The US Row cover

[Aminar]

1 hour ago, Karger said:

Evi was definitely not cosmere aware.  She also does not appear Nalthian.

It could be a sphere I suppose but I think it is a bead.

What realms do these all take place in?

Not Evi. Her people. 

[Karger]

Just now, Aminar said:

Not Evi. Her people. 

Evi is from Rira.  That is not identical to Iri. 

[Aminar]

7 minutes ago, Karger said:

Evi is from Rira.  That is not identical to Iri. 

They're so interlinked their nobility almost certainly are. In addition the metaphors she uses seem very similar to Vasher's and Azure's. 

Edited August 17, 2020 by Aminar

[Lightspine]

1 hour ago, Ansalem said:

Considering they're in Shadesmar, I doubt they're bismuth. Unless Shallan is holding a bead for bismuth crystals maybe. Shadesmar isn't made of physical matter. That doesn't mean it can't resemble physical things, though. 

Hmmm, that's a little debatable. You're saying glassy stuff that makes up the ground in Shadesmar isn't obsidian, just something that looks like it? But what's the difference, really? I don't think we know for sure.

But you have a good point, it's a bit of a leap to assume anything in Shadesmar is something so physical. I guess all we can say with confidence is that those crystals bear a resemblance to bismuth.

[Karger]

10 minutes ago, Lightspine said:

Hmmm, that's a little debatable. You're saying glassy stuff that makes up the ground in Shadesmar isn't obsidian, just something that looks like it?

Yes.  Technically it is investiture.

Quote

Aurimus

As the two Realms, the Cognitive and the Spiritual, are, well, fictional... Are they all comprised of Investiture, completely?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. No, completely? Well, here's the thing. Investiture, matter, and energy are all the same thing in the cosmere. So, just like energy and matter are the same thing here. So, yes, everything's made of Investiture, in the same way that everything's made of energy in our world. Does that make sense?

Aurimus

So, what about what spren are made of in the Cognitive Realm? Is that just Investiture?

Brandon Sanderson

So, yeah, I'll dig more into that. I'm gonna go with Investiture for now, but I could change that as I move along. What I'm kind of debating is, is there a separate Cognitive state, and I don't think so. So I'm gonna go with Investiture for now.

Aurimus

How about Connection?

Brandon Sanderson

Connection is, like, the equivalent of a quantum connection in our world, so it's more like a force than something comprised of something. The question is like, "What is gravity comprised of?" And then you start asking weird questions.

Oathbringer London signing (Nov. 28, 2017)

42 minutes ago, Aminar said:

They're so interlinked their nobility almost certainly are. 

You are assuming that Riri is close enough to Iri and had enough intermixing that Riri's nobility have the same sDNA as Iri who are from(a while ago) Nalthis and whose nobles contain returned blooded individuals who have simply not manifested any of the traits associated but Adolin will unlock?

 

Edited August 17, 2020 by Karger

[Lightspine]

1 minute ago, Karger said:

Yes.  Technically it is investiture.

I know of that WoB, but I don't think it means anything concrete since it also says "Investiture, matter, and energy are all the same thing in the cosmere." Just because it's investure doesn't mean it can't be matter too.

So, if a bit of investure looks like obsidian and acts like obsidian, what's the difference between it and obsidian? I'm not saying there's no difference at all, I just don't think we know what that difference could be at the moment. That's why I said it's "debatable."

[Karger]

1 minute ago, Lightspine said:

I know of that WoB, but I don't think it means anything concrete since it also says "Investiture, matter, and energy are all the same thing in the cosmere." Just because it's investure doesn't mean it can't be matter too.

5 minutes ago, Karger said:

Aurimus

So, what about what spren are made of in the Cognitive Realm? Is that just Investiture?

Brandon Sanderson

So, yeah, I'll dig more into that. I'm gonna go with Investiture for now, but I could change that as I move along. What I'm kind of debating is, is there a separate Cognitive state, and I don't think so. So I'm gonna go with Investiture for now.

2 minutes ago, Lightspine said:

So, if a bit of investure looks like obsidian and acts like obsidian, what's the difference between it and obsidian? I'm not saying there's no difference at all, I just don't think we know what that difference could be at the moment. That's why I said it's "debatable."

It looks and acts like obsidian but it will resist investiture, and probably won't manifest in the PR.

[HoidsRock]

Wow, you have all got me thinking and if I could ask BWS one question right now it would be:

"Can you use breath to awaken a deadeyes and would it recapture its some of it original spren personality?"  (sprenality?)

In book, we know that Adolin feels both loyalty to Maya and awful about her fate.  The Stormfather has said he does know any way a deadeye can be awakened."

Real world, BWS has simply it would be extremely difficult.  So maybe Zahel worked with Adolin and his sword is an awakened Maya?

[Lightspine]

1 minute ago, Karger said:

It looks and acts like obsidian but it will resist investiture, and probably won't manifest in the PR.

That's a really convincing idea that I didn't think of!. Even though we haven't seen any evidence pointing towards it, I won't be surprised if it's true. Nice theory!

[Ansalem]

12 minutes ago, HoidsRock said:

Wow, you have all got me thinking and if I could ask BWS one question right now it would be:

"Can you use breath to awaken a deadeyes and would it recapture its some of it original spren personality?"  (sprenality?)

In book, we know that Adolin feels both loyalty to Maya and awful about her fate.  The Stormfather has said he does know any way a deadeye can be awakened."

Real world, BWS has simply it would be extremely difficult.  So maybe Zahel worked with Adolin and his sword is an awakened Maya?

I'm thinking that wouldn't work. Breath is just another form of Investiture. If you could revive a deadeye with Breath then you should also be able to revive one with Stormlight. I think we can rule out that working. Someone would have tried it for sure by now.

Plus there's the issue of Investiture resisting Investiture, which is why Shardplate protects against Shardblades. Spren are themselves made of pure Investiture, which is why you can trap one in a gemstone the same way you can Stormlight. So you probably couldn't push the Breath or Stormlight into one anyway. Or at least not in the amount necessary for revival if such a thing would technically work. Or perhaps just not fast enough.

With all of that said, if anyone could do it, it would be Zahel.

[+Child of Hodor]

Brandon is getting too ambitious trying to fit Arthur C Clarke's Space Odyssey series into the Cosmere.. Also, that is definitely Adolin based on the other covers. Zahel would never dress that nice. 

 

Edited August 18, 2020 by Child of Hodor

[Karger]

1 hour ago, HoidsRock said:

"Can you use breath to awaken a deadeyes and would it recapture its some of it original spren personality?"  (sprenality?)

No adding investiture will not be enough.  Something is broken on the spiritual level.

Quote

Questioner

The dead shardblades, could you possibly get Stormlight into them to reawaken them?

Brandon Sanderson

Dead shardblade could you pump enough Stormlight into them? That alone would not be enough.

Questioner

So you would have to find someone to re-swear with oaths?

Brandon Sanderson

There is something broken on the Spiritual Realm because of the broken oath and simple Stormlight will not fix that.

Questioner

So say--

Brandon Sanderson

If the person were still alive and could re-swear the oath then yes.

Questioner

[...] the Spiritual Realm?

Brandon Sanderson

It is not outside the realm of reason but it would be very very very difficult.

Firefight release party (Jan. 5, 2015)

 

[+Child of Hodor]

6 hours ago, Subvisual Haze said:

I do think that's Nightblood that Adolin is wielding. 

It would be a humorous contrast to Nightblood's physical realm manifestation of consuming investiture (creepy black smoke) if instead its crazy level of investiture manifests as pretty rainbows in the cognitive realm.  It would be more a reflection of how Nightblood sees itself.

That would be very funny. He is all sunshine and rainbows personality wise  

My head canon is Nightblood would look more like a living thing. In his conversation with Szeth he thinks of himself as a potential person. 

Quote

"You count yourself as a man?" No. But sometimes she talked like she did. And after Shashara made me, she argued with Vasher, saying I could be a poet or a scholar. Like a man, right? - OB Ch. 92

Plus he's so powerful and is sapient. We don't know if Azure's blade could talk to her, but it was certainly far less powerful than Nightblood. 

 

[Subvisual Haze]

55 minutes ago, Child of Hodor said:

Brandon is getting too ambitious trying to fit Arthur C Clarke's Space Odyssey series into the Cosmere.. Also, that is definitely Adolin based on the other covers. Zahel would never dress that nice. 

 

! I also was getting huge Kubrick monolith vibes

[Innovation]

That tower is an odd feature. It could be a fortress or a prison. The lack of a visible entrance is strange. Perhaps it is only partially finished?

Edited August 18, 2020 by Innovation

[Mat]

29 minutes ago, Innovation said:

That tower is an odd feature. It could be a fortress or a prison. The lack of a visible entrance is strange. Perhaps it is only partially finished?

Check out this blurb from the Amazon page, it gives info on what the tower is: https://www.amazon.com/Rhythm-Stormlight-Archive-Brandon-Sanderson/dp/0765326388/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

[Innovation]

Isn’t lasting Integrity the Honorspren capital? Their capital could be a tower, somewhat like Urithiru, but I certainly think it would at least have windows or an entrance. It is described as a grand city, and this obsidian slate we are seeing isn’t very grand, besides the massive scale. 

Edited August 18, 2020 by Innovation

[bdoble97]

1 hour ago, Innovation said:

Isn’t lasting Integrity the Honorspren capital? Their capital could be a tower, somewhat like Urithiru, but I certainly think it would at least have windows or an entrance. It is described as a grand city, and this obsidian slate we are seeing isn’t very grand, besides the massive scale. 

It could be far off in the distance and the lights are not as bright. I feel the lights would be a low dark blue. Could it be a gard tower/beacon 

[Goatbringer]

6 hours ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Check out this blurb from the Amazon page, it gives info on what the tower is: https://www.amazon.com/Rhythm-Stormlight-Archive-Brandon-Sanderson/dp/0765326388/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

 

So you're thinking that Lasting Integrity is a big, black monolith? I'm into it. 

[rjl]

In response to the nightblood speculation etc. We have an answer and it's NO. See attached quote from Michael Whelan's assistant

source: https://www.tor.com/2020/08/17/behold-the-cover-to-rhythm-of-war-the-fourth-book-in-brandon-sandersons-stormlight-archive/comment-page-2/#comment-878270

Edited August 18, 2020 by rjl

[Shardsplinter]

12 hours ago, Karger said:

 

You are assuming that Riri is close enough to Iri and had enough intermixing that Riri's nobility have the same sDNA as Iri who are from(a while ago) Nalthis and whose nobles contain returned blooded individuals who have simply not manifested any of the traits associated but Adolin will unlock?

 

I understand your scepticism if Adolin were the first person with some iriali blood to manifest Returned traits like changing the color of his hair; but we need yo remember that we've been shown very little of Iris nobility and it is still possible For them to have this traits as inheritence from a nalthian Returned ancester. Also if it turns out that he is the first One to manifest those traits in Roshar there Might be a pretty good explanation. If we assume the rainbow on the cover is his biochtomantic aura he Might be the first Rosharan with iriali blood to receive multiple breaths and reah a high Heightening if not ever at least in a very long time; hence activating his royal locks.

Also, I've been thinking about it and it's not a long stretch to assume that traveling through Shademar Adolin and Shallan Might run into Vivenna/Azure and add her to their quest. So I'm calling it that our beloved Vivenna is going to die ( I really wish not) or end up in some sort of situation where she thinks the only way out is give Adolin her sword and breaths; explaining the sword and aura that we see on the cover. If this is the Chase I'm sort of hoping For a Vasher/Zahel annoingly teaching Adolin how to awaken moment.

Last, I have another theory to explain the sword; but this One is sort of tinhattish. Last we Saw Vivenna/Azure she was travelling with the honorspren, who seemed quite interested by the Nature of her sword( logical, since it is a shardblade that didn't require For a Death spren ir a bonded one) and the way I reacall it they offered her Safe passage through Shademar or to Lasting Integrity( I don't quite remember) in exchange For information on how the sword was created. What if the honorspren found a way to create a shardblade awakening ir with Strormlight. I know it seems really odd but if I remember correctly there is a WoB where he confirmed Vasher/Zahel has been staying alive feeding Strormlight to his Divine breath, but that despict his several efforts he hasn't found a way to awaken using Strormlight. The way he phrased this makes me think that it's actually not impossible to awaken using Strormlight. Hard but not impossible, so Adolin's sword on the cover Might actually be a Type IV BCE, but One that has been created with Strormlight. This would kind of close The circle because originally Vasher and Shashara created Nightblood inspired by Roshar's shardblades. I don't actually think this is very likely but just came to My mind and want it to share it.

Most of all I'm fascinated bout how much information and theories we've squeezed out of this cover, I hope some of it turns out to be true when we actually read the book on November.

[+Child of Hodor]

My thread about the fortress in Dalinar's vision was more timely than I thought.  This clearly does not look like a "fortress" but it's proof there are obsidian structures in Shadesmar.

 

 

[menacekop]

3 hours ago, rjl said:

In response to the nightblood speculation etc. We have an answer and it's NO. See attached quote from Michael Whelan's assistant

source: https://www.tor.com/2020/08/17/behold-the-cover-to-rhythm-of-war-the-fourth-book-in-brandon-sandersons-stormlight-archive/comment-page-2/#comment-878270

well that's super disappointing.

[agrabes]

Late to the party - but I love this cover.  I'm not really analyzing it for possible plot elements, just saying I think it's an awesome piece of art.

[doomrat]

OK, so if we ignore for a minute that we know Shallan and Adolin are supposed to be going to Lasting Integrity, and just consider who owns a giant black obelisk in Shades Mar, its clearly the cryptics, no?