That One Introduction

[Training Dummy he/him]

Hey guys, my name's Training Dummy, (as you probably gathered), and I'm new to the community. (As you also probably gathered.) I recently discovered Brandon, and he has quickly become one of my favorite authors. The first book of his that I read was Steelheart, and I quickly finished it and started grabbing around for Firefight. Calamity hadn't come out at that point, so I had to wait a few months before I could get my hands on that one. I finally got it, though, and now I desperately want him to write at least a novella on Obliteration. (Hint hint, nudge nudge, Brandon.)

 

I found The Rithmatist maybe two or three days ago, and have spent most of today trying to figure out all the details for my master plan of turning it into a legitimate multiplayer strategy game. I'll be posting about that after I finish writing all this. Should be fun, you should go check it out. (Shameless self advertising for the win.) I'm looking forward to seeing where he goes with that series, hopefully we'll all find out soon.

 

In more general info about myself, I'm an avid writer. I have a few projects that are currently in stasis due to school commitments and my innate mastery of the art of procrastination. One is a fantasy story based on the Redwall series by Brian Jaques, where a city is under attack by a horde of pirates. (If I remember correctly, it's been probably four or five years since I've touched that one.) The members of the city have learned every language in existence, including the languages of animals, which gives them a unique edge in the fight for their city. It's the first story I ever got really into, though if I ever dust it off again, it's going to need a massive overhaul to make it decently readable and not a complete ripoff of Jaques. That's pretty much the main reason I haven't gone back to it, but if you want to see my tweenage writing, hit me up and I'll pass it along.

 

My other story is following the likes of the 39 Clues on a smaller level, with different authors writing each chapter of the book. The main idea is to make it as difficult as reasonably possible for the next person to continue the story. This world is home to loremasters, alchemists, priests, clerics, and more. Loremasters have some control over various elements, most commonly being water, fire, earth, and air, (think Avatar-style, generally with a bit less control and power), and other, more rare ones including light, sound, metal, and so on. However, they are few and far between.

Others, like the alchemists, seek to capitalize on the loremasters' popularity by creating complex illusions and tricks that are marketed as invisibility potions and the like. While they have no abilities of their own, they are extremely skilled with chemicals and can create some very impressive displays.

The priests take this a step further, using their illusions to convince the common people of their various deity's power. They use this to control the population, and are often the ones in power because of it.

The clerics can be anyone who makes the decision to seek after the true religion. They are often scholars, almost monk-like in their actions, though they often go out into the world to discover what they can.

 

This is the one that I'm enjoying more, especially since I actually like how my writing is turning out, and we actually have a goal and a message that we're aiming for with it. Once this summer rolls around, it'll probably get started up again as we have more time.

 

So yeah, that's pretty much it, thanks for having me!

[Clockwork he/him]

Welcome! Have a cookie!

[Bugsy he/him]

Welcome to the forums! You seem pretty cool, we can always do with more creative people like you around here. You may want to check out the creators corner, it seems like you'd fit in well. Also, if you haven't read it yet, I'd hugely recommend the Mistborn trilogy, also written by Brandon. It's a good starting place to launch you into the mysterious "cosmere" you're bound to hear about on the forums.

Oh, and don't take the cookie. It's sharp.

[Training Dummy he/him]

Thanks, good to know!

 

I'm planning to pick up Mistborn pretty soon here, we'll see when I get the time what with school and all. x) And yeah, I'm hearing a bit about it here and there, and I'm guessing that since it's seemingly his most popular series, the whole 17th Shard thing is from that as well.

 

That would explain why it felt a little odd going down.

[Bugsy he/him]

Thanks, good to know!

 

I'm planning to pick up Mistborn pretty soon here, we'll see when I get the time what with school and all. x) And yeah, I'm hearing a bit about it here and there, and I'm guessing that since it's seemingly his most popular series, the whole 17th Shard thing is from that as well.

 

That would explain why it felt a little odd going down.

The Cosmere is sort of a macro-series. It's composed of all of his adult novels, which share a universe and other interesting characteristics. I will avoid specifying what these are to keep from spoiling anything, but discussing and debating the ramifications of these constants is one of the main things done here on the Shard

[Training Dummy he/him]

Interesting. So that's explored in the Mistborn series, then? Sounds like fun. :-)

[Bugsy he/him]

Interesting. So that's explored in the Mistborn series, then? Sounds like fun. :-)

The main exploration of the cosmere actually is done in other books, but Mistborn is my personal favorite and hints at many concepts explored more in-depth later, so I see it as a good jumping-in point. And it's utterly amazing so long as you don't value your free time, grades, and social life

[Training Dummy he/him]

Hahahaha, that pretty much sums it up. Toss sleep in there as well, though. xD