temple of the common man

[navybrandt he/him]

Finally finished SoS, so I can post this question now.

 

In Chapter 13, when Wayne goes to visit the "temple of the common man" (bar), is this the first time the Cosmere is mentioned by name in a book (not WoB's but in actual canonized text)? It's in the 7th paragraph of Chapter 13.

 

Then, at the end of the 10th paragraph of the same chapter "the God Beyond" is mentioned. Is this Adonalsium, the One, the unknown god, etc...?

 

[Khyrindor he/him]

Jasnah mentions the cosmere several times in WoK, and Hoid mentions it in the letter as well. I suspect that saying "The cosmere" is like saying "The universe" for us. But we see it differently because we know about shards, worlds, etc. In world, characters such as Jasnah probably don't (Although, in Jasnah's case, I certainly wouldn't be surprised).

Edited November 2, 2015 by Khyrindor

[WeiryWriter he/him]

The God Beyond is not Adonalsium, but is a belief that is starting to creep into the cosmere that there is something greater out there beyond even the Shards.  Wayne also mentions it in AoL, Hoid mentions it in WoR, and Shai mentions it using the name the "Unknown God" in TES.

[Shardbearer he/him]

Yeah, everyone else beat me to it.
 

But what I really want to say is that scene really confused me. At first I wasn't sure if it really was a weird temple until Wax shows up and calls it a bar in his head.

[Kaymyth she/her]

Yeah, everyone else beat me to it.

 

But what I really want to say is that scene really confused me. At first I wasn't sure if it really was a weird temple until Wax shows up and calls it a bar in his head.

 

I think confusion is a natural consequence of spending any amount of time inside Wayne's mind.

[navybrandt he/him]

Yeah, I missed the previous mentions of the Cosmere - especially by Jasnah. Can someone point me in the direction of any discussion on the God Beyond and how we know it's not Adonalsium. The only other major force I was aware of was The Void.

 

 

So... Wayne knows about the Cosmere, the God Beyond, and spoke with Hoid... What does this imply?

[Shardbearer he/him]

I haven't heard anything about the Void until now. What is it? Unless it's a spoiler from unpublished works. I don't want to hear about those.

[navybrandt he/him]

Sorry, I can't find the reference right now, but The Void is a a theory only I believe - based on various WoB's. It is the force that possibly shattered Adonalsium or was going to destroy Adonalsium causing Adonalsium to shatter itself rather than be totally destroyed.

[Ookla the Absent]

Just sayin', I was really confused for the first chunk of this scene...

Especially when he drew the Mark of the Survivor on himself. That made me think it was actually religious. Was he just being facetious?

[natc]

No, he's just being Wayne.

[Plaeggs he/him]

He was putting himself into the act, thinking the thoughts of the "common man." I dunno how to explain it. You can see Wayne doing it multiple times in the series, whenever he's in character. You either see it or you don't, unless someone else can explain it better than me? I'm good at thinking about this stuff but not communicating it. I just eave everyone more confused usually. Sorry if that happened with this.

[Angsos]

Wayne is spooky good at getting in character and we don't if it's just him or if there's more to Wayne. I can't wait for Bands of Mourning

[Plaeggs he/him]

Honestly, I think that Wayne is mentally damaged. I think something (maybe just his crime) broke him inside somehow. I think that we will hear more of Wayne's story later in the series, but for now, we just have to wait.

[Stormgate he/him]

Here comes the philosopher.

I think that part of Wayne's ability to get into character is part of why we read books: To escape from our present reality and go to a different one where we don't have to deal with hard things. Of course, the illusion always ends, we put the book away, but face our struggles a bit better, knowing we can run from them at any time, but we don't, because we would be going against what Vin, Kelsier, and others do/did when things get rough.

And that is why Wayne mimics people.

[50Metals he/him]

I suspect "the God Beyond" is actually God. I don't know much about Mormonism, but I suspect it is a nod to Sanderson's own faith. For similar examples, see Tolkien's use of Iluvatar (not sure I spelled that right) as a reflection of his Catholicism. I doubt it will factor in as a character in the same way as Adonalsium. Though it is suggestive that "Adonai" means "Lord", so maybe they are the same.