A Clash of Cultures

[Kingsdaughter613]

Brandon has said that Era4 will be a clash of cultures. We now know that this will probably involve a Rosharan/Scadrian conflict. And in RoW we’ve seen what may well be its beginnings.

So this is what I think will be the heart of the Scadrian/Rosharan conflict.

Scadrial is society created by thieves. They revere a conman, Kelsier and venerate am assassin, Vin. They naturally seek the mists, which actively work to conceal Allomancers. They are a society naturally drawn to the shadows. Fighting fair is NOT how they operate.

Roshar is the opposite. Knights in literal shining armor, bound to honor codes. The most duplicitous of the Orders revolves around Truths. They’re practically designed for a straightforward fight; you can’t hide if you glow in the dark!

I can’t imagine why the Rogue planet doesn’t get along with the Paladin planet... Chaotic Good/Neutral vs. Lawful Good/Neutral... 

We can see this with the Ghostbloods, which we now know are run by Kelsier. As I’ve pointed out on other threads, they’re on the same side as the coalition - quietly. They want Dalinar to win. But the way they’re doing it (leaving aside the actions of individuals) is not a method most Radiants could approve of.

But it gets better.

Scadrial is the world most like Earth. It utilizes mechanical industry and the metallic arts. It’s the type of industry that, as we know, can easily scour the land.

On top of which, the allomantic and feruchemical arts are internal and intrinsic. And those two combined allow for fairly easy sharing of powers.

And then there’s Hemalurgy. The ability to steal any power with the proper training - so long as you’re willing to kill.

On Roshar, in contrast, industry is almost entirely Investiture based. And we now know that fabriels can be created by Spren, without needing to harvest resources. On Roshar, industry may very well follow a more symbiotic path; note that much of their nature and their major investiture system is all about symbiosis. The powers so granted, however, are not easily transferred.

And while Bondsmiths can more easily manipulate Connection, there are some fairly strict limits (including an inability to travel). Hemalurgy lacks those constraints, being limited only by knowledge and morality. And there are no Oaths to enforce the latter.

And what is the Shard of Scadrial? Harmony. What is the hypothesized union of the three Rosharan Shards? Conquest.

Honestly, when you look at it, it makes a lot of sense that these two would end up conflicting. The natures of the worlds are inherently opposed.

[WasingtheWhy]

I think you could be right, in a way. Roshar is really the centerpiece of the cosmere at this point. The Shards have taken the heaviest hand in affecting the ecosystem, and investiture rides the very winds! They are so spoiled for investiture they use it for light! I honestly can't help but think that's the biggest reason that all worldhoppers are so interested in it.

That being said, the technology difference would make for an interesting conflict. But I can't help but think about someone attempting to burn steel and Push on a Shardblade. They talk about Shardblades like they are metal, but are they really a metal that can be manipulated like that?

Though, I do think that if the any peoples of Scadrial make any large-scale attempts to interfere that Harmony would be opposed to it. Plus that kind of conflict might be a long way down the road, considering Harmony has another god (Shard?) currently breathing down his neck.

In terms of characters from Mistborn that I could see winding up on Roshar.. I want to say old Ironeyes could do it. Or perhaps TenSoon. Simply because they are pretty much immortal, and I personally am unsure of how the books line up chronologically.

Scadrians are troublemakers, and boy would it be fun to see them make more trouble on Roshar. I can't picture a conversation between Kaladin and Kelsier without it ending it a bar room brawl.

Edit: I just realized that you said Era 4, and that of course if a good ways off, so you didn't really need me repeating it like a dope.

Edited December 22, 2020 by WasingtheWhy

[StormingTexan]

Have you read this yet? Fair warning it contains spoilers for the future Cosmere so read at your own risk but it does show a glimpse of the future pertaining to your post. 

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/448/#e14408

[Kingsdaughter613]

55 minutes ago, StormingTexan said:

Have you read this yet? Fair warning it contains spoilers for the future Cosmere so read at your own risk but it does show a glimpse of the future pertaining to your post. 

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/448/#e14408

Yes, I did read it. This post is theorizing on why these two worlds in particular would end up in such a type of conflict.

[StormingTexan]

8 minutes ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

Yes, I did read it. This post is theorizing on why these two worlds in particular would end up in such a type of conflict.

Gotcha. As soon as the races start traveling the stars I think it makes sense that you would see all technologically advanced civilizations competing for resources and Investiture seems to be the most important of these resources in the Cosmere. That scene Brandon read seems to imply this pretty heavily.  I do agree with you regarding the friction between these two races but also think we may have a skewed view on how honorable the KR as a whole are as we have only seen a few orders in real detail. One of which managed to bond two different Spren even with committing parricide. I also think it is pretty clear from the scene that technologically speaking these two end up on a similar playing fields. We are just seeing different eras of each world. Granted knowing MB era 2 takes place between SA 5 and 6 Scadrial is currently more advanced. They also have maintained their magic where Roshar is just now becoming reawakened. It is interesting that Scadrial had such a technological explosion. 

[Leuthie]

Scadrial and Roshar are the most prominent planets because we have seen a lot of stories surrounding them. We are familiar with them so we believe them to be more important than they are. Brandon then picks a (non-canon) piece of an unpublished story that shows the future of the conflicts, and we naturally pick out the elements that are familiar and name them the most important.

As planet begin mining each other for resources, the Shards will push their populations to catch up either through technology or magic or both. By the time shown in the Sixth of the Dusk clip, I'll bet there are more than just Scadrial and Roshar vying for power around the Cosmere.

 

[Kingsdaughter613]

2 hours ago, Leuthie said:

Scadrial and Roshar are the most prominent planets because we have seen a lot of stories surrounding them. We are familiar with them so we believe them to be more important than they are. Brandon then picks a (non-canon) piece of an unpublished story that shows the future of the conflicts, and we naturally pick out the elements that are familiar and name them the most important.

As planet begin mining each other for resources, the Shards will push their populations to catch up either through technology or magic or both. By the time shown in the Sixth of the Dusk clip, I'll bet there are more than just Scadrial and Roshar vying for power around the Cosmere.

 

True, but the final Cosmere arc will be a Mistborn story, while Roshar’s story will be the centerpiece.