NattyBo Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 (edited) Hi all, first post here outside of the introduce yourself forum. I'm wondering about Ashyn. I'm fairly new to the Cosmere and haven't read anything besides the first Mistborn Trilogy and Stormlight Archives, but I don't really mind spoilers. Of course, I've gone on the coppermind and followed the links, but it seems like a lot of Ashyn stuff is from an unpublished work? I guess to sum up my questions succinctly: what do we know for sure about Ashyn that is not subject to change, and how do we know it?? (and if you can point me to which works to read about it in, that would be great. I've got most of the Cosmere stuff on my kindle already). I can't help but feel the story of Ashyn is going to be huge not only for what happens on Roshar but for the Cosmere at large. Edited April 9, 2019 by NattyBo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elegy he/him Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 (edited) Do you have the Cosmere short story collection Arcanum Unbounded? It doesn't have an Ashyn novella, but there's an essay about the planetary system of every story in there and, given that Edgedancer is a Stormlight story, there's an essay about the Rosharan System as well. There are minor clues in that one, but (as usual with these essays) very vague. Most of the things we know about Ashyn are things Brandon confirmed on events. Check the Arcanum, which gathers the "Words of Brandon": https://wob.coppermind.net/ (But spoilers go unmarked there). These are the entries tagged with Ashyn (it's 18 atm): https://wob.coppermind.net/adv_search/?query=&date_from=2003-12-05&date_to=2019-04-09&speaker=&tags=ashyn&ordering=rank There's is currently no story set on Ashyn, although Brandon has frequently stated that he plans to write an Ashyn story called The Silence Divine, which once was planned as a novel, then was planned as a novella. I don't know if he'll ever write it, but who knows. Maybe we'll get to see Ashyn in the back 5 SA ... Edited April 9, 2019 by Elegy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
equinox Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 There is also this reading @RShara posted here a while ago. Don't know if you already found this one... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyBo Posted April 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 I had read all Ashyn WOB related stuff, but not that exerpt. Saved for after work! Thanks. I'm just fascinated by the humans coming from Ashyn to Roshar. It's obviously a huge plot point and no one needs me to point that out, but I just feel there's SO MUCH to it that we don't know yet. I can't get it out of the back of my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elegy he/him Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 It's certainly one of the most interesting events in the cosmere. The First Desolation is the only case of a war between whole cultures from different planets we specifically know of. It's very cosmere-centric. That said, given how important the Desolations are for the SA, a lot of it will definitely be revealved over the books. If he gets to the actual novella, I doubt it will be that important in the greater scheme, since the stand-alone novellas up till now have all been just side-storys - like the SA interludes on a cosmere basis. The world-building will certainly be interesting, especially seeing how the Shards in the system influence it - Brandon confirmed it to be centered around 10 as well due to that influence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turin Turambar Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 So they were really advanced? And then came to Roshar. What sort of apocalypse happened? (Where are artifacts from Ashlyn? If they came to roshar, don't tell me that they didn't bring a SINGLE piece of technology.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyBo Posted April 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) 10 minutes ago, Turin Turambar said: So they were really advanced? And then came to Roshar. What sort of apocalypse happened? (Where are artifacts from Ashlyn? If they came to roshar, don't tell me that they didn't bring a SINGLE piece of technology.) From what I read on the wiki it had to do with some sort of disease linked to investiture system there, and things went really haywire? Like basically the investiture system there had to do with microscopic organisms. But again that's just from the Coppermind and my memory of that coppermind entry, lol. I think we need to find out first how humans got to the Rosharian system in the first place. Then, about the events on on Ashyn - was the apocalypse there caused by Odium? I'm not sure they would have artifacts if that were the case - firstly, they'd be refugees. Secondly, they might be afraid of destroying Roshar like they did with Ashyn, and bringing anything associated with Odium. That's certainly an ongoing theme and is mentioned as a big reason that the 10 orders were made for surgebinders, because surge binding apparently(?) played a part in Ashyn's destruction. More knowledgeable folks may correct stuff in that but it's my understanding so far Edited April 10, 2019 by NattyBo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elegy he/him Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) 45 minutes ago, Turin Turambar said: So they were really advanced? And then came to Roshar. What sort of apocalypse happened? (Where are artifacts from Ashlyn? If they came to roshar, don't tell me that they didn't bring a SINGLE piece of technology.) I doubt the people of Ashyn were all that advanced when they came to Roshar. That must have been thousands and thousands of years before the SA (given how the Last Desolation was 4500 years before and there were many of them prior to it). We don't know if Odium brought the means to travel via the Spiritual Realm (given that Brandon manages to make it canon) or if they had it themselves. I reckon the oathgates themselves could be a remnant of that technology/magic. We know that the people from Ashyn brought the "terrestial" wilflife on Roshar, e.g. chickens, horses. The Shinovar things that don't fit the theme of shells and crustacean stuff that's present on Roshar. The apocalypse is the disaster hinted at towards the end of Oathbringer. The ancestors of the Knights Radiant destroyed their home planet (Ashyn) with some type of Investiture connected with the surges. There are theories that the Dawnshards might have played a part in that, but we don't know a lot about those or what they even are, so that's just speculation. (Edit: Correction - We DO actually know that the Dawnshards were used to destroy Ashyn, we just don't know what exactly they are or do yet.) Quote Secondly, they might be afraid of destroying Roshar like they did with Ashyn. Exactly, that is why the Recreance happened. The Knights Radiant broke their oaths because they figured their powers were too dangerous for them (although there certainly are other reasons as well). As to whether or not Odium helped destroy the planet, it is plausible. Maybe he needed an army against Roshar so he might at least have encouraged them. On the other hand, we on Earth didn't need an evil god to tell us to drop atomic bombs, so it wouldn't be necessary. I kinda hope that not every big disaster in the cosmere is part of the plan of a higher being. Then again, it does seem suspiciously practical of that to happen just as Odium wanted to take on Roshar. But maybe he chose that system exactly because he saw that opportunity. At this point, I'm just juggling ideas in my head. Edited April 10, 2019 by Elegy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NattyBo Posted April 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 I really want to know more about the first desolation, too. So much of what we think we know about all this seems to be lies or heavily filtered. We know that humans came from Ashyn, and either brought Odium with them or opened the door for him. Then the spren of Roshar decided to bond with Men, which caused the singers/listeners/parshmen to ally with Odium? And then eventually the singers decided to abandon Odium, too? Also, I'm confused about the fused. Were they originally singers before the first desolation? Were they spren bonded to those singers? Or were they just spren who took over the entire body of a singer? So many questions...my mind is racing haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elegy he/him Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 Same, it's crazy! The fused seem to be the cognitive shadows of ancient parshendi - probably those who were originally betrayed by the humans, but that we don't know. It's particularly noteworthy how the parshendi apparently hated Odium as well but sided with him to have their revenge on the humans and their homeland back. Sometimes I think there must be more to the atrocities of the humans against the parshendi. Like, the hatred of the fused seems so insanely immeasurable, I wonder what they did to them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turin Turambar Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) Erm, did you read that part of Silence Divine? I know it's not canon, but they had "two foot long pistols," and a police system and bureaucracy similar to our own. Edited April 10, 2019 by Turin Turambar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elegy he/him Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 7 minutes ago, Turin Turambar said: Erm, did you read that part of Silence Divine? I know it's not canon, but they had "two foot long pistols," and a police system and bureaucracy similar to our own. That's because Silence Divine is set during Stormlight Archive/Wax & Wayne Era Mistborn: Quote Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Silence Divine, are you allowed to talk about when it's going to happen in the timeline? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] It is late Stormlight Archive era. I image it being around book 8. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] So it was after the Dawnchant was written. Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Yes. But it since it hasn't been written yet, the timeline is not canon for that yet. Skyward Seattle signing (Nov. 10, 2018) (On a side-note, the reason Roshar hasn't reached that level of technology is presumably because the desolations hindered it from developing properly.) I was refering to the people from Ashyn traveling to Roshar, which happened ~9000 years prior to that (although that's only a guess). There is no indication of any interaction between the planets after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scion of the Mists Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 2 hours ago, NattyBo said: Also, I'm confused about the fused. Were they originally singers before the first desolation? Were they spren bonded to those singers? Or were they just spren who took over the entire body of a singer? They're Cognitive Shadows of singers killed during the Desolations. Checkout the Coppermind page: https://coppermind.net/wiki/Fused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turin Turambar Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) So Ashlyn became reinhabited. Do you think that may be the culmination of the first half of the Stormlight archive (book 5)? Whoops - I forgot there were people still on Ashlyn. And the timelines don't match up. Still a cool idea. Edited April 10, 2019 by Turin Turambar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elegy he/him Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 I think some never left. There are a few habitable places, but seemingly not on the surface of the planet but in "floating cities" (they are mentioned in the Arcanum Unbounded essay). How those work and how old they are or if they existed pre-cataclysm, I have no idea. But I guess Ashyn is the least populated of all the inhabited cosmere planets we know of (except for maybe Threnody). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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