AbsentKeeper

Thanks for getting to the explanation before I did. We have one where Brandon implies it, but doesn't say so outright. Edit: Heh, "bag of atiums." Also, on the topic of the post, I would like to know if kandra can create structures such as venom glands, gills, or leathery hide?

He definitely can. He is shown using both steel allomancy and feruchemy in WoA and HoA, so he could have compounded it, presumably he just didn't know how at the time of those books. He would have known by the time of the AoL era, as he would have needed to figure out compounding to use his Atium.

Interesting thought, do we have confirmation anywhere that reforming thier bodies makes the kandra tired? ReLuur was injured in an explosion, so I'm not sure how much thick skin would have helped, but they might benefit from a padded layer of fat, to cushion bone breaking blows. Edit: Also on the topic of kandra in battle, someone needs to ask Brandon if the kandra can form structures like venom glands. Edit again: I added the question about venom, and also hide, to the ultimate list of questions for Brandon.

I would read this, definitely keep working! I've had some clever 'cosmereish' ideas for stories myself, but I don't have the focus for anything other than short fiction at the moment. The only nitpick I have is that spiders (and other insects) make silk, wool is from animal hair. Edit: I just misunderstood what you meant. Like others said, don't worry too much about being 'too close' to the cosmere, as many cosmere stories are just strange takes on old themes already. It's just how writing works.

To be fair, I don't think either the words dox or ham show up anywhere in the cosmere, other than the names. There are pigs on Yolen, in Shinovar, on Scadrial, and on Threnody, but no one eats ham? This is theory worthy in its own right.

This guy knows what life is about. Well, that and cosmere books.

From what we know so far, which isn't that much to be fair, all allomantic and feurchemical abilities are stored this way in nicrosil, by a twinborn/fullborn who can use both (filling the nicrosilmind with the 'ability to burn steel'), not by storing them in the metal associated with the specific power.

I imagine that it would look more like Stormlight, since that is the 'pure' physical form of Investiture on Roshar.

I assumed that nicrosil feuruchemy was exactly what Brandon was referring to as 'Allomantic compounding' and I don't think that TLR's soothing conradicts this at all. TLR's soothing was the result of his raw power and the fact that he was a savant in almost every metal. I'm behind this theory 100%. Edit: I haven't seen the proposed WoB about TLR using reverse compounding, but if it exists, it would pretty heavily contradict the one I found. Edit again: went back and read that WoB @Calderis but it seems rather vague, I don't know that we can count that as definitive. Either way, we have some contradictions now.

Welcome to the Shard! I, for one, am a huge proponent of the cookies, even if they are slightly potentially hemalurgic. As for rules, its pretty laid back here, but some people do get a little rusted when you don't use spoiler tags for info outside that book's specific forum, but even that has exceptions, (the cosmere theory board) so watch out if you're worried about spoilers. Just enjoy it here, and don't worry if you start to see connections everywhere, you're not any more mad than the rest of us

This is why I added the second bit to my post, even Dalinar himself only seems reasonably sure about the fact that they aren't connected, at the point in the story where he discusses it with his sons. It still seems unlikely to me that he wouldn't know pretty solidly what they are though, being that he lives with them, unless he assumes (like us) that forgetting his wife is his curse and/or boon, while it's actually something unrelated. Don't know what else could make him forget though. *insert half baked theory regarding obscure breath commands we only saw once here* But that's a discussion for another topic, I think.

Renarin, mostly because I don't see much solidity in any of the theories floating around about him, and also just because I don't think he's that interesting. As much as I know that plenty of people think the exact opposite.

I would like to point out one thing that I think has been skimmed over in the discussion regarding this fight. Remember that this wasn't supposed to be a fight to the death, it was supposed to be a structured duel, if an unfair one. Until he actually tries to forfeit and they stop him, and then Renarin enters the arena and becomes a hostage, even Adolin assumes that he will be able to abdicate and give up just the shards, not that he would die in the arena. Maybe it was my personal interpretation, but I didn't read this scene anywhere near as harshly as it seems many people did, even on re-reads after I knew that they were going to try and kill him.

It wasn't even really a twist, but I literally dropped my book on the floor in shock when TFE spoiler It was my first Sanderson book, and I just wasn't ready for that gut punch.

Dalinar specifically says that he knows both his boon and his curse, and he doesn't think his visions are related. Granted, he doesn't make it seem like he knows for sure, but still worth pointing out.

I chose the same, and this was almost my exact logic. However, I also just like the idea of having a spren buddy.

I thought about this, and of course its possible. Writers generally avoid reusing stuff like that though. Plus, I just like to think Brandon is that sneaky.

@Oversleep Haha I didn't noticed you had already posted in there, I should have known someone would have already seen this over here. I could see that it was just a throwback to the first Mistborn trilogy in BoM, though the one with Kaladin and (if it exists) the scene in warbreaker don't really fit in with that. I have no clue though, what this could be specifically foreshadowing. It seems like it really could be anything unless there are other connections between those scenes.

So, I was browsing for a particular WoB that I remember, but can't find, when I came across this confusing bit from reddit, posted only a week ago. Apparently, the use of the phrase "____ fell with the rain" is 'consciously and intentionally' reused in various places through out the cosmere. What do you guys think of this? I can't remember any of these scenes off the top of my head, I'll have to search for them later, but if he's admitted to doing it on purpose, there has to be something here right? Is it foreshadowing for some pivotal scene in the cosmere later? A literary twist we won't get until later, like 'on his arms'? Are there any other similarities between these scenes, other than just that phrase? Or is Brandon just leading us on, and there really isn't more to it than there is to his use of maldroitly, or his tendency to end sentences with 'I think'? So many questions from such a simple statement. Sometimes I think being a Sanderson fan is just too much storming work.

I had never seen this WoB before, but I agree with what you have to say about it. On the other hand, with @Calderis's explanation of it working like a specialized soul casting, I don't think it would be that hard to make it work. They'll both probably be related to some kind of Yolish base form of transformation magic, if it ends up sticking around.

I never thought of it as a specialized soul casting, that makes a lot of sense. This is essentially what I was implying though, slatrification is extremely different from the other abilities of sand mastery, and is even described that way in world. There's so much that we don't know, and probably no-one does, about investiture on Taladain. I was leaning towards the water itself being the focus, acting as a 'key' like metals do for alomancy, being consumed in the process. It seems to fit with traditional sand mastery, but not with slatrification, as water is produced in this case. Is it possible we are dealing with two whole different systems, with two different focuses? Rather than something more like two different metals in alomancy, or two different surges in surgebinding? The only alternative I see, is that they share the sand itself as a focus, but then why is water consumed, if its not being used as a focus or converted into investiture? Is the lichen some kind of parasite, sucking in water and investiture from everything nearby to stay alive? Sorry for the long mess of questions and speculations, we don't know nearly enough about this world yet though.

I have no actual proof for it, but if any investiture can charge the lichen on Taldain, it makes sense to me that it must have metabolic systems opposite to what Lift has, it can turn raw investiture into some form of chemical energy. Then, as someone else said, Sand Mastery would just be the abliltiy to form a temporary connection to the lichen, feeding it water to release the investiture in the way they want. Is the water itself acting as a focus for autonomy's power? Is there some kind of spren esque symbiotic bond between the masters and the lichen? Do they provide thier own innate investiture as a catalyst? Sand Mastery could turn out to be very very important to the cosmere, on a scientific level, if it does turn out that it's different from almost every other magic this way. And if the Sand masters weren't confusing enough, anyone wanna try to explain to me how slatrification works? Edit: This doesn't have much to do with cross system investiture, per say, but how can we understand how it would work in other systems if we don't know how it works at all?

,@Calderis I was joking too, though perhaps I played it a bit too straight. I agree though, this is an interesting discussion that I dont want to derail either.

Maybe not the unmade but thunderclasts? Almost definitely not, but they are described as animated stone. Do we get confirmation that shalebark is flammable? It makes sense to me, but I can't remember any references.

Ahh, I hadn't heard that theory before. Personally, I don't think it's likely, possible though I suppose.