Catalog of Worldhoppers

[hoidhunter]

This is (frustratingly) unconfirmed...but a long time ago I noticed that a character named Felt appears in both the mistborn books, and WoR.

 

I strongly suspect that he is a worldhopper.  I was so proud of myself when I found this, it led to me becoming a member and posting my first thread...

[Landis963]

I believe there was a WoB saying a Drab could not worldhop. It might be the same for a regular skaa with no noble parentage.

 

I don't believe purebred skaa heritage constitutes enough soul damage to disqualify one from worldhopping.  (And it would be soul damage, given the fact that Drabs are missing a vital component of their soul)  I assumed the Balance of skaa and noble was just like two different artificial ethnicities.  

[akasketch]

There's also a kandra worldhopper, somewhere in there. Though how we're supposed to figure out who that would be is beyond me.

Yes. Do not forget WalDo.

[Shattered]

This is (frustratingly) unconfirmed...but a long time ago I noticed that a character named Felt appears in both the mistborn books, and WoR.

 

I strongly suspect that he is a worldhopper.  I was so proud of myself when I found this, it led to me becoming a member and posting my first thread...

 

What is it with me immediately assuming author error?

 

When I was first reading the cosmere novels and noticed that there was a character named Hoid in both Warbreaker and the Mistborn trilogy, I immediately assumed that Brandon had accidentally named two people the same thing, or that he liked the name for some reason and used it twice.

 

I did notice that there was a guy in WoR conspicuously named Felt (he's a military officer in Dalinar's army, right?), but for whatever reason I made that same assumption.

[heridfel]

I've always found it somewhat silly that in many fantasy novels, no two characters share a first name. In my office of ~12 people, four of us are named James.

 

I understand that it makes it easier for the readers to distinguish between the various characters since we don't have other visual cues to help, but people name their kids after other people. I wouldn't be surprised if Vin and Kelsier were common names on Scadrial in some of the cultures that arose after the events of the first trilogy.

[Jondesu]

I've always found it somewhat silly that in many fantasy novels, no two characters share a first name. In my office of ~12 people, four of us are named James.

 

I understand that it makes it easier for the readers to distinguish between the various characters since we don't have other visual cues to help, but people name their kids after other people. I wouldn't be surprised if Vin and Kelsier were common names on Scadrial in some of the cultures that arose after the events of the first trilogy.

Hah, I've always had the same thought.  I understand the reasoning, like you said, and in a few things I've read it's been explained somewhat (people have unique names because they're named based on something personal and unique), but even that approach falls flat. It's just literary convention that bugs me, but does definitely make it easier to follow the story usually.

 

Heck, I don't think there's even another David in Reckoners, and that's an insanely common first name.

 

jW

[AnikoliNightmareVision]

Hah, I've always had the same thought. I understand the reasoning, like you said, and in a few things I've read it's been explained somewhat (people have unique names because they're named based on something personal and unique), but even that approach falls flat. It's just literary convention that bugs me, but does definitely make it easier to follow the story usually.

Heck, I don't think there's even another David in Reckoners, and that's an insanely common first name.

jW

This is so true. I also always wondered why there aren't people with the same first name in the books.

For example, my name is Ana and almost everywhere I go there is another person that have same name as me. And that like never happens in a book.

[natc]

My name is weird for my country. The closest I've ever met is spelled differently with the strangely more common spelling (even though that spelling is objectively wrong and results in gibberish rather than a name with an actual definition), and even then that's only the one guy I've found.

[Kingsdaughter613]

I have two names and know exactly one other person with that combination; my second cousin, and she's a baby. It can happen. That being said; Vin , Kelsier and Elend are likely common names to the extent that Jesus and Mohammed are common names. Keep in mind that we don't know the names of most people; only a handful of main, major and secondaries. It's not that odd that they don't share names. Kaladin's bridge squad has an even better reason; many are from different regions and cultures. In a class of thirty two, only two names were repeated. How many people are actually named in any one book?

[heridfel]

I have two names and know exactly one other person with that combination; my second cousin, and she's a baby. It can happen. That being said; Vin , Kelsier and Elend are likely common names to the extent that Jesus and Mohammed are common names. Keep in mind that we don't know the names of most people; only a handful of main, major and secondaries. It's not that odd that they don't share names. Kaladin's bridge squad has an even better reason; many are from different regions and cultures. In a class of thirty two, only two names were repeated. How many people are actually named in any one book?

 

I agree that we should expect to see some names which are unique within a given story, and that Bridge Four has a good reason for a lot of unique names. Bridge Four also gives us "The Lopen", which hangs a lampshade on the whole unique name phenomenon, as well as Rock, where we have an honest-to-goodness nickname (something else that isn't often seen in a lot of novels). But there's a distinction to be drawn between "some first names are unique" and "every first name is unique".

 

I was a little curious about your second question. I'm not dedicated enough to go through the entirety of WoK or WoR, but in the first 100 pages of WoK, I counted 28 named characters. I wouldn't be surprised if that ratio (approximately one new named character every four pages) holds fairly steady, especially since I hadn't even gotten to the first Dalinar viewpoint by then, and Kaladin and Shallan both have limited opportunities to interact with people early on.

 

Anyway, I reckon I derailed the thread more than enough anyway. We should probably make a new thread if we want to discuss this further.

[AnikoliNightmareVision]

I agree that we should expect to see some names which are unique within a given story, and that Bridge Four has a good reason for a lot of unique names. Bridge Four also gives us "The Lopen", which hangs a lampshade on the whole unique name phenomenon, as well as Rock, where we have an honest-to-goodness nickname (something else that isn't often seen in a lot of novels). But there's a distinction to be drawn between "some first names are unique" and "every first name is unique".

I was a little curious about your second question. I'm not dedicated enough to go through the entirety of WoK or WoR, but in the first 100 pages of WoK, I counted 28 named characters. I wouldn't be surprised if that ratio (approximately one new named character every four pages) holds fairly steady, especially since I hadn't even gotten to the first Dalinar viewpoint by then, and Kaladin and Shallan both have limited opportunities to interact with people early on.

Anyway, I reckon I derailed the thread more than enough anyway. We should probably make a new thread if we want to discuss this further.

I'll post a new thread about names. And we should continou discussing worldhoppers here.

[AnikoliNightmareVision]

I'll post a new thread about names. And we should continou discussing worldhoppers here.

Here's the new thread about names in Brandon's book http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/53482-names-in-brandons-books/

[hoidhunter]

What is it with me immediately assuming author error?

 

When I was first reading the cosmere novels and noticed that there was a character named Hoid in both Warbreaker and the Mistborn trilogy, I immediately assumed that Brandon had accidentally named two people the same thing, or that he liked the name for some reason and used it twice.

 

I did notice that there was a guy in WoR conspicuously named Felt (he's a military officer in Dalinar's army, right?), but for whatever reason I made that same assumption.

Oh...I immediatley latched onto Felt.  

 

Before really getting into the 17th shard community, I assumed that it must be Hoid using a disguise and alias...after signing up and posting the idea, I was informed that there are in fact MANY worldhopping characters, at that I had probably found another.

 

Following that...I started re-reading his parts to try and distinguish anything unusual.  My best guess, is that he is native to Scadrial...and his roll as house Venture's spymaster and subsequently Elend's spy, is probably legit, and not some guise donned to meddle in cosmic events.  In Hero of Ages, he doesn't appear...but it's mentioned that he is keeping an eye on one of the storage caverns...so it is pretty safe to assume that he survived the "end of the world."

 

However, in WoR, it seems like he is instrumental in bringing about a very important event.

Edited March 13, 2016 by hoidhunter

[the.fulgid]

17th Shard (Organization):

     -Frost. Possible leader. Dragon from Yolen. Sender of "The Letter" In WoK epigraphs.

   

 

Frost is actually theorized to be the recipient of "The Letter", not the sender, and author of the second one which is a series of epigraphs in WoR. Beyond that, we don't actually have any clear evidence yet that he really is a Worldhopper. It's very likely, considering that he is a dragon who was also present at The Shattering, but there's nothing solid so far. It's possible that he never left Yolen, and The Letter was sent to him there.

 

All that aside, that's a great list! I might also add 

Spook, due to Kelsier trying to convince him to help figure out hemalurgy and the workings on the Cosmere (and apparently succeeding).

[Khyrindor]

Frost is actually theorized to be the recipient of "The Letter", not the sender, and author of the second one which is a series of epigraphs in WoR. Beyond that, we don't actually have any clear evidence yet that he really is a Worldhopper. It's very likely, considering that he is a dragon who was also present at The Shattering, but there's nothing solid so far. It's possible that he never left Yolen, and The Letter was sent to him there.

 

All that aside, that's a great list! I might also add 

Spook, due to Kelsier trying to convince him to help figure out hemalurgy and the workings on the Cosmere (and apparently succeeding).

 

I totally want Spook to show up again. He is my fave. Also, I suppose, according to Brandon's definition, Frost is not a worldhopper, though since he is in charge of an organization of such (presumably), I included him.

[Kris]

Or they are observed eating "aged" (rotten) meat, or look hungrily at an old rotten corpse. There's also the fact that their 'a's are pronounced a bit wrong. Not sure if that would be noticed.

 

Look for someone suspiciously afraid of acid, or surviving normally-fatal accidents with nothing worse than broken bones. Or someone who is failing to act in character, I guess, although Kandra are usually very good at that.

 

 

The only thing I could find even closely related to rotten meat is from "The Emperor's Soul" : 

 

“You will accept these as payment?” Frava asked, lips turned down, as if discussing a meal of slime and rotted meat.

 

As there are 5 arbiters there, one could be a kandra and our only hint this. But this would imply that the kandra was a worldhopper before Final Empire, which would make things interesting as the chronology of the books does say that, the time between Elantris and Final Empire is hundreds of years but not thousands, so the event occur after kandra were created.

[Landis963]

The only thing I could find even closely related to rotten meat is from "The Emperor's Soul" : 

 

That's clearly a metaphor for Frava's opinion of Shai's Essence Marks, and her obvious avarice for them.  

[AnikoliNightmareVision]

Oh...I immediatley latched onto Felt.

Before really getting into the 17th shard community, I assumed that it must be Hoid using a disguise and alias...after signing up and posting the idea, I was informed that there are in fact MANY worldhopping characters, at that I had probably found another.

Following that...I started re-reading his parts to try and distinguish anything unusual. My best guess, is that he is native to Scadrial...and his roll as house Venture's spymaster and subsequently Elend's spy, is probably legit, and not some guise donned to meddle in cosmic events. In Hero of Ages, he doesn't appear...but it's mentioned that he is keeping an eye on one of the storage caverns...so it is pretty safe to assume that he survived the "end of the world."

However, in WoR, it seems like he is instrumental in bringing about a very important event.

I must reread mistborn, I don't remember Felt at all.

[Dragon314]

There's also a kandra worldhopper, somewhere in there. Though how we're supposed to figure out who that would be is beyond me.

 I hope it's TenSoon. He's a beast>

[Shadowfax]

I must reread mistborn, I don't remember Felt at all.

 

I just re-read all the Mistborn books and when I came across Felt's name something tugged at my brain, but I ignored it.

 

I'm just beginning my re-read of WoK/WoR and I honestly didn't remember him in it, so now I'm looking forward to finding out why my brain tugged while I was reading Mistborn LOL

 

I also doubt it's Frava. The look was one of disgust, rotten meat a metaphor. If she were a kandra rotten meat and disgust would not be in the same sentence LOL

Edited March 19, 2016 by Shadowfax

[hoidhunter]

I just re-read all the Mistborn books and when I came across Felt's name something tugged at my brain, but I ignored it.

 

I'm just beginning my re-read of WoK/WoR and I honestly didn't remember him in it, so now I'm looking forward to finding out why my brain tugged while I was reading Mistborn LOL

 

I also doubt it's Frava. The look was one of disgust, rotten meat a metaphor. If she were a kandra rotten meat and disgust would not be in the same sentence LOL

He's not a very memorable character in Mistborn...and he's practically invisible in WoR...I don't believe he makes an appearance in WoK at all.  In WoR, toward the end, when Shallan is in the command tent, he enters the stage.  I feel like Brandon was really trying to hide him.  I am actually only operating on an assumption that he is the character who does something important....but when you think of him as a worldhopper, it seems like it has to be him.

[Shadowfax]

He's not a very memorable character in Mistborn...and he's practically invisible in WoR...I don't believe he makes an appearance in WoK at all.  In WoR, toward the end, when Shallan is in the command tent, he enters the stage.  I feel like Brandon was really trying to hide him.  I am actually only operating on an assumption that he is the character who does something important....but when you think of him as a worldhopper, it seems like it has to be him.

 

I don't think I'd be surprised if Felt turned out to be a kandra worldhopper. But I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't either. o.O

 

We do that this WoB that makes me think whoever this kandra worldhopper is, they haven't had a big role in anything on-screen, because I think it would be memorable enough to the author is they had a speaking role lol

 

 

Newan

Ooh. When the kandra worldhopper is off-world, er off-Scadrial, does she take the form of a human female?

Brandon Sanderson (Paraphrased)

Not all of the time.

Newan

Has she spoken a word of dialogue in a non-Mistborn book?

Brandon Sanderson (Paraphrased)

I can't remember.

[Bowiespoon]

I've seen it mentioned everywhere, so I gotta ask, what is this moon scepter thingy?

[Shadowfax]

I've seen it mentioned everywhere, so I gotta ask, what is this moon scepter thingy?

Have you read The Emporer's Soul?

It's from that.

Hoid steals it and leaves the main character to be caught during the robbery.

[Jondesu]

I hope it's TenSoon. He's a beast>

Lol. Did you mean that as a joke (considering he posed as a wolfhound and a horse)? I literally laughed even if you didn't.

Considering he seems to be leading the kandra though, I'd be a bit surprised if he was able and willing to leave Scadrial.

jW