Letters between Shards and Hoid

[Bloodweaver]

I wonder if we know how letters (from the epigraphs) are transported between Shards and Hoid. Do they have an worldhopping envoy who knows how to access them all or do they have other means to communicate? Is the Cognitive Realm like a fax machine?

And what are the letters written on? Metal?

[+robardin]

Presumably, any indirect Shard-to-mortal communication (or whatever Hoid qualifies as - though Endowment dismisses him as "merely a man", that's not exactly true...) would be replied to in the same way as it was received. So Frost's reply, plus the three Shardic replies, may offer some insight into the medium of delivery.

Endowment: "I received your communication, of course. I noticed its arrival immediately, just as I noticed your many intrusions into my land."

Autonomy: "... You have spoken to one who cannot respond. We, instead, will take your communication to us - though we know not how you located us upon this world."

Harmony: "Your letter is most intriguing, even revalatory. .. I can be surprised. I can perhaps even be naive, I think. ... If you would speak to me further, I request open honesty. Return to my lands, approach my servants, and I will see what I can do for your quest."

And Frost's reply includes: "I'll address this letter to my "old friend," ... Now, look what you've made me say." (While Frost is not a Shard, it seems reasonable that Hoid may have used a similar means of cross-world communication with him.)

What might this tell us?

Frost and Harmony refer to sending or receiving a "letter", while Endowment and Autonomy refer to a "communication", and Autonomy specifies it as a "spoken" one (the reply could easily have been, "you have written to one who cannot respond"). "Letter" technically implies a written communication, but it doesn't have to be, and Hoid's own letter to Frost called itself a "missive".

Harmony replies, "if you would speak to me further", not "if you would write to me further", or "if we were to continue our correspondence".

Frost uses a very colloquial offhand remark after insulting Hoid, "Now, look what you've made me say", which seems very oral to me, being a little bit too stream-of-consciousness to be something one would write on a piece of paper. Not entirely impossible, but it is suggestive.

Suggestive of what? Of some kind of dictation or recording based communication, rather than an actual written-on-a-page type of letter. There is a formal composition and preparation of thoughts, to put into a single transmission (it's not like an "instant text message" type of back-and-forth reply), but still has room for ad-hoc or last minute interjections and musings, like Harmony's very Sazed-style "humble-hedging" comment, "I can be surprised. I can perhaps even be naive, I think." Someone writing a letter and editing it before sending it would almost certainly not put the redundantly hedging type words "perhaps" and "I think" there, it's a kind of verbal tic.

Furthermore, Endowment implies noticing the agent's "arrival" in the same way that she notices Hoid "intruding" into Nalthis - meaning it worldhopped in via the same path that Hoid himself has been using, and Harmony demands "open honesty" in a direct discussion with Hoid, implying this first communication was via a go-between.

So my wild, wild theory: the letters are a kind of Lightweaving type magic that can be tied to a living or maybe Cognitive Realm based agent, which upon receipt can do a "help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're our only hope" type of playback, and perhaps includes a of mechanism for taking back a reply in the same way (like a SASE of old).

Edited June 19, 2019 by robardin

[Wandering Investor]

Quote

IcyLetters

So I was looking at the letter sent by Hoid to Frost and vice versa and I was wondering how he sent them? Like is there some sort of Cosmere Postal Service in the Cognitive Realm?

Brandon Sanderson

He's not using it, but there is active trade between several of the planets (and a version of a postal service.)

General Reddit 2019 (March 22, 2019)

So there is a postal service, but Hoid may not be using them. I thought I saw another WoB that said he was using the postal service to talk to the shards, but I can't find it, I'll edit it in if I do. I imagine the letters are written on paper, but that's just a guess, might depend on who the recipient is and the world in question.

[Bloodweaver]

Thanks for the answer. It's quite a minor detail but still, the letters need to be delivered somehow.

[Use the Falchion]

No confirmation, but my theory - at least for the Oathbringer letters - is that he had a slight team-up/deal with the Ghostbloods. They get him off Roshar and onto First of the Sun (which I personally believe is Obrodai) and he gets them an Aviar. 

[Wander89]

Cosmere Mail!

[Karger]

Hoid has breath.  If necessary he can awaken a small doll and have that doll take the letters through shadesmar by hand.

[Elegy]

18 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

No confirmation, but my theory - at least for the Oathbringer letters - is that he had a slight team-up/deal with the Ghostbloods. They get him off Roshar and onto First of the Sun (which I personally believe is Obrodai) and he gets them an Aviar. 

There are two little problems I have with that theory: Brandon has confirmed that Hoid and the Ghostbloods hate each other, so it's very unlikely they have a deal. It's also unlikely that Obrodai is First of the Sun, since the letter is written by Patji himself and he talks about Obrodai as "there" which is not "here", where Patji would be.

28 minutes ago, Karger said:

Hoid has breath.  If necessary he can awaken a small doll and have that doll take the letters through shadesmar by hand.

Wouldn't a doll be very risky (as in, easy to catch)? I don't know how important it is for these letters to go unnoticed, but Hoid seems to be very scared of Odium, so he'd rather not want him to know he's writing to Frost etc. But this is certainly a possibility, assuming that the command would be simple enough for the doll.

Edited June 16, 2019 by Elegy

[Karger]

3 hours ago, Elegy said:

Wouldn't a doll be very risky (as in, easy to catch)? I don't know how important it is for these letters to go unnoticed, but Hoid seems to be very scared of Odium, so he'd rather not want him to know he's writing to Frost etc. But this is certainly a possibility, assuming that the command would be simple enough for the doll.

This assumes that anyone notices it.  A doll is just one idea but my point is that we are talking about Hoid.  He can probably get this done on his own if he needs to.

Edited June 16, 2019 by Karger

[RShara]

It's clearly a service offered at Shadesmar(t), the Greatest Shopping Center in the Cosmere!

[Use the Falchion]

8 hours ago, Elegy said:

There are two little problems I have with that theory: Brandon has confirmed that Hoid and the Ghostbloods hate each other, so it's very unlikely they have a deal. It's also unlikely that Obrodai is First of the Sun, since the letter is written by Patji himself and he talks about Obrodai as "there" which is not "here", where Patji would be.

Wouldn't a doll be very risky (as in, easy to catch)? I don't know how important it is for these letters to go unnoticed, but Hoid seems to be very scared of Odium, so he'd rather not want him to know he's writing to Frost etc. But this is certainly a possibility, assuming that the command would be simple enough for the doll.

That's the Set and Hoid I believe. As for Patji and Obrodai, you're correct and my theory there is wrong, but there IS a connection between it all. We just don't have the full picture yet. Hoid at least traveled to Obrodai (and most likely First of the Sun given Mraize's new Aviar and which aspect of Autonomy responded to the letter...although to be fair simply the location of the First of the Sun might have been the payment, and the Ghostbloods took the Aviar on their own). 

Aesicar

What does Hoid think of the Ghostbloods and what do they think of him?

Brandon Sanderson

The Ghostbloods are intrigued, and he is unimpressed.

 

Stormlightning

Are Hoid and the Set aware of each other?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, but I wouldn't say the Set as a general rule, but members of the Set.

Stormlightning

How do they feel about each other?

Brandon Sanderson

Some various shades of loathing.

Stormlightning

On both sides?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Elegy]

Oops, of course you are right. Sometimes the numerous cosmere-aware organizations just fly around in my head uncontrollably and I get them confused.

It's an interesting theory for sure. I still think that Mraize has other ways of getting ahold of these things, considering he has a lot of them. I doubt Hoid has got him all of them so the Ghostbloods seem to be capable of a lot of risky worldhopping stuff. But it is a possibility!