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?

I read something that Brandon said about why Sazed couldn't bring them back. It seems as though their souls went to a place that he couldn't touch yet. Maybe Endowment has been a Shard long enough to know how, which leads me to believe that the other Shards could as well, if they chose to. It makes me wonder why it is that Endowment saw it as important to put it's hand into the affairs of the people of Nalthis in such an extreme way. Also, if Vasher can find investiture on Roshar that can help him in Awakening, then it's safe to assume that Breath and Stormlight are similar in their function, especially considering that Nightblood is said to drain investiture in the same way, no matter what type. I suppose it's possible that other shards could grant people with Splinters like Divine Breaths, if in fact they have the same access to souls that have passed on like Endowment does (assuming it requires the being to die before they can be invested with Splinters) I agree that it's safe to assume there aren't Returned on Roshar, simply because there isn't any direct evidence to support it. This was just an idea that popped into my head when I first read about the Ryshadium; ("They look like what I would imagine a Returned horse would look like") Which lead to my questions about whether or not all Shards could potentially influence other worlds the way Odium does., and also if Shards can grant Splinters to their worlds' inhabitants. Are there any other known Splinters besides Divine Breath?

Hello there! I'm ShyGuy and I just signed up here last night. I've been lurking for a while after learning about the overarching story of the cosmere and trying to research it further, and finally decided to sign up and post. I just want to say how awesome it is to be a part of such a devoted and passionate fandom, and how impressive it is to see the kind of dedication to bringing life to this universe by the fans. I've never found myself as part of a fandom and I'm proud to say that this is my first real experience with such things. The information here is amazing and has really opened up new levels of excitement to Brandon's stories for me, so for that I thank not only Mr. Sanderson, but all of the people that put in so much time and effort into this site. Cosmere novels I've read: Warbreaker The Mistborn Trilogy and Alloy of Law Stormlight Archives 1 and 2 I'm picking up Elantris tonight and will continue to immerse myself into these awesome stories as they are published. These are the first real fantasy novels I've read and I'm glad I finally got myself into the genre. So with all that said, I'm gonna go read some more

This seems like a solid theory. Remember with Mistborn the three different methods all have different end percentages of power relative to starting percentages. Maybe there is a similar scheme like with Allomancy having a net gain of power, Feruchemy being net neutral, and Hemalurgy having a net loss.

I'm trying to figure out what investiture would give them the enhanced intelligence and size/strength. (not sure if that's a true spoiler, but I'm new here so i wanted to tag it just in case) I'm far more interested in their origin than what they are capable of. It's been shown that they are highly intelligent and strong, now I want to know where they came from. The only thing that keeps me thinking on my theory of Returned horses is that if there were selective breeding programs to make such incredible horses, wouldn't we see something similar in chull/other pack animals? Or possibly food animals bred to produce more?

Hello there, I am a new poster but a long time lurker. I have recently completed WoR and have been looking a lot more into magic crossing worlds. So far it seems only that for one type of magic to cross Shards it must be formed and then transported (Hoid being the prime example, taking his Allomancy to Roshar, or his Lightweaving to a different Shard, etc.) That being said, my question is about the nature of Endowment and more specifically, the Returned. In Warbreaker, Endowment sends people back to fulfill some purpose, investing in them the Divine Breath. Is this something that is specific to Endowment, or would it be possible, in theory, for any of the Shards to send people back, investing them with the power of the particular Shard. Another question is; could Endowment send a person back, but through Shadesmar into another Shardworld? Could a person die but be invested with Divine Breath and then sent to Roshar through the Cognitive Realm? I'm not sure if I fully understand the nature of dying and how it plays into Realmatic Theory enough to be asking these questions. They may be answered simply with a bit more research, but I can't seem to find anything solid to prove or disprove this either way. I understand that the magic of each Shard is unique, and by taking it to a different world it might work differently, but the way Shadesmar connects the worlds it seems likely that the Shards could interact through the lifeforms carrying their particular investitures. Odium can move around and meddle in different Shardworlds, so are the Shards aware of what goes on in worlds other than the ones over which they preside? Edit: I just recalled a Q&A that I read where Brandon mentioned that there may be some relation to the Royal Locks and the way hair color manifests in the inhabitants of Roshar. He also said outright that Vasher comes to Roshar because there is something he can find there much easier than on Nalthis. Stormlight is taken in by breathing, and Shallan discovers that she can invest power into gems by breathing. There is also mention of Nightblood draining investiture from the user, whether it be Breath or Stormlight. Maybe there is some connection between these two particular Shards that I'm missing. This question arose from a strange idea I had that Ryshadium are Returned horses.... which might be completely nutty, but don't they look like what you would imagine a Returned horse would look like? I will keep searching but if anyone out there with more understanding of this stuff could drop some knowledge on me I would appreciate it greatly.

For some reason I want to think that they are Returned. Is that completely ridiculous? Is Endowment the only Shard capable of sending something back to the physical plane to fulfill a purpose. Also, I believe that a horse would be intelligent enough to have a general idea of what is expected of it, so if it were capable don't you think it would see itself as being huge and strong and beautiful, to look like what it thinks it's riders would want it to look like? I can't help but feel like this is impossible, but it's been on my mind since I first started to look into cosmere magic crossing into other worlds.