pharaoh9000

Axies!

Kell would be sweet as well, but sadly, he is dead.

Marsh is another cool option.

I half-think Axies truly is a worldhopper. He seems to know a great deal and when asked in WoR what he did wrong to be hung upside down, he said "improper puns" lol... makes me think of how Zahel/Vasher always screws up his analogies and metaphors.

His ability to change his body in certain ways would also come in handy as a worldhopper!

Maybe he'll really become one!

Actually, when I think about Vasher being able to substitute stormlight for breath because of the similarities of the two investitures... I have to rethink my original theory. Since breath and stormlight are so similar that Vasher can take either of the two to survive, then it's not unreasonable to think that Lift would gain breaths with every meal.

I wonder... Now I don't know what to think...

Question: Is Stormlight the "body" of a shard, like breath was part of Endowment?

Nobody suggested that though. The fuels for most systems are fundamentally ingrained in their very nature, you'd probably need a lot of hacking to substitute anything.

The question is whether Lift can make the other fuels from food, and whether she can power another system she might gain that way.

Put simply, I'm saying I think Lift eating on another world would give her Stormlight on that world.

Can't we look at Hoid as a benchmark? During the events of WoK and WoR, he uses multiple different magics from multiple different worlds while on Roshar. If it were true that someone's investiture changed based on the world they were visiting or that world's native Shard, then wouldn't all of Hoid's magics have required Stormlight while on Roshar? Would he not have been glowing a bit when using his allomancy, feruchemy, and others?

It's possible that he lightwove his own appearance to hide his own glowing of Stormlight, but the simpler explanation is that he simply didn't necessarily require the Stormlight for his other-world magics.

If I'm right, I think they same would be true if Lift were a worldhopper.

Now that you mention the half and half thing, DiscoDubber... The newest trailers for the 2016 Warcraft movie show a great mixture of CG characters alongside live-Action ones...

It's not so bad an example of how producers can get the best of both worlds if SA were ever brought to the screen. Live action and animation.

I agree that, due to the importance of Stormlight Archive in the Cosmere (and since there's actually a fair bit of Cosmere knowledge we have from SA), this would be the biggest sacrifice - which is why I would only support taking out the Cosmere in a live-action adaptation. 

 

If we get a Mistborn, Warbreaker and Elantris adaptation, too, then including the Cosmere would be absolutely fantastic - I relish every easter egg I find in cinema/TV. And since this is Fantasy Casting, I will concede that speaking about a realistic case isn't entirely appropriate. However, in a hypothetical live-action Stormlight Archive TV show, I think it must be expected that many scenes that add worldbuilding and detail would go.

Assuming that the show's producers do as you predict... characters like Wit would not be able to feature in the show.  ...and I would die. 

We can't let them make SA Witless. 

Well I'm sorry if I've given offense, but I am not a fan of the anime genre. And I seriously doubt that we need the Cosmere in a Stormlight Archive adaptation - unless other Cosmere works are also being adapted, with the same level of detail. So, unless we also get a Mistborn, Warbreaker or Elantris adaptation, I think anything that is in Stormlight Archive and relates directly to the Cosmere could go.

 

In addition, what is Ashir and Geranid's viewpoint adding to the main plot? From what I can remember off the top of my head, what we learn in that interlude is that you can measure flamespren - when is that relevant? When is Axies relevant? Shallan hears about the spren forming a giant gust of water, but does that ever become important to what she does? Ishikk is the same - we learn about the Purelake, but the only other time we hear about the Purelake is when Dalinar thinks to himself that he's been there in the past. Unless these interludes specifically become relevant in future books, I don't see why, in a non-anime adaptation, they would stay in - realistically speaking. 

I took no offense... and I hear what you're saying.  I am making the assumption that if there was an adaptation of any kind, that it would keep the cosmere continuity as a part of it.  If not, then that is already the biggest sacrifice of them all.  As The Stormlight Archive is one of Brandon Sanderson's most major cosmere novels.

Making a Mistborn, Warbreaker, and Elantris too?  Yes, please! 

So in a TV show adaptation, you would say leave the interludes in? The interlude with Lift, who probably would not become relevant for several seasons? It doesn't matter how close you want to stick to the books, some scenes will be reordered or taken out (of the first season anyway). I would put all of Kaladin's battlescenes with Amaram's army in one episode for example - any audience member (even fans of the books) would get confused otherwise. 

 

Scenes that are 'non-critical':

 

Ashir and Geranid's viewpoint (discovering that flamespren are measurable) - they add nothing to the main plot

Axies the Collector - again, adds nothing but worldbuilding, which we don't need as much, at least not in Season 1

Ishikk's scene on the Purelake - adds nothing to the main plot

 

Anything exclusively Cosmere related would go, realistically.

"Re-ordered" is not the same as "sacrificed" or cut altogether.  Adaptations still need to be "adapted" to the medium, of course... I simply contend that live-action, more than most mediums, demands more sacrifices than I could personally tolerate in a Sanderson novel.

Also, begging your pardon, but I disagree that those scenes you mentioned are non-critical.  These are major clues laid down within the story, they matter for the main plot.  In a universe as layered as the Cosmere, so many things need to be discovered that not all of it can be discovered by the main characters.  This is where side stories, side characters, and story arcs come into play.  I'm not necessarily championing anime as my preferred medium for delivering SA (although I'd support it), but I will say that anime as a medium as excellent at handling stories this large with little to no sacrifice to those side arcs and characters you mention.

Every medium has it's advantages and disadvantages.  Live-action for example, as DSC01 said, would reach more people and appeal to the largest audience, while the computer animated and anime genres don't have as much appeal for most people.  Computer animation, as I said, would translate the world more accurately (skyeels, stormlight investiture, emotional spren popping up everywhere, chasmfiends, races, ages, and shardblades, shardplate design, etc...) a little bit easier than most other mediums.  And anime, for example, is second to none at lengthy 300, 500, and 900 episode sagas where no details of the story are missed and anime fans don't seem to mind the length of such sagas.  And both computer animation and anime solve the actor age/race problem altogether.

Obviously there are other mediums, obviously there are more advantages and disadvantages than I've mentioned here.  But to answer your question, yes... reordering would be necessary as part of the adaptation and moving those interludes around to the appropriate spot in the story would be a simple task, assuming the medium chosen was "episodic" rather than limited by feature-length standards, limited seasonal contracts, and sudden mid-season cancellations.

Even if it wasn't marketed to children, the fact is that in the US market, animation is generally regarded as being for children. The only popular exceptions are comedies. Sure, people will allow for anime, too, but I really don't think that anime is right for Stormlight. I don't know what it is about anime, but when I watch anime that is clearly in the genre of epic fantasy, it doesn't feel like epic fantasy to me. I would be okay with high-quality animation that was not anime, but would the general market take it seriously?

I want to make one thing clear... When it comes to marketing SA to the masses, I agree with you and I don't mean to sound argumentative.

However, marketing this story to the masses is exactly the problem.  Any time a great story is "adapted" for the sake of the masses, multiple sacrifices to characters, worlds, and backstories need to be made.  If I were, perhaps, one of the executives ordering the funding for this project in the real world, I would be championing the same arguments that you make here.  But as a fan myself, I like to dream up what mediums can be used to convey these stories that allow for minimal or even zero sacrifice to said stories.  Yes, that's ridiculous, I know... but I fear that whatever adaptations we find ourselves watching after suffering that infamous "real-world filter" could barely be considered "Sanderson" once the adaptation is completed.

If we're talking about average, real-world people having to be appealed to in order to enjoy SA, then we are indeed having a conversation about sacrifices to the Stormlight Archive stories.  Often times, the greater the crowd you intend to appease, the greater the sacrifices and changes to the original story you have to make.

The Lord of the Rings movies, even including their extended editions had huge sacrifices to stories, characters, ages, timelines, etc. The Game of Thrones tv series, to second your example, also made/makes many sacrifices and changes to the story and characters just to appeal to those same masses.  I've heard it argued on more than one occasion that the Game of Thrones television adaptation is superior to the books because of those alterations.  The show pushes all the right buttons to appeal to the average viewer on one level or another, so they win the market... but the original story is not exactly what we see on screen.  That's not a bad deal for GRRM and his so-so books (sorry, GRRM fans), but what about Sanderson  ...who has books that are already better than what almost any adaptation can pull off?

Brandon Sanderson has a bad habit of not writing junk.  It is difficult to read one of his books and spot things that are non-critical, can be "gotten rid of," or sacrificed in any way during the adaptation process. But in the real world, what story isn't altered in some way when it is introduced to the average person's living room?  As a fan, I just have a hard time imagining what I'd be ok with seeing "get the cut" when adapted to live-action.  My mind goes blank and I lose time like when Shallan thinks of how her mother died. 

Again, I think you're right and I agree with you if we're talking about market success and appealing to the average consumer... but there are also lots of incredible alternatives for the cosmere imo...  and I think those alternatives could gain a lot more popularity than we expect, if done with care.

I think you're wrong about that. Spren are little bits of power, shaved off of a Shard. Parshendi are very close to humans, but they are more closely attuned to the Cognitive realm. That gives them an affinity to the spren: bonding with these artifacts of the Cognitive realm gives them their form. But they are not all that closely related to spren. If they were, they'd essentially be a race of Splinters.

You may be right, of course.... but I can't ignore the numerous similarities between spren and Parshendi.

• They have nearly the same reaction when their dead are touched.  Parshendi in reaction to the Parshendi bodies on the battlefield...  and bonded spren in reaction to oathbroken shardblades being touched.
• When the Stormfather spoke to Eshonai during her transformation into stormform, he spoke to her gently and endearingly, as if she were his own child. (I don't remember him talking to anyone but Syl with that fatherly tone.  Though there could be holes in my memory.)
• The parshendi are able to transform into many different forms (though they require spren to accomplish this)... and spren themselves are able to transform into many different forms.  In both cases, the cognitive "concept" of each form directs its appearance, shape, and purpose.  Example: Parshendi would choose mateform for mating... while Syl would use blowing leaves as her form for riding the winds.  The cognitive "idea" associated with the task ends up having everything to do with the chosen form to complete the task... for both spren and parshendi.
• If we can admit that the Parshendi are "closely attuned to the cognitive realm" as you put it, then it's not a far leap to say that the parshendi songs are likely heard via the cognitive realm... (personally I think that all parshendi songs are playing at all times and they just "tune in" to the appropriate "station" at the appropriate time). If this is right, then I believe the "broadcast" is coming from the cognitive realm itself, where part of the parshendi still somewhat exists in order to hear that broadcast.  (Just like spren are mostly cognitive but are pulled a bit toward the physical, I think parshendi are more or less the reverse of that).  How would the Listeners "listen" if some small part of them did not exist in the same realm they are listening to?

Now, I'm not saying Parshendi and spren are the same thing... but I think their relation goes a whole lot deeper than a mere connection to the cognitive realm.  By the time this all plays out, I think it'll be revealed that they have a lot more in common than we think.

By finding something on voice, do you mean comparing narrator interpretations of characters in the audiobook? Because that is a good idea that hadn't occurred to me until now.

the voice comparison is somewhat helpful, somewhat not... like guessing at which character Hoid is before the book actually names him.

But also not helpful, because in the real world these narrators have only so many different voices, dialects, and accents that they can mix and mash around into different characters... and sometimes they repeat.

Take Michael Kramer for example:

-His Lopen (WoK/WoR) is the same as his Wayne (AoL)

-His Sigzil (WoR) is the same as his Sazed (MB)

Now I'll be the first to admit how cool it would be if this meant Lopen/Wayne were the same worldhopping person or maybe Harmony himself was talking to Kaladin in the depths of the chasms, I'd try not to think of the voices for their canonical significance.

Doesn't the "though broth are we, their meat is men" line from one of their songs kind of debunk this?

That line is, I suspect, because the Parshendi are little more than spren themselves. Though more in the physical realm than spren.

You know... lately I too have been wondering if the parshendi are the Dawnsingers as well.  Like the Parshendi can potentially be either Dawnsinger or Voidbringer... depending on the type of spren they bond with.  There is definitely more to the Parshendi than meets the eye. What if their language is the Dawnchant or is related to it?

Wow, just looked up "Uncanny Valley" lol

Today's CGI and animation tech is just so far beyond that now. I admit that in the real world, doing it right would probably cost millions of dollars to be done satisfactorily... then multiplied across hundreds of episodes. However, it can still be done... and done well... just not easily done well.

Considering, how far along 3D motion capture and facial 3D motion capture (circa 2009's Avatar) have come in recent years, there is no reason the people of Roshar can't be brought to life quite perfectly. Uncanny Valley? Only if Roshar is given a very cheap budget to work with, my friend.

Could you provide the Kabsal quote for us?

I still have a very hard time agreeing with this. Anime or CGI just loses… depth to me. Stormlight is a prime example of where much of the story would not come through properly I believe (though I agree that Mistborn could do very well in an animated form).

jW

When I say CGI, I mean high-quality, ultra-real CGI... like the 2007 Beowulf movie or the 2001 Final Fantasy: Spirits Within... as far as its visual quality.

What do you think of that look? No?

I think the entire cosmere line-up should be brought to life via CGI or anime, not live-action. Live-action, whether movie or episodic show, would require too many sacrifices to the characters and world in order to be brought to the screen.

CGI or anime, would allow for the best translation of the characters, magic systems, and the world... while multiple episodes would allow for zero sacrifices to the story, it's characters, and histories.

(As an added bonus, you'd then only have to search for the best "voices" to bring the characters to life rather than the perfect look.)

Every time Nightblood is unsheathed he starts consuming Investiture. 

 

So, in Warbreaker when Vasher unsheathes him and fights against all the Lifeless, it basically drains almost all of Vasher's stored breaths away and he has to fight really hard to force Nightblood back in the sheath to prevent him burning up his last Breaths and Divine Breath and killing Vasher as well. 

I wonder if Szeth could use nightblood in battle against a surgebinder to steal stormlight from them and gain an advantage.  ...or would drawing Nightblood only affect the wielder?  Anybody know?

I saw a WoB from I think one of the SoS signings wher Brandon straight up said that Vasher can take in stormlight.

Towards the end of Chapter 18 in WoR, there a scene when Kaladin was sparring with Adolin at the practice grounds, Kaladin sucked in stormlight to try to fight Adolin,  but suddenly felt drained of his stormlight before he could use it.  Could this have been Zahel inhaling stormlight directly from Kaladin's body into his own?  Would Zahel not glow from the stormlight he consumes because he's "digesting" it?

Going back to the quotes so nicelypresented in the OP, the person in question seems completely different from Nalan.  Consider the following cut and paste from the OP.  This person is concerned with glory, art, godliness, killing because one is skilled.

• "Are you satisfied with this... are you satisfied with trivial crimes?"
• "What a waste... You are squandered."
• "You are a work of art... a god."
• “But do you not rebel against this frivolous use of your skills? Were you not meant for greatness?”
• "It's time you stop wasting your talent."

Contrast that with Nalan's concerns from the Lift interlude and at the end of WoR.  He is driven by duty and adherence to a code. 

• You follow the laws of your society to perfection.  ... I worry that emotion has couded your ability to discern.  Your ability to ... judge.
• Unbecoming of one who would study beneath me.
• I watched you destroy yourself in the name of order, watched you obey your personal code when others would have fled or crumbled.  ... I watched you keep your word with perfection.  it is the only genuine beauty in the world. 

The man in question and Nalan seem to have very different concerns, but express them so forthrightly that I cannot see them as being the same person. 

 

Further, Nalan understands Szeth, where this other person thinks that the things he speaks of would be interesting to Szeth.  He clearly does not understand Szeth well, if at all.  Now you could argue that Nalan could pretend to be interested in glory, etc., but that does not seem like the Nalan we see.  The Nalan we see does not seem interested in making an impression or changing how he presents his ideas to appeal to his listeners. 

Glories within!  Thank you for the additional Nalan quotes (may you be showered in upvotes, good citizen)!  I couldn't agree more with what you've said.

I consider my original theory to be ultra-outrageous, but I feel "Nalan, Herald of Justice" to be even more of a stretch. 

Marsh. Imagine him pulling back his hood on roshar.

Yes! I can totally see Marsh worldhopping. WoB already stated that Harmony is somewhat aware of events on Roshar, I believe. Marsh is one of Harmony's agents, so maybe he's been sending him on some recon missions. :-)

Plus the metals they can use on Scadrial to access Shadesmar have yet to be revealed, but we know they exist, so....

Bridge 4 may quickly become a sourcing ground for new Windrunners with Kaladin just being the first. 

If Rock becomes a windrunner... if he bonds a spren.  He will become King of the Unkalaki!

If I had to go with live-action actors...

I'd day Marton Csokas would make an excellent Dalinar for sure!  He shares Dalinar's same facial intensity, I think.  He's just barely old-looking enough to be the great leader Dalinar is and with all his experience... but he's also young-looking enough to catch chasmfiend claws and other Blackthorn awesomeness.

Also, I was just thinking...

Aren't the chains, rings, and bracelets holding soulcaster gemstones typically gold?  I know the one Shallan/Jasnah held were said to be...

Am I wrong in this?

Actually, I would also like to see Sigzil get picked back up by Hoid and made into a true worldhopper.

I don't think it's likely, either. I was just throwing out the only male character that we know of who we know would have access to a soulcaster. I don't think that there's anyone else that we've seen who would have one.

That is a great point. Man, I love puzzles! I hadn't thought of that.