[General Cosmere and SoS Theory] God metals, Shards and Trellagism

[I Am Stick]

Whilst thinking on a post I put on another thread I have come up with a theory for the, likely, new god metal on Scadrial piecing Bleeder. Forgive the cut and paste but I can't be arsed to right it all again.

 

The metal was described as having rust on it, one of the opposites of Endowment is Loss. After reading SoS the new god metal has come to the fore, I personally think Rust is formed when Electrons are Lost by the metal to oxygen molecules creating an oxide surface. Our mystery metal may be the shardic manifestation of the opposite of Endowment. Not sure if Loss is the correct name but another opposite word is Deprivation and I much prefer the sound of that. Could be that Bleeder was Deprived of her sanity? 

 

Thinking on this some more BS has hinted that we should look into Trellagism some more, and I have found this on the Coppermind:

Trelagism was a duelist religion named after the god Trell. Trell's opposite was Nalt, and the two were believed to be brothers.

Trelagists believed that night was sacred and daylight was profane. During the night, Trelagists were able to see the Thousand Eyes of Trell (the stars) watching over them, but during the day, Nalt - jealous of the worship given to his brother - would shine his single eye (the sun) on the land, blocking Trelagists from seeing Trell's eyes.

One can speculate that their religious observances, if they had any, were at their height during the winter months, and summer months may have contained many petitions to Trell or attempts to ward off Nalt's jealousy.

Now the planet that Endowment is on is called Nalthis, so it could be the planet is actually named after its shard holder, I think this mixed with the beliefs of Trellagism point towards Deprivation (tentative name) and Endowment being the closest opposites of each other, maybe even brothers.

 

Probably all a load of straws being clutched but I think it's worth a think about. Whats your thoughts?

 

[Moogle]

I think you've got the idea of Endowment completely opposite to me.

Endowment in the books evokes sacrifice and loss. You must give up power to do things. Returned all seem to be those who gave up their lives for something.

The opposite of Endowment would be theft. Nightblood embodies this as a corrupted Shardblade. It takes power rather than gives it.

[Blightsong he/him]

I think this is stretched a bit thin. The evidence is very weak compared to what we have for Autonomy being the new shard on the block.

[Voidus]

Also relatively sure we got a quote from Brandon that the metal is from a Shard we know.

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

Also relatively sure we got a quote from Brandon that the metal is from a Shard we know.

Which depends on how you define "know"

[I Am Stick]

I think you've got the idea of Endowment completely opposite to me.

Endowment in the books evokes sacrifice and loss. You must give up power to do things. Returned all seem to be those who gave up their lives for something.

The opposite of Endowment would be theft. Nightblood embodies this as a corrupted Shardblade. It takes power rather than gives it.

 

I don't think we need to take the shards as direct;y opposites of each other but I do think that deprivation and loss both work within your theft point. 

 

 

Also relatively sure we got a quote from Brandon that the metal is from a Shard we know.

 

Didn't know that, fair point then. Autonomy is the most likely it just feels to obvious if you know what I mean. 

 

I also agree that it's a thin theory, that's the point of these forums. Air an opinion or theory and people see things you've overlooked or tenuously linked together, building the theory into something a bit more likely.

[Confused]

Has the theory of Shard duality been confirmed? I've tended to disagree with it. I think relationships between Shards predate their becoming Shards and go back to when they were just people. Sazed has confirmed the distinction between "personality" - who the people who became Shards originally were - and their ability to wield power - what those people were, a consciousness to which the Shattered power could wed.

 

We know that Tanavast and the person who became Cultivation were romantically linked. I believe their romantic relationship continued after they became Shards. They came to Roshar together.

 

I believe that Aona and Skai also were romantically linked. I believe their relationship also continued after they became Shards, and that's why they came to Sel together.

 

I don't know why Ati and Leras chose to create Scadrial together. We've assumed that the opposition of their mandates motivated them to act together. It's just as likely because of a pre-existing relationship, which I jokingly described in this post. Perhaps once blessed/cursed with those powers, the two decided to jointly create something in recognition of the necessity of working together.

 

We know the non-Shard Hoid has feelings for the Shards, and his comments suggest they still have feelings about him. He is hiding from Rayse, after all. That may have more to do with Odium's overarching tactical and strategic concerns, but Hoid makes us believe it's also personal.

 

Enough about Shard duality, on to the main topic:

 

I'm only responding to the OP, because I've not read other threads about Trell or Nalt. My thoughts may be unoriginal or way off base. I'm also assuming your description of Trell and Nalt is correct. With those caveats...WOW!!! Didn't remember Nalt at all!

 

Based on your description, here's what I think this signifies: Both Trell and Nalt are indeed Shards. BUT they were both at one time invested in the planet we now call Nalthis (as was perhaps Edgli?). Sometime in Scadrial's past, some of Trell's followers looked to the stars and found Scadrial. They then migrated there, by whatever means, magical or technological. It's noteworthy that Vasher/Zahel and (we suspect) other Nalthians found their way to Roshar. Why not others to Scadrial, bringing Trell (or pieces of him) with them (or vice versa)?

 

Just some nutty and perhaps unoriginal thoughts...

Edited October 29, 2015 by Confused

[Ari he/him]

The theory I've heard that I've liked is that Trellagism is a dualist religion due to it being developed or changed to be a cover for Autonomy, and the dualism coming from the Light and Dark sides of Taldain, so that they can make contact with Trellagists when coming to Scadrial.