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I'm the worst Cosmere fan. What is wrong with me? Gosh dangit. I'm the worst at Cosmere. FeatherWriter's cancelled. Let's just... wow. Welcome back to Splintercast. Today, Lift is hot on the trail of Darkness, also known as Nale/Nahlay/Nail/Nalan, because who the heck knows how to actually pronounce that name. Definintely not me. Featuring: Her Pancakefulness, reunions with old friends from Nalthis, and Feather maybe starting to care a little about Szeth. I also tell a story about trying to mail a present to Botanica through the Chinese postal service and the harrowing experience that that was. Loads of fun. If you haven’t checked out Bota’s Cosmere art, you’re missing out. It’s all fabulous.

Look, like the most tangental reference to Renarin just happened, and I’m like… on the verge of tears. That’s a lie. There actually are tears in my eyes. And in case that pull quote up there in italics didn’t give it away, this week, Feather talks about a character who does not even appear in this book. Somewhat at length. Because she has problems and 90% of them are Renarin Kholin. In other, non-Renarin related things, Wyndle is dropping unsubtle hints, Lift makes it into the city, eats someone’s breakfast, meets a weird guy who may or may not be Hoid, and my cat who was not even in the room while I recorded audibly cries through the door. Dalish, please. Kitty, could you not? I also talk some about Len, one of my characters, who Lift reminds me of in a weird way in that they’re really not all that much alike, but the parallels keep popping up. And that's today's episode, and we'll have another one much sooner than this one's break.

I’m so out of my depth all of a sudden! There’s so much worldbuilding happening! Augh! I feel like I’ve been thrown into the deep end, and I’m just trying to like, absorb as much of it as possible. Back at it again with the Splintercast! Let’s do Edgedancer, everyone! For those who are new to Splintercast, this is an audio-reaction podcast where I record my spoken reactions to reading Cosmere books for the first time, this time, the Lift novella from Arcanum Unbounded. I loved this novella, and I adore Lift, so this one’s pretty fun. The Edgedancer Splintercast will run four episodes (and yes, I do actually have all the episodes this time!) And should be coming out over the next few weeks. Stay tuned and stick around, and above all, keep track of those pancakes, everybody! If you like what you hear, drop a comment down below! I’m a glutton for feedback. It feeds my soul.

I called it! I never call stuff like that. But I totally called it and I never call stuff like that! That’s kind of why it’s fun to record these, because the few times that I do get it right I’m like: “It’s on recording! I got proof! I’ve got an ‘I told you so!’” First of all, I want to apologize for the brief hiatus we’ve had on Splintercast. It’s been a really hectic few weeks for me and I appreciate your patience. Free time has been in short supply for this Feather, especially the long swaths of time it takes to sit down and edit the audio for a whole episode. But we’re back now and we’re nearing the end. This time, a lot happens! Allegiances are revealed! Wax takes a tumble! Steris hardly gets any page-time but I talk about her anyway. And a cliffhanger of truly Branderson proportions rears its head at the end of 27. Past!Feather is wary, however. She expects shenanigans. I also mention a currently held theory of mine, that of Roshar’s Afterlife, so I’ll drop the link to that here. This reminds me that I ought to go update that with BoM and Secret History knowledge at some point. Hmm. A project for another day, however.

What! A podcast that isn't Splintercast Reads A Book? I know, it does seem crazy, but it's true. Welcome to the Shardkeepers Podcast, our theory podcast where we discuss all sorts of minutiae of the cosmere. As I learned when recording, this usually results in headaches, but we make that sacrifice for you. Today, we're going to talk about an amazing quote that we got earlier this year about Nightblood that blew our minds. There's so much to unpack from this. Let's get started. On Shardkeepers you should expect massive spoilers from cosmere books. Beware! Here there are big spoilers for Warbreaker and Stormlight Archive. Joining me is Kerry (KChan), David (Windrunner), and Ian (WeiryWriter) who should better be known as the quote master, because I don't know how he finds those so fast. We're all thrilled to have awaken (get it? Ha. Hilarious) this podcast again. Again, you ask? Well there maybe was a Shardkeepers Podcast in May. Of 2013. But shhh, we do not speak of such evils. In seriousness, this is a real thing and we're excited to get this truly off the ground. The plan currently is to not bite off more than we can chew, so expect monthly episodes. Next episode will absolutely be about us unpacking stuff from Arcanum Unbounded, so stay tuned in December for that! If you'd like to discuss this, we thought we would post a theory topic so you too can dig into what we discuss. Check it out here, or leave a comment below. iTunes and other podcast support coming sooner than soon(™) but not this week.

I’m pretty salty about that. However, I’ll try to keep most of my salt contained to like, that one event, and not let it completely overtake this episode. Like, I don’t want this to be a salt-fest. The end is upon us! Unfortunately, as I said last episode, this is not my original reaction file, because for reasons unknown, that recording up and disappeared on me. It has fled. So instead, you get backup Current!Feather’s reactions, but hey, we’re gonna have fun with it anyway. We hit the climax of Hero of Ages, see some old and new faces, and Kelsier continues his deity punching spree. Bless him. Except then unbless him because he immediately turns to Hemalurgy right after the main events are over. Kell, how could you? I’m so disappointed. Little bit of a wrap up for this book on the end of this one, but if you guys would like me to record a full, three-book reaction of SoS, BoM, and MSH thoughts, please let me know and I’ll do that! If you have questions for me about my reactions or anything that’s happened over these last few months, write it below and I’ll see if I can’t do a little Q&A!

Don’t lose your guns, Wax. I feel like I’m babysitting him. Like every time he loses his guns, I’m like ‘Go get those back. Pick them up. What’re you doing?’ In which a whole heck of a lot happens. The end of Lady Kelesina’s party and we flee into the countryside with our heroes to try to see what exactly the Set is up to. There’s an absolutely beautiful Waxteris moment (which, yes, is the ship name that I belatedly decided on.) Expect much squeeing. I also set sail on the S.S. WaynLaan as well, because huh, those two certainly have a remarkable amount of similarity. And my pet theory about Telsin Ladrian gets mentioned again, but we have yet to see if such a theory will be proven true or not. Also EEEEE SOUTHERN SCADRIAL STUFF. YEAH. So cool. So so cool.

I don’t think it was him. I don’t think it was. I’m pretty sure he was dead. But... maybe... Augh! I don’t know! I’m doubting everything! I would like to issue a formal apology to my new son, Allik, whom I assume to be a Hemalurgic experiment in this chapter. Listen. We all make mistakes. Allik, I didn’t mean it. Please forgive me. Like also that mistake of me talking myself out of a theory I’ve held since the beginning. Oops. Also, burning questions such as: was Preservation the ultimate prescriptivist? (Probably, that dirty language-keeping Shard.) Thankfully my rabid linguist senses get distracted by making some new Connections later on. Sign me up for duralumin ferring, guys. I also talk about The 100 which... was a great show and then started making some stupid writing decisions in the time between when I recorded this and when it got released. Dangit, The 100. And get sad about Cullen. My Dragon Age husband. Listen. And rap a bit of Hamilton. It’s a multifandom mess up in here. (Slight spoiler warning: I did end up asking Brandon if Iyatil was a Southern Scadrian, only to find out that the answer is “not really.”)

[sputters] I don’t... even have words for what I am feeling about this development at the moment. An episode that has it all. To quote myself: we’ve got some firefight, some cutes, some canoodling, deep snogs. Steris Harms continues to be perfect while Wayne continues to be on my bad list. We see some devices which double as plot devices for the first time. Yeeeeeeee. Also. I can’t figure out how the heck one is supposed to pronounce the word “Scadrial.” [sKAY-dree-ul]? [sKAD-ree-ul]? We just don’t know. Your weekly dose of Steris fangirling contained within, as well as some discussion of cosmere books in other languages. Because those are just cool. In other news, keep an eye on the news box here this week, because you’ll soon see another non-Splintercast post from me! Oooh, what could it be? It’s a surprise.

Yeah, you guys only thought I was going to be reacting to the book. You didn’t know you actually signed up for ‘Steris Appreciation Podcast 2016.’ Here we go. This week, featuring special guest star: my kitten who loves to sniff the microphone while she’s purring and interrupt me. She’s smol. And naughty. And I love her. Anyway, this week on Splintercast, Wayne talks to a jealous god. Feather realizes what a ridiculous shipper she is. Theories are put forth regarding Wax’s sister. Also, everyone is now evil. (Except for Steris, of course.) Sorry I don’t make the rules. All villains. All the time. Finally, chapter six leaves off with a truly unfair cliffhanger, which means I was suffering as much as the rest of you in waiting for the next episode. Dang Brandon, you just can’t do these kinds of things to us!

Okay. Nothing’s going wrong. Okay? It’s the first chapter of this book. Everything can still go smooth! We don’t need conflict yet. We can have cutes. Alright? Brandon, I’m like, staring at you across the room. Don’t do this to me. Just give me a good, nice wedding. And now in earnest, the book begins. Y’all knew I was gonna get rekt over these opening chapters, right? Steris is my daughter and I love her and she deserves eternal happiness. Unfortunately for her, she’s in a novel written by Brandon Sanderson, which means everything has to go wrong. Of course. In other news, Wayne drops immensely on my list of favorite characters and I also pretend that I know something about the cosmere only to figure out I was dead wrong. Ha. Another day in the life of Feather reading these books right? Upvotes and comments are always utterly appreciated!

In a shocking twist, a lowly moderator has hijacked the news feed from the treacherous admins to bring you all this: the return of Splintercast! And this time, I, your intrepid hero FeatherWriter (also occasionally known as Alyx), am here to take on Shadows of Self! Perhaps a bit delayed... but well, hacking my way into the 17th Shard news feed is no small task. I thank you for you patience, dear listeners, and now we can get to the fun! For those new to Splintercast, I record my reactions in real time as I read new cosmere books for the first time, then edit them down to one cohesive, crazy listening experience. All in all, you can expect a good deal of running theories, in-the-moment commentary, shipping, crying, celebrating, and yelling at characters when they're dumb. And Steris appreciation. Someone has to appreciate Steris Harms and I am just the fangirl for the job. It's its own brand of craziness, but also a lot of fun. This first episode not only includes an introduction to Splintercast, and also covers the prologue and chapters 1-3. The current schedule will have episodes posted weekly and will run all the way through both Shadows of Self and The Bands of Mourning in a two-book extravaganza! (Consider this my way of apologizing for the lateness!) Be warned, there are spoilers for the chapters being read, of course, but since it's my first time through each of these chapters, I obviously can't spoil you for anything that happens later in the book! Please enjoy and remember that I subsist upon comments and responses, so, if you feel so inclined, drop me a note about what you thought below!

"I just need to give the God of the world a hug, okay? I'm just... I'm just gonna hug him. Anybody got a problem with that?" Another week, another Splintercast! In this week's episode, I flail over finding out more about our lovely villain for this book, squee over the reappearance of an original Mistborn trilogy character, and talk about the philosophical question of whether technological progression is inherently valuable. And of course, the most beautiful of fandom experiences: the sailing of a new ship.* I also happen to talk far too much about roleplaying and various campaigns. Oops. Sorry, not sorry. What, is anyone surprised at this point when I'm garbage? I didn’t think so. Once again, comments and responses are greatly appreciated as they are the lifeblood by which I am able to sustain my corporeal form on this plane of existence. Your written contributions to my continued reign of terror will be remembered in the days to come. *Editor's note: Not an actual boat. Nor is it an airship or spaceship. Spaceships aren't for many more books. -Eric

This week, Splintercast continues reading Shadows of Self! The plot thickens, you hear more about Alyx's RP (because of course you do, this should be expected). And it's a long episode too: about fifty minutes long! You get a lot of Alyx this week. Too bad she couldn't write this. She said, "I'm too busy" and "two sixteen hour days in a row are the worst." What a slacker. (Just kidding.) Be careful what you wish for, Alyx! "I'd love to see an awesome lady villain," she says. Heh heh... Yeah, about that.

This is our final Splintercast--well, at least of the Words of Radiance variety. Here Alyx talks more about her feelings (because you know you want more of that), and about all the stuff she missed. Prepare yourself for a full hour of her talking about this massive, wonderful book. It's been a great run. Thanks for listening. We hope you've enjoyed them! Did you listen to all of Splintercast? Give us some feedback!

What else is there to say? It is the last section of Words of Radiance. You know what's coming. You know Alyx will freak. And stress about Renarin until she seems him... Look, I'm not going to spoil it. Enjoy. There will be one more Splintercast tomorrow, one that's a whole book wrap-up, but other than that, we're done! Did you listen to all of Splintercast? Give us some feedback!

This time on Splintercast, we get a Shallan flashback, where she plans for her family to escape. Kaladin and Adolin have the best bromance of all time, and Alyx freaks out (but that isn't new). Then we actually see Dalinar again! And Wit appears, and has a conversation with Amaram, and gets one of my favorite lines in the whole book. It's wonderful. Prepare yourself for more Splintercast right now.

It's time for a super-sized Splintercast. (You should maybe call this one a Splinter+Slivercast or something) And this is it. The moment you've waited for. One of the moments where you know Alyx will lose her entire mind. Yep: it's the duel at the end of part three. What more could you ask for? Really, you should just listen to these right now.

Splintercast Reads Words of Radiance is back, and every chapter here is fifteen minutes long, or longer! Is it a special event? Of course it is! It's our gift to you, our loyal listeners. (No it isn't; that's just how it happened. I mean, shush, it is a gift obviously.)

Now with introductions out of the way, we delve into the meat of Shardcast: Brandon news, discussion, and theories. This week, we're talking about basic Cosmere stuff. Have you been confused about Hoid or the Shards? Slivers or Splinters? Vases, and splinters of vases? We discuss this and so much more. This is not a drill, this is the real deal. This episode has spoilers on: Pretty much everything (most importantly The Hero of Ages and The Way of Kings, but every cosmere book is touched on here). Topic list: 0:32 - We have a new server! 1:30 - Craftygames update 2:23 - Pat's Fantasy Hotlist Review of Legion 3:15 - Featured Theories: Worldhoppers 4:44 - Intro to the Cosmere 7:00 - The Shards of Adonalsium 7:05 - Adonalsium is a Vase 8:05 - Confirmed that Hoid was there when Adonalsium was Shattered 8:55 - Intents 12:20 - List of Shards 28:45 - There's a Shard that just wants to hide and survive 29:52 - Shardic Future Sight 33:30 - Slivers and Splinters 38:11 - Spren 39:45 - Spren are of Honor, Cultivation, or a combination

Mistborn: Secret History. Also known as, ‘Kelsier Punches Literally All of the Deities.’ Our trip through the Cognitive Realm leads us to some unexpected new acquaintances as we start to leave Scadrial behind… Kelsier makes friends and cons them, because that’s what he does. I go back and forth on how to pronounce the word “Ire” before finally actually figuring it out and we finally figure out what gave Vin the heebie-jeebies before she met with Hoid in Hero of Ages! Unfortunately, I do have a bit of a confession to make. Despite the fact that the recording says that there is an episode after this... that data has unfortunately been lost. I don’t totally know what happened to the recording, but it’s no longer in my files. I am really upset to have lost it, but after thinking it over, I’m not going to leave you guys hanging right here at the end. Tune back next week for a wrap up and to hear my thoughts on the end! And I promise I will make 100% sure my good microphone is actually connected this time. Editing the quality on these past few episodes has been terrible, because it just came from my terrible laptop mic. Horrendous. I’ll do much better.

“He’d saved the boy’s life once, so that would make them even”? Kell, that’s not how saving someone’s life works. You don’t just get like a free pass to murder them whenever you want later! Mistborn: Secret History continues, as we travel through Realms previously unseen. We meet some interesting characters, have a chat with a few old villainous friends, and watch as our intrepid hero makes a very long journey. Meanwhile, I’m having far too much fun soaking in all this new cosmere-y knowledge and trying to figure out what exactly is going on. (For instance, the symbol from Part 2 is in fact the symbol for Kredik Shaw. How did I not recognize that one?) Have fun listening!

This is the greatest thing that has ever been written. This is the greatest thing that has ever been written. In which there is flailing. So much flailing. You might assume, if you have seen my salt about Secret History around, that I do not enjoy the novella. You would be incorrect, as I actually pretty much adore it. Despite the fact that I might have an issue with a thing at the end, I am 100% on board with reading this wonderful romp through the cosmere afterlife. Utterly delighted. This episode comes with warnings for A) Me getting incredibly committed to theories which apparently aren’t actually real (Seriously, how is it not Marsh???) B) My cat being absurdly naughty and loud in the background and C) some issues in microphone quality, oops. My apologies for all three. It’s a wild ride, enjoy!

Cosmere is still number one in my heart, okay? I’ll never leave the cosmere behind. I been in this for six years. We ain’t leavin’ the trenches now! Finally, things start to come together for me theory-wise. I talk myself back into my theory of Telsin’s alignment, which is probably a good thing. However, I also start to “figure out” my theory about who the Sovereign is, and I’m still mad that that theory was wrong because it made so much sense, listen. I will say, for everyone who does know who the Sovereign is, (including me, the present Feather, who is writing this) going back and listening to me trying to figure it out is pretty amusing. In a way that makes me want to punch the real Sovereign in the face because, Harmony’s Forearms, I want to punch him so much. There’s also a ridiculous amount of Dragon Age talk, but hey, that’s all I was doing all day before I started reading, gimme a break. I’d say that I was due for a Dragon Age/Cosmere crossover, but actually… I already wrote one. Ha. Enjoy!