18th Shard

Absolutely! I'm not sure how quick my response time would be, but tat would be great.

Disclaimer: Topologically speaking, there's only inside and outside. Your front is continuous with your back, and under appropriate spiking may not preserve the current proportions or shapes. Standard DA disclaimer applies.

I think the relevant question here is whether adding Investiture to a metalmind makes it (even infinitesimally) more massive. I think it would. Adding energy (kinetic, potential, or thermal) to something increases its mass a little bit, and massive concentrations of Investiture, like a perpendicularity, can cause some time dilation. E^2=(mc^2)^2+(pc)^2 really is saying that any energy added to a system increases either its mass or momentum. Adding an Investiture term should really just describe the same thing. In that case, I would think it would be something like: (E/c)^2+(I/k)^2=(mc)^2+p^2, where k is an arbitrary constant to get Investiture in compatible units at the right ratio. Edit: Or perhaps (E/c)^2=(mc)^2+p^2+(Ik)^2 + i^2, where I is passive Investiture and i is kinetic Investiture, analogous to rest mass and momentum.

You are correct. Post updated to reflect that.

"That's alright; I will wait. I don't believe any information I have should be acted on urgently. Careful consideration is necessary for action on any sensitive information." Xanas stepped in front of a seat. "Do you have any paperwork or binding contracts I should sign? I can fill those out as I wait; then we could have a notary or a guild representative handle any business which does not require Ms. Sheneth's personal attention." Xanas started sitting down, then paused, straightening. "I don't believe I ever got your name, nor your spren's. My apologies. My own is Xanas Khaevarin." As he was sitting, a woman rushed in the building. She paused when she saw him. "Um." @mathiau @Rushu42

Yeah, I picked the most entertaining one to respond with. Here's a selection of the various answers over the years.

Xanas Khaeverin - The Scholar's Guild A young, bald Terrisman looked up at Xanas, squinting at him. As Xanas spoke, he inhaled in some Stormlight. "Is this about the Forgery?" he asked. "I suppose so, yes," Xanas answered. "Among other things. For the past few millennia, I have been the Head of the Department of Testing and Analysis in the Dark Alleys, though there have been some lengthy leaves of absence in that time. I want to help advance the knowledge of the people of the city using what I have learned in that time. Spreading knowledge has ever been my goal, but the Alleys have slowly drifted away from that goal toward the insular acquisition of power and control. The Forgery is merely the latest example. I once made an oath to seek correct questions before seeking their answers, so I've come here, to the Scholar's Guild, and I hope that those here are interested in seeking those questions as well. To that end, I will share what I know about the Forgery and the Alleys. Whom should I speak with?" @mathiau

So similar to the above abilities from Breath, but broadened to all Investiture sources?

Emily Azizi - The Alleycity Emily rubbed her eyes as she sat on the couch, setting a bowl of ramen and some peppermint tea on the coffee table beside her. Today had been such a busy day at work. So many patients with suddenly manifesting abilities, injuries, family members. The paperwork alone would keep the hospital busy for months. A thunderstorm - no, the Alleystorm - raged outside. Emily was having trouble combining her memories of both worlds. The Post had explained it was a Forgery on massive scale, but both felt equally real to Emily. The world couldn't seem to make up its mind on when things would go back to normal or what normal even was - some people at the hospital hadn't changed at all, even though they had had very different lives in the Forgery. Emily hadn't noticed nearly any changes in her own life, except for her fridge being suddenly empty. She'd had to go shopping when she'd gotten home. Now she could finally relax. She finished off her quick meal alone in the quiet apartment, showered, and, while her hair was drying, she checked the house for any changes. The spare room still had a bunch of boxes she hadn't unpacked - stuff she'd left at home when in college and just hadn't used since coming to the Alleycity. The kitchen was fine, now that she'd restocked the fridge - different brand of dish soap, but nothing major had changed. As she checked the TV, she found that apparently she had about half the subscriptions she'd had in the Forgery, and a couple she'd had before. Thinking back on it, one of her favorite shows from during the Forgery, Dark Paths, had used the Alleys as a secret evil lair for the villain, an anarchist from Threnody. What were they going to do now that the Alleys were fairly common knowledge? She did not envy the writers who now had to figure out how to retcon that in. Emily got into bed, plugged her mobile in and set an alarm for five in the morning so she could be at the hospital by six. She pulled the brown blankets on the bed up and adjusted her pillow. She drifted off to the sound of the rain on the window. Late that night, Emily was woken up by a gentle nudge on her arm. A six-year-old in a big blue shirt and shorts was shaking her awake. "Mom, can I sleep with you tonight? The thunder's kind of loud and I can't sleep." "Sure, sweetie." Emily scooted over to make room for Jarah on her bed, pulling the blue quilt back to let her daughter onto the bed. The little girl climbed up, snuggling in against Emily and was soon asleep. Emily was almost back asleep when she remembered something, sitting up with a jerk. Jarah moved in her sleep, chilled by the sudden movement of the blanket. Jarah's got school in the morning! How am I supposed to get her there without missing work?! Emily picked up her phone, opening her schedule. Drop Jarah off at 7am. Work at 8 am, her schedule read. What? Emily stared for a moment. But I work at six. Emily got up from bed, readjusting the blanket around Jarah, and walked around the apartment again. The kitchen and bathroom were the same; the living room looked identical; the spare room - wait, this was Jarah's room. Emily kept her boxes in a storage unit across town. Jarah's room was painted a bright green, a twin bed in the corner and a backpack on the floor. How did I get Jarah to school yesterday around work? Emily thought. I...I must have had... Emily checked her schedule again in confusion. Yesterday... Work at 6am. No mention of Jarah's school. In fact, there wasn't any mention of Jarah at all the past week. Then a few of her memories clicked. Yesterday was the Forgery. Yesterday I didn't even have Jarah. When I went to bed, I didn't have Jarah! Emily's last specific memory of Jarah was - she strained to remember. Last month? A couple months ago? If Jarah hadn't been in the Forgery, where had she been? How had Emily missed a whole month of her daughter's life? What did Jarah remember from that time? So many questions, so little answers. Emily walked back to her bedroom, her mind buzzing with questions. She couldn;t remember Jarah's teacher's name, but she could remember her favorite food. Her birthday was the 5th of - was it Scholus? What kind of mother couldn't remember her daughter's birthday? Her best friend was a girl named Alli. What time does she get out of school? Emily thought. Her phone schedule said three, but Emily could have sworn it was 3:30. Emily laid down and tried to get some sleep.

Same! I think this is the first time I've personally hit a rep cap. Good job everyone!

@Rushu42 I am good with Xanas waiting until Aln gets back. If Acacia or Bell or someone else at the Post wants to interact, they can, but Xanas doesn't have a big sense of urgency.