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Hoid is my favorite character in the Cosmere, but I don't think he is a good guy...at all. He's selfish, cunning, and tricky. I think he is ultimately only out for himself in the Cosmere, but he does have a larger goal. Would you want to help Hoid on purpose or do you think the Cosmere would be better off without him?

So I read Tress recently and I was shocked when she referenced death as "with iron in his eyes" (sorry I can't remember the exact words). Does this mean Marsh has worldhopped or acted as the one that greets people before they get pulled into the Beyond on other planets? If it's the latter does that mean Harmony (or Discord depending on the timeline) can send Marsh to fill that roll on planets without a Shard? Also on planets without a Shard is there no one who greets the recently dead or on Tress' planet is there maybe an Aether who fills this role? Sorry for the rambling let me know your thoughts :3

I'm unsure of where we officially learned this, but I learned in Tress that the material dragonsteel comes from the scales of dragons. I didn't think much of it at the time, but then I started thinking about how there are essentially zero mythical metals besides the god metals. So considering that this elusive material is meant to be at the core of the plot to the Dragonsteel book, it is either regular metal that's been specifically invested, or it's god metal. Considering that God metal can manifest in a multitude of ways, I wouldn't consider it impossible if dragonsteel was secretly Adonalsium's metal. We've already seen spren manifest as metal and we know that nonhuman creatures in the physical can interact with the cognitive realm to a degree. Although interacting with splinters and the cognitive is typically exclusively Rosharan, I wouldn't be surprised if some really weird stuff was going on with the dragons considering we don't know a whole lot about, or at least I don't. That concludes my brief theory. If you see any holes in my logic or whatever feel free to say... I never know how to end these...

Hi I'm new here, can someone clarify how spoilers should be handled. Can I have spoilers in the title of my posts? Are spoilers for more recent books handled differently, and if so how recent does the book have to be? Anyways here's my fanart of the scene where they cross into the Crimson Sea.

I haven’t been able to read Aether of Night yet, but I’m curious if we know of other Aethers besides Crimson, Rosite, Sunlight, Zephyr, Midnight, and Verdant? spoilers for the Lost Metal and Tress:

Okay, this is an insane theory that popped into my head just now and I need to get it out so everyone can tell me that I'm crazy. Spoilers for Tress of the Emerald Sea. In Chapter 23, Fort mentions a legendary supposed thirteenth spore, the "bone spore," which people supposedly can't decide whether it's white or black. I think it's supposed to be assumed that these spores are aethers. They activate when exposed to water, which fits what we see in The Lost Metal. Each has a different effect. This interested me earlier in the book, because it's similar to the White Sand, which takes water from the Sand Master as it uses its energy. Then it struck me. I'm proposing that this supposed thirteenth spore either is, or grows on, the white sand of Taldain, and that Sand Mastery is a form of Aether magic. I know very little about how aethers actually work and don't know how the theory will actually hold up. I've only read up to the point where this thirteenth spore is mentioned, then came here to post the theory. I don't know if it fits with anything else, or how a "spore" would make it to Taldain. But this is something that I think is worth discussion. And if it isn't, please tell me, so I can stop following a crazy theory.

These are cropped versions of a couple Cosmere pieces I just did for myself. I started one with the Stormfather yesterday so I might post that one here sometime in the near future.

Disclaimer: I have no idea where to put this, so please benevolent mods, move this if necessary. SPOILER WARNING: Alright so, this theory contains the heaviest spoilers in the world for Stormlight Archive Rhythm of War, Warbreaker, Elantris, Tress of the Emerald Sea, and I might have to borrow from Mistborn Era 2 It also spoilers ALL of Avatar the last airbender and Legend of Korra. The world of Avatar almost perfectly fits into the cosmere, here me out. I'll be using cosmere words like Bond, Connection, Investiture, Spren, Shards, cognitive realm, Intent, and the like, so if you don't know any of those, read the cosmere books before reading on in this theory. I'll to capitalize those words in order to make them stand out. I will call the Avatar-World the Avatar-World in order to avoid confusion. --- Let's get started, first of all, of course there are not really fitting shards left over for this planet, but to put it simply, something similar to Roshar is going on. Spren-like splinters called Spirits inhabit the Cognitive Realm known as the Spirit-world of the planet Avatar-World, and two perpendicularities known as Spirit Portals in the North and South pole of the planet exist. This is a fact that points towards two Shards of Adonalsium having been shattered on that world. The Spirit World, Spirits, and the Perpendicularities Judging from the original humans having been in the Cognitive Realm first, they might've migrated over from another planet, before having been changed by Cosmereological Intent (see Pure Lakers on Roshar) to let the ever present but Mist-like (see Scadrial) invisible form of Investiture known as Chi, flow through their bodies. The Spren/spirits/splinters of those Shards known as the lion turtles could thus grant the humans a special form of Bond to allow them to use the power of an element. In the Avatar-World there must be two new types of Bonds: one that lion turtles use to grant the ability to use investiture to control and element, and one bond that Spirits use to possess a human. Bending and Investiture - an End-Positive System Forming a Connection to the power of the Splintered shards (see what happened on Sel), this Bond is not very similar to the Nahel Bond (Roshar & Spren) and a Luhel Bond (Lumar), but instead only requires an initial bond that unlcoks the power in a human and can then be passed on genetically. Investiture in the Avater-World in the physical realm is an invisible gas, or at least humans have evolved to not see it, and is ever-present, seeping into the humans where it is called Chi. The unlocking of bending and chi-gates might form cracks in the soul that are passed on genetically, seemingly even the more powerful Splinters or rather Cognitive Shadows can hold such powers, as evident by Raava and Vaatu. Bending itself is a way of Accessing Investiture, requiring intent and specific physical movements that look almost like a martial art. This is similar to Aons drawn by Elantrians using AonDor or the martial arts on Sel. The Avatar Both bonds were used by Raava and Wan to create the first avatar: A cognitive shadow that holds memories of all prior avatars, held together within a human body by the Spirit Raava. Whenever an Avatar dies, the memories are added to the cognitive shadow known as the Avatar, and the spirit Raava carries it on to a newborn human from another nation to use the possession Bond with. Similar to a Bondsmith, the Avatar can create and sever connection, such as completely taking someone's ability to bend, or temporarily elsecalling into the Spirit World (Cognitive Realm). Chi-Blocking Chi-blocking blocks spiritual pathways for the Soul which investiture would need to take. Healing Healing works well in the Avatar-World since due to the physical movements through which investiture is accessed, the humans of the Avatar-World have developed a stronger image of self and their cultures, even associating them directly with how they can use investiture. Savantism Savantism in bending might require something more than just a lot of investiture and using their power, but these are known as specialized bending types. --- Tell me what you think. Did I make any mistakes? Any way you can fix my mistakes and still make it fit?

So if Hoid is an Elantrian now, can he stop glowing if he wants to? Will it be hard for him to hide? Seems like glowing uncontrollably would really change his MO. Turning someone into a rat seems like a different kind of magic from what we've seen in the Cosmere so far. Is that just a standard Elantrian ability? If so, dang, Hoid is going to be practically unstoppable wherever he can draw a big map. Hoid said that he and sixteen other people told someone "It's for your own good." I guess they were speaking to Adonalsium at the Shattering, though they could have been speaking (metaphorically) to the Cosmere as a whole. Why would the Shattering have been for Adonalsium's own good? I liked that the story wasn't just "Sometimes the princess does the rescuing." That is no longer a clever twist. The end of this story was. Will the duke's nephew still be his heir? That seems legally doubtful. Silver seems to have the ability to thwart or kill living Investiture around the Cosmere - Threnody, Roshar, and now Lumar. I want to see more types of spores and their uses. Or the aethers the spores are connected to. What was Xisis's real reason for letting Tress go? Tress mentions death himself with nails in his eyes. Those Scadrians must get around, huh?

So, it mentions something about a shower in this book. Even the most technologically advanced planet, which is Scadrial, doesn't have showers... right? I haven't read all of Wax and Wayne, so I don't know. If this is resolved later in the book, don't tell me! I'm only 12% of the way through.

This is pretty much a nitpicky and petty complaint but I preferred the artwork for the cover during the initial announcement and excerpt releases. I assume it was changed to what we got due to being too The Little Mermaid adjacent which is understandable but still a bit disappointing. Curious to if anyone else felt similar.

Xisis was the first good canonical look we’ve had at an actual dragon, Cultivation aside, so I thought I’d round up some of the things we know now. About Xisis specifically (unclear how much this is typical of dragons, and how much is just Xisis): Xisis keeps ‘servants’, though other characters refer to them as slaves. He likes his ‘servants’ to be well-mannered, preferably skilled to begin with, and easy to train. He doesn’t care if they came to him willingly, and they’re not allowed to leave, but he makes sure their physical and emotional needs are well met (within reason). Generally, Xisis seems short on empathy, but is interested and entertained by ‘mortals’. Xisis can make a cloth move ‘as if alive’ by waving a claw at it. The cloth then seems to react to Crow on its own. He can also reliably receive a message in a bottle dropped anywhere in his part of the sea. Xisis makes a point not to interfere with the human societies on the planet where he’s living, though it’s okay that people know he exists, and he has no issue interacting with individuals who come to find him. Xisis needs an ‘excuse’ for his decision to spare Tress. He does not explain why. Xisis implies that he fears Riina, and nobody else on Lumar. This suggests that a single, sufficiently skilled, Elantrian could realistically pose a threat to a dragon. Xisis is currently researching the ecosystem at the bottom of the spore seas, a backwater with little to no relevance to the cosmere at large. As of the events of Tress, he has been there for at least 300 years, possibly longer. About dragons generally: Dragons encourage ‘mortals’ to respect and fear them, as this may prove useful later. To that end, Dragons make an effort to seed stories and legends about themselves through societies around the cosmere. They often visit forming societies for this purpose. Dragons hoard ideas, but are uninterested in traditional forms of wealth or treasure. Dragons will not give or accept a free gift. If they take something, they need to trade something of value in exchange. (Ulaam implies that this is normal for dragons, not just Xisis.) Dragonsteel is a metal that grows on dragons’ bodies. It forms claws, horns and spines. Dragons are not always in their ‘natural forms’. Meeting a dragon is rare for most people, though they don’t dislike interacting with people. Questions I have: What is that thing Xisis does with the cloth? It looks like Awakening, but Xisis doesn’t speak to do it. Was the cloth ‘pre-programmed’ and just waiting to be turned on by a gesture? How does Xisis ‘watch’ the sea? How does he know when someone throws in a message? Where does he get his servants from? Are they all from people like Crow, who find him and bring him a new slave in return for something? Where did the objects he traded to Tress come from? How did he know Ann’s prescription? Or where Salary’s father was? Why does he need an ‘excuse’ to spare Tress? Is there some kind of enforced dragon code of conduct? Who would hold him to account? Why are dragons so weird about trades? Why is Xisis so interested in the ecosystem in the spore seas? Why is Xisis afraid to tangle with Riina? Why is it so rare to see a dragon, if they have no problem interacting, and like collecting information and trading? A few tentative conclusions I think it’s reasonable to draw: Dragons have access to powerful abilities, especially ones to do with gathering information, but are not necessarily that good in a fight (or Riina wouldn’t be a big deal). Dragon psychology is weird. Like, really weird. There are hard-and-fast rules they follow very strictly, to a point that does not make intuitive sense to humans. Dragons are relatively rare in the cosmere. Few people see them, either because few exist, or because most of them live somewhere inaccessible.

So, this is an idea I had after reading some people’s thoughts of Hoid’s narration. Namely, how he seems to mention a lot more modern inventions than he does in other books - for example, talking about vending-machines at the end of Chapter 54, or name-dropping laptops. This is interesting, because modern technology doesn’t appear in most Cosmere books. Era 2’s Scadrial is the most advanced civilization we’ve seen so far. And that, combined with the fact that Hoid frequently comments on tropes and storytelling and all that, and sometimes fudges details for comedy (see: the Dougs), leads me to one realization: At least in Secret Projects 1 and 3, Sanderson is writing Hoid very similarly to how he writes Alcatraz. Think about it! A powerful white dude snarkily commenting on storytelling while retelling his adventures from decades ago? That’s basically Alcatraz Smedry from “Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians”! I don’t think this tone will really maintained for “Dragonsteel”, mainly because… Hoid is the protagonist of that story, so he’s not going to be robbed of his faculties or ability to move. He has much more personal investment, so he’ll be a lot less quippy.

Alright with the new secret projects coming out and other books.... here is the place for ALL of the funny spoiler memes and jokes that y'all come up with!! I'll start it off with a Sharder meme

So Brandon mentioned that the composition of the Nightmares is related to Midnight Essence and Nightblood's black smoke. I wonder if this also relates to the material that the Aether of Night assumedly grants the Sorceress of the Midnight Sea control over.

So after some thinking this seems interesting. Silver makes some sense as being useful at destroying investiture since it is used to combat shades on Threnody. That potentially ties these planets together, since we haven't YET seen magical applications of silver on other worlds. In another thread someone (I think Pagerunner) suggested that silver might be useful specifically against corrupted investiture and that since these are spin-offs of the og Aethers they might have been corrupted or affected by alien investiture in some way. But why salt? My first thought is that if these Aether spores are some conjunction of an organic and inorganic matter, then perhaps silver kills the spores by affecting the the investiture, while the salt kills the organic portion. There are parallels in the real world where salt is used to preserve meat or in the pickling process - killing off or at least retarding the growth of microbes. Some salts can be used to kill weeds. Thus the salt portion may suggest this is how the spores are formed. This makes a lot of sense for something like Verdant which grows vines, but how not as much sense for other Aethers. Especially something like Amberite which creates rock/crystal. So that might count against the theory. Another possibility is that its not salt in general, but the specific form of salt found in/near the Rock. This might explain why the King has to order people to stay there, and why a war hero was assigned this place as duke. He wants to continue mining the salt and using it without letting other kingdoms know whats going on. This might tie into how even the air near the Rock is salty enough to kill the spores, which seemed really strange to me when I first read it. If its something other than the salt involved, perhaps even some form of investiture, that might explain how this works. I have trouble figuring out how salt can be used to negate investiture, since its such a common and easily obtained substance on every world. Someone else would have figured something out by now if this was a general rule. Therefore there must be something specific about either the spores or the salt that allows this.