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Because I couldn't find one already, I thought I should start a thread purposed around thinking about what the denizens of each Shardworld might use to Worldhop. So guys... hop to it! Scadrial I'll start. Worldhopping is bound to utilise a system of Investiture. There are three systems of investiture on Scadrial: Hemalurgy, Allomancy and Feruchemy. What system? Hemalurgy mostly doesn't introduce any new powers into the mix, it just rearranges properties that are already there, so I think we can safely rule it out. Feruchemy also tends to work with something that is already there, strength, health, whatever. It is hard to imagine what a Feruchemist would have to store to tap into worldhopping/shadesmar access, and furthermore it existed pre-ascension and was likely studied to some degree by the scholarly Worldbringers (there's bound to have been at least a couple who looked into how their powers worked). Granted, they may not have had access to all the metals. Mostly on the basis of Feruchemy's tendency not to introducing new powers as such, let's tentatively put it aside. Unlike Feruchemy and Hemalurgy, Allomancy has effects which go beyond the kinds of things humans can generally do. Tin and Pewter may just enhance what is already there like Feruchemy does, but the other basic metals introduce new abilities, such as manipulating emotions and the physical world, perceiving other possible worlds or the future and manipulating time. Given that I see accessing Shadesmar/Worldhopping as a new ability in this sense, rather than a manipulation of what is already there, I would suppose that Allomancy is the key to accessing Worldhopping/Shadesmar. What metal? Supposing I (and whoever else has thought of this before me) am correct, I would further think it is unlikely that one of the ordinary (16) metals has the hidden key to Shadesmar* which leaves us with Godmetals and their Alloys. Lerasium is tied into rewriting sDNA, and I imagine it's hidden functions have to do with granting other systems of investiture, so let's tentatively put it aside; likewise, its alloys make Mistings. That leaves us with Atium and its alloys (barring another Shard showing up and integrating itself into Scadrial, and gaining a Godmetal...) Here's where my speculation reaches its heights: from a narrative perspective, and in terms of how Malatium works as a basis of comparison, I don't think one of the random Atium alloys allows worldhopping... it just doesn't seem to fit in my mind. Granted, Atium alloys give a variety of Temporal and Mental effects, which certainly seems to fit with Shadesmar as the Cognitive realm... but one of the Atium alloys doesn't seem to fit nearly as well as... Atium itself. Atium as Scadrial's Worldhopping Key Let me go on the record and say I doubt that I thought of this first. In fact, I vaguely remember reading someone put forward Atium as the Scadrian Worldhopping key before. What I will do here, is discuss some of the pros of Atium being the Worldhopping key for Scadria:l Shadesmar is the Cognitive Realm and Shadesmar is seemingly the way Worldhopping happens. Of the two God metals Atium is the one tied into the Mental and Temporal aspects (with Lerasium offering Physical and Enhancement) and thus it seems to fit with Shadesmar. We know of a very clear Temporal effect of Atium: seeing the future. But a mental one is missing. "But wait, Atium also expands the mind!" I hear you say, but as Kurk has pointed our to me recently, ALL Allomancy has the effect of expanding your mind in order to use it. Atium's mind expansion is simply so a Seer can deal with the rush of information given by seeing the possible futures. If Atium's domain is Mental/Temporal, we have only seen the Temporal part, leaving the mental part neatly open for Shadesmar access. A random Atium alloy being the key would be narratively clunky (as discussed above) In a similar fashion to the above point, Atium being the key to accessing Shadesmar would be narratively neat, because it would balance Atium and Lerasium more. Lerasium is clearly a far more valuable metal as it stands because it makes you the most powerful Allomancer in the world. Atium's future sight is powerful (mostly only in combat) granted, but is far far more limited than Lerasium, and Atium's Hemalurgic prowess (as the master spike), while somewhat more balancing, still doesn't seem to quite even them out, especially if Lerasium can be attuned to allow access to other investitures (jury still out). Giving Atium this function thus not only fits with Atium's allomantic properties, but it increases its worth to more of a "God metal" level. To build on the above point, it also involves both Preservation and Ruin. If one of Atium's allomantic properties is allowing Worldhopping/Shadesmar Access, then that would mean the key to Worldhopping on Scadrial requires both Preservation (Allomancy) and Ruin (Atium). Note that under normal circumstances there are no Godmetal Mistings. This means that a Mistborn would normally be required for worldhopping. Also note that without Lerasium bleeding into the bloodlines, Mistborn aren't exactly going to crop up. Thus in some sense Lerasium and Atium are both needed for Worldhopping... Lerasium to enable Mistborn (for the next generations) and Atium to power the hopping. This makes for an interesting side theory: What if part of Preservation's set up of the Wells (which I believe generate the Lerasium beads in the same manner as the pits generate Atium, given that both seem to come with some kind of dirt casing... the Pottery and the Geode respectively) was to enable the Scadrian's to worldhop, perhaps to potentially escape or go for help if needed? This certainly seems to fit with how much Atium and Lerasium are generated by the shardpools... you don't nearly need as much Lerasium as Atium for worldhopping to work in the way I describe, and the proportions in which the pools generate their metal reflect this. It fits with a Worldhopping Demoux This are just my thoughts, feel free to discuss Scadrial Worldhopping access, or Worldhopping access for any other Shard-world! Footnote *Barring something awesome like discovering that proper mastery of Allomantic Gold lets you slip into Shadesmar... having the whole double minded split perspective thing seems very cognitive and otherworldly to me, just saying...

I agree with the recommendation of David Farland's Runelords. I have trouble reading it because whenever I start, because another book I've been waiting on always comes out. I *think* there might be one kinda sex scene in one of the second or third books, but its very light and very short and has very little impact on the plot. It might not even be there, I just remember allusions and don't recall how far they go. After I get home, I'll update this with more recommendations once I can look at my shelf.

For me, a big indicator that this might be the case is the fact that the only known worldhopper from Scadrial happens to be an atium misting...

Nah, it's not just you. We think it has something to do with the site crashing a few days ago. It should be fixed before too long.

Forging could also be as simple as stamping a doorway to become a portal. Likewise, with awakening, it seems perhaps conceivable that a doorway could be awakened and commanded to become a portal using X amount of breath.

Oh goodie! A place to dump all of my questions that I have been creating. I don't believe any of these are duplicates or things we already know.... Also, I tried to group them by the place they would go in the OP, but I'm not quite sure on a few of them. Cosmere Does hemalurgy require metal on Scadrial because that is the focus of that planet? Would it be non-metal on other planets? Do you have to exist in all the realms (before taking up a shard) to hold a shard? Do some types of worldhopping take longer than others (on the magnitude of hours to days or days to months or months to years)? Is Hoid’s relatively fast? Within days? Does how taxing the method of travel is relate to the speed? As shown by Vin, one doesn’t have to really be aware of what one is doing to pick up a shard. Could Odium be tricked into picking up another intent? Or is he too cosmologically aware? Does creating a splinter (a la Endowment creating Returned) reduce the power the shard itself still holds? If splintering a shard is like a small-scale shattering of Adonalsium, can a splinter be splintered? Also do the intents of the splinter have to match or extend from the shard they came from? Is Hoid a Sliver? You’ve said Adonalsium was opposing some force before it shattered and that that force is still around. Was it shattered or weakened in a similar manner when Adonalsium shattered? Or is it something the cosmere should be worried about…? Does Odium know about this other force? Does Hoid? Is the map of Shadesmar we got in tWoK the majority of Shadesmar? Or is it really mainly the Roshar part of it? Roshar Did highstorms exist before Odium splintered Honor (or before the pseudo-ending of the Oathpact)? Did each order of the Knights Radiant have a special type of shardblade? (And plate? Especially when considering windrunners using their magics inside of plate…) Is the dark sphere given to Szeth by Gavilar native to Roshar? Does Roshar look like Shadesmar? Or does Shadesmar look like Roshar? (Or is it a chicken and egg sort of thing?) Is the large white rock expanse with the black sky that Dalinar briefly sees the spiritual realm? Or a part of Shadesmar?

Or a Koloss-blooded pewter savant compounder with a special ability or Hemallurgically-given gold compounder=Invincible