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A recent WoB mentioning that Adonalsium had a purpose in the design of Roshar has granted me inspiration to a greater understanding of the history of Roshar. Adonalsium, being a great and powerful being, managed to calculate the meaning of life, the universe, and everything, but needed more computing power to calculate the question for its answer. So the greater Rosharan system was created as a celestial scale super computer, designed to finally find the ultimate question. But then, due to an exodus of rather useless people from Ashyn (which was shortly afterwards sadly destroyed by a telephone-borne disease) to Roshar, killing off most of the peaceful indigenous peoples, the calculations were ruined. Now in the modern day, Odium is attempting to destroy Roshar, to make space for a super-highway between Nalthis and Scadrial. Hoid, being a hoopy frood who really knows where his towel is, arrives just in time to save his friend Dalinar from the imminent destruction of Roshar, and thus we reach the end of Oathbringer.

Now this is a pretty crazy out there theory that someone will definitely prove wrong, but none of my friends read these books and I needed someplace to share this thought. What if Oathbringer is the Sibling? I could be mistaken here, but I’m pretty sure that there was only one Bondsmith at the time of the Recreance, but I don’t think it ever tells us which spren is the one who is bonded. I think that the Bondsmith was bonded to the Sibling, then broke their oath like the other Knights Radiant, leaving the sibling behind as a shardblade. This could explain why The Stormfather refuses to be summoned as a blade. He remembers what happened, and is sure that Dalinar will break his oath, leaving him dead, which I don’t think would happen unless he were manifesting in the physical realm as a blade. It could also help explain why Oathbringer doesn’t hate Dalinar as much, as Dalinar is probably someone who could have forged a bond with him in the first place. I also like the thought of a Bondsmith blade being named Oathbringer.

Think we can call the poll at this point. Results: 1. Would you support the new world plot proposed by Fatebreaker? Yes - 16 No - 0 2. How long should the plot last 1 Era - 1 2 Eras - 15 3+ Eras (If possible please explain) - 0 N/A - 0 3. When should this plot start? Era 4 - 7 Era 5 - 6 Era 6 or later - 2 N/A - 1 Unanimous approval that the plot should happen at some point (Nicely done @Fatebreaker), general consensus on a 2-era long plot. Some contention around whether the plot should start in era 4 or 5, I think we may be able to compromise a bit by having it take a background role in era 4, as @MetaTerminal suggested, with another main plot at the fore acting as something of a distraction. Maybe a small number of characters involved and actually aware of what the DA is planning, some espionage and counterespionage activities going on to try to work out what is actually happening but the main focus of most characters will be on a different main plot. And then Era 5 for when the change actually takes effect and the plot comes to the fore. Thoughts? Anyone strongly opposed to that or has an alternative suggestion?

"Okay," said Caden. "I know I may have been stealing from the camp supply, but is that really such a big deal. I mean, we're all against the Forgotten, right?" The remaining soldiers stared at him in dead silence. "Okay, why don't I offer you these Bribes to change your mind." Again, there was silence. "Uh... well... crud. I'll just be going then?" Unfortunately for the Thief, Caden would not be going anywhere anymore. Vote Count: Cadmium Compounder (4): Araris Valerian, Ventyl, Shqueeves, Snipexe Snipexe (1): Alvron Cadmium Compounder was lynched. He was a Thief. Known Roles: Camp Supply: Items Taken: The Strength of the Wild Chalklings is still at 3. This night will end on Wednesday July 17th at 7:00 PM CDT.

So it's a fun theory! But (you knew there'd be a but, didn't you? Because it's me)... The Sibling was withdrawing before the Recreance. Its withdrawal and the evacuation of Urithiru were featured in the gemstone archives, which had to have been recorded prior to, not only the Recreance, but whatever Melishi's plan was. Also, as others have stated, Bondsmiths didn't get Shardblades. My personal theory is that the Sibling was withdrawing because it was unbonded at the time--the generation only had one Bondsmith. And the one that was bonded was the Stormfather. He's called a survivor of the Recreance, after all. In addition, I believe that Tanavast chose his own death at that time so that his Cognitive Shadow would be able to merge with the Stormfather and save him, preventing him from being a deadeye or whatever would happen to him as a mindless spren.

Like I said, I haven't really kept up with the thread. I voted Lopen because after I typed the three names, his came first. As for Aman, it was a random choice colored by my feeling that he rarely is up for the lynch D1. Early D1 votes can't have much rationale behind them. Edit: Ninja'd. Also, it wasn't a poke vote. It was more of a stab kinda vote. I've decided that poking people isn't a good way to kill them.

Good point. Pretty sure that Bondsmiths as a rule dont have Blades. Edit: Found it! Note that this is part of a longer WoB on Elhokars Blade, but Brandons statement is pretty clear, so I didn’t grab the whole thing.

You’re going to draw Maps from Bridge Four?

Laurelai looked up only to see Lita looking in a different direction, as was everyone else. She followed their line of sights and saw a new figure that had entered the Alley, the one from TUBA who had been at the meeting earlier. She regretted again her lack of any powers that would aid in perception, being the last to notice someone who could hav ebeen spying on them was not something she enjoyed. But moments later she forgot her irritation at herself, the wind picked up in the Alley, pulling even more cool air in towards them. The Alleystorm had finally hit, bringing with it a surge of power that infused any Invested object or being. Laurelai felt the Dor suddenly blazing within her veins, felt the pressure of it trying to escape. She wondered if this was how Elantrians felt, she'd met a few of those, bodies aglow with radiant energy. If she tried to Forge something during the Storm would she look like that as well? But she wouldn't, that was something she'd promised herself long ago, ever since she'd understood her Bane she'd ensured that she never Forged anything during the Storm. Even on a regular day, she'd accidentally blown things up before. If that Investiture surged out of her during an Alleystorm she feared that she might not survive the experience. She looked towards Lita, watched her reaction as the Storm flooded over them. She seemed to be twitching a lot, but that was probably just the increased sensation. Laurelai imagined that having this cold wind suddenly feel fifty times more sharp and biting would probably cause her to flinch a little as well. Is everything okay? She sent to Lita, best to check up to be sure. She didn't know how Tineyes would react in the Storm but perhaps they should try to find somewhere indoors at least. @ZincAboutIt ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Her talons curled into a tight ball, muscles tensing at the sudden pain that had invaded her. Her entire body was locked, paralyzed by the pain and the mental force that accompanied it. Dimly she felt a sudden pressure against her side and one of her wings, the ground possibly. The idea that she would be brought to the ground by another was something that would usually incite her to a murderous rage on its own, but right now she barely even noticed it. She fought back against the piercing sensation, tried to use her own mind to blunt its force, to turn it back. I rule, I do not serve. Her mind tried to burn the force away, but she had no fire here. I hunt, I do not flee. She tried to chase the force back along whatever path it had travelled, but all her speed meant nothing in this place. I live, I do not die. She hurled her mind against the pain, trying to break it beneath her as she had that building, but her mind had no weight with which to crush it. I.... I- Darkness claimed her vision entirely as the pain pierced through her entirely, and she felt the last wall of resistance shatter before it. @I think I am here.

I can just picture some blind kid walking home and telling their parents “this is my friend Marsh!” And his parents will say “I thought he was just imaginary! You’re actually friends with death! Gah!”

Nah, the Cryptic is the one that was trying to bond with Elhokar before he was killed.

I got slapped in the face with a horrific bout of insomnia last week and haven't been working on my daily stuff. Tomorrow I want to try to get back into it. Maybe. Here's one I did a few days ago, though.

[CITATION NEEDED]

Hai! I was the first one there to get his sign, so I could ask him a question. I asked "Would Leras recognize Vax?" and he answered thar yeah, he would. What do you think? It is the only WoB we have on Vax for now, so it could be important. Vax is not just some random memory from Ati, it is know by more Vessels, so maybe it has to do something with the Shattering? (I tried to link a pic, but the page doesnt allow me to since I'm very new)

Do you want a cookie?

Foreman Cole thanked her lucky stars that the day’s work had gone smoothly and without incident so far. In another hour or so the day shift would end, and so far there had been no paranoia-related incidents. She'd have to… Her train of thought was interrupted by shouting coming from outside her office. ‘Me and my big mouth…’ she muttered as she headed out to see what was going on. A group of workers had gathered outside and where loudly arguing. “Everyone be quiet! You!” She pointed at one of the louder contractors. “What’s going on that apparently can’t wait and can’t be discussed in a civil manner?” “It’s Saluden, foreman.” a worker from the archipelago called First of the Dawn responded. “He hasn’t shown up for work. In fact, no one’s seen him for the last day or so. We think that’s mighty suspicious.” “Not as suspicious as Elandera, foreman!” Another worker spoke up. “She’s been spreading baseless rumors around!” “Saluden called in sick for the day. Something about ‘light-therapy’. That’s something those that worked with him should know by now.” The foreman turned her gaze towards Elandera in the back. “Spreading baseless rumors is precisely the sort of thing that’ll make our work here even harder. I honestly don’t care whether you were involved in the sabotage or not, this is the kind of work where there is no place for a rumormonger. Pack your stuff, and an officer of the constabulary will be waiting for you at the gate. I imagine they’ll have questions for you.” *** Mika Fergus was nursing a head-ache as he made his rounds. He’d been posted at the entrance to the hangar the night before, and had the dubious honor of running into one of the saboteurs. He didn’t remember the encounter itself, just waking up tied up and gagged in a janitorial closet. The patrol inside of the hangar felt a lot safer to him. With the airship’s searchlights operational anything suspicious could be lighted up as clearly as if it was noon. This had been useful when he had seen someone skulking around the aviary at the start of his shift, but that had just been First of the dawn looking at the Aviar. A cold splash of liquid in his neck brought his thoughts back to the here and now. Something seemed to be leaking from the brig section. Something that smelled like...fuel? “Hey, can I get some light over here!” He shouted as he started climbing the gantry. He was certain he could see a shadowy figure move above him. One of the airship’s searchlight started moving towards him, then suddenly went out after a flash that nearly blinded the unfortunate guard. When his sight returned, the shadowy figure was gone, and a small trail of fire was creeping its way towards the ship’s brig section. It reached the brig long before mika could reach it, and when it did the entire section was alight in a matter of seconds. *** Elandera was fired, she was a NITC worker. StrikerEZ targeted the Aviary. The brig and the bridge were sabotaged. Airship parts: player list This cycle ends Wednesday 17th of July, 12:00 (noon) Amsterdam time.

I love Brandon Sanderson's work, but I hate White Sand volume 2. I am a cartoonist, and I have to say, this is the crappiest graphic novel I have ever read. If you disagree, leave now, highly opinionated vitriol follows. I loved the prose version of White Sand, it wasn't Brandon's best work, but I didn't expect it to be. But holy crap, I suffered through volume 1 of this monstrosity, with it's horrible art and truncated nonsensical dialog, but really to expect us to buy 2 more volumes of this horrible crap, to get a watered down, insensible version of the prose story, who does he think we are? For reals? Dedicated fans that will sift through the weird combination of baroque/neoclassical/renassaince/pashtun imagery in order to find some small hint about something of the deeper cosmere,....Admittedly, that is the case, but never before did dedication to a greater goal come at so high a cost. I hate this book, but I am compelled by forces greater than myself to read it, which makes me hate reading this particular book even more. I am a fan of graphic novels, but this is NOT a good graphic novel. Firstly, you shouldn't have a graphic novel where the major hinges of the plot are political and require book length sections of dialog. I'm an illustrator and I know that kind of thing is torture to draw. How many different angry expressions of the interlocutors can you draw before people get tired of the idea that the people who are talking are not happy about what they are talking about. This is totally general criticism of the whole series, but let me get into some of the specific criticism of this particular volume (volume 1 shares a lot of the same faults, but I will limit myself to criticism of the 2nd volume). Brandon said in Arcanum Unbounded that sand mastery lends itself to the graphic novel format. This would be true if sand mastery wasn't depicted as Flying with a crappy swirly line around Kenton and some little "magical" plus signs. I agree that sand mastery would be awesome if properly depicted in the graphic novel, unfortunately it's one of the weakest parts in the prose version as well. It's a magic system kind of specifically set up to make the sand masters look like egotistical jerky show-offs. It works far better in the prose version, they all seem like jerks. What is unforgivable in Vol. 2 is that the illustrator has seemed to have given up on depicting the actual sand, instead he just draws a glow around Kenton and some magical looking plus signs which indicate that some magic stuff is happening. Scratchy line drawings: The characters are not cohesive. Kenton looks 10 years older or younger from panel to panel, this is poor execution. The illustrator is using an aesthetic dodge, the reason the lines are so scratchy and hard to distinguish is because the illustrator is unwilling to commit to a specific presentation. His backgrounds (especially the natural environments) are awesome, but he gets less sure the closer the "camera" gets to the subject. Panel division: This is so poorly done, it is consistent from volume 1 to 2, but why divide the page up like that? It doesn' add anything to the narrative. It doesn't look good, it just makes the reading order of panels unnecessarily hard to determine. It seems like it's done as a further attempt to hide the fact that the illustrator is unable to create anything intrinsically compelling. What the heck, this is ridiculous? Ok, so this is going to be admittedly the biggest entry in this bulleted list, because it is going to have examples (spoilered so you don't have to look at them if you don't want to): A-Delius? What the crap is this depiction supposed to signify??????? This is one of the worst drawn characters I have ever seen. He is eating his wine like a pig at a trough! B-Sand mastery visualized — I bet Brandon had no idea that the grace and majesty of sand mastery would end up looking like this. Very rarely are ribbons of sand depicted, it's more of a magical nimbus of light with little magical plus signs to show spooky action of sand mastery. C-Continuity, continuity, continuity. This illustrator, not content to represent the lossandians as straddling merely three different eras (classical greece in the Diem, Loius the XIV's France in the Admiral's quarters and Florence from the Italian Renaissance in the Artisan's quarters), also unfortunately decided to be free and loose with the simple particulars of a given scene (like the one spoilered below where Ais kils the Kerztian assassin). She fires all five of her arrows at the Kertzian assassin at point blank range, but how they are depicted embedded in the head of the assassin doesn't make any sense, he looks like a pincushion. He has arrows in both temples, one up his nose and an arrow in each eye! How the arrows are arranged it looks like he was hit by 5 different archers from five different positions. Brandon writes incredibly cinematically, his prose visualizations would lend themselves quite well to the graphic novel form, but he should write specifically for the medium not have some other people try to shoe horn a complex political dialog packed thriller into this format. Sorry about the above rant, I don't usually like tearing things apart like this, but I needed to vent because I am compelled to read the entire Volume of this travesty (though it pains me deeply to do so). If I didn't care so much about the content of the book I would have stopped reading this volume after the 2nd page. Not looking forward to volume 3 at all, hopefully the illustrator that finished Volume 2 will be back to do all of Volume 3, his artwork, while not perfect, at least has the continuity down and the weird era straddling backgrounds are toned down substantially.

Brandon has teased that the end of the SA is hinted at in the first two books. Now people have been scrambling to find this sly spoiler. I present you my attempt at being the one who discovers it! From the letter to Hoid from Frost: (talking about Odium.) That's the problem isn't it? There's a shard of hate on the rampage that has to be stopped. A shard of hate which has no context. The obvious solution would be to merge Odium with Honor giving it context. It would dilate Odium significantly but would, in my opinion, still be too much of a Odium to Honor ratio. I have seen theories claiming Dalinar will combine all three shards. I think it would still be too much Odium in the mix. Did someone say Dalinar? Dalinar is by far the most powerful radiant. We were all awed by his stunning feat at the end of Oathbringer. The stormfather was startled, humans/parsh were bewildered, and Odium was terrified. Many people look to this event as a sign that Dalinar will someday Ascend to Honor and defeat Odium, gaining two shards. It seems likely enough. Mistborn spoilers (I really should have wrote this in Cosmere Discussion.) Obviously we need something else for narrative reasons. I propose Dalinar will Ascend to Honor (temporally) and shatter Odium. You might be asking how a glorified bondsmith could shatter anything. Glad you asked! What if Dalinar bonded Odium to ALL the other shards? It would be complete destruction of a shard, something we haven't seen before. There would no longer be sixteen shards but fifteen. Each of the others would gain a sliver of Odium's investiture. The reduced pieces of Odium would find context back with the other shards. This ending would set the stage for a much bigger story. Like cosmere ending levels. And! Mistborn spoilers: What are you awesome people's thoughts?

Listening to the Shardcast on Germany WoBs a thought struck me: are we sure the Shard that is only trying to Hide + Survive isn't Cultivation? I hope not, I was/am fully on board with Wisdom or a synonym as a Shard. But I had this sinking feeling. The original WoB: Cultivation was mentioned by Tanavast in the last Vision of tWoK. We had not seen Cultivation yet. It depends on how Brandon interpreted the request and if he remembered Cultivation was mentioned once when he signed this. He didn't really answer the question because Hide + Survive was later clarified to not have much to do with the Shard's Intent. There is also confusion about whether the Shard is on a planet or not. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/6/#e326 In the footnote to this WoB it says there is one Shard that has no planet and a different Shard that is the Hide + Survive Shard. Implying that the Hide + Survive Shard has a planet, but it's confusing. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/124/#e1805 Hiding Cultivation is in hiding. Wyndle thinks Cultivation has given up on humanity and withdrawn. That would fit with a Shard being primarily focusing on their own survival via hiding. When we meet her she has a dim view of humanity and chooses to alter Dalinar because she thinks it will be useful to have a piece of him even if he joins Odium. Very utilitarian. Honor has a greater religious presence as the Almighty on Roshar in modern day. Odium has a bigger modern religious presence (The Passions). Cultivation is largely forgotten, she is mentioned as an old pagan goddess, once. A Shard that's been dead for ~2,000 years and a Shard whose main forces have not been on the planet for ~4,500 years are better remembered than the one that has been alive and on the planet the whole time. It's like she wanted people to forget about her, like when she wiped Dalinar's memory of her. Part of her going stealth mode. Surviving Surviving is tangentially related to Cultivation's Intent because things have to still exist in order to grow and change. Could say that for most Shards, but she is more associated with lifeforms and the ways they develop than most Shards. Evolution drives most change in the natural world and that is based on survival of the fittest. The Diagram came about after Mr. T visited the valley and was changed by either the Nightwatcher or Cultivation. Either way Cultivation's influence is in the Diagram and they are focused on survival at any cost. Cultivation is focused on her own survival and this group brought about by her influence is also scarily utilitarian and single-minded about saving some humans at the cost of most. I notice the similarity in the stressing of how high "the cost" would be between what she says to Dalinar and this. The recent WoB discussed on the podcast. I find it odd that in zero appearances in the books this mystery Shard has had a change of heart. It's possible, clearly Hoid and others are having adventures off page. But we at least meet Hoid, Kelsier and Khriss. Maybe there is a Wisdom: Secret History going on. I still like the Wisdom Shard and I have a hard time believing that people have been asking Brandon about this mystery Hide + Survive shard for 8 years like it is not one we've heard the Intent for and he's never corrected the initial assumption. Maybe he doesn't think it's a big deal and he has said he doesn't want to give any new info on Shards outside of the books because he doesn't want to be locked in. When I think about what Cultivation's strategy has been since Honor's death it does fit Hide + Survive. The latest WoB indicates a change in strategy or attitude and I think it fits a Shard that has been seen in the last 8 years more than one we've never met. Perhaps, Cultivation has realized hiding won't work against Odium and has been switching up her approach a bit. One day we'll have our minds blown by all the seeds she has planted while in hiding.

Taking the Dawnshard, known to bind any creature voidish or mortal, he crawled up the steps crafted for Heralds, ten strides tall apiece, toward the grand temple above. has everyone always assumed this was speaking about one of the Sleepless? I just reread the quote in another post and it hit me with a completely different perspective than every other time I’ve read it. Heralds are normal sized folk lol... but maybe their steps are ten stride tall apiece for a cremling? Just a thought. Please correct me if I’ve missed something.

And then he would pretend to be scared away by the things that the newspaper listed.

They would take out their preservation symbols to try and ward him off like a vampire.

A spren capable of the Nahel bond you mean. But then they'd better spend their time going to the cognitive realm and murdering several cities worth of them. Well, simply having a dawnshard wouldnt make it a supercryptic. Its possible spren cant even do anything with them by themselves. Though I think we can freely assume that any type of spren can decide to go bond. By type I mean their err... position I guess? You can have a gardener go bond Lift, you can have "the last daughter" go bond some depressed bridge man, and I imagine you can have some super important spren also decide to go bond a king. If some spren royalty decided to go form a bond, who would stop them right?

I can't speak about how well it works in relation to the other chapters, but I still have a few thoughts! What I liked: -In general, R's self-doubt is a good way to add conflict to the story. Even though the chapter deals with a terrible creature, at its core it really seems to be about R being forced to accept her abilities and prepare for a tough road ahead. Having her feel unqualified at first while throwing her into a sink-or-swim situation as is done here looks like it will be great for the story; it's always best to push characters out of their comfort zones! -I really like the ending. Succinct, hits hard, forces R closer to a point of no return. Good stuff all around. Suggestions: -I'd recommend going through and checking when the story tells us info directly, and asking if this can be conveyed in some other way so it doesn't feel like we're being explained to. "Show don't tell" is sometimes overused and not always 100% true, but there's a reason it's such a popular saying. -I'd also watch for long blocks of dialogue, like the Vice Captain's speech. The story starts to feel a bit stagnant if there's just one person talking for more than a few lines. -Since this seems like a world different than our own, it's hard for me to picture what it visually looks like (though tbf I have this problem with a lot of SFF so it might be one of my own quirks). I don't want long descriptions, but a few details about how certain things look could help me latch onto the setting a bit better.

Right, here're my thoughts: As a prologue, I think this works much better than the original prologue with the snow globe. The events portrayed are much more clear-cut and the premise of soldiers versus demons, while a somewhat cliché premise, the addition of the chasers gives it some much-needed flavor. The info-dumping though, I'm a bit mixed on. I am guilty of info-dumping myself, but there's a lot of it in a very short amount of time here. I think you can do with letting at least a couple things go on unexplained until later. Nevertheless, this sets a much more solid foundation for the rest of the story (at least, it does for the parts of it you've let us read thus far). Good job, I'd say. Notes below: (pg. 1) -The MCs had an official-sounding name for the sensation, but everyone just called it the C—always sure to pronounce the Proper Noun.—Added a hyphen and em-dash. Also, you can't pronounce a proper noun; the fact that you have put the C in caps lets us know it's important to the people in this world, and that they considered it a proper noun. (pg. 2) -“It was strong.” C nodded.—So this appears to be C responding, but the period and the nodding make it seem like B is speaking, and he's responding with a nod. -Someone at the back of the barracks screamed, and not just any scream, a high pitched shriek that tore through the room and awoke everyone at once.—I'd delete the bolded part, and let the rest of the sentence speak for itself. -The barracks held exactly thirty-six bunks, but R immediately knew from whose lungs the scream had emanated—Purple-y. I'd just say "R immediately knew who'd screamed." (pg. 3) -She wore only her skivvies, revealing almost all of her toned and tall body.—Clothes don't conceal height. Also, I'd change the phrasing to "revealing toned muscles." It's reads as somewhat male-gazey otherwise. (pg. 4) -She didn’t even stop to grab something to cover her nakedness—She's wearing underwear. She's not naked. -That first horrible screech had blown out her vocal chords but—That seems a bit much. I'd change this to something like "rendered her hoarse". Also, change 'but' to 'and' (pg. 5) -the soldier was right—I'd fuse this with the next sentence, regarding what he's right about. -Being a shadow was worse than death.—So it's basically a Dementor's kiss/being gentled? I don't think that's all that scary anymore. -She was and out of the barracks in moments.—Delete 'and' -He was a beautiful man with soft features, smooth skin that was quite a bit darker than average, something R liked.—Not sure I'd buy that she'd be checking the guy out at a time like this. It's not very soldier-like. (pg. 6) -He nodded and turned back to his work, though everyone knew that once a soul lantern was gone, there was no hope.—It doesn't feel like anyone's really wondering what happened to it. Lost? Stolen? -she was out the door in moments—Missing period. (pg. 7) -five hundred-plus—Replaced comma with hyphen. - A continued:—Make this the start of the next paragraph. (pg. 8) -The response was like the roar of a world killer. It shook the compound.—Combine into one paragraph. I notice you have a tendency to take things that aren't all that dramatic on their own and make them into their own paragraphs, like the second line. From now on, I'd double-check stuff like this to see what warrants a single-line paragraph and what doesn't.

I know that feeling. I can’t remember which class it was in recently, but I remember that I have had a couple classes where there is something that is super important to the class, but we spend one day actually talking about it, and the entire rest of the year the teacher calls it something different, or we use something similar, so I have no idea what it is. . . .like leaf plots in math.

Hey everyone, sign up for the Roast Battle Tournament! This round is non-Cosmere, which should be super interesting.

@Pagliacci That is a very interesting question, and a very open ended one, as world building can be both an ends and a means. What are your goals? To tell an interesting story? Then world building is a means to make a setting in which to tell it, and a means of enhancing the tale, by giving events weight, history, gravitas. To come up with a story? Then world building is a way to slosh ideas around and find a place in which to set it, and to guide it. To entertain yourself? Then world building is a means of expanding the field and giving it depth. To gain more understanding of existing cultures? Then world building is a method to explore hypothetical cultures, or to model existing ones and see possible ways they have or could have grown or touched one another. All of the above? Then world building is a tool with many uses. As @Ripheus23 and @Xardan Ta'Caran have pointed out, its a means of making something of something with depth and value, and a method of exercise. It is a tool with many uses, and not all of them immediately obvious :-)

We have a WOB on this:

Thanks for elaborating on it. The spike thing is the most creative part, I think. I like your idea a lot!

The AlleyStorm hit. Max stepped back as suddenly rain and thunder sounded around him, the force of the Investiture enhancing him, his magic in one overwhelming blast. Goldminds wouldn’t hurt, he said to Althea but couldn’t say more as the metalminds around his upper arms began to pulse and warm up. “I’m going to start now!” He shouted over the force of the storm, looking to Althea. She seemed impassive, but he knew she liked the storm. Max wasn’t such a big fan, though it’s duralumin-like boost on his already enhanced Rioting made up for that in spades. He closed his eyes, dismissing Sethramir and putting a hand on Althea’s shoulder for balance. The nicrosilminds he wore begged to be used, calling for him to tap them and use their golden power. Max did exactly that, and now, he knew exactly where the two Phoenixes were, and that meant he knew exactly where to target. No more inefficient general Riotings. With a force far greater than he’d ever done before Max shot out his Riot, his targeted beam of Allomancy. Two targets. Two Phoenixes. He knew the red and orange one well enough. He knew the DA had created it and it had a knack for Rioting. He had no idea about the other Phoenix, but he had to try. With the storm surrounding him Max Rioted emotions of disinterest in both of the Phoenixes. He Rioted their boredom of the city and it’s inhabitants, that they could have a better hunt elsewhere. He tried to do this to both the Phoenixes. Because yes, while it would be helpful to use one of them against Ajax there was a very narrow window of time where the AlleyStorm occurred and it was safer to get both of them to leave than to risk one getting loose by pitting it against Ajax and the AlleyStorm leaving. First things first, and that meant making sure he had a steady Riot on both of them before trying anything too complex. @Ax's Boyfriend @Voidus @Sorana @Truthless of Shinovar @Silva —-— The AlleyStorm hit. And as Alask and Shez smashed their collective consciousness into Alask’s body, the storm enhanced the act and suddenly the invader was kicked out Alask was back in his body the sudden miracle of his sense of touch returning to him as he instantly felt the rain on his shirt, the wind tossing his hair around and the cold weather of the AlleyStorm contrasting with the emanating heat from two monsters in the sky. Shez was in Alask’s body too. And the two minds that had worked together now inhabited the same body. Alask stood up from where he’d fallen (the sudden re-control of his body had been unexpected enough for him to fall), and looked ahead, expecting the rain to drip off of him and exhaustion to take him over. But nothing happened, and Alask looked down at himself, arms in front of him and his jaw opened in terror. He was a Shade. The smoky black translucence his body took when Shez took it over, the black fog that shifted and turned as it was confined to his body, the red eyes that burst aflame and tinted his vision in a rose hue, the black tendrils that came off of him, they were here now. And Alask was controlling it. And slowly, he began to understand. They were in sync. Shez’s consciousness, and Alask’s. Matched up like two frequencies overlaid on each other. From the corner’s of his mind Shez/Alask could feel a deep hate, however. They looked almost inhumanly fast to the side — the enhanced physique had carried over as well, it seemed — and a fury in them roared at the monsters that kindled fire, the men and women who ran at this hour of night, the soldiers that shed blood. But, Shez/Alask could understand there were bigger issues. Issues of the city, of the Forge. They had the smarts of Alask, the fury of Shez, and the power of the AlleyStorm They were one. —-— The AlleyStorm hit. Wes felt his bendalloy minds pulse and he looked to them temptingly. All the food, stored in the metalminds... with the AlleyStorm power surge it was practically a whole restaurant at his finger tips, a whole buffet of food to choose from! He was temporarily distracted by Mike, who turned into a wolf. If only Wes could make those metalminds anyone could use. He had a feeling all the animals Mike turned into would like all the food Wes had right now. —-— The AlleyStorm hit. Lusk was in Shadesmar when it happened, the ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ of soldiers around him heralding its arrival. None of the wind could be felt in the Cognitive Realm, none of the rain or lightning either. In Shadesmar, the AlleyStorm manifested itself much as a Highstorm did, as a rapidly changing figure of colours, like nature’s very own fireworks. The power boost could still be felt, and Lusk’s metalminds called to him, but Lusk refused to tap them, refused to give in. Because every AlleyStorm, Lusk had the Dilemma. The Dilemma was an interesting thing. Every time the AlleyStorm struck, Lusk was left with a choice. When the power surge hit, there would be a small time period where Lusk would have more age to tap, as his Feruchemy would be enhanced. That meant a possible compounding-type effect every time the AlleyStorm hit. Lusk could stay pretty much immortal if he kept using the power boost from each AlleyStorm to get permanently younger. So why didn’t he? Because it wouldn’t make a difference, Lusk answered. A failure is a failure. Adding more years to it doesn’t change it, it just means it’s a failure for longer. 4 years. 4 years until his 50th birthday. And Lusk had a very, very special birthday gift for himself. Why would he want to delay it by getting younger, by running away from the ultimate solution to his problems? So while the soldiers whooped and used their enhanced powers, Lusk stayed neutral, a scowl on his face, waiting for the storm to pass and the temptation to cease.

I wondered if her interest in Fabrial sciences might indicate a family connection to Kharbranth/The Palaneum. That's a complete guess though.

Figured I should probably put up a bio for the Phoenix given everything that's going on, since some people weren't here during the SDW and the profile is buried in a PM somewhere. Name: Phoenix Abilities: Hemalurgic: Feruchemical Iron, Feruchemical brass(x10), Feruchemical gold(x10), Allomantic gold(x10), Allomantic brass(x10), Gravitation(x10), physical speed(x20). Skills: Expert Flier, very practiced with all of her abilities, Intelligent. Weaknesses: Prideful and an obsessive hunter. Very little can gain her attention while she is focused on a hunt. Hemalurgy: Has a large number of spikes, enough to be manipulated by powerful emotional Allomancy, but has stability spikes to combat this weakness to some degree. Physical characteristics: An enormous bird with large, amber eyes and reddish-gold feathers which burst into flame while she is utilizing her abilities. Her figure is often hidden entirely behind flames while she is in a serious battle. Home planet: Unknown Guild: Created by the DA, but is not a part of the Guild Backstory: One of the few unique creations in the DA, the Phoenix has yet to be replicated beyond a single specimen. She was given a cave in a mountain near the Alleycity as a roost, where she slept for a number of years before finally being awoken during the Seven Days War by an immense Rioting. She attacked the city, destroying large sections of it and killing a number of fighters from the war, including Rashan who was the first that she ever dubbed the Enemy. Many years later she was called to the Oasis city when Max performed a large scale Rioting there, she believed him to be the return of her Enemy and attacked the city, eventually breaking the barrier down completely and spreading destruction before finally leaving, unable to find her Enemy.

Beat me to it:

It's at least an exercise like conlanging... IDK I have built so many random worlds IDK what to do with them

I've been reconsidering my approach to worldbuilding and I've been struck by a question. What even is the function of worldbuilding?

The Gods of Luck and Chance approve this message. (I really should get a pic or meme for this.) Can we request the Bald Eagle? Agreed, this game is almost begging for a WGG. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find the Elims have a Doctor just to make it more likely to happen but if it did, I wouldn't expect it until mid game given how much discussion there has already been about it.

Sixth of the Dusk spoiler:

We really don't know how many spikes Kelsier might have. At least the eye spike that connects his CS to the body, but beyond that, we don't really have any guesses. It could be one, none or twenty.

I don't think that Kelsier would really care about Sazed having control over him. He knows Sazed to well for that.

That's what they want you to think!

I’ve been pondering our favorite little weirdo’s signature ability to metabolize food into Stormlight, and I think I figured it out. Let’s go. (For the sake of simplicity I’ll refer to the process of eating, turning food into chemical energy, and turning chemical energy into kinetic energy as “normal” energy) We have WoB that Lift’s ability works by metabolizing food into stormlight instead of “normal” energy. The important thing to realize though that this is what Progression does in reverse. Progression takes stormlight and transforms it into “normal” energy in order to achieve the effect of either healing or growth. Once that connection is made we can draw a couple conclusions. Obviously it takes a massive amount of energy to heal injuries, an amount of “normal” energy that stormlight easily covers, however because of the law of conservation of energy the exchange rate for stormlight and “normal” energy is set in stone. This would indicate that Lift’s ability to turn “normal” energy into stormlight is not her boon, but her curse. It means she is working with drastically reduced amounts of stormlight. What are your guy’s thoughts?

I guess I’ll try signing up, as....goes to Coppermind, click random page until he finds a character he likes... can’t find any characters that he likes....uhhhhhhhh...... Jason Write!!

I guess that’s fairly good evidence that he hasn’t been off world as well. If you’re gonna world hop it only makes sense to hit up Nalthis long enough to reach the 5th heightening which would make Atium compounding pointless. I forgot to add something Marsh could have bee doing all this time so here it is. Hang around graveyards at night and scare the rust out of rebellious teenagers.

I think the void light comes from their direct connection to Odium/BAM. That said I belueve they are definitely limited, but I think it is by quantity. I think they can only hold as much Voidlight as can fit in their Gemheart. Once used, that investiture is relenished. It explain the strangeness with their surges too. We are repeatedly told that while the flying fused are highly skilled and have the same top speed, they accelerate slower than Kal/Szeth. This makes sense if you give them a small, but replenishing amount of Voidlight. Due to the smaller amount they can't pile as many lashings on top of each other like a Radian can. But once their Voidlight replenishes they can juat keep adding more, and reach the same speed.