Kal

Considering Brandon has said his works will be mostly independent, so the casual reader can understand and enjoy them, I don't think we'll see hemalurgy in SA except in cameo. I don't think we'll see major crossover material until a later series, or in works that are meant to expound on Cosmere knowledge, like Secret History.

I can't believe nobody has casted Syl yet! I think Beth Riesgraf (Parker in Leverage) would be perfect for Syl!

You hold your hand out to the side and start counting heartbeats when someone pisses you off.

I found the quotes I was looking for in Secret History. Regarding Leras’ annoyance directed at Hoid, he tells Kelsier, “I had thought that when he rejected the rest of us, he would stop interfering. I should know better than to trust an implication from him. Hald the time you can’t trust his outright promises.” Regarding Hoid’s shattering Adonalsium: Khriss tells Kelsier, “Sixteen people, together, killed Adonalsium, ripping apart and dividing its essence between them becoming the first who Ascended.” If Khriss is correct, then Hoid likely did not participate in the actual Shattering and certainly did not act alone, even if he did participate. However, it is still possible (though I doubt it) that Hoid orchestrated the Shattering.

I just listened to a part in Secret History where Preservation tells Kelsier that the 16 vessels for the shards attacked Adonalsium together in kind of a joint assault. He also implies a slight disdain or annoyance regarding Hoid. I'll have to dig up the exact quotes, but his words seem to contradict this theory.

Figures. Thanks anyway!

As a geologist, geographer, and cartographer, I'm curious if there anyone has any clues as to the size of the planet Scadrial? The only hints I can think of would be the travel times between cities (which I don't know and haven't looked it up).

Thanks! That's not too far off of my calculations. I estimated about 4000 km from north to south. The map shows the continent being roughly twice the distance east to west as north to south, so that's roughly 8000 km, or 5000 miles. 25% error isn't bad considering all the uncertainties in measurements.

I've officially been a member of 17th Shard for awhile now, but I've only posted on a couple of forums and I've never introduced myself, so here goes... I took my first steps into the Cosmere with the Way of Kings, per a good friend's recommendation, and WOW! I instantly fell in love with this universe. I actually listened to it on audiobook which was an amazing adventure. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading are a great duo and really brought Roshar to life for me. By the time it was over I was feeling more lonely than I ever did after finishing a Harry Potter book. Kaladin, Dalinar, Shallan, Adolin, Lopen, Teft. They're all my friends. They're not just characters in a book for me. Since then I've read and/or listened to Words of Radiance Mistborn Well of Ascension Hero of Ages Alloy of Law Shadows of Self Elantris The Emperor's Soul Warbreaker Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell The Sixth of the Dusk The Rithmatist Legion Steelheart Firefight Mitosis Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians The Wheel of Time So far, my favorite book is the Way of Kings. Maybe because that's what I started with, I don't know for sure. My favorite character is probably Wayne. At first he feels like just a sidekick for comic relief, but then you start to get to know him. He's a very real character. I love seeing behind the mask, especially with people like him. Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll see you soon!

I see it's been a long time since anyone posted to this thread, but in case anyone is still out there and curious about the physics of steelpushing/pulling, here's a scientific stab at it. In normal physics, two objects pushing directly against each other produce equal forces in opposite directions. If both objects are of the same mass, neither will move. But this is because there is force from gravity as well. If both people were on ice skates, where the friction is far less, then both people would move, and they would move with equal acceleration. However, if one object is more massive than the other, then it requires more force to accelerate than the smaller one, hence the smaller object will move, or at least move much faster. This is the same in Allomancy. If a Coinshot pushes against a coin, the coin pushes back on the Coinshot, but he/she has so much more mass that the coin shoots off while the Coinshot remains still. In the normal Allomancy of the Final Empire, the physics are similar. If two Mistborn push against the same coin between them, then they are each pushing with equal force. If they are of equal mass, then they both get pushed backward at the same acceleration (remember, they're not actually pushing on each other, they're pushing on the coin, which is pushing back with equal force due to the other Mistborn's equal mass). But when their masses are unequal, the less massive Mistborn will get pushed farther than the bigger one, as will the coin. But in Allomancy, the amount of force one can push or pull with is proportional to the amount of metal being pushed or pulled. A Mistborn can propel himself or herself much farther by pushing or pulling on a large source of metal than by using a coin. This is why Vin's horseshoe trick works so well; horseshoes have more metal than coins. But in Elend's case, his Allomancy is more powerful. Therefore, the force he applies to a given piece of metal is much greater than that of any other Mistborn (or in this case, of the Inquisitor). So when the two push on the same piece of metal, rather than their forces being equal (as would be the case had Vin pushed on it, or if two non-Allomancers physically pushed against each other), the force from Elend was greater than the force from the Inquisitor. The result was the Elend stumbled (he was still pushed a little bit) and the Inquisitor was thrown. I have an image that I drew to illustrate what I mean, but I'm not sure how to upload it so it can be viewed here.

I think we can use some references to climate as a guide. Obviously the Frostlands are very cold, and Tozbek tells Shallan that far to the south, the ocean freezes. Sea ice extent on Earth has been changing, but I think the Arctic and Antarctic Circles are good baselines. Then consider the countries to the far north. Iri is said to be very warm, as are the Reshi Isles. Northeast of the continent is the Steamwater Ocean. Based on these climatic references, I would guess that Thaylenah straddles the 55 parallel and the Reshi Isles lie somewhere between Roshar's equivalent of the Tropic of Capricorn and its equator. Using these constraints, I added the color map of Roshar from WoR as an image overlay in Google Earth. I resized the image to these constraints, maintaining the aspect ratio of the image. This is definitely not ideal georeferencing, but without more data points, I think this is pretty good. Now, assuming the circumference of Roshar is indeed 70% that of Earth's, as has been calculated, then a simple measurement and calculation reveal Roshar to be approximately 6300 km from the mountains west of Shinovar to the northern-most of the Unclaimed Hills. Additionally, using the map of Alethkar as a reference the Sea of Storms measures about 400 km, meaning 3 Roshar units are equal to 4 kilometers. EDIT: I missed the fact that there are degrees of latitude labeled on the B&W map of Roshar. Using those and a measurement (just on the map, not on GE) of the Sea of Storms means that 1 degree on Roshar is roughly equal to 290 Alethi units. Also, I realize I made a mistake in my earlier calculations. I based them on Roshar's circumference being 70% of Earth's, but it's actually it's radius that is 70%. If Roshar's radius is actually 70% of Earth's, then 1 degree on Roshar is ~80 km. Simple conversion of kilometers to Alethi units...1 km = 3.6 Alethi units. The northern coast of Herdaz sits at about 13° S and the southern coast of Thaylenah sits at about 67° S, so there are about 54° between them, or ~15,660 Alethi units, or ~4,320 km.

Maybe someone has already replied with this information...I didn't feel like reading every reply. Concerning the compass rose on the map: the angles between North, South, Stormward, and Leeward are as follows (in degrees): 30, 15, 15, 30. Cumulatively, from one major line to the next, the angles are 30, 45, 60, and 90. That is why some angles look bigger: they are. There isn't anything special about them, other than that. In fact, it's on most compass roses, just that the lines are rarely extended far enough for our eyes to notice. Also, I like the idea of two clashing hurricanes. It reminds me of the highstorm and Everstorm clashing. But these types of storms aren't really described as being anything like a hurricane. Hurricanes are milder on the edges and more intense just around the eye. Highstorms don't have eyes and they are most intense at the front edge: the stormwall.