Search the Community

Greetings fellow Sharders, just came in from watching a video from a youtuber I follow by the name of Shad. He released a video today of an interview he did with Brandon, covering various topics, such as the intersection of realism and fantasy, a few various questions, such as who Brandon's favorite super hero is, various pop culture items, publishing and self-publishing, and the announcement that Shad is going to be doing some consulting for Brandon in regards to various Medieval things, like swords, combat, armor, etc. I just wanted to make a thread to see what the thoughts are of anyone else who has watched the video and to discuss the contents therein. Video Link

Hey, I bought a signed book from the Brandon Sanderson store and when it arrived this was the signature. I looked it up and he apparently used to sign with his name and now uses these weird symbols, anyone know why or what they mean? I assume they are for his name like Tolkien used a runic language but is it from a book Brandon wrote or something?

Here is my blog post: https://shazarose.blogspot.com/2018/09/two-men-manuscript-how-i-got-moshe-to.html which documents a conversation I had with Moshe Feder on why he decided to acquire Elantris. It touches on other topics as well, but I have kept those in because some readers might be interested in them. If you are not, you can always skip around to just the Elantris parts. =D

Heyo guys! I finally made a 17th shard account! (Finally!!!) Okay, this is really, really random, so be prepared. You guys, do you ever think that maybe Brandon Sanderson was stumped on the stick scene (pun intended)? And so, at 3:00 AM in the morning, with a stroke of pure and amazing genius, he wrote I AM A STICK as a joke and then it became a thing when someone else read it or something? Then somehow it became the most iconic and poetic line in the entire series. You guys we should make a kelek stick poem.

My husband just asked me if there was a place where someone had complied all the thoughts on leadership Brandon Sanderson includes in his books. He teaches an Art of Leadership class to middle schoolers and is always looking/listening for new ideas. I am currently relistening to the original Mistborn Series and Tyndwell (forgive me, I am an audible listener) is hitting Elend hard with how to be a king. But there's so much more, especially in the Way of Kings. Anyone seen anything like this?

I couldn't find a poll for this topic and I love the Graphic Audio adaptations that have been done for the Mistborn stories so I thought it might be a good topic to put out there. Regarding my personal favorite, while not my favorite Mistborn novel as a whole, my favorite adaptation from Graphic Audio is Shadows of Self. The voice acting for everyone was top notch, hearing Sazed soothing voice again was a joy to listen to, the music was so fitting for the pacing and Wayne's collection of accents was beyond entertaining. Even the disturbing parts were phenomenally done, like the part with the chauffeur that encounter the Bleeder and thinking it was a Mistwraith of old, he started shouting in despair that he lost his soul. And the voice acting for that final scene man! I wanted to hug Wax so hard. So yeah, Shadowws of Self is my favorite one, though Final Empire and Hero of Ages come close, in that order. How about everyone else?

If your on this site, then you probably already know that Brandon Sanderson is a pretty good author. But I want people's opinions, is he the BEST? If not, then who is? What makes him a good writer?

Hello all, This is my first time starting a topic on these forums and, well, my first posting ANY topic on ANY type of forums. So like I said, a beginning. Anyway, I just listened to Writing Excuses for the first time, despite seeing constant updates from Adam on Brandon's website about it. This weekend, I tried it out by listening to both the most recent episode and the very first episode. I gotta say, I've been missing out. I really enjoyed listening to it. Just out of curiosity, who are the other people that are part of the podcast? Brandon is the only one that I specifically know of.

Hello Friends, So, I recently finished every single Brandon Sanderson book and was quite please with myself; however, the negative repercussions of such an accomplishment is having to go back to readying fantasy written my mere mortals. In light of such a disheartening prospect, it would be great to gather a repository of books to 'tide us over' until the next Sanderson epic induces our next inevitable reading binge. Any recommendations are appreciated, here are a few I have personally enjoyed, no sophisticated ranking system required, just what you have enjoyed within the fantasy/epic fantasy genres. Here is a link for the series on my 'Plan to Read' list, ill continue to update it: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1EGd6CiPTxXp4o_ew9PWfZC0-ODjU3becGgdcF_E69UA/edit#gid=0&range=B2 Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas: Not a huge fan of the never-ending relationship drama, but seriously some of the most epic and incredible fantasy I have every read Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini: Perhaps not the most ground-breaking or unique storyline, but I had lots of fun getting through this one The Broken Empire Trilogy - Mark Lawrence: Much darker and grittier, but a unique enjoyable series Temeraire - Naomi Novik: Cool blend of alternative history and fantasy, really enjoyed remembering some of my High School history of the Napoleonic wars Malazan Book of the Fallen - Steven Erikson: If you can finish this series, you have the stamina of a spartan. Almost too epic and all-immersive... if that's possible haha. What say you?

I just made this video and wanted to get the Forum's take on it. Are there any interesting factoids that I missed? Let me know what you guys think!

So I was just browsing Brandon's website today, as one does, and I came across a new "status bar" he has set up underneath Oathbringer, simply titled "Secret Project". Anyone have an idea what this could be??

I'm looking for a complete list of ALL material (books, comics, ect...) in the cosmere. I've done some looking around and i thought i knew what i needed to know but i just barely found out about shadows of silence and its sequel. I hope this is the place to ask

The title is pretty self explanatory. This is my opinion of how the Cosmere on screen should be conducted. This is for something along the lines of how it could be done with Netflix even though the rights have been taken by DMG. I know Brandon has said that it’s not likely to be done as an animated movie given how stuff like that has to be framed for kids, but there seems to be an advent of love for adult fantasy lately. Netflix seems like the easy answer for a platform here, but really, they’re already dipping their toes into expanding shared universes. I’m thinking two movie specials. One of Elantris and one of Warbreaker. These cover the books as much as they can. Then a spring release of Stormlight Archive season 1 covering Way of Kings. Then a winter release of Mistborn season 1 covering The Final Empire. It will keep with the regular alternating release of Stormlight then Mistborn and maybe a summer double feature movie of White Sand somewhere down the line. It should take about 10 years total to cover most of the Cosmere. Stormlight will end on ten books and Mistborn will end Era three on ten books. (Final era Mistborn will be addressed in a bit). At this point, the Cosmere franchise will be left with the Dragonsteel storyline. Given that the other backbone series have been completed, this will be sort of a ‘rebirth’ moment for the audience where the Cosmere line will be more streamlined. Only having to follow one series after all these would make everything feel fresh. (Honestly, it’d be like that moment you organize your books and declutter). So. Dragonsteel would cover seven seasons (one per book). Maybe they could do a Voltron thing where they sometimes release two seasons per year. When that’s finished, the final Mistborn series comes into play. Maybe they make the audience wait a little longer than usual for its release given how for more than a decade, a movie or tv series have been given in quick succession. Given how Mistborn Era 4 is the capstone to the Cosmere, it should probably be released as it’s own series and not under Mistborn. Maybe under a title like Cosmere: The Final Era. It will tie up the universe and should have longer than normal episodes to try to get as much of the books in there as possible. Naturally, even under a format like this where there’d be more story material than a movie, we still can’t have everything from the books present. As a compromise, Brandon would be a regular consultant and source for what should absolutely be kept from pivotal scenes to character moments. Stuff like this probably won’t happen but I wanted you to know what you guys think of this. Maybe you have a better suggestion of how things could be done?

hey everyone! I host a podcast where me and my cohost talk about all sorts of nerdy things, but we often talk about Brandon Sanderson and his books. In our most recent episode we talk about our experience at the Oathbringer release party in Provo. We've talked about some of Brandon's works in our previous episodes as well. We talked about Oathbringer in the latest episode, but we are still reading the book, so we didn't talk spoilers or get too much in to depth with it, mostly just our impressions of the new book and how we are liking it so far. We plan on doing an episode in the near future where we spend a good amount of time talking Oathbringer and Stormlight Archive after we've finished reading the book. So if you get a chance, check us out and let me know what you think. We are a fairly new podcast, we're only on episode 11, so we are learning a lot and having fun. The podcast is called Random Angst and we are on iTunes and Soundcloud.

I was doing a bit of digging on trell and I looked for name meanings. I found one website that states the meaning of Trell as someone who likes to do do things their own way without anyone else's interference. Sounds like Autonomy?

"Vin thrust the spear into the Lord Ruler's chest." And thus ended the Final Empire. I just finished yet another re-read of the first Mistborn book last night. (I like to read books on the worlds I am writing about) and I noticed something really cool that had escaped my notice before. As the Lord Ruler passed, three people stood over his corps in the light of the rising sun. Vin the Mistborn, Sazed the Terrisman Keeper, and Marsh the Inquisitor. Here we see the epitome and figureheads of the three metallic arts. These three are literally the most important people in the Final Empire until the end. They seem to stand in for the powers and investitures of Scadrial. I don't know if this was intentional, but it seemed incredibly symbolic that all three of the metallic arts and their wielders stood together as they rejected their false god. I cannot but feel a respect for the Lord Ruler. He was terrible. He was cruel. He was uncaring. Yet he fought for so long against something greater. Of all the villans in the Sanderson books, he was the one who most needed to fall, and yet the one who deserved the most respect. I find that I love this parting scene, and if I could draw this would certainly be a moment I would like to capture. The only thing I wish was different about the scene... it would be even better if a skaa and a nobleman were present, to represent the rest of the world for the passing of Rashek. This is one of the better endings to a Sanderson book. What other moments are your favorites in the Brandon Sanderson books? What times are crystal clear in your mind?

Welcome to the second Episode of "Letters from the Cosmere!" Today we talk about the origins of the current Cosmere system and the implications of the Shattering of Adonalsium. You may notice a few changes to the series, most noticeably the name change. Yes, I have read White Sand (now) and yes the name correlation was literally happenstance. However, despite this I do not want to cause confusion about who is who in the Cosmere so I made the change to my character. It is slight, but it made the most sense. I look forward to hearing your thoughts about this episode. Hope you enjoy! I will put the transcript in text below: Adonalsium. Such a strange word. I remember when I first found it as I studied the Words of Founding. In that moment, I thought little of it. Of all the incredible revelations that came in the wake of the Destruction of “The World of Ash” I was distracted. Now all these years later, I discovered that it was all connected. If you, dear reader, think for a second that I have been fooled into quiet worship and submission you are woefully mistaken. If there ever was a God, he is long since dead. There are merely scraps to pull this knowledge from. Yet just as scraps of a tapestry can yield a pattern, the grand machine that is the Cosmere is starting to become apparent. No one seems to know what Adonalsium was, except that it was incredibly powerful. It stood above all, and held the creative and destructive powers of the Universe. I say it because there is no indication if this entity had an intelligence like a sentient man. The Scholar seems to think so, but she thinks a great many things that seem to convoluted, and they cannot all be true. She seems content to sit back and learn, content to watch worlds crumble and die rather than using the knowledge she has. However, I am indebted to her, for each of the two times I have crossed paths with her she seemed pleased to answer my questions. Unlike you. However, The Scholar was not who first told me of the Shattering, but The Wanderer. I met him just before I was called back to start these letters. I never learned his name but like me, he seemed to Wander from place to place. Something about him was off, and he seemed so focused on striding deeper into Roshar I almost escaped his notice. Yet when he did notice me he seemed adamant that I listen to his story. I mostly had no idea what he was talking about until he brought up the death of Scadrial. He spoke of the powers Preservation and Ruin, and called them by names I had never heard. Then he told me quite frankly about how these powers, these so-called Gods, were once men. Men who had risen up against Adonalsium. They rebelled against It, and shattered it into 16 primal powers. Wanderer didn’t say much more than this, except to tell me that these people slowly were changed by this power. He spoke of Ati, who had once been a good man, who later manifested as Ruin and sought to destroy all life in the Universe by braking it. His parting words were the only words he seemed to take seriously. He told me that history would be repeating itself before long, and that I would have to make a choice. Almost as if his words heralded some great tragedy, I could feel something change. Odium had come. At the time I didn’t know Odium or what he brought with his influence. But for the first time I wondered if watching would be enough. It wasn’t. As you know, I would eventually dedicate my very existence to fighting for the lives left behind on Roshar. The Desolation that Odium began and the destruction caused by his Everstorm left hundreds of thousands cowering in the dark. I left my life of grieving solitude, and took upon myself a mantle of leadership. Wanderer was also there; I assume fighting in his own way. And all this time, I was thinking about the 16 who took upon themselves such great power. Apparently they dispersed, moving through the cosmere and building up peoples and cultures across the stars. The worlds I have touched have been both crafted and scared by their fumbling hands, hands of men ascended. They created many great and incredible peoples, and gifted unto them the investitures that allow men to touch the divine. But at what cost? For it seems they see fit to destroy what they create. That their Shards have twisted them into intelligent agents of the Shard’s will and Purpose. I do not understand it, but the nature of each Shard eventually bleeds through these ascended men and overcomes their personalities, twisting them into dangerous servants bound by their instincts. And now we suffer the consequences of their lack of restraint. Who were these people? What right did they have to become Gods in the place of the Thing they had killed? Apparently this Odium has murdered several of his fellow Shards, dispersing their power so as to continue his rise to domination. All along this path of Power and Control, Millions have died. To these ascended beings, our lives must seem as the ants of the dirt. When I see the destruction that Ruin and Odium have been allowed to cause, I am resolved by one simple truth. These flawed Gods should never have been. Tell our Friend that I intend to fight until the lives of men can continue under their own wills. Tell Him that this war is far from over, and that I will struggle against Odium and all other Shards who fall. I do not feel that I can do much else than be a knife in the dark. I will gather the precious few I can save and set them up as a banner, to fight back however we can. I am unsure how to fight a God, but that won’t stop me from trying. Be wary of this Wanderer, a man who is far more removed from time than I am. He moves with a purpose that I cannot comprehend. I am grateful to him and see him as a mentor of sorts. Yet I cannot help but be cautious of his intent. Even now I wonder if he hinted to me of The Shattering simply to recruit me for his side. Because of my choice I am actively being pursued by the members of the 17th Shard. I do not know what will happen if they catch me, but as of yet I have not let them get too close. However, as I cast my thoughts back to the Shattering, back where this all began, there is one thought that chills me to my very core. These 16 usurpers struck down a God. Something with, for all intents and purposes, unlimited power. Yet these men shattered Adonalsium. What could mere men wield that could kill a God? And worse, where is this weapon that can lay waste to the powers of Creation? This weapon could be more threatening than even Odium, for he is only a part of what the Weapon destroyed. Odium is the most prevalent of threats, but I fear more for the resurgence of this fiendish secret. For if the Weapon can destroy a God, what unspeakable things could it do to the peoples of the Cosmere? {Sigh] This fight, what it represents… it has taken a toll on me. Perhaps I can learn to trust, to believe that such power can be wielded for the good. Preservation did try to lock away Ruin, and even restored hope to a failing Emperor. And Honor left some of his will behind, granting visions and Nahel bonds to his people. I am uncertain if what they offered us will be enough to stop the destructive Shards, but perhaps what they did will give us a chance. Regardless I have a work to do, for I am determined to keep my people alive if at all possible. Until the next time, Elsric

Hello, fellow Cosmernaught! So this is the latest part in the "Letters from the Cosmere" where Elsric talks about the critical role Intent has in the realms of the Cosmere. I also take a moment to share some details about the upcoming Cosmere Charity Drive for Open Books, including some of the fantastic giveaways and activities that will be going on. I hope you take a moment to check out the second half of the video so you can find out all the amazing stuff that's happening! Seriously, guys, we have some Incredible things planned for this! I hope you enjoy the episode, and let me know if you have any questions. Intent is the driving force of Investiture. The Cosmere follows natural laws, and as we understand these laws we can better see the universal consistencies in the system. Intent is twofold. The intent of the wielder both shapes and limits the powers of Investiture. In Magic systems like Awakening or Aon Dor, the understanding of the practitioner often is the greatest limiting factor in the shaping of investiture. And then there is the macro Intent that shapes a Shard's Investiture. Each shard has a characteristic drive that shapes the Intent of the investiture itself. This intent eventually suppresses the Intent of the Shard holder. With this understanding, we can better understand the Cosmere and can begin to see where these events will eventually lead. Transcript: My first step into the Cognitive Realm changed everything. The domain of thought is strange and dangerous for the physical body to traverse. I imagine that there are many who inadvertently found themselves stumbling into the living shadows of Shadesmar, without any idea what they had done or how to survive in such a place. Sometimes the Cosmere seems full of worldhoppers like us, but we really are an elite few who have braved these paths and lived to talk about it. My father had taught me from a young age that the world was never as mysterious as many made it out to be. There were universal laws of nature that could be studied and understood. Once understood they could be predicted. This was the foundation of physical science, and was a passion of my fathers. He taught his children to look for the underlying truths that governed all things. And he was right, despite all that there is out in the Cosmere, so much more than my father ever could have imagined, his lessons have been proven time and time again. I am disappointed when I hear the various members of the Shard worlds refer to their Investitures as Magic. It is an understandable misconjecture. The abilities of those whom are blessed or talented enough to hold and wield investiture can do some great and terrible things. To the lay man, these might seem mystical. But just like the forces of gravitation or momentum, there are predictable rules and laws that govern these forces. Investiture is one of the four Universal Forces, the others being Particle forces, Electromagnetic Forces, and Gravitational forces. These forces all operate in the physical realm. Investiture is unique, for it is not restricted primarily to the Physical realm, but also phases into and interacts with the Cognitive and Spiritual reams. These other Elemental forces may operate to a dree in the other realms, but Investiture seems to interact unilaterally in all three realms. In fact, many realmic theorists like myself agree that Investiture is Primal Spiritual Energy. It manifests in all three realms, but it does not vanish as it is exercised, but rather it cycles back to the spiritual realm until it is recycled back into the other realms. When someone performs apparently mystical abilities like surgbindings, alomancy, awakening, Aon Dor, or any of the unique abilities seen on Shard worlds, you are seeing someone channeling Investiture into the physical realm. This produces metaphysical abilities. While flashy, these abilities are simply an effect following a cause, much like how a horse moves a cart by pulling on it. The powers vary from world to world and person to person, but the source of that power is the same. When someone holds, or is channeling this power, they are considered invested beings. (As a side note, investiture use is not limited to sentient beings. Some animals and cognitive entities can manipulate investiture as well.) But what is it about Investiture that even allows us to take hold, this fundamental force of nature and use it. How do all these metaphysical abilities manifest, and why do living beings seem to be the harbingers of this energy. Well I believe I have uncovered the core nature of Investiture, although Khriss would undoubtedly say I am oversimplifying this topic. The key to understanding the nature of Investiture is understanding Intent. Intent is the sentient will behind Investiture. It is the driving force, the rudder the steers the preverbal ship. We have many examples of the need for an intelligence to guide and channel this power. In fact, the old stories about the Elantrians tell that the power of the Dor was choked, almost eager to find release. This attitude is also apparent in the Rosharian Stormlight, Investiture that burst forth filling those who wield it with a need to act, to use the power, to let it be free. Investiture echoes intelligence and life, clinging to it like dew collecting on grass in the dawn. Each system of investiture manifests differently from world to world. This is an echo of the Shard of which they are attuned. The Investiture then can be drawn out within the restrictions of the system in which it has been imbued to. These systems have their own logic and governing laws that make them appear so alien to one another. Yet the raw power is ultimately the same, and manifests in similar ways as either a metallic solid, liquid, or gas. Usually the system dictates the amount of power that can be drawn, and the limits that power will have. For example, restrictive systems like Allomancy or Surgbinding can manifest in specific and definable amounts. These restrictions often make the abilities more accessible but at the cost of diversity. A Steel push is limited to pushing and only to a measurable limit. Rosharan Surgbinders have access to two of the ten surges, and these surges each have their own limits and applications. Other Investiture systems are more open ended, but are ambiguous in their nature. Using Soul Stamps or Awakening is likely never to be truly understood, for their potential abilities and effects may be to vast to comprehend. This means that practitioners can adapt their methods to match their needs as long as they have the time and training to produce the desired result. The constant I wish to point out here is the need for interpretation and action on the part of the practitioner. No investiture could work without a willful action or thought from the person holding the power, even if that direction is subconscious. This patter holds true even at the levels of Shards, although the power of Intent manifests in much more dramatic ways at the macro level. At times, individuals have encountered and taken in large amounts of pure investiture. This power coalesces inside the being of an individual and seeks to be channeled. If enough raw power is there, the mortal body is not a good enough vessel to maintain that power. The words of Founding speak of this when Vin entered the Well of Ascension. Her mind and body were expanded, her cognitive and spiritual selves growing in order for her being to channel the massive amount of power that sought Intent and intelligent guidance. At this level the power manifests a primal will of its own. This power can still we wielded freely, but it cannot deny its overall nature. These limits may seem minor but it is fascinating to note. For instance, an allomancer wields the power of preservation, but that mistborn can use that power to destroy. This is inconsistent with the source of the power, but in small amounts, Investiture’s desire to be shaped by Intent is greater than the pull of its Shard. As the amount of Investiture grows, the natural intent of the power begins to assert itself, making it harder for the wielder to twist the power away from its original purpose. As for the Shards themselves… this power starts to literally take on a mind of its own. In fact, we have observed that Shards that are splintered or abandoned will eventually develop a rudimentary intelligence of its own. This drive for purpose and direction is as much a part of this power as is its energy. When the 16 first took up the powers of Adonalsium, they commanded the power as they saw fit. However, over the ages, the Intent inherent to each shard began to smother the holders of the power. In the end these beings almost stopped being individuals. They became puppets to the nature of their Shards, still intelligent and with an identity, but their personal Intent was twisted until it perfectly mimicked the Intent that the investiture had been attuned to from the beginning. While investiture seeks to be shaped by intelligence and intent, it has by nature an intent of its own. I believe these drives are echoes of the entity from which they were ripped. It’s very nature upon reflection seems to prove that this power came from a vast intelligence, and because of that it seeks by its own nature to be shaped once again. If we ever truly wish to unravel the greater mysteries of the Cosmere, we much remember the constant that is Intent. No matter how big or heavy an object is, it will fall just as fast as any other object. Likewise, no matter how Investiture is obtained, it will seek to be shaped by a mind. These things are consistent and can be used as a foundation to greater understanding. We have been spending a lot of time at the great crossroads in the Cognitive realm. This city is strange, but I cannot deny that the unique opportunities here are quite alluring. The records and tales gathered here rival that of any library in all the Cosmere. We find ourselves here more and more as we dive deeper into the mysteries. The Shards have been at work in the Cosmere for a long time, and the more I see, the more I am convinced that things will not remain as they are. Perhaps there will be some great war, or the need for Intent will eventually unite the remaining Shards. The way ahead is murky, but we will do our best to help you see things a little more clearly. Until the next time, Elsric Post Script. Kassar would like to ask that the next messenger we see bring her the latest in your local fashion. I promised to take her dancing and she wants to see what modern Scadrians are wearing.

Hello all. I am an author, playwright , poet, and an avid reader. Brandon's works have made me far better in my writing and analysis of the world. I look forward to delving even deeper into his worlds.

The Cognitive Realm is one of the best-kept secrets of the Cosmere. Sometimes it almost feels crowded considering how little people know about it. Between the Physical and Spiritual Realms, the thoughts and ideas of intelligent beings take shape in this dimension. Worldhoppers use Perpindicularities to enter this realm physically and take shortcuts to other worlds. It is also the home of the spren of Roshar. In this Letters from the Cosmere Elsric takes a solid look at the Realmatic Theory about the Cognitive Realm and how its rules work for a Worldhopper. Here is this episode's transcript: I wonder if writing two letters back to back for the same person makes me conceded, or desperate. It seems haughty that I would already have something apparently so important to inform you about. Yet I waste your time with frivolous sentences about what I happen to be thinking at any given moment. The fact that I am enjoying the thought of you forcing yourself to read this right now seems to establish the point quite nicely. Well now that we have that out of the way, you must understand that the scholar in me cannot simply let my first letter be whisked away with only a generalized version of “The Cosmere.” I mean the fact that you found me in my little Manor on Nalthis proves that you understand that much about the Cosmere already. But I needed to start somewhere and I cannot help but think that someday someone will be reading these words who has never learned Realmatic Theory before. So, to you my future reader, turn back now before the insatiable curiosity grabs you by the throat and drags you away screaming. It will be easier for you to just move on, living your life. Now that I have your attention, dear reader, and your annoyance dear recipient, I wish to better define the Cognitive Realm and its import on my life. I first discovered a perpendicularity by accident. I had been delving into the secrets my rivals were trying very hard to keep. Let me remind you that a perpendicularity is a location or event where concentrated investiture creates a hole between dimentions. I like to think of them as Shard Pools. Call me simple minded, but they are places where investiture pools together all at once. I have thought long and hard about this. We exist in three (known) levels of existance simultaneously. We are very familure with the physical nature of our existance for it is the one we we are born interacting with directly. We are also existant in the spiritual realm where our essence is at it’s most pure. Somewhere between these two realms exists the Cognitive realm. This realm exists as a smoky mirror of it’s more substantial counterparts. The Cognitive realm reflects the physical realm in general shape, but is maluble and easily changed with investiture, which essentially is energy from the Spiritual Realm. The three realms exist in states that are fundamentally different from each other, despit the fact that they are intertwined. The physical worlds upon which we live are large planets suspended in around suns. We live on globes where if we travel in a strait line for long enough, we will end up right where we started. These spheres are the separated from others like them by vast distances in space. The Cognitive realm follows a different set of ruls. Everything there essentially exists on a 2 dimentional plane. Now it’s not literally two dimentional, for when you visit it will feel similar to the surface of your homeland. If you think of a planet as a globe, then the cognitive realm is like a map of the globe. Essentially they are same in shape, but the Cognitive Version of the world has edges that extend into the beyond. When you move off the cognitive world, you step into a dark zone where little to nothing exists. This essentially is leaving the planet. In fact, all cognitive realms are connected to every other world populated with intelligent beings. Because the landscape is created and maintained by intelligent, cognitive thought, it means that the gaps between worlds is relatively small. This two-dimensional existence and connection between the various worlds is what allows worldhoppers like myself to travel across the void and into other nations and cultures. One of the great secrets of the Cosmere is not just the fact that there are other worlds with people on them, but that there are more than can currently be visited. In my travels, I have passed over worlds with populations that are isolated from the rest of the Cosmere. Worlds where there are no natural perpendicularities. Someday I hope to visit these worlds somehow, perhaps discover how humans came to live there without the intervention of a Shard. I’d even assume that they have no access to investiture, but that would be presumptuous of me. I also need to note something that I forgot last time. Each world looks different in the Cognitive Realm. Now there are consistencies, like how bodies of water tend to be represented as stable landmasses in the Cognitive Realm while typical landmasses are large churning oceans of thought that can be quite deadly to a worldhopper who is not careful. However, each world’s cognitive realm has it’s own flavor. For instance, much of Scadrial’s Cognitive Realm is made up of massive seas of mist, whereas on Roshar the ocean seems to be made up of tiny glass beads. Naturally I will be able to tell you more about the Rosharian landscape and Cognitive Realm once I get there. Now you need to remember that these oceans are not a natural phenomenon like a lake or river. These swirling depths are manifestations of the millions of minds that live in the Physical Realm. All things that have a name, a concept, or dream are manifested as tiny intelligences in the Cognitive Realm. The more personification or sentimental value that people give their objects in their world create larger, and more powerful cognitive minds. It is the use of these cognitive minds that, make living in this Realm possible for these cognitions can often be enlisted to help you, especially when you have investiture to offer. Lastly, I wish to comment on the freaky pale sun that hangs ever present over the Cognitive realm. Here there is no night or day, it’s just constantly a dull grey. The ball of light that you can see is the Spiritual realm. Honestly I’m not sure how that works but the other worldhoppers I have run into have mentioned that fact. Somehow that is what connects us all together. It’s strange, and I am sure I will have more to say on that eventually. I know I come off bitter in these letters, but you must understand my reluctance to getting involved. I don’t think I am any better at sharing information that you and your kind must be. Yet, your master’s proposal was intriguing to say the least. Besides, I owe him for saving my life. Don’t get too comfortable back there, you’ve reawakened the scholar in me. Once I get to Roshar I will locate and use a perpendicularity to return to the Physical realm. I hear it is quite a place to visit, although the rumors coming from that direction do not bode well. Until the next letter, Elsric