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Disclaimer: Everything that will soon follow might be completely wrong, but is still interesting. Do not base the foundation of everything you know upon what follows. This theory/speculation is based off of how Hemalurgy and shardblades affect the Spiritual Realm. Hemalurgy tinkers with sDNA, ripping out pieces and inserting them on other beings. Shardblades cut in the Spiritual Realm as well. So what if you could handle hemalurgic spikes and shardblades like a surgeon's tools? During the Shattering, we know that Adonalsium was broken into 16 shards. Each shard was a fragment of the original being. I am trying to draw a line connecting the Shards and the fragments of sDNA ripped out by Hemalurgy. Steel Inquisitors have additional sDNA added to them by the spikes, but each piece is too insignificant to affect the whole of the Inquisitor, unlike Shards, which are so powerful that they consume the Vessel. So, realizing this similarity, one could suppose that Hemalurgy acts somewhat like the Shattering. But Hemalurgy is directly tied to the Physical Realm as well, because the only thing guiding what portion of the Spiritweb is affected is the location on the victim's body where the spike is placed. Now, I bring in the concept of shardblades. Shardblades cut through the Spiritual Realm, which is why they kill living things they slice. As a blade, a shardblade is naturally more precise than a hammer or other crude instrument. Thus, when attempting to remove a specific piece of sDNA, one would use a shardblade, right? It is more precise and it does the job. However, the severed piece cannot be captured without a spike ready. The follow-up must be instant, not to lose the fragment. Of course, this process would be much easier if done in another realm. Through this process of slicing and spiking, sections of sDNA could be removed without fear of imprecision. Then, these pieces could be applied elsewhere using Hemalurgy. Please note any flaws or missing material.

As everyone knows, the passage of time and space within the physical realm is rigid, as in it cannot be altered. 5 seconds is 5 seconds is 5 seconds (at least within a certain shardworld), and 10 feet is 10 feet is 10 feet (with the same stipulation). This is a fact within the Cosmere, just like it is in real life. However, space is fluid withing the Cognitive Realm. With people having the ability to Elsecall and Worldhop, space must be fluid within the cognitive realm. After all, if what is the benefit of Worldhopping if it takes you the same amount of time to get between worlds in the Cognitive Realm as in the Physical Realm. As to time, it must be fluid in the Spiritual Realm. This is so because Forging works by changing the past of an object or person, and is known to affect the Spiritual Realm. This next bit is entirely theory as I don't know exactly how Hemalurgy works outside of the process within the Physical Realm, but Hemalurgy involves taking the powers of an individual and giving them to someone else. These abilities were given at a certain time, Allomancy specifically is given when snapped. So Hemalurgy could potentially involve changing the past of the individual so that they snapped, thus giving them the powers. This would of course only work while the spike is affecting a person. That's my idea of how time and space are fluid in the different realms, please don't judge me too much on my Hemalurgy statement, Hemalurgy is one of the magic systems I understand the least.

Note: I haven't been very active within the 17th shard, and don't know if this idea has been brought up before. Also, this will jump back and forth between several Cosmere works, but will mainly focus on Warbreaker. Now to begin... I was recently rereading Warbreaker when I noticed something interesting. Specifically on page 129 when Llarimar is talking to Lightsong about why he would have returned As to how this origin is specifically is important, in Mistborn: Secret History We also get to see the Cognitive Realm from Jasnah and Shallan's point of views in the Stormlight Archives, essentially a world filled with an ocean of spheres. With the way the Cognitive Realm is shown on these shardworlds, it can be seen that the Cognitive Realm mirrors the Physical Realm and is where people go after dying, but only temporarily in most cases. As to how the amount of time someone remains within the Cognitive Realm affects the origin of the Returned, we know that after a few moments, minutes tops, the soul, or Cognitive Shadow, moves on to the Spiritual Realm. Within Warbreaker, when Llarimar reveals Ligtsong's former life, he mentions that they found him dead, and then he Returned. This means that Lightsong had been dead for a relatively long amount of time, as he had died at sea and they had had to recover his body. Most likely within this circumstance, Lightsong had moved on to the Spiritual Realm, and then Returned. Another reason to support Lightsong's journey to the Spiritual Realm, is the perception of time. As shown in both shardworlds, time moves parallel between the cognitive and physical realms. This means that the future couldn't be seen in either of these. With this knowledge of the realms, anything that does not play into the present status of the Cosmere, must occur within the Spiritual Realm. This is supported within the Emperor's Soul as the magic system, forging, works by changing the past of the person or object being affected, and has also been mentioned as pertaining to the Spirtiual Realm. With this idea in mind, the quote from earlier mentions the future, which is not the present, and therefore would likely occur within the Spiritual Realm. I must now humbly admit that this is a theory, and is simply based upon what was seemingly a revelation to me as I was reading. However, I do ask that you take this seriously, and take whatever thoughts it inspires to new heights, and maybe even offer more evidence to support this theory, or tweak it slightly to make it fit better within the cosmere.

So, I've always noticed a similarity between Kal's impressions of Syl an Tien. This made me wonder if Syl was somehow a pseudo-reincarnation of Tien. But she has really old memories, so this seemed unlikely. Then I saw this WoB: http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=836#26 This says most of what spren get is physical form and memory in the PR. So, what else do they get? I don't know as much of the spiritual realm as I'd like, but what I've gleaned is that it is a realm of connections. Spren seem to be cognitive manifestations of abstract concepts that are drawn to perceived instances of those concepts in the PR. Being abstract things, do they therefore lack connections (and so presence) in the SR? Kaladin has an unusually strong desire to protect, which drew Syl. That desire to protect initially was focused on Tien, with whom he had a very strong Connection. When he lost Tien, that connection remained, but the associated desire to protect became more generalised. Syl represents that desire to protect. So, in bonding with Kal and becoming the cognitive manifestation of his desire to protect, does she also tap into his spiritual connection to Tien, and so inherit some part of their emotional relationship? If so, does this count as pseudo-reincarnation? Whilst this started with the Syl-Kal-Tien relationship only, I have also noticed it applies to Dalinar-Stormfather-Gavilar. The Stormfather was drawn to Dalinar as a result of his desire to unify the kingdom, and hold rigidly to the codes (both presumed aspects of Bondsmiths). These are both desires tied strongly to the memory of his brother. Also, Dalinar always felt his brother was an unstoppable force that shaped those around him into what he needed them to be, making them better as a byproduct; this is clearly also true of highstorms (though whether this is a particular impression Dalinar holds regarding highstorms is unclear). The evidence of spiritual connection seems less obvious here, until Dalinar's final vision in WoR, just prior to bonding the Stormfather. In that vision, which the Stormfather did not consciously send, Dalinar felt as if Gavilar were in the next room (paraphrased). That suggests a spiritual connection to Gavilar manifested via the Stormfather. What this means for Pattern, Ivory, Glys... I think we need to know more. What do you guys think?

Hello fellow Shardlings! (Is that the word? Oh well, your my Shardlings anyway) So I am proud to announce that "Letters From the Cosmere" is officially out of production and live on YouTube! This is a YouTube series that I thought would be helpful as a resource for new community members who wished to learn about Brandon's Cosmere in manageable packets of information. I also wanted this to be entertaining for members of the community who were already well established. In this series the World Hopper Aarik writes letters to his acquaintances about the things he has observed as he has traversed the Cosmere. If you want to see it for yourself, follow the link here: Hello! If you want more info about why this exists, I have an explanation. So a couple years back I was first introduced to the Cosmere by a dear friend who handed me a copy of Mistborn. I devoured that book and proceeded to perchance every Brandon Sanderson Book I could. I remember my shock when I first suspected that there were characters and a particular Black Sword that I had seen in other books appearing in the newer stories. I had assumed that these were all just different stories. That was when my friend informed me about the idea of the Cosmere. I was so excited I jumped online and did a quick search for the Forms. Holy Cow The amount of information was staggering. It was amazing, but staggering. I remember not knowing where to start or even what questions to ask. I think everyone starts off a little star struck. Hoping to find a good foundation I turned to YouTube. In the past I had researched the Star Wars EU by watching informational videos fans had made for YouTube so I thought there would be Cosmere videos as well. There were none. A few months latter when I staggered from 17th Shard a much wiser man, I started thinking about that first YouTube search. I had an active YouTube account where had started making serious weekly content. I decided that I wanted to make the videos that I had hoped to find when I had first joined. But I didn't want this to just be a boring list of facts, or a review of each book. I wanted to do something with more life and flavor. I wanted these letters to feel like they were a part of the Cosmere. I worked on the premise for months, crafting and re crafting the idea in my mind and in my notes. I was prepared when Brandon came to town on his recent 2016 Book Signing Tour. Our convention was small, and I was able not only to pitch my idea to Brandon, but we were able to talk about it in length for several hours. At first he was concerned, and who wouldn't be? I was wanting to create something using his intellectual property. However as the discussion continued, I could see the gears turning in his mind. Eventually I must have sold him on the idea because he tanked me for asking him in person and said, "I give you personal permission to make this YouTube series." We spent the next several hours having a stop and start conversation about this project. Naturally I was trying not to hog him from the other fans, but playing him in a game of magic helped. He also seemed excited to give me tips. He made several suggestions about paths I could take with the character, but left a lot up to me. I will be sending him a personal detailed report so as to make sure everything checks out, but I got the clear impression that he wanted me to own this project. Also, I need to say that this project would be far weaker without the fantastic artists who offered their support for the work. I contacted the artist of each painting that I used and asked their permission to use their work. I will NEVER steal a piece of art, even if it's easy to download. I want to work with the artists and I hope that more artists will be inspired by this project and share their talent with all of us in these Letters. Please make sure you send some love and thankful messages to the amazing artists. They deserve every bit of praise they get. And that now leads us here. I am so happy that this first episode is available. I have already received encouragement and support from the community members who have found it. I cannot wait to make more of these episodes. I honestly think this will be a series I will be making for years and years to come. I hope that you enjoyed this taste, and that you come back for more. If you are an artist and want to share your work with the world, I would love to work with you.I hope you all enjoy this series. If you have any thoughts I hope you will share them, just remember to be courteous with each other. Obviously I am not Brandon and will get things wrong from time to time. However I will do my best to only say what I know, or try to make it clear that the character is speculating. Hope you have a wonderful day and I'll see you around the Cosmere! -TheBlueShifting PS I have had a couple requests to see the text version of the episode. I have decided to post that here on my Forms in 17th Shard. There may be slight deviations, but overall the text is the same. I also reserve the right to edit the content in the future if Brandon points out any changes that need to be made, though I doubt that will happen with this episode. Here you go! I don’t quite know how to start this letter. Lines like dear friends or colleagues seem inconsistent with our perceived “relationship”. Needless to say, I have not decided to abandon our friend’s request that I chronical my travels. My father would be proud to see that after all this time I became a scholar after a fashion. But I suppose I should start with the fundamentals of what I have learned and work my way to the finer aspects. Although my knowledge is limited, I share what I know, and what I suspect to be true. But first, a foundation: Look around you. Everything you see, the walls of your house, the air you are breathing, even the light entering your eyes are all a part of the Cosmere. It is all that is, all that was, and all that will be. Everything is connected by the forces that shape the universe. Light and Gravity. Investiture and Cognition. Even the souls of men are manifestations of the cosmere itself. In my travels I have gained a unique perspective of what the cosmere is and what it contains. Our inheritance, our birthright, is to explore this vast Cosmere, our home. And in it, to see the divine attributes that shape it. When I was first educated by my father, I often contemplated my place in the world. I would look North to the dark peeks that stood just at the edge of sight and wonder what lay beyond them. I look back now and almost laugh at the wide eyed youth who couldn’t imagine a world larger than the town I grew up in. I who have set foot in the shadows of other worlds and cultures across space and time. Although my introduction to the greater cosmere was a feat of happenstance, I find great pleasure in diving the nature of the universe in my own way. Before I write anything else I need to clarify what the comere is by the simplest definition. There are three major aspects of the Cosmere, these three realms or dimensions shape and in turn are shaped by each other. They are effectively inseparable, Each one with its own rules and capacities. Despair their alien nature, the fundamentals of these realms are fairly straightforward. First we have the tangible or Physical realm. This is the home of all the peoples of the Cosmere. Three dimensions ruled by gravity and light, physics is the language upon which we understand this dimension. Luckily I was educated in mathematics and physics, a far more useful education than I appreciated at the time. Although the worlds of men and sentient races are separated by vast oceans of distances, these worlds each share the common elements of mathematical proofs and similar ecosystems. Although the tree realms are intertwined, it is unclear if the physical realm is dependent on the other realms to exist. However, it is apparent that the physical world has a dramatic effect on the other two realms, especially in the cognitive realm. When you step outside, you will find that you are followed by a shadow. Although you are the source of the shadow and it’s movements, the shadow is not a part of you, but a type of warped reflection. The cognitive realm is a shadow of the physical realm. Everything that has a conception, a form, or a name, has a spark of cognition. By naming and defining the objects and forces of our physical world, we give them a life and mind of their own. Most of the time, calling these entities “intelligent” is a stretch of the truth. Each idea starts as a small, simple spark, so fleeting that it is lost in the sea of drifting minds that form the substance of the cognitive realm. Sometimes these ideas can grow, and take a form and intelligence all their own. I have heard tales of creations like the Ceons of Sel which are created as helpers for the Elantrians. I’ve even encountered some advanced cognitive minds that call themselves spren on the Shard world of Roshar. If you were to physically visit the cognitive realm, you would find that what we see as a physical land mass is instead a sea of cognitive thoughts. Traveling through this sea can be tricky, even dangerous to some. In contrast, large bodies of water in the physical world manifest as a solid mass obscuring the minds that dwell below. Distance and time mean little in the cognitive realm, and the thoughts of men are connected across the cosmere. The men and women who world hop use the cognitive realm which bind the various shard worlds together. Those who have learned the secrets of travel by investiture can traverse the cosmere by simply walking. The Spiritual Realm is the most mysterious of the three realms. In fact, I doubt that there is any being that still interacts with the cognitive and physical realms who truly knows what lies beyond its borders. All that is know is that there is a part of man, an essence of some kind that exists in this realm. What is very strange is that most of the powers and investitures that are used throughout the cosmere are manifestations of the spiritual realm in the physical world. Perhaps the soul forms a conduit for the power between the spiritual realm and the physical and cognitive. I feel that there is no limit to the breath and depth of the spiritual realm, and that mankind has only tapped into a miniscule sliver of the power that resides there. These three form the trinity of all life in the cosmere. However to separate these into different categories is almost counter intuitive. In order to examine the different aspects of the Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual, we have to label and categorize them as individual places or planes of existence. However it is important to remember that these three occupy the same “space” or area. For instance, if you were to pass from the physical world into the Cognitive world, you would seem to appear in an alien and unstable land of darkness and mist. However in regards to traveling, you would remain in the same location and may find common recognizable landmarks on the other side. This connection is important, however the different realms do not seem to share the laws of physics and time as we understand it. Having been one of the few to set foot beyond the Physical realm, I have developed a deep appreciation of the complexity, depth, and scope of the universe. With all our study and expansive thought, with the literal power of the Gods in our fingertips, we still know so little about the ways and wisdoms of the cosmere. I am not a scholar, not truly, which you dear reader must find incredibly frustrating. Yet as I look upon the surface of another world, I am compelled to learn all I can. This shall be the first of many letters I’m sure. Despite my hesitation to agree to this arrangement, I understand the value of the things I have observed and continue to observe. Should I fall prey to the dangers of the cosmere I would hope that I could leave some kind of legacy. Be wary with these letters for there are forces and organizations who seek to stop meddlers like. I find that the more I learn and explore the closer I get to catastrophe. Currently I am returning to the shard world Roshar. Something is happening there that is sending ripples throughout the cognitive realm. There is a darkness coming and that is something I cannot ignore. Until the next time, Aarik

What is Investiture? For such a foundational aspect of the Cosmere, it is not always clarified what exactly the word means. In this episode we talk about the meaning of the word and stare some specific examples of Investiture on several major Shard Worlds. Elsric also shares some of his personal terminology about the different types of Investiture and the ways that people can access the power. To read the story about how I worked with Brandon Sanderson to make this series, look at my post here: Please remember to check out the amazing art that was shared with this episode and let the artists know how much we appreciate what they have done! Subscribe for more updates and videos every week about great stories and funny moments. I hope you enjoy what I can do! Here is the transcript for this episode: As I have said before, my father was a scholar at heart. He was taken with locking himself away with his books and a chalkboard in the family library. As I grew he took it upon himself to teach me what he could. However, I never had any formal lessons because he was often so scattered in his research projects that he would shut himself in his study and turn us away having completely forgotten that he was the one to invite us to join him an hour earlier. Eventually my siblings and I would catch him and we would dive into the lessons as best we could. He was a soft-spoken man, but he was truly brilliant. On rare occasions, noble scholars from far away would stop by and converse with my Father. I’m not entirely sure what his specialty was, but based on his contraptions I think it had something to do with Engineering. I will never forget the phrase he often repeated during our studies. He said, “In all things there is balance if you look closely enough. Cause and Effect, Push and Pull, Action and reaction.” He said that there was no better laboratory than nature, for all things followed the fundamental laws that ran all of creation. I wish I could share with him what I know now. After all these years, I finally see what he was trying to teach me. The miraculous things that I witnessed on other worlds are bound by natural rules and there is an accounting for all the incredible abilities that people can wield. Investiture is just one word to describe the fundamental power by which men bend the forces of the Cosmere with intent to their will. Words like Sand Shaping, Burning Metals, Drawing Aons, and Surgebinding are all in effect the manipulation of Investiture. When something or someone is considered Invested, they hold a portion of Divine power or potential. Stormlight is possibly the best example because the body literally thrums with unbridaled power that is then translated into a Focus by the user via a bond to a spren. When I say Focus, I mean the nature and shape that the power takes. On Sel, the Elantrians use the complex shapes and markings of Aon Dor to dictate the shape and power of the Investiture. While this is a complex system to master, it holds the most fluidity. In application it is near limitless in what it can do with the right knowledge. However, their power is, for the most part, limited to the geographical location of Sel, even to specific continents. I would call this an Open Concept Manifestation, because it really has no set shape or application, although the time and learning necessary to access the power of the dor is a distinct downside to such an adaptable system. On the other hand, the best example of a Closed Concept Manifestation of Investiture can be found in Alloymancy. By its nature, Allowmancy is limited by very harsh rules. The metals that can be burned to access Investiture need to be pure and properly mixed as alloys in order to work. In fact, an allomancer who burns metals that are impure or improperly crafted can get sick or die from the mistake. The benefit is that the powers granted by Aloymancy are dependable and simple. However, there is little to nothing more to be learned. All Alloymancers are limited to the powers of the metals, no matter the skill or experience of the user. This means quick and adaptable powers, but sever limitations in shaping the Investiture that gives them power. The application of each type of Investing can range to fit a variety of settings, but each one must take a unique coarse to the eventual goal. The paths to Investiture vary in form and execution just as how languages differ between different nations. All Language seeks to bring together understanding, but the execution can be very different between different peoples and are usually not compatible with each other. I would assume that Investiture would be the same, although I am not sure if there are limitations to using said powers. I know for instance that the proper metals and alloy mixes are useful to Alloymancers no matter where they physically are. I’ve seen that Elantrians can employ Investiture outside of Sel, although I am unsure how they overcome the natural geographical limits to their powers. In fact, I think that travel in the Cosmere would be impossible if the beings who traverse it ultimately did not have access to the powers of their homelands. It is clear to me that the power of the Spiritual Realm is accessable in all places in the Cosmere. Unlike the Physical and Cognitive realms, it seems there is no apparent change in the ability to access the Spiritual realm no matter the location of the individual. So the limitation is found in the abilities to access the power itself Each world is governed by a different set of natural laws that determine who can access the power and how that investiture can be used. On Nalthis, each person is born with an endowment of Investiture called breath. It is a small connection to the Cosmere itself and has little effect. But it can be given to others, and with enough Breath one can command once living objects into servitude. Words and symbols hold the key on Sel, where elantrians draw patterns in the air to give shape to the Dor, and Dakor etch their will onto the bones. There are whispers of other arts with ink and blood that shape the fabric of reality itself, but I have not seen this personally. But what all these forms share is the dependence of a physical drawing that shapes the Investiture into what they need. There is a world called Taldain that I only just heard about. I hope to visit it sometime soon, but there is very little known about it yet. However, there are hints of shapers of the sand, who manipulate and mold the sand found on that world. I imagine it would be a beautiful art to observe. On Scadrial, the people use the metallic arts. The use of metals manifests physical, mental, enhancement, and temporal power through three known forms. Aloymancers draw Investiture directly from the source and use the power in a limited fashion. Ferochemists storm their natural attributes by saving them up into the metals, using them like the gemstones on Roshar to store the abilities for later use, and can use them in an accelerated rate. And then there is Hemalergy, darkest of the arts that I know, which destroys life to steal power from the sacrifice, to then spike it into another’s soul. On Roshar, as I said, the spren form a bridge between the Investiture of Stormlight for use by the Radiant to whom they are bonded. The Parshendi seem to be able to bond spren as well, but it is not the same as the nahel bond, and I don’t know by what method they do this. The unknown bond is actually a focus of my study, for I feel that this is critical to understanding the struggles we are facing in this war. It might even be the key to our salvation. I am positive that there are other worlds that I have not even heard of. If there is one thing that I hope for, it’s that I can continue to learn more about the incredible abilities and peoples of the Cosmere. Despite the danger I am currently in, I am living life again. I never thought that the struggles and danger here would awaken my soul. Elsric

The Spiritual Realm has been described as a place with many lines, everyone made of these threads forming their Spiritweb. I have been trying, and I believe I have been successful, in identifying what kinds of lines exist. These lines, I believe, are Connection. 1) Person to person This is the most common type of Connection, connecting people by their friendships and relationships. This is what allows Shai to use Forgery on the Emperor's close associate, and have it act like it was the Emperor. Fairly mundane, as Connection goes. 2) Person to location This is a type of Connection formed by where someone is from or where they have spent a lot of time. This is likely what binds Shards to their planets, as well as the Connection implemented by (BoM spoilers) It is also by this Connection that Elantrians, Forgers, and probably Dakhor Monks are able to get their respective powers, location Connection being more important there. 3) Person to Shard This is probably one of the most important as far as Connection goes. This form of Connection is formed by adhering more to a Shard's Intent, which often leads to access to that Shard's magic system. Mistings and Mistborn want to be preserved in the moment they Snap, Knights gain more power as they adhere to their Honorable Ideals, Nalthians can become Returned if they die in selfless giving to others, such as saving someone's life or bringing criminals to justice, etc. It is also how Vin took in the mists, as well as the likely process by which Vessels take up a Shard. 4) Time lines Honor has a famous quote about the future being like a window, the farther you go the more pieces it breaks into. This is the most common thing seen when people see into the Spiritual Realm, as well as how Allomantic electrum and atium function. Feruchemy, shuttling attributes through time, likely uses a form of this. More importantly, it is the basis of gold Allomancy and Forgery. In Honor's window, the smaller and smaller pieces of window still exist, they never go away. They simply become Possibilities, What Could have Been. Gold Allomancers probably have the ability to see the two most likely alternate possibilities. Forgery likely functions by replacing what did happen with what could have, a broken stained-glass window being found by someone who lovingly restored it instead of a twisted glass frame that someone put in. Rewriting a history so that someone became a warrior or a beggar. If anyone has anything to add or dispute, I would gladly accept it.

This post addresses a recent comment Brandon made that we should be “pretty confused” about investiture: “I haven’t even dug into really what it is.” Source [30:30] [Emphasis added.] After all this time and all his statements (the most relevant of which I cite below), Brandon hasn’t told us what investiture really is?!! My “pretty Confused” attempt at an answer: Spiritual Investiture began as Adonalsium’s soul. He was the only thing extant in the Cosmere at the time. Every subsequent creation caused a rearrangement of his soul – Spiritual Investiture – to form the souls and essences of the people and objects he created and the Connections between them. Like the Sistine Chapel’s God holding his hand out to Adam, Adonalsium breathed life into his creations. His soul transformed itself into the “building blocks” of the Cosmere: matter and energy. This transformation literally lessened his soul, since investiture obeys the laws of thermodynamics. Adonalsium took from his soul to create the Physical and Cognitive Realms and their populations of sentient entities. When Adonalsium Shattered, the Shards invested themselves according to the same paradigm, converting their own souls into matter, energy and other forms of investiture. I believe the Shattering did not change the essence of the Spiritual Realm – it remained the same “true investiture” as when Adonalsium lived. All that changed were the Shards’ individual Connections to the powers of creation, causing each Shard’s power to be subject to its own mandate (intent). IMO these were changes solely in the structure of the Spiritual Realm, not in its composition. Following are the sources I rely on for this conclusion: “Everything is related to Adonalsium in the Cosmere…” Source Q 37.“The effects of Adonalsium permeate everything.” Source.“Investiture is intended to be the building blocks of the Cosmere…it transcends the different realms. Probably more of the Spiritual if anything but more accurately it transcends them.” Source. Q: “Does investiture have a consistent form (regardless of magic system and its Physical form) in one of the other realms?A: “[investiture is] consistent in the Spiritual Realm. Location isn't particularly important there.” Source “Investiture cannot be created or destroyed. It follows its own version of the laws of Thermodynamics.” Source.“Where [in our universe] we have energy and matter (simplified), the Cosmere has additional building blocks that make reality. Investiture is one of these. It IS possible to change matter, to energy, to investiture, and back. It IS possible to change matter, to energy, to investiture, and back.” Source “[The] Shards of Adonalsium [are] pieces of the power of creation itself.” Source Q 18. Q: “Is Adonalsium and the "power of creation" synonymous?”A: “In some people's usage.” Source. Q: “Was Adonalsium the one who created the Cosmere universe as a whole?”A: “That is widely assumed to be the case.” “Keep in mind that the Shards are mostly Spiritual.” Finally, I note that Adonalsium was a “mechanistic” God. He created the Cosmere in accordance with whatever rules he established for himself and his creations. But he was not a moralistic or spiritual deity. Brandon has reserved that province to the “God Beyond,” since “that level of cosmology is influenced by your own beliefs in the hereafter and in deity.” Source.

For anyone who doesn't know, the Spiritual Realm is a place full of Connections. We have known this for a little while because of a WoB, but we haven't grasped its implications fully until Secret History. In the novella, we saw Kelsier "see" connections to things, as though it were a line tying things together. For example, one can have connection to a place, other people, or Shards, as explained in Bands of Mourning. When an allomancer burns Atium, they peek into the Spiritual Realm, and see possible futures based on that knowledge. IIRC, the Atium Shadows are really just a side effect of what Atium really does. Brandon has hinted that this is the case a few times. Recall that moment at the end of HoA, when Elend burned Atium with Duralumin. WoB states that he saw into the Spiritual Realm, and saw Preservation's plan, Ruin's plan, and his own part. He saw that he had to die for Vin to do what she had to do. Most of this is quite well-known, I think, so onto the main point of the speculation: What would Hoid be able to do with Atium? Does he know all that it does? Before Kelsier broke the Pits, the Perpendicularity there was Hoid's, and most other worldhoppers' usual way into the Physical Realm, so Hoid would likely have had relatively easy access to Atium. Since we have seen him use Allomancy, I presume that he has the power to use Atium. Is this how he knows things in advance? Does he have his own way to see into the Cognitive Realm? Brandon has stated that Hoid gives certain characters little pushes depending on what he thinks they need. He teases Adolin about his problems with ladies, and gives Kaladin a story or two. He wouldn't do these things based on nothing, would he? I speculate that Hoid has a (rudimentary) understanding about some possible futures in the Cosmere, and has been trying to position some or our friends into key spots to pick the future that he likes best, whatever that is. He also knows where and when to show up for key events. Jasnah's return, and Taln-not-Taln's return. And I think that he uses the mostly unknown aspects of Atium to do this. Discuss.

In Secret History, Preservation calls the Spiritual Realm, or "What Happens Next" as "Beyond". On several worlds, we've seen references to "The God Beyond." It makes me wonder if there is a unifying "God" or force that is controlling or manipulating evens from the Spiritual Realm, where Shards and their derivatives can't really see. It could even be the soul of Adonalsium, since presumably, he went Beyond after he died? What do you guys think? Coincidence or significance? On a different note, I'm really surprised that Spook didn't decide to hang around like Kelsier after he died.

I’ve seen posters rely on the following WoB (third questioner) to conclude that the Spiritual Realm is not “location-based.” By that phrase, these posters seem to mean that the Spiritual Realm is in one Cosmeric place; it is not located near the Cognitive and Physical Realm places associated with each planet. I disagree. Here’s the relevant language: Q: “Does investiture have a consistent form (regardless of magic system and its Physical form) in one of the other realms?” … A: “It's consistent in the Spiritual Realm. Location isn't particularly important there.” I think this statement means what it says – that the form of investiture is consistent only in the Spiritual Realm. This statement does not mean that location is irrelevant in the Spiritual Realm. Only that, wherever the investiture is in the Spiritual Realm, it is the same. This is unlike investiture in the Cognitive and Physical Realms. The unique physical, cultural and magical interactions on each planet create unique Cognitive and Physical Realms in relation to each planet. Magicians cognitively access the Spiritual Realm differently on each planet, and the Physical Realm effects of magic differ on each planet. These interactions apparently change the form of Cognitive and Physical Realm investiture itself planet-to-planet. Here’s the important point, though: the Spiritual Realm related to each planet IS ALSO DIFFERENT from each other planet’s Spiritual Realm. It must be, as each planet’s unique cultural and technological ideas become unique Spiritual Realm ideals. But the investiture that forms those Spiritual Realm ideals and their connections to one another is the same wherever those ideals and connections may be located. That IMO is what the quoted WoB says and means. Because Spiritual Realm investiture - "true investiture" according to MISTER Sanderson - is the same wherever located, it is not governed by any mandate (my word for "intent" based on the textual evidence from HoA). Mandates belong only to the Cognitive and Spiritual Realms. My, what implications there are from that!

So the last week or two me and my good buddy(irl) Sirce Luckwielder have been having a discussion about Atium and how it is linked to the Lord Ruler's staying young. It led to some other discussions and I was wondering if any of what i suspect has been confirmed. Or maybe some of you who are smarter than I am can help credit or discredit this theory. I don't see how we will see Atium again at all and this is why. Atium was the physical manifestation of Ruin but it was either all used up to fight the Koloss or destroyed by Kelsier in the pits of Hathsin. He thinks that since Sazed has both shards there will still be Atium that will regrow. I disagree. Anyways, all of this discussion got me looking in to things that i haven't really cared about in the past (I'm a Roshar guy!) and I have firmed up in my conclusion that Ruin and Preservation no longer exist or are on the verge of no longer existing as two seperate shards. In The Emperor's Soul, Shai tries to teach Gaotona about the Physical, Spiritual, and Cognitive realm and she says this: All things exist in the three realms, Gaotona.... The Physical is what we feel, what is before us. The Cognitive is how an bject is viewed and how it views itself. The Spiritual Realm contains an object's soul- its essence- as well as the ways it is connected to the things and people around it.......Here is the point. The longer an object exists as a whole, and the longer it is seen in that state, the stronger its sense of complete identity becomes.. Do citizens of Scarial see Sazed as Ruin and Preservation? I do not believe so(my memory isn't perfect) They see him as Harmony. Sazed is seen as one entity, not to. So I believe that if the shards haven't already been merged, they are on their way. Anyways, I was wondering what people think about this theory. Sorry my post might seem all over the place, I have a hard time typing out the thoughts in my head. This is kind of new to me as I haven't spent a lot of time thinking about things on Scadrial, I've mostly kept to Roshar. So please forgive anything I might have misunderstood. Also, I'm sure when Sirce has a minute he can write our discussion better, he's a lot better with words than I am.

In my signed copy of Alloy of Law:

“I Bind Things” A Realmatic Hypothesis of the Potential Ramifications of Connection in the Spiritual Realm Introduction: I was contemplating the following quote by Sylphrena in The Way of Kings, [1] when I was struck by an interesting disparity. Why would Syl state binding things as a distinguishing attribute of honorspren? The obvious answer, the one that I had previously assumed, is that she referenced the Adhesion-like ability she shares with windspren [2]. But the context of Syl’s declaration shows the fallacious nature of this assumption: Syl and Kaladin had both originally assumed that she was a windspren. Yet, when she first mentioned “binding things,” it was as she was discovering – indeed, telling Kaladin – that she was not, in fact, a windspren after all [3]. Thus, whatever Syl’s “binding things” attribute is, it is almost certainly not an attribute of common windspren. This line of thinking led me to the following conclusions: Potential Postulates of the Spiritual Realm The Spiritual Realm is a Realm of Ideals and Connections [4]. In my studying, I have come to believe that these Ideals are something akin to Kurkistan’s Forms [5]. (I had come up with a similar model independently, but Kurkistan explains it better.) I propose that Ideals are the Spiritual Realmatic aspects of everything. Much as everything has a “bead,” a mind, conscience, or whatever you prefer you call it, in the Cognitive Realm [6], everything has a similar aspect manifesting in the Spiritual Realm as an Ideal. I will also go one step farther and declare my second proposition: Interactions between beings and their Spiritual Ideals (whether natural or Investiture-related) creates Connections. Potential ramifications of these postulates are extensive, and I shall avoid wasting this opportunity by discussing minor, trivial possibilities. Certainly they lend merit to ideas such as Shaggai’s idea of Allomantic steel [7], and explains what, exactly, Feruchemical duralumin may store. Speculation on Shards and Shardworlds: (I will make a bit of a leap here; please understand that the spoiler section is much more speculative, pending further references.) Speculation Application to Investiture and the Laws of Magic The most important application of these statements of conjecture, I believe, is their potential applicability to Investiture and its interactions in current canon. And so I return to my analysis of Sylphrena’s statement. As Syl’s binding ability is likely not the Adhesion (for lack of a better term) demonstrated earlier in The Way of Kings, I present that Syl – and, by extension all Radiant spren – is binding Spiritual Ideals. As a spren begins to form the Nahel bond with an individual, the spren is using itself, a Splinter of Adonalsium, to create a Spiritual Connection between the Radiant candidate and the Ideal of the Radiant Order that the spren is associated with [11]. The candidate’s Spiritual Ideal must already be similar in nature to that of the order he/she will join for a spren to be able to start the bond. Example: (spoilered for length) Acting in accordance with the Radiant Oaths aligns the candidate’s Spiritual Ideal more closely to the Ideal of the order he/she will join, allowing the spren to gradually bond the individual closer to the Ideal. Speaking the Oaths is an essential part of the bonding process, markedly increasing the strength of the spren’s Connection. Much of the growth of the Connection is done over this series of five “steps.” Breaking Oaths and misaligning the candidate’s Ideal from that of the Radiant Order strains and eventually breaks the Connection, effectively killing the spren [13]. The Connection between the Spiritual aspect of the candidate and the Spiritual Ideal of the Radiant Order allows the individual’s Ideal to become more like the Ideal it is Connected to; in effect, this allows the candidate to gain the Surgebinding abilities. On Roshar, this system would have been begun initially by Honor. By making the ten Honorblades, the Spiritual interaction between Honor and Roshar created the ten Spiritual Ideals of the ten Orders. The Heralds then were able to bond to these “magic system Ideals” through the Honorblades to create their Connection; the Spren, imitating the Honorblades, began doing the same process with other individuals – Surgebinders [14]. While the other Cosmere “magic systems” clearly differ from this Spren-Binding Process, there are certain similarities that indicate that all seem to rely on Connection to function. This has led me to develop my Connective Law of Magic: All Investiture-Related Phenomena are facilitated through Connections between Ideals in the Spiritual Realm. Through simple observation, with the aid of this Connective Law of Magic, it is easy to see how similar Connections between the Spiritual aspects of individuals and “magic system” Ideals are formed. Scadrial: Much of Scadrial’s magic is based on genetics, due to the extra bit of Preservation in each individual [15]. This is talked of as a connection to Preservation, allowing access to his (or her, depending) “body” or power. It seems that the innate pieces of Ruin and Preservation create a Connection to the power of these Shards. Nalthis: A WOB from Kurkistan [11] indicates that each Breath carries with it the Ideal of being given power from Endowment. The ability to give Breaths allows Nalthians to pass on this Connection to another individual (Heightening) or an object (Awakening). Sel: Every type of Selian magic seems to require not only the mandatory Spiritual Connection to the planet, but also to a specific region. Each regional Connection then grants access to the Dor in its own way: AonDor for Arelon, Dakhor for Fjordell, ChayShan for Jindo, Forgery for MaiPon, etc. Conclusion To summarize, I presented a potential Connective Law of Magic: All Investiture-Related Phenomena (“magics”) are made possible by Realmatic Connections between Ideals (the Spiritual aspects of people and objects as per Realmatic Theory) in the Spiritual Realm. This concept was based off of two postulates about the nature of Ideals: First, that Ideals are, as stated above, Realmatic Spiritual aspects; and second, that interactions between beings and Ideals create Connection. I hope my thoughts are intriguing, or, at the least, thought-provoking. Thank you for taking the trouble to read out my ideas! (Note: This is a rough draft; I still have some work that I need to do. I just think that it is time to begin discussion so I can progress my ideas. Thank you.) Sources

I was perusing the web today after casually reading about some new AI research (side note, people have some ridiculous ideas about how AI works, with very little understanding) when I ended up reading about Karl Popper one of the greatest modern philosophers: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Popper http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Popper%27s_three_worlds Not going to lie, it actually blows my mind how similar this is to realmatic theory. For people who are more familiar with the theoretical underpinnings of the cosmere than they are with our own reality (i.e. all of us here), Popper describes reality as three seperate worlds: World 1 (the physical world), World 2 (the mental world), and World 3 (the world of objective truth). It's not identical, but it's unsettleingly close to realmatics. I can't help but wonder if Sanderson was influenced by Popper, or if he just happened to come up with a theory that is nearly identical to one developed by one of the most respected philosophers in the scientific community, then decided to use it in his fantasy world rather than be bothered to publish it.

Hello, and welcome back to the madhouse. EDIT: Start on the second post if you want to follow a completely unrelated (yet still more intelligible and possibly more interesting) discussion about the nature of the spiritweb. -Start off on this whole other thread if you want a much more succinct version of the points made on this one, as well as much more evidence that came out after I posted this original thread. I do plan on a more comprehensive expansion to the MEC based on TES, but this is a bit of a side-jaunt that I think it's valuable to have. Aside about previous theories: First of all, a bit of a disclaimer. While this idea has been bouncing around in my head for awhile now, and I've even posted a few disparate thoughts on it, Nepene was the first one to get anything of this form down on paper. I'm pulling a bit of a Leibniz to his Newton, then. Nepene had some good ideas, but I think his terminology and/or focus was a bit off, and his thread got seriously derailed by unnecessary discussion of Brandon's spirituality. I tried to redirect Nepene towards Platonism, but alas, 'twas not to be. That being the case, I'm now posting my alternate view on how "Forms" (Nepene's "Archetypes") work in the Cosmere, based primarily on my understanding of Platonism and the Spiritual Realm rather than Jung and the Cognitive. I have this alternate focus because Brandon referenced Jung as a bit of a one-off on how the Parshendis' songs work; this may well be interesting and lead to some useful conclusions about Realmatics, but I don't think Spiritual Archetypes follow from it. On the other hand, Brandon has explicitly stated that Realmatics is "based on a mash-up between Platonic Forms and Asian style 'everything has a soul'", and we know from Shai that the "Window" Form and others like it exist in the Spiritual Realm. And, obviously, me being me, I will be going into absurd depth. However, I do acknowledge that Nepene has priority as to the rough outlines of the importance and nature of Forms/Archetypes. P.S. Also, as it turns out, I kind of took a right turn at Albuquerque, and shot off into crazy-land. I'd intended to just lay out some general outlines for how Forms would work, but that was apparently too easy (and short), so I (unconsciously) decided to tackle almost the entirety of Forging as well. Looking at Nepene's thread, I think we split off fairly sharply in focus, so there isn't too much overlap (although, incidentally, I still think he's wrong on his impacts over there ). Background: Awhile ago, I posted a thread postulating that spren work by accessing "Forms" stored in the Spiritual Realm. Here is the main evidence I based it on: Basic Theory: sForms Basic Realmatics, Gaotona Emulating Ashraven, and Human Forgery in general: Plausibility "Calculation": Strength, Scope of Effect, and Inertia Role of Cognitive Aspects: Closing: Wow, that was longer than intended, and went some places I didn't expect. Sorry about that. Anyone want to suggest a TL;DR for me to throw in? There are a few chinks to be filled in in order to have a proper MEC-response to TES, but I got more of my thoughts down than I meant to. Sorry about that too. Discuss, permutate, criticize (immediately skip because of how long it is...). Have fun. P.S. Also, I acknowledge that there is a slight possibility that this thread is absurd. Either that or awesome. But that's how I roll. No middle ground for me. P.P.S Also also, this is slightly more TES-centric than I intended, but the implications flow to the rest of the Cosmere. EDIT: TL;DR: There exist a range of semi-independent "Forms" in the Spiritual Realm--created and maintained by the perceptions of living beings--the strength and reach of which are determined by the strength and reach of those who "believe" in any given Form. These Forms range from a weak, regional "our mayor is a mean guy" to strong, universal "Humans: they age." The "plausibility" of any Forgery is assessed in reference to these Forms, with each object having a certain number of connections to certain Forms based on its Cognitive identity (a table won't bother to connect with the Human form, I don't think, though it could without any real harm). When a Forgery is done, the network of Forms which are related to its target do a group "gut call" on whether and to what degree it is acceptable. Same on the level of individual souls, as in the case of Gaotona. Living beings kill off stamps because their Cognitive aspects actively fight against the external imposition of identity. Stamps do not replace original aspects, merely overlay them for a time. Also, just as an aside, I don't think a bunch of rocks in space without any observer will ever form a coherent Cognitive aspect as a singular being, so there can exist objects which, while Physically singular, are made up of a plurality of Cognitive aspects. EDIT 2: A bit more evidence. I hadn't recalled this quote until Nepene put it in his Cosmere 201 quote-bank: (WoK 711) While this is in-line with Vorinism's "everything is super-powered when you die" (farmers grow entire fields with a wave of their hands, etc.), and so might be religiously inspired, Ashir and Geranid seem to be pretty Realmatically knowledgeable, so I'll give them credit on this one. So a hint that "objects" in the Spiritual Realm are in "a state of ideals". EDIT 3: Significantly changed the Gaotona part, as well as moving stuff around. I had been waiting for someone to post a criticism before saying this, but apparently I scared everyone off, so I'll just put it down for posterity. EDIT 4: Threw in some extra stuff in the Cognitive section. EDIT 5 (01/04/2015): For what it's worth, plausibility does seem to be decided by Forms.

Critics Rave: "That's a very interesting way to look at it. The theory isn't all there, but it's thinking along the right lines." -BRANDON SANDERSON "a surprisingly coherent theory considering everything we don't know" -dj26792 "while I don't completely agree with the terminology you say, the ideas here are extremely extremely good." -Chaos "it's a great theory that makes sense with the Cosmere so far" -Straff Venture (before being cut in half, presumably) "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" -Observer "good theory! Well presented and excellent concept, at least." -Odiums_Shard Table of Contents: Main theory (this post) Awakening --Start of the Greate War of Nepene (~25,000 words. You have been warned) --End of the Great War of Nepene ---New Orleans of the Great War of Nepene (Hint: I'm Jackson) Start of discussion about: -Cognitive/Spiritual interaction -Spren -Hemalurgy and Memory/Intelligence To Be Discussed in Depth: -Mostly Cognitive beings -Spren -Hemalurgy, specifically concerned with Memory and Intelligence theft -The relationship between Spiritual energy and Cognitive complexity -Predictions for how Forging works. -Senses of Awakened objects Related Theories: -Forms: --Forms: Simplified --Spren as Forms --Nature of Forms & Forgery ---Spiritual Realm as a Network of Connections -Realmatic Theory, Satsuoni edition --A bit divergent, but mostly on the same tack as mine. ---- Summary of theory so you can "get it" without reading the equivalent of a paper. -Lacks reasoning, evidence, and length. The Spiritual realm is the source of all motivation within the Cosmere, from gravity to punching someone in the face. It may or may not also provide the energy to enable these actions. Every object has it's own unique sDNA which specifies how it interacts with other objects and the Cosmere at large, once again from gravity to the sDNA of a Thug allowing him/her to burn pewter. Magic depends on this sDNA and can, on occasion, change it. The Cognitive realm (the least well-defined of the three so far under my theory) is where all of the computations and permutations of spiritual rules are considered--in the context of the layout of the Physical realm--on a moment-by-moment basis. It is, quite literally, where the cogitation takes place. Alterations to the Cognitive realm can alter how objects react to certain Spiritual directives, but not the directives themselves. It may, however, also serve as a natural interface between the Spiritual and Physical realms, allowing one to indirectly affect the other. The Physical realm is where everything actually happens, changes coming about in it as an end result of Spiritual directives being interpreted by the Cognitive realm. The results of those directives then affect the other two realms in turn and go on to determine what happens in the next "cycle." Main Block (Ridiculously Long): EDIT: Actually, my explanation for time-bubbles is far too simplistic. It may be that there are some rather sophisticated methods for determining what's in and what's out of a time bubble, and we have to account for frame of reference. Ugh. I suppose the "go faster" variable could be altered as a function of the frame of reference of the anchor, with an additional "time passes this fast" variable which is altered the same way no matter what (except for relativistic effects, perhaps. . .). EDIT 2: According to a Harmony quote, the Spiritual realm definitely provides the energy. EDIT 3: Unearthed another quote, this one from Elantris. A bit suspect, due to theological underpinnings, but the first concrete "the Dor/Spiritual motivates stuff" quote I've seen. So there's the theory. Read, gush over, criticize, analyze, substantiate, annihilate, and permutate to your hearts' content.

I apologize in advance if this theory has already been proposed by another. For a while, I've been confused by Hoid's statement in Words of Radiance. In chapter 67, he says: The idea of a soul being broken into pieces is reminiscent of the Shattering of Adonalsium. I've seen it suggested that this is because Hoid is Adonalsium, and can therefore be shattered. However, I've begun to consider it the other way. What if Adonalsium, and by extension its Shards, are souls?There's more to this absolutely crackpot theory than one quote and the general feeling that if I was Brandon, this is what I would do. (That is, of course, why I am not Brandon.) We have seen from Warbreaker that a piece of a shard can bonded to a human soul. This is what happens when a Returned Returns with a divine breath that is a Splinter of Endowment. Going further, we can postulate that when one takes up a Shard, what happens is that the person attaches their Spiritweb (and the controlling consciousness connected to it) to the massive Spiritweb of the shard. Thoughts?

Before speaking his oaths to the Stormfather, Dalinar has a vision perhaps “stronger” than the others. The Stormfather says he didn’t send it: “No vision was sent this morning…A simple dream. Not of me.” I believe that Dalinar’s “dream” is a vision from the spiritual realm. The vision suggests that Dalinar had access to the spiritual realm as a boy. Now that he has unburdened himself of his guilt for “letting Gavilar die,” the visions reintroduce themselves. Dalinar is a Bondsmith, with Divine Attributes of “pious/guiding.” He may need spiritual realm access to accomplish his tasks. Dalinar’s sensitivity to the spiritual realm may be why the Stormfather chose Dalinar to reveal his visions to and to bond with. In the dream, Dalinar stands in darkness, then turns about and sees furniture and furnishings he remembers (emphasis in original): “My house, he thought. As it was when I was a child. Back before conquest, back before Gavilar… “Gavilar…hadn’t Gavilar died? No, Dalinar could hear his brother laughing in the next room. He was a child. They both were. “Dalinar crossed the shadowed room, feeling the fuzzy joy of familiarity. Of things being as they should be. He’d left his wooden swords out. He had a collection, each carved like a Shardblade. He was too old for those now, of course, but he still liked having them. As a collection. “He stepped to the balcony doors and pushed them open. “Warm light bathed him. A deep, enveloping, piercing warmth. A warmth that soaked down deep through his skin, into his very self. He stared at that light, and was not blinded. The source was distant, but he knew it. Knew it well.” In sequence, the first noteworthy aspect is the snippet, “back before Gavilar…Gavilar…hadn’t Gavilar died?” I interpret this phrasing to mean that Dalinar replaces one chain of thought with another. The unfinished thought refers to something other than Gavilar’s death that we do not yet know (and probably won’t find out until Book 5, Dalinar’s book). I suspect Dalinar remembered something that Gavilar imposed on him that for a long time cut Dalinar off from the spiritual realm and these visions. Some may disagree with this interpretation, believing Dalinar pauses because he remembers that Gavilar is dead. I think my interpretation is supported by the sequence of the “back befores” – the second seeming to come earlier in time than the first as Dalinar’s thoughts are returning to when he was a child. Regardless, the proper interpretation of this snippet doesn’t really affect the overall conclusion. I include it because I believe it is a look forward to what will come out in Dalinar’s book. The second noteworthy aspect is the emphasis on “things being as they should be.” “Should” states an ideal to which to aspire. The spiritual realm is the place of ideals. The paragraph further implies that Dalinar is done playing with swords, wooden or real. This bit foreshadows Dalinar becoming a shardless KR later in the chapter. Now the key passage, how he “knew well” the distant light, that it enveloped him in a “piercing warmth” and did not blind him when he stared at it, that it soaked “into his very self.” The “sun” in the cognitive realm is cold, but this light source embraces Dalinar down to his soul with warmth and comfort. Every aspect of this description reads like a spiritual experience, Moses standing before the burning bush. Further evidence: the surgeon stitching Dalinar’s wound during the climactic battle is amazed that Dalinar can still use his arm after so much scarring from prior wounds. SOMETHING must have supernaturally healed Dalinar over the years. Perhaps it was an incipient bond with the Stormfather, but I think it has more to do with some sort of spiritual bond. My thought is that the light source represents the remnants of Honor in the spiritual realm, just as the Highstorms represent it in the physical realm and the Stormfather represents it in the cognitive realm. Investiture, according to Brandon, exists in all three realms. Perhaps the spiritual realm has infused Dalinar with some limited self-healing power comparable to the resurrecting power of Divine Breath. But such speculation is best explored elsewhere than a post that is already too long.,. What are the implications of a KR with access to the spiritual realm? The epigraph about Melishi the Bondsmith provides some guidance. I’d appreciate hearing what others think on this subject.

So over the break I read Warbreaker. I read it once a while back, but I was stupid back then and didn't pay attention to half the stuff in it. However, this time around, I picked up on a TON of things that I felt the need to post on here. There will be some theories in here, and I neglect to put this on the Warbreaker Forum because it is much less used. As I went through, I folded the pages when I found something interesting (don`t be mad, it is a paperback). I started doing this about a third of the way through, so forgive me if I missed anything and please point it out if its relevant. NOTE: There are extensive spoilers here, obviously, and this will be a long post. The first thing I noticed while reading a Lightsong POV is that he kept on using instincts to notice and not reveal information. I noticed this when he ... noticed the trapdoor and didn`t tell the priest that were there. Page 293, paragraphs 6 and 7. Paperback edition. I noticed a few more of these throughout the book, but this is the most important. I will find them if you guys ask though. Now, we know later in the story that Lightsong used to be a scribe who sniffed out robberies for nobles etc. This (to me) doesn't account for this instinct, so it makes me wonder if it is another benefit of being returned, having a lot of Breath, having a Divine Breath, or perhaps if Endowment was trying to communicate with him. The next page I folded is when Lightsong is musing about how the Returned look. Page 350, paragraph 2. This I marked because it reminded me of the powers of observation and the way the spren worked. This point is proven later towards the end, when Vasher tells Vivenna about this as well. I folded down page 360 because of a Slumlord named Rira. I seemed to remember a thread somewhere that mentioned a Rira in Words of Radiance or TwoK. It may just be the country that Kaladin mentioned when thinking about Adolin's hair though. I might also be crazy. For the record I thought that if he was somewhere else, then he must be a Worldhopper, and my mind got away from me a bit. I folded down the beginning and end of the Hoid conversation as well. Due to events later in the book and how Hoid has a knack at being places, it seems stretched for me to believe that he wasn't on Nealthis for the Manywar and the events that happened there and I wondered why he didn't tell the whole truth to Lightsong and Siri. Pages 373-384. This next fold is when Vasher kidnaps Vivenna. Now, she mentioned before I started folding that she couldn't sense Jewels because she is a drab. I remembered this and marked the page because she mentioned Vasher approaching her with a lot of Breath. WoR spoiler: I'm too lazy to get the exact quote from the book at the moment, but I triple-checked earlier. I will (maybe tomorrow) make a thread dedicated to a Vasher theory, and I will put the link down here as well. I folded the pages where Vasher explains most of the BioChromatic entities to Vivenna. 507 and 508. I folded 513 because of Lightsong's thoughts at the beginning of the chapter. Can there only be a certain number? This would be a good question for Brandon in my opinion. Does it have something to do with the power of belief/observation that seems to be an important role in the Cosmere? Next worthy point of mine: This seems like WAY to much of a coincidence to the topic of the power of belief, and how an object views itself to not post it. Page 567 Thanks for your time, and sorry if these have been brought to light before

With the recent releases from WoR has come much confusion on the nature of gravity on Roshar. This is not a new discussion, but I'm starting a new thread because my response was getting too long. As a brief introduction, there are several WoB that seem to imply that gravity has a Spiritual component. However, he has also claimed that the laws of physics work like they do in our universe. Reconciling these two ideas has lead to a great deal of confusion. In what follows, I'm going to use an important device from theoretical physics - the "toy model." These are simple models that attempt to explain the bulk of phenomenon by necessarily being incomplete. Their ultimate incorrectness (as they are too simple) is overshadowed by their usefulness, as grasping the fundamental ideas is often more important than explaining all of the nuances. As such, I am not claiming any of these models are correct, but rather I am using them to illustrate the ideas. We seek to answer two separate but distinct questions: "how" the universe behaves and "why" the universe behaves in a particular way. Despite popular opinion, physics does not claim to answer many of the "why"-type questions. Why is physics the same in all inertial reference frames? Why does the metric tensor obey Einstein's equation? Why do quantum mechanical observables correspond to Hermetian operators? However, postulating that these things are true in our universe answers many other "why" questions that are really "how" questions in disguise. Why does a superconductor expel all magnetic fields? Well, we observe them to do so, and so the question is how that arises from knowing the basic physics. Remember that this entire field is a observation-driven discipline and we only seek to model it using mathematics. I am going to make one concrete conjecture: The physical laws in the cosmere are the result of interactions between Realms. Without going too deep into general relativity, we will simply claim that "gravity" is the phenomenon of massive objects feeling an attractive force between them. Even in our universe, it it not known why this occurs (i.e why does mass bend spacetime). "Why" is not really relevant for predicting gravitational phenomenon - experiments show us that general relativity works. However, the in the cosmere, there is some underlying reason due to Spiritual interactions that this is the case. We can then rephrase the question of "why do masses attract?" as "how do Spiritual interactions generate attractive forces between masses?" The "why" question then becomes "why do Spiritual interactions happen in a particular way" which is easily answered as "Brandon set it up that way." Magic fits into this paradigm nicely. Let's look at two examples: The gravity Surge allows one to modify the direction and strength of the gravitational interaction on a massive object. Since we know that gravity is the result of some Spiritual interaction, we then understand the gravity Surge as modifying the Spiritual properties of an object which results in a change how the effective mass-mass interaction works. If we want to get slightly more technical, we could consider the following model. Imagine that gravity works as it does on earth - an effective force due to the curvature of the metric in spacetime. The metric becomes curved due to the presence of matter and energy. A quick and dirty model of the gravity Surge would involve using energy (in the form of Stormlight) to locally bend the metric tensor resulting in a change of the local gravitational field. And if the curvature of spacetime due to matter/energy is mediated through the Spiritual realm (say, energy causes the Spiritual realm to "bulge" locally and distort the Physical realm) then everything works precisely as expected. The atmospheric pressure Surge can be understood in a similar toy model. Ideal gases (and their interacting counterparts) shrink in volume when they are cooled down. The atmospheric pressure Surge then could work in the following way: the energy contained in the Stormlight is used to remove thermal energy from the air (i.e. make it colder) and thus drastically reduce the air pressure on a given surface. Then, the pressure from the atmosphere and friction would cause an object to be "stuck," much in the same way plungers can stick to a wall. To understand how this is implemented on Roshar, we might claim that the ideal gas law is a consequence of Spiritual energy investment. Heating up a gas stores energy in its Spiritual component, and this causes it to take up more room in the Physical realm. So now we understand "how" the ideal gas law works, as opposed to "why." What is the takeaway from all of this? Physics attempts to model the universe using mathematics. Whwne explaining phenomenon, we don't often consider "why" a given physical law is true. The statement that "physics is the same in the cosmere as it is on earth" means that the phenomenon obey the same sorts of mathematical relations. Why those relations are true is another question entirely. On earth, we don't know why physics is the same in all inertial reference frames. In the cosmere, there might be some Spiritual or Cognitive reason that this is the case. That doesn't, however, change the nature of the mathematical equations that describe phenomenon. What we want to understand is how the physical laws from our universe arise from the nature of the cosmere. Thanks for reading! Note: Understanding "why" laws work in our universe is actually a very interesting question when things go wrong. This is how we develop new and more complicated theories for the underlying physical laws. However, all this does is change current "why" for "how" and generate new "why." So I do not want to imply that the "why" questions are useless, only that in the cosmere this sequence terminates at "Brandon said so." Source: I'm a theoretical physicist.

Has anyone wondered if spren have souls?

Aluminum- and by extension, chromium- are both metals that are very interesting Feruchemically (luck and identity, woot), but rather uninteresting Allomantically. OR SO WE THOUGHT. This theory operates under two givens: 1. That duralumin (and nicrosil) act by "increasing the filter size" of another metal, allowing more of Preservation's power to flow through into the burner. 2. That the process of burning a metal without enhancement converts the metal to mundane energy (likely heat energy, hense the phrase "burning" a metal). The thought hit me like a pewter-punch to the face during my Hero of Ages reread earlier today- how exactly do aluminum and chromium erase the other metals? It must remove them from the stomach entirely, or Vin would have gotten sick from metal poisoning the night after burning Aluminum in Mistborn: The Final Empire. However, it doesn't do so like Duralumin does. Aluminum doesn't allow the energy usually gained by burning a metal to enter the burner. Since energy cannot be created or destroyed, this leaves two possiblilities: 1. Aluminum reroutes the energy that would be released back into Preservation (boring, lets move on) 2. Aluminum removes Preservation's investiture before converting the metals to energy Or, in other words, it manipulates the metal's Spiritual aspect so that it no longer has Preservation in it. An explaination of my reasoning can be found here: If the second possibility is the case, and aluminum/chromium can manipulate the Spiritual Realm and/or Investiture, then all sorts of things become possible. A chromium misting with enough power (hemalurgy or duralumin/nicrosil could help) could mess with other magic systems than Allomancy with more control of the power. They might be able to create color that an Awakener couldn't drain, or partially complete the process of burning aluminum to create "dud metals," which would look like Allomantic metals in the physical realm but would be unburnable. Perhaps they could even change the spiritual aspects of mists or stormlight, turning them into more mundane mists or light. Who knows what might be possible by changing the spiritual aspects of things. Any thoughts? EDIT: As of yet, we have no precedent that Chromium can affect things outside of a body. However, it does affect the metals, not the body itself, and it seems arbitrary that only things inside a person's stomach can have their Spiritual aspects manipulated. Therefore, I propose that the body only acts as a "focus", allowing the chromium burner easier access to the metals. If this is the case, it stands to reason that with sufficient power one could bypass the need for a focus and use Chromium on things outside a body as well. EDIT 2, on the background of this theory: Originally, this theory's link in my signature was not a link. It was just a silly thing I added for fun, thinking “duralumin and aluminum, ha, how useless." Then I wondered, "well, actually..."

Man, I've been churning out theories like [insert bad metaphor here] today. So, my idea is based upon these principles: 1. Ruin and Preservation each Invested Scadrial 2. Aside from humans, everything on Scadrial was Invested equally I'll start off by stating an idea that I've expressed in other threads but haven't put into a theory yet. Scadrian metal, if put under a microscope, would have the exact same atomic structure as any other Iron in the Cosmere. It would be identical to any other metal in the Physical realm. Scadrian iron thinks of itself in the same way as well. It would be identical to any other metal in the Cognitive realm. "But wait," you ask. "That metal is Invested in a way no other metal in the Cosmere is. Surely the difference shows in some way!" Indeed it does. The only logical outcome at this point is that THE INVESTITURE OF THE METAL EXISTS IN THE SPIRITUAL REALM. Since it is silly for this to be only limited to Investiture on Scadrial, this is a universal law for all Investiture. Of all my theories, this one probably has the most logical evidence behind it. (Which is kind of sad, when you think about it.) Any thoughts?

If I understand things correctly, such as that (we assume) Hoid travels through Shadesmar/the spiritual realm (they are the same, right?) to Hop around, and that (we assume) Shardblades, when not Physical, are Spiritual (in Shadesmar)… Does Hoid have the capability of accessing any Spiritual Shardblade in existence, whenever he enters Shadesmar? And Shallan as well, if she had the practice? If so, this brings up the question what would happen if Hoid is holding one as he leaves Shadesmar? Would it come with him? Would then the original(er-ish) owner just lose it, or be able to summon it away from Hoid? A question-theory. Because I am a noob and dont study the books. And I didnt see an idea like this.