Wandering Investor

At the end of WoR, Szeth mentions they will face people with "shards" and "power" when referring the fighting his own people. Could the stone shamans have a different set of powers they keep secret? Unless their power revolves around creating the fabrials.

I was wondering that myself. Perhaps its low enough that the highstorm can blow through. The KR relay seems inefficient, but definitely possible. Or can the Stormfather directly power his bondsmith? Dalinar relay into the power core.

It should be noted that the Intents of the shards can be interpreted in different ways. For instance, Ati and Lerus had opposite views and would have been unable to hold both preservation and ruin, but Sazed understood and agreed with both. Dominion and Devotion could likely be fused with the correct viewpoint, think King that loves his subject while demanding loyalty (like Elend). But without a commonly connected Vessel, the shards are likely to have an extremely one-sided view and struggle against each other. And Odium's meddling was probably designed to make it difficult for a vessel to gain a connection.

Not impossible, but I'm leaning towards not a prison. Four main reasons. The first is that Re-Shepir was terrified of being captured again. If she gained freedom from her prison, I suspect the first thing she'd do is leave, not hang around. The second is that during the weeping only the largest gems last, and that's only a few weeks. Shallan senses that Re-Shepir seemed to have been captured a couple hundred years ago. If the stormlight was what was keeping her captured, it would have failed long long ago. The third is that each instance we've seen of captured spren has them captured inside just one gemstone, not a collective. Scenes from Gavilar have him mentioning a special gemstone (singular). This isn't a perfect reason, as we don't know all the rules, but based on it I see no reason for using the entire pillar instead of one gemstone. The fourth is that Shallan notes an immediate change in the tower, the disappearance of the wrongness. While it could have been a desperate act of using what was nearby, Re-Shepir's presence seems more in line with sabotage. It is, of course, possible that the massive amount of gems was required for capturing her, that the radiants did it as an act of desperation that marked their abandoning of the tower city, and the gems were somehow able to last for so long.

The power core idea is neat, I really wanna see the entire tower light up with stormlight. Re-Shepir seemed to be guarding the pillar, not stuck to it. If she were trapped, I think it would likely be inside of a gemstone, unable to get out at all. In this case, she was outside of the gems, and able to flee at will. It also brings about the question of how she was trapped and then escaped. Did she release herself or did someone break her out?

It may have to do with specific traits to the orders. Shallen's affinity for shadesmar via the transformation surge and Renarin via his ability to "see". This wouldn't account for Maize, but could explain why Dalinar and the Releaser couldn't sense the wrongness.

With the Gravity analogy, the gravity constant is a rule of reality. The Shards are able to influence the amount of matter and thus the gravity, but they don't seem to be able to change the traits of reality itself (can they?). If that's the case, two possible options come to mind. The focus is tied to the location in reality, in which case there is the question of can Shard influence that. Or the other option is the focus is tied to the physical matter of the planet, in which case, why not multiple focuses. The entire planet isn't made of dirt, so why would different types of physical matter lead to the same focus.

What if the Expanses have Physicical components, but not obvious ones, such as the focuses. Does the Cognitive realm cease to exist if no one is around, or is it just empty? Also, the Expanses could be similar to physics. Rules that exist, regardless of whether there is anything there or not. Do we know the focus is tied to the planet? If that's confirmed, then the expanse idea goes out the window. Also, why want metal. The entire planet is their power manifested, they don't seem to be limited just metal. Although Wyndal's comment seems to indicate unknown rules involving metal.

That is entirely possible. Khriss guessed that they chose the system due to the empty space to work with, but what if they chose it for reasons based on its Expanses traits. It would depend on how well they can influence the magic/system and its focus, or if they can anticipate what the focus is should it be out of their control. The only reason I'm unsure about the planet itself influencing the focus is that all multi-shard world's we've seen all use the same focus among the planet's magic system. If the focus can be architected/engineered, which if that's possibly in an artificial world it's probably possible on a normal one, then why would the shards use the same focus in their magic systems?

That's a theory, not a confirmed fact. Just based on the differences between the sections in Shademar, the Expanse of Vapors, possibly referring to Scadrial, Roshar's section being made of beads, and the other Expences. These seem to indicate that the areas of the cosmere, not the planets themselves, have traits. My theory is that focuses are a trait of these Expances, not the planet, artificial or otherwise. Have we seen any stories, or hints of stories, set on different planets in the same system?

A vesseless Shard would likely continue as was, for a little while at least. It would probably start trying to find a replacement. As Harmony mentioned, the power is aware enough to recognize a full mind is needed to fulfill its purpose. Also, Brandon has stated that vesseless Shards are dangerous, as seen on Sel. The powers there without anyone to guide them have become dangerous, and several of the larger pieces may have gained, not sentience, but direction.

Sorry, not the planet specifically, but its location in the cosmere. For instance, my guess is if you saw a soul and a piece of metal floating in space where Scadrial would eventually be, before the shards ever got there, both would glow in Shademar.

It has been awhile, but I once asked Brandon what the most powerful non-Shard entity was, and he stated Hoid. So he may have been going off of revealed information, or the other entity is broken into its own shards. Otherwise, it would point to Adonalsium being unique, and any appearance of non-shard deities being Autonomy doing its thing.

I'm pretty sure Ruin has a shardpool. In the logbook, there is mention of a pool that looks metallic black, and I recall seeing a WoB state there is a shardpool deep deep down in the Pits. Also, while metal is important, Shards manifest as all three types of matter, not just solids. I don't think a planets focus is determined by the Shard, but more a mixing between the planet's natural investiture and the Shard's.

As shown by Kelsier, if the original vessels didn't have a large enough connection, they wouldn't have been able to ascend (unless the weapon forced the ascension). Either way, after a time they would have molded, example: Ati (although Ati's condition may have been influenced by frustration). Either way, the abilities of the Shard are still influenced by the Shard's Intent. And to a second extent, the skill/ability of the Vessel to manipulate the shard, which can change over time.. Shattering is probably available to any Shard that knows how and can find a reason for it in line with their Intent.

The reason the gas giants don't manifest in Sadesmar is the lack of thought. Thoughts are what cause things to manifest in Shadesmar is mental activity. That's why the space between planets in Shademar is walkable. It's there, but barely manifest. On the other hand, a populated planet will be manifested quite strongly. If there are non-sentient beings (likely spren) on the planets, then mental activity will be minimal, hence the minor manifestation. But I do agree that there is something up with the gas planets, the number and size of the planets seemed artificial. There is a possibility that they have a larger presence in the spiritual and physical realm, possibly forming Odium's cage. On the heralds going to Damnation, there is a mention of hooks tearing flesh and fire being used on them. That is likely literal, and indicated a sentient torture. Since there isnt' sentience on the gas giants, they likely do not go there. Instead, I would guess Braize is where they go, or the other planet. The gap between the desolations may involve Odium's realizing that men will fight each other when not presented with a threat. Or the damaged Oathpact.

The Vessel's views also shape the Intent, even as the Intent shapes the Vessel's views, so it's best to assume that the original Vessels are all in sync with their shards. Brandon has stated that post-shattering, the Shards were all equal in power. Also, Shard's abilities are influenced by their Intent. Cultivation is better at seeing into the future because her goals are long term. Honor is more focused on the here and now. Same thing with Preservation and Ruin. Odium is good at shattering because his hatred wants to destroy. Also, Odium doesn't like to Invest, so Odium's ability to shatter is both influenced by his being stronger (not investing) and his Intent (hatred leading to wanting to destroy). On the Red Wave, while not sure, I would guess that Harmony's inaction is due to two things. The first and primary is his duality leads to wanting to find an equilibrium, aka harmony. Since he has the power of two normal shards, the Red Wave cannot breach his system, and he is content to leave as is. The other reason being he doesn't know how. He's a lot younger than the other Shards and has never experienced Shardic conflict. I'm given the impression that even creating a planet not a huge drain on a Shard's grand power. In one vs one, it would make a large difference, Harmony's duel shard status would make him significantly more powerful than any single shard. Thus, he could push back the Red Wave to the source, but he's either content to leave the system in equilibrium or doesn't know how to combat the Red Wave fully.