Wandering Investor

@LopenTheTwoArmedHerdazian Burning nicrosil will not help in this instance. Nicrosil stores investiture, for instance the abilitiy to use allomancy, but it only works for powers you currently have access to, for instance the unkeyed metalminds in the Southern Scadrial Medallions. It won't help in accessing a source of investiture that is not keyed to you. At least, that's how I understood it, the southern people store their Identity, so they have none. Then they store warmth(or whichever attribute they can) in the corresponding metalmind, and then they store the ability to access that metalmind in the nicrosil. You tap the unkeyed nicrosil, which lets you tap the unkeyed warmth. But I should note the rules surrounding this haven't been fully explored. And yes, I was referring to when Vin tried to burn Sazed's metalmind. Breath is just as specific in terms of Identity, its just that rekeying breath to a new identity is much easier. Transferring breath rekeys the breath to the new individual. But the rekeying process must be done by the original owner, it cannot be stolen by another person. Hence torturing people to give up breath.

Allomancers can't burn invested metal. The exception being if that specific allomancer was the one that invested the metal. If person A invested the metal(via breaths, furuchemy, or otherwise) and person B ingested the metal, they'd be able to sense the metal and the corresponding power within it, but would not be able to burn it. Person A would be able to burn it. Another exception would involve person A had no Identity during the creation of the invested metal, then anyone could activate the metal if they had the right abilities.

I've gotten the impression that a shard can't get full sentience, just direction. Its mentioned that the power of preservation was smart enough to realize it wasn't smart enough to do the job. So I could see the power either splintering into pieces as the growing sentience fought itself, just sitting there, or actively searching for a vessel. I suspect the proto-awareness is the most likely, but hard to say beyond that.

Or perhaps he wants what he has, and wants everyone to have less than he currently has.

@Calderis This requires further consideration. Is that new? Haven't seen it and that is a good one. First, I feel this is confirmation of @Jofwu's Fundamental Nature. Each shard has an unbiased definition of what it is, even if we don't know what that thing is. I would argue that the Fundamental Nature cannot be much larger in scope than the Intent though (basically that the shard can't ignore part of its mandate). This would still prevent Odium from being Passion, since he seems incapable of compassion and such, beyond using them as tools anyways. When Dalinar viewed him in the spiritual realm and seemed to encompass several things, but mainly anger. Perhaps Conflict would be a better name for the shard, but the fact remains that the Fundamental Nature can potentially be different from the observed Intent. Second, that's a good argument for order. But I would still argue that Honor is a better name. This shard is specifically focused on rules to oneself, or perhaps accepting rules by Intent and following them. The concept of order would expand to a lot of other things, such as sequences and protocols for the natural world. And Roshar isn't a very orderly place, a hurricane here, a hurricane there. While Honor is of Order, Order is not limited to Honor. We see focus on the KR to bind themselves to Ideals by Intent and keeping to them. Essentially, making and keeping a promise. Or another explanation would be making a promise and then always breaking it. As long as the same protocol is followed, order is served, but Honor is not. Or perhaps the Lighweavers, who acknowledge the truth about themselves/things, a potentially honorable act, but each one takes a unique path, not very orderly. Or perhaps Honor requires Intent, while Order does not, and the Shard Honor seems very focused on Intent. Not a very good explanation, but I can't come up with another one. I see Honor and Order as two distinct concepts, but am having trouble defining the difference as they go together hand in hand.

@Zellyia If it makes you feel better, the abundance of the basin probably leaves alot of leisure time, meaning it could partially be a Renaissance ish stage?

You described case one as Rayse being dominated by Odium. If I understood correctly, you definition of "intent" would match my "expression". My "View" is more in line Calderis' statement of the vessels subconsious determining what the Intent is. Aka, if the Intent is Honor, what does that actually mean? It means "this", and that would be the Vessel's "view", or definition, of what the intent is. But I also see what you mean about expressing a scenario when the Vessel only expresses part of the Shard's full nature. I think this is impossible, as each Shard has been shown to have one Intent, with the exception being Odium, who claims to be passion. I think this is just Odium attempting to explain himself in a way that sounds better, but that's a tangent. But I'm quickly seeing that introducing more/different words is only making this much much more confusing xD. I would argue that Honor is the Intent, and Order/Unity are views of what Honor actually means. But this leads back to defining the nature of the shard vs what is being expressed. I think this is a good example. The filter in this scenario is Ati's "View" of Ruin. And his ability to resist, or lack thereof, is his integrity.

@Zellyia Harmony essentially boosted Scardial past a Renaissance stage. It could be said that Scadrial was in a Renaissance like era before the Lord Ruler and the Final Empire came along, squashing everything back to a orderly Dark Age. Harmony shared the knowledge of his copperminds with everyone afterwards though, propelling them back to Renaissance, bordering on industrial revolution. Add in the controlled and resource rich nature of the Elendel Basin, and they exploded into the IR.

I assume The Sibling(proposed to be the third bondsmith spren) powers the City-Tower. There is mention of one of the bondsmiths always being in accompaniment of Urithiru, possibly because its spren was stuck there. And keep in mind the Higher spren are capable of choosing what they do and could have agreed to do this. I'm increasingly suspecting that the ancient fabrials, soulcasters and regrowth tools, function do to a spren willing bonding with the tool. Which is why the gemstones can be changed out, the spren is attached to the fabrial itself. And that's why it is so different, the mechanism bonding the spren is by Intent.

I like this explanation, although I'm gonna have to reread a few times to understand it all. For instance, which scenario would it be if Odium/Hatred/conflict is the nature of the shard, and Rayse is in agreement with the shard and maintains his personality? Would that be a case three? One suggestion I would have is a change of terms, as your terms confuse me (this might be just me though, so...). I would use Intent, what the shard actually is. The View, the interpretation of the Vessel on what the Intent should be/do. The Expression, the combination of the Intent and View, which determines how the shard actually works. An example would be Ati viewing Ruin(the intent) as terrible destruction(the view) which in turn meant Ruin tried to destroy everything(the expression). Sazed views Ruin(the intent) as the final chapter of a story, not to be rushed, but not to be denied(the view), which leads to Harmony not saving people from murder, greeting people at their deaths, comforting them but not saving them(the expression). The terms describe the same things, just using words that I've observed as being more common descriptions/ make sense(to me anyways, but I'm insane so it might not for other people ^^). The view in this case may need to be expanded, as its not only a view of the intent, but of everything. The intent presses against the view, slowly changing it over time(depending on the strength of the vessel). And it may be necessary to create another term for the integrity of the vessels personality. How much is still the vessel, and how much is the shard? Harmony saved Wax, how much was preserving a powerful tool of Harmony, and how much was Sazed wanting Wax to live. This integrity would essentially describe how well a Vessel could conceive of/pursue interest that are not aligned with, potentially against, the intent of their shard. Having a personality vs being a force.

This pretty accurately described how I felt. It was a good book, bordering great, but not like the other two. More than anything, it reminded me of books 6-10ish of the Wheel of Time series. Absolutely important logistically for the story to advance, but suffering in quality. But that Dalinar scene at the end was 10/10 still, so a good book. I disagree with the world hoppers, I want more, let the interference get bigger! That said, I understand how it can be jarring, especially for new readers. But the Stormlight Archives are a major turning point for the entire cosmere (somehow), and I love the epic feel of galaxy wide consequences.

I had the idea for my universe long before I read Sanderson, but the cosmere inspired some of the rules and general shaping of my universe. Mostly in the dimensions aspect. Mine only has two, the realm of the body and of the mind. My mind realm is essentially the spiritual and cognitive realms smashed together. Magic is the manipulation of the mind realm. Beyond that the two universes diverge for the most part. Any time I feel something is too inspired by Sanderson I try to change it.

So we need some more details. How much stormlight? I'm going to given them a pouch full of gems, and the radiant is already filled to the bursting. What type of soulcaster does the soulcaster have?(I'm going to assume greater with access to all the types and they have multiples of each kind of gem). We also don't know much about Aviar abilities beyond hiding the mind and showing potential deaths, so those are the two the trapper will have. I'm going to assume the forger does not have soul forgery, so its a normal human artist/thief hybrid, no advanced combat abilities. The soulcaster will not have any notable combat ability either. Also, what arena? So this is basically a fight between the Lightweaver and the trapper, with the forger and the soulcaster providing supplies/backup. The Lightweaver possesses a shardblade while the trapper will have a lot more survival skills. This fight is one of scenario. Are they in a small arena? If so, victory goes to the Lightweaver on account of the shardblade and stormlight. If they're in a larger arena, abandoned city or forest, and the battle is drawn to a medium length, then the sides are equal. The soulcaster provides supplies that last longer and are not temporary, but is limited to the 10 essences. The forger can make more specialized things if the situation is right, but unless they're in a place the forger knows the history of, they're forgery may be limited and they're relegated to the position of thief/scout in that case. The trapper is going to be better at moving around the arena, maintaining awareness of the other team, and setting traps. The Lightweaver possesses stormlight for increase regeneration(almost immortality for the duration of the stormlight), endurance, and slight strength/speed boost, a shardblade, and the spren may be able to scout, but we haven't seen Pattern attempt this too much. The lightweaver can set traps via lightweaving, but the Aviar can detect this. Its basically a question of can the trapper injure, through traps of ranged weapons, the Lightweaver when they're not holding stormlight, before the Light weaver finds them. I'm calling this one a draw since its based more on the individuals skills at this point, slight advantage to the Lightweaver/forger do to stormlight/shardblade. If they're in a larger arena, abandoned city or forest, and the battle is drawn to a large length (days or weeks), then the Trapper/soulcaster wins. The trapper will be better at long term survival and will win the long game. They might be able to starve out their opponents at this point with the trapper hunting and the soulcaster making food. Even if the Lightweaver/forger survive this long and they healthy, they will have run out of stormlight by this point. At this point the Lightweaver is reduced to being an artist wielding a shardblade, still deadly, but not as dangerous and far easier to kill. The trapper will be able to deploy traps and ranged weaponry at this point and will likely be effective. Win goes to the trapper/soulcaster, but advantage is not guaranteed, if at any point the Lightweaver is able to get within melee range they'll likely win. Duos make this way more complicated lol. Or maybe just these particular guys since they aren't really combat oriented. Mistborn (three vials of metal) and Koloss vs medium skilled Elantrian and 4th oath Windrunner(with small pouch of gems, half hour worth at full burn, several hours if conserved). Arena is Empty Elantris(powered up). Battle begins at sunrise and must finish before the next sunrise, otherwise it will be a draw.

Perhaps I didn't word it correctly. Its not that he wants power, he already has that. But he wants to be the most powerful. He can't take other shards, so the only way to accomplish that goal is to bring everyone else down. Simultaneously, doing so clears out his rivals and anyone who poses a threat to him. In that way, both goals can align.

Scadrial is confirmed for FTL. Brandon has stated we'll see Shardblades in space one day, so Roshar is quite possible as well. Taldain is obviously on a similar technology path as Scadrial, so FTL is likely for them. But realistically, I expect every planet will have space-travel. We can already see some form of collaboration in Silverlight, and I can only expect that to continue. Plus, it appears the entire cosmere is heading to a space age, not just individual planets. Which makes sense, as it will be difficult to keep spacefaring technology hidden from any planet that Silverlighters have access to and from.

I would say both are true. He wants to kill the other gods to prevent any competition and danger to himself. But that doesn't mean he can't want power at the same time. The two goals align pretty well.

You're right, that one could be interpreted differently. I could have sworn I'd seen another one that more bluntly put Odium's goal was to be the only one at his power level, but I can't find it now. Found it! So from these two quotes we can see that Odium wants to destroy all other Shards, and only has a secondary interest in mortals. He'd kill the other shards even if people weren't around, so his motive can't be spreading power to people. And if his goal was to prevent the return of Adonalisium, the other shards are probably on board with that considering they helped in Adon's death, so there's no reason to kill them. Additionally Brandon has described Odium as selfish. With all that, sole god of the cosmere seems like his most likely goal.

Both Timbre and the voidspren are captured within Venli's gemheart. That's actually the problem with Dawnsingers forming a bond with the higher spren. Their bond required the spren to be trapped within the gemheart, so Timbre is stuck there. The higher spren don't like being trapped like that, and as far as we know, this is the primary reason there were not Dawnsinger Radiants. But that's not super confirmed, so we might find out a better reason in the next book.

His plan is the death of the other shards so he can be the only god. His targets are others that will try the same thing, such as Ambition, or those that are breaking rules, as an excuse. And considering Odium's apparent fondness for war, after his enemies are dead I'm sure he'll set mortals against each other as per his mandate of inspiring hatred. So I would definately classify Odium as a baddie, not robin hood.

I think book 4 will continure to define the current conflict. The dawnsingers will be a big part, in which we'll learn their culture and mindset from Eshonei's flashbacks. I suspect we'll get more information about the Radiant orders, not just the members, but the orders themselves. Along with expansion on Odium's specific short term goals. OB introduced the heart of the conflict, but we really don't have too much information about the parsh, or what the end game of such a fight could be.

Swear words are an integral part of how people express themselves and language in general. Instead of having people not swear, which would be horribly out of character for a lot of them, and because he doesn't want his books full of actual curse words, Brandon gives them in world swear words.

She admitted killing her father at the end of WoK, as a truth to the cryptics around her in order to access Shadesmar. But she did have a bond during her childhood, so its unclear as to whether this was a proper Truth, a revival Truth(regaining lost levels), or something else.

Its been theorized that Scandrians are a possibility. But Scadrial isn't the only planet that obtains spaceflight, so it could be from any number of planets we've seen so far.

The Blade and Armor may be gained at different Ideals for different orders. For example, we have Shallan at the fourth oath and no shardplate(some argue she doesn't know about it, but when Kaladin approaches the fourth Ideal windspren are attracted to him) while its been confirmed windrunners gain their armor at the fourth. Additionally, we know Shallan is at the fourth, which was admiting to killing her mother. If the third oath was admitting to killing her father, than Shallan would have had her blade before the 3rd Ideal, while Kal gained his at the third. So, its not confirmed, but it may be different levels for different orders. As for the fourth Windrunner oath, what if its not about abandoning(which Kal and maybe other Windrunners will see it that way) but about stepping back and letting people live their own journeys. By being overprotective of his men's lives, Kal is potentially preventing them from living their journeys and their destinations. Likely they're probably okay with this, but what about when they want to take on a mission, even if death is likely? They might be willing to sacrifice their lives for a goal, but Kal currently would not be okay with that. So the fourth oath is about respecting others decisions, their journeys, and their destinations.

Odium wants to be the only one at his power level, so no, he's not good. He wants to be the only god remaining.