Zas678

EDIT: This topic is out of date. For an updated guide, see this topic: Original Post: So! You have been hearing about this mysterious "cosmere"? You came to 17thshard.com to learn about it. Well here is a fairly simple guide to get you started. (Quick warning- there are major spoilers for Mistborn 3: Hero of Ages, and minor spoilers for Way of Kings) The cosmere is a term we use to describe Brandon Sanderson's books that are in the same universe. They have a few similar characters, and have the same basic underlying Theory of Magic, or Realmatic theory. We learned about it mainly from Brandon's Hero of Ages (HoA) Q&A. There's not very much of it in the books, and so if you missed it the first time, don't worry. We all did too. Plus, Brandon has said that this WILL NOT be important to know. It's sort of an easter egg hunt for the intrepid fans who are wanting to dig deep into his books. He says someday he'll write about this underlying story, but it probably won't be for years and years. Do you remember Preservation and Ruin in Hero of Ages? They are what we call Shards of Adonalsium. You see, a long time ago, there was a person/object/thing named Adonalsium. He/it shattered into sixteen pieces, and certain people "took" these shards to give them a guiding force (like how Vin took Preservation, or how Sazed took Preservation and Ruin). However, over time, the Shard shapes the bearer's personality. Thus, there are two names for each Shard. One is for the person holding the Shard, and the other is for the Shard itself. This is a list of known (or assumed) original Shards and their holders. Shard - Holder -Book Preservation - Leras (Dead) - MB Ruin - Ati (Dead) - MB Harmony* - Sazed - MB Endowment - ? - WB Devotion (Splintered) - Aona (Dead) - Elantris Dominion (Splintered) - Skai (Dead) - Elantris Odium (Hate) - Rayse - WoK Cultivation - ? - WoK Honor - Tanavast (Dead)- WoK ? - Bavadin - White Sand *Harmony isn't really a Shard. It doesn't hold any of a Shard's Intent, it's just more of a nickname for Sazed since he holds both Preservation and Ruin. For more information on Shards, check out the wiki here. Now, there are also what are called Splinters and Slivers. Slivers are people who used to hold a majority of a shard. The Lord Ruler (TLR) and Vin (via the Well of Ascention) and Kelsier all are slivers (Kelsier held the power for a little bit in HoA). They have a little bit of a residual power left in them (which explains why TLR kept things the same for forever). Splinters are objects of power from Shards. There are Splinters in Warbreaker, Elantris, and Way of Kings. The only definite splinter we know of is the Divine Breath that 'powers' the Returned. The Theory of Magic is basically this: There are three Realms. The Physical Realm, where people exist, you can touch things, etc. The Cognitive Realm, aslo called Shadesmar, which you can use to change the Physical Realm. Shallan goes there twice (it's the place with all the spheres.) There is also the Spiritual Realm. Now. There is a known planet jumper. Hoid, who often takes the role of a storyteller, beggar, or informant. He also leads some refugees in WoA. He is an old man with an arrowed face, and usually a beard. He probably comes from the Dragonsteel world (which is unpublished). He is "adept at manipulating Shadesmar", which we have taken to mean that he uses it to travel from world to world. He is also a Lightweaver (see the ship when Wit/Hoid talks to Kaladin), and has not experienced all the time since the beginning of his birth. In other words, he has a way of distorting time that may or may not be connected to Faster than Light (FTL) technology. He also has some way of knowing where he's going to need to be. The Seventeenth Shard (who we are named after) is a group that includes a Galladon from Elantris, and Demoux from Mistborn. They are after Hoid, for some reason. There are also the names of the planets. Elantris: Sel Warbreaker: Nalthis Mistborn: Scadrial Way of Kings: Roshar White Sand: Taldain Dragonsteel: Yolen So that is the basics. Any questions? Disputations? Further info? If you want more detail, you should check out my Brandonothology. It includes several Q&A he's done online. I suggest you start with Hero of Ages. Also, some commonly used abbreviations- MB- Mistborn (usually the series) FE- Mistborn, Final Empire WoA- Mistborn, Well of Ascension HoA- Mistborn, Hero of Ages WoK- Way of Kings SA- Stormlight Archive WB- Warbreaker Also, for a translation of those mystery pages in WoK, look here, and for the full Feruchemical table and Realmatic explanation of the Three Metallic arts (Hemalurgy, Allomancy and Feruchemy), look here. EDIT- I added some detail about how Brandon says it's a behind the scene story.

Wow. That was a pretty good write up (except that Vin would've won of course )

Than Darth Squirrely will fit right in!

Hi! I'm Zas678, and welcome to 17thshard! We are glad to welcome another into our fold. If you want to know about the cosmere, check out the Brandonothology in my Sig. It is all the digital Q&As Brandon's done, and it holds most of the facts we have about the Cosmere. Although it isn't short. At all. It's 153 pages and 67,000 words. Oh! But I think there's a very basic run down of cosmere basics somewhere.... Ah-ha! There it is. Intro to cosmere 101: Shards! http://www.timewastersguide.com/forum/index.php?topic=7913.0 You only need to read the first two posts... PS- I think it's awesome that you made light up shoes.

was so Awesome

I would like to announce that I figured out someone's identity from their email alone. There is a scary amount of info out there about us.

Let me find it.... There it is! It's in the Goodreads 2.0 Q&A.

that was destroyed

Regarding Hemalurgical spikes: 17th Shard: Would they be able to tap? Brandon: Would they tap them? They can use them as metalminds, yes.

So how did Gaz die/disapear? We know it happens after Kaladin's highstorm, but what happened to him? Does it have something to do with his one eye? Or perhaps a secret that Gaz was keeping to be paid quiet? He disapears in Chapter 59. Brandon, when asked, said this: "I'm planning for you to find out what happened to Gaz. There are sufficient clues that you can guess. But it is not explicitly stated, and I'm not going to say it's as obvious as Robert Jordan implied Asmodean's killer is. I was tempted to spell it out explicitly, but there wasn't a good place for it. I will probably answer it eventually, maybe in the next book, but until then you are free to theorize. " So what do you think? Sadeas? Ghostblood? Hoid? The Almighty himself? A vengeful Bridgemen The Nightwatcher?

My heart stopped for an instant. I was freaked out!

I'll be entering into college next year as a Junior (I'm graduating with my Associate's), and I'm going into Engineering. I just love being able to look deeply at something, and find a way to fix it, to make it better and more awesome.

So Shalahes (651)? That's only a week before Shashanan (662). That is on page 789, when Maps dies, which is after Dalinar and Sadeas come togehter. Do we know if the dates on the epigraphs correlate to the dates that are going on?

This is as much as we got on this. I think that Hoid could receive Breath, but not give them away. In order to give Breath, he would have to have the right spiritual DNA of (which comes to Nalthis people because of Endowment). I think that Hemalurgy can also be received. The others, I don't think so. Except for maybe receiving Dahkor. But I am almost positive you can't 'give' any magic except your own. And you won't "get" a magic through osmosis. Although this dicussion did lead to this quote by a fan. (not Brandon) EDIT-clarification

helped to destroy.

So basically this? Except for Locker storage instead of DRM-files?

But then it would be perfectly mathematical. If Roshar runs into storm in an ABFDFD pattern (for time), even if that pattern is over several years, it would be noticed and predicted, perfectly. Of course, if the storms do move slightly, and do grow and swell and shrink (as storms tend to do), then that could explain the general predictions. But what about seasons then? Perhaps Roshar has no tilt, so really, there are no seasons, just temperature and wind changes.

I think it is possible, but improbable. I think they would either need Shard help for measurements, or someone on the other side who they could communicate with, or spend a massive amount of time on calculations. It seems all the energy to transport is made at the "entrance", and so it should be possible to jump to another planet (through the shadesmar?)

So that's what caused the manywar!

Hoid as he

I did not account for the WoTers. I just can't believe Vin is more than double Jon Snow.

I figured this was kind of stalking of me, so I put it here. So it appears in his spare time, Brandon does art! http://www.brandon-sanderson.com/index.php This poor guy.

And this society is run by a Dahkor Denth, wielding the Sword of Adonalsium, which was forged out of the broken pieces of the mystical vase.

I have an announcement. Someone has outlurked not only Chaos, but Eerongal himself. Congratulations CrazyRioter!

I don't think so. Gold can only do so much. And I don't think it can handle a heart with a giant hole in the middle of it.