Wolpertinger Posted September 8, 2010 Report Share Posted September 8, 2010 I've been a fan of Brandon Sanderson for a while, and have read all his non-Alcatraz books (including Way of Kings, now), but I was only extremely vaguely aware of an overarching cosmology, and was too into the plot of the current books to realize a lot of the deep meaning and significance. After reading a bit of this forum and a few interviews, I've realized there was a lot going on 'behind the scenes' in books which I missed out on. However, the people in this forum seem to be talking as if they know a lot of information about the cosmology that I never noticed a thing about in any of the books I read, and apparently Brandon Sanderson has been posting tidbits all over the internet. Is there some sort post or wiki or summary of all the information and theories going on? Because, while this forum is certainly interesting, I only half-understand who they are referring to, and honestly have no idea how people are figuring these things out or thinking up some of these theories.. (people from Elantris in The Way of Kings looking for Hoid? whaaat?!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silus - Shard of Flame Posted September 8, 2010 Report Share Posted September 8, 2010 Hi! Welcome to the forums! It's true, we the fans have kind of made our business to know what's going on and let other people know. We have a wiki in progress. There's a link around here somewhere if you hunt for it. Brandon's a unique author in that he's providing a steady stream of information to his fans. Some of that is in the form of book annotations, which are on his website. He's posted a few things on the Time Wasters Guide Forums, link on Brandon's website. But some of the things you referenced we actually picked straight from the books. The "Elantrians looking for Hoid" bit is from the first in Interlude from WoK, titled Ishikk. The three characters that Ishikk meets with, who he calls Grump, Blunt and Thinker(?). One of these characters, Grump, uses speech patterns practically identical to Galladon from Elantris, along with one word in Dula, kayana, which Galladon would use in reference to Raoden's plans (calling them crazy). This, along with other references to Elantris in the epigraphs from part 2 of WoK have led us to believe that Grump might actually be Galladon or another Dula. Thus, the crossover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Von Kelsier Harvey Posted September 8, 2010 Report Share Posted September 8, 2010 If you read the books really carefully, you'll notice that Hoid actually appears in every single one. He's even mentioned by name in all of them except WoA. Remember Ruin and Preservation? Remember how Sazed said they belonged together. That's because they are pieces, "Shards," of a being/entity/thing called Adonalsium. We don't know much about it, except that at some point it shattered into 16(by the most common theory) pieces with names like Ruin, Preservation, Endowment, Odium, etc. Most of these pieces are currently held by people who were (presumably) around when it shattered, or by those who inherited them. Example: The person who originally bonded with Ruin was named Ati. Hence, Atium. But now that shard is held by Sazed. There's a list on this forum of all the shards we know of as well as the names of the people holding them. Hoid was present when Adonalsium shattered, but as far as we know doesn't hold a shard. The planets these books take place on are called: Elantris: Sel Mistborn: Scadrial Warbreaker: Nalthis Stormlight Archive: Roshar (duh) That's actually most of what we know. The Elantrians on Roshar theory is entirely based on speech patterns and a specific word being used. And is still just a theory. Most of this is very very subtle stuff, and there is a great deal that we only know because people asked Brandon questions. If I missed anything the other people around here can certainly fill you in. But yeah, this is THE place to get your cosmere questions answered. (Oh yeah. This shared universe? It's called the cosmere. ) *Silius posted while I was writing this, but I still think it's a good summary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolpertinger Posted September 8, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2010 Ahhh, I see. Though.. if there were 16 shards, what about the titular '17th shard' (that a lot of people here seem to refer to) then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Von Kelsier Harvey Posted September 8, 2010 Report Share Posted September 8, 2010 Well, when these guys got together to make a website, they were originally gonna call it Hoid's Compendium. But then Brandon recommended 17th Shard instead. All we know about the in-world 17th shard comes from TWoK. It is presumably an organization with knowledge of/ties to Adonalsium and the shards. Some members of it (who seem likely to have originally been from Sel) are looking for Hoid during TWoK. Why it is named as it is, we have no clue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted September 9, 2010 Report Share Posted September 9, 2010 Ahhh, I see. Though.. if there were 16 shards, what about the titular '17th shard' (that a lot of people here seem to refer to) then? The Seventeenth Shard--in the novels--is a group of world-hoppers. They are mentioned in the Way of Kings, but we don't know much about them, really. Brandon suggested to us that we name the site after them instead of Hoid, and I think it fits much better. ((I'd write a comprehensive article on the cosmere, but I don't have time to do so yet)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HardcorePooka Posted September 11, 2010 Report Share Posted September 11, 2010 ((I'd write a comprehensive article on the cosmere, but I don't have time to do so yet)) Please do so when you have time. It would be greatly appreciated by lots of people... me included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted September 11, 2010 Report Share Posted September 11, 2010 The first podcast at least will be an introduction to the cosmere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano Stormblessed Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 I am also new to this whole cosmere/Hoid thing. I remember each of Hoid's characters in each of the books, but I'm not good with names, and didn't realise that all those characters shared the same name (not surprising since sometimes I can hardly remember the names of main characters). Has anyone attempted to create akin to Encyclopaedia WoT.org for the Brandon Sanderson universe? I know that Brandon wants us to try and piece together the Hoid story from what he writes in the book, but having a central database which includes chapter by chapter synopsises, theories and links to annotations and interviews would make piecing together the Hoid mystery so much easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link Von Kelsier Harvey Posted September 16, 2010 Report Share Posted September 16, 2010 Behold, The Coppermind Wiki! It's on here, you'll find it. Still in the very early stages though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted September 21, 2010 Report Share Posted September 21, 2010 In the future, we're definitely going to have more resources for beginners to this greater cosmology. ShardCast is one of them, which we really need to get going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Django Je Posted November 1, 2010 Report Share Posted November 1, 2010 ((I'd write a comprehensive article on the cosmere, but I don't have time to do so yet)) Please do so when you have time. It would be greatly appreciated by lots of people... me included. I have to say i agree. It took me about a week on the Coppermind and here on the forums plus some reading interviews and on Brandon's website to figure out what's going on here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 Whoa, the Coppermind is being useful!? Madness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew the Great Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 Obviously not that useful, as it took MovAvi Elliott a week even with both its help and all us psychos here on the forum...... So while we're on this note, any chance we'll see your comprehensive summary anytime soon? I get it if not (7 hours sleep in last 72 hours = no bueno) but if you've got the time.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 You're insane, Andrew. Way too much sleep deprivation... I don't know. It's not really high on my to-do list when I have college breathing down my neck and a metric buttload of Mistborn RP posts to write. I stand by my previous comment, that you'll get it when we start ShardCast. ...Soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deano Stormblessed Posted November 4, 2010 Report Share Posted November 4, 2010 I'm busy with exams atm, but soon I will be free and can give a hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tazren Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 Do we know at what times the different stories take place? Does Elantris happen before or after TWoK and Mistborn? I just thought about Sazed when reading this thread. And how his name is quite similar to Skaze (and via that, Skai) ... You think there could be a correlation between those, or is it just a coincidence? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mycoltbug Posted November 7, 2010 Report Share Posted November 7, 2010 The books so far have been written chronologically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zas678 Posted November 9, 2010 Report Share Posted November 9, 2010 But Brandon says this won't be the case after he publishes a few books (which I think are Elantris 2 & 3 and Warbreaker 2) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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