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It's not much to go on, but I still remember the section of the plate from WoA where he wrote: "Some of you may know of my fabled memory. It is true; I need not a Feruchemist's metalmind to memorize a sheet of words in an instant." There has to be a deeper explanation to this than the simple fact that he had an amazing memory. This is Brandon Sanderson we're talking about. This leads me to think that somehow, Kwaan was a Lightweaver. He has a mnemonic ability very similar to Shallan's, and it is mentioned in WoR that Lightweavers did, in fact, all have varied memorization skills. I'm not sure how solid this is, as this is the only section that got me thinking on it. Kwaan was a Worldbringer, a scholar, and as far as we know, not an artist. That breaks with the pattern somewhat. Does anyone else have another possible explanation? EDIT: Sorry, I probably should have posted this in the Mistborn section. Honest mistake.

I've seen discussions about fights between two characters from different cosmere novels, e.g., Vin vs. Kaladin or Vin vs. Shallan, but never between Szeth and Vin. This, in fact, sounds like a much more balanced fight than the others; neither Kaladin nor Shallan has gained enough experience with their powers (or Shardblades) to beat an experienced Allomancer like Vin, while Szeth is a practiced Windrunner and Shardbearer. The setting for this fight is an open landscape, and Vin has plenty of coins and Allomantic metals (aside from Atium), while Szeth has plenty of infused spheres. Who will win? Post a reply for how they achieve victory.

Okay, so this post will probably get edited when I come up with more theories and questions. Let's get down to business right now: 1. Force of a Steelpush or Ironpull This has been bothering me for a while. Whenever I reread the Mistborn books, I notice just how much damage Pushed coins are doing. In WoA, one of Cett's soldiers actually has a chip of their tooth pop out of their mouth when they're hit with a coin. Coins frequently puncture through someone's entire body. Yet, it's mentioned frequently in the books that your weight governs the effects of your Pushes and Pulls. Yet, this may refer to the total force applied in a Push or Pull, or perhaps just the effect (whether you or your target or both moves). To add to the confusion, we can tell from Vin and Kelsier's Pushing match in FE that seems like weight might be more of a factor than just determining who moves, if we're thinking that way, yet at the same time, we can tell that since Vin's Spiritweb had already been affected by Preservation that she could Push with more force. So, what determines just how hard you can Push or Pull? It must be powerful enough to break bones with a coin, yet must be governed by weight in some way. But it can be affected by how powerful an Allomancer you are. Is it possible that it is governed by the weights of the involved objects? Thoughts? 2. Center of Mass of a Push or Pull Frequently in the books, the characters flare pewter when performing extreme feats with iron or steel to 'stop from being crushed or pulled apart.' That begs the question: Just where on the body are these forces being exerted? Steel or iron lines point from the chest to different sources of metal. It is possible that this is where Allomancers Push or Pull from. Yet, if that were the case, how would forces being enacted on this nebulous 'single center of mass' threaten to crush or pull apart the entire body? That description makes it seem as if the forces are evenly applied and distributed around the exterior of the body. This doesn't seem likely to me, but I suppose it's possible. A theory I've been toying with is that Pushes and Pulls actually originate from the metals in an Allomancer's stomach, but it doesn't have much supporting evidence. What do you think? 3. Limits of Emotional Allomancy I don't like the way that emotional Allomancy is depicted in the books. It leaves things far too open-ended for my liking. The 'emotions' that a Soother or Rioter can affect are shown to be anything between chattiness and desire for a debate. Even boredom is shown, which I definitely don't think of as an emotion. It certainly causes other ones, like aggravation or something similar, but boredom is just another term for 'having nothing to do or think about.' It sort of ruins the rigid logic of Allomancy for me. It seems like anything that might have a remote possibility of being described as an emotions can be affected by the use of zinc or brass. So, my question is: does anyone know more about this? Are there actually limits that govern what can be affected by emotional Allomancy and I'm just being ignorant? Please tell me.

In The Hero of Ages, the phrase "shadow of self" was used in referencing the sliver of Preservation's consciousness. Could the next book be talking about the returning slivers of Ruin and Preservation? In that case could the "The Lost Metal" be atium? The schedule for the return of atium to the Pits of Hathsin would approximately line up. I know it's not very solid theory, but the stakes are going to have to be higher the in The Alloy of Law.

If you could be any character from the Mistborn series which would it be? Would you be one of the good characters? or would you chose to be one of the bad? Going forth on that theme if you could chose a character that that didn't have certain powers although you liked the attributes which power would you give them? Try to keep the post from giving away spoilers so those that are still reading the books can take part without having plots ruined for them. (ME INCLUDED AS I AM ONLY 1/3 THROUGH THE 3rd BOOK)

Just asking. And to clarify, I mean the Mistborn Adventure Game book that's a tabletop game.

What's your least favorite Cosmere novel IF you had to choose one?

I think it’s safe to assume that most everyone reading this blog has also read Mistborn. If you have an overactive imagination like I do, I’m willing to bet that you’ve fantasized about lifting a car while burning pewter, flying through the darkness wearing a mistcloak, or overhearing a private conversation with the use of tin. These fun little daydreams invade my daily life. My inner child yearns for the powers of a mistborn. However, even in the world of Scadrial, mistborn are rare, so the younger me(being the practical child all of us never were), realizes it’s more realistic to long for the powers of a misting (since wishing for a magical power is realistic). This has sparked something of a debate between me and the people whom I’ve forced Mistborn on. The question is: which metal would you choose? If you ask my brother Swifftalon, he’d say either steel or atium. Both of those hold merit. Who wouldn’t want to be able to shoot pennies at people who annoy you, or effortlessly dodge between cars on the freeway just for funsies? It certainly does have a dramatic flair to it. My boss would pick brass. That makes sense. Who wouldn’t want to be able to influence the people around you, or make your employee’s more satisfied with their job? It isn’t hard to figure out which metal I’d choose; you only need to look as far as my necklace. For me, pewter is the only way to go. I know what you’re probably thinking. “Pewter, Nehex? But pewter only makes you stronger! Why do that when you can do all these other awesome things?” Fair question. It would be great to be able to fly, or to see into the future, or manipulate the minds of those around you. But, on a day-to-day basis, which is going to be more useful? Foresight or health? Endurance and energy or mind manipulation? Strength or limited flight? Sure, the other metals are fun and flashy, but as far as usefulness goes, pewter is better than gold. What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? What metal would you choose? Weigh your options, then weigh in! Keep the fire alive, Austin

Okay, so with a Word of Bradon, we know that there is a third god metal. So, Harmonium. What is it, what does it do? Obviously we can't know these questions until a book comes out, but I think we can make some guesses and extrapolate from prior knowledge that we have. One thing to note is that the other two god metals contained the name of the Shardholder, not the name of the Shard's Intent. If there is Ati-um and Leras-ium, why is this metal not called Sazed-ium? Is it due to him holding both Shard's, or is there actually multiple god metals that we will see? So, what do the metal(s) do, or more acurately, what ideas do we have for what it could be. I don't think that I am correct, but I could see them having to with Feruchemy. Maybe the god alloy and its alloy can force Feruchemists to store or tap their metalminds. Again, I am pretty sure that this is not correct, but I think it would be cool. What ideas do people have about Harmonium and possible Sazedium?

What follows is a list of things I have scratched my head at innumerable times as I read the Mistborn Trilogy... innumerable times. 1. How could Kelsier possibly have known that he had Snapped after Mare's death? Even is he did, where did he get the metals he used to escape? 2. How exactly do iron or steel lines interpret different metal objects? Supposedly a single line points to a single object, and a Push or Pull will affect the entire object. But close to the end of FE, Kelsier Pushes and Pulls the opposite ends of solid metal bars from a prison cart to deflect arrows. How? 3. I'm sure this one is a widely known answer, so if someone could fill me in, that would be great: How does Lerasium make someone an Allomancer? If you're supposed to burn a metal to activate it, how do non-Allomancers still get the effects? On a similar note, what happens if someone who is already an Allomancer, even already a Mistborn, burns Lerasium? 4. How, exactly, is flaring tin a good idea? Brandon has characters do it all the time to 'clear their head,' if they're waking up from unconsciousness or recovering from a hit. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but that seems to be a terrible idea. The whole reason the person is out of it in the first place is because of the pain, yet increasing it by flaring tin somehow 'shocks' them back to wakefulness? One would think that it would simply muddle their mind even further because of the wide range of increased sensory input. 5. How was Ruin able to change text while he was blocked by Leras? Supposedly, any time that Ruin tried to affect the world, the power of Preservation would push back, rendering him useless. I understand how he was still able to manipulate Spiked people, because they were attuned to his power, but he still shouldn't be able to move things around just 'cause. It makes even less sense that he was able to change the memories stored in Copperminds. One, they're metal, which makes it shine incredibly bright the Ruin, and two, there doesn't seem to be a way or explanation for a Shard to peek inside of a piece of metal and change things around. I hope someone on here who's an even bigger nerd than I am will help me figure this out.

1. In HoA, while Marsh is being controlled by Ruin, he reacts negatively to the notion of spiking the Misting in the town next to Tyrian (Was it Tyrian? I'm pretty sure it was.), then travel all the way to Luthadel to spike Penrod. He didn't like that it would be leaking power all that time. My question is, why? Hemalurgy is end-negative, since there is always some power lost in the process. That is very Ruin-like. But why be bothered that the spike was losing power? One would think he would be pleased to see so much of it disappear. I feel one of the attempts to explain this will be Sazed's explanation that "He knew that if he built one thing up, he could use it to knock down two others." But this opens up a broader issue. Can Ruin really ignore his intent in order to achieve his goals? It seems illogical that he would try and preserve as much power as he could, as that is in direct contrast with his intent. Also, in HoA it was revealed that Preservation couldn't suicide-bomb Ruin himself, as that went against his intent. Why is it different for Leras? 2. Does Hemalurgic power stop leaking when a subject is spiked? This seems to be the case, as Vin had her earring out for years after she was originally spiked. If it is true, why? Spiked people don't retain their stolen abilities when the spike is removed, so the power obviously went back into the spike. So why doesn't it leak? 3. Okay, so spikes made of different metals steal different abilities. But then the abilities granted also differ depending on the bind point. And hypothetically, if you wanted to steal an Allomantic ability from a Misting, then you could only take the one that they actually have. But steel simply 'steals physical Allomancy.' Does this mean that the only way to get the ability to burn pewter is to skewer a Thug with a steel spike and then insert it into only the correct bind point? So if you accidentally miss and spike the wrong spot, nothing happens? Or can you actually transmute one form of physical Allomancy into another by changing bind points? Basically, if anyone has some hidden treasure trove of Hemalurgic theory, I would like to know. 4. This last one is just guess on my part that I think is true: Zane's spike granted him increased power with steel, right? That would explain why he was able to pull off a controlled Push.

We have heard that the people on the southern continent of Scadrial have found some ways to use the metals of the Metalic Arts in a technological way. Machines that (likely) work in the same ways as the Metalic Arts. I was wondering what machines and such we can think of that the Southern Scadrians can use. Perhaps there are some cool combinations that will make amazing things. Here are some of my ideas: Binoculars made out of Allomantic tin. Jackhammers made out of Allomantic pewter. Smoke detectors made out of Allomantic tin or Feruchemical tin. Food despensers made of Feruchemical bendalloy. Mass drivers made out of Allomantic steel and Allomantic iron. What ideas do the masses have? EDIT: I found some quotes.

How exactly did the Lord Ruler's compounding system work? I didn't fully understand it after reading Sazed's explanation at the end of The Final Empire. Supposedly his atium compounding was stopped after Vin removed his bracers, but doesn't he have to burn Feruchemically charged atium for it to work? Wouldn't that mean he would be perfectly fine without the bracers, so long as he didn't run out of his metal reserve? If that is the case, do the bracers only serve the function of storing age, then being filed into ingestible metal to be burned? Perhaps I just don't understand the logistics of compounding well enough. Please, relieve me of my ignorance.

I meant to bring this up like a few months back, but then forgot...anyway, let's talk music! (And speculation brought to you because a tumblr fan asked questions; also because she's made of awesome.) Source So, I'm a little grumpy about this. I know that jazz (and big band) popping up is awesome, but I'm not interested in the...awesome factor. I'm more interested in the "how", I'm somewhat familiar with the development of jazz (or big band) "proper" in the U.S. and (later Europe; Louis Mitchell and the Jazz Kings went to France and took Paris by storm) specifically in the 1910's and '20's. It's interesting, but deeply linked to African and African American history, the history of the African American church, African American music (and African music), the presence of New Orleans, and the history of slavery in the US; all of which were factors in its development (note that this list is not in depth, nor does it touch on everything). The thing is, jazz didn't just pop up because it's cool, it developed because of a number of historical and cultural factors that were unique to the history of African Americans and US history in general. What I'm getting at, I guess, is how could/did jazz develop on Scadrial? It doesn't have these factors, the closest thing it has is the skaa and skaa plantations, but unless they have a musical tradition similar to African American work songs and spirituals ("slave songs") we weren't made aware of in the books which is possible, I guess... Did the Steel Ministry influence or did the religious influence come later through the Church of the Survivor? And also, the plantations seem...harsher and even worse than those in the American South; to me, it didn't seem like a place where talking (much less singing, chanting, and music) was even allow (at least while working), but since we didn't see that much of the plantations in the books, it's possible, I guess... My point is, I'm not sure how jazz (as we know it) realistically development on Scadrial. I know, "rule of cool" and all, but the presence of big bands and jazz in these books makes me wonder where it came from and its history in Scadrial. I know this is pretty much nitpicking, and I don't expect a full historical explanation, but I would like to know its actual origin. Basically: how and why did Scadrial develop jazz (also, consider that Elendel and its surrounding territories are like France/Germany/the United Kingdom x the western US)? What are it's origins? Is it related to the history of the skaa, skaa plantations, and the Church of the Survivor and the link that those things might have with music? (It would also explain the slower development, because the religious aspects may have come later, I think). Is it (also) related to cultural developments in the "slums" of Elendel? What factors led to a jazz-like (or big band) music to develop and why? (Also, I agree that I might be being a bit too nitpicky about this topic, but I've always found the historical and cultural developments almost as interesting as the magic systems. I'm a dork! Also, written when I had caught a nasty cold, so if anything's seems off, that might be why...-.-)