Spoolofwhool

Yeah, great show I find. Volume 3 was definitely the best, though I dislike the fact that some of the fight choreography wasn't that amazing. However, this was outweighed by the better plot. In case anyone was wondering, based on what I heard, this increase in plot, decrease in the number of fights was due to the fact that Monty Oum was... no longer with the project. Regarding the Raven and Yang scene. I heard that it was ignored V3 because the writers didn't want to go in that direction yet but Monty shoe-horned the scene in because he wanted more Raven in V3. As before, without Monty being around, the writers just went ahead and ignored it altogether. Regarding ships:

Weepings would be pretty bad. Don't forget though that every other weeping had a highstorm in the middle so it wouldn't be that bad. It's possible though that they also had better ways of saving or gaining stormlight.

Yes, that's what I said. It is not, however, what you said, which is why I corrected you.

Stormlight is investiture, just in a slightly different. Out of all the investiture we've seen, breath and stormlight are probably the most similar

Few corrections. Drabs have innate investiture, just less. Inhabitants of Nalthis have a bit of their innate investiture converted to breath. In fact, someone who has survived the process of charging a hemalurgical without healing their spiritual has less innate investiture. I'm not sure about having the ability to manipulate a manifestation of investiture meaning you have increased investiture. Their spiritweb is more different, but they wouldn't have more investiture unless perhaps if they had hemalurgic spikes, unless they were holding onto something like breath, or are in the process of channeling investiture from an external source. I may be willing to concede they have a very slight bit more, but I don't think the difference between a mistborn and a regular Scadrian is that different. Slivers do have more than a regular human, but far less than a splinter since they only have a slight residue of the power . Don't forget that a sliver is someone who has gained a significant portion of power, and then released it. He would need to release the breath. Also, I'm not sure that a divine breath is enough power to create a change necessary to be a sliver. A portion of power being a splinter has no bearing on its amount, it just means it is self-aware. For instance, spren and seons are splinters, but I doubt they have a significant portion of power.

Yes. My point wasn't that they were worshipping the shard, it was that they were worshipping the shard's intent, ignorant of the fact that there was a true power behind it. The "your gods" that Ashe was referring to was the divinity figure that they believe Domi to be, not the actual shard Devotion is. In any case, this doesn't prove anything either way regarding the shardpool. However, I think that the fact that there are a ton of splinters of Devotion in the area seem to indicate that the area is more attributed to Devotion. Of course, it could be a coincidence.

There's a WoB that Odium can affect all three worlds in the Greater Roshar System.

Nightblood consumes investiture. If you have kinetic investiture in you, which is stormlight, breath, tapped charge from a metalmind, investiture from Preservation while burning a metal for allomancy, investiture from the Dor when using AonDor, etc, he'll eat that. If you don't have any, then he'll eat your innate investiture, which is your soul, and which does kill you. It has been theorized that Nightblood will bond to Szeth and function like a Highspren, giving him the surgebinding abilities of a Skybreaker Knight Radiant.

Not sure if anyone saw this WoB but it may help, at least a bit.

Actually, I just want to say, it could be possible for a Bloodmaker or the like to be actually cloned. It would be fairly complicated though. Step one would involve getting cut in half spiritually, cognitively and physically at the same time. Step two would require an essence mark to be applied to each half immediately. Step three is to start the healing, immediately as the other steps. So basically you would have a person cut in half on all three realms, then you would use the essence mark to manipulate their spiritual identity into being whole and use it to manipulate their cognitive while still healing them.... IDK. Doesn't seem very possible. Should ask Brandon, he would be entertained.

Stormlight Archives spoiler Good WoB. This also answers my question of where regeneration would occur if beheaded as well.

Thanks. The thing is though, it is stated that the Heralds were more than just Heralds. Jezrien was a king, for instance and Shalash is his daughter. I don't know anything about how Yolen humans look, nor have I noticed any difference between the Heralds' appearances and the current people, at least nothing the PoV notes. Also, considering my theory, and even without it, the Heralds are at least four and half millennia older than modern Rosharans, and if my theory is true, from before Honor and Cultivation invested into Roshar. Therefore, there is a reason they would look like the original template of humans, because they were one of the earliest descendants, or perhaps one of, the original humans who came to Roshar. Basically, Heralds don't look like Rosharans because they've been unaffected by the millennia of evolution which made the original Rosharans turn into modern-day Rosharans. And the original Rosharans were a lot closer to the template human.

I read over the start of the stickies, mainly the rule one. I started looking at the flow of some of the actual story threads. I have a preliminary idea for an Epic, though I'm still fleshing it out. Mainly balancing how it works with making sure it isn't too overpowered.

New around here. You ask here about joining a topic with your epic?

Agreed, It's been done already. Doing it again will draw a lot of flack from the readers. Plus, it would be so unimaginative, and I think Brandon has a lot more integrity that that. You're right though that defeating Odium will be hard without another shard, but I think the method is already there. Check spoiler for my thoughts on how they're going to beat him.

Ignore everything I said about multipliers. I found the quote in Alloy of Laws I was looking for and it confirmed that it is additive/subtractive. I guess that all the multiplier things Brandon and Peter said were regarding feruchemical compounding. So yeah... Feruchemy makes sense as end-neutral, until you start amplifying the tap and it turns end-negative for reasons. Here's the quote for anyone who wants to know:

Yes, I know that Honor died after the Recreance. That's why I was thinking that the Recreance happened earlier than listed on the timeline, since the letter seems to imply that Honor had died millennia ago. I'm not sure about what you're saying, since the letter seems to be present day, referring to Hoid by his moniker Wit, and there doesn't seem to be anything which says that it has backwards meaning. "Millennia have passed" indicates that the millennia are still passing to the writing of the letter. Otherwise, it would be written as "Millennia past". It's that it is open to interpretation, so who knows.

I agree with this theory. There are two canonical things which support this theory. First is this WoB which states that the Oathpact was a part in limiting him, but not the direct result of it. What this indicates to me is that the Oathpact's intention was not to restrain Odium, but a side effect of its intention restrained him. Secondly, is this line from the letter to Hoid in WoR: I'll be honest, what this means is very open to interpretation. However, what I think it means, is that it is referring to an action that Honor preformed which inadvertently trapped Odium and prevented him from killing other Shards. In combination with the other WoB, I think that it is referring to the Oathpact. So like I said, I agree with what Yata is saying. I think that the Oathpact is a promise from Honor to the Rosharans, which swore they would invest in the world and protect them. However, perhaps they worded the oath, as Yata said, to be a bit more vague, that it had the effect to force every shard to follow it and invest in Roshar. So when Odium came to kill Honor, he found himself bound to it. Which probably annoyed him. Now, this begs the question of where the Heralds come, what place they take in the Oathpact if the Desolations weren't originally a thing. Now we know Jezrien was a king, I'm guessing he was perhaps one of the leading initiators behind the Oathpact. I imagine that before the Oathpact was formed Rosharans, at least the human ones, weren't doing so well. So the Oathpact was made to have Honor and Cultivation help them advance. So the Oathpact was formed between Honor and the selected Heralds, and Honor and Cultivation invested into Roshar. Another result of the Oathpact was that the Heralds were made immortal, and they were given knowledge, so they could teach the people how to advance, and guide them over the years. Some time later though, Odium appeared, and when he did, the Oathpact stole a part of his investiture and bound it into Roshar. As a result, he started the Desolations, spending a bit more of his power into the Unmade, and using the voidspren, and voidbringers. His goal was, and still is, to either undo the Oathpact, and/or reclaim the power stolen from him. To help the Rosharans, Honor made ten Honorblades, which he gave to the Heralds, so they could use Surgebinding to protect the people. Now I think the terms of the Oathpact are that Honor and Cultivation, and by accidental extension every shard, would invest in the planet to help its inhabitants. However, in return, the Heralds would have be there for the people, to protect them and to guide them. Failure to do so would mean the ending of the Oathpact. This means that at the Final Desolation, when nine Heralds left, they said the Oathpact would still hold because Talenel would still be around to protect the people, and hold the Oathpact. After the Desolations, I think that the Heralds return to Damnation, or Braize as had been theorized, to make time until the next Desolation. I think this works because Odium expends a large amount of energy to cause a Desolation, and requires time to gather it again. As this WoB states, if the Herald have a time limit on Roshar, This time limit is probably the time it takes for Odium to get his energy back. Wait too long, and he'll have the energy to launch another Desolation immediately, without giving Rosharans the chance to rebuild. As such, the Heralds have to go back slow his progress. I'm not so sure how the whole torture thing comes in. I do have a slight theory about the torture of Heralds, and how one of them breaking causes them to be returned to Roshar and the next Desolation to start. What I theorize, is that the Heralds on Braize act as a conduit for Honor's power, to strike at Odium. At the same time, Odium strikes back through the conduit at Honor. The torture the Heralds are undergoing is actually the fact that massive amounts of power is flowing through their body. Note however that the power is flowing through their body without really being in it, which is why they aren't slivers. However, when one of the Heralds "breaks from the torture", it's more they are breaking under the strain of the power, and it breaks the whole system. At this point, Honor can no longer act through them and stop Odium's progress, so he recalls them to Roshar to prepare the people while Odium prepares the last of his power to unleash the next Desolation. As to how this relates to this WoB, I think it's because the Heralds no longer appeared as they did to guide Rosharans, and more importantly, the Knight Radiants. Over the centuries afterwards, the KRs grew more corrupt without the periodic guidance of the Heralds, combined with the fact that their strength was no longer really needed. When the Recreance eventually occurred, it created a feedback which weakened Honor, giving Odium the opportunity the chance to shatter him. Nonetheless, remanant power of Honor continued to pass through Talenel to prevent the True Desolation. Now, how does Odium break the Oathpact and/or reclaim his power. One thing which I realized recently, was that it appeared, based on the prologue of WoK, that all the Heralds were fighting fairly locally. This was indicated by the fact that they were all close enough to pick a rendez-vous after the Desolation was over. What I'm saying next could be totally off-base and it was just a chance they were nearby, but considering the size of Roshar and how the rendez-vous was something they organised in advance, I feel like it happened fairly often. Now this gives me three impressions, either that the Rosharan forces had been so devasted by the Desolation that they were cornered to one region, there was one area the voidbringers concentrated on more, or the Heralds were assigned to protect that place above the rest of the continent. Now the first one makes some sense, though if that were the case then they were basically all killed except for a single region, and I don't see how they could rebuild that well. For the second and third, they make a bit more sense. Perhaps there is a location where Odium's power is centrally invested, and if his forces reach, they can free it so that he can leave. I'm really shaky on this part. Anyhow, the other way that Odium might be able to regain his power is that he kills all the Heralds and wipes Roshar of life. This would mean that the Heralds would've failed to protect the people, and broken the Oathpact. So... this turned into a huge, hours to write, ramble beyond just the Oathpact, but I feel there are some parts which are reasonable. If there are any parts that people think don't work, feel free to break it down. They're probably are. tl;dr: Oathpact trapped Odium by accident, Desolations are his attempt to break free, Heralds have to protect the people in order to preserve the Oathpact. Probably investing into a planet traps a shard because if they go too far away, they'll lose access to a significant portion of their power. Don't know why I would do that. This is a well-written theory. My main issue was that you didn't explain your reasoning, which you did here. You have solid evidence as well, which I guess you didn't realize. EDIT: I forget something, but since it relates to my guess as to how the series will end and Odium is defeated, I'm going to spoiler it.

Here's an interesting thought to look at with the timeline. Not sure if you noticed it or not. This is a quote from the letter to Hoid, in the epigraphs of WoR. It is assumed, and I believe it too, that the letter is sent during WoR, or at least during SA. Chances are that the letter is saying that at least two thousand years have passed since Rayse killed Tanavast and splintered Honor. Of course it's unknown which years are being used to measure it, but I imagine it's "standard" Earth years, or Roshar years. Now the thing is, there is a theory that the Recreance is when Honor was killed by Odium. Now, this theory could be completely wrong. However, if it isn't, then your marking of the Recreance is off, since you currently have it listed 1300ish Earth years and 1167 Roshar years before. Or whoever wrote the letter is exaggerating. That's it really. It's relying on a large series of assumptions, but I'm not sure if it was something you had noted, so I thought I'd throw it out there.

Quite. Although the Ars Arcanum labels nicrosil as the feruchemical metal to store investiture, I think it should be more accurately labelled as the metal which stores the ability the use a manifestation of investiture. Quite mouthy, unfortunately, but more correct. Technically speaking, every metalmind stores investiture, since the attribute charge you store in it is investiture.

You guys miss my post? In any case, opposite doesn't mean compatible, which I think is the distinction we're going for.

WoB that Preservation and Ruin are perfect opposites. Honestly though, this isn't true. The perfect opposite for Preservation would be an End-Neutral change while the perfect opposite for Ruin would be an End-Positive change.

I don't think gold shadows will actually be able to fully possess someone and control their actions. I think it is more likely that they will just affect and influence their cognitive to a fairly sharp degree, causing them to act differently to how they normally would, in accordance to your cognitive. Also, I disagree that drab or other beings with less spiritual will be more prone to the possession. We're fairly agreed that gold shadows are alternate cognitive selves. This means that they would affect the cognitive of other people, which I don't think would be weakened to a significant degree by a lessening in spiritual.

What about the fact that Shu-Korath is about unity through love and their god is named Domi, based off of Omi (Love) while Shu-Dererth is about unity through hierarchy?