Mistborn Era 3, and Stormlight, and Elantris, will be conflux series in part

[Ixthos]

Lets jump straight into this. I think that - in addition to Mistborn Era 4 - Mistborn Era 3 and Stormlight and Elantris are conflux stories. At least in part.

To explain, Brandon has said that conflux stories are stories which involve direct interactions of other Cosmere stories on each other. I think this means both explicit interactions of characters from one planet interacting on another, shards from one planet interacting with another, and magic systems from one planet impacting another.

We all expect Mistborn Era 4 to be conflux, as it is about travelling to other planets, possibly meeting other shards directly, and interactions between magic systems which show the fundamentals that connect them and which they are all based. I also think it will involve getting the metals from each shard and their interactions with allomancy, feruchemy, and hemalurgy, and possibly the seeding of a new region of space, but that is not the topic in question. The topic in question is the idea that Mistborn Era 4 will not be the only conflux stories in the Cosmere, and that, at least in part, Mistborn Era 3, Stormlight - particularly the end of the first arc, and maybe either the whole of the second arc or the end of the second arc - and Elantris, will also be conflux.

Now, I need to stress this, as this is probably the most immediate objection to the idea of these series being conflux, is that Stormlight in particular, and the others in part, are supposed to be stand alone, not requiring knowledge of the Cosmere. And I agree. I do think, however, that a story can be both stand alone (or at least as a series can be stand alone) while still being conflux. I will explain what I mean by first showing how those series connect to the others, and first talking about Shadows for Silence, Shadows Beneath (Sixth of the Dusk), and Sha- ... I mean, Warbreaker. And a little about the Emperor's (Cognitive Shadow) Soul :-P Don't worry - I'll also talk about Shadows of Self, but slightly later :-P

Brandon has said that Elantris, Mistborn, Stormlight, and Dragonsteel are the backbone of the Cosmere. Those stories together tell the arc of the Cosmere, with Dragonsteel being chronologically the first, and Mistborn Era 4 the last, Stormlight in the middle, and by implication Elantris - assuming no time skips - being relatively speaking the earliest after Dragonsteel, and the other Mistborn series being set just before and just after Stormlight. So naturally lets talk about the stories that aren't part of this.

 

Minor Stories

Sixth of the Dusk is the furthest along story so far, set during the time of Mistborn Era 4. I'm going to break the trend and assume that the space faring people are actually Rosharan, now obsessed with Chickens. Well, no, not obsessed with Chickens, but rather based on what Odium said, working around the spirit of the oaths they have taken. It might be others, it might be a people with connections to Autonomy, it might be people with connections to Scadrial and thus Harmony, but I think they are Rosharan. But either way, it doesn't matter. Where they come from doesn't matter. The story is about a culture threatened with assimilation, and the assimilating culture itself threatened with assimilation. Outside of how Aviar interact with the Cosmere, there isn't much of a connection to the other series - who the Ones Above are isn't important, nor is their capabilities, only their role. This might change in sequels, but for now, Sixth is in many ways uninvolved with the rest of the Cosmere, though it does add to it greatly.

Shadows for Silence is likewise uninvolved with the rest of the Cosmere, in as much as a world which is important to the Cosmere can be. Silence and her family don't interact with anything related to other worlds, other shards, or characters from other planets. The only impact is that Odium fought Ambition, and that impacted the system, but in and of itself this is background, not the story itself. We will get back to this point.

The Emperor's Soul has ties to Elantris, and little doubt the Moon Sceptre will be be important to Elantris, either the series or to Sel itself when they become a power, interacting with Roshar and Scadrial and others, but it doesn't involve any other worlds. Its only tie to the Cosmere's story is in how it affects Sel, and the rest of the Cosmere need not exist for it to take place. That is a key point.

Warbreaker is similar - it exists for Stormlight, Stormlight doesn't exist for it. In Stormlight Nalthis is referenced, but Roshar has no impact on Warbreaker.

White Sands is an interesting example, but without going to far into this at this point it is clear that, like with Warbreaker, White Sand exists at least in part for Khriss's sake, but Khriss's origin doesn't need the Cosmere, the Cosmere's story needs Khriss.

Other minor Cosmere stories, like the broadsheet stories of Jak, Edgedancer, and even the unpublished Aether, those either are self contained, or provide context for other stories. The only impact the Cosmere has on those stories is that they exist in it and support series which themselves rely on the Cosmere. Secret History is the single exception, but I think that still is a Mistborn story, and so is conflux.

 

Major Series

Now, lets talk about Mistborn, and Stormlight, Elantris, and Dragonsteel. These stories need the Cosmere. And the Cosmere needs them.

Every Cosmere story is connected to Dragonsteel at least in part, as Dragonsteel sets up the background. But while the minor stories have this as background, setting up the stories but not important to them themselves, the main series depend on it for their stories. These stories directly involve the shards, and the shattering. The four series needed to tell the Cosmere's full story, and are thus either fully or partially conflux.

Lets start with Elantris. While the first novel was written without the Cosmere in mind, it is clear that it is now important for the Cosmere, with the entire magic depending on the existance of two shards that were killed by Odium, and then their bodies placed in the Cognitive realm. Learning about this is probably key to the Elantris series, as is learning how to either use one system across the planet, or how to use those systems off world. But most telling is this - the sequel to Elantris needs to be written before Mistborn Era 3. This means that something that happens in the sequel or sequels will impact either the Cosmere as a whole, or Scadrial. There is an implication that Devotion and Dominion had plans for Sel, plans that let Odium kill them for breaking an agreement. It is likely that those plans haven't fully been stopped. I have mentioned before, and mentioned that I have mentioned before, that I think the main series stories are on planets that have at least two shards, and that the magic systems of two shards interacting are probably the most powerful and versatile in the Cosmere. I think that Devotion and Dominion intended for something to form on that planet which would impact the other shards, and I think the interactions of other shards will tie into the latter stories on Elantris. Not to the point that you need to know about the nature of other shards, but rather that there are other worlds, and beings with power on those worlds, and the more you know about those worlds the clearer the actions will be. Actions that relate to the shattering, and so knowing about the shattering would be helpful for Elantris sequel stories. But not necessarily needed, and I will elaborate on this point in Mistborn and Stormlight.

Mistborn Era 1 is the first time two shards show up. There is direct reference to that which has been shattered must again begin to seek its whole. There is reference to Ruin and Preservation working together to make life on the planet in the form of that which they have seen before. Sazed thinks on how the powers seem to belong together, and how have they been separated? There is reference to the Cosmere. You don't need to know about the Cosmere to enjoy it, and if you don't know about it it is a mystery which adds questions, questions that are helpful, as you read further to see if those questions are answered, the setting richer because it alludes to things outside the planet.

And they are answered, but not just by reading other Cosmere stories. Mistborn Era 2, which takes place just after Stormlight 5 - and consider when you read Stormlight, that ignoring relativistic affects of what it means for two things to happen simultaneously, when you read about Dalinar and Kaladin and Shallan, that Wax and Lessie are alive and happy on Scadrial, that Wax hasn't shot her yet, that Alloy of Law's prologue still is in the future, but Wax is in the roughs - has references to Trell (thus implying either a direct or indirect link to Taldain), the interference of probably a rogue avatar of Autonomy on the planet, metals from something that is off planet that is reaching out to interfere, with its own alien agents. If you haven't read Secret History, it now is clear there is life off of the planet. The nature of that life, the nature of this alien Trell isn't clear, but it is implied to be similar to Ruin and Preservation, Harmony, and to be active off planet.

Mistborn Era 3 will be set in the equivalent of the 1980's, with a cold war, covert operations, early computers, and new interactions of the metallic arts possibly even being computers. And yet Elantris needs to be written first. And with the established build up, I wouldn't be surprised if Mistborn Era 3 involved some corporation stealing magic from other Cosmere worlds, bringing them to Scadrial for profit or war. Maybe even bringing metals from other shards. Era 3 takes place after Stormlight 10, at least it is implied to, and some relation between this era and Elantris's series is implied. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends with a space program in the works, using the metallic arts and whatever other metals they have brought used to power it. Something I think Ruin and Preservation intended.

Mistborn Era 4 is definitely conflux. Visiting other worlds, interacting with other magic systems, interacting with other shards, Hoid as a protagonist. It comes after Dragonsteel, and so will likely be a direct continuation of themes and arcs in it, with shards not yet shown on other worlds being interacted with, characters from Dragonsteel seen again. Possibly even meeting a shard that can only be reached by ship, being in deep space, though maybe its presence would be enough to make it reachable in the cognitive realm. Silverlight will probably be reached - and yes, Silverlight stories would be conflux as well, with the different cultures in the city and its universities - and other worlds not yet shown possibly as well. I think there will be colonisation, trade, wars, and research all done in this series, with the main story possibly to find all the shards and get some of each of their metals, possibly even visiting Yolan. But either way, Mistborn Era 4 would be a fully conflux story, as would any Silverlight story. But we aren't talking about fully conflux stories. Well, I mean, we are, but the focus is on the partial ones. But by mentioning a fully conflux story, I hope to highlight the difference between a conflux story - knowing about the details of other worlds, and those details important - and a partially conflux story.

Stormlight is the crux of this argument - I think that it is in many ways the half way point of the Cosmere, both in timeline and in how involved the Cosmere is. But, you might wonder, isn't Stormlight supposed to be self contained? Bringing in other Cosmere worlds, shards, or magic would undermine that. But other worlds, shards, and magic are already a part of Stormlight, as are characters from other worlds. I will bring this point up again later, but if you don't know about the Cosmere then the references are just mysteries which make the story richer, but aren't vital to know the answer to to understand the story. If you do know, then the story is even richer than that.

In Stormlight there is an interlude with characters from Scadrial, Sel, and Taldain. There is a viewpoint from Vashar, a returned with hints about his nature as a returned. There is Nightblood, and a sword similar to Nightblood carried by a woman whose identity is no longer a secret if it ever was one. She performs awakening. Wit performs awakening, and references the heightenings. Wit performs allomancy. The trophy case has items from other worlds, including some sand that Wit also happens to have, and mentioning of Aethers. Wit mentions the power of creation to Dalinar, and hints at the shattering and reversing it, and Ash implies she knows about the shattering, possibly parts of that culture being her heritage. Oathbringer directly confirms they come from another world, just as it confirms that there are people on other worlds. Brandon has the calculations on how long it would take a Windrunner to travel from one world in the Rosharan system to another, and its moons. And there are people - humans on one, spren on another - on the worlds in the system. There is a break planned in the middle of the series, which is when Mistborn Era 2 takes place. Wit is almost certainly going to be the last viewpoint of Stormlight 5, travelling to another world, possibly directly to Scadrial. And, most importantly, the key piece - the letters. While the Way of Kings and Words of Radiance are slightly more ambiguous, Oathbringer has dialogue from shards directly written in the book. And shards are visible in the series. Honour shows up to tell Dalinar he is dead. Odium and Cultivation show up. And I don't have a copy in front of me right now, but I think it is stated that Odium has done what he did to Honour before, and that he is wounded, wounds that don't heal. If he has to engage directly, other forces will be drawn out. Other forces that could hurt him.

Other forces that could hurt him, which have directly written in a letter to Wit that they will either take out Odium or ignore him because they don't care. Or for Sazed that he doesn't know if he can help, but would like to, and next time your in the system, Master Hoid, could you please talk to my agents? That is something which would clear many more things up for us, I think.

In part, this next paragraph is a theory of how at least part of Stormlight will play out. Not about my ideas on the ten-person mono/partially-dual/dual/triple shard, though parts of that are present in this theory. But rather I will try to summarise an idea. Stormlight 5 will involve the shards directly acting against Odium. They don't been to show up directly to do this, but possibly working form the spiritual realm to lend their support against Odium, their existence however directly confirmed. Roshar already knew about Honour and Cultivation and Odium, though as legends. Mentioning the existence of other worlds, and the existence of shards on those worlds in the stories, this becoming more well known in the series, could imply that the first arc ends with Odium's vessel killed or contained by ten others, giving Roshar enough time to become strong enough to engage in interplanetary war with Braize, spaceships and space battles confined to the system. Maybe that last part will only happen in the last few books, but I think it is likely. And during all of this, the forces being more active, would let Trell begin its own campaign, possibly stealing some of Odiums minions along the way.

Dragonsteel is obviously conflux in that when seeing the existing shards being formed, and as a lead to Mistborn Era 4, but I think that that speculation can wait.

 

So, in conclusion, I think that the main series are all in part conflux stories. What do you think? Do you think this is likely, or do you think that the series will progress is another way? Do you think it would make for an interesting flow in the Cosmere? I look forwards to hearing from you!

[Feruchemist]

My personal micro-theory is somewhat short, and is as follows:

"As the Cosmere's timeline progresses, the story arcs of each series begin to converge".

So, I guess you could say that I agree with you.

[Ixthos]

@Feruchemist Then it is agreed! Full steam ahead ;-) 

I like your theory, by the way - in a sense, each series is part of a pyramid, building towards the top.

[Feruchemist]

Just now, Ixthos said:

@Feruchemist Then it is agreed! Full steam ahead ;-) 

I like your theory, by the way - in a sense, each series is part of a pyramid, building towards the top.

Exactly!

[Ripheus23]

A WoB to fuel the fire:

Quote

cadebengert

Do you have any plans that you can tell us about for when the events of the rest of the Cosmere will become evident in Roshar?

Brandon Sanderson

Roshar is an important part of the cosmere. Really, the question should be "When will events on Roshar effect the rest of the Cosmere" as opposed to the other way around.

source

Also, can't find it but there's a WoB where Sanderson talks about worrying that he's maybe not insulating Roshar enough, narrative-wise.