NewbSombrero Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 (edited) I'm doing a listen through of Mistborn, and in chapter 16 of HoA, Spook speaks with Durn, an informant notable for his sense of perfect rhythm and his skill for disguises. Combined with the way he talks and the fact that he seems to be meddling in ways Kelsier may not agree with, this man seems rather Hoid like to me. (Brandon said in a reddit AMA a while back that Hoid and Kelsier don't get along.) The other big possibility I see as to the relevance of the perfect rhythm is that he may be a listener, which makes more sense than my knee jerk reaction that he may be Nalthian. There are plenty of methods of disguise in the cosmere, both magical and mundane which could allow a listener world-hopper to get around unnoticed, especially given that they have ways to gain access to other investitures besides just spiking. What does the Shard think of Durn? (Sorry for the lack of citations. I'm on a smartphone right now, and don't know how to work that in from here, but I'll edit those in once I get to a real computer.) Edited October 29, 2015 by NewbSombrero 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Bard Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Uhhh... Personally, I think the person named 'Hoid' struck me as slightly suspicious. Don't know why... Also, worldhoppers tend to be people who can be there one day and not the next and not be noticed, e.g. a beggar. I think he's too ingrained into society to be a worldhopper. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbSombrero Posted October 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I don't think the fact that there is another appearance of Hoid in the book need necessarily disqualify him. In WoA, we get both his footprint near the well and him disguised as the leader of the group of Terris refugees,so it wouldn't be the first time he pops in at multiple places of relevance on Scadrial. Also, definitely not the first time he plays informant on that world (Final Empire). The bit about Spook noticing his perfect sense of rhythm just seems to me like something just a little too arbitrary to put in for it not to be a clue that there's something deeper to him than what we see at first glance. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardbearer Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Good catch. Perfect rhythm is definitely suspicious. It's been a long time since I've read Era 1 and my books are locked up in storage right now, but there could be something to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voidus Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I'd probably put my bet on it being another Worldhopper, while he did appear twice in WoA that wasn't as two separate people, he likely kept his Terris disguise for most of the novel. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bort Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I think he was a local. I mean, this isn't the first time we've heard about Scadrial lifeforms having perfect pitch (well, it is, since the other reference I'm thinking of is actually in Alloy of Law). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charononus Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I think he was a local. I mean, this isn't the first time we've heard about Scadrial lifeforms having perfect pitch (well, it is, since the other reference I'm thinking of is actually in Alloy of Law). This wasn't pitch though it was rhythm. Personally I think Durn was just talented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan Arum Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Bard, I disagree with your general assessment of Worldhoppers being unlikely to be too ingrained in a society. We have plenty of instances of Worldhoppers running around for quite some time in a given society: Vasher/Zahel: It appears that Zahel has been on-planet for quite some time as a master swordsmen trainer. Adolin recalls fondly of his training that he started when he was what, 6? He's now early 20s. Hoid/Wit: While he does leave periodically, he does come back as Wit and seems quite ingrained in that society. For now. Iyatil: She's quite ingrained in the society of Roshar since she is a high ranking member of the Ghostbloods. We can't be sure how long she's been active currently on Roshar, but it seems like it's been a while according to WoB: QUESTION (PARAPHRASED)So what planet is she [iyatil] from? BRANDON SANDERSONWell, that's kind of a hard thing to say. She has three planets she's "from". For example, she's living now on Roshar, but then she's from a different planet, but that's not the planet that her people are from. At this early stage of the Cosmere books, I'm willing to assume that many current minor characters could easily be Worldhoppers, even if they seem ingrained in society. Brandon has even said that at this point we're not really meant to notice all of the Worldhoppers. I'll see if I can find WoB supporting this, but it may have been from a recent signing... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSC01 Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I thought Durn was really suspicious, myself, when I last read Mistborn. I'd say he's definitely not Hoid, but he could be some other worldhopper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batemenace Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 He might be a world hopper, it certainly wouldn't be shocking if Brandon confirmed it, but I wouldn't put it past Brandon to put the occasional red herring here and there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbSombrero Posted October 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 As I've gotten deeper into my listen-through, I'm definitely of a mind that he's probably not Hoid. I'm still pulling for him being a disguised listener, if we have seen his people of origin at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stormgate Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 He might be a world hopper, it certainly wouldn't be shocking if Brandon confirmed it, but I wouldn't put it past Brandon to put the occasional red herring here and there. I have faith that Sanderson will answer our questions cryptically when he isn't willing to RAFO, he may try leading us down the wrong path with some WoB, but any little detail like that is important. Sanderson has bonded an authorspren, and spoken the oaths. If he were to place some detail in the book, especially rhythm, without it meaning something, he would break his oaths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoidhunter Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 sorry to go off topic but I didn't want to start my own thread just for this little thing...has anyone ever been able to confirm Felt as a worldhopper...my very first post on the forums was a wild theory that I had that just because the name Felt appears on two different worlds, that it must be a Hoid alias...at the time I didn't realize that there were many other worldhopping characters... So again...has anyone ever gotten any WoB talking about Felt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charononus Posted November 6, 2015 Report Share Posted November 6, 2015 I have faith that Sanderson will answer our questions cryptically when he isn't willing to RAFO, he may try leading us down the wrong path with some WoB, but any little detail like that is important. Sanderson has bonded an authorspren, and spoken the oaths. If he were to place some detail in the book, especially rhythm, without it meaning something, he would break his oaths. Ah but there is a good reason to include it even if he isn't a Worldhopper. TLR forbid ska such pursuits as musician. It's highlighting that Durn was innately skilled, yet denied a place in the world to practice that skill under TLR. Much of the storyline in Urteau was all about what society denies you. It doesn't have to have cosmere meaning to be meaningful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewbSombrero Posted November 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2015 I just stumbled upon an interesting WoB that has me thinking a little more that Durn could be a disguised listener. Interview: Jun 10th, 2014 Tor.com The Way of Kings Re-read Interview with Brandon Sanderson (Verbatim) Phantrosity (Tor.com) In The Way of Kings, we see a lot of worldhoppers on Roshar. Have you already seeded worldhoppers FROM Roshar in your other works? Brandon Sanderson Yes. You've met several. I propose that given this, he could well be one of these. And also mention that as we have seen with Zahel/Vasher, some world-hoppers are immigrants, not tourists, since that has come up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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