Blightsong

Intro The topic of discussion I have been ok’ed to present for you all has long been a crackpot theory within the community. Within the pre-Oathbringer buzz I wish to compile some new evidence in favor of this long-held idea that the forum hasn't seen much discussion on. Share your guy’s opinions below and enjoy! Part One: Knights Radiant Become Cognitive Shadows After Death At the recent GenCon event, a fellow Sharder managed to get this piece of interesting information out of Brandon: This assumes that this is true for other Shards, which I see as a likely scenario. The hypothetical Shard is Tenacity, but I don't see why that Shard being Splintered would cause magic users any more advantage than was already present, unless this is a rule that is generally true for Shards. A possible example of this rule in effect is Threnody, a Shardworld affected by Ambition’s partial Splintering in that region. As detailed above, a Radiant's souls are infused with Investiture, particularly full-blown Radiants. In the Arcanum Unbounded quote below, we learn that this is a prerequisite to becoming a Cognitive Shadow. It makes Realmatic sense that when power is Splintered from its Shard it becomes easier to take up and control without the Will of a Vessel. Brandon has said to a Shard’s Splintering often creates, well, Splinters of power. One specific case he mentions, the Stormfather, is kind of an example of exactly what I propose, just on a bit higher of a power-level. I theorize that the allusion he makes in that FAQ Friday to sapient beings being involved is a nod to the hypothetical phenomenon I propose. I believe that Nalan's reasoning for what he does, as presented in Edgedancer, relates to this idea. Considering that Nalan highlights that this is something that Honor was able to regulate in the past, his explanation seems connected to the WoB from Gen Con. If this is the case, it seems as if this idea is heavily represented by the Story of Fleet. The whole theme of rising up after death seems more than just metaphor with this in mind. It has been pointed out to me that Brandon has said that the Recreance took place before Honor was Shattered, but I would like to point out that Brandon has said that Splinterings are a slow burn. If this is the case, this matches up with my thoughts on what is happening on Threnody, as we know that Ambition was not fully Splintered until he was out of the Threnodite system. Part Two: These Radiant Are Forced Into Braize I theorize that, like the Heralds, these Radiants are possibly forced to go to Braize. As it is an old Vorin philosophy that strong warriors aid the Heralds in their fights, it makes sense that this is a romanticised version of the theoretical truth that developed in the Era of Solitude. Khriss notes in the Roshar Essay that she believes there are a population of Cognitive Shadows on Braize, and I think that these are the Radiants I theorize to have become Cognitive Shadows. In this context, it makes sense to me that this may be why the Recreance came to be. Ishar (see the quote from Nalan above, as Ishar seems to be the propagator of this idea) must have told them that this would happen now that Honor isn't around to control these pieces of Investiture, and that it may somehow affect the Desolation cycle. The biggest argument against this theory in the past has been that people don't believe that the Radiants would abandon their oaths, but it would make sense for them to do so to prevent affecting the desolation cycle in some way. Extra Tidbits/Connections With this in mind, I believe that a few obscure passages from the books make quite a bit more sense. For example, the Deathrattle quoted below makes a lot of sense if viewed from the perspective of a Voidbringer who is involved in an assault on Uritheru. Taln may have also seen the results of these Radiants theoretically being trapped on Braize, if my theory is to be believed: This idea also gives interesting hypothetical context to the below deathrattle: As has been revealed by Brandon, Vasher decided to take the name ‘Zahel’ while on Roshar. I tentatively propose that this may relate to his being a Cognitive Shadow, knowing that Brandon has confirmed that the above name and the word ‘Nahel’ share the same suffix. Just read the below epigraph with this idea in mind. I could go on, but I’m interested with what all of you have to say. Let me know what you guys think

Get hyped guys! The new system is awesome. I also second Argent there. The babies always screech when you least expect them.

Maybe the drawings are things that are tied to the murders that are being copied. Adolin had just had his horse killed before he went over the edge and killed Sadeas, and that the only connection to the horse drawing that I can see. The death of his horse may have pushed Adolin's mental state towards murder, and Shallan describes the Void as a long corridor, like the ones in Sebarials camp where the woman was killed.

Intro A new WoB was just recenly posted on the forums and I wanted to write up my thoughts on it, including a theory that has been in my head for a while. Let me know what you guys think! New WoB A sharder ( @Bugsy6912) recently posted on the 17th Shard Discord a WoB that he had gotten. Read it below: Analysis+Theory This is a super interesting Realmatics question. We dont really have much information on how time works in the Spiritual Realm or the Cognitive realm, so this answer was unexpected. One magic system that I believe does touch on how time works in other Realms is Allomancy. Obviously metals like Electrum and Atium interact with time on different realms, but so does Gold and Malatium. The passages we've seen with allomancers burning gold have been very interesting. I've started seeing interesting patterns between these scenes with some characters in Stormlight. Read the below Miles quote: Now compare that to the below Shallan and Kaladin passages: In the first two you can notice a distinct similarity in the prose and syntax used in both quotes. There is a kind of "self labeling" going on between both people, but one is burning gold and the other isnt. I think that this is because the fundamentals of gold may function based on the fundamentals that the above WoB hints at, time interacting with investiture, and that this is why we see Kaladin, an invested being, having his Cognitive filter possibly being distorted by investiture. Gold also definitely seems to work this way. My theoy is that the Connections that are snapped into one's Spiritual aspect allow for a kind of meshing, caused by the extra investiture, between one's Spiritual aspect, Cogntive aspect, and how the two are affected by this dilation from the investiture. End This is super heavy crackpot, and not very edited as this WoB was posted just ealier today, but I think it Connects some of my ideas on how the Cosmere works. Let me know what holes you guy see in it and what your opinions are!

Friend tried to kill himself an hour ago. He's on vacation and alone and I dont know where he is or if he is safe, just that he's not dead right now as he has just stopped responding to me. Honestly, my life has been really stormed up these past few months between this, another friend going missing a couple months ago, and an atrocious work load.

The Discord memes are spreading here

Quick observation: Allusion to spicy food may be a hint that the author of OB is male?

I've been seeing a lot of new posters around here and thought I'd bump this thread. It's been buried but I think it's still relevant to a lot of you folks who aren't regulars here until release seasons. P. S. Double post and a Necro? Don't take after my example, new Sharders

I'm talking about the one massive gem located in the middle, I could've made that a lot clearer. I'm not making any conjecture about how it ties into Voidbinding specifically because we really don't have enough puzzle pieces to fit that together yet, I'm just pointing out possible foreshadowing.

https://brandonsanderson.com/annotation-the-way-of-kings-prologue/

As per WoB we haven't seen Voidbinding yet, meaning that what the Parshendi were doing is Voidbinding as you imply. Also, 'Gavilar's sphere' is colloquial. Szeth described it as a crystal. We also know that the charts are in world drawing, and I don't think that the Parshendi have knowledge of Voidbinding, but Gavilar and his crew might have.

Today's Way of Kings annotation dropped a pretty big hint about Gavilar's sphere. In it he says that he believes that it is obvious, in his mind, what it is but that he also understands it might be confusing right before blatantly trolling us. This tells us that as of when Brandon wrote this, before WoR was dropped, we had ample hints to make a good guess at what it is. This brings me to the conclusion that the below image is one of Gavilar's spheres or something similar. A gem surrounded by dark violet with obvious ties to Odium? Its so blatantly obvious to me that I had to share it here.

From the WoR back cover:

She definitely may be Vivenna, though

M A Y A L A D A R. 9 letters. May is 9 days away from June 9th, the publishing date of Warbreaker. May Aladar is Vivenna confirmed.

I spent a lot of time squinting at the Voidbinding chart and finally made a connection. Take a look at the below images. One is the Voidbinding symbol for Truthwatchers and the other is the Double Eye. There is the same four prongs in each direction. The same side-ways hourglass shape that is often used in the books to describe the double eye. I find that very suspicious, seeing as how there is so much stigma against seeing the future on Roshar (a power that Truthwatchers seem to have).

On that topic, my crackpot theory is that the Herald's souls/cognitive aspects aren't tied to their bodies but are waiting out somewhere. Lift seems to have a knack for seeing thing's cognitive aspects and she describes Nalan as lifeless and dead.

At the end of TWoK we see Dalinar view the first vision he ever received from the Stormfather. At the very beginning he sees a strange place described thusly: It struck me recently where this place is. Look at the below image with that description in mind. White jagged rock? A place that really doesn't sound like it exists on the Physical Realm. I'm pretty sure this area is what Dalinar is seeing. It's interesting that this place is called "The Nexus of Transition" seeing as how it seems to be pictured as the chapter heading art for Taln's interlude in WoR. Also take note that there seems to be nine star/sword looking things above those hills. I'm pretty sure that this is where the Heralds move from Roshar to Braize. I always found it very suspicious that Braize does not seem to share a Cognitive Realm border with Roshar like it does with the planets associated with the "Expanses" labeled on the Shadesmar map. Also take note that those white mountains share a color scheme with where Shadesmar trails off into other Shardworlds. Let me know what you guys think!

Yup, just make sure to get the ok from him before hand. He allows it, but the venue may not (unlikely, but possible). There seems to already be people willing to record, so dont worry about this too too much (althought back up recordings are nice just in case). And yes, our community is quite eager for questions; like Pagerunner said, we're a bunch of nerd. Dont feel like you've got to answer every question we posted . Thanks for letting us slip some in, though!

Question: Shallan seems to have a unique ability to transform those around her into better people, such as Bluth. Is this effect natural or is it a function of her being a Lightweaver? (If yes) Was her drawing of Bluth relevant to this power? Don't forget to try to record the signing line you attend, and have fun! A smartphone does the job well.

While I agree with you, there is a chance that they could study the cities from the CR.

Doesn't the magic here, where you obtain sicknesses and gain magic from them, kind of sound like the Old Magic from Roshar? The sickness acts as a curse and the magic as the boon. We know that it is likely that people came in to Roshar from Ashyn after whatever cataclysm happened there, so them calling it the 'old magic' makes sense. There are obvious differences between the two, but (theoretically) any difference could be explained as a function of the magic manifesting slightly differently, like the Dor. I feel like that underlying mechanic isnt a coincidence. We know that the Nightwatcher is is connected (Connected?) to Cultivation somehow. Maybe Cultivation Invested in Ashyn before Odium presumably came and messed things up. Those pockets of survivability in the form of those very unnatural floating cities feels like it has Cultivation written all over it imo.

Ruin says that Kelsier doesnt have the full capabilities of a non-Cognitive Shadow Vessel, not that that is why he needed the Orb. Kelsier was not Connected enough to preservation to take it up (same with the living Ire, that's why they made it).

Some people in here are mistaken. It is Cognitive Entities that have trouble getting stuck the physical places. Im the one who got that WoB, the Heralds are Cognitive Shadows and that is why they would get stuck. In the Shadesmar map we know that the ways to different Shardworlds are titles, so some Worldhoppers have definitely have come from Roshar, it is likely that Elsecallers were among them.