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Lately I have been wondering about why investiture is expressed the way it is(not sure if expression is the right way to say it honestly). As I have been re-reading the Stormlight's again in anticipation for Dawnshard and RoW I can't help but notice that there are 3 shards on Roshar ,well 2 shards and a splintered shard but regardless, and they all seem to express their investiture in relatively the same way, within the bounds of the 10 surges, a very Rosharen thing. However, when we jump over the end of the Wax and Wayne 3 we find out that Odium made a hemalurgic spike, and kandra-like creatures. Now, I know that other forms of investiture can be expressed on other planets as we have numerous examples of it from Hoid alone. But, does the planet or system guide investiture to be expressed in a certain way? Does this cause other expressions of investiture to be less efficient in that release of power? Like, is it easier for Odium to use hemalurgy and Kandra like things on Scadrial? I know my theory doesn't fit perfectly, but is there something there? Ruin and preservations expressions of investiture were constrained by the metals, and obviously feruchemy which is not tied to either shard is directly related to the metals. There is a similar pattern on all worlds in my opinion. Is it simply a matter of shards learning from each other and mimicking those in their near vicinity? I am doubting it, because to me it seems that it is highly related to working around the environment of the planet itself. On Roshar, spren and symbiotic relationships are part of the natural environment, therefore those wishing to partake in Honors(potentially cultivations) power must form bonds with spren. And this grants them the ability to become invested, but limited to within the bounds of the 10 surges. On Sel, it seemed that both Dominion and Devotion were related to symbology of some sort. Did Odium work within some of that symbology in order to splinter them? Without getting too much into the weeds, I guess my overarching question is just if there is something about the planet or system that constrains the shards to be expressed in certain ways. And if so, I assume it related to the planet because of what we know about Ashyn and the diseases that give investiture. But my theory is also muddled because we know most of Ashyn was destroyed by surgbinding. Either way, this makes me wonder if there is something more that we don't know about, inherent in the planets that Adonalsium made, that is strong enough to constrain the shards to act in certain ways? If anyone has more references to support or debunk this please share. I am relatively new here and realize that I am just a lowly squire in regards to these topics. I just couldn’t find any references when I looked it up, but I probably didn’t know where to look well enough.

I WAS JOKING WITH MY FRIEND ABOUT GIVING ALCATRAZ THE RUIN SHARD AND NOW I NEED TO DRAW A L L OFF THE DESTRUCTIVE CHARACTERS MERGED INTO ONE BEING current idea: alcatraz reading the bible with red hair holding some shiny rocks saying something like "Matthew 2:12: and behold, God said unto to The Devil 'thou hast yee'd thy last haw'"

@Shard of Thought and i are trying to create a Cosmere version of the whole "The greatest showman" soundtrack. So far the idea is to have the first song (the greatest showman) to be a sort of intro to the cosmere, and the rest to be about different books in the cosmere. If you want to try one just comment which one so we know. Let's have fun! I'll make "A million dreams"

I, and I'm sure many others, have long suspected that music plays a larger role on Roshar than is explicitly said and that is is/will be one of the big reveals of a book that will suddenly help us understand what is going on a lot better. What better book for a such a reveal than one called "Rhythm of War" and feel like we just got in Chapter 15 some extra information so I felt like I would compile the definitive knowledge we have as well as the areas of speculation. Please help me add to these lists, both what we know and what you suspect. This can include Cosmere speculations, since I will be doing the same. Update: As has been pointed out, most of these have more to do with Sounds than Music. What We Know About Music and When It's Been Important in SA We have heard from the Listeners before about the music of Roshar which the humans are unable to hear. This ability to listen to the Rhythms allows Listeners to change form with a spren in their Gemheart during a storm. (Music and Stormlight?) Update: We know that the leaders of the Fused encased in stone were sing a song that Venli could tell was powerful. From Ch.15 we learn that the correct combination of light and music can attract spren to grow plants. Ryshadium attract musicspren even when there is no music playing. The Everstorm was created by chanting. Hoid's Flute (Music) is important and he can with it help/make a listener see the story he is telling (Light). Lightweaver's Ability affects both Light and Sound, (based on wavelength and frequency physics, I believe) Navani hears a pure note when Dalinar opens up the perpendicularity. Syl in her Interlude talks about the musicality of the storm, if I remember correctly. Update: Other spren, even deadeyes can hum to the Rhythms (we've seen Maya do this). There are probably many more and I will update this as I remember them or as others post things. Update: We also know that pure notes can be heard with Radiant Soulcasting. And chanting is used by ardents to do Soulcasting. In both cases there is the sense of harmonizing with other sounds. What We Might Speculate About Where/When Music Is Important in SA Roshar's landscape is an exact variation of a Julia set. I've often assumed this to be due to Rhythm of the planet creating such a mathematical formation. I believe this to be pre-Shardic and part of Adonalsium's design. Cymatics has been established early on as a possible explanation for why certain cities look the way they do. I've wondered about this being due to Dustbringers who I speculate based off of Malata burn things using frequency, potentially on a large scale when banded together. Another new potential explanation is that the Fused organically grow such shapes with Progression and they come out Cymatically due to the natural Rhythms of Roshar. This may also explain other patterns such as the Shattered Plains. Update: Could also be from chanting/music in general. We see in the Parshendi in general how the marbled pattern of their skin is unique for everyone and we've learned in RoW how the Fused maintain their pattern regardless of their body. Due to the prevalence of Light and Sound in Lightweaver, I've wondered if some or all of the other Radiant power can be explained by musical reasoning. For instance, as I mentioned, Dustbringers burning/disintegrating using frequencies and vibrations of resonances etc. Are Truthwatchers able to "listen" to the music of the spiritual realm or bring others into "harmony" with their perfect selves? Renarin can definitely do things with light and create a light illusion of a perfect self in the case of Moash. Do Edgewatchers "increase the tempo" of objects they are growing? Some of this sounds good to me as I write it and other parts sound like a stretch even to me, but I'd love input on this idea. Update: A suggestion that because sound creates microchanges in air pressure that that could account for Adhesion. Abrasion is in some ways the silencing of vibrations/sound. The "frequency" of Highstorms is currently not fully predictable, but what if it were with the right understanding of Roshar's Rhythms and their interactions? Is the Everstorm counter interference? Is the Origin the source of the music/Rhythms? Update: With all the new Fabrial insights we're getting, the metals, again, can be like tuning forks set to particular Rhythms. The cages need set patterns that could also influence the vibrations. Additionally, Logicspren can output certain frequencies it seems. Other spren in fabrials could account for the light/color connection. Additionally, we know that Honor supplies Stormlight - could Cultivation have more to do with Rhythm? We see how the combination of stormlight and music is so helpful in growing food, but only when combined. As an aside, could it be that Urithiru's Heart needs music/sound to help revive the Sibling? Does Kaladin's battle prowess have anything to do with hearing the Rhythms of battle? Or could his battle ability upgrade to hear this to then fight alongside someone as a war pair? The new Strength before Weakness t-shirt has me wondering about Kaladin and Venli and them being a war pair would be incredible. Now that I think of this, I want to see it so bad. Again, I'm sure I'm forgetting/missing things and I will update as people add ideas Light and Music In The Cosmere I don't remember any instance of music being magically relevant on Scadrial though I now wonder if the justification for metals always being Investiture relevant might have to do with them being Spiritual tuning forks of a sort. Update: Seekers hear pulses and it has been confirmed that they could hear the Rhythms of Roshar. In Warbreaker, sound and color are very important. We know that Awakening is used with sound commands up until the 10th heightening. We also know that people with lots of Breaths distort light around them to bring out the richness of colors. Finally, we know that color is important in Awakening, though we don't know exactly why it is necessary. Also, the Iridescent Tones in the religion based around the Returned in Hallandren - I always assumed both words to reference colors, but now I wonder about tones being a reference to music/sound. We also see certain painters being Invested enough to access the Spiritual realm in their painting and use of colors We know that Lightweaving is similar to Yolish Lightweaving, which I assume is pre-Shattering and from Adonalsium's original magic which I increasing feel is based on wavelength/frequency/music/arts? In White Sand, could Sand ribbons have any relation to frequency? Also, we see here that there is some color importance between invested sand and non-invested sand. Similar to how there are 3 realms, could it be that there is physical wavelength/frequency, cognitive wavelength frequency, and spiritual wavelength/frequency Update: We know Dawnchant to be a pre-shardic language on Roshar. Note its name: Dawn (light) chant (music). Coincidence? I think not! Again, I would love to add to this list of possibilities. tl;dr I see light and sound/music to a be fundamental magic system to both Roshar and perhaps the Cosmere as a whole with echoes all the way back to Adonalseum and I am trying to compile where we see it definitively and where it might be only hinted at. Thanks for reading and hopefully I get enough replies to further flesh out this theory. If someone else has already discussed this, I'm happy to be pointed that way as well.

So, I was rereading Oathbringer to get ready for RoW. And this came up. When Stormfather is talking about the Heralds and how they left one of there own behind when they abandoned the Oathpact, Dalinar immediately says Taln like he knew which one it was specifically. But its only a few paragraphs later where he realizes the Madman calling himself Taln really was him. So how did he know which one it was? I feel like it must have been something in WoR I missed or was it something else? As far as I can tell nothing about what happened to Taln is known or in the scripture so how did Dalinar immediately know? Am I forgetting something aboutfrom WoR or a WoB? Thanks for any clarification

I thought I had taught myself better. I honestly believed that I was done writing dumb wishful fantasies about my favorite characters. Harry Potter killing Voldemort in the most gruesome way my seven-year-old mind could concoct? Those days are behind me. An extended backstory for Breath of the Wild? Begone, thought. One would think that by now I would know better than to write something about the Knights Radiant, Mistborns, Wax n' Wayne duo, ReForgers, Elantrians, and the like teaming up on Odium to defeat him. One would think. And yet, here I am, unable to help myself. So this is probably going to take several posts to make, but that's fine. I've convinced myself that posting irregularly would help ease my conscience. If y'all think this is all just really childish and stupid, then that's fine by me. Heck, I think this is all just really childish and stupid. But I'm doing it anyway. Here it is: “So let me get this straight.” Waxillium said. “This is the Well of Ascension?” It was a little underwhelming. “Well,” he could understand. What he was looking at was probably the most well-like thing he had seen for awhile. “Ascension?” Not so much. “I can understand your confusion.” The man who called himself the Survivor said. Less a man, that was, and more a spirit. He certainly did match the descriptions given in Lestibournes’s texts, however. “Ruin’s power was moved from here, and therefore seems a little lackluster. However, it still works as a Perpendicularity to the Cognitive realm; for up to two people, I believe.” Wayne nudged Wax in the shoulder. “What’s your imaginary friend saying?” Wax turned to the Survivor. “I’m afraid my friend has no direct means of contacting you. What should I tell him…?” “Tell him that you two must take this to the cognitive realm, head to Roshar, and defeat Odium.” Waxillium frowned. “That seems very… specific.” “It is a specific battle that you are fighting now, Waxillium Ladrian.” The Survivor said. “I’m afraid that if Odium retrieves any more Shards that he may become unstoppable.” “I still don’t understand what’s happening.” Wax replied. “There is only so much I can describe.” The Survivor said. “Just head to Roshar. It might already be too late.” Waxillium nodded. “Alright, then.” “Um, excuse me?” Wayne nudged Wax again. “You can’t just make decisions for me, Wax.” “I thought you said you didn’t like making decisions.” “Well, I don’t, but you can’t make my decisions without my knowing about what you’re even deciding me to do!” Wayne pled. “Besides, I need to know what hat to take. Lucky hat or fedora?” “Lucky hat, most definitely.” The Survivor said. Wax frowned. “What…?” “Hats are very helpful. Especially lucky ones.” Wax turned to Wayne. “Well, according the the rusting Survivor himself, you should take your lucky hat.” “Lucky hat it is!” Wayne plopped on the headwear. “When’re we going?” Suddenly, from the caves that Waxillium had entered to get here, a man barreled towards them. “I found it! I found it, I found it, I found it!” “What the—” Wax stuttered. The man shoved Waxillium out of the way as he ran. “Move, fools! Allomancer Jak has come to claim his Birthright!” “Excuse me?” The man shoved Wayne out of the way, as well, who immediately scowled and grabbed for him, stumbling towards the Well as he missed. The man leaped into the Well, thrusting his arms upwards like some kind of priest. The Survivor scowled. “Get that man out of there before the Perpendicularity—” The Well burst alight, and the man fell over into the gaseous pool. Wayne was not over his mistreatment just yet, however, and leapt into the pool of light after him. “Wayne, wait!” Wax yelled, but was too late. The light of the pool began to fade, and with it the hopes of a successful mission. Wax found himself staring into the Well, empty despite the two personages that had been inside it just moments before. “What in the name of the Lord Ruler just happened?” The Survivor demanded. Wax shuddered on the ledge of the Well. “I think… I think that you might be stuck with the wrong allomancer for awhile.” His best friend, Wayne, had just sealed the fate of the Cosmere, by taking Allomancer Jak with him to defeat a god.

Hey y'all, Wildcard again. I'm practicing my game vfx skills for my portfolio and I thought Spren would be a perfect subject to make if anyone had suggestions if their favorites. It doesn't have to be a spren, but a magic effect like a seon, or the goop in elantris/soul stamp.

So as a test I had the Cosmere logo put on a stainless steel coin. This will be a good test to see if I can use it for making my own leather work stamps.

We need to talk about the silver plating on Vin's earring! Somewhere between the moment Vin's mother drove this little bronze spike through Vin's sister into Vin's ear, and the moment we first see Vin in Book 1, this bronze earring became plated in "silver" (which must negate its Hemalurgic effects for reasons I'll explain) and then locked away inside of a box. Even ignoring the larger implications of Silver throughout the Cosmere, and isolating our attention only at Scadrial's magic system... We know that silver on Scadrial has no known Allomantic, Feruchemical, or (most importantly) Hemalurgic properties at all. If the earring were silver-plated before spiking through Vin's sister, then that silver would have nullified the spike's ability to behave as a hemalurgic spike and accept a hemalurgic charge. In contrast, if the earring was silver-plated after receiving a hemalurgic charge, then the silver would have blocked the earring's effects on the wearer (much like Nightblood's sheath blocks his power). If this bronze earring was plated in silver, then it's logical to infer that even if Vin wore it like that (fully silver-plated), then Ruin wouldn't have been able to reach her, nor would she have been able to tap into the extra seeker properties with which the spike was charged. Interestingly enough, that silver plating was notably wearing away throughout Vin's story. From Well of Ascension - Chapter 33: "Vin stood quietly. Absently, she pulled out her bronze earring—her mother’s earring—and worked it between her fingers, watching it reflect light. It had once been gilded with silver, but that had worn off in most places." From Hero of Ages – Chapter 54: "Silver. Useless, unburnable silver. Like lead, it was one of the metals that provided no Allomantic powers at all. “An unpopular metal indeed . . .” Yomen said, nodding to the side. A servant approached Vin, bearing something on a small platter. Her mother’s earring. It was a dull thing, Allomantically, made of bronze with some silver plating. Much of the silver had worn off years ago, and the brownish bronze showed through, making the earring look to be the cheap bauble it was. “Which is why,” Yomen continued, “I am so curious as to why you would bother with an ornament such as this. I have had it tested. Silver on the outside, bronze on the inside. Why those metals?" I figure that neither Reen nor Vin could've done this silver-plating to the bronze earring. They wouldn't have been concerned in the least with having it silver-plated while they were poor and had a hard enough time staying [relatively] safe and fed. I think someone who was cosmere-aware or, at the very least, was "Ruin-aware" was responsible for having the earring silver plated. I doubt Hoid would have done this, as well. My imagination says that he would have sooner destroyed or stolen the earring if he really wanted to interfere with Ruin's plans. Hoid wouldn't have preserved the earring so carefully. The fact that the earring was neutralized/silver-plated rather than destroyed... and the fact that it was placed in a box and that box was kept rather than disposed of... well, I would guess Preservation was behind this silver-plating. I think he did what he could to influence people and events around Vin to protect her while keeping in line with his own will to 'preserve' above all else. From Hero of Ages – Sazed's final Epigraph (just before the epilogue): "Vin was special. Preservation chose her from a very young age, as I have mentioned. I believe that he was grooming her to take his power... I believe that she must have drawn some of the mist into her when she was still a child, in those brief times when she wasn’t wearing the earring. Preservation had mostly gotten her to stop wearing it by the time Kelsier recruited her, though she put it back in for a moment before joining the crew. Then, she’d left it there at his suggestion." If the earring had been placed while Vin was an infant and left in her ear, then it's a safe assumption that Ruin would have had her entire lifetime to work his influence... if, of course, it hadn't been for the presumed efforts of Preservation to buy her as much time as he could. I asked Brandon Sanderson "Who was responsible for getting Vin's bronze earring plated in 'silver'?" and apparently that question was good enough to award me an RAFO card. :-) I will be framing it. Don't judge me. Who plated Vin's bronze earring in "silver"? When did they do it? Why? Is the plating on Vin's earring really silver (or just perceived to be Silver by the Scadrians)? ...is it the same metal as Nightblood's sheath? It seems to me that the silver plating on Vin's earring and Nightblood's famous "silver sheath" were essentially there to perform the same job. What do you think?

So let’s say that- hypothetically- the Cosmere becomes a cinematic universe (Hereafter called they CCU), a la the MCU. MCU movies differ drastically in tone, plot, characters, and so on- but they all have at least two things in common: 1) There’s always a Stan Lee cameo somewhere in the film (not sure if this is gonna be the case going forward, considering- well, y’know...) 2) They all have a post-credits scene that either sets up another movie, expands the universe, or gives the audience a good chuckle. So without worrying too much about the logistics of the CCU actually happening- what would each of you do for post-credit scenes for each Cosmere movie? Some ideas (some spoilers, obviously). Warbreaker Stormlight Archive So, putting this out there- what post-credit scenes would all y’all put at the end of each movie?

So in my family we love the game Codenames, and I got to thinking how fun it would be to play a Brandon Sanderson themed version. And then it occurred to me, why not adapt it to play on the forums? Should be easy enough, so let’s take a crack at it, yeah? As for the nitty gritty: I’ve never played Codenames, what is it? Okay, I get how to play, but how are we going to Sanderson-ize it? Will there be spoilers for any of Brandon's books? Short Answer: Very Possibly. Play at your own risk! Long Answer: the codenames used in each game will not contain any spoilers for any of the books. However, they will be linked to their respective coppermind wiki entries, which can contain spoilers for Brandon's books. Also, I can't guarantee that the clues that the spymasters give and/or the teams' discussions won't contain spoilers. Again, Play at your own risk! I will try to post at the start of each game which of Brandon's books the codenames are drawn from for that game, so you can know if you need to avoid a particular game. How are we going to make this work on the forum? What if I want to take a turn being a Spymaster? EDIT 2/5/2018: I have updated this post with the rules we have settled on after a couple of games. So far everything seems to be working smoothly, and people seem to be enjoying it. So if you'd like to play, just reply to this thread and say so! Also, I have edited the next post to include quick links to the first post of each of the games played so far, and I will continue to keep the list updated as time goes on. Feel free to skim over any previous games if you wish to see how they played out, or jump straight to the first post of the current game. For posterities' sake, this spoiler box contains the rest of the text from the original post:

Who would win, in a hypothetical tournament of one to one combat? Let's say said tournament pits each character against one other from any cosmere book, and it is a battle to the death. If a battle results in a tie, both contestants are magically brought back to life and fight again. Each contestant has an infinite amount of fuel (i.e., infinite Stormlight, infinite metal). For any Elantrians in the fight, their magic works as if they were standing in Elantris. Now, the arena is a near-infinite empty cube, with ground at the bottom. (obviously). No Shards Allowed!!! Only cosmere characters! Let's hear some thoughts!

The cosmere is a large and diverse universe and features a variety of sapient species, appropriately given the scale. I wanted to sort them by pre and post shattering of Adonalsium. I'll have my rationale for any that might be a controversial pick for either side on this time scale. Curious to see if others agree with how I sort them out. And if I've missed any, please let me know! Pre-Shattering Humans- one of the original three species that lived on Yolen and basically everywhere we know of in the cosmere. Dragons- the second of the three species of Yolen. We've gotten a letter from one dragon on screen, but know from WoBs that they predate the shattering. Sho Del- the third and final species from Yolen. We've seen none "on screen" as far as we know, but Brandon has confirmed their existence via WoB. Singers- the original inhabitants of Roshar, a world that Adonalsium directly designed and created. While it is possible they were added later via Honor and Cultivation, I find it unlikely given the overall designed nature of Roshar. Sleepless- potentially a controversial pick for pre-shattering. As far as I know, we don't know where the Sleepless are from, though they are obviously associated with Roshar. The limited information we have does not give me reason, currently, to think they are a post-shattering addition to the cosmere. Post Shattering Humans (Scadrians)- created by Ruin and Preservation using the humans of Yolen as the design. It's a technicality to include them as post-shattering, but they were technically made after. "True" Spren- while spren definitely existed pre-shattering, it's suggested that the sapient spren emerged later, after Honor and Cultivation arrived. I believe that the first of each of the varieties of true spren Hemalurgic Constructs- I'm going to lump them altogether here, the kandra, koloss, Inquisitor, and chimera (not sure honestly if the chimera would really still count as sapient. Our scarce details suggest not, but they were modified humans). Made post-shattering through Ruin's magic, hemalurgy. Siah Aimians- a controversial pick for post-shattering. I have them here as I believe they are the children of spren and humans. Being partially cognitive entities would explain the direction of their shadows and the partial shapeshifting that they display. Axies' ability to "write" on his skin reminds me of Vasher's abilities as a Returned as well as the implications of the Royal Locks. I could be wildly wrong on this one, we've little information on them. Awakened Constructs- so far, this includes Nightblood and, potentially, Lifeless. Azure's sword may also fall under this category. Seon/Skaze- made from investiture from Devotion's and Dominion's shattering. Cognitive Shadows- I'm just going to lump all the cognitive shadows we know of under this heading- Returned, Heralds, Fused, etc. We don't know of any pre-shattering shadows, though it may have been possible. Rhyshadium- Khriss labeled them as near sapient, so good enough for me to include them here.

So I was listening to the Wind's Pleasure by @Spock and I was like "Whoa! This is awesome!" And it sparked an idea. Well, I say it's an idea, but it's not exactly original. Can we just make some music for the Cosmere? If we aren't getting cinematics then can we get audiomatics (dunno if that's a word)? If you know me, you know that I love to organize stuff like this. If you have something musical to post, do it in this format: Name of Score OR (if you don't have a name) Just say "Suggestions?" Name of Book that the music is from (If you're not sure what book it's from, then just say "TBD") Link or File Download for music. Feel free to just copy and paste the URL or insert a link into smaller text. An (optional) short description. Spoilers are allowed! If you don't have something musical to post, then try to keep the discussion (obviously) on-topic. If you have critiques or comments, be sure not to be mean. Saying "this bit needs work" is fine, but saying "this song sucks" isn't. That being said, go forth, musicians, in the memory of Hoid's flute!