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I can't think of any clues from anywhere in any of the books. None of the known methods of achieving immortality seem to make sense for the 17th Shard. I suspect Feruchemy, though. I don't think that Hoid's Feruchemy is identical to the Scadrian variety (in the same way that his Lightweaving is different from what Radiants do on Roshar). Feruchemy seems to be a strictly genetic thing on Scadrial, not an ability one can acquire, except with hemallurgy. I'm thinking that the Shard has a way to give its members the Yolish variety of Feruchemy, and it is the same method that Hoid used. I guess time being messed with is a possibility, too, but that seems a little off to me. The three in TWoK all lived in different eras, originally. How are they all synced up now? I know that there are a bunch of scenarios one could work out for how they all ended up together, using time dilation alone (e.g. making what seems like an instantaneous leap through Shadesmar actually drops you off on the other side years later, meaning that after a number of hops, everyone's timeline gets weird). Hmm. Maybe that actually is it.

The 17th Shard seems to have access to some kind of life-prolonging juju, if not outright immortality. In The Way of Kings, the three worldhoppers are pretty dang old. Galladon, being Elatrian, is no surprise, but Demoux should be a couple of hundred years old by then, and Baon is even older (though it is unclear by how much).

Also, it is generally bad form to fail to acknowledge power dynamics in race relations. One should not fault an oppressed class for harboring negative opinions of the class that is oppressing them. For example, if a slave in America in the 19th century expressed dislike for white people, it would be inappropriate to say, "Wow, what a racist." Sure, that would technically be racist, but it's not at all the same as the guy in charge of beating him saying that them folk ain't good for nothing but whuppin'. Which is not to say that one should therefore let it slide if a darkeyes goes all, "Kill every lighteyes!" on you.

I really like Lord of Chaos. A lot of the major plot points for the rest of the series are set up in that volume. Also, the ending is hidden in this one. And the end of the book is really cool (but maybe not so much for readers who are not keen on the battle scenes).

It's the "proto" part that is key to what I'm talking about. At this point, we're all just speculating about the degree to which a potential member of an order should be expected to behave according to that order's ideals (which we don't even really know yet).

A proto-Releaser, just realizing how twisted the Alethi glorification of slaughter is? Probably.

Ah, idiot that I am, I missed a couple of posts. My guess actually was right. For the last one. EDIT: Is it Transformers?

It's Hook!

I really don't like Hawkman. He seems like such a douchey dudebro. The resolution to the complications with Kendra and Cisco was super lame. Admittedly, it was totally expected. That's just what characters do on this show. Barry's dad gets out of prison? Time to travel. New Firestorm member? Time to travel.

Interesting fact that I learned in college (and a total tagent, but...): there are biblical scholars who don't think that the story of Jonah is supposed to be historical. That is, whoever wrote it intended it as religious fiction (kind of like Pilgrim's Progress). Anyway, I wouldn't rule out the possibly of the occasional parallel to real-world events/people in Cosmere books. It wouldn't have the same in-universe meaning that it would in The Wheel of Time, but it could still happen. After all, the Dalinar flashback was inspired by Genghis Khan, and someone recently pointed out that there are similarities between the war on the Shattered Plains and World War I. That said, I find it very unlikely that Sanderson is going to suddenly start layering a bunch of biblical allusions in his stories. If there ever is one, I'm sure it's not going to be all like, "Oo! Look at the rich symbolism and blah blah blah." I would think that he would approach it like he does everything else, by flipping the script on the trope and giving us a totally different take on a familiar situation.

And, really, the hunt wasn't supposed to be very dangerous. Sure, there's the potential, if something goes wrong, but it didn't seem like that was something the characters assumed to be very likely. They wouldn't have set up a party pavilion for the pampered lighteyed hangers-on if anyone did. We ourselves do things that have the potential to be very dangerous if they go wrong, every day. Cars are incredibly dangerous if something goes wrong (and it does, all the time: there are tons of deaths from car accidents), but rarely does anyone think twice about hopping in a car.

Huh. Well, I just watched Arrow. They really didn't give us much of an origin at all. Something to do with the meteoritess, I suppose. I was joking before, but one could watch that and surmise that they're magic because they're from ancient Egypt. The meteorite thing is clearly the origin, though, and it's vague enough that they could bring in aliens later.

And here is a better example of cymatics at work: https://youtu.be/Q3oItpVa9fs

Well, if you'd like to see Kabsal's demonstration for yourself, here it is: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/de/Cymatics-FromThe-Film_Inner_Worlds_Outer_Worlds_1.ogg/Cymatics-FromThe-Film_Inner_Worlds_Outer_Worlds_1.ogg.480p.webm Cymatics is a real thing. I don't think that there's any direct relationship to fractals. We don't yet know what the demonstration means on Roshar, but it does offer some clues. Kabsal saw it as proof that the Almighty designed Roshar. I'd say its more likely evidence that those cities were the sites of some crazy battles where one side sent some powerful vibrations through the earth.

I'd say that hunting isn't covered by the codes because the people who wrote them would have never imagined a situation where people who were supposed to be at war took some time off to go on a superfluous and dangerous hunt.

While I agree with your assessment of Adolin for the most part, I think that you're wrong about the codes. They outline precisely the appropriate conduct for officers during times of war. The problem is, the Alethi aren't really fighting a war; they're playing a game. In a real war, it makes sense to always be in uniform, to always avoid drunkenness, in case of an attack, etc. In this particular case, they make Dalinar et al look foolish because real wartime conditions don't exist. Dalinar is well-meaning in his attempt to be an example to others, but the code he follows doesn't fit what is going on at the Shattered Plains. The camps are in no real danger of attack--not any more than a city in Alethkar would be during a period where there is peace but a bordering nation might attack. The only real warlike periods are when they go on plateau runs, which are more like very dangerous hunting expeditions or sporting events. They are fighting for any cause; they're competing for a prize. Oh, sure, it's bloody and dangerous, but gladiators in ancient Rome faced the same thing when they competed in what were undeniably games. Now, when the Desolation comes in force, I expect that following the codes is going to become very important. And no one is going to seem foolish for doing so.

I'm sorry, but I think that stance is completely unreasonable. Cultural conventions are deeply ingrained in people. Being able to see through them is not the basic standard of crossing the threshold of maturity.

Probably. Honestly, the whole alien thing would probably be a little much at this point. It would be cool if they kept the alien thing in reserve, though, and brought it in later. I won't be upset if they get rid of it altogether and just go with magic, but they can also be vague on their origins and bring in the aliens later. It looks like Legends of Tomorrow is going to be crazy enough that throwing in some aliens probably would be just fine.

I loved that show. But I was pretty angry when it got canceled after the second season, right when things were getting really interesting. Oh, and the season ends on a cliffhanger. Of course.

Yeah, but in a lot of retellings (kids books and the like), the "great fish" is called and/or depicted as a whale.

He can do some things that Radiants can do, including Lightweaving (though his power works a little differently than the Radiants' version). You should read Mistborn, then go back and read the flashback scene where Wit shows up. The part where Shallan thinks he's about to poison her father, but he puts the "poison" in his own drink instead, should make more sense then. He's in Mistborn, too, but he doesn't really do much that pertains to the main plot there (and he goes by Hoid, not Wit).

Yeah, there's a whole tangled history in the comics. One incarnation of Hawkman and Hawkgirl were indeed Egyptians, but they got their powers from a crashed Thanagarian ship. In the comics, there was the same reincarnation thing, with Khufu and Chay-Ara destined to meet and fall in love in every incarnation. There is another constantly reincarnating Egyptian named Hath-Set who is destined to kill them in every lifetime, rather than Vandal Savage. Also, Black Adam (yes, Captain Marvel/Shazam's enemy) is involved in the story. It will be interesting to see if they bring the alien thing into the Arrowverse or not. They have to come up with something, after all. I am reasonably certain that "is Egyptian" is not a satisfactory explanation for why someone has fantastic powers.

The same thing happens to me. I can't figure out what I want to read lately. The Wheel of Time also fits into my pattern of reading my favorites, then not wanting to read anything else. Have you read the other Cosmere books?

You know, I actually assumed, with no evidence whatsoever for it, that it was a whale. Because Jonah, of course.

I love the way that the show acknowledged the difference in tone between Flash and Arrow. Damian has never been quite so over the top in Arrow, but it works for The Flash. Top-notch crossover work, there.