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[Meg]

There were some other good finds.

It says that it's dangerous to travel to Shadesmar on Sel. Why?

Brandon: It has to do with the Dor and the lack of an entity controlling much of the power Odium left in his wake on Sel.

Windrunner17

 

 

Help me please. I'm not sure if I get this right.

 

My understanding is this: 

"The lack of an entity" means there are no more "Shardholders" on Sel and the Shards themselves are splintered and therefore the powers of Dominion and Devotion are not concentrated, and, so to say, run around rein-less or disorderly.

 

 

This is an awesome answer!

If you wouldn't mind answering, does Roshar have a similar problem, with Honor being Splintered?

Thanks!

No, Roshar does not have the same problem. There are some differences going on. (One reason being that the spren are far more extensive on Roshar, and provide something of a "release valve." The Seons and the Skaze on Sel are not numerous enough to fulfill a similar function. Though, of course, that's only one part of the puzzle. Raw power is dangerous.

It's one reason everyone should be thankful Kelsier was around on Scadrial.

 

 

Here also

 

Spren are far more extensive on Roshar ... means: There are far more spren on Roshar than there are Seons and Skaze on Sel? 

 

And so I understand what a release valve is I don't get, what the spren help release? The Splinters of Honor? What good would it be to "release" the Splinters of Honor? 

 

I apologize for this questions that most of you may find silly. 

 

edit: my last thought was answered from Kurkistan just above this posting. 

Edited March 15, 2013 by Meg

[Millennium]

As far as distance in Shadesmar is concerned, I'd be willing to bet that planets, as a whole, have a cognitive aspect that is more significant than empty space.

Thus going through a planet would be noticably further than a true vacuum.

 

This. Shadesmar exists in empty space, it's just very small. The gulf between worlds might be so small in Shadesmar that Hoid can just jump over it: literal worldhopping.

 

One thing I found interesting is that where there is land on Roshar, there are seas in Shadesmar, and vice versa. I would imagine that the Cognitive aspect of a body of water is reflected in Shadesmar as land. That's an interesting counterpoint to the concept of a Shardpool: the Cognitive aspect of a Shard, reflected in the Physical realm as a pool of liquid. But there doesn't seem to be any liquid in Shadesmar that we've seen: the seas are instead made of these small glass-like beads. Why is the Cognitive aspect of a world so large in Shadesmar, when the Cognitive aspects of everything else are so small there? Or are there larger Cognitive aspects of things, and we just haven't seen them yet?

[FlashWrogan]

Help me please. I'm not sure if I get this right.

 

My understanding is this: 

"The lack of an entity" means there are no more "Shardholders" on Sel and the Shards themselves are splintered and therefore the powers of Dominion and Devotion are not concentrated, and, so to say, run around rein-less or disorderly.

 

Your understanding is right, though whether it is Dominion and Devotion he is referring to, and not some other kind of power he left there, is up for debate

 

Here also

 

Spren are far more extensive on Roshar ... means: There are far more spren on Roshar than there are Seons and Skaze on Sel? 

 

I believe you are correct here as well.

 

And so I understand what a release valve is I don't get, what the spren help release? The Splinters of Honor? What good would it be to "release" the Splinters of Honor? 

 

I apologize for this questions that most of you may find silly. 

 

edit: my last thought was answered from Kurkistan just above this posting. 

 

As splinters are just pieces of a shards power, I think it reasonable to assume that having those pieces of directed energy helps focus it, siphoning of the pressure of extra magical energy.

[Senor Feesh]

Help me please. I'm not sure if I get this right.

 

My understanding is this: 

"The lack of an entity" means there are no more "Shardholders" on Sel and the Shards themselves are splintered and therefore the powers of Dominion and Devotion are not concentrated, and, so to say, run around rein-less or disorderly.

 

 

 

 

Here also

 

Spren are far more extensive on Roshar ... means: There are far more spren on Roshar than there are Seons and Skaze on Sel? 

 

And so I understand what a release valve is I don't get, what the spren help release? The Splinters of Honor? What good would it be to "release" the Splinters of Honor? 

 

I apologize for this questions that most of you may find silly. 

 

edit: my last thought was answered from Kurkistan just above this posting. 

 

Hi Meg, I read this the same way that you do, if that helps at all.

[Leuthie]

I'm guessing the spren provide a focus and use for the undirected shard power. It sounds like spren might even use this power to make themselves visible in the physical realm. This directing of energy means there is less to do things like pull on the legs of those who visit Shadesmar without enough Stormlight.

[Phantom Monstrosity]

Spren existed before honor was splintered.

I went to a Sanderson book signing today and whether spren existed before (Way of Kings ending spoiler) Odium killed the Almighty and shattered the Honor shard. His answer was that some of the spren existed, but some were different, and new ones existed after it.

I honestly have no idea if this is already well known or not as far as Cosmere-ology goes but it was fun, and he was basically the nicest guy ever.

Edited March 15, 2013 by Phantom Monstrosity

[Meg]

@FlashWrogan and Senor Feesh: thanks a lot, you helped me understanding. 

[Kurkistan]

@Phaontom

 

Nice. I didn't recall that quote, though it's ringing a bell now that I see it.

[Meg]

Here it is . 
 

According to Soru on the Something Awful Forums  
 

I went to a Sanderson book signing today and whether spren existed before (Way of Kings ending spoiler) Odium killed the Almighty and shattered the Honor shard. His answer was that some of the spren existed, but some were different, and new ones existed after it.

I honestly have no idea if this is already well known or not as far as Cosmere-ology goes but it was fun, and he was basically the nicest guy ever.

,,,

 

 

PS: The  is now on the right side. :-)

[Observer]

So, we have a lot of rampaging Dor or Sel. But if the planetary gap is so small, why can't it escape onto other planets via Shadesmar?

[Kurkistan]

So, we have a lot of rampaging Dor or Sel. But if the planetary gap is so small, why can't it escape onto other planets via Shadesmar?

 

I would hazard that the Dor is primarily in the Spiritual, with links to the Cognitive. So it can only go as far in the Cognitive as it as connections from the Spiritual, which connections are limited to Sel.

[Alatar]

^I'm of the fairly firm opinion that they are not Splinters, per se, but still manifestations of Honor's power.

 

http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/1999-writing-for-charity-interview/

 

So they are "attuned" with Honor's power, and can access it easily.

 

 

Well, on Viper's thread New Hampshire Signing, BS acknowledges that aons inside the seons are Splinters (I suppose something similar happens with Skaze).

 

In Nepene's post I quoted before, BS says "One reason being that the spren are far more extensive on Roshar, and provide something of a "release valve." The Seons and the Skaze on Sel are not numerous enough to fulfill a similar function."

 

I read this as "sprens and Seons / Skaze are akin". So I hypothesize (is that even a word? :S ) that sprens are Splinters.

 

As quoted just above, some sprens were on Roshar before Honor being splintered, some changed because of that and some new existed after it.

 

I read this as: some spren are not from Honor (thus, they were not changed by Honor's splintering), Honor's spren were changed and more sprens were created after the splintering (because, we know a Shard can Splinter itself but, obviously, when it's splintered by Odium, more Splinters are created then).

 

That's why I think spren are splinters, and I didn't say Honor's splinters, because I'm on the thought that sprens are from different Shards.

 

On a side note, the relation sprens - seons / skaze (all start with s, as splinter does...) made me think that seons are conscious and smart but, when their masters are taken by the Shaod, they go wild, as if they lose their connection to the Cognitive Realm. This seems true also for sprens, they are conscious when they link with people and lose the Cognitive as they lose the link.

 

Hope everything works, I had to edit the first post six times until I got it to quote the tex I wanted to and close the quote so I could write after it, and I hope the link is OK, Was it this hard before the update or is it just that I'm old and grumpy? Also, isn't there a preview post? Man, I need a course on modern forum posting...

[Meg]

Hasn't BS all but confirmed that spren are Splinters?

 

 

May I ask for a reference for this "all but confirmation"? I tried to find myself but didn't get any result. 

[Kurkistan]

On a side note, the relation sprens - seons / skaze (all start with s, as splinter does...) made me think that seons are conscious and smart but, when their masters are taken by the Shaod, they go wild, as if they lose their connection to the Cognitive Realm. This seems true also for sprens, they are conscious when they link with people and lose the Cognitive as they lose the link.

 

Hope everything works, I had to edit the first post six times until I got it to quote the tex I wanted to and close the quote so I could write after it, and I hope the link is OK, Was it this hard before the update or is it just that I'm old and grumpy? Also, isn't there a preview post? Man, I need a course on modern forum posting...

 

The link is Spiritual, but I can definitely see it having Cognitive effects.

[FlashWrogan]

The link is Spiritual, but I can definitely see it having Cognitive effects.

 

I took that statement of his as a reference to Windrunner's theory of Spiritual Constructs, which I have always thought was extremely viable.

[Alatar]

May I ask for a reference for this "all but confirmation"? I tried to find myself but didn't get any result. 

 

I meant that, by saying that sprens and seons / skaze are alike, he implicity confirmed that sprens are splinters (or, at least, one of their components is a splinter) because he just confirmed to Viper that aons in the seons are splinters. Hope it's clear now, I don't know why my wife always says she doesn't understand me.

 

I took that statement of his as a reference to Windrunner's theory of Spiritual Constructs, which I have always thought was extremely viable.

 

I also think the link is spiritual, I think that by linking to the spiritweb of one person, the splinter (seon, spren, mists...) gets access to the cognitive, which is an aspect it hadn't previously got, being purely spirit, maybe among other things.

 

I can't find the quote but I remember BS saying that the bond improved the individual both ways, in the case of Kaladin - Syl, it gives Kaladin access to the powers and Syl gains memory and reasoning. May I ask for help with this quote?

[NewbSombrero]

I also think the link is spiritual, I think that by linking to the spiritweb of one person, the splinter (seon, spren, mists...) gets access to the cognitive, which is an aspect it hadn't previously got, being purely spirit, maybe among other things.

 

Being kind of nit-picky here, but the mists are definitely not under the Splinter umbrella given that Brandon has said that we haven't seen any Splinters in Mistborn.

[Meg]

I meant that, by saying that sprens and seons / skaze are alike, he implicity confirmed that sprens are splinters (or, at least, one of their components is a splinter) because he just confirmed to Viper that aons in the seons are splinters. Hope it's clear now, I don't know why my wife always says she doesn't understand me.

 

Thank you, that's more clearly now. 

 

I , too, thought that spren may be Splinters when I read the OP but then (mis)remembered and was nearly sure that BS once said that spren were no Splinters. Searching evidence for this I found nothing, so I must have misremembered this. 

 

 

 

I can't find the quote but I remember BS saying that the bond improved the individual both ways, in the case of Kaladin - Syl, it gives Kaladin access to the powers and Syl gains memory and reasoning. May I ask for help with this quote?

 

 

Syl explains that in the book itself:

“It’s both of us,” she said. “But without me, nothing would be changing in you. I’m… taking something from you. And giving something in return. It’s the way it used to work, though I can’t remember how or when. I just know that it was.”

“I—”

“Hush,” she said. “I’m talking.”

“Sorry.”

“I’m willing to stop it, if you want,” she said. “But I would go back to being as I was before. That scares me. Floating on the wind, never remembering anything for longer than a few minutes. It’s because of this tie between us that I can think again, that I can remember what and who I am. If we end it, I lose that.”

TWoK Chapter 57

and later:

"... I’ve remembered what kind of spren I am."

"Is this the time for it, Syl?"

"I bind things, Kaladin," she said, turning and meeting his eyes. "I am honorspren. Spirit of oaths. Of promises. And of nobility."

TWoK Chapter 67

And, after lurking around here some other things about Syl too:

http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=585#7

http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=697#12

http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/2383-qa-with-brandon-sanderson/?view=findpost&p=42187