Fires of December / SP6 (Spoilers from the reading at Nexus)

[Ink and Embers Any pronouns]

1 hour ago, Ookla the Hoppy said:

Guysguysguys

WHAT IF IT'S VAX

Also, Vax is old enough for Ati and Leras to recognise it, building on the way the dukes and bright clothes sound Yolish

[Pagerunner he/him]

All right, it took a bit for the text to go up and I could go through the exact wording of some passages. (For anyone who's not subscribed to the newsletter, the text of the reading is on Arcanum, along with all other readings Brandon has done, here.) There are a couple of things worth bringing up:

 

December's Eyes

There are a lot of comments about something going on with December's eyes, and with her mother's eyes; it seems like there's something unique about her heritage that manifests through the eyes.

Quote

beautiful dark brown eyes of the storied variety which made people say that within them you could see the very stars.

...

even as those stars faded from her eyes, seeming to join the teardrops as they fell,

...

People did say that December had inherited her mother’s eyes, quiet and thoughtful, with a sense you could see lights deep within.

...

You’d catch her watching the inn’s patrons, her brown eyes dancing with reflected light, and you would wonder what it was she had noticed that you had not.

...

December, looking up from the floor where she’d fallen, affixed him with that gaze of hers. Eyes like the night, with . . . what seemed to be distant stars deep within, or fires on a far-off hill. … In that haughty, perilous silence that followed, Bark somehow knew that if he hit her again, the demons of night would claim his soul.

Shades have lights in their eyes that change color; the line about "demons of the night" and the "sorrow was her heritage" line might be some subtle clues from Hoid that December's mother was from Threnody. (Remember, threnody isn't a made-up word; it's a song of sorrow for the deceased.) The Threnodites also have goofy names, so I wouldn't put it past one to name her daughter after a month.

It's also got me wondering if she's actually dead this whole time. Of the time they met, Hoid says, "She withdrew, and we did not speak again during her lifetime." When Brandon was reading it at Nexus, I immediately interpreted it as "Hoid's going to speak to her after she's dead." But that will be a really tough narrative to sell, especially since he just did something similar in Yumi where she was dead the whole time, so now I'm taking it as a if the "lifetime" Hoid's referring to is just speaking about chapter one. December has a second lifetime, and that's where Hoid is going to interact with her more.

 

Fortune

I don't think this is a time loop; we all know, both from other books and from WoBs, that traveling back in time in the cosmere isn't possible. That means this has to be some sort of a vision: either she is a 21-year old who saw an entire life ahead of her, or she's a dead 80-year old who is reexperiencing her life. Like I said before, I think the second option would be tougher to do a meaningful plot with (even if she is a strange kind of Shade), so as of now I'm thinking it's the first. This also fits with the presence of a Prophet, 300 years ago.

Why is this happening to December? There are two potential inciting events, and I can't decide on which one it is. It might be from the day before her 21st birthday, when she overheard that Bark was going to ask for her hand, and the only day that Hoid was there with her. December hid it well, but she had a pretty extreme reaction to the news, which could have been an indication of her 'snapping' and then seeing what the future would have been like if she married Bark:

Quote

“That rising scream, as if from a rat pinched in a closing door, in the back of December’s mind.”

The second ties it to the death of the reeve's wife, which is the first thing that happens after she reawakens in her younger life:

Quote

In addition, something told December that her relife was more than happenstance. It would not happen again, because surely she had been given this singular gift for a reason. If she hadn’t intervened, Matin’s wife would have been destined to . . . 

Destined to die.

It might be a combination of both: December has Investiture that allows her to see what would happen if somebody would die, giving her power to prevent that death and change the future. And her first opportunity after Snapping is for the reeve's wife.

But ultimately, I don't think the events of the small town are really the true purpose of her vision. She's going upstream, without really knowing why, and the promise of the book seems to be that she won't just save Rivershore, she's going to save the entire nation of Mountaincrest. She happened into this information through her vision, but neither her marriage to Bark or the death of Rema caused the events in the capital that led to the death of the river. They were just her window into learning about it. Which leads into...

 

Hoid's Presence

Time to start looking at some WoBs. Does anyone else remember how Brandon started talking about Aethers a bunch after he started writing Tress? Well, I think the Nexus Q&A the day after the December reading might have some clues for December. Most obviously, the one where he talks about what Hoid will be up to in the book:

Quote

Questioner

Hoid’s motives have always kind of been unclear. I was wondering with this new book [The Fires of December], will we get any more perspective into what his true goals really are?

Brandon Sanderson

This book will give you a perspective on one of his goals, kind of in the short term. You kind of already know what it is, but you will reinforce that one. I’ll just leave it there; you’ll be able to hopefully pick out some of the things that are going on, where this is happening in the timeline.

But the problem with these Hoid stories is there are two timelines. There are when he’s telling it, and when it happened. When he’s telling it is pretty far in the future; it’s post-Yumi, so they are in order, the three of them, in order of when he told them. They are not in the order of when they occurred, when they happened to him. So you’ll have to pick out those two different timelines. And you should be able to pick out one of his goals. Again, it’s not gonna be a huge surprise, but it’ll flesh some things out.

Dragonsteel Nexus 2025 (Dec. 5, 2025)

I think we all know that one of Hoid's short term goals is to collect as many magic systems as possible. So I think we're going to see him collecting something from this book, maybe the same power December has. In terms of timelines, I think we'll be able to see what powers Hoid has in this book; if he doesn't have Allomancy, it's before WoA. If he doesn't have Lightweaving, it's before OB.

But there was another interesting question about Hoid's favorite magic system:

Quote

Questioner

Which magic system is Hoid’s favorite, and why?

Brandon Sanderson

It’s one you haven’t read yet, probably. Though he is very partial to LIghtweaving. Very, very partial to Lightweaving. But there’s one you haven’t read yet that lets him see where he needs to be when he needs to be there, and it’s been a very huge resource to him, and he does like that one a lot. It’s a scary one, too, though.

Dragonsteel Nexus 2025 (Dec. 5, 2025)

 

Maybe Hoid gets December's power during this book? Maybe he is experiencing these alternate lifetimes, too? We already know he manages and purges his memories using Breath; that would also let him stay sane through a bunch of these alternate lifetimes. Keep just the information he needs and flush the rest.

 

The Rivers of Blood and the Capital

We get a good number of quotes about the river and the capital, which I will dump here so I can reference them as I need to:

Quote

These sometimes traveled downriver toward the distant plain where the blood river eventually evaporated. (Don’t worry—the river wasn’t made of human blood. That would be highly impractical; I mean, imagine the clotting. Besides, it would take thousands upon thousands of humans to make a river of blood this size, but here it was accomplished with just one demon.)

...

Something had happened at the capital a few months after the wedding. The stories coming downriver were disturbing, tales of the demon making a fire in the sky—and of a war for the throne, the king dead, betrayed by one of his dukes.

...

Now, I did promise you an explanation of this river, and I keep my promises—save where it’s narratively more interesting to break them. The three blood rivers were the defining feature of the kingdom of Mountaincrest, and one flowed past the town: a waterway wide enough for even the largest barges, but not so deep you could navigate a true oceanic vessel through it. December could see the other side easily, and the gentle current allowed a modestly accomplished swimmer to reach the opposite shore without difficulty.

Assuming they’d been willing to step into the blood.

Thick, with the consistency of paint, the demon’s blood was safe to touch, though most people in rural towns avoided doing so. December tried once or twice, and was surprised to discover that it refused to stick to her fingers, running off as she pulled them out, leaving her skin perfectly dry. Conferring with others indicated this happened when anyone touched it.

The river was that mysterious shade of violet that was quite nearly black. It had a glossy sheen, not unlike oil. During those lonely years, December would look upriver, imagining the distant corpse in the capital that bled out this highway, and wonder if what the priests said was true, if a prophet had truly come to save the land three centuries before. She imagined his sword, said to still be lodged in the demon’s beating heart, holding it imprisoned like a pin held a butterfly to its board.

If it was indeed true, what should she make of the newer stories saying the demon was free? Would the prophet return? If so, would he do as he had last time, healing those who were afflicted with diseases?

...

(The reeve, it should be noted, did not tell anyone that, with the increasing troubles upriver, taxes hadn’t been demanded for years. He had plenty in the reserve, but that was its own deeply troubling problem.)

...

Never mind that the river was growing darker, losing its violet beauty, taking on a sickly blackness. Never mind that December wondered what had happened to the lords and ladies in their colorful clothing, and that strange man with the white hair who—for reasons she could not explain—she remembered so distinctly.

...

Ships had stopped floating down the river, which was now dark as a mire and barely flowed.

...

Then, the sickness came. It had been building for years, though nobody in the town had been aware. The river’s curdling following the deadly events far upstream finally reached poor Rivershore. You might have read about similar plagues in your own histories, but here it was arcane in nature—caused not by common disease vectors, but by the deadly river itself, turned poisonous.

...

All but December, whom the sickness dared not touch.

...

The people struggled on, as they tended to do, after the river finally dried up completely. They had no news of what had caused it to fail, but they could guess. The demon must truly have escaped his bonds; what else could explain such terrible events?

The blood ecosystem is interesting, to say the least. And rather than try to build to a conclusion, I'm just going to jump to the end and work backwards.

Mountaincrest isn't just a nation. It's a being. (That's right, boys and girls: get ready for Bionicle in the Cosmere.)

There was a prophet from 300 years ago, but there's no indication that's when the rivers of demon blood started. I don't think that's an accident: @Cosmeregirl told me it reminded her of an artery, and I think that's actually a perfect description of it. The blood isn't leaking out: this is where it's supposed to be in the first place, connecting the cities to the countryside. There's a blood cycle, like a water cycle, and the demon is an essential part of it to manifest the rivers. The citizens of Rivershore are like cells in the body of the uber-being; when the river dies, they also start to die.

(And it's worth noting that the river itself is dying in the reading, not just disappearing. We're told it evaporates downstream; so if the demon were to escape, and the flow would stop entirely or even just lessen [as if the demon is filling up an aquifer that feeds the rivers], then the river would just evaporate earlier. None of this turning black and bringing plague; it would just vanish like a real river would if its headwaters dry up.)

So, we have this mountain-sized being where people are cells, and whatever this demon is is the heart. I think the cities are the equivalent of the brain; when there's a revolt in the capital it's like the being falling into a coma and slowly dying, and that death moves downstream from the capital to the cities to the towns. This has happened before; the last prophet supposedly healed 'diseases,' but I think it was just one specific disease, the one we saw the people of Rivershore will suffer from.

December, notably, is not part of this uber-being. I think she's a descendant of the Prophet, and that the power of Fortune has been passed from parent to child over the years. By being outsiders to the system, these Prophets are able to help guide the nation of Mountaincrest to keep from killing the being of Mountaincrest.

 

Conclusion

I have no conclusion, I think that's enough words for now. But for any of you who didn't see the book description from the crowdfunding page:

Quote

In the next Cosmere standalone novel, Hoid has an epic tale to share: In a forgotten land sustained by colorful rivers of demon blood, a young woman named December learns a devastating plague is on its way. But who will believe her? Against impossible odds, she sets sail up the River Violet to warn the king's court, determination—and wisdom beyond her years—burning in her eyes. Along the way she’ll navigate incredulous royal officials, twisted court intrigue, and a roguish count with only her wits and her new friends: a talkative priestess and a fledgling fashion designer.

I just have to say, her new friends already sound droll to me. But I am very eager to learn about the religion the priestess will espouse.

[First of the Tide He/him]

2 hours ago, Pagerunner said:

Maybe Hoid gets December's power during this book? Maybe he is experiencing these alternate lifetimes, too? We already know he manages and purges his memories using Breath; that would also let him stay sane through a bunch of these alternate lifetimes. Keep just the information he needs and flush the rest.

I think it's explicitly stated that he knows where he needs to be, but not what he needs to do. I doubt future sight would not tell him what he should do, but would tell him where to be.

In Tress, maybe?

Edited December 13, 2025 by First of the Tide

[Ink and Embers Any pronouns]

I have a very vague theory that Hoid was December's father? 

[First of the Tide He/him]

8 minutes ago, Ookla the Perpetually Disc said:

I have a very vague theory that Hoid was December's father? 

Listening.

[Ink and Embers Any pronouns]

20 minutes ago, First of the Tide said:

Listening.

Whether or not Hoid is capable of having children has been RAFOed in the past. Both of them have some degree of future sense, maybe, which could be spiritual genetics. December's father was described as having "the charm of a sonnet but the morals of a limerick", which doesn't seem massively far off Hoid to me. They've also both got apparent resurrection talents, although these don't seem to work the same way, which could again be spiritual genetics - like a passing down of the Dawnshard effects? This could also explain why December didn't get ill. Most of my argument is just that their magics seem similar.

As I said, it's a very vague theory and I don't have a lot of evidence to support it. 

[First of the Tide He/him]

6 minutes ago, Ookla the Perpetually Disc said:

Whether or not Hoid is capable of having children has been RAFOed in the past. Both of them have some degree of future sense, maybe, which could be spiritual genetics. December's father was described as having "the charm of a sonnet but the morals of a limerick", which doesn't seem massively far off Hoid to me. They've also both got apparent resurrection talents, although these don't seem to work the same way, which could again be spiritual genetics - like a passing down of the Dawnshard effects? This could also explain why December didn't get ill. Most of my argument is just that their magics seem similar.

As I said, it's a very vague theory and I don't have a lot of evidence to support it. 

Interesting, but Idoubt hoid would describe himself as the charm of a sonnet but the morals of a limerick. If like Xisis was telling the story sure, but I don't think that's how hoid works

[Ink and Embers Any pronouns]

1 minute ago, First of the Tide said:

Interesting, but Idoubt hoid would describe himself as the charm of a sonnet but the morals of a limerick. If like Xisis was telling the story sure, but I don't think that's how hoid works

Touche, especially as he seems more of a fan of making himself sound better than he is. 

It was a very vague theory at best!

[PurpleZebra5]

I have an entirely unfounded idea: What if December is who Hoid marries? We know he gets married at some point, and his wife doesn't know who he is at another point. (I really wish I remembered where I got this, but alas, I don't.) Again, this is completely without reason, just an idea I had.

[PanicPug]

15 hours ago, PurpleZebra5 said:

I have an entirely unfounded idea: What if December is who Hoid marries? We know he gets married at some point, and his wife doesn't know who he is at another point. (I really wish I remembered where I got this, but alas, I don't.) Again, this is completely without reason, just an idea I had.

Isles Of The Emberdark is probably where you got that and interesting idea.

[First of the Tide He/him]

17 hours ago, PurpleZebra5 said:

I have an entirely unfounded idea: What if December is who Hoid marries? We know he gets married at some point, and his wife doesn't know who he is at another point. (I really wish I remembered where I got this, but alas, I don't.) Again, this is completely without reason, just an idea I had.

But doesn't hoid say he doesn't see her again in her life?

[Frustration]

So on the not Time Travel.

We have three options

1. It was all a vision. I dislike this one as it feels too cheap. And also it seems a LOT more detailed than any other visions we've seen, and a lot more powerful. Fifty-nine years is a long time.

2. It was real and after she died December is "living" in a vision probably the easiest to occur in the cosmere, but the least fun.

There is a third option.

3. It was real, but somehow investiture held on to everyone's souls, moved everything back to where it was, brought people back to life and erased everyone's memory except December.

This is probably the most difficult to occur, but I think the most fun, and with the greatest storytelling potential.

[Through the living Wahr He/Him]

@Frustration

Is your Option three meant like a sort of time loop, after X years the Investiture resets everything in a specific area similar to what the Shroud did to the Yoki-Hijo  just on a longer timescale? And December is less affected because shes an outsider?

Edited December 16, 2025 by Wahrheitswächter

[Frustration]

12 minutes ago, Wahrheitswächter said:

@Frustration

Is your Option three meant like a sort of time loop, after X years the Investiture resets everything in a specific area similar to what the Shroud did to the Yoki-Hijo  just on a longer timescale? And December is less affected because shes an outsider?

Kind of. No idea why December would remember, and I highly doubt being an outsider has anything to do with it unless it's tied to the genetics of the region but that would prevent her from being reset just as much as it would prevent her from having her memory erased.

[Through the living Wahr He/Him]

52 minutes ago, Frustration said:

Kind of. No idea why December would remember, and I highly doubt being an outsider has anything to do with it unless it's tied to the genetics of the region but that would prevent her from being reset just as much as it would prevent her from having her memory erased.

Maybe because her Mother was an outsider there was some other investiture in her that passed to December, interferring with the Memory errasing effect of the Time Loop.

[Frustration]

35 minutes ago, Wahrheitswächter said:

Maybe because her Mother was an outsider there was some other investiture in her that passed to December, interferring with the Memory errasing effect of the Time Loop.

I won't say that's impossible, I just doubt it.

I'd be surprised if there were no other outsiders in Riverside, especially considering the laws passed against them. It would be really strange if it was just December.

And again if it could prevent her memory from being erased, I'd imagine it would prevent her from de-aging as well. Both are pretty heavy alterations to the spiritweb.

But then again Brandon has made me eat my words on the Cosmere a couple of times.

I'd honestly be tempted to blame Hoid, December seems to remember him far too well during the undone time jump thing.

[Muse]

4 hours ago, Frustration said:

So on the not Time Travel.

We have three options

1. It was all a vision. I dislike this one as it feels too cheap. And also it seems a LOT more detailed than any other visions we've seen, and a lot more powerful. Fifty-nine years is a long time.

2. It was real and after she died December is "living" in a vision probably the easiest to occur in the cosmere, but the least fun.

There is a third option.

3. It was real, but somehow investiture held on to everyone's souls, moved everything back to where it was, brought people back to life and erased everyone's memory except December.

This is probably the most difficult to occur, but I think the most fun, and with the greatest storytelling potential.

I went back and re-read these chapters with an eye on this specific topic (time travel). I suspect there is another option that will come out of left field because we known Brandon is extremely creative, but without more info, agreed that these are the most likely options.

That said, if I had to bet, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that we are seeing a new manifestation of Fortune in action (i.e. Time Travel Option 1 - it was a "vision", but maybe stated with different language). Here's my evidence:

1. Fortune appears to pull on one thread of possibility, which explains why we see one option for the outcome of her life.

Spoiler

• In WaT, we get the clearest description of Fortune to date by Kelek: "Glimpse someone's possible selves, and pull one forth... touch, in some small way, what could have been. What might still be..." This is used to describe Shallan's drawings of possible futures, but I imagine there are deeper ways to manifest Fortune.
• This feels exactly like December is experiencing 1 possible outcome of her life (even if it goes on for sixty years).
• This also seems like the simplest version of Shardic future sight. They see many variations of the future at once in the SR and they often see a blur of many possible futures, but this version feels like a simpler variation where December experiences only one of those possible futures (I believe Shards see much further than this but the farther they look, the blurrier it gets, not because they can't see that far, but because futures diverge from each other).
• Brandon has mentioned that "[Atium is a] good foreshadowing for Fortune, for people being able to kinda see the future or versions of the future..." (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/176/#e8481). This aligns with December seeing a version of the future.

2. December's eyes have an outsized significance and the last thing she does before her 21st birthday (the day she "restarts") is cry into her pillow - this crying could be an unintentional MoI of Fortune

• The description of her eyes like her mother's which are "eyes of the storied variety which made people say that within them you could see the very stars". To me, this feels like a way to infer they have many possible futures.
• At the end of chapter two, as she re-forges her (actual) future, "December pulled on her black coat, towing a dark shadow of the future behind her—a cloak, as if made of the space between the stars themselves". This feels highly correlated to the description of the "stars" in her eyes and could be describing how Fortune showed her a possibility which allows her to "change" the future.

3.  It would not surprise me if December's mother (or her ancestor) is the Prophet - almost certainly a Prophet could emerge via a Fortune MoI

• This is the story description: "...a young woman named December learns a devastating plague is on its way. But who will believe her? Against impossible odds, she sets sail up the River Violet to warn the king's court, determination—and wisdom beyond her years—burning in her eyes." It seems like December will be in a similar situation as the Prophet, she will have foreseen a devastating future  which she is trying to prevent with "wisdom beyond her years".

4. Hoid states that December is important (even though he did not realize it when he met her)

Spoiler

• We know that this story will inform us about one of Hoid's short term goals (one of which is accessing different investiture systems) (https://wob.coppermind.net/events/549/#e16984)
• We know that Hoid manifests Fortune in SA, maybe this story is meant to explain how that he gets access to this

All that said, maybe this is the cheap solution to "time travel", but after re-reading, this all seemed to fall into place for me. I'm probably wrong but with limited pieces, this is my working theory!

Just for completeness:

• Time Travel option 2 (December's new life is in a vision) feels like December could not have any real impact on in-world events and so why would Hoid focus on her story in that case?
• Time Travel option 3 (resetting people's bodies, minds, souls, the in-world environment) may be possible, but feels wildly powerful - I'm skeptical even a Shard could reverse the effects of time on people and the environment (like resetting the river of demon's blood back to its previous state). If Brandon allows this to happen, it allows a mechanism for cause without effect on the world.

Edited December 16, 2025 by Muse

[Through The Living Ash he/him]

Don't mind if I just brain dump all my thoughts on this here: 

Spoiler

• Demon

  • Sword maybe still through his heart

    • Hemalurgy? 

      • Steel in the heart imbues transfer of physical allomantic ability

      • Potential for hemalurgic possession

      • Perhaps was a keystone that trapped the demon? 

  • Trapped by prophet 300 years prior

    • How? 

    • Why? 

    • What had it been doing? 

  • May have reawakened

    • If sword was keystone, was it removed? 

      • Otherwise, what was the trigger? 

    • Supposedly gradual release

      • A weakening of the prison? 

  • Clearly heavily Invested

    • Stormfather-level I’m guessing

    • Investiture of what Shard? 

      • Options: Valor, Invention, Mercy, Whimsy, Autonomy, Adonalsium

        • Feels most likely to be Valor or Mercy

    • Made by Shard or splintered off? 

    • Intent/Command? 

  • Body at capital

  • May have made fire in the sky

• Prophet

  • Trapped demon 300 years ago

  • Went around the land healing people

    • Why? 

    • From the plague? 

  • Also definitely Invested

    • Same Shard as demon? 

  • Likely not offworlder

  • Died/went away around time that demon is defeated

  • May return

    • Predicted to or just the hope of the people? 

  • What did they prophecy? 

    • Likely access to Fortune

• Rivers of blood

  • Three, stemming from capital

  • Demon’s blood

  • Thicken and sour/toxify when demon is supposedly breaking free

    • Source of plague? 

    • Happened at the time of the deadly events at the capital

  • Dry up when demon supposedly is released

    • Because its blood is no longer flowing from the heart, I hazard

  • Definitely Invested

    • Doesn’t stick to people

    • Violet-blackish

      • Corrupted? 

    • Blood is one of the Ten Essences

      • Loose association with hemalurgic bindpoint of blood

        • Hence, hemalurgic bindpoint at demon’s heart? 

• Plague

  • Kills 1 in 10

    • Connection with mists killing 16%

      • 10% is taken by Honor

      • 11% is viable as literary estimation

    • Doesn’t kill December

  • Leaves lesions

  • Quarantine does not help

  • Invested disease, not biological

  • Likely linked to curdling of rivers

• December

  • Died of cold

  • Immune to plague

  • Notable star-like eyes

    • Came from mother

  • Mother died in childbirth

    • Rumored to have fled from far away

      • Offworlder? 

  • Father was travelling merchant

  • Woke up when she was 21 after death

    • Supposedly day she met Hoid and married Bark

    • Time loop novel? 

      • Will eventually need to go to capital and stop demon from being released or whatever needs to happen (stop duke from betraying?)

    • Due to something Hoid did? 

      • Possible side effect, unlikely direct involvement

        • Did not know at the time of December’s importance, barely spoke to her

• War of secession

  • Demon makes fire in the sky

  • King dead

    • Betrayed by duke

      • Did this trigger the demon’s release? 

        • Was the king the prophet? 

        • Was the king the demon? 

  • Occurring at capital

  • Few months after marriage

  • Capital burned, refugees fleeing years later

    • Burned in rioting/looting or by demon? 

• Silver mines might in some way be important (break Connections)

  • Did finding of Winter’s Cache somehow release demon in this way? 

    • Four years after marriage; a little bit after the time. 

• Religion based around worship of the prophet and fear of the demon

  • Might believe in demons of the night

• Hoid

  • Why is he here if not for December? 

    • To see the important events, but didn’t realize her importance? 

      • Could be—Fortune whatever whatever

  • What happened to him afterwards? 

    • Something terrible happened, according to him

• What world is this set on? 

  • Possibilities: Dhatri, Bjendal, Obrodai, Mythos, Vax, Yolen

    • Dhatri unlikely due to what Prasanva said about Dark Aether

    • Bjendal had cognitive travel interrupted in 348 PC

    • Obrodai Hoid has visited and has an Avatar of Autonomy that dislikes him

      • Is the demon the Avatar? 

    • I find Yolen unlikely

• What time period is this? 

  • Around Tress I would guess

  • Could be anywhere from TLM to after all the other secret projects

 

So I'm going to organize what I think is going on here: 

300 years prior, the prophet went around healing people from the plague before trapping the demon at the capital by stabbing its heart with a hemalurgically charged sword. This caused the three rivers of the demon's blood to flow. Fast forward, December's mother is an offworlder, and December inherited the eyes of that people. On the day that she met Hoid and married Bark, something happened that locked her in that time should she die. At the capital, a duke betrays the king, somehow initiating the release of the demon. The demon apparently spews fire into the sky, and the rivers start to foul and clot up. A war of secession is started in the absence of the king, and the demon is eventually fully freed, drying up the rivers entirely. The fouling of the rivers causes a magical disease that December is immune to due to her offworld heritage. When she eventually dies, she is sent back in time to live out her life again. I predict she will by the end of the book need to figure out a way to stop the demon's release in order to break the cycle, which happens about three months after the day she is reborn. 

Edited December 17, 2025 by Ookla the Incorrigible

[First of the Tide He/him]

Spoiler

54 minutes ago, Ookla the Incorrigible said:

Don't mind if I just brain dump all my thoughts on this here: 

• Demon

  • Sword maybe still through his heart

    • Hemalurgy? 

      • Steel in the heart imbues transfer of physical allomantic ability

      • Potential for hemalurgic possession

      • Perhaps was a keystone that trapped the demon? 

  • Trapped by prophet 300 years prior

    • How? 

    • Why? 

    • What had it been doing? 

  • May have reawakened

    • If sword was keystone, was it removed? 

      • Otherwise, what was the trigger? 

    • Supposedly gradual release

      • A weakening of the prison? 

  • Clearly heavily Invested

    • Stormfather-level I’m guessing

    • Investiture of what Shard? 

      • Options: Valor, Invention, Mercy, Whimsy, Autonomy, Adonalsium

        • Feels most likely to be Valor or Mercy

    • Made by Shard or splintered off? 

    • Intent/Command? 

  • Body at capital

  • May have made fire in the sky

• Prophet

  • Trapped demon 300 years ago

  • Went around the land healing people

    • Why? 

    • From the plague? 

  • Also definitely Invested

    • Same Shard as demon? 

  • Likely not offworlder

  • Died/went away around time that demon is defeated

  • May return

    • Predicted to or just the hope of the people? 

  • What did they prophecy? 

    • Likely access to Fortune

• Rivers of blood

  • Three, stemming from capital

  • Demon’s blood

  • Thicken and sour/toxify when demon is supposedly breaking free

    • Source of plague? 

    • Happened at the time of the deadly events at the capital

  • Dry up when demon supposedly is released

    • Because its blood is no longer flowing from the heart, I hazard

  • Definitely Invested

    • Doesn’t stick to people

    • Violet-blackish

      • Corrupted? 

    • Blood is one of the Ten Essences

      • Loose association with hemalurgic bindpoint of blood

        • Hence, hemalurgic bindpoint at demon’s heart? 

• Plague

  • Kills 1 in 10

    • Connection with mists killing 16%

      • 10% is taken by Honor

      • 11% is viable as literary estimation

    • Doesn’t kill December

  • Leaves lesions

  • Quarantine does not help

  • Invested disease, not biological

  • Likely linked to curdling of rivers

• December

  • Died of cold

  • Immune to plague

  • Notable star-like eyes

    • Came from mother

  • Mother died in childbirth

    • Rumored to have fled from far away

      • Offworlder? 

  • Father was travelling merchant

  • Woke up when she was 21 after death

    • Supposedly day she met Hoid and married Bark

    • Time loop novel? 

      • Will eventually need to go to capital and stop demon from being released or whatever needs to happen (stop duke from betraying?)

    • Due to something Hoid did? 

      • Possible side effect, unlikely direct involvement

        • Did not know at the time of December’s importance, barely spoke to her

• War of secession

  • Demon makes fire in the sky

  • King dead

    • Betrayed by duke

      • Did this trigger the demon’s release? 

        • Was the king the prophet? 

        • Was the king the demon? 

  • Occurring at capital

  • Few months after marriage

  • Capital burned, refugees fleeing years later

    • Burned in rioting/looting or by demon? 

• Silver mines might in some way be important (break Connections)

  • Did finding of Winter’s Cache somehow release demon in this way? 

    • Four years after marriage; a little bit after the time. 

• Religion based around worship of the prophet and fear of the demon

  • Might believe in demons of the night

• Hoid

  • Why is he here if not for December? 

    • To see the important events, but didn’t realize her importance? 

      • Could be—Fortune whatever whatever

  • What happened to him afterwards? 

    • Something terrible happened, according to him

• What world is this set on? 

  • Possibilities: Dhatri, Bjendal, Obrodai, Mythos, Vax, Yolen

    • Dhatri unlikely due to what Prasanva said about Dark Aether

    • Bjendal had cognitive travel interrupted in 348 PC

    • Obrodai Hoid has visited and has an Avatar of Autonomy that dislikes him

      • Is the demon the Avatar? 

    • I find Yolen unlikely

• What time period is this? 

  • Around Tress I would guess

  • Could be anywhere from TLM to after all the other secret projects

 

So I'm going to organize what I think is going on here: 

300 years prior, the prophet went around healing people from the plague before trapping the demon at the capital by stabbing its heart with a hemalurgically charged sword. This caused the three rivers of the demon's blood to flow. Fast forward, December's mother is an offworlder, and December inherited the eyes of that people. On the day that she met Hoid and married Bark, something happened that locked her in that time should she die. At the capital, a duke betrays the king, somehow initiating the release of the demon. The demon apparently spews fire into the sky, and the rivers start to foul and clot up. A war of secession is started in the absence of the king, and the demon is eventually fully freed, drying up the rivers entirely. The fouling of the rivers causes a magical disease that December is immune to due to her offworld heritage. When she eventually dies, she is sent back in time to live out her life again. I predict she will by the end of the book need to figure out a way to stop the demon's release in order to break the cycle, which happens about three months after the day she is reborn. 

 

Might Spoiler this for length if I were you (not required at all though)

Anything leading to Hemalurgy other than a metal sword? Why would a Sliver of Valor (or other) need Hemalurgy?  I like your idea that the finding of the silver vein led to the freeing of the demon and/or disease though...

[Through The Living Ash he/him]

16 minutes ago, First of the Tide said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Might Spoiler this for length if I were you (not required at all though)

Anything leading to Hemalurgy other than a metal sword? Why would a Sliver of Valor (or other) need Hemalurgy?  I like your idea that the finding of the silver vein led to the freeing of the demon and/or disease though...

Yeah you're right I didn't realize quite how long that would be when I posted it. I feel like it was Hemalurgy mostly because of how it was specifically mentioned that a bit of the sword broke off and is still in the heart, though I don't entirely see what the Hemalurgy could be doing to the demon if not trapping it in some way, placed intentionally by the prophet to do that.

I had the thought of how it would be neat if finding the silver mine somehow led to all the horrible events, but looking at it now I think it was found three years after she married, so the river would have already started curdling at that point but the disease wouldn't have appeared. 

[Schizoposting]

I think that it's pretty clear that December is the prophet returned (whether literally or metaphorically), who was sent to save Mountaincrest from the plague, with her ability to see the future; and just like the original prophet, she's a healer. Or, at the very least, this is what we're supposed to think. Also, I think that the fashion designer mentioned in the book's description, has to be Hoid. 

[First of the Tide He/him]

25 minutes ago, Schizoposting said:

I think that it's pretty clear that December is the prophet returned (whether literally or metaphorically), who was sent to save Mountaincrest from the plague, with her ability to see the future; and just like the original prophet, she's a healer. Or, at the very least, this is what we're supposed to think. Also, I think that the fashion designer mentioned in the book's description, has to be Hoid. 

But Hoid never sees her again in her lifetime?

[Schizoposting]

13 minutes ago, First of the Tide said:

But Hoid never sees her again in her lifetime?

That almost certainly refers to her first life, not her second life.

[First of the Tide He/him]

what makes you think hoid is a fashion designer?

and where did we determine this is a second life?

I doubt Sanderson is going to make hoid a big-three character. all the other secret projects, he's just there until the very end.

Edited December 18, 2025 by First of the Tide

[Schizoposting]

14 minutes ago, First of the Tide said:

what makes you think hoid is a fashion designer?

and where did we determine this is a second life?

I doubt Sanderson is going to make hoid a big-three character. all the other secret projects, he's just there until the very end.

There are several reasons why Hoid is very likely to be the fashion designer: 

1) We know that this story will involve Hoid "being in a bad situation"

2) The word "fashion designer" would be anachronistic in a premodern medieval society, so anyone calling themselves that would be a more advanced outsider 

3) We know from Tress that Hoid is into fashion 

4) December's vision provides a loophole that allows Hoid to meet her while still saying "we did not speak again during her lifetime" because by "her lifetime" he's referring to her vision, and not her "second life"

5) It would be impossible for Hoid to get all this detail about her vision without actually meeting and talking to December 

6) In Tress Hoid is a secondary character, so there's no reason why he can't be a secondary character in this story as well