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I've been thinking about how silver works in the Cosmere, and realized that we know that it interrupts investiture. My thoughts are that silver is allomantically inert due to needing to be an alloy with another metal to be burned by a Mistborn or else it just does nothing as it has the ability to interrupt investiture. In addition, we know that Electrum (45% gold, 55% silver) is able to block the godmetal of Ruin (Atium). Do we know if the other godmetals have a silver counter part that can interrupt them as well? Can someone tell me if I am just slowly losing my mind or if I'm on to something with silver, because the amount of disruptive power that it seems to have for the few times it has shown up I think could be huge and we as a fan base are just overlooking it.

The light coming from "the star" that can be seen from Komashi is the only light that penetrates the shroud. The shroud is pure investiture. So I'm thinking, what pierces/counteracts investiture? Silver! Could this be silver light?!? Hoid says he thinks the light has something to do with Virtuosity splintering herself, because apparently she did that near "the star" (aka UTol). What do you think the light is and why can it pierce the shroud when light from their sun cannot?

So, I noticed this WoB on silver: And I think you can understand why I find it interesting. Silver can damage and kill shades, but I didn't think that extended to all spren/cognitive entities. Apparently it does, or at least can. I'm guessing that silver doesn't have the exact same effect on spren as it does on shades, as something so immediately obvious would doubtless have been discovered by either the Radiants or the Fused during the desolations. So there has to be something more than just stabbing the spren. As to what that something more could be, I don't really know. The simplest explanation is that you'd need to use silver to cut a spren apart, while keeping it from absorbing Stormlight to heal itself. Perhaps silver is toxic to spren, and you could impale them with a ton of it. Or perhaps the method used involves investiture somehow. Whatever the case, I would be glad to hear other sharders thoughts on this WoB, and silver's place in the Cosmere.

We need to talk about the silver plating on Vin's earring! Somewhere between the moment Vin's mother drove this little bronze spike through Vin's sister into Vin's ear, and the moment we first see Vin in Book 1, this bronze earring became plated in "silver" (which must negate its Hemalurgic effects for reasons I'll explain) and then locked away inside of a box. Even ignoring the larger implications of Silver throughout the Cosmere, and isolating our attention only at Scadrial's magic system... We know that silver on Scadrial has no known Allomantic, Feruchemical, or (most importantly) Hemalurgic properties at all. If the earring were silver-plated before spiking through Vin's sister, then that silver would have nullified the spike's ability to behave as a hemalurgic spike and accept a hemalurgic charge. In contrast, if the earring was silver-plated after receiving a hemalurgic charge, then the silver would have blocked the earring's effects on the wearer (much like Nightblood's sheath blocks his power). If this bronze earring was plated in silver, then it's logical to infer that even if Vin wore it like that (fully silver-plated), then Ruin wouldn't have been able to reach her, nor would she have been able to tap into the extra seeker properties with which the spike was charged. Interestingly enough, that silver plating was notably wearing away throughout Vin's story. From Well of Ascension - Chapter 33: "Vin stood quietly. Absently, she pulled out her bronze earring—her mother’s earring—and worked it between her fingers, watching it reflect light. It had once been gilded with silver, but that had worn off in most places." From Hero of Ages – Chapter 54: "Silver. Useless, unburnable silver. Like lead, it was one of the metals that provided no Allomantic powers at all. “An unpopular metal indeed . . .” Yomen said, nodding to the side. A servant approached Vin, bearing something on a small platter. Her mother’s earring. It was a dull thing, Allomantically, made of bronze with some silver plating. Much of the silver had worn off years ago, and the brownish bronze showed through, making the earring look to be the cheap bauble it was. “Which is why,” Yomen continued, “I am so curious as to why you would bother with an ornament such as this. I have had it tested. Silver on the outside, bronze on the inside. Why those metals?" I figure that neither Reen nor Vin could've done this silver-plating to the bronze earring. They wouldn't have been concerned in the least with having it silver-plated while they were poor and had a hard enough time staying [relatively] safe and fed. I think someone who was cosmere-aware or, at the very least, was "Ruin-aware" was responsible for having the earring silver plated. I doubt Hoid would have done this, as well. My imagination says that he would have sooner destroyed or stolen the earring if he really wanted to interfere with Ruin's plans. Hoid wouldn't have preserved the earring so carefully. The fact that the earring was neutralized/silver-plated rather than destroyed... and the fact that it was placed in a box and that box was kept rather than disposed of... well, I would guess Preservation was behind this silver-plating. I think he did what he could to influence people and events around Vin to protect her while keeping in line with his own will to 'preserve' above all else. From Hero of Ages – Sazed's final Epigraph (just before the epilogue): "Vin was special. Preservation chose her from a very young age, as I have mentioned. I believe that he was grooming her to take his power... I believe that she must have drawn some of the mist into her when she was still a child, in those brief times when she wasn’t wearing the earring. Preservation had mostly gotten her to stop wearing it by the time Kelsier recruited her, though she put it back in for a moment before joining the crew. Then, she’d left it there at his suggestion." If the earring had been placed while Vin was an infant and left in her ear, then it's a safe assumption that Ruin would have had her entire lifetime to work his influence... if, of course, it hadn't been for the presumed efforts of Preservation to buy her as much time as he could. I asked Brandon Sanderson "Who was responsible for getting Vin's bronze earring plated in 'silver'?" and apparently that question was good enough to award me an RAFO card. :-) I will be framing it. Don't judge me. Who plated Vin's bronze earring in "silver"? When did they do it? Why? Is the plating on Vin's earring really silver (or just perceived to be Silver by the Scadrians)? ...is it the same metal as Nightblood's sheath? It seems to me that the silver plating on Vin's earring and Nightblood's famous "silver sheath" were essentially there to perform the same job. What do you think?

I was bored, and, like any normal person would, I decided to make my own, non-canon, hypothetical "quadrant" to add to the three Metallic Arts. I used real metals and alloys of those real metals (including the infamous silver), but these effects could easily be Lerasium alloys' effects instead, if you want them to be more canon. 2 of them would be Physical (Cobalt and Nixium, likely would be alloys of Lerasium and iron/steel), and 2 would be Enhancement (Silver and Argentum, would likely be alloys of aluminum and duralumin). I also have a nice little minimalist chart of these 4 set up, just for the fun of it, and for practicing graphic design for later. I'll elaborate on the brief descriptions of the powers in each of the segments of that chart here. - The quadrant itself is the Mystic metals category. It's a nice catch-all term for the somewhat disparate abilities of the metals, without just being "hybrid" again like Feruchemy's hybrid quadrant. - The Mystic Allomantic metals, as mentioned above, are 2 Physical effects and 2 Enhancement effects. Cobalt/Nixium's effects work by altering the overall velocity of a metallic object within reach. Nixium Pushes the metals, adding to their current velocity. However, like Steel, the Pushes are equal and opposite reactions on the Allomancer as well, as if they themselves were Pushing in the same direction that Nixium is adding the velocity in. So to accelerate an object upwards, the Allomancer will be pushed downwards equally in exchange. - Likewise, Cobalt Pulls on metals, reducing their current velocity, including the inevitable pull of gravity, allowing an allomancer to produce hovering footholds with which to leap between. As with Nixium, Cobalt transfers force to the allomancer, meaning that the taken velocity is added to theirs. This results in the allomancer feeling an increased gravitational pull when stopping a metal object from falling, based on the mass of the object being anchored. - Ahh, Silver, silver, silver... A tricky metal to be sure, and quirky enough to explain why it was (and, is) considered Allomantically Inert by all metalborn. Silver works by channeling its power into the "floodgates" of other metals' power, flowing into and through the Allomancer via their other burning metals. When burned by itself, this effect enters a feedback loop of constricting its own power, which induces a nauseating feeling that is almost completely indistinguishable from the sickness of burning a non-allomantic metal or impure alloy. Burning silver and Duralumin amplifies this issue, as the Silver constricts both the duralumin and itself, while the duralumin forces the Silver to expend itself at astronomical rates, causing the silver constriction to intensify to the point where no power can flow, releasing a huge amount of pent-up allomantic power when the constriction wears off, sickening the allomancer deeply, even killing them. Flaring silver and duralumin will kill an allomancer foolish enough to try it. When properly employed, Silver reduces the power output per gram of metal, which may seem purely negative as Aluminum does, but it comes with the added benefit of making the allomancer's metal resources more difficult to Leech or Nicroburst away, keeping them safe from harm while you have Silver to burn. -Argentum, then, is the opposite. It uses the influx of power from Preservation to widen the "floodgates" of other metals burned alongside it. It enhances the power output per gram of metal, which pairs nicely with Duralumin, giving you a further multiplication on power received per second. It also allows you to be a bit more subtle with your burn rate, keeping a low burn while still getting a fair bit of power out of the metals. As you might guess, Argentum-boosted metals are easier to Leech or Nicroburst away. As well, Argentum Savants are not terribly uncommon among Argentum allomancers, due to the fact that by burning Argentum alone, you can have a positive feedback loop of increasing power flowing through via Argentum widening its own "floodgates" over and over. Benefits of Argentum Savantism include a generally improved power output per gram of metal in all metals that the Savant can burn, and an improved ability to control your metals' burn rates. Drawbacks include an addiction-like dependence on Argentum allomancy, as well as a particular vulnerability to being Nicrobursted. Some speculate that the Argentum Allomancer welcomes the rush of power from a Nicroburst on a subconscious level, being familiarized with it from Argentum Allomancy, though this is unconfirmed. - The Mystic Feruchemical metals, then, are quite fun. Cobalt feruchemy is my personal favorite, as it allows the feruchemist to shrink or grow, like ant-man. Cobaltminds are often worn as bracelets at normal size, rings at large size, and a belt at small size, with their standard "big" and "small" sizes being dependent on when the Cobaltmind fits as such. Cobalt Feruchemy also strengthens the body to prevent it from collapsing at larger sizes from the Square-Cube Law, and to allow mobility even at such sizes, much like how Iron feruchemy strengthens the body to allow movement at great weights. - Nixium Feruchemy is rather odd, as it stores Ionic Energy. Fire, Electricity, both can be stored in Nixiumminds, allowing a Nixium feruchemist to quench flames or deplete batteries and charge their metalminds with that type of energy. One Nixiummind cannot store both fire and electrical energy in it at a time, but multiple Nixiumminds can be employed by a Nixium feruchemist to circumvent this. When tapping, the Nixium Feruchemist can direct the stored energy out of their body, typically through the hands, casting lightning bolts or spouts of flame. It's one of the most visually stunning feruchemical powers, to be sure. The Feruchemist is also protected from electrocuting or burning themselves when tapping. - Silver feruchemy stores Light from a small radius around a feruchemist, typically close to their skin, though further out as they store more aggressively. In an enclosed room with a large amount of uncharged silver, a feruchemist can darken the whole room to pitch-black for some time. Tapping Silver causes the Feruchemist to glow, illuminating the area around them. They are also not blinded by the light emitted from their Silver feruchemy, though others can be, making a quick, aggressive tapping of Silver an effective flashbang, of sorts, disorienting foes. (side note: this unintentionally made a pun of Silver-light. I couldn't pass this up after I realized that.) - Argentum Feruchemy stores Sound, a fitting counterpart to Silver. When storing, the feruchemist and his/her immediate surroundings become muted, with the area affected increasing as they store more aggressively. When tapping, sounds produced by the feruchemist become amplified, moreso the more they tap. With enough stored Sound, the feruchemist can create dangerously loud sounds, which is of particular effect against Tineyes or Windwhispers. The feruchemist is also strengthened to be able to withstand the loud noises they produce, unable to deafen themselves. - Cobalt Hemalurgy steals Mystic Allomantic powers. Pretty simple, just like any other allomancy-stealing spike. - Nixium Hemalurgy steals Mystic Feruchemical Powers, which functions just as expected. - Silver Hemalurgy steals Spiritual Fortitude, which is somewhat complex. A spike will enhance the "can't push/pull on metals inside someone" effect, will reinforce the user against Emotional allomantic possession, and even increases the spike threshold for Shardic possession by a net gain of 1 for every silver spike (of average strength). A Silver Kandra Blessing would make them immune to Emotional allomantic possession, and almost fully immune to Shardic possession, in theory being more trouble than it's worth, requiring too much concentration to break through (if we're talking about Ruin trying to control an army of Kandra, Koloss, and Inquisitors, which, isn't likely to happen again. But a Silver Kandra COULD resist Harmony, if they tried hard enough, though that is in part due to his conflicting Intents, rather than the sheer strength of Silver. - Argentum Hemalurgy Steals Physical Immunity, which is to say, potency of your Immune System, and liver. Diseases, and poisons, are reduced in effectiveness against someone with a Nixium spike. So, what do you guys think? These WOULD be more logical as godmetal alloys, i admit, but the idea was too fun to pass up to stave off boredom.

Silver. It's role in the Cosmere is uncertain, being a metal (pushable and pullable), allomantically inert and effective at warding off shades on Threnody. Well we got a tasty new WoB today, on another thing people have speculated about, what the silver chain being sold in Shadesmar during Oathbringer was. So that's rad. A reminder of the chain... We didn't know what the significance of the chain was, why it was so expensive, what that chain was made of (options like a silver alloy, aluminum, or even dragonsteel have been thrown around). We still don't know a lot for sure, but it being from Threnody is awesome as it largely confirms the chain is silver, given the importance of it there. And it says they use them in freaking Silverlight! A Cognitive Realm city. So the chain is obviously useful in the Cognitive Realm, and in a place where you get attacked by Cognitive Shadows. In other words, silver is significant to the Cognitive Realm, blocking and damaging corrupted Cognitive Shadows and being expensive and valuable in the Cognitive Realm. This fits with some WoBs we have, about its general significance. So given the chain is so expensive, what could it be made out of? Is it just silver, and silver is so important in the Cognitive Realm and so hard to get there that it's expensive? Is silver not enough, and it needs to be alloyed with a godmetal? Maybe, but then you'd think they'd be exceedingly rare. Is it a magical device, like a fabrial, that does something with silver? I doubt it, it's a simple chain, unless it's some woven form-based magic. I personally think it's most likely to create a barrier in the cognitive realm that purely cognitive entities can't pass without a physical body, essentially the Cognitive equivalent of what aluminum does in the Spiritual Realm (and credit to First_Midnight for putting in that way). It basically stops investiture in the Cognitive Realm from affecting things in the physical realm. That's why shades can't pass it without attacking and weakening the silver - they are actually destroying the silver's cognitive aspect, and then the silver in the Physical Realm is useless in stopping the shade from injecting its investiture into you and it transforming your physical aspect. That's why silver will stop the withering - under this theory, the shade attacks you with its corrupted investiture in the Cognitive Realm, and putting silver on it prevents that investiture from affecting you in the Physical Realm. The investiture that's been attacking you is returned to the CR and blocked from affecting you again. That could be why people in Silverlight would use them, they're safe as they have a physical aspect, but Cognitive-only beings couldn't penetrate the barrier and any investiture being used on you not work. And maybe that's why the necklace is so expensive, because that could make it hard to get silver into the Cognitive Realm through a perpendicularity. But so how useful can it be if shades just burn through it? Well, the answer is, I think, that the chain is not the cognitive aspect of silver in the Physical Realm, but is actually silver brought into the Cognitive Realm, And would actually be impassable by investiture, unlike silver in the Physical Realm, which just puts up a temporary cognitive barrier. Which is why it's rare and expensive, answering the chain question. I'm still not entirely sure I have the mechanics right, in terms of how a necklace may protect you entirely, or in terms of silver's effect in the Cognitive Realm. Love your views. Especially as I got tired of writing this and burned through the last but important parts And I'll leave you with some ridiculousness. The name Silverlight? What if it's actually silver, to keep Cognitive incursions out. The city's walls are made of silver that is fully in the Cognitive Realm.

This is kind of just a weird thought that went through my head, but what would such an alloy have as its properties? We know Aluminum is the "anti-Investiture" metal, and Silver seems to have some special power against Shades (and is apparently significant to the cosmere in general), so... What would happen? Silver isn't allomantically functional, so i'm not asking about that (RIP Silvereyes) but i mean in terms of, say, having a knife made of this alloy and using it on Shades, or sprinkling it on Withered injuries. Would the Aluminum content prevent the silver from corroding in that case? For that matter, would Aluminum be better at shade-related stuff than Silver itself?

Ok, friends, I apologize if this has already been discussed before. I searched for a post about it and couldn't find one, so I figured I'd open the discussion if it doesn't already exist. I've been noticing what I feel to be a quiet trend going on in the Cosmere - Silver. I would like your opinions on what this could mean or if i'm just plain crazy. Silver is not always in a meaningful spot within the Cosmere (clothing, decor, etc)... but when it does appear in a meaningful role, it seems to work the same way throughout the Cosmere. Considering how often Silver makes an appearance, it seems apparent that the metal is present on all of the cosmere worlds... some of those worlds seem to have discovered its very special uses and effects. Just to name a few key examples of silver making notable appearances within the Cosmere: Nalthis - Nightblood's sheath. To contain Nightblood's immense powers and abilities, he is kept within a silver sheath. When Nightblood is even slightly released from this sheath, his power is also released and he influences his surroundings. Like taking the cap off of something that kept him "bottled" up. Threnody - Silence Montane's dagger. Silver (weapons/dust) is the only thing on Threnody known to touch/harm/ward against shades... hence Silence's silver dagger. Silver can even heal a whither wound that has recently been caused by a shade. Silver on Threnody is widely known and coveted because of its effectiveness against shades. This is important because shades are, presumably, connected to/from/part of the spiritual realm. And yet silver is the one known defense that can touch/fight/resist them without ill effect. Scadrial - Electrum. I've always wondered why silver itself wasn't technically an allomantic metal... it seems like it should be. It does, however, show up in the Silver+Gold alloy known as Electrum. As near as I can tell, Electrum is the only metal of the 16 metals that is powerful enough to neutralize a God Metal (Atium) in another allomancer. "Thank you, Silver... because without you, Gold alone would only let me see my possible past self. With you, however, I can see all of my future selves - disabling Atium's advantage for its user. Whew!" Silver saves the day again! Roshar - Shardplate, shardblades, (and half-shards?). The shardplate(s) and shardblades of Roshar are repeatedly referred to as silver. Let's start with a few quotes. WoK Prologue mentioned Szeth's honorblade: "Szeth turned and continued on his way, slippered feet falling on the soft red rug. The Shardblade, as always, glistened silver and clean." ... and before that, the WoK Prelude mentioned shardplate itself: "Juxtaposed between them were others in gleaming plate armor. One group walked past, four men in their ragged tanned skins or shoddy leather joining a powerful figure in beautiful silver plate, amazingly intricate. Such a contrast." Along with many MANY other examples and quotes throughout WoK and WoR that (other than paint and ornamentation) repeatedly refer to Shardplate and shardblades as silver or "silvery metal." Crazy questions: In keeping with this silver theory here, is this what spren become when they transform into shardblades?...do they imitate/become silver? Could this be why shardblades can block/hit other shardblades and yet cut through everything else as if it wasn't even there? When the Vedens manufactured "half-shards," were they made of silver? Shallan encountered a keyhole at the Oathgate (at the end of WoR) that was "made of the same stuff" as a shardblade, as she put it. It doesn't seem implied that a spren had transformed into said keyhole... but rather unlike shardblades, no spren was involved. I theorize that no spren is necessary for this "stuff" (silver?) to exist in the physical realm. Therefore, the keyhole could possibly be made of simple silver. It's possible that the Vedens have managed to create their half-shards simply by discovering the proper metal to use when forging them. 1.) Have some Veden smiths forge shields of silver. 2.) Power the shield with infused gemstones (just like shardplate). 3.) and VIOLA! ...Half-Shard? ... Crazy crazy questions bouncing around my head. At any rate, one thing that seems certain to me is that silver is very special within the cosmere. It's possible that its effects and influence span across all three realms at once! I'm not saying that everything described as "silver" or "silvery" has some profound meaning behind it... but there might just be a bit of a cosmere-sized trend here. To me, if there really is a trend, it seems that silver can "counter" powers within the cosmere. Like shielding nightblood, touching/harming shades, mixing with gold to allow an allomancer to negate the effects of atium, stopping/blocking a shardblade's attack, etc... If anyone in the Cosmere knows what's going on, it's Hoid... and even he keeps a silver sword handy. "Wit picked his way through the groups of attendants, holding a cup of wine in one hand, silver sword belted at his side." "Wit sat on a raised stool at the end of the bridge leading onto the island. Wit actually dressed as a lighteyes should—he wore a stiff black uniform, silver sword at his waist." Seems like Hoid knows something about the benefits and usefulness of silver that we don't. Can you guys think of anymore examples? ...or am I crazy? What does silver mean to the Cosmere?

So I received my beautiful slipcased copies of Shadows of SIlence in the Forest of Hell and Perfect State today, and there was a preface in SoS that wasn't included in the previous versions of the story - I have typed it below for you, word for word, as I think it provides some interesting insight into Threnody... "When George R.R Martin approached me to ask if I'd be willing to contribute a story to Dangerous Women, I was ecstatic. George is known best for his Westeros books, but he is also an excellent author, having put together many anthologies. His recent themed anthologies with Gardner Dozois ave become something of a "Who's Who" in the fantasy and science fiction world. It was a real honor to be invited/ After he told me the theme was "dangerous women", I at first thought of Perfect State, the other novella in this collection. I had a very rough draft of that done, but hadn't submitted it anywhere for publication I sent that to George and Gardner, and they felt it wasn't on theme enough, and asked if I had anything else. I didnt, not yet, but something had happened recently that had planted a seed in my mind. I had been involved in some genealogy work, and had run across the name of a Puritan woman called Silence. That intrigued me. Who would name their daughter Silence, and for what reason? Charity I can get. Faith makes total sense. But Silence? Perhaps she was late int he birth order, and her parents were really hoping to sleep through the nights this time. Either way, the name stuck with me. I'd had the idea for Threnody, the Cosmere world when a group of pilgrimesque people fled the Old World because it was overrun by a terrible evil long ago. It was actually a very early Cosmere world, developed around 1999 or 2000. (Though the name didn't get assigned to it until Isaac gave a suggestion upon reading this novella.) Having an intriguing Puritan name and a world that took inspiration from early American history seemed a ready-made match, but I had to ask myself, how was Silence going to be dangerous? I was worried that the anthology was going to be stuffed full of women either in the "femme fatale" vein or the "I wear black leather and kick demon butt" vein. I've often felt that we, in fantasy, sometimes do a poor job of representing people (both male and female) who are powerful and capable in ways other than their ability to stand in a fight. Yes, giving a woman a sword is one way to make her dangerous, but I resist making every powerful woman into one who has become so by forcing her way into a traditionally male-dominated realm of face-to-face combat. The world was mostly formed in my head, though over the years I'd added the diea of the shades for various reasons. One was to show off a few hints regarding the Cosmere afterlife, and another came during my initial research for the Stormlight Archive, where I read a lot about classical Hebrew life and philosophy. The original idea for Threnody was to make a system of magical rules with their roots int he Law of Moses and Jewish tradition. (Not mixing blood with milk, not kindling flames after nightfall on the Sabbath etc.) Many of these rules transformed over the years, leaving their roots behind in the same way that the Stormlight magic system left behind its roots in the fundamental forces of physics. But you can see those hints still having an influence on the tone and setting of this story. This intersection of these ideas developed into this story, one that soon became one of my favorite Cosmere tales. I hope you enjoy it! (And no, for those searching, Hoid does not make an appearance. Unfortunately, he needed to be somewhere else in the timeline at this point.)