Blightsong

I got to a couple. U they were all very interesting, I think him being a professor helps that.

Odyssey Con was a blast! Smaller conventions are a lot more fun IMO than larger ones, like Comic Con. At one point Brandon was just hanging out before a magic draft, so i got a bunch of my own questions in before that started. Below is my transcription of the recording I took (with his permission of course) of me, other people, and Brandon talking Cosmere. There are some spoilers for SH and BoM, but they are marked appropriately, so skip over the parts underlined to avoid spoilers if you havent read those. Enjoy! Maddison, Odyssey Con Transcription. (Anything in parenthesis are my comments and thought or reasoning behind the questions or answers.) *Anything in stars are tone of voice or facial expression* Anything underlined contains spoilers for BoM or SH Me: Ok, first one. Was Sadeas ever affected directly by Odium or an Unmade, not counting the Thrill? Brandon: NOT countin the Thrill, ok uhhhhm. There are affects of other unmade around, and Odium's direct effect? I'm going to say, no, maybe some indirect effects. Me: What about Roshone? Brandon: Uhhhm, no. The Thrill is the main thing that is getting the Alethi, I mean, there are others around, but it's not as obvious with that as with other things. Me: Can Odium change written word on Roshar like Ruin could on Scadrial? (I was wondering this because it would make it easy for him to manipulate Mr.T that way. Brandon: *apprehensive* This is not really a thing that Odium does. Um, yea. Me: Are sandlings from white sand an early concept for crustaceans on Roshar, with greatshells being a parallel to deep sandlings. Brandon: No, um, the idea for white sand came first, and it was more that I was exploring divergent ecology, but I've been doing that in Dragonsteel and in White Sand and in here with Roshar. I would say that the fact that white sand hadn't been published meant that I could do something's that were similar without worrying about repeating myself, but it's not like I used them specifically as models. Me: *jokingly* So does this mean we are going to get to see little dragons running around in Dragonsteel? Brandon: Uh, well, in Dragonsteel the dragons are sapient, so when I write Dragonsteel I will put dragons in there, but the dragons are intelligent and uh, can take human form, but there are actual little dragons. Me: Wait, they can take human form? Brandon: Yes, yes, yup. Guy next to me: Is Yolen named after Jane Yolen? Brandon: Yes Guy: Yes, ok. I've always wondered. Brandon: One of the early fantasy books I read was Dragon's Blood, and so I named it after her. Guy: Ok, *gestures to me* keep going. Me: Last year I asked you if shadows turn the wrong way in the cognitive realm for a reason, you said to basicly think of it like important flavor text. Is this happening because people are being drawn towards the Beyond? Brandon: Um, yea that part of it. Definitely. Me: What is Proving Day in Vorin mythology? Brandon: Uhhhm, equivalent of Bahmitzva. Me: One sec *looks through notes for more of the interesting questions*. Can you give us any information on Ral Elorum? Brandon: Uhhhm, no other than its called city of shadows for a reason. Me: In the end, how many bridge runs did Kaladin go on? Brandon: I didn't count them, uhhm, dozens. Probably not hundreds. Me: Is it theoretically possible to hemallurgically spike a shard into someone else, and if so, what would be the outcome? Brandon: A full shard? Hemallurgy could not hold that much of an invested charge. Not without something really weird happening. Me: With reversals fabrials, if one fell and sat on the ground will the other one continue to rise due to the gravity affecting the one on the ground? Brandon: No, good question. Me: What would Rock's name mean translated directly to English? Brandon: You want the poem? I've got the poem somewhere, I can't quote the poem at you, I'm sorry. Maybe I'll release it someday. I do have the poem, it's not that long. Me: Can forgery change eye or hair color? Brandon: It could theoretically. Me: How well would Jasnah and Khriss get along? Brandon: Uhhhm, I would say that they would get along well, like scholars from different disciplines, meaning with respect for the other's discipline. Me: Would a savant look different in the spiritual realm than a regular human? Brandon: Yes, yes. Me: Would Hoid's spirit web seem more similar to that of a savant or a regular human? Brandon: Oh, neither one, but it would be weirder than a savant. Brandon: Are you just getting these question's of the 17th Shard? Me: No, these are mine, I write questions in my notes when I read through books. Brandon: These are actually yours? Ok, I'll keep going then. If these are actually yours you can have as many as you want. Some people just go to the list of all the questions to ask Brandon and they come and just "Oh I'm just gonna ask Brandon all of these", and I'm like "no you can have three or four". But, if they're your questions you can have as many as you want. Is Aon Omi a kind of God Aon? Brandon: It's what they use it for, so, it would be kind of, equivalent to the god symbols, but it's also partially adopted if that makes sense. Me: Is anything magical going on with the screams Szeth hears? Brandon: Uhhh, Szeth's screams. Uhhm, I'm trying to decide how to answer this. It is not, see here's the thing. What we would call magical may not be considered magical in the Cosmere, but it depends on your definition of magic. Would Szeth if he were on our planet and have done those things would he hear those screams, probably not, but would someone else in the Cosmere who had gone through what he had gone through hear those screams, yes. Me: So it has to do with the spiritual realm? Brandon: Yea, mhmm, yea. Me: Does Baon's name sound Selish for a reason? Brandon: No, that just a coincidence. That was before I had written Elantria, so. Me: Is it possible for a Knight Radiant to become a kind of Drab if they use too much investiture? Brandon: No, you can't really burn yourself out that way, no. I mean, it's possible for drabbery to be mimicked on other planets, but not through that method. Me: Were the oaths of the Knights radiant consciously chosen, or did they happen naturally. Brandon: *apprehension*. This is one of those vague ones in that yes and no. They are a natural outgrowth of the spren, but the spren are a natural outgrowth of human's perception of natural forces, but the spren are sentient, so I would say it's a little more by instinct than not. For example to Knights Radiant in the same order might speak the words differently, but the concept is the same. You will see this happen in a future book, where a Windrunner will speak the oaths. It's a slightly different take on the same concept. Some are moreso, like Shallan's oaths are very individualized truths, so. Me: Would it be harder to soulcast a Knight Radiant? Brandon: Yes Other guy: Would it be harder for her to soulcast a mistborn? Brandon: Yes, investiture disrupts investiture. It's harder for her to even soulcast a regular person than, say, a rock. Other guy: Is a Mistborn invested? Brandon: The Mistborn, how their burning the metal, you're right. They are not specifically invested when they are not burning. When the investiture becomes active, the yes. Before, no, you're right on that. SPOILERS FOR SH OR BOM Me: So Kelsier, he stayed around longer, not because he was invested, but because he had the ability to become invested? END OF SPOILERS Brandon: Over time using the magic will invest you, on Scadrial. Most of the power is not coming from, on Roshar the power isn't coming from the person either (He cut himself off, so I assume this is how it works on Scadrial even though he didn't finish his thought) so I'm going to have to back up on that one and say, yes, the mistborn are as invested as a Knight Radiant, because in both cases the majority of the power is coming from somewhere else, but there is the spirit web. Investing the wrong term, but you have all these connections in the spiritual realm, so yanking you away from them, or rewriting them (like soulcasting or forgery) is harder. Guy: Would they be harder (kek) with more Stormlight or Metals burning. Brandon: Yes, yes. That would increase the difficulty ratio. For instance, wearing shard plate is gonna be a great barrier, right, and things like that so yea. The problem is like, invested is the wrong term for that, their spirit web is connected in different ways. (I deem this "Spirit Web Magical Connectivity Diversity, or SWMCD". Me: How much did Super Mind Taravangian know about the Cosmere as a whole, roughly, rough estimate. Brandon: He had a little bit of knowledge. Not as much as... not as much conscious knowledge. Me: Did he guess about the three realms? Brandon: Yes, he knew about the three realms. He didn't have to guess on that, he had read philosophy and things, that knowledge is there on Roshar Me: Does magic happen on Sel because areas have a stronger cognitive prescence, like, more sentient life in that area. Brandon: Uhhh, no, good question, good question. That is not the answer. I am going to give it in the Cosmere collection (Arcanum Unbound?) if people don't guess it by then. So I'm going to leave off, I could tell you right now but, I can't remeber if anyone has guessed it or not. Guy: Is it related to tectonics? Brandon: No, it's all kinda going in the wrong direction. I haven't really given you the clues to figure it out, I don't think. Once I say it, it will make a lot of sense. SPOILERS FOR SH OR BOM Me: Was Hoid trying to become an Elantrian kind of in a way how Kelsier was able to connect to preservation to take up the shard? Brandon: Yes, the thing about it is your getting Hoid before he knew as much as he did in Scadrial era, so what he was trying to do was completely ineffective and it couldn't have worked. END OF SPOILERS Guy: Doesn't it get weaker the farther away you are, so it wouldn't help at all. Brandon: mhmm. Guy 2: Well we have an example of an Elantrian on Roshar, so. Brandon: Yes we have an Elantrian on Roshar, but we don't see him use any powers, and his skin is dark on Roshar rather than glowing. That is something to be aware of. While I keep doing this, who is here for the magic draft? *Talks about the magic draft and his writing process for a bit*. Me: Can Honor spren, or any other type of Knight Radiant spren, be evil? Brandon: Yes, because I don't call the shards good and evil. There are no good and evil shards in my opinion, like and so, what evil and what's not evil can totally have spren of honor that you would consider evil. They have free will, but they are much more limited. It is very hard, or impossible, for them to lie but they can be cruel. SPOILERS FOR SH OR BOM \Me: Can you shed some light on why ruin's last words were "Vax". Brandon: No, I can't, I mean I can but I'm not going to. END OF SPOILERS Me: How does corrupted investiture work, like Nightblood. Brandon: Oh, Nightblood. Again, this is a definition of what somebody feels is a corruption. For instance, there are spren people would feel are corrupted. But that is corruption where the mixing of different shards has changed things, and I think a lot of times when people say corruption, people are meaning the mixing of shards powers. Me: So is there a mixing of shards power with Nightblood? Brandon: *smirks* RAFO. That's the natural question, I'm glad you asked it. Me: Ok, uhhh, so something similar is happening with Gavilar's sphere, right? Brandon: *contemplative silence*, RAFO. Me: Uhhh, if anyone else has questions, speak up (I started running out of questions at this point). Brandon: Question over here! Mistborn cosplay girl: I was wondering if we were very going to see Dragons in the Cosmere? Brandon: Yes, Dragonsteel. One of the first books I ever wrote in the Cosmere has dragons. It's also just one of the weaker books, so I can't publish it as is, but yea. Being a big fan of dragons, I did write them into the Cosmere. They are the one standard fantasy race in there. Girl: Are they ever going to infiltrate the other worlds kind of? Brandon: *Talks about the letter and Frost, Flashback order, and the girls costume* New guy: Are we ever going to learn what threat Taravangian is referring to? Brandon: Uhhh, yes (So is there a different threat than Odium?) Guy: It will be big, I assume so Me: Have larger land going greatshells existed above a chasm fiend? Brandon: Larger than a chasmfiend, the ones out near Reshi can go on land. So yea, it is possible that there are larger ones. They do better in the water, because of how big they are, the high oxygen, low gravity, and symbiotic relationship with the spren allow for mega fauna that is just unrealy large and just could exist on earth, so yea. Kurk: Do Surgebinders have Gemhearts? Me: *laughs* I was about to ask that. Brandon: No, good question. Guy: What is the purpose of the gigantic four armed spren that looks at the origin of the Surgestorms (Highstorms?). Brandon: Good question, haha, RAFO. New guy: So we know how people can enter Shadesmar, or the cognitive realm, how do other places, like, we haven't seen anything for the Mistborn series. Do we know how they can enter. Brandon: Read Secret History. Guy: I did read that, but it didn't really say anything besides that one special case. Brandon: Right, Hoid talks about Perpendicularities on Scadrial, if you go look at that there are certain places he talks about that. ,eyes just say that large concentrations of investiture can cause a puncture through the spiritual realm straight to the physical realm. If you know how to use it, you may transition. That's not the only way but is the primary way. Guy: And of of Course you can soulcast (Elsecall?) to get there. Brandon: Yes. Guy who asked about the four armed spren: Now that's a very interesting analogy you just made, you said "punctured" almost as if it were a spike. Brandon: Yes, yes, that was intentional. Anyone who wants to ask questions after the Magic draft, you guys can come back in maybe 45 minutes. I'll just be hanging out and playing magic. If you’re just here to hang out and ask question, I'll be free to do that in about 45 minutes to an hour. (After about an hour and a half he started answering more questions, so I sat nearby and wrote the gist of the questions and answers he was getting. Thsi next part is going to be paraphrased, but fairly accurate. It wasn't as rapid fire as it had been, as I and other people didn't want to keep interruption him while he was playing magic.) Me: Is it normal for people to become connected to an area after being there for a bit, like with Kel and wherever he was when he found the Ire, or is something special going on. Brandon: It is normal for a cognitive shadow to get stuck to places, because they exist through investiture it is normal for them to get tied to an area. Kelsier was still in Scadrial when he found the Ire. This happened with Odium and the two shards on Roshar, Preservation to Ruin, and the Heralds (To Roshar? Braize?). (I think this is basically what happens with shards when they invest on a planet, so this same thing happens at smaller levels than shards.) Me: Can a Parshendi with the right mind set transform with an Unmade? Brandon: RAFO Random lady: In Elantris it talks about how to wood and stone in the city is rotten and crumbling. Why does this happen? Brandon: This is because when objects become Invested for long periods of time their spirit web changes to accomodate the investiture. When the investiture was pulled up of the stuff in Elantris it's spirit web was severely damaged so it showed that in the physical realm. This happened with the Lord Ruler when the Bands of Mourning were ripped out of him. Mistborn Lady: Do Rhyshadium exist because of a spren bond, like greatshells? Brandon: Yea, they evolved symbiotically with spren, unlike other horses. They can still mate will other horses, but the are genetically distinct. Me: Why is going into the Spiritual realm like Kelsier did damaging, as Leras seemed to suggest. Brandon: The thing is, Leras didn't know that Kelsier had a broken brain, that is how Kelsier wasn't damaged by doing what he did. You can break your brain by doing that though, worse than how broken Kelsier is. Me: Is Adolin's inability to form meaningful relationships important to his overall character arch? (Shoutouts to Maxal) Brandon: Yes, it is. Random Lady: My friend wants to know how fast steel compounders could possibly go, can they run up walls or over water like the Flash? Me: *jokingly* Can they run through time? Brandon: Steelrunners and resist a lot things due to the power, like they can withstand the Gs they are out through, but they can't ignore wind resistance and friction. They will burn up if they start running too quickly.

First off, I asked Brandon about this, and it seems to be because light eyes are descended from shardbearers or radiants. I still find dark purple and other odd colored eyes, but I guess is just flavor and world building. As for this, I have some new WoB on corrupted investiture, I'll post the transcription from my conversation with him probably tonight, maybe tomorrow evening, but it sheds some light on this. Check it out on the events forum in the Oddesey Con thread.

For anyone here right now, Brandon is hanging out answering questions in the complimentary concessions room.

Khriss is not even close to preshattering, not by thousands of years. The Nightwatcher, who is the only source of the old magic, is related to cultivation which is the result of the shattering, so it wasn't around when hoid was born.

It's definitly Cultivation. She is the only pre shattering entity entity on Roshar besides Tanavast, presumably?.

I think I would like Nalthesean better that Nalthian.

I think that these are the most legitimate arguements against my theory, but I think there is definately something involved with corrupted investiture and the eyes ie. Gavilar's sphere, and Nightblood. I'm pretty sure I'll have a chance to ask Brandon about all this over the weekend so I'll get back to everyone then.

I knew that this was a thing on earth, bit on Roshar its a LOT (at least that is how is implied when we learn that that one Ghostblood dude's kid is dark and light eyed) more common and seems only to happen when dark and light eyes have kids. There isn't a large amount of light eyes with two light eyes that are different color, or dark eyes with one really dark purple eye and one really dark green eye. There is obviously some interesting interaction taking place, if it pertains to my theory we won't know until someone asks Brandon (which I might have a chance to do this weekend). As for light eyes being natural genetics, and shard blades just affecting the spirit web, I would like to point out that the spirit web is someone's spiritual DNA, athe least some of which is inheritable. Brandon had said multiple times that eye and hair color is heavily linked to the spirit web, so I'm positive that light eyes do, at least partially, come from recreance era shard bearers.

The one problem I have with the dark eyes' namesake being genetics is that the examples we see of light eyes and dark eyes having children don't really match up with genetics. Normal people with normal eyes don't get one dark eye and one light one from just genetics. There is obviously something at least semi-magical happening there. It's not to hard to imagine humans siding with Odium, and then being subjugated once the final desolation ended. As for the heralds, keep in mind that some (if not all) arent neccesarily native to Roshar. I think there is a distinction between having brown eyes, and being a dark eyes. I think that some heralds just have brown eyes.

So today I was thinking of eye color in the Cosmere and how light eyes probably originate from people tied to Honor and/or Cultivation and how this ties in with connection to a shard when I realized something. Why have we never guessed that dark eyes come from people tired with Odium? If they were made by Honor and Cultivation there is no reason for their eyes to be dark, and if they came from Yolen then they would have normal eyes. But Odium? I think this has to do with the black sphere that Gavilar had, and he was trying to return the Voidbringers, so I think that this theory holds some validaty, as Odium us probably somewhat related to the color black like ruin, as well as red. Tell me what you guys think.

Seconded, I think I'm going to be roadtripping out to this and would be interested in a schedule.

If we are talking book recommendation, I would have to suggest The Lightbringer series. Some of the best fantasy withing thta past decade and one of the only non Brandon books I consistantly reread.

Aslydin isn't a Terris name . She seems to be originally from Roshar, Brandon has hinted at this.

I've had this same problem, just answer their questions. People appreciate it in my experiance.

Eh, I guess your right. I think he did make a good point when it come to death and how shardpools work, however. The whole theory wasn't about how investiture works in relation to magic. Thanks for your thoughts Moogle, if you have any ideas on how to change the theory to make more sense realmatically (especially in the area you thought was weak) feel free to do so.

I agree, metals are not invested. I think the original author later cleared up that that was a typo. Color is a physical property. In chemistry color is used to determine chemical changes and whatnot so I assume a color change would count as a physical property in the Cosmere. I think that color is just also a way that spiritual traits are represented, or maybe translated, in the physical realm. I agree that AonDor was a bad example but his point is still there. While the brain consumes about 300 calories a day, it is estimated that only 20-50 calories actually goes towards active thinking. I think that only tapping for a LOT of thinking speed for a long time would actually cause someone to get hungrier. I don't think connection has much to do with this, but in the theory investiture weakens the barriers between the realms. If one holds a lot of investiture than their Prescence in those realms would not unravel as quickly, or maybe not at all. The physical change in all of Allomancy is the disappearance of the metal.

I would like to preface this post by saying that this theory is not original to me, but was first thought up by u/Kabsal on Reddit. I thought it was very interesting and deserved to be shared here. Ive cut out some spoilers from the recent Mistborn books, you can check out the unedited version here ( https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/44kfg3/spoilers_all_cosmere_a_unifying_theory_of/) but beware, major spoilers for SH and BoM are included there. Here is the post: With the recent Mistborn releases, Sanderson has pulled back the curtain a good amount and given us a plethora of new tantalizing hints about the underlying rules of all magic systems in the Cosmere. Armed with this new information, my friend and I have put together a grand theory that explains the mechanisms of all Cosmere magic in a way that ends up being simple and elegant. This theory consists of one part information given straight-up in the novels, one part Word of Brandon, one part reading between the lines, and one part pure speculation. We make no attempt to distinguish which is which, which means is nothing in this post can be considered canon unless sourced elsewhere, but it does hold together rather well. Obviously, from this point on, the explanation will have major spoilers for all published work, and expect you to be solidly familiar with much of it. TL;DR: Investiture works simply by allowing you to propagate the rules of one realm to another, allowing magic to occur. The first piece of necessary background is a basic understanding of Realmatics. All things in the Cosmere exist in three realms. The first is the Physical Realm, which consists the bodies of all things. Most of what we see in the books takes place in the Physical Realm; it is analogous to the real world, and the same laws of physics apply. The second realm is the Cognitive Realm, which consists of the minds of all things. This realm deals with how objects and people are perceived, and even how they perceive themselves. In the Stormlight Archive, the Cognitive Realm is called Shadesmar, and Shallan and Jasnah see into it on a few occasions in the two books. Spren are native inhabitants of the Cognitive Realm. Finally, we have the Spiritual Realm, which consists of the souls of all things. We've seen the least of this realm so far, but the hints that have started to come through suggest that this realm shows Connection and Identity (more on these later) in their truest form, while also allowing limited vision into the future. Distance and time have no meaning in this realm - only the essences of things matter. In addition to the three realms, there is also the concept of Investiture, which serves as the magical analogue of energy in our physics. Investiture is never created nor destroyed, but it can be changed in form to something unusable. Investiture manifests itself differently on each Shardworld based on the Shard that Invested said world. Stormlight, Breath, the Dor, and Allomantic metals are examples of Investiture. In each case, these sources represent a Shard's power bleeding into the realms in a manipulable form. Stormlight and metals have been seen to glow in the Cognitive Realm, demonstrating them as conduits for the raw powers of creation coming from the Shards. Next, we look to the known magic systems of the Cosmere. We note that performing most all magic requires a component from each realm - a physical reagent, a cognitive intent, and a spiritual connection, plus a source of Investiture. The importance of each to the magic varies by system, but they're usually each present in some form. First is the reagent. This is usually (though not always) consumed as part of performing the magic. For Allomancers, the reagent is metal. For Awakeners, it's color. For Sand Masters, it's the body's water. It is less clear for Surgebinding; two possibilities are either the intake of breath to draw in Stormlight, or the fact that Spren pull their consciousness into the Physical Realm as part of forming the Nahel bond. The next component is the intent. Magic in the Cosmere does not occur by accident. A conscious mind needs to direct the power in some form. Even when characters like Vin or Kaladin draw upon their power without fully understanding what they are doing, they still channel their will or defiance as a catalyst. Intent is particularly important for Selish magic; you need to know exactly what you are doing and draw the symbols incredibly precisely to get any effect. The necessity of intent also explains why characters in Bands of Mourning are unable to sense the power contained in their unkeyed metalminds until they consider the possibility that the objects are metalminds (this happens on no less than four occasions in the book). Lastly, there is the spiritual connection. This is the one we're least sure about; the spiritual component could very well be something different. However, we do see that the soul needs to be somewhat broken for power to seep in, whether Snapping for Allomancers, the utterly crushing backstory needed for Surgebinders, or the Shaod for Elantrians. Once the soul is cracked, a connection can be formed to the source of power, which is usually a Shard (albeit often indirectly). In some cases, this connection is referred to as a bond, especially when it is formed to a tangible being such as a Spren, Aviar, or even Nightblood. We finally reach the crux of the theory. Once you've assembled components from the three realms, all magic works by using Investiture to break down the barriers between the realms, effecting changes in one by modifying another in accordance with its rules. This can be most directly seen in Soulcasting or Forgery; in these systems, power is used to manipulate the non-physical selves of things. For Soulcasting, the cognitive self is persuaded to change, while in Forgery, the object's history (an aspect of its spiritual self) is rewritten. Both cause the object's physical form to change in reaction. Another clear example is Atium Feruchemy; an aspect of one's spiritual Identity (age) is partially modified, causing the body to adjust. Hemalurgy works in the reverse; by making physical changes with spikes, one alters the soul and its Connections, which is how it can be used to grant powers to recipients. If you squint hard enough, all magic that we have seen can be interpreted to fit this framework. Key to the breaking of realm boundaries is the use of Investiture. Much like energy in chemical reactions, Investiture powers the melding of realms and in so doing is consumed into a higher-entropy, unusable form. This theory has the elegance of simplicity, while simultaneously having tremendous explanatory power for some of the unanswered questions of the Cosmere. For example, the reason tapping Zinc for mental speed makes you hungry (mentioned in BoM) is the necessity of a physical cost to a cognitive power. It also explains how Perpendicularities work - in places where a Shard's Investiture is pooled, the boundary between realms is particularly weak, allowing one to move their physical self entirely into or out of the Cognitive Realm. Another major free corollary is the reason why different sources of magic tend to resist one another. Magic is already stretching the realms away from their normal state, and much like a spring or rubber band, the force needed to pull it further increases with distance. There are two additional categories that are worth discussing, however. We must look at death and Investiture as well as Invested technology. Death in the Cosmere is not so much an ending as a point of transition. When one dies, they are not immediately gone, but rather split apart across the realms and linger for a short time as they unravel. Preservation lets slip that Allomancers and Feruchemists last longer. This makes sense under our theory; they are more tightly tied to the realms so it takes more time for them to unwind and let go. From here, most do take the Next Step. As Harmony puts it, their bodies return to the earth, their minds to the Cosmere, and their souls go... Beyond. However, for a special few, there are other options. If the body is healed in time, it is possible for the recently deceased to pull themselves back together and resume living. This is what happened for Szeth. There exists one more possibility than that. If a Shard intervenes, they can pour enough Connection into the recently deceased to keep them held to the realms. The Returned do this, and it is our guess that Elantrians and Heralds do so as well. Beings who exist in this state are granted tremendous power, but require a steady stream of Investiture to remain tethered. This is why Returned consume Breath weekly. Finally, Invested technology. We've seen a few cases (and we're starting to see more and more) of people figuring out how to build devices based off Realmatic Theory. Examples include Fabrials, , Nightblood. We freely admit that the above theory doesn't cover these as perfectly as the direct uses of magic. Some details remain the same, such as the powering by Investiture. However, the need for Realmatic components seems to be diminished in some cases. We're not yet sure how this works, but still firmly believe that there exist explanations consistent with our theory. For example, we posit Nightblood to be an artificially created soul, pumped full of enough Investiture to develop a spiritweb and Identity, but of course more information is still needed to support this. In short, we believe this theory at least is consistent with everything we've seen so far. It serves as a good framework going forward, both to direct what questions to ask Brandon and to form new predictions about how future systems might work. We had to glaze over some details in the above post, so feel free to ask for clarifications or additional examples, or point out all the different places we're so obviously wrong.

I don't think this era really got in the way of other mistborn. If he wasn't working on WaW then he would be working on a similar sized series, and since he has said that he wants the first half of stormlight to be done before modern age Mistborn than its probable that the exact same time will have passed with or without WaW. We are decades off of space age era either way, that's the last Cosmere series he's doing.

She was actually stabbed in the heart, but she was healed with stormlight.

When I said that Nalthis was the last invested major Shardworld I meant that it has the least amount of sharticles power that had been invested into it.

Two people disliking eachother doesn't make either a villain. Two of the nicest people I know hate eachother.

I would like to preface this by saying they most of this theory is based off of educated guesses and other unconfirmed theories. I do think I am on to something however. My theories' thesis is this: Kelsier is the founder and possibly leader of the Ghostbloods. After regaining a physical form he traveled to the Southern Scadrians and saved them using his new Mistfabrials. Afterwards he continued to explore the Cosmere, eventually founding a group to hurl him push forward his as of yet unkmown agenda. He named them after what he had become and had since been trying to new, probably intricate Cosmere wide plan. This is why him in Sazed have been out of contact despite Kelsier being spiked as we learned in SoS. This is why a (probable) SoScadrian is in charge of finding out Roshar's interesting secrets. Please feel free to add to my musings and tell me whet you think.

We have absolutely no idea, and it changes from planet to planet. On Roshar it has to do with the surges in some way, but we don't know in what way. Hopefully we will find out soon.

Nalthis is the least invested shardworld we've seen. Besides that, I don't think that a shardworld' predisposed magic system isn't geared towards raw killing power. I also think that you may think that Scadrial's Magic is more powerful than it is because we have seen only the begining of what other shardworld' Magic can do, and most of what the other shardworld's Magic can do is just as powerful even without mixing of powers. I think if we saw more mixing of other shardworld's Magic we would have a better understanding of how balanced the Metallic Arts are.