Hoid, Spren, and Shadesmar?

[Rew]

So, haven't seen this up anywhere else, but came across this in my recent rereading in WoK and with what's been seen in WoR so far - interesting possibilities are afoot at the Circle K. (Otherwise known as Shadesmar? Is that how Bill and Ted did it?)

 

In Shallan's chapter of WoR, we are given a much better idea/definition of Spren and their relation to the Cognitive realm, and humans than previously:

 

“What are spren?” Jasnah asked.

The question caught Shallan off guard, but by now she was accustomed to challenging questions from Jasnah. She took time to think and consider her answer.

“Nobody knows what spren are,” Shallan said, “though many philosophers have different opinions on—”

“No,” Jasnah said. “What are they?”

“I…” Shallan looked up at a pair of windspren spinning through the air above. They looked like tiny ribbons of light, glowing softly, dancing around one another. “They’re living ideas.”

Jasnah spun on her.

“What?” Shallan said, jumping. “Am I wrong?”

“No,” Jasnah said. “You’re right.” The woman narrowed her eyes. “By my best guess, spren are elements of the Cognitive Realm that have leaked into the physical world. They’re concepts that have gained a fragment of sentience, perhaps because of human intervention.

“Think of a man who gets angry often. Think of how his friends and family might start referring to that anger as a beast, as a thing that possesses him, as something external to him. Humans personify. We speak of the wind as if it has a will of its own.

“Spren are those ideas—the ideas of collective human experience— somehow come alive. Shadesmar is where that first happens, and it is their place. Though we created it, they shaped it. They live there; they rule there, within their own cities.”

 

Now, comparing the idea of spren as "living ideas" with this from "Wandersail":

 

The King’s Wit cocked his head, then smiled. Finally, he held out his hand to Kaladin. “And what is your name, my thoughtful bridgeman?” Kaladin hesitantly raised his own hand. “Kaladin. And yours?” “I’ve many.” The man shook Kaladin’s hand. “I began life as a thought, a concept, words on a page. That was another thing I stole. Myself. Another time, I was named for a rock.”

Sanderson, Brandon (2010-08-31). The Way of Kings (Stormlight Archive, The) (p. 801). Tom Doherty Associates. Kindle Edition.

 

Now, Hoid may just be being cryptic here about the way he stole his identity from someone.  But there seems to be just a little too much of a correspondence to Shallan and Jasnah's discussion.

 

We know Hoid is intimately involved with and expert at manipulating Shadesmar to travel between worlds.  What could this mean for him, if he originated somehow in the Cognitive Realm? This would be an interesting idea (see what I did there? ), as Hoid could then be literally the embodiment of storytelling - which would explain his penchant for being a spreader of knowledge and tales...

 

Ok, all you who are smarter than me in the ways of the Cosmere - Discuss!

[Shardlet]

It is an interesting idea Rew.  But, although his backstory is not totally set in stone yet, as we have it so far, Hoid orginated on the planet Yolen.

[Unknowingly]

*minor spoilers for liar of partinel, this is not published yet and is possibly subject to change.

 

An interesting theory but I'm going to say he was being cryptic. We know from what Brandon has released in his early writings for Hoids backstory, The Liar of Partinel, that Hoid is not his name but his Master's/teacher's in the art of lightweaving. The teacher dies and Hoid/Wit retaliates and then takes his masters name.

[Rew]

Drat! Been so long since I read Liar, I didn't immediately make the connection. 

 

So, 'originate' is probably not the right word.  Maybe he's just being cryptic about his origins, but I can't but feel he is giving some indication of Shadesmar being important in who he is now/what he is able to do...