a wide-band filter for the power of Creation. Upon shattering, we were left with 16 (at first) narrower-band filters, the spectrum of each being defined by the Shardic Intent. This implies that Adonalsium(and the Shards) is not a power unto itself, but rather a means of accessing a power. This is consistent with I believe all the magic systems we have seen as well. Metal, Stormlight, Aons...they aren't the source of the power, but rather a means of accessing it or channeling it. This is important, because it means that the true source of the various powers of the Cosmere is still intact, only the access key is shattered. I believe the AonDor is a very good example of this, in that we are told quite directly that the Aons act as a filter on the power of the Dor, allowing only the desired power through. This makes perfect sense if the Aons are splinters of Aona, and thus an even narrower-band filter on the power of Creation. Which brings me to the theory: I think Hoid's mission is to travel the Cosmere, collecting a sample of each of the various waveforms/powers, in order to reverse engineer the complete "wide-band filter" and enable one to tap into the "full spectrum" of the power of Creation. Because Adonalsium was not the source of the power, but rather just a tool, it is not necessary to reforge Adonalsium. Instead, Hoid is actually trying to replicate that tool, which can be done as many times as desired! Thus the term "Adonalsium Proliferation." What, you want proof?? Well, I don't have any. But how's this: one thing that always bothered me about The Letter was the fact that the recipient disagreed with Hoid's plan. I had always assumed (like many of us) that Hoid was trying to restore Adonalsium/The Cosmere to its previous state, which seems like a good idea. Why would someone disagree with that? However, if Hoid is in fact going for a nuclear-deterrence style proliferation, I can see how that could be terrifying, causing the 17th Shard to try to shut him down. (In this Cold War analogy, the 17th Shard folks represent the Nuclear Disarmament mindset, while Hoid is of the Mutually Assured Destruction mindset). That's it for now! Thanks for Isomere, Senor Freesh, and WeiryWriter for laying the groundwork on this for me! (and any others who I haven't read yet...)
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  4. Let me give you my spoilery review of Words of Radiance. Dalinar is....... "AWESOME" and kicks Sadeas's butt. Kaladin is ......."AWESOME" and kicks Amaram and Sadeas's butt and fights Szeth. Shallan is...... "AWESOME" and has sad and exciting flashback scenes about her homicidal, power hungry father and...... seduces Renarin (here's to u Feather Writer). Jasnah is...... "AWESOME" and literally reduces guys to smoke and seduces Kaladin (Yay! My theory stands true.) Renarin is ......"AWESOME" and becomes a kick butt Surgebinder........ and kicks Voidbringer butt. Szeth multitasks and kills people while crying and listening to non existent screams...... and gets his butt kicked by Kaladin. Eshonai is....... "AWESOME" and kicks stuffy Alethi butt........ and begins courting the DARK SIDE OF THE FORCE. (But no there's no "Kaladin, I am your mother" scene yet. That comes in book 9.) Oh and by the way, Lift is AWESOMEST of all.
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  5. When you quote WOK in the subjetive part of a test to enter the federal governament carrer (true story) I used the "to be human is desire what you can't have" =) (Crossing fingers and waiting for the result) =)
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  6. Fast!!! Someone track his ip to the "17th shard assault force" bust the place where he hided this treusure =) I take point, someone with me ?
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  7. I most certainly can. And it is a glorious one!
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  8. Jealous, I think, doesn't quite fit. Jealous is a man looking at his neighbor's new car with a frown on his face, a child looking at her sibling's new toy. The feeling I have right now is more along the lines of Gollum, his hands outstretched, gibbering and begging Frodo for the Ring. WANT SO BADLY Also there were totally spoilers I think based on the scene that made the person sad and I AM SO EXCITED
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  9. Should the dodgeball be Invested somehow? Maybe put a few thousand Breaths into it so that it can't be Lashed.
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  10. Anyone else from VA, anyone? Anyway, does Shallan have a Shardblade?? I just came across this little quote while rereading the book that I must have inexplicably skipped first time through because I did not remember it at all: Obviously, that sounds like a Shardblade. And this seems to imply, with "the fruit of her sin," that she obtained it from Does anyone have any theories on who he might be and who he was involved with? How did he come across both a Shardblade and a Soulcaster, and still be of such low ranking? It was mentioned that the men he was apparently involved with had strange diamond tattoos on their hands. Could they be related to those creatures Shallan (and supposedly Jasnah) sees? I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas.
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  11. Here are all of the readings from Words of Radiance that have been released so far. This list is going to be updated when more come out. Also, the spelling of any new names are merely approximations, not intended to be completely accurate. Jasnah Prologue Kaladin - Chapter 2 Dalinar's Vision Shallan Flashback 1 - Red Carpet, Once White Eshonai Interlude Rysn's Interlude Ym Interlude Lift Interlude Taravangian Interlude Enjoy!
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  12. Warning: long post. Consider the following scenario: You are king of a small nation. Kind-hearted, and filled with the desire to protect your people, you build hospitals to help the poor and hungry. Why should the poor die when you have the wealth to make things otherwise? Your life goes well. The people are happy and look up to you. At least, your people do. The rest of the world is not so well off, but you are only one man. You help who you can and what else could the Almighty ask for? You commission prayers, are reasonably devout. You look to the philosophy of the Shin, most peaceful of peoples, who abhor combat. You learn about their ways. You grow old, but your nation prospers. Years later, during a highstorm, you are given a vision. Your land is about to be launched into the Final Desolation. Mythical wars that killed entire nations. It's horrible. But maybe it's just old age. Dementia. And then people speak of things when they die. The same things in your visions. Children speak with the voices of adults. It's unmistakeable: The Desolation is coming. Your people are going to die, and you can't stop it. You are a ruler of one small city, without much of an army. You look to the world. Surely other nations can help. But no, Alethkar is locked in constant war. Other places fight, too. The Shin are peaceful, too peaceful. There are no Heralds, no Radiants. Well, what can you do? Unite them, the visions said. You go to the Old Magic in the mountains, and ask a boon of the Nightwatcher. A heresy. Small price to pay, if it will help anyone at all. You cannot stand by and let people be hurt. Give me the ability to save my people. The Nightwatcher, in her strange way, gives you what you want. A curse and a boon in one: randomly fluctuating intelligence. One day, your clarity of thought is as strong as it's ever been. You can see, clearly, how the world has to be united. It can't be peacefully done. The histories are very clear on that, and with your power of mind, you can see it in the politics of the nations. They can never be peacefully brought together. Your heart breaks. But, it's better one man be damned than an entire world be destroyed. You need more information. No one knows who, or what the Voidbringers are. The death cries of people bring you promises of the future. And so you bring your terminally ill patients in the hospitals behind closed doors, recruit trusted ardents. Record their cries as they die, and use the Nightwatcher's boon to use the information contained within to save Roshar. The cries, you find, match up with real world events in some cases. Not many are that useful, but some are. You don't have enough. You need more. This, too, breaks your heart. You aren't going to do it, but a woman comes to you, and claims to be a Herald. She can do things, and knows things. Her name is Betab. She offers to help. You bring those with horrible conditions, and find those on the street who live terrible lives. You wish they didn't have to die, but it's better a thousand die than a million. The information is too important. At least it's those who live poor lives. And you'll kill them yourself, because who would ask a man to do something he would not do himself? Meanwhile, the nations war. Unite them. The leaders of each nation are warlords. They will not listen to diplomacy, and you can hardly reveal how you know the future without being branded a monster. Which you are. You're giving up your place in fight for the Tranquiline Halls, you'll be cursed to Damnation, but at least the people will live. So, you again use the Nightwatcher's boon. A secret society formed, spies in every nation. And you find an assassin. Diplomacy would work in an ideal world, but that is not what this is. This is a broken world, and the only way to lead the people to safety is to force them to it. Their leaders would lead them to death. You will remove them, and the people will cry out for stability and protection. You will offer it. Some of these leader's are your dear friends, but you can sacrifice for the people. What is the pain of losing your friends to the lives of millions? You can be an emperor. Protect the people. With you in charge, you can stop the wars between people and focus them on training for the Desolation. Many people will die. You'll be branded a tyrant by some, because not all nations will cry out for you to take over. But it's what you have to be; no one else has your knowledge or the will to use it. And through it all, you'll mourn for the friends you had to kill. When you die, there will be punishment waiting, punishment rightfully deserved. But the people will live. ------------ Taravangian could be, I think, the most honorable and selfless person in Roshar, at least in a certain manner of speaking. Where Szeth kills because he doesn't want to give up his afterlife, Taravangian perhaps gives up his afterlife to save people. I'm not saying I believe I've figured out his motivations fully, or that this is how he feels, but there are hints in the book pointing in this direction. I believe half of the writeup never happened, and has no chance of having happened. The above is propaganda in a way, presenting Taravangian in the best possible light, crackpot theories galore. For example, I don't believe he's seen the highstorm visions necessarily, but there is a chance. I think Brandon has a good opportunity with Taravangian to create a sympathetic villain. I find Taravangian tragic. I think he's going to fail. The Stormlight Archive is a book about the triumphs of people who hold to honor, who see journey before destination. Act with honor, and honor will aid you. This is not Taravangian. Brandon doesn't write morally gray protagonists; that's A Song of Ice and Fire. This will be a story of the triumphs of deontologists over consequentialists. Taravangian will be a villain, though a villain with some sympathetic motivations, I hope. Anyways, I had a purpose in mind with this post but I think I've meandered away from it in writing it up. I'm just sad for Taravangian already.
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  13. So this idea came from this thread http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/3563-the-origin-of-adonalsium-the-word/?hl=adoni#entry56890 but it branches a bit so I'm starting a unique thread. I think Adonalsium is not a person but a material, particularly God Metal. I realize this is highly speculative, but I think the idea is worth exploring. And I think it ties a lot of loose ends together. So first let's reference the thread mentioned earlier and run with the idea that the Adona in Adonalsium means lord or god. Then let's look at the last third of the word Adonalsium, ium. In the Mistborn trilogy we read of numerous materials, metals, ending with ium. To name them, there are Atium, Larasium, Chromium, Cadmium, and Malatium. Not to mention, scientifically, ium makes reference to metal. Combine the two and you have god-metal, or at least, god-material. Adonalsium, as a god material makes sense. If you were to combine all the Shards of Adonalsium together you would have the attributes of one very powerful/omnipotent tool. Also a material is easier to shatter than a being. And it's much easier to pick up and wield portions of a shattered object than those of a shattered being. Let's reference the the goals of Hoid, who seems interested in uniting the Shards (see the conversation about Adonalsium with Dalinar). And let's reference the Letter in the Way of Kings epigraph. In this letter Hoid is writing to a dragon and asking for help to stop Odium. From the tone of the letter the dragon doesn't seem interested in intervening. Why would Hoid ask a dragon for help, especially a dragon who is at ends with him? Could it be that a dragon or dragons forged Adonalsium. If one can create something, they also have the knowledge to destroy it. What if a dragon, or more likely dragons, formed Adonalsium. You could even call it dragon steel. But one of these dragons feared it was too powerful and shattered it. We know from a recent Q&A with Brandon that Adonalsium was shattered with intent. If the power was distributed more evenly it would prevent tyranny. So it was shattered and distributed to sixteen individuals on Yolen, who then spread out amongst the Cosmere to keep the power distributed. Yet the individual power of each shard was not foreseen. Alone, the shards were unbalanced. Look at the events on Scadrial. Or even worse in the case of Odium, which, on its own, would try to destroy all other shards. This is why Hoid is writing to the dragon. He is trying to persuade the dragon to change his mind. If Hoid can unite the remaining shards of Adonalsium, Odium can be overpowered and the shards can be reunited, hopefully returning balance to the Cosmere. My support for this is found in the last vision that Dalinar receives in The Way of Kings. In this last vision he is shown by god the impending doom of his planet. He is also shown stars in the sky disappearing, representing the work of Odium destroying shards throughout the Cosmere. He is told the only way to stop Odium is to "unite them." Dalinar thinks he is supposed to unite various peoples. I think what he is being told though, is that the only way to stop Odium is to unite the shards of Adonalsium. This is why Hoid asks Dalinar if he is familiar with Adonalsium. Some how Hoid knows of the visions that Dalinar has seen, and knows Adonalsium is at the heart of them. But Dalinar hasn't made the connection yet. So I realize this is out there, jumps around a lot, and assumes a lot, but I did my best to tie in a bunch of ideas that are floating around concerning Adonalsium and the Cosmere. Proceed to tear this theory apart
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  14. Judging by this tease, I think Ookla is Odium.
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  15. Kurk, we got another one for you!
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  16. I'd eat my (chocolate) hat if Tarah isn't still alive and doesn't show up in WoR or the next book.
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  17. To me all his books are consistent in quality(very good books). But, WOK is awesome, maybe because of the scope or maybe because is a book that he are working for a decade or so, you can clearly see that he worked veryyyyyyyyy hard in every detail (he said that the wrote 1000 pages or so only of notes). And this reflect in the overall quality of the book, what is normal after all, if you work more time in some thing it is probably that you will get a better result, his other works aren't so deep like the Stormlight archive so there are the diference. I think that this serie, in particular, will mantian the quality estabilished in WOK, If you discount all the the hyper and antecipation right now, apparently everyone that readed that monster of book believe that WOR are so good or better than WOK,and let me the be frank WOK are one of the best books that I ever read, if he equal or best that book I would be imensily happy =) In the mainwhile I really don't mind read another of his works, because even if their aren't so good was WOK they are at least very good books =)
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  18. I could see Cumberbatch as a good Marsh, but, in my mind, he would be a PERFECT Lord Ruler.
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  19. His family did indeed own a small publishing company, but it would appear that without all the hard work he put into getting it known it really wouldn't have taken off otherwise. I mean he was getting it known, but without the backing of a major publisher it probably wouldn't have been nearly as successful as it ended up being. I for one admire the effort he put into it, if not the writing.
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  20. Hello! I grew up in Virginia too in the Warrenton/Manassas area but I picked up and moved to Hawaii some years back.
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  21. Carai an Caldazar! Carai an Ellisande! Al Ellisande!
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  22. Problem solved, Easy people There arent need be so harsh
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  23. Allomantic bronze is shown on the chart to be in the upper arm and on the earlobe. If Allomantic bronze can have more than one bindpoint locale, why can't Allomantic pewter? Edit: Fear not Aether. Next year we should have Firefight and Shadows, if I am not mistaken.
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  24. Well, that makes a lot of assumptions. That assumes that the chart is comprehensive and complete (which it is clearly not), that each bindpoint is limited to only once hemalurgic configuration (which I doubt), and that either both earlobes are hemalurgically identical (could be but not necessarily) or that Vin and Wax had the same ear pierced (which I do not know).
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  25. Raodin drove me nuts, and Serene, while shes pretty intense, was exactly the same as every other female character in the cosmere (seriously, I love BS, but I feel like all the female protagonists are pretty much the same person. Though of course, there are small differences). I'd have to go with Hrathen, just cause he's so conflicted, with Galladon the hilariously pessimistic dula as a close second.
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  26. I think you might be ever so slightly missing the joke xD Also, remember that we have no confirmation about Endowment's gender. We might very well be talking about a well Endowed male here.
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  27. We are in agreement then. I thought you were saying that Cryptics of the Lightweaver variant could, for the lack of better evidence, just as well end up also granting Windrunner-type bonds. . The only disagreement we have seem to be in the nomenclature. While WoB state that there are different definitions of what it means to be an honourspren, I'm just going to refer to Syl-type Spren as Honourspren (with capital "H") until a better and more specific term is given. As such, Syl and maybe Wyndle could both be honourspren, but only Syl is an Honourspren. Much in the same way that the word "church" might refer to any number of things, but the word "Church" only refers to the governing body of a specific faith. . I do, on the other hand, argue that it is too soon to name the "umbrella categories". They might end up being "honourspren" and "cryptic", but until we know for sure, I suggest that it might be more orderly and less confusing to only refer to the distinct types of Nahel Spren, unless specifically discussing the proposed categorisations. . EDIT: Up-vote for naming Jasnah's Spren "Snootyspren". . EDIT 2: The WoB I was referring to:
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  28. shard of redundancy. you can only do things you already have the power to do
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  29. I get that, and I'm somewhat behind the ones suggesting that all of the Nahel Spren are Splinters of both Honour and Cultivation, but of different amounts. Honourspren à la Syl would probably be close to 100% Honour, and perhaps "Wyndlespren" 100% Cultivation, but another one could be for example 15% Honour and 85% Cultivation. . As of now, we have information that there are at least four different kinds of Spren that bonds with people displaying four different Radiant power-sets. These are Kaladin's Honourspren, Shallan's and quite possibly Elokhar's "Cryptics", Lift's "Wyndlespren" and Ym's "whatever-spren". Also, given . I personally believe that whatever the case is, there are specific types of bonding-Spren for each Order, with what I see define as "Cryptics" and "Honourspren" being the particular Spren for the Lightweavers and Windrunners respectively. . EDIT: Accidentally used the "quote" function instead of spoiler-tags.
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  30. Holy fast response time, Peter! Here is my question: does Peter have some sort of alert (read: bat signal) that informs him when someone mentions him here, or does he spend as much time here as the rest of us? ;-)
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  31. Wow, imagine my surprise this morning to find this thread active again! :-) Rade: I think you are on the right track about Hoid. I also suspect he is acting on some guilt as well; my guess is that he was closely involved in the original shattering, and is now trying to fix what he now sees as a mistake. Gamma: Thanks! Glad you like it :-) Pechvarry: I think the "anti Adonalsium" was the group that worked to shatter Adonalsium "with intent" (see my post from the NYC signing), of which Hoid may have been a part. How they did it, I have no idea. One interesting detail to add: Brandon has said that if Hoid were to be tempted by a shard, it would be Endowment. That fits in nicely with my theory that Hoid is trying to bring the power to the people, so to speak. :-D
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  32. I asked because we know Zane and Spook both had steel spikes granting them physical allomancy, and the voice they both heard was frequently (if not constantly) ordering them to kill. In "The Eleventh Metal" Gemmel says something that really makes it sound like he's hearing a voice telling him to kill people. Or at least just Kelsier. Though in his case, if I had to train Kelsier, I imagine I'd get frustrated, too. Whereas Reen's voice in Vin's head tells her not to trust people, to be alone, not to kill people. Penrod gets the same metal spike, also for mental allomancy; I'm getting close to the part in the book where he shows Ruin's influence, and I wonder what he'll say. The impression I get is, when Ruin is influencing you, that's a constant thing, or he can talk to you expressly when he feels like it. I wonder if the "Ruin's not here right now" call-waiting that you get when his attention is elsewhere depends specifically on the metal of the spike in you; will everyone with a Steel spike hear a voice telling them to kill everyone? I also wonder; do we ever see Ruin take absolute control over anyone that isn't a hemalurgic creation? I know we've seen him guide the hands of the insane, or people with one or two spikes, but apart from nudges like that I don't believe we've ever seen him take literal control of such a person. Is it possible he can only do that if you're an actual hemalurgic creation, not simply a hemalurgist? Which phrasing is a bit odd... I consider the hemalurgist to be "the person with a spike in him," which isn't necessarily the same as "the person who knows how hemalurgy works" or even, for that matter, "the person who knows that hemalurgy is a thing."
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  33. I would disagree with that, I've always assumed that the reason Koloss are so easy to control is that they have the mental capacity of a particularly intelligent peanut and so they can't comprehend resisting, and possibly can't even recognise they're being manipulated.
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  34. I love the thoughts you've given here, but I have to say I disagree with your 6 versions of compounding. the reason is thus: this limits the number of different kinds of compounding there can be, as well as limiting their utility. Why? because you cannot begin an Allomantic process without finishing it. Beyond this one point, I would cite examples from the books, as well as a small amount of logic. Above anything else, Brandons magic is simple, logical, and predictable. other wise we wouldn't get to debate it this way at all. My edition of the 6 versions of compounding is thus: 1. Allomantically powering Feruchemy -> Store attribute, burn metalmind, gain powers! - Gains Benefits of Extra Investiture - Also consumes metalmind - Must be a Twinborn for the same metal. *This is all entirely correct. most of what we know of compounding comes from examples of this form. In many cases, it is also wise to store excess Ferrochemic power in a metalmind. Example: Brandon has previously stated that compounding Atium can reduce an adult to infancy. 2. Feruchemically powering Allomancy -> Burn metal, somehow store power in a metalmind, tap to use. *There are two basic possibilities for this: *Store with Nicrosil: you may use this method with any allomantic metal. The advantages / possibilities of this are endless. The net result is similar to duralium use. -Technically, a Nicrosil Ferring is able to store Investiture from any source he has access to. This allows a Twinborn to burn metals without them generating their normal effect. The investiture may then be stored for latter use. -When tapping Nicrosil Ferrochemically, it will have a direct effect only if it is used in conjunction with another kind of investature. Once the second type has been tapped breifly (this creates the necessary "filter" to create a specific effect), the remainder of the energy needed can be provided partially or entirely by Ferrochemic Nicrosil. - after burning a metal for ~1/2 second, the Twinborn can gain the desired effect almost entirely by ferrochemic power alone. - can create Duralium-like results, as well. -The exact abilities of a soulbearer, beyond this, are fairly unknown. The few hints given thus far indicate extreme versatility. *A Twinborn of this form can be nicknamed a “soulburner”. Each of the individual types of soulburners would, of course, have their own names as well. *The Second version is arguably not “Compounding” at all. I call it “Synergising”. Essentially, you burn one allomantic metal, and store the qualities it produces, via Ferrochemy. The result is an essentially endless supply of Ferrochemic power, which can be recharged Quickly. The following Twinborn combinations would be considered “Synergisers”: Alomantic Ferrochemic Quality Pewter Pewter stength Pewter Steel speed Pewter Brass wakefulness Pewter Gold health Atium Brass mental speed Tin Tin senses Gold Aluminum identity Gold Electrum determination There are likely other versions of this I have missed. The benefit is similar to compounding, though not quite as dramatic. * I beleive Marsh used the Pewter-gold combination at the end of Hero of Ages. Without doing so, I do not see how he would have been able to survive his near-decapitation, as he cannot compound gold. I cannot confirm this, however, without asking Brandon directly. 3. Allomantically powering Hemalurgy -> Spike someone, burn spike, gain power! - Major Boost in Hemalurgic quality stolen - Major increase in Hemalurgic insanity, and vulnerability to emotional Allomancy - Consumes Spike so you can’t have the ability forever, just until it runs out. Now you have to go spike someone else. - Must be Misting of metal Spike is made of - Spike must be placed in body to pierce the stomach. [must pierce the body in order to grant its hemalurgic effect. Must be contained in stomach to be burned.] This may or may not be a valid bind point. see post # 55 * These metals will alow access to second qualities, similar to the effect of 'compounding Allomancy to power Ferrochemy': Iron, Tin, Copper, Zinc. Nicrosil, Chromium, Cadmium and Bendalloy will do likewise, but the qualities they grant are unknown. * These metals will alow allomantic bursts of power similar to that experienced through duralium: Steel, Brass, Aluminum, Electrum *These metals will alow increased Ferrochemic ability: Pewter, Brass, Duralium, Gold *I would nickname those who use this method "souleaters". The name comes from Harmony's explanation in Hero of Ages that "Koloss were not a combination of 5 bodies but 5 souls", thus hinting that it is part of the soul itself that is stolen during Hemelugy. (on a side note, this would indicate that 'Hemelurgic decay' is actually a very good thing, as it allows the soul to escape imprisonment) 4. Feruchemically powering Hemalurgy *Unfortunately, Ferrochemically storeing a quality in a Hemelurgic spike does not grant any particular benefit, nor let you draw the Hemelurgic quality Ferrochemically. This is demonstrated in Hero of Ages when Marsh uses one of his eyespikes as a steelmind, but is not able to compound in any way by using this method. *There is a theory regarding the use of a nicrosilmind, since that stores 'untyped' investiture. if the same metalmind were made into a hemelurgic spike, Ferrochemy should be able to power the effect of the spike. this is not necessarily possible with other metals, however, nor do we know the hemelurgic effect of nicrosil. 5. Hemalurgically powering Feruchemicemy *The basic benefit here is the ability to share metalminds *Process: Spike a Ferring --> Stab some with the charged Hemelurgic spike; this person stores a quality in the spike, or another metalmind -->Remove Spike, place in another person; this person draws stored quality from metalmind *limitations: - the initial Ferring dies, as per Hemalurgy - removing hemelurgic spikes can be harmful, thus removing the benefit of sharing some powers - must know Hemelurgic bind points - must use a bind point that is not lethal to remove spikes from - must use a Pewter, Brass, Duralium, or Gold spike *larger Potential: true compounding of Hemelurgy and Ferrochemy (Theoretical. not confirmed) - if two people are connected to one another by both being peirced by the same Hemelurgic spike, one could arguably draw Ferrochemic power directly from the other person (assuming the spike granted Ferrochemic power, and the apropriate metal was available to use as a bridge. You would essentially be forcing the other to store, while you drew power from them.) 6. Hemalurgically powering Allomancy -> This is done in the books. It's sadly mundane. - This is the way Steel Inquisitors are made. - You have to spike people, know bindpoints, lose power, etc. - The person receiving the spike gains the permanent ability to burn a given allomantic metal - If the person receiving the spike is the same type of Mistling as the power stored in the spike, the power stacks. This is how Vin gained the ability to pierce copperclouds.
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  35. The short answer is: we don't know. We know next to nothing about physical changes associated with hemalurgy. We don't know if the spikes are removable, or if they go through heart and , say, kidneys, just from the sides. Is the physical change instant? We know it is relatively rapid (within weeks), but does the person instantly become Koloss? Does it start when the first spike goes in, or only when the fourth one does? What would happen if the fourth spike was not inserted? Death? Saner but weaker Koloss? When does mind start to go? Kandra are different. They are very flexible, they don't seem to have many vital organs, and they don't use those for spikes (they use muscles). They also shapeshift, so external phenotype changes are not obvious. They seem to be able to uptake several sets of Human Attribute spikes without any side effects. And you forgot about Vin habitually removing her spike Someone really should catch Brandon and discuss Hemalurgy in long, gruesome detail
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  36. Always consume books three times: Once for the pleasure, once for the plot, characters, details, setting, etc., and once lightly braised and brushed with hot sauce, caramelized onions optional.
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  37. Technically this was over Skype, but we're all tumblr-ites, so I linked to their blogs. There was copious talk of the SA players playing Mario Kart... FeatherWriter: Wit is that player that stays in first the whole time until a blue shell alert comes up and then he SLAMS on the breaks and Sadeas takes it for him. Lunarubato: Then he zips ahead, gesturing to his "TIMELINESS" bumper sticker as he fades into the distance As well as high school!AU Kaladin as a rebellious teenager to go with the dodgeball game. Swamp-Spirit: See know I just see Kaladin with badly bleached hair Swamp-Spirit: Lighteyes prize dark hair Swamp-Spirit: WELL SCREW THEM Emmalyn: omg Emmalyn: frosted tips + boy band hair FeatherWriter: No stahp Swamp-Spirit: No FeatherWriter: pls i'm begging u FeatherWriter: do not do this to my frail and mortal body Lunarubato: Can Kaladin try to make armor out of the desks FeatherWriter: Erasers. FeatherWriter: He gets detention ALL THE TIME because Gaz the hall monitor hates him FeatherWriter: And he has to smack erasers together. Swamp-Spirit: No. Anatomical plastic dummies from the science lab Lunarubato: Just like hundreds of chalkboard erasers tied to his torso Swamp-Spirit: Bone armor Lunarubato: wAIT NO THAT'S BETTER FeatherWriter: He doesn't even bleach his hair. He just puts chalk dust in it. Lunarubato: LIRIN TEACHES HEALTH AND JUST LOOKS OVER AND KALADIN'S STRAPPED THE CPR DUMMIES TO HIS CHEST FeatherWriter: KAL. NOT AGAIN. Swamp-Spirit: OH MY GODH FeatherWriter: That really quiet kid in the back, Shen, gets really upset because he has to put all the dummies back together afterward and he cares about them a lot. Swamp-Spirit: [link] Swamp-Spirit: Just covered in these Swamp-Spirit: It's actually disturbing Abalidoth: WHAT Lunarubato: Bridge 4 wanders into the gym covered in tiny plastic babies. No one's entirely sure how to respond FeatherWriter: Oh god Lunarubato: "LIFE BEFORE DEATH" Lunarubato: *throws CPR doll* Abalidoth: *dying* Swamp-Spirit: "Strength before weakness!" Swamp-Spirit: Working out on gym equipment Lunarubato: "JOURNEY BEFORE DESTINATION" Swamp-Spirit: "Five minutes late for class" FeatherWriter: *mashes play on the boom box* FeatherWriter: DOOON'T STOOP FeatherWriter: BELIEEEEEEVING Lunarubato: *dragged out of gym in general direction of principal's office*
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  38. This theory is a "why not?" kind of theory. I am personally inclined to believe that it's false. It relies on a character pretending to be something that we don't know about to hide the fact that he is something else we don't know much about, in his own internal dialogue. He swears by a herald, recounts "scoffing" at preserved legends of Surgebinders, etc. If indeed, he is deeply delusional, he has invented his own backstory to justify it. He does not display any Surgebinding anywhere (if I'm wrong...wow). However, that being said... The evidence so far is that the Heralds have found themselves wandering immortally along the scale between "insane" and "evil", with stops at "For the Greater Good" style crusades and "Nihilistic Destruction of Art" among others. A Herald who destroys knowledge of Surgebinders by insinuating himself into societies, creating stories he tells himself and others until everybody believes them including himself, then acting to destroy them and flinging himself on a gradual self-destructive spiral of pain and guilt until the mental trauma scours the memories from his mind and he either recalls everything or simply survives to do it again is not utterly inconceivable, though a bit far-fetched. And, therefor, probably something Brandon would think of and make seem totally logical in the process. TL;DR : Your kittens theory fuzzy kittens makes ZE FUZZY KITTENS!!! little so many soft kittens sense. So little sense, in fact, it seems possible. (immeasurably cute kittens spill from wicker baskets, mewling and pawing gently, nuzzling your hands and staggering before falling softly and cutely onto their little bellies). Wow. The summation could use some kittens Edit: Added kittens
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  39. This is interesting as I find that unlike it appears most of the participants on this forum, that Brandon's other works are simply not up to scratch (note that is IMHO, like all literature, YMMV). I've read nearly his entire output now, but after starting with WoK first, the others just don't have the polish or imagination; or they're often (to me anyway) too contrived. My biggest worry is that WoK will be the high point of skill, but I have high hopes for WoR, the small releases so far appear to match the original, I especially thought that the Dalinar (Purelake) and the Rsyn interludes have that simultaneous spareness of description yet a balance to inform us of what we need to know. The WoK's is a standout and surprising different from his other works. I would echo much of the praise above, the characters, the tone of the characters especially the genuine heroicness of Dalinar and Kaladin, we all like genuinely good characters especially where they have profound weaknesses that they struggle to overcome. The world is vividly imagined and sufficiently different or non-normal to fascinate; yet it is not described in excessive detail. It fits together because BS has a backstory so everything can fit. This is often missing in fantasy books where the world is made up sort of as the writer goes along leading to discontinuities and paradoxes; and that leads to a lessening of the immersion in the fantasy. This is for example one of the strengths of LOTR as a work of fantasy, Tolkien's complete formulation of a world as recorded in the Silmarillion and other works gives a depth and integrity to that world. I find that many books have serious issues with magic as a feature, this is best described by the thought "if magic can do anything, why doesn't it do everything ?". Thus a writer needs to constrain magic quite strongly. This may not matter much in a lightweight book (Harry Potter being a classic) but can be a serious problem with "serious" fantasy. BS so far has implemented a constrained magic system which works. Too many KR's around might make it a super-hero style story if overdone, but we'll just have to trust BS's instincts here. Interesting side question, does anyone think that Jasnah could have saved her father had she been present ? Could she have soulcast Szeth or is it that when he's infused he becomes an "invested object" that she cannot soulcast, or not easily ? What would the impact of attempting to soulcast him, would her use of stormlight take away Szeth's stormlight, that is the person with the greater amount would ultimately win, or would it have no impact, the stormlight Szeth holds would just block any affect ?
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  40. Tarah/Kaladin, Mark my words. Amaram return will bring back a old love of Kaladin =0 I don't see "Jasnadin" being viable, friend maybe, mutual respect for sure, but love no deal. I believe that there is many characters to be introduced, and a I don't believe that we need pair everyone yet. And Brandon love let little secrets hidden in his books, healready set someone in Kaladin past and I'm sure that he done this with a motive. Tarah look to be someone dear to Kaladin that the have insolved business, that is my bet =)
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  41. I'm totally imagining a love triangle with Tanavast, Rayse and Cultivation's shardholder being the main romantic arc in the pre-shattering Dragonsteel series. Tanavast gets the girl because he's actually a good guy, and Rayse really hates him for it. So now the reason our lady Nightwatcher hasn't been splintered yet is because Rayse still wants Cultivation's shardholder and doesn't know how to splinter her shard without killing her. (I suspect he's not really capable of love at this point considering his Shard's intent, but it could totally be one of those evil-guy-wants-the-pretty-girl-as-a-trophy things). So now Cultivation is kind of a prisoner of Rayse/Odium, and she's depressed and angry. I like the idea that she's mad at humanity for giving up on the Oathpact and failing to be honorable thus weakening Honor enough that Rayse could kill Tanavast.
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  42. I haven't read the interlude yet (I don't care about spoilers) so naturally my reaction to reading all of this is... She can what?! Make investiture from food?! *begins sharpening an Atium spike* Kids! I'm going to Roshar!
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  43. While you're at it, why not give them one additional spike to make them a Compounder with an extra kick? Like, an Allomantic pewter/Feruchemical gold twinborn, spike him with Feruchemical pewter, spike him with four spikes to make him Koloss, and watch him rip apart mountains?
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  44. I, for one, have never noticed nor been annoyed by a prevalence of "saying". On a related note: Chill, Aetae.
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  45. I cast myself as Spook, because I love Spook I could do it, right guys?
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  46. Clearly we now know Ken Jennings' secret (a former roommate of Brandons')...
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  47. Thanks, sorry about that. It's been awhile. Honestly, I'm a bit swamped at the moment: I'll get back by this time tomorrow, probably, but I don't have time to think deeply right now. I don't know why I thought I had the time to polish and re-post the Transliterator, and I now regret the time spent on it. EDIT: Stolidly not double-posting. Also going so off-topic as to shame Tolstoy. Okay, all three realms: (Mild WoK spoilers). Spiritual: We already have confirmation that the anchoring of a bubble is based, at least partially, upon its caster's spiritual gravitational connection to the planet. I'm still a bit hazy on how gravity is a spiritual force, but we do have both in-world and Word of God confirmation that this is the case. Massive tangent on Realmatic theory to make the above fact not-absurd, as well as some further observations on the implications of this tangent: That actually brings up an interesting question of what exactly the spiritual realm is. I have tended to shy away from Realmatic discussion up 'till now, but after a quick Google I didn't really find much discussion on the nature of the Spiritual realm. While the answer, "it's where the souls go, duh" is obvious, we know that Shardblades are also stored there, so it's not just a realm of ethereal floatiness with Kelsier jogging Sazed's elbow occasionally. We also know that "Spiritual DNA" is a vital component of all of the magic systems. Given this, I would hazard that the Spiritual realm is the realm of motive force, the cause of all motion, change, growth, decay, etc. This is all very pre-Socratic, but essentially there is no fundamental difference between the human soul motivating action and an apple falling to the ground. Both are necessitated by rules and connections in the Spiritual realm. As I conceive of my Realmatic schema, the nature of the Spiritual realm is such that it filters its directives through the Cognitive into the Physical realm, with the Physical realm then altering the state of the Spiritual and Cognitive realms in turn. Each and every object has its own spiritual nature determining how it interacts with every other object (gravity, thermodynamics, etc.). Most of these objects have the same rules written into them, but you can sometimes use magic to alter the properties of specific objects. So while Rock_3.125x10^56 might normally have the rule "accelerate towards other objects based upon mass," a Basic Lashing at a 90 degree angle from the ground turns that rule, temporarily into "accelerate parallel to other objects based upon mass" for Rock_3.125x10^56 and Rock_3.125x10^56 alone. Or possibly it's changed to "accelerate towards other objects based upon mass; except for the planet Roshar, in which case accelerate parallel to its surface based upon mass." So while the Spiritual realm has the general rules and is (possibly) the source of power for motion, the Cognitive realm takes these rules as input and acts upon them based upon the situation at hand and the surroundings of each object. The Physical realm is where all of this is actually enacted and where the Cognitive realm gets its data for acting on the Spiritual realm's directives. As we've seen with people thinking and using magic, the Physical realm also appears to have some impact on the other two, at least on some small scale. Summary of Structure of the Cosmere: So: Spiritual: Motivating forces, rules, physical laws - the logos of the system. Cognitive: Middle ground between Spiritual and Physical. Interprets Spiritual directives in the context of the Physical realm, alters the Spiritual realm on occasion (soul-changing (?) and magic) as a result of behavior in the Physical realm, and has its own (malleable?) set of rules on how to interpret directives from either of the other realms. Physical: Where the directives of the Spiritual/Cognitive realms come to fruition, with these directives altering the nature and layout of the Physical realm and so being altered in turn. Where you see everything happening, while the other two realms are more behind the scenes. To put it in unnecessarily computer-architectural terms: The Spiritual is the rule set and command line, the Cognitive is where the computations are actually executed based upon inputs from the Spiritual, and the Physical is where the results of these actions are displayed and stored. Changes introduced in the Physical realm then alter the state of the Cognitive and, possibly Spiritual realms during the next cycle. Magic, in particular, hijacks the Spiritual realm and hacks in new rule sets to enable non-normal changes in the Cognitive and Physical realms. Nature of Magic as Relates to Spiritual Realm: Some magic might directly influence the Spiritual realm, such as the Lashings, while others might simply be enabled by them. A Thug using Pewter is not necessarily tapping into the Spiritual realm, but his "specification" in the Spiritual realm will include, along with all the normal human specifications and his soul, "can 'burn' pewter for increased physical endurance and general abilities." That's the Spiritual DNA that Brandon loves talking about, and fits perfectly with how vital S-DNA is to the operation of the magic systems. If my theory is the case, then accessing Shadesmar would allow consciously moving, creating, and/or altering values in the Physical realm, which would explain why it enables travel between Shardworlds and why accessing Shadesmar enables the transmutation of objects in the Physical realm. If my theory is true, then Shallan will never come back from Shadesmar with beads stuck in her hair, because she was never actually there. Likely, she was simply standing in place while her mind took an adventure, Matrix style. Shardblades, as suggested in this thread, are essentially Physical manifestations of the power of the Spiritual realm, "admin weapons," as it were. Shardblades are triggered into existence by a certain Physical/Cognitive key (enabled by alterations to the Spiritual DNA of its wielder), and then manifest as essentially a miniature bundle of violations of the laws of nature. They are not, then, actual persistent Physical objects which just happen to be stored in the Spiritual realm. They are simply tangible manifestations of crude Spiritual manipulation which did not exist at any point prior to their fashioning in the Spiritual realm, and can never exist in the Physical realm without magical intervention of some kind. So when we look at gravity somehow being a "spiritual bond," it makes sense because the law of gravity, the gravitational constant, etc. is actually recorded in the Spiritual realm. So "reassigning" the bond, as discussed, is simply a matter of editing the parameters of a single object as I described above (I here presume that aggregate's in the Cosmere are lumped together in the Realms, to avoid having to think about quarks and whatnot). And back on track: I would hazard that the temporal metals probably fall under the Spiritual category, just as the mental ones are Cognitive and physical are Physical. All magic comes from the Spiritual realm enabling certain extra-real behavior, but the temporal metals in this case would be primarily affecting the Spiritual aspects of the world. Bendalloy and Cadmium might actually function by re-writing the Spiritual aspects of everything in within the bubble, altering some "this is how fast you move" variable that they all have. This flows down to the Cognitive realm, which sees how much power it has at its disposal and how big/time-altery the Misting wants the bubble to be, then pours re-write power into everything it can reach in the Physical realm. Unlike stormlight, which sticks with the objects over time to keep their Spiritual aspects from reverting, essentially serving as a capacitor, time bubble's must provide constant fuel to maintain the timey-wimey effect on their surroundings. So as soon as an object gets too far away from the center of bubble--which is in turn fed by the presence of a Misting with the appropriate S-DNA triggering the appropriate metal--the entire object is released from the effect. This could either work through my "distension" theory or actually legitimize a scenario where an object is half-in, half-out of a bubble yet remains either entirely affected or entirely unaffected: the "bubble" is simply a manifestation of the rough range of the metal's effect. This could also explain why light remains unaffected without relying on an alloy of Handwavium--light particles aren't considered objects in the Cognitive/Spiritual realms, at least as far as Bendalloy/Cadmium go, so they get a free pass. As for FTL, this might actually does give hope to my off-the-cuff suggestion that "teleporting FTL" would work in space as time bubbles suddenly expand without an atmosphere. Without having to worry about all that pesky air moving in and out and in and out, and swirling around, and just being there, there might be a lot more power available for time bubbles to expand. Alternatively (although this goes against the RPG), you might be able to pour the extra power from nicrosil (both feruchemical and alomantic) into expanding the bubble rather than speeding it up, since it makes sense that you can either speed up 10 things to x2 speed or 5 things to x4 with the same amount of power, allowing the expansion of bubbles to include more objects. P.S. And that's what you get when you ask for my input. I might start another thread if if people like my shiny new Realmatic theory. P.P.S. There is also the problem of why Soulcasting and planet-hopping appear to "stick" whenever you do them while Lashings/time bubbles do not. It could be the case that Lashings/bubbles, besides changing the instructions of objects, also have to provide the energy to affect and/or maintain the changes they demand, due to the continuing violations of the normal laws of the Spiritual (and Physical?) realms that they cause. It could be the case that, while the Spiritual realm usually provides the motive force (or simply has unique access to the energy of the other two realms?), magical power is required to maintain "hacked in" instructions that co-opt existing instruction sets (Lashings/bubbles) to continually do otherwise impossible things. Soulcasting, however, simply switches out one valid set of specifications (the type of object the target is) for another, equally valid set of specifications (the type you want the target to become). The energy is required to initiate any unnatural change, but is no longer required once the laws of physics are done being violated. So Lashed objects don't bounce back to where they would have been if a Windrunner had never touched them and Soulcast goblets stay as blood. P.P.P.S. I also forgot to mention that my theory might account for cadmium bubbles being larger, since it's conceivable that the bubble co-opts some of the energy from objects it slows down. Entropy would kick in at some point so the bubble wouldn't just constantly expand, but it would still be cheaper than a speed bubble.
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