Question and Answer

[Guest]

Do we have a theory (or an actual explanation by Brandon) on why szeth lashings makes him cold/freezing while kaladin´s doesn´t?

It probably have something to do with the honorblade, but i mean something more specific about the mechanics...

Using Stormlight has a cooling effect, or at least makes the user FEEL cool, and Szeth uses Stormlight much faster than Kaladin ("dangerous amounts" according to Syl). So Kaladin feels cool, Szeth cold, because of the amount he "burns" through

[Guest]

Kaladin DOES get a chill sensation from Stormlight on at least one occasion, and it involves a LOT OF Stormlight.

WoK Ch. 35

Kaladin felt a deep chill—a rolling prickle of ice—scurry down his spine and through his entire body. The sphere suddenly burst to life in his hand, flaring with a sapphire glow.

(From when he was strung up in the Highstorm)

[Kurkistan]

I guess we might have to go with the "the Honorblade makes him use a lot more Light/use it less efficiently" hypothesis, if that's the coldest Kaladin's gotten, versus there being a point where Szeth literally has sheets of ice falling off his clothes after using a lot of Stormlight.

[Moogle]

Using Stormlight has a cooling effect, or at least makes the user FEEL cool, and Szeth uses Stormlight much faster than Kaladin ("dangerous amounts" according to Syl). So Kaladin feels cool, Szeth cold, because of the amount he "burns" through

 

I have to endorse this explanation. Szeth, if I go by my own poor estimation abilities, seems like he's using close to (if not much higher) 2x more Stormlight than Kaladin to get an equivalent effect. If we take as a given that Szeth is less efficient and we also assume that, like most other systems, Surgebinding requires a "fuel", the model predicts things very well.

 

I'll definitely have to check the frost thing.

[natc]

Doesn't Kaladin also freeze an entire glyph onto the floor during his third ideal comeback moment?

At least I think that was frost.

[Kurkistan]

Doesn't Kaladin also freeze an entire glyph onto the floor during his third ideal comeback moment?

At least I think that was frost.

 

Yes, but it's fair to interpret this as an effect of Kaladin being unspeakably awesome, not necessarily an effect of him just being Awesome.

Edited June 3, 2015 by Kurkistan

[Guest]

One after another, shutters burst open up and down the hallway, wind screaming into the corridor. Behind Kaladin, frost crystalized on the ground, growing backward away from him. A glyph formed in the frost, almost in the shape of wings.

A veritable Chasmfiend's worth of Stormlight was used, considering he drained every Sphere in sight.

(Edit)

It's worth pointing out that we don't see this "Frost" melt, and Kaladin himself isn't wet from condensation. So is that "Frost" frozen water, or frozen Stormlight?

Edited June 3, 2015 by LabRat

[Moogle]

Kaladin does in fact generate frost. From Ch. 59 of WoK:

He opened his eyes. The sphere in his hand was dun and his fingers were crispy with frost. Light rose from him like smoke from a fire, white, pure.

 

A few others:

He infused the stone with Stormlight, frost crystallizing on his arm. He wasn’t sure how he did it, but it felt natural, like pouring liquid into a cup. Light seemed to pool underneath the skin of his hand, then transfer to the rock—as if he were painting it with a vibrant, glowing liquid.

...
The arm wound leaked Light, not blood, and to Kaladin’s amazement it slowly began to seal up, frost crystallizing on his skin and Stormlight draining from him. He drew in more, infusing himself to the cusp of glowing visibly. He ducked, he dodged, he jumped, he ran.

 

I wasn't crazy! I could have sworn he did. I think we can safely say that it's simply a matter of efficiency for why Szeth has frost dropping from his clothes. Kaladin is not described as being covered in frost post-Second Ideal, which is commonly believed to have increased his efficiency.

 

(Thanks to Rubix for dredging up an exact chapter.)

[Arook]

I guess we might have to go with the "the Honorblade makes him use a lot more Light/use it less efficiently" hypothesis, if that's the coldest Kaladin's gotten, versus there being a point where Szeth literally has sheets of ice falling off his clothes after using a lot of Stormlight.

 

Agreed

[Turos]

You know you have a problem when you burn through thousands of spheres just so you can keep cool in the summer.

[Raysen_ht]

The timeline should be:

 

The Heralds fight the initial desolations alone

.

.

.

.

The Radiants are formed with Ishar´s help

.

.

The Heralds and the Radiants fight more desolations

.

.

Prelude, Taln is bound alone to the Oathpact

.

.

The Radiants fight something (desolations?) "alone"... Why didn´t Taln appear?

.

.

Imo, Nohadon writes "the way of kings"

.

.

More fighting

.

.

Recreance.

.

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No more desolations until the Everstorm

 

so

 

Has there been any desolations since the heralds left the honorblades?

If there were, why didn´t Taln appear? Were the honorblades ever used to fight?

If there weren´t who were the Radiants in Dalinar´s visions fighting? Is it possible that his visions are from a time before the Prelude?

 

Sorry if i couldn´t make myself clear... english is not my 1st language

Edited June 9, 2015 by Raysen_ht

[Guest]

I agree with your general order, but a few adjustments IMO:

The Heralds fight the 1st Desolation alone INITIALLY. We know that the Spren copied the Honorblades, but not how long it took them to do this, so the first KR could have been late in the 1st Desolation/beginning of the 2nd.

The KR's were a peacekeeping force (for lack of a better term) between Desolations. The "something" the KR's faught was likely some type of border skirmish. If a real Desolation had come, the one in Stormlight Archive wouldn't be such a big deal.

Based on Dalinar's vision, Nohadon lived through a Desolation and wrote Way of Kings shortly after.

(You're Nohadon event and "Radiants fighting Something" should be reversed and Nohadon should be closer to the Prelude.)

[skaa]

I was under the impression that Bajerden's/Nohadon's Way of Kings was at least part of the inspiration behind the founding of the Knights Radiant. In fact aren't the Oaths based on his book? Prior to him, Surgebinders in between Desolations were kind of disorganized, allowing people like Alakavish to abuse their powers as long as their spren allowed it.

So the proper sequence is this: Heralds fight Desolations alone -> Surgebinders appear (perhaps through Ishar's initiative) -> Bajerden writes the Way of Kings -> the Knights Radiant were founded -> 9 Heralds abandon the Oathpact -> Recreance

Edited June 10, 2015 by skaa

[Guest]

I went back and re-read the quote I was thinking of, and I agree Skaa.

[KaladinStormblessed]

I have a really dumb one. I've read all the books except Warbreaker, and I was wondering where most of this stuff came from. It seems like a lot of this was released separately from the books. (I didn't realize that the cosmere was a thing until I heard Brandon talk about it at a signing.) Is a lot of this speculation, or was Brandon randomly like, "All the books are connected. there are Shards. Hoid travels forward in time?"

Hope my Question makes sense

 

Also, some connections are so out there that it doesn't seem to have much evidence. Where those ones confirmed by Brandon? 

Edited June 10, 2015 by Kurkistan
Please avoid double-posting.

[Moogle]

...

 

Most of the information you see is going to have come from information we got outside the books. Most of it is confirmed, though there are a few theories that are repeated a little too easily.

 

You can read a list of WoBs ("Word of Brandon" being something he's said) here. Some WoBs havent been added there yet (like the Phoenix Comicon? I think?), and you can find more in our Events & Signings section on this forum, and also on Brandon's website (under Library, look for Annotations).

 

For example, the Hoid thing:

Eric Lake ()

Can Hoid jump through time? If so, can Shards jump through time?

Brandon Sanderson

Hoid, so far, has only moved forward in time. He has not 'lived' all of those years, but has used some time dilation techniques. That said, he is far older (both in relative and real time) than a normal person can live.

(source)

 

Brandon has confirmed that some of his books (anything not set on Earth is a safe bet as being in the Cosmere, with the exception of Perfect State, which doesn't take place on Earth but is non-Cosmere) are connected in many places. I can link a few if you'd like.

 

I think the timeline on when people first started speculating that the books was around Hero of Ages, when they noticed the repeated Hoid references. Brandon's since confirmed some of the speculation.

[Varyn]

I have a really dumb one. I've read all the books except Warbreaker, and I was wondering where most of this stuff came from. It seems like a lot of this was released separately from the books. (I didn't realize that the cosmere was a thing until I heard Brandon talk about it at a signing.) Is a lot of this speculation, or was Brandon randomly like, "All the books are connected. there are Shards. Hoid travels forward in time?"

Hope my Question makes sense

 

Also, some connections are so out there that it doesn't seem to have much evidence. Where those ones confirmed by Brandon? 

I'm 99.99% sure that we have a Word of Brandon that all of the Cosmere novels are in some way connected. I'm still looking for a quote from him that specifies exactly that it's true, but for now, here's one that shows that Hoid travels between the universes, thus basically showing that it is real: http://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/crzxlpl?context=3

In other words, unless Brandon suddenly states that we've all been misled, then yes, they're all connected.

[WeiryWriter]

  (anything not set on Earth is a safe bet as being in the Cosmere, with the exception of Perfect State, which doesn't take place on Earth but is non-Cosmere)

 

Actually I'm pretty sure Perfect State does take place on an alternate Earth?  It does reference Earth history.

[skaa]

I have a really dumb one. I've read all the books except Warbreaker, and I was wondering where most of this stuff came from. It seems like a lot of this was released separately from the books. (I didn't realize that the cosmere was a thing until I heard Brandon talk about it at a signing.) Is a lot of this speculation, or was Brandon randomly like, "All the books are connected. there are Shards. Hoid travels forward in time?"

Hope my Question makes sense

Also, some connections are so out there that it doesn't seem to have much evidence. Where those ones confirmed by Brandon?

Brandon has revealed a lot of background information about the Cosmere over the years from the many Q&As, book signings, book annotations, social media conversations, and personal interviews he's done. A big chunk of these have been copied/transcribed in the Theoryland website, a great resource for people obsessed with knowing as much as possible about the Cosmere.

Words of Brandon ("WoB") that are not yet in Theoryland will probably be mentioned somewhere here in the 17th Shard forums first, usually with citation or proof (but sometimes not, sadly).

Of course, there's still tons of unconfirmed speculation spreading around (I for one enjoy making crazy theories), so you might want to look for citations before believing something outright. I believe this Question and Answer thread is watched by enough "Cosmere experts" that most of the answers will be accurate ~90% of the time.

So, ask away!

Edit: Multiple ninjas attacked!

Edited June 10, 2015 by skaa

[Guest]

...

If you're wondering about a specific, in-book reference that they're all connected, it's very thin but: at the end of HoA Harmony mentions a name, Adonalsium, and in WoR "Wit" says that exact same word to Dalinar, expecting a reaction. There are other implied links you can dig for (lots and lots and lots...), but that one's the screaming elephant in the room.

Everything else is WoB based like Moogle said, or logical supposition based on what we've seen or WoB

[Moogle]

Actually I'm pretty sure Perfect State does take place on an alternate Earth?  It does reference Earth history.

 

I was under the impression that Perfect State had human civilization expand to the stars, so the vats containing people might not necessarily be on Earth (though thinking more on it, I don't recall this being said - oops). You're right, though, I should have said anything referencing Earth is not Cosmere, which would naturally make Perfect State not be an exception.

[Zas678]

If I had to reference people to three specific places to get started, I'd reference them to Cosmere 101 (which is a little old, and needs to be updated), the TWG Hero of Ages Q&A (Where the cosmere was "discovered"), and to this wonderful reddit post which lets you find out some of the connections on your own. 

 

If you really want what Brandon himself has said so you can try and figure it out for yourself, those last two will be the best options. Good luck!

[KaladinStormblessed]

Ok, Thanks!

[pi_rho_man]

Silly question. Should Sazed be able to conjure clowns while holding true to both of his shard's intents?

Preservation wants to preserve things. Preservation does not intend to destroy things.  Clowns do not inherently destroy things, but they do often cause a degree of chaos to the watchers.  This degree of chaos should please ruin..

If so, I propose that Sazed makes a clown army to take on Odium!

Edited June 23, 2015 by pi_rho_man

[CWS]

Its been a while since I last read a cosmere book, so I apologize, this is probably going to be a stupid question, but here goes (regarding the events at the end of the well of ascension):

 

I've read that Leras/Preservation "Sacrificed his mental capabilities to entrap Ruin in the Well of Ascension" 

 

Is enough information known about what shards can do to know how that cognitive sacrifice by Leras trapped Ati or is this just a matter of shards having tons of godlike powers? 

Does Leras have to separate from his mind in order to act against Ati in this way, or is the sacrificing of his mind providing the power to entrap Ati? 

 

I know that the well fills up with Preservations "liquid essence" every 1024 years, and Ruin stays trapped if the power is used, but if the power is released he's freed... 

 

Under normal circumstances preservation power/investiture used in alomancy gets filtered through the metals to produce an effect and goes right back to preservation (I recall an analogy used by Brandon, something about water flowing over a turbine)

 

So what happens if the power is used like Rashek did?  Is it returned to Leras (like in alomancy) only to be slowly leeched back into the shardpool every 1024 years (I'm assuming not, liquid essence seems tied to cognitive aspects and its stated that Leras sacrificed his mind...so I doubt he gets it back AND keeps containing Ati) Is that power just used and not present for anyone to touch for another 1024 years (possibly providing the power for Ruin's imprisonment)?

 

If released what happens to the power, is it in effect undoing the sacrifice Leras made by giving him his mind back, thus freeing Ati?  (is this because, with his mind back Leras is somehow more bound by shardic intent limitations, and that's somehow counter to trapping Ruin, or just that Ati/Ruin wont fall for whatever trick Leras originally perpetrated when sacrificing his mind to trap him, again?

 

So I guess I get the ramifications...  using the power - keeps ruin trapped, releasing the power frees ruin, but do we know the mechanics regarding how he was originally trapped and what happens to the power in the well when its either used or released?

 

Thanks, I couldn't find details on this part, only summaries...  wondering if anyone knows more?