WindrunnerRadiant

With reference to Allomancy being unknown before the Lord Ruler's Ascension, that is at least partly false. Alendi (the man Rashek killed and replaced as the supposed 'Hero of Ages') was a seeker. That is why he could feel the pulses from the Well of Ascension. I would also like to bring up the Heralds (I'm a little surprised that hasn't happened yet). Each order of Knights Radiant is centered on a Herald. There are only ten of them, and it is extremely unlikely that there would be more (and there are definitely only ten people bound to the Oathpact). No other secret orders of Knights. Sorry.

Two things I want to say about this. One, we don't know that the spren really betrayed the Listeners. Just because the Old Song says it doesn't make it true; Brandon has been known to have false perceptions in his books that the characters take as fact but that we later find to be true. It could be that Odium tainted the spren the Listeners bonded and the spren that humans bond are instead tainted by Honor and Cultivation and this simply causes the Listeners to believe themselves betrayed. The other thing is that, rather than having a greater disconnect to nature, when spren bond humans they seem to have an even greater influence on their surroundings through the Nahel bond and Surgebinding. Although seeing as they somewhat bend and break the laws of nature through Surgebinding, there could be a disconnect.

This WoB definitely supports the idea that spike are 'capped' while within a body and 'leaking' when not. So here is my question: What happens if you spike it directly into the next host? For instance, take an Inquisitor and just pound the spikes on through into another Inquisitor, say to create single, more powerful Inquisitor out of two less powerful Inquisitors.

So, as we know, Harmony is travelling to Greater Roshar. There has been a lot of speculation on what this means, particularly when it comes to Odium and what would happen if they come Shard to Shard. Now, myself included, many of us have been assuming that if this happens, Harmony will destroy Odium, as he would be stronger (2>1). However, I have been thinking about that. Harmony may not be nearly as strong as we assume. We know a large chunk of Preservation's power is within the sentient species on Scadrial and I would assume that the Pits are still in existence to balance that. Therefor, Harmony doesn't have his full power. Because of this, I am much more unsure about what would happen between Harmony and Odium in direct conflict. We do know that Odium fears Harmony, so I would assume Harmony is still more powerful, but not by nearly as much as I once thought. Let me know what your thoughts are on this. EDIT: I had some misgivings about a few theories. Harmony is not travelling to Roshar. I deeply apologize.

One thing to keep in mind with the Kandra is that they were human before the Lord Ruler turned them into mistwraiths, and were somewhat returned to a semblance of humanity with the Blessings, at least at the cognitive level. I would also put forward that at the spiritual level they probably return to being human as well, which would be why they insist on human forms (most of the time). As for the actual topic, Hemalurgy itself doesn't have a negative effect on the mind of those it's used on. However, it does destroy both the spirit of the person that the attributes are stolen from and those who are spiked. Being spiked (as far as I understand) basically rips a hole in your spirit, opening you up more to the influence of emotional Allomancy and Ruin/Harmony. And potentially other shards. The greater the Hemalurgic charge, the more the soul gets ripped and the more open they are to influence, whether from Allomancy, a Shard, or maybe some other form of investiture. However, from what I can tell, beyond the added attributes from being spiked, Hemalurgy doesn't change anything about the cognitive or physical state of someone.

Well, we having seen the result of crossbreeding between different humanoid species on Roshar (not going to mention specifics; not plot wise important yet, but if you haven't read those books...) and the result isn't all that bad. Also, kandra were originally human, so I would bet they could reproduce with humans. Koloss blooded aren't terrible abominations, so there's that. However, that is also because koloss were altered by Harmony to be a true breeding race and I don't know of any evidence of that with the kandra, meaning it might not be a good idea. Knowing Harmony, I have a feeling that it wouldn't be too horrible; he probably took it into consideration at some point.

You could view this much like genetics; the kids could inherit (what seems to be) Adolin's recessive trait of black hair and end up with the same amount of black in otherwise red hair. For instance, Dalinar with all black hair would have Bb, and Shshshsh would have Gg. Adolin ended up with Gb and Renarin with Bg. (Not quite how gentics work our world, but this is Roshar, its different.) His kids (with Shallan, if that were to happen) could (possibly) then end up with Rb (Red with a little black) or Gr (Gold with a little red), as they would have to have on from each parent. Again, this is supposing a lot about the genetics, but its just a theory.

That is 'according to their songs.' Which could be wrong. I think it is more likely that the Listeners simply viewed it this way after many years because they saw humans bonded to spren without being corrupted while they're spren they bonded were changed by Odium. Regardless, I concede that my point was faulty. Beyond that, I would argue that if Greatshells, Chasmfiends, etc. are Voidbringers, anything else that bonds the natural spren of Roshar in a symbiotic relationship are potentially Voidbringers. Basically just leaving humans to fend against all other life on Roshar. (We even know Ryshadium are special due to some conection with spren. There's a WoB on it somewhere, but I'm having a hard time finding it... So I appologize if that's wrong.)

One thing I would like to point out is that we already have seen Allomancy fueled by something besides metal; the mists. Of course, that is actually a part of the Shard of Preservation, so you would assume that it would be possible. Also, with all the references to the Dor, we know of four distinctly different ways to access its power, with varying results in the use of its power. The idea that there would be another way to access investiture on Scadrial isn't a crazy notion. However, to presuppose that the result would be anything like what we have already seen there is what I find faulty. What I do think that we can assume is that it will still involve the use of metals as a focus, just like the three known arts that access the power of the Dor has a focus in shapes (Aons for AonDor, the form of the motions in ChayShan, Stamps for Forgery, and the shape of their bones for Dakhor).

A note I might make on the Tranquilline Halls: They are mythological. They may have something that they originated from, but it is just as likely that they don't. Beyond that, I think it more likely that, rather than humans getting to Roshar via spaceship or worldhopping, They were made there. We already know that Preservation and Ruin created life on Scadrial, so it isn't like it would be a stretch to believe that the shards on Roshar did as well. Particularly when we look at many of Roshar's culture's particular view on Honor and how that effects society and the fact that one of the Shards is Cultivation. On the other hand, I don't think Odium had anything to do with it, especially because he went to the Greater Roshar system separately from Honor and Cultivation, who went there together.

I hate to break it to you, but I think its all but guaranteed that the Voidbringers are the Listeners bonded to Voidspren, Chasmfiends having nothing to do with it. Jasnah even says that she is fairly certain that the picture of the "Voidbringer" was just made of the scariest thing they could find. However, I wouldn't doubt for a second that there is some sort of connection between the Listeners and the Chasmfiends. Personally, I am of the opinion that humans on Roshar were made by Honor and Cultivation when they arrived there, and Listeners where already there (along with the Greatshells and chull and the like).

If you read the broadsheets found in Alloy of the Law, you will find a story about an adventurer who is currently with Koloss. He has a companion who is a Feruchemist and who uses his bendalloymind to form a connection with the Koloss to save the adventurer. As far as I know, this is the only evidence of it being used as of yet. There isn't a whole lot of information on how exactly it is used, but it seems that CognitivePulsePattern's analogy of "relationship weight" would be apt. You store the connection - no matter what kind, meaning that if you start storing all of you spiritual connection, your own mother wouldn't recognize you - and can use it to form a bond with anyone, or perhaps everyone around you. When tapping it, people just get the feeling that they know you and have a deep connection to you is what I would guess.

Syl (who I would assume to be a relatively good source on the topic) states that the Honorblades themselves consume stormlight, whereas it is implied spren in the Nahel bond don't, and that this is the reason it takes, in her words, "a dangerous amount" of stormlight to us them. So yes, it is the Honorblade itself which causes the inefficiency. I assume this means that it will still consume stormlight if held by a Knight Radiant and therefor still take extra stormlight for them to use it. I also don't recall having read or even heard of anything that says that the Nahel bond counteracts the porous nature of the human body as a container for stormlight.

I think the 'y' in the names have nothing to do with being able to form a Nahel bond, or vice versa. It seems too pointless for something Brandon would do. Also, it has no connection to the intent of the shards spren are connected to. And as far as Pattern is concerned, I see something more like binary or something like that for his actual name, so it wouldn't have a y, but then that is just my own perception. Also, Sylphrena seems to be based on 'sylph' like CognitivePulsePattern said, which decreases the likelihood of the y being important. Lastly, I don't see why Stormfather couldn't be his real name and there is nothing to imply that he has another name. Its sort of like saying that since most of the KR so far have 'a's in their name and we don't know any more of Ym's name so all KR must have an 'a' in their name.

It is safe to assume Harmony could destroy Odium in a heartbeat simply due to the fact the two > one. We know Odium is terrified of Harmony too, so he knows Harmony could destroy him. But that doesn't mean Harmony will. He has a hard enough time just traveling to another world because of the conflict of the two intents in him. He has a hard time taking any action, plus he generally wants to let people do things on their own, offering a little aid here and there. If he ever does decide to destroy Odium, he certainly could, but the difficulty is getting himself to act.

Have you ever seen a sheath? We aren't just talking dull, we're talking blunt. Blunt objects don't cut, though enough force can cause the skin to split. Edged weapons are designed to make a person bleed and sever their limbs, blunt weapons are designed to break bones, cause internal bleeding, and deal large amounts of blunt force trauma, and a sheathed sword would act much more like a blunt weapon. We see Nightblood sheathed cutting and impaling people. To talk about force for impaling people, think about how much force it would take to ram a quarterstaff through a person. Much more than any normal human is capable of. Plus there is cutting involved. Not just splitting of skin, but actual cutting. There has to be investiture leaking out and making these cuts.

'Right' and 'wrong' are extremely subjective and entirely centered around your worldview and ethics. In the type of society that is dominant in the story thus far in the SA, killing is acceptable if there is enough reason. That is why glory through battle is an idea there. Of course, there are other perspectives, such as Dalinar's, who no longer believes there is honor in war. But really, it is all perception. Like the fact that Jasnah believed she wasn't doing anything wrong walking down the alley to draw out those men so she could kill them, but Shallan thought it was wrong. Different perspectives see different things.

Vin has superior movement capabilities? You mean Raoden can't use the Aon Tia? The one that lets them teleport? All he needs to do is teleport once to get out of the way, and we know that Elantrians are at least slightly faster, stronger, and more durable than normal humans so he could probably take a couple coins. Plus he has extensive experience with dealing with an insane amount of pain, so he could easily fight through it. AonDor is extremely powerful in Elantris and has almost infinite uses as there is an Aon for everything, it's a full writing system and language.

Vasher with enough Breaths would be at least as invincible as TLR if not more so. And Nightblood's cuts are reportedly FAR more devastating than a conventional Roshar shardblade. Being impaled with it might even allow it to absorb the investiture and eventually soul of the person it's impaling and then turning them into smoke (just a theory but based on what we know about Nightblood it isn't unreasonable to believe). Not even TLR would survive that no matter what his other capabilities are.

No offense Cactuschef, but Vin against the other three would be destroyed. Shallan just keeps herself out of the way and lets Pattern distract Vin, Syl can become a shield and block coins shot from Vin, (not to mention Kaladin's reverse lashings). Wayne and his speed bubbles will be plenty helpful in distracting Vin, and Kaladin can out-maneuver Vin in the air. Syl changing shapes makes Kaladin extra difficult to anticipate even with atium, as I doubt a living spren shardblade casts an atium shadow, although Vin would still have a huge advantage with it. His healing gives him another advantage as he could take an otherwise fatal blow in order to score a hit.

I definitely think that everyone seems to continually forget about Vin. I know a lot of you are reading this post and going, "There is no Vin in the Mistborn trilogy," but seriously, there is and if you missed her you need to re-read it because she does play a big role despite the fact that she barely appears. Joking aside, I would say Mennis, the elderly skaa we meet in prologue. Sure, he doesn't have the biggest role in the plot by any means, really only doing what he is forced to do by Kelsier's actions, but I think he is important in a literary sense. He gives us spectacular insight into the class system of the nobles and the skaa and how skaa are forced to live their life. We get more details later, but that scene sets the stage for us.

Obviously, this is a little bit late to help with the essay, but you could look at the magic systems in each book as literary devices as portrayed in Sanderson's Laws essays (for future use in this kind of situation or anyone who sees this thread in the future and wishes to use it for such a project in the future). Here are the links. Sanderson's 1st Law Sanderson's 2nd Law Sanderson's 3rd Law I'll also give a summary of each. Sanderson's First Law states that the author's ability to solve conflict with magic is directly proportional to how well the reader understands said magic. He goes on to explain that he separates magic into categories of 'hard' magic and 'soft' magic. Hard magic is well defined so that readers understand how it works and what its limits are (Sanderson almost always uses this) and soft magic is not well defined and is not well understood by the reader (such as Gandolf's magic; we don't entirely know what he can and can't do with it). There is a middle ground where there are some rules that are set forth that aren't broken by the author but looking at the setting as a whole you don't necessarily understand the limits of the magic, such as in Rowling's Harry Potter books. Literately speaking, he states that it is better to use hard magic to resolve conflict so that you don't end up in a Dues Ex Machina situation. Sanderson's Second Law is that Limitations are greater than power. He uses Superman as an example here. He argues that what makes Superman stories interesting isn't as much his powers but how he overcomes his limitations, or rather, how he resolves situations despite his limitations. Snaderson's Third Law is to expand on what you have before you add something new. Basically, cover what you have revealed as thoroughly as possible at the point in your story before adding something new. This keeps the readers from getting confused about the magic and the world and makes it easier to keep track of your magic and world, which makes writing easier and readers more interested. Now, the only one that has direct implementation on LoTR and Misborn trilogies is the first law (Mistborn presents Hard Magic and LoTR presents Soft Magic) but Brandon uses these essays to explain to his readers how he develops his worlds and magics in a literary sense, which is important to understand if you are analyzing his works. I would highly recommend that anyone doing an essay including Brandon's novels to read these essays and not just read these summaries as they only give a general idea. His essays are not overly long, only a few minutes read each at worst. I also find them extremely interesting.

As much as I love Vin and Kaladin, team two takes it for me. While Kaladin and Eshonai are probably on par (he took down a shardbearer at that point before but I'm betting Eshonai is more skilled than that one) I don't think Hrathen could take any of them. Also, I'm not sure whether or not Kaladin at that point could take Denth. That be a tough one. Either way, the only ones who would stand a chance against Vin or Raoden are Vin and Raoden. And to be honest, I don't think Vin would stand much of a chance. Raoden is known to be extraordinarily skilled and quick with his Aons; he had a lot of practice. He could very quickly teleport somewhere hidden and just send Aon blasts at the enemies and teleport again and fire from a different location. Not to mention he has a nigh on infinite amount of Investiture at his disposal and Vin can only replenish so much of her metals. These factors would be extremely difficult to deal with and I'm not sure even Vin could handle that. Best case scenario, team one gets one or two of them down, but Raoden would come out on top.

Umm... most of you are forgetting Vasher's extreme skill with Awakening. Just saying, but if he retrieved his Breath from Susebron... Also, lets not forget that they both have some insane troops they could command. A one on one, I say Vasher. Enough Breaths to keep the Lord Ruler's attacks from reaching him and get him close, and he kills TLR with Nightblood. Actually, he might not even need all of his Breaths from Susebron. Just enough to do what he needs to. A few well placed lifeless squirrels as a distraction and a good couple of commands on his clothes and he could easily get close enough to use Nightblood (I would guess he would need more Breath than he had at any point during Warbreaker though). I guess it would come down to whether or not compounding gold will really help all that much when faced with Nightblood.

One thing to note is that neither Duralumin nor Nicrosil really increases the overall amount of investiture a certain amount of metal can access, only compresses all of it into a single moment. So I think a more efficient way to increase the strength of, say, a steelpush would be to consume a large amount of steel and then have someone burn Nicrosil for you to compress all of that steel's usage into one moment.