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Theory: After Ambition was wounded in the Threnodite System by Odium and Mercy, she fled to another point in space. This point either was, or became, the Rosharan system. Here, Ambition was killed. Her death created the Barrier Storm in the Cognitive Realm around the planet Braize. This storm was later Invested by Odium to create the proto-Everstorm that was pulled through into the Physical on Roshar at the Battle of Narak. Ambition's death also created a wound in the Spiritual Realm in the Rosharan System similar to that which exists on Threnody. This is the reason there are spren on Roshar. Datapoints: I group this into two categories, Spren and Storms. SPREN: From Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell, we know that the wounding of Ambition in the Threnodite System created Shades: cognitive beings which manifest in the Physical Realm. We do not see similar manifestations in the Mistborn novels or the White Sand graphic novels. We know there are no Splintered Shards in the Scadrian or Taldain systems at the time these stories are set. We see similar manifestations in Elantris and Emperor's Soul (Seons and Skaze). We know there are Splintered Shards in the Selish system at this time. We see similar manifestations in The Stormlight Archive (spren on Roshar) (and voidspren on Braize). STORMS: From Khriss's statements in Arcanum Unbounded, we know that the Dor around Sel is a whorl of free Investiture created when Odium Splintered Dominion and Devotion there. From statements from Nazh and Hoid, we know that travel to/from Sel through the Cognitive Realm is very difficult and dangerous due to the presence there of the Dor. From statements by Nazh, we know that that travel to/from Braize through the Cognitive Realm was difficult due to the presence of this Barrier Storm. A possible chronology: 1) The Shattering of Adonalsium. 2) Odium and Mercy clash with Ambition in the Threnodite System. Ambition is wounded. 3) Odium (and possibly others) clash with Ambition in the Rosharan system. Ambition is killed, creating the Barrier Storm, and spren. 4) Odium goes to the Selish system. He clashes with Dominion and Devotion. They are both killed, creating the Dor. 5) Odium returns to the Rosharan system, and begins whispering in the ears of the Ashynites. 6) The Ashynites devastate their planet using Dawnshards. They are taken in as refugees by Honor and Cultivation on Roshar. Their God, Odium, comes with them. 7) Honor, Cultivation, and Odium make a deal that they think will allow them to live in harmony on Roshar. This is the Oathpact. 8) Odium intentionally goes against the Oathpact, triggering its punishment prohibitions. He is exiled to Braize, on the far side of the Barrier Storm. The cycle of Desolations begins. 9) Honor is Splintered. 10) Honor's Cognitive Shadow is bound to the spren of the Highstorm. 11) Several millennia pass. 12) Odium invests a not-insignificant amount of Investiture into the Barrier Storm, creating the proto-Everstorm in the Cognitive Realm. This process takes several centuries. 13) Finally, the Everstorm is pulled through into the Physical Realm on Roshar, creating a direct passage between Braize and Roshar. Questions: A] Why is this wrong? B] Were other Shards involved in the death of Ambition? Did Mercy join Odium for the final clash? Did Ambition? Did Endowment (who we know is relatively new to the Nalthian system)? Indeed... were Honor and/or Cultivation in on the kill? C] Did the death of Aona and Skai occur before the initial conflict with Uli Da in the Threnodite system; after this initial conflict but before the final conflict in the Rosharan system; or after the Rosharan conflict? D] When on this timeline did Honor and/or Cultivation arrive on Roshar? E] When was Odium's first contact with the humans on Ashyn?

I was going to post in Stormlight forums initially, but some WoBs are mentioning worldhopping so I thought it safe to post here instead. I apologize for the vagueness that is about to follow, I'm not sure for a lot of things revolving around this theory, so try and consider this as a starting point for discussion and share knowledge. I’m also not sure if this has been discussed here before, and if yes please point me in the right direction. Apart from various discussions I've had the last few months about several of the following points, what incited this madness of a theory is this WoB about “the Heralds needing to leave for a Desolation to end, but not all of them have to.” But let me take things back, further back, before I bring you into it. [1 – Shadesmar / Roshar correlation] So I made this little image in order to possibly help with what I am imagining about Shadesmar. We know from the map that where land exists on Physical, it’s a sea of beads in Shadesmar. So from this, I am assuming that the heightmap of the land is inverted between the two Realms. The high points and mountains on Physical are deep parts in the sea of beads. The ground below sea level in the Physical is the dark sky in Shadesmar. And the air in the Physical is part of the ‘land’ in Shadesmar. [2 – The shapeshifting land] The Rosharan map looks like a Julian set, so this implies it is an ever-changing structure. This could be happening by the distribution of crem and the Highstorm cycles, magically shifting the ground from one shape to the next with the passage of time. Because we have in-book maps that persist for hundreds of years, I'm assuming this phenomenon takes thousands of years to make a huge difference and it’s not something our characters are ever going to witness firsthand (at least not the immortal ones). [3 – Shapeshifting Shadesmar?] What would be especially interesting to consider in such a scenario is the corresponding change happening in the Cognitive Realm as a result of this. It could mean that the sea parts of Shadesmar would be continuously shifting, changing shape, providing Cognitive land access to places that didn't have it before and removing that same access later. On the other hand, we know that Shadesmar is the access point to and from other planets, with WoBs stating that Worldhoppers could possibly 'step in between light years' of distance when traveling between planets through the Cognitive Realm. Assuming the first humans to arrive on Roshar did this while the Julia set was aligning in such a way to allow passage from Ashyn, this would mean that the Heralds lived in an age where Shadesmar's mystery and functionality was already explored. They would've probably known that if you traveled to ‘a moon patch' that represents a planet and explore it it would allow land to 'grow' on Shadesmar. [4 – Rosharan planets made of air] So to reach the topic of the thread, what if the 10 gas giants around Roshar are actually the Tranquiline Halls, the pathways to Damnation from where Odium's Desolations could be ‘walled off’? Since the air in Physical would translate to land in Shadesmar, could it be that by visiting a gas giant and exploring it, a huge wall of land would appear in Shadesmar, all of a sudden? Could it be that each Herald was supposed to 'go back' to each one of the gas giant planets, in order to 'create a wall’ on the Shadesmar side, that would protect Roshar from Odium’s influence? Could it be that the Heralds were continuously tortured and killed in order to make them forget that part and the walls in Shadesmar to break down? Could it be that the Heralds eventually found out that not all of the ‘walls’ were needed in order to shield Roshar? That Odium only arrived from one direction in Shadesmar, one planet, and by leaving that one Herald corresponding to that wall, it was enough?