Question and Answer

[ReaderAt2046]

It's still impossible though because that's not the way the basic lashing works. When he lashes himself "to" a wall, he's really just moving gravity's pull that direction. It's the same as when he lashed the block to the sky. So he'd fall right through that door, just as he'd fall through a trapdoor in the real world. I mentioned the reverse lashing because it's the best way to simulate the affect he seems to be describing.

How do we know that?

[Triasmus]

How do we know that?

We had a discussion awhile ago in a different thread about the specifics of how lashing would work. I know I was arguing for what Windrunner said is how it works. I thought it was agreed upon for most of the people in the discussion that although it might be easier to think "Lash to that wall" it's actually "Lash in the direction of the wall".

Unless there was confirmation, that's where the idea came from.

And to add to the discussion... (if this wasn't already said)

The windrunner has to be touching something for him to affect it's gravity, whether by sending it flying or making it a gravity well (which brings up the thought.. can a windrunner turn himself into a gravity well? It wouldn't necessarily be the smartest thing for him to ever do with his stormlight... but it makes sense for it to be possible.). I don't think it should be possible for him to make a spiritual-gravitational bond with a wall when he isn't touching that wall.

I'm going to stop adding things, even though I really really really want to (minus the fact that I'm sick of thinking/typing) .

[Windrunner]

I actually might be wrong. The Ars Arcanum says they are linked to an object or direction. The problem is, the basic lashing never seems to work that way in the text. Everything else in the the AA says that it's a simple twisting of gravity. It seems contradictory.

[ReaderAt2046]

I actually might be wrong. The Ars Arcanum says they are linked to an object or direction. The problem is, the basic lashing never seems to work that way in the text. Everything else in the the AA says that it's a simple twisting of gravity. It seems contradictory.

You seem to have very slightly misunderstood my idea. I'm not saying that the Windrunner gave the wall itself an enhanced gravitational pull, i'm saying that he could have "said" "gravity now pulls me in whatever direction that wall is." So changing the direction of the wall would change the direction of his lashing. This may or may not be true, but I don't think it's been disproven.

[LightReader]

I actually might be wrong. The Ars Arcanum says they are linked to an object or direction. The problem is, the basic lashing never seems to work that way in the text. Everything else in the the AA says that it's a simple twisting of gravity. It seems contradictory.

Remember that the Ars Arcanum is meant to be an in-world document. The author may not have completely understood how lashings work, even though Brandon does. I'm hoping we will get a more complete understanding of how lashings work in book two as we watch Kaladin figuring out how to use his abilities. I'm very interested to see the results of Sigzil's tests.

[LightReader]

I've recently been re-reading parts of tWoK and at one point Kabsal attempts to convince Shallan to switch devotaries. There does not seem to be a reference to which devotary Kabsal belongs to however. Shallan is in the Devotary of Purity, and later Jasnah suggests the Devotary of Sincerity would suit Shallan. So my question is this: What Devotary names do we know and which one does Kabsal actually belong to? Perhaps this is a question for Brandon: What are the names of all the Vorin Devotaries?

Edit: It seems I've found the answer to my own question in the Coppermind in the article "Vorin." I suppose the implication is that Kabsal, being a Palanaeum ardent, belongs to the Devotary of Insight. Still, it would be interesting to know the names of the rest of the Devotaries and figure out which Herald each one belongs to.

Edited July 2, 2012 by LightReader

[Windrunner]

You shouldn't double post, but I'll let it slide because it's a day later and about a different topic. Next time, please wait to post until somebody else has or if a reasonable amount of time has gone by (a few days) then you may post. Or you can always edit your original post and someone will probably notice it.

On the topic of you question we know of four devotaries. The first is the Order of Talenalat, which is Dalinar's devotary. Nothing is said about it other then some believe it to be for "lesser" peoples and that it is relatively straightforward in its teachings. The Devotary of Purity is Shallan's (soon to be old) Devotary. They seek to emulate the Almighty's honesty and wholesomeness. The Devotary of Sincerity believe that there is always more truth to be found in the world. The Devotary of Insight runs the Palanaeum, but what trait it emulates is unknown. Kabsal, assuming he is a real ardent (which I believe he is) is probably a member of this devotary, considering he speaks of shelving books.

Edit:

You self ninja'd me. How did you access the Coppermind article when the wiki is still offline?

[LightReader]

You self ninja'd me. How did you access the Coppermind article when the wiki is still offline?

When I saw the wiki was offline I did a google search. I was thinking I might find the answer on some other forum, but one of the first things to pop up was the wiki article. Maybe it worked because I went straight to an article instead of starting at the wiki home?

[Zas678]

I think she went to the wikia site (which we don't run) rather than the Coppermind.

http://stormlightarchive.wikia.com/wiki/Vorin

Is that right?

[LightReader]

Yeah, that's the one. I guess that explains it then.

[Windrunner]

Ah that makes sense. Some of the stuff on that wiki is good, but they do have a few, seemingly erroneous beliefs that I've noticed (confusing Dawnshards with Honorblades), so take what you see with a grain of salt. Come to think of it, Vorin is an odd name for the article, considering it's a demonym, and the name of the religion is Vorinism.

[Triasmus]

I figured that there was a difference between Orders and Devotaries

[Windrunner]

The Way of Kings makes it very clear that The Order of Talenelat is a devotary. The question is: "What devotary do you credit, Brightlord Dalinar?". It's possible that Orders are when devotaries for men are called and women's devotaries are called just that. The only slight problem could be Kabsal, since he serves in what would be a women's devotary, but that can be explained away by the fact that he's an ardent and not subject to gender roles and therefore can be a member of that devotary. Or it could be not that at all

[LightReader]

I suspect that all the Devotaries are also Orders of a particular Herald. So the Order of Telenalat could also be known as the Devotary of Strength or something like that. As for the Devotaries we know the names of, Insight, Sincerity and Purity, my guesses are Betab, Palah, and Ishi, but I could be totally off. Anyways, I would guess that the ten Devotaries coincide with the ten divine attributes, which each coincide with a Herald.

[scm288]

How deliberately does Brandon plan out his languages? Is there reason to be concerned that he uses the word "shash" in both Warbreaker and The Way of Kings? Can we jump to any conclusions as a result?

[ReaderAt2046]

How deliberately does Brandon plan out his languages? Is there reason to be concerned that he uses the word "shash" in both Warbreaker and The Way of Kings? Can we jump to any conclusions as a result?

A lot of people suspect "shash" comes from Old Yolen.

[Trizee]

I've been wondering something about Allomancy. If steelpushing works by throwing your weight against the object, how could lerasium make steelpushing stronger without violationg the rules of Allomancy- you can only push with your weight, nothing more. So how is it that Elend's steelpush is super strong- as seen when he battles the inquisitor at the begining of HoA? I can accept that lerasium would allow you to Push metals within other people's bodies, but how could it make your steelpush stronger?

[ReaderAt2046]

I've been wondering something about Allomancy. If steelpushing works by throwing your weight against the object, how could lerasium make steelpushing stronger without violationg the rules of Allomancy- you can only push with your weight, nothing more. So how is it that Elend's steelpush is super strong- as seen when he battles the inquisitor at the begining of HoA? I can accept that lerasium would allow you to Push metals within other people's bodies, but how could it make your steelpush stronger?

What "throwing your weight" means is that you and the metal are Pushed on with equal force. So Elend is shoving both himself and the Inquisitor more strongly than a normal Mistborn could.

[Aradel]

The allomancer's weight and the comparative weight of the metal object determine which of the two is forced into motion, and how much inertia needs to be overcome before that motion takes place.

The strength of the push is the amount of force applied directly between the allomancer and the metal object. So Elend still can't push things heavier than he is without being forced away, but his push will carry him farther than a weaker allomancer.

[Trizee]

The allomancer's weight and the comparative weight of the metal object determine which of the two is forced into motion, and how much inertia needs to be overcome before that motion takes place.

The strength of the push is the amount of force applied directly between the allomancer and the metal object. So Elend still can't push things heavier than he is without being forced away, but his push will carry him farther than a weaker allomancer.

I wouldn't be so sure. When Vin and Kelsier are dueling and they get into a pushing fight over a coin, Kelsier beats Vin and then tells her that she shouldn't do that with a heavier opponent because his push would be stronger- which I take to mean that the strength of your push is the power your weight puts in to it. If the strength of the push had to do with your allomantic power, then it wouldn't matter (in a pushing fight) if Vin's opponent was heavier than her.

[Triasmus]

nah... it's that Vin (being lighter) gets pushed around more easily than anybody bigger. If me and my (imaginary) little sister somehow managed to get into a pushing match, and we didn't have a wall or tree to brace against, she would always fly way farther than I would, if I would even fly.

Whatever Kelsier actually said, that's what he meant. And what he actually should have said is "Don't get into a pushing match with anybody who's braced better than you. And don't ever get into a pushing match without any braces, since you're lighter than everybody else." Kelsier had a wall while Vin had a tree. The wall was a better brace.

Oh, with equal braces Vin would probably get smashed quicker than the other person too, since she's smaller (that is if neither person has pewter).

[Aradel]

He also comments to Sazed that she can really push hard. Which I always thought implied that her pushes were stronger than his in spite of her being smaller.

Any way, it seems to me that who the stronger coinshot is rarely decides the fight. It's who throws their weight around the best, and how much weight they have to throw around (including when they brace themselves.)

[scm288]

Was there any Allomantic reasoning behind the decision to make boxings out of gold? Was it because the ability to see into the past was that terribly useless, that access to it would be made so common? Or was it useful enough that the Lord Ruler wanted gold to be everywhere?

[Dros]

Does anyone know if Brandon is a Freemason?

[happyman]

Was there any Allomantic reasoning behind the decision to make boxings out of gold? Was it because the ability to see into the past was that terribly useless, that access to it would be made so common? Or was it useful enough that the Lord Ruler wanted gold to be everywhere?

In this case, I would go with tradition and convenience on TLR's part. Gold is useful as currency mostly because it is easy to work and doesn't tarnish. It is rare enough to be hard to just go mine, but common enough to support a moderate-sized economy. And in Mistborn, its power is useless enough in combat that TLR wasn't threatened by it in any way I can see. Also, it was probably already a currency in general use before the Ascension. Thus suppressing it would be difficult and pointless.