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The Lord Ruler called himself "The Sliver of Infinity" and this apparently wasn't an empty title. A Sliver is different from someone with a lot of Investiture, they are something greater, or at least they were. Now they are their mortal selves, but they have changed. What exactly makes someone a Sliver? And how would we know a Sliver if we saw one? Here is the transcript of the text: First I must make one thing clear, I have no idea if my interaction with Shard Pools has changed me. I am not so desperate for answers that I would resolve to testing. Understand that I respect your urgency, but just because I experienced something unique doesn’t mean that I have any understanding of what actually happened. As I recall, even our mutual friend was quite perplexed with my condition. However, I am nearly positive that I have nothing in common with a Sliver. Slivers are a topic that is frustratingly vague I wonder if I have the capacity to explain it. As I stated in my last letter, I had hoped that there was more detailed information available to you on this subject. The stories of men and women with insurmountable powers, or who held them at one point, are deceptively plentiful among the Cosmere, yet lack the details or verification that I would need to form meaningful conclusions. It seems that power alone does not make someone a Sliver. Investiture may be a part of it, but I don’t know if there is a point where a physical being can accumulate enough Investiture in order to become a Sliver. Yet in the few documented cases that we have accounted for in The Words of Founding, we still don’t get a clear picture of what exactly makes a Sliver. Let’s start with the Lord Ruler. We know that he wielded a great power when he reached the Well of Ascension. This power let him shape the world according to his will. The Lord Ruler created life, and altered people without them even knowing what had happened. He touched the power of a Shard and came out the other side a changed man. After this event he called himself the Sliver of Infinity. This might have been just an ego title fueled by his hubris, but his example sets a good precedent for what a Sliver is. So from this point, I will look to the life of the Lord Ruler as a reference point. Before we go any farther, I must point out that the Well of Ascension was not just a collection of Investiture. It is a shard pool, which is to say it was a part of a Shard’s body. Body is the traditional term, but it’s more like the Power and Essence of a Shard which is far more than just Investiture. When someone takes in Investiture, pure investiture, they receive power. From the accounts of the Ascended Warrior we learned that the Power of the Well wasn’t just Investiture, it was knowledge, mind expansion, and capacity to use that Investiture beyond the confines of human capabilities. Notice how the actions performed by The Lord Ruler had no resemblance to Allomancy, Feruchemy, or Hemalurgy. He learned of these arts intimately, but it was not by their power that he moved mountains. This power is far greater in scope and is not limited to the metallic arts. To help offer a frame of reference, I wish to point out an example of someone who seems to exemplify the distinction between a sliver and a highly invested individual. After the Many War, the God Kings of Halandrin carried and passed on an incredible collection of Bio-Chromatic Breath. Breath is a form of innate Investiture found in each individual on Nalthis. They can give this breath to another, and the collection of Breath in a person increases their capacity and physical abilities. Hold enough breath and you can extend your life, or awaken inanimate objects, giving them temporary life. The God King holds tens of thousands of Breaths, possibly making him the most invested person I have ever observed. However, I do not think that this makes him a Sliver. This breath is so immense; it is unclear what specific powers he has access to. This power derives from Investiture that is natural. From my reports, the breath does not grant knowledge or Creation powers. The powers of the God King are immense, but they still follow the order of Awakening, and do not allow him to alter the planet itself. The Breath does seem to impart powerful knowledge of Awakening instinctively at this level, but I feel that this is still not an expansion of the mind, but more a heightened awareness of things known to the subconscious. The God King is not a Sliver as far as I can tell. Yet there is something mysterious about the origins of the Returned. I think I will do more research into this topic, but the Returned of Nalthis, the Spren of Roshar, and the Seons on Elantris seem to share common elements. However, these things are not Slivers in the context of this conversation. As near as I can tell, a sliver is a person who held the power of a Shard, but gave up or lost the power, leaving them deflated. My guess is that this would cause a permanent change in the individual, but how this change would manifest in indeterminable. The incredible powers of the Lord Ruler are more or less explained by compounding. Without another who possesses the abilities of the Lord Ruler, I cannot say if there was any measured growth in his abilities. Without more data, I have nothing more than vague speculations to work off of. I know that this is not what you are hoping for, but I believe it is obvious that there is little that I can learn about Slivers at the moment. Even with my unique history, my interaction with coalesced investiture, I feel that I would not qualify to understand even the slightest part of what a Sliver is. Perhaps someday we will see and account for more Slivers. For now, we shall have to set aside this line of reasoning. As noted before, this research has led me to another classification that I feel I am more capable of reporting about. Splinters are quite fascinating, especially when we examine the similarities that exist between Splinters and Hemalergic Spikes. Until the next letter, Elsric

I noticed a parallel between Ashravan, the titular Emperor in The Emperor's Soul, and the Returned on Nalthis. (Props to @dragonshadowbob for sparking the thought with this thread.) It looks like Ashravan's soul went Beyond, and Shai's Forgery made a new soul for him, redrawing the Connections that Ashravan had in his life using her soulstamps to make a soul that would replace his mind. I've suspected something like this happens with the Returned in Warbreaker. They don't have the memories of their past life at first because the soul for that person has gone Beyond, and it's a Divine Breath that takes its place. It will reanimate the body, but it needs to rebuild the Connections that the soul has before it can access the memories. Just like Shai's work was discovering who Ashravan was close to and why he did what he did, Lightsong discovered his past while he explored his Connection with his past, with his family. The Connections need to be fully rebuilt to repair the memories and have the new, artifical soul replace the old one. However, these artificial souls don't stick very well to the bodies. They require a constant source of Investiture to be maintained - Ashravan needed to be stamped every day, and the Returned need to consume a breath every week. Without that, the Investiture that makes up the artificial soul will separate from the body, and the person will die again. So, I think that the original Lightsong, the original Vasher, etc. all went Beyond after their conversations with Endowment. The Returned themselves don't actually return... the Divine Breaths are artificial souls implanted in their bodies to replace them as they go Beyond. Oh, and that's the same thing that happens to a lesser extent with Lifeless. The new soul isn't trying to replace the old soul, and there's no intelligence, so there's nothing to reject. But it can slowly rebuild Connections naturally, if the Lifeless builds Connections of its own that are natural reflections of the host body. (Like if Arsteel's Lifeless body stuck with his old comrades...)

Hey guys (this is my first post), So when I first read Secret History, I noticed that those who are Cosmere-versed, being Nahz, Khriss, Hoid, the Elantrians, etc., call the bodies of the shards Preservation and Ruin Vessels. If you need validation, read the section where Kelsier infiltrates the Elantrians' base. Anyway. Siri is called by the priests on Nalthis as Vessel as well. While this seems just like a derogatory term, I think it could mean a lot more. I believe that Siri will ascend and take the shard Endowment. It sounds crazy and has very little concrete proof but I thought I'd post this and see if you guys had any thoughts. My theory is as follows: We know very little about how the God Kings have been produced in the past. We know that they are babies who have been still born and have Returned. Or at least that is what we are lead to believe. We also know that the priests know a lot of things that they don't tell the Returned. I believe that Siri will either die or be severely injured in childbirth. This will also result in the death of her and Susebron's child. We have no idea how Returned can have children, as it is thought impossible during Siri's time, but it is because the Idrian royal family have Returned blood (Royal Locks). The fact that the child is half Returned will allow the baby to Return a lot easier, basically because it's already half way there. We also know that there can be only one God King at a time. So upon Siri's death Susebron will try to heal her using his one divine breath. This causes his death, like the previous God King's before. And since his breath is so powerful, it basically causes a chain reaction throughout the vicinity, healing and reviving those in need. The plagues and disasters that were "prevented" due to the previous God Kings' deaths were coincidences or fabrications set up by the priests of Hallendren. This should not be surprising as they seem to have their own agenda, as seen in Warbreaker. This leaves Siri to care for their child alone. Like Susebron's mother, she will care for the child until it is of an appropriate age to start ruling. Once this happens, Siri will disappear mysteriously, just like Susebron's mother. This will probably happen because the priests take her away. My guess is that she will be sacrificed to Endowment and the priests will increase he Connection to the shard. How? I don't know. Siri, still holding Susebron's divine breath, because without it she would have died, will give up the breath to her child, die and meet Endowment. Upon dying, she will meet Endowment in the Cognitive Realm much like Kelsier meets Preservation. However, due to her increases Connection with Endowment, the shard will end up giving the power to Siri. While it may be unclear as to why the priests of Hallendren would want the body (or Vessel) of Endowment to change, remember that the shard's intent influences the holder quite a bit. The longer they hold it the more the intent has control over them. For example, in Secret History, Preservation points out that Ati could control Ruin's intent a lot more in the early days, and has essentially been consumed by it. If the wielder of Endowment were to be consumed by the shard's intent, it may just give the power to everyone on the planet, essentially shattering the shard. The priests know this is a bad thing to happen (Elantris basically has no shards cause they were shattered and they aren't exactly so well off). They try to replace the shard as frequently as possible without being suspicious. I know I made a lot (and I mean A LOT) of assumptions. But I think it has some basis. Maybe this won't happen exactly in this manner but I think the main point--that Siri will ascend and take Endowments power--will happen. I have yet to ask Brandon about his use of the word Vessel. Next time I see him I definitely will. Any thoughts? Is it complete crap? Or do you think it has some justification?

Is it possible to use unkeyed Nicrosilminds to store Stormlight (assuming that the user is capable of Surgebinding, probably through an Honorblade)? If so, what other forms of Investiture would Nicrosilminds be capable of storing? Would it be easier or harder to Awaken a Stormlight filled metalmind?

A massive thank you to all the fantastic artists for the creative works and to The Darkeyed Musician for her musical composition! Please make sure to check out their links and support them in their work. Kaladin - Words of Radience by emann29: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Kaladin-Words-of-Radience-462831658 Beneath the Shattered Plains by woutart http://woutart.deviantart.com/art/Beneath-the-Shattered-Plains-607677436 Breath by Emerald-Depths http://emerald-depths.deviantart.com/art/Breath-426869221 TWoK - The King's Wit by BotanicaXu http://botanicaxu.deviantart.com/art/TWoK-The-King-s-Wit-409756211 The Survivor by The-demons-heart http://the-demons-heart.deviantart.com/art/The-Survivor-483045604 Wit vs Hoid by BotanicaXu http://botanicaxu.deviantart.com/art/Wit-vs-Hoid-417088327 Raodin by Esamitch http://esamitch.tumblr.com/ Parshendi by Esamitch http://esamitch.tumblr.com/ This episode focuses on the Worldhopper Hoid, who is a persistent character through the Brandon Sanderson Cosmere books. Hoid could be labeled the first Worldhopper. He has appeared and been documented in nearly every story arc in the Cosmere including Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive, and Warbreaker. In this episode Elsric talks about his observations of Hoid and commits to keep an eye on the elusive man. There is a greater plan to his motions and all the readers of the Cosmere accounts should keep their eyes peeled for sightings of him. I hope you enjoyed this episode. Please leave a comment or ask any questions that you have so that I can address them at a future date. If you would like to share your art in a future "Letters from the Cosmere" please contact me at my channel E-mail: [email protected] Want to hear the story about how this series was started by Brandon Sanderson and myself? Here is a link to the story on 17th Shard: Script for Episode 4 - "Who is Hoid?" I am not sure how many men or women I have met who have lived as long as I have. Part of me can hardly believe how much it cost me both spiritually and monetarily to achieve this timelessness. Yet it doesn’t feel unnatural. On the contrary, I have been able to hone and master my skills far beyond what they were when my journey began. I was always skilled in the art of politics and playing the games of the nobility. However due to my longevity, I feel that even my subpar combat skills have improved greatly. When I found myself with more time than I could fathom, I took to the ways of the Cosmere and walked the paths between worlds. And I am far from alone in my exploration. I am not sure if it is my newfound abilities or a consequence of my long life, but there are “old souls” of whom I have recognized at a mere glance. Perhaps it is the vestige in their eyes, eyes that have seen too many wonders to be contained. Souls that have aged and flourished. As I sit at the edge of these chasms, awaiting my first walk into the mystery that is Urithiru, I seem able to see far into the night. Somewhere on this world, is another Wanderer, one who has lived far longer than I. You know of him as well, for he was to be found walking my homeland before I lost everything. Your response was cryptic when I inquired about the Wanderer whom I encountered, but I have more or less filled in the gaps you left bare. Oddly he looks nothing like he did back then, and your description of the man reminded me of yet another time we might have crossed paths. His eyes, the eyes of this Hoid, if that is his real name, look familiar to me for a reason. I met him in Hallandren itself. At that time, he was a master story weaver, a man who was often called before the court of gods and was very expensive. I assumed him to be an informant and never hired him personally. Yet those eyes struck me that day, although I didn’t realize why. He happened to be called to a party I had attended. He never said a word to me, but as he moved through the colorful attendees we locked eyes for the briefest moment and I nearly tripped. His eyes had such an intensity, like a fire burning too bright to look at directly. Those eyes drilling right through me seemed to strip me of my façade and examine my very soul. And then the moment passed and he was gone. Until now I had put aside this memory, but I am sure that it was him. Now the rest of my knowledge is distilled from speculation and guesswork. However, I understand that you are curious about this man and his intentions. Quite honestly, if I hadn’t seen the pure steele behind those eyes, I would say he makes things up as he goes. When he confronted me in the Cognitive Realm he seemed driven by a compulsion to stand before me and encourage my passions. He whispered his talk of the 16 shards and the coming deaths that a fallen shard would soon be bringing. It seemed so important, so well timed to catch me right before my mission began. And now I am here, directly interfering in the plans of Gods and men alike. He moves with a purpose, following a plan that I feel I have only glimpsed a drops worth in an ocean of mysterious intent. It is safe to say that this Hoid has traveled all over the Cosmere. He steps in right when a critical nudge is needed. I have observed him doing this, as well as confirmed some of the strange whispers of the King of Alethkar’s servant, someone called Wit. If there are important events happening in the Cosmere, a tipping point or critical juncture, Hoid will be there I can guarantee it. Each time I have seen him he has worn a completely different appearance. From age to hairstyles he all but reinvents himself from place to place. But you can be sure it is him. In fact, I would guess that his compulsion to throw out witticisms and sarcastic remarks might be the only way to truly know who he is for sure. That level of self-confident mockery cannot be faked. How he knows where to be is a mystery of the ages. However, I have seen many strange and impossible things these past centuries. Perhaps he sees where he needs to be before he gets there. This is a comforting theory, because I wonder if I am making a difference. If this “appointed path” idea is real, then I have been swept along with him. I also must impress upon you the age of Hoid, or more accurately the vast age of Hoid. To him I felt as but a child. He seemed to see patterns in the very fabric of creation itself. He might even be as old as creation itself. Hoid spoke of the ascended men and women who are now Gods as if he knew them personally. He whispered of the machinations that had been turning for thousands of years, and he said all this without batting an eye. To hear him speak was akin to hearing the stones tell tales of all they have seen. Entire nations have risen and fallen before his eyes, including my own. And yet there seems more. This is more of a feeling, but it seems he has seen the beginning of all that the Cosmere is, and that he plans to see the end as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if he out lives us all, and that is saying something. It would be folly to look for him. He knows how to hide, and I suspect he understands your abilities all too well. A man such as he must carry powers beyond what I have seen or imagined. Perhaps he seeks to chronicle all the powers of the Cosmere itself? His motivations are unclear, and that troubles me. I believe he is working to save lives, that much was clear when he spoke about the desolation that was coming to Roshar. No, what worries me is what he plans to do with all this time. There are things in motion now. My instincts tell me that Hoid is playing two games at once. A game that has been set and played for a very long time, and we are all just pawns dancing our dance before his agile fingers. This is a game he plans on winning. I am an informant, and such games are nearly second nature to me. I am impressed by those who understand the power of subtlety, and Hoid might be a master, despite his powerful personality. Perhaps this is his source of strength. Regardless, informants and secret keepers learn quickly that the short term game always leads to an eventual loss. If you want to win, you make every victory and defeat a part of the true plan. Hoid is a crafty manipulator. For that alone, I intend to keep my eye on him as best I can. So you can count on future letters about his work, so long as I can keep him within earshot. Despite all that he has done for me, the ones who know the most are the most dangerous. If I’m not careful, I could be set up to fall. Perhaps I will eventually see the board he plays. If knowledge is power, then he shouldn’t be the only one wielding it. Until the next Letter, Elsric

Hi! I started reading Brandon Sanderson's work several years ago after discovering Elantris. I think my favorite book is Warbreaker, and I wish it were in a series because I want more in that world.

I was rereading Warbreaker today and came by this: Since I've read White Sand just a few days ago it did tickle my brain if the white and black sands Hoid used could be from Taldain. It's nothing big but it could be an easter egg like Mraize's white sand bottle, since we have got that also before the graphic novel release. I just thought to share it to see what you guys think and if someone managed to get Brandon to answer in a signing or something if it's actual Taldain sand or just some other regular sand. Oh and also, how does Life Sense permit someone to sense the minds of objects wanting to be Awakened? Vivenna metions often how she can feel the objects wanting to be alive again, besides peoples presence. Thats why I think it is Life Sense that does that. What are your thoughts?

What if you awakened a Shardblade the same way Nightblood was awakened, We think Nightblood is overpowered and he was formed by a ordinary blade, Imagine the power that would come from a awakened Shardblade the third most powerful weapon.

Normally I'm incredibly against rereading books. But with anything written by Sanderson, my opinion changes. There is just something about the way he writes that allows me to enjoy rereads as much, if not more than the first time. It might be the way he makes characters so believable and human, it might be the way every world he makes seems so real. It might be the way I can find a way to connect with almost all of his characters. Or maybe I just like the mystery of knowing he has the entire Cosmere planned out, and know close to nothing about it. But what I want to focus on here, is just a collection of all the excellent foreshadowing Sanderson does in his works. I'm currently almost done with my fifth reread of Warbreaker, and I still am finding things he foreshadowed that I had never picked up on before. So as you find foreshadowed events, or reveals in your rereads, please post them here and I'll keep updating this post so there can be a collection. I wish I had more quotes to start this with, but I'm sure everyone on the forums will be eager to contribute . I hope everyone finds this aspect of Sanderson's writing as intriguing as I do and hopefully this can turn into a pretty exhaustive list! Basically I'm just looking for quotes or specific situations that help the reader find out what is going to happen later in the books. Not so much things that hint towards the greater Cosmere, but the outcome of the specific book or series. Please give a chapter + quote or situation so I can put them in order! Warbreaker Elantris Stormlight Archive WoK WoR Mistborn Final Empire Well of Ascension Hero of Ages

So I guess other shards effects last despite what world your on. I'm just wondering how Nightblood still has power and consciousness on Roshar without breaths. Also how is Vashor still alive since he needs one breath a week to stay alive? Can they substitute stormlight?

This is my first topic... (hooray!) So if I'm overlooking something completely obvious, feel free to point it out. I think it would also be fun to add ideas from everyone. Stormlight Archive 1) Shardblade drop Shardblades have been summoned over extremely large distances with little or no effort. You think the command, and the shardblade appears. It presumably comes through shadesmar, based on how other things have been doing that and the fact that it's a (dead) spren. Now, what if you were to go to a VERY high place and summon your shardblade? The energy output would be greater than the input. You could even power a generator by repeatedly dropping a shardblade on it! Could this be draining some sort of energy resevoir from the cognitive realm... or is it draining power from the gemstones? If it needs stormlight, then the gemstones or the radiant could easily feed it that. 2) Antigravity lashing This has the same concept as #1; an object comes back down with more energy than it went up with. Say you were to do a reverse lashing of half an object's weight upwards. You then launched it somehow with a ton of energy. The object would go much higher than it normally would with the same amount of energy. However, when the stormlight ran out, the object would come plummeting back to the ground with more energy than it was sent up with. Yes, this uses stormlight, a type of investiture. However, if stormlight consumption is based on time, you could still have a higher energy output with a large enough force sending it upwards. This implies that there's a complex formula for how fast stormlight is consumed. 3) Spren = mass? Spren supposedly come from a thought. If a thought allows spren to be CREATED, and that said spren bonds with a radiant, and that spren takes a form of something, wouldn't it add mass to the world from a thought? You could generate mass (and therefore energy) by thinking! Granted, the thought takes some level of energy... but you could theoretically have a higher output. However, it's more likely that there's a very complicated process to spren and bonding that we just don't know about yet. Mistborn 1) Compounding You simply come out with more energy than you put in. That's very simple... Store the heat of a fireplace, turn it into the heat of a supernova! I've read another topic talking about how it can draw power from shards, so that's resolved. Warbreaker 1) Awakened breath consumption Awakening an object lets it run for a long time on a single breath. Awakening can convert breaths to kinetic energy. Apparently, awakened objects stop working eventually. Could this be using up the breath or the objects energy? Either way, would a harder task demand more of that energy source? If not, (which is less likely) you could make a monkey rapidly turn a crank for a very, very long time and convert very little breath into A LOT of energy. In that case, awakened objects probably use up breath or their stored energy based on how hard what they're doing is. 2) Color=Energy... Color is either pigment or the wavelength of light. It's almost garunteed to be pigment, as there are a bunch of problems with light. There's bound to be some problem with converting pigment to energy, but I don't know enough formulas to think of something. I want to know what you think! I need someone who knows what they're doing!

This is a terrible theory. -Vasher has no memories of his prior life. -That's probably not true. Lightsong had hints of his former life. They influenced his dreams. They shaped his second life. -Vasher helped make Nightblood. -Nightblood is "based on" shardblades to an unknown degree. -Seems like if Vasher knew how to worldhop for the last 400 years (leading up to the events of Warbreaker), he wouldn't be sticking around. Sure, maybe Shashara was secretly the worldhopper. But what if Vasher was? What if the designs for Nightblood were guided by an intuitive understanding granted in a previous life? For all we know, what if he was a Herald? Think about the offer Endowment could supply a Herald: "You, who cannot die and cannot forget. I can take these tortured memories, relieve you of your guilt. I will remake you." I'm probably not right. But 15 years down the road, if I turn out to be right, maybe someone will see a cache of this page and go "that guy was right." And then move on with their lives.

Do all kinds of Investitures follow the Balance? The Breath Investiture from Warbreaker is a little sketchy. If someone dies, their Breath dies with them. So, when someone is born, where does their Breath come from?

I've just run into this Q&A, and cannot help but wonder what can be recognized as alive and be detectable to the people with Heightenings. It looks like the Returned is not alive, which is OK, as they're merely "Spontaneous Sentient BioChromatic Manifestations in a Deceased Host"s. However, spren can be sensed, so they should be considered alive? Then what about Nightblood? It's defniitely less alive than the Returned, right? Also, if spren can be sensed by life sense, what about ghosts on Threnody? Or dead but still active people like Kelsier? What about splinters like Seons and Skaze?

Apologies in advance if this has been brought up before. I searched the forum, wiki and google for any derivative of the word 'Adonals' before posting this, so I am not sure if it has been mentioned. If so, please direct me to the appropriate place/WOBs. Appreciated. Alright, so recently I started reading Warbreaker again because I absolutely love Lightsong. When it got to the section with Hoid, Lightsong and Siri I was of course interested because this is my first re-read after having found the 17th Shard and learned theories of the Cosmere. After Hoid completed his history of Hallandren he said something I had not noticed before in reference to his storytelling/[Lightweaving]. "I learned it many, many years ago from a man who didn't know who he was, your Majesty. It was a distant place where two lands meet and gods have died." I thought about who that friend may have been, and of course my brain jumped to the biggest thing it possibly could, Adonalsium itself. This got me to think something; what if the biggest clue about Adonalsium right there in the name: -ium. Lerasium. Atium. Leras. Ati. Therefore, I believe Adonalsium is actually Adonals This fits right into how so many worlds in the Cosmere worship some other, greater god out there - and how often it does not seem like that would be Adonalsium Itself. So, the pieces of my theory fall thusly: 1) There is a greater power that has existed long before the creation of Adonalsium 2) A living being called Adonals found a way to steal/harvest/merge with energy of this higher power 3) Adonals became a physical embodiment of a portion of this power, taking the suffix '-ium' 4) When Adonalsium was shattered it caused the greater power to lose much of its ability to effect the Cosmere - while maintaining its sentience it can only act in very subtle ways And.... Sorry, don't really know exactly where I was going with this... I just don't recall ever having heard anything along these lines and I wanted to see what y'all have to say. I need to go to my university now for some paperwork, and I will try to flesh out this theory in my head a little better while I am gone. Thanks for listening to my ramblings.

The State of the Sanderson is coming... For those who haven't seen Brandon's latest blog post, he has stated that he intends to do a State of the Sanderson post for his birthday. So far as we know, he is roughly 1/3 of the way through Stormlight 3. He has said after that that it will be either Mistborn 7 (a.k.a. The Lost Metal) or the second Rithmatist (a.k.a. the Aztlanian). We might be able to get a pin-down on that. Although, he has warned that Stormlight 3 might turn into a 2017 release. Anyway, on to shameless advertising. After his last State of the Sanderson, he made a great list of things about what he'd like to get done. I made a flow chart of the whole lot - in addition to a loose timeline - here. I will update this after the next State of the Sanderson. (I'll probably also post here, to be double sure.) So, thoughts? Anything you'd particularly like Brandon to turn around and start writing after Stormlight 3?

What do you guys think that Clod, the Lifeless with Jewels, Denth, and Tonk Fah, was made from Arsteel's body? The book says that he was skilled with a sword. Arsteel was killed by Vasher, but Denth and the others at least saw the body, because they know that there were no black patches from Nightblood.

I am not familiar with what the writing tropes in literature actually are and i was wondering to what extent does Brandon, and other authors, use them? What are common Fantasy writing tropes? Does Brandon ever make a mockery of the use of them? I felt like that is what he was doing in The Stormlight Archive with Rosharan society having such strict Gender specific roles. To me it made me look at the whole idea of Gender specific roles as ridiculous. Did he ever do something like that with other writing tropes that i never noticed? Finally, is there a trope that Brandon consistently uses across most of his books?

My sister is reading in the room over from me. Literally every single time I look over, within 5-10 seconds she looks back. It's not like she is just reading while looking up every 10 seconds. Heightening confirmed.

Hello Everyone, For a School project that i am doing i have to make a presentation to my Librarian on seven books that i have read, and in the presentation i must recommend whether the book should be added to the library's collection, or i can recommend that it be removed. The decision to add or remove must be based on the gender stereotyping found in each book and what people will learn about the role of gender from reading it I am basically done with the presentation but i feel like i am repeating myself throughout the presentation and i have run out of good ideas/examples. So i thought that i would turn to the community that i know best and that i have found to be extremely intelligent and fair in regards to discussion/argument of a topic. Which is why i humbly come to you now. The seven books (Note that i can use an entire series as a single book) that i have chosen to analyse in terms of Gender stereotyping are as follows: 1) Stormlight Archive 2) Mistborn 3) warbreaker 4) Elantris 5) The Painted Man (Peter V. Brett) 6) The Name Of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss) 7) The Black Prism (Brent Weeks) I look forward to the discussions we will have around this sensitive topic. if i do use any ideas or comments from our discussion i will reference it completely.

T'Telir, the shining capital of Halladren, and home of The Court of the Gods, where the Returned ruled as deities over their colorful citizens -- and colorless, lifeless armies -- all while deferring to the God King, MiriKas. Living life as a god would be tough, or so you would have people think, but really you just live in a life of lavishness and luxury, with countless servants to attend your every need and desire, and you only require one thing to live. Breath. The time of living exuberantly is, unfortunately, at an end. A group of infiltrators have managed to gain access to The Court of the Gods, and have subtly managed to get a small group of Returned to join their cause, and to push for war and rebellion against the God King. MiriKas will not tolerate this. You have been ordered to root out the infiltrators and purge the court of all Rebels, at all costs, even if it means your own life. This will be a standard Quick-Fix Game, with Cycles lasting 24 hours and essentially consisting of both Day and Night. Votes will be made publicly in the thread, and the Rebels will get to chose to make a kill each cycle as well. Being that this is the Court of the Gods, and you will all be Returned, there is a twist. Each one of you has your Divine Breath, bringing you back to life for your godly purpose. At any point in the game, all players have the option to send in a PM order to give up your life, saving another player that cycle. This will work for the lynch as well as the Rebel kill. Doing so will automatically kill you, even if who you wanted to save didn't die. There are no roles or other special actions that can be made in this game. For signing up, I'll need a Returned name from each player, and their choice of two colors. Sign-ups will last a little over a week until about 7AM EST, August 2nd. Quick Links:

As the title states, which team do you think would win in a duel, given that all of the magic systems work simultaneously. Team 1: Pre-Radiance Kaladin; unconsciously uses Stormlight as he did in Bridge Four, and has no shards. Vin at her strongest (But not as Preservation); plenty of Allomantic stores. Hrathen, ability as shown in Elantris. Enough said. Team 2: Raoden at his best, able to make use of AonDor. Denth in Warbreaker, plain beast. Eshonai in Warform and in full plate. Place of Battle: Elantris, Sel. Who do you think will win? Feel free to justify below

This has been stewing in me for a while, so I have been rereading Warbreaker to look for evidence. Correct me if I have missed something and this is already something confirmed or denied. I believe that the way a Returned dies is by consuming their Divine Breath. You look at that and say "well duh," but I'm not finished. I think that for a Returned to be a Returned, with the dreams, the perfect body, etc, they need the Divine Breath. We know that they can Awaken if they have more Breaths than they need to survive, just as the God King did. So what if they stored their Divine Breath somewhere and moved on? They aren't consuming it, but they still don't hold it. Would they turn back into a normal person again? We know that Peacegiver/Vasher was Returned. The book said it a few times, such as when Siri is asking where the God King's wealth of Breath came from or on Page 99 of the hardcover when Vivenna comments on the D'Denir statues. We also know that he doesn't hold his Divine Breath, as he needs Vahr's Breath when he comes back to Hallandren. Speaking of that scene (page 22 of the hardcover), Vasher comments as such: From the Ars Arcanum, we learn that the Fifth Heightening comes at 2000 Breaths, or one Divine Breath. If Vasher can draw forth that Divine Breath again as implied by the quote, he stored it at some point. Now he is mortal and can die, but he still has lived for a very long time, perhaps due to having other Breath, perhaps something different. My questions are thus: -What happens to a Returned when their Divine Breath is stored away? -Do they still gain any powers from having a Divine Breath? -What "sacrifices" would need to be made for Vasher to take back his Divine Breath? -Did Vasher use his Divine Breath to create Nightblood? -Vivenna notices that Vasher's beard never seems to grow more but he never is seen trimming it. Is this just Vasher being secretive or does it connect to him being a Returned? This may be a bit disjointed, but I hope that my point is seen. If anybody has insight or evidence to contradict or support these questions I would love to hear them.