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The problem with this discussion is that you can break down any experiencial phenomenon into "waveforms". Light and sound, spoken word and drawings, songs and the color of gems, jumping up down, swinging a golf club, dancing....all can be described as "waveforms". I guess I'm trying to say that "waveforms" is too general an idea to be wrong, yet also too general to contain any real information by itself.

Speculating is fine but it needs a basis, otherwise there's no room for discussing it, we could speculate what each Atium alloy would do aswell, but unless we use what we already know about atium's alloys then it's a bit pointless, kind of like speculating about the name of all of Spooks children we could come up with an infinite number of names but it'd be pointless. Yes Smokers can do things we haven't seen yet but we haven't really had any exceptional Smokers' POV yet either, we've had multiple POV's from those who specialise in Iron and Steel and none suggest that they can tell metals apart by their lines.

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/05/the-rithmatist-magic "Brandon Sanderson’s The Rithmatist Could Have Been an RTS Named ChalkCraft" Amusing article by Carl Engle-Laird, half of the Stormlight Archive re-read. Starcraft references abound.

Two theories in one night? Why not? This theory has to do with Identity, particularly as it ties in to region-specific magics. It uses some of the same quotes as my other theory regarding this topic, and relies on the same basic principle, but hopefully won't be nearly as long-winded. To start with, let me toss you a couple quotes. First we have this one: And then, this one (emphasis mine): Now, these two things tell us a lot about Identity and regional magic: namely, if I'm reading and interpreting these quotes correctly, that they are very much interdependent. I talk at length about that in my other theory, so for the sake of brevity I'll just say here that I believe this to be the case, and that the rest of this theory builds on that belief. So, we have on our hands a magic - or set of magics, depending on your perspective - that very strongly depends on Identity. What else do we know about Identity? That it's a Feruchemical attribute, of course! Now, we've debated on this forum about the use of Feruchemical Identity before, but the discussions that I was a part of at least focused primarily on its use on Scadrial specifically. But wait, you ask, who else was just confirmed to have Feruchemy? Oh yes, that's right. None other than Hoid himself. Now things are getting interesting. Suddenly we've gone from exploring the use of Identity solely on Scadrial, to applying its potential benefits to a known worldhopper with significant knowledge of the Cosmere and the worlds he visits. Dangerous indeed. Now, the canon is very clear that there isn't much in-world knowledge about Feruchemical Identity yet, or if there is, it's a closely guarded secret. So we don't have much to go off of here. But given the quotes pasted above, I'm comfortable proposing that Feruchemy could theoretically be used to swap out regional magics at will. I imagine that the process would go something like this: Store as much of your own "default" Identity as you possibly can. Rewrite yourself a new Identity as part of the region whose magic you want to use. (If my other theory holds true, this could potentially be done by having a skilled Forger rewrite your cultural Identity; other suggestions are also welcome) If you want to create ways to access more magics, repeat the process. Of course, this requires a lot of effort, and being able to Compound would make this process much more efficient, but my theory has less to do with how practical it is and more to do with the implications this would have on our understanding of Realmatics and Identity if it proves to be true. Also, Hoid also has lerasium. Just saying.

Gemmel helped him, apparently including getting him some metals.

As I was reading Ishikk's interlude in The Way of kings I couldn't help but notice that the Purelaker religion is at once both similar to Trelagism and its opposite. First let's look at Sazed's desciption of Trelagism from page 178 of Mistborn: The Final Empire: Now for simplicity's sake I'll point out the important part of this desciption: The Nelazan believed that there was beauty in darkness, and that the daylight was more profane. Trell had a jealous brother named Nalt who was the Sun. Now we turn to Ishikk's Interlude, specifically page 170 of The way of Kings: Purlakers chull seen in the interlude swear by the sun and tide, even in thought, soo it seems the sun might be sacred to them in some capicity. Maib also uttered the curse "Vun Malak eye you." to Ishikk. so the similaries are as thus: We haave two brother gods, and one is jealous of the other. A mention of eyess in both religions. In Trelagism the stars and Sun were Trell and Nalt's eyes respectively. In the Purelaker religin we have a curse about the jalous god eyeying you. The weakst evidentce Nalt and Nu Ralik both start with N. The differences are: Trelgism venerates the night while the Purelakers thus far seen to hold the sun as sacred to some degree. Purelakers try to appease their jealos god, Trelagists don't. i'm probably otherthinking things here as they're on different worlds but it all the similarities and difference make it seem like the Purelaker religion is a direct counterpooint to Trelagism.

As I recall the LR didn't move them to the top of the planet because he realised it would screw with the day night cycle. They are near the top, with the Terris dominance closest to the North pole. The LR did move the Well of Ascension to hide it (and rebuilt the Terris mountains to the north as a decoy) which had the side effect of moving the magnetic pole for some reason. I wish I could remember where I read all this, but I don't have my coppermind nearby... And yes, that is a brilliant observation... why did Harmony keep the people's separate?

BRAINWAVE!!!! Recently in a topic connecting Gold Allomancy to identity I speculated thus: "Also, with regard to the theory connecting Gold to identity, while it is true that Gold is a temporal metal, I wonder if Aluminium Feruchemy could be used to store these shadow identities. A Gold/Aluminum Twinborn might actually be really interesting, able to have several different versions of themselves 'living' in different Metalminds able to be drawn in appropriate situations... or you could tap them all at once and have multiple personality disorder..." And then it hit me! What if this is the key to what you're talking about?! What if MALATIUM shades could be stored in Aluminium instead of Gold ones? The Malatium shades of someone from a different region? Obviously though there is more to being born somewhere than where you think you're from, as Phantom Points out. EDIT [Mistborn spoilers]: Forgive me if this doesn't give enough of an explanation, and sounds like crazed ramblings... I hope quoting myself (as conceited as that feels) from the other topic gives enough background, but brainwaves tend to skew my perceptions a tad. I remember this one time, I had an iced coffee before bed... it was all crazy fever dreams and arguments (in the logic sense) which made no sense running through my head at a million miles an hour... it felt kind of like how I imagine the Magic the Gathering card "Mind Unbound" would feel: a surge of insight and then your head explodes. Suffice it to say, now that I have cooled down a bit, I see some obvious problems... the Gold thread examines the connection Vin felt to her Shadow Self, but I don't recall if any such connection or insight was experienced by her when she burned Malatium... I only recall the visual she got... perhaps a trained Malatium burner could gain the connection to another's past/possible self to be able to store it in an Aluminium-mind.

I kind of wish Keliser did use atium to escape. That would make for one awesome movie scene.

Hello readers of insignificant topics such as this one! I'm Miri, but as you can see I am currently using the name Linaeres as it's better to keep your personal information private obviously. Alternatively it could point to me being quite a fraudulent character, but that's going off topic isn't it. I found my way to this amalgamation of cosmere and Brandon Sanderson related stuffs through my interaction with my best budd Iredomi(name drop) who is always lurking around somewhere on the 17th Shard reading threads etc. I've read a majority of Brandon Sanderson's stuff and nearly all of his available cosmere books, this list excludes Dragonsteel - which I would like to note I'm super excited about. I have started Alcatraz and I am keen for Sanderson's upcoming works, especially Stormlight Archive 2 as The Way of Kings was one of those books you just can't put down lightly, it does weigh quite a bit. So yeah, if you manage to read this tell me the current book you're reading or the video game or computer game you're playing I'd be interested to know, I'm playing Bioshock Infinite and reading Alcatraz versus the Evil Librarians

A similar question is what would happen to a Mistborn that takes an alloy. If the ability to use Feruchemy is on the same spot in your sDNA, seems like you would overwrite the ferring power and become a misting. If the ability is on a different spot, you would get both and become Twinborn. For Mistborn, I could see becoming a Misting, or having one ability become much stronger than the others. The best answer I have is to use The Lord Ruler as precedent. He did NOT lose his Feruchemy, so my guess is you become a Twinborn.

Ah, thanks for pointing out the link, I had missed that. So we know the creatures are small, and that they seem to fit the description of Larkin. The more I learn about these the more curious I get about their life cycle. A good point Meg. This quote from Chapter 26 had me thinking they were infused, but I misinterpreted it: “The soldiers cheered as he pulled it free, gloryspren hovering above the entire army like hundreds of spheres of light.” Reading it more carefully, it doesn't say if the gem was glowing or not.

I think if you were doing this specifically to practice descriptions, then it worked. The descriptions are effective of people. but you might need more about Harry and where he is. However, if you want to turn this into something else, then the big blocks of descriptive text might overwhelm readers. For Harry being the POV, there's not a lot of focus on him. He's mostly just observing. I think you need to reverse the second to last paragraph. I was wondering why Harry was so scared that the soldier was talking, until I finally got to the end of the paragraph and found out he had heard a different voice altogether. "which was the reason he had been so startled to hear the voice." -the last part of the last sentence is unnecessary. We can tell from your description that the place is empty, and obviously Harry was startled, so we can figure this out. As to where this is going, I really have no idea. I could easily see this story being about someone completely different (like the old soldier) since a disembodied voice is interested in him, and the soldier and the voice are the only ones to get dialogue and do things. It could also be about Harry discovering some special ability/person, though with a bad leg, he's not going to be a very mobile hero. I would lean toward the former out of the two scenarios.

If they can't, then how do they know how big it is? If they can, does that mean they can see other Smokers' Copperclouds?

My opinion is that Nalthian's are given an extra something by Endowment, but aren't any superior to normal humans, aside from the fact that they can awaken. Much in this way the Nalthians just haven't developed their immune systems or life sense because they are dependent upon their breaths to provide these things for them, so Drabs would be slightly inferior to your average human just because their body was dependent upon the breath they were born with. Drabs may or may not develop a stronger immune system if they don't have a breath for long enough, but I'm not sure. Now if an earth human could theoretically travel to Nalthis, they wouldn't be more irritable or less immune to disease than the Nalthians, but wouldn't have any Breath. Fyi this is my first post.

Hello. Took me a while to get around to this. Minor disclaimer, my experience with high-ish fantasy and YA is fairly minimal, so Im afraid I wont have much to say about certain aspects of the story (magic systems, etc) as I dont have the familiarity or eye for catching cliches and holes in the magic system and what not. I didn't read the "first" version/chapter, but I get the feeling this will be better as a 2nd chapter than as a first, with another, secondary perspective on the characters which (I imagined) you introduced in the other version. As it stands, I agree with what the others have said above re: the inactive nature of the character. I'd like to see more stuff being done...also, like there's a lot of narrative summary that could be brought out in 'scene'. Like: >>I appeared to the old woman in all my “Princess Pythia” glory, glamoring myself with illusions to look ethereal and regal, and speaking in low tones about the eternal glory that awaited anyone who could rescue my city and me. The dream impressed her enough to announce the quest to hundreds of adventures at her inn. This could be a cool scene. Im thinking maybe this was in the 'first chapter' I didn't read? Or not? Seems like a missed opportunity. If we had more action happening 'onstage' you'd have more little slots to slip in exposition, and maybe you could lighten up the 'explainy'-ness that seems to accumulated at the beginning. I'll just second Mandamon's words above: And not to sound like I'm totally just parroting Mandamon (sorry!) but yeah, keep on writing and don't worry about the first chapter. Getting to the meat of the story will help you determine whats really going on and whats really the best way to start it all out. (I suppose there's a reason for the old saw about writers always trashing the first chapter in their first drafts).

Any exploring? Auger: I presume you've prepared new insults for today. Thug:Your mother lies with many men. Auger: I have no such information. Thug: You are neither ferring, nor real allomancer -- and therefore, have no place in the universe. Auger: This is your thirty-fifth attempt to elicit an emotional response from me. You should have realized by now that I burn gold daily to unsure I that I live my life according to divine sanction. You words are hollow and meaningless to me. Thug: (interally) He's so strong! How can ever hope to intimidate an Auger?

I've been thinking about your reference to compounding. Could it theoretically be possible to use an aluminum spike to steal someone's Identity with Hemalurgy, burn the spike with allomancy to "splice" it into your DNA, store it in an aluminum-mind, and then compound it? Could be a fast way to get your link as strong as Lerasium can make it.

In real-world terms, Augurs, with proper use of their powers, could be some of the most well-adjusted, confident and balanced people on the planet. It would be painful, I imagine. My limited attempts at doing this (reading my journal) certainly can be. In practical terms, though, it could actually be very useful. I mean, talk about self-help...

Noms on some darkanime ...

Is it a decent series? Wheel of Time is perhaps the biggest influence on the fantasy genre besides Tolkien. If you've read Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion you can expect much the same, albeit different. There are no elves, but WoT does follow the typical "Hero's Journey," but consider the time when this was written: in the 80's when such a thing was not yet cliché. Walk into Eye of the World as if you were reading it back in 1990 and you were reading of the farmer-to-legend story for the first time. The similarities I quote with Tolkien are the vast world detail you'll find. Robert Jordan included a comprehensive history - it is a living, breathing world that adapts throughout the books and Jordan has done a masterful job of invoking imagery of his world. That is one of the things Jordan does better than most all other writers that he can craft such a vivid world with an incredible amount of information tucked away on the pages. The last 3,000 years, at least, have a long and detailed history, that while not all of it is explained in the books, Jordan drops a few subtle hints to the way it was. Perfectly so. Wheel of Time focuses a lot on language - there is a fictional language created by Jordan that is seen quite regularly beyond the fourth book: the Old Tongue - culture, geography, nations, and how all these have evolved and matured or mixed. But it is the characters that drive the story. Often, these people do radically unexpected things leaving others and themselves to deal with the repercussions. I'm not feeling that any one character has ever been a Mary Sue, even Egwene who I loathe actually has a dynamic character archetype. But be prepared to have your head wrapped around hundreds of different plots and politicking (all of which are interesting and woven well), and ten times again the number of characters. Seriously, there are literally thousands of characters (don't worry though, we only see from the eyes of ~10 per book). I'm honestly trying not to be biased here, but I've yet to read another fantasy epic that I could suspend my belief in reality to feel as though I'm reading an account of our own ancient history, only more Homer's Odyssey than Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. You'll also notice that Jordan's work is a little "darker" to how Brandon wrote it. There's still some darn fine moments by Brandon ("Veins of Gold", for those who've read it) but there was more... malice, to the evil in Jordan's writing. But yes, Jordan could also lose himself in prose, often with long-winded descriptive narrative, but I don't think Jordan ever wrote something without subtle intent. You won't notice it on your first read through, and yes that will make many chapters feel boring and dragging, but when you re-read those passages after reading the entire series you'll notice some crafty insertion; Jordan was a master of foreshadowing. The books you have heard drone on will be around #7-11, but all are equally important to the story as those around them. You have many finer character moments in those books; characters go through some of their most intensive changes. I will say it now that Winter's Heart (book #9), is my favourite amongst the entire series and is one often criticised for being one of those "slow" books. I loved it. And Crossroads of Twilight (#10) is full of character development but very little plot progression, as it's supposed to be the events alongside those in Winter's Heart. Anyway, I hope that helps ^^ EDIT: Dang, didn't realise how long this was until I posted it v.v

Taravangian holds a rock even more powerful than many of those shardblades, lol. Do you know how many sets of plate and blade he could have if he wanted? Don't shardblades have water or mist or whatever around them when they're summoned from (the spiritual realm? Cognitive? The Origin? I think it's the spiritual realm, but IDK). Anyway, they're probably tapping into that same, destructive power. IMO, stormlight has something to do with Odium, mainly because of the way it's described. Fury, destruction, the like. Not all shardblades or shardblade-like things make people into light- wait a minute. Darkeyes were in command, anciently, right? Could it be that the Shin's dislike of fighting came from an old principle where fighting people were of lower class -lighteyed-, and taking a shardblade made you into that class? Anyway, Szeth's only makes him lighteyed whilst he's holding the shardblade, and the herald at the end (Taln?) remains darkeyed with his blade out. Stormlight 2 spoilers (from Brandon's reading): On the Jasnah & Szeth thing: Jasnah: "Szeth, I would like you to meet my uncle." Szeth: "About that..."

Well, duh!

If this date http://www.hicklebees.com/event/brandon-sanderson-may-21 isn't moved off-site (as is indicated in the http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/03/brandon-sanderson-rithmatist-tour), I'll be there even though I currently have absolutely no idea just where 1378 Lincoln Ave. San Jose, CA actually is. Goes to Google Maps ... Ooh! I could work-out at the gym after my job ... and drive slightly south to the signing! Now, I'm planning on it!

The first 3 books are always the worst for me on a read through, standard sword and sorcery fantasy that's been done over and over, 2 is a bit of an exception, but I tend to skim through until book 4, that's when it starts getting really interesting. I guess I'm weird in that I really don't mind the pacing and multiple viewpoints and arcs in the later books, I really enjoy the later ones, and how Brandon wrapped them all up.

Do most people think the little flying creatures turn into non-flying Chasmfiends? I haven't read the stuff from the new Interlude, but I think it is reasonable to keep a healthy skepticism of what those creatures in the Table actually are. They could be small Larkin, they could also be huge flying beasts. Knowing Brandon they are actually time traveling multidimensional space aliens from Yolen... Oh wait, that's Hoid. Before I learned about Larkin, I thought the reason Chasmfiends don't turn into big flying creatures is because Honor/Cultivation are needed to guide the final transformation during the chrysalis phase. I still like that idea, but there are many options at this point.