Leaderboard

And now, on the 350th anniversary of Elendel's founding, we, the Ashmount Theaters, release a special production commemorating the life of The Survivor! Coming soon to theaters around Elendel, this play is based on the raising and training of The Survivor. Some of the accounts have been slightly adapted for release in theater, but the core of the story remains the same. A few scenes have been chosen to showcase this momentous play. We hope to see a full house on the release of the final performance. This is Ashmount. Ashmount hopes you have enjoyed this program.

Oh my goodness, things are really heating up. Ron, give us a play-by-play. Amil is desperately fighting back against Elysian's assault. Elysian's putting up some serious pressure, but, oh no! He gets shot from behind by Loren Menza. Tough luck there. Amil breathes a sigh of relief, but what's this? His circle's been broken as well! Someone sneaked in and eliminated him! Fate can change at a moment's notice. Speaking of which, it looks like someone took out Loren. The eliminations are spiraling out of control. Tendin Throk and Rose Shol have both been eliminated. This is getting crazy. Bad news Tom. It looks like Vao Temer's Defense was a bit dodgy. A stray LIne of Vigor broke it. He should have been paying more attention. This has been an avalanche of chalk dust. I can't wait to see what happens next. Let's see how the survivors recuperate after this. This round will end at 4:00 PM EST on Sunday January 13. Get your actions in folks, I've already killed one person from the inactivity filter. Player List:

Kelsiers rap. I apologize for my bad Shakespearian language. I tried :-D

Thanks.

Sorry I didn't do much of that whole theatre setting thing

Hi, I am new here, and am definitely not an evil librarian.

You can always have multiple drafts of your character, and if he's not above the point-cap, you can do as you please with him. Just remember, weaknesses are always the most interesting thing about a character. A character's purpose isn't to provide a balance, even though balance is critical. The point of a character is to reflect a point of view. Since everyone's point of view is different, balance is achieved, but a character should not be created just to stand against someone else's perspective, if that makes any sense.

NO STOP IT I CAN FEEL THEM, FEEL THEM SCREAMING!!! IT HURTS!!!!* *This is definitely not a plot to get a bunch of upvote via reverse psychology :)

... EVERYONE, DOWNVOTE ME AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN!!!!!! I CAN FEEL THE POINTS, I CAN FEEL THEIR MINDS!!!!!!

Maybe I should've used 'tides' instead of 'tidal waves' in my original post, something got lost in translation I guess. This is one thread that I didn't read before ( and the other important one is linked in there). I've only started going through that but just based on the fact that the moons have an elliptical orbit and the fact that they are 'much much' closer than our Moon (as Peter said) it seems to me that their impact could surely be felt in tidal strength. More so if there is a direct effect on spren (like all the other phenomena fire/rain do to them) and even more so if Shademar landscape gets affected by the tides. Edit: Following the lead from the thread, from various observations, it seems that the moons have an elliptical orbit, with their periapsis happening at a specific hour every night. Also, Cusicesh appears at exactly seven forty-six in the morning every day, in Kasitor Bay in Iri, looking towards the Origin. After going back and reading that chapter Axies says that the locals even use the sighting to set up their clocks correctly. If we assume that Axies is using a 10 hour clock, where sunrise and sunset happen at 5, and noon/midnight at 0/10, if Axies was considering timezones (which I would expect him to), this means that 7:46 is his measuring of the local time (CRT-2 = central Rosharan time minus 2 hours) and not that of the locals. (isn't it weird to reset your clock at 7:46? probably the locals are setting their clocks to 10 even if it's morning for them because they are all using the same centralised time all over the Continent) If we assume (from the longitude lines on the Coppermind map of Iri) that Kasitor is on a +2 timezone, it would mean that it would be 9:46 at the center of the Continent (and Urithiru right?), which is exactly 4 minutes before noon. The phenomenon lasts for about 10 minutes so it means that Cusiech is gone by 8:05 local time (CRT-2), 10:05 CRT (central rosharan time). So, what's happening on the dark side of Roshar at this moment? It's midnight, of course, we are in the middle of the ocean and I'm assuming that Nomon is at his apoapsis, the furthest away from Roshar. Since he is the middle and the largest moon, now probably looks the same size as the other two, Salas on the east and Mishim on the west. (it's just that they are all moving a lot slower on this side of the planet when you are looking at the night sky because their elliptical orbit is longer) Now think of tidal forces, dynamics in Physics, even if three separate forces are minuscule to cause a severe tide, their combination at this hour of the day would cause a force counter to Roshar's gravitational pull. Normally this would create a high tide on the dark side, meaning a low tide on the Continent, as the sea level would drop considerably. So, going into complete theory now, either Cusiech is what's canceling the tide, or whatever is canceling the tide makes Cusiech appear on Iri. There are gravityspren on Roshar, recorded by Zen-daughter-Vath (WoR-ch3), so maybe whatever gravitational force happens at the center on the dark side of Roshar at noon, (a huge whirlpool maybe?), has such a great gravitational pull that attracts Cusiech on the other side of the planet. Thoughts?

Quick update on me: my week has been busy, crazy, and exhausting. Its 11:52pm local time, and I need to get in the shower. Then tomorrow I need to get up early and go to an event I’m hosting which will last all day and into the evening. I haven’t had a chance to start my rap yet- I haven’t even read my partner @Paranoid King‘s rap yet. If I’m allowed a short extension I’ll do everything within my power to get something written tomorrow night after my all-day event is done. Otherwise I’m afraid I’ll have to forfeit this round. Either way, I apologize everyone!

I don’t have a problem with Dalinar ascending. I both think Brandon will do it well and believe it would be relevant to the Cosmere as a whole. If that happens it becomes a pattern true, but a pattern with a point. I’d love to see Dalinar join Sazed in an alliance of Unity and Harmony. You can boil every story down to a point where obvious comparisons abound. The devil that interests me is the details. I also wouldn’t so easily brush off the fact that Honor is splintered and the impact that could have on the overall story.

When you are at Johnny Carino's and you misread handmade parmesan as handmade parshmen.

I think exploring variations on a theme and how similar plotlines can play out differently is interesting, done right, and I trust Brandon to do it right.

We've never seen Splintered Shard before. Never. So no, I wouldn't say this plot was already used. It wasn't. We don't even know if/how Splintered Shard could be repaired, so when/if this happens, it will be something new and unseen before, in terms of Cosmere lore. Sanderson RAFOs all questions about Splintered Shards, I guess it will be important. Yeah. Agree with this. I think it will happen, but it will be very different from what we've seen so far, considering Honor's unique state.

This is an obligatory post just so Ene can post a meme without double posting.

Re the nature of the Sibling's investiture I suspect they are a 'child' of Honor and Cultivation and composed equally of Investiture from both.

When someone says they’re going to Hurl, and you immediately think of the Skyward character. When someone asks if you’ve seen their pencil, and you reply that you haven’t, but it’s probably on Vax.

My theory, Gavilar found ba-ado-mishram and they made a deal. He binds her to him and frees her, by freeing her he restores the minds of parshmen around Roshar and she gives them powers just like the false desolation. Powers not directly from odium. The peace treaty act as a base for equal cooperation. If one unmade can defect, why not two? I think the more sepiant unmade are coming to the realization that an Odium victory is not in their best interest, because it means they cease to exist. Gavilar is not a vorin fanatic, you can observe this in the oathbringer prologue where he talks about the history of roshar, yes he talks about glory and Destiny but not in vorin terms, he even knows about the almighty dying & the heralds abandoning their duty. a knowledge that broke a devout like amaram but doesn't seem to bother Gavilar in the least. Gavilar got the visions, sought knowledge, discovered and joined the sons of honour and used them, he knew to much and didn't share with them becouse their goals didn't align, the same with aesudan and all the people he named as he was dying. Gavilar saw the big picture that we all have to acknowledge that this isn't about humanity defeating the forces of evil (odium), this is about humans and singers coming together to defeat Odium. Shards dont hold ground, and neither do fused & unmade. Odium needs the singer to willingly join him, becouse if he can't that's game over. He can't win against a United Roshar with just several hundred fused and nine unmade. And...and... sorry went on a tangent there.

Now presenting, from the sick and twisted minds of @Jaywalk and @Scintil: Pangolin and Panny: A Friendship for the Ages. The air sounded with a loud clang as the creature fell to the ground. “Does anyone else want some of this?” Pangolin asked. The others backed away slowly, then climbed back up the cliff they had come down. “As I thought.” Pangolin continued happily down the trail he’d picked earlier. He checked his timepiece. Quarter ‘till eleven. He’d make it. “Did you really have to hit it so hard?” Caveat asked. “I’d say it was necessary. They would’ve eaten us, after all,” Pangolin replied. Caveat shook his head, then walked away. Pangolin watched him go, slightly miffed at the old beggar’s negativity. Whatever, he thought as Caveat began to climb back up the cliff’s face. “At least we have each other, Panny.” The frying pan did not respond. “Panny? PANNY! Stay with me, brother!” As many people will have likely guessed by now, Pangolin was not quite right in the head. As for Panny, the frying pan...well, you can’t get much saner than he can, can you? “Do not fear, cousin Pangolin,” Panny said. “I shall not abandon thee. Now come, we must purge the rest of the creatures from the village.” “Hurrah,” cheered Pangolin. They set off, giving Caveat one last mean glance before he was out of sight, then jumped onto the large rock near the road. Pangolin patted it’s hindquarters and it purred to life, rumbling onto the path and towards the village. “Hey, Panny, does it hurt when I use you?” Pangolin asked. “I think not, Pangolin. It feels quite nice to end the hosts of evil beings.” “Oh, okay then. I’ll be sure to hit the creatures of the village really hard.” Panny smiled. Well, that’s what Pangolin saw, anyway. A short time later they arrived at the village gates to find it under attack. Pangolin hopped off the rock and checked the time again: 11:02. He was late. The Calibri were very punctual creatures. That was evident by the gnashing of teeth and swiping of claws that Pangolin and Panny encountered as they entered. Panny laughed as Pangolin blocked each blow, and so did Pangolin. The Calibri were slightly disturbed by this. “Hey Pang?” the rock called. “You gonna be long? I’ll be late to my date tonight if I don’t leave soon.” “Why,” Panny said, “I think you should let the good stone go, Pangolin.” “Are you sure, Panny?” “Quite.” “Oh, all right. Mister Rockface?” “That’s not my--” “You’re free to go. Panny and I can take care of the villagers. They shouldn’t be too hard to get rid of.” Rockface left, and before the echoes of Pang’s words deadened, he wadded them up and threw them at a nearby creature. It died instantly as they burned through its face. “Hey,” Panny said, “I’m not words. You must use me for this!” “How right you are, Panny,” Pang said as he brought the frying pan down on a villager. Oh well, he thought, she’s the one that got in the way. The battle raged on as Pangolin and Panny killed every creature in sight. Luckily, Panny’s handle was rubber, so Pang wasn’t burned by it like everything he hit. Accidental or not. As Pang got another good smack, he accidentally hit a wooden beam, that promptly started on fire, screaming. “Oh, good heavens,” Panny said, accent growing very, very thick. Pangolin repeatedly smacked his pan against the wooden beam, whose pain had grown so much that it had a face. A Calibri peeked inside. And then it ran away, oh so very disturbed by what it saw. The screams of the beam--and Pangolin and Panny’s laughing--continued to grow agonizingly louder. After a good half-hour of beating the poor beam, Pangolin grew bored. The villagers had all left along with the Calibri, fleeing hand in hand. They would go on to create an entirely new breed of creature together. “Are you satisfied?” the beam asked. “I believe I am, good sir,” said Panny, and Pangolin nodded. “Shall we go, Master Pangolin, my liege?” “Of course,” Pangolin said. “Mr. Beamface, would you like to join us as we crash the date of Mister Rockface?” And so, they walked off into the sunset? No, that was the fire they’d started. THE END?

Hi, Friends: I’m new to the 17th Shard and glad to have found it! I started with Elantris in September when it was recommended to me by an employee at Barnes & Noble after I finished The Wise Man’s Fear by Rothfuss. I was afraid of not finding anything to the level of Kingkiller. Well, I was glad to have accepted that recommendation! I am blown away by the interwoven details the Cosmere has offered! I try to explain it to people and it’s impossible. Completely amazed! Thanks for having me!

So about a year ago, I got Elantris for Christmas and got hooked on Sanderson. I had already read Reckoners back in '16 so I gave it a shot. Soon, I was reading Words of Radiance in the school library and @Inklingspren, a person at school I knew casually, already a Sanderfan, noticed what I was reading and we chatted, hit it off, and became pretty good friends. He introduced me to the Shard and I got hooked on the Alleyverse RP and other fun stuff (let's be honest, Alleyverse) and consistently used the Shard for a week but then went inactive outside of PMs till June. And here I am now. I love almost everything from the community to the software to the system--the one thing I dislike is how the Shard continually says that I can't do more than 20 upvotes a day--why can't I spam upvote @Tsurerif just to annoy him?

General 2019 events have been created. Please do not add anything more to the General 2018 events (unless it's part of the Nov/Dec 2018 backlog, which should be taken care of shortly in any event). Until these events contain at least one entry, they will not appear on the main page; you can find them from the Events list, or by following the links below: General Reddit 2019, for adding interactions, reports, or direct messages from Reddit. General Twitter 2019, for adding interactions, reports, or direct messages from Twitter. General Signed Books 2019, for any personalized books you receive. Miscellaneous 2019, for any other form of communication or report, including forum interactions. Let's work on filling these up with quality WoBs, why don't we?

Just saw this animated visualization of the sin and cos of θ as θ sweeps out the full 360 degrees of a circle, and it's amazingly beautiful (spoilered below):

Dalinar is my favorite character (Radiant). Probably the first fictional character I root for. For his success, for his life. I believe he'll do something with Shard of Honor and become a new God eventually. It'd be very fitting and beautiful.

I’ll do them, but I’m expecting a load of upvotes from y’all. That was sarcastic. But seriously.

Thanks, Hoidit! I was thinking of including the two missing acts, but I can only handle so much rhyming before I burn out. And, uh, the ending pun was unintentional, but thanks for the compliment! Haha! Marsh is spot on! I just changed "your" to "thy" and called it a day. Iambic pentameter is way beyond my league.

Why do I feel like I should do a drawing of all the characters on a big sheet of paper.

Ah man, I’m out of chromium! With my current status of luck, I’m gonna be that one guy that’s a pinch hitter. Do like cookies? I stole a couple from those guys in the Alleyverse. Totally not a bribe by the way.

So here it is, "Storm desolations this is Braize" as sung by the Blackthorn himself. ●OB Spoilers●

@Paranoid King, @Gray to and @Toaster Retribution those were amazing! Paranoid, that was some seriously gripping, edge of your seat, capital T theater. Really nice work! Wish we had the whole play. I love the fitting end you devised for Sebarial, Kelsier knowing how much he loves money gives him a Scadrian boxing, so clever! Gray to great job on your Roast! It sounds just like Sebarial. This line was great. Toaster, that's some funny rust! Yours was definitely a Shakespearean Comedy. Marsh the reluctant roaster was great, the bit with the added th endings was hilarious.

Hero, I totally get it, so go ahead. This weekend is busy for me, too, so you would’ve gotten an extension anyway.

when you start using curses such as, Storm-it, shattering glass, sparks, and rust and ruin completely unironically.

In this case do you detest upvotes? Up is a direction and these arrows do pointpoint in a direction called up. I do believe this is why they are called upvoted

Might help.↑

Just realized something: Dalinar's fatal flaw is his rage and his addiction to the Thrill. Evi's fatal flaw is her naivete. Tanalan's fatal flaw is his pride. Everything collides at the Rift to produce a horrifying problem for Dalinar that isn't truly anyone's fault, simply the inevitable result of everyone acting according to their character. It gets resolved through the personal intervention of one of the Gods. The Oathbringer flashback sequence is a classical tragedy.

@hoiditthroughthegrapevine @John203 I finished! Pancake girl, as sung by none other that Wyndle! I hope you guys like it, it was a bit challenging

When you drive past a “Crematorium” sign and wonder why they have crem on display. When your roleplay characters read Sanderson and reference it. When people say an allomantic metal and your first thought is the allomantic/feruchemic property.

So this is the thread you've been preparing, you sneaky rascal you. Happy thousandth, Ink! Like some others before me, the Coppermind was my gateway drug. The usual cabal of boredom, fandom, and chance hooked me. Shortly afterwards, I received a stroke of outrageous good fortune, and ended up becoming involved in a fantastic group of likeminded individuals. That's why I've stayed so long. That, and the memes. I really like the format of this site. No other forum comes close to being as easy to read and well structured as this one. The sigs are short, there's no ads, the text is a nice font and black on white. That really jumps out. But I love the subtle details too. The ranks, the filter, the widgets, even the way the administration works. I appreciate all of it. I know I'm supposed to say something here about loving the community (which I do), but have you seen the emojis? THERE'S A NINJA FACE.

And here's where I disagree a little. I think with what we know it makes a kind of terrible sense. It's like doing the wrong thing for the right (or in this case stupid-but-understandable) reason. The voidbringers are coming back as told from the visions, right? And the visions Gavilar received didn't have a clear meaning other than "get ready" and "unite them". If even Dalinar wasn't so sure he could trust the visions until Navani helped translate them, why would Gavilar? So Gavilar starts to receive visions he doesn't understand, and goes out to understand them, eventually finding the Sons of Honor. The visions say the Radiants (and maybe the Heralds? Again, my memory is fuzzy) need to come back, and the Sons of Honor want Vorin powers and the Heralds back. What brings them all together? A Desolation. So, like many villains in today's pop culture, Gavilar wants to use a potential world-ending threat to bring people together. Is it a good idea? NO. But it does make sense. Galivar's problem was most likely that he couldn't see why people would disagree with him. He knew they would, but he was so caught up in himself and his goal he didn't see the why. As for matching up, a Desolation answers that too. The Heralds are all but deified in modern-day Vorinism. And they're supposed to come back with every Desolation. So you start receiving visions from a being who claims to be God warning you about the apocalypse (when the final one was thought over), you've got your faith stating something else. Dalinar goes the path of "is this me? Am I insane?" while Gavilar goes the path of "how can I reconcile these two differences?" and his path takes him to the Sons of Honor. After all, if the apocalypse is really coming, and you're having a crisis of faith (while trying to secure your own legacy), why not call back Jesus and get all the answers while uniting the world? Also, quick Q about the Aesudan quote, which chapter is it from? Because from the quote above, it could be misconstrued as Gavilar knew that Radiants had to bond to ancient spren, but he didn't know which or how. Unless Aesudan said "Gavilar was trying to bond an unmade" she could have just as easily assumed that Unmade = High Spren/Bondable Spren. Aesudan's words lend to that too in a way; calling her guards Radiants, talking about bonding with spren. Gavilar's last words being about "The most important words a man can say," something he seeming to only focus on at the end of his life (hinting that he himself didn't really have the answer). It feels like Galivar had all the pieces to the puzzle, but arranged them in a way that was ultimate detrimental. I don't think Gavilar was 100% Team Void. I don't think he could be, if he was really on the path of being a Bondsmith. I think it's a little more nuanced - and in turn far scarier - than that.

I found the shard when I wanted to read more stuff. I was checking to make sure I had written everything Brandon had written, and I discovered AoN. I was tempted to make an account anyways, but I wasn't going to because of some forum related stuff that had happened years earlier. But then I told myself I'd just make an account to get myself AoN, so I did. Later I was like "Well I have this one theory, and I really want to see if people agree with me. (Turns out my theory was confirmed in Warbreaker annotations.) At that point I was fully invested, so I made the Liebrarians, and here I am now. I know literally everyone here has said it, but it really is the people who make the shard good. Obviously I loved Sanderson even before I came here, or I wouldn't have found this place. But when it comes down to it, I can only be as passionate about the books as I am because I enjoy talking and rping about them here. So all of you, thank you for making this a wonderful place to be. Also, you think I can sink up my shardiversary in just over a month with my 3000th post?

Sometimes a hypocrite is nothing more than a man in the process of changing. Law is light and darkness does not serve it. Ask and I will answer. -Nale is the Man. I will take responsibility for what I have done. If I must fall, I will rise each time a better man. -words that touched me personally. Now THAT is a worthy ideal. You tried to help the people of the market. You mostly failed. This is life. The longer you live, the more you fail. Failure is the mark of a life well lived. In turn, the only way to live without failure is to be of no use to anyone. Trust me, I've practiced. I love tradition. I've fought for tradition. I make my men follow the codes. I uphold Vorin virtues. But merely being tradition does not make something worthy, Kadash. We can't just assume that because something is old it is right. One can believe in a story without believing it happened. Plan every battle as if you will inevitably retreat, but fight every battle like there is no backing down. Every moment in our lives seems trivial. Most are forgotten while some, equally humble, become the points upon which history pivots. Like white on black. The question is not whether you will love, hurt, dream, and die. It is what you will love, why you will hurt, when you will dream, and how you will die. This is your choice. You cannot pick the destination, only the path. You Cryptics mimic … weird stuff? The fundamental underlying mathematics by which natural phenomena occur. Mmm. Truths that explain the fabric of existence. Some men, as they age, grow kinder. I am not one of those, for I have seen how the cosmere can mistreat the innocent—and that leaves me disinclined toward kindness. Some men, as they age, grow wiser. I am not one of those, for wisdom and I have always been at cross-purposes, and I have yet to learn the tongue in which she speaks. Some men, as they age, grow more cynical. I, fortunately, am not one of those. If I were, the very air would warp around me, sucking in all emotion, leaving only scorn. Other men … other men, as they age, merely grow stranger. I fear that I am one of those. I am the bones of a foreign species left drying on the plain that was once, long ago, a sea. A curiosity, perhaps a reminder, that all has not always been as it is now.

The below quote is from Chapter 105 Spirit Mind and Body, probably the best chapter of the book based on prose. The second best although the most striking one was Chapter 75 Only Red. Going through the re-reads, this one is really a hidden gem from Chapter 105. Superb writing here. I've quoted the full section, but I'll highlight for emphasis. Even more impactful in the audiobook version.

Sir, Per your request, the napalm has been "dropped," as you put it. The expendable crewmen company representatives were specifically told to "drop" the napalm, rather than "set," "place," or "gently lower" it. Your request was carried out to the letter, and we will need an extra $4035.57 to cover the hospital expenses for the expendable crewmen company representatives. Enclosed is an addressed, stamped envelope. NWI hopes to do business with you again in the future. Sincerely, Napalm Wholesale, INC.

I'm not thrilled by JJ either, but the comments coming out about the movie so far gives me a bit of hope. TLJ was amazing.

@Ark1002 How about right now? Chapter Two: Love