Where do you feel Era 2 is going?

[Edgedancer he/him]

After the Alloy of Law I had the feeling of having a good idea where the era is going. With it being the start of an entire series, of course those things would be important but self-contained within Scadrial. Exploring its current culture and world, setting some stepping stones for its future development (without completely reshaping the world again), building up a final confrontation with the Set and the most important thing at the end of something along the lines of the Set’s breeding program explaining why there are Mistborn again in the next era. Then there’s some foreshadowing for elements such as the Scadrial civil war and possible of world interference.  

 

After Shadows of Self I’m not so sure anymore. I suppose it started with the title. Given that it is very much an already established term certain expectations came with it, at least for me. Not that those matter anymore, given the actual book had fairly little to do with cognitive shadows. What we got instead was naturally also very good but headed into a direction I did not see coming and I wonder if it will continue in that direction. Miles’ warning/threat at the end of Alloy could be taken as something only coming into fruition with the next era but now with Trell being so aggressive in supporting/manipulation Paalm I would find it rather unsatisfying if it never came up again. Furthermore, the Set was reduced to essentially a cameo, certainly not adding to a build up for a confrontation.

 

So I wonder what you people think. Do you think era 2 will turn out to have greater Cosmere implications and deal with whatever off world threat actually hides behind Trell or if Trell will just kind of take a backseat and if they deal with it in any major way, do you think such an event with rather Cosmere important consequences was originally meant to be skipped over or only added in with this new set of books? Will they deal with both Trell and the Set in the following two books or might the Set actually turn out to be not as important, with maybe only the plot around Wax’s family member getting resolved?

 

Another thing in a similar vein, these first two book titles have been rather esoteric, referring to the book’s themes and not so much the actual plot. Yet, the other two titles we have been given, Bands of Mourning and The Lost Metal, seem to directly refer specific objects in the world, which makes the wonder, are they actually that straight forward or are they decoys and something different turns out to be the meaning behind them. For example bands of Mourning having a theme of people being brought together by mourning a common loss.

[Shardbearer he/him]

I'd say we need some sort of resolution to both the Set and the Trell plots in the next 2 books. Not that they need to be totally resolved, both could still be influencing Scadrial in Era 3. There just needs to be a resolution to the current conflicts with them.

 

I can see Wax and Steris' relationship evolving into something that involves true romance. She seems rather enthralled by his more dangerous side,

 

I can also see something happening with Wayne and the girl he sponsors (not romantically), maybe she'll have to reluctantly come to him for help or something.

 

We also have power shifting from nobility with a governor who is not part of the peerage for the first time.

[Ari he/him]

I'd say we need some sort of resolution to both the Set and the Trell plots in the next 2 books. Not that they need to be totally resolved, both could still be influencing Scadrial in Era 3. There just needs to be a resolution to the current conflicts with them.

 

I can see Wax and Steris' relationship evolving into something that involves true romance. She seems rather enthralled by his more dangerous side,

 

I can also see something happening with Wayne and the girl he sponsors (not romantically), maybe she'll have to reluctantly come to him for help or something.

 

We also have power shifting from nobility with a governor who is not part of the peerage for the first time.

 

Yeah, the resolution to Trell could be as little as finding out who Trell is, or what kind of threat they pose in the long run. I have a feeling that the Set is really the only thing we've been implied a full resolution on as of SoS.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Ari

[DreamEternal]

*Puts on aluminum lined hat*

About the resolution... The whole W&W series was unplanned, so it shouldn't be something that influences the antagonists to the point of a total defeat. I've been wondering... what if the antagonists win, or are only driven to a stalemate(sp?)? What if this series protagonists can only delay the plans of the Set and Trell and the men of red and gold? What if their only hope of a lasting victory is leaving their knowledge for the future, wich is uncovered in the next era?

[Zathoth]

"The bad guys win, again"

 

So far Wax and Wayne have been mirroring a lot of the plot of The Final Empire, so I could actually see this happening. Another "Bad guys win" scenario, the problem with that I think is that Brandon already did it in The Final Empire.

 

I could see the following twists happening. The Set create a Mistborn, but are destroyed by Wax, Trell is captured, but breaks free in the next era, Harmony turns into more and more of a tyrant as the shards keep changing him and then the Southerners come. Lots of interesting conflicts that way, but still with some resolution .

[natc]

Not sure how the two shards that try to force him to do absolutely nothing when held together could possibly turn Harmony into an outright tyrant.

[dayman]

Maybe it's boring and too simplistic but I can see a bad guys win or something at the end of this series so the next era opens with pre-baked conflict points. Not sure if he's going to roll it in but I could also see this series set the stage for some full-blown cold war to be the setting of the next book....maybe the other part of the world that we haven't seen comes into play or the governance of the main plot we are familiar with splits. 

 

Anyway, one thing for sure needs to happen...conflict and waves of action need to spread out from the city.

[Kaymyth she/her]

Anyway, one thing for sure needs to happen...conflict and waves of action need to spread out from the city.

 

I imagine that there's already quite a bit of that going on that we haven't seen.  Just the power vacuum from the three most powerful Twinborn lawkeepers leaving the Roughs around the same time is going to create some chaos out there.

[Sylfan he/him]

Ok so this is kind of off topic but not at the same time. So I am sure/hope this is wrong but a part of me sees harmony pushing wax past his breaking point and Wax becomes our new bad guy. I don't want that to be true but there is a piece of me that keeps leaning on that.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Sylfan

[DreamEternal]

"The bad guys win, again"

So far Wax and Wayne have been mirroring a lot of the plot of The Final Empire, so I could actually see this happening. Another "Bad guys win" scenario, the problem with that I think is that Brandon already did it in The Final Empire.

I could see the following twists happening. The Set create a Mistborn, but are destroyed by Wax, Trell is captured, but breaks free in the next era, Harmony turns into more and more of a tyrant as the shards keep changing him and then the Southerners come. Lots of interesting conflicts that way, but still with some resolution .

The problem is that in the original triology, the bad guys only won in the second book. The triology itself was a phyrric victory. I suspect the W&W quadrology(is that how you say it in english?) will end more like the backstory, with the heros(Kwaan and Rashek) being able to only delay the inevitable at great cost and leave for the future the tools they need to suceed.

Plus, your proposed ending actualy makes W&W mostly irrelevant, since their "victories" will be undone so quickly.

[Zathoth]

The problem is that in the original triology, the bad guys only won in the second book. The triology itself was a phyrric victory. I suspect the W&W quadrology(is that how you say it in english?) will end more like the backstory, with the heros(Kwaan and Rashek) being able to only delay the inevitable at great cost and leave for the future the tools they need to suceed.

Plus, your proposed ending actualy makes W&W mostly irrelevant, since their "victories" will be undone so quickly.

At least the Set wont make more Mistborn, but this is Brandon, he will throw us an interesting curveball.

[killersquirrel59 he/him]

Well we know that Era 3 will have Mistborn again (or at least one since the plot is supposed to involve hunting down a Mistborn serial killer), so personally I think we are going to see the Set succeed in creating a new Mistborn and let the horror of what that means just start to spread before the end of the 4th book.

[DocHoliday he/him]

I'd be very interested to see if the Set dosnt begin to use this new method of recycling Hemalurgical Spikes to start creating Proto-Mistborn

[What's a Seawolf?]

Well I love Wayne and really want to see him around for as long as possible...

 

So I'm going to have to go with...Wax and Wayne et al. stop some major parts of the Set's plans, but some other evil survives/is not defeated.  (Since it's an 'unplanned' era, I'll look at it as a loose prologue to the next round of books.)

 

Wax, Wayne, Marasi and Steris (who obtains some sort of A or F abilities,) realize that there is nothing they can do in the present, but need to leave knowledge for the future in regards to the truth about the threat etc.

 

The best way to do that?  Leave themselves.

 

They hide away somewhere, Marasi (having previously figured out how to do so) creates a massive time bubble and let's the world fast forward by.  And boom, all four can become minor/hidden characters in the next era.

 

No idea how any of it plays out.  But I want to read scenes in Era 3 book 1 where the main characters constantly have their things 'disappear' and get replaced by seemingly random objects.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Wax, Wayne, Marasi and Steris (who obtains some sort of A or F abilities,) realize that there is nothing they can do in the present, but need to leave knowledge for the future in regards to the truth about the threat etc.

The Bands of Mourning? Steris for next Lord Ruler!

[Stormgate he/him]

She'd plan for assassination attempts, then be caught off guard by a Sniper Twinborn. (A-Nicrosil, F-Steel)

[Isaiah Zayth he/him]

My take on the direction of Era 2:

 

First, the books were initially unplanned. From my understanding, Brandon wrote AoL as a side project, originally intending it to stand alone as a single novel - of course, that didn't happen. Instead, we now get this follow up trilogy. I am convinced this is because Brandon knew he had some great characters to work with and found a really interesting way to use these characters to reveal important aspects of the Cosmere to us.

 

This idea is supported by the fact that important Cosmere characters are showing up at key moments. I've been away from the forums for a while, but I would assume everyone thinks Marsh is the inquisitor that gives the book to Marasi at the end of AoL?  Harmony is clearly very concerned about Trell and has been open and honest with the Kandra about the threat he/she/it posses: that is to say, they have no idea what it is attempting to accomplish. The Kandra are back - though they were never really gone - and making themselves known to important characters. Hoid makes an appearance in SoS, driving Wax's carriage. I'm sure there are other cameos that I am missing, but the fact that Wax and Marasi are both learning so much about Harmony and how shards work, I have a very strong feeling some big Cosmere reveals are coming in these books.

 

As to a narrative direction, I think that Wax may pull a "Dark Knight" imitation in this next book. He is depressed, sad, and very confused/mad with Harmony, and he really isn't what Elendel needs right now (at least in my eyes). I think he will still be a big part of the book, but I think he heads out to the roughs again (perhaps bringing Steris with him), leaving Aradel and Marasi to take care of the city. I think Wax leaves due to a clue about the origins of the Set and it leads him out of the city (perhaps something about the Lost Metal being linked to the Bands of Mourning?) Also, what are the Bands of Mourning? They were specifically mentioned in SoS. Anyone know?

 

Anyway, Wayne is very much a wildcard here... I don't know if he leaves with Wax or stays in the city to continue meeting with the girl. If he does the latter, I think he makes some sort of progress with her. Not sure what that would lead to, but could be another event that Harmony is directly influencing. We will see.

 

I think the Set nearly overwhelm Aradel and Marasi while Wax is away. I also think they fight back with the help of Hoid or another worldhopper and/or Marsh. I REALLY want to see Marsh show up and just dismantle people. Heck, lets have him fight Wax. Not kill him, but just kick his butt, reminding him that Harmony's plan is far more important than Wax's personal comfort. If there is any character that would known the worth and pain of self-sacrifice for the greater good, I can think of none better than Marsh. I mean, maybe Kelsier, but... I'd rather see Marsh.

 

Eventually, Wax realizes the world doesn't revolve around him (because let's face it, he totally thinks this right now), and makes a decision that his uncle never saw coming. This actions leads to the revelation that the Set is working for Trell. (which I think a lot of people already suspect). This gives Marsh/Hoid/other worldhopper and Harmony enough information to slow Trell's attempts to utilize the Lost Metal to gain control of Harmony himself. This realization is the huge Cosmere bomb that gets dropped on our heads sometime during the last book. We suddenly figure out that shards themselves can be controlled through Hemalurgy. In some ways, I think this is hinted at in the appendix of SoS. The writer of that breakdown of the magic systems of Scadrial is extremely interested in hemalurgy, and i think there is a very good reason for that.

 

At the end of the first MB trilogy, we had a character gain control of two shards. We really haven't had such a huge Cosmere altering event since then. I have a feeling we're about to get another.

 

Hopefully all that makes sense. It sounds rather interesting to me... What do you all think?

Edited January 5, 2016 by Isaiah Zayth

[happyman he/him]

My take on the direction of Era 2:

 

First, the books were initially unplanned. From my understanding, Brandon wrote AoL as a side project, originally intending it to stand alone as a single novel - of course, that didn't happen. Instead, we now get this follow up trilogy. I am convinced this is because Brandon knew he had some great characters to work with and found a really interesting way to use these characters to reveal important aspects of the Cosmere to us.

 

This idea is supported by the fact that important Cosmere characters are showing up at key moments. I've been away from the forums for a while, but I would assume everyone thinks Marsh is the inquisitor that gives the book to Marasi at the end of AoL?  Harmony is clearly very concerned about Trell and has been open and honest with the Kandra about the threat he/she/it posses: that is to say, they have no idea what it is attempting to accomplish. The Kandra are back - though they were never really gone - and making themselves known to important characters. Hoid makes an appearance in SoS, driving Wax's carriage. I'm sure there are other cameos that I am missing, but the fact that Wax and Marasi are both learning so much about Harmony and how shards work, I have a very strong feeling some big Cosmere reveals are coming in these books.

 

As to a narrative direction, I think that Wax may pull a "Dark Knight" imitation in this next book. He is depressed, sad, and very confused/mad with Harmony, and he really isn't what Elendel needs right now (at least in my eyes). I think he will still be a big part of the book, but I think he heads out to the roughs again (perhaps bringing Steris with him), leaving Aradel and Marasi to take care of the city. I think Wax leaves due to a clue about the origins of the Set and it leads him out of the city (perhaps something about the Lost Metal being linked to the Bands of Mourning?) Also, what are the Bands of Mourning? They were specifically mentioned in SoS. Anyone know?

 

Anyway, Wayne is very much a wildcard here... I don't know if he leaves with Wax or stays in the city to continue meeting with the girl. If he does the latter, I think he makes some sort of progress with her. Not sure what that would lead to, but could be another event that Harmony is directly influencing. We will see.

 

I think the Set nearly overwhelm Aradel and Marasi while Wax is away. I also think they fight back with the help of Hoid or another worldhopper and/or Marsh. I REALLY want to see Marsh show up and just dismantle people. Heck, lets have him fight Wax. Not kill him, but just kick his butt, reminding him that Harmony's plan is far more important than Wax's personal comfort. If there is any character that would known the worth and pain of self-sacrifice for the greater good, I can think of none better than Marsh. I mean, maybe Kelsier, but... I'd rather see Marsh.

 

Eventually, Wax realizes the world doesn't revolve around him (because let's face it, he totally thinks this right now), and makes a decision that his uncle never saw coming. This actions leads to the revelation that the Set is working for Trell. (which I think a lot of people already suspect). This gives Marsh/Hoid/other worldhopper and Harmony enough information to slow Trell's attempts to utilize the Lost Metal to gain control of Harmony himself. This realization is the huge Cosmere bomb that gets dropped on our heads sometime during the last book. We suddenly figure out that shards themselves can be controlled through Hemalurgy. In some ways, I think this is hinted at in the appendix of SoS. The writer of that breakdown of the magic systems of Scadrial is extremely interested in hemalurgy, and i think there is a very good reason for that.

 

At the end of the first MB trilogy, we had a character gain control of two shards. We really haven't had such a huge Cosmere altering event since then. I have a feeling we're about to get another.

 

Hopefully all that makes sense. It sounds rather interesting to me... What do you all think?

 

I think that these are interesting speculations, but that events quite that big would be reserved for the Era 3 trilogy.

[mattig89ch he/him]

I think hes going to head to more snowy parts of the globe (hence the cover art).  But I think it'll be more to get away from the city, and maybe even get away from helping harmony.

 

These bands of morning will come up in the novel, but I think they will be more accidently come up then anything.  Wax is hunting baddies out in the wild, and stumbles upon the baddies true plan of finding these bands of morning.  Then takes them for himself.

 

I think wayne and merresie stay in the city, and try to handle things there.  wayne teaching merrisie the finer points of detectiving, and merrisie becoming like wax, only with city skills instead of roughs skills.

[DreamEternal]

These bands of morning will come up in the novel, but I think they will be more accidently come up then anything. Wax is hunting baddies out in the wild, and stumbles upon the baddies true plan of finding these bands of morning. Then takes them for himself.

The Bands are too relevant to the story of Scadrial for Wax to simply stumble upon them.

[Angsos]

Wax goes to New Sarin(the city from the Gentleman Jack stories) hunting clues to the bands or something. I believe the cover blurb says that. The Bands apparently are tLR's metalminds but what they can be good for I have no idea unless sazed can read them.

[mattig89ch he/him]

Tt might be a funny side story to meet this gentleman jack.  If wax has turned into a legend, why can't jack be the same?