Zas678

Here's what would have happened if the Well hadn't of been emptied, as well as more info on the Hero of Ages: What should she have done? Well, Ruin's release was inevitable. Even if she hadn't let him go, the world would have 'wound down' eventually. The ashfalls would have grown worse over the centuries, and the next buildup of the Well might not have come in time for them to do anything. Or, perhaps, mankind would have found a way to adapt. But Ruin was going to get himself out eventually, so the choice Vin made was all right. There weren't really any good choices at this point. She could have decided to take the power and become a 'good' Lord Ruler, trying to keep the world from falling apart. Of course, she would have had to make herself immortal with Hemalurgy to make that work right. And since she was already tainted, chances are good she wouldn't have ended up any better than the Lord Ruler himself.

I've got an answer to that. It doesn't have every interview. The Branodonothology (or Brandonology, I do both) was made so that there was one place that you could look when you're constructing theories. So, it has the interviews where Brandon goes into information about the Cosmere, rather than just your run-of-the-mill "When is this coming out?" So in other words, it has all of the pertinent interviews and Q&As (for our purposes). Although generally not the WoT stuff. Theoryland and Terez have that covered. Also, welcome! I'm glad you like what you see, and we hope to see more of you!

Getting more and more excited.....

I don't think so, but I bet you could read some other unrealeased works.

Sure! If your writing is more Brandon-related, you can put it in the Fan Fiction, if you have a short story or two, you can put it in the Creator's corner, and if you are writing more consistently, you can join up with Reading Excuses and join their writing group. http://www.17thshard...13-fan-fiction/ http://www.17thshard...reators-corner/ http://www.17thshard...eading-excuses/

It's after both the Oathpact and the Fall of the Knights. "The Knight Radiants must rise again." This implies both that the Knights have risen (which means that it's after the Oathpact started), and after the Knights have fallen (which is after the breaking of the Oathpact). So that means that the vision must be very recent. (In the time of Shards)

I don't think so. It doesn't seem as though she has gaps in her memories- she just doesn't like thinking about it, and I think that she doesn't entirely think it was the wrong thing to do. I mean she did "murder" her father, but she doesn't spend time fretting about it, worrying if what she did was the right thing. Not nearly as much as stealing the Fabrial to save her family. So, in her morals, she has a good reason for killing her father- she just doesn't want to think about it. And she also isn't "whenever she thought of her father, she saw a pile of blood, with her father's head on it- then darkness. Shallan shuttered. She didn't remember much of her father's death- and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not." But we don't have that. Shallan comes to no Revelation when she tells the Truthspren that she killed her father. She admits it. She isn't proud of it, isn't scared of it, and isn't too ashamed about it. No, I don't think she's repressing the memories. She (and Brandon) are just avoiding them.

I know, that number stood out to me (it's also 16^4), but that just seems like a little bit too long, don't you think? It seems like Ruin would've been able to completely change all of the prophecies to eliminate even the suggestion of keeping the power. Instead, it was so blatant that Sazed, who had access to only remnants of remnants of the prophecies finds the idea of giving up the power a touch out of place. EDIT- But, I bet that would be a really good Creation date. I bet that that date was when Preservation and Ruin decided to make the world. Or maybe even when Adonalsium shattered.

Are you sure? I don't know if they're ready- culturally, culinarily, or religiously, for waffles yet. Although perhaps Shallan could Soulcast one up for you if you're desperate enough. I'm sure Hoid could teach her.

So. I was reading through the HoA annotations (chapter 63), and I found this quote: So, if he was one of the first Allomancers, and only allomancers can detect the Well, what does that mean about the previous Hero of Ages? My theory? There wasn't one. I think that Preservation made his prophecies and entraped Ruin's mind exactly 2048 years before the WoA. Where do I get the date? "Wait" you say. "Couldn't Preservation have made someone a Mistborn like Sazed did to Spook?" Yes. That's possible (darn it....) "Or maybe the prophecies were good enough that people knew where it was, so when the time came, they sent someone in." You know what random person? You're right. I think that it's very possible that there is a third generation, where the prophecies were effective enough to send someone in without giving up the Power as Vin did. Except that three generations doesn't seem very special. And plus, it seems like Preservation's mind would've been alert enough to block Ruin from changing the prophecies for at least a little bit. So lets add a fourth generation. That even makes it work better. It means there's 4 generations, which is a much better number than 2. Leras entraped Ruin and then the first two generation when they used the prophecies, and then there's the third generation of Alethi, when Preservation used mists, and Ruin countered with the Deepness, and the fourth generation of Vin and Sazed. So, in other words, 4096 (or 4^6, or 16^3 or 2^12) years ago, Leras betrayed Ati, captured his mind in a well, and made it known to the Terris people the prophecies of the Hero of Ages. We have prophecies about that old here on this earth today. Hey, Jacob and Joseph are dated about that time period. So, no, it's definitely not absolute. But I think that it makes sense. And I think that any other great numbers (like 65536) are too unrealistic.

I'm trying to decide. Why was Vin able to take the mists? Is it because she was chosen as Preservation's champion? So that raises a question for me- would Marsh be able to draw upon the "black mists" that Vin sees near the Well? Or is he not a True Champion? I don't think that Marsh could've drawn upon those mists, and so I don't think that Marsh was a True Champion. I think he was more of a Prime Pawn. Why? Vin, as was Alendi, were both chosen to be Champions 16 years before they went to the Well. That seems to be an awfully long time of grooming and getting ready. Maybe Leras was just really careful, or maybe he really wanted to emphasize the number 16 to them, but maybe not. Maybe it's one of the things that binds the shards. I just think that there's more to being a Champion then being a Prime Pawn. EDIT- I accidentally wrote Alethi instead of Alendi. Thanks Ari!

Yeah I agree. I think it makes sense that there are Dragons in Dragonsteel, and since that may also be the origin story for the Shattering (and Hoid), it makes sense that Hoid is talking to someone he knows from Dragonsteel who knows everyone else (just like he does) personally.

I've got a question. How come in some books, the cover represents a particular moment (for example Hero of Ages hardcover with Vin & Inquisitors), while others merely give the "tone" of the books (like the Way of Kings). Is that an author choice, an artist choice, or your choice? Also, what do you think of having "wordbuilding" images in books? And why does nearly every Fantasy book have a map?

The size of a spike doesn't matter- unless you are carrying a spike around before spiking someone. Then a smaller one will "leak" more than a larger one. I believe that TLR could possibly make a "stealth Inquisitor", but he probably wouldn't want to. First of all, as has been said, they wouldn't be able to use them very well as Metalminds. Next, the intimidation factor. Nothing is quite as scary or as intimidating as a being with giant spikes driven through their head. Also, (and I don't have a quote on this) I think that the bigger the spike is the easier it is to get in and control them. But that's just my gut speaking.

So that's why they told me I had to get my arms pierced.....

CrazyRioter answered all the questions really really well. I think what the Shard questions boil down to is that we haven't seen a Splintering before. Ruin's death (Shard SMASH!) was a Cognitive Death of the person who was holding a shard. We haven't seen a Spiritual Death of a Shard itself. (which is what I imagine what happens when a Shard Splinters). As for Realmantic theory, there are three realms. The Physical, which is where we live is where we talk and eat and kill each other. The Pools (and mists and other "Bodies" of shards) are examples of the physical forms of a Shard. The Cognitive, or Shadesmar, which is where we think and dream. Vin, when she "becomes" Preservation actually becomes the Cognitive aspect of the Shard. Hoid does something funky with Shadesmar to get around. The Spiritual Realm is where the power is. The Power of Creation, which powers Allomancy, is here.

Another way to think of it is if some money was being loaned from Fort Knox to a bank, and then thieves took all the money, the money would be "Of the Thieves (as in it came by theft)", but would still be the Fort Knox's money. EDIT- My analogy was lame before. I fixed it somewhat.

Wait, FirstRainbowRose, you were there? Were you just helping Brandon out, or do you work at Sam Weller's? I know that Brandon had some help from someone at 17th Shard (from the Australia tweet) but I wasn't sure who it was.

Gah, that's right. That midnight thing always throws me off. I'm not sure when I'll be there then. Maybe over the weekend. Maybe just on Sunday (the 6th) . I don't know.

I'll bring some! And if people will hold my spot in line, then I can bring homemade food too. I'll probably start camping Monday at about 1 pm. I'm considering starting earlier, but I'm unsure.

I just edited the Cosmere 101 thread, so now it's a Cosmere 101 Q&A thread! Feel free to ask your questions there, and someone experienced will answer. (It's in General Theories.)

Hello! Welcome to the 17th Shard! We're very glad you're here.

I figured it was because he secretly was an international car manufacturer who dabbled in quantum mechanics and Cosmere in his spare time. Yes, I think that Chaos is a Canadian Auto Worker. EDIT- I also am now a Shard! Huzzah! And with exactly 800 posts!