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I was just reading the Szeth/Shin Conspiracy thread, and it got me thinking. The basic speculation was that Shin discovered Honorblades, and built Shone Shamanism around hiding the secret. I've been doing a second read-through of tWoK, and I like many parts of this theory. However, I'd like to propose my own. I don't think sacredness of stone has to do with Honorblades, but rather thunderclasts. Let me explain. Part 1: Mistborn spoilers*: *If you skipped this spoiler, it simply contains some evidence that Sanderson is capable of this kind of conspiracy-laden writing We also know that Shin religion has other truths preserved in its religion, after others have forgotten. Note that the Shin still know about stormlight (and by the use of the word "sacred" in this quote, I do think it stems from Shin religion, and not just Shen's knowledge of surgebinding): So, in The Stormlight Archive, we see the present-day application of Shin religion: Shin do not walk on (or interact with) stone. I would suggest that this branches from the ancient knowledge of thunderclasts, and their relation to stone. We know, from the Prologue, that thunderclasts 1) are made of stone, and 2) come from stone: I would suggest that Shin culture has preserved the danger associated with stone by labeling it "sacred". End part 1 of my conspiracy theory. Part 2: Think about the geography of Shin in the world. Think about the geography of stone. Shin religion, and its application with regard to stone, has effectively secluded the Shin people to the west in Shinovar. Likewise, they remain somewhat protected from the events of the east. Shin religion could be protecting Shin from the area of the world where Odium has influence. Where are the parshendi and parshmen (who may or may not have some direct relation to voidbringers)? Should the thunderclasts 'return', where would they arise (i.e. where is the world's mass of stone)? In fact, what has the landscape looked like in EVERY one of Dalinar's visions (the supposedly significant moments in the evolution of the world)? All of the visions have been based in rocky, highstorm-afflicted areas (i.e. not Shinovar). Everything that is associated with instability, change, and danger is located in the east, where Shin religion effectively forbids its people to 'trod'. Part 3: In the same way that I feel Shin reverence of stone is related to something significant, I think there's a reason that parshendi leave bodies untouched and lying on stone. In the event that the bodies do not die on stone, they are carried there. The parshendi affinity for stone, juxtaposed with the Shin deference, is somewhat telling. I don't have a solid enough theory to elaborate on this, but I would speculate that it has something to do with thunderclasts, pupating (as seen with chasmfiends), and the parshmen/parshedi ability to change forms. On Honorblades: Here's why I think the Honorblade theory (of Shin discovering and hiding the Honorblades) is incorrect: Through the same reasoning contained in what I said above, the physical landscape of the place where the Honorblades were left does not match that of Shinovar. I haven't seen anything that points to Shinovar being the location of anything of historical/mythological significance. That said, the fact that Shinovar isn't prevalent in any historical analysis we've seen seems significant and possibly telling. Here's a reason I could be wrong: Shinovar has been speculated by many to be the home of, or at least under the influence of, Cultivation. Based on Argent's thought, Cultivation could very well be involved in an elaborate cover-up. Why, though? I've got no idea. Tangents: Because I've dealt so heavily in this post with geography, I'd just like to bring forward the relative influences of the different Shards on different parts of the world. I think it's pretty well-accepted that the vegetation differences in Shinovar are attributable to Cultivation, while the Highstorms are attributable to Honor. From a Brandon Sanderson Q&A: The highstorms are not arbitrary. What their function is, I do not know for sure. However, as for speculation: I would guess that Cultivation has similar functions somewhere in the world. This means a "conciousness" and a "body". I reject the hypothesis that Cultivation is the Night Watcher, because nothing we've seen about Shards in other books indicates they can have an anthropomorphic form in the world (the nature of the Night Watcher does not seem to fit that of Cultivation, either). There is some power bestowed by Cultivation within the world that we have yet to see or to recognize. I would suggest that this material or energy is contained within Shinovar.

Yup invisibility seems very plausible... Also, with surface tension, could you walk on water? Because soulcasting water into wine looks pretty easy. SURFACE TENSION + TRANSFORMATION = JESUS

Just wondering, who here is going to participate in NaNoWriMo? This will be my first year participating as a way to finally kick my butt into gear and write the story i've been mulling over in my mind for months but have never written down execpt for brainstorming notes and plot ideas. Does anyone have good strategies for caging internal editors for a month? probably my biggest roadblock will be my perfectionist nature continually wanting to go back and fix things (and in reality stifiling progress to a crawl). I really hope the deadline and the word count goal will help force my ideas out of the nebulous realm of the mind and into the reality of my hard drive, but any advice would be nice. also, does anyone have ideas to prevent research A.D.D. when you're suppose to be achieving high word count? as an example of how A.D.D. i can get... when i decided my main character was going to be a super competent woodcarver, rather than merely looking up tools and techniques I spent a month learning how to whittle and made a 20 piece oak puzzle of a army tank with nothing more than a hack saw and a pocket knife. it was great to learn where the callouses form...but i didn't get any writing done. (if anyone is wondering, the tank is awesome! ) so, newbie looking for last minute strategies on winning NaNoWriMo and turning my dream of being a writer into reality.

HI I'm a longer time reader but first time poster. Sorry if I was suppose to this in the introducing myself forum since this is my first time but i just thought is would be more appropriate here. I just finished reading the book and I was wondering if you guys thought it was possible that the professor was digzone in the past. I suggest this because well he has the ability to make the underground (dig using matter disruption or something like that) and he has the ability to gift his abilities. I assume digzone must possess both these abilities or at least something similar to the dig/matter disruption ability. Also, the professor seems to know intimately how gifting your abilities will affect the one receiving the gifts. Which I say would fit if the reason the diggers went crazy was because digzone was gifting them to much and the epic mental effect causes them to go crazy. Not to mention if he was digzone then he would be in charge of building the underground which would explain why him and tia have such detail maps of the steel catacombs and the rest of underground. However, there are two obvious things that go against this theory that I can't explain. One is that the tensor/Reckoners seem to make circle holes well the the underground is squared but maybe that has to do with the tensor focusing the professor's power in a particular way, idk. The other one is the bigger problem which is that if he was digzone then he once worked for steelheart which means steelheart would of recognized him. Back to the positive things that go towards the theory. There is also the fact that professor seems to harbor the same hate for steelheart as David (David comments on seeing the same look in his eye) which to me at least suggest they have some past history with each other. Lastly, I don't remember the book ever saying what happened to digzone after the diggers went crazy. However, they did talk about him in my opinion like he is no longer affecting the city. Which implies to me he is either dead or no longer working for steelheart and I don't remember the book ever mentioning he died. (Sorry ahead time if it did mention what happened to him and I just totally missed it while reading which would render this whole theory/post pointless. So what do you guys think? p.s. Sorry if this topic was mentioned before I didn't see it.

It's been awhile since I threw a Forms thread at you guys, so I decided now's the time. This one is actually fairly short, just a thought that came to me the other day. Evidence: We have only a few quotes on the nature of conceptual interaction between shardworlds. Dead end: So that one's a dead-end because "shash's" universality is the direct result of the Shards having a single point of origin. More interesting, though... Source: Theory: Now we're in business. "Shadows"... Sounds like a Form to me!! So, in short, I would propose that the broad strokes of religious concepts (among other types of concepts, almost certainly) exist on a level that transcends individual shardworlds. So a man is pondering the beauty of colors on Scadrial and strikes on their possible spiritual significance: in so doing he establishes a Spiritual connection to some somewhat vaguely defined "Colorful Religion" Form. So far as other concepts go, I would hazard that similar things could happen with aesthetics, inventions, philosophy, etc. Not so much that every culture is just a carbon-copy of the other, obviously, but enough for a certain degree of similarity/contiguity. Now if only Roshar could pick up some Crossbow Forms from Sel...

In continuing with my search for excellent artists to provide character portraits, I'd like to introduce two newcomers! Botanica Xu and Kit of AnemoneInk have both graciously agreed to allow us to use their work on the Coppermind! They are both wonderful people and you should definitely show them some love! Kit's work is now featured on the Elend page. Botanica's work is now featured on the pages for Rysn, Hoid, Raoden, and Sarene And to cite my sources for the permission, I asked each of them if it were okay to use their art on the Coppermind. Their responses were as follows: BotanicaXu AnemoneInk Sometimes all it takes is asking! We're thrilled to have them come on board with us!

I'm going to agree with Meg and Weiry. A rain spren isn't exactly sentient by any definition I know of. It appears when it's raining and stands up in puddles doing nothing. Flame spren dance around in fires, not exactly a sign of intelligence . I would agree that all bonding spren are splinters.

I suposse it depends on how technical you want to get. Contour lines is a typical method in real maps. (See http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contour_line) However contour lines aren't particulary pretty. You can achive the same effect with color gradiations (for example dark been on the mountain top, light green in the valley, and in between the colors gradually change). Color changes is often more imediately distiguishable for someone newly looking at the map (unless you're color blind). The method chosen depends on how the map will be used and artistic preference.

Such a short theory, Kurk. I'm with you here (as far as I understand the forms/ideas/concepts-thing).

If I recall correctly, Allomantic technology will be a major part of the third Mistborn trilogy (the one that's supposed to have sci-fi elements). Since the consensus here seems to be that Hemalurgy-based Allomantic technology is at best a useful evil and at worst a horrifying and inexcusable evil, I think Brandon probably has a less controversial kind of Allomantech in mind for the third trilogy. I'm not saying that the Southern Scadrians did not use Hemalurgy for their tech. That's still a mystery to us. But if they did, then someone (probably from the North) will have to come up with a less bloody alternative at some point in the story's timeline.

I'm sorry to be a nitpicker. 1. Not the Seons are Splinters, the Aons inside the Seons are the Splinters. 2. Can you give the reference where he said that the Heralds "were created by Honor in a similar way to spren"? 3. As long as we don't have any evidence for this speculation I'd say: I don't believe this. Sure, something happened to the ten people who became the Heralds. Part of their deal with Honor was that they were granted Immortality (for the purpose of not dying by age; they can be killed, and if that happens they must return to Damnation). In my understanding it's more likely that Honor provided his ten Heralds with kind of a "Tanavast"-bead, that rewrote their sDNA. Apparently the Honorblades are not the reason for their immortality (otherwise they wouldn't be around in TWoK). BS outright said: Then there's that about Splinters and Slivers: WoB is that the Divine Breath is a Splinter of Endowment. So: Not the Returned is a Splinter.

That's an interesting idea. Being both a channeler and a Wolfbrother strikes me as something with astronomically low odds of happening (kinda like being both a mistborn and a full feruchemist ), but still possible. I wouldn't exactly call it dangerous, we have seen that the right balance of wolf and human varies from person to person (see Boundless/Noam), so even if it does push you more towards being a wolf, it's arguable if that would be a bad thing. I think the result would be something like what Androl and Pevara created. In both cases you have two link superimposed. On the other hand, we have seen wwith Elayne and Birgitte that the more similar, on a physical level, you are to your warder, the closer is the link. So a human with a wolf would create a link that's not so close. More importantly, what if a normal channeler bonded a wolf? Would he became like a wolfbrother? Or would he just acquire a very loyal animal companion? Maybe that's where the idea of mages having animal familiar came from, in some past ages the norm was bonding animal not people so that became the legend in our era! P.S. I haven't the quote, but i remember that Jordan said that Wolfsister are absolutely possible. It's just that the three characters we met happened to be males.

I seriously, seriously doubt that the second ideal of the Lightweavers is "I murdered my father". I completely reject that the ideals are individually determined.

It was openly posted in another topic.

I'm not sure how useful the Kaladin comparisons are. I think the assumption that all the Orders will exhibit the same signs upon attaining a new ideal is faulty. I think that making comparisons in behavior between Orders should be done with care and that we should be wary of those assumptions. Look at how different Shallans cryptic is from Kaladins Honorspren. Was Shallans truth the equivalent of her second ideal? We don't know. Wyndle appears to be as different from Syl as he appears to be from a cryptic.

good call, sorry I either started or contributed heavily to the hijacking Truth is he fits both of these well and could quite reasonably fall into several others (windrunner) which we have ruled out with less then certain reasoning.

JustSarah: As far as your first line goes, it's got some good and some bad. I like the ocean-scape and the dream-net. I have no idea what those things are, but that's what I like about it. It makes me want to continue reading to find out. I don't like how Nadine has no particular reaction to hearing a fading voice in the distance. If Nadine doesn't react to it, then I have no idea how I am supposed to react to it. For example, if you said, "Nadine froze as she heard a voice..." then I would know that it was an irregular and noteworthy event. If you said, "Nadine wept as she heard a voice..." then I would be concerned because, for whatever reason, hearing a voice fading in the dream-net is causing her sadness. So you get points for introducing things like this dream-net that interest me, but lose points because until Nadine has a reaction to hearing something, I don't know how to feel about. One more example, "Nadine smiled to herself as she heard..." might suggest she just heard something she was anticipating and was pleased to hear it. As for your first paragraph, it needs a small amount of work on the grammar, but that's for the revision process so it's not a really big deal until then. I would be careful using the word poop. I think it has too much if a childish connotation to work where you're using it. If, in your head, you thought, "...lose his rust." then write that. It feels like you took a vulgar sentence that fit really well and replaced it with a PG sentence that seems a little out of place. Toddlers poop their pants and puppies poop on the floor, but old heroes who are about to be tortured and executed...they rust themselves. I hope that helps! And thank you for taking the time to respond to my first line.

Hence the reason he is on this list.

I agree 100%; the Wheel of Time posts are really great. They remind me once again why I really love Brandon so much as a writer. There is just so, so much about him that is amazing. Most obviously, there is the cosmere, which I would hazard to say is the main reason most of us here love Brandon's books. There is something truly special about the way Brandon has managed to create so many great worlds and tie them all together. I cannot wait for when the ties come to the forefront more and more. Realmatic Theory and the whole Shard concept are truly wonderful. I may not be a rabid theorizer, but I love all the possibilities the cosmere possesses. In addition, all of Brandon's separate worlds are fascinating in and of themselves. They all seem so very full, even though so far (Roshar excluded) we really only know a lot about a few different cities and countries on each planet. Despite that, they all have a feeling of completeness to them; they seem much bigger than what has been revealed to us (and of course they are). I love Brandon's openness with his fans. All the questions he answers, all the events he does, show us that he really respects his fanbase and enjoys interacting with us. Though I haven't any wish to read them, I love that he willingly gives out rough drafts of old books. I love things like the Steelhunt, which make him seem just so much more amazing. I have yet to meet Brandon in person, but to do so is on my bucket list. I greatly respect Brandon for all of these things, but I cannot with all truth say that they are what I love most about him as a writer. Most important to me is all the talking he does about himself as a writer. The annotations, for one thing, are a great example of this. That he goes and tells us everything that went into his books right down at the chapter level is amazing. I know of no other writer who has done such a thing (though I would love to know if there are others). I love to read about all the little things what went on in Brandon's mind as he wrote these wonderful books. I love to see how he has grown with each new publication, and I eagerly await to see how he will continue to grow in the future. I had always been a little disappointed that we had nothing in the way of annotations for Brandon's Wheel of Time books, despite the fact that they have been the most formative works of his career. This is why I was overjoyed to hear about the Wheel of Time Retrospective posts. He has alluded to much of what he tells us about in the posts before, but it is wonderful to hear it all in a more formal manner. I feel bad for any fans who have not had the chance to read Brandon's work in the Wheel of Time; I feel that they belong to him nearly as much as they do to Robert Jordan, and to try to understand Brandon's career and growth without having read them leaves a gaping hole. So far, we have seen relatively little of his writing since them; The Way of Kings was written concurrently with them, and The Rithmatist was first written before he began to work on them. I cannot wait to see what comes next, for so many reasons. I cannot wait to come to understand more about the cosmere. I cannot wait to learn more about the worlds of Roshar and Scadrial. But, above all, I cannot wait to see how Brandon will continue to grow and become even more awesome than he already is.

I have updated the chart! You can find it here! Thanks bunches Peter!!!

OK, I talked to Brandon about the chart. He says that in the typical chaos of a signing, he didn't notice that the circles that were being pointed to sometimes weren't the ones he thought they were. Anyway here is what I have to say about the chart: Gravity and Pressure should be switched. The "surface tension" one should be switched with the unrevealed one next to it. Also, the in-world names for many of the Surges haven't yet been canonically revealed and may not ultimately match what's here. For example, where it says light, on my chart I have Illumination. The names of the Heralds are also a hodgepodge. Some of them are the ancient name, some are the Vorin name, and some are just the name of the number that corresponds to that Herald.

I haven't read the interlude yet (I don't care about spoilers) so naturally my reaction to reading all of this is... She can what?! Make investiture from food?! *begins sharpening an Atium spike* Kids! I'm going to Roshar!

@ Mailliw and Windrunner- Besides, one Ring to rule them all would be a bit corny.

Put Some eyes on a big bowl of jello and add in four spoons two on the left and two on the right and say that its your kandra friend but he has gone weak in the knees with excitement so he cant talk personally I will tell you it will be the best costume ever right.

Evidence suggests a Desolation is when Odium and Honor instruct their various dudes to throw down. The precise mechanics are uncertain, but apparently the Voidbringers show up/turn hostile (I think that all of Odium's forces are Voidbringers, as opposed to them being some mysterious malevolent species that leads the others or something) and the Heralds get called out of the inferno to lead everyone else in battle against them, and eventually there's a huge showdown, a majority of both sides die, and the surviving Heralds and Voidbringers go back to wherever they are between Desolations. Only most of the Heralds quit after the previous one and Honor is splintered, so the next round isn't looking so hot for Team Honor. I think it works something like this: 1. Odium starts his prep work, Midnight Essences and other minor Voidbringer types begin showing up in quantity 2. The Radients notice and step up recruiting 3. The Unmade get called to Roshar by Odium ---Offical start of Desolation--- 4. The Heralds arrive 5. Parshmen-form Voidbringers specialize, presumably powered by the Unmade. Voidbinders, Thunderclasts, and other elite Voidbringers form at this point. Alternately, the elite types simply manifest from elsewhere or form from other creatures and the Parshmen serve as foot-soldiers only 6. The Heralds and Radients create a solid front line, gathering as much of the population as possible. 7. There's the fight immediately prior to the prologue, most everyone dies ---Offical end of Desolation--- 8. Surviving Heralds and Unmade withdraw from Roshar 9. Elite Voidbringers get hunted down, no new ones can form until the next Desolation Time passes 10. goto 1

It isn't Serve me or leave or die...it is serve me or die. That is pretty un-ambiguous. I suspect you are just trying to force your opinion on the exiting information despite a rather poor fit.