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So, in another forum, someone mentioned typing with her freehand, (which sounds slow) and that got me thinking about other things like musical instruments. Now I am all kinds of worried for these poor Roshar musicians. Yes, yes she does. Looking it up now: I am not sure how the zither is played, but I suppose it could be one-handed. I am now watching someone play "Let It Be" on a zither, and he is using two hands, one for the melody, and one for the chords/rhythm. I don't know for sure what is meant by "pipes", but bagpipes (and other variants I am aware of) definitely take two hands. I would imagine that sometimes a glove would be ok, but many times it would not. In the winter, In marching band in high school, we would be outside on the practice field marching around. And some of the musicians had to have holes in the fingers of their gloves to actually be able to play (poor souls). We had pipers in our band, and they were among the finger-holed crowd. Shallan is skittish with wearing a glove on her safehand, can you imagine her with the fingers cut out? Could it be that the instruments on Roshar (or at least Alethkar) are all quite different to compensate for Safehand / Freehand situation? I have looked a bit, and can't find anything that talks about it.

I wonder if they thought about typing when they defined the womanly arts. Seems awkward to do one handed, or only in private. Come to think on it, are there no two handed musical instruments on Roshar? I thought there were harps or violins or something people were playing. I know Wit had a flute and a little strummed instrument or something, but he doesn't count. Oh... and welcome!

While it didn't feel that way to me, I understand what you are saying. Previously there had been a bit of a spark between Kaladin and Shallan, and no reference to it in that chapter. However, this was from Dalinar's point of view. And Dalinar is to straight forward to really see the nuance of human emotions, so he would not likely have noticed anything between Shallan and Kaladin even if it did happen. Any maybe the reason Shallan and Kaladin seemed to not be speaking to each other is they are actually a little bit uncomfortable around each other now. Hm... now I want to reread that chapter and imagine what they are thinking knowing their history and personalities. One last point. Dalinar would never hug Kaladin. Never in a million years. He is Kaladin's commanding officer, a clap on the back, a hand on the shoulder, but not a hug. And you are not likely to see much emotional talk between those two either. What passed between them when Kaladin was in jail was unusual and caused by the extreme emotions of the situation.

Even though we have not seen Glys yet, we did see Ym's spren, separate from his glasses. And if Glys were Renarin's glasses, wouldn't he be wearing them more now, rather than less?

Something I had not noticed before though is the similarity between the chasm and the shattered plains. We know the shattered plains were caused by someone or something. Before now I have never felt strongly that the chasm was the same. Now I like the idea a lot!

Wow! Some massive thoughts and questions. Quite a lot for one of your first posts. I will just focus on your first one. There is nothing that definitively quantifies the various powers and abilities of Shards. We know some of their powers, because we have seen them do some things, and we know they are limited in some ways, either by ability or various rules. We know, for example, that Preservation and Ruin could only create together. Neither seemed to have that power by themselves. However, we have also seen that any single power available in one magic system can usually be replicated in some way by another magic system. Could this translate to the Shards themselves? Could they do similar things, but just in different ways? When Sazed mentioned he could not bring back Vin and Elend, it sounded like it was just something he had not yet figured out how to do, but he thought it was possible. So... nothing for sure, but here is my opinion: Yes, I think every Shard could do it. I think each may do it in a slightly different way, so may not even require granting of investiture to keep the person alive. But I also think it may be possible that some wouldn't because of nature, or would be kept from doing it because of some rule or something.

Welcome to the forums! After Elantris, make sure to read The Emperor's Soul, it is short, but awesome.

I don't think the stormlight usage is anything more than using an Honor blade. We know from WoB that Honor Blades consume stormlight at the same time the wielder is using it for their power, so the total usage is much higher than for Radiants. Also, the Nahel Bond puts some checks and balances in place which can help keep the Radiant from evil. Not so with the Honor Blade. However, even with those issues, I wonder why Syl seems to hate the Honor Blade so much. I mean, they are a creation of Honor, aren't they? Is it possible that normal mortals just can't wield them without being corrupted? Or is there something more going on? Back to your original point: I like your ideas and I think there might be a connection. I think Odium is there at the point of the assassination. I think when Syl says "He's here" she is not talking about Szeth, but Odium. But when I read it the last time I wondered if she was talking about Odium traveling from Braize to Roshar, and his subsequent arrival at Roshar. In other words, rather than say that Odium was at their location, he just arrived at the planet, which is as good as being every place at once.

Doesn't really matter, other than read each world in sequence, (i.e. read Alloy of Law after the mistborn trilogy)

Combined with Words of Radiants, my count is at 7 out of 10 current world-hoppers, 4 we have seen in other published books.

Thank you for quantifying this. I know that part of the fun for me is coming back to a connection I made with the series as a kid, but that would not be enough to keep me coming back. But DW is fun, because the characters seem to have fun. Not all the time, or it wouldn't work. Maybe not even most of the time, but to do have fun. And the struggles and their joy are each better because of the other. Cheesey? Often. But who cares. It's silly and ridiculous... and fun. Looking back, Tom Baker was the same for me. And why he is still my favorite of the older group. Here is hoping they don't lose that with the new doctor. He looks so solemn, it is hard to know what he will be like.

Of course I am just guessing, but instead of the Spirit Realm, I imagine that the Cognitive Realm is involved. The keys know they are keys, and so the straw man just asks around, so to speak.

I think they absolutely could. There might even be some evidence of it in the books. Going to have to think through Spook's chapters. There might also be other senses in-world that we wouldn't have here. Like a sense of direction. (I know you are not a Tin-Eye, but I am looking at you, Jasnah!)

When I reread WoK I couldn't believe how MANY times it was foreshadowed, but I was floored when in WoR I think I stopped reading. I just sat there and said to myself "what????"

In addition to Sanderson's Laws, I think it is good to take into consideration Orson Scott Card's question about any magic system. What is the cost? Stories are more interesting with conflict, and there should never be anything as a free lunch. So what is the cost? What do you give up to get the value of the magic? What is the power source of the magic? Can it run out or become diluted? But also, what impact does it have on those that use it, those around them, society, the environment, the world, or the universe? The answers to those questions can lead to some interesting impacts on your story.

I thought for some time it was perception based. I think it is more complicated than that. In any case, it is true that only potential heirs have the ability: http://brandonsanderson.com/annotation-warbreaker-chapter-twenty-two/

Yes, Adonalsium did that: http://theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=1078#25 Interesting thought on the splinter requirement. I wonder why all 3 shards have created spren on this world, and that might explain it.

I came into the conversation late to be posting a response to this question from yesterday, but I didn't see a response. I don't know for sure who gave it to him. At first read of this quote, I thought Sazed did, but now I am not sure. In any case, it came from a dead inquisitor that already had one. Source So... I guess that doesn't really clear much of anything up, does it.

Welcome! Even though many people use this forum to discuss theories (me included), this is definitely a great place to ask questions about anything you've read, or just to geek-out about the awesomeness of Brandon's work.

Pros: It is simple and intuitive. It is possible to learn to use an ability with little or no training.Cons: It is limited in it's application. Each metal corresponds to a single ability, and very few people have access to more than one metal.

Cons: The process is not simple. You can't just stab a charged spike in anywhere and make it work. By the very nature of the process, research into the art is troublesome, maiming or killing those involved in the research. Which makes learning about and improving the processes involved very difficult.

Questions: Do you mean recipient, instead of donor? Is this true? Do we have a source?

I don't know, there might be something to this idea. This sounds to me to be a bit like being a feruchemy savant. I don't think this would work with many powers, because there is no way to change what is "Normal". But but because it is possible to work-out and change your normal amount of strength, it should be possible to drop your strength through storage, and work out to get back up to your previous normal. I think an aspect about this that might keep it from working is the practical limit to human strength. Would this process allow you to get around that natural limit, or would someone only be able to get their "Normal" body strength to the natural max possible. I would also imagine that it would require continued effort to keep such a program going, just as bodybuilders have to work hard to keep their body in shape.

My wife finally got tired of hearing how awesome Brandon was and broke down and read mistborn. At the end she picked up Well of Ascension without even taking a break. I tried to convince my sisters to jump on the Brandon bandwagon, but it was too late. They had all already read everything he has written!

Know that it is not only fun around here but very accepting and friendly. I have to say this is the nicest community I have ever been a part of on the internet. Flaming is rare, and help and appreciation are common. It is awesome!