ecohansen Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 So, aspens show up three times in The Final Empire and three times in Well of Ascension. They are not mentioned in HoA, or any of the post-Catacendre works so far (AoL, SoS, BoM). I don't have a searchable copy of Secret History. So, was Brandon caling a Smeerp a rabbit? Were 'Aspens' actually strange brown-leaved ash-trees? Since Brandon typically makes new names for novel species, why did he choose not to this time? Or were aspens the only surviving flowering plant on Mistworld? Their use as high-falutin' decorations seems to suggest this. So why is there no evidence that Sazed continued to preserve them into the post-Catacendre world? Final Empire: p.156: other decorations--crystal sculptures, vases set with aspen branches--glistened, unmared by silt, smudge, or fingerprint. p. 174. [inside the wall of a Noble home] Vin slammed into a tree...[she] gritted her teeth, feeling the small aspen bend behind her. p. 328 Poor things, Vin thought, passing a group of ragged children who were shaking aspen trees to get the ash out so it could be swept up--it wouldn't do for a passing nobleman to get an unexpecd dump of tree-borne ash on his head. Well of Ascension: p 214: [at the Koloss camp] Sazed looked down. A small Koloss, just beginning to stretch, stood at the base. It gave the aspen a shake. p.215: [at the Koloss camp] "Come," it slurred, lumbering through the small aspen forest. p. 658 Spook lowered his eyes, then sank to the ground, sitting with his back against an aspen. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardbearer he/him Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 Brandon generally only makes new names for things if they don't match what we have on Earth. I expect that none of these are actually exactly the same species of plant or animal that we have, but something similar enough to keep things from seeming too outlandish and foreign. So an aspen on Scadrial could refer to a tree with white bark and similar leaves and flowers to real aspens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natc Posted January 28, 2016 Report Share Posted January 28, 2016 There wouldn't be flowers though, at least not visible ones. Nobody has ever seen flowers. Perhaps a modified species of aspen that has no visible flowers or doesn't flower at all. It will still look aspen-ish. I mean we even have seedless watermelon in real life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 In the Wax and Wayne series lions are called lions, so don't see why he couldn't call an aspen an aspen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charononus Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 In the Wax and Wayne series lions are called lions, so don't see why he couldn't call an aspen an aspen. Because TLR dramatically changed all plant life to survive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Because TLR dramatically changed all plant life to survive. Annnnnnd he also changed the people and animals so my statement still stands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ecohansen Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Because there were no flowering plants, and nothing with green leaves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted January 29, 2016 Report Share Posted January 29, 2016 Because there were no flowering plants, and nothing with green leaves. But they were before the lord ruler ascended. He just changed them to survive the changes he made to the planet. Just like he did to the people to survive an ash world and just like he did to the animals. We know an oak is an oak whether it has all its leaves in summer or no leaves in fall. So just because an aspen lost its flowering, why would the name change? All its other main identifiers remain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natc Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 By that logic a dalmatian that was turned completely grey and given different morphology for genitalia. It's certainly a different species of tree at that point that's for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creepileigh Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 I mean, a lot of era 1.5 books have been set in Elendel, where even decorative plants are required by law to produce some form of food. It may be that aspens still exist, but they don't fulfill this requirement so we don't see them much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChickenPlague he/him Posted January 31, 2016 Report Share Posted January 31, 2016 I mean, a lot of era 1.5 books have been set in Elendel, where even decorative plants are required by law to produce some form of food. It may be that aspens still exist, but they don't fulfill this requirement so we don't see them much. I just had the hilarious thought of a noble munching on a tree branch angrily so he can plant one in his garden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaymyth she/her Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 (edited) I just had the hilarious thought of a noble munching on a tree branch angrily so he can plant one in his garden. Technically speaking, rose hips (fruit) are edible! That's neither here nor there, but amuses me. I suspect there are a lot of rosebushes in Elendel. Edited February 1, 2016 by Kaymyth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pathfinder Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 By that logic a dalmatian that was turned completely grey and given different morphology for genitalia. It's certainly a different species of tree at that point that's for sure. But as the people at the time did not have the level of technology to realize that, they would have still called it an aspen. It is shaped like an aspen, has the colored bark of an aspen, grows like an aspen with leaves primarily near the top, but the leaves are darker, people are still going to call it an aspen. It didn't suddenly sprout tentacles, or mouths. Here is a picture of aspen in fall and tell me you couldn't see that fitting right in on Scadrial. https://www.google.com/search?q=aspen+flower&safe=off&espv=2&biw=1440&bih=815&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwimuP339tbKAhVMGT4KHVciBk8Q_AUIBigB#safe=off&tbm=isch&q=aspen+tree+fall&imgrc=wM66mALWdOINYM%3A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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