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I have a theory that Vasher is allies or friends with Hoid. I believe this for a few reasons. The first is that he is a Worldhopper, and I think Hoid taught him how to do this. Also, he has been on Roshar for around 10 years. We don't know exactly how long Hoid has been on Roshar, but it is very likely that he has been there around the same time. Obviously he can't just go to Roshar and become Wit. So I think they arrived around the same time. Finally, Vasher has been on the Shattered Plains, and so we can presume that he has seen Hoid there. If he was part of the 17th Shard, Galladon, Demoux and Blunt wouldn't have had to search for him. Therefore, I think he is Hoid's friend (possibly watching out for the 17th Shard).

From the SLCC transcript, someone ask something irrelevant, went like this: This is definitely related to Worldhopping, but what and how? Is it like an aspect of a magic, like Elsecalling to Surgebinding? Or is it like an object, like a Shardpool, or a concept, like Intent or Focus? And if this 'Perpendicularities' is the same concept as what we have in real life, this Perpendicularity has to be perpendicular to something. Maybe the Cognitive Realm?

Hey, I have read most, if not all of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere books. The first time through i didn't read them in any specific order, but i started with Mistborn, then Stormlight archive, then Warbreaker, etc. But i never noticed how they are related in the Cosmere. Recently i have reread a lot of them and noticed many connections. I would like to know more about these connections and such. For example at the end of Words of Radiance, Szeth gets a dark blade that speaks to him saying, "Would you like to destroy some evil today" (or something along those lines). This reminds me a lot of Vasher's sword from Warbreaker. Another thing i wanted to talk about is Hoid (i have done some research but am still confused). I actually didn't even notice that he was in a lot of the Cosmere books until i decided to research Wit from Stormlight archive because he looked like crazy character. How does he have a role to play in many of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere books, what books is he in/ when? I would like to know more because he is very intriguing to me. I actually didn't even notice that he was in a lot of the Cosmere books until i decided to research Wit from Stormlight archive.

OK, so I was reading http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/7267-words-of-brandon-compiled-x-2/ and I found something interesting. OK, If that lake Rock is talking about, the Emerald Lake, is a shardpool, and this RAFO is correct, then could Hoid/others Worldhop by going through Shardpools? After all, in Elantris they had the Lake, which at one point was depicted as being sideways, with someone going through it like a portal. And Hoid has only appeared so far on worlds with Shardpools, except in Warbreaker. But Warbreaker may have a Shardpool somewhere out there... What do y'all think? Is this the MAJOR HIIIIIIINT that was in Elantris?

(This thread is mainly for the discussion of the hint and trying to use it to figure out the Elantris worldhopping puzzle...) I was going to revive the Sel worldhopping topic http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/2515-sel-and-worldhopping/ , but since it was last posted in way back in January of 2013, I thought that perhaps it might not be wise... Sometimes necromatic powers don't work that well, I guess (or I need to learn the one-Breath command for Lifeless again)! --- So, a few days ago, Brandon revealed that apparently Raoden had misinterpreted one of the Aons. (source) On page two of this topic, Argent mentions that he thinks that it's related to the Aon Tia, and that Aon Tia doesn't need distance, only a destination. This is based on an old theory of his (one I've read, but, at the moment, can't remember where the link is), and might explain why this is such an important hint and will help us to better understand worldhopping...(and yes, worldhopping might be my major. I have three topics somewhat related to it!) I think that the Aon misinterpreted is either Aon Rao (kind of was the idea behind my one ill-thought out theory a few weeks back) or Aon Tia. Perhaps, even a combination of the two. I agree with Argent that it is probably Aon Tia, though, here are my reasons: 1. Aon Tia is one of the few Aons that Raoden really takes time to interpret/explain to the readers. This is first done in Chapter 25 (343-346) and later on when he travels to rescue Sarene. Both times, he added modifiers that specify location and the person himself. What Raoden says specific is this: The book he was getting this information (on the AonDor) only really gave him hints on what to do and how Aons (like Tia) worked. Now, if it is Tia, it might be just destination that is needed (as Argent suggests), but it might also be modification based. If it's modification based...we have to consider what modifiers Raoden thinks he needs. He thinks he needs one that specified that it only should work on him (which seems right) and distance specification. But, Aon Tia means travel, what would happen if one just drew Aon Tia without a specific destination (where would you go, it seems unlikely to be nowhere), or, if one added different modifiers that programmed Tia to bring one into the Cognitive Realm/Across the Cosmere a certain distance. Really, if one wanted to have fun with Tia, you could even use the distance modifiers to travel LIGHT YEARS, if you could just figure out the correct distance and some other things of the sort! If it is Aon Tia, the modifiers could be another Aon...such as Aon Rao or the Aon related to cognitive things, Aon Mea. However, what ever the specific modifiers would have to be for this to work is still unknown at best, if this is even the one Brandon was talking about... 2. It could also be Aon Rao. However, despite it's prevalence in the book (since Elantris and the surrounding landscape is AonDor), I feel that it's still unlikely. If you can think about it, Raoden doesn't understand it well or how it works though, so there is that, I guess... 3. It could also be the two Aons that are on the device they used to enter the area where the Pool is. However, it's Galladon who sees these Aons (Aon Rao, perhaps, and Aon Tae [352]). The later, Aon Tae, is the one they push to open the "secret" passage. Anyway, while this could be it and Raoden could've misinterpreted what Aon Tae really meant in this instance and what effect it could have on the pool (or even as a modifier of Aon Rao), I don't think this is the secret, and the only reason I even brought it up was because it was related to the Pool... Anyway, those are just some suggestions about what this WoB could mean... Since this was only a clue (and really, one that isn't that obvious...I think), but now, we can prove how good we are at figuring stuff out! I trust that now we can figure this out...perhaps in less than a month!

This all comes from my friend, but he doesn't post here, so very little of this is my actual idea. We were just wondering if The Lord Ruler had the ability to worldhop. If anyone in Scadrial's history could, it would be him. I believe it's WoB that every Shardworld's arcana has at least one trick that allows for worldhopping. Scadrial has three arcana that we know of. The Lord Ruler was the unquestioned master of Allomancy and Feruchemy. He could use his feruchemy to power his allomancy; nicrosil speculation aside, we have no idea how he did that and no canon examples of anyone doing the same. He prolly knew more hemalurgy than anyone there's ever been on Scadrial. He had exclusive access to the god metals, one of them in enormous quantities. However Scadrian worldhopping happens, odds are very good that The Lord Ruler was at least theoretically capable of doing it. Then there's his Ascension. In that moment when he held Preservation's power, he could well have gained cosmeric knowledge. The way Sazed realized his Powers were once a part of something greater, Rashek could have realized there were other Powers out there, too. I realize it's all speculation. I just wonder if it's something The Lord Ruler was aware of.

Imagine that due to an unexplained and rare phenomenon you are transported to post-WoR Roshar: You have all your current knowledge; You can speak and understand all languages (doesn't apply to anything written, plus you keep your accent); You have no other skills that you don’t have now; You also have no immediate means to leave Roshar; You end up close to the location you want to be (e.g. if you want to join Dalinar, you appear somewhere in Urithiru). What will you do to survive? Seek out the Ghostbloods – hopefully you’re smart enough to survive until they ask you to join Join team Diagram – they do terrible things, but are so far the only ones with a solid plan, and Vargo already allowed one outsider to be part of it instead of killing her, so you’re probably fine until Szeth comes for retribution Join the Kholins – Dalinar will welcome your Cosmere knowledge, but they might lock you up in Urithiru for your own safety and where’s the fun in that? Join Amaram and the Sons of Honor – shame on you Join Nin and the Skybreakers – no surgebinding powers for you then Warn the Shin - they have 7 Honorblades after all Seek out the 17th Shard – looking for those Hoid avoids, are you sure it’s a good idea? Ask Hoid – he could certainly help you worldhop somewhere more pleasant, but would he? Go to Lift – because she’s awesome and has the best food, also she’s probably the least likely person to harm you in any way Join the Ardentia – this provides you with immediate shelter and food, you’ll have the chance to learn some basic fighting skills and steal a soulcaster, not to mention they’re plotting something… right? Enlist in an army – whichever you want Relax on the Reshi Islands – let others deal with the Desolation Ask the Nightwatcher to bring you back - you still get a curse and your visit on Roshar was a one-time opportunity Survive on your own – if you can Something else – do share your plan! Here's mine: Attracting a spren and becoming a surgebinder seems like my best hope for surviving, though it’s a slim chance considering how very few spren are bonding. I won’t join Mr T, but I also won’t actively try to stop him until I’m certain I either have a better plan or the Diagram won’t save Roshar. Seeking the 17th Shard sounds great on paper, but I don’t want to antagonize Hoid. I’ll also stay away from Nin and co. I won’t go to the Kholins, because they might prevent me from doing much; plus I wouldn't trust Shallan with my life and Jasnah might get rid of me when she decides I’m no longer of use to her. I also want to stay away from the Ghostbloods – it’s an interaction I don’t believe I’ll survive. But I might drop by to speak to Vasher. He’s looking for Nightblood, so he’ll probably appreciate my help on that. He’s a worldhopper, so he might agree to take me to a safer world, though I’ll prefer to stick around for awhile. I’ll go to Lift first. Wyndle is likely to listen to me and Lift will shelter me. They are the easiest to convince to prepare for the everstorm and the Voidbringers. Also, they aren't in the center of a conflict, so I’ll be relatively safe until I decide what to do next. I'll try to avoid all major players and stay off their radar at first, but have the Prime Aqasix write to Dalinar some major things I know as if they were his thoughts. What will you do? edit: minor wording changes and adding a bit more to my plan

Preface: So I had this thought a while back, but I've been lazy about coming here recently. If someone else has thought of this and posted about it... please forgive me... I gave a cursory glance of what's been happening, but as I mentioned, I've been lax in my presence here as of late, and am probably not up to date. Let's just get right into it shall we... I'm proposing that Hoid worldhops through pools of some kind, possibly shardpools. Let's have some quotes! So note first that how Hoid worldhops is not the be all and end all of worldhopping... there are other ways. Concerning my argument, these quotes are most important... (This is going to be really embarrassing if you guys have figured out what this is in my absence and I am wrong). People I've seen have jumped on the teleportation aspects of Elantris, but there is another more interesting feature of Elantris which seems to connect to Words of Radiance. In Elantris we see Elantrians placed in the magic dissolving pool, and disappear. The element of Words of Radiance I am talking about is of course the story Rock tells about how he met Hoid (he doesn't know it's Hoid, he thinks of it as a trickster god, but it seemed obvious to me it was Hoid, and if anyone takes issue with this I suppose I can revisit the passage and make the case). Hoid was emerging from a sacred pool only the Horneaters are allowed around; people with a connection/awareness of spren, and therefore with some sort of cognitive mumbo jumbo. So Hoid comes out of the sacred pool in Horneaterville... where was he coming from? We've thus seen people disappear into pools, and a known worldhopper emerge from one. Even more suggestive, you'll note that one of the only known instances of Hoid's worldhopping in which we know exactly where he went was when he used worldhopping to access the Well of Ascension chamber and steal a bead of lerasium... he worldhopped directly to somewhere with a shardpool... perhaps through the shardpool in some way. My theory, mechanically speaking, is that these sacred pools (which don't all have to be shardpools) somehow form a rift between the cognitive realm and the physical realm, allowing travel between them. In terms of Scadrial, and Hoid's long search for the Well of Ascension, it is possible Hoid only knew where the pool at the pits of Hathsin was, and needed a better idea of where Preservation's pool was before he could "exit" there, hence all his time wandering around Terris. Finally, let's consider perhaps the most important quote: You could take Brandon's "but it isn't needed" in two ways, but in the context of his second sentence, it seems to me to imply that no magic system is needed, or at least that any magic system could be used (although ones with Cognitive Realm powers serve better, unsurprisingly). If this is the case, one would simply need to know where these pools (or perhaps more accurately rifts) are, and how to access them. That said, Jasnah notes that it is dangerous to travel Shadesmar without Stormlight, and I can see at least one magic system being required in order to generate the investiture necessary to survive... Thoughts?

All right, theory time. Felt was the House Venture head spy in the Mistborn novels. He led the spying team that Elend sent to follow Vin in Final Empire. He discovered how enemy spies were sneaking into Luthadel in WoA. Finally, he was briefly thought of by Elend in HoA, and was apparently securing one of the storage caches. I thought he was a bit of a weird character, but I dismissed him. Then, in Words of Radiance, I saw this: So, did Mr. Sanderson make a mistake and use the same name twice by accident? I don't think so. I think that someone would have caught it and corrected it if it were a mistake. I believe that Felt is a worldhopper. Thoughts?

This theory addresses the way Preservation set up the shard pools (the Well and the Pits) and the way they distribute Lerasium and Atium. My presuppositions are that Atium is the key to Worldhopping and that the Lerasium beads in the Well chamber were generated by the well in a similar fashion to the Atium beads in the pits. I discuss these presuppositions more in this thread. Basically this all came out of my reasoning about how Atium is the key to Worldhopping on Scadrial, so I'm just going to quote myself here. I figured I'd separate this out in case anyone wanted to discuss this idea without taking my other thread off course. Here are some key points: And here is the really important bit: What do people think? I mean, I know that Leras had his master plan and all, but could this have been a motivating factor for Leras in setting up Classical Scadrial if the original function of the well was to set up a protector of Humanity? Especially considering that accessing other worlds would have given them a perspective on their own world, one which could have potentially undone Ati's history manipulation?

I'm not sure if this has been suggested before (I looked but found nothing) but I have a theory that Demoux is now a mistborn through Sazed-intervention or some other means. The reasons are as follows: 1. It gives an explanation as to why he's still alive, if not the motivation... Cadmium is an element and perfectly discoverable... duralumin is likewise also available... putting them together accounts easily for his presence in the future. Perhaps he was trying to reach the Survivor somehow, or perhaps one of the divine figures in his life moved him to mix the two. 2. Brandon has been asked if Demoux can burn Malatium, to which he coyly responded "That's an interesting theory" 15 SWEETNESS 3. Can Demoux burn malatium? BRANDON SANDERSON Interesting theory. TAGS demoux, atium, mistborn, allomancy, A stranger response than either "RAFO" or "No". Whatever Sweetness's motivation for asking, it is illuminating. We know that, short of Hemalurgy, no one can burn just two metals, it's a one or all deal (obviously all humans can burn Lerasium as well, let's move on). Furthermore if Demoux could burn Malatium it makes Preservation distorting snapping so that Atium and Malatium mistings could snap inconsistent (uplike for whoever finds this WoB quote, it's late and I'm running out of time). If Atium mistings also had the ability to burn Malatium, Preservation needn't have shifted out two metals from the snapping system. So if Demoux CAN burn Malatium, as Brandon hints with his answer, it almost certainly means Demoux is a mistborn. (Sazed intervening and granting Demoux full powers seems far more likely than Demoux spiking himself with an Inquisitor spike that had Atium, or else working out how to steal Malatium Allomancy, finding a Malatium Misting in a World without Atium, and spiking him for it). 3. It helps explain why Demoux can Worldhop. We can be almost certain Demoux is a hopper, and though accessing Shadesmar does fit with the nature of Atium, he'd need an ongoing source in a Pitless Scadrial. Another allomantic combination, or trick could very well be the key, perhaps an alloy of Atium if you're desperate for Atium to be involved. Demoux burning all metals increases our ability to explain his worldhopping (Since we don't know how Scadrian's do it yet) 4. It fits with the story. This is more a narrative point but, we saw Spook become a Mistborn by Sazed's hand. If we had seen the same for Demoux we may have been disappointed: "Great, now everyone cool is a Mistborn". The oddity (an Atium misting in a context in which we had been led to believe there could be no such thing) becomes just another Mistborn. Fastforward in time (with Duralumin and Cadmium if you can burn them ) and we have a world in which Mistborn are the oddity... a legend lost to the ages. Mistborn-Demoux remains the oddity. Furthermore, it keeps his powers relevant in a potentially Atium-less situation: it is doubtful he could get some from Scadrial, and he almost assuredly can't from other Shardworlds. However the main Allomantic metals should be available on each world, and even if technology doesn't allow for some metals, Mistborn-Demoux has a fair chancd at atleast the basic 8. Let me be clear that I'm not proposing that is the timeframe for Demoux's power-expansion, merely the timeframe for our discovery of it: he became a mistborn before he became a sharder, but if we had found that out at the end of HoA it would have been narratively tacky. Thoughts? EDIT: Well... this is demoralising. I take it 5AM Australian time isn't a good time to post things?

We've heard that there's a worldhopper in Warbreaker (can someone give me the exact quote, i cant seem to find it). And I'm pretty sure that I've just found out who it is. I dont have heaps of proof, but the below paragraph seems to give as much proof as Brandon would give us. -Warbreaker, Page 3 (Kindle Edition)Those two sentences there are pretty hard to dismiss, if you think about it. I dont remember quite whar Brandon said, but I'm pretty sure he mentioneda female worldhopper in Warbreaker that we would be very unlikely to spot. Someone of Sazed's kind (cant remember what that was called…) from MB. Well, I'm rereading WB and havent noticed a description of Mab yet but I'm pretty sure it's her.

Because I couldn't find one already, I thought I should start a thread purposed around thinking about what the denizens of each Shardworld might use to Worldhop. So guys... hop to it! Scadrial I'll start. Worldhopping is bound to utilise a system of Investiture. There are three systems of investiture on Scadrial: Hemalurgy, Allomancy and Feruchemy. What system? Hemalurgy mostly doesn't introduce any new powers into the mix, it just rearranges properties that are already there, so I think we can safely rule it out. Feruchemy also tends to work with something that is already there, strength, health, whatever. It is hard to imagine what a Feruchemist would have to store to tap into worldhopping/shadesmar access, and furthermore it existed pre-ascension and was likely studied to some degree by the scholarly Worldbringers (there's bound to have been at least a couple who looked into how their powers worked). Granted, they may not have had access to all the metals. Mostly on the basis of Feruchemy's tendency not to introducing new powers as such, let's tentatively put it aside. Unlike Feruchemy and Hemalurgy, Allomancy has effects which go beyond the kinds of things humans can generally do. Tin and Pewter may just enhance what is already there like Feruchemy does, but the other basic metals introduce new abilities, such as manipulating emotions and the physical world, perceiving other possible worlds or the future and manipulating time. Given that I see accessing Shadesmar/Worldhopping as a new ability in this sense, rather than a manipulation of what is already there, I would suppose that Allomancy is the key to accessing Worldhopping/Shadesmar. What metal? Supposing I (and whoever else has thought of this before me) am correct, I would further think it is unlikely that one of the ordinary (16) metals has the hidden key to Shadesmar* which leaves us with Godmetals and their Alloys. Lerasium is tied into rewriting sDNA, and I imagine it's hidden functions have to do with granting other systems of investiture, so let's tentatively put it aside; likewise, its alloys make Mistings. That leaves us with Atium and its alloys (barring another Shard showing up and integrating itself into Scadrial, and gaining a Godmetal...) Here's where my speculation reaches its heights: from a narrative perspective, and in terms of how Malatium works as a basis of comparison, I don't think one of the random Atium alloys allows worldhopping... it just doesn't seem to fit in my mind. Granted, Atium alloys give a variety of Temporal and Mental effects, which certainly seems to fit with Shadesmar as the Cognitive realm... but one of the Atium alloys doesn't seem to fit nearly as well as... Atium itself. Atium as Scadrial's Worldhopping Key Let me go on the record and say I doubt that I thought of this first. In fact, I vaguely remember reading someone put forward Atium as the Scadrian Worldhopping key before. What I will do here, is discuss some of the pros of Atium being the Worldhopping key for Scadria:l Shadesmar is the Cognitive Realm and Shadesmar is seemingly the way Worldhopping happens. Of the two God metals Atium is the one tied into the Mental and Temporal aspects (with Lerasium offering Physical and Enhancement) and thus it seems to fit with Shadesmar. We know of a very clear Temporal effect of Atium: seeing the future. But a mental one is missing. "But wait, Atium also expands the mind!" I hear you say, but as Kurk has pointed our to me recently, ALL Allomancy has the effect of expanding your mind in order to use it. Atium's mind expansion is simply so a Seer can deal with the rush of information given by seeing the possible futures. If Atium's domain is Mental/Temporal, we have only seen the Temporal part, leaving the mental part neatly open for Shadesmar access. A random Atium alloy being the key would be narratively clunky (as discussed above) In a similar fashion to the above point, Atium being the key to accessing Shadesmar would be narratively neat, because it would balance Atium and Lerasium more. Lerasium is clearly a far more valuable metal as it stands because it makes you the most powerful Allomancer in the world. Atium's future sight is powerful (mostly only in combat) granted, but is far far more limited than Lerasium, and Atium's Hemalurgic prowess (as the master spike), while somewhat more balancing, still doesn't seem to quite even them out, especially if Lerasium can be attuned to allow access to other investitures (jury still out). Giving Atium this function thus not only fits with Atium's allomantic properties, but it increases its worth to more of a "God metal" level. To build on the above point, it also involves both Preservation and Ruin. If one of Atium's allomantic properties is allowing Worldhopping/Shadesmar Access, then that would mean the key to Worldhopping on Scadrial requires both Preservation (Allomancy) and Ruin (Atium). Note that under normal circumstances there are no Godmetal Mistings. This means that a Mistborn would normally be required for worldhopping. Also note that without Lerasium bleeding into the bloodlines, Mistborn aren't exactly going to crop up. Thus in some sense Lerasium and Atium are both needed for Worldhopping... Lerasium to enable Mistborn (for the next generations) and Atium to power the hopping. This makes for an interesting side theory: What if part of Preservation's set up of the Wells (which I believe generate the Lerasium beads in the same manner as the pits generate Atium, given that both seem to come with some kind of dirt casing... the Pottery and the Geode respectively) was to enable the Scadrian's to worldhop, perhaps to potentially escape or go for help if needed? This certainly seems to fit with how much Atium and Lerasium are generated by the shardpools... you don't nearly need as much Lerasium as Atium for worldhopping to work in the way I describe, and the proportions in which the pools generate their metal reflect this. It fits with a Worldhopping Demoux This are just my thoughts, feel free to discuss Scadrial Worldhopping access, or Worldhopping access for any other Shard-world! Footnote *Barring something awesome like discovering that proper mastery of Allomantic Gold lets you slip into Shadesmar... having the whole double minded split perspective thing seems very cognitive and otherworldly to me, just saying...

Over at the Mistborn forum we're discussing Copper and Bronze, but a few things are starting to get more Cosmeric, so I thought I'd move that portion of the discussion here. If you want to discuss allomantic implications of copper or bronze, or discuss why people on Scadrial wouldn't be aware of the uses, I would recommend you see what's been written over there. I intend this thread to be a place for discussion of applications of the metals across the wider cosmere. First, let me say that everything I say is rampant speculation. I know I have not one shred of evidence to support that it's true, I just think I can make a case that it is plausible, that it fits the tenor of the cosmere. A very quick primer on how I think bronze/copper works (if you disagree or want to discuss it farther, I will one again direct you to the Mistborn thread). When you burn iron, all that happens is you see blue lines. People rapidly learned that there are ways to interact with these lines, and ironpulls became a thing. In short, I think that Seekers are able to interact with bronzepulses, it just isn't as obvious as Iron's "focus on the glowy lines", hence why no one knows how to do it. I also think that when you burn copper, you send out an interference signal. The default setting is one broadband field, which is useful for some things but not specific enough to be strong; many other signals just cut right through it. I believe if a Smoker knew what he were doing, he'd be able to send out copperpulses, not just one enormous coppercloud, and calibrate them to counter specific investiture. In fact, I believe that's where the pairing comes in. I think if a Mistborn with bronze were able to sense, for example, a Nahel bond, and hear the exact pulses it puts out, he'd then be able to use copper to send out a signal to counter that exact frequency. It would throw up some interference, and it would be like that time when Syl had to fly very far from Kaladin; they both lost a little bit of what they get out of the Bond, but once the interference was over they were back to normal. As for Bronze itself, one of the greatest advantages of crossing the cosmere is finding a world where no one knows how your magic works. Vin was kept in a prison specifically designed to hold a mistborn; no allomantic metal parts. If she were thrown into jail on Sel, she could just scrape some iron or steel off something metal and bob's your uncle. Imagine crossing the cosmere, and knowing the person you're fighting is Invested, and perhaps using Bronze so well, you even get at least some idea of what that person does. An Awakener visits Roshar and no one thinks to take away his shirt, which happens to have a thousand Breaths in it, but a Seeker might be able to tell, hey wait, that shirt is major Invested. Throw him in jail without it. Anyway, that's my basic idea.

Hello everyone! This is my second post on the forum, and I thought I'd open with a theory! After reading through many of the posts on the forum, and cross-referencing with the novels on my shelf, I've come up with an idea I like about Hoid's abilities. Specifically, I postulate that there is a shard that governs Time. This may seem like a "duh"/very basic theory, but I'd like to expand on this with a little bit of Special Relativity knowledge. In my understanding of Einstein's work, light is essentially the universe's timepiece, and control over the speed of light would be tantamount to control over time. Hence, this shard "Time" would allow the user/possessor to manipulate light. Now, if this shard was native to Yolen, then it would explain why the magic system of Lightweaving originated there. Now, a shard as powerful as Time would have to come with limitations: Time travel backwards is impossible. By manipulating light, speeding up or slowing down time would theoretically be possible. But backwards time travel would require light/the universe to act against it's fundamental nature. I understand that the Cosmere is a fantasy universe, but as Sanderson's Laws of Magic state: there's got to be rules. This limitation to Time would also explain Hoid's way of existing since Adonalsium was shattered, yet he hasn't experienced every moment since. Originally, I thought that Hoid might possess two shards: Light and Dark. However, this seemed too simplistic, and WoB stated that there were no other conflicting pairs apart from Ruin and Preservation. Then, I thought about the ideas behind complimentary pairings, and if Hoid was to have a second shard, it would be something like Space. Now, Space is one that I haven't felt through fully, but it could operate on multiple levels. Physical space manipulation could explain Worldhopping, Spiritual space could explain Hoid's ability to be in the right place every time, and Cognitive could make access to/control over the Shadesmar a breeze. I like the idea that he gained access to a shard on Yolen, either through his study of Lightweaving or through his role in Adonalsium being shattered, but that's a theory that's being worked on elsewhere on the forum. Please let me know what you think, and if I'm totally off-base/am missing some contradictory information, such as "WoB says: Hoid has no shards."

Hey everyone, Went a bit mental with my last paycheck and I bought all 7 of Brandon's books from his website, signed and personalised - i now have almost everything published by him, signed and/or personalised I asked for general hints about Hoid and WoR, and he wrote in the copy of TWoK (direct quote) Okay, fine. One hint, but not one in each book! In WoR there is a hint about how Hoid moves between planets - + it involves something you've seen in other worlds... Don't know if this belongs elsewhere, but I though I would put it up I have also just included a picture of my book shelf now - can see my uber awesome collection, including two copies of Legion, two of TAoL, and if you people look close enough, can also see the english versions of his bookbs beneath as well :

One of the first things that caught my attention when I read TWoK was this: The idea that the Heralds actually had to travel somewhere to go back to Damnnation surprised me. This obviously isn't in a place that can be easily accessed, being so alien to the way Roshar is described. Obviously somewhere off-world or at least far away from the main Rosharan supercontinent. And we haven't heard any indication of the Heralds having to journey back to Damnation after the Desolations. It seems fairly clear to me that there has to be some other way to get to Damnation. So, I think that the Heralds have access to Shadesmar and the knowledge of how to Worldhop. We know little of their abilities at this point, so it's at least plausible. It would certainly be useful in coordinating a worldwide defense against the Voidbringers. They can easily return to Damnation, be it on Roshar or elsewhere. Another point in favor is that, to Worldhop you go to Shadesmar. When Heralds die they automatically return, and we know that Shadesmar is where people seem to be going when they die, so that ties together quite nicely. I wouldn't even be surprised if the Travel surge was based off a similar principle. I know this is kind of an insignificant, rinky-dink theory, but what do you guys think?

Here is a quote from the 17th Shard Q&A with Brandon Sanderson last Fall (sorry, this is a cut and paste. So far I only know how to quote within a thread. I haven't figured out how to do a quote from a separate thread yet.): 'Aethling', on 25 Sept 2012 - 16:37, said: Brandon: The first planet with humans on it was Yolen. And here is a paraphrase of another quote (forgive me that I was not able to find the actual text and context of the quote, but I am 100% sure that I read itthis week): Brandon was asked about humans on shardworlds before the arrival of the Shard and Brandon affirmed that on some worlds there were humans existing on the world at the time of the arrival of the Shard. Assuming that these quotes are accurate and Brandon wasn't having a brain fart, humans were able to travel (presumably by worldhopping) pre-shattering. Any ideas on how this was accomplished? Obviously, realmatics was in play prior to the shattering since physical, cognitive, and spiritual realms and forms form the underpinnings of the cosmere. So, while Shard abilities may enhance the ability to worldhop, they do not seem to be required. The caveat in that statement is perhaps Adonalsium enabled any and all worldhopping pre-shattering and thus all post-shattering worldhopping is accomplished by virtue of the powers of the shards. What does everyone think about pre-shattering worldhopping and how it may have been accomplished?