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No big, mind-blowing (or head-scratching) theory from me this time, just some genuine curiosity. It's explained during SA that cut gemstones hold stormlight better. And at first glance, with gut feelings, that makes sense. Of course putting effort into making the gem smooth and well-shaped would make it hold stormlight better. But why? Is it because it reduces the number of facets that stormlight could "emerge" through, as if each facet can only support a certain flow rate? If that's the case, why aren't all stormlight-holding gems cut as triangular prisms (the shape of a d4)? That would limit the number of facets to 4, obviously, but we don't see that. Is it then a function of the surface area of each facet? In that case, all gems ought to be polished into a spherical shape (much like the name "spheres" would imply, for their currency). That would make numerous small facets, which would bottleneck the stormlight flowing out, if that were the case. I think the real answer is that it's both, to an extent. The number of facets and their surface area. In that way, it would take skill and precision to cut the right amount of facets in the right shape in a gem to find the optimal balance; and that balance, when struck perfectly, is what a Perfect Gemstone is. In fact, perhaps the relative angle between the various facets is another factor. In that sense, other shapes with the same number and size of facets would still hold stormlight differently. So there may be an ideal shape, with specifically sized facets in a specific number that lead to no stormlight leaking at all. It may, indeed, require the skill and power of a Radiant to properly shape a gemstone into that shape with enough precision to truly strike that perfect balance and make a perfect gemstone. So what do you guys think? Am I just crazy?

Just wondering, since I'm somewhat new and haven't read all the wobs, how a radiant who decided to live in the countryside could ever really die ? Stormlight means they can't really die of infection or sickness, and the only things that could kill someone through age seem like they should be healed through stormlight (Various heart diseases, weak bones, weak immune system). The only thing I can think of is failing mental faculties, but it seems like they should be healed from things that they 'shouldn't' have, that don't make their personality, so they should be healed of dementia and other age related mental disease ? Another issue might be a lack of stormlight but this would mostly just mean a couple months(weeks ?) in the weeping where they'd have to survive off of a store, or not get hurt. Also if this is a total hypothetical then a windrunner could just ride just above the highstorm for investiture during weepings, or endlessly. Are there any obvious issues I'm missing or could Kaladin and Lift survive to space era

I was recently reading a bit about Old Magic in Roshar on the Coppermind Wiki. I was thinking about Boons and how they operate. When a person gains a Boon, can it be anything they want, like gaining the ability to control electricity or reality, or are there specific limitations on what kinds of things can be gained through Old Magic? Can I get the ability of one of the forms of the Singers or even become an Allomancer on Roshar with a Boon?

OK, I dusted off an old map that speculated on the location of the Aimia and Shinovar OGs, because I started thinking about the fortress at the center of the Purelake, and I remembered that one of the Oathgate radials I drew, crossed through the center of the Purelake. And then of course I remembered Feverstone keep, that we know almost nothing about other than it is close to RallElorim and is on a plain. I of course wondered could it be a Coastal Plain in the rain shadow of the mountains? And then I wondered is it just pure coincidence that one of the radials just happens to cross through the Horneater Peaks and the Cultivation shardpools? The same radial, BTW, that Kholinar (the first gate captured) is on? So thinking about those two fortresses, I started thinking, yeah the Oathgates are cool and allow all the good little people move around, but these gates were built for WAR as well. And gates in the middle of cities are not very defensible, sure they can be locked and all, but come on?! If you were building a vast infrastructure like this wouldn't you want some safeguards? So I wondered, maybe there is a reason that the Purelake fortress is on a radial. And maybe Feverstone Keep as well. Maybe there are other fortresses scattered around Roshar, and they have oathgate rooms at their centers! Ok by that point the speculation train was running on full steam. Jumping tracks. Whoo boy. Urithiru. The middle of all of these Oathgates. A city tower. An Arcology. Cities need power to run. City wide heat, water, sewage, air circulation stormlight for quickly growing crops etc… Not to mention possibly having some sort of defensive array, or intra-tower teleportation pads or remote viewing screens, Mickey mouse alarm clocks. Lots of power. But all Urithiru has is a battery. A big honkin battery maybe, but just a battery. Ok people say that the Sibling is supposed to make it run, but show me a single location where Spren empowered a single thing? Yes they direct function, but they don't provide the actual power for it. Stormlight does. So just how the heck is that pretty battery filled? Well, we will just lower this itty bitty cage of gemstones down to the storm… Nahh. Well, the people using the Oathgates give extra stormlight… What? How? How is it collected and transported to the battery? OK, what about Bondsmiths? Just open a perpendicularity near the battery and bam! Full power baby! Ummm, first we don't know if all Bondsmiths could do that, or for that matter if any of them could, until Dalinar came along. It's been RAFO'd. Second, do you really want to be opening a GATEWAY to the Cognitive and Spiritual realms at the heart of your fortress city? That's just begging for some sort of desperation attack. Hmmmm. If only we had some way of collecting Stormlight from across all of Roshar… Hey gancho, we have this pretty array of gateways all around Roshar, why do they have to do just ONE thing? Why do the Oathgates have TWO spren? One of them certainly looks like a Giant Inkspren, but does that other one look like a giant bronze spren to you? Lets face it, a giant spren of the Elsecallers should be more than enough for shuffling stuff around through preprogrammed fabrials. So what is the white one's function? We know it's sentient, but it doesn't match up to any other higher spren that we've seen on camera. Maybe it's there for an entirely different reason, maybe it's there to funnel stormlight back through the network to provide power to the city?! So, you ask, why isn't the battery full? After all, it's been sitting there doing nothing for millennia. Well maybe the gates need to be unlocked. What about the Stormseat gate, it's unlocked now? Maybe it needs to be exposed and not covered in crem. What about the Thaylin gate? Bahh! I need a drink.

So it's mentioned that Odium is on braze. Braze being the planet next furthest from the Rosharan star. It is also mentioned odium is trapped in bonds he cannot break. The problem is that Odium can't use his full power with these bonds. Odium is definitely very powerful - enough to shatter Honour and send cultivation into hiding- but how much exactly can he do? He maintains much power with his army, and can still appear like he is on (planet) Roshar Once again, if this discussion happened before please enter a link

New member here! So I just finished Oathbringer and my heart just shattered into pieces knowing that Kaladin/Shallan isn't happening. Don't worry, I'll learn to live with it! (or maybe I'll ship the OT3, because why not?) To channel my woes and sorrows, I decided to focus on the other thing I love about this series : the unique world building. In here I'll be challenging myself to design concepts for a mock Stormlight IP (be it a game or a movie, I'm still not sure). DISCLAIMER : The designs I post here will take liberties from the description the have in the book. My mind's eye is kind of a rebel in that sense. The artwork you will see will be a combination of the book's description, Shallan's sketches and my own flavor mixed in. I hope to post every week to keep my skills up and eventually have a complete portfolio for myself. Suggestions and inputs for inspiration and references are greatly appreciated! 07/01/2019 - INSPIRATION I started reading TWoK 2 years ago and only got back to it this year. I got hooked enough to finally finish all three books and the Alethi culture just screamed 1300s Middle East-South Asia. The Kholin Monarchy, where you had one king and a dozen or so high princes with a 'department' assigned to them reminded me of Persia's shah and sastraps system. Another clue that really influenced the design I wanted to make was the concept of a safehand and havah, two fashion elements that brought the sari, kameezes and kurtiz in mind. ladymxdnight from discord, really helped me out on that one. And lastly, the one element that really sealed the deal on how I saw SA's world was the Parshendi singing in battle. When I read that, I knew I had to go Bollywood. Yep, you read that right. If it were up to me, SA would be a Bollywood film. Thankfully, a really great Bollywood film came out a few years ago that got me really excited to design SA in this direction : Padmavaat by Sanjay Leela Bansali INTIAL SKETCHES As any concept artist will tell you, warm ups are important. After seeking out my references, studying them and recreating them to an almost maddening degree, I started doing simple and quick sketches to further flesh out the designs I see in my mind. Below are quick concepts for the Kholin Uniform, Jasnah and Shallan's Kharbranth havah and initial portrait sketches of Adolin, Elhokar and Kaladin. See you next week!

Ashika Hotaru, Shinobi of Al'Juwa, wore white on the day she was to kill an emperor. The white clothing was foreign to her, but she did not ask her masters for an explanation. She paced around the edge of a large stone room, basked by an enormous firepits. Tiny flamespren danced around them, like insects made of congealed light. Actors in similar white costumes continued to dance and sing, drawing the light attention of the invested nobles. The female dancers wore grand silk dresses, tightly fitted, the left sleeve longer than the right one, covering the hand. Their pure black hair was pinned up atop their heads, woven with gold ribbons or ornaments, along with gems that glowed with Stormlight. Beautiful. Profane, but beautiful. Yet these people were also going to break their treaty of only a few hours. It made no sense. But what was she to do? She was Shinobi. She did as her masters demanded. Ashika did not sway to the drums, drink the sapphire sake, or move to dance. Few at the treaty-signing celebration noticed her. She was just another actor, and most out here thought Ashika's kind were docile and harmless. She began to pick her way out of the room. The performance had lasted long; even the Emperor had retired hours ago. Musicspren zipped through the air around them, the tiny spirits taking the form of spinning ribbons. She turned, taking the hallway directly toward the Emperor’s chambers, and reached for her pouch and the spheres it contained. Brilliant sapphires glowing at their hearts. Ashika selected one of these, cupping it in her hand. "Who goes there?" a voice called in the Common tongue. There were two guards at the end of the intersection, armed with spears. She breathed in, drawing forth the Stormlight. It streamed out of the sphere and into her, sucked in as if by her deep inhalation. Ashika could feel the Light’s warmth, its fury. The power of it was invigorating but dangerous. It pushed her to act. To strike. Holding her breath, she clung to the Stormlight. She could hold it for only a few minutes at most. Infused, Ashika turned to the guards. They could see that she was leaking Stormlight, wisps of it curling from her skin like luminescent smoke. “What . . . what are you?” The guard’s voice had lost its certainty. “Spirit or man?” “What am I?” Ashika whispered, a bit of Light leaking from her lips, “I am... Dishonoured.” Her Shardblade dropped into her waiting hand. It formed as if condensing from mist, water beading along the metal length. Her Shardblade was long and thin, edged on both sides, like a Katana. Ashika swept it out in a flash, carving a line passing through one guard’s neck to the other. As always, the Shardblade killed oddly; it cut easily through anything inanimate, the metal fuzzed when it touched living skin. It travelled through the guard’s neck without leaving a mark, but once it did, the man’s eyes smoked and burned. A Shardblade did not cut living flesh; it severed the soul itself. A voice called out from behind her, another guard, “Shardbearer! A Shardbearer assaults the king’s hall! To arms!” That was when the woman in white began to sprint, using the Stormlight to conjure illusions of herself, rushing in different directions as she raced into the Emperors chambers. Her instructions were clear. Kill the emperor, but be seen doing it. Even these clothes, her masters had been specific. White to be bold. White to not blend into the night. White to give warning. For if you were going to assassinate a man, he was entitled to see you coming. ______ We've just about got our campaign off the ground, and are looking to welcome and invite more new players! The White Narwhal is a D&D 5e campaign game, using a play-by-post roleplaying format. It takes place in a Roshar-like setting, re-imagined into a world more closely resembling feudal Japan/China, with greater emphasis on the Wuxia genre. In this world, Longswords become Katana, and Knights become Samurai. Our player base spans most timezones, with characters ranging from members of the political elite- to mysterious worldhoppers from faraway lands. These individuals find themselves in the world of Boi'cer, where adventurers scour the world for exotic monsters to collect the rare components necessary for magic items. Meanwhile, nobles and warlords scrabble for local power. You can find us and play on Discord by clicking this link: https://discord.gg/4QVbRFz Come say hi!

I was rereading today and found something strange in the book. at the part when Shallan fights off the unmade Re-Shephir she theorises that the unmade was searching for something it lost. Now this matches close to how the inquisitors and koloss where described. Trying to find what they had lost in themselves. I'm not too sure why this would be of massive importance, but it suggests odium - or another being on roshar - knows how to use Hemulargy. This could lead on to something In future on roshar, though I can't yet figure it out

Note: I am a bit new to this, if there was already a discussion on this please send a link So I was re-reading Oathbringer today and had a sudden realisation that we dont know all of the Orders Surges. all we really know are the surges of those in the book, and we dont know some of the second surges (eg. Lightweaver has the surges of Illusion and Transformation, but what about Dustbringers?) What I have been able to peice together (Note: I did this earlier in like 15 mins, so If you see something wrong please tell me) Windrunner: Surges of Gravitation and -(Not sure) Lightweaver: Surges of Illumination and Transformation Edgedancer: Surges of Transportation and -(Not sure) Dustbringer: Surges of Division and -(Not sure) Skybreaker: Surges of Gravitation and Division Bondsmith: Do they even have surges? are they just all of them? So basically any theories, etc.? Also if someone has all of the Orders Glyphs that would be great

In the chapter 14 of twok apart of the hoid letter to frost mentions an element I'm curious if we know what hes referring too by the element. I just wrapped up a cosmere reread amd cant think of anything it could be. I thought maybe elohkars cryptic but it seems to be a reference to something from. Back in the day, before stormlight.

I have spent quite a bit of time recently trying to imagine how the various orders of Radiants would function on the battlefield. Of course we are frequently told that most of the Radiants were not warriors, however the Desolations were desperate narrowly fought global wars that would have seen many situations where everyone was required to focus on military affairs. If a people are in a situation where (as I am confident they often were) where spears are put into the hands of 12 year olds, then I can be quite confident that every single knight with power armor, deific swords and magical powers would have long since been called to fight. Windrunners- I see this order as the closest thing that the armies of honor had to cavalry. On ancient battlefields cavalry was often used as a shock force. The mobility provided by horses and chariots allowed a division of (often the most skilled and equipped) troops to slam into an enemy where they were weakest. Of course we have seen that the powers of the Windrunners can easily transport both themselves and others around a battlefield, and we know that the Windrunners were the closest to “professional” soldiers of the Radiants. 2 or 3 Windrunners with 60-100 Windrunner squires carrying 100 or so of the other best “normal” troops in the army would have made quite the mobile sledgehammer. Skybreakers- I see the order of the Skybreakers doing many of the same things as the Windrunners, simply on a smaller scale. The fact that the Skybreakers spend most of their time as law enforcement, rather than soldiers and their relative lack of squires would make them more inclined to fight in smaller bands than the Windrunners. I see a small band of Skybreakers and squires flying around the battlefield raining down Division and bringing “Honor’s Justice” to high priority targets like a particularly problematic Fused or squadron of Regals. I also see the Skybreakers as the order most practiced at slaying Thunderclasts. Dustbringers- Well I don’t think I know enough about the Dustbringers to really form an opinion about them yet. Edgedancers- I see the Edgedancers as the Radiant’s medics, using Abrasion to zip around the battlefield distributing Regrowth and other supplies. I also see Edgedancers as useful in a siege situation; using progression to help grow edible crops as a supplemental food source to soulcasting. Truthwatchers- I find it difficult to place the Truthwatchers as we don't know that much about them but I imagine them filling a role somewhere between the Edgedancers and Elsecallers. Lightweavers- I think it is uncontroversial to suggest that the Lightweavers often served as spies, assassins, and saboteurs. Unlike the Skybreakers who I see swooping down to cut the enemy commander in two in the middle of the battle, I see the Lightweavers as the reason that the enemy army arrives to the battlefield with poisoned supplies, inoperable siege machines, their troops receiving incorrect orders and their reinforcements delayed. Elsecallers- I see the Elsecallers as the primary tacticians and weapons designers of the Radiants. I imagine they would spend the most time at the planning table drawing maps, accounting supplies (and refilling the stocks through soulcasting) and perhaps preparing countermeasures against the enemy’s less conventional threats. The exact line between their roles and those of the Truthwatchers are unclear to me. Willshapers- As with the Dustbringers, I do not feel like I have enough information to speculate. Stonewards- This order are the followers of the Herald of War. I see their role as being interspersed amongst the common infantry of the Radiant’s armies. Unlike the Windrunners who I see as directly leading the most elite regiments, the Stonewards would be standing with the weakest regiments creating stone earthworks, inspiring cohesion, and generally bearing the agonies of the soldiery. Bondsmiths- I think that Dalinar is a poor example of the traditional role of the Bondsmiths. While they might often serve as diplomats and emissaries. I think that they spent much of their time as personal advisors to the rest of the Radiants, helping them grow in their oaths and surges. I imagine that on the battlefield that the Bondsmiths would float around a provide support and perhaps powerups to the other Radiants in their times of most need. Thoughts? Tib

It's a general consensus among a lot of Sanderson fans I've met that stormlight is a gaseous investiture. This makes sense; it acts like a gas, it moves like a gas, it looks like a gas. Only... it doesn't. It's my own opinion that stormlight is actually a plasma. Gases, in the real world, don't tend to glow. Plasma does. Plasma also has a lot of properties similar to that of a gas. "But Channelknight!" I hear you cry. "Plasma is a superheated gas! How could someone hold it inside of themselves without burning?" Yeah, yeah, whatever. LIES! Plasma is not a superheated gas, regardless of whatever your fifth grade science teacher taught you. It's true that most plasmas are, in fact, "superheated," but not all of them. The best example of plasma in everyday life is neon. It's a gas that, if in contact with an electric current, glows. This is because that current is transforming the gas into a plasma. Certainly you wouldn't want to touch this stuff, but it wouldn't shear your flesh from your bones in a matter of seconds. All elements have their own points when they become solids, liquids, gases, and plasmas. It's not ridiculous to say that stormlight simply occurs in the plasmatic phase at room temperature. Correct me if I'm wrong, folks. Edibility is better than incredibility.

I was reading Brandon's live tweets from New Years Eve, when he was showing progress on the last scenes of Book 4. His update four, below link, mentioned a scene that was painful to write. Update four This got me thinking of scenes that were painful to read - where they hit the feelings hard. The obvious one is Elhokar's end. But that's not the one that hit me hardest. For me, it was a scene just after the fall of Kholinar, when the main team had escaped to Shadesmar. I don't remember the exact location, so I can't give a full, proper quote, but it was when they were looking for a method of transport across the sea of beads, and Shallan was looking for the right cognitive representation to help them. One of the ones she discarded she described as 'a piece of trash that still thought of itself as a child's toy.' That imagery, of a discarded/lost toy in a sacked city, with no idea of what happened to the child who had loved it, that hit me really hard. What small moments got to you? And how many do you think are coming in November.

So am I correct is believing that we still do not have a conclusive answer on what ends a particular desolation. Obviously the Heralds returning to Braize is the true end but when do they decide that a desolation is won. The only thing I can think of is when they have "killed" all of the fused, but that doesn't make sense as it it implied by Kalak's prelude that desolations would end with a (often closely fought) final battle that the heralds could predict would be the final battle before hand. (shown by the heralds having a pre-set meeting place for after the battle to start the return to Braize) Given the powers of the fused it seems that even if they lost a battle they would be very easy for some of them to just fly off and hide preventing the end of the desolation. But if it is not the fused, then what is it? Tib

Mistborn Spoilers

I was looking at these two diagrams and noticed something I hadn't seen before. It was easiest to see when switching between tabs on the same browser on these pages: https://coppermind.net/w/images/TWoK_Rear_Endsheet.jpg and https://coppermind.net/w/images/TWoK_Front_Endsheet.jpg. The symbols for the surges (the little circles) have their left sides identical, while their right sides are vertically flipped versions. The surgebinding one they're symmetrical left and right, but the voidbinding one is based on the same symbol, but instead of being symmetrical, the right half is a 180 degree rotation. Symmetry is important on Roshar. I've never heard anyone talk about it (though I'm sure it's out there), but I think that symmetry is meant to represent the making and keeping of oaths. I think these voidbinding symbols where the second half is the first half flipped on its head might be meant to represent the breaking of oaths. Oddly though the symbols corresponding to the symbols for the Orders of Radiants (the big circles) remain symmetrical right and left, though they have very different styles to their surgebinding equivalents. Maybe because they keep different kinds of oaths? I'm also wondering who the woman on the outside is, where it has the heralds on the surgebinding one. I wonder if she might be one of the unmade. Sja-anat? Ba-Ado-Mishram? I don't know.

So my girlfriend and I decided to get some tattoos before going back home for work. I finally got around to getting my knights radiant tattoo. It's the symbol for the Willshapers in a beautiful deep purple.

My question is simple: Brandon has said that Vasher has hacked Stormlight to make it work like breath to sustain him in Roshar. I presume he has a reasonable amount of breath so that he wouldn't die immediately without stormlight, but does he lose breaths every midpeace and weeping since they last long enough that every sphere and gemstone is done unless it's huge? Or does he have huge gems hidden for exactly this reason?