IAmTheBeard

Just to throw in an idea... The biggest problem with making it a free drawing based game is chalkling strength. I like the idea of difficulty levels which translate to the game "fixing" your circles/bind points. Basically, instead of creating a circle exactly like what you drew, the lower difficulties would recognize your circle and replace it with a good circle. The bind points would be marked and if it recognizes you drawing something that doesn't line up on a bind point, it just moves it. Something totally similar could work with chalklings. There could be a host of different ones: knights, unicorns, blobs, dragons, etc. Each one is broken up into a set of lines. The more powerful ones obviously would have more lines. Then a recognition system would be used to identify which chalkling you had drawn and your line would be replaced with that chalkling. This way there would be a clear gradient in difficulty and the drawing recognition system could be more lax with lower difficulty settings. Also, the developers could constantly add new chalkling patterns (or bonus ones that are hidden/randomly generated in each new game) for people to learn.

Clearly written by whoever is "archiving" the Stormlight Archives. I feel like there's a very good chance these people haven't been introduced yet.

If I remember correctly, the fruit is mentioned as being from the isles, so far away and from a slightly different ecosystem. It's probable that there are plants that produce more traditional fruit there, and that they get imported at great expense to Luthadel. After all, TLR did try to keep control copies of humanity, so he may well have done so with plants, too. Also, yes, a plant is going to need to have flowers, fruit, and seeds in order to function. But as LabRat pointed out, those things don't have to look (or taste) anything like what we would associate with flowers or fruit. Many flowers are barely distinguishable from leaves, so if they weren't a different color, people wouldn't notice them and assume the plant had no flowers. This is actually true for most plants that people don't think of as flowering plants. In the case of the Final Empire, the use of the word fruit is probably meant to imply the exotic ones that are (more) similar to our fruit. They recognize fruit exists; they just don't think of it as a normal thing. They've probably never seen it on a plant. Note that they know the words for fruit and flower. It's not like the moon, which they never mention.

So you're saying that the four Expanses we know break down as follows: Vapors = Scadrial Vibrance = Nalthis Densities = Ashyn Broken Sky = Braize Is that right? It does make sense for both Ashyn and Braize to be connected to Roshar since they're quite close. However, don't we know that Ashyn isn't a full shardworld? It's a minor shardworld, right? That could mean it has less of a presence in the Cognitive Realm, or at least that its equivalent of Shadesmar isn't inhabited by intelligent beings. Though, given what we know about Threnody, that isn't necessarily a foregone conclusion. I'm just saying that we don't really know how minor shardworlds fit into things. I do like this theory in general. I have long been wondering whether the eventual map of the Cosmere will be a cluster graph of the Cognitive Realm, which this idea would support.

We're not really sure at all how feruchemical aluminum works because it literally hasn't been in the books at all. We do know from a hint from Brandon in the MAG that one could access someone else's metalminds. The current conjecture is that you could store identity until you have virtually no identity, then store an attribute in a "generic" metalmind. Then, depending on what you believe, either anyone could tap from that metalmind or another feruchemist who had stored all their identity could tap from it. The next question, at least to me, is whether the metalmind that you filled up with your identity is, itself, "generic." If it is, couldn't someone else, at least another feruchemist, tap it? That would be downloading the identity of another. This is, obviously, wholly unconfirmed and it could be that Brandon has something else in mind entirely. But it might fit. I did immediately think of Feruchemical aluminum tricks when I heard about TLR's metalminds potentiallly showing up. I see two interesting possibilities. First, maybe he intentionally left a "generic" coppermind full of information. That fits with his actions in making the storehouses, that he did want to communicate whatever he knew about Ruin, etc., to whoever followed him. Second, what if he intentionally left a "generic" aluminummind full of his identity. Then, a Trueself (aluminum ferring) can take on enough of the identity of TLR to... potentially do some amazing things. Honestly, if there is any truth to the rumors of how much power the Bands of Mourning have, this possibility seems really likely to me. If the rumors are false, then this doesn't really make much sense, of course. But, then, the story would be going in a whole different direction and I'm fine with that. Think about what having TLR's identity would mean! We don't really know what relates to your identity that can be stored in an aluminummind. However, we do know that a lot relates to your identity in the Cosmere. Kaladin's brands and the appearance of a Returned come to mind. However, perhaps more importantly, it is hinted by this whole theory that the part of your sDNA that determines what kind of magic user you are can be stored. If you'd need to store connection in duralumin to use Selish systems, then maybe you'd have to store identity to use Scadrian systems, since they're genetic. So imagine tapping TLR's allomancy, feruchemy, and possibly hemalurgy... It also seems in line with TLR's character to have stored a great deal of his original identity after stepping out of the well, before he spiked himself. That way, if he ever felt that he was too corrupted by Ruin, he could "reboot" himself and start over. Maybe he even left the identity in a "generic" metalmind so that if he fell to Ruin, someone else would have the power to keep Ruin in check until the next Ascension. Personally, I am looking forward to BoM mostly because I love the character of TLR and would love to hear more about him, even if it's just myth. He really was a fascinating villain, and one whose story arc we really only got to see after he died. But I could totally see something like this happening in the next-to-last book of a sub-series. Brandon has been known to give his characters incredible power, at least for a short time. Maybe the Trueself that pops up could become a Mistborn Keeper for the third book ala Elend the Lerasium Mistborn. It's not out of the question. I'm not saying this is going to happen, but I see some tantalizing possibilities. Oh, and I wonder if Steris is an aluminum ferring by any chance...

Well, they describe all the bridgemen as being muscular several times. The point about a Makabaki with no accent is too unusual to overlook. I'm not saying that this is pre-Taln-"Taln" but there could be something to this.

So has anyone mapped out the paths that Kaladin takes when he rides the storm? I searched around a bit and couldn't find it. If this has already been worked out, just let me know. I was listening to tWoK today and jotted down the places he visits: The Way of Kings, Chapter 46 Ocean of Origins Eastern coast of Roshar ("Dark Continent") -- goes upward here Shattered Plains -- turns NW here Sea of Spears (an inland sea, broken fingers of rock jutting out of the water) Alethkar, Kholinar (fin formations) -- turns southward here Horneater Peaks (majestic mountains with villages at the tops near vents of steam and lava) -- goes down here Jah Keved (Cities, open plains, villages, twisting waterways, Evidence of war with lighteyes around) _ (City of long troughs in the ground, like giant clawmarks) _ (Hinterland with stone like frozen ways of water, darkskinned people) "on and on, hundreds of cities" Babatharnam (people with visible blue veins) _ (place where the highstorm causes spouts of water to shoot from cracks in the ground) _ (stalactite city under giant sheltered ridge) -- says he goes westward here, but that could refer to the general highstorm direction "so vast, so many different people; less war in the 'east'" Somewhere in Iri (strange triangular city, tall peaks at the corners and center, where he sees Szeth; many golden-haired people) -- "more cities, mountains, and forests passed" Endless Ocean Bolded names are places that were directly recognized by Kaladin. I will include the later stormrides later, unless someone else does it first. This one, if memory serves me correctly, is the most geographically descriptive, so I think it's the most interest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The first several places Kaladin visits paint a very interesting picture of the highstorm's path. At one point, he goes from the Shattered Plains to the Sea of Spears to Kholinar. Well, Kholinar is actually a bit east of the Sea of Spears. It's possible that he didn't go directly over Kholinar, but just saw it in the distance, but that's still an almost directly northern route. Also, since he doesn't see the Purelake on this trip (he does on a later ride), we can assume he went through the Makabaki region. (He actually says specifically that he thinks that's where he is.) That means he takes another very steep, though not as steep, northern path to go through Iri at the end. Now it's possible that the motions Kaladin describes are him moving about within the highstorm, moving north or south along its line, but I'm not convinced of that. He refers to east/west direction as well, indicating that he isn't just moving left to right, so to speak, along the stormwall. So if we can identify the path he follows in these scenes, it might tell us a bit more about the motion of highstorms. I'm particularly interested in identifying the locales he describes, 8-9, 11-13, and 15 above. Trough City, Hinterland of Stone Waves, the Crackspouts, the Hanging City, and the Iri capitol (I actually don't remember who Szeth was told to kill in Iri, so I'm not sure where this is. Eila, Kasitor, and Rall Elolorim are the named Iriali cities on the map.) Any ideas for where these places are? I think that, particularly, the Trough City and the city in Iri have been described elsewhere, so we can identify them?

Remember, too, that Mraize is not the expert. He's a student. He refers to his babsk. And Iyatil admits that she is Mraize's teacher. Hoid's teacher is dead (see the first paragraphs of LoP). While it could be that Iyatil is the woman around his own age, that really has to refer to Shardholders, who are the ones we know are Hoid's age. Edit: I accidentally said "shardbearers." Thanks to Argent for correcting me.

If he specifically wants to distance himself from the idea that we've seen their planet, could it be because they don't have a planet? Could "The Ones Above," with their non-interference policy, be the Seventeenth Shard?

It's been asked before whether Shardplate material is made of crem. Brandon answered "no," but said that it was a good question. Could someone ask if the material Shardplate is made of is important? If the answer is "yes", then ask if it is the solid form of Investiture, like Atium/Lerasium, since it does one specific thing. Other questions I have (related to Shards): Are Shardblades and Shardplate made from the same material? Can you Soulcast something into Shardplate material, even if it wouldn't continually reform? Is the stuff they put on Shardblades to make them safe for sparring the same material as Shardplate? (Can you tell I have some theories about Shardblade/plate/stuff/etc. material?) Have we seen Shardblades form solid objects other than swords in the series before Kaladin/Syl did it when fighting against Szeth? (If "yes," maybe," etc., ask whether it was something akin to "shardrope.") Did people have half shards in the past? Like before the Recreance. (Or are the half shards we hear about truly a new invention?) If there are half shard fabrials that can block Shardblades, are there potentially half shard fabrials that cut like Shardblades? Do Shardblades use the Surge of Division? The Glyph for Division looks a lot like a Shardblade... Can Shardblades cut through fabrials? Does it matter how "powerful" or infused the fabrial is? Obviously feel free to use whatever questions you'd like.

Okay, I see where your comment makes sense with the other kind of compounding. Isn't that just tapping, though? I was under the impression that term was just something that Brandon used in a couple of interviews before AoL came out and the "rules" for Compounding were clearly defined. Before that, Compounding was specifically used by Sazed to describe the Twinborn kind of Compounding, though only with regards to how TLR used Atium. As for the existence of Feruchemists, I'm pretty sure that TLR didn't want to entirely exterminate the ability. It's just too useful. He was more concerned with making sure that the Feruchemical genes and the Allomantic genes never mixed. I personally think that the Keepers were way too optimistic about how secret they were. After all, the Kandra clearly knew of the existence of Keepers... I can't imagine that TLR didn't. He might not have been able to reliably find one, but I'm pretty sure he knew they were still around. While it isn't obvious that Marsh had a gold spike from the beginning, it seems likely that he did. Also, I'm not entirely sure where this thread is going. Is it a discussion of the powers of Full Feruchemist/Mistborn individuals ("another Lord Ruler," as Vin would say)? Is it a discussion of hemalurgy and/or the composition of Inquisitors?

Almost all of them store something with mass. ATP is a molecule so Bendalloyminds store mass no matter how they do it. Oxygen has mass. Pewter stores muscle mass. Iron does actually alter mass and density even though the way it does it isn't quite how we'd imagine it in our world. Even with Copper, memories take up space in our brain. So almost everything that Feruchemy stores involves mass in some way.

Aren't we actually pretty sure that Inquisitors can't compound? If they were made from Mistborn, and they received a gold spike, then they could, but do they know how, at least during the Final Empire? I think we have WoB saying that some of them may have figured it out. I doubt it's something TLR would have intentionally given them. I'd imagine that he wouldn't have given them Allomantic gold hemalurgically. It's pretty useless without compounding. Since they weren't compounding, it seems pretty obvious that in order to heal as instantaneously as they do, they must be spending incredible amounts of time storing health.

It seems that the metal acts more as a conduit than as either an interpreter, per se, or a bit of code, or whatever. They essentially allow access to Investiture without direct contact (being in the mists, or whatever) but they "attune" the Investiture that they let through to one specific thing. In a way, they are a limiting factor, determining what you can do with the Investiture. And in another way, they are an empowering factor, as they give freer access to Investiture. Also, metals compare to Commands, not directly to Breath. Breath is Investiture, while metal is not. And, similarly, the Command is a required element of the process, and it allows access to Investiture (because you can't transfer Breath without the Command, but even a bad Command will allow the transfer) but the Command itself isn't what does the interpreting. In that case, it appears to be something in the Cognitive Realm that does the translating, since it requires visualization. One could say that the bonds (or whatever that "missing element" of Rosharan Investiture is) also function this way. They allow access to Investiture and "attune" the Investiture received so that it is used for a specific pair of surges.

I think that hemalurgic spikes may actually have some usefulness, especially against bloodmakers. Do we know for sure that they instantly kill when they pierce? Because stabbing a bloodmaker in the heart won't necessarily kill them, but if we do it to charge a hemalurgic spike, then at the very least it should steal their feruchemy. Right? I don't know... It seems like a bit of a speculation, not to mention the fact that hemalurgy would be beyond the knowledge of hazekillers, for the most part. If we did have that knowledge, though, and weren't bothered by using it, then I think it's definitely something our hazekiller guild would at least attempt. The inquisitors did combat spiking with just a regular spike, though they had Allomantic pewter and Feruchemical steel, so maybe it wouldn't work for us. If all we have to do is hit the heart, I'd suggest a spear. Most bloodmakers would hardly pay attention to someone coming at them with a spear. Another thing I'd like to add is weaponized oil. Glass capsules of something very slippery would be extremely effective against pewter users, bloodmakers, and steelrunners. Allomantic pewter might be able to keep their balance, though it would still help. And you could also set it on fire. Few people, metalborn or otherwise, can maintain their focus when they're on fire.

Obviously we can't be sure that all the physical objects we've seen "block" the effects of investiture are all aluminum. However, I think a good case can be made the Threnody silver, ralkalest, and Nightblood's sheath all are, indeed, aluminum. At the very least, however, they probably fit a similar pattern. Silver acting against shades, especially, acts a lot like Investiture vs. Investiture interference. Sirce Dawnwielder, you're not doing yourself any favors by using the terms Invested and Investiture incorrectly. These are terms that appear in the books and therefore have canonical meaning. An Invested object is one actually currently imbued with power. For instance, an Awakened object, or Shardplate/blade/Nightblood. Objects with Innate Investiture aren't usually referred to as Invested, though they could be, in a way. That's what we're suggesting aluminum is, an innately Invested object. The term never refers to a person capable of accessing shardic power. That would be an Allomancer, Awakener, Surgebinder, etc. Is there a word for a general Cosmere magic user? I can't think of one right now...

Hello, just popping in! I think this discussion is missing a very important point. Brandon has frequently talked about the fact that Investiture interferes with other Investitures, whether of the same system or not. The reason Allomancers can't pull or push on metal in someone's body (easily) is because their innate Investiture interferes. The reason that Shardblades are blocked by everything from other Shardblades to Shardplate to Nightblood (and probably Half-Shards) is because they are both Invested objects, and thus can't just use their powers directly against one another. It is more difficult to Lash someone in Shardplate, again because its Investiture interferes. Allomantic copper is a form of Investiture that specifically interferes with specific other forms of Investiture Allomantic aluminum and Allomantic chromium fit that mold, as well. As do Allomantic duralumin and Allomantic nicrosil, when you think about it. There's nothing special about the burning of aluminum. It's just an effect of Investiture. The Dahkor actively messing with Aons fits as well. They could know a specific form of Investiture that counters a specific other form (like Allomantic copper), or something that just breaks all Investiture of a specific system (like Allomantic chromium). There are other examples, especially Brandon's discussion about how he had to make sure the limitations of the Metallic Arts were enough to make it play nice with the other systems. It's pretty clear that if something interferes with the normal use of Investiture, it's because it is Invested as well. So the conclusion that seems obvious to me is that aluminum must have some innate Investiture. Notice that we've never seen a duralumin fueled push or pull against aluminum, or a duralumin fueled soothing or rioting against someone wearing aluminum. It's totally possible that these might work. Even likely, I'd say, given Brandon's on-the-record concern with making sure the most spectacular effects of allomancy incorporated duralumin, hemalurgy, or the mists. That keeps the baseline of the Metallic Arts from being too overpowered. Also, isn't there a distinct possibility that ralkalest and Threnody silver actually are aluminum? We do know that "silver isn't always silver", don't we? Anyway, my own take on the term "anti-Investiture" would be that when Investiture is specifically used to counter other Investiture, you could call it "anti-Investiture". In that case, the best options we've seen are Allomantic copper and whatever the Dahkor did. But there's not some system of specific counters or anything like that. Allomancy, for instance, has several, not one. And objects that interfere naturally, like Shardplate, do so just because they are Invested.

From the Warbreaker Annotations: Since Vivenna is his favorite character in the book, I'd say the chances of him grounding her story arc are about zero. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if she dies in Nightblood, (Mistborn spoilers): And in talking about whether she'll rub off on Vasher or vise versa, don't get Vivenna confused with Siri. Vivenna is not talkative or "peppy". She's a realist and she's very hard on herself and those around her...just like Vasher. Where they're different is that Vivenna knows how to be diplomatic. I think they'll make a great team. While I can't begin to guess what will happen in Nightblood, I'm sure that Vivenna will continue to have an amazing story arc. We know that whatever caused Vasher to loose Nightblood isn't shown completely in the eponymous book, I do hope we at least get to see what direction Vivenna is headed. I, for one, would be surprised if she doesn't wind up a Worldhopper.

Slight spoilers, I guess, for various Cosmere works. Remember that metal doesn't actually fuel allomancy on Scadrial. It acts more like a catalyst (English definition, not scientific). In fact, it's more of a focus. However, it does get consumed in the process. Similarly, the Aon acts as a focus for the Dor. The motion of drawing does not fuel the resulting effect. Yet the Aon still gets consumed. Surgebinding (or Stormlight itself; it's somewhat unclear) consumes heat, thus producing frost, though the heat clearly isn't powering the reaction. On Nalthis, color is consumed even though it definitely doesn't fuel the Awakening. Investiture is what fuels all the systems. However, each one does include a cost, which is consumed in the act. The only one which doesn't is Feruchemy, because what is powering the effect is actually what is consumed (or diminished). So, from this perspective, we shouldn't be looking for how color can power Awakening. Also, it's pretty clear that Cosmere systems don't add something to the environment. They universally drain something when used. This is intricately connected to Brandon's cost and weakness philosophy of power. Also, from a physics teacher's point of view, talking about black being the absence of color is silly. Light by itself, even white light, isn't indicative of a color. The phenomenon of color is caused by light interacting with objects. Black objects interact with light by absorbing color. If you're looking for something mystical to be happening, think of Awakening as absorbing an object's spiritual connection to light, or its capacity to absorb color. As some others have pointed out, it's about additive versus subtractive color. Light's color (as perceived by our eyes) is additive. But the color of objects, which is what are drained by Awakening, is determined subtractively. So a black object has more color than a white one. From a thermodynamics point of view, a black object is a much better source of energy than a white one. It more readily gives up its energy. The same is true for any colored object versus a less colored object. White objects are the hardest to draw energy from. Where I live, people use silver cups for hot and cold drinks. It's obvious to a lot of people that the shiny surface keeps heat in, but it's less obvious that it also keeps heat out, preventing their cold drink from warming up. Put another way, black is more willing to give up energy than colored objects, which are in turn more willing to give up energy than white or reflective objects. That at least makes some sense in terms of Brandon's systems usually consuming something as a cost. But I don't think that is as pertinent as the spiritual connection thing. Oh, and if the Tears of Edgli are as Cosmere connected as we think they are, then that could point to another significant thing that is being drawn out. But, without a doubt, color is not being created.

I think that electricity has a fantastically interesting set of uses as a hazekiller weapon, especially in traps. Electricity can do almost unlimited damage just by cranking it up. As a bonus, it also tends to immobilize. Tazers are probably too much for AoL era tech, which is why I think this is better suited for traps. To be honest, I'm going to be very surprised if they don't use electricity to great effect in the rest of the Wax and Wayne series. I'm totally up for being a Hazekiller, by the way! I love it! Although, personally, I think I'd be one who specialized in being a sidekick for a solid metalborn. A deputy or something. If I lived in the AoL world, I would work in ceramics. Yeah, metallurgy seems like the go-to profession, but I'd focus on pottery. So many useful weapon and armor applications. I'd have a complicated set of ceramic armor, ceramic "grenades" filled with everything from acid to metal dust to gas to explosives. Ceramic guns, ceramic bullets, etc., of course, but more so ceramic blade or projectile weapons meant to fragment inside of the target. It's hard to heal when you're full of splinters. Also, I think I'd specialize in traps.

1) Throw a bar of metal to one side. 2) Compound iron and pull whatever you want to destroy toward you. 3) Then fill iron as quickly as you can and pull yourself toward your bar of metal, out of the way of the crashing object. You could use this to jump around a battlefield, pulling huge piles of debris around. You'd literally leave destruction in your wake.

My event managing experience is in academics, not fandom, but I'd be willing to help out. I have some close friends who put on a yearly con whose brains I can pick.

Wetlander is awesome in the extreme! (Alice Is Wonderland!) Some of those are incredibly interesting, actually. I'd say I 80% agree that he gave tacit confirmation that the Ones Above are Scadrian, or at least related. I'm particularly relieved to hear him say that all of his published works were written with the Cosmere fully in mind, especially with the mention of making sure future rules work with the stuff from Mistborn. In reading Stormlight Archive, which is much more Cosmere involved, I've been terrified that some of the clues and revelations from Mistborn and Elantris weren't quite in line. I had faith in Brandon's awesomeness, but I'm still extremely relieved to hear him say that he's committed to sticking with the rules of his early works. It's a credit to his genius that he added things like duralumin or the mists being required to do things which are supposed to be difficult on other worlds. He's pointed out several times that hemalurgy will completely unbalance things if it ever becomes widely used. I think that allomancy, in several ways, overcomes a lot of the weaknesses in his other systems. I think that's why Scadrial is going to be the focus of the sci-fi, inter-shardworld series. It's because the Metallic Arts are going to really shake up the other worlds. Thanks Wetlander! You're so great!

When she is explaining that she thinks that her powers grab another version of her from another reality, she is talking about a reality where she didn't die. So it's not a drastically different version of her, in the same way the version of Prof's bubbles she grabbed was only off by where they were, not anything significant. That's not to say she couldn't grab versions of things that are very different, because she does. But her belief about her "reincarnation" power is that it grabs a very similar version of her that didn't just die. Edit: That's why she doesn't remember dying, of course. It's an identical her up until the events leading to her death.

He doesn't need to trap himself. He can create force fields that move with him, or move specific places. So he can take the fight to a place that will help him out.