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Note: Going to start this from scratch. See the bottom for original post hidden in spoiler tag. Since the release of Oathbringer there's been a lot of talk about the nature of Shards, and with good reason. First we have Odium's suggestions that he represents the larger concept of "Passion". Then at the end of the book we see Dalinar temporarily Ascend by pulling together pieces of Honor and making the mysterious statement "I am Unity". Meanwhile, Harmony's continued emphasis that his powers are "in conflict", paired with other hints, has led many to think that he could (and indeed may one day) go by the name of Discord. Throughout all of these discussions has been interwoven new concepts of what these Shards mean, the usage of the word "intent" in these contexts, and the degree to which all of these can change over time. The result is a jumble of confusion. So I've been playing around with a few of these concepts, trying to piece them together in a useful way. I'm not trying to redefine any existing terms, and I want to avoid the baggage that those words may carry. But I'm not really trying to create new terminology either. So I will be using fresh words, but I'll try to keep them as descriptive and plain as possible. Concepts I want to identify three distinct concepts: The Shard's nature: The fundamental aspect(s) of Adonalsium's own personality/nature that composes the Shard. Though we might try our best, this cannot be captured by a single word. Most of us tend to think that a Shard's nature is unchanging/unchangeable, though some may disagree with this point. You could in a way combine one Shard (or pieces of it) with another Shard (or pieces of one). You could perhaps rip pieces off of a Shard in a permanent way. These of course would probably give you something different, but that would be different than directly changing the very nature of the Shard. Some may argue otherwise. Many people will connect this with the concept of "intent", but I'm avoiding the use of that term because it may pull in some history that I don't necessarily want to assume. The vessel's expression of the Shard: How the Shard's nature is expressed by a particular vessel. Many believe it is possible for a single Shard to be expressed in different ways, depending on the vessel who holds it (or perhaps other factors.) What determines this is a matter for debate. Is it a function of the vessel's subconscious perception of the Shard's nature? Can the vessel freely choose, within some bounds? The vessel's thoughts and actions: What the vessel thinks and does. We could maybe separate this in two... but what we do with it is the same for each, so I'm going to keep things simple. This is about pinpointing how a particular thought or action fits into the concepts of the Shard's nature and its expression. Does a particular action fit in line with the Shard's nature? Does some thought or desire reach outside of the expression? Some would argue that actions and thoughts outside of the bounds of the nature and/or expression are impossible. Or perhaps that they are possible, but only in limited and/or temporary ways. The length of time a vessel has held the Shard may also come into play here. Visualization With those concepts in place, let's talk about how they fit together. Warning: you may feel that some cases are impossible. That's fine. I'm not theorizing all of these are possible. Just trying to put together a framework that allows for different logical viewpoints to be expressed. First let's focus on the nature and the expression. Note that these images are highly abstract. Hopefully that's intuitive, given that we're representing incredibly complex ideas with boxes in 2D space. Don't get hung up on the exact sizes, locations, and things like that. We have 4 different general (theoretical) cases: The full nature of the Shard is being expressed. Some people may think this is the only logical case, especially after the vessel has had time to be warped by the Shard. Example: If you think that Ruin under the stewardship of Ati portrayed all aspects of the Shard's nature, you would say that it looked like case 1. Some subset of the Shard's nature is being expressed. There's an implication here that some other vessel might display some other subset of the Shard's nature. You may think that this happens because the expression cannot extend outside the boundary of the Shard's nature. Example: If you think that Odium is more accurately a Shard which represents all emotion (perhaps Rayse is simply giving it a more hateful bent), then you would argue it is a case 2 situation. The full nature of the Shard is being expressed, in addition to some aspects outside of the nature. Here there is perhaps a notion that the Shard's nature is more of a "core concept" that the vessel can build on, rather than a boundary that the vessel's expression is contained by. Example: If you think that Honor portrayed some ideals which are outside the bounds of your perception of what the Shard really means, you would say he demonstrates case 3. Some subset of the shard's nature is being expressed, in addition to some aspects outside of the nature. This is basically just a mashup of cases 2 and 3, but I thought it was distinct enough to include. I reference specific cases in these examples for simplicity, but the reality is far from clean (unless you think case 1 is the only valid possibility). And nothing is likely to be black and white. I've shown a very idealized "case 2" above. A more accurate (though still highly simplified abstraction) depiction would be the image below. I DON'T intend for people to take this and then run through a list of Shards and categorize them into these three cases. The goal is simply to recognize different ways that the Shard's nature can (arguably) be expressed. Now let's talk about how the third concept, the thoughts and actions of the vessel, fit into these ideas. I've taken those general cases and marked a few distinct locations on each of them. I'm supposing that every thought the vessel has or action that the vessel takes will fall into one of these regions. There are 4 possibilities, all demonstrated in case 4: (a) The thought/action is within both the Shard's nature and expression. (b) The thought/action is outside both the Shard's nature and expression. (c) The thought/action is within the Shard's nature but outside the expression. (d) The thought/action is outside the Shard's nature but within the expression. This is where we talk about things like Vin killing Ati while holding the Shard of Preservation. Was she out at some point (b)? Or perhaps point (d)? Is such an action totally within the Shard's nature--just not within the the expression of it that Leras gave us? These are the kinds of questions we can ask. There are a lot of interesting things wrapped up in here. We can talk about the level of free will which vessels have for example. Is it difficult for a vessel to take some action outside of its Shard's nature? Is it even possible? How about the expression? If Rayse holds something more accurately called "the Shard of emotion" and I assume his expression of it is "Odium"... Is it difficult for him to do something loving? That is, something outside the expression but inside the nature? How much of this is self imposed, relating to the vessel's own personality and how much is it a matter of the Shard changing him? We can also talk about the role of time. Are brief actions outside some boundary less difficult than prolonged actions? How long before the vessel is warped toward's the Shard's nature? Was Ati instantly constrained into being more Ruinous, or how long did it take before he was unable to fight that nature completely? Examples Let's talk about some examples of how this helps us think through different situations. Again, I'm not trying to directly theorize with this. I'm speaking towards how we would use this to help ourselves think through and explain a theory. Example 1: Odium and Passion As one possibility we have case 1, where the Shard's nature is accurately described as "Odium". We observe an intent which fits this and Rayse is fully molded by it. His claims to be something else (Passion) are mistakes or lies by him. Another possibility is that we have case 1 where the Shard's nature is indeed Passion. For it to be case 1, it would mean that we simply haven't seen the Shard at work enough (in my opinion) to fully see how the Shard and the vessel fit this definition. It does... we just maybe haven't observed it. We've seen a lot of actions which are perhaps in one corner of the box (the Odium corner), but he's totally capable (and probably does) take actions that fit other "passions". A similar situation would be described by cases 3 or 4, where Passion (or something else) is the true nature, but for whatever reason the Shard is acting only with the intent of Odium in the cosmere. This could be a function of Rayse's control over his power, or there could be other factors at play. Example 2: Honor and Unity Let's theorize that Dalinar will somehow assemble a Shard by the name of Unity. I see two fundamentally different ways for this to happen... Let me suppose that Tanavast-Honor looked something like case 2 with actions tending to fall within his own expression. Visually, let's say the blue expression area fits in the left 2/3 of the nature box. Later we have Dalinar come along and pick up the Splintered pieces of the Shard once called Honor. He puts them back together, but by his own will, personality, values, or whatever his expression fits more to the right 3/4 of Shard's nature box. So for the most part we have heavy overlap between Tanavast's Honor and Dalinar's Unity. But the slight difference in which aspects of the Shard's nature are being expressed lead us to ascribe two different names. Dalinar is expressing something with more emphasis on unity aspects of the Shard than Tanavast did, and perhaps putting less value on the notion of "doing things because he said he would." Another similar idea would be that either Tanavast's Honor was a case 1 situation while Dalinar's Unity is a case 2 situation. (or vice versa) So Tanavast expressed the Shard more fully, but Dalinar leaves part of that out and thus looks a little different. (or vice versa) The second, fundamentally different, way that Honor could become Unity is if we actually play around with the Shard's very nature. Something more difficult and rare. This is where we have the theories that Unity will be created by merging some combination of Honor, Cultivation, and Odium. You could also take a more complicated approach here and suppose that Honor will be combined with pieces of other Shards. Or go the other direction and suppose that Dalinar will leave out pieces that once made up Honor when he puts it back together, leaving something that looks more like Unity in nature. Or maybe it's some of both things here. And a different approach would involve the idea of the nature itself somehow changing and shifting. Either by Dalinar's will or by some other cause, the Shard that we called Honor has been "pushed" or "pulled" into something more like Unity. Example 3: Harmony and Discord I would think that this looks mostly like the first concept with Honor and Unity. The combined Shard (made up of what was once Ruin and Preservation) has some overarching nature. Harmony is in a case 2 situation shifted towards one aspect of this nature, but it's possible to fill up some other portion of that nature instead. The really interesting question here is wrapped up in how that change (if possible) could happen. It would seem to me that the vessel is actively working to maintain the expression of Harmony (if that's the best name for it). Is it possible for him to maintain this indefinitely or will he inevitably be pulled into an expression which better fits the Shard's full nature? What would that be? In his efforts to be Harmony, has he been bottling up Discord (or whatever you want to call the currently unexpressed portion of his nature) which must find its way out? I also see one of the biggest problems with this whole framework here: what do you do when combining two Shards or expressions which are contradictory? How does that mesh? (obviously not easily, but it's hard to really demonstrate that visually with this) So... Thoughts? Again, I'm not outright theorizing anything directly here of course, but I think maybe this is a useful way of considering the interactions between vessels and the powers they hold. Original post, for the record:

I wanted more Vasher Zahel. I especially wanted to see his reaction to Szeth walking into Urithiru with Nightblood. I want that interaction really badly.

Unbound Worlds just launched their annual Cage Match, a who-would-win voting game spanning sci-do and fantasy franchises. 32 characters go in, go head-to-head with one another for 5 rounds of voting, and one character will emerge as the cage match champion. This year's theme is nonhuman characters. Brandon's works and collaborations are represented by the Stormfather and the Ogier Loial. Check out who they have to compete against! http://www.unboundworlds.com/cage-match-2018/

Adolin as a Willshaper based on that one WoR epigraph was a theory I came up with on my own and held to pretty strongly. But I think Oathbringer left me feeling that spren have a LOT of leeway for who they can bond. I mean, it's not like there are RULES that they have to bond someone they mesh really well with, right? It seems to me that certain people attract certain nahel spren, but there's nothing to say they can't make exceptions. Venli is the biggest example of this. I have to totally disagree with you @Calderis. We know SO little about the Willshapers of course, but that one epigraph we have describes Eshonai (in my opinion) FAR better than it describes Venli. I tend to think Venli is not an ideal candidate for Timbre... But they're bonding anyways, for one reason or another. I still don't see Adolin as an "ideal" Edgedancer (based on my assumptions of what that order looked like), but it works well enough for me to say it makes sense. And even if it didn't work at all for me, I suppose Maya could bond with him anyways if she wanted. I tend to think Adolin will be an Edgedancer (whether he fits or not) because of the WoB Calderis mentioned a while back. I think Maya is being revived, and the only basis we KNOW of for that happening is a nahel bond. So it just feels like it all works well enough. That said, WoB isn't gospel. I absolutely think there's potential for Maya to be restored in some other way we don't know about which doesn't require a (normal) nahel bond.

@hoiditthroughthegrapevine I got my Eshonai question answered! I'm looking forward to watching Jebus eat a shoe.

Agree with everything stated above. Some of these things can be addressed in future books but others like Amaram are pretty much dead (in multiple ways). Aesudan is another character I thought had an underwhelming role to play until meeting her demise. Adolin killing Sadeas certainly can be brought back up but I feel like all the tension has been lost. The biggest thing that I wish was shown more is a conversation between Dalinar, Szeth and Kaladin after the battle. With what was on screen it feels unbelievable to me that Szeth would be just welcomed into the fold and then appointed Dalinar's bodyguard. Some dialog could have helped a lot here.

Steven Spielberg:

A Nahel bond is created after the spren is attracted to a Knight Radiant candidate. Why do you purposefully skip this step? This is bias right here. Dead Shardblades scream when they are touched and this denotes that they are used against their own will. I think Brandon emphasizes this in order to cause sentiments of disgust or at least worry on the readership. So 1) there needs to be an attraction first and 2) Maya has been used by Adolin against her will. Why does this make people feel giddy?! This is the wrong reaction here. I'm going to try and use your method of persuasion here, using a WoB *shivers* (and believe me I feel filthy by doing this because this is not my style) The above Wob denotes that there could be a sort of 'surgical operation' between physical and cognitive realm that could fix a deadeye spren. We know that Surges aren't exactly the same between the two orders that have them, there is usually a different kind of aspect to the power itself. Yes, Willshapers have Transportation, but it doesn't necessarily mean they will Transport themselves since they are not 'else callers'. They are fixers and/or engineers. If they can manipulate mater on a molecular level (Cohesion) and the Transportation ability gives them "the affinity to the far realm of spren." , a joint use of the two powers could mean an upgraded Cohesion in the Physical and Congnitive realm. Yes, this is purely speculative and you will disagree. But I disagree that Adolin is Edgedancer material too. So here we are. I never said 'Adolin is unreliable because of his failed relationships'. We are having a healthy debate here, there is no need to attribute arguments to me that I've never said, just to defame the validity of my point of view. This is disrespectful actually (and even if it's done constantly on these forums I still do not accept it). Of course he has a relationship by the end of OB, so yes, he has grown since WoK, even despite the fact that the healthiness of that relationship is still arguable. But I'm curious how would you describe "the act of refusing to be king" as? It's certainly does not denote a reliable person. He obviously knew he was in line in the throne beforehand, because from his own POV in book, it's the first thing he thinks about when he realizes that Elhokar is dead. I think it's a legit argument to call it capricious actually. And I'm sure Dalinar finds frustrating that his favourite son is abdicating the throne. And if people were so sure that he would become an Edgedancer why isn't there a WoB question "What would the Edgedancers think about Adolin killing Sadeas?" huh? Because I'm pretty sure, if we had that answer we wouldn't have this discussion right now. Certainly, sticking a knife in an unarmed's eye isn't exactly Loving or Healing, so I'm sitting here wondering why are the Divine Attributes of Edgedancers completely ignored in here.

Bort the Brute rolled out of his bedroll, groaning. He didn't feel well, at all. He tried to get up, but found he was too dizzy to stand properly, even leaning on his favorite spiky club. He sat back down on his bedroll, shivering. There had been talk about disease spreading in the camp, but nothing like this. He hollered for a soldier to come. "Stay back," Bort cautioned. "What is it, sir?" one of them asked. "I've caught something. I feel bloody horrible. Tell the othe--" Bort was interrupted as he had to lean over to throw up. The soldier ran to go call for help. "I don't like this. What if Captain Bort was poisoned?" Jeo speculated. "Hm, that actually makes a lot of sense," Ivy said, nodding. "Well... If our captain was poisoned, who'd want to kill him? Maybe somebody who Bort discredited?" "So... Salthis," Zaffer concluded. The four stared at Salthis. The other soldiers seemed to be nodding their heads, and the marshal wasn't in sight to stop them. "Did you poison Bort?" they asked him. Salthis tried to respond, but was pushed to the ground, where they started kicking him. He didn't get back up. Later that night, the camp held a burial service. They dug a mass-grave close to but not over the perimeter imposed by the lifeless, depositing all of those who had died in the past few days. The soldiers stood in a loose ring, their heads bowed, while the marshal said a few words, ending on "...and may Austre give them rest." They kept their heads bowed, as one by one, the members of the camp approached the grave to say their respects, each uttering a few words of respect over the dead. When they looked up, it was obvious that something was very wrong. At some point while paying their respects, heads bowed, eyes closed, all the color had drained from the bodies of the fallen. A quiet moment of dread permeated the camp as comprehension dawned on them. Bort began to pick himself up, quickly followed by others. The ring around the grave scattered, fleeing for the town hall. They barricaded themselves in, breathing heavily, praying that the lifeless would not be able to enter. "It was you," Zaffer said in a quiet voice, looking at Shu. "I saw you do it. You created those creatures from our dead, just now." The others in the hall glanced between the two of them, stunned. Vote Tally Coop (4)- Joe, Brightness, Devotary, Drought Drought (2)- Shqueeves, Coop Arinian (1)- Ecthelion Brightness (1)- Monster Joe (1)- Ripple Ecthelion (1)- Arinian Coop has been lynched! Identity of the deceased: Bort has died of plague! Identity of the deceased: Player List 1. A Joe in the Bush as Jeo the Yellow 2. Elenion as Gormund Oscarson Idrian 3. Randuir as commander Jaaver Idrian Captain 4. Livinglegend as Lucky Idrian Sentry 5. Shqueeves as Shu 6. Bort as Bort the Brute Idrian Captain 7. BrightnessRadiant as Ivy 8. Straw as Straw Idrian 9. TheMightyLopen as Vaati Idrian 10. MacThorstenson as Mac Idrian 11. Devotary of Spontaneity as Fahmexa 12. Ecthelion as Eärendil 13. Coop772 as Salthis Idrian 14. MonsterMetroid as Roid 15. Droughtbringer as Zaffer 16. RippleGylf as Sarcoline 17. Arinian as Elien Rollover

To start off I would be happy if Brandon wrote a 1000 page collection of short stories set on Roshar including the Jasnah novella, as well as a 200 page epilogue to Oathbringer that includes interactions between the Lopen and Nightblood. Perhaps we could see Elhokar as a young boy filled with hopes and dreams playing with his father.

Important note: This list would be far less complete if not for the efforts of everyone who helped me compile it. Specifically thankyou to: Awesomeness Summoned, Delightful, Argent, PorridgeBrick, Kurkistan, Quiver, Green Hoodie Mistborn, Senor Feesh, Observer, ccstat, Swimmingly, Alvron, Metacognition, The Only Joe, GreyPilgrim, Aether, jasonpenguin, Mailliw73, Moodle, Tempus, Baine, Kobold King, LeftInch, Sir Jerric, Tensoon, Ashiok, Theorymaker, Seonid, Shaggai, TheYoungBard, Curiosity, Snoopy, Voidus, Frosted Flakes, Kasimir, Shallan. (Let me know if I missed you.) Hokay, for those who want to know the ranks, I looked through everyone who had at least 10 posts. Here are my findings. 10000+ God Beyond 9000 9999 Adonalsium 8500 8999 Hero of Ages 8192 8499 The Broken One 7800 8191 Shard 7500 7799 Splintered Shard 7200 7499 Splinter 6800 7199 Dragon 6400 6799 Stormfather 6000 6399 Herald 5700 5999 Sliver 5350 5699 Nightwatcher 5000 5349 Worldhopper 4750 4999 God of Color 4500 4749 Lord Ruler 4250 4499 Unmade 4096 4249 Dawnshard 3761 4095 Prime 3500 3760 Lerasium Mistborn 3250 3499 Bondsmith 3000 3249 Voidbringer 2750 2999 Knight Radiant 2500 2749 Most Ancient 2250 2499 Steel Inquisitor 2048 2249 Mistborn 1900 2047 Tarachin Superstar 1800 1899 Dawnsinger 1700 1799 Rambleman 1600 1699 Savant 1550 1599 Gerontarch 1500 1549 Midnight Essence 1450 1499 Listener 1400 1449 Enefel 1370 1399 Kalad's Phantom 1338 1369 Compounder 1337 So l337 Hoid Can't Compete 1300 1336 Surgebinder 1260 1299 Radiant Squire 1220 1259 Kandra 1180 1219 Twinborn 1145 1179 Returned 1111 1144 Scadrian Waffle Cook 1080 1110 Stone Shaman 1050 1079 Cryptic 1024 1049 Honorspren 1000 1023 Sentient Awakened Object 980 999 Truthless 950 979 Highprince 920 949 Worldbringer 890 919 Full Feruchemist 860 889 Full Shardbearer 830 859 Shardbearer 800 829 Seer 777 799 Spinner 760 776 Wyrn the King 730 759 Elantrian 700 729 Originator 667 699 Svrakiss 666 Torturer of Heralds 650 665 Shade 625 649 Soulcaster 600 624 Forger 575 599 Dakhor Monk 550 574 Lord Prelan 512 549 King's Wit 496 511 Son of Honor 475 495 Vanisher 450 474 King's Tester 425 449 Ghostblood 400 424 Envisager 375 399 Artifabrian 350 374 Ferring 325 349 Stormwarden 300 324 Bloodsealer 278 299 Silent Gatherer 256 277 Misting 225 255 Arbiter 200 224 Gyorn 180 199 High Prelan 160 179 Oldblood 145 159 Cobalt Guard 128 144 Hazekiller 110 127 Forescout 100 109 Houselord 90 99 Babsk 80 89 Prelan 75 79 Arteth 70 74 Idrian Monk 64 69 Obligator 56 63 Lighteyes 50 55 Grand 45 49 Noble 40 44 Crew Leader 32 39 Ardent 25 31 Pahn Kahl 20 24 Awakened Object 16 19 Noble-Blooded 10 15 Bridgeman 7 9 Spearman 5 6 Darkeyes 2 4 Skaa 0 1 Spren --- -1 -2 Negaspren -3 -5 Lifeless -6 -10 Hoed -15 -19 ? Beheaded Inquisitor -20 -24 ? Rotting Chull Carcass -24 -25 Lamespren -26 -100 Zucchini -101 and below Chasmfiend Corpse Note: negative reputation titles are no longer obtainable due to downvotes having been removed. I'll update this as we learn more We now know them all! I like the new levels. Good work Chaos Please don't ask me how long that took. Current lowest Unknown rep: nonexistent. We're so close to getting them all =D Edit: Wooohooo first popular post Later edit: For the record, at the time I added that comment 10 rep was a little more exciting Another edit: The lower rep ranks have changed at some point, I don't know where all of the new boundaries are yet.

While reading the Stormlight Archive books, I realized that spren are 'real life' emoticons. So naturally I made some emoticons involving spren. To use an emote, copy the link next to it in the parentheses and paste it into your post. You can also right-click the link and choose "Copy Link Location", then paste it in your message. 17thshard.com forums allow you to load pictures into your posts by pasting the URL of the image into the post's content. It may be helpful to save a .txt file in notepad with all of the links you prefer to use in order to copy and paste elsewhere. Also, more cosmere-themed emoticons are under construction. Enjoy: Alespren (http://i.imgur.com/ktwO0cb.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/bbMSt3L.png) Angerspren (http://i.imgur.com/D6J6xRU.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/cCqVYgw.png) Anticipationspren (http://i.imgur.com/BM44BrV.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/1tjwhIn.png) Awespren (http://i.imgur.com/3YfOz4J.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/VkpiJTb.png) Awespren (canon) (https://i.imgur.com/7C8wANr.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/9xD7XH0.png) Bindspren (https://i.imgur.com/2tmDaoQ.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/32yBzwl.png) Coldspren (https://i.imgur.com/uOFJI3L.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/e137yIJ.png) Creationspren (http://i.imgur.com/THDwKRq.gif) and static versions (https://i.imgur.com/8lMJI4Z.png), (https://i.imgur.com/1bSjE7G.png), and (https://i.imgur.com/AH8WdWC.png) Fearspren (http://i.imgur.com/fwkGdLK.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/RTfcvUl.png) Gloryspren (http://i.imgur.com/IiBDG5u.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/60gRN2F.png) (alternate version) (http://i.imgur.com/0rFKCWU.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/844IBnV.png) I edited the laughterspren to make it more visible, but left the old one up so links aren't broken: Laughterspren (https://i.imgur.com/HLCjBvQ.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/YcigcGe.png) (alternate) (https://i.imgur.com/UVYzqQB.gif) and static version (https://i.imgur.com/IFaGQje.png) (old) (http://i.imgur.com/dk9SAg9.gif) (dark version) (http://i.imgur.com/twskx1S.gif) Shardblade (http://i.imgur.com/6tU3gRQ.gif) and static versions (https://i.imgur.com/PVjEeQv.png) and (https://i.imgur.com/6UkYJJG.png)

Sixth of the Dusk Edgedancer Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell Stormlight Archive [OB spoilers] Mistborn Original Trilogy Mistborn Wax and Wayne [BoM and SH spoilers] That’s all I’m doing for now. This is really fun!

When you're thinking about Toy Story, and then you start thinking.. Maybe the toys are invested.. Maybe that's how investiture expresses itself on this planet.. So is this on Earth.. No, must be some other Shardworld.. So, can the investiture from the toys be used by humans?.. or maybe the investiture is in humans.. yeah, that works better.. But when kids personify their toys, and give them so much love and attention, they start drawing in investiture and gaining sentience... I overthink things when I'm bored. Although, This really makes sense when you look at something called the Pixar theory... Not sure If anyone else here knows what I'm talking about

Good analysis. I have long believed its case 2 but that the vessel cannot permanently shape or alter that intent or 'nature' but that with strong will they can filter it for a long time. I believe bavadin does that. I like the distinction between intent and nature, it may not be quite right but for discussion purposes ots a useful way to say intent can be filtered withoutbeing changed. Some WoBs

I'm really happy this thread got made, since I fell that every since Oathbringer dropped there have been a lot of talks about this topic, but never really tackled head on like @Jofwu has done. First, imho, everyone who thinks that Odium is 100% honest when he is explaining his Intent to Dalinar as Passion is being a little bit naive. Odium had every reason to twist, mangle and butcher the truth, if not lie entirley to get Dalinar down with Yelig-nar. Hoid called him "loathsome and crafty", even before he took up the shard. It is quite possible that after holding the shard of Odium, Rayse got desensitized to his anger and shifted how he interprets the shard over to Passion, but the other way around? No way. Dalinar's "I am Unity" I think is getting a little out of hand. If Unity is the Intent of a shard of some kind, what about when Kelsier said "I am Hope"? Same capitalization and everything. With that out of the way, here's my two cents (or dollars) on @Jofwu's paradigm: The Fundamental Nature and the Intent are the same thing. The word used to describe the intent (Honor, Odium, Ruin, e.t.c.) is just the single word that Brandon thought described the Intent best. I think that splitting these up is a little overeager. This is different from the Vessel's Expression, which is still a legitimate thing per WoB, but I personal don't think has as much wiggle room as some others do. Call this Case 5. The black and blue boxes are the same, with a red box within that's slightly smaller. For Harmony, the evidence from the WoB's and epigraphs about Discord are too great to ignore. For posterity, here are they: So Discord, as an alternate version Harmony most definitely exists. I don't think it's because of Sazed choosing how to interpret Ruin + Preservation like @Jofwusays though. How the Intent gets interpreted seems to be a somewhat of a choice, but in the WoB Brandon says it's a matter of Sazed being able to control himself. Here's my take: Ruin and Preservation haven't really "melded" like they did when they were both in Adonalsium. Sazed's thoughts, abilities and actions are being filtered through both Intents simultaneously. This is why he is under so much strain, and if it ever gets to him then he'll go Discord.

Politics - like the scene where Navani describes every single chair? Shadesmar - I agree. It is a really cool place that I hoped to see eventually. But the whole time they were there, I just wanted to get "back to the action". I attribute Shallan's new control over her lightweaving to the Oath she spoke at the end of WoR (admitting she killed her mother). I believe something very similar happened to Kaladin's powers at the start of WoR. New characters and nations - and cities and unmade and fused and odium. And there is just a ton of stuff going on. It is hard to keep track of on a first reading. We've lost the shattered plains as the center of everything we care about. And it will never be that simple again. BUT - We have a lot of time between SA books to think about what the next one will be like. I remember being fairly discontented the first time I finished WoR. (And there were quite a few posts then expressing the same feelings you have here.) Now WoR is one of my all time favorites. There is a ton of stuff I loved about OB. With more time, I hope to appreciate it for the story it is, instead of what I speculated it would be.

Another gem from Reaper's Gale: A civilization shackled to the strictures of excessive control on its populace, from choice of religion through to the production of goods, will sap the will and the ingenuity of its people – for whom such qualities are no longer given sufficient incentive or reward. At face value, this is accurate enough. Trouble arrives when the opponents to such a system institute its extreme opposite, where individualism becomes godlike and sacrosanct, and no greater service to any other ideal (including community) is possible. In such a system rapacious greed thrives behind the guise of freedom, and the worst aspects of human nature come to the fore, a kind of intransigence as fierce and nonsensical as its maternalistic counterpart. And so, in the clash of these two extreme systems, one is witness to brute stupidity and blood-splashed insensitivity; two belligerent faces glowering at each other across the unfathomed distance, and yet, in deed and in fanatic regard, they are but mirror reflections.This would be amusing if it weren’t so pathetically idiotic…”

What many people have speculated is that these spren are what form a Radiants Shardplate. Each order appears to have a connect "Lesser" spren, like Windrunners and Windspren, Edgedancers and Lifespren, Lightweavers and Creation Spren. When Kaladin was in Shadesmar we see hundreds of Windspren form almost a frame around him, (The airbending thing was probably just adhesion), we see something similar with Jasnah at Thaylenah, and it's an all around good theory.

"You’ll see. Everyone will because you’re all my friends and friends are important. The most important thing in the world. And I’ll show you." "This ain't your fight, storming dragon."

Because attraction is kind of moot for a a dead spren. They're there whether they wish to be or not. There's no mind to attract. Dead Shardblades scream when they are touched by a Radiant, because they are brought further to life and this forces them into a cycle of agony. For a non-radiant, they don't reach a level of being that they're capable of speech. When Kaladin touched Relis' blade in the arena, Relis heard it. If the blades screamed all the time, their wielder would hear them. I'd appreciate it if you'd cut the direct insults, subtle as they are. Yes I use WoBs, because they are the words of the man writing this story. If that makes you feel dirty, then don't use them. If they don't matter to you, then fine, don't be convinced. I don't appreciate the implications that this form of argumentation is somehow inferior when the vast majority of the knowledge we have on the Cosmere is not present in the books. If you want to operate based solely off of what is in the books that's fine, that's your prerogative. I don't, as Brandon has chosen to share more information that he finds relevant. The amount of extra information that he's given us on various topics is already more than would happen if he writes consistently for the rest of his life. I refuse to just write that off. And on that WoB you quoted, I don't understand what about that has anything to do with the healing of the spren. The possible surgery it speaks of is in a clean and neat severing of the Nahel bond of a living Spren as compared to the violent and deadly ending that happens when oaths are broken. For the surges, we've been told by both Brandon and Peter that the surges do have slight variations between orders, but that they are similar enough that they would look identical to an outside observer. Hence Skybreakers/Windrunners having seemingly identical flight, and why I fully believe that Renarin doesn't have normal Illumination at all, just the voidbinding version of that surge. I never attributed that to what you said. I did not put words in your mouth. I said that outside of that circumstance I don't see how he is unreliable. That is not the same thing. This is the reason that in world scholars and Vorinism have attributed "Builder" to Kalak and the Willshapers. I don't remember the exact wording, but there is a phrasing in Venli's final PoV that justifies her bonding with Timbre by this explanation. Eshonai may have been an explorer, but Venli was as well, just in the domain of knowledge. I personally think because of this that she fits Willshapers better than Eshonai did.

@Calderis sorry, but again, I was not saying the perpendicularity (or stormlight or anything else for that matter) healed Maya. I’m saying I’m not convinced she needs to have been healed for her to speak faintly in Adolin’s mind under the circumstances we saw. We still have a difference, but I’m just clarifying what that difference is because you seem to be arguing against a point I didn’t make. You are arguing on that question, I was not. We are arguing on two different questions.

As you know, I tend to favor the explanation wanting Lopen to fall within those "other means" Brandon mentioned. I'll admit part of my reasons to prefer this explanation to yours is I feel it makes his character becoming a Radiant more interesting. If Lopen is meant to show us another side of Radianhood, then I am fine with him being one, if not, then he looks too much like fan service and I dislike it. Given the narrative we have read, I find it could really go both ways. The case for Adolin becoming an Edgedancer far predates the fact his Blade is an Edgedancer Blade. The argument never relied on his Blade, always on his character. The fact his Blade turned out to be an Edgedancer Blade was just the icing on the cake, but honestly, the theory never needed it to exist. Hence, no one is trying to make Adolin fit those ideals, the narrative is already telling us he is. I find the argument is actually the opposite, some are trying to make him not fit because they like the alternate denouement better. I disagree. Adolin hates novelty and adventure. He doesn't seek the unknown nor does he enjoy exploring new countries. On the contrary, he is unsettled by the changes he sees within the world, he isn't excited about it. See how Eshonai was written out within the prologue, now that's a Willshaper: Adolin never once exhibit the same curiosity nor the same desire to know strangers. He is more of the opposite. Adolin is not capricious nor unreliable: he is the exact opposite. He is extraordinarily reliable: you can depend on him with your life and he will never falter. See how Eshonai is said to be completely unreliable, unable to complete task and not being trusted with much. The is basically the anti-Adolin whom can be relied to at all times. The fact he murdered Sadeas doesn't make him either frustrating nor unreliable: it was an act of pure loyalty towards his family. Him behavior into Kholinar do sound frustrating, but I would argue it is more a side effect of him not getting any viewpoints, The fancy suit allegedly is a means by which Adolin tried to gain some control because he is unsettled by the "novelty" around him. Him teaching Shallan how to fight was him trying to make an unknown fearful situation into one he can understand and rely to. Adolin has no affinities with the far realm of spren: he hated it and he couldn't sense what the spheres represented. Aye. I am most definitely arguing as to whether of not Adolin could become an Edgedancer, nor should nor will. I agree his story has not been written out just yet and he may never become an Edgedancer. However, if this happens, I do not think it will be because he is unfitting, but because reviving a dead-Blade is super hard and he may not pull it off. I also do not see what would prompt Adolin to start saying oaths: he doesn't believe he is worthy of being a Radiant, what would need to change for him to embark unto an unknown journey towards becoming a Radiant with a dead-Blade to boot it all? If his spren came to him through normal means, then he'd have her counsel, her voice to guide him but without it, can Adolin make the journey alone? Also, the fact he has his broken half-Nahel Bond with Maya likely also means no other sprens will come near him. Hence, Adolin becoming an Edgedancer is not a done deal, not yet. Narrative usually have more than one purpose. As I said in my earlier post, Adolin saving the prostitute does having for main purpose to fuel Kaladin's character development, but it also fleshes out Adolin by making him the man to step down for someone else. As for what Brandon intends to do, it is unclear to me. There are strong chances he won't do anything with Adolin more than he has already done, so I agree with you here, but then again, it more or less ruins the purpose of having him interact with Maya. Those scenes purely were about Adolin and I honestly do not see what it would add to the story to have the event be a mere by-product of the perpendicularity. Why have Maya save Adolin, speak her name and her start to form a bond with Adolin is it is only to take great leaps to explain it was all meaningless? It just makes little sense for Brandon to have written out those scenes for this sole purpose which isn't the intuitively obvious one.

Thank you for clarifying. Yes, there was a misunderstanding and the point I was trying to make is exactly what you said. Even though we have limited information about what is required to be an Edgedancer, I think we have enough that it is fine to speculate whether Adolin would fit them or not. But to say that it's only reasonable to speculate in one direction seems silly and and one-sided to me. To clarify a few other points where perhaps my meaning was misunderstood: @Calderis I understand you are saying you believe a Nahel bond is required for Adolin to have heard Maya speak faintly in his mind. I'm not convinced this is the case, though I understand the evidence you are using to support your idea. That is where we differ on the Taln discussion so I think we just have to agree to disagree on that. @Isilel I don't think what you and I were saying about using Lift as an example is actually that different. I addressed the part about why we didn't see any evidence of the spren of other dead Shardblades speaking to the ones they are bonded to in an earlier post, but I will expand. Number one there are some unique circumstances with Adolin and his blade which we haven't seen from other Shardbearers (he speaks to his and he just came through Shadesmar where he interacted with his deadeye and it becomes clear that she feels differently about Adolin than most deadeyes apparently feel). Finally, Adolin's is the only viewpoint we were given from someone who holds a dead Shardblade during the perpendicularity. So perhaps other deadeyes had the ability to speak faintly in the minds of the one bonded to them during the perpendicularity but didn't choose to do so because they hate their owners, or perhaps we just didn't get to see it happen with anyone but Adolin. I'm not sure I agree that in general we are arguing whether Adolin could or could not become an Edgedancer. Speaking for myself at least, that is not what I was arguing. In my mind of course it is a possibility, the question is whether I think it is probable, or put another way do I think that is what Brandon's intention was in showing us something unusual happening with Maya? You go through a great deal of arguments that I have read before so I get what has convinced you, and again I'm not trying to convince you otherwise. I come at the whole question from a different perspective and I will briefly try to explain that just so I am clear. When I first finished OB, I did think it more likely that Maya was in the process of reviving. I didn't necessarily assume Adolin would become an Edgedancer because even if Maya were to heal fully, it seems that would still require an additional process so it wouldn't be a foregone conclusion, but I thought it more likely than I do now. After discussion on this board and considering it further, I became more convinced that the perpendicularity is a simpler explanation for the unusual interactions Adolin had with Maya in TC. It's a much greater leap to say that Maya is in the process of reviving and Adolin is in the process of becoming an Edgedancer, so while it is not impossible that is where Brandon is heading it would take a lot to be sure of that. Meanwhile, from a narrative perspective we have a simpler and perfectly viable option for why Brandon could have chosen to show those interactions (to help illustrate what what happening during the perpendicularity). Until we have more compelling evidence for something deeper happening I will go with the simpler explanation. I really come at this from a narrative perspective, as in why does Brandon choose to show this or that, to help me try to figure out where he is going from here. To take just one other example that is used as evidence for Adolin the Edgedancer. Why did Brandon choose to show Adolin helping the prostitute? I believe strongly that the primary reason he showed this was for Kaladin to witness a lighteyes displaying decency, treating a darkeyes with dignity, so that Kaladin could start to reassess his prejudices. Kaladin at that time believed all lighteyes to be terrible people, particularly high ranking lighteyed officers. So having Adolin go out of his way to help the darkeyed prostitute and treat her with kindness was a first and very important step in Kaladin getting over his hatred of lighteyes. The relationship between Adolin and Kaladin has progressed hugely since due to their subsequent interactions and they now have a pretty awesome friendship and Kaladin no longer hates lighteyes. Could there be a secondary reason for that scene in relationship to Adolin as a potential Edgedancer? Sure, but there's really no need for there to be from a narrative standpoint. From a narrative perspective I would like and expect to see Adolin have some kind of impact, but personally I don't feel it has to happen through him becoming a Radiant. I don't expect that he is going to do nothing but stay stagnant as Dalinar's son, Shallan's husband and Kaladin's friend for the next 7 books. But I don't get the sense that Brandon is writing another proto-Radiant arc for him. For instance, I love the idea that @PhineasGage brought in about a potential Greek tragedy like arc (I'm a former theatre major so I'm a sucker for classic tragedy), and I could see other possibilities as well.

Facts & WoBs: Well, Pattern does mention(in.. WoR?) that she shouldn't be limited to using a reference picture. In Pattern's understanding, that her limitations are ones that a normal Lightweaver shouldn't have. Several of the things she does near the end are things she should have already been able to do, and she seems so far advanced in comparison because she's basically taking two steps up. Her suddenly Lightweaving without pictures and Lightweaving with sound were extra bonuses on top of the stuff that actually was new. They are separate characters. Brandon has explicitly confirmed that. (Also, it's Timbre) Kaladin and Dalinar have a military background. Jasnah likes when people have their affairs in order. The KR, barring Lift's Edgedancers, are in good hands when it comes to being organized. Opinions on the Book: I don't know how the political stuff changed as the book went further on, but what was contained within Part 1(Dalinar & Taravangian's political/moral discussions, the Iri talks during Dalinar's duel with Kadash, etc..) was pretty enjoyable for me to read through. Were there any spots in particular that felt tedious to you or was it just politics in general? It might be that you just aren't a fan of that sub-genre, rather than anything to do with the writing. While I can certainly understand this type of reaction, the main reason Evi's death was a specific mystery rather than "one in a sea" like you said after losing the memories is because she was a part of his life. The sea of unnamed victims affected him when he remembered, but without that memory, he'd have to fill in the gaps. He realized there was a gap involving the events at Rathalas when Kadash reminded him of that event, whereas Dalinar was almost certainly reminded of his missing wife much earlier. That quirk to Brandon's writing of Dalinar was reflected in our theorizing about his missing memories. We knew about the wife(and only that) for a long while, so our theories were centered around that and nothing else. We made a big deal about the loss of his wife because we, and Dalinar, weren't aware there was more to that story. Had we known about this mysterious "Rathalas event" around the time we'd learned that Dalinar couldn't remember his wife, we'd have been theorizing about that event instead of about her(which is pretty much exactly what happened when we got the preview chapter hinting at Rathalas). In the end, Evi's death was a big deal because we made it a big deal. And we made it a big deal because Brandon decided to withhold information from Dalinar, which in turn withheld information from us. The big deal got hidden from a character, so the readers decided to make a big deal of their own. This depends on the character in question. Nightblood and Zahel, for instance, were Stormight Characters first, with Warbreaker created to be their backstory. Hoid is Hoid, and is to be expected. Don't know about the others as of yet.

Shallan dying

Thanks Guys! I've read Stormlight 1-3, Mistborn 1-6, Elantris, Warbreaker, Arcanum Unbounded, White Sand and Reckoners 1-3

We have some exciting news to announce. So far in order to obtain some unpublished works of Brandon's, you'd have to email him through his site, and his assistants would distribute them. Well now you won't need to wait for that, because we will be in charge of distributing Aether of Night! All you have to do is post in this topic (you'll need a 17th Shard account, but that's it), and our staff will PM you the document. You do not need to post an email address here; we will send it to you through this website. Once we do this, we'll remove your post here. We'll be using this topic as a to-do list for requests. Ideally since we have lots of staff members, we will get this out to you soon, within a week or two. We hope you're excited about this, so many of you will be able to get this text in a much more obvious way now! You will receive a .docx file, and if you need to convert it into a .pdf or .epub, there are many converters to do that for you. (We are not distributing the old prose version of White Sand; that is distributed in Brandon's newsletters.) Thank you Dragonsteel for letting 17S do this! Edit as of 2024: This is still going! We've gone through over 300 pages of replies distributing. It's just that we remove posts here once we send them out.

It couldn’t be… Could it? The mist felt wet and cool on my face, leaving small droplets of condensation on my cheeks and nose. The sky was an endless abyss of twisting and churning mist, something familiar, but unwitnessed. Oh how I had wished for this moment, every hour of reading. Was this a dream, or was I really on Scadrial, a world of Brandon Sanderson’s imagination? Hesitantly, I took a step forward, and my foot dragged through a coating of black ash on the ground. So this was the era of the Lord Ruler, the Final Empire. It certainly felt real… I looked around, but it was night, and the mists were out. I could only see a few feet in each direction. Suddenly, I felt very afraid, standing in the twisting sea of darkness. Who knew where I was? It could be miles to the closest city, and all I had were the clothes on my back and… What was that in my pocket? A few coins, boxings by the look of them, a small vial of metal flakes in a solution, and a note. Khyrindor, it read, we need your help. Meet us at Pewter gate, Luthadel for further instructions. Oh, by the way, you are now a Mistborn. It was signed “The Seventeenth Shard.” Someone had done this to me, and I needed to know why. What did they want with me? Should it matter? I had been wishing for this for years! But, nonetheless, I was afraid, alone in the darkness and the mist. The Seventeenth Shard…they said I was a Mistborn, and they apparently needed my help. They were obviously the ones who did this to me, so finding them would be the first step. Whether or not I decided to help them, or ask them to bring me home, I would need to start at Pewter gate. I looked down at the small vial of metal flakes. Mistborn… I raised the vial to my lips. Let’s do this. It tasted worse than I’d imagined. I urgently sought out my tin reserves, the metal that would enhance my senses and pierce the mists. As I burned it, a warmth flooded my chest, and suddenly I could very acutely feel everything around me. from the cold air to the very grains in my t-shirt. The mists seemed… less some- how. They were still there, but I could see through them. There were stars in the sky, a stretch of bright red ones that I doubted most people ever saw. The mists made many people uncomfortable, as I knew from reading Mistborn, so no one ever came out at night, except allomancers, people who can ingest metals like tin and burn them for power. If I burned my tin harder, Flaring, as it was called in the books, I could just make something out… A light, in the distance. Wavering torch light, reflecting brightly against the mists around it. I lessened my tin, as the cold was starting to bother me, and started toward the light, hoping I would be lucky enough to find an outskirt town and not a koloss camp. Untrained in allomancy as I was, I doubted I could fight them on my own with just a few coins. I started burning Pewter as well, as it helped with the cold, making me more resistant to pain. Also, it would do well if there were any surprises, as it enhanced my strength and balance, in addition to the resistance to pain. Pewter and tin went nicely together. Suddenly, I realized what I was wearing, and gave myself a mental kick. A bright blue hoodie and jeans. I smeared some ash on them so I would blend into the night. If there was trouble ahead, I would want to fit in, rather than wear a big sign saying “Hey, look at me!” As I was getting close to the light, I again kicked myself. I should have been burning copper! Copper would hide my allomancy from seekers, people who could burn bronze to sense nearby allomancy. I felt a the copper cloud go up around me. If there were Inquisitors around though, the Hemalurgic minions of the Lord Ruler, they would be able to pierce the copper cloud. This could get dangerous. Why did the Seventeenth Shard involve me in this? Only one way to find out. I stepped into the light. To Be Continued So, tell me what you think? Just wrote this in the last little while. Pretty rough draft. Thanks for reading.

I know this doesn't have to much to do with the books themselves but I still find this subject very interesting. A while ago I saw In the Facebook group for the storm light archive Someone asking the question of what are your personal ideals. This really stuck out to me and I started thinking and I finally came up with mine. "I will improve myself for the benefit of others" I have always enjoyed helping other people but I found that this specific wording is key because I have been preparing for an LDS mission for the past couple of months. (And before you ask, I don't know where I'm going yet.) "it is ok to feel as long as I keep moving" I have struggled with depression the past few years and this was a hard lesson I had to learn. For a while I would refuse to feel anything and I would just be an emotionless man plowing through life, eventually some friends helped me realize just how important it is to feel, even if the emotions are sad. After that I began to really move forward. Now that I've shared mine I want to hear your personal ideals, and if your comfortable with it please share how or why you discovered it. Let's please keep the discussion respectful especially concerning the various struggles and goals the people have.

Hi! I'm new here, I don't know if I'm doing this right, but whatever. For clicking on this, here, have a flower. The flower gives you nothing. It does nothing. It is just a picture of a flower. Unlike some cookies. Which reminds me. No I don't want any cookies-spiked or not. If I avoid your cookies then no harm is befallen upon me. Other then that I don't know what else to say besides I'm excited to converse about the books and that I'm tired and I hope everyone gets a good nights rest. Or a decent nap, whatever works.

Note: Moved to Oathbringer forum.

I had to laugh out loud because I wrote that having no idea that the group was called "Dark Alley". If the cookie fits!

Hi friends!

Nightblood sitting at a bar looking depressed because all the evil on Roshar has been destroyed.

A few more photos from Saturday. Duck portraits (4 photos) Another shot of the chicken from my last post in this thread (1 photo):

We have WoB that throwing massive amounts of stormlight at the problem will not fix the dead spren.

You should ask them if they do inter-library loaning

RAFO

I own several pens, but I have not named them.

What's the deal with The Skybreakers? You'd think an order with the essence of smoke/vapor who bond with Highspren would be a lot more chill!

My theory is that Trell (and does he have a brother named Nalt?) becomes a worldhopper and goes to Scadrial and founds the Trelagism religion. Autonomy co-opts this religion in Era 2 and turns it into Trellism. She might have been watching the whole time, and followed the guy to Scadrial in the first place, and that's why she chose to use that religion.

For all you programmers out there: Elantris

Don't worry, she changes a LOT. They all do. One thing you may find, a lot of the female characters seem to be annoying and frustrating to deal with. They can be grating, irritating, and dismissive of the male characters. That's not an accident, it's intentional. It's part of the worldbuilding. More in spoilers. Interesting worldbuilding kind of spoiler - read at your own discretion.

Stormlight Archive

Final Empire: Well of Ascension: Hero of Ages: WoK: WoR:

Wheel of Time:

Warbreaker: Slight edit to OPs The Final Empire: Well of Ascension: Hero of Ages: TWoK:

More than ten years after the Wax and Wayne books, Waxillium finds he is not impressed by Modern art. (Canon compliant up to the end of Bands of Mourning and Secret History. AU*). For @Kingsdaughter613; whom requested that I post it here. It is little changed from the original, so all...issues are still there, etc. A/N: With apologies to Duchamp... 000 Wax had agreed to go to the exhibition because he had nothing better to do, and well, Steris had insisted. Rotting at home like a piece of old-furniture under a white sheet was not the way he wanted to spend retirement. Admit it, he thought, examining the gallery of truly...strange...’art’, Steris’ arm wrapped around his; they shuffled throughout the exhibition, abut slowly and stiffly, you’re bored, Wax...and curious. It was like a new mystery, waiting for him to solve it. Rumors abounded at parties and other functions he still found himself attending, the nobility and wealthy whispered about the frightening, sometimes ‘horrifying’ art. They said painters had gone wild. That they used bright colors, strange shapes, and lines of all kinds. Creating ‘abstract’ art (whatever the hell that meant, exactly) of every kind: from ‘landscapes’ to ‘portraits’ to ‘sculptures’. Worse still, were the found objects, things taken from everyday life and then chosen by artists as art. The whole upper-crust of Elendel was in a panic about an art gallery...At first, however, Wax didn’t give a dam-n. He didn’t even like art. Then MeLaan had flung a newspaper in his face (more or less) that morning.(1) He muttered something about being ‘too old for whatever crap she had found,’ She’d responded with a candid reply about her age, which didn’t count, after all, she was an immortal, but Wax hadn’t gotten a word in edge-wise before she pointedly strutted out of the room to talk with Wayne. Wayne had never moved out of Ladrian manor, and when Wayne had married MeLaan...they’d just acquired a new house ‘guest’. Leaning back into his plush chair, Wax had taken a sip of whiskey from the glass the kandra had brought him behind Steris’ back; (his wife insisted that one of the causes of his...health issues...was whiskey, he doubted it, though, chasing after criminals had done hell to the knees and back). Wax glanced down at the newspaper...and stared, blankly at it. There was a photograph of a...urinal on the front-page? He fished for the reading glasses Wayne had given him(2) on the end-table. After sliding them on, Wax squinted. Indeed, an urinal. Wax’s eye twitched. It hadn’t done that in nearly a decade...but... ”Dam-n.” That episode had brought them here, to this gallery, surrounded by the strangest rust he had ever seen. Each piece had a plaque, some plaques described the art, others said nothing at all related, and Steris insisted that they stop at each, dam-n piece. To gawk, to stare, to admire it, he guessed, Wax didn’t know what nobles even did at art exhibitions. Except maybe wish they had stayed home instead. His feet hurt, his knees ached, and he rubbed the small of his back to alleviate its pain. He wasn’t even that old yet, but dam-n he sometimes felt like a man in his nineties, not fifties. ”And this,” his beautiful wife said, dragging him over to a sculpture that looked like a giant railroad spike hammered into a wooden stole, “Is a piece by Kay, he is a wonderful artist, renowned for his ‘readymades’...” ”Kay?” He frowned. That named sounded...strangely familiar. He couldn’t place it. Maybe he had read it in the newspaper...or heard it on the radio. Wax wasn’t sure what to make of this Spiking thin air, either, except that he doubted some random... Wax bowed his head then whispered in her ear, “It looks like hemalurgy...or a mockery of it...” Spikes in dead wood couldn’t bestow powers or attributes to that object. Even if it was charged, it was losing whatever Investiture it had, its powers slowly slithering back to Harmony. Still...he lifted a hand to his chin in thought. ”He’s an artist,” she rebuked; then tugged on his arm, trying to urge him to move on. Wax hadn’t expected her to be so...excited about this. Yet, Steris’ subtle smile hadn’t left her face since they had arrived, almost an hour ago. “That doesn’t mean he couldn’t also be a...” “Waxillium,” from her tone of voice he knew he was in trouble, “you will not...” Despite her warning, Wax burned steel (which MeLaan had slipped into his whiskey), checking the spike. It was...heavily Invested metal, he couldn’t Push it. Iron, probably. Too heavily Invested to be a spike, considering that the show had been going on for a few weeks. Probably a metalmind. Huh. Kay had an interesting sense of humor, it seemed. If I didn’t know better... “Is there any more work by him?” Her brow furled slightly as she considered his words. “Yes...” “It’s probably innocent...” Steris sighed. “I couldn’t Push it,” he whispered. This made her eyes widen, he noted a little fire in their blue depths. Excitement. Wax nodded. “Does Kay have any more sculptures at this exhibition?” “There are some others pieces of work, yes,” Steris said, leading him away, “if it gets too dangerous...” “I’m sure it will not,” he answered, “I’m retired.” She flattened her lips for a moment. “It’s not like...” “You brought your ironminds?” He nodded. Of course he had. He didn’t feel comfortable walking around at his actual weight. He hadn’t done so in years; even months into his retirement, Wax hadn’t let go of vital, old habits. “And?” “Two.” She glanced at the two holstered guns, their tips sticking out under his coat, then at the third one on his leg, and up at the fourth one, too, which was in a holster on his left arm. It was a small, experiment weapon Ranette had given him a few months back. Ranette, like both MeLaan and Wayne, insisted his retirement was fake. “Four.” “I couldn’t...” “Learn the meaning of retirement in only three months, therefore, I must act like it’s a clever jest pulled on me by my wife...,” she said, he smiled, “try not to make a scene here, it’s an art gallery.” “That’s art?” Wax pointed at a strange painting, two light blue gears on a green background. It looked more like a diagram for a weird machine than it did a any art he had ever seen. A cruel mockery of it, considering that the artist had labeled one gear ‘woman’ and the other ‘man’. “It’s a Spool.” “Is that what it’s called?” “Spool’s the artist,” she answered, taking his hand then slowly leading him away. Soon, they entered another room. From the plaques, he saw that all these pieces were works by Kay. Like the Spiking thin air, most were everyday objects, or slightly modified things. One sculpture was a chair laid on its side. Another was a tall, slender box of glass filled with random pieces of metal: nails, screws, and other things situated to make plain of metallic pieces. A few abstract paintings hung on the wall. In the center of all this ‘art’ stood the urinal, on a thick, wooden pole, like it was some kind of strange... Is it supposed to be a spear? He chewed his inner cheek. “If you burn steel,” said someone behind them, “you’ll see what’s actually there.” Wax glanced over his shoulder, then, turned around slowly. That had to be the artist. Wax had read in that earlier article that Kay was a tall, blond haired man whom often wore well-tailored suits. Kay did not dress the part of the typical, poor artist. He wore his hair long, bangs falling past his right eye, which, Wax noted, was covered by a thick, black patch. Kay’s one good eye was lined, hazel; all things considered, he looked like one of Wayne’s fictional pirates in a nice suit. Wax didn’t like him. The paper said he was twenty-nine, he looked more like fifty. Either time had lied to Kay, or he had lied to them. “Come again?” Kay grinned. “Burn steel.” Wax did as asked, curiosity pecking at the back of his brain. The grin on Kay’s face grew larger, a little wild, a little feral. That caused Wax to frown...he looked back at the glass box, not sure... Wax blinked, then stared. He hadn’t noticed it before, but now that he burned steel, he saw...that some of the pieces of metal in the glass box were noticeably more faint than others. They formed a picture, one that only a person who could burn iron or steel could see, and only if they were looking for it. It was supposed to look like any other piece of...chaotic anti-art in the gallery. Ironically meaningless, mocking the upper class that expected art to appeal to their aesthetic tastes... But, this...was beautiful. The portrait of a woman, her hair blowing in the wind. A portrait only people like him could see. It must have meant that Kay could burn iron or steel, too. And...Wax realized he knew that woman...it... He swiveled around, then glared at Kay. You’re getting slow in your old age, Wax, he told himself. In the old days, he would’ve known when he saw the blond hair and the ill-fitting, thick eye-patch. “You’re him.” “He doesn’t like this idea,” replied Kay, crossing his arms, “but as I have assured him, no one would think to look for it.” Wax heard something that may have amounted to a sigh... It did not sound like Steris, who had tensed beside him. Only a few others were in this part of the exhibition, and none were close enough for Wax to have heard the their conversation. He’d left his earring in. The others in the room looked blurry, they were in a speed-bubble. Wax reached for one of his guns. “Please,” Kay said, still wearing that obnoxious smile, “we’re in an art gallery.” His hand remained on its handle. Yes, he knew it was useless, but cosmere be damned, he wouldn’t... “You won’t kill me with that.” Kay-no, Kelsier-Pushed, gently, on the weapon. “It’s not worth shooting the whole gallery up for this, is it?” Wax nodded, hand dropping to his side. A part of Wax doubted he could draw and fire fast enough to do any damage anyway. “You inspired the whole countryside to near rebellion.”(3) “I gave them hope.” At these words, Steris squeezed Wax’s hand. “And the Set-” “Kid, why in hell would I want Scandrial’s destruction?” The grin melted off his face. His gaze hardened. “We want to protect this world, not destroy it.” Wax did not answer. He...Harmony had not given him all the facts, and Wax hadn’t asked, presuming god wouldn’t give him those kinds of answers. Wax had jumped to conclusions, ran with (the little) evidence he and Marasi had... “Then why?” “It’s a gift,” he said, not answering the question Wax wanted, but Wax was not completely sure what question to ask, either. Are you still friends? Wax asked. Harmony did not respond. That sent a chill up his spine. “Harmony and I do not always agree on how things should be done,” he said. Steris grew pale, her hand, cold. Wax studied his wife, she hadn’t spoken once in the whole exchange, but her eyes had grown wide and she trembled in both shock and fear. It wasn’t everyday that one meant their god in an art gallery. “He doesn’t always like the actions I take, and I can’t say I like his choices either, but neither of us wanted the Set to succeed.” “And you left it to us,” Wax said, “you let...” “I did help...” But how, Wax knew, Kelsier would not tell. No, Kelsier wasn’t the kind of person who would reveal such relevant secrets. Why would he tell them this? “Where I could...it’s not about my ability to survive, to overcome...” “But ours...” Kelsier smiled at Steris’ words, unlike before, it touched his eye. Wax hadn’t heard that the Survivor was known for being sincere. “But you’re going to buy this piece.” “What.” “Or appear to,” he said, gesturing to the slender, glass case filled with metal, “it’s a gift...an apology, in a way.” “That doesn’t make sense.” “Fullborn need not make sense,” he said. Wax felt a headache starting at his temples. “Bend-alloy’s running out, dropping in three...two...” “We’ll make sure to send one of our servants to retrieve it soon,” Steris said, “it is a wonderful piece, I am a great admirer of yours.” He was amazed she could say that with such a plain look on her face. “Thank you,” Kelsier replied, taking her hand, he placed something in the pocket of her coat as he kissed the tips of her fingers. A part of Wax wanted to punch that obnoxious bastard for that gesture. “My lady?” “Steris Ladrian.” After a few more pleasantries, they left the gallery in a rush, Steris nearly dragging him away. Her eyes never met his until they reached their car and slipped into the back seat. Wax still hated motored vehicles, but no one in their class traveled in horse-drawn carriages anymore. If I hate cars so much, Wax thought, distracted momentarily, what do four-hundred year old men think of these things? Even when they settled into their seats and Steris glared at him until he buckled his seat belt, his wife did not speak. Instead, she stared out the window, watching the city pass them by as their driver, Hoid, took them home. “Steris?” he asked, breaking the awkward silence that had filled the cab. The driver had shut the small plastic window between him and the cab to give them some privacy, though he could probably here their conversation despite that. “He was not what I expected,” she said at long last. “Harmony is not what I expected,” he answered, placing an arm around her shoulder and bringing her to rest her head against his chest, “not even now, but the first time we spoke I was being shot at.” She giggled, though he could hear the faint echo of tears in her voice, “He’s hard...cold why did he insist on us having it?” Minutes passed. Quiet, uncertain minutes in which he gathered his thoughts. “Wax?” “What did he place in your pocket?” She blinked, then checked the pocket of her coat. Steris took out a small coin attached to a ribbon, bearing the engraving of Sovereign's face; it was a metalmind like the Southerners used. Bastard. “It’s a portrait that can only be seen when one burns iron or steel,” he answered. “Fascinating,” she replied, “it’s a con, isn’t it?” This suggestion left Wax bewildered. Just...like the rest of the art. But Kelsier was a con man, the Historica said, of course it was just another con. “We can see the portrait,” she said, “but most of our guests will see it as just a strange and frivolous piece of modern art without meaning or importance. The elderly, eccentric couple who...” Wax touched her tear-stained cheek. Gently, she placed her hand over his, meeting his steady gaze at last. “It might be better that way...” She cocked an eyebrow. “It’s of Lessie.” His sweet wife squeezed his hand, she did not speak, and neither did he. He was not certain what to say, sometimes...words could do little to speak truths. Some days, Harmony said, I think, he may be my friend, Waxillium. Others, I am certain we are enemies. More and more often, however, I am simply unsure. But he cares for this world, its people...he does love it... Though he does not understand what that means. 000 Three days later, Kay the artist was declared dead by authorities. If Kelsier were to ask Marsh, it was a little too dramatic, but he liked the idea that most of Kay’s art had gone up in smoke. It seemed a fitting fate for art that was supposed to be anarchic by nature, and Kay had burned up with it, a victim of a terrible accident although the authorities never found the body. Kelsier had simply left the burning building joining the crowd, slipping past all the chaos in the streets. No one else had been there, he’d made sure of it. Sazed would probably give him an earful anyways; after all, he had destroyed the work of others as well as his own, and destroyed a building, too. He stored Connection in a metalmind, using it to give him some peace, though Sazed would speak to him about this happenstance eventually. Or, he thought, sitting on one of the highest ledges on top of one of Elendel’s newest skyscrapers, he may send Marsh. What a joy that would be. Another lecture... He loved his brother, but Marsh could be a serious pain in the as-s at times. Sazed had yet to do so. Instead, he perched alone, looking out over Elendel as night fell over the city. The stars above, the Red Ripe too, filling him with worry, and the mist below, covering street and building alike. It was a thick mist tonight, nearly as thick as the nights in Luthadel. A few strands reached the ledge, licking his feet, attracted by his Allomancy. He smiled. Tin and Steel burned warmly in his stomach, but even that could not fully chase away the late winter chill, even in a city that rarely ever received snow. Here though, he could wrap his mistcloak around his body tightly, and watch the night pass by in peace, tapping Wakefulness to keep sleep at bay...Soon, however, he spotted a dark figure bounding up through the mists. Even after more than three-and-a-half centuries, Marsh lacked the gracefulness of a Mistborn. His spikes had granted him immense power, but his Pushes and Pulls were always a tad too strong, a bit too powerful. Whereas a Mistborn’s leaps and bounds were like a dancer flying through the mists, Marsh had as much grace as Windrunner falling with style. (4) Marsh eventually reached the ledge, although he had to Push on it to slow down his fall, denting it slightly. He landed on the skyscraper with a thud, announcing his presence, but Kelsier continued to peer down at the streets, watching the electric lights form pools of white or yellow in the mists. “Kelsier.” “Good evening, Marsh.” He raised a hand at his brother, but did not turn his head as he heard him approach. Like a fellow gargoyle, Marsh sat on the roof beside him. “Burning down art galleries?” his brother asked in that soft, gravelly voice he had managed to acquire throughout the centuries. It really had helped Marsh to make a frightening Death, all things considered. It was a nice finishing to the doom and groom vibe that his black cloak and multiple spikes helped to create. Appearance wise, he was an excellent choice for the role, personality wise, though, he still had a lot to work on. Marsh was still too kind to be Death. “Everyone was fine.” Kelsier waved a hand, trying to push back Marsh’s accusation like he might push the mist into the earth. Neither worked very well. “They found a boy’s body in the debris.” He meant his brother’s spiked eyes. “I didn’t...” “Know?” “There wasn’t anyone there,” he argued, standing, anger powering his steps as he began to pace the ledge, “I swear, I checked...” “He went in to save you,” said Marsh. He ran a hand through his now-short blond hair. It still covered most of his right eye, though he had removed the patch and stuck it in his pocket. “It...who?” “They weren’t sure.” He stopped pacing, standing at the opposite end of the ledge, glaring down the city like his...accident was its fault. “And Harmony?” He lifted his head. Marsh lips bent upwards a tad. “You know how he feels about telling us the last moments of others before they pass onto the Beyond.” Harmony believed that each person deserved privacy when they died. He’d only gotten to speak with...a few when Harmony requested it and if he was in the Cognitive Realm at the time. Most of those had been Survivorists; or their friends, like Breeze and Ham. “How old was he?” “Eighteen,” came his brother’s answer, “twenty at most. They were not sure.” Vin’s age when...His mouth grew dry. Thinking of that made him feel old, tired, but not the kind of tiredness a Feruchemist could simply store in a metalmind and be done with. No, it was the strange kind of weariness which sometimes came to those who had lived for so long... Kelsier gathered his cloak around him as though to shield him from both cold and time itself. “Dam-n.” He sighed, staring out into the mists. He hadn’t...meant it to go so far. He often did not like it when it did. He had gone too far with Spook, even with the Southerners, but he couldn’t always tell what too far looked like, when he went to the extent that he toyed with the hearts’ of people he tried to help. Preservation’s command not to do so still whispered in his Soul. It left him feeling something close to guilt, but what Marsh said next did not. “And you destroyed all that art.” “Anti-art,” he corrected, holding up a finger, “it was almost a perfect con.” Marsh frowned. His brother probably thought he should have been more somber, but, he was Kelsier, somber was boring. “Kelsier,” he said, “you destroyed a whole building...” A part of him laughed at that. Of all the things Marsh could reprimand him for, a building seemed like the least thing on that list, considering that he'd nearly brought down a whole civilization, once. Still, that had been centuries ago. They had to step much more carefully now... “They have insurance,” he answered, shrugging. “Listen, do you know how many wealthy bastards were frightened or bewildered by that crap? They tried to give meaning to shi-t.” “You made shi-t, art.” “I made them think it was art,” he said, grinning, “they bought into it, literally, it’s nearly as good as that time I tricked all those Elantrians to believe I was Ruin.” If his brother had eyes, he might have rolled them. Instead, lips flattened informing Kelsier that he had properly annoyed him. “That...” “Was brilliant.” Marsh grunted. “Bridge Four?” he asked, “Rosharans grunt so much that grunts are now their common tongue. Considering how many languages they have, it's the only one that they all can completely comprehend.” This elicited a chuckle at least. They again sat together in companionable silence, the night quickly passing into early dawn. The first rays of sunshine covered the city, bathing the city in red light, turning the skyscrapers into dark silhouettes against the rising sun. He dimmed his tin, letting it simmer, sunrises up here were brilliant, but he only had one eye to see them with, the other couldn’t tell the difference between night or day. It had its uses, other than creating a Connection to his Physical form. With the old Inquisitor spike, he could see any trace metals in buildings, ground, or even people, and use those to Push or Pull as needed. By creating a puncture in the Spiritual then through the Cognitive and into the Physical Realm, it let his Investiture into his his old body, anew, providing a new string. Spikes pierced into the soul. There was more to it than that, but each day was a new one taken, stolen for-- “Brother,” he frowned, but looked up at Marsh as he spoke, “why did you give Waxillium that portrait?” Why does this feel like one of Saze’s inquiries? He did not ask that, Marsh should have been proud. Perhaps age had quelled his tongue a tad at long last. “It was a gift.” Marsh stared at him with those spiked eyes. Even Kelsier sometimes found them unnerving despite having one of his own. “Is it possible that I feel some guilt for all that occurred? Or...something akin to it?” “Is it that...or...?” “I just wanted to help.” He wasn’t sure if that was true, or if he had just wanted to present his ironic anti-art. Anarchy with a solution. He wasn’t a good man, after all, Vin had taught him that. He had too much ego to be truly good, no matter how hard he tried... In some ways, his Connection to others was frayed...broken. “Alright,” he said, throwing Marsh his infamous insufferable grin, “it was about style too.“ All he got in reply was yet another grunt which quickly transformed into a gravelly sigh. His brother just had to accept it was one of those days. 000 Original A/N: It’s hard writing cosmere fanfiction especially for something that hasn’t been written yet and also based on the Modern art period. I need to add more details on mechanist art, but probably later. Tumblr gets the rough draft, I’m so sorry...not really. While somethings aren’t said outright, partially because of predicting canon is hard, Marasi isn’t mentioned. Also, this supposes that Wax doesn’t meet Kelsier in the Last Metal, which makes this highly likely that it will end up as an AU. I don’t, personally, think that the Set is Kell’s organization [who knows what WoB might brew, though], I think his commented to protecting the world outweighs that likelihood. That being said, I think it might be his fault, partially, that things are the way that they are in the series. Kell is, obviously, messing around, partially because he can’t leave people alone. He’s right, he inspires people, but he plays with them too because he can’t see that other people also have feelings as well as most can [being a sociopath], though I think he’s gotten a little better at it after forming some healthier links with Preservation in Secret History. Kelsier still does not get that harassing nobles just to harass nobles isn’t nice, though. And thus...MISTBORN-STYLE DADA WAS BORN BECAUSE KELL IS ANARCHIST. 1) MeLaan has a passion for throwing news papers in people’s faces, apparently, she did this to TenSoon and now has done it to Wax too. She also will probably do it to Wayne too. 2) Imagine how that went. lol. 3) Since Alloy, lone persons have mentioned seeing Kelsier in the countryside encouraging them; in Bands of Mourning, some of the captured Set members mentioned stories of the Survivor stuffed into their head (to incite Civil War). Assuming Wax heard of the later stories from Marasi, he is drawing assumptions about Kelsier’s role/relationship with the Set (which will probably not be destroyed, I think, but will prove to be a much larger threat than we know). 4) Yes, this assumes that Kelsier has been to Roshar, and doesn’t think that Windrunning is as graceful as Allomancy. What an elitist.

Get drunk, start writing. Become sober, look at your writing, edit it, and pick out good ideas. Apparently, that's how ancient Chinese writers got their poems and novels. I haven't tried it yet. Sounds fun.