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Several days ago I mentioned somewhere (I did, didn't I?) that Brandon is maybe considering backpedaling on some savant... stuff. I felt that his original comment to me was unclear, so I reached out and asked for a bit of clarification. Here it is: The TL;DR of all of this is: Wax was intended to be a savant of the combination of Allomantic Steel and Feruchemical Iron. Originally, savantism was meant to come with a consequence, a danger to it (e.g. see Spook) Three three published Wax & Wayne books don't seem to explore that - Wax experiences no downsides to his savantism So it's possible that some stuff will change in the future - whether it is Wax's status as a savant, whether it is how savantism and/or resonances work, whether it is some slight retcon, nobody knows ('cause it might not even happen). So take all this as a word of warning that any discussion about how savants work might end up being wrong and/or incomplete, even if all the information in it is currently accurate.

I went to my first signing ever on the Arcanum Unbounded tour, and when I went through the personalization line, Brandon and I had a nice conversation about the physical properties of ettmetal, otherwise known as harmonium, and how they were impacted by Realmatics. (Influenced in part, I assume, because when he was going through his opening talk, I fist-pumped when he said he was originally a chemistry major. He saw, and asked if I was a chemist, to which I replied I was a chemical engineer. So, I think he took the chance to share some details with someone who’d be able to fully comprehend them.) I’m still waiting to get the recording of the signing line, but I’ll paraphrase what I got out of it. Brandon said that it makes sense for ettmetal to be so volatile, because it has the power of both Shards in it, and the conflict associated with them. He also clarified that it’s not a nuclear reaction; it’s chemically reactive, it’s the properties of the electrons in Harmonium that make it so reactive. It’s like ‘super-cesium,’ reacting very quickly with water. I wasn't quite ready prepared to deal with the implications (I was there as a cosmere fan, not a scientist), but I've spent some time thinking it over, and I think I understand a little more exactly how the physics and the realmatics are interacting. I've come to several major conclusions, which are reliant on a college-level understanding of chemistry. If you’re not at that level, skip ahead to the next section, where I’ll try to build it up in layman’s terms. For those who feel knowledgeable, though: Overview of the Theory · I propose that the subatomic particles of harmonium (protons, electrons, and neutrons) are comprised of pure Investiture, but still functioning as normal subatomic particles. This Investiture would be still of each individual Shard, even though the atom as a whole would be of Harmony. · The reactivity of harmonium follows the trend of alkali metals, but would be enhanced due to an additional electron shielding factor that would come from the repulsion of Ruin particles and Preservation particles, lowering the ionization energy and increasing reaction rates. · The alkali-metal behavior of Harmonium would come from the imbalance between the two Shards, the extra piece of Ruin. It would follow the orbital structure of cesium (atomic number 55), with one electron in each filled orbital from each Shard. The single valence electron would be an extra Ruin electron. · I’d like to say that each harmonium atom (cesium-133, the only stable isotope) is a combination of a lerasium atom and an atium atom, which would make atium = nickel (28) and lerasium = cobalt (27). However, I can’t get the neutron math to add up. It’s possible that the nucleus looks different, that the stability of harmonium is different because of the competing Investiture in the nucleus. This gets into physics, not chemistry, so I’m not equipped to dig deeper into this idea. So, if you understand that, great. Head on down the page to my conclusions, to see what I’ve thought of as implications of this. If you didn’t (which I assume is the majority), let’s do a quick* chemistry lesson. (For those who have actually studied chemistry, be aware this explanation will be pop science. Like one of my professors used to say, all explanations of chemistry are lies, and we just learn slightly smaller lies the farther and farther we go.) Chemistry of Alkali Metals What are atoms? Elements (like copper, oxygen, or chlorine) are made of fundamental particles called "atoms." These atoms interact with one another, bonding together to form more complicated substances (from water to gasoline to medicinal compounds). Different atoms will behave in different ways, based on the number of subatomic particles they’re comprised of. All atoms have dense nucleus, made of protons and neutrons, surrounded by a cloud of electrons. The number of protons defines the element: any atom with one proton is hydrogen, any one with six protons is oxygen, any one with 55 protons is cesium. Chemical reactions are largely driven by the transfer of electrons from one atom or group of atoms to another. How do electrons behave? Electrons are attracted to the nucleus through the electromagnetic force, pulling together the negative charge of an electron and the positive charge of the protons. But electrons aren't like planets in a solar system, just floating wherever they feel like. When they surround a nucleus, they order themselves into levels, filling from the lowest level (closest to the nucleus) and going up. For chemical reactions, only electrons in the outermost level will be involved; anything in a lower level that has been completely filled will not react. In chemical reactions, atoms will trade or share electrons until every atom involved has a filled outermost shell (either by getting more electrons or getting rid of some of theirs), since a filled shell is the most thermodynamically stable. That's how the periodic table of elements is arranged; elements in a column all have the same number of electrons in their outermost level (called 'valence electrons'), so they will all behave in a similar fashion. If they have an almost-full shell, they will be very reactive, like chlorine and oxygen. If their shell is filled, they will be nonreactive, like helium. The reactive properties of ettmetal match the first column of the periodic table, the 'alkali metals.' They all have a single valence electron, and they want to get rid of it like none other, so they'll take any opportunity to do so. They are metals, but they will react very violently with water. Other alkali metals you may have heard of are sodium, lithium, potassium, which are not found in nature in their pure forms because of how reactive they are. How can we free up that electron? Pure alkali metals would like to pass off their single valence electron to another molecule or atom, which would be more thermodynamically stable with it. However, to get rid of this electron in the first place, there is some energy required to ‘knock it loose.’ It's sort of like trying to launch a rocket from earth; you need a bunch of energy to overcome gravity, but once you're out in space, you can go wherever you want. Unlike that rocket, though, there are many different forces acting on an electron. Each proton is pulling on that valence electron, trying to keep it there. But, believe it or not, as you take alkali metals with more protons, the total force on a valence electron electron goes down, and they get easier to remove. Why is this? Two reasons: first, the electron is farther away from the nucleus. But, more relevant to this discussion, the lower shells filled with electrons are also pushing the valence electron out. This concept is called "electron shielding.” Negative charges repulse other negative charges, so when there are a ton of electrons between the valence electron and the nucleus, they will cancel out some of the pull of the protons. Since the electrons in heavier alkali metals aren’t held as strongly, reactions happen faster, and release their energy much quicker. Harmonium reacts even quicker than cesium, the highest alkali metal that's not a pretend element (another of my old professor's fun sayings about transuranic elements). That means its electron is even easier to remove, and it reacts even faster. Realmatics of God Metals How does this play with Realmatics? Finally, we get back to what Brandon said about the opposite forces within the same atom. An atom with protons and electrons comprised of Ruin would behave like a normal atom; no unusual interactions. Same for an atom completely of Preservation. But mix and match, and Preservation electrons would push on the Ruin electrons, giving extra electron shielding. And the Preservation protons would also push on the Ruin electrons (partially countering their normal electromagnetic attraction), reducing the force holding them in. By making it easier to remove harmonium’s valence electron, the rate at which it reacts with other atoms will increase. Which is what we’ve seen. Why does Harmonium have 1 valence electron in the first place? Lastly, I think that harmonium needs to be an alkali metal and have that 1 extra valence electron because of the balance between Ruin and Preservation. In a filled electron shell, each electron has a pair. I think each electron pair contains one Preservation electron and 1 Ruin electron. But, here's the problem: there's extra Ruin. Some of Preservation is in mankind, so if he doesn't physically manifest this extra Ruin somewhere, he won't be in balance. So, he throws in an extra Ruin proton and Ruin electron; this very reactive valence electron. As long as he manifests enough harmonium, the extra Ruin is there in the environment. Brandon has referred to ettmetal as super-cesium. That could be interpreted as a magically stabilized francium (which isn't stable, and doesn't exist outside of a few moments in a laboratory), but I think he means it's a super-reactive cesiuim. Cesium has 55 protons and 55 electrons; harmonium would have 27 of Preservation and 28 of Ruin. The Invested protons, neutrons, and electrons change the atomic behavior of Harmonium, which is why it isn’t exactly cesium. In Conclusion So, I learned in my discussion with Brandon that 1) the pieces of Ruin and Preservation are distinct in harmonium and 2) the battle between them causes ettmetal to be highly reactive. I think I’ve identified the specific mechanism by which this happens. It does, however, carry some interesting implications that I’m still working out. Let me share some of them with you; feel free to comment. · If there’s a repulsion between electrons, there must also be one for protons and neutrons. This would make Harmonium’s nucleus more unstable. Although Brandon said it is not a nuclear reaction that we’ve seen, it may just require the proper catalyst, so I would not be surprised to see an ettmetal nuclear bomb at some point. · If harmonium is cesium made out of Investiture, then maybe it is a fusion (the scientific term, combining the nuclei) of a lerasium atom and an atium atom. That would mean that lerasium would have 27 Preservation protons, and behave like cobalt. Atium would have 28 Ruin protons, and behave like nickel. However, although the electrons add up, the neutrons will not. (The number of neutrons doesn’t affect how an atom behaves chemically, but it can make it radioactive, which will change it into a different element.) There’s only one stable isotope of cesium, and one of cobalt, and doing the math doesn’t yield one of nickel’s stable isotopes. It’s possible the stability of harmonium is different, because of the extra forces between Ruin’s and Preservation’s protons and neutrons, somehow requiring fewer neutrons for stability. But, this isn’t anything I’ve studied as a chemist; it’s in the realm of physicists. · Because there are individual elements of Ruin and Preservation, this doesn’t bode well for Harmony as a whole. Sure, on a macroscopic scale, there’s balance. But it could mean that, in each of his individual interactions with people, he might go back and forth between two extremes. It also makes me wonder how easily Harmony could Splinter back into two Shards (although we do know that at this point, if Sazed died, he would drop a single powerful Shard.) · Ettmetal reacts, which means its transferring part of itself to water. Once the electrons are gone, they ain’t coming back. Atium burns and regenerates; how would a harmonium oxide make its way back to continue the cycle? It seems like Investiture is lost to the environment when ettmetal reacts with water. · People have extra Preservation, but if ettmetal is Harmony’s way of sequestering his extra Ruin, then as it continues to react with water, the extra Ruin could end up transferring to the environment. Man vs Nature is a very big concept in sci-fi, so maybe it could come up in Mistborn Era 4, that the planet itself is of Ruin while its inhabitants are of Preservation. Just spitballing here. · How do other god metals work? If they’re elements made out of Investiture particles, then can Shardblades rust? Or maybe are they silver made out of Honor’s Investiture, which is why they won’t react? (Unfortunately, Element 10 is neon, which is not a metal.) But that wouldn’t give them the structural integrity they need (even if they don’t physically do the cutting, a pure silver sword would be deformed in a duel). Does each Shard make a different metal for its god metal, or could it make any metal it wanted? · Are all physical forms of Investiture (the mists, the liquid Shardpools, Stormlight) similarly constructed? Maybe the mists were composed of two Preservation hydrogens and one Preservation oxygen? Are Perpendicularities just Invested mercury? The reactivity of ettmetal shows that, at the very least, the solid form of one Shard’s power manifests below the atomic level; does every solid form of Investiture do so, as well? Uh… In Conclusion, Again Okay, I’m done for real this time. I know people have proposed similar things (like atium is Ruin’s electrum) based on allomantic behavior, and I didn’t like them at the time (the ideas and logic behind them, not the people), but the way Brandon spoke of Harmonium makes me think that approach was on the right track. However, it’s on a more fundamental level: the very protons and electrons are either of Ruin or Preservation, and when you combine the two, you get a very reactive metal. I’ve tried to completely explain the chemistry of the situation, but it does dive pretty deep at times. If you’d like to know more about that, please just let me know. I didn’t bring out any graphs to show exactly why electron shielding increases reaction rate, but I can if anyone’s interested. I will also try to get the actual transcript to post it. I’m confident in the broad strokes of my conversation with Brandon, that Harmonium is extra reactive because of the opposing Shards it’s made up of, but I do think that having his exact words would have preempted some objections that I’m sure are coming. I’m just not patient enough. 07/19/17 - Made slight changes to the text to (hopefully) clarify what is canon and what is supposition on my part. To emphasize, it is not confirmed that harmonium is unbalanced towards Ruin. What is canon is it behaves like an alkali metal. If my supposition is true, that each electron is either of Ruin or Preservation, then the idea of unbalanced harmonium naturally follows.

Dalinar be like:

Maybe you just haven't found the right project yet. I began this year dead-set on finishing at least the research and worldbuilding for the Spokaneverse by the end of December. November rolls around, I've done some research and even written a little, but it stalls every time I try to write more. And then Quiver convinces me I need to write about cowboy wizards, the worldbuilding comes together in two weeks, and I'm already 2,000 words in. I just needed to find the right project, the one that I was ready to write and that was ready for me to write it. Maybe that's it. Maybe all you need to do is find the right project. It's out there. And don't feel bad that you didn't get it done this year. 2016 was a raging dumpster fire for everyone and the sooner we forget about it the better.

Hello, I shall not greet you in High Imperial, though it much more respectful. I'm from Reddit actually, part of the mods of the new Discord channel there. So I heard about this, its nice to finally take the courage and sign up in here. I guess I am a total fanderson now(Though I only now just started Stormlight Archive, and haven't read Arcanum). Is there a policy about cosmere puns? Because I have "sexually harassed" Vin at one point. Also, any fanfic worth reading? Hoping to have a great time here, LordMistborn

I don't really see the point in responding to a statement that's more speculation than any real charge, but sure, if you want me to. It's interesting that you're reading it as a 'desperation' to lynch Ecthelion: for one, if it is in fact desperation (however does that evidence arise?), then one would have to ask for your basis of such an assessment. Was it, perhaps, the fact I voted twice on Ecthelion? I was a bit more reticent at first, but simply decided to put all my cards on the table. And since I've noticed players these days don't seem keen to really read back on the cycle, I wanted a single post that made it clear A. why I was suspicious of Ecthelion, and B. that I actually have an outstanding vote on Ecthelion. While I don't think plausibility is all that strong, I do think it's stronger than mere possibility. (And I suspect this is a distinction between plausibility and possibility that most would agree with: it is possible, but not plausible, that there is a vigilante in this game. It's always possible the M'Hael is messing with us, but that's certainly not a plausible interpretation.) So that being said: to put it another way, being selective with our evidential standards demonstrates a rational failing - or at the very least, bias. If you can at least concede it is plausible that the Eliminators have no reason to be deeply involved in this lynch, then you should also exercise the same standards of evidence and probabilistic evaluation with regard to the claim that the Eliminators are deeply involved in this lynch, at this point in time. Since I'm dealing with questions already, might as well tackle this one. Being 'eager' to lynch Ecth is a (value) judgement. In fact, it's an interpretation you're imposing on my actions. And that's fine: a lot of this game is about us interpreting actions and utterances within a given framework and trying to convince other players to go with our framework. But this means that since I start by distrusting everyone, I'm going to ask you what reason you have to ground your framework - why should I 'buy in' to your framework? Why should I be convinced by one that adds the value judgement of 'eagerness' to my vote on Ecthelion? One could just as easily say I was being aggressive - which is hardly new for my playstyle in QFs and in vanilla games in general. So, what reason do you have to prefer this assessment to aggression, hmm? "It was illogical of you." Okay, them's fighting words. Now, I will concede this: I speed-read the M'Hael's clarification about items being allocated prior to alignment and would have voted someone else if I'd been more careful about reading those, or if I'd come back on in time to see Lopen's flagging that component. But illogical? Against existing evidence, sure. But don't come riding in on a high horse and talk to me about logic - for one, logic is the business of validity. Logic is about making statements that, given the premises, insure a conclusion that cannot be false. You want logic? Sure. One of you show me a deductive argument: otherwise, all of you are illogical. Show me a Day One lynch - or any lynch based on reasoning that relies strictly on modus ponens, or any other logical form that is neither inferential nor inductive. Then you have the right to tell me something is illogical. So, clearly you're thinking about soundness, which goes beyond validity to look at whether the premises are true. And I concede soundness, as I've already mentioned - I should have been more careful and not speed-read. But okay, even then: show me a Day One lynch that was thoroughly, unassailably sound, and I'll think about conceding it. Do you think it any more logical, then, to throw three to four votes on someone just for not showing up on the first day? (This has nothing to do with Arinian's guilt or lack thereof: strictly the reasoning/inference that it's suspicious if he hadn't said anything on Cycle One. Do you seriously consider that any more 'logical'?) Try not to stay on high horses, friend. We're all companions in guilt here, and none of us thus far are going to be winning gold stars for logic. Edit: Oh, in case you're wondering? This is not eagerness. It's investment. It's the investment of teaching basic logic for a living. Good night to all for real.

Day 7: Forgotten Words The silence that descended upon the House and its inhabitants was a watchful one; a wary one. They had won a small victory, earlier that day: they had overcome the treacherous, backstabbing Professor and killed him, even if they’d done more chasing than actual killing. But what the day owed the night was, all in all, very little, and as nightfall shrouded the House in stygian darkness and silence, the rag-tag band of explorers once again split up to see what they could uncover. His hat pulled low, the shortsword at his side canted for a quick draw, Exion stalked warily through the recesses of the House. He wished for a bit of chalk—for a way to mark the unending maze of corridors. If he was a gambling man (which he was, of course; merely no kingsman, he), Exion would’ve bet that he’d come down this way before: that the House itself warped passageways and rooms to suit its own internal logic. Whatever that was. Would make a good story, though, Exion reflected, as he walked on. The sort you told people over cards or dice, after they’d bought you a beer, maybe put coin in your pocket, while they were at it. Of course, that was if he walked out of this, but Exion was fairly certain he’d walk out of this. He’d been in many a hairy scrape over his life, and it was going to take more than this blasted House to do for Exion, as it were. He drew up short, all of a sudden, shortsword flashing out of the scabbard, as a face loomed up all of a sudden through the murk. In the flare of light from his match, Aralis grunted, clearly displeased. “Put that thing away before you kill someone with it, boy,” the old man muttered, as the matchlight guttered and went out completely. In a smooth motion, Exion sheathed his shortsword. His heart was still hammering in his chest – he wasn’t scared, for certain, but Aralis had startled him, and his reflexes were still on edge. Having all sorts of people try to kill him—even that one time where the undead (sorry, Returned) ambushed them in the north—had given him hair-trigger reflexes. Useful in a fix, really. “What’re you doing?” Exion wanted to know. “Searching,” the old man said, with an emphatic clack of his walking stick. “What are you doing?” “Searching, of course,” Exion said, tipping his wide-brimmed hat. “What else is there to do, in this place?” “Finding a good rocking chair,” Aralis said. Exion just stared at him. “Haven’t found a proper, comfortable rocking chair in this place, you know that?” Aralis continued. “I did find an armchair once, but I haven’t found it again. Really, what you need is a good place to sit down for a moment and close your eyes, and a rocking chair’s just the thing.” Exion nodded, as if he understood, because really, he had other things to do than to talk to the old man about rocking chairs, although wouldn’t you know it, he had a good story, once, to do with a haunted rocking chair, but Aralis didn’t look the sort to want to hear it. “Be careful,” Aralis said, as they parted ways. “Hmm?” Exion asked, an eyebrow raised. “Ran into C. L. Anky a while back,” Aralis said. “Now, I haven’t seen him around recently, but he did claim to have seen Lifeless around. Something to do with that darned Professor and his mischief. The young people these days…” he clucked disapprovingly. “You don’t think there are Lifeless?” “Haven’t seen any sign of them,” Aralis said. “Just like I haven’t seen any sign of magical pink unicorns or blue-and-purple polka-dotted fairy dragons in here. Don’t think they exist. Dangerous things happen in the dark, though. You’d best watch out for yourself.” Exion shrugged. “Thanks for the warning,” he said. “I’m no kingsman, but I’m pretty good at taking care of myself.” He wandered off, into the labyrinth. Silence crept upon the House with the night. But those with the ears to listen soon discovered that the House was not silent. Far from it: it had its own voice, whispers from the sound of boards creaking, hot water pipes dripping—one had spouted a leak somewhere—and then, very distantly, in the faintest of murmurs—a heartbeat. The shade of Sheon Idris moved through the gloaming. That woman had fared pretty well, he thought to himself, even without his help. Still, he was brought back to the predicament at hand: getting out of this House. He had a sense it was not as simple as finding an exit: indeed, he could not quite perceive an exit in his…current existential state. And really, Sheon thought, if leaving was as simple as that, no doubt the others would have already left. He felt—he would admit this—a benign sense of collective responsibility. After all, he and the others were all trying to escape the House, in their respective ways. And if he could help them out—however insubstantially—whyever not? “Well, that’s pretty amazing!” a voice exclaimed. In fact, as far as Sheon Idris was concerned, it was a fairly familiar voice. There was a man, Sheon Idris remembered—the tour guide, the one who had brought the others into the House. He was here, now, and that was the startling thing: a satchel slung over a shoulder, and carrying what appeared to be a long, thick knife, strapped on. And he was not difficult to make out at all: did that mean he was not part of the Physical Realm? Kasther was inspecting some feature of the House that was not apparent to Sheon. As Sheon approached him, he glanced about sharply, and then relaxed. “Ah, it’s you,” he said, his gaze focusing on Sheon. “Were you haunting the House all along?” “I remember many things,” Sheon admitted. “But not this.” “Well, so we’ll chalk it down to a ‘maybe’, then,” Kasther muttered. He turned back to studying whatever it was. “What are you doing?” Sheon asked, curious. “Examining the keystone—what are you doing?” Sheon said, “Trying to find a way out.” Kasther’s mouth twitched in an almost-smile. “Oh, you should’ve said before! That’s easy. The House plays all sorts of tricks on space. Maybe even time. But if you’re listening right, you can hear it.” “Hear what?” “The heartbeat,” Kasther said, as if it was blatantly obvious. “It’s not just Awakened—it’s very old, a strange use of BioChroma I never really managed to figure out, but extremely fascinating. How else do you kill a beast, ghost?” “You stab it in the heart,” Sheon said, before a thought occurred to him. “Aren’t you as dead as I am?” Kasther’s form wavered; Sheon was not sure if it had been a delusion, or something else, entirely. Things worked strangely here, separate from the Physical Realm. He was saying something, Sheon just wasn’t sure what it was. “—just lost,” was the only thing he could make out, as Kasther flickered and almost seemed to dissolve entirely. He’d a piece of information though. A useful one. Find the heart. Stab it. Listen for the heartbeat. In the silence, the shade of Sheon Idris began to listen. First, he heard the whispers from the sound of boards creaking, hot water pipes dripping. And then, as a soft undercurrent beneath the ambient noise, he heard it then. A heartbeat, as faint as the soft sound of a bird’s wings. A faint glimmer of light, in the darkness: like a firefly. “Be careful,” said a voice. Frost glanced over at her: a small, luminous figure, sketched in light, and smiled. “Of course, Snow,” he murmured. “I always am.” He’d never quite understood what she was, but Snow had claimed she was something called a ‘spren’, and for want of a better word, Frost had simply accepted that. Certainly, if she was a spirit, Frost had decided she seemed…benign. There was a sense of oppressive malice about the House. It had only grown stronger: chairs in awkward places, almost as if the House meant to trip them up and fall down flights of stairs and break their necks; sudden splinters in doorframes or on tables, candles guttering when they shouldn’t have, and passageways constantly shifting. At first, it had merely set everyone on edge—but then the corpses had started appearing, and what did you do about that? They’d found the Professor, of course, but Frost had a grim, forboding sense about things: he didn’t for a second believe the Professor acted alone, which meant they had to do something about this. “I know,” Snow said, “But I mean careful careful.” She looked about, distrustfully. “I never really told you how bad it was before I found you.” He’d uncorked that dun glass bottle, and then there she was, spilling out, insubstantial as a breeze. “You never mentioned it,” he agreed. He patted at his jacket, making sure the vials of metals were intact. He’d made a promise, after all, and one he intended to keep: he would have to find the recepient and quietly hand the vial in question over. He pulled it out of his pocket and inspected it again, in Snow’s light: shook it, watched the metal flakes settle slowly at the bottom. What was in there, anyway? Alcohol? And who willingly swallowed metal, anyway? “I don’t remember.” Snow tugged at her hair, a gesture both frustrated and petulant. “What if—” Her voice cut short, and then she screamed, urgent and panicked. “Look out!” It was only because of her warning that Frost danced aside, the knife thrust stabbing through the air where he had been. He fumbled for anything he could use, but of course, he hadn’t found a knife, hadn’t found anything at all, except—the vials! They would do, in a pinch. Frost narrowed his eyes as his attacker revealed themselves. “You,” he snarled, hefting a vial. He smashed it at the killer, a strong underarm toss meant to buy time, and threw himself at the figure, gambling on being able to wrestle the knife away. It was a surer bet than stumbling blindly in the darkness, anyway. He clubbed them with the iron vial; they yelped in pain but the knife sawed at the meat of his forearm and he fought through the pain, hitting them with the vial again and again, trying to force them to relenquish the knife. “The Words!” Snow shouted. “Frost, you have to say the Words!” “I don’t know them!” Frost yelled back, but it wasn’t true. They were there, just barely there in his mind, insubstantial, and he didn’t know what they were, didn’t have the time to tease them loose. With a crunch of broken cartilage and glass, he hit the attacker in the nose, breaking both their nose and the vial. And finally, he wrested control of the knife, snatching it away. He pointed it at them, breathing heavily. “Don’t move,” Frost said, coldly. “Another move, and I’ll—” In a blur of movement, they swept his legs from under him, and Frost stumbled forward, and of all the things, he couldn’t keep hold of the colours-cursed knife, and then— “The Words!” Snow shrieked, over the hammering of his heart, the dawning fear as the knife descended. “Snow!” Frost called out. It was not the Words, whatever those were, but they were his dying words. Frost was a Surgebinder wtih a Vial of Iron and a Brass-Lerasium Bead! The Heart of the House has been discovered! My thanks to Kas for writing this, all upvotes directed to him, as I was busy. Character List Kasther's Pocketwatch

hi I'm rachael! a few really cool people awhile back told me to read mistborn and i fell in love with vin and elend and sazed AND NOW HERE I AM. (I got my roommate into it too and they've read every. single. book. they like to taunt me with "oh i don't know!" when I'm reading things they already have. ...not that I did that to them when they first read mistborn, of course.) I've read all of the first mistborn trilogy, stormlight, warbreaker, and perfect state. i also listen to writing excuses like every night. i'm a writer! i'm currently working on editing my NaNoWriMo novel, and have written an embarrassing amount of love live! fanfiction. Someday i'll get an MFA. Someday. anyways, nice to meet you all! i haven't been on a real forum in years so this is all new to me.

LG29: A Mote in Adonalsium's Eye The wind whispered across what passed for plains, here in the Spiritual Realm. Sheon Idris turned his face from his contemplation of a steel and gold crown, now worn with the use of many years. In that instant, a lady stood beside him, brighter than the noon-day sun. "The sleeper stirs! This is a portenteous occasion." Her voice sounded amused, with a hint of exasperation. "Why, Lady Kiireon, you sound almost impatient." He smirked slightly, watching her annoyance build. "Of course I am impatient, you old fool. Eons wander on and still you wait here, asleep while the Cosmere changes around you. What do you expect to do, wait until entropy grinds all things to dust and bring back God to rule an empty realm? Preparation is required, I am sure, but you take the concept to an absurd level." He laughed. "Perhaps so, Brightness. Perhaps so. Regardless of what has passed before, I feel that time has - very suddenly - become very short. The chaos wrought by the Ones Who Turned has been contained. The Shards have again reached a state of stasis. Even Odium and Autonomy are integrated into the whole, at least for now. Things haven't been this quiet since before I suborned the 17th Shard. But there's a sort of feeling in the air." She looked at him archly. "Just like that? After so long sitting and doing nothing, you are ready to act now?" "Well, almost now. My shade is taking care of some...errands on Nalthis. But it will be finished soon, and I will have need of it before the end." He paused for a moment, then spoke softly. "Can you hear it? Change is coming. If we do not act now to reforge God, the Cosmere itself will intervene - and we may not like what comes of it." The lady fell quiet, and for the space of a heartbeat they listened together. Then they were gone, leaving no trace that they had ever been. The wind blew on across the still ground, and in it whispered power. Rules: Welcome to Long Game 29: A Mote in Adonalsium's Eye! This is a sequel/rerun of LG21 (which, in turn, was a sequel/rerun of LG14, which in turn was a sequel/rerun of LG10, which in turn was a sequel - at least in terms of story - to QF4). The last run was a wee little bit broken, and this iteration attempts to remedy the issues that the last game faced. Now, we continue the story of Hoid and his epic quest to reforge Adonalsium, the Shattered God of the Cosmere. Come sign up now to secure your place in the story, and to get your chance at unlimited Shardic power! Signups will last until December 19th at 2 PM (although I reserve the right to extend them if we don't get enough players). Player List: 1. Assassin in Burgundy - First of the Game (First of the Sun) 2. Master Elodin - Second of the Signups (Unspecified) 3. Jondesu - Quintus (Unspecified) 4. AliasSheep - Kelen Taldar - (Scadrial) 5. Darkness Ascendant - Kaldain Selblessed (Roshar) 6. A Joe in the Bush - Jack Tormander (Scadrial) 7. Doc12 - Silence (Taldain) 8. Kynedath - Desten Kyde (Roshar) 9. TheMightyLopen - Kaloo (Sel ) 10. Straw - Malum Farcimen (Unspecified) 11. Young Bard - Unnamed Character 2 (Nalthis) 12. Magestar - Magestar (First of the sun) 13. Alvron - Lorna (Unspecified) 14. Dalinar Kholin - Sanya (Roshar) 15. Harambe - PUNisher (Roshar) 16. I_am_a_Stick - Stic (Unspecified) 17. RubiksCube - cubefright archive (Unspecified) 18. DroughtBringer - Ralar (Unspecified) 19. Araris Valerian - Aralis (Scadrial) 20. Arinian - Unnamed Character 3 (Unspecified) 21. Zephrer - Unnamed Character 4 (Unspecified) 22. Conquestor - Unnamed Character 5 (Unspecified) 23. Sart - Sam Trudite (Unspecified) 24. Aonar Faileas - Nilan Izenry (Scadrial) 25. Elenion - emissary of Mandos (Nalthis) 26. Kasimir - Tenth of the Dusk (First of the Sun) Quick Links:

You sure this unit isn't called Tumblr: The Class?

I cannot for the life of me remember where this was at the moment, but I distinctly remember Taravangian having learned the Alethi(Vorin?) Women's Script, so it is within the realm of possibility to do. I have taught myself a general level of being able to read and write in that script as well, thanks to Harakeke's translation thread. I mention this fact for 2 reasons. Firstly, to say that it is possible (self-explanatory ) Secondly, due to the fact that I do not use it in my daily routine, I need to use my reference page for a little while before I can read/write without too much trouble. Depending on how active their scribes are for a given span of time, the shrewd Highprince may be rusty with their reading skills.

When you have a choice between studying for finals, or rebinding your copy of the Well of Ascension because the cover fell off. And of course you choose the book. Edit:

Long time reader here, and after two years of dragging my real-life friends into this fandom and bothering them with theories, I decided it was time to finally make an account here. I've read everything Cosmere-related I can lay my hands on (books, short stories, unpublished books, WoB by the dozen), and I can't wait to make theories about what's coming next.

Cycle 2 - Note a Worry “Hey guys! So I have this Dark Brotherhood pamphlet, and it’s really cool!” Innocent exclaimed. “Has everyone looked at their copy yet? Talks all about ‘Sithis’ and the ‘Night Mother’. I wonder who they are?” Looking around, everyone was staring at him with an odd expression. “Oh… Did you guys not get one? Here, I’ll pin it up so everyone can see!” He grabbed a nearby letter opener and pinned it to the wall through the hand symbol on the document. Everyone exchanged glances. "Umm guys? I think we found our assassin..." A voice rang out. Though there were some murmurs of disagreement, there were enough nodded, and soon enough he was dead. It was only upon later examination that they realized the copy of 'The Five Tenets' was a fake - they'd killed the wrong man. Zelda had been touring the house looking at all the pretty art on the walls when she came across one that had be torn to shreds. Surprised to see such an appalling act of vandalism, she dropped her mug of water. Bending down to retrieve the mug she was surprised to see she wasn't wearing shoes any more. "When did that happen?" "Dunno, but doesnt' matter to you any more." A voice from behind spoke, as a hand covered her mouth. A sharp pain, then darkness. Ecthelion was lynched. He was a Guest. He had 666 gold, a copy of 'The Five Tenets', 7 keys, a Silver Mace, and Glass Boots. Lopen was killed. He was a Guest. He had 1400 gold, a Jeweled Amulet, a Grand Soul Gem, and a Grey Cowl. Vote Tally Ecthelion(4): Elenion, Kasimir, Kynedath, AlvronArinian(3): Cloud, JUQ, EcthelionCloudjumper(2): Doc, LopenAlvron(2): Sart, OrlokStick(1): ArinianKynedath(1): Rae

Rule Clarifications: 1. Do we literally stab the Heart? Is that what the [Brittle] Knife is for? No. You will need something more 'conceptual' to kill the Heart. Or maybe a nuclear bomb, or a Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E... 2. Can we give away items during the Day? Finally someone asks this. No, you may not. All Actions, as a default, take place at Night, if and unless the rules tell you otherwise. 3. Are conversions possible on the Night the Heart is chunked? Yes - the death of the Heart happens last, so it is certainly possible someone gets converted and then the Heart becomes an ex-Heart, pushes up the daisies...

Hallelujah, it's Christmas break!! Finally gonna be able to finish that reread of Mistborn!

Just took a look at the final word count of Oathbringer

So, Gravity Falls fans, apparently, there's an American superstition holding that if a pregnant woman is frightened by something before she gives birth, her child will have a birthmark shaped like the thing that scared her.

@Mandamon has self-published, so he could talk to you about the process. I'm with an indie press, which has some similarities as well. Generally, and this is just my opinion, I like self-publishing in that it allows authors the absolute freedom to write whatever they want. It has given a lot of diverse manuscripts a voice and a chance to be read that were 'too challenging' for an agent or publisher. With that said, it is often used as a route for people who don't write well to skirt the normal subbing to agents/editors system, which can make people wary of self-self-pubbed books because some are poorly edited and not very good. Of course, just because something is well written and with a big publisher doesn't make it good. See the discussions over The Continent, the racist book that somehow made it all the way to ARCs before someone called them out. Self-publishing isn't right for everyone, but it works for some people. I would advise all new authors to try agent subbing first. Spend the year sending out subs and looking at feedback. If you are getting Rs with no feedback, or the feedback is saying things like 'not marketable, poorly written,' etc, that's not an indication to self-publish. That's an indication to hone your craft and keep editing. But if you're subbing and you're getting feedback like 'not right fit, unsure who to sell to, too controversial, loved your writing but the piece isn't for me', and you go through a year and still don't find a match, that's telling you that your work is probably salable. You can either keep trying to find the right match (and it can take years), or you can self-publish and try to find that market yourself. The benefit to subbing is that if your work is close but not quite there, you will get detailed feedback from agents. And that feedback is gold. AFD went from newbie writing to marketable product once a few agents took the time really detail what needed changed. If I would have self-pubbed, I would have lost the opportunity to really make the manuscript shine. Rs are hard, so hard, and it takes 3-5 years to get your work published, usually, but that first journey means so much and really helps you become a better writer. In addition, and in defense of self-publishing, sometimes when your writing is almost there, having a few self-pubbed titles and your marketing info (sales, etc) can help agents feel more comfortable about your ability to produce something that sells. At this point, it is very hard to land a big publisher as a newbie. It does happen, but your work needs to be outstanding. Having published before in indie or self-pub gives an indication that you know how the game is played, and you're ready for more. That was a lot of text, and sort of rambly, but I hope it helps.

Hello! New fan here, I could not resist joining. I've read WoK and WoR, and I loved them. Or rather, they absorbed me, chewed me up and spat me back out again nursing a broken heart. Because Oathbreaker isn't out yet. (I literally finished Words of Radiance this morning so I imagine I have no right to complain given how long a lot of people have been waiting, but still!!!) Anyway, I was immensely inspired by the both of them and Brandon Sanderson in general. And so I ended up on the internet. Here. Hi! About me? I'm an aspiring author, avid reader and sort-of game developer. Narrative games/visual novels, which I can go on about for absurd lengths of time. Currently, I have plenty of time to read as I'm taking a forced year away from my studies so if anyone has any book recommendations please send them my way! Now excuse me while I go and track down every book Brandon Sanderson has ever written. Looking forward to reading all the fan-theories and meeting all the people ^^

Find one more and cosplay younger Brandon & sons.

If I don't remember wrong we have confirmations (in-world and from WoB) about Odium killed Honor. also some other relevant WoB:

The only song I've listened to by Panic! at the Disco is "Nine in the Afternoon," and then only because it was on Rock Band. XD I'm now making notes on songs and bands I need to listen to: Dawes, Vinyl Theatre, Of Monsters and Men. (I could have sworn I'd heard a song by Of Monsters and Men before, but after looking through a list of their songs, I think I've just seen Hot Topic selling their merchandise so often that the name got stuck in my brain. XD) Edit: @TwiLyghtSansSparkles this is for you!

This is really cool! I hope the chemistry of the cosmere gets a larger focus in the sci-fi Mistborn series. Not sure if anyone has pointed this out already, but there is some evidence that supports the theory that atium is analogous to nickel. Malatium, according to the Coppermind, is an alloy of atium and gold and is described as silvery white. In real life, an alloy of 90% gold and 10% nickel yields white gold. These seem pretty similar. It's a shame, if Kelsier had spectroscopic techniques at hand, he never would have thought malatium was a new metal. I also looked up nickel-cobalt alloys and found Kovar (also includes iron and trace elements), and it apparently has similar properties to borosilicate glass (low thermal expansion). If this is enhanced in god metal alloys, I'd imagine that atium-lerasium alloy similar to this could be used in something where you need extreme heat resistance. EDIT: Another topic of interest would be distinguishing particles made of various shards. How would I tell the difference between an electron made of Preservation versus one of Ruin? The four quantum numbers would no longer completely describe the identity of the electron.

So, I came up with this idea when I watched the Deadshot reveal for Injustice 2, which was pretty cool TBH, but now, moving on to the actual thing. So well, I watched Deadshot's move set with his guns and stuff, and thought: "It kind of resembles how Wax moves" and I thought about the idea of a Cosmere fighting game. I mean, that would be the coolest thing ever. I know this is not going to happen, but it would be awesome. You could have Dalinar VS. Hrathen, Kelsier VS. Marsh, Hoid VS. The Stick! The possiblilities would be endless! Let me know what you think about this random idea of mine, I would really appreciate it. Goodbye, ma frens!

Nothing happens to the source of the blood is my guess. First of all, hemalurgy requires bindpoints in order to grant powers, which I don't think blood has. Also, the spiritual aspect of the blood would no longer be your spiritual aspect, so there would no connection for the hemalurgic spike to use. Remember, hemalurgy is designed to be a messy system which breaks and changes people.

This mass exodus happened presumably a long time ago, over a long period of time I figure. People culture and customs change over time on a given planet. Even civilizations changes with time. It might be useless to try to find too obvious connections in different cultures on different planets from a same core people. WoT spoiler If we have to seek a relation it would be in linguistic, myths and lores. Something deeper than just coincidences. For example, ancient religions and Legends of time long past will have truthes that might reflect one another. Iyatil just proves that there are false trails (pun intended), because she was obviously Scadrian while just being a descendant of them. With Bavadin, we have reasons not to believe myths because she could have taken over or created a religion. And if we look toward Ym's philosophy, what we have to look at is IMO not unity, rather multiplicity. One separated into anything to experience the world. Unity would only be a finality (or a causality at first, as he became "many us, people") I have in mind with regards to Nalthis the Manywar (yes, just for the name) However, this passage strikes at tme : Don't we know someone, who is both male and female, and seems to be everywhere being everyone ?

I once asked about the wording in this line, and here is the answer I got from Peter: The answer is almost one year old, and I hope it still works...

I am actually very curious who Tashi is because of what Darkness said. This thread isn't marked with spoilers so I'll tag this quote: Makes me think Tashi is not Taln. My personal pet theory is that Tashi is currently the god-king of Tukari. Who is probably a former Herald, probably the Herald Jezrien. (as I am in the camp of those heralds that stayed have all become the opposite of what they stood for. Ten Heralds now equal the Ten Fools)

Lorna is joining in the hunt for Shards.

The thing is, DA, you were pushing pretty hard for the lynch to end and Hael to be saved. You conflated two very different situations (the Dani lynch vs the Hael lynch) and acted like they were the exact same when they weren't. I already explained that the evidence against Dani was circumstantial and that there was actual evidence against Hael. Let me explain what I mean by that. Dani went aggressively defensive right off the bat and accused me of being behind the attack on myself. If she had instead opened with the fact that someone had told her I was the Mistborn (and who had told her that) before she PMed me and worked to figure out what happened, attempting to prove her innocence that way, she might not've been lynched. Because when it comes to circumstantial evidence, all you have to do is prove that it doesn't work with you. Or that that same evidence can also be applied to others and then you cast reasonable doubt on your guilt and if there's enough reasonable doubt, you'll survive. Hael tried to do the same thing, only his problem was that there was actual evidence against him so he had to make it look like I was the one trying to get him killed. Now, had he been going toe-to-toe with a person who was less willing to put everything on the line, he probably would've been able to survive the day. I don't think he'd survive the night, but he could've at least survived the day. And this is where the other thing with your comments during the day come in: what happened last cycle has nothing to do with my veteran status or even me. Anyone can do what I did. The problem is that few people are willing to. When you accused Nathan of being an eliminator, and everyone focused on you and started asking questions, you backed down and got wishy-washy, saying that maybe he wasn't an eliminator, but he could be because any inactive could be. Well, that's obvious. Anyone could get converted so anyone could be a Traitor, but why Nathan? No one followed you and you accrued suspicion because you made an accusation with no reasoning or evidence or virtually anything (that couldn't also be applied to literally every other player in the game) and you didn't stick to it. I countered Hael's defenses, and when he tried to turn things around to make me look suspicious instead (likely in hopes that enough people would get paranoid about me and remove their votes on him or vote for me, and his team could then maybe use vote manip to get me killed instead of Hael), I put my life on the line. He was trying to get people to worry about me, so I made it so they didn't have to worry about me right then. They could wait for the night and decide what to do with me then. I laid it all out and tied my life to his. Anyone can do that same thing. But not many people do, because it can be a little scary, even though it's just a game. Had Hael been good (and I was worried that he was, there at the end), I really would've killed myself last night. When I laid my life on the line like I did, I meant it. Every word. If you want people to follow you, you need to be willing to do things that give people a reason to follow you. Like being honest, assertive and just generally sticking to what you say. If you believe someone's evil, tell us why you believe that. Don't back down once things get remotely confrontational. No one is going to follow you like a lamb just because you say something, and honestly it wouldn't be fun if they did. I don't want people following me just because I'm me, and they generally don't. I like differing opinions and ideas. It's not fun when everyone just goes "Ok, Wilson has spoken so let's do everything she says because she must be right!" No. I'm not. Ask Len. Ask Dani. I make mistakes, and I shouldn't be followed blindly. But people listen to me because what I say generally makes sense, and people work with me because that makes it easier to keep an eye on me. The "followers" I have aren't followers. They're people who are willing to trust me because I've proven myself to them. And it wasn't easy. But it's something every player has to do, veteran or not.

Regarding the highprinces reading, it is of course possible that they could. However, you have to bear in mind it could actually be dangerous. If you accidentally let it show, such as gazing at an important text because you need to read it, or something of the like, then people would suspect and you could be politically ruined. As @The One Who Connects pointed out, it is possible as Taravangian can read woman's script (see edit), but also bear in mind that most people consider him to be a slightly dim but kindly man, so little political harm could be done. (Also reminds me that I should try to pick it up, for kicks) Edit: I'm 99.9% there's a point where he is reading, so it is confirmed he can. Besides, he made up a language for the Diagram. Chances are that he could read before he did that, so that that could be possible. In addition, I don't see how he could've acquired the information required to formulate the Diagram unless he could read, since personally, I find that reading to yourself is way faster than reading aloud.

Probably yellow. If you could get your hands on some parmesan, it'd be good, but I'm the kind of person who eats parmesan on everything and by itself. Cheese is great.

Hmm, fair enough. Thanks, Arinian. I'm torn between placing a vote on Stick, or poking Joe. One thought is that it just seems pretty strange to me, to place a second poke-vote on Arinian. It's less about who he is than the fact that at that point in the cycle, there were other inactives: if you're really just about promoting discussion, then why Arinian in particular? Why not anyone else? And why not poke people who showed up but failed to say anything substantive? And their comment that, "Cycle one lynches always victimise villagers. Which is why it's fun to vote. You can vote on whoever you suspect without rising suspicions on yourself later on when that suspect turns out to be a villager bc 'it was just C1 and no-one had any solid reads'. Well, I suspect that's fun when you're an elim anyway... " rings a little weird to me. If you think Cycle One lynches 'always victimise villagers', then why even bother voting, e.g. for Arinian? Why especially stack a second vote and possibly contribute to lynching a villager (as per your view that Cycle One lynches always target villagers) if you seem to be implying that Cycle One lynches are problematic? It's just a really odd statement that seems more poised than anything to discourage active voting under the suspicion that those must be Eliminators. And while this might be true, active discussion also helps the Village. As promised, I've also gone back over Lopen's observations, and he's correct: JUQ ostensibly placed a vote on Arinian to "even things out", but really just ended up making Arinian first target for the lynch. This was the state of play as of JUQ's vote: Doc (1): Arraenae Arinian (4): Sart, Stick, cloudjumper, JUQ cloudjumper (2): Doc, Lopen<2> Joe (1): Oookthelion III Ookthelion III (3): Elenion, Kasimir<2>, Kynedath<2> Assassin (1): Nyali Kynedath (0): Kasimir<1> Burnt (0): Lopen<1> Lopen (0): Kynedath<1> The relevant competing lynch candidates have been bolded for ease of reference. That's certainly fairly odd; at the very least, it certainly seems to indicate that JUQ wasn't terribly bothered about which way the votes were falling. That's fair, given we don't have any power roles to worry about this time around, but even so. I've noted his views on the lynch appear rather passive, but that being said, as previously mentioned, I'm not really fond of considering that to be particularly damning in any way, since Villagers have also been lynched for disapproving of Day One lynches. It would be good if people who played with JUQ can confirm if that tends to be his view, though. For now, I'll settle for poking Joe, I guess. If I have the time, I'll come back and see what else I can make of this. What's up, A Joe in the Bush? Is A Joe in the Hand better? What is a Joe, even?

Guess who just spent a day banging on nails with a hammer? Guess who's sleeping in a bed tonight

ill upvote you on all i can find of you ok, and i did

Ha well i just was thinking between those which one was peoples favorite.

I like pies No seriously I do

I also feel that all those "deep" questions get asked in Utah because he always goes there first. It's like, our question shardpool fills up during the spaces between publications, then he goes on Tour and we all get to tap into it with our questions, but Provo almost always gets the first sip because of the release party's and midnight premiere signings. By the time he makes it out to the last few stops of the tour, all the PRESSING questions have been answered or RAFO'd... Fewer questions left since—as a community—we pool them all for clarity and the first vessels get their pick of the lot, and get the deeper ones. So we shift focus to filling in smaller cracks of our communal-question-spiritweb with smaller and easier answers. (Far less likely to get hard RAFO's too!) It's just how you expect community-sourced question pools to be emptied.

It would be fun in theory, but imagine if you talked in your sleep at night. Also, the command seems too complex. Mine would be "Create Peace" to get rid of all the chaos. But, I can already see how it would backfire as the "good guys" may be trying to do something right with violence, but who can say?

The best software to do what is being described here is called M.U.G.E.N. It is a software that is currently free-to-download and designed for making 2D fighting games. The downside is that it requires knowing both DOS and pixel animation. If anyone is serious about what you are describing, it'd be best to try and recruit a team of such people from the whole of the Shard. As someone with (mild) experience in such things, I will say it'd be best to have at least a six-man team and a willingness to put in several hours a week working on such a project. It is quite feasible, assuming that Brandon (or the company who currently possesses the Cosmere game rights) doesn't fire off the dreaded cease-and-desist.

Yeah, that's also what I thought too, but how can that be beneficial for him?

Also it is heavily speculated that Trell is Odium , and by that logic it would make complete sence As he has 2 objectives : 1) stop Odium 2) investigate other worlds to obtain power or information to have a better chance to stop Odium going to places like Sel , Nalthis or the first mistborn era fulfills the second objective (seeing victims of Odium i.e. Aona and skai , and becoming mistborn) but if Odium is Trell then it would be only logical for hoid to try and stop his influence(just like he is trying to prevent an other desolation), apart from that i can not think of any other reason .

Are you completely sure it would be lighter than a bridge? I'm starting to have my doubts.

You need to be thinking logically to be able to design a digital circuit.

I was lucky enough to get the Hoid response that Argent alluded to, though on a re-listen, I'm not sure if it's as plains-shattering as I initially thought. The question was"Does Hoid have any [blood] relations other than his parents," with a response of "Hoid have any like, direct blood relatives? Umm... Okay. In the book when I wrote it before, he didn't. Dragonsteel isn't 100% canon any more, so that will possibly change, but he did not, and there are none in my mind right now. He is an only child as I have him. It's unlikely to change, but I do have to asterisk that one because I haven't written Dragonsteel yet." Having moved on to another question, Brandon came back with, "Oh, no! He had a little brother. He did have a little brother. Even in the original. Yep, he did." When all is said and done, I'm not certain what the canon version will end up being.