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I have recently been doing some re-reading of the Stormlight Archive, and some new clues stood out to me about the nature of the third Bondsmith spren. So, naturally, I wrote a whole essay about it. Proceed at your own risk! I don't think I've seen this theory discussed before, but my apologies if it has been. (Also, it's late, so I don't promise coherency.) My theory is that The Sibling is a spren that is somehow related to or representative of the moons of Roshar, particularly Nomon. Further, I think the destruction of New Natanan and the Shattered Plains may have been what harmed The Sibling and caused it to “slumber.” Still reading? Ok, here’s why I think these things: The main basis for this theory comes from the scene in which Shallan, Adolin, and Bridge Four confront the Midnight Mother. During that confrontation, Shallan notes the artwork: This seems to be a depiction of all the spren that are capable of forming bonds with Radiants. That means that the first three spren Shallan describe are actually depictions of the Bondsmith spren. So we have a cloud of energy; that seems to obviously be the Stormfather. We have a woman in the shape of the tree; this could be the Nightwatcher. That leaves us with a man hovering before a blue disc. This description is uncannily similar to the end paper art we have of Ishar. (Here) You’ll note that the discs in the background definitely look like the three moons of Roshar, with the smaller Salas and Mishim on either side of Nomon. So, why is there a picture of Ishar and the moons next to depictions of the Radiant spren? My thought is that the moons must somehow be related to The Sibling. (Of course, the other argument is that these are not depictions of the Bondsmith spren, but actually of Honor and Cultivation. But does that make Ishar some secret shard? Did people view him as on a level equal to Honor and Cultivation? He does seem pretty insistent that he is a god right now. But still, I’m going to stick with the Bondsmith spren depiction idea for now.) Additional support for the idea that the moons are related to the third Bondsmith spren: I find it interesting that the Stormfather always refers to this sibling in the plural. This could be purely to obscure the gender. Or it could be because the spren represents multiple things, rather like a collective noun. In this case, we have a spren that represents the moon, and Roshar just so happens to have three of them. And further, it’s understandable why the Stormfather refers to this spren as his sibling, but why does everybody else seem to call it The Sibling? Sibling to what? In the epigraphs, even a former Radiant, who should have more knowledge about who/what the third spren is, refers to it as the Sibling, as if that’s the only name it goes by. If it’s just because it’s the sibling Bondsmith spren, then why do Radiants refer to the Stormfather by his unique name, but not the Sibling? I find it interesting that the Shin refer to the moons as the three sisters. And Wit, in his story of Nomon, refers to the relationships among the moons as siblings. Speaking of that story that Wit told (and Sigzil attempted to tell, unsuccessfully) If my theory is in any way right, and if there is any truth at all in Wit’s story, then it brings some interesting implications about the relationship between Nomon’s spren and the Natanatan people, maybe even giving a clue as to what happened to the Sibling. The story tells about how Mishim traded places with Tsa, a mortal, and Tsa conceived a child with Nomon. We know that the story alludes to the fact that Natanatans had Aimian blood in them. But I think it may also be a hint about the Sibling (assuming I’m right about the connection with Nomon). Interestingly, this story is the only other mention of siblings, besides the Sibling in Oathbringer. Also, purely coincidentally I’m sure, I find it interesting that the epigraphs about the Sibling begin in the chapter following Wit’s story. The story clearly establishes a connection between the people of Natanatan and Nomon. This could also imply that there’s a connection between the people of Natanatan and the Sibling. Perhaps the Sibling even originated or lived in Natanatan. Before I go any further, let’s go back to those epigraphs for a second. In them, the Elsecaller who is recording the memory seems to believe that the Sibling is withdrawing from the Radiants, not because it intended to or because the Radiants are no longer worthy, but because the cognitive reflection has changed. In other words, people are thinking about the Sibling differently, and so the Sibling has itself changed. We know that the kingdom of Natanatan was destroyed, and the Shattered Plains (once Stormseat, the capital of Natanatan) was, well, shattered. Perhaps it was this shattering and the loss of Natanatan that caused the harm to the Sibling, which caused it to withdraw. Perhaps because the people were no longer there, they were no longer thinking of the Sibling, causing it to “slumber.” Also, Wit ends his story with, Perhaps this is a reflection, again, of what happened to the Sibling. It learned of loss, somehow. The loss of Natanatan? Other Interesting Tidbits: In Way of Kings, Dalinar refers to Natanatan as the Granite Kingdom. I don’t really know if this is relevant, but stone is important on Roshar. Additionally, they were a people apparently known for building towers. Again, I think this strengthens the idea that the people of Natanatan were perhaps involved in the creation of the tower in Urithiru and also had some connection to the Sibling, which we suspect powers Urithiru. And, I find it curious that Oathbringer mentions that New Natanan was working with Dalinar, but we hear literally nothing about them: This seems fishy to me. I think those New Natanans are going to become important. And lastly, we have this little bit from an interlude, which has some interesting mythology surround the people of Natanatan. Well, the night is darkest is just before the rising of Nomon. Also, an Everstorm really helps to make things dark. Perhaps we need the people of New Natanatan to come back, to restore the Sibling and thus restore the tower. And this lengthy essay doesn’t even begin to get into possible connections with Aimia. Or what on earth Roshar Ishar is doing in that depiction of the moons in Urithiru. And, is there any significance to the son Tsa had, the son born to be a god?

Day One: Mawwiage Grandpa Steel waved his hands into the air, entering the drama of the moment. "And so, they put Wesley on the cart-" Alvron coughed. Grandpa Steel looked at him. "I find it boring that Wesley has to sit on the cart for all that time. What would happen if he went in and charged the wedding immediately?" The aged man pulled down his reading glasses down a bit. "You really have it in for these characters, don't you." Despite that, he continued to alter the story. "I, the Dread Pirate Roberts, have come for your souls", the Giant intoned. Facing an unearthly burning apparition, backed up by a score of nasty looking pirates, the entire guard fled. Wesley got up off the cart, the miracle pill having taken full effect. "We have to find Buttercup!" The group glared at him. "No we don't. YOU need to find Buttercup. We are going to take the castle." "And I am looking for the Six Fingered Count. He is Mine to kill," growled Inigo. "Well then," Wesley said brightly. "We split up. Pirates, you split up into groups of 5. Fezzik, you go with Inigo. I can handle myself." --- The noise of the guard screaming could be heard within the wedding. While the bishop droned on, Prince Humperdinck waited impatiently. "...Mawwiage. Mawwiage is wat bwings us togeder today. Mawwiage, that bwessed awwangement, that dweam wifin a dream… " Doors slammed, and men screamed. Buttercup looked up in hope."And wuv, twue wuv, will fowwow you foweva… " Prince Humperdinck looked more and more nervous. Splintering wood could be heard. "So tweasure your wuv— " "Skip to the end," insisted the Prince. The bishop raised a massive eyebrow, then proceeded along with his request. "Do you have da wing?" "Alas, he does not!" shouted Wesley as he entered the room. At the sight of the Dread Pirate Roberts, the crowd fled- and so did the Prince. Buttercup ran to Wesley, and they embraced. "I knew you would come for me." "We aren't done yet. We need to take this palace, or this country is going to go to war with Gilder. I brought my pirates and my new friends, so hopefully we can keep Humperdinck's scheme from working. Inigo told me that you were to be killed to set off the war; so I will keep you safe," explained Wesley. Buttercup brought out a small dagger she had had in her dress. "I've learned a thing or two. I'm not quite as helpless as before. Let's go get him." And the two ran, hands clasped, in the direction that Humperdinck had gone. --- Elsewhere in the castle, a group of pirates growled, looking for more palace guards to fight. Unfortunately for them, the Humperdinck and his Count, along with his best guards surprised them from behind. The pirates went down with hardly a sound. "Are you sure this will work, by putting on their pirate... apparel?" asked one of the guards. "I am sure. It will give us the opportunity to get the drop on those pirates. But make sure the Princess stays alive- for now." They all put on pirate apparel, and went looking for people. "My liege, these pirates. May I use them for further research in the machine?" asked the Count. "Of course. I am not sure how that Wesley survived, but this time I intend to kill him myself. Besides him and Buttercup, you may have the rest." The Count smiled, and flexed his six-fingered hand. "Excellent." Day One has begun! It will end at 7PM EST on 6/3/18 Player List Today's fashion is using the language of the Priest! Hard consonants are gone in the jokes that will get all the points. Let the fun begin!

I've read everything that Brandon Sanderson has put out and I am happy to join a forum with like minded people. Life before death.

We had been thinking of making this change for a while. I feel like there have been plenty of posts in that forum that were not "theories" but spanned across series. I don't expect this to alter the fabric of that forum. Theorizers are the biggest audience on the Shard, really. We were thinking of this change for years. I would be opposed to having Cosmere Theories and a separate Cosmere Discussion area. Our forum list is too long and people already don't put things in the correct location. Increasing the number of forums creates a problem of two many choices, a friction for newer members to get involved, and I'd like to have that friction be lower. Edit: In addition, if there were two such boards, how would we enforce what is a "high-level" theory? I feel like that is a recipe for colossal disaster where there would be a group of hardcore theorizers with their space, and people who try to delve in just feel the group is very exclusive so the Discussion forum has most of the discussion and new theorizing. Some people will get upset about what gets deemed a theory and which don't. Such a split seems very unwise and difficult to enforce. The line can be subtle.

My housemate and I share a birthday and she set up a Facebook event with the word 'Spikey' in it. (For non-Cosmere related reasons) I'm going to bake chocolate chip cookies and giggle manically to myself every time someone eats one. There is maybe two people coming who may get the joke.

Hi all, I wanted to introduce myself as that seems to be the decorum. I'm a nerd, gamer, reader, and writer, so precisely the 17th Shard's demographic. I apologize in advance if I come across... let's say clunky. As the Title suggests, I am a true beginner at basically anything resembling this. I've never used the internet to connect with people (one of its proclaimed most popular applications). I find most corners of the internet disagreeable. However, I have been a big fan of the Cosmere for a few years now and I thought if I were to dip my toe into somewhere, it would be here: with people who hopefully share my interests. I hope to share and discuss with fellow fans on here. I'm particularly interested in talking about writing. I often find myself having to explain to people what I'm going for when I write epic fantasy (even more specifically when I tell them about Hard Magic systems), so I'm hoping it'll be a breath of fresh air to have discussions with a shared foundation such as Brandon's work. Anyway, I ramble. Greetings to all, Lunarhade

Araris was slightly taken aback as he saw what passed for a healer around here sticking body parts onto a corpse, that was apparently still alive. I am definitely not on Carna any more. "My name is Awawis Vawewerian and..." Araris frowned. "My name is Awawis Vaw ... Bother." He retreated behind a building and made some minor adjustments to his appearance. Araris came back around the corner and could hardly be recognized as the same person, with matted hair covering most of his face and an ugly brand partly hidden underneath. He had a broad, witless smile on his face, and spoke slowly, slurring his words a bit. "My name is Fade. Me hewp?"

Elantris spoilers:

Thank you, one and all, for attending this rendition of A Midsummer Night with No Moon in 5 acts. Join us after the break for the epilogue.

Gaskana sighed, more exhausted than defiant. "Do you truly believe Haliax to be the great evil you make him out to be, Ruach? There can be no morality without autonomy. We erase all knowledge of our existence because we must. The Sithe annihilate all those who approach the Cthaeh because they must. There is only one evil here; the same being responsible for corrupting us all. The Cthaeh causes misery and pain because it wants to, not out of any sense of necessity. We now have a chance to stop it. The Cthaeh may by nigh-omniscient and immortal, but its power is limited while trapped in the tree. The Cthaeh can see all possible futures, but that won't help it if all futures lead to defeat." "If the Cthaeh cannot be destroyed, it's influence must be contained. You believe approaching the Cthaeh will ensure our deaths, and the deaths of countless others? Perhaps, perhaps you are right. No matter. I am Pale Alenta, and I bring the blight." She gestured, and five enormous Scrael emerged from Alenta's tent, skittering across the ground and coming to a rest at Alenta's feet. "Even if containment is the only option, using sapient, powerful beings to guard an entity that can corrupt with a word will only end in sorrow. There is a better way. The Scrael are nearly mindless. Only I have dominion over them; the Cthaeh will not be able to control or corrupt such creatures. I will send them to guard the tree. The Namer among the troupe members can create an iron barricade to ensure they remain at their post." Alenta turned to the spear wielder. "You ask whether the Sithe will kill us all? I can assure you, they will see no other choice. This troupe has come too close to the Cthaeh. Everyone here is already corrupted. The Chandrian and the Sithe are in its thrall. We traveled the realm in secret, but the Sithe stayed to prevent anyone else from being corrupted as they had, and over time have become mere puppets, no longer the Cthaeh's jailers but its doorkeepers. It's time for this era to end in flames. I shall die, the Sithe shall die, and the Cthaeh shall remain contained by iron and Scrael while new barriers can be put in place by your troupe members. If you want to ensure that the malign influence affecting the troupe ends here, you too will step onto the pyre when your preparations are complete." Fifth Scholar, old friend, would you like to be the first to join me as we burn to death, properly this time?

Shree King Eels burst into the hallway from another room. He had been doing some research on the powers of the man known as Miracle Max, and he had come to share his results. "I've got analysis!" he boomed, his voice echoing down the hallway, "Miracle Max, if so inclined, could effectively save all of us from torture and death in the Pit of Despair. However, if so inclined, he could also effectively multiply the wives of Humperdinck's men!" Wait--multiply the wives? He had meant to say 'multiply the lives'. How embarrassing! He tried again. "Sorry, I said that he could multiply their wives!" It happened again! And to make matters worse, a priest--no not that one--poked his head around the corner, looking at Eels with a scandalized expression. This would not do! "I'm sorry sir, I'm just trying to mention that they might get multiple wives!" The priest drew a knife. Where had he gotten a knife? "Mr. Eels, if you say something like that again..." "It was just an accident. I don't know what is going on!" The priest stepped closer. Eels' hand went to the sword at his waist, and he drew it as the threatened, "If you take one more step, I will not hesitate to take your wife--no, wife--I said wife!" The priest turned at the sight of the sword and fled, screaming "Adulterer! Serial adulterer in the corridors! Guards!" This was certainly not turning out to be a good day. OOC: I'm using this RP to bring up a real point: if we get Miracle Max on our side, he can effectively negate the elim kill. But if the elims get him on their side, he could make the elims very hard to lynch, under cover of resurrecting people they trust. Miracle Max has incentive to work with both: the elims can help by providing names of elims who have died, but Max needs to resurrect more villagers than elims. If it comes to threats, both sides have repeatable kills, but that might make Max betray the blackmailer to the other side. If a side can convince Miracle Max to work exclusively for them, and only do the minimum resurrections for the other side, that side has a large advantage.

"All nations spend peacetime preparing for war" I've been reading up a lot recently on the theory that it really doesnt matter what type of person the leader of a country is even in the most autocratic of situations- they must always bow to the card that geography has dealt them. For example, France must always be very careful in its dealings with Germany because that is Frances weakest border and so its either got to keep Germany weak as it did before the German reunification or its got to work so closely with Germany that its in both of their best interests to stay allies as it has been doing since the EU. There are certain criteria that you can apply to any country (as best as I can figure) to create a picture of its foreign policy based on geography which will remain basically the same hundreds of years after any particular government has fallen out of power. These criteria are: Access to the sea (especially warm water) Navigable Waterways Defensible borders Availability of food (fertility of its territory) Availability of natural resources Ethnic groups Proximity to other great powers Size of population Proximity to other powers So I decided to apply these criteria to the great powers of Roshar and work out what Queen Fen has on her mind that influences the way she deals with the Viziers of Azir and vice versa. I'll include my own comments in brackets but I thought this format would be fun. A Report To Her Majesty Queen Jasnah of House Kholin, blessed by the Almighty with Dominion over the territories Kholin, Sadeas, Aladar, Ruthar, Roion, Bethab, Sebarial, Thanadal, Vamah and Hatham, may her reign be long and fruitful, on the General State of Her Territories and Beyond as they existed before the Desolation Alethkar: The history of the Alethi peoples has been marked by cycles of unification and disintegration- currently we are in a state of unification and as always, when an Alethi monarch's rule stretches from sea to shining sea, we become a force with incredible power through a combination of many different factors. Firstly, Alethkar is protected from three sides by the sea, the unclaimed hills and the frostlands. This means that the only direction a land attack could come from is from Jah Keved and that too is partially prevented by the foothills of the Sunmakers and the Horneater peaks. This fortress like nature has not however, turned against us, as it has in Shinovar, preventing any Shin from projecting power across Makabak and cutting them off from the majority of trade. This is because of the physical proximity we have with the markets of Thaylenah, Jah Keved through the Tarat Sea, which has served to enrich Karanak and Dumadari. Additionally, Alethkar has more rivers than any other kingdom, which makes the land fertile and also enables easy, cheap transportation of the crops we produce to foreign markets. The costs we cut through river transportation, and the lower prices we are able to offer customers means we are often the supplier of choice for them- this enriches us and creates a dependency on us which can be used to our advantage in foreign negotiations. Kharbranth and Thaylenah especially would be hit hard by economic sanctions as they themselves have very little farmland and must import most of their food- it is for this reason that the Thaylens must keep an ally in either Alethkar or Jah Keved as things stand because either could supply them adequately but they recognise the weakness overdependency would bring. However, there are certain weaknesses that the Almighty has seen fit to confer on us- principally the difficulty in maintaining internal unity that has prevented Alethkar from truly dominating the east. One of the greatest tragedies is that there is no connection between the Windrunner and Deathbend rivers as this has combined with the relative narrowness of the pass between the Sunmakers and the Unclaimed Hills to delineate two clear spheres of influence within Alethkar; the northern and the southern. It was after all, Rathalas who rebelled from Kholin overlordship, southerners who rebelled against northerners and Highprince Thanadal was one of the most vocal opposition parties to His Royal Highness Highking Dalinar following the Vengeance Pact (according to the coppermind). The south is also more powerful than the north in terms of economics due to how well connected it is to the markets of the Tarat Sea and the recent management of the Sebarial and Hatham princedoms- the north must do what it can with the route through Herdaz to the Reshi Sea, though this takes longer and is less profitable due to the smaller market and extra costs of overland, international travel. Why the Almighty cursed us with those damned island chains to the north, all but cutting us off from the sea apart from small scale fishing I shall never know. It is thus imperative that Your Majesty curtail the power of the Southron Princedoms that they are not minded to rebel- failing this the alliance with Sebarial is invaluable and must be maintained at all costs. The traditional method employed by your predecessors has been to focus them with military campaigns, however this is becoming impractical as the horneater peaks form a natural barrier to westwards expansion, and expansion in all other directions isn't worth the effort. Additionally, all highprinces are war weary and the supply chains for further expansion would be unreasonable- so your majesty must begin the centralisation of the government as soon as possible. As long as these territories remain under your power, they represent Kholinars primary source of income and so, their access to the southern depths must be protected- Jah Keved is a land based power and Kharbranth is far too small and vulnerable to pose a threat. Thaylenah however, has the strongest navy on the sea and could with not great effort blockade Alethkars access to trade with Makabak perhaps in order to tax our goods. An imperative of her majesty's is thus to keep Thaylenah occupied in other areas of the world and cow the Thaylens with shows of military strength- though they are virtually unassailable in their island fortress. Failing this, response to Thaylen sea power would have to mean that we increase land based trade to Kharbranth and Jah Keved, which could potentially maintain the economy even if we lose access to to Azir and its protectorates. Jah Keved Jah Keved is a country of wide variation and has many potential strengths due to its large territory and coastline on two seas giving it potential naval power over a massive swathe of the worlds oceans. The Veden King is the protector of Valath and thus has prestige among Vorins as protector of the Holy Enclave. Vedenar and the Veden cultural centres are highly connected to the Vorin economy by dint of proximity to Alethkar, Kharbranth and Thaylenah which has led to southern prosperity and ability to project power into the north of the country. Jah Keved is sheltered from the storms by Sunmaker mountains and the Horneater peaks, leading to unparalleled fertility which in turn paves the way for large workforces, wealth and power. Furthermore, there are mineral deposits of immense value throughout the Veden lands although centred in Bavland. All of these things make Jah Keved highly desirable. Perhaps the best way to understand Jah Keved is as a multi ethnic contiguous empire- the mountains are a blessing and a curse because they create numerous small ethnic groups that are very difficult to fully subdue, see themselves as autonomous and act with virtual internal autonomy as well. This means that there is always the risk of these becoming fully independent and Vedenar must attempt to integrate these populations as soon as possible, or at the very least ensure their loyalty. Jah Keveds proximity to Alethkar also ensures that it must constantly defend itself against Alethi advances and this has prevented them from turning their attention westwards to fully subjugate Tu Bayla (which would take no particular effort considering the disunity among the nomadic tribes and the Veden shardblades- the Vedens have in the past expressed interest in hiring certain tribes of Tu Bayla as a police force (like the Cossacks of imperial Russia))or to attempt to dominate trade in the Reshi sea. In this situation, Jah Keved would far eclipse our own kingdom, in size, population, wealth and military power and threaten Alethi integrity. As such, our “pointless” skirmishing with the Vedens has helped keep the balance between us- after this war, I doubt we will be able to continue it however, and we need to find other ways to halt the Veden rise. Trade alliances with western kingdoms such as Rira or Iri could help limit Veden economic power in the Reshi sea and we could also ensure Tu Baylas autonomy and encourage further autonomy of a horneater state (obviously one allied to the Alethi) or any other of the ethnic or political groups in the “empire”. If Jah Keved were to fully fragment, this would obviously have its advantages for the alethi crown, however too much political instability would spill over into our own lands in the form of refugees from small ethnicity states (like ethnic refugees in the Balkan wars) and possibly even encourage separatism within alethkar, which as mentioned before is unacceptable, so encouraging ethnic tension within Jah Keved is a double edged sword. Perhaps support could be given to the Herdazians to help them annex Northgrip and cripple the Vedens there, however the rise of a powerful Herdaz threatens the Alethi north as well so isn’t our first choice. At present the Vedens are weakened by their civil war, but this state of affairs will not last and we need to ensure that when peace is restored to the world it is under the Alethi world order. Something must be done and at present, fracturing the “empire” seems like the most viable option, so we must be prepared to take full advantage of this fragmentation as soon as possible by allowing the rival factions to weaken each other and then swooping in to invade before a winner can emerge or any perceived successes inspire southern alethi separatist movements. Makabak My personal view of Azir, your Majesty, is that it is a weak state pretending at former glory with a top heavy bureaucracy that is simply unsustainable. It seems very likely that it will soon fracture, with western Makabaki states declaring their total independence.Perhaps Azir will retain Tashikk due to the large Azish population there and the states of Desh and Emul As Emul needs to be allied with Azir to give it strategic depth in its war with Tukar and Desh is simply too poor and small to retain independence. Azir faces very little threat from the north as it is protected by mountains apart from a small pass- however it is completely defenceless from the rest of Makabak with no geographical borders to stop an approaching army- historically it first protected itself through military strength, forging the empire of Makabak that mirrored the Silver Era Kingdom. Then Azir built its present fortifications which protect the city itself from attack and with the immediate threat neutralised had little justification for the costs of a large standing army. So, to cut down on the size of the army, the empire developed its famed bureaucracy that provided members benefits to remaining part of the empire, which worked well for a while; in the modern period however, the bureaucracy has grown unwieldy and the individual kingdoms are becoming more and more independent as they benefit less- the Prime is now reduced to a mere figurehead who cannot exercise power for fear of sending his subjects into total revolt. Thus I predict the breakup of the empire in the near future- despite this, Azir will always be primus inter pares within Makabak because of its centrality and abundance of raw materials through its control of the highly defensible mining city of Zawfix. Thaylenah Thaylenah is perhaps best positioned to benefit from the breakup of the Azish empire. The modern Thaylen question is how to support its sudden population growth caused by economic prosperity- as the population increases, Thaylen City becomes more and more dependent on foreign imports from Alethkar and Jah Keved which could weaken its foreign policy ad infinitum. To prevent this Queen Fen must secure a source of food very soon and her eyes seem to be on Marat, Emul and Tukar. These regions are militarily destroyed by infighting and now by Voidbringers, so upon our victory, it is my belief that Thaylenah will claim these territories as reparations for Thaylen Fields and secure itself a breadbasket. This could prove advantageous to Your Majesty as it directs the Thaylen's attention away from blockading Alethkar and towards subjugating the new territories. Another part of Thaylen policy to note is that they live in fear that the Alethi will one day expand to the Frostlands and then be able to stage an invasion onto their island from the east- the point where their navy is weakest and our infantry is most effective. As such they have been instrumental in ensuring the autonomy of Kharbranth to use as a buffer state, but if Kharbranth ever seems like it might let Alethkar into the Frostlands, the Thaylens will invade either Kharbranth or the entire Frostlands preemptively. Iri The only kingdom in this report to have sided with the enemy- Iri is a unique case. Its incredibly long coastline (like Norway, longer than it looks) leads to fishing revenue and potential to dominate the Reshi sea and perhaps even land an invading force into northern Jah Keved. Though it is warmer than Azir (this was based off a WoB i think), it is not a desert region because of its rough mountainous terrain. Its major population centre, Rall Elorim is situated in the mountains, which partially explains why the population is so small (mountain regions are typified on earth by small poor populations). Additionally, the main port city, Kasitor is on the wrong side of the country to trade with the Reshi sea and Jah Keved, so its limited to its original purpose of fishing with the occasional merchant ship who only comes to the edge of the world because its close to the fertile lands of Shinovar. One other problem of the mountainous terrain is that large scale agriculture is completely unviable, dooming Iri to poverty unless they secure a breadbasket. They have the high ground after all, and after eyeing those lands for decades (mentioned in Oathbringer), they finally conquered the relatively fertile lowlands of Rira and Babartharnam in this war in order to gain something to export, food for ts people and connections to the major trade routes of the world that it was previously in the periphery of, such as the Jah Keved- Reshi- Purelake- Azir route. Now that they have access to those routes, I believe they will attempt to either conquer the fertile lands of northern Jah Keved or the closer and less well defended Shinovar, which is protected from all except the Iriali by mountains. I am as ever, your humble servant, Brightlord Madhav of House Deval I hope ive raised some good points and if anyone has anything to add or question then im all for revising this geopolitical model. Thank you for reading.

When it rains steadily for more than a day and your family is super confused about this 'Weeping' you keep mentioning

I first heard of Brandon through WOT. Loved the way he wrote and finished off the series so much; I picked up Stormlight and am quickly gobbling up everything he has written. Currently, I am on Scadrial with dishy Wax and Wayne. I can't stop!

when you see jewelry and start thinking they are metalminds. Especially when it is someone with a ton of piercings.

Just discovered this podcast. You got yourself a new member.

I didn't die! Yippee! Another birthday.

I want to get a second opinion on this since I'm not the best at identifying mental disorders on other people. One of my bosses is one of those who will be sweet as pie to you one minute and then pounce on you like a tiger, or Joan Crawford in Mommy Dearest, the next. My mom thinks she might have bipolar disorder and when looking it up a few symptoms seemed to match up (not fully thinking out consequences, not being able to sleep since we get emails from her at 3am a lot) but I'd rather not make the judgment call on this since I don't know if it's her being bipolar or having a power trip.

Incan enjoyed the use of w in place of bad letters

Don't know If this is relevant but my sister asked me why the internet was not working and I immediately said: Something must be blocking the Dor.

You start losing your hair and think: The shaod has come for me!

We do see Adolin doing a fair amount of introspection. However, this mostly happens in Part 4 and I think it's rather drowned out by Dalinar, Kaladin and Shallan's big bouts of heavy introspection. So by contrast he comes across as stronger and more stable. I think if we'd seen more of this in Parts 1-3 it would have made Adolin's character arc stronger, I think. Chapter 83: Chapter 89: So here we see Adolin confronted with the first time the realisation that he really could become king, and soon. Also, I was wondering if he was trying to cope with his stress by being helpful to others and pushing aside his emotions? Ie it's not that he was coping with the stress by itself due to being strong but was (somewhat deliberately) using a coping mechanism - keep busy, like we see in Part 1 when he was thinking about how he had killed Sadeas. Chapter 93: Adolin's "Welcome to being the son of Dalinar storming Blackthorn" line is definitely sarcastic. We do start to see him become used to the situation but only in the sense that he realises how ignorant he had been. Chapter 101: Until his conversation with Azura, Adolin had never even considered abandoning his duty (to be king if necessary) but didn't like the idea either. Chapter 108: Adolin hoping for some help from Shallan. Chapter 117: Adolin was completely outclassed here and was literally saved by his sword. He even told the others to abandon him, due to being wounded.

I found Adolin really works for me as a reaction character, as in when things happen, I look to him to see how he reacts to it. I always find it entertaining, and whenever I'm worried he's going to react badly... Like, for me, I can't describe what a pleasant relief it is to have the dudebro character be so consistently good-natured. I realize this is exactly the point that other people find boring, but after a lifetime of being a woman reading other mainstream sff, and being expected to roll with heroic male characters say/do some really hinky garbage... I'm so glad Adolin has never made me feel like that. He takes up less story time than a main character, but he's not a minor character, either, so I've taken to calling him a supporting main. I don't think I'd go so far as others have and call him the boring normal - but I do enjoy seeing the guy with no superpowers happily rolling with the giant magic apocalypse plot he's been thrown into. He has no choice but to try and do his part; since so much of his family (which he is so enthusiastic about! I love how enthusiastic he is about how much he clearly likes, respects, and loves his family members, thank you Evi) is so central to what's happening, and he doesn't even think about peacing out, not a bit of "well, looks like you all have this!" In WoK, I think Brandon did well to set him up as a compare and contrast against Dalinar, and there's been that tension between "he seems primed to take over after Dalinar" vs "he's not/never going to be the man Dalinar is" which has been here for all three books and I'm on pins and needles seeing what's going to happen by the end of book 5 - which honestly, is when I'm expecting something to happen to Dalinar. He shines in his relationship with Renarin, and built one of my favourite relationships in the genre with Kaladin and what they have together as friends. He never felt to me like he takes advantage of his position, and seems to me thoughtful about his own current actions and future position. I really appreciate that he had the time to actually have the thoughts about whether he has a place in this world where his family and loved ones are all superheroes before Mayalaran happened, and I think if Adolin's arc is going to pick up into him gaining superpowers as well, I'm glad at least any page time was spent on him realizing that he just has to accept his position as the non-powers guy. I feel like it's tougher for him, because he so genuinely likes all these superpowered folks around him, he doesn't even allow himself the option of being bitter about it. Why be bitter if it's his father/brother/wife/aunt/best friend, who he clearly really likes? I thought it was a high mark of his character that he doesn't feel bitter about it. Just... maybe sad and uncertain. I'm about ready to drop, but I really want to go longer on this, so perhaps I'll pick it up in the morning!

I absolutely loved the EU and Original Trilogy references. One in particular that I enjoyed was Han saying he made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, but later telling Chewie that he rounded down, because IIRC in A New Hope he says he did it in less than 12. Total Han move right there. I thought The Maw was well-done, as was Han's time in the army. In the train sequence the marauders seemed a bit underpowered, but that work that their leader did with the vibro-axe (or at least it looked like a vibro-axe) made up for it. What I didn't really like was that the end was a bit predictable. The whole fake-coaxium-is-the-real-coaxium thing got me, but I called both Beckett's and Qira's betrayals from a mile away. Beckett dropped the cliche "don't trust anybody" line early on, so I immediately called it that he was going to backstab Han in a climactic moment, and Qira had backstabbed too many people to not backstab Han in the end. I also called that Han was going to shoot Beckett first, because it was the next step in his character development, but it was satisfying enough that I didn't care that I had called it. There's one big plot hole that bugs me: Lando's droid attempted to free all of the slaves on Kessel, but they had no way off-planet. With no escape from inevitable reinforcements, even if they had killed every single guard, they would have just been slaughtered in the end. Where's the freedom in that?

@Bugsy I am aware that we are all pirates, but you are the only person that actually called yourself a pirate. Since you chose your name before alignments were assigned, I'm not sure how me mentioning it could be an elim slip. Regardless, Dread Pirate Cummerbund. @randuir There doesn't seem to be too much reason to speculate on elim numbers. the 20% and square root rules both land us solidly around 5 elims. LYLO would happen at Day 9 I think (8 mislynches and 8 elim kills leaving 6 villages and 5 elims). But that isn't reliable, since Miracle Max and Dread Pirate Roberts can speed up/slow that down. Then there are the dagger and rum abilities, which could further influence when LYLO happens. We can probably start worrying around cycle nine or ten if no elims have been killed. Fade spoke to the gathered pirates in a whisper, although there was no subtlety to the volume of his voice. "Don't twust you. Keep secwets to mysewf. Don't twust me eithew. Don't want youw secwets." Another voice suddenly echoed from the heavens, causing all present to cover their ears with the volume. "Pwactice Pwivate Message Safety you foows!" Fade gestured vaguely toward the voice in the sky by means of agreement, and then wandered off.

wow. there goes my battleship. I dunno why everyone's mad about this. I thought it was obvious it was a joke because my only evidence was 'think about it,' oh, well. there are a time and place, I guess. I'll keep my other fake theory to myself I apologize for any misinterpretations of this, I have learned a lot from this expirience.

If Dalinar wrote Oathbringer as Patrick Rothfuss: I have won shards from Alethi brightlords. I burned the town of Rathalas. I have visited the Nightwatcher and left with both a boon and a curse. I became a killer at an age before most even learned to fight. I walk paths during storms that others fear in the weeping. I have destroyed kingdoms, beaten kings and met gods that would make worldhoppers weep. My name is Dalinar Kholin, Blackthorn. You may have heard of me.

I'm just wondering Gancho Libre, but what exactly are you trying to accomplish here? You aren't really convincing anyone, and from what I've seen not too many people are laughing, and even if it was as a joke, you seem to be defending it as if it weren't even though people are clearly arguing against it. I might have said upvotes (this may come hand in hand with the laughing part), but you don't seem to be getting too many. Besides this fact you yourself have admitted that it was "a fake theory [made] long ago" (also you're a High Prelan and have over 800 posts) - why didn't you mention this from the start and save people the trouble of arguing against it? If they thought it was funny, and knew it was a joke, it might be easier for them to play along. I made a joke theory once, starting it with: "Now, I know this really isn't true, but just pretend it is for a minute and let's see how far we can take it." I'm pretty sure half my reputation came from that one thread. *clap clap clap*

The Lopen of Death looked up at the thing, and smiled at his old friend. Hᴇʏ Gᴀɴᴄʜᴏ. Nɪᴄᴇ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏ ᴊᴏɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴛʏ. Yᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋ. Tʜᴀᴛ sʜᴇ'ʟʟ ʜᴀs ʙᴀʀᴇʟʏ ᴀɴʏ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ʟᴇꜰᴛ. Aɴᴅ ɪꜰ ʜᴇ ɪɢɴᴏʀᴇs ᴜs ᴛʜᴇɴ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴄᴀɴ ᴡᴇ ᴅᴏ? I ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ɢᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀᴜᴅɪᴛᴏʀs ᴏꜰ ʀᴇᴀʟɪᴛʏ ᴛᴏ ɢᴏ sᴛᴏʀᴍ ᴛʜᴇᴍsᴇʟᴠᴇs, ʙᴜᴛ I ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴛʜᴇʏ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅɴ'ᴛ ʙᴇᴀʀ ᴇɴᴛᴇʀɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ Aʟʟᴇʏᴠᴇʀsᴇ. Jᴜsᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇ ᴀ ʙᴇɪɢᴇ sᴇᴀᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴇ ᴄᴀɴ ᴘʟᴀʏ sᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴡᴇ ᴡᴀɪᴛ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴄᴏɢɴɪsᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴀᴍᴘɪᴏɴ's ᴘᴏsᴛs. Hᴏᴡ's ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄʜᴇss?

When eating cereal in the morning, you look at the levels of metals and think, “yes there is zinc, I can use my emotional allomancy.”

I personally really like the fact that so many of the relationships in Sanderson's books are arranged marriages which actually work out, if only because this is very rarely seen in fiction. Arranged marriages are always depicted as oppressive and distasteful, so it's very interesting to see an author who approaches them in a different way, and understands their practical value within the context of the story. I know what you mean about modern, Western sensibilities, but the fact is that there are many cultures in the world where arranged marriages are a tried and tested formula that has been established for hundreds of years and remains quite effective today. There is often a perception in Western society that people who are placed into arranged marriages are having their lives stolen, and their freedom taken away, but quite frequently everyone involved is pleased with these arrangements and consider them to be very culturally significant and fulfilling. Of course... I may be projecting my thoughts too much because I was not raised in such a culture, but I have just heard and read this opinion in a couple different places - that arranged marriages aren't always as bad as they're imagined to be by the Western viewpoint. I like the fact that arranged marriages are positively depicted in Sanderson's works because of the fact that there are real, intelligent cultures existing today that do accept and practice arranged marriages. I always embrace it when fantasy authors break free of Western philosophy or cultural norms, because fantasy is typically written in the style of a very monotheistic, medieval European tradition, and it's exciting to see something different in the genre.

I think Wax might be a little more careful if he becomes a father. I doubt he will want to make his kid fatherless. He’d also pay more attentions to his house, so that he doesn’t leave it in shambles like his father and uncle did for him.

Making Pickup lines is my specialty Are you a Brass Compounder, cause you look really hot. Are you an awakened sword, cause you take my breath away. I must be tapping Chromium, cause there's no other way I would be lucky enough to meet you. You must be a Windrunner, cause my eyes have been stuck to you all night. Am I burning Atium, cause I see a future with you I must be a Seeker, cause I have been getting good vibes from you all day I wish I was a Keeper, cause I wanna remember this night forever. So you can burn Electrum, see any futures with me? I'm gonna tap some bronze, cause I wanna be awake all night with you. I wish I was a Truthwatcher, cause then I could progress with you. You must be a Surgebinder, cause you are looking simply Radiant Are you bonded to a spren? Must be, cause you glow Wish I could burn Bendalloy, then I could make this moment with you last forever You must have lashed me, cause I think im falling for you Not even Odium could break our bond Edit: I gotta tap some Cadmium to restore that breath you just took away

My favorite was when Wax, Wayne, Marasi, and Steris break through the Four Walls of Doom and steal Peter Ahlstrom's iPad so they can watch RWBY. And that bit where Brandon actually put Butt Venture into the giant pun battle between Vin and Elend that time the Spren-Haters Club went to the SR? Priceless! Of course, nothing can beat that Easter egg where he literally had the good guys play a tuba. Really worked out great.

A bit late piece of not super exciting news, but my friend Lightshaper_ sat down with Assistant Karen, maintainer of the Dragonsteel Wiki and a wielder of amazing rainbow hair, and had her pull up the colors the Alethi highprinces are usually associated with. This is all coming from the books, so I guess I didn't need to wait this long to share it, but I kept forgetting =\ Anyway. Here are Lightshaper_'s notes, make of them what you will: Good job, Sebarial, you got style. As expected.

While I'm not disagreeing with the title, I think there's much more to Rock. I'm really reading between the lines regarding Rock's conversation with his wife, and I got the impression that Rock was forced to kill his older siblings (Sifi and Sinaku'a), and that was part of what made him want to give up and accept death by bridge-running. In other words, I don't think he put poo in Sadeas's food as to why he became a bridgeman; he killed others in his envoy and then surrendered and was sent there. Note that when I say forced to do so, I think that it was because Sifi and Sinaku'a wanted to take up arms in retribution, and that's a big no-no in Horneater culture, or at least Rock's family. So to preserve at least his family's honor, he made a very very difficult choice, and couldn't bring himself to want to go back and confess that he had to do so, as it had all sorts of other consequences back home.

Ash is in the sky. It's like a cross between dreary rain clouds and lines of smoke. There's a hazy mist on the horizon. If I go a few miles down the road closer to the volcano, I smell something like rotten eggs. I think I finally know what it feels like on Scadrial.

I can’t help but notice that Krell is suspiciously close to Trell

I'd sign onto that roadtrip so fast... Nightblood and I would be fast fast friends. That may be telling regarding my personality... Jasnah is my spirit animal. <3 Anyway, I could spend way too much unproductive time imagining hanging out with SA characters and causing incredible mayhem.

I agree that Adolin isn't an incredibly exciting character to read about (at least compared to some of the others in SA), although I personally have never found him boring. He's more like a refreshing dose of optimism. That being said, I think that of all the characters in SA he would be the best one to be friends with. Sure, there is glamour to the other characters that he doesn't have (although he has far more of that than anyone I know IRL). I admit that he isn't much of an intellectual, so he isn't great for deep thinking conversations, but he is really fun to be around and is nice to just about everyone. Let's look at some of the other characters in terms of how they would stack up as a friend. And please, remember that friendship is a two-way street. Just because we think someone is cool or interesting doesn't mean we would ever mesh in real friendship. Dalinar - Way too busy to spend any time with you. Also, way too intimidating to actually be his friend. Jasnah - Does she have any friends? Shallan - You could be good friends with one of her personalities, but it probably would be difficult to get along with all of them. (Hmmm... Shockingly, the only one to achieve that is Adolin...) Renarin - A genuinely nice guy, but he doesn't talk much. He would probably make a really good friend if you put in enough effort to get him to open up. Kaladin - A pretty close second. He genuinely cares about people. He also both shines (and suffers) when things get really bad so he's nice to have around when the world turns against you. But he doesn't relax very often. Being his friend is intense. Szeth - Ummmm... nevermind. I'll just walk away... Stick - Cool, but only has one thing on his mind. Lift - Never stays put, never lets you get a word in edgewise, always steals your food, really afraid of commitment, but definitely Awesome.

Personally I believe that Adolin's character is rather interesting though his POV chapters have yet to really dig into the potential of his character. Adolin is one of the least vocal characters with regard to his specific suffering and psychological issues as of yet. With Adolin we have a character who has a lot of potential though. He is the older brother and, until recently, has had to shoulder almost all of the responsibility of his House. Before the return of the Knights Radiant Adolin's life was pretty much completely decided for him. He would succeed his father, be required to lead his house, lead his armies, produce an heir, and so on. He sees himself as inferior to his father in just about all regards and living in his father's shadow has tainted his perception of his self-worth. We start to see a bit of his personal wants and needs in so far as his desire to lead his own life and be his own man when he turns down kingship. His inner conflict between his desire to perform his duty and be his own man I think will start to define his character as the story progresses. With the return of the KR and his father's new position in the world Adolin's life has been turned upside down. He is no longer as relevant as he once was and his position in his family has changed dramatically. He suddenly has much more freedom and can carve out his own path in life. Where once he was bound by duty, he now can pass a lot of that off to other people, including his younger brother Renarin, who has suddenly gone from the sickly youth to a powerful KR. In fact Renarin is not only a KR, but a unique one! This has the potential to make Adolin feel even more unimportant as he used to be idolized by his younger brother, and while that may not necessarily change from Renarin's point of view, it will almost certainly change from Adolin's. We're beginning to see Adolin's self-worth diminish as everyone around him changes and become more and more important while he fades into the background. His discussion with Shallan towards the end of OB shows this. He doesn't feel that he has anything to offer Shallan as compared to Kaladin. Initially Shallan came to their relationship with everything to gain, now Shallan is the vastly more important person in their relationship. Also, I've seen it said that Adolin was raised with a silver spoon in his mouth and that he was sheltered. I would argue that, while he certainly had every advantage, he was anything but sheltered. He was raised in war, expected to fight and risk his life almost daily, and to live up to his father. I think that he is most certainly "damaged", just in a more subtle way, and that we will likely see this affect his personality more and more as the story progresses. I would like to go on but I already feel like I haven't done a great job of expressing what I wanted to here. It's just about 3am and I need to get up for work soon so I'll have to pick this up again later haha. I hope that I've at least given some of the people who think Adolin is a throw-away character something to consider! Good night

J. R. R. Tolkien * Forty pages of info about the history of tobacco in Alethkar * (This was awesome. )

This is me with Animal Planet. "Apparently, chull populations are decreasing..." "Those are hermit crabs." "Whatever."

When your first thought when you wake up to a thunderstorm is,"Highstorm!"

When 'spiked punch' has a whole new meaning...

Once I get some more info I'm going to see if there are security cameras close by or anything else that I can use. Yes, that was a Studio C reference. Sorry, I think you meant "rationally annoyed." It seems that "Sanderson" isn't the only word your computer mispells.

When you see talking weapons in other stories and start wondering why they have fully developed senses of morality.