Yezrien

That one never gets old.

Warbreaker was constructed as the first half of a duology. Brandon left many questions unanswered because he intends to address them in the second book (Nightblood). I'm assuming we'll learn that Returned reproduction, much like transferring breaths without a tongue, is not as impossible as we've been led to believe.

Somewhere in the mountains around the Elendel Basin, there is a peak that rises higher than all others. It is the tallest mountain on Scadrial. Atop its frigid summit, where only the boldest and heartiest metalborn can go, there is plaque which proclaims the mountain's name: "Harmony's Manhood."

And I completely agree that the Sibling is the spren of Urithiru, much the same way the Stormfather is the spren of the highstorm. I think these worldspren are localized/personified in these powerful focal points, but they symbolically represent something bigger.

This is just a thought I had. For a while now we've been referring to the bondsmith spren as "godspren," which seemed appropriate due to their power level, and their close association with Honor and Cultivation. But considering what we know about them (including speculation about the Sibling), I think "Worldspren" might be a better name. Each represents a major physical aspect of Roshar, and collectively they could be said to represent the world. The Sibling represents the planet itself, the great stone foundation on which all else is built. The Nightwatcher is the biosphere, all life that grows upon Roshar. The Stormfather is the atmosphere, and all the weather that shapes the world. These three aspects, bonded together, form Roshar as we know it. And each represents something universal to all Rosharan peoples. They all walk on the same planet, breathe the same air, and belong to the same meta-ecosystem. That seems appropriate for the order of the Bondsmiths. As far as I know, Brandon has never formally approved the word "godspren," nor has he offered a better term. I theorize that the real in-world term, which will be revealed in a later book, is "Worldspren,"

Interesting concept. It has a lot of possibilities to make a very weird and wonderful world. My only suggestion is that maybe the Wishgiver shouldn't be so localized. If the requirement for making a wish is physically accessing the Wishgiver, you know the government would set up a big blockade and only allow a handful people to actually make wishes. Instead, maybe it just appears to people at random, or reaches out to them telepathically. If making the journey was really important, you could substitute something else for that. Maybe the Wishgiver appears to random people and gives them personalized trials, like "quit smoking" or "reconnect with your estranged father," and you earn your wish by completing the trial, which is something uniquely difficult for each person. Only people with the will to overcome their own issues get wishes granted. And that could lead to some prejudice against the Wishblooded. They have powers they didn't earn. What gives them the right?

There might be a paradox here. If a shard divests x% of their investiture, they become too weak to control their own power, and thus they cannot divest anymore until they've reabsorbed some of it. Also, I like to imagine that a sufficiently enormous pile of godmetal (many, many times larger than the Lord Ruler's atium stash) would reach a critical mass where it spontaneously melts and coalesces into a new shardpool.

I agree, this is very interesting and well-constructed. It opens up some interesting speculation on the remaining shards. Senility? Death? Rebirth? Reincarnation? But what's missing, for me anyway, is an explanation for why the shards would correspond to a mortal life cycle. Why is that significant to Adonalsium? Without that, this correspondence of shards to life-stages looks like coincidence. Albeit a very interesting coincidence.

I've been thinking Sazed might have two successors, one for each Shard. He'll split them up, or maybe just give one away, so they can stop neutralizing each other, and actually do some good for the cosmere. My theory is that Wax is being groomed to hold Ruin, hence the whole "You are his Ruin" thing. Wax is all about using violence to do good in the world, channeling destruction into protection. I think he'd be a good candidate for a positive Ruin.

Now that I think of it, even if it was seen during Amaram's bonding, it could still be Yelig-Nar. What it did to Amaram might be more like a really weird Nahel bond rather than a possession.

Huh. Never noticed that.

Magneto. He'd have lots of fun on Scadrial.

Just a little theory. Ever since Dalinar used Spiritual Adhesion, I've been wondering what other surges might have multi-realm applications. This is the most interesting thing I've come up with. What if there's a Spiritual Gravitation? Gravity is a fundamental law of the cosmere, so it's ultimately rooted in the spiritual realm. An object's gravitational properties are encoded on the spiritual level. I think the gravitational Lashings we've seen (from Kaladin, Szeth, and Skybreakers) are a physical phenomenon. They can defy or interfere with an object's natural gravity, but they cannot actually change it. When the Lashing runs out of stormlight, the object reverts to its spiritually-defined normal state. Realmatically speaking, you might say these lashings are only skin-deep. Spiritual Gravitation would go deeper. A Spiritual Lashing would actually alter an object's gravitation on the spiritual level, permanently changing its nature. This would be a one-time procedure, like soulcasting. It would not require stormlight to maintain. This, I propose, is how greatshells grow so large. Their spren provide spiritual Lashings that permanently reduce their weight. That's why they don't seem to use stormlight the way radiants do. This is also how the Fused can continuously fly. They are perma-Lashed to (I assume) zero or near-zero weight. They use normal physical Lashings to maneuver, but they do not require stormlight, voidlight, or any investiture fuel to maintain levitation. When they read books while floating in the air, it looks to us like a frivolous waste of investiture, but I think it's actually conserving investiture. They don't use any fuel to float, but they would need fuel to lash themselves downward and sit in chairs. As these two examples suggest, Spiritual Lashings might require a gemheart. It's possible that, in lieu of investiture-fuel, these Lashings rely on a certain kind of spren-bond to retain their permanence, and it's the kind that only gemhearts can provide. This is a bit out there, but if you could apply one of these spiritual perma-Lashings to an inanimate object, that would be a great way to build floating cities.

If that did happen, would we call it Nalig-Nar, or Yelig-Nale?

I think we need more information before we can appreciate this setting. You have to understand that the little bit you've given us looks a lot like the cosmere. You've got the three realms (planes are basically the same thing), and you've got some gods that sound like shard intents. That's just how it looks at this point. I'm sure it'll seem more original when you reveal more about these gods and their worlds. I'm looking forward to that. Also, I think "the Lie" is a confusing misnomer. The way you describe it, maybe "Thought" or "Idea" or "Subjectivity" would be a better name. You'd still get contrast with Truth.

I don't think so. Burning a metalmind doesn't actually increase the attribute stored in it. It just allows the compounder to draw that attribute directly from preservation. So the amount you get is proportional to your strength as an allomancer. It's not affected by the amount that's stored in the metalmind you burn. That's my understanding, anyway.

Since book 4 seems to be Eshonai's book (and probably Venli's), I predict the titular in-world book won't be a book at all, but an old listener song. It'll be called "The Song of [Something]." It'll probably be an important song that Venli and Eshonai learned from their mother.

I support the Adonalsium interpretation. I think there’s a spiritual shadow of Adonalsium, and that’s what’s been telling Dalinar to “unite them.” When Dalinar united the realms, Odium glimpsed this shadow in the spiritual realm, and basically saw a ghost.

Szeth seems to be exceptionally broken. Maybe that’ll let him form multiple bonds. And maybe his understanding of morality and truth will help Nightblood develop a more principled, less bloodthirsty outlook on life. I can see it.

@Zape, what is “Conventicalism,” and why does it preclude people knowing the word “church?”

Happy humbug to all, and to all a good... 2-3 years. Then we’ll have Stormlight 4. But until then, we just have each other. Happy holidays, everyone!

I don't think it needed a name during the Final Empire era. If everyone in the world has the same religion, they might as well just call it "religion."

The cosmiir?

I subscribe to the theory that book 5 will end with a new Oathpact, forestalling the final desolation. But I think the return to Ashyn would make a good end to the series. I'd like to see Ascendant Dalinar use superpowered Cohesion to restore Ashyn to its original state.