Random Cosmere Questions

[Matrim Bloody Cauthon he/him]

This is a thread for every random quite often stupid and pointless question we have while reading books in the Cosmere. please note they do not have to be stupid to be asked here. feel free to give input on any questions you see that you have something to share about.

 

such as...

 

Is it possible to lash water to send a river of water flowing towards an opponent? that would be an awesome way to win a water balloon fight.

 

Is it possible to lash something to an object rather than a direction. such as lashing something to a person so that it falls towards them and when they move it follows.

 

let the randomness begin.

Edited December 12, 2015 by Matrim Bloody Cauthon

[hoidhunter he/him]

for starters...you can lash things toward other things and not just in directions...it happens a few times in the books...

 

but anyway...

 

Are all non-pewter burning allomancers constantly drunk from drinking alcohol solution every time they need more metal?  Is cirrhosis the leading cause of death for copperclouds?

 

Should awakeners always carry vials of concentrated dye in case they find themselves with breath but without color?  You know...they can just splash it around and stain a bunch of stuff purple...

 

Organic matter that is close in shape to a person is the easiest thing to awaken...so...can I use a frosting bag to make a little man made of poo, set it on fire and have it knock on someone's door and wait?

Edited December 12, 2015 by hoidhunter

[Oversleep]

for starters...you can lash things toward other things and not just in directions...it happens a few times in the books...

I can't remember such thing. I think it was always Lashed to a direction (as far as we're talking about Basic Lashing). You basically tell the object that now down is somehere else. Edited December 16, 2015 by Oversleep

[DreamEternal]

I can't remember such thing. I think it was always Lashed to a direction (as far as we're talking about Gravitational Lashings). You basically tell the object that now down is somehere else.

The wording is very... vague in the books. Sometimes it is not ckear if they lash an object directly to another or towards its direction.

[Kaymyth she/her]

Are all non-pewter burning allomancers constantly drunk from drinking alcohol solution every time they need more metal?  Is cirrhosis the leading cause of death for copperclouds?

 

Not all Allomancers use alcohol for their metals.   Besides that, the vials are so small that there's not enough in there to actually get someone drunk.  It's really a negligible amount.

 

 

My question:  What is Terris food like?  There must be some level of deliciousness involved that being able to send out for it at any time of night in Elendel is a noteworthy perk!

[Paragrin she/her]

What's the fifth Vorin kingdom? Shallan wonders about it at one point after reading it in some book, but it never gets addressed.

[Full Metal Rithmatist]

Why is there only one person across all the books ( that i remember ) who uses the term "Cosmere" when apparently even the names of the worlds are generally only known to people who are aware of other worlds.

[DreamEternal]

Why is there only one person across all the books ( that i remember ) who uses the term "Cosmere" when apparently even the names of the worlds are generally only known to people who are aware of other worlds.

Actualy, more people use it. Steris uses it in the Bands of Mourning chapters Brandon released, as does Jasnah in Way of Kings, and perhaps another scholars.

Just assume it is their word for Universe, or a translation liberty of sorts, because in pratice they are saying "Universe" while Brandon is droping hints to less connected readers that his books share an Universe.

[galendo]

What's the fifth Vorin kingdom? Shallan wonders about it at one point after reading it in some book, but it never gets addressed.

I think this is actually answered in the books, at least by implication.  Mind you, I forget exactly where and how, but I remember wondering this same thing, and then answering the question to my own satisfaction.  If I had to go off of the maps and vague memories, I'd suggest that the five kingdoms were Rishir, Valhav, Alethela, Natanatan, and Thalath, and that Shallan doesn't know about Rishir because it got more or less subsumed into Alethkar and Jah Keved.

 

Why is there only one person across all the books ( that i remember ) who uses the term "Cosmere" when apparently even the names of the worlds are generally only known to people who are aware of other worlds.

In addition to the people that CognitivePulsePattern mentions above, Hoid mentions it in The Way of Kings.

[hoidhunter he/him]

I can't remember such thing. I think it was always Lashed to a direction (as far as we're talking about Gravitational Lashings). You basically tell the object that now down is somehere else.

Kaladin's shield for example...for even the bridge in the early part of his powers manifesting.  He gives the bridge (and later his shield) it's own gravitational pull that makes arrows come towards it instead of him.

 

FROM COPPERMIND

 

Reverse Lashing  

By using the Reverse Lashing, a Surgebinder can increase the gravitational pull of an object, allowing them to subtly pull nearby objects toward it. The Surgebinder must maintain contact with the object to Reverse Lash it.

[natc]

But nobody has ever basic lashed towards an object and not a direction, which is the issue here.

[DreamEternal]

But nobody has ever basic lashed towards an object and not a direction, which is the issue here.

Actualy, that is very unclear, since Szeth says he is lashings things towards walls or the ceiling, but maybe he is just talking about their general direction.

[FormlessFox he/him]

I thought Kaladin lashed himself to a shardbearer when he helped Adolin in the duel but when I looked back he only lashed in the direction of the person. Every other instance I thought ofand looked up was the same thing. Otherwise you would be able to lock on to opponents and it would be a bit overpowered as a stormlight seeking windrunner missile

[Oversleep]

Realmatically, to Invest something with Stormlight you have to touch it. So you can Lash only things you touch. Therefore with Basic Lashing you change the object to object which is pulled into specific direction. Now, it may seem that Reverse Lashing contradicts this because it pulls everything else to it, but in reality you create a field with strenghtened gravitation with this object being a source.

...

I just realised that Reverse Lashing somehow makes gravity one-sided, because the Lashed should be pulled to massive things in proximity. We need WoB on this.

[natc]

It's apparently a weaker copy of the planet's gravity, so . . . hmm.

Wait, does gravity even pull you towards things or is that just the things' gravity pulling you? I always thought it was the latter.

If it is the latter, then since the mass is constant the pull towards other objects would not increase and the reverse lashed object isn't going anywhere.

Edited December 16, 2015 by natc

[Stormgate he/him]

Einstein says it is both.

[Kaymyth she/her]

Given that gravity isn't really so much a pull as it is the object itself changing the shape of space-time around it, it seems to me that perhaps Reverse Lashing actually makes a change to the warp of space-time around the object it's attached to.

[Stormgate he/him]

Can I ask my question again, since it never got answered? If a Soulcaster (either fabrial or Surgebinder) were to Soulcast something into ice (normal frozen water), would they use a garnet for blood and non-oil liquids, or diamond for crystals?

[Yata he/him]

Can I ask my question again, since it never got answered? If a Soulcaster (either fabrial or Surgebinder) were to Soulcast something into ice (normal frozen water), would they use a garnet for blood and non-oil liquids, or diamond for crystals?

They are actually Soulcast something to water therefore I say Garnet

[Stormgate he/him]

They are actually Soulcast something to water therefore I say Garnet

But is ice different enough from water to necessitate another gemstone? Ice forms crystals, after all, and it is somewhat difficult to tell just by looking at it, the difference between a solid block of ice and another crystal.

[Moogle]

Can I ask my question again, since it never got answered? If a Soulcaster (either fabrial or Surgebinder) were to Soulcast something into ice (normal frozen water), would they use a garnet for blood and non-oil liquids, or diamond for crystals?

 

We don't know, which is why I imagine most people are not offering an answer. Feel free to add it to the Ultimate List of Questions! Or ask it on one of the AMAs.

[skaa he/him]

I think this is actually answered in the books, at least by implication. Mind you, I forget exactly where and how, but I remember wondering this same thing, and then answering the question to my own satisfaction. If I had to go off of the maps and vague memories, I'd suggest that the five kingdoms were Rishir, Valhav, Alethela, Natanatan, and Thalath, and that Shallan doesn't know about Rishir because it got more or less subsumed into Alethkar and Jah Keved.

Just a point of clarification. Rishir, Valhav, etc. are actually Silver Kingdoms, and there were a total of ten of those. The four Vorin Kingdoms that Shallan knows, Jah Keved, Alethkar, Kharbranth, and Natanatan, are present-day nationskingdoms that are obviously descended from Silver Kingdoms (Natanatan even retained the ancient name) but are not identical to them. In fact, the lands that were once part of Thalath now contain two kingdoms that are predominantly Vorin: the city-state of Kharbranth (which we already know is a part of the Five Vorin Kingdoms) and the island kingdom of Thaylenah.

If fifth Vorin Kingdom was descended from Rishir, then that means the fifth Vorin Kingdom is Herdaz.

Edited December 18, 2015 by skaa

[galendo]

Just a point of clarification. Rishir, Valhav, etc. are actually Silver Kingdoms, and there were a total of ten of those. The four Vorin Kingdoms that Shallan knows, Jah Keved, Alethkar, Kharbranth, and Natanatan, are present-day nations that are obviously descended from Silver Kingdoms but are not identical to them. In fact, the lands that were once part of Thalath now contain two kingdoms that are predominantly Vorin: the city-state of Kharbranth (which we already know is a part of the Five Vorin Kingdoms) and the island kingdom of Thaylenah.

 

If fifth Vorin Kingdom was descended from Rishir, then that means the fifth Vorin Kingdom is Herdaz.

If it helps, I'm about 98% certain that Herdaz is mentioned as a Vorin kingdom, though one whose religion is a bit different.  I think Lopen mentions it, but I'm not entirely sure; I could just be thinking that because he's Herdazian.

 

But I don't get why Shallan wouldn't know of all five of these kingdoms.  I mean, Herdaz even shares a border with Jah Keved.  Unless the Herdaz version of Vorinism is really different.

[Eagle of the Forest Path he/him]

Just a point of clarification. Rishir, Valhav, etc. are actually Silver Kingdoms, and there were a total of ten of those. The four Vorin Kingdoms that Shallan knows, Jah Keved, Alethkar, Kharbranth, and Natanatan, are present-day nations that are obviously descended from Silver Kingdoms (Natanatan even retained the ancient name) but are not identical to them. In fact, the lands that were once part of Thalath now contain two kingdoms that are predominantly Vorin: the city-state of Kharbranth (which we already know is a part of the Five Vorin Kingdoms) and the island kingdom of Thaylenah.

 

If fifth Vorin Kingdom was descended from Rishir, then that means the fifth Vorin Kingdom is Herdaz.

 

The Silver kingdom Natanatan was located on the shattered plains, so it is unlikely that it still exists.

There is a city on modern Roshar called New Natanan, named after the original Silver kingdom, but it is not itself a nation.

[skaa he/him]

The Silver kingdom Natanatan was located on the shattered plains, so it is unlikely that it still exists.

There is a city on modern Roshar called New Natanan, named after the original Silver kingdom, but it is not itself a nation.

It being a city is no impediment. Kharbranth is just a city, and yet it's a kingdom by itself. If you're quibbling about my use of the word "nation", I'd say that's not really important. What's important is that there is a Vorin kingdom that descended from the Silver Kingdom Natanatan and is bearing its name.

Edited December 19, 2015 by skaa