Cuaiir

The stormwall of the highstorms also resembles the eyewall of a hurricane, as do the progressively weaker waves of thunderstorm that follow the stormwall. For ease of thought, I try to picture Roshar as being in the center of a giant hurricane as it moves across the continent. Actually, that could be exactly what happens, depending on the atmosphere of Roshar. A truly enormous hurricane forms on regular intervals, with its center over, say, the Purelake, and the tidal and atmospheric forces of the planet make it move in the same direction every time. As the eyewall (stormwall) of the giant hurricane passes over the continent, it loses force, much like real hurricane. And hey, coroborating this is the oddity that the coastline of Roshar is broken up in a lot of spirals. I'm just spouting this off thoughts and a little bit of Wikipedia, but it seems plausible.

I know I don't have an advantage over someone like the armored man with his Allomantic Reactor, but over someone with just a mundane Grid I do. It's not much, but every bit helps. Ack, funds. Forgot about that for a minute. Hmmm... [just thinking out loud right here] Suspension Point supplies the world with most of it's fish - they have the advantage, since they're the only city on the Lower Sea, of being able to bring in some exotic species, and even some common ones that have grown to extraordinary size. I've already established that Jay'el is a fishmonger's kid, which puts his family as having control over some of the fishing exports, and that he is the favored son of both his Ma and sister-in-law, Liira, who control the books. BUT, even though they control the funds, they aren't stupid. They know that if they expend too much money the business will start to crumble. Also, they've already spent a good chunk of money getting JL set to make his way in the world, and Tohu already sent them a bill for attaching the Gated Fuser. Ma loves him dearly, but at this point Liira may be getting a little P.O.'d. So, he should be able to get one more peice of work done before they cut him off, assuming it's fairly cheap. Which means nothing above Grid-level components, and after this Jay'el will have to pay for stuff himself. Or go back to Suspension Point and work as a Defender for a while, sigh. And now that I've worked out backstory reasons for being able to afford this stuff, I'm wondering what my options are. Silus, you said there were other components with similar functionality? Like what? Obviously the Auto Fuser and Gated expansion are the cheapest options, but it's always helpful to know the spectrum. It's good that you're laughing maniacally, it means you've got somethin creative up your sleeve. I'm looking forward to it. <wicked grin, which there should totally be a smiley for>

Whew. You really shouldn't have let me have free reign like that, I'm going to be writing novels with every post now. Kinda like the one I just put up. Assuming that Tori can make the most of that Gated Fuser I have, what sort of upgrades am I looking at? I hope I didn't spoil any plans by saying that rewards will be given out at the end of each round. It seemed fair, since I've got a Fuser while everybody else just has their Grid, Spheres, and wits.

Waking, I note that all three of the other beds in the room are occupied. I can make out the outlines of Eerongal, Ambrosius, and 'Adolin' as I quietly step out of the room. River. Well, that puts that card out on the table. I can't imagine he's too happy about it, either. I follow my ears to the showers, and revel in them. It is next to impossible to find a shower in the Machine Desert - sand scrubbings are much more common. After toweling off, I head back to the dining area and grab some grub before poking my head into the Spheresmithy. It must be around mid-morning, and I know I saw the lights on at midnight the previous evening. Working off the assumption that there are multiple smiths, I announce myself, "Hello, the smithy." A boy, no older than 17, comes running to greet me. "Good morn, sir, just a few moments until Tori finishes the Grid he's working on. Might I ask why you've stopped by today? Rewards from the tournament aren't given out until after the first round." "I'm assuming Tori is the Spheresmith on duty?" Seeing the boy nod, I continue, "I found a component before coming to this place. I managed to get it attached to my Grid, but the Spheresmith I saw told me he didn't have the right tools to make the most of it. I was hoping that, in this place, our benefactor may have gathered what he could to make sure he gets the best possible fights out of his Spheremorphs." "Of course, sir. Tori was brought in by our benefactor for her skill and ingenuity. While I'm not entirely sure what she has available, I'm sure she'll do whatever she can." The boy turns away from me, mumbling something that sounds like, "she's gettin' paid 'nough. Don't even le' me eyeball th' shinies." In his more formal, and louder voice, he tells me, "Right this way, sir. She should be finished with that Itemizer by now." Itemizer.. I wonder what that does. I'll ask. As the boy leads me further into the smithy the temperature increases,and we pass many Grids on display for potential customers. I note that many are strictly for shifting in a certain pattern, and there are a great deal without any Grid ability whatsoever. I see none that look like the Cradle. Maybe my Grid is unique. Either that, or they get snapped up very fast. Or no one has seen or thought of one, and thus can't copy it. Or.... My thoughts get away from me, but I keep looking around at all Grids. The walk isn't very long, perhaps thirty yards, but the path winds and weaves and it seems to take longer than it actually does to reach the working portion of the Spheresmithy. A large, well-muscled woman in smith's leathers swings a hammer with an air of finality. Sparks fly as she strikes the object on the anvil, and she hangs up the hammer by its leather thong before turning to speak to the boy. "Kerr, we're low on magisteel. Check the shops, see if they've made any more, and get me prices. We need at least fourstone to even start working on the weird Grids he wants. I can go as high as three of the smaller mundane Grids for that." "Tori, I presume. I'm Jay'el, one of the competitors." The smith continues working even as we talk - clearly this Spheresmithy is busier than it appears. "Yes, yes, of course you are. What can I do for you?" I explain my situation to her, as well as what I'm looking for. "Well, no guarantees. Leave it with me for ten minutes, I'll give it a close inspection, and depending on where you are in the line-up I might even be able to work on it today." I refuse to be useless. "If I leave my Grid with you, how do I know I'll get it back? There are a lot of shady characters running around down here." Like my bunkmate, for instance. Tori looks at me like I'm a complete moron, saying, "You really think he'd let us operate down here without some sort of protection? No one gets into the actual Smithy without an escort by one of our staff, thanks to some handy magic from him, and all the Grids on display are trapped. You leave your Grid with me, I'll get you a loaner, and I'll see what I can do." "Oh. Well, in that case, I'll gladly leave it with you for a bit. I need to check where I am in the bracket, anyway." I unhitch the Cradle from my Mount as Tori gets me one of the mundane Grids as a loaner. With the loaner Grid set back in my Mount, I say "I'll come back in ten, soon as I know when I fight. How will I get back in if Kerr is still out?" Tori is already examining my Grid, clearly fascinated. "Hmmm? Oh. Just hit the button near the door. I'll come and get you, or send my own apprentice, Quinn. Now go, shoo, this is fascinating." I chuckle softly to myself as I leave. Apparently I'm not the only one intrigued by the mystery of the Spheres. I really need to spend more time in a Spheresmithy. Too old for an apprenticeship, though. Ah well. I make my way over to where the bracket is posted, and check my spot.

Grabbing a seat at one of the long benches in what I've decided to call the Great Hall, I say, "You know, you guys never answered my question about why you decided to join this tournament. You don't have to, I'm just curious." I look over the three faces that sit with me and take a swig of the ale provided by our mysterious 'benefactor.' Not bad. I know Un'po and Da'vi like a stiff drink after working with Pa some days. Maybe I should get the name of this guy's vendor. Burly looks at Gregory and Veronica before answering me. Obviously she got some kind of 'okay' signal, becasue she simply says, "Mageprice. All of us." My eyes widen a little, and I let out a low whistle. "That's some Price. Hope it was worth it." Gregory says, "It was." "Our turn for some questions. You seem very at ease with being dragged off by mysterious forces, not to mention those strange happenings back in the observation area. Why?" asks Veronica. "There's not exactly much I can do to control some aspects of the situation. So I don't try, saving my efforts for when it will make a difference. Seems to be the most effective way of making actual change," I say, shrugging off the the question. And being a Shaman doesn't hurt either. I'm at the call of the Wild Magic whenever I cast Finding. Gregory yawns as Burly says, "He's also a Shaman, V. You get used to that kind of stuff. My turn." she smiles at me, and I catch a bit of a glare from Gregory as he sips his ale. Okay, definitely not going there. "You aren't the typical build for the Machine Desert. Where are you from?" I smile, seeing the question for what it is - both a stall tactic and a genuine curiosity. This could get bad. Gregory most definitely seems like the jealous type. "Suspension Point. I'm the son of a fishmonger family. And if your next question is how I got my Spheremount, you already know the answer to that - by the will of the Wild Magic, of course," I state, trying to both answer the question and make myself seem less interesting to Burly. Burly and Veronica yawn in unison then, and smile at each other when they finish, containing a little laugh. I smile at their obvious companion-ship as Gregory asks his question, "Who else is ready for bed?" "Me. I should get back to my other companions as well." I raise my mug in a minor toast, saying, "Here's to hoping that we all come out of the first round alive." I down the rest of my ale as the others raggedly say 'here, here' before downing their own drinks. "See you all tomorrow." I let out a yawn as I head towards the sleeping chambers in search of Eerongal and Ambrosius. I wonder how they set up the bunks. And I hope that 'Adolin' isn't in with my companions. I do not trust that one. I find a chamber with Eerongal's name seared into the door, and knock as I open the door. I note four narrow beds in the chamber, two up against the back wall and another at each side wall. I also see a bright light on the door. "Woah. That's different." The light I see is a spark running along the wood, searing the wood as it passes. It moves in a specific pattern... "Okay, now that's cool." The spark fades, leaving my name seared into the door under Eerongal's. "So, uh, I guess we're bunk mates now, whether we like it or not. I'll see you in the morning, Eero," I say as I walk over to the bed on the right side of the room, claiming it as mine by promptly going to sleep on it.

Oh. I didn't realize that we could control some of what the NPCs do as well. I thought it was like, well, basically every other game out there, where players control their characters and the GM or whoever controls everything else. Now things may go a little faster

You're right, and Jay'el's going to stay out of his way as much as possible. If you didn't want us interacting with random NPCs, you shouldn't have made them so interesting

I look at my new companions, and they all seem as surprised as I am. Did not expect someone to be popping out of the walls. It looks like he has some sort of control over the environment around here, too. This just get more and more ominous. Not much I can do about it at this point, though. "Well. That was unexpected. How about we continue our conversation over drinks? I'm parched."

Sounds like we've got some shiny new information that should go in the Coppermind. Like this little tidbit: I'd do it myself, but I have no idea how to edit it

We've got a rereads of Elantris and Warbreaker going to add in all the information we can get from canon material, so... Mistborn or Way of Kings rereads? Or you could go through the Brandonothology that zas put together and pull out stuff from there. But I'm not in charge of anything, so i don't really know.

This does bear further thought, and we especially need an answer to what happens metals once they are burned. Again, part of the reason this breaks down once we attempt to apply it to Rosharian and Selian magics is that we simply do not know enough about them. We've seen Windrunners in action the most, and that is what I drew the original portions of this theory from - they need to touch everything. Obviously, Jasnah gives us an example that runs completely counter to that, yet it does not change what Szeth and Kaladin do. If I recall correctly, Windrunners manipulate the Surges of Gravity and Pressure; we have no idea what Surges Soulcasters like Jasnah or Shallan manipulate. I do want to know more about the focuses for each system. The Three Metallic Arts all share a focus in metal, while Nalthis' magic (including Returned, Nightblood, and Awakening) focuses on the Commands. We don't know the focuses for Selian or Rosharian magics, and that would help us greatly in... everything, really. Huh, I wonder if when he published Elantris, Brandon anticipated so many fans all trying to pick apart and understand his magic systems.

"Nice meeting all of you. Burly, Gregory said you guys have been here a week. That's quite a while to wait for this tournament, I hope they've been feeding us, since I'm stuck here too. I wonder how long some of these people have been here..." I smile, and shake my head. These people seem really friendly, and I like them right away. I do try and keep myself prepared in case they turn on me, but I'd hate to see that happen. "I heard about this in the Crook, and that armored guy," I say, gesturing towards the Spheremorph who escorted us in as he manhandles the two men assulting Ambro, "wouldn't tell me a thing about this until I got down here. Kind of annoyed me, but I'm curious enough to be here." I smile again, looking around at this little group. There doesn't seem to be any sort of conflict between the two groups, which is nice. Burly, Gregory, and Veronica don't seem at all similar, except perhaps in personality. I wonder how those three met. "I'm not sure what this whole tournament would entail, but even if I don't win I think I'll learn a lot. I'm a Spheremorph scholar, taking notes on what I see and trying to understand how the ancients made this tech. Maybe make a bit myself, but that's a long way off. How about you? What made you all want to join in this tournament?" I gesture towards Kara and Adam, inviting them to speak first.

after you finish the Farseer trilogy, Hobb has three more sets in the same world. There's Bingtown Traders, Tawny Man, and Rain Wild... something. All really good, and they tell an ongoing story. But yes, definately check out Elantris. Then join the madness in General Theories. There's a few in there that change the way you look at the cosmere novels. I'm Cuaiir, by the way. You'll see me mostly in the Nexus sub-forum, though I do have a few things over in General Theories.

Broken Sky by Chris Wooding - mimics an anime, and I always thought it would be cool if it were made into one. They're short, and there's seven of them. Seventh Tower by Garth Nix - This was probably recommended in other topics, as it's a solid series with fairly short books.

Along with everyone else, I'd also like the quote on the metals not being expended, since some of the Allomantic metals are toxic if left in the digestive tract. I think I even remember a Kelsier quote about that. I'm not sure how you could break down any of the pulling metals, since they are all elements on the periodic table. Fair points on the Cognitive for both Selian and Rosharian magics, I had forgotten about both of those. I'm still going to debate with you on the Physical of Rosharian magics, since that touch is necessary for Lashings and Soulcasting. As evidence, look at Szeth's intro where he has to touch the guards to Lash them and Jasnah's Soulcasting near the end of the book, transforming the strawberry jam and bread. It did go Touch > will through spren bond > release of Stormlight. If my assumptions are correct, then if Stormlight were the Physical aspect Szeth could have filled the people with Light before touching them, willed them Lashed, and then touched them to finish the Lashing. That doesn't fit with what we know.

During my Warbreaker reread, I noticed something that we always seem to forget about Awakening - that it uses color. My brain went a little crazy and made some connections I hadn't seen around here, and I got something new. We focus so much on the Breath and how that fits with Endowment's Intent, we miss some pretty heavy Realmatic Theory. Check this out. Each magic system has three parts, and each part corresponds with a Realm. Here's Awakening: Physical - color! Cognitive - the Command Spiritual - Breath The Three Metallic Arts: Physical - metal Cognitive - burning, tapping/storing, spike location Spiritual - power, from Preservation, self, or others After these two, the theory starts to break down, but that's mostly because we don't know anywhere near enough: Sel magics, specifically AonDor: Physical - the act of drawing the Aon Cognitive - the meaning behind the Aon Spiritual - the Dor Rosharian magics, like Lashing and Soulcasting: Physical - physical contact between the magic user and what he/she is trying to affect Cognitive - the will to make it happen, possibly through bonding with a spren Spiritual - Stormlight another observation, which was pointed out to me, is the order in which magic happens. You need metal before you can burn it, and color before you can give the Command. It's only after the Physical requirement is met that the Cognitive component can come into effect, and only after those two parts finish can the Spiritual part finish the magic. so for Awakening, it would look something like this: 1. touch color (P) 2. give Command © 3. release Breath (S) 4. Awakening complete. and for Allomancy: 1. swallow metal (P) 2. make your body burn the metal © 3. release Preservation's power (S) 4. Allomancy complete. again, this breaks down a bit once we hit Sel and Roshar. You're all smart enough to put together those steps, so I'm not going to here. Another thing I notice as I write this is that in Awakening, Allomancy, AonDor, and Soulcasting the physical component is used up. I'm not sure what this means, but it is an interesting point.

Noting that very few Morphs are in Form, I shift back to baseline. "I'm not terribly surprised," I say to the lady Shaman. "Amber Aphid is fairly tiny and a ways off the beaten path for the Spider. A nice place, but not one a Shaman wants to stay in too long. I visited Sanguine Boar about a week ago, but a tigerplane cut my visit there short." I laugh briefly, as if a tigerplane were no serious threat. "Call me Jay. I kind of got dragooned into this tournament, but it seems promising. How about the rest of you?"

'Adolin,' what is your game? "I'm Jay'el. Now then, I'm gong to go talk to one of these groups. I'll catch up with all of you in a bit." With that, I make my way over to the group that I noted had the Warrior's mantle in it. I move at a moderate pace, trying to seem non-threatening.

Why do Returned need to sleep? It seems clear that they do, and on a regular basis - Lightsong's dreams and all the scenes in Susebron's bedchamber give that away. It just doesn't seem like they actually need to sleep, however. Biologically, humans need sleep to let the body rest, among other theories. However, Returned don't need that - their Breath sustains them, and their body changes according to how they view themselves. They are immune to disease, so the theory of resting to let the immune system fight off infection gets nipped in the bud there. Does Nightblood need to sleep? If so, why? He is essentially a man-made Returned (sort of), and isn't even close to human form, so there would be even less reason for him to sleep.

I'm really wondering what kind of format this tournament is going to be in. I think a team battle would be kinda cool, but we'd really have to work together on something like that. Solo matches seem problematic, since there's such a disparity in what Spheremorphs can do, depending on how many spheres they have and how evolved they are. The fact that only River has anything that let's us know what we're up against makes me twitchy.

"I really don't know. We're here for this tournament, which we're all supposed to compete in. Somehow, I don't think we'll get out the same way we came in." I also really doubt I'm at the same level as some of these Morphs. I've had this thing a year and have yet to find a fourth Sphere, have barely enough stored health for a true prolonged battle, and this Amalgam thing feels like it has some nasty drawbacks. I haven't had it long enough to work out ways around them yet. I look over the people who entered with me. Eerongal - tactician, champion, unknown others. slow, strong, tough to take down. Ambro - geass, some kind of misting, unknown other capabilities. too many variables. the ever mysterious 'Adolin' - completely unknown capabilities. x-factor. Realistically, if I ended up in a fight with these guys, I'd probably lose. I think the only advantage I have right now is range, and even that's up in the air. Without any kind of cover, there's no way Gunner, Engineer, or even Primal Gunner are going to last long. I hate being helpless like this. No information, and no way to get more...

Gods of the Wild Magic.... I halt five steps in from the door, already feeling the power emanating from over forty Spheremorphs in such a relatively tiny area. I doubt this many Morphs have ever been in such close proximity before. You wouldn't think that would make much of an impact, but this place seems like it's warping somehow. I don't think this place is natural, let alone really close to where we came in. Where is that voice coming from? I look around, trying to find the source of it. My gaze passes over one of the groups to my left, and I see a familiar style of dress, a Warrior's mantle, on one of the Spheremorphs. Another Shaman from the Machine Desert? I thought there were only a few of us...

We all kind of sand-bagged ourselves by putting Eero as our leader, and waiting for him. Hopefully we'll hit a point where we can drop that cover and move forward without having to wait on people too much. As a side note, the land and seas for the updated maps are Silus-approved, and can be found here. With any luck I'll get a city or dungeon done a week, and this will be finished by August.

I'm rereading Imager by L.E. Moddsitt, as well as working on a detailed reread of Warbreaker. Kind of like the one Puck did for Elantris, actually, since I also planning on turning what I find into Coppermind entries.

I follow them a few steps behind, wondering what I have gotten myself in to. I get the feeling I'm not going to have too much choice in what I do from here on. This better be worth it, since I have a new component to research.