Now for some answers

[Sheridan_rd]

Hello 17th shard,

I have been reading Sanderson's books for several years and come up with several theories often in a fan fiction dynamic. 

Unfortunately the questions I sent on the Brandon Sanderson website were not answered in 4 to 6 weeks (or at all!)

So after trying other authors, I'm back and more "Invested" now lol.

Small question: Is Kriss, 17th Shard etc.. Immortal because they have all visited Nalthis and have lots of Breathe?

Big Question: Are Shards technically Cognitive shadows?

More to come

Edited March 1, 2017 by Sheridan_rd

[Pagerunner he/him]

We're always happy to discuss questions. Too happy. Almost like there's something wrong with us... but if you're not new (looks like you've been posting a little while), you might want to try the Cosmere Q&A subforums. There are a lot of questions that have already been answered by the community in there; you might find some interesting. Or you can post more of your own there.

It would be nice if you could ask questions like this to Brandon through his website... unfortunately, if he let people do that, I'm sure he'd have no time for anything else! These days, most of our info of this sort comes from signings or specific events (like a Reddit AMA), although Brandon will sometimes respond to questions on social media. (But, again, he knows to strike a balance, and not try to answer every question, so he has time to still write the books and all that little stuff.)

For the small question, most of the Seventeenth Shard has a method that slows down aging, but doesn't stop it completely. Breath is one possibility, but enough breath to live for over a thousand years (like Khriss had) would probably have a noticeable effect. But it's a good theory, nonetheless.

For the big question, a Cognitive Shadow has to have died. Even in-universe, there are several interpretations as to what a Cognitive Shadow actually is; it might be a piece of Investiture that has 'copied' someone's soul, or it might be the soul itself kept from going Beyond by a bond with a large piece of Investiture. But, either way, it requires a death, so all Shards can't be Cognitive Shadows.