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  1. At Chapter 83 in my RoW re-read and Venli was contemplating the love she used to feel and how the tone of Cultivation used to be important to her people. She reflects on how the original listeners had left because they "rejected the conflict. Holding to family, singing to Love despite their dull forms, they'd left the war and gone a new way." This becomes the exact moment when Cultivation's tone and Odium's tone snap together in Harmony in her mind. The next word is Freedom. So my question is - what do you think the name for Cultivation and Odium's light together is? The excerpts I mentioned give a few possibilities: The Rhythm of Freedom - this fits nicely with the theme of the Listeners and it mentioned as a single word right after the experience. But does it reflect a passion for change? Or a change in passion? I feel like this is perhaps missing something, but I think it is the most likely so far. The Rhythm of Love - Love was capitalized in the excerpt leading up to the harmonizing and it is the part of herself that Venli had previously felt she had lost and was coming back to. This fits both the ideas of a passion for change or a change in passion in my mind. It sounds a little sappy and like Brandon listened for too long to the Plain White T's song, but I could get behind it. The Rhythm of Peace - But wait you might say, isn't this the Rhythm that the Listeners use all the time to check the time? It is and it is referenced so often that it could very well be one of those hidden in plain sight allusions that Brandon does so well. The Listeners initially rejected conflict - a passion to change and a change in passion from the war that was before. I think this is a stretch, but I still like it. Any other ideas for the meaning behind the Rhythm of Cultivation and Odium? As a sidenote - is there a different name other than Towerlight for Honor and Cultivation? Rhythm of the Tower doesn't seem like a great name for a Rhythm to me.
  2. Perhaps this has been discussed at length already, but I wanted to see if I could break down the incident where Dalinar touches Nale and sees into his history. First off, unless I am mistaken, the flashbacks that Dalinar sees are seen in reverse to when they happened. The alternative, for me, is that the flashbacks are out of order like deathrattles, but I don't see the point of that and the reverse chronology makes sense. "Dalinar saw Nale stepping away from a discarded Blade rammed into the stone" This sounds like Aharietiam and I believe is the clue given that these events are going to progress backward. There is no other time I can think of that Nale would discard Blade, capital B. Nale cradling a child in one arm, his Blade out as dark forces crawled across a ridge nearby Immediately this makes me think of the child deathrattle and it makes me wonder if we will see Nale again next book in a similar circumstance. There must be some significance here or it wouldn't be here. Did he save someone significant that we will hear about later? Perhaps someone important to Aharietiam? The minimum is that it shows Nale used to protect against the "dark forces". Nale standing with a group of scholars and unrolling a large writ, filled with writing. "The law cannot be moral," Nale said to them. "But you can be moral as you create laws. Ever must you protect the weakest, those most likely to be taken advantage of. Institute a right of movement, so that a family who feels their lord is unrighteous can leave his area. Then tie a lord's authority to people who follow him." Great snippit here showing how Nale used to be - a believer in laws, but with a focus on morality and protection of those weakest. Depending on who these scholars were, perhaps we can, have, or will see this system of rule somewhere? Sounds like a pretty good system to me. Note that this one is made after the next one (bonding a highspren) and so it might be at or around the time Nale swore the 5th ideal. I find it unlikely he swore the 5th ideal after Aharietiam. This is the first place we can see the humongous contrast between Past-Nale and current Nale - here morality is fundamental to law and protection at its core. With Nale being so moral and protection minded, the fifth ideal "I am the Law" gains new meaning and might have relevance for book 5 and Szeth (who it wouldn't surprise me to see swear the 5th ideal, but that's another topic). Nale kneeling before a highspren A reminder here from Brandon that Nale is a skybreaker in addition to being a Herald - this is clearly a thread not to forget. Nale fighting on a battlefield... Another fight... Another fight... Then endless desolations which come with more and more frequency towards Aharietiam, though these fights are probably pretty far from Aharietiam, time-wise. Nale clasping hands with a bearded Alethi man, regal and wise. [Jezerezeh]... "I will take this charge," Nale said softly. "With honor." "Do not consider it an honor," Jezerezeh said. "A duty, yes, but not an honor." "I understand, though I did not expect you would come to an enemy with this offer." "An enemy, yes," Jezerezeh said. "But an enemy who was correct all along, making me a villain, not you. We will fix what we've broken. Ishar and I agreed. There is no person we would welcome more eagerly into this pact than you. You are the single most honorable man I have ever had the privilege of opposing." "I wish that were true," Nale said. "But I will serve the best I can." There's a lot to unpack here, but I think the first thing we can all agree on is that this conversation happens right before the formation of the Oathpact, placing this at the beginning of the struggle between the singers and the humans. Oddities of word choice abound. First off, it is clear that Nale is honorable - is this therefore after Honor sided with the humans, or did Honor side with the humans AFTER/IN CONJUNCTION WITH the creation of the Oathpact? After all, Ishar had bondsmith powers well before the exodus from Ashyn and Ishar is the one who made the Oathpact. There is a discussion of enemies and villains and fixing what was broken. This is all laden with implications we can only guess at. So let's guess at them. If I remember correctly, all the heralds save Taln were royalty of some form or another, meaning Nale was likely a king at the beginning - whether starting on Ashyn or while staying in the Shin Valley where the humans first resided. So were he and Jezrian battle opponents (and if so was their war part of what broke Ashyn or part of what started the conflict on Roshar?) or were they political opponents - two sides of an argument. I think the latter is more likely as it leads directly into the fact that whatever the contention, Jezrian here admits wrong and the need to fix what was broken (is there any connection here to The Girl Who Looked Up?). Nale, it seems was always a little more aligned with actions that wouldn't upset or disrupt the singers and Jezrian, not. Little wonder the Fused killed Jezrian first if he was the start of it all. --- That's what I've gleaned from these passages. I imagine by book 10 we'll have seen in more detail each of these events as they will supposedly dive more into the heralds. Please let me know if I missed a clue or got something wrong (or something right). I'd love for more people to add if I've missed any connections that'll let us tease out details of the early history of Roshar.
  3. Another simple theory as I reread ROW. Adolin mentions how Jasnah is troubled by the lack of perfect gemstones in circulation - how some should naturally come up and yet almost all gemstones in circulation are flawed except for some in the Thaylen reserve. Who could be the one causing the more perfect ones to disappear? Well this topic is brought up as Adolin is pondering how to get Stormlight further in Shadesmar and who do we know who wants to transport large amounts of Stormlight long distances? Obviously the Ghostbloods. A simple theory, see? Or have I been thrown off somewhere? Also, if it is the Ghosrbloods as I suspect, are they just sitting on a wealth of Stormlight or are they doing things with it (and if so what)? I’m guessing we won’t get another moment like in Mistborn, but I could see such a wealth of Stormlight being a pivotal plot moment in Shallan’s story in book 5 as the Ghostblood plot is wrapped up.
  4. This is a simple theory that probably doesn't affect much, but I want to discuss why I think Shardplates act so different from Shardblades Shardplate, as described by Syl in her interlude, feels contentment, not pain. In contrast, Shardblades scream to Radiants. Shardplate, as we see in Adolin's chapters in Rhythm of War, does not travel to Shadesmar - it doesn't even have a Shadesmar counterpart like Shardblades do. Why are these two points so? Well, I think the puzzle pieces have finally come together. We know that a defining feature of spren is that they are different between the cognitive realm and the physical realm. The sapient spren form bonds in part to be able to manifest in the physical realm and even then, only a portion of themselves makes the transfer - they have full bodies in Shadesmar and partial selves show up in the Physical realm. EXCEPT when they become a shardblade they DO become more physical, able to interact with the physical realm in a much greater way than before. This is possible through the Nahel Bond increasing through advanced oaths. We learn from Ishar's experiments that when the sapient sprens are forced over to the physical realm without a bond and as their full selves, they do not last - they die - I imagine that is really painful. They become corpses. Coincidentally, shardblades are also referred to by other spren as corpses. Here I get to the first part of my theory: Shardblades scream because sapient spren die in the physical realm without a bond. Shardblades are continually in the act of dying. They are cognitive entities forced to be physical without the protections of the Nahel Bond. Next, why does the same not occur with Shardplate? We learn at the end of Rhythm of War that Shardplate is made of physical realm spren coming together to make Shardplate. For instance, windspren are very rare in Shadesmar but are relatively plentiful in the Physical realm. They are content in the Physical realm and don't really need to be in the Cognitive realm. Although we have seen creationspren (the likely candidate for Lightweaver Shardplate), for instance, in Shadesmar, my guess is that they too are more common in the Physical Realm. I don't know if this is the case for all lesser spren, or only for the ones deemed "cousins". Therefore, Shardplate, being made of lesser spren that are more common in the Physical realm, are not in pain because their spren are more natural in the physical realm. Physical Spren? This is also why they do not travel to Shadesmar - they are more physical in nature and going to the cognitive realm is less natural for them. Tell me what you think - if there's anything I've missed either for or against this idea. The last unexplored area is Soulcasters that seem to be a sapient spren meditating? to form a soulcaster in the physical realm similar to an Oathgate. Or something.
  5. Inspired by the later chapters in Rhythm of War, this is a tribute to Teft. While I still don't know exactly what I'm doing, I'm imagining members of Bridge 4 standing in front of his statue--having flashbacks. Please enjoy a part of me! https://youtu.be/eDzutoVMT48
  6. I was unsure if this belongs here or in Cosmere, but the topic really is more related to the Stormlight Archive though this post will include speculation based off of Warbreaker, which I believe I've heard said is a type of prologue to the Stormlight Archive. In my re-read of the Stormlight Archive, I got back to the scene in Oathbringer where Gavilar is being soulcast to stone and, with the knowledge of there being a hall of stone Radiants in Urithiru from Rhythm of War, it made me wonder if there was a purpose to the practice - a reason passed down beyond mere legacy. We know from Warbreaker that soldiers in stone can be caused to fight again, made Lifeless through the course of a single breath. This is similarly set-up in the Stormlight Archive under a different name - Thunderclasts. The first part of my speculation is that before the end of the Stormlight Archive, though not necessarily by the next book, we'll see phantom armies play a role again - the equivalent of one breath is relatively easy to find on Roshar thanks to the Highstorm and so with the right information and intent it wouldn't be hard to see a stone Teft (and others) in action again. I wonder if, perhaps, trying to set this up could be where Zahel went during the invasion of Urithiru (we know he was somewhere and that Brandon almost wrote him in, but just couldn't make it work). The 2nd part of my speculation involves Gavilar specifically, though I am by no means asserting this will happen. In Warbreaker, Clod/Arsteel as a lifeless mostly acts only as he is instructed. EXCEPT there is a moment when he protects Vivenna in the slum riot where it seems that a little more of Arsteel pokes through and I've read that Jewels offscreen goes to Yesteel to try to awaken more of Arsteel in Clod. We've seen with characters such as Thaidakar (to use the Stormlight name) that a cognitive shadow can staple itself to the physical realm; it would seem in the example of Clod/Arsteel there is a way to staple or bring back the cognitive to an otherwise Lifeless physical entity. All that to say, during Gavilar's funeral there was a lot of talk about the three realms and eternal wars and it made me wonder if Gavilar might one day come back (or have planned for himself to come back) as a Lifeless and if he (or others) would also have their cognitive self brought back somehow (even easier I'm sure if it's still lingering around like the fused with the thunderclasts). This seems more likely to happen in the back 5 books, but there's some set-up for it already so I thought I would speculate. My apologies if this was a bit rambling - please let me know if I've forgotten anything that could support (or counter) this line of thinking. One issue I already know of it the lack of ichor alcohol, but perhaps there is a workaround here since we (I) know very little about the nature of ichor alcohol. tl;dr - I think the stone radiants and others will later play a role as Lifeless soldiers or equivalent like Thunderclasts, but for good. If Gavilar's cognitive self is still around, perhaps it could come back to his stone statue and reappear that way.
  7. No, it's not about that Certain Someone. This one's about our erstwhile Odium, Rayse, or at least what's left of him. The man was incredibly Invested before his death, to the point that I think even if Nightblood were to shunt every other one of his victims to the Beyond directly (which I am not sure about by any means), he may be a unique case. If his Shadow did stick around and is now bopping around in the Cognitive somewhere, what's he up to? What are the odds of him plotting something? What do y'all think?
  8. So as per usual with me I have been contemplating another order of knights radiant and what qualities their spren look for. This time truthwatchers caught my eye. Now we know the basics from the official description. Truthwatchers are generally quiet introspective and eager to discuss the nature of truth. Yet, from the truthwatchers we have seen so far I cannot recall much active pursuit of said truth. Now renarin being a corrupted truthwatcher could of course play into this. Yet even the regular ones we have seen rarely do much beyond helping children (which is a very kind and wonderful thing to do). One trait thing I think we can look to for further insight may be their herald. Not even going to attempt to spell her name. But her attributes are learned and giving. This I think gives an idea of what truthwatchers may be aligned with. They watch, they listen, and they aid however they can. Might not be as flashy as a skybreaker or windrunner but very important all the same. I think compassion may be a trait mistspren look for along with a shared willingness to see from others' perspectives. As i wrote this i actually found it funny how the edgedancer character (Lift) spent more time seeking answers that we are aware of than the regular truthwatchers (who spent time remembering the forgotten orphans and helping them). Anyway, feel free to comment and discuss below. If yoy disagree I'm happy to chat anyway as I doubt I'm any sort of expert. As always thanks for engaging with the topic.
  9. From the album: Other Cosmere Art

    This challenge again! Characters are: Lift (Stormlight Archive) Vasher (Warbreaker) Szeth (Stormlight Archive) Kelsier (Mistborn) Marsh (Mistborn) Raboniel (Stormlight Archive) (I was so pumped when drawing Kelsier & Marsh together xD Also Raboniel's lab goggles, they're just my personal quirk, not canon though.) Lift (in Azish robes) wanting more pancakes!
  10. Let me preface this by saying that I am asking a question related to how the magic works. I don't want to bring up the intensely hot morality debate around this subject. Could Stormlight positively or negatively affect the child in the womb of a pregnant woman? We know that the person's image of their body is important to healing (see the Reshi monarch and Rysn). It makes me wonder how it apply in that situation. Like, could a woman imagining her child as healthy fix a child's a cleft palate? Or could a woman terminate early by healing while not imagining herself pregnant?
  11. From the album: Cosmeme & Crossmere

    Commissioned piece. Crossover description: Hoid from the Cosmere and Gandalf from Lord of the Rings performing dragon fireworks show, with Kaladin, Syl, the Dog, Frodo and Bilbo watching. It's really an unexpected crossover but fun to draw!
  12. Spoilers RoW - Spoilers Dawnshard - Spoilers All Cosmere - SPOILERS HERE - SPOILERS THERE - SPOILERS BLOODY EVERYWHERE ...now that we've scared off the neophytes: I haven't read a lot of Stormlight theories. I'm going to start that right now. But I've spent a lot of time reading the books, and reading the blessed Coppermind. So based on too much information and too little community critique... here are my craycray ideas about the Cosmere: Roshar is Yolen. The original planet, home of Adonalsium, is hidden in the Physical by crem (much like Akinah)... and known so commonly as Roshar that it is shrouded in the cognitive. Adonalsium was Shattered at the Shattered Plains, and the warcamps were the loci of the vessels who Ascended to become the first Shards. The burst of power from the Shattering created so many features of Roshar, such as the Windblades, as a result of cymatics. Rosharan Highstorms are driven by the spren of this storm - basically its memory - imprinted on the cognition of the very world. Every highstorm is the memory of the shatterstorm. Cusicesh is the spren of everyone on Yolen recognizing the Shattering - the spren of "a million voices crying out in terror," Alderaan-style. The reason the three realms on Roshar bleed over into each other so much is because of the realmatic trauma of the shattering - a kind of permanent perpendicularization. The ancestors of the Alethi are from Ashyn. The ancestors of the Ashynites were from Yolen. As such, they share a common ancestry with the Shin, who never left Yolen. (Alethkar-son-son-Shinovar). This explains their continued use of stone, which is but a memory of what once was used to keep the Fain at bay. The crem-based life of Roshar is either Fainish, or the result of Fainish adaptation to Roshar - that is to say, to the introduction of the crem cycle. This possibly aided by Cultivation, and/or Dawnshardic influence - or maybe Cult simply created the context which would cause 'evolution' in the direction she desired, God do I love Cult, she storming owns. In this same manner, the races of Roshar are mostly the result of interspecies combination caused at a Deific level. We've seen part-human, part Dysian Aimian; part-human, part Siah Aimian; part human, part Parsh... what is hiding in plain sight is that the Parsh themselves are part human, part dragon. Hence their limited but impressive ability to shapeshift, and their Revisionist Smaug hoarding of gems. Sja-anat's "Enlightenment" is literally adding a light. Five broams says Horneater White is how Brandon thinks Hornitos is pronounced. Axies the Collector is of Whimsy. So is his race. His Collectoriness is his Whim... and he can change his appearance on a whim as well. I'm guessing that the Dysian Aimians are of one of the remaining two shards - probably a complement of Invention, such as Observation - or maybe Fascination. The planet-names of the Threnodite System are all about songs for the dead. They are unrelated to Ambition. They're a little related to Mercy. Maybe. But I wonder if the original Shard of that system was something like Mourning, or Grief, or maybe even Celebration. I wonder if that shard is still in the Threnodite System - maybe Celebration plus the presence of a dead Shard equals Mourning. Harmony will fail to turn Waxillium Ladrian into his prime agent. This is mainly because Harmony's mutually-exclusive powers prevent him from making something into something-else. (His Shard-name could very well be "Laissez-faire.") As a result, he will need to recruit an Agent from offworld. Someone who is already brilliant and capable. Someone who can serve with honor. Someone who, opposite of Sazed, can put on a different intent and skillset to meet the particular challenge at hand - a little like the halfway point between a kandra and a human. Someone who is already involved with a Scadrian organization. Someone who is already involved with an organization dedicated, by happy accident, into discovering how someone with a spren-bond could leave Roshar. Harmony thinks he needs a "sword," but what he really needs is a "little knife." Shallan’s mother was the Herald Chanarach. When Shallan manifested surgebinding, her mother tried to kill her. Shallan killed her in self-defence - but in doing so, she started the False Desolation. I also wonder whether Shallan killed her mother, not with Pattern, and not with Testament, but with something else - either a permadeath weapon, like the knife that killed Jezerien, or a gem-on-a-stick weapon, that killed her mother's physical form but trapped her mother's spiritual aspect in the gem, which was then hidden in the box - either to remain trapped forever, or shattered and sent back to Damnation, starting the cycle of desolation BUT allowing for her immediate rebirth. (Poor Lin!) Jasnah is trying to get pregnant by Hoid. The Dawnshards are the building blocks of life. In the context of the world - of what an evolutionary biologist might call *evolutionary pressures* - they are Adaptation, Perseverence, Mating, and Multiplying. Devoid of their context, they are, at their most fundamental levels, CHANGE, SURVIVE, UNITE, and DIVIDE, respectively. At a more programmer level (Cosmere's Game Of Life?) they are +CHANGE, -CHANGE, COMBINATION, and REPRODUCTION. (Or on an OS level, "Edit" "Save" "Merge" and "Duplicate"). As of the current moment - the end of RoW, and the end of Era 2 Book 3 - the Dawnshards are held by Rysn (CHANGE), Kelsier (SURVIVE), The Stormfather (UNITE) in trust for a worthy host, and I'm guessing Jaddeth for Divide. The effects of this can be seen in Chiri-chiri's evolution; Kelsier's sheer inability to stop being alive; and Dalinar's desire to Unite Them... which so far expresses itself mostly in political terms, but is probably not orthogonal to the fact that, as has often been commented upon, suddenly and irrepressably, Dalinar f---s. Vstim was training Rysn to be a Dawnshard. He made her fit to hold it well, and also developed her Connection to its evolutionary concept sufficient for her to claim it. He arranged for her to have a larkin, and a ship. This smacks of Cultivation’s work with Taravangian, but is rather less direct. Perhaps Vstim is an agent of Cult. Perhaps he visited the Nightwatcher and as a result has become her pawn unknowingly. Or perhaps the indirectness of his actions is based upon an oath of noninterference… because Vstim is Frost. The reason that Investiture on Scadrial always re-gathers is due (howsoever indirectly) to the presence of the Dawnshard SURVIVE. The reason behind so many of the racial hybrids on Roshar is the presence of the two Dawnshards, UNITY and CHANGE. The reason that Kelsier and Hoid immediately wanted to punch each other - and Hoid was able to! - is because of their closeness to Dawnshards. We know that Kelsier is Mr. SURVIVE. Hoid might have also held SURVIVE, and perhaps the Dawnshards are like storming magnets, whereby identical polarities repulse. Or Hoid might have held CHANGE, and as such they are naturally opposed. Personally I prefer the former logic, because... um... well... RYSN/KELSIER. IS THE SHIP THAT I DID NOT KNOW I NEEDED BUT NOW I DO I DO I DOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Larkin/lanceryn are guardians of Dawnshards because they prevent the Dawnshard-holder from gaining Investiture. They are like the tamper in the core of a nuclear bomb. (Someone get Kelsier a gang... that is entirely made up of EDIT: Leechers.) The forging of Nightblood took "ten thousand breaths" but I bet it also involved ten thousand hemalurgic spikings. This is related to the growing theme in the Archive of "is it okay to do evil to make a technology that will do more good?" - which is very Ishar and just SO DAMN TARAVANGIAN. (As an aside: I wonder if Nightblood was cast or forged. Unwrought steel naturally has a crystaline structure, quite akin to a gem.) (As another aside, I bet the Conventicle of Seran was founded by one or more of the Five Scholars - at least Shashara - and its name is related to the name she used when she was on Scadrial.) Speaking of awakening, command, intent, and visualization: I am told that humans dream in black and white. I wonder if that's why Awakening requires color, to make our dreams reality? Aaand speaking of ethics: Odium's champion is going to be someone Dalinar cannot kill. Adolin? Kaladin? Gavinor? The ghost of Evi? Dalinar will "lose" this rigged contest... but also, *he will be glad to lose*! The end of Stormlight 5 will have the humans of Roshar abandon the planet to Odium. More specifically, they will cede the planet to Toadium, in reparation for bringing the Void and enslaving the Parshmen lo so many years ago. (Stormlight is anticolonialist literature?!?). The Shin will remain, as they predate arrival of humans from Ashyn. Maybe *some* humans will, too. But some will go. They will leave Roshar behind. And this sets us up for the Stormlight Archive Back 5 to suddenly and fully go COSMIC STORMING COSMERE. Dalinar and Navani will go to Sel (Dalinar to Unite that which was splintered; Navani to study seons and aons and basically become Ada Lovelace but for MAGIC), Shallan will go to Scadrial to become Harmony's Mara Jade, and Jasnah will lead the Alethi to Ashyn to try to de-storm the planet of Honor. AND I MENTIONED KELSIER/RYSN RIGHT?!?!?! But not "Toadium." Actually "Passavangian." Because: The Oathpact was a deal between Honor and Odium to fight FOR THE SAKE OF FIGHTING. Odium would send his forces after Honor, and thus be his Hateful self. Honor, in turn, was the anti-Yoda, and thought that wars DO make one great - and longed to provide his people with an endless war in which they could fight and die in glory. This is the truth which the Knights Radiant learned, leading to the Recreance. I would even guess that Koravellium betrayed Tan to Rayse in desperate hope to end their mutual madness (shard-savantism + toxic masculinity = you're gonna have a bad time). El wishes to continue this fight, probably by going after the forces of Valor in big bad Infinity War II Interplanetary Boogaloo. The real test will be whether Odium can truly be transformed into Passion as once he was, causing El to rip off his armor and return to his carapace... a very heavy-metal version of swords-into-plowshares. ADDITION: I still wonder if Ba-ado-Mishram is actually the Sibling - broken of light, trapped in a gem - already bonded by Navani. ADDITION: I bet Kaladin will will sacrifice himself to save Moash, even though Moash has not been redeemed. This might be his fifth Ideal. Or, it might be him being unable to swear the fifth Ideal! In either event, it will be so damn Honorable that we'll get Kalavast. ADDITION: I believe that the most important person in the entire storming cosmere is our sweet, our beloved, all-around best twink in fiction, Adolin Kholin. And why? Because he is Connecting so strongly to Mya. He's not just going to reverse the Deadeye-ness. He's not going to just become an Edgedancer. No. No. He's going to form a bond with a spren WITHOUT SWEARING THE IMMORTAL WORDS. He's going to form a Nahel outside of the strictures that Honor placed on Surgebinding on Roshar. He's going to be a Radiant without being a Knight. And this will be both the key to Connecting with Investiture on other worlds... and also will make Surgebinding on Roshar as dangerous as it was on Ashyn. Yeeeeesh. ADDITION: My guess is that Urithiru is one leg of a Rosharan Bifrost. When you turn it on, it makes a bridge to another similar device on Ashyn. This is how the Ashynites got to Roshar in the first place. However, I also have an alternate guess that is probably mutually exclusive - that the gateway to Ashyn is still open, that it's at the Origin, and that it's the source of all the crem on Roshar. ("Ashyn fell from the sky.") ADDITION: Adonalsium was not actually shattered. It was split, like light by prisms. No, not actually like, but literally. A Dawnshard is a pure Command, wrought into a crystalline lattice so that it can capture investiture, and held by (as) a person in order to supply Vessel-like Intent. (I half wonder whether Hoid's name when he was a youthful otherkin on Yolish Tumblr was Feldspathoid The Dragon, hence "hoid.") I think that the Sixteen thought they would split the light of God off into the world(s). But. But! They used gems that contained TOO MUCH DAMN ALUMINUM. (Such as topaz!). This trapped the Investiture, forcing the Ascension of those who held these gems. ADDITION: I really wonder if Shallan's mother was planning on having more children. Like, 5 or 6 more. Think about that for a hot minute. ADDITION: I wonder if the way you "wound" a Shard is to convince them to betray their Intent. The Sixteen made a promise not to reform Adonalsium. From the get-go, this limited Ambition's ambition to such an extent that they were in internal conflict, and thus injured. Exploiting this injury was easy for our boy Rayse The Roof. By the same token, the infinite loop of the Desolations grew so dishonorable that Honor began to lose himself within it. Kind of like if Cultivation was asked to *not* prune, such as by choosing to *not* nuke every human on Roshar except Kharbranth. I wonder if Koravellium is setting herself to be Splintered, or even killed, by making such a choice - as part of a plan to kill Odium - or even, as part of a plan to let some others (Dalinar and Navani?) Ascend to Unity. Also the binding of Ba-ado-Mishram is the source of the taint on saidin. Okay I'm done now. -silver the ridgerunner (yes, actual name) (yes, actual job title) thanks for being the best fandom. just, the best. <3
  13. In the final few chapters before taravangian became odium. Odium told taravangian "I have lost my champion again" who did odium lose as his champion?
  14. I was doing some research about different Surges the other day, and when I read about the surge of stone shaping, I started wondering about it. Specifically, when a Willshaper or a Stoneward uses their Stormlight to shape a stone, does it become like clay and they have to mold it? Or (this would be way cooler) would they be able to sort of command it with their mind so they don't have to actually dig tunnels through rock, etc. I may simply have this question because I missed a part in the descriptions in both the book and the info pages. But if the latter is tue for Willshapers and Stonewards, it would be wicked cool!
  15. This post contains spoilers for Stormlight Archive’s Rhytm of War, Mistborn’s Bands of Mourning and minor spoilers for Warbreaker. Proceed with caution. In the epilogue of Rhythm of War, Wit encounters the new Odium and their interaction leaves us wondering if the encounter truly happened as Wit expected or whether he has been outwitted (hah). I will summarize some “facts”: 1. Wit planned entering the old palace in order to meet Odium. 2. Investiture can be used to store memories. 3. Odium notices that Wit stores his memories in his Breaths. 4. Odium does something to Wit’s Breaths. 5. Wit appears panicked. 6. Wit appears to have forgotten he had already met Odium. 7. The encounter “repeats”. 8. Wit loses his perfect pitch, an ability granted by holding a sufficient number of Breaths. I think it is safe to say that 1. – 3. are facts. I will explain what I think what really happened during 4.-8. Put on your ralkalest foil hats and let's dive in. Wit, the man himself, gives us a few hints in the epilogue. Wit does a coin trick while talking about storytelling. He explains to Design that performing a magic trick without actual magic is more impressive. He talks about misdirection (“dirty tricks”) and then shows us that he had two coins all along. Now here is my theory: Wit knew exactly what he was doing. He planned to meet Odium and he planned to trick Odium into thinking he had been outwitted. “But wait”, you say. “Odium did mess with Wit’s Breaths! He stole them and that’s why he loses his perfect pitch. To that I say: “True, he stole his Investiture. But what about second Investiture?” Breath is not the only thing in the Cosmere capable of storing memories. Copperminds can do so as well. Wit is shown playing with a coin. That’s his Coppermind. He uses both Breath and Copperminds to store memories. These are the two coins that are parts of a whole. During the initial encounter, he starts storing his memories from the last few minutes into his Coppermind. When Odium “attacks”, Wit truly is panicked because he doesn’t know what’s going on. His memories are partially in his Coppermind and therefore not in his mind. His lack of information makes the rest of the encounter scary. While Odium talks about his predecessors’ agreements, Wit finishes storing the memory of the meeting into the Coppermind. The Breaths are a decoy, the misdirection. Odium does steal a few of his Breaths but Wit has a backup in his coin now. After their second encounter, Wit appears to have forgotten that they had already met a few minutes before. He seems confused and looks for Design. Then he meets Odium. At this moment, Wit genuinely thinks this is their first face-to-face meeting in over a thousand years. While talking to Odium, he glances at his coin and thinks “I wanna tap that. But not now with Odium watching.” The encounter ends. Wit walks away and tries to whistle. He notices a few of his Breaths are missing. He taps the coin and recalls his memories. Their first face-to-face meeting in over a thousand years had gone exactly as he had imagined. Some problems and possible answers about this theory: P1: It might be impossible to upload memories into Breaths and into a Coppermind at the same time. A1: 1. Wit could have stored half of his memories in his Breaths and half in his Coppermind. He can then piece together through context what happened. 2. The more interesting explanation is that Wit created this scene in advance (storytelling) and left those memories as a decoy for Odium. Here is an excerpt from the epilogue. The biggest clue, however, is the very last sentence of the epilogue. He *imagined* the meeting, as in he created images of it. How? Lightweaving. P2: Why does Odium notice the Breaths but not the Coppermind? A2: Wit says (Like Breath.) (Unlike coins.) Breath is Investiture that Wit is endowed with. It is a part of him, at least temporary. Metalminds store Investiture outside of the body. Odium is not interested in the coin at all. Why would he? Breath is much more interesting. Maybe if he had not noticed that Wit stores memories in his Breaths, he might have been curious about the coin. But that’s the magic of misdirection. P3: If Feruchemy existed before the Shattering or if Odium learned about Feruchemy at some point before Rhythm of War, he would be much more wary of a coin, something that is not commonly used on Roshar. A3: During his negotiation with Dalinar, Rayse says This implies that the different manifestations of Investiture are not known to each Shard. Plus, Odium was trapped in the Rosharan system, so he might have missed a few things P4: Why did Odium not notice that Wit's prepared memory was fake? A4: Wit is an amazing storyteller and could create illusions with Yolish Lightweaving prior to bonding a Cryptic. The Surge of Illumination would enhance and complement his abilities. P5: Why could Odium not foresee that Wit would attempt to create a fake memory? A5: Wit spent quite some time around Renarin who can interfere with Odium's predictive powers. Wit's Fortune allows him know where he is supposed to be but even without Fortune it would be smart to stick around Renarin if you want to avoid Odium's gaze. P6: Is Wit even a Ferring? We only know he is an Allomancer. A6: BoM chapter 21 Wit doesn't have to be a real Feruchemist or Ferring. He would just need to have access to a filled Niccrosilmind. P7: Where would Wit get a filled Niccrosilmind from? He visited Scadrial during Era 1, presumably left and came back during Era 2. However, Stormlight takes place before Era 2. A7: Wit could have visited Scadrial again between Era 1 and Stormlight to get a Nicrosilmind. Another and easier solution is that someone brought the Nicrosilmind to him. There were at least three Scadrians on Roshar, two of which are heavily implied to be Ferrings or Feruchemists. So that's my theory. I invite you to re-read the epilogue with these thoughts in mind. Channel your inner conspiracy theorist and try to find as many connections between what Wit says during his performance to the Spren and what happens during his meeting with Odium. I would love for you to add your thoughts and expand this little theory. TLDR: Wit is an advanced method actor. He played the fool but was actually still the Wit. He said to Odium "~~You cannot have my memories~~ Please feel free to take my memories" but only if you can find the right ones.
  16. Could the Sibling and Ba-ado-Mishram be one and the same? - a Godspren - light-producing - stuck inside a gem - missing a part of itself - wary of Knights Radiant! - both went dormant about the same time Could "Mishram" have been a three-part spren, an equal divide between the three Shards - the three pure tones - of Roshar... perhaps even created to symbolize the unity of the three when the Ashynian Refugees were accepted? Perhaps even created as *part of the Oathpact*?
  17. All spoilers - RoW, Dawnshard, Cosmere, WoB, r/cremposting, whispers of fictive headmates, etc: In a nutgreatshell: I propose that the herald Ishi and the radiant Melishi are one and the same. 1. MELISHI We know that Melishi was a Bondsmith prior to the Recreance. He was bonded to the Sibling. He enjoyed a position of authority among the Knights Radiant. He lead a strike team to capture Ba-ado-Mishram. He was warned that this would have unintended consequences. He ignored this warning. 2. ISHAR We know that Ishar was a Herald of the Almighty. He is currently the mad God-Priest of Tukar. He is obsessed with spren, the Nahel bond, and Connection in general. He is preposterously skilled in combat - far more than even the Blackthorn and several Knights Radiant. Before he was a Herald, he was a part of the development of surgebinding on Ashyn, which led to the destruction of Ashyn, and was part of the subsequent exodus of humans from Ashyn to Roshar. He is still studying the fundamental forces of the Cosmere with an eye towards their manipulation. 3. SIMILARITIES I mean, basically all of it? ISHI, MELISHI - their names are pretty dang similar. Both had positions of authority in the Knights Radiant - Melishi from the way he is spoken of in the Gem Archive, and the Knights Radiant being literally called "Ishar's Knights." Both are closely associated with Bondsmiths. Melishi was a Bondsmith (bonded to the Sibling), the historical Ishar was the Heraldic patron of Bondsmiths, and the modern Ishar tried to steal a Bondsmith's bond to the Stormfather. Both are closely associated with Connection. We really only know Melishi in the context of gems mentioning Ba-Ado-Mishram, who in another gem is specifically discussed in terms of majuscular Connection. Ishar, in RoW, is all about that Connection. Melishi captured Ba-Ado-Mishram in a perfect gem (much the way Dalinar does to The Thrill). Ishar is studying a new way to capture spren, one that involves less jewelry and The historical Ishar was part of the development of surgebinding on Ashyn. The modern Ishar is trying to mess with the fundamental forces of Roshar. Melishi messed with the fundamental forces by capturing Ba-Ado-Mishram. The historical Ishar was part of the exodus of humans from Ashyn to Roshar. The modern Ishar is studying the persistence of Invested entities outside of their home. (This is pretty close to what Restares is doing on Roshar, and what Thaidakar is doing on Scadrial.) In the same way, Melishi was studying how to stop Voidlight from getting from Braize to Roshar by means of a spren. These seem similar - even progressive, one two three. The historical Ishar was part of the Surgebinding investigations that destroyed Ashyn. Melishi was part of the spren-capturing that caused the False Desolation and turned the parshendi into parshmen. The modern Ishar is on his way to becoming the subject of a Behind The Bastards episode. This guy genocides. And I mean, the methods of his madness are bad enough, but his *goals* are probably even worse! The guy should really be the Herald of Ignoring Externalities. "Playing with forces too big for him to control" seems like his bag, baby. He answers the question: What if Lanfear was like "okay, so we've got this Bore. What if we bored a BIGGER bore and then put THAT Bore in THIS bore? Problem solved!" This guy probably has a coffee mug that says "That's a problem for Tomorrow Ishar!" OMG I hate him so much. 4. PROBLEMS From the Gem Archive, we are told: ""This generation has had only one Bondsmith[...]" This suggests that there are multiple, changing Bondsmiths. But it does not imply that it all Bondsmiths are new. Heck, it tells us clearly that the 'multiple' part is not constant. I expect that none of these parts are constant. A) Heralds can bond spren. Look at Nale. Heralds can lead their Order - again, Nale. C) Heralds are immortal. Look at... well, 9 of them. (Sorry Jezza) D) We know that Ishi is older than the Heralds themselves. He was definitely alive during the time Melishi was alive. E) Again, Ishar tried to steal Dalinar's bond to the Stormfather - but another way of saying that is, he tried to bond a Bondsmith spren himself. F) Back in the day, the Nahel bond was less permanent. Maya says that she thought the breaking of her Radiant bond would hurt, but would not kill her. This implies that it would have left her able to be re-bonded to a new person, making a new Knight Radiant - much as she is on the road to doing with Adorablin. By this same method, a bondsmith could well have bon G) We are told by the Gem Archive that "This generation has only one Bondsmith." It does not imply that this one Bondsmith hasn't been a Bondsmith for generations - since, indeed, the beginning. And it does not imply that, just because there's only one bondsmith, only one of the Bondsmith spren is bonded. A person can have more than one Nahel bond at once. And if anyone was ever to do this it would be Mr. Bondypants himself. H) As a result, Melishi could have been bonded to more than one of the Bondsmith spren - before his attack on Ba-Ado-Mishram, or even, during it. I) Storms, it wouldn't surprise me to discover that Ishar CREATED the Sibling - using his Bonding powers to combine Stormlight and Cultivationlight into a new "Bondsmith-level spren." (We need better vocabulary, here. Bondspren? Shardspren? Greatspren? Pleez halp.) J) Storms, I'm guessing that Ishi-Melishi is the one who created the Nahel bond entirely. 5. SIDE THEORY THAT'S TOTALLY BATSHIT, I KNOW Since Ba-Ado-Mishram was a Light-level spren, and the only other Light-level spren are the Bondsmith spren, I'm going to go ahead and suggest that Ba-Ado-Mishram could have been a Bondsmith-bondable spren. Ba-Ado-Mishram might have been a regular ol' spren of Odium, and her only association with Light was to forge a Connection between a Light-source - say Odium himself - and the parsh. Or, Ba-Ado-Mishram could have been the spren of Odium in the way the Stormfather is the spren of Honor, or the Nightwatcher the spren of Cultivation. BUT. What if Ba-Ado-Mishram was a spren like the Sibling - a meeting of the two? And what if, as I theorized about the Sibling, Ishar was involved in her creation? Ba-Ado-Mishram might have been a 'sibling' of Honor and Odium, or of Cultivation and Odium - creating a 'towerlight'-like blend of the two lights. Maybe the creation of such a blended greatspren was part of the Oathpact by which Odium and the Ashyn Refugees were allowed onto Roshar. Maybe there were two of them - three blended greatspren, in addition to one pure greatspren of Odium. Meaning there's one mixed greatspren, and one pure greatspren, that we have yet to meet - or at least to understand. If Ba-Ado-Mishram was a Bondsmith-spren, Ishi/Melishi could well have bonded her at one point - or indeed, could have been bonded to her even while he was imprisoning her. This might be the reason that the Sibling went into hiding, and refused to bond any new Radiant. His last Bondsmith had betrayed one of his other bonded spren! (Aside: I kind of wonder if the Sibling being tied to the Tower is actually not that far off from Ba-Ado-Mishram being trapped in a gem. But that's a bit metaphysical for the moment - save 4 l8r.) And, ifffff this is all true... ISHAR COULD STILL BE BONDED TO BA-ADO-MISHRAM. Still bonded. All this time! This could well be the reason that Ishar is so double extra super crazy at the moment. He could be bonded to a spren who is trapped in a gem and has been stuck underground for a few millennia. That's probably halfway to being trapped himself - halfway to being Taln. Probably not super awesome for the ol' mental health - just guessing. 6. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER My guess is that the history/mechanics went something like this. -Ishar was a human living on Ashyn -He was interested in the Surges - kind of the way Dr Faustus was interested in the spirits, Dr Oppenheimer in the atom, Dr. Eronaile the Power, or the current Ishar in playing Dr. freakin' Mengele with living spren. -Odium tempted Ishar with the power to manipulate the fundamental surges -Ishar did so, creating Surgebinders - probably creating the Nahel bond as we know it. -In doing so, he also delved_too_deep.gif, and created such instability on Ashyn that the planet was rendered uninhabitable - all but destroyed. (Side note - the name "Ishar" is quite a bit like the "Ishtar" of Biblical times. There's a lot of cross-pollenation among old deities, and their names... but Ishtar is associated with the serpent who tempted Adam and Eve with the forbidden knowledge that saw them cast out of Paradise. RIP Tranquiline Halls.) -Odium then asked Honor and Cultivation if he, and his people, could flee to Roshar. The Avasts agreed, under the condition that Odium would stay on Braize and not do, y'know, Odium Stuff. This was the Oathpact. -The Oathpact was created, not just by the power of the Shards, but by the power of Ishar the Bondsmith. He created the rules of the Oathpact. -The reason Ishar was able to bind Shards to an agreement, is the same reason that he was able to bind spren of the cognitive to people of the physical by means of the Nahel bond. It's the same reason that he is all about that Connection and always has been. You see, Ishar is - or at least, was - a Dawnshard. It could be UNITE, as in UNITE THEM; or it could be BIND, as in Surgebinding, as in Bondsmith ("binding contract" sounds a lot like an Oathpact to this attorney.) I'm guessing it's BIND. -Specifically, Ishar was given th Dawnshard of Binding by Odium. And specifically, he was given it by Odium *specifically* so that it would lead to the ruination of Ashyn, so that Odium could play upon Honor and Cultivation's sympathies to admit his people to their system - and in doing so, let him in, to war upon them, and kill them. -Ishar then wrote the Oathpact, and Bound the parties to it. The problem, here, is that - pacts are hard. Words are hard. Hell, I'm a lawyer. Writing contracts is hard. Ambiguities are unavoidable, and can be exploited by other parties - and sometimes ambiguities can be hidden by the drafter to exploit themselves. Odium found, or made, those ambiguities, and exploited them - leading to the death of Tanavast, the splintering of Honor, and the cycle of Desolations. -Hell, Odium might have done this same trick to the other Shards he Splintered. The Bondsmith's power to turn human words into the laws of the Universe is as beautiful and terrible as the very dreams of the skybreakers. (When you've got the Hammer of Gods, everything looks like a Nale. Sorry. No, no I'm not.) -I don't understand the current status of the Dawnshard of Bind. I know it profoundly affects Dalinar. That's all I know. It could be held by the Stormfather. It could be hidden, but was held long enough by Bondsmith-related entities that it suffuses all that they are. But, if I had to guess, part of the Oathpact was that the Dawnshard of Binding was splintered into ten pieces, and divided amongst the Heralds, whose main goal was not to be interplanetary warlords, but simply keepers of a power that was too great to combine - and too dangerous for Honor and Cultivation to want anywhere near Roshar. The Heralds, as prison-guards of the power that destroyed their home planet, were then banished to Braize, and never meant to return. Then Odium went all rules lawyer on them, found mad sploits, and thus the endless cycle of free-trips-to-Damnation. -Whether by Ishar's bindings, or the natural reordering of the world after Odium's people came to Roshar, the Nahel bond became as tied to Voidlight as it was to Stormlight and Cultivationlight. My guess is that three spren were created to be co-equal blends of the Shards in the system. The spren who resides in Urithiru is part Honor, part Cultivation. That spren has two siblings: Ba-Ado-Mishram, and an as-yet-unnamed (or at least, as-yet-unidentified) spren, one of which is of Honor and Odium, the other of Cultivation and Odium. -As a result of stacking playing-god on top of playing-god, Ishar/Melishi's capture of Ba-Ado-Mishram stopped what could well have been the imminent conquest of Roshar by Odium. But in doing so - well, Lews Sealing The Bore. Prepare For Unforseen Consequences. OOPS I DID IT A GAIN. This deprived the parshmen of cognition, deprived the spren of the ability to survive the breaking of their bonds, and probably other things that we don't even understand, because THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU STICK YOUR DICK IN THE UNIVERSE. And... storms, it is quite possible that the name Ba-Ado-Mishram is a sobriquet. "Ado" could come from "Adora," the same root as the first syllable in Adolin's name, meaning "light" - and "Mishram" contains "Ish" and even "Ishr," which could be linked to the Herald. Maybe there's a Ba-Ado-Mishram and a, idk, Tet-Ado-Mishram, indicating Honor/Odium-light and Cultivation/Odium-light (or vice versa). Heck, maybe the "Sibling" is actually like Asha-Ado-Mishram - three Siblings, created simultaneously by the powers of a Dawnshard, in the hopes of a harmony that Odium immediately sought to destroy. Three multi-shardic blends - three little Harmonys - three little Adonalsiums - simultaneously beautiful in their unity, and terrible in their return towards that which was Shattered. -The phrase UNITE THEM is probably just a general, all-encompassing idea of the Dawnshard of BINDING. It might even be a mixed version, resulting from the Intention of dead Tanavast and mere echoes of the splinitered Dawnshard. However, I doubt it will be satiated until it has united the splinters of itself (if such they are), and, indeed, the Shards of Adonalsium. -I expect that is Hoid's biggest interest in the Rosharan system - the unification of the shards of the Dawnshard of Binding, towards his ultimate goal of the reunification of Adonalsium. -...which interest could very well be at conflict with the best interests of Roshar. -And, as a result, the biggest single piece on the Rosharan chessboard is probably... Rysn. Because A] maybe the only way out of the BINDing Oathpact is to CHANGE it... and B] because my girl Rysn real good at contract negotiation. TEAM RYSN BABY. ALL ABOARD DAT WANDERSAIL! Best from Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where I am off-Trail hiding from a thunderclaststorm -Silver the Ridgerunner
  18. Last time we talked about Moash in a meta sense, but let's dig a bit more into Moash, who now holds the title of He Who Quiets. But, of course, we also need to talk about Grace's villain crush, who used to hold that same title: El! This episode we have Eric (Chaos), Ian (Weiry), Alyx (Feather), and Grace (thegatorgirl)! Thank you to Alyx for editing this one while I was getting married this weekend. If you like our content, support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/17thshard For discussion, theories, games, and news, come to https://www.17thshard.com Come talk with us and the community on the 17th Shard Discord: https://discordapp.com/invite/bMAUS5c Want to learn more about the cosmere and more? The Coppermind Wiki is where it's at: https://coppermind.net Read all Words of Brandon on Arcanum: https://wob.coppermind.net Subscribe to Shardcast: http://feeds.soundcloud.com/users/soundcloud:users:102123174/sounds.rss Send your Who's That Cosmere Characters to [email protected]
  19. So, I may be coming to this a bit late. However, I cannot sleep and find my mind wandering. Like so many of us here on the 17th shard i took the official radiant quiz. To my immense surprise I got lightweaver as my top result. Thus, due to a slightly narcissistic curiosity I decided to research them more. While the official descriptions brandon gave are great. I must confess still find myself wondering about the character of prospective lightweavers. Sure many are artists and the spren are drawn to those who deceive themselves. Yet, we see soldiers, prostitutes, artists, and a spy join as well. Some of whom seem to have no artistic inclinations. So I guess I'm curious if someone can help me discern the greater truth as to what makes a lightweaver. Furthermore, what else draws a cryptic to bond them beyond a propensity for self delusion? What traits truly make one a good fit for the order? afterword thank you all for reading and engaging in advance. I appreciate your thoughts and your indulgence of my inquiry.
  20. DO IT! POUR IT ALL OUT HERE. Earlier I thought this 'Voidbringer' would come around but now, uh, no way I would see that happening anytime. But the way he talks about plans to Odium, something is really unsettling about him. Anyway hate him with Damnation's name. This man can only be redeemed in form of death.
  21. Back when RoW was first released, I noticed that Brandon seems to have used an element from Final Empire Prime for the Shards. Before RoW was out, i was reading the Final Empire Prime sample chapter and there is one part where the Conqueror(Lord Ruler character) is thinking to himself that he had to seperate part of his mind from the power of "Sha" that he holds, lest it overwhelm him.(if FEP was current cosmere. "Sha" would be a Shard I think) then in RoW, in Sazed's letter he states that Hoid said "that the power itself must be treated as separate in our minds from the Vessel who controls it" After reading that sample chapter, the idea that a Vessel would have to seperate their mind from the power never left my mind. It just seemed too good of a good idea that i knew Brandon wouldnt throw it out, and then when RoW came out, Hoid/Sazed just up and stated it. i just think its awesome that Brandon is always looking back at his unpublished works for ways to use elements from them in the Canon Cosmere.
  22. Spoilers All Cosmere This is just some crazy tinfoil idea that I had. I've long had a pet theory that Kelsier was connected to another Shard. He has such commitment to his ideals that it speaks of great Intent. He comes off as cocky and self-interested but his willingness to sacrifice himself - and pursue his ideals even thereafter! - shows the depth of his devotion. I used to think that, if he was influenced by a shard, it was probably Bavadin. Her penchant for Investing herself into Avatars is well known. Kelsier's anti-authoritarianism seems pretty Autonomous. And Kel's immidiate antipathy towards Hoid seems rather as if he "has been instilled with an intense and overpowering dislike of" our favorite flautist. This seems a little hard to square with his becoming a ruler (the Sovereign) on Scadrial, and a leader (Thaidakar) to the Ghostbloods. But it's possible. Perhaps there is no greater autonomy than sovereignty. Kelsier created the Bands of Mourning, an artifact so powerful as to grant its user quite a bit of "freedom and self-direction." But of all the questions about the Bands of Mourning, one gets a little lost: Why are they so named? I don't believe that the eponymous book gives an answer. But another text may: Shadows For Silence In The Forest Of Hell. Shadows for Silence is set on the planet Threnody, namesake of the Threnodite system. The other planets in that system include Monody and Elegy. A threnody is "a wailing lament composed or performed as a memorial to a dead person." Both a monody and an elegy are "poems lamenting a person's death." All three of these are examples of mourning. There's no Shard in the Threnodite system now. We know that several Shards were once there - Odium, Ambition, and Mercy. A "wail for the dead" doesn't speak much of Ambition, and though it is Passionate it doesn't really feel like "God's own hatred." Mercy? "Compassion or forgiveness shown toward someone whom it is within one's power to punish or harm." That doesn't sound much like a death-song - and it sounds nothing like Kelsier. In the Threnodite system, then, one of two things seems likely. The first possibility is that the planets are named for some other Shard. Perhaps this is one of the two we haven't encountered - maybe it is the Shard of Grief? Maybe Memory? The second possibility is that this system was created, or at least deeply touched, by all three of the shards which once resided there: Odium, Ambition, and Mercy. What do you get when you mix striving, passion, and forgiveness? I think that you would get the creation, of a song, of mourning. Perhaps Kelsier is touched by something from these worlds. Kelek's Breath but there are enough Cognitive Shadows running around Threnody! And we know that the Selish Ire have set up pickets around Scadrial's subastral specifically to prevent Threnodite Shades from coming through via Shadesmar. And we know that Kelsier had a deeply transformative experience when he was enslaved in the Pits of Hathsin - the Lord Ruler's prison, the source of all atium, but also a Perpendiculatiry. Maybe a Shade got through the Ire's picket and touched Kelsier. Maybe it was more than one of the apparently simple-minded Shades we see in Shadows for Silence. Perhaps all of the Shades of Threnody contain portions of the three Shards we know were present there. Maybe they contain an especially large portion of Ambition, since Uli Da was the one so wounded there. One part hatred, three parts self-striving, and one part "a desire to relieve suffering." ...that sounds a lot like Kelsier to me.
  23. Does anyone know when the mass market paperback version of Rhythm of War will be released? I'm one of those booknerds who wants their books to match, but I also really want to read it!
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