StrikerEZ

You're welcome. Also, I was wondering if you could describe the type of magic a shadowling can do? I know it's physical and messes with their sanity, but could you be more specific? On an unrelated note, I have lots of what I think are really good ideas for books, but I don't know if I should share them all.

This sounds really cool! I can't wait to hear more about it, if you're willing to share.

Baaaaaaaaaaaahhh?

@Sunbird All of those birds are so cool! And quite a few of them are really cute as well!

@Spoolofwhool Thanks, I thought I'd read the summary of AoL, but I guess I didn't, if I don't remember Scadrial being mentioned in it. Also, I look into those annotations.

@The One Who Connects, @Spoolofwhool, @Weltall: Thanks for the answers, I figured that it was a mix of both. Also, is it worth it to read the annotations of the books? Yes, I believe he did.

Oh, I know. I know, I wasn't gonna read Arcanum until I'd read the rest of the Cosmere. I put it on hold because I knew I'd be able to read more Cosmere books before I finally get it because it isn't gonna be back in the library until the 22nd. And I read really fast too, so it won't really be a problem. Oh, I should've said non-Sanderson. I have several other books from other authors I need to read.

So, I just finished the first Mistborn trilogy, which is my first Cosmere book ever, and I was amazed. The worldbuilding was incredible, the magic system so detailed and well thought out. I loved every single one of the characters (okay, maybe except Ruin and Cett), and the transitions between their viewpoints were absolutely amazing, I never felt like I had to trudge through any characters' chapters. I was so intrigued in all of them. Sanderson managed to keep me guessing most of the time, and I never really knew what was gonna happen next. Except until the third book, where I managed to realize that the sword tip that was stuck in Spook was giving him the ability to "burn pewter," and that's why he saw Kelsier. However, I never guessed that Sazed had been writing the little things at the start of the chapter. I thought it had been Vin. I have some questions though. Scadrial was never mentioned in this trilogy. Did you figure out the name through Sanderson, or was it mentioned in the Alloy of Law series? Also, same about Sazed being named Harmony. Was that from a later book or from Sanderson?

Hmm. It seems I've must've got some cool face tattoos. Long live the Lord Ruler!

I've put Arcanum Unbounded on hold, so I'll get that soon. For now, the next Cosmere book on my list is Elantris. Of course, I've got plenty of other books to read before then as well. Non-Cosmere, of course.

Will do. It will have to be added to my very long list of to-read books, though.

Now, you may or may not start hearing voices. Don't worry, this is completely unnatural natural. It means your body has accepted the hemalurgic spikes chocolate chips graciously. Don't be afraid if you feel the urge to kill help lots of people. Anyway, I'm still very new to Sanderson, but I'm already in love with his books. What is Perfect State about?

Hi, welcome to the Shard! Have an upvote and a cookie! The cookie may or may not have metal spikes chocolate chips.

I just finished The Hero of Ages. Holy cow, it's been a long ride. I freaking loved these books, why didn't I read Mistborn earlier?

See, like I said, this is still a fairly new magic system (a few days old). And it especially needs tweaking and balancing. Thanks for the feedback and critique though! I hadn't really thought about how the body would be most likely to reject the DNA.

Hello there, have an upvote (cookie is included, with spikes chocolate chips). Which books have you read so far? I'm fairly new to Sanderson as well, and I agree with your sentiment. I recommend you read Mistborn, Steelheart, and The Rithmatist, if you haven't read any of those yet.

@Tristan I hadn't quite thought of how to make sure Hiveminds aren't overpowered yet. I'm still really thinking about this idea, so I haven't quite got there yet. Or even to the laws either. I'll probably post once I've solved those problems. When a Bodyjacker takes another person's form, all of their cells absorb that person's DNA, hiding the Bodyjacker's own DNA (though it is still there if you look close enough). This absorption of the DNA is only temporary, so the cells would eventually revert back to normal, albeit at a lot slower pace than the Bodyjacker, since the cell is not having to produce more cells and wasting the stolen DNA. A Bodyjacker can commit crimes while impersonating someone, as they are technically the other person and leave behind that person's DNA. At this point in time in the world (this book takes place in a fantasy world where these powers originate, however far into the future and with advanced technology), one of the first tests done when someone is killed is to check for hidden Bodyjacker DNA. This is quite expensive, however, so while it should legally be done for every case, detectives fake the records on easier cases and only use the test where they think it is obvious that Bodyjackers were involved. When a Bodyjacker has died while in another form, they will eventually revert back to their original form, albeit at a much slower pace.

Oh. I didn't know what they were just because I haven't read the Stormlight Archive yet. I'm going to soon though.

This is the best intro post I've ever seen. I'm happy, and I gave you an upvote. Avoid the cookies (or not).

So, I came up with these two powers while I was taking shower last night. I kind of know what sort of world they're gonna be put in, but I thought I'd come share them and get some thoughts on them. The first one is called MindJumping. A person who uses it is called a Hivemind. When a Hivemind touches another person (skin-to-skin contact is required), their mind is transferred to the other person. Their original body still has a part of their mind in it and can function by itself, however. Once in a host, they can either hide inside the person's mind, reading their thoughts and looking into their memories, or they can completely take the host over. They can then MindJump into another body, leaving another fragment of their mind in their first host. However, this leaves them vulnerable; there's an invisible link that connects them all the way back to their original body. If any of the bodies along a link are killed (when the body that the Hivemind is currently in is killed, the Hivemind is just returned back to their last host), the original body of the Hivemind would die, stranding the Hivemind in their most recent host. They do not die and can still travel between bodies, but they no longer leave a link behind. There is no quick escape if their current host is killed (this has its advantages and disadvantages). The other power is Bodyjacking. Bodyjackers can take the DNA of a person, whether it be hair, nail, skin, or blood, and can turn into that person (usually by ingesting the DNA). While in that form, they do not gain that person's memories, although they do inherit behavioral patterns. The fresher the DNA, the longer they can stay in that form, as the form is not permanent. They cannot choose when they revert back to normal, and there is no going back and forth between forms. Once their body has processed all the DNA, they will revert back to normal. A person's blood is the best for long periods that a Bodyjacker need to be in a form. Fresh blood when the person is still living is the most potent, however people in this world know of the people with powers and are very reluctant to give up blood. Blood from someone who has recently died (at least within five minutes of death) is the next on the scale, though blood from later than that can still be used; the duration for this blood is exponentially shorter the longer the person has been dead, however. The more potent the DNA, the more accurate the Bodyjacker's transformation will be, and the more accurate the behavioral patterns will be as well.

@frost The reputation shows how many upvotes you've got on your post, and you get a little title depending on how many you have. I'm not sure what a spren is, but I figure it's from the Cosmere.

Yeah, the antibiotic helped a lot, especially because he isn't white anymore (like, pale white). I figured he was starting to feel better because before I left, he had to stay just a little longer but my dad took me home, he was complaining about how weird having an IV feels. When they first put the medicine in him a few hours ago, he commented about how it felt so cold, and how it was spreading throughout his entire body. Before they gave him the medicine, he just sat there, squirming in pain. Usually when he's sick, he still bounces all over the place even though we tell him to rest, so that was scary that he didn't even want to get up.

First, congrats about 40,000! Secondly, is there any chance you could share this most likely amazing story with us?

It's a dry cough. And I don't know what color his mucus is, because nothing hardly ever comes up, but the cough sounds so painful. They gave him an antibiotic and sent him home finally, but there really doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him that they could find. Also, no, I don't know what antibiotic they gave him.

No, they're not sure what he has. I think that's even scarier than knowing what he has, even if it's dangerous.