DoctaDajman Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 I'm a little disappointed with what we saw of Twinsoul in TLM. I really really like the aetherbinding system and have recently started into AoN, however in that book, at least so far, there has been no mention of cost associated with it. I know it's not cannon but it makes me wonder if there are still stronger bonds and weaker bonds. It makes me wonder how that might manifest in the cosmere. My problem with TLM teasing the system is that we never see it get stretched. Twinsoul tells us he trades hydration for it and he is seen drinking frequently. But we never really see him create X and show any negative effects of dehydration. What we do see is him build a massive moving golem that is moving with ease at his will and fueled by liquid investiture. I dont even recall if it indicated how much of the purified Dor was used... So really we have no idea how close this is to AoN feats... there is no in-between trivial roseite growth with no side effects and then an unknown amount of liquid investiture to power one super golem. (Again. Only on chapter 4 of AoN so in my mind at least the golem in TLM is greater mass than what the "sword" brother has been able to make in the battles I have witnessed there. Furthermore it makes me wonder if there is a difference in strength of bond that makes some users far more efficient than others. Not so much in what can be done but in how much hydration it costs. Any thoughts welcome.
Quantus he/him Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 Have you read Tress and/or White Sands? The magical nuance is a bit different in each case but both seem to explore core aspects of the system as it stands in canon. 1
Treamayne Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 58 minutes ago, DoctaDajman said: Furthermore it makes me wonder if there is a difference in strength of bond that makes some users far more efficient than others. Not so much in what can be done but in how much hydration it costs. As @Quantus mentioned - White Sand is where the (likely) Luhel Bond is really explored in relation to Hydration, dehydration and how Overmastery can affect bond strength (it's mentioned in passing in Tress, but easliy missed if you have not read White Sand or know what to watch for in that story. Curiosities Spoiler: Spoiler AoN does not have a hydration link to the Aether bond, it was before Brandon had make them part of the Luhel Bond mechanism that White Sand Prose employed. There are other things in AoN that you may recognize as having been repurposed and used elsewhere in current Canon books, however. Please don;t forget to keep AoN specific chat and questions in that forum.
DoctaDajman Posted January 29, 2025 Author Posted January 29, 2025 2 hours ago, Quantus said: Have you read Tress and/or White Sands? The magical nuance is a bit different in each case but both seem to explore core aspects of the system as it stands in canon. I have not yet. I didn't get the bundle for Tress and it is not available at a local library for me, nor do they have white sands. I am hoping that I can find them at a bigger library in the future. 1 hour ago, Treamayne said: As @Quantus mentioned - White Sand is where the (likely) Luhel Bond is really explored in relation to Hydration, dehydration and how Overmastery can affect bond strength (it's mentioned in passing in Tress, but easliy missed if you have not read White Sand or know what to watch for in that story. Curiosities Spoiler: Reveal hidden contents AoN does not have a hydration link to the Aether bond, it was before Brandon had make them part of the Luhel Bond mechanism that White Sand Prose employed. There are other things in AoN that you may recognize as having been repurposed and used elsewhere in current Canon books, however. Please don;t forget to keep AoN specific chat and questions in that forum. I will keep that in mind. I didn't want to drop any spoilers from AoN but to just give my background for it. I will look into overmastery more for that. Thinking pewter may provide synergy there but that is for another thread.
Quantus he/him Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 2 minutes ago, DoctaDajman said: I have not yet. I didn't get the bundle for Tress and it is not available at a local library for me, nor do they have white sands. I am hoping that I can find them at a bigger library in the future. Ok, cool. If you like I can distill the basic framework setting bits from anything plot related to give you the highlights mostly spoiler free, otherwise I just recommend getting to those whenever you ca, both are tons of fun. White Sand prose version is available free for those signed up for the newsletter, and while it's not technically the canon version that doesnt seem to bother you if you've read AoN. Its pretty close, and the the differences to the canon version are well documented on the Coppermind. 1
Treamayne Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 14 minutes ago, DoctaDajman said: I have not yet. I didn't get the bundle for Tress and it is not available at a local library for me, nor do they have white sands. I am hoping that I can find them at a bigger library in the future. I don't know if you read that link in my last post, but if you are on the newsletter, you may already have the link to download the free non-Canon Prose for White Sand. As I explain in that link, it is easy (and free) to read the Prose White Sand, then either read the many threads explaining what changed for the Canon Omnibus, or simply read the White Sand Summary (based on the Omnibus) to learn about the changes to the Canon version. 1
DoctaDajman Posted January 29, 2025 Author Posted January 29, 2025 5 minutes ago, Quantus said: Ok, cool. If you like I can distill the basic framework setting bits from anything plot related to give you the highlights mostly spoiler free, otherwise I just recommend getting to those whenever you ca, both are tons of fun. White Sand prose version is available free for those signed up for the newsletter, and while it's not technically the canon version that doesnt seem to bother you if you've read AoN. Its pretty close, and the the differences to the canon version are well documented on the Coppermind. The newsletter here on the shard or what? I'm totally fine with spoilers (the kind of person who wants sparknotes for just the magic no story needed). I know it's pretty scummy of me but time is not my friend anymore. 1 minute ago, Treamayne said: I don't know if you read that link in my last post, but if you are on the newsletter, you may already have the link to download the free non-Canon Prose for White Sand. As I explain in that link, it is easy (and free) to read the Prose White Sand, then either read the many threads explaining what changed for the Canon Omnibus, or simply read the White Sand Summary (based on the Omnibus) to learn about the changes to the Canon version. Ah okay. I will look through that. Thanks. 1
Treamayne Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 1 minute ago, DoctaDajman said: The newsletter here on the shard or what? I'm totally fine with spoilers (the kind of person who wants sparknotes for just the magic no story needed). I know it's pretty scummy of me but time is not my friend anymore. The newsletter you sign up for at Brandon's Website. Some have reported not receiveing the link for White Sand last year, but as of Jan 2024 the link was still being sent - so if you were on the newsletter before that, and you kept the "Welcome to the Newsletter" email, then you already have the link even if you did not realize it.
Quantus he/him Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 (edited) 53 minutes ago, DoctaDajman said: The newsletter here on the shard or what? I'm totally fine with spoilers (the kind of person who wants sparknotes for just the magic no story needed). I know it's pretty scummy of me but time is not my friend anymore. Nothing scummy about it, everyone has their own threshold for spoilers vs background, and nobody has to ever justify how they go about enjoying a story. So the short rundown on Aethers as we know it: There are known to exist 12 Prime Aethers, each of a different flavor, that do the Aetherboud thing, like we saw in TLM. It operates using a Luhel Bond, which is defined by the person giving up physical matter, typically water, in exchange for the ability to manifest and/or manipulate the bonded aether. With Aetherbound this is a symbiotic relationship with control, but on the planet Lumar (where Tress takes place) it's more uncontrolled and parasitic and triggers on contact between Aether spores and any water, which allows for a lot of danger but also some more practical mechanical uses. Lumar is entirely covered by 12 color-coded oceans of Aetherspores that pour down from corresponding Moons in geosynchronous orbit. Per WOB there's apparently a specific but unrevealed reason why aethers are have gone so wild on Lumar compared to the TLM style aetherbinding scheme. Side note is that per WOB at least some of the aethers will reflect the Essences seen in Soulcasting on Roshar (specifically in that the Red spiky one is supposed to be a sort of coral or carapace to take the place of a more gross and/or squishy Flesh Aether) As far as White Sand, we dont actually know how it connects realmically to the Prime aethers (and we have WOB's that implicate Shards instead behind the White Sand world of "Taldain"). But there's mention of a mythical 13th Aether of Bone that legends cannot decide if it's White or Black, which sure sounds like the White Sands. White Sand is white while Invested and turns black as you drain the power, only to be recharged by that world's Sun. It also requires and consumes Hydration to use the powers that involved a relatively physical Sand-Bending sort of elemental control to create and manipulate tentacles or whirlwinds of sand, mostly. That's where the Water-For-Power Luhel Bond mechanics are explored the most, even if doesnt look anything like the Prime Aether relationship described in TLM. EDIT: One More Thing: One of the flavors of Aether is Midnight Essence. WOB confirms that this is not literally the same Midnight Essence that was seen on Roshar, rather it's a case of similar convergent effects from different realmic sources. Also, just for another Aether appearance: Spoiler there's a sample passage available from the upcoming novel Isles of Emberdark that mentions some additional practical uses for aether spore devices in the future (in the context of a ship navigating the Cognitive Realm). Edited January 29, 2025 by Quantus 2
QuantumAce Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 4 hours ago, DoctaDajman said: I'm a little disappointed with what we saw of Twinsoul in TLM. I really really like the aetherbinding system and have recently started into AoN, however in that book, at least so far, there has been no mention of cost associated with it. I know it's not cannon but it makes me wonder if there are still stronger bonds and weaker bonds. It makes me wonder how that might manifest in the cosmere. My problem with TLM teasing the system is that we never see it get stretched... That is the nature of a teaser. We get to see a few cool examples, but in a way that is intentionally designed to avoid giving out too many specific details. @Quantus has put together a nice summary of what we do know so far, but that is still shorter than the list of things we don't know yet. Unfortunately, Brandon has been know to leave some teasers open for a looooooong time. 1
DoctaDajman Posted January 29, 2025 Author Posted January 29, 2025 4 minutes ago, QuantumAce said: That is the nature of a teaser. We get to see a few cool examples, but in a way that is intentionally designed to avoid giving out too many specific details. @Quantus has put together a nice summary of what we do know so far, but that is still shorter than the list of things we don't know yet. Unfortunately, Brandon has been know to leave some teasers open for a looooooong time. I genuinely look at Warbreaker being the ultimate teaser. And I am a liar if I deny wishing he paused every project over the last 3 years to write it. (I say 3 years simply because that is when I learned of Warbreaker haha). 1
Treamayne Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 26 minutes ago, DoctaDajman said: I genuinely look at Warbreaker being the ultimate teaser. And I am a liar if I deny wishing he paused every project over the last 3 years to write it. (I say 3 years simply because that is when I learned of Warbreaker haha). Nightblood (the book, as sequel to Warbreaker) is one of the larger teasers, but the biggest Sanderson Teaser to date is not Cosmere: Spoiler Rithmatist 2: Quote Questioner I love that book [The Rithmatist], the world, I'm looking forward to those... Brandon Sanderson The sequel is going to be very fun, it's called "The Aztlanian", it's taking place in South America. Questioner Where in South America? Brandon Sanderson Well, I've rebuilt South America so it's kind of weird. The Aztek empire, which is the main name the Northerners have for it, they call it something else. The problem is I shrunk the planet, so I had to smash South America and Central America a little bit into each other so the islands that they are is it South America? Central America? What is it? Questioner So is it Spanish-speaking? Or... Brandon Sanderson No, the Spaniards got fought off, they actually speak Nahautl. Questioner No Portuguese or Spanish? It's all... Brandon Sanderson There are a couple Portuguese/Spanish islands but-- They grabbed a few of them but the main empire speaks Nahuatl. Salt Lake City Comic-Con 2014 (Sept. 4, 2014) Quote xland44 Speaking of Rithmatist, is the reason for the lack of a sequel still due to further research being necessary? Or is it just due to schedule? Peter Ahlstrom Both, plus Brandon really wants to find a good writer with Mexica heritage to coauthor it with. Lostboy289 Im confused. Why does the heritage of the person writing it matter? Peter Ahlstrom Because what Brandon wants to do requires a lot more research than he is up for. Someone with a personal connection is more likely to have already done the research. General Reddit 2021 (Aug. 16, 2021) 1
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