Odium's_Shard

Upvote for you, too! Excellent reference! In that case, I am also going to use this reference. As well as this first part of the vision referring to mists, I believe when he described viewing the future he stated it was "like looking through a misty, broken window". This could reference that it is to do with a Shard's power that enables future glimpsing. Also, because Voidbinding apparently features discerning the future, could it be that these two things are related?

No, no. I just want to be proven right, or proven wrong. This is the condition to stop my rambling theories! Proceed with the debate!

I think Sadeas could be behind the assassination of Dalinar. Or at least part of Taravangian's grand scheme of events. This is why when the voice said to trust him and it wasn't actually talking about Sadeas, this is a great marker for Sadeas' hidden affiliation.

I am happy! Shallan clearly needs to stay alive for the majority of the book. And more Soulcasting and Jasnah so we can solve our current conundrum on Soulcasting in this thread!

This is a catastrophe! Somebodies got to tell Brandon that we need that book for sustenance! Not to mention a particular world ending apocalypse scheduled on 12/21/12 :/ ! Now if only I was a goddamn Subsumer Ferring, maybe I could last until then (and lose some weight)! But alas!

Right I know it is pushing it a bit far, but couldn't you number the symbols in this document like so: Forgive the crude representation: So top left: 1, connects (oppositely [using the line that connects it to the middle point]) to bottom right 2 Top Right: 3 connects to bottom left four Second top left: 5 connects to second bottom right 6 Second top right: 7 connects to second bottom left 8 Then middle top: 9 connects to middle bottom 10 Using this theory (which is completely logically flawed, skewing the colour gem matchup and everything) it gives 6 and 2 (the favoured slots for Shallan and Jasnah) a place next to each other, and thus a shared Surge (the one to the right of the green symbol and to the left of the red symbol).

This make sense. After all, in Hemalurgy, your are directly splicing the part of their sDNA that allows them to tap that metalmind, and thus not only will you be able to do it yourself, but be on exactly the correct wavelength (Spiritually wise and for want of a better word) to tap existing stores.

We are doing this. Plus, on topic: I think the major problem with this theory of pegging Shallan and Jasnah into the TWO KR Orders that can Soulcast because they share this ability is that; this implies that anybody who can Soulcast has to fall under those attributes. This also means that any Soulcaster, any one at all, can only have speciality in one of two associated Soulcasting Properties. This means that any Soulcaster (if I put Jasnah under #2 and Shallan under #6 for the sake of argument) could only specialise in either Vapor or Blood. Which couldn't possibly fit. This would leave other Properties at a severe disadvantage. And considering how much food is made using Soulcasting (albeit through fabrials), Pulp is very clearly well represented.

She experiences nausea? That, my friend, deserves an 'internet cookie' (an upvote here)! Do you think this is worth posting as an individual theory (the Memories theory)? With credit to yourself and Sunblesser, of course. As well, about the nausea thing, could this be a consequence of going against a Splinter's (yes, leap of reason, spren are now Splinters in my mind, at least Nahel spren) Intent? Because if so, I like it! And this may help confirm to Chaos whether Splinters have separate (or at least sub-) Intents! Honor was shattered.. but when? Before the Radiants? If it was after them, this doesn't make sense. It would have to be before Nohadon (is that it? In Dalinar's vision), because he mention the Nahel bond explicitly. So Kaladin feels bad when he does dishonourable things? Not that he's been doing many of those, well.. ever. This needs backing up...

I think its now confirmed that Liquid is the most potent aspect, being quite concentrated but not so much so that it becomes definitive, Gas is the next best, being much less potent (less dense) but covering everything, and Solid is extremely potent, but only at the determined power contained within the metal.

I can very much see this being the case. In my opinion we should just keep and eye on Investiture in case it decides to move, then pounce on it and interrogate. But if your theory is the case, then Soulbearer Ferrings are SO over powered. The ability to store the result of an end-positive cycle indefinably? Infinite power! But what if they are just that. A Soulbearer Ferring. Nothing else. Where does the investiture come from? Surely not, say, an enemy Allomancer. Because I mean, that takes overpowered to a new level. Not only could they completely immobilize any enemy attack using a Metallic Art, or any use of an Art full stop, during active storage, and then tap it at a later date to gain additional parts of a Shard inside of themselves? This is like Iron. Its Feruchemical active storage 'negative affect' actually outweighs the benefit of later tapping it.

I think that it is because of the truthspren that her recollections are perfect. Lets say that they are always around, like, they never leave her. She is Nahel-bonded with them, say. So, whenever she purposefully blinks, she exploits some sort of link with the truthspren (using the eyes, perhaps?) who then compose a completely truthful image of the time and store it away within the Spiritual Realm, or wherever the seat of a spren's power is. Much like a Coppermind. In fact, this is an uncanny comparison... Sazed states that when he stores something in a Coppermind, then that information disappears from his mind until he recalls it (perfectly). I cannot remember with passing interest whether Shallan can remember the pictures that she takes until she draws them on the page, but I distinctly remember her saying that after she draws it then the image exists nowhere but the paper, and she completely forgets it. Perhaps this is how the Memory operates? So it would go like this: Physical>Spiritual>Cognitive Blink>Nahel bond>Captured in her mind or Physical>Cognitive>Spiritual Blink>Processes Memory>Spren store it through Nahel bond For the capture of a Memory. For drawing, this perhaps? Spiritual>Cognitive>Physical Nahel bond>Recall through the bond>Draw Feedback please?

1) The first highlight bit, looking at the Ars Arcanum from tWoK, I have pulled up the following analysis from this observation: Smokestone is the associated gem for Vapor (fog,opaque gas,smoke) and so my theory agrees with yours that the gemstone here was the focus, but it was a specialized focus, i.e like a metal, it only had one access point to the sDNA. And so the rock was turned into smoke, using the Stormlight in the gemstone in a certain, determined way (much like a fabrial). Basically I am suggesting that the type (and maybe cut?) of gemstone/storage/carrier determined the result. 2) Observation 2: Using second and third highlight, I am going to suggest that Storms are the Physical aspect of Honor, much like the Mists were for Preservation, and so Stormlight, like the liquid in the Well of Ascension, is a pure form of Honor. And so, like metals, gems become the carrier of this and direct it in certain ways that can only be accessed depending on how close or varying your link with the associated Shard is, or the type of carrier (ie, pewter, emerald, etc.). Example: Kaladin says the Second Ideal, making an oath with his honorspren, which brings him closer to Honor. Example 2: Shallan says a truth to the truthspren, increasing the bond to it and thus Honor, giving her access to Shadesmar. Example 3: Each metal can only be accessed by someone with a particular bit of Preservation within them, ie Mistborn have large piece can access all, and this is why lerasium, when consumed, makes a Mistborn (you have just gained a large piece of Preservation in your sDNA). Make sense?

That, my friend, is what is referred to, I believe, as an 'upvote'. I was about to make that same comparison and so, in retrospect, here is your credit! On topic, mist seems to connect to the Shard's power source (as I will now dub it for want of a better word) much in the same way as the liquid in WoA. However I believe that the Well was the condensed form of Preservation's power that is drawn to it by Ruin (opposites attract? Can that be applied?)! I also believe that Brandon said there were mists in the antechambers of the Well that Vin and Elend saw? That would explain this theory. So, theory speculation: Mist is an indicator of the Spiritual Realm. Theory: The Spiritual Realm is the seat of a Shard's/magics power.

I think that you are right and that Oaths aren't the focus. And sorry about the entire length conundrum! I think its already been suggested multiply, and I agree, it is the Nahel bond with spren that necessitates this access to Surgebinding. And I am going to explain why I think they are also the explicit cause: So, firstly, I will list Kaladin's Nahel bond. Syl is honorspren, thus attracted to Kaladin's honourable deeds and so he was able to perform a Nahel bond with Syl through the use of the first Ideal (maybe other means, it isn't relevant). Syl is now bounded with Kaladin. Theory 1: Kaladin uses a Full lashing to stick a pebble to the side of the barrack wall. Syl explains that the mysteriously things creating the bond holding them together are bindspren. It isn't made clear, however, if the bindspren cause the bond, or are simply attracted to it. So, potential candidate for facilitating Surges: specialised Spren. It makes sense to me. Theory 2: Kaladin is using Stormlight to facilitate an unknown Reverse Lashing during one of his bridge runs, Lashing the arrows to the bridge. During this, he notes that Syl is gone. And so, I have come to the (exceptional leap of reason that I am going to call a) conclusion that Syl has actual gone to a different world, in my opinion the Spiritual Realm to act as a conduit for the Spiritual stores of Honor's power there. In this scenario, Kaladin is the Physical conduit, and Syl facilitates the link of Spiritual reserves into reserves that Kaladin can then export (or Lash with/Surge whatever..). So, potential candidate number two: Nahel spren act as Spiritual conduit (like a metal for a Mistborn?) Discuss.

Personally, my vote is on Shallan being the VP for Book 2. Shallan's ToDo Goes to Shattered Plains. Jasnah immediately finds Dalinar, and thus Team Kalinar (as they will now forever be known to me). They discuss the nature of fabrials and his visions. More AWESOME verification and quotations about the true Voidbringers and how they could possibly stop the AWESOMENESS that are the Parshendi. Kaladin takes a secondary role to Shallan discovering more and more about the Cognitive Realm (Shadesmar) and just whatelse other pure awesomeness Brandon has in store for some sort of MINDBLOWING power combination. Shallan shows of her MASSIVE ti Shardblade and reasons for killing her father at which point my mind will already have combusted. Did I mention I like Shallan and Soulcasting?

I also believe it is the Spiritual Realm. I think this has also previously confirmed somewhere that Blades and Plate (when used properly ie by the Radiants in Dalinar's visions) reside in the Spiritual plane until summoned. But I like the thought of severing the Nervous (Cognitive) System. However things other than living things can be accessed through Shadesmar, ie Shallan/Jasnah's Soulcasting. As to why they shear through all physical things, I am going to use Realmatic theory horriblly to throw up a moth-bitten defense: Spiritual Input>Cognitive Process>Physical Result In other words: Shardblade(where it resides in Spirit Realm)>Shadesmar>Physical Application Makes a small amount of sense to me. To me only, perhaps...?

I'm sorry for the confusion: truthspren and symbolspren are the same thing. They just don't have a distinctive (official) name, and so they are called what people feel like. Usually one of these: symbolspren, symbolheads or truthspren. Though, interestingly, her personality type links through Blood (which she is shown to have a certain tendency to when she Soulcasts, ie goblet>blood) as Creative/Honest. Also the linked Herald, Shalash, clearly has a similar name to Shallan. So maybe it is this 'honesty' (although she doesn't seem honest) which attracts the truthspren, as I will now call them, to her in the first place, giving her access to Shadesmar and the Surge of Transformation in much the same way as Kaladin gains his power over the Basic, Full and Reverse Lashing Surges through Syl, an honorspren. And perhaps the truthspren respond to truth like Syl responded to Kaladin's use of the Second Oath (honorspren>oath)?

By 'steal Spiritual aspects', one could take that to mean Investiture, or even other magics, considering the use for Nicrosil in Feruchemy. So technically, because the Physical aspects taken are Strength and Speed, Cognitive aspects taken are Emotional and Mental Fortitude, I'm going to guess Spiritual Hemalurgy could take Investiture in two different ways. And the equivalent of Enhancement Hemalurgy could, crazily, be the ability to take the power to use currently burned metals, and the power to take metals currently not being burned? Weird. Probably not true.

Her painting ability? It is most likely connected to this ability to create a Memory. I have just been struck with an odd bolt of inspiration. Bare with me. I'm odd. Lets say that Shallan's ability to take a memory is a Cognitive Aspect. Thus, the painting/drawing she creates much be a Physical Result. Using this Three Parts of Magic theorem, this would be the following pattern (first an example from Mistborn as to how a Physical as opposed to Spiritual Result is reached): Spiritual Input>Cognitive Aspect>Physical Result And so allomancy: Focus of Allomancy (metal)>Burning (Cognitive)>Strength,speed,sight,etc. (ie pewter burning) Hemalurgy: Metal>Placement>Storing And finally, Shallan's drawing: Spiritual Focus>Memory>Drawing Now the spiritual focus could be Stormlight. But she doesn't seem to expend any around her (does she?) like Kaladin. Then again, it could be the spren connection. But what spren? Symbolspren? Unlikely. Maybe Creationspren? They're always around...? I doubt it. But I feel this focus is important, as it could give us a pathway to the focus of magic on Roshar! Discuss.

By 'native' Shards allow us to assume that we mean the original Shardholders. So, in your example, Ati and Leras aren't native to Scadrial (I believe it is to the place where Adonalsium was) however, three Slivers (Kelsier, Vin and Sazed) are. Though you raise a good question: Is Sazed's Shard still able to be differentiate as Ruin and Preservation or just Harmony?

Apparently there were two KR Orders who practiced Soulcasting, which would infer both that it is a Surgebinding for definite, and that there would be four separate Surges between the two Orders, Transformation being just one. I would also go as far to assume with the entire Three Parts thing, that the bond with a spren is extremely important. Take fabrials, for example. They require a spren to do what they do, trapped in the gem and infused by Stromlight, inferring that without the spren the process couldn't occur. For example, the Soulcasting fabrial. It is, most likely, a machinated version of what Shallan and Jasnah can do. They have a bond with a symbolspren, which I will assume for the sake of argument is what is inside a Soulcaster, and so does the fabrial. It can access one Surge, Transformation. This implies that, an odd comparison I know, like metals in the Metallic Arts, they are a specialized version of specific abilities. In the Spiritual Realm, both metals and fabrials (through the spren bond) have access to a Spiritual process through the responsible Shard, albeit Odium, Honor, Cultivation, Ruin or Preservation. However, when access to this sort of power in the Spiritual Realm is given a less concrete flow, lets say, Kaladin's Nahel bond, or the Well of Ascension, then the access slot expands and gives a wider range of Surges, in this case. Like Brandon has said, when Preservation's power was given a less dense and clear label, ie solid, it become something more vague in the access it gives, ie the mists giving Vin all Allomantic abilities. And so the Parts would go in Roshar: Action>Personality>Nahel Bond subsequently followed by (eventually) Ideal/Truth spoken(?)/touch>Shadesmar/Will/communication with spren>release of spiritual power/Surge In my theory, fabrials just falsely activate the first stage, giving you access to the second. But because you cannot talk to the spren you have trapped, touch is necessary. This is why Jasnah didn't need touch. In regards to the communicated with spren aspect of the second process this is the case for Soulcasting, I think, such as when Shallan talks to the (spren of?) the goblet to get the Transformation Surge to affect it? This is very whacky. Read at peril.

In reference to Shallan's Soulcasting abilities, it has be aforementioned that she may have the Ars Arcanum attributes of 'Creative/Honest' (although her honesty may be put to bear, I believe her 'non-conflict' approach could represent this). This I have noticed could also tie in with what she Soulcast that day when she first spoke to the symbolspren (I cannot remember what truth she gave) and was given access to Shadesmar. According to the Ars Arcanum, Blood is the related essence/body focus to her given personality, and is exactly what she Cast the goblect into. There is also the possibility that the goblet had a spren, that she convinced, and thus changed Essence. I cannot remember what gemstone she held in this particular escapade to Shadesmar, but if someone could confirm whether or not it was a Garnet, this would help greatly (as garnet is the related gemstones of Blood and Creative/Honest). I also cannot ignore that the related Herald is named Shalash; perhaps a subtle hint for Shallan, as the Herald is also apparently feminine. Also, for Jasnah, I believe it has been referenced that her Soulcasting favoured abilities were Vapor, Spark and Lucentia. Now, looking down the table, this would make it seem that the associated Body Focuses would be Exhalation, Soul and Eyes. Now, when she changes the fleeing man into crystal during Shallan's 'philosophy lesson', she closes her Eyes. A link? I also cannot ignore the prospect that as these three Essences are next to each other on the table, as the order is plausibly important, then Shallan also may have these three possibilities (while it is shown Jasnah can perform other Soulcastings, ie purifying Shallan's blood). Here is an exploration of Shallan's possible favoured attributes. Pulp/Blood/Tallow Hair/Blood/Oil Learned/Creative/Wise Lucentia/Pulp/Blood Eyes/Hair/Blood Loving/Learned/Creative Blood/Tallow/Foil Blood/Oil/Nails Creative/Wise/Resolute I have no idea which one it would be, if this theory is correct. Nor can I realistically gauge where her Memories come from. In respect to Kaladin, I believe he represents Protecting/Leading on the chart, which is linked to Zephyr and Inhalation. Perhaps it is this personality that attracts Syl for the Nahel Bond, giving the power to Inhale Stormlight? This would make it seem that you could thus Exhale it, perhaps when you are Just/Confident, falling under Vapor? This however doesn't make sense in the variety of Surges, as surely all of the other Body Focuses just link it to a body part? But maybe a body part linked to that KR Order's Surge? In that case, I would give the Wallrunners Zephyr, and split Talus between the Stonewards and perhaps the Dustbringers (if they are part of the KR, as has been speculated?) Discuss!