What is the significance of black stones in The Cosmere?

[Mckeedee123 he/him]

A few weeks ago, I decided to reread all of Sanderson's Cosmere works in order of publication (just finished Mistborn Trilogy). Wrapping up Elantris, I noticed, in the wedding scene, an object that seems oddly reminiscent of Gavilar's black pendant (the one he gave to Szeth in the prologue with the completely innocuous "'You must take this. They must not get it.'" line)

 

Gavilar's Pendant is described as: "a small, crystalline sphere tied to a chain... It was odd, unlike any [szeth] had seen before. Though it was completely dark, it seemed to glow somehow. With a light that was black"

 

Then there's the Elantris reference.

 

During Sarene and Raoden's wedding, they exchange a couple of pendants (some sort of Korathi wedding tradition). Sarene's was innocent enough (a chunk of jade with some gold bands). But the one Raoden is mentioned like this:

 

"Somewhere, [sarene] had found a heavy black stone that polished up as if it were metal, and its reflective darkness complimented Raoden's silvery skin"

 

The connection is tenuous, I'll admit, but the very nature of the description raises some flags (by which I mean that it's suspicious that the pendants are mentioned at all!). From what I've seen of Sanderson's writing, he's pretty blunt. The only descriptive writing we see, most of the time, is directly tied in to the worldbuilding. I can only name a few times in which possessions are specifically mentioned, and it always has that air of "This is going to be significant later on" (like when Shallan first meets Mraize and he's got all that stuff on his shelves).

 

So reading on, I made sure to keep track of references to black stones (just for kicks) and, so far I only found one other reference (like I said, I've only finished Elantris and the Mistborns so far) to them, and it's even vaguer (as in: i doubt there's a connection, but because it's part of a random description, it seems like it's pretty suspicious) Aaaanyway, The item in question shows up when Vin tries to run away from Camon, and she goes through her possessions before being betrayed by Ulef. All she has is her earring, some pebbles and a chunk of stone described as:

 

"a bit of obsidian the size of a large coin. It was chipped into an irregular pattern - Reen had carried it as some sort of good luck charm"

 

I hesitated to add this one... after all , it's not exactly mysterious-like as Gavilar's Pendant was, and it's specifically referenced as being obsidian. It's still part of an out-of-place description, however. Vin slips it into her pocket and we never hear about it again.

 

For those of you were as confused as I was about how Vin got spooked just before she met with Hoid in Fadrex, however, it provides a possible explanation. Hoid seems to be gathering various... "stuff" of significance (Lerasium bead, the moon scepter... Honorblades?) and if he thought that she had Reen's little good luck charm, then... maybe? Like I said, the object itself just doesn't seem very magical, so this one probably means nothing.

 

When I reread Warbreaker, I'll be looking for another "Black Stone", and maybe I'll find one. I'd suggest that you go to the books to see the context in which the stones I'm referencing are mentioned (as my quotes are a little too short for people to really get the "feel" of them)

 

So there. Feel free to respond with some skepticism.

 

EDIT: Curiosity has mentioned a WoB that states that Vin's obsidian shard isn't anything magical. So nevermind on that one.

Edited October 30, 2014 by mckeedee123

[Fallen Rope he/him]

I think the black stone in WoK was an unmade? Maybe pieces of Odium's power have been scattered around the cosmere to keep him trapped in Greater Roshar.

[Lord Tavash Shar]

You may be on to something though I'm not going to hazard a guess as to what. It could just be a tradition thats some how everywhere in the cosmer. 

[Curiosity he/him]

There's WoB that the obsidian wasn't magical or anything*, I just can't remember where it is. 

[Quiver he/him]

Maybe the black stones are similar to the God Beyond theory that get's mentioned now and again; a recurring motif on all of the cosmere worlds, hinting at something bigger.

 

...Though I disagree with the idea that they could all be pieces of Odium's power. I haven't read Elantris (a travesty, I know), but if black-stone pendants are given out at weddings, I'd imagine that's just a cultural thing.

Now, why black stones would seem to be regarded by Scadrian and Sel cultures as being somehow lucky despite no overt ties between the two? No idea.

But Shai and Wayne were the first characters (as far as I know) who both mentioned the God Beyond...

[Mckeedee123 he/him]

 

 

...Though I disagree with the idea that they could all be pieces of Odium's power. I haven't read Elantris (a travesty, I know), but if black-stone pendants are given out at weddings, I'd imagine that's just a cultural thing.

 

 

 

 

It's implied that even though the exchanging of the pendants is a Korathi tradition, each partner is supposed to do something unique (so tradition doesn't mandate any specific color, black or otherwise). 

[RawToast225 he/him]

One was described as glowing while the other was not. My guess is that the stone Gavilar had was a type of fabrial that was discovered but not made. I'm thinking it's unique to Roshar and Greater Roshar.

[Oudeis he/him]

While I don't personally believe this, I feel compelled to point out evidence that would support it. Obsidian is a sort of glass, so technically it's a kind of crystal. I'm given to believe it's most commonly found as a result of volcanic activity, so with Roshar's lack of tectonics, it could be so rare as to be unknown on Roshar. It's possible that there's an Eleventh Gemstone (a la Eleventh Metal), which will be common in the distant future but which right now is unheard of simply due to the difficulty in making/discovering it.

 

I still don't think the rocks are in any way related, however. I'm just pointing out that I could be wrong.

[WeiryWriter he/him]

Actually forms of glass, like obsidian, are technically not crystals.  Glass is what is known as an amorphous solid, or non-crystalline solid, which lacks the internal crystal lattice that defines crystals.  When you fracture a crystal the resulting break point is a flat plane, which corresponds to the crystal's lattice structure.  Glass however fractures conchoidal-ly (which is a fantastic word by the way) which results in a curved surface.

[Oudeis he/him]

Yay, so then this is proof that the black stones are not the same thing. Or at least incredibly strong evidence.

[RawToast225 he/him]

I would think so.