Theory on vax

[Kalak_]

So this is my theory 

in the dragon steel chapters brandon has made available, yolen is most of the time referred to as “the continent of yolen”

now we go on to mistborn secret history , ati, before he dies utters the word vax, now  presumably, the last place ati was before taking up the shard of ruin was yolen, or should I say vax (I will explain this later)

in warbreaker, hoid refers to his homeland as a “place we’re to lands meet and gods have died” furthermore, there is a saying on yolen that goes “may two worlds become one to you” and Brandon has SPECIFICALLY stated that this is NOT in reference to any realms 

so my theory is that vax isn’t a planet, but another landmass or continent on yolen

[Frustration]

"May two worlds become one unto you" refers to Fain and normal life

[Quantus he/him]

14 minutes ago, Frustration said:

"May two worlds become one unto you" refers to Fain and normal life

Which actually could fit the Op's theory pretty well.  Yolen had all three sentient races, and at least two of them have entire ecosystem's associated with them.  It would make a lot of sense to me for them to have each have their own continental regions.  

[Weltall]

The idea's not too bad but I can think of two potential issues. First, we know that at the point in time when Khriss shows up in Secret History she doesn't know much about Yolen and has only heard stories about it. We also know that the Ars Arcana reflect Khriss' knowledge at specific points in time and (as the Elantris one shows with her comments about testing) she likes to be thorough in her study before coming to conclusions. While we don't know exactly when the essays are written are we can assume they're not radically displaced from the events of the books they're included with since they sometimes make reference to extremely recent events. In the Elantris AA she knows enough about Vax to be able to compare its Initiation mechanics to multiple other systems. Elantris however takes place before the time of Secret History when she admits her lack of knowledge on Yolen, which means it's AA should predate the events of the latter story, While it's not impossible since we don't have an exact timeline for all the relevant details, it seems unlikely that she could know enough about Vax's system of Initiation if it's part of Yolen and thus a world she lacks firsthand knowledge of.

Second, Ati was a human before his Ascension and Scadrial is explicitly modeled after the non-fain parts of Yolen. If he's misrecognizing what he's seeing at as being the world of his birth (or its Cognitive representation at any rate), it should be those same non-fain bits he's used to, which would be the very parts Jerick calls Yolen in the Dragonsteel Prime excerpts.

Neither of these is an absolute bar to the idea since we can't rely on the excerpts to reflect the current state of canon and the timeline of Khriss' knowledge and writing is fuzzy, but I'm hesitant right now to buy the idea.

[+Oltux72 he/him]

21 hours ago, Weltall said:

Second, Ati was a human before his Ascension and Scadrial is explicitly modeled after the non-fain parts of Yolen. If he's misrecognizing what he's seeing at as being the world of his birth (or its Cognitive representation at any rate), it should be those same non-fain bits he's used to, which would be the very parts Jerick calls Yolen in the Dragonsteel Prime excerpts.

Very well. This is obviouslyy true and would preclude the identification, save for one aspect. Are we really sure that Ati's last words are recognition and mentioning the place he is reminded of? Or do we need to look at the idea that Vax was the last place he remembered as a conventional human being, hence Adonalsium was shattered in the fain part of Yolen, and he really expressed puzzlement at no longer being on Vax?

 

[+robardin he/him]

On 8/2/2021 at 9:05 AM, Kalak_ said:

So this is my theory 

in the dragon steel chapters brandon has made available, yolen is most of the time referred to as “the continent of yolen”

now we go on to mistborn secret history , ati, before he dies utters the word vax, now  presumably, the last place ati was before taking up the shard of ruin was yolen, or should I say vax (I will explain this later)

in warbreaker, hoid refers to his homeland as a “place we’re to lands meet and gods have died” furthermore, there is a saying on yolen that goes “may two worlds become one to you” and Brandon has SPECIFICALLY stated that this is NOT in reference to any realms 

so my theory is that vax isn’t a planet, but another landmass or continent on yolen

I like it. (Note that I have not read any of the non-canonical draft Cosmere works like Dragonsteel Prime or The Liar of Partinel, exactly because they're non-canonical.)

The only clues we have as to what or where Vax is:

- A place mentioned by Khriss in the Ars Arcana of Elantris where "initiation in Investiture" in AonDor is not tied to bloodline (as on Scadrial), nor a Shard's decision (as on Nalthis), nor similar to "Taldain's and Vax's methods" 

- A place that the just-killed Vessel of Ruin, Ati, thinks he might find himself (in the Cognitive Realm) after being killed by Vin - implying that that was either the place where he Ascended from, or somewhere he frequented in human life.

Putting "Vax" in the same context as Scadrial, Nalthis, and Taldain strongly implies that it is the name of a world; however as you note, "Yolen" is also referred to by Khriss in this context, yet may or may not be the name of a planet but could be a distinct enough region or domain on a planet to be considered a separate "world".

If Vax was where Ati Ascended to Ruin, does that mean it was the location of the Shattering of Adonalsium? We don't really know much about the Shattering, except that it was done by or via Dawnshards, and that Hoid was "offered" a chance to participate and to receive a Shard but declined (side comment: I always wonder who the "Shardic bench player" given his spot was, and if they hold a grudge about it or are grateful for the opportunity).

Is it possible the Shattering didn't have to happen in a single location, but simply at the same time? Like, with the Cosmere equivalent of a Dawnshard Zoom chat or something?

Besides, there are only four Dawnshards. Maybe they had to be in one location to effectuate the Shattering, but not the other twelve people who ended up getting Shards? (Or were the four Dawnshard "wielders" at the Shattering not destined for picking up a Shard? Feels like this would be a Brandon question, but I'm sure he'd RAFO it)

[Kalak_]

On 03/08/2021 at 4:04 PM, Weltall said:

The idea's not too bad but I can think of two potential issues. First, we know that at the point in time when Khriss shows up in Secret History she doesn't know much about Yolen and has only heard stories about it. We also know that the Ars Arcana reflect Khriss' knowledge at specific points in time and (as the Elantris one shows with her comments about testing) she likes to be thorough in her study before coming to conclusions. While we don't know exactly when the essays are written are we can assume they're not radically displaced from the events of the books they're included with since they sometimes make reference to extremely recent events. In the Elantris AA she knows enough about Vax to be able to compare its Initiation mechanics to multiple other systems. Elantris however takes place before the time of Secret History when she admits her lack of knowledge on Yolen, which means it's AA should predate the events of the latter story, While it's not impossible since we don't have an exact timeline for all the relevant details, it seems unlikely that she could know enough about Vax's system of Initiation if it's part of Yolen and thus a world she lacks firsthand knowledge of.

Second, Ati was a human before his Ascension and Scadrial is explicitly modeled after the non-fain parts of Yolen. If he's misrecognizing what he's seeing at as being the world of his birth (or its Cognitive representation at any rate), it should be those same non-fain bits he's used to, which would be the very parts Jerick calls Yolen in the Dragonsteel Prime excerpts.

Neither of these is an absolute bar to the idea since we can't rely on the excerpts to reflect the current state of canon and the timeline of Khriss' knowledge and writing is fuzzy, but I'm hesitant right now to buy the idea.

That is true Howether we don’t know if adonalsium was shattered in the non fain parts

[Zoey she/her]

As explained above, Khriss knew barely anything about Yolen despite bare basics, yet she appeared to have a good understanding of Vax, and refered to it as if it were its own planet. 

 

And the statement of "two realms" was in reference to Trune and Fain, which as shown in Secret History and in WoB is still canon. 

So I do doubt the whole Yolen and Vax being dichotomous in such a way. But rather that they are separate planets with their own form of Investiture.