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I am pleased to announce that there's an entirely new set of reputation titles. Check out under your name to the left of your post and see what title you are--I imagine it will be very different. Why did the ranks get altered? Well, I hadn't ever really expected people to rise through the ranks so fast. Obviously this site isn't going anywhere, and five years down the line, it wouldn't make sense for all of us to be Adonalsium, now would it? So this new scheme was designed to be much more sustainable for years to come. It's also designed to have a ton more progression than the old system. In the old scheme, you became Shard at 128, and then new ranks appeared at 256, 512, and 1024. Not so much progression. Considering how many people are in the 1-500 range, there needed to be a lot more ranks. And boy, there are a lot of new ranks. In the old scheme we had less than 20 ranks total. In this new system, there are 102 positive reputation levels. There's also no exponential growth on new ranks--it's much more linear, with the differences between levels gradually increasing. I hope you find the new system fun! There are a lot of very powerful and cool titles now, but there are also delightfully obscure cosmere titles, and some that are just plain silly. Hehehe. And of course, now with a properly large list of ranks, it's time to complain about their ridiculousness. Some of the promotions are... interesting, to say the least. Discuss yours in the These Stupid Ranks topic.

I went to my first signing ever on the Arcanum Unbounded tour, and when I went through the personalization line, Brandon and I had a nice conversation about the physical properties of ettmetal, otherwise known as harmonium, and how they were impacted by Realmatics. (Influenced in part, I assume, because when he was going through his opening talk, I fist-pumped when he said he was originally a chemistry major. He saw, and asked if I was a chemist, to which I replied I was a chemical engineer. So, I think he took the chance to share some details with someone who’d be able to fully comprehend them.) I’m still waiting to get the recording of the signing line, but I’ll paraphrase what I got out of it. Brandon said that it makes sense for ettmetal to be so volatile, because it has the power of both Shards in it, and the conflict associated with them. He also clarified that it’s not a nuclear reaction; it’s chemically reactive, it’s the properties of the electrons in Harmonium that make it so reactive. It’s like ‘super-cesium,’ reacting very quickly with water. I wasn't quite ready prepared to deal with the implications (I was there as a cosmere fan, not a scientist), but I've spent some time thinking it over, and I think I understand a little more exactly how the physics and the realmatics are interacting. I've come to several major conclusions, which are reliant on a college-level understanding of chemistry. If you’re not at that level, skip ahead to the next section, where I’ll try to build it up in layman’s terms. For those who feel knowledgeable, though: Overview of the Theory · I propose that the subatomic particles of harmonium (protons, electrons, and neutrons) are comprised of pure Investiture, but still functioning as normal subatomic particles. This Investiture would be still of each individual Shard, even though the atom as a whole would be of Harmony. · The reactivity of harmonium follows the trend of alkali metals, but would be enhanced due to an additional electron shielding factor that would come from the repulsion of Ruin particles and Preservation particles, lowering the ionization energy and increasing reaction rates. · The alkali-metal behavior of Harmonium would come from the imbalance between the two Shards, the extra piece of Ruin. It would follow the orbital structure of cesium (atomic number 55), with one electron in each filled orbital from each Shard. The single valence electron would be an extra Ruin electron. · I’d like to say that each harmonium atom (cesium-133, the only stable isotope) is a combination of a lerasium atom and an atium atom, which would make atium = nickel (28) and lerasium = cobalt (27). However, I can’t get the neutron math to add up. It’s possible that the nucleus looks different, that the stability of harmonium is different because of the competing Investiture in the nucleus. This gets into physics, not chemistry, so I’m not equipped to dig deeper into this idea. So, if you understand that, great. Head on down the page to my conclusions, to see what I’ve thought of as implications of this. If you didn’t (which I assume is the majority), let’s do a quick* chemistry lesson. (For those who have actually studied chemistry, be aware this explanation will be pop science. Like one of my professors used to say, all explanations of chemistry are lies, and we just learn slightly smaller lies the farther and farther we go.) Chemistry of Alkali Metals What are atoms? Elements (like copper, oxygen, or chlorine) are made of fundamental particles called "atoms." These atoms interact with one another, bonding together to form more complicated substances (from water to gasoline to medicinal compounds). Different atoms will behave in different ways, based on the number of subatomic particles they’re comprised of. All atoms have dense nucleus, made of protons and neutrons, surrounded by a cloud of electrons. The number of protons defines the element: any atom with one proton is hydrogen, any one with six protons is oxygen, any one with 55 protons is cesium. Chemical reactions are largely driven by the transfer of electrons from one atom or group of atoms to another. How do electrons behave? Electrons are attracted to the nucleus through the electromagnetic force, pulling together the negative charge of an electron and the positive charge of the protons. But electrons aren't like planets in a solar system, just floating wherever they feel like. When they surround a nucleus, they order themselves into levels, filling from the lowest level (closest to the nucleus) and going up. For chemical reactions, only electrons in the outermost level will be involved; anything in a lower level that has been completely filled will not react. In chemical reactions, atoms will trade or share electrons until every atom involved has a filled outermost shell (either by getting more electrons or getting rid of some of theirs), since a filled shell is the most thermodynamically stable. That's how the periodic table of elements is arranged; elements in a column all have the same number of electrons in their outermost level (called 'valence electrons'), so they will all behave in a similar fashion. If they have an almost-full shell, they will be very reactive, like chlorine and oxygen. If their shell is filled, they will be nonreactive, like helium. The reactive properties of ettmetal match the first column of the periodic table, the 'alkali metals.' They all have a single valence electron, and they want to get rid of it like none other, so they'll take any opportunity to do so. They are metals, but they will react very violently with water. Other alkali metals you may have heard of are sodium, lithium, potassium, which are not found in nature in their pure forms because of how reactive they are. How can we free up that electron? Pure alkali metals would like to pass off their single valence electron to another molecule or atom, which would be more thermodynamically stable with it. However, to get rid of this electron in the first place, there is some energy required to ‘knock it loose.’ It's sort of like trying to launch a rocket from earth; you need a bunch of energy to overcome gravity, but once you're out in space, you can go wherever you want. Unlike that rocket, though, there are many different forces acting on an electron. Each proton is pulling on that valence electron, trying to keep it there. But, believe it or not, as you take alkali metals with more protons, the total force on a valence electron electron goes down, and they get easier to remove. Why is this? Two reasons: first, the electron is farther away from the nucleus. But, more relevant to this discussion, the lower shells filled with electrons are also pushing the valence electron out. This concept is called "electron shielding.” Negative charges repulse other negative charges, so when there are a ton of electrons between the valence electron and the nucleus, they will cancel out some of the pull of the protons. Since the electrons in heavier alkali metals aren’t held as strongly, reactions happen faster, and release their energy much quicker. Harmonium reacts even quicker than cesium, the highest alkali metal that's not a pretend element (another of my old professor's fun sayings about transuranic elements). That means its electron is even easier to remove, and it reacts even faster. Realmatics of God Metals How does this play with Realmatics? Finally, we get back to what Brandon said about the opposite forces within the same atom. An atom with protons and electrons comprised of Ruin would behave like a normal atom; no unusual interactions. Same for an atom completely of Preservation. But mix and match, and Preservation electrons would push on the Ruin electrons, giving extra electron shielding. And the Preservation protons would also push on the Ruin electrons (partially countering their normal electromagnetic attraction), reducing the force holding them in. By making it easier to remove harmonium’s valence electron, the rate at which it reacts with other atoms will increase. Which is what we’ve seen. Why does Harmonium have 1 valence electron in the first place? Lastly, I think that harmonium needs to be an alkali metal and have that 1 extra valence electron because of the balance between Ruin and Preservation. In a filled electron shell, each electron has a pair. I think each electron pair contains one Preservation electron and 1 Ruin electron. But, here's the problem: there's extra Ruin. Some of Preservation is in mankind, so if he doesn't physically manifest this extra Ruin somewhere, he won't be in balance. So, he throws in an extra Ruin proton and Ruin electron; this very reactive valence electron. As long as he manifests enough harmonium, the extra Ruin is there in the environment. Brandon has referred to ettmetal as super-cesium. That could be interpreted as a magically stabilized francium (which isn't stable, and doesn't exist outside of a few moments in a laboratory), but I think he means it's a super-reactive cesiuim. Cesium has 55 protons and 55 electrons; harmonium would have 27 of Preservation and 28 of Ruin. The Invested protons, neutrons, and electrons change the atomic behavior of Harmonium, which is why it isn’t exactly cesium. In Conclusion So, I learned in my discussion with Brandon that 1) the pieces of Ruin and Preservation are distinct in harmonium and 2) the battle between them causes ettmetal to be highly reactive. I think I’ve identified the specific mechanism by which this happens. It does, however, carry some interesting implications that I’m still working out. Let me share some of them with you; feel free to comment. · If there’s a repulsion between electrons, there must also be one for protons and neutrons. This would make Harmonium’s nucleus more unstable. Although Brandon said it is not a nuclear reaction that we’ve seen, it may just require the proper catalyst, so I would not be surprised to see an ettmetal nuclear bomb at some point. · If harmonium is cesium made out of Investiture, then maybe it is a fusion (the scientific term, combining the nuclei) of a lerasium atom and an atium atom. That would mean that lerasium would have 27 Preservation protons, and behave like cobalt. Atium would have 28 Ruin protons, and behave like nickel. However, although the electrons add up, the neutrons will not. (The number of neutrons doesn’t affect how an atom behaves chemically, but it can make it radioactive, which will change it into a different element.) There’s only one stable isotope of cesium, and one of cobalt, and doing the math doesn’t yield one of nickel’s stable isotopes. It’s possible the stability of harmonium is different, because of the extra forces between Ruin’s and Preservation’s protons and neutrons, somehow requiring fewer neutrons for stability. But, this isn’t anything I’ve studied as a chemist; it’s in the realm of physicists. · Because there are individual elements of Ruin and Preservation, this doesn’t bode well for Harmony as a whole. Sure, on a macroscopic scale, there’s balance. But it could mean that, in each of his individual interactions with people, he might go back and forth between two extremes. It also makes me wonder how easily Harmony could Splinter back into two Shards (although we do know that at this point, if Sazed died, he would drop a single powerful Shard.) · Ettmetal reacts, which means its transferring part of itself to water. Once the electrons are gone, they ain’t coming back. Atium burns and regenerates; how would a harmonium oxide make its way back to continue the cycle? It seems like Investiture is lost to the environment when ettmetal reacts with water. · People have extra Preservation, but if ettmetal is Harmony’s way of sequestering his extra Ruin, then as it continues to react with water, the extra Ruin could end up transferring to the environment. Man vs Nature is a very big concept in sci-fi, so maybe it could come up in Mistborn Era 4, that the planet itself is of Ruin while its inhabitants are of Preservation. Just spitballing here. · How do other god metals work? If they’re elements made out of Investiture particles, then can Shardblades rust? Or maybe are they silver made out of Honor’s Investiture, which is why they won’t react? (Unfortunately, Element 10 is neon, which is not a metal.) But that wouldn’t give them the structural integrity they need (even if they don’t physically do the cutting, a pure silver sword would be deformed in a duel). Does each Shard make a different metal for its god metal, or could it make any metal it wanted? · Are all physical forms of Investiture (the mists, the liquid Shardpools, Stormlight) similarly constructed? Maybe the mists were composed of two Preservation hydrogens and one Preservation oxygen? Are Perpendicularities just Invested mercury? The reactivity of ettmetal shows that, at the very least, the solid form of one Shard’s power manifests below the atomic level; does every solid form of Investiture do so, as well? Uh… In Conclusion, Again Okay, I’m done for real this time. I know people have proposed similar things (like atium is Ruin’s electrum) based on allomantic behavior, and I didn’t like them at the time (the ideas and logic behind them, not the people), but the way Brandon spoke of Harmonium makes me think that approach was on the right track. However, it’s on a more fundamental level: the very protons and electrons are either of Ruin or Preservation, and when you combine the two, you get a very reactive metal. I’ve tried to completely explain the chemistry of the situation, but it does dive pretty deep at times. If you’d like to know more about that, please just let me know. I didn’t bring out any graphs to show exactly why electron shielding increases reaction rate, but I can if anyone’s interested. I will also try to get the actual transcript to post it. I’m confident in the broad strokes of my conversation with Brandon, that Harmonium is extra reactive because of the opposing Shards it’s made up of, but I do think that having his exact words would have preempted some objections that I’m sure are coming. I’m just not patient enough. 07/19/17 - Made slight changes to the text to (hopefully) clarify what is canon and what is supposition on my part. To emphasize, it is not confirmed that harmonium is unbalanced towards Ruin. What is canon is it behaves like an alkali metal. If my supposition is true, that each electron is either of Ruin or Preservation, then the idea of unbalanced harmonium naturally follows.

Q: What do you call a fight between to coinshots? A: A boxing match!

You guys can upvote me for that here, if you want. You know, or not.

Shallan: Whenever I draw, you keep on showing up in my pictures. Are you a Cryptic, or are you just constantly on my mind? Kaladin: You're so happy that you remind my of my dead little brother. Even when it rains. Lopen: I'd give up my other arm for you, gancho! Moash: I'd assassinate the king of Alethkar for you, babe. Adolin: *Insert generic pick-up line here*

Hey, did you see Vasher? Who Zahel you talking about?

Quoting someone:

I was with a group of people talking with Brandon for two hours in a hallway, and it was fantastic. A lot of what he said was awesome, and I retained some of it, but it would take some time to say it all specifically. Here are some random details. - Dalinar's wife isn't some minor character who's been mentioned somewhere else. She's someone completely new. - In one of the Interludes in Oathbringer, there's a character reading a bad romance novel, and he went nuts with the purple prose. - He hates the Hobbit movies. - His youngest son, Oliver, watches a ton of YouTube videos, and now believes that when you stop playing with something, you have to give the "Please like and subscribe" spiel, so he does that all the time. - He says the secret to approaching an editor is to ask them about what books they're editing, then pitch your own book at the end of the conversation. When he sold his first book, he spent three hours talking to the editor before he pitched his book at the end. - There are beta readers who are only just realizing in Oathbringer that Kaladin has depression. - His cat has a really long name. It starts with Pine Cone, and that's what they can the cat, but I think the full name is Pine Cone Neko Hello Kitty Chan Sparkle Oliver Sanderson. - I mentioned asking him about the Shardfork in the AMA, and he said, "Oh, so you're the Shardfork guy. You put that idea in my head." He said that he'll draw a fork in my copy of Arcanum Unbounded. - He said that foreshadowing is actually one of the easiest parts. His sweet spot for twists is 1/3 people guessing it ahead of time and most of the rest figuring it out on the page before. - Sixth of the Dusk is roughly 200 years after everything else in the Cosmere. - When working on Wheel of Time, he asked how Morgase was pronounced, and the two people he was talking to disagreed on how Robert Jordan pronounced it. Also, he had recordings of all the pronunciations sent to him, which he put on his iPod and shuffled with his songs. - He mentions fan theories and drawing the lines before fanservice when taking over The Wheel of Time. He mentioned that a lot of people wanted to see Narg, and he could have put him in there, but he didn't, obviously. But lots of people were asking about various things like sideways gateways, and he thought, "If 9 out of 10 fans are thinking about it, somebody in world should think about it." He gave my Shardfork as an example. - Sazed counting down the religions in The Hero of Ages wasn't originally there, but he added it to give the character a sense of progression. He says that negative progression can be as interesting as positive progression. - He finds Indian names difficult. - Another author, Kay Hawkins, showed up to give him a copy of her first book, The Stars Will Rise. She said that she met him earlier when she was going through a rough time, and now she's better and has her book out. All in all, it was great talking to him. He's really nice, and I would recommend. My brother is going to be there with people playing Magic with him tomorrow. I don't play Magic, but I'll be hanging around there.

Q: How do you get a one-armed herdazian out of a tree? A: Wave! Disclaimer: This joke was told by Brandon to a fan at a signing, so it's not originally mine.

In the hopes that this hasn't already been done before, here goes: On the many different Shardworlds of the Cosmere, the ways people are named are vastly different. It made me wonder what my name or anyone else's name might be on one of these Shardworlds. So how about we use what we know about ourselves to figure out what our Cosmere names would be on these different Shardworlds for funzies (or just make up if we can't figure them out)? What we know: In the case of many of the trappers on First of the Sun, they are named after the order of birth in their family (first name) and the time of day in which they were born (Last Name). In the Vorin cultures of Roshar, most names are designed to be symmetrical in some way as a form of holiness, because Vorin people associate symmetry with the Almighty. In the Unkalaki culture of Roshar, names are long and kind of hard to say, seeing as they are short poems in the Horneater language that are also used as names. In the Shin culture of Roshar, a person's last name depends on their gender, making it so that if you're male, your last name is your father's name, connecting to your first name with the word "son", and if you're female, your last name is your mother's name, connecting to your first name with the word "daughter". And if you don't feel comfortable with your parent's name being part of your own, you can repeat the "son/daughter" part again and place your grandparent's name after it. In the Korathi culture of Sel, names are based on Aons; sometimes a particular one that goes with a person's personality or characteristics. In the case of many of the Returned on Nalthis, their names are compound words given to them by their worshipers that seem to go along with the personality and appearance of the Returned. In the Forests of Hell on Threnody (and in the Threnodite System in general), names can range from old-fashioned-to-modern everyday names we have like William, Harold, and Earnest to foreign-sounding names likes Dob, Theopolis, and Sebruki to specific attributes that involve sorrow or grieving like Silence, Lamentation, Elegy, and Purity. It seems you really could go anywhere with Threnodite names. Knowing this, feel free to try to figure out or create your Cosmere-based names and then explain why that's your name! (I'll be using a bit of actual information about myself, but there's no reason for you to do anything like that. If you don't feel comfortable sharing information about yourself, feel free to make things up. I just don't want people to feel like I'm trying to glean personal information from them.) Using myself as an example: First of the Sun trapper: Second of the Afternoon (Because it relates my family placement and time of birth) Vorin: Ianai (Because it's a symmetrical palindrome similar to my actual name) Unkalaki: Mukurakalutiatu'inamoroku'atakumu (Because I just made that up on the spot and it sounded legit Unkalaki to me) Shin: Ian-son-son-Blaine (Because of my grandpa's name, though I could use my dad's if I wanted) Korathi: Saode (Because of the Aon "Sao", which means intelligence and learning, which are qualities I relate to) Returned: Smileseeker (Because I look for happiness and goodness in the world around me) Threnodite: Requiem Carlton ("Requiem" because I love music and a requiem is a sad, grieving song, and "Carlton" because it's old-fashioned)

A koloss walks into a bar, the bartender asks: "Why so blue?" Why did the kandra hesitate to take a dog's body? -It gave him paws. Tineyes are funny, but it's a slow burn.

Why isn't "Khriss brought the gun from Taldain" an option considering there are guns on Taldain when she was on it in White Sand? Baon in her entourage was even carrying one at that point.

Last night at a signing I got the chance to ask Brandon if the reason Nazh's knife doesn't glow to Kelsier's eyes was because it wasn't made on Scadrial or if it was some property of the specific metal it was made from. The exact quote I was wondering about: I didn't even get to finish the question before he got a grin on his face and I knew I was about to get a RAFO. That got me thinking and unfortunately I didn't ask a followup question that might have made this theory stronger ('Does he want his knife back?') but alas, this theory only occurred to me today. What theory you ask? That Nazh's knife is Awakened, a Type IV BioChromatic Entity. This might explain why the knife doesn't glow to Kelsier, because it's already heavily Invested with something he has no Connection to and can't process. We also have Word of Brandon that Nightblood would be one of the hardest things to affect with Steelpushing owing to how heavily invested it is, so there's already confirmed 'interference' of a sort between Allomancy and Awakened metal. That however isn't the reason I think Nazh has an Awakened knife, just the reasoning I applied to my original question after the brainwave hit me. The serious evidence I think we might have for this theory is hidden in the New Ascendancy broadsheets in Bands of Mourning. One of the advertisements there reads "Do your metal tools speak to you? Your neighbors probably don't want to hear about it. But WE do! Visit 27 Ralen Place. Ask for K or N. Bring the talking metal with you." Obviously, Khriss and Nazh think there may be Awakened metal on Scadrial at this point in time. I can't see this as being a question about hemalurgic spikes because while one of those might have been repurposed as a tool, it would only 'speak' to you if you stuck yourself with it. So, Awakened object on Scadrial. The only such thing we know about is Nightblood and while it might plausibly find its way to Scadrial (based on Era 2 Mistborn happening between Stormlight 5 and 6, so for all we know it's no longer on Roshar by that point) it could never be mistaken for a tool. It's a sword, it's really good at the stabby slashy stuff but you can't imagine building anything with it. But a knife? Now that could be mistaken for a tool. I think that Nazh wants that knife back and is hoping that somone on Scadrial has found it or can give him clues to its whereabouts. Now, we know that the knife was left in the Cognitive Realm when Kelsier Ascended but Nazh doesn't necessarily knoiw that and we have no idea what happened to the knife later. If Nazh knows Kelsier is now running around the Physical Realm again, he might also suspect that the knife came with him, or that it was retreived from the Cognitive Realm some other way in the past three centuries and is on Scadrial waiting to be found. So, thoughts?

I had an idea on Ishar's insanity earlier. He threatened to "destroy each and every [KR], unless they agreed to be bound by precepts and laws." Now that the Recreance has happened, his addled mind may consider that as the KR not agreeing to be bound by the Ideals, and he needs to keep his word to destroy them and fabricated an idea that Nalan would believe so that Ishar could use him as the instrument of carrying out his threat.

This night I had an idea but I need some little extra information about how I got to this conclusion: We know that every Breath carries with itself a shade of deity and places the owner a step a bit closer to the godhood. This manifest itself in every passive benefit of the Heightenings, in this bonuses there is the Infinite lifespan. Now I took this concept and I reverted it. Instead of coming closer to a target (in this case, from Human to god), I considerate someone who go farther from his own origin (from Human to .....something else, not necessary an improvement) and in the end it's quite the same thing, just the semantic changes. My point is: The Soul knows how old are you, matches your age with your species (probably through everyone's Connection to "Humanity" or the "Perfect Human") and in the end force you to aging and die with the Human's criteria. But what would happen if someone goes Spiritually far from Humanity? I talk about beings like a Highest Heightening People, Inquisitor, Mistwrath-Kandra and Hoid. It's possible that their Souls simply know their actual ages but they are less bound to the "humanity check" than a fully human is. I want to remember that almost all this beings have an altered lifespan (yes also an Inquisitor lives longer than a Human being). It's possible that my insomnia made me come to a wonderful idea for once.

So, we have a small group of cosmere fans on fb and we were talking about ships and all, and one thing let to another and we came up with weird shardic realizations. A little NSFW, so putting up a warning. And if such posts are not allowed in this forum, by all means let me know or delete it. It's chill. Endowment would be the hottest of all shards because she is obviously well 'endowed'. If Devotion and Dominion were a couple, It would be pretty safe to assume that they were into bondage and stuff. If human x spren is possible, then shallan is the luckiest teenager in Roshar. Cuz pattern vibrates. If there is a survival shard, and the shard holder was female, it is very possible that "there is always another secret" refers to Kelsier and The shard holder's children. There were other way more nsfw stuff, but I am kinda hesitant to put them here :"D

Looks like DMG, the company that recently acquired cinematic rights to the Cosmere, is doing something interesting - they are using virtual reality to pitch the idea to investors. Now, before we get too excited, we are not talking about DMG making a VR movie or anything like that. But they are creating a 15 minute Stormlight pitch, which Brandon describes as: The VR pitch won't be available to us for quite some time, but eventually it will be, and I think we'll turn that day into a holiday. A holy day, even. All in all, pretty exciting stuff.

You don’t want to play this game. No really, there are plenty of far better games to play than this one. Games that take place in the Cosmere, or Starwars, or I hear that Herowannabe is making an MLP game? Seriously, that game will be a lot funner than this one. This one doesn’t have Lightsabers, or Ponies, or even killing! It just has some namby-pamby sleep sticks and weird looking glasses. But, since I can’t discourage you from playing this game, I might as well tell you something about it. My Country, Nallhalla, has been infiltrated by Hushlander Spies. They’re still following Biblioden’s teachings, about how the world is scary, so we should ignore it, and not learn anything. They’re trying to put you to sleep. That’s not a Euphemism, they’re literally going to put all dissenters into Coma’s. But hey, as long as you’re woke, they can’t win. But, they’re not going to lose unless you can capture them, or put them in coma’s. Coma’s are a *very* civilized way of fighting. Much better than the barbarous guns and swords that can only kill people. So, you know. Get your friends together, hold them down, and zap up with a sleep spear. Or just punch them really hard. Or they’ll do the same to you. Luckily for us Free Worlders, we’ve got help. Those rascally, Devilishly handsome Smedry’s are on our side! They’re all talented, and deserve to rule the world, but they’re nice and don’t. Some of them can Dance really badly (I once saw Folsom punch a guy into a Coma on accident once.) While others can do things like trip, or look ugly. Oh! And we have a bunch of knights on our side! An honourable order of Paladins, tinted blue, who are extremely lawful: The Sapphire Guard The Knights of Crystalia! They’re lead by an incorruptible council of three, who can legally capture and hold people for indefinite periods of time. And there’s absolutely no way any of them are Working for the Librarians. Nope! All safe roles them. Definitely. . . Anyway, our last resource are the defectors, who were won over by our beauty and grace, and decided that they wanted to live here in Nallhalla, without elevators, or complex machinery, or video games, or, convenience stores. . . Man, I kind of want to defect to the Librarians now. But Smedries would never defect, so i can’t. Right? *Off-stage whispering* Oh! I’m being told I can defect. That’s cool. Uh, I just remembered, I have to go, uh, bake a casserole, yes. I’ll definitely be back later, and not at the head of a librarian Army. Bye! With love, Sabaneta Smedry Actual Rules: Player List: Bridge Boy (Squirrelmort) A Squirrel wearing glasses and wizard robes. Magestar (Ratsegam the Bold) A man who was Tagged Seonid (Shem Smedry) The master of the Archives. Cloudjumper (Fodder) A hard to distinguish man Ecthelion III (Aaron) A very contradictory man Yitzi2 (Jack) A Videogame Engineer Ornstein (Pavelock) A Physiologist who trains locks. Herowannabe (Herbert) a Micropachycephalosaurus (type of dinosaur) scholar who delights in regaling people with obscure trivia, usually about his own species. DroughtBringer (Master Namer Smedry) A Smedry with a talent for not being around when needed. BrightnessRadiant (Jemma) A Completely not Evil Bibliophile Randuir (Rand) Not the Chosen One of an Ancient world ending Prophesy. TheMightyLopen (Celica) A Seemingly Naive little girl. OrlokTsubodai (Orlok) An average citizen who does his best to ignore politics. Queensteph (Alex) A Girl who despises, and is despised by, Librarians Sart (Thomas) An Occulator with a n extensive collection. _stick_ (Stick) A Mokia native. Unodus (Agent Deuce) A detective, skilled at sleuthing out criminals. Elbereth (Ella) A cute, innocent little girl) Cluny the Scourge (Cluny) A collector of books and Lard Spectator List: (Btw, Spectators have no influence on the game, and cannot be targeted.) Alcatraz Mr. Sanderson himself Little Wilson Signups end: Quick Links: FAQ/Rule Clarifications:

I chanced upon this on tumblr that contained a segment of an interview Brandon did in Bulgaria last month and during one of the questions, the interviewer asked " If you are entrusted with a shard of Adonalsium, which shard?" and Brandon replied "maybe Ingenuity" which is not one of the 10 shards currently known to us. I'm not sure if he was just saying a quality that would suit himself or he accidentally/intentionally released a new shard name. The link to the video and tumblr is: http://imaginarycosmere.tumblr.com/ & https://www.facebook.com/Ozone.bg/videos/10155148570203320/ (the question is asked around 16:15) What do you guys think? new shard or not? and cheers

I've lived with moderate anxiety most of my life, in recent years it has scaled up somewhat and led into bouts of depression. It hasn't been too serious, but although I can live with it, it definitely interferes in my day-to-day ability to do the stuff I need to do. I only recently sought professional help and began seeing a therapist. She asked me to talk about how I cope with these feelings when they get bad, and I was honest with her and told her that I essentially just distract myself from them, usually by reading. I've found that reading fiction, particularly fantasy, transports me from whatever is giving me anxiety and lets the feeling pass. It lets me feel intense emotions when depression is keeping me from feeling them in my own life. I fully expected to be advised against this, to be told that distracting myself from my feelings wasn't a legitimate strategy, that I needed to face reality. But my therapist actually said she thought that was a good, and common strategy that she hears all the time. And that if its working, keep doing it! I'm not saying reading fantasy is a cure-all for these problems, but I really like the idea that it can be an effective coping strategy (among other efforts I'm making toward being mentally well). Stories have been such a huge component of my inner life ever since I was a kid, and the fact that they are so healing for me now makes me smile. Anyways, just felt like tossing this into the internet void in case anyone else has had the same experience and wants to share about it. And love and well wishes to anyone who is dealing with these issues

Brandon is now running a Magic tournament, and the Winners will be in Oathbringer. I'm not in it, because I don't play Magic, but I'm hanging around because my brother is there. EDIT: My brother asked for Pink Pinkness's power, and Brandon didn't have one. I asked if I could make something up and it would be canon. He said okay, so I said she could distort your vision so that you can only see pink things, and nothing else is visible to you. That's canon now. (It was a group effort, though.) EDIT 2: I asked him about the Weeping. By the end of the Weeping, all spheres are dun, so there's no Stormlight. This would have been a problem for the Radiants, so did they do anything special to get Stormlight. He said that with the information I have now, there would be weeks where they would be without Stormlight. I asked if the Highstorms and Weeping used to be different, with the bells of Kharbranth as evidence. He RAFOed me.

The reading was cool! I didn't record it (I might have if I had space on my phone), but I'll give you the gist of it. Also, at the signing, he answered my question and my brother's question at the signing. Mine relates to the reading, while my brother's is about Reckoners. My question: My brother's question:

Hi all! I've been casually browsing the forum for a while now and I figure it's well beyond due that I make an official introductory post. I was introduced to the Cosmere this year thanks to a couple of very enabling friends with an Audible account and good international shipping. I haven't been able to stop since I started reading a couple of months ago -- I just have to finish WoR and start Elantris My partner and I are both working our way through the series right now and, in talking, realized that neither of us can pick even our top five favourite characters. I love them all too much! Who are your favourites?

So I have wondered for a while what "The Evil" on Threnody is that ravages the Homeland and first banished the people of that world to the so-called "Forests of Hell". Even in Arcanum Unbounded, Khriss (who seems to know a LOT about the Cosmere and the Shards) states that very little is known of it by anyone. But then, after reading the other things mentioned in Arcanum Unbounded related to Threnody, a theory formed in my head that seems completely logical to me but is very likely a RAFO kind of thing to ask. So here's the backstory: According to the essay written by Khriss/Sanderson in Arcanum Unbounded, Ambition inhabited the Threnodite System shortly after the Shattering, but was eventually found there by Odium, who was on his vendetta to become the most powerful being in the Cosmere. The two Shards clashed violently throughout the three Realms, and their epic battle resulted in the Splintering of Ambition and the death of its vessel. The entire system was affected by it, particularly on the planet Threnody, which has two main continents. The smaller one consists of the Forests of Hell, the normal people, and ghostly creatures called the "shades" while the larger one (the Homeland) is dominated by the Evil. The theory: As seen in the form of the shades, Cognitive Shadows of people exist on Threnody due to the way their world works. What I wonder is if people come back as shades after death, why not a Shard of Adonalsium itself as well? My theory, to put it plain and simple, is that the Evil is the Cognitive Shadow, or shade, of Ambition itself. A Cognitive Shadow made from an entire Shard is not unprecedented, mind you. Take the Stormfather on Roshar, for example. After Odium Splintered the Shard Honor and killed its vessel as he had done to Ambition (and others), an enormously powerful Cognitive Shadow formed out of Honor in the form of its spren, the Stormfather. I believe that the Evil on Threnody is the same thing in regard to Ambition as the Stormfather is to Honor: a really big, really dangerous Cognitive Shadow. After all, what do the shades do on Threnody? They attack those who break the Simple Rules, devouring their souls and dissolving their bodies. Who's to say that the Evil, as a Cognitive Shadow of Ambition, isn't just a shade like all the others? It was a person who died, and on Threnody, those come back as the shades. But seeing as this one was so powerful (a storming Shard of Adonalsium), then wouldn't that make it an immensely powerful and really huge shade that can consume an entire continent and feast upon the souls of men in multitudes (as as it is described doing in Arcanum Unbounded)? So there's my theory. The Evil is Ambition's shade. What do all of you think?

Marsh Expectation: Infiltrate Inquisitors. Reality: Get spiked and BECOME an inquisitor. Oh the ironeyes.

Related SMBC:

OP: Taln, is that you?

Pick up lines: Are you a brass compunder? Because you are hot. Are you tapping chromium? Because you are lucky to meet me. Do you want to see passion spren? Are you rioting my attraction? Q: What is the difference between a chasm fiend and Sadeas? A: One is an evil, murderous insect, the other one is Sadeas.

Temporary image dump until I get a chance to fix the first post:

LG33: Term 2, Month 2 - Studying and Power Glavion was in the library, as he always was, working and studying. Always wanting more knowledge, more time to study. That was the most important thing in his life, after all. Studying and learning. He had found another report on the Skindancers. This one was a bit more useful than the last. He hadn’t gone out into the world to share its contents yet, but perhaps once he needed food again he’d go and share a few potential signs for Skindancers with those he thought he could trust. He strolled through the Archives, a long arm deftly picking out books from this side or that, stacking them into his arms until he had a big enough pile to leave them on the floor to pick up later when he finished his stroll. He had wandered further than usual today, and wasn’t in fact sure what area he was in, except that the books on either side of him were either travelogues on distant lands or books covering obscure fruits. Then he saw something different. A high-level book on Naming? That was news… He didn’t think he’d entered the banned books section, but not every banned book was there? But think how useful it could be, how much he would learn. He set down his current stack of books and reached up for that one, opening it. His eyes skimmed the contents of a random page somewhere in the middle. Glavion’s eyes rolled up in his head until they only showed white. Slowly, he collapsed to the ground, book still in his hand, mercifully closed for the sake of those Archive students who found him. He did not speak again. William Opuscule knew what he wanted, when he came to the University. Mastery. Power. That was the meaning of life, he thought, while listening to the Chancellor’s speech. To be able to control the world around him. Change the world how he felt like changing it. He threw himself into his studies ferociously, made key friends, was doing everything right. Ignoring Naming and the other arcane arts beyond the bare minimum, of course. They made no sense, and were likely just tricks to dissuade new students. But the others… He even tried approaching Chancellor Varda once, though she was not particularly pleased with the interruption to her work. He was almost there. So close to being elevated, one more step on his way to Mastery. “Isn’t it a pity you’ll never be able to achieve those dreams,” a voice said as he studied in his room, daydreaming about power. He started. “What? Who’s there? And how did you-” he stopped himself, as a mocking laugh filled the room. “How could you have wanted power? How could you want anything? You don’t understand this University at all. Thinking Sympathy is a trick?” The sympathy lamp in his room went out, shadows in the corners fading into complete darkness, silence within silence and no sound of footsteps even as the voice from everywhere increased in volume. “You’re insane, William. Just like the poor students in the Crockery. You, having power? You don’t have anything. Nothing but a few empty dreams and your mind.” He felt… something, and then it faded in an instant with his dreams of power. “And now, you don’t even have that much.” Sloan entered the room gracefully, examining the long, crescent-shaped table in front of her. She’d never been on the Horns before, and it was certainly new. “Sloan, Student of the University,” she was announced to the Chancellor and the Masters. She walked up to stand in the assigned spot, smiling. It was either that or tremble so much she couldn’t do anything, after all, so she treated this like any performance. Smile, and keep dancing, and no one will ever know you’re wrong. “You have been charged with gathering other students together into an unsanctioned society and creating a ‘flash mob’ in the center of the University. Do you deny these accusations?” “No, Chancellor,” Sloan said softly. “I do not.” “May I ask why you would do such a thing?” Varda asked in exasperation. “Why not, Chancellor? It entertains them, and they enjoyed it.” “It also pulled them away from their studies and disrupted life here, and is unfitting for the students of the greatest center of learning in the world.” Varda stopped her protest. “You are hereby charged with Undignified Mischief, and must publicly apologise for your actions before the school.” “...yes, Chancellor.” Sloan curtseyed carefully, for exactly the proper time, and left the room. “E’lir Locke Alveron.” He entered confidently and nodded to the Chancellor and the Masters, just deeply enough to be properly deferential. “You have been charged with causing distress to your fellow students and attempting to convince them of your own apparently bizarre beliefs.” “Yes, Chancellor,” he responded. “I had no intention to cause distress, of course, but is not the purpose of the University to develop our own beliefs through learning in each field and to spread them as befits a center of learning?” “True…” Varda said slowly. “What beliefs, specifically, were you spreading?” “Nothing terribly ‘bizarre’, as you so kindly put it. Merely that we students are the future of this University and of the world, are we not? And so we need to work towards our future however we can, to become the best generation under the best leaders of our time.” “A remarkably reasonable ideal, given what I’d heard.” “Blatant lies, to tarnish my reputation and try to defame me,” Locke dismissed. Varda smiled. Locke had dangerous qualities, perhaps, but if he was promoting the University and studying, perhaps he was worth keeping around for the moment. “Very well. You may go, Re’lar Locke.” A raised eyebrow was his only show of surprised. He inclined his head again, a bit more deeply, and exited as confidently as he’d entered. “E’lir Dele Fajro and Student Esuan.” “Dele, again?” Varda said. “It’s barely been a month!” Dele looked down sheepishly. “Sorry, Chancellor…” “Very well. You are both charged with…” Varda examined the paper in front of her more closely. “Creating a great array of… some sort of device, which you then lit on fire in order to…” “Create pretty patterns, Chancellor!” Dele interjected. “See, we made a great wheel out of wood and metal and some other interesting things and set it up so it’d make a giant circle of flames shooting upwards, and then we put it out in the middle of the square and lit it from a safe distance with Sympathy and boom!” “A leaf then blew through it, caught on fire, and hit another student.” “Well, yes, we didn’t think of that. But still. It was so cool! Varda looked at her for a long moment. “You are both charged with Reckless Use of Sympathy, and will receive ten lashes at noon, tomorrow.” “But-” “No.” There is a meaning of life, Balthazar Myrrh mused as he stared across the river, leaning on the light rail that separated him from a watery death - or, at least, a rather cold bath. “The meaning, of course, is to exist,” he said aloud to himself. It wasn’t exactly like anyone was listening, and he didn’t particularly care about madness at this point. “The most valuable thing in the world is existence, because without it we would have nothing else. The meaning of life is simply to exist, to go on about our lives not considering this and just living. The steps on the way to work or school, the scratching of our pen creating words which will outlive our existence, every little imprint we make to shape the world. Those are the meaning.” “Maybe,” a voice drawled behind him. “Or maybe it’s just death.” Balthazar froze and turned. “I don’t think so,” he replied as politely as he could. “What gain is caused by dying? Existence benefits the world, pushes it forward, advances it. Existing leaves the world different than it was when you entered. What does dying do?” He looked at the mercenary across from him, a stocky woman wearing a club. “But think about what they all have in common,” she argued. “Everyone dies.” “That doesn’t make it the meaning,” he noted. “Why not? It makes sense, doesn’t it?” She took out her club. “And who are you to be arguing with me, anyway? Just a little street rat?” “Um… no, I’m a student! A student of the University!” Balthazar said, desperately. He’d only been a student there for one term, but hopefully that would be enough… “Dressed like that?” the mercenary sneered. “Let me prove to you how the meaning of life is death.” He dodged her blow, but she wasn’t aiming for him. She knocked out a few feet of the rail behind him, the one protecting him from the river. He tried to run, but her second blow knocked him backwards, perfectly through the hole and down, and down, and down… He fell and sank like a stone, the encrusted mud from his clothing rising up around him and blinding him, so he couldn’t even open his eyes for a last glimpse of sunlight. He held his breath as long as he could, but the current was strong and he couldn’t surface. Eventually, he had to breathe, and seal the doom and the end of his existence, forever. Blackness. Paranoid King and Haelbarde went insane! Wilson was brought on the Horns and charged with Undignified Mischief! Burnt and Amanuensis were brought on the Horns and charged with Reckless Use of Sympathy! Orlok was brought on the Horns, but charges were dropped! Aonar, Arinian, Drake Marshall, Jondesu, Hemalurgic Headshot, The Only Joe, Orlok Tsubodai, and STINK were elevated! Darkness Ascendant was killed by a Mercenary! He was a Student! Also, someone used a name. Term 2, Month 2 has begun. You have 36 hours to send in all actions (Imre, role actions, impressing, lodging). Do not forget lodging orders. Player List 1. Queensteph - Vintish Noblewoman 2. Randuir (Telar Pike) - Yllish Commoner 3. Hemalurgic Headshot (Noremac Quwester) - Aturan Nobleman 4. Aonar (Aodhan Breacadh) - Edema Ruh 5. Wilson (Sloan Walker) - Cealdish Commoner 6. Straw (Medicus Novis) - Yllish Commoner 7. Paranoid King (William Opuscule) - Yllish Commoner Insane 8. Ornstein (John Springer) - Aturan Nobleman 9. Jondesu (Vell) - Yllish Commoner 10. Drake Marshall (Greyson) - Cealdish Commoner 11. Assassin in Burgundy (Jurdaan Longfell) - Yllish Commoner 12. Burnt Spaghetti (Dele Fajro) - Vintish Noblewoman 13. Orlok (Locke Alveron) - Cealdish Commoner 14. Magestar (Magestar) - Vintish Nobleman Insane 15. Alvron (Stryker Nox) - Cealdish Commoner 16. Arinian (Darian) - Aturan Nobleman 17. Stick (Stick) - Aturan NobleStick 18. Darkness Ascendant (Balthazar Myrrh) - Yllish Commoner Student 19. Cluny the Scourge (Cluny) - Aturan Nobleman 20. Silverblade (Ryth) - Cealdish Commoner Insane 21. Amanuensis (Esuan) - Yllish Commoner 22. BrightnessRadiant (Amelia) - Aturan Noblewoman 23. Eolhondras (Eolah) - Yllish Commoner 24. STINK - Yllish Commoner 25. Hael (Glavion) - Edema Ruh Insane 26. Sart (Titud) - Edema Ruh 27. Joe (Chalks) - Yllish Commoner

This is a favourite of mine. Along with

Q: What do you call an insect that eats metal? A: An aluminum gnat!

LG33: Term 3, Month 1 - Work Telar stood in the dark and cold, looking around him. He wasn’t even sure where he was now, and probably wouldn’t be able to do anything until morning. All he knew is that he’d followed… something… here, and then it had vanished without warning. He walked over to the nearest wall and slid down it. Seemed he had a lot of waiting to do… He slipped into thoughts of the past. The Chancellor’s speech, his work, the meaning of life. Perhaps his work, that which he created which no one else had thought of before - perhaps that was the meaning. He wasn’t sure. He’d have to consider it at length later, when he wasn’t freezing cold in a strange alley at night. He tried to doze off, but something more than the cold kept him awake. A sense of being watched. He suddenly started to full wakefulness and looked around. That was his last movement, but for falling to the ground. He gave a gasp, and then silence filled the night again. Varda was angry. “What did you boys think you were doing?” Medicus Novis, Greyson, and Darian looked at her with the same guilt. “We didn’t mean to, Chancellor, honestly,” Greyson said. “You didn’t mean to cause a student to die? You were the ones who led him down into the streets and left him there.” “It was just teasing him and making him a little scared,” Darian protested. “That may be true. I, unfortunately, can’t afford to believe that. Telar was found dead the next morning. There is absolutely no proof you didn’t have foreknowledge of what would happen. “I’m sorry, if you’re innocent. You are henceforth expelled from the University, and may never set foot on its grounds again after today.” William Opuscule glared at the bars. They were the obvious way to escape. Too obvious. No doubt they had been reinforced in some way. The walls and floor would be the same. The door? Well, maybe. He’d check that out later. It would have to be clear enough that the warden, as he’d taken to calling him, could get in with the food. Of course, he’d been told not to escape. But he figured that didn’t apply to him. That instruction really only applied to insane people. “And I’m not insane, right, Bart?” Yep. Well then. Out the ceiling he’d go. He grabbed the wooden spoon provided with his meal. “Care to give me a lift, Bart?” Yep. They’d told him that nobody had escaped from the crockery in over 20 years. That suited him just fine. It would mean that he’d be the first. *** William stumbled out onto the roof of the crockery. Hah! He raised a triumphal arm weakly. That’d show them. It had taken him over a month of scraping, but they didn’t pay attention to the ceiling as they had the walls. Once he’d gotten the rhythm down, it was easy enough. Now he just had to escape to… Hmm. The university suited him like nowhere else he’d known. “And plus,” he reasoned, “There’s things going on here. Real interesting things. No need to leave just yet. Maybe when things cool down, eh, Bart?” Yep. Randuir was killed! He was a Student! Arinian, Drake Marshall, and Straw were expelled! PK has broken out of the Crockery! (All credit goes to him with his writeup.) A name was used. Arinian, Aonar, BrightnessRadiant, Eolhondras, Joe, Jondesu, Orlok, and Ornstein were elevated! Term 3 has begun. You have 42 hours to submit all orders (actions, Imre, elevation points, etc). Player List 1. Queensteph - Vintish Noblewoman 2. Randuir (Telar Pike) - Yllish Commoner Student 3. Hemalurgic Headshot (Noremac Quwester) - Aturan Nobleman 4. Aonar (Aodhan Breacadh) - Edema Ruh 5. Wilson (Sloan Walker) - Cealdish Commoner 6. Straw (Medicus Novis) - Yllish Commoner 7. Paranoid King (William Opuscule) - Yllish Commoner 8. Ornstein (John Springer) - Aturan Nobleman 9. Jondesu (Vell) - Yllish Commoner 10. Drake Marshall (Greyson) - Cealdish Commoner 11. Assassin in Burgundy (Jurdaan Longfell) - Yllish Commoner 12. Burnt Spaghetti (Dele Fajro) - Vintish Noblewoman 13. Orlok (Locke Alveron) - Cealdish Commoner 14. Magestar (Magestar) - Vintish Nobleman Insane 15. Alvron (Stryker Nox) - Cealdish Commoner 16. Arinian (Darian) - Aturan Nobleman 17. Stick (Stick) - Aturan NobleStick 18. Darkness Ascendant (Balthazar Myrrh) - Yllish Commoner Student 19. Cluny the Scourge (Cluny) - Aturan Nobleman 20. Silverblade (Ryth) - Cealdish Commoner Insane 21. Amanuensis (Esuan) - Yllish Commoner 22. BrightnessRadiant (Amelia) - Aturan Noblewoman 23. Eolhondras (Eolah) - Yllish Commoner 24. STINK - Yllish Commoner 25. Hael (Glavion) - Edema Ruh Insane 26. Sart (Titud) - Edema Ruh 27. Joe (Chalks) - Yllish Commoner

I'm there at Ad Astra, and it seems pretty cool. I was on a elevator, and Brandon was walking by. I said, "Hey," because I wanted to greet him or something. Then my mom screamed, "BRANDON SANDERSON!" (She hasn't even read any of his books until The Emperor's Soul just today on the drive.) I'm still feeling ridiculously embarrassed.

I' m going to my school prom with my crush.............. I feel electrified.

This theory is unlikely. I explain myself Better: - Ambition & Odium fighted also on Therenody's system. But the actual killing blow happened somewhere else. - Indeed It's possible Ambition's Vessel could remain as Cognitive Shadow but: (1) Probabily Odium Will Simply crush him/her (2) this Shadow Will be not a relevant entity. Just someone Ghost, unable to influence directly the physical...If you read SH. Our Ambition's Vessel Shadow Will be like the SH's Main character (at least for half of the book) Don't make your knowledge of the Stormfather tricks you. Tanavast's Shadow merged with an already present "powerful spren" (the rider of the storm). He maybe gained some margin from the Shadow but the actual Power was already there. Little recap: In the end if Ambition's Vessel remained as Cognitive Shadow It would be not in Therenody and He Will be not a powerful entity at all.

Dalinar was into VR gaming before It was cool

Adolin's reputation for short-lived courtships should be familiar, but there is a curiosity in the WoK. A girl named Danlan Morakotha manages to catch his eye and quickly grows close to him. However, by the end of the book, she is still with him. The events at the end of the book are very fast-paced and focus on other things, but as far as we know, at the time that Adolin left to assault the tower with Sadeas, he was still courting her. Now, it could be because she has a higher tolerance than the other women of the court, or that Adolin has somehow managed to keep her on his own (with a bit of help from Navani, in the form of avramelons). However, there is a bit more to her that makes her suspicious. As noted by Dalinar, Danlan was barely in camp for a day before she started seeing Adolin. In fact, during the few hours that Dalinar was digging the latrine trench, Adolin had gone from merely being intrigued by Danlan and wondering if Malasha is the "one for him" to actively courting Danlan. Typical Adolin-paced relationships. But this courtship continues on far longer than normal. It took me awhile to come up with a rough estimate of how long this period is. But it is a week and a day from Dalinar's decision to abdicate (at the end of Part 2, when Danlan and Adolin had started courting) until the beginning of Part 4, when Dalinar and Sadeas start cooperating. It is an unspecified number of days from the beginning of this cooperation until the battle when Dalinar starts using Sadeas's bridges (and when Kaladin starts wearing Parshendi armor). I'm going to guess five or six days as a rough estimate. It is another ten days until the second Tower assault, and until the end of the book. So all in all, a bit more than three weeks. And with no hints of their relationship slackening. So what? Does this mean that Adolin has finally settled down with a girl? I doubt it. Danlan seems to have some special qualities about her. It appears that she is "just the type that attracted Adolin." And yet, she is intelligent enough to even impress Navani. She manages to land herself a job. Where? As a clerk, handling the spanreeds. The center of almost all private communication into and out of the Kholin camp. The perfect place for a spy. When she is having lunch with Adolin's companions, Danlan further distinguishes herself. She makes a point to point out that she hasn't been in the camps very long and is ignorant about the political situation there. When Adolin contradicts her and says that she is incredibly clever, she looked "oddly annoyed for a moment." Oddly annoyed, as if she were trying to hide her intelligence. She makes another statement, trying to get Adolin to talk to Dalinar about "relaxing all of these foolish restrictions our camp is under." It strikes me that this is not something that an intelligent girl would say. My guess is that she is trying to play off the stereotype of an average court-going girl who is more concerned with feasts and balls than anything else. Now, I am convinced that Danlan is not a simple lighteyed girl who happens to be dating Adolin. But what is her ultimate objective? I have some speculations, but not very much to back them up with. You can take your pick. 1. She is working for the Ghostbloods. 2. She is spying for Sadeas or another highlord. 3. She is a spy for Taravangian (who may or may not be a Ghostblood). If number 2 is true, then there is another, highly interesting possibility. In the whole Stormlight Archives, there will be ten books, with a different character as the focus of each one. Brandon has pondered on the possibility of doing another book on Kaladin, but that is not a certainty. So chances are, this will be the only book with Kaladin's flashbacks. Kaladin briefly mentions that when he was bummed after letting Tien die, a girl named Tarah saved him from working himself to death. And he has also apparently failed her in some significant way. Though she is only mentioned two times in the whole book, those passages hint at some greater significance. And yet, she is in the past. The opportunity for Kaladin's flashbacks has come and gone, but this significant character from Kaladin's past has not been explained. Although it's possible that her name could have been thrown in as added flavor, but I do not believe that Brandon would add something like that in there, knowing that she will remain unexplained. Tarah is going to come back. Two mysterious women, one from the past and one from the future. Both under the reign of Sadeas (I'm assuming that Tarah was somehow attached to Amaram's army, which is under Sadeas). There isn't much of a connection beyond these two points, but I find it an intriguing possibility nonetheless. There are a few minor problems with this particular option, though. 1. We don't know anything about Tarah. It is too soon to know for certain whether or not there is a possibility of Tarah and Danlan being the same person. 2. Amaram is coming to the Shattered Plains, but this becomes known around the time when Sadeas and Dalinar start working together--a week after Danlan first appears. This theory might have been more convincing if Danlan had arrived at the same time as Amaram. Of course, this can be explained away easily. The difference between an individual booking passage on a ship and an army marching overland, perhaps? Regardless, it is my belief that these women are significant, and that we will be seeing more of them in Book Two. For reference, the chapters that mentioned: Danlan: 28, 52, 58 Tarah: 62, 63 I had to pull from various places to get the timeline somewhat accurate. Out of curiosity, has anyone gone and made a timeline for the book yet?

I think the title references Derethil going to the top room of the tower and realizing the emperor is dead. It's Dalinar 'in the top room' discovering Honor is dead in that vision.

I...doubt that will just "go away" because that's not how it works in real life, either. It needs to be a major point, as it's central to his character, and would be actually really bad if it was just swept under the rug (or less focus was put on it)... In short, it's an amazingly rare thing for people with depression (or other mental differences) to be represented, and moreover, to be represented well. I love it, seeing as I also have it, and it that respect, relate to Kaladin immensely.

Well, here we go. My date starts in a couple of hours. Wish me luck.

Parasaphni = Cultivation (probably an Honorific name, not her real name) Nadris = Honor (Again an Honorific name) 10 Children = the 10 original nations of of Roshar This, somehow, is the trap that captured Odium. Parasaphi is suprisingly similar to both Parshendi or Parap-shenesh-idi. The Parshendi have a very strong affinity to spren, but Honor and Cultivation spren are very difficult for them to bond with, however they bond very easily with Odium Spren the bond is involuntary and almost automatic. What if Cultivation created a race that acted like a sponge soaking up odium spren trapping him in the Roshar System, but he cannot come to Roshar directly as the Parshendi would just steal more of his investiture. What if Odium needs all the Parshendi killed to free himself from the system? That I believe is the twist to the StormLight series... Save the Parshendi, Save the Galaxy! *EDIT* look up Greek Mythology Persephone, I believe this is the model or Archtype that Cultivation was built from. I wonder how much more was stolen from Persephone, Has she "Married" Odium? will she also rule Odium's "Kingdom" and present a more pleasing afterlife than Hades, I mean Odium was able to offer people?

What do you get if Shallan marries Adolin? A semi-Kholin.

When is the Batman day on Roshar?

Just to warn you, I'm about to post pretty far-fetched thoughts on the matter. I doubt that the 'evil' has much to do with Odium. What interest would he have in Threnody? There are no shards there. I'm currently sitting on the belief that it is actually the location of whatever hit Adonalsium, recovering from the encounter. I'm probably wrong, but hey, it isn't a shard, it certainly isn't warm and fuzzy, and I'm almost positive it would have some nasty effects on the local realms. In this case, it seems to me like the cognitive/spiritual realms are in chaos on Threnody. The souls of the dead are unable to move on, presumably because something is blocking them. A large spiritual power could be to blame. And these "deepest ones" could perhaps be the 'evil' itself leaking out. Why would it care about breaking the simple rules? That's pretty simple to explain. It may not be a shard, but it would probably operate on similar principles, since they seem to be pretty universal. We've seen examples of shards having weaknesses (ie. not being able to see certain things), and we've seen examples of natural investiture being able to hide cognitive processes (Aviar), so I don't believe it would be too far a reach to say breaking these simple rules is mostly just you lighting a beacon saying "Hey! Hey, you evil thing! I'm right here!" Now, you may be wondering what that has to do with the shades and the simple rules, which could easily be explained by the cognitive realm. If something powerful enough to challenge Adonalsium is chilling in the cognitive realm, that could understandably warp the other beings around it to similar thought processing. If you've read WoK/WoR, it touches more on the cognitive realm, and I don't want to spoil anything if you haven't read it (And I can't figure out how to do spoiler tags at the moment, and don't have the energy to look it up), but it isn't out of the realm of reason to warp cognitive essence into another purpose, like draining energy from the native species to heal, perhaps? I apologize for the rambling nature of this post, and as I said, I'm sure I'm wrong, but I like to think that Threnody might actually be slightly more significant than simply showing off some cosmere afterlife, and hey, Adonalsium's 'rival' had to go somewhere didn't it?

It will be kind of funny if she plays with both Kal and Adolin for a while only to marry Renarin. Though I honestly don't want any love triangles, let alone.. ummm.. squares. And I certainly hope this doesn't go some wierd WoT style with Shallan having more than one guy.

GUYS. I'm flying to Ohio today to visit my parents and I was in the salt lake airport earlier and stopped into Simply Books to see if they had any Brandalized books and the booksellers said I just missed him by a few minutes! I didn't get to see him, but I bought a signed paperback of Bands of Mourning.

Toss Morgan Freeman into the VR pitch. "In a world where crabs are the size of whales..." Okay maybe not.