Theories for the Cosmere finale, so to speak?

[Lelouch Vi Britannia]

So, I was thinking. The Cosmere is eventually going to have a conclusion, be that a long way off. And as we know, books take place a long way apart (I forget the technical timeline, but I know Mistborn series 1 takes places either ~300 or ~somethingthousand years before Way of Kings (and the characters die anyway, making my point moot)). Thusly, most of the protagonists willn't be around by the time this universe reaches its climax with Odium as the likely primary antagonist. So, what will that look like? Hoid will probably be important in some way, and we're eventually getting more information about Yolen. So, will other Shards ally to fight Odium? Will Hoid eventually hold all the shards and fight Odium by himself (almost certainly no, but one of my favorite theories anyway)? Will Sazed play a role (probably yes)? I'd love to here other theories on this, being as this universe isn't exactly formatted in a traditional manner. 

EDIT: Oh, and how do I bold this topic title? I'm new here.

Edited November 24, 2017 by LewsTherinTalamon

[LevenThumps]

I actually don't think Odium will be the antagonist for the entire cosmere.  Brandon has said his goal is make Stormlight feel very contained and not an Avengers-like crossover.  If Odium was the primary antagonist, I don't know what the finale of Stormlight would be, since Odium is being built up as the big bad for that series.  Maybe a new Shard holder for Odium?  I don't have much idea about what the grand end could be, but I think MIstborn 3 is confirmed to be the final work chronologically.  

Edited November 24, 2017 by LevenThumps

[Brightlord M. Alhstrom]

Note: When looking at thread titles, thread titles for threads whose last post you haven't read will be in bold. 

So first off, I'm going to refer to Odium by using his Shardholder's name: Rayse. So, I doubt Rayse is the final protagonist of the Cosmere, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, he has seen enough action to retire soon, and it looks like that retirement will happen in Stormlight Archives. For another, a dual-shard like Harmony would probably beat Rayse in a straight fight. Make that a triple-shard, and it's a bloodbath. So the Hoidonalsium vs Rayse theory falls apart, as a 15-shard being would simply swat a single shard like Rayse. And Rayse has avoided picking up shards in the past. If it ends up being a fight scenario, then I assume that it will be two multi-shards, or their people, fighting each other, and that means it can't be Rayse.

As for the main characters all being dead, you have to realize that somehow Worldhoppers don't really seem to age. Elantris happens significantly before SA. MB1 takes place 300 years before, and as far as I can tell, Warbreaker is also significantly before. Also, I doubt White Sands happens just before SA, since Khriss is still there in White Sands. And yet you have characters from all of these stories showing up and getting cameos in SA. So, it sounds like for the overall Cosmere plot we are actually likely to see a ton of our favorite characters, like Kelsier, Hoid, Demoux, Galadon, Vasher, Vivenna, Nightblood, Khriss, Jasnah (if anyone goes worldhopper after SA, it's Jasnah, if she survives,) and many other SA characters.

As for the final conflict, I hope it's more complex than a couple shards dueling it out. A couple ideas:

- The fainlife seeps into the CR, then starts invading the Cosmere. (Disclaimer: I've heard of the fainlife, but haven't read any of the unpublished works where it exists).

- SA culminates in a Triple shard of Honor-Odium-Cultivation, held by one of the Knights Radiant (or Voidbringers), and Roshar starts conquering the rest of the Cosmere.

- Variant of the above where the other shards we haven't seen happen to all have been merged, and that Megashard's planet goes conquering.

- Nightblood touches one of the Shards, killing it and eating all of its investiture. Hoid, or someone else, then starts using Nightblood to systematically destroy every Shard.

- Unbeknownst to the Shards, Adonalsium cannot stay shattered, and the Investiture in the SR has slowly been siphoned off to the largest of the Shards, kinda like how if you are feeding Stormlight to all of the pieces of Shardplate, eventually the biggest piece will grow into a full set and the rest will disappear.

 

Point is, I don't see another Vin-Ati showdown being the climax of the Cosmere. It's going to be more complex than that

[shawnhargreaves]

No way will the finale of the entire Cosmere be fighting Odium.  That would just be the Stormlight story continued, which would mean the 10 book Stormlight sequence didn't properly end.  That's just not how Brandon works - he's never been afraid to wrap one thing up before moving onto the next.

The obvious outcome would be someone somehow reforming Adonalsium, but I think this is too obvious.

Mistborn 3 will be more scifi than fantasy.  By then, technology will have commoditized access to magic.  This is a development that we can already see the start of in the latest Mistborn books, and with fabrials on Roshar.  The more the uses of investiture become understood and manipulable by science, and the more people are able to use these on a regular basis, the less they're going to like the idea of just 10 arbitrarily chosen people being in direct control of the vast majority of this investiture.  I wonder if the final conflict will be over whether there should be Shards at all, as people attempt to splinter them all.

 

[Mahoka]

It seems clear to me that Odium and Honor will merge. Odium is said to be God's own divine hatred without context. Honor would provide this context and restraint.

Fairly sure Cultivation will willingly give her shard to this mix, resulting in the triple shard Unity. Dalinar will Ascend to hold this, because he is the one person who has Connected to all three of those shards.

Hoid will probably lead an effort to reunite Adonalsium with the support of Dalinar and Sazed. The new antagonist will be Autonomy, who opposes this due to his Intent.

I believe Autonomy is behind Vun Makak and Nu Ralik on Roshar, the Pantheon on First of the Sun, Dayside/Nightside on Taldain, Austere on Nalthis, and the Trellagists on Scadrial. Perhaps others.

Stuff will happen....

Space odyssey from Scadrial to reach a shard who has hidden on a planet with no perpendicularity, and perhaps ending with Hoid holding the last peice of Adonalsium all this time,  but never having taken it up.

Dalinar gets to meet his God Beyond, who says something about this all being planned, happy ending, fade to black. 

[+Extesian]

Bavadin vs Everyone

[theRoyalDingus]

All right guys. Let's just get real for a moment.

HOID

(and the Stick)

Edited November 24, 2017 by Krypton Savant

[Guy Srinivasan]

Aliens versus Shardholders in such a way that Adonalsium would never have won.