Kobold King

Oh Cosmere Puns thread. Where have you vin all my life?

My feeling on the subject is this: the World of Ash didn't really have any points of reference for determining the new year. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remember any mentions of seasonal changes like Winter or Summer. The Ashmount probably insulated the planet in such a way that no annual climatic changes were possible.

With this in mind, I'm inclined to think that the people of Scadrial... simply didn't notice. How would they? Every day is exactly the same, no seasons, so they had no reason to assume that anything about their calendar system had changed. They probably still use traditional dates.

Szeth's ketek gives me chills. I like the others too. Brilliant idea and execution!

The third one happened this morning. Kalak had his Honorblade back, and he was working as a lackey for Sadeas. However, one of the Alethi warcodes was "You're not allowed to bring Heralds along on plateau runs", which made Sadeas furious. Sadeas sent Kalak to go kill people in the Kholin warcamp. Shallan was in the Kholin barracks for some reason. Kalak went to the barracks and killed every single one of Dalinar's troops except for the bridgemen. He tried to kill Shallan, but she escaped with Lightweaving. However, she tripped and knocked herself out on the way to Dalinar. There were no witnesses except Shallan, so nobody knew that Kalak had done the deed. Sadeas convinced Dalinar to sign some papers because of the massacre. However, Kaladin came by and realized that the papers would allow Sadeas to sent Kalak on plateau runs and to kill Dalinar, and neither Sadeas or Kalak would face any consequences. He warned Dalinar, who still considered signing the papers, but ultimately refused. Sadeas yelled, "Drat, foiled again!" and scurried back to his warcamp.

That makes me laugh. If the Stormlight Archive were a Saturday morning cartoon, that would be a standard episode.

I'm imagining a giant forcefield around the Scadrial system, which crossing causes Sazed to manifest. He then confuses them with zenness and they turn around, completely clueless as to what they came for.

Odium: I WILL BRING DESOLATION TO THIS WORLD.

Harmony: That would upset the equilibrium, I think.

Odium: DESOLATION IS MY CAUSE.

Harmony: My cause is harmony. I must allow you to make your own choices, but your choices will negate the choices of others, thus upsetting the balance in the world.

Odium: ... THIS IS A VERY BIZARRE CONVERSATION.

Harmony: Yes.

1)Why would Jasnah go to Scadrial in the first place?

 

It had to have been a mistake on her part. I believe that she even states to Hoid that she 'had to go somewhere quick in a pinch' or some such. But was Scardriel some random place, or had she been there before?

 

2)If this theory is applicable, would this mean that she can world hop on her own, independent of KR surging abilities? Or is world hopping actually a KR surge ability? 

 

Not sure if Elsecalling is referenced anywhere else in the series, but is that a surge, or a whole different type of magic?

The recent batch of AoL annotations tell us that Harmony is spending some effort trying to find out about the other Shards. Maybe Jasnah went to him for information? I can imagine her and Marsh sitting down and trading notes about Odium, the Desolations, and threats to the Cosmere at large.

I am inclined to think Elsecalling is the Surge of Transportation, but as Awesomeness Summoned says, we don't have much solid information about the magic.

As far as Rsyn goes I think she will end up being a Willshaper.  She doesn't appear to have been broken but she may be hiding a dark past and there is plenty of story in the future for her Babsk to be killed or for her to be abandoned and for her to be broken.  Rsyn does fit a lot of the personality traits of the Willshapers and she was gifted a Larkin (one of the symbols of the KR) by a giant greatshell demigod.

Wow, I love the sound of that. Rysn as a Willshaper in her own novel. She certainly fits the profile we've been given, and it would make sense for Brandon Sanderson to establish her existence in the early books so she can come to the forefront later on.

Never before have I so desperately wished a Kingkiller theory was wrong.

I just re-read the Warbreaker Ars Arcanum, and I found no speculation about any further Heightenings. The AA certainly expresses a great deal of mystery surrounding the upper Heightenings, however, so it would not surprise me to discover that more exist. The Law of Sixteen implies such things.

Interesting thought. I don't know if it means anything solid though... for all we know, it's just a red herring to throw us off.

STORMS yes. Having one's personality and soul stripped away in exchange for vaguely defined semi-divine powers sounds like a spectacular deal. It would all be worth it as long as I get my own magic system.

In all seriousness though, Cultivation sounds like a pretty good Shard to hold from what we've heard.

I can't fly in my lucid dreams thanks to never caring for it as a kid, so I rely on Steelpushing and Lashings to move from place to place quickly. I feel the need to point out how stupidly disorienting combining those two magic systems can be, flipping gravity and then Pushing and Pulling around cities and plains.

Someone needs to give a Windrunner a bead of lerasium. That sounds too awesome for us to never see it.

Interesting ideas could come of this... we know that greatshells have some kind of relationship with spren, so why couldn't they utilize Stormlight somehow? They (probably) can't do anything as dramatic as Surgebinding with it, but it would be fun to see if they make any use of the stuff.

Feruchemy for me. It draws its power from metal, but unlike Allomancy, it does not consume the metals, making it a lot cheaper and more sustainable over time.

I can't tell whether someone has already made this point before me, but I think being an Archivist Ferring would be pretty awesome. Imagine: you could read a book, and then store your memories of it. You could re-read your favorite stories over and over again without knowing what to expect. And then, when the time comes for theories and speculation, you could tap into your copperminds and recite obscure quotes with perfect attention to detail.

So worldhopping has something to do with the Desolations? Interesting... if I recall correctly, Syl took an instant dislike to Hoid because he was "strange." Could that possibly be connected with this theory?

Scadrial during the AoL time period sounds like a fairly nice place to live, all things considered. I would like to live in the Roughs--away from large cities, but still with access to a couple of luxuries like books. Even though there wouldn't be any easy way to gain access to Investiture, a pretty good living could be made. Imagine setting up an old-fashioned farmhouse, maybe hiring the local Pewterarm to do a few chores...

 

Unless a clan of koloss comes and murders you. But hopefully the likelihood of that is pretty slim. 

I seriously doubt Jasnah went to Scadrial. Scadrial is a paradise compared to Roshar, and Jasnah is worried about protecting her kingdom from the Everstorm. If it was as easy as just teleporting people along, I believe she'd have left long ago, leave the Voidbringers for the others to deal with.

A Roshar-wide relocation effort would probably be inpossible to manage. If she cannot convince world leaders to give up parshmen, how would she convince people into fleeing to an alien planet? (Assuming the Elendel authorities would allow Rosharan refugees, which I find doubtful.)

My only Cosmere dream wasn't nearly as awesome as the rest of these. I dreamed I was a Mistborn who got stuck on the Shattered Plains and was eaten by whitespines.

Rust and Ruin, we have to wait until 2016 before Book 3 comes out? I was hoping we might get it next year.

I like the idea of the Skybreakers being a Radiant police force. Though I'm inclined to think that historically, they would have served as aides to Desolation-era governments rather than taking an active hand in managing other Orders.

The Kholins do seem to have a history of attracting assassins, don't they? I think Nalan would be more likely to go after Adolin himself though. The fact that Szeth is assumed to be dead might be used for a more significant strategic advantage later on.

Thoughtful posts, but I would like to make a couple of points:

1. From an out-of-universe perspective, there is no clear reason for Brandon Sanderson referring to the pouch as a bandolier, unless it was actually a bandolier. Remember that several odd, seemingly meaningless details have proven to be important later on--for example, think of Zahel's colorful metaphors and how they were ultimately proven to be essential to uncovering the swordsmaster's identity.

2. As Colby Jack pointed out, it seems unlikely that spheres could be easily carried in anything resembling a bandolier. In addition, Kaladin, who uses Stormlight while in active, rough-and-tumble settings, doesn't ever feel the need to carry sources of Stormlight on his chest.

3. Hoid's thoughts expressly indicate that the bandolier was not an item she would be likely to procure while on Roshar. If it were an ordinary pouch worn across the chest, why would it seem so out of place?

Hello there. This is my first main board post, so don't hesitate to correct me on any rookie errors I might make.

 

WoR spoilers follow, so please be advised.

 

OK, here goes. Take a look at this quote from the epilogue:

 

 

As a bandolier is specifically an item meant for carrying cartridges of firearm ammunition, the presence of one in the possession of Jasnah Kholin is quite odd. My interpretation of this is that she has used the Surge of Transportation as a means of travelling to Scadrial. The Stormlight Archive is roughly contemporary with The Alloy of Law, and so she would easily be capable of procuring a gun while she was there. Hoid's thoughts that she had picked it up while on her vaguely defined travels seem to support the idea, at least in my own mind.

 

Has anyone else noticed this? Do you have any other supporting evidence, or perhaps a rebuttal of the theory?

Hello there, friends of the 17th Shard! Over the past few years I have metamorphosized into a slightly obsessive fan of Brandon Sanderson's, reading the majority of his published work, regularly visiting his website in search of updates, and ambushing unsuspecting passerby so I might chatter to them about the Cosmere.

 

Naturally my ever-growing need for Sanderson information led me to this incredible forum--indeed, I've spent a great deal of time reading through old discussion threads and familiarizing myself with the site. I desire nothing more than to participate in the lively and intelligent conversations I have observed, and hopefully add some comments of my own into the mix.

 

Looking forward to talking with you!