TheArcanist

It's very spoilery. Let's just say that Shardplate is closer to a fabrial and a Shardblade is something else entirely.

Shallan's lies, I think, are a matter of perception. Remember what Pattern calls a 'lie'- euphemisms, idioms, sayings, compliments. Just about everything which isn't the absolute, literal truth. Shallan herself is an illusionist, and more importantly, has spent years dealing with an insanely messed up family. When you take that into consideration, it becomes less a matter of being secretive or deceptive "just because" and more that it's a fact of life for her. Her lies enabled her to survive with her mind intact, let her grow as a person, and she spends most of WoR trying to figure out who she is without a role to play.

Well, that specific form of specialness anyways

In reference to that version of the Kaladin vs. Szeth fight as "Let it Go" it probably would've been better as this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgHrCIJXL2M&list=PL-XZ3I0ADX14Gh2jOkiNbuJLvt66oNyEv Makes more sense to me.

When you realize that you threatened everyone in a group of nerds with a terrible death during a heated debate, and they have no idea what you're talking about because it's Cosmere-related. You people are bad nerds. When you realize that your dream job would be as a member of the in-Cosmere Seventeenth Shard, and that you'd be much better at it than just about anything else.

Has anyone ever asked Brandon a question specifically about what his dragons are like? That could clear a few things up. The being said, how does the Recipient of the Letter, who is also the writer of the Reply, actually write it? Being a dragon and all. It could be that Mraize is a dragon, but then that begs the question, what is his mentor?

That is remarkably well thought-out, but I think it's not taking into account a few things, such as the resources available or the way that magic interacts with the world. One of the major influences of magic is that it, in many ways, replaces major technologies. This is certainly the case on Sel, as Raoden talks about theories in AonDor theory books that resemble particle physics and wave theory. This also seems to be the case on Scadrial where the use of Allomancy discouraged the development of metal-based technology. Nalthis, I have no real explanation for their level of technology other than that they're a younger society than the rest. However, I'm going to go ahead and poke holes in my own opinion here, as Roshar is an obvious exception, where Soulcasting can replace their lack of resources to an extent and fabrials let them advance technology in interesting examples. We've heard a few tantalizing things about the people of Southern Scadrial and their Allomantic technology, but won't know much else until Shadows of Self or other Mistborn books come out. The other thing with Scadrial is that Rashek was controling the development of technology for a good 1,000 years, and Roshar was affected with the Desolations. However, I think it still stands that we don't really know enough about the technological-cultural history of each planet and their people to comprehensively say how quickly or slowly they're developing technology. Also- we have no idea how magic would interfere with this.

When you read the comment above, and immediately wonder if a sufficiently powerful Soother/Rioter could force the Sheod upon someone of Aonic descent.

Hmm... that's all true. I'm going to have to go back and do the math again. The physics of Allomancy are going to be very interesting.

The funny thing is, the Aluminium-foik hats would actually work, if they were used properly.

When you're annoyed, you add "Kolo?" to the end of every sentence because it confuses your friends but still gets your point across. Basic Duladen- universally translatable even if you have no idea where it comes from.

Lerasium beads! Get your Lerasium beads here! Instant power that doesn't involving painful piercings.

Would this mean that a Mistborn using Iron/Steel to "fly" would basically be following a spring PE equation following Hooke's Law mixed with a gravitational PE equation? So, say Vin wanted to continue flying, either using a Allomantic highway or her horseshoe trick. The equation for spring potential energy is PE= 1/2 (kx2) where K=F/x or N/m Let's say Vin weighs 120 lbs [54.5 kg] which equates to ~534.5 N and she's decided to start burning steel having fallen to about 5 metres above the ground when she used to be at 10 metres at the top of her last jump. The first half of the equation goes like this: PE= 1/2 (534.5/5)(52) so PE= 1, 336.25 N. This would be the potential energy produced by Vin's allomantic force applied via steelpush. The other half of the equation involves the potential energy due to her falling because of Scadrial's gravity, which for the sake of simplicity is going to be assumed as roughly the same as Earth's. PEgrav= mgh so PEgrav= (54.5 kg)(9.8 m/s2)(5m)= 2, 670.5 N. Therefore, when we total it all up, the amount of energy being applied to the coin Vin is pushing into the ground while burning Steel is 4, 006.75 N. I have no idea if I understood this theory correctly, so tell me if I'm wrong, but I think this is a good approximation.

Huh, my mistake. Hmm... I wonder if this means Hoid is a Full Twinborn or one of the Metalborn?

Feruchemical Gold heals the body using literal Physical health. There's a WoB that what Hoid does heals the soul in a way practically every other form of healing can't. Except, for some reason, inherent Stormlight Regrowth. But Honourblades aren't the same thing as Shardblades, so we can't be sure.

I think it was in the annotations for one of the books, but I'd have to track down the exact quote. Spook was made a full Mistborn of the kind that Vin and Kelsier were, I think. Elend was the last Lerasium Mistborn- that is to say, the last Pure Allomancer. Presumably, some noble families survived too, but the chances of getting a Mistborn were already extremely rare. We don't really know what happened to the Feruchemists, but most were members of the Keepers, and the Keepers were slaughtered by the Inquisitors after Ruin was released. I think the bloodlines are just too diluted, and Alloy of Law is roughly 300 years after Hero of Ages, so if the bloodlines are to be re-invigorated in a way that doesn't involve Harmony's intercession, it will be another 700 years until the Well is ready again. That is, unless Sazed becoming Harmony didn't completely change the nature of Preservation's Shardpool. Besides, the 'modern' trilogy has a Misting S.W.A.T. team against a Mistborn serial killer, so I think the power will be coming back. In any case- we still need to figure out set, stable, standard ways to measure and compare each magic system. That don't involve asking Hoid or a Shard.

That's entirely likely. I mean, that's how the Keepers managed to keep Feruchemy so strong over the course of Rashek's rule. It was only after the Terris people began to spread out among everyone else following the Final Ascension that Ferrings began to appear.

True. Hmm... I could've sworn there was a different mention of him using Ironstance to make a "wood-splitting". I'm going to have to read through everything else again. So I suppose it's effectively confirmed that Fig. 4 is Windstance?

Hmm... we need to find out the decay rate of allomantic strength.

Hmm... I should probably switch around Sel and Nalthis then. What about the rest of my take on the theory?

I don't know about not holding him to specific Cosmere terms- people on Roshar seem to be a whole lot more aware of the wider Cosmere than pretty much every other planet. The spren themselves are evidence of this, as Wyndle, for example, specifically refers to Investiture while berating Lift. Roshar definitely seems to be a hub for Cosmere-Awareness, among humans and non-humans alike.

I actually think we can quantify every single form of Investiture we've run into so far. It depends on how they all connect. I've no idea if this is correct or not, but this is my interpretation of how they all link up at the moment. ***** Now, Investiture is a Cosmere-wide universal constant. One planet may be more heavily invested than another, and out of the four Greater Shardworlds we've seen Invested [With Splintered or Non-Splintered Shards], Roshar is the most heavily invested, and Scadrial the least heavily. I am unsure how heavily Invested Sel is as while it does have a very loose, freeform magic in the form of AonDor- and related systems -it's also regionally locked, the local Shards have been Splintered, and for whatever reason it is very difficult to visit. Apparently not so difficult that Wit couldn't arrive then leave again, and the 17th Shard recruit Galladon. Scadrial is an unusual case, with relatively minor levels of Investiture, and therefore highly derived magic systems. The farthest from the original Yolish systems of any we've seen. On a scale of 1-4, these are the worlds. 1: Scadrial [Mistborn] 2: Nalthis [Warbreaker] 3: Sel [Elantris] 4: Roshar [The Stormlight Archives] The easiest form of conversion is the most obvious. As Vasher is surviving with no negative repercussions on Roshar, there has to be an easy conversion rate of Breath to Stormlight. Now, Elantrians are most easily compared to a Type I BioChromatic Entity, commonly referred to as Returned. Following that logic, then the amount of Dor used to complete the Shaod would be equivalent to 2,000 breaths or one Divine Breath, and the amount of Dor used to keep an Elantrian alive day-to-day would be a seventh of a Breath. This could then be equated to a certain volume of Mist, which could then be equated to a certain mass of metal. Here are my personal suggestions for ways to measure Investiture world-to-world. Roshar: Marks of the smallest denomination made from a greatshell gemheart measured immediately after a highstorm. You would need to find measure the amount of Stormlight each of the Ten Gems could hold, and then determine an equivalent rate from gem-to-gem. Having determined this, you could figure out how much Stormlight equates to a single Breath. You could also try and determine how much Stormlight is needed to perform a certain Surge. This would be easiest with the Surge of Gravitation, I think. Nalthis: Having determined the conversion rate of Stormlight to Breath, there's little needed to do here to measure Nalthis' Investiture. We already have a sliding scale in the form of the Heightenings to equate to power. However, measuring how many Breaths are needed to create one kind of Type III Awakened object as opposed to another may be a bit more difficult. You would need to use the same command every time. If measuring the Breath needed to sustain a Type I Awakened Object [Returned] it would be best to use a young, vivacious Breath. Likely this would be best for measuring Awakening as well. Sel: The Dor used in the Shaod is most likely equivalent to a single Divine Breath, or the Fifth Heightening [That is to say 2,000 Breaths], while the Dor used to sustain an Elantrian on a day-to-day basis would be roughly equivalent to a seventh of a Breath. As it is specifically said in Elantris that each Aon has a particular wavelength, frequency, and pulse length it may be possible to use an Aon and compare it to the power-level of a specific colour for Awakening, or how much Stormlight is consumed by a particular effect of the Surge of Illumination. Scadrial: Having a Seeker on staff during these experiments would be best, as with practice a Seeker can determine the wavelengths between different kinds of Allomancy and even other forms of magic. [There's a WOB about this that I can't find at the moment] Each metal has a different static burn time which can be measured. This could be compared to the decay rate of Stormlight inside a mark. Of course, as Feruchemical Nicrosil can directly contain Investiture, it would probably be best to use that as a baseline- measuring how much Scadrian Allomantic Investiture [Measured in volume of Mist] is available for a certain mass of metal. So- what do you guys think? Do you think I'm onto something here?

When you consider how much easier exams would be if you were a Feruchemist

Well, I've been doing a lot of experimenting with actual swords- feeling my way around different stances, re-reading the fight scenes and especially Adolin's duels -and I've come to the conclusion that Ironstance is almost certainly Fig. 4 for a number of reasons. 1. The context of the sketch would seem to indicate that the Shardbearer in that stance is Adolin, as the helm is effectively the same as the face which is almost certainly his. [Note the "Sigh" written and double underlined beneath the quick portrait] 2. We know Shallan was present at almost all of his duels, if not all of them, and she would've had ample opportunity to take a Memory of a particular fight and draw it later. 3. During one of Adolin's fights, he briefly mentions using Ironstance to strike like he's chopping wood. Normally, it seems that this has been interpreted as meaning it was like he was cutting a cord of wood by splitting logs- chopping downwards. However, what if he was referring to actually cutting down a tree? This seems a likely interpretation given the flow of the fight [For the life of me, I can't remember the exact page or passage], and if that's correct, then Fig. 4 is the only stance in which this would've been easy to do.

Either way, Szeth would probably kill him. It's just Pre-WOR it would've been a bit harder, while Post-WOR the answer would be as simple as tossing our happy-go-lucky-evil-killing friend at him.