anders12

One thing that I have a hard time accepting is that the language similarities among different worlds in the Cosmere comes from the shards' common origin on Yolen. After all, in Elantris we know of at least 3 languages (Fjordell, Arelish, and Duladel), and those are very different. In Mistborn the Terris had their own language separate from the Alendi, and on Roshar there are multiple languages that do not much resemble each other. So why would we assume that two languages from different worlds would be similar just because the creators of the people on those world's had a similar origin? One thing that is interesting is that most of the similarities between Roshar and Sel are between the Alethkar and Fjordell, specifically involving the Vorin religion. And not just linguistically, but in Sel kings are required to bow before Derethi priests, and in Roshar leaders (at least people as high as Dalinar) are expected to show some level of deference, even though they are slaves. Furthermore, even if everyone person who held a shard gave their world the same language, those languages would develop differently. Just the magic systems alone would require different linguistic terms and jargon, not to mention landscape characteristics and weather patterns. A good example is how the storms have influenced Roshar (no wonder Zahel, likely from somewhere else, is constantly frustrated by his inability to express himself). I would also point out that the jump from Sylph to Sel is not a huge one considering how some latin words have evolved into English. However, I do think and freely admit that that similarity is one of my weakest points. Last thought for this post - at a signing I asked Brandon if there were worlds in the Cosmere without magic systems, and he said that there were several - Brandon said that those worlds would not come up in the WoK series, so I don't know if they can be reached by shadesmar, or if they are influenced by shards, but there is definitely unexplored territory.

@king of nowhere I do know about the shards of adonalsium, thanks for assuming so... - but I have always assumed that people have been traveling between worlds for a while (or at least did in the past) and I wonder how much influence the different populations have on each other. I should have been more clear in my post - I don't mean to say that everyone on Sel came from Roshar, merely that the similarities might suggest that a significant influence/population might have come from Roshar "immigrants" per se. However, I have no basis as far as Brandon quotes or anything so I could be totally off. @Senor Feesh - I know about the Syl/Sylphrena point, and it is a valid one. I just wonder if the name is split in parts, like some names now - for example, Smithson means son of smith. So I wonder if Syl is the root word and phrena is a qualifier of some sort. Then the similarity to Sel might have some significance.

Hi all, This is my first time joining a site like this, but there is just too much going on in Brandon's series to not explode one's brain. Anyways, I have been rereading Elantris since I finished Words of Radiance, and I have been wondering if certain cultures/religions on Sel descended from Roshar. Also, I may have a few facts wrong, so please let me know if I remembered something incorrectly from Roshar's or Sel's history. Here are my thoughts: The Vorin Religion tried to take over the world (in essence). The Derethi religion is currently trying to. Vorin priests are called "ardents", while Derethi priests are called "arteths". Further, in Roshar it seems that several names have the "th" phoneme, which seems prominent with the Derethi. Vorinism worships Jezerezeh'Elin. Jezrien was a Herald of Honor, and later became the Stormfather, who seems to be in charge of the spren somehow (or at least the honorspren and windspren). In Sel, there is the Jesker religion. Jesker was believed to be the "overspirit", and the jesker religion involved spirits in general and being in harmony with nature. Furthermore, "Sel" and "Syl" are almost identical. So I have wondered if when the Heirocracy was ending, certain groups of Vorin followers traveled to Sel, and over time words such as "ardent", Jezrien or Jezerezeh, and Syl (which I believe was chosen for a reason, not just because Syl liked it) devolved into arteth, Jezker, and Sel. The Derethi religion would have descended from the Vorins who thought that the church should rule absolutely. I realize that some of these points are thinner than others, but I would be interested in hearing anyone's thoughts. Thanks!