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Darkness/Nale refers to Ishar in Edgedancer a great deal. It really makes me question what he's been doing and who he's really aligned with. Emphasis mine Seems to me like Ishar has instructed Nale and the Skybreakers to kill all other surgebinders. Worse, it wasn't a one time thing, He's been instructing Darkness all along and is a desolation denier even now.

I'm sorry if this is something of an incoherent mess, but I'm writing this half-asleep and I may not know what I'm saying. From what we've seen so far in SA, the budding Radiants have to figure out their oaths on their own. They reach a point in their development where they exemplify the spirit of the oaths, and then they suddenly know the right words to say. And they don't know that their spren can turn into swords. Wyndle says (or rather, dances around the topic not-saying) that bondspren are not allowed to mention the Shardblade thing before it happens. Since there's only a handful of proto-Knights scattered all around Roshar, and it's been thousands of years since the KR were a thing, they can't know anything in advance. But as you get more and more Radiants, sooner or later they're going run into someone else of their own order. And the Noobs Radient are going to ask their more experienced counterparts, "So how does this work, exactly?" The system is going to change, unless the bondspren have some objection to sharing the Words. Would the bondspren want the Words to stay secret? Would they object to their human partners telling the Noobs Radiant where Shardblades come from, or is it just against the rules for the spren to say it? Because if it's supposed to be all Top Secret Classified Keep Out That Means You, I can't see that working very well. It only takes one person to hear a KR talking to her sword and drawing a conclusion, or one Knight to have a Kaladin moment and find his Words while in public, and word will spread. Two possible conclusions about the Words: 1. The Words are instinctive when you reach a certain level, but nothing bad happens if you say them early. Nothing good happens either; the Words are just words until you grow into them. You can't just, say, bond a cultivationspren, read the Edgedancer oaths off of an index card, and boom, you're a full-blown Edgedancer. 2. It's the intent to fulfill your oaths that counts. You can read them off an index card and progress all at once if you sincerely mean to hold up your Order's Ideals. The KR 2.0 is doing things the slow way because they don't have anyone to tell them what the Ideals are until they level up themselves. Just to put that out there as a hypothetical possibility that I don't think fits with what we've seen; something in the back of my head that I don't have words for sees a way this makes sense, but that may be because of the aforementioned sleep-deprivation. I'll come back and see if still works when I'm not tired. Closemouthed Spren: Are bondspren mum about the swords because it's against their nature to give Radiant spoilers, or do they have a specific reason for keeping quiet? Also, do they forget the Ideals until their bond develops, or are they deliberately not telling those, either? Discuss.

Is there any information on the sun of Roshar? I'm running some calculations and I need either Roshar's semi-major axis or the sun's mass. The map in AU gives me the idea that it's a class B or O star, but that only means that the mass is more then 2.1 solar masses, nothing else. EDIT: Seeing the size of taldain's larger sun in AU I'm guessing that Roshar's sun is a class B star, probably a smaller one. Also comparing the sizes between the other stars I'm guessing it's around 3 or 4 solar masses. EDIT 2: Seeing that the light of Sel's sun and scandrial's sun seem to be around class F and G, which puts them between 0.8 and 1.4 solar masses. comparing the sizes of the stars afterwards in the maps it seems to put Roshar's sun around 3 solar masses.

I grow bored at times, and occasionally random lulzy-conversations spark some interest into that boredom.

Ok, before I get to my Outrageous Theory I'm going to talk about some things that got me there.. I'm going to point towards some WoB that I've read, sorry in advance as I find it difficult to cycle through all the WoB to find the exact quotes: WoB that suggested that there's more to the creation of Nightblood than a bucket load of breaths and a command WoB that suggests the five scholars were World Hoppers WoB that suggests Nightblood was modeled after a Shardblade Outrageous theory in the form of a humble question: I may be way ahead of myself here, so I'm going to ask some questions that may point us in the right direction or void said theory: In relation to the Cosmere timeline - where is SA compared to Warbreaker? keeping in mind that Nightblood was created at least 3 centuries ago (That was when Vasher ended the war he started wasn't it?) In relation to the Cosmere timeline - when was The Recreance? Is a Shardblade like Aluminum and immune to awakening.? if so, can enough breaths (investiture) overcome this? Is there possibly a Connection issue? (crossing over Shardic Magic) if so, can enough breaths (investiture) overcome this? Thoughts..? !~ HIF ~!

Ashen and Braize are on the Shadesmar map. This all comes from my ramblings on the Cosmere Maps thread but I'm consolidating it as a concise theory here. First: People seem to use the term Shadesmar and Cognative Realm interchangeably. So I just kept plugging along assuming that Shadesmar was the local term for the Cognative Realm on Roshar. Same thing, different places call the same things different names. Like some places it will be a water fountain, others a water cooler, others a bubbler, and others a scuttlebutt. No it is like Utah, United States of America. It is Shadesmar, Cognative Realm of the Cosmere. It is a zip code....An area code. My epiphany...which most of you knew already I assume...came because I realized that the Expanses looked like Mountain ranges growing bigger and taller in the sky. Almost reaching up to touch the Physical Realm at those 4 corners. @KidWayne map Clearly shows the Roshar System as the only known named system between the 4 Expances if we assume that we have associated them correctly. Now this is the KEY PART. Shadesmar is NOT a map of the Cognatve Realm, NOR is it a map of the planet of Roshar alone. It is a map of the entire Rosharan system. There are 2 more mountain ranges on the Shadesmar map. The Nexus of Transition and the Nexus of Imagination. Both are much closer to the 3 seas (3 dif credit to One Who Connects for languagues) 5 different language groups, and possibly different origin planets of the people of Roshar). 2 mountains not identified and 2 additional inhabited planet's in the Roshar system. The Rosharan system map shows both planets about the same distance from Roshar, but due to smaller orbits, Roshar and Ashyn should pass closer together more frequently than Roshar and Braise. Also sickness plays a key part on Ashyn. People Transition from healthy to sick and sick to healthy. I also can't think of anything more imaginary ie from the mind...than a planet full of cognitive shadow splinters. Therefore, my theory is that the Nexus of Transition is the Cognative pathway to Ashyn and the Nexus of Imagination...which just doesn't quite always touch any of the seas is the Cognative pathway to Braize. I have outlined where the 5 major language groupings occur on Roshar and transposed it to the Shadesmar map. The Vorin line up pretty well with the Sea of Lost lights and reach out towards the Nexus of Imagination. The Makabaki creep out of the Sea of Souls into the Sea of Regret. The Iri straddle the mountains of the Nexus of Transition. Dawnchant based languages survive in isolated and rigorous environments forming enclaves across the map. This could indicate that it originally was the only language and was pushed out by invaders or immigrants to the point that only the most rigorous places maintained the original language much as Spanish and English pushed out Native American languages. WOB on Reddit on language groups Questions and Flaws to be addressed: There are 3 Nexus (yes plural is same except bar on u, I looked it up) but this theory never addresses the Nexus of Truth. Recent ideas also speculate that the nexuses could be indicative of Sephardic influence affecting the CR. Why do the Iri straddle the Nexus of Transition, but not really any of the Seas? If Dawnchant was the original language, where did the other 3 people's come from? "Expanse of Storms" name is credited to @The One Who Connects

So, awhile ago i posted a paper i wrote in a communications class. Apparently it didn't upload correctly, so i thought i would upload it again. To quote from my original post, "So, I wrote this paper a while back for a communications class... about a year back... and I promised to post it after I was finished and got the paper graded. I never did, and I apologize for that. Well, here it is. Its terrible, but if you like it let me know. If you have thoughts, please post. I'd like to see what everyone else's head cannon is and where I got it wrong. I did try and get this published in a student publication but it sadly got ignored, which stung. Please let me know what you think." Apparently i can't just upload the Word Doc, so instead i'll provide a link to the Gmail Doc. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7wrh9YZZTDhdGtEMXA1SG1XNDQ/view?usp=sharing

Has it been confirmed if all humans in the Cosmere age at the same rate, or is it planet specific? To quote Coppermind: ●Each week is five days, so the year in Roshar is 500 days, ultimately defined by the time between two Weepings.[4]Although the Rosharan year is 500 days long, these days are shorter than on Earth and a Rosharan year is equivalent to 1.1 Earth years.[5][6] ●And we know Scardinal is the closest Shard world to being like Earth. If Kaladin was about 18 Weepings during WoR, would he be physically comparable to a 16 year 4 month Scardinalian/Earthling? Or would he be physically 18 and age 10% faster than a Earthling?

I'm going to preface this by apologizing if this topic has been discussed before. I don't have a ton of time to read through all of the 17th Shard Forum so if it has been previously discussed, please direct me to the proper page (thanks in advance). I've been re-reading through Edgedancer and a thought occurred to me... Lift's ability to metabolize food into Stormlight seems oddly similar to Misting's and Mistborn's abilities to do the same with metal on Scadrial. We obviously know Worldhopping is possible and that all powers in the Cosmere are linked together somehow, but I still don't believe we have a clear idea about how powers translate from one world to the next. Of the worldhoppers that I'm aware of, none have shown their powers on more than one planet. Some haven't even shown their powers at all (other than the ability to worldhop). So, is it possible (or even probable) that Lift is originally from Scadrial, born with the powers of a Misting/Mistborn? It would explain why she needs to ingest something in order to gain Stormlight (I think metal would be a poison to anyone not on Scadrial which would explain why she needs food and not metal for Stormlight). We know almost nothing about Lift's past and where some comes from. If any of this is true, I'd also believe she was brought to Roshar at a very young age (before she realized she had Misting/Mistborn powers on Scadrial). This could explain why she's never had thoughts about worldhopping or another planet. My only question then would be, who brought her and why? I don't believe Lift would have worldhopped herself (otherwise I think that ability would have at least been hinted at by now). So what do you think? Does my theory hold any weight? Am I crazy for not thinking that Lift is originally from Roshar? Is there something in the text that I have missed which would point me to an answer? (I'm only on chapter 4 of my re-read and I don't remember all the details from my first time through). Curious to know your thoughts!

Does Brandon ever specific what type of rock it is that makes up the bedrock layer for Roshar? It doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere, and the type of stone dictates how a formation erodes. And where does the crem come from? It seems to be a clay-like sediment that is eroded off of the bedrock layer, but I can't think of any common earth stones that easily erode into particles of that size. Volcanic rock, both extrusive and intrusive, would erode into larger chunks, so maybe the bedrock layer of Roshar is sedimentary of some sort?

I was thinking recently, according to Arcanum Unbounded, Roshar only has a gravity of 0.7 Cosmere standard while places like Sel have 1.2 cosmere standard and Scadrial is 1 cosmere standard. Now if anyone remembers (or has heard of) the story John Carter of Mars then they will understand the premise I am getting at. According to this idea, someone not from Roshar would be stronger than a native Rosharan as they come from a world with heavier gravity, would that not make a big difference in strength or interaction with the locals to a world hopper?

Most of the sprens in that we have seen so far can only make bonds if their host are loyal to some promises . Even the Listeners need to change their mindset before changing their form ( Or something like that from one of the dialogues between venli and eshonai . ) . We know that sprens kind of Disapper or Die when KR break their oaths . So, it is possible void spren also might have same structure. I wonder what it might be ? And is it possible that a change of mind might cause void sprens to die. .

My friends, it's time for another "Letters from the Cosmere!" Now this one is intended to be a beginners guide to Shardblades and Shardplate. I know I know, nothing super juicy in this one, but this is something you can share with your friend who you are desperately trying to get reading Sanderson for the first time, or for a spouse who is curious about Roshar but you just can't find the words. I hope you like it. Oh, and if you are a fan of Elsric lore, this episode reveals the name of his apprentice on Roshar so keep an ear open for that! Let me know what you thought in the comments and look for a Part 2 of this subject where I will dive into the deep end of the topic! Roshar is one of the most dangerous planets in all the Cosmere. Massive High Storms, Chasemfeinds, and the occasional Desolation make it a pretty inhospitable place to live. The protectors of the world were given great and powerful artifacts in order to provide the needed defense for the people. Shardblades and Shardplate can turn a common man into a juggernaut on the battlefield and a trained soldier into a one-man army. Today Elsric outlines what these mythical artifacts are in their simplest form. Transcript: The Cosmere never ceases to amaze me. I always think that I have seen so many wonders that there couldn’t possibly be something else to see. And yet that ever-distant horizon always yields yet another secret. Although the rolling stone landscapes can appear desolate, the various flora and fauna that have adapted to this environment in fantastic and sometimes bizarre ways. I almost wish I was more interested in botany to truly enjoy this landscape. Yet these wonders seem to pale in comparison to the lives of the people who live on Roshar. I cannot begin to tell you how interesting it is to see an entire culture who’s lives revolve around the massive storms that rage against the land. From architecture to gemstone economics this land is far beyond anything I have seen in my exhaustive journeys. Roshar is home to one of the most terrifying artifacts in the known Cosmere. I wasn’t here long before I started to hear legends of the Shard Blades and Shard Plate of old. These are ancient weapons that were once wielded by the Knights Radiant. Apparently, these Knights were protectors of this world during times of war and invasion. The order of Knights vanished nearly a thousand years ago. In their departure, they left behind these artifacts of incredible power. As of now, I have only seen glimpses of these on passing Lords. Apparently, they are incredibly rare, and the Alethi people with whom I currently reside hold the most of any nation in the world. I will naturally do everything in my power to examine and discern the secrets of these invested objects, but for now I will give you a brief outline. Shard Blades are most curious in their design. The weapons are disproportionally massive, often measuring out at nearly six feet in length. It is said that they are far lighter than any sword should be, especially for their size. This massive reach grants the wielder a distinct advantage in combat especially when the swords other properties are considered. These weapons can cut through all known matter and living flesh. The blades pass straight through rock and stone as if it offered no resistance. I was skeptical of this at first, but I have witnessed this for myself. I watched Lords drop their blades directly into the stone ground, the blade sinking like a hot knife through butter. And yet, these weapons reportedly do far stranger things to the men they strike down. Instead of cutting living flesh, the blade seems to fade into a dense mist, passing directly through the victim. If the blade passes through the spine the victim dies immediately, their eyes smoldering into blackened craters. Of the blade passes through limbs but misses the spine, the afor mentioned limbs are not cut, but instead die, losing all feeling. In this case the victim is crippled. As the blade leaves the body it becomes solid again. Naturally such weapons are incredibly effective on the fields of war, turning a skilled warrior into an army unto themselves. These blades are the most coveted items in Roshar, worth more than most land rights and titles. For the Alethi, wielding one of these blades is essentially a title in and of itself. Apparently any man, even a peasant or dark-eyes as they call them here, can become a Lord by obtaining such a weapon. However, this is nearly impossible to do when the blade must first be taken by force. Fascinatingly the blades have another power that prevents the theft of a shard blade. When one is bonded with a Shard Blade, the weapon can be dismissed out of the physical realm and then called upon by the weapon’s master at will. This means that the blade is always under the control of the wielder. It will even vanish if dropped, most likely a safety to prevent the blade being turned against its master. Clearly these weapons make a trained warrior nearly unstoppable, yet the Shard Plate armor offers protection from these unworldly blades. Shard Plate is miraculous, there is no other word for it. The armor is majestic, perfect in every practical way. The plated armor completely covers the wearer in rigid supernatural metal plates that link together seamlessly. In fact, the only gap in the armor is a small viewing visor in the facemask. The armor is apparently incredibly heavy, but when it is fully charged with Stormlight Investiture the plate seems to support itself. Those who clade the armor are supported and enhanced by the armor which enhances the physical speed and strength of the warrior inside. The armor adapts to its bearer, fitting itself to your physical shape as it is donned. And if that wasn’t enough, the helm apparently is translucent from the inside, allowing the wielder to maintain a blurred version of his peripheral vision. With such perfectly attuned armor it is no wonder that the Shard Plate grants unusual powers to its bearer. These men can leap over chasms, survive large falls, and even deflect a shard blade. Shard Plate provides the ultimate personal defense. However, this armor is not perfect. Shard blade strikes damage the armor greatly, causing it to fracture and eventually shatter. As the armor is weakened it leaks investiture until it runs dry. At that point the armor shuts down and traps the wielder under it’s incredible weight. It is possible for Shard Plate to fall victim to mundane attacks as well. Arrows and typical sword strikes are marginally useless against such a heavy defense. However consistent damage, especially from large hammers and other heavy strikes can lead to plate damage and destruction. However, the level of damage needed to slow down and defeat a Shard Bearer requires the efforts of an army. Even if the shard plate is fractured or even destroyed, the armor is not permanently defeated. The armor apparently can be regrown from a fragment if it is given enough stormlight investiture. Strangely in this regard the Shard Plate seems more alive, behaving more like a plant than metal. I find them incredibly fascination and cannot wait to examine a set for myself. While each type of shard is devastating on its own, together they make a force to be reckoned with. With the enhancements of Shard Plate and the deadly versatility of the Shard Blade, full shard bearers make a mockery of traditional warfare. While they are not immortal, they have little to fear in combat with mundane foes. In fact, most shard bearers only fear the threats of other shard bearers for it is incredibly unlikely that a typical solider would ever pose a serious threat to the wielder. I have made it my mission to get a personal look at one of these shards. I fear it might take me some time to do so since the weapons are so valuable. I am fortunate that I inherited my mother’s grey eyes for in Alethkar, the nobility is set apart by their eye color. It seems strange, but it makes about as much sense as any other social hierarchy. Unfortunately, my apprentice Kassar has already been troubled in her work because of her dark eyes. Perhaps there is some way that I can elevate her or enhance her standing. Her potential far exceeds her social status. For now, we will continue to work for High Prince Dalinar. Give me a month and I shall have the Prince’s confidence. I am leaving on the morrow to begin collecting information for his spy network which I will relay back. It will be nice to put my skills to good use for once. I will write back as soon as I return. Until the next Letter, Elsric

Why do we get 2 effects from a Nahel bond? Building off the theory that the focus for surgebinding is the Nahel-Bond itself, or more precisely, the puzzle-piece-filling of a Spren into a broken human to form a new reforged/"whole" entity. I posit that it is because the bond works in 2 directions: The spren completing the person's brokenness while the person completes the Spren's sentience. This then implies that each type of bond-forming Spren requires a different aspect of sentience to become whole. So, can we line this up on the Ars Arcanum chart for Divine Attributes and Surges? Let's try! 1st Theory of Combination: Each participant in the bond provides a single row from the Divine Attributes table. - Kaladin provides Protecting/Leading/Adhesion; Syl Provides Just/Confident/Gravitation. - Lift provides Loving/Healing/Abrasion; Wyndle provides Learned/Giving/Progression. - Shallan provides Creative/Honest/Illumination; Pattern provides Wise/Careful/Transformation. Ok this one just looks wrong. Shallan is *not* the honest one in this relationship. But she is the creative one... So on to our... 2nd Theory of Combination: Each Participant provides one of the 2 Divine Attributes from each of the applicable rows in the table. It is then the combination of these 2 attributes that results in the specific surge that is expressed. Furthermore I posit that the two participants in the bond will form an 'X' on the chart between the attributes. Let's see if it holds up: - Kaladin Protecting + Syl Leading = Adhesion; Kaladin Confident + Syl Just = Gravitation. - Lift Loving + Wyndle Healing = Abrasion; Lift Giving + Wyndle Learned = Progression. - Shallan Creative + Pattern Honest = Illumination; Shallan Careful + Pattern Wise = Transformation. - Dalinar Pious + Stormfather Guiding = Tension; Dalinar Leading + Stormfather Protecting = Adhesion OK so far those are looking spot on! Yeah! Now on to more speculative pairings: - Renarin Learned + ____spren Giving = Progression; Renarin Honest + ____spren Creative = Illumination - Jasnah Wise + Ivory Careful = Transformation; Jasnah Builder + Ivory Resolute = Transportation - Skybreaker/Szeth Just + Highspren/Nightblood Confident = Gravitation; Skybreaker/Szeth Obedient + Highspren/Nightblood Brave = Division - Stump (Edgedancer vs. Truthwatcher): I must say I'm stumped by Stump either way. Followup Questions: Can we use this theory to posit the types of spren that will bond the other surgebinders? (E.g. Renarin's spren would in some way bring Giving and Creative to the relationship, so what might that spren be?) Are the Honorspren always Leading & Just and the Windrunner always Protecting and Confident? Could you gain access to the same 2 surges via a different bond with a being who was Leading and Just and a spren who was Protecting and Confident? Could it be that Szeth's pairing with Nightblood is actually a swap/subversion of the traditional Highspren bond? Meaning a normal Skybreaker provides Confident and Brave while the Highspren provides Just and Obedient. Even further - are there 4 types of bonds which could theoretically grant access to the same 2 surges?? (Add Protecting/Just being + Leading Confident spren as well as Leading confident being + Protecting/Just spren.)

If this is in the wrong board, please let me know where to put it. I was listening to the song "Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce, and I looked at the lyrics and realized they almost perfectly describe Kaladin. Here's where to find the full lyrics: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/dragonforce/throughthefireandtheflames.html I was gonna copy/paste my favorite lines, but I realized I'd just be pasting the entirety of the song. _

I'm probably oversimplifying some pretty complex issues here, and retreading some old ground. But, as I understand it, all end-positive magic systems in the Cosmere are basically this thing: It's called the Fun Factory(tm). You put your Play-Doh(tm) underneath the red flap, then you push the flap down. The pressure forces the Play-Doh through a hole, extruding it into a funny shape. The blob of Play-Doh that goes into it? That's your investiture source. Preservation. Stormlight. The Dor. It's raw Shardic power. Formless and without specific function. The Fun Factory is you. The Allomancer, or Surgebinder, or Elantrian. You draw that raw, amorphous power into your body, and you turn it into something direct and specific. A force of repulsion against metal. 'Awesomeness' that reduces friction. A light source, or a deadly fireball. But what's that blue thing? That's the hole that your Play-Doh is extruded through. And you can swap it out for a different one. This is the piece that determines what shape your Play-Doh takes. In allomancy, this would be your metal. Each metal produces a different effect, channeling your Preservation-power into a different magical ability. In AonDor, it's the Aons themselves. Which Aon you draw determines the magic. It's the same in Forgery, Dakhor, and ChayShan. All across Sel, it's the shape you make that determines your magical action. On Nalthis, it's about the command. Every awakened object does something different, because each is given a different command. Metals. Shapes/forms. Commands. This blue thing... is the focus. So really, I think this is the definition of focus: It's the element of a magic system that determines the magical effect, or the precise action of investiture. It's the category whose internal variation corresponds to the versatility of the magic system as a whole. (Here's the WoB that backs this up: http://www.theoryland.com/intvsresults.php?kw=allomancy+aon) Which brings us, inevitably, to the question of Roshar. A common theory (endorsed by the Coppermind) is that gemstones are Roshar's focus, because Surgebinders and fabrials both rely on gemstones. But my definition disagrees. Kaladin can draw stormlight from any gemstone (or from a non-gem source), and his powers always remain the same. Whether he uses emerald broams or diamond chips, flying is still flying. Lift, notably, doesn't need gems at all. To find the focus, look for what distinguishes one type of magic from another. What distinguishes an Adhesion-binder from a Transformation-binder? I think there's only one logical answer. It's the spren. Each surgebinder-type bonds with a different spren. Sure, some spren offer overlapping surges, but the basic fact remains: the magic you can do is determined by the spren you bond. The metal you burn. The Aon you draw. The command you give. And fabrials? Fabrials use specific gemstones because specific gemstones trap specific spren. The real exception to this is the Honorblades, which provide surgebinder-bonds, but are not spren. Or are they? They look and behave exactly like ordinary shardblades. Bonding, summoning, cutting. They're not self-aware, like spren are, but they're clearly the same type of entity: splinters. Objects made of investiture. Honor's investiture, which seems to be inherently bond-forming, whether it's sentient or not. So the focus isn't spren, exactly. It's bond-forming splinters -- a category which consists almost entirely of spren, but also includes the Honorblades. This opens up some interesting speculations of Voidbinding. Is it done by bonding different spren, i.e. Voidspren? Or is it like on Scadrial, where different magic systems use the same foci? Maybe Voidbinding is just surgebinding, but with a different power source. Maybe Kaladin could intake the 'voidlight' from the mysterious black sphere, and access a new power-set.

I can't remember if Focus is actually a canonical term or not, so just in case, by Focus I mean "the thing that determines the effect of the Investiture". Scadrial (Allomancy, Feruchemy, Hemalurgy) - Metal Sel (AonDor, Forgery, Bloodsealing, presumably ChayShan and Dakhor) - Symbols Nalthis (Awakening) - Commands Roshar's Focus is a much debated question. IMO, none of the answers quite fit. Spren is probably the best option, since all Rosharan magic we've seen so far involves them, but spren are Investiture so I'm not sure if they can really qualify as a Focus. Bonds is another common suggestion, but each Nahel bond (or bond to an Honorblade) grants two distinct Surges, so the bond by itself doesn't fully determine the effect of the Investiture, at least in Surgebinding (it may well do so in fabrial science and 'natural' spren bonds). In fabrial science and Soulcasting, the ten Polestones act very much like a Focus. And there's a WOB that suggests they are: The comparison with metals as a 'key' would seem conclusive. But the other nine types of Surgebinding aren't dependent on gem type. This would seem to kill any 'gems as Focus' theory. Except... Stormlight is the gaseous form of Investiture on Roshar. The mist is the gaseous form of Preservation's Investiture on Scadrial. When Vin was burning the mists, and when Vin-as-Preservation was feeding pure Investiture to Elend, they performed Allomancy without any actual metals. I think all Surgebinding except Soulcasting (which is probably distinct since it's so complex, and thus needs the extra "guidance") is the equivalent of "mist burning" - using raw Investiture directly and thus bypassing the need for a Focus.

I am finishing a reread of WoK, and I noticed a detail in Dalinar's Last Vision. After the destruction of Kholinar, Dalinar looks up and sees two "stars" blink out before the sun dims. Is this a hint at the destruction of two other planets within the Cosmere? If this is the case, either Odium can destroy three separate planets almost instantly or that there are other powers capable of massive destruction working with him. If the latter were the case, who would have the most to gain from the action?

Here are a couple of calculations I did about Roshar. The necessary variables (gravitational constant, radius) are from the AU essay. DISCLAIMER: I have little experience with astronomy, and these calculations may be wrong. Please submit any corrections, to improve the data. Roshar's mass: Gravitational constant = 70% of earth Radius = 90% of earth Mr = mass Roshar m*g=(G*Mr*m)/r^2 m*g*r^2=G*Mr*m g*r^2=G*Mr Mr=(g*r^2)/G Mr=((9.81*0.7)*(6.371*10^6*0.9)^2)/(6.673*10^-11) Mr=(6.867*3.288*10^13)/(6.673*10^-11) Mr=(2.258*10^14)/(6.673*10^-11) Mr=3.383*10^24 kg To calculate Roshar's orbit, and the mass of the sun I had to do something different. As I couldn't find any data on it on the internet I used the AU starmap. Here, the color of the sun is lighter than that of our sun, making it seem that it is of a higher spectral class (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_classification#Harvard_spectral_classification). I then took the spectral classes above that of the sun (F till O) and created a tool that takes the highest and lowest luminosity, and then uses that to calculate the habitable zones. I then calculate what the mass of the star need to be to make Roshar have its period of 1.1 years and still fall in the habitable zone. the program repeats this till the mass of the star is also within the right class. The results are as followed: If you want to use the tool yourself, I attached the python file here: stellar_mass.py. This shows that Roshar's sun would probably have a mass of around 1.4 solar masses. this would mean that the semi-major axis of Roshar is: r=((G*M*T^2)/(4*pi^2))^(1/3) r=(((6.673*10^-11)*(2.8*10^30)*(3.15*10^7)^2)/(4*pi^2))^(1/3) r=((1.85*10^35)/(4*pi^2))^(1/3) r=(4.69*10^33)^(1/3) r=1.67*10^11 meter r=1.12 au (astronomical unit, earth's distance from the sun) I would also appreciate it if someone with more knowledge of astronomy looked over my calculations and my code, as I don't have much knowledge on the subject, and it is fairly possible I have made some mistakes.

This theory is that the phrase 'stones unhallowed' has more to do with the worldbuilding in Roshar than thought. There are many lines, moments and opinions in Stormlight that suggest there is a deep (time lost) ideology directing the Shin to not walk on Stones unhallowed. I can go through the book if necessary, though I'm sure the members here are familiar with them anyway. My theory here is that the stones that are 'hallowed' are a way for Odium to connect to individuals on Roshar, in much the same way that Ruin used spikes to impersonate/talk-to various mistborn ppls and used the non-metal prophesies to manipulate the world. This theory is that the Shin live on stones 'unhallowed' (and that this is an actual ancient truth), but Szeth as truthless was given a 'hallowed' stone and commanded to obey the holder. I believe this is a similar corruption (as Ruin) by Odium. This is what allows Odium into his head aka the screams in the darkness. we have a WoB that the screams are real (to him at least). Since he died, Szeth hasn't heard the screams (please check me on this, but make sure he wasn't on stone at the time). He believes it's because he died, but maybe it's because he gave up the stone. A lot of this is hidden in the history of Roshar and I believe Brandon will unveil it in coming pieces and tie it into the desolations in the same way as Mistborn. If you've read 'Mistborn the secret history; you'll have a good idea of what I'm thinking. I'll add one last thing here. The Shin have the honourblades. If kept anywhere, shouldn't the cosmic design arrange them to be held where Ati can't see them? (yes I know what I did there). The Stormfather fades in the Shin land, stones are unhallowed and they have the honourblades? Coincidence? Or design? (My theory is design from when the Heralds were sane).

This is an interesting tidbit from Brandon's Chicago signing. We know that the Listeners/Parshendi are native to Roshar, but aren't sure about the other beings on the planet and whether or not they've always been on Roshar. This bit about the Irali appears to be new. So what do we know about them? The Iriali Have Been on Roshar for a Long Time Iri was one of the Silver Kingdoms on Roshar, so it's roots go deep into the history of the planet. They would have witnessed the Heralds themselves and experienced the desolations as a culture. The Iriali Have a Religion that Includes The Long Trail Ym gives us some interesting information about the Iriali people: So, we should not be surprised that the Iriali have not always been on Roshar. It seems that their people have been on three other worlds prior to arriving here, and that they expect to move on to two additional worlds before finally arriving back at oneness in the Seventh Land. I know others on the shard have discussed this story as a possible reference to the shattering of Adonalsium. Something Weird is Going On in Their Biggest City: Rall Elorim Rall Elorim is known as the City of Shadows and is a strange place. Folks here on the shard have speculated that the reference to shadows may mean that this place is where Cognitive Shadows of dead Knights Radiant or spren live. Since this is the largest city in this nation, I'd doubt it's entirely inhabited by Cognitive Shadows. Though, if we assume that the Iri migrated through the Cognitive Realm from Nalthis to Roshar (see bellow), it could be that the city is located in the Cognitive Realm. Kasitor: Home of Cusicesh the Protector An extremely large spren named Cusicesh who, at exactly 7:46am every day, rises out of the water of the bay and creates an illusion of waves around it. A translucent blue color, it measures over 100 feet tall - Axies refers to it as one of the largest spren he's ever seen. With four long arms and a strange face that rapidly shifts through male and female faces, it looks eastward toward the Origin. Those who gather to watch it appear frequently report feeling "drained" after seeing it. Some of the Iriali worship it, placing golden pedestals out to honor it. Questions Raised What other worlds were the Iriali on before? They have metallic, golden hair and paint themselves with colors and patterns. They also have strong chastity laws and discourage public nudity. Some of this sounds reminicent of Nalthis, where bright colors, the muted conservatism of Austre, and "the Royal Locks" are a part of cultures there. Since it seems that Vasher and Denth (if not others) of the Five Scholars travelled to Roshar in the past (and that Vasher is currently on the planet, as is Nightblood), there do seem to be connections here. Since the Expanse of the Densities has been speculated to refer to Nalthis, that Iri is right there on the Physical and Cognitive maps of Roshar, it makes sense that the Iri could have migrated from there. What similarities are there to the migration on Threnody? Are they the cultural ancestors (or decedents) of the Iriali? What is happening with the draining sensation that the people feel in the presence of Cusicesh? Is it a similar happening to a Larkin sucking out stormlight from a surgebinder? Do people on Roshar have innate Investiture that could be drained in this manner? Not anyone can be a vessel of stormlight, so what is it that Cusicesh is doing to them? Also, what is the symbolism of the faces that appear? Why does it appear on such a regular schedule? So other than the Listeners/Parshendi, what other peoples were native to Roshar?

This is just a theory. It's probably too simple to be the whole story. But it makes sense, and I think it could be useful for (among other things) identifying Alethi characters in foreign lands, and creating Alethi OCs for fanfiction. In Writing Excuses, Brandon once mentioned a linguistic paradigm for "classical" Alethi names. He didn't describe it in detail, but he said it was invented to explain 'Dalinar,' which didn't really fit with the Vorin naming convention. He also said that 'Kaladin,' which he came up with by altering 'paladin,' conveniently fit this new classical paradigm. He also said this, in a 2014 interview: But there's a much simpler pattern in these names. And here it is: A simple alternation of Consonants (C) and vowels (V). (C) V C V C V C The initial consonant is in brackets because it's optional. It can be dropped, so names begin with a vowel. But the rest of the sequence doesn't change. No double vowels or double consonants. (Digraphs, like Th and Sh, count as one letter because they represent a single phoneme.) This holds true for the following Alethi names. Dalinar Adolin Renarin Gavilar Elhokar (assuming Lh is a digraph, the Alethi version of a double-L in English) Kaladin Meridas Amaram (coincidentally also a proper Vorin name) Aladar Arafik Avarak Avaran Alabet Lamaril Jakamav Kalishor Isasik Salinor Talanor Thanadal Tinalar Helaran (not Alethi, but close) Notice that all of these are men. This paradigm is only used for male names. As far as I can tell, all Alethi men have either Vorin names, or names in this pattern. (Vorin meaning palindromic, with one letter added, subtracted, or changed.) The only complication is Restares, whose name is neither Vorin nor classical. It violates my classical pattern because of the "ST" in the middle. But since Restares hasn't been confirmed as an Alethi, this may not be a problem. I'm wondering if anyone can see any additional patterns or rules that govern this system. Just for fun, I will now list some names from other Cosmere works that conveniently match this pattern. Galladon. Aredel. Luthadel. Aledin. Aradan (Yomen). Bevidon. Bavadin! Devanex. Dukaler. Galivan. Goradel. Heberen. Ishathon. Caberel. Nikolin. Arelon. Opelon. Duladel. Seraven. Enelan. And now some names from outside the Cosmere, to illustrate the general fantasy-friendly vibe of this paradigm: Saruman. Denethor. Boromir. Faramir. Azeroth. Suramar. Dalaran. Selidor. Eragon. (Po) Dameron. Caladan. Muradin. Mogenar. Telamon. Galadan. Malekith. Malacath. Akatosh. Zenithar. Kynareth. Erikur. (Obviously it also fits many not-so-fantastical names, like Cameron and Oliver. But let's leave reality out of this. Although Pokemon also fits.)