1stBondsmith

Wit told Dalinar as much when Dalinar asked him what kind of leader he was. Wit acknowledged that at other times he would denounce him, but for now, he was exactly what they needed. This is also why historically, people give extraordinary powers to Despots, Emperors, etc. They claim the need justifies the central power, but can't remove it when the deed is done. Our issues with this continue today in the world. I would rather have a "Dalinar" who lives by a code I believe in get that power, than have someone else take it out of "expediency". I fully back what Adolin did, and would have done it myself in his place. Whether society claims "it's OK as long as you are not caught" or not; if a person tries to get me killed, or my family, and continues to threaten, I am justified and obligated to remove the threat. I don't need to wait for a government to make a law. This is not vigilante justice, this is self or family defense. End of Story. Salute Adolin for succeeding!

We thought we had Adolin beat. Add Renarin's Shards? This will be sweet! Who's this slave they all cheer? What's he doing in here? Now he's cracked my breastplate with his feet!

The best one for starting life here; or any time on Earth... "... I'll open my eyes and look back at them, and they'll know that I survived." A spirit guardian to help you last the ordeal, and drops of Heaven's light to make you strong again.

Not as drawn above, since all fields meet on the outer surface. Also, one cannot penetrate into the "dough" of the doughnut, but must remain on the surface. Further, remember that this is all the cognitive realm, after entering it from the physical or spiritual. How that happens is ... Magic!

I think it works very well. If space between items in the cognitive does not exist, the toroid construct allows travel almost exactly as described in the Cosmere. It also makes travel between worlds instantaneously very easy if the " doughnut hole" is very small. It would correctly be referred to as a "perpendicularity" across the hole. An Elsecaller (with enough practice) could step from one side of the hole to another. They would be able to "see" all sides of the wold as the hole, and could move from one world to another, "role the hole" (also called twisting the doughnut in their perception) to see another point and reach across the hole to be somewhere else in the original world. A fabrial would only need to have a tied connection to a set 3D space, but be directed at another point in the rolled hole to be able to trade spaces across "no" space. this answers @Argent, @Oversleep, @Jondesu, @Landis963, and @18th Shards problems, incorporates @ZenBossanova and @theuntaintedchilds idea. Just seems to work to me. For some reason, I cannot delete the link below... odd. @ZenBossanova

There was a significant misinterpretation above that ties to the last two posts. A toroid does have all sides wrap, but NOT like a globe, but as a doughnut. This means that if the traveler travelled in the right direction, they could end up back where they started without leaving their world. (Traveling through the hole, and around the outside to the origin). But if the doughtnut had worlds clumped together that formed the ring, if you head the "right direction" you would pass through all the worlds of the cognitive realm and THEN return to your starting place (by traveling around the doughnut, but always parallel to the hole). A diagonal path still leads you through all worlds, and you pass though the hole one or more times. Your time and distance walked in each world is increased. Suddenly direction is the most critical part of traveling a cognitive path, and from Kelsier we know that direction can be an innate thing with connection to your original world. It opens up many possibilities we haven't accounted for. By the way, this is what physicists call a 3D representation of 4D space and travel. It fits well here.

I am a little older than Brandon. He better write faster than 1 every 4 years! I want the Dragonsteel too before I die!

Thanks, I was asking to see if you had more music under a different name. My wife and I perform (more in the past than currently) together, and appreciate original works, as we know how difficult the process can be. Hat tip to you!

Well done! The instruments chosen, the timber of your tone ( not to mention your excellent pitch and elocution) all follow the style and feeling of the setting well. Lonely, but not weeping. Foreign, but relatable. Nicely done. Is your dark-eyed nomen what you always use, or is it just for Cosmere centered productions?

I agree with @Pagerunner on this. Statistics melts under the burden of assumptions, and assigning a predetermined motive to a RAFO is wild congecture most of the time; and ultimately, the discovery in the book is far more satisfying than announcing "there is a 57% chance Hoid will fight with Kelsier again". I suggest getting a WoB on a suggest brings far more satisfaction. It has for me.

Two small optical attenuators mailed to me by the telecom installer after he noted I had none in my design. They are critical to laser communications and I was fresh out of college. I asked him what an attenuators was. I keep them on my desk 18 years later.

Neuclar detant was not a war, but kept the peace very well. A big stick (like being able to break Nahel bonds) could easily be considered a way to keep the peace around rogue Radiants. Remember, peace has to come against enemies foreign AND domestic. It would hold them to there oaths.

"A piece of wet slime and a disgusting crab thing with seventeen legs slunk across the rocks together on an insufferably rainy day." Wait a minute! Didn't this very thing get observed by Kaladin when he and Shallan were in the highstom in the Shattered Plains? Was this an Easter Egg? Sorry this isn't funny, but it deserves thought!

Most peacekeepers are very good at violence and have to be to be able to protect more than themselves. Peace usually comes at the tip of a big stick. I hate violence, and consider it the failure of every good alternative, but I am fluent in it. That is likely one of the reasons I enjoy such a peaceful life. (That and the sacrifices of other like minded men).

I have this WOB in my WOR book that might give you a big hint to their role: "___________, welcome to the Radiant Order of Bondsmiths. Your first assignment will be to keep the peace" (he paused here a long while) "for all."

I don't think what Adolin did was wrong or "a mistake". I sang out a "good on you!" When I read that part. You don't sleep at night with a snake in your bed. Sadeas tried to kill Adolin twice, and had just committed to try and kill Dalinar again. A good son of the Blackthorn, and a good leader. The consequences his father worried over earlier were political, not legal or moral. It met justice, but not expedience. The politics just changed dramatically before their encounter. Cheers, Young Kholin!

Don't you think that anything that would extinguish the planets of a system would also affect the star of the system or shade its light (like dust clouds from the ruined planets blocking the light. At a minimum, the dimming of their star would make the reflected light dim. I think it is more sinister than this though, and I was noting that the effect could be either local to the greater Roshar system, or broader. We just don't have evidence either way yet.

It is possible that the lights that wink out "that he hadn't noticed before" are the gas giants of the Roshar system, not all the Cosmere. Just a thought.

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My Friends, I believe I have a good response to the hypothetical dilemma posted above, and not surprisingly, it is a combination of the wisdom of various Sharders who have been kind enough to post. I love to theorize about the future, but if a person truly believes they are correct, I think a new standard is required. Fortunately, Sanderson's worlds are so vast and intricate, that there are a million theories to discuss with what is given as fact, and what could be in the future, so I tip a hat to the opinions of @Pagerunner and @Quiver. However, @Landis963 and @Belzedar most closely reflect my own views on the matter, and I believe would preserve the experience we all look for in the moments of "Awesomeness". Therefore, to follow the Zeroth Law of Sanderson, and to ere on the side of Awesomeness, I would postulate the following response: 1: Following @randuirs advise, I would have taken a picture with the main reveal including today's Deseret News paper for date verification. This is much easier than encrypting and keying- old ways are good ways!). Proof of timing and scope is needed for hypothetical credibility and to keep people from thinking or saying "What a dope! Says he has a great prediction with bad spoilers, but won't tell anyone!". 2. I would create several ancillary questions to be posted in public forums that would verify the kernels of the prediction using known breadcrumbs and published information. I would NOT however do so in an order or time that would lead to an obvious reveal of the prediction. This is needed to verify prediction, as well as a chance to put friends on the right footing to make the same discovery, without dashing to pieces the match of wits with the author, who always holds the upperhand. 3. Ask two very simple and direct questions of Brandon, in a private setting. If they get RAFOd, I will say no more to other people. If they get RAFOd with a big smile (he loves to do that when people guess what he has hinted at but doesn't want the future plots revealed), I too would smile and say no more to other people. If it does NOT get RAFOd or if is discussed at all, I would then immediately post on a more public forum the question and answer, and post the photo with the date with it. The boards would then explode with discussion on a hundred new topics related to it. Once again, I appreciate all the views, and have argued internally in very nearly the same lines as each of the posters, but people read books for different experiences, and a major plot reveal can and does spoil the moment of discovery that Brandon loves to include. Just like he wishes he could have had the experience of reading the Way of Kings like his fans did, I would prefer to save that experience for others who might be tempted to read more than they should years before the books come out. (I am one of those people). Thanks for your various and honest input. It is appreciated- even for hypothetical situations.

A Hypothetical: In a moment of splendid brilliance (based on years of reading, Sharding, and pondering on the WOBs) you are able to see into the future of the Cosmere, and consequently can predict two unnamed Shards' Intents, severe plot twists, and undoubtedly anticipated surprises from our favorite author. These are all tied to one bright idea. In a flash you see the breadcrumbs left for us throughout all the books, and can support it with such evidence that it is overwhelming to your internal skepticism, and you know it is true. To check this, you offer the theory and evidence to a spouse who has read all the writings of the Cosmere as well. She is usually a strong skeptic of theories (because you have had many of them, and many are/must be wrong), but she also readily sees the body evidence as overwhelming. Because your age, upbringing, location, travels and reading selections are similar to Sanderson's, you are now feeling you are on solid ground with the prediction. Enough, say, to bet a years' income on it if you were the betting type. The Dilemma: ...and now, what? In the past, sharing theories with like-minded fans and scholars was very enjoyable, and mentally stimulating, because a test of theory produces all kinds of friendly interactions, mental gymnastics, and pleasant distraction. However, if you share this one, there will be undesirable consequences. Terrible spoilers will occur. Individuals will dislike you for ruining the "Awesomeness" of the reveal. Ahlstrom or Sanderson might find the predictions made public, as the body of evidence is discussed and commented on. This could change the plot to preserve a strong reveal, or could cause them to hunker down and interact less with the Shard in an effort NOT to let it change them. Any way you see it, the external consequences seem negative. Personally, the positives include: the "I knew it!" moment when you read it in the future- which remains whether you share it or not, increased reputation among other fans (like an aluminum-chest-of-Koloss-spikes-worth of reputation points), great discussions to enjoy in the meantime, credibility in discussions, but mostly feeding your pride because the brilliance of the leap you made would be obvious to others. Deep down, revealing the theory, when you believe it to be true, feels like it would only be selfish. The Counter Argument: You could be wrong. You have no inside information, just what was published as hints. It is out there for people to read and speculate on. Any author that takes 30 years to publish a story must expect spoilers to be ruined as fans guess in this communication-rich time. It is really fun. You have guessed about things before and been both right and wrong. Though this is a big plot reveal, it could be spread out with many more books of hints till everyone can guess it, so you are not doing much harm. Etc. The Decision: So would you share a BIG plot prediction that would be a huge spoiler if you really believed you were right? Please share why.

Scouring is often a description of cleaned by fire. It has been used to great effect with many midevil armies. All you need is grass or woods, not napalm. Much harder to fight than to light, and excellent for mass extermination. Military uses go back long before Sun Su, but he wrote about it extensively.

I mean, I'm the webmaster I guess. What title does do me justice? Well, @Chaos, the work you do deserves an honorific, but I suspect the reality feels more like "Lifeless". To the OP's point, perhaps the name is more along the lines of the roles they play, like Progression, or Defense.

I agree. The prose was better than the art, even though it was still rough. Having said that, I don't think I could have made a better comic form, it was just hard to get the characters and art together for all the information. It took me about 4 rereads, whereas the prose came fairly smoothly. I could pass on the graphics and stick to the prose, but the fan in me kind of wants Sanderson to succeed in all genres. That is probably an unrealistic desire. Maybe the novels and movies will be enough. This will only hold true if we get the prose of the rest of the Taldain story.

Welcome to the forums @TheAscendedDude. Good first post. Have an upvote. Also, your written English is excellent and needs no apology. I agree that snapping no longer looks to be a requirement under Harmony. This means that no crack in the spirit web is needed to allow the investiture. This is very different from what Brandon says about needing room in a cracked spirit web to allow room for the extra investiture. Is this because of the end positive nature of allomancy, or is everyone now somewhat cracked in Harmonies time? I wonder.