ILuvHats

This theory seems very plausible, and I like it’s simplicity. IMO, the simplest theories are most often correct. But, your timelines a bit off. I think it was confirmed in OB that the Fused did not originally have access to the surges until after the Oathpact. I don’t have my copy with me, but I’m pretty sure the Stormfather mentioned this to Dalinar during the visions. But I’m just nitpicking. Great theory! @Bigmikey357 I’m reasonably certain Preservation exploited a loophole in his deal with Ruin, so he never technically broke his word.

Secret History Spoilers

Wow @hoiditthroughthegrapevine. I can literally hear Steris's voice rapping when I read your roast, which is kinda hilarious. I also like that you planned ahead, probably composed the roast a week ago, and were the first to post your rap, since that's exactly what Steris would do. Staying in character. I like it.

Random thought: what if Nightblood is gradually becoming more "intelligent" as he gains investiture? It probably doesn't work this way, and his personality and self awareness were most likely set upon his creation. But if artificial intelligence is directly proportional to the levels of investiture... cause obviously there's the WoB that Shards can become self-aware if left alone long enough. I mean is it just me, or does Nightblood seem slightly more grounded in reality during Oathbringer? Cuz I know the reality of the moments immediately following his creation are imprinted on his memory, and thats why he thought Shashara was still alive during Warbreaker. And I kept expecting him to talk about her to Szeth since he mentioned both Vasher and Vivenna, but he didn't, so maybe he's getting better at realizing what is reality and what isn't? Eh.... Well, my crazy rants over. Sorry about that.

I'm not LDS so I'm not familiar enough with the ideology to make connections between it and the cosmere. But there was a thread on this a while ago. It started out just for scadrial, but there's also connections to the greater cosmere.

Can we reserve spots in the rap battle after the next one? I don't remember if there was a policy on how far in advance you can get spots, or if the rules are any different since the next round will be special.

Really? When was that mentioned? Or is there a WoB?

@Calderis When Brandon said Bondsmith didn’t have Blades, I interpreted that as meaning historically, they didn’t have them, and as far as the characters were aware, they didn’t have them. Not an absolute “it is physically impossible for a bondsmith spren to manifest as a Shardblade.” It does seem like an absolute, definitive answer, though. Do we have confirmation that bondsmith spren were physically incapable of committing investiture to form a blade as opposed to not manifesting as one due to choice?

At first glance, this WoB tells us almost nothing. But why would Brandon be so close-mouthed about Oathbringer? After all, he told us what order Adolin's Shardblade was from even before OB came out, and it seems likely that Maya will be important to the plot. So what makes Oathbringer different? I propose it's because Oathbringer is from a very special order of the Knight's Radiant. That's right, I think Oathbringer may have come from a Bondsmith spren. I think Oathbringer is what happened to the Sibling. I know it sounds ridiculous, but hear me out. First of all, I'm not saying the Sibling is completely dead and is entirely contained inside the Shardblade. We know that Urithiru is at least partially functioning since the oxygen level is maintained despite a high altitude, and the text has made it pretty clear that the Sibling is not dead, merely dormant. However, I believe that a large portion of the Sibling's investiture is contained within Oathbringer, and is the reason they are essentially comatose. I think its also obvious who is responsible for "killing" the Sibling in the first place: Melishi. Although it's not directly stated he was bonded with the Sibling, its implied as both the Stormfather and the Nightwatcher are still very much alive and active, while the Sibling is not. And why wouldn't Melishi abandon his oaths along with the rest of the Knights Radiant? He was directly responsible for causing almost every Singer in the world to go braindead!! If anything, he should have been more emotionally affected by the event than any of the other knights. A huge hurdle for this theory is that it seems like Bondsmith spren shouldn't be able to become Shardblades. After all, the Stormfather has made it clear to Dalinar that as a Bondsmith, he will never have a Blade. But, we do see Dalinar collect enough of the Stormfather's investiture in one place to form something functionally similar enough to a blade to activate an Oathgate. I believe its possible to go farther, but only with the permission of the spren. The Stormfather was actively resisting Dalinar. But what if he had whole-heartedly cooperated? Is it physically impossible for a Bondsmith spren to form a Blade, or do they merely avoid doing so because of their principles, because they think its beneath them (or something like that). If Melishi and the Sibling talked it out, and they both believed it was the right decision to abandon their oaths, I think the Sibling was fully capable of sacrificing a huge portion of his investiture to form a Shardblade, incapacitating theirself. Given the information we have, this seems like the most likely explanation for what happened to the Sibling. Sure, Brandon could introduce new elements to account for it, but hiding things in plain sight is what he does. And a lot of attention has been drawn to Adolin and Maya. Could this be misdirection? I think after Adolin almost inevitably resurrects Maya, the Radiants will try to awaken other blades as well. And Dalinar already has a connection to Oathbringer, which we see since instead of screaming in his head, it merely whimpers. Plus, as Dalinar advances in his oaths and his personality begins to increasingly align with his order's ideals, his connection with the Blade can only grow. So, he seems potentially capable of doing the same thing as Adolin. Thoughts, anyone?

Ah yes! The Dawnshards. Maybe the Ghostbloods are also after Vax as well

I doubt TLR had access to nicrosil, even though he definitely knew it existed thanks to his time at the Well. The refinement methods needed to process chromium didn’t exist during the final empire. TLR could have obtained it, but he would have needed to allow technology to advance. He used aluminum because they could mine it from the ash mounts, and had a relatively low melting point. So, while it was incredibly difficult to produce it was possible with the technology available. Chromium has a melting point at over 1800 degrees celsius, and you need an electric furnace to smelt it. Plus, if TLR had access to Chromium and Nicrosil, wouldn’t he have described them at one of the supply caverns he left? He listed electrum, aluminum, and duralumin, and none of those were know beyond the highest echelons of the obligators. If he thought survivors could obtain chromium and nicrosil, he would have revealed them to give people a better chance of fighting Ruin.

Granted, but for the rest of your life, you can only speak what your spren considers lies. This includes metaphors and euphemisms. I wish for the power to geolocate Sanderson fans in real life.

Same, at least for the Stormlight Archive. Words of Radiance hit that perfect balance of fulfilling all the expectations set by Way of Kings while at the same time upping the tension and conflict. It's just a great sequel.

Welcome to the 17th Shard! What's your favorite book so far?

Hi, and welcome! You seem really excited about the books . Which ones your favorite so far?

Hey Matthew. Would you like a cookie? Sorry it's so big. I had to put spi- I mean a chocolate filling inside.

Your probably right, but I'm still butt hurt about it. Eshonai was awesome!! And then it turns out she wasn't going to be important as I thought she would. I think part of the problem is that I'm not used to Brandon making character deaths random. I mean look at Hrathen, Dockson and Clubs, Vin, Elend, Sadeas even. Their deaths didn't come out of nowhere. I mean you could argue about Sadeas, but he actually needed to be removed from the plot. There was significance behind they're deaths. And before you say so did Eshonai's death, let me say that cognitively, I realize Eshonai served a purpose in Venlis arc, but emotionally I don't. That's the difference between her death and pretty much every other I've read in cosmere works. It feels too much like a George R.R. Martin style "oops I guess this characters dead." You know what I mean?

I know it's a little late to be picking beefs with Oathbringer, but I just finished a re-read and have been giving it some thought. The way Brandon dealt with Eshonai's death was distinctly... unsatisfying. I mean, we came to love this character and after seeing her struggle throughout Words of Radiance, we just find out she's dead all of a sudden, with no foreshadowing. Honestly, it just left me feeling empty, and a little bit annoyed at Brandon. And anytime I start thinking about the author for a reason other than "Wow, they're amazing," it's bad because it pulls me out of the book. I think Eshonai's demise could have been much more satisfying, and I thought of a way to make it so without changing much about Oathbringer. So, my idea is this. What if, after the current prologue of OB ends, there's a scene break and it jumps ahead to Six Years Later. We see Eshonai just after being thrown into the chasms, raging about being defeated in the battle. And then something, breaks her out of Stormform and free her from the grip of the Voidspren. Maybe something triggering her memory of the flashback that is the current prologue, or something else causing her to realize what's happened to her. And just after gaining freedom, she killed by the highstorm floods. And her last moments are what propels us into the beginning of Oathbringer. It may be a little unorthodox and breaks the expectation set by previous prologues only focusing on the night of Gavilar's death, but I think this ending would have accomplished a lot. It would add to the prologue and make it more engaging, because the actual one Brandon used wasn't as compelling as the previous ones. It didn't contain many easter eggs or show us much we didn't know other than giving us another vague and tantalizing glimpse of the ever esoteric black spheres. Adding something like this would have made for a more gripping start to Oathbringer and would give it more momentum. Also, it would have given us the cathartic experience we all wished Eshonai's death could've been. It would have given us closure, and brought forward some strong feelings. I mean, obtaining freedom and seeing what a monster she'd become only to die immediately after, that's agonizingly heartbreaking. Last, it would have complemented Venli's scene when she realizes her sisters dead. Making Eshonai's death a total surprise without foreshadowing didn't add anything to the story. But if we knew ahead of time Eshonai was dead, it would have added a lot of dramatic irony to that sequence with Venli, and Brandon wouldn't even have had to change Venlis chapter that much. Seeing Venli call out to her sister and try wake her up would be more heart wrenching if we already knew she was dead. And this in turn would help us bond with Venli quicker, who up to this point, we've seen as a narcissistic and despicable individual. Overall, I think this change would have made for a better Oathbringer. What do you guys think?

@Kaden MacKay Could post your compositions on Spotify or YouTube, or something? Pretty please? I always love listening to fan music of Sandersons works. I've tried composing some stuff, but nothing good. Which is why I just listen to other people's pieces. By the way, if you want to check out other works out there and haven't, I'd advise the Dark Eyed Musician and David Larsen, who've both posted videos on YouTube. Also, if you haven't checked out the Kaladin Album, which was produced by professional composers and recorded by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, its amazing. Anyways, keep composing, and I'd love to hear some of it.

This isn't a theory, just something I realized. There's probably a lot of people who've noticed it and thought about it before, but, slow as I am, it only recently clicked with me. The Listeners are regarded as treasonous by Odiums forces. Ulim literally tells Venli her people are traitors. Which they are. BUT, they are the only reason Odium hasn't lost. If they had never gone turncoat, then all the Singers would be unable to bond spren, meaning Odium would never be able to create the Everstorm. The Listeners were the key to Odiums return, and yet they are seen as disgusting traitors. Thats stupidly ironic. I know it's super obvious, but I had a WHOA moment when I realized it, and I had to share.

Rules SPECIFICALLY Meant For the Cosmere 239. Arranged marriages end in a happy relationship an uncanny amount of the time. If your parents tell you to marry somebody, you're gonna fall in love with them. 240. Greet all beggars by telling them "You can't hide from me, Cephandrius" and watching for expressions of shock. Even if you live in the city and have to spend 4 hours day doing this, it'll be worth your time on the off chance you actually find him. Then learn everything he knows and live a happy and safe life. Also note that using his older name rather than saying Hoid is more likely to keep him interested as he'll assume you're from Yolen. 241. Worldhop to another planet as soon as possible. If you do, you will become an easter egg, and become too important to kill off. Also, the likelihood of Rule 240 succeeding becomes much more likely 242. Know that the creator of your universe isn't fond of tropes, and assume the opposite of what you'd expect in some generic fantasy. Especially if you're on Nalthis. Seriously.

Yeah, this has already been theorized and seems the most likely explanation for shardplate. But have an upvote for coming up with it on your own. I believe the WoB is a reference to when we see Jasnah at the Battle of Thaylenah just after she dismisses her Plate, although I'm still confused by the question itself because of the inaudible portion. Here's the passage from OB, in case your not familiar with it.

Well, one of them is a being made of investiture and the other is an entity specifically designed to consume investiture. How do you think it'll turn out? Nale and Wax.

I don't think Palona would mind Karata much. Palona tends to be a welcoming person. However, I think her luxurious and somewhat excessive lifestyle would alienate her from Karata, who's lived a harder life, even before she was taken by the Reod. Moash and Spook.

I've wondered about how becoming mistborn could be a side effect and never thought of anything. But this fits perfectly. I'm really psyched about this idea and the WoB. Oooohhhhhh, so good. Much love, @Ixthos and @PallonianFire. Awesome job theorizing.