Shardcellist

I like this. We know that the Radiants are part of the Oathpact, so it makes sense. Will add more when I have time...

Adolin Cauthon gets fed up with all of those storming Radiants, seeks out the Nightwatcher, and somehow becomes a Chromium Compounder. Artur Paendrag Tanreall (probably messed up spelling) was the founder of the Knights Radiant, in the Round Table of Urithiru. The Dark Lord's prison would have been made from Leras's mind. IDK, do Scadrial references count?,

Too sharp a wit, unfortunately; I zinc I am storing too much mental speed to understand this thread.

Good point. I was thinking of Koloss spikes only in their oversize-the-Human function, which doesn't fit well with a shapeshifter used mainly for imitating others. "Ummmmm. It's really me, guys, I've just, ah, been working out recently..." Also, the Lord Ruler probably avoided overpowered, unbeatable Porcupines of Death mainly because he was anticipating Ruin's return. Spoilsport. However, (Shadows of Self Reading Spoilers)

Perhaps. I can always stand at the entryway and ply beguiling - not dark - music to draw customers in to our - bakery - for cookies that are - most definitely - not spiked. *Ahem.* Why, sure; I've always wanted to be a street musician.

Any movie is a horror movie with a Rioter in the house.

Not serious. This isn't meant to be an actual theory (contrary to popular belief, I haven't been to Shadesmar recently.) I just thought it interesting that his intelligence fluctuations seemed to fit one of the Feruchemical metals, and that the one Allomantic metal that would let him Compound on Diagram Day happened to be one of the two Emotional metals. Perhaps a few more Realmatic jokes are needed to lighten the mood here... So, a Koloss walked into a bar. The bar said, "Ouch." (It had been Awakened with the Command, "Feel Pain.")

So, I was Lost in Thought, and I made a few discoveries. Upon my return from the Cognitive Realm, I feel an urgency to tell you what really happened to Taravangian, King of Kharbranth. First, a little review. After hearing about Gavilar Kholin's visions, and following his assassination by our friend Szeth, Taravangian sought out the Old Magic. His request from the Nightwatcher was for "Capacity. The capacity to save mankind." As we all know, the Nightwatcher hears your requests, then gives you what she feels you deserve, along with an accompanying curse. In Taravangian's case, he has his intelligence (mental capacity) vary day by day, and his compassion vary according to his mental capacity. So on one day he can be brilliant and coldhearted, and the next day is slow of thought but empathetic. Now we get into controversy. Which is his blessing, and which is his curse? One is the ability to be both dumb and smart, and the other is the ability to be both empathetic and indifferent. Neither sounds entirely like a blessing or a curse to me. My discovery, therefore, is this: He was indeed given two abilities, a blessing and a curse, but they are different from what we've previously assumed. One is zinc Allomancy, and the other is zinc Feruchemy. (We leave it to His Majesty's mind, on a strong day, to deduce which is which.) However, he was unaware of these powers. Thus, some days he stores mental speed while Rioting compassion, while other days he taps the "mental capacity" stored previously. And one day, by accident, he began Compounding. Countering objections concerning the Nightwatcher. Now all Taravangian needs to do is recruit a Scadrian worldhopper to work on the Diagram.

Dual Definitions of Investiture, and Investiture and Relativity (In case anyone wonders about the two titles, this is sort of two theories. It started out as the first, and the second one grew and developed on its own.) Well, friends, I’ve been thinking (always a dangerous pastime), and it strikes me that we’ve been seeing a delightfully ambiguous usage of the term Investiture. Or, rather, that we’ve seen it being used in two separate ways. As an example (to show what I mean), I will use the word promenade. This word can mean: A form of walking [1] Or a street; a place one would walk: [2] Perhaps the best way to explain myself is to jump right in and give the definitions of Investiture(as I see them). Definition 1: Magical Chemical Reactions of Creation Investiture n. (v. Invest, adj. Invested): This is what Brandon Sanderson has termed so often “The Power of Creation[3];” what we are usually thinking of when we hear the word. This is the energy that came from Adonalsium, now primarily held in the Shards. However, it is also used elsewhere and is what powers the magic systems of the Cosmere. Investiture of this sort can be had in a solid, liquid, or gaseous form (i.e. Preservation: Lerasium, the Well of Ascension, and the Mists)[4]. Every person (possibly every thing) in the Cosmere has innate Investiture to a certain degree – On Nalthis, it is their Breath, and on Scadrial, it is a piece of Ruin and a piece of Preservation. One can Invest an object (endow it with Investiture), which is then considered Invested. Side Speculation: After rereading the Ars Arcanum to the Alloy of Law, I consider this type of Investiture to be a … reaction, of sorts. The terminology used seems to imply this (at least to my mind)[5]. It has long been theorized that magic requires three parts: Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual. With these (or possibly other) components, along with the power of Adonalsium (usually directed through a Shard), the magical effects would be the result of something akin to a chemical reaction (again, the similarities mainly hark back to the terms used). Definition 2: Holy Lego Blocks on a Galactic Scale Investiture n. This is where I believe the ambiguity kicks in. You see, Investiture is described another way (only by Brandon, mind you), that doesn’t quite fit with the previous definition: “The building blocks of the Cosmere.”[6] While, as noted above, it is quite plausible that everything has a component of Investiture (As defined in #1), I feel that this is more absolute than that, more all-encompassing. It doesn’t seem to refer to a slight addition of Investiture to everything; I feel it seems to refer to something grander: something like matter itself. And this is where I sort of negate my entire premise of Investiture really being two things, while at the same time presenting the main point of my theory: In our world, as was discovered as part of Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity, matter and energy are essentially the same thing[7]; so much so, in fact, that they can be converted back and forth. The only differences are in its temporary state. I propose that Investiture is the same: Investiture is the Cosmere equivalent of matter and energy. As “the building blocks of the Cosmere,” it takes the shape of the atoms and particles that make up the worlds. Everything is literally Investiture, of a sort; hence why all of the major worlds were created by Shards of Adonalsium. Adonalsium itself is called “the power of Creation.” This implies that everything not formed by Shards post-Shattering was made by the same power pre-Shattering. A Power, in fact, that the recipient of The Letter calls God[8]. This is why Investiture is “beyond” all three realms: The three realms are how different parts of the Cosmere experience everything. As Investiture composes everything, it would literally be “beyond” the Realms. (As an aside, Investiture also demonstrates properties of quanta. For example, Investiture resists itself [Hence why it is harder to Push on an Invested object, or why an Invested object stops a Shardblade.] Similarly, two electrons with the same spin and energy level cannot occupy the same space.) The other side of the coin, then, is energy. This is easy enough to identify: power is manifested by Shards. This power can be used for creation, as seen with Ruin and Preservation. This Shardic energy is also used to power the magic systems and in the other manifestations of Investiture (Definition 1). It is also interesting to denote that this energy can be “condensed” into matter, of all three states. This, in fact, seems to be how most, if not all, of the energy is contained. The “reaction” of Investiture thus converts the substance back into its energy form, making it usable. Speculation: In fact, I just had a thought that explains some of this (though it is not the main point). You see, we have a WOB that any of the Shards can power any of the magic systems, but it requires expending energy in a way they were hesitant to do. We also have one that any Investiture can power any magic system, but it requires some jury-rigging. This could be because each magic is attuned to the Shard that inadvertently created it – for instance, Preservation is able to fuel Allomancy directly, Ruin can fuel Investitures through Hemalurgic spikes, etc. because these magics utilize the same type of Investiture as the Shard. (Allomancy doesn’t use Preservation’s power directly, but the power accessed is the same. Thus, it is no different for Elend when Vin fuels his Allomancy; the power is the same, but from a different source.) Using Ruin to fuel Preservation’s magic, however, would be like trying to fit a steel cube into a spherical hole; to do so, it would have to be forged into the same “shape,” or “type” of Investiture as Preservation’s. This might change the Intent of that Investiture, and it would be irretrievable until the steel –Investiture- was changed back to what it was before. (Back to main theory) In conclusion, I split how Investiture has been used as a term into two definitions I feel are best considered separately. These definitions fit the famous equation of the Theory of Relativity that states that matter and energy are convertible to each other; that matter and energy are intrinsically the same thing. The two uses of Investiture correlate strongly to each of these, suggesting that the same connection applies: that Investiture is the Cosmere equivalent of both matter and energy. Postscript: This all reminded me of the theorized Dark Matter and Dark Energy. According to NASA, 68% of our universe is Dark Energy, and 24% is Dark Matter[9]. Since so much of the Investiture has always been held by Adonalsium and the Shards, this could have been the origin of the concept. This, of course, is completely baseless; it’s more a random guess than anything else. (By the way, physics for me is a hobby; unfortunately, I have as of yet had little time for studying it on a large scale. If those with more complete knowledge than mine can correct me on wording or usage, please do so; I will try and fix any problems or inaccuracies as quickly as possible.) SOURCES:

I'm flattered, in an evil warlord friendly bakery sort of way. Ironically, I read this while eating a cookie. On a side note, you could try mixing koloss and kandra, but it sort of defeats the purpose when your overpowered giant discards his body to become an average person.

But, but ... Compounding Bendalloy gives unlimited food (well, for all practical purposes). Lift with double bendalloy would just be so awesome! Ah, well. Dreams crushed by reality. Sigh.

Sorry for the misunderstanding here. I know that Shards are made up of Investiture (Hid insane ramblings in spoiler tag - PLEEZE don't look!!! ) Anyway, my point wasn't asking how much Investiture Shards are made of, but rather how much an ordinary human would need to combat one. (After all, Vin and Co. had to try and outwit/beat Ruin before her Ascension.) Could someone with all ten Honorblades do it? What about the Lord Ruler? Could a Lerasium Mistborn burn brass and duralumin to Soothe Rayse of anger? Could Lift do it if she started Compounding Bendalloy? And... I'm rambling again.

This. I am reminded of Waxillium. Miles comments on how he was "naturally gifted," which he probably was, but he had also just spend twenty years or so in the Roughs. Shooting for a living, you might say. On the same note, Adolin probably is inherently talented, able to reach levels the average Shardbearer could only dream of. However, as Dalinar mentions, dueling is his life. He probably is in the practice arena every day. Natural talent is nothing without practice. (Like Shallan and her pictures, or Kaladin and the spear, also almost inhumanely skilled in their areas. Hmmmm...) This is a very interesting point, and could make a fantastic plot line. As of now (end of WOR), I feel Kaladin is like Ham as far as leadership goes; fantastic with a small group that he gets to know really well, but terrible at a higher level. Ouch! You, my friend, would make an excellent Skybreaker (in an Incompetence-Is-Illegal, Nalan sort of way), or a Dustbringer (some think they are the ones that do the... less-tasteful...things that others can't/won't. Nalan stepped up towards Elhokar, Honorblade gleaming in his hand. "So, what about that Roshone incident now?" I think Elhokar may have once been able to be a Surgebinder (he seemed to see Cryptics, which could fit in a hiding-truth-from-myself-and-others complex I can definitely see him having. I mean, in the beginning of TWOK, Shallan's goal was literally to steal the most powerful artifact she knew of from the most powerful woman she knew of, all while pretending to be her ward. Not exactly Radiant quality, but by the end of that book she gave up her family in order to save the world. (sort of.)

Koloss Inquisitors I think the name says it all, don't you? So, for Scadrian domination on a planetary level, why didn't the Lord Ruler, or Ruin, or somebody else combine the Hemalurgic constructs? Clearly, the ideal Koloss-Quisitor should have 16 spikes: The first four are obvious. It takes four spikes to make one a Koloss. The next two are also clearly needed. The creation of a Koloss gives it brutish intelligence, not an aspect commonly preferred in maniacal, overpowered giant Inquisitors. Therefore, I propose giving each a Kandra Blessing of Presence. This should, in theory, allow the Koloss to retain human-level sentience. The other ten are a matter of preference. Here are mine (going with only abilities used in the Mistborn trilogy): Allomantic Pewter Feruchemical Pewter (I mean, really, if your Inquisitor is Koloss-level, it might as well Compound strength.) Feruchemical Gold Allomantic Gold (Again, for the highly overpowered Compounding.) Allomantic Steel Feruchemical Steel (Both of these are good on their own, though Compounding is another benefit.) Allomantic Iron Allomantic Duralumin Alloy of Law: Cosmere Koloss-Quisitors: So, what do you think? What abilities would your pet Koloss-Inquisitor have? Enjoy!

And, as everyone knows, spikes bring one closer to Harmony... And, if you haven't realized, your Dark Alley acronym is directly from Harry Potter. If we're going to do Hogwarts clubs, we don't need Dumbledore's Army, we need a CHESS CLUB!!! With Awakened chessmen, of course.

Non-Cosmere is the Rithmatist. It has my personal favorite magic system (maybe that's just my math/science passion coming out), and I liked how it was more of a mystery plot. (Not liking this one would be a tragedy!) My ultimate favorite, by far, is the Stormlight Archive. I go back and forth between The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. It's just too amazing for words. Only eight books to go, folks! Thanks! I will do that now!

Dirty conners. (no offense intended... ) My first was Mistborn, a recommendation from an uncle. From there I found Alloy of Law, Elantris, the Rithmatist, and the Way of Kings. The rest, well, is history.

Nice try, but I think a Shard trumps just about everything. Now, if someone gave Rayse some Hemalurgic spikes... Edit: Sorry, I don't know if the exclusive clause in the title was added after this post or if I just missed it. I realize that this wasn't the point of the thread. My mistake. It does bring up an interesting question, though. How much Investiture does it take to beat a Shard of Adonalsium? I've been planning on asking this in a new thread, but here is a good place to ask it again.

Greetings, everyone! I've been reading here for a little while (about since Words of Radiance came out, actually), and I finally managed to sign up! Basic 17th Shard Guidelines: 1. Yodel while signing up (with a shoe on your head). 2. DO NOT EAT THE COOKIES! 3.Baseless speculation and semiapplicable randomness are appreciated. Did I miss anything? If you were really hoping this meeting might allow you to learn more about me, (The Alloy of Law, TOR paperback p. 52) P.S. If anyone knows how one can get the copy of White Sands and Aether of Night, it would be greatly appreciated. I read in another thread that you just have to email Brandon Sanderson, but I am unsure of how one would go about that (I assume it involves an email address...) Thank you!