ShyGuy

Welcome to the 17th Shard. Take some time to read up on WoB and all the awesome theories posted here. If you've read all of the Cosmere novels you won't have to worry about spoilers (There's a ton around these parts) and you stand to be opened up to the overarching epic story made of awesome that is the Cosmere. Make sure you bookmark the Coppermind Wiki also, it will help a ton if you run into stuff that doesn't make sense right away. You could spend hours there if you're not careful. I know I have gone on some crazy fun Coppermind runs There is a ton of great material out there if you really want to delve into the background story and play connect the dots. Be sure to post any of your own thoughts or theories here as well. Everyone here is really nice and you are sure to find people that will have some great conversations about The Sanderson. Again, welcome, and have fun getting your mind blown over and over again.

This would make a lot of sense considering how similar the shards function. Vasher is subsisting on Stormlight, afterall, so it's quite possible that they are more closely connected Cognitively than Physically.

What about the Riverspren? Isn't there a big spren in the lake? Maybe all of the fish are bonded to it in some way.

I've been thinking that same thing. Vasher and the other 4 Scholars were Returned with a purpose, and since Nightblood's appearance in WoR there isn't much else that makes sense other than Endowment knowing full well that there had to be some interference in Odium's plans in Roshar.

Ah lovely. Thank you for that. I'm relatively new here and had not seen that.

I would say that if the Purelake is a partially charged shardpool then the fish are merely carriers, They are living in it so they can carry investiture from the lake itself and it is transferred to the people that eat them. I would venture a guess that plants grown in the lake also have magical properties. That is to say that the same fish in different water wouldn't be magical. It is more than viable for a Shard to split it's power. Although Preservation's power loss came from the pact with Ruin. It took both of them to create the humans on Scadrial, and that was where the power loss occurred initially. Preservation becoming mist happened after.

"...and so it was, that the Ryshadium became Shard-fueled beasts of pure, unadulterated awesome" -ShyGuy, King of the Ozone There's a quote for ya Straight from the Returned Horses theorist himself.

Horseshoe nails... could totally be Hemalurgic spikes. O.O

I could see that as being a very similar thing. Although I think the Stormfather and spren have a lot more influence over the Physical Realm because of how commonplace the things are that they represent (storms, fire, wind, etc.) Also, not only did the people of Roshar give those things presence, but the plants and animals did as well. Maybe if more life forms believed in The Survivor he could have had more of a physical impact on the world.

So in that case the Returned aren't Cognitive Shadows. They are very much physically present. Also, in theory it would be possible for any of the Shards to return sentient beings to their respective worlds if they saw fit. I assume that since the souls pass through the Cognitive Realm before moving into 'the afterlife', and since all of the Shardworlds are connected via Shadesmar, then it is certainly not out of the question to assume one Shard could return a being to a Shardworld other than the one over which they preside. eg; Endowment sends horses to Roshar to be mounts for Radiants Not giving up on this

Yes he was originally Vasher in the 2002 draft of WoK, and he wrote Warbreaker after. Then he changed the name so as not to be so blatant. It seems like Breath and Stormlight are very similar, enough so that Zahel feels that he can better obtain investiture on Roshar than on Nalthis. My thought is that Stormlight is actually the equivalent of the Biochromatic Breaths of the Stormfather. The investitures are both used nearly identically (breathing), but as you said one is retained completely while one has a net loss over time. I feel like there won't be as much crossing of Shards as what that theory implies, although it does seem like a solid train of thought to better understand how the Shards invest themselves into the worlds, and how they may be influencing each other to retain balance in the grander scheme despite Odium's meddling.

Awesome information, thank you. Sorry it took a while to respond, I've been out of town with no internet. I would still like to pursue the idea of the Stormfather investing gems with Breath of some sort. I think I may start a new topic discussing some other ideas that have occurred to me over the week of reading my notes. I'm not giving up on Returned horses though Geezus that would just be killer... unlikely, but killer.

Just got back from vacation and saw all the replies here. Thanks for the welcome I'm enjoying Elantris so far but it's true, it isn't as exciting as the others I've completed. I have a rough time getting through heavy political stuff so this one is slow going, but entertaining nonetheless. See you guys on the boards!

So how does that apply to the spren? Would Syl be the Splinter or the bond she can form/power she can grant a Radiant? Maybe I'm not fully understanding the nature of spren and how they relate to the Shard's power. If spren exist in the Cognitive Realm then wouldn't they have the chance to manifest in other worlds? This leads me to assume that Stormlight is the equivalent version of the Breath of the Stormfather.

I would be interested to read what you have to say about Cognitive Shadows. Does that mean they are projections from the Cognitive Realm based on what the perception of them is by observers, themselves, or even Shards? I am trying to better understand Realmatic Theory to get an idea of Shadesmar and whether or not the Shards are connected strongly enough to influence one another at a distance. If Nightblood is a Splinter that can utilize different investitures to achieve the same end result, would it be possible for other Splinters to do the same? Could a Returned consume Stormlight to stay alive? Or is the Divine Breath the actual Splinter and not the Returned themselves?