Bigmikey357

The problem with Jasnah casting plutonium is the same as Kaladin Lashing the oxygen out of the air excluding all other elements. She doesn't know about the higher heavy radioactive elements. And it isn't necessary anyway. The things they know are sufficient to ruin someone's day.

Vin facing off against Zane. He picks the right Atium shadow.

Another adaptation challenge. How do we handle all the greater Cosmere cookies? You can sorta ignore them in other series, but in Stormlight we have several worldhoppers with not insignificant roles. Yet all the series are promised to different studios. Sorting out those rights is going to be a nightmare even if they're willing to play nice with each other.

Drawing spren would be time consuming, but we have computer animation which shortens the time it takes to animate by a significant margin. As for the style, I think Madhouse does good work and could probably do SA justice. But anything Brandon would like would be fine by me really. Live action for SA scares me. I mean, Shadesmar done with crappy CG would absolutely crush me.

Animation has to be the medium that would best express all the visual shenanigans Stormlight produces. I cannot imagine a live action version that doesn't look wrong.

@Oltux72 Not at all. It's about using the right tool for the job. Just like you wouldn't use a hammer to turn a bolt doesn't make a hammer a bad tool or a wrench a better tool. If my aim was to build a technologically advanced civ using magic to augment it, Biochromia wouldn't be my first choice. Hell, the Metallic Arts wouldn't be my first choice due to the ethical conundrums involved. Fabrial Technology would be my first option for that. Meanwhile, if I wanted to be immortal I'd pick Biochromia hands down.

Ok. I build an Awakened engine. A simple engine, very few moving parts, yet theoretically capable of generating enough power to run a large city. Let's just assume something of that nature could be accomplished. Even with simple machines the parts will wear out eventually. Replacement parts will be needed and would have to be installed. @Calderis brought up that the Breath involved will have to be reinvested as well. So great. Free energy for everyone. Well, not exactly. Power generation is only part of the equation. Power distribution plays its role as well. That'll have to be controlled as a power grid is not static, usage fluctuates. A simple machine that simply generates power isn't going to serve the needs of the people efficiently unless regulated. Simple. Automation. Give the engine commands. If this happens then perform this action and so forth. But there's a problem. The more complex the command the more likely something goes wonky because the Awakener isn't adequately conceptualizing what the machine needs to do in order to carry out the command. Also, what are you actually awakening? The entire powerplant or all the individual components? This simple power generator gets orders of magnitude less simple as we consider the engineering problems. But just for the heck of it, let's say all of these issues can be fixed and you have a working powerplant. Populations aren't static either. What happens when the power needs of the citizens of this magical city begin to outstrip the simple powerplant's capacity? Building the first powerplant took an enormous amount of Breaths. Adding to that machine is going to be impossible if you wanna maintain whatever limited simplicity you've managed to keep. So build another powerplant you say? It took a million breaths to build the first one, I need to come up with a million more just so the neighborhood doesn't have a blackout anytime I wanna watch a movie on my desktop? That's a tall flipping order my friend. Everyone has seeds of magic on Nalthis but these engines would seem to tax even their capacity. There's going to be many people clamoring for a system that isn't taking up the soul essence of entire populations. Now let's go to Scadrial, another place where the seeds of magic are inborn. However, getting those powers to manifest in a usable way is vastly more difficult there. Nobody is asking an Iron Ferring to turn a wheel or plow a field or any number of mundane tasks. There are machines that could perform those tasks much less expensively. The peeps of Scadrial are gonna ask that guy to do things only an Iron Ferring can do. Like charge the devices that make life easier and less labor intensive. Maybe step in temporarily when those devices fail. I won't be making perpetual motion machines with this system. What I will be able to do is easily respond to the needs of a dynamic population and an ever-growing need for energy.

Even if it were possible for Kaladin to use selective gravitation on a molecular level that would presuppose a knowledge of science that nobody on Roshar possess at moment. Even Jasnah is fuzzy on molecular chemistry and she can actually see molecules in Shadesmar.

I think it's fair to note that we may not have all the players yet. 3 books in, we know of 5 secret societies, Sons of Honor, Ghostbloods, Diagram, Skybreakers and the Envisigers. The Sons would have loved Shallan. The Ghostbloods wouldn't hesitate to tutor her in Predatory practices. The Diagram could have made use of her but would be just as likely to leave her in place so that she could effect events locally. The Envisigers are likely all dead, but if there's a pocket of them around Shallan would have been their chosen one. The Skybreakers Skybreakers would wanna end her but Surgebinders aren't illegal in Jah Kaved. What laws has she broken as a child? Three possibilities exist. There could be a group that we haven't been introduced to yet that find Surgebinders to be an abomination and wish to end them all. This admittedly is the least likely scenario, and we don't really have to stretch all that far. The Davars are very devout Vorins. We can see that if anything from Shallan's concerns about Jasnah's atheism littered throughout WoK. And the church has more adherence paid to it in Jah Keved. What if the Vorins have a secret Inquisition division? We know they have beef with the KR and in an attempt to prevent them from returning they could spot and kill emerging Surgebinders. A final possibility differs from the first 2 and lets the groups we know of play. What if Shallan's mom and her buddy weren't planning on killing Shallan after all? What if they were trying to take her away and she misunderstood their intentions? The knife in mom's hands looks bad, sure. But the way they subdued Lin instead of killing him paint a somewhat different picture. That actually puts the Ghostbloods back in play because their agent would have told them of a Surgebinder in the home, yet may not have been able to specify which Davar kid it was. Peeps would have assumed Heleran when the agent didn't report again. Somehow it got out into the world that Heleran was a Surgebinder when we know that couldn't be the case.

So the main purpose in building an Awakened machine is that once it comes online one never has to refuel it. A valid argument except for one thing. Maintenance. Machines break down due to the stresses placed upon it due to continued operations. Something as complex as a powerplant used to run a city needs constant tending. Some of those maintenance protocols could be handled if the machine was made self aware but it's my understanding that only simple commands can be given to Awakened entities or the process goes pear-shaped. Nightblood is the example. Note that this analysis is based only on what we know of Biochromia so far. That's only one magic system in a very localized area of Nalthis. I'm sure Endowment magic has other forms it could take. Other forms mean other applications. Maybe we'll see a few someday.

The Diagram predicted emerging Surgebinders and the method to find them. They didn't predict Kaladin specifically but they would have found him using that method if anyone was paying attention to a former slave. I do believe Shallan specifically came up on their radar when she actually gained wardship with Jasnah though.

The Ghostbloods know many things that they probably should not. But I don't think they knew about Shallan's abilities or they would have chosen a different strategy. They would have known about the Unmade influencing the Davar Household. They would have known Helaran's family history if he worked for them. Helaran could have been working for the Ghostbloods without him ever knowing the hand that guided him or whatever other plots they were hatching. He just wasn't important enough to penetrate the inner circle. I don't believe they knew of Kaladin. We know the Diagram did not anticipate him. Skybreakers either or they surely would have killed him before he reached the Plains. I believe that the Ghostbloods knew a girl named Shallan Davar existed, that she was brother to one of their probationary field agents and daughter to one of their pawns. When she popped up on their radar again, now sporting ancient powers and a talent for the work they do, it was a simple matter to pick up her file, read through it and craft a letter to entice her. And since she's a real power in the land they have to offer stronger enticements in the coin she will accept, i.e. information. I find it mighty convenient that upon their discovery of her they knew the exact levers that would move her if they didn't have prior knowledge of Shallan Davar. Luesh could have spoken of House Davar with confidence but only Heleren would know the role she played in her family dynamics. A gift of protection for her family would resonate most strongly with her, a sweetener for the deal. As the OP states, Heleren does not fit the profile of a Skybreaker of any oath. Too passionate and fiery for one thing. So not likely imo. And the Ghostbloods have reason to obscure the amount of involvement they've had in Shallan's family affairs. That there was some was impossible to conceal. Knowing the Ghostbloods, do they seem the type of group that would rely on only one handle for a recruit?

All the evidence the OP presents makes it sound very likely that Hel wasn't a Skybreaker apprentice; never thought about it until now. As for his possible employer, I'm pegging the Ghostbloods for it. They deal in information and assassination. They take out people from other secret societies. They have eyes everywhere. They see the world in terms of predators and prey. And they are hellacious recruiters. Now look at Heleren's activities. Traveling all across Roshar. Access to spies. Going specifically to kill an enemy agent in a way that looks like a nominal battlefield loss. He has no compunction about killing a squad of spearmen who mostly were not opposing him in any way. Another piece of evidence, the Ghostbloods know a lot about some unimportant noble family in the back country. Why would the Ghostbloods waste that kinda time on research? I mean they didn't have to look all that hard to pull up info to try and sway our intrepid Lightweaver. They got some of it from Luesh obviously, but why was he sent there specifically? Does anyone actually think Lin Davar was competent enough to attract the Ghostbloods on his own? No, I think he was sent, that Heleren gave them enough info to whet their appetites, they saw the influence of whatever dark cloud that was hanging over the Davar household, and expanded their knowledge. Either that or they were watching the house because they were keeping tabs on an enemy agent (Shallan's mom and her buddy working for Skybreakers) and the events there made them want to recruit Heleren, tempting him with promises of revenge. I also think Heleren was misled, lied to about the Ghostbloods' purposes. I'm sure his handler talked a good game, giving him an opportunity for revenge with one hand, promises of great purpose with the other, never knowing he was being played the entire time. The Diagram has some of the same characteristics and could supply Heleren with his tools just as easily. They promise great works, noble purpose and give their agents some autonomy. The only reason I don't feel they were Hel's employer is the target. Amaram has seemingly been on the Ghostbloods' kill list for some time. But the Sons' aims don't actually conflict with the Diagram. Killing him makes no sense from their standpoint while the Ghostbloods could be on the hunt for him simply because he's an agent of another organisation.

What can a Biochroma engine do that will outperform one made by mundane means? Or a power plant? Awakening a piston and telling it to move up and down is burning up a lot of Breaths to accomplish something that any ole technology can do. Automation I'll give you. That's 2 industrial uses of the art compared to a great deal more with the Metallic Arts. I'm not sure about autonomy as I don't want my toaster telling me what to do.

They already are.

But can an awakened object fly? Can it be big enough to fly other people? Can it increase the range and efficiency of machines? Can it manipulate time? Heat exchanges? Can an awakened object store memory or make building materials lighter? The power set of Allomancy/Feruchemy works very well for a modern society. Not to say that Biochromia would be useless, just that the artifacts produced by it, while powerful, can only really be beneficial to a very few people. As far as I can imagine, the only real way Biochromia would be of use on a massive scale in an industrial setting would be manpower and research. Manpower because a bunch of Lifeless doing factory jobs would be nearly as good as machine labor. Research for sending subjects into dangerous areas without worry that someone will have to write a letter to dear ole mom if something goes wrong. Unless someone has found a Breath workaround for metal like they have for Lifeless (Ichor alcohol and one breath per Lifeless instead of 1000 or so to reanimate a corpse) I'm not sure an awakened engine will outperform a mundane version, but it will cost a ruinous amount of Breaths to find out. What we've seen of Awakening amounts to parlour tricks at this point, other than Lifeless. The benefits of Biochromia just don't lend themselves to Industrialization at least in my opinion. Are there any examples that I've left out regarding the potential for industry in Biochromia? Meanwhile with Hemalurgy, we've already seen from SoScad the applications of Allomancy and Feruchemy, powers people already know how to steal with spikes. And with research and a few unlucky worldhoppers, the applications of Hemalurgy can expand by adding more powers for excisors to steal.

In addition to the things already mentioned, SI were used to police the Obligators. A skaa rebellion is fairly simple to put down. TLR is an army unto himself. He could indeed break a riot on his own, either killing every single dissenter or soothing them into zombiedom. They just aren't that important. But Obligators run his empire, keep the Nobility from overreach, hide the movements of his Atium, and build the caverns that served as his last will and testament. If those dudes act a fool they could screw up a great many things even if their plot ultimately fails. Inquisitors are the fixers. Nobles police the skaa, Obligators regulate the Nobles, Inquisitors watch the Obligators and they answer only to god.

My headcannon (hell it just may be true!) is that the Shin Invasions were a mask for their true purpose, picking up as many loose Shards as possible. They're in the cave of mysteries, buried deep in the mountains that separate Shinovar from the rest of Roshar, stacked in a pile next to the Honorblades.

It makes sense knowing the orgins of Plate and Blade that there would be more Blades than Plate. Blades get acquired after Ideal 3 (most Orders), Plate after that. Judging from Kal and Shallan's struggles it's plain that plenty of people would stall out at the 3rd Ideal. As far as glyphs on Blades, so far Jasnah and maybe Shallan have progressed enough to gain Shardplate, but there's been no description of the blades that deviates from how they've always been described. Then again, neither pull out blades very much, nowhere near as much as Kaladin pulls Syl. Also, the Blades are all variable. Pattern and Ivory could have Glyps and are hiding them. Or they could get glyphs on completion of the Ideal progression. Or maybe the spren are only required to show true form (including glyphs) upon a level up moment. Really there's plenty of possibilities that I'd love to read.

Kaladin doesn't wanna be in Jasnah's Soulcasting range. Very bad idea. She's not going to let him into grappling range because though she cannot cast him directly she can make the very air around Kaladin into a weapon.

I'm not sure Renarin cannot use Illumination. I think he still has his normal 2 Truthwatcher surges along with the additional Voidbind. I point to the scene where he heals Adolin. He shows Adolin a picture in his mind of an idealized version of what Addie could be. Sounds like what Shallan does with her drawings to me, and that's definitely a form of Spiritual Illumination. Now that of course could be a side effect of healing. Has anyone else remarked on seeing an image off their perfect selves when being healed? Not that I remember. Then there's the discovery of the Gem Archives. I am personally of the belief that different Orders use their shared Surges differently, both because of the interactions with the unlike Surge and the way different Orders interpret the Surge used. The fundamental forces act the same physically. So gravitation looks the same for Windrunners and Skybreakers. But the additional uses, Cognitive and Spiritual gravitation, are going to act much differently for a Windrunner than a Skybreaker. I think Jasnah can do things with Soulcasting (at a distance without touch) that Shallan cannot due to its intermingling with her Transportation surge. I think that Shallan can do things with Illumination (giving limited solidity to her images) due to the intermingling with her Transformation surge. And so on and so forth.

Awakening is exploitative, sure. Not very pleasant if you're at the bottom of the social order. But Hemalurgy straight up kills people. Would you rather be a drab, sick and depressed all the time or would you rather be violently murdered, a piece of your soul serving to make a monster? And as far as Hemalurgy affecting very few people, well @not an Evil Librarian already brought up the Koloss army and Kandra. Even if you take that out of consideration though, Hemalurgy is about to be industrialized thanks to medallion tech. It's going to get exploitative and bloody on Scadrial in very short order.

It seems plausible. It even has parallels elsewhere in the Cosmere. Yes, I'm looking at you Nalthis. A place where everyone is born with a spark of divinity that can be transferred to others. Endowment makes the process much cleaner, nobody has to die and there's no soul damage to donor or recipient so that's obviously a good thing. But the benefits aren't scalable like public use hemalurgy would be. How many industries could be improved by the use of Breaths? Not nearly as many as stolen Allomancy or Feruchemy.

I really like the Cadmium Stasis box idea. Many practical uses. How are the medallions charged with feruchemical abilities? Because I like the idea of researchers coming in to work, strapping on their zincmind and let the ideas cook for hours at a time. Of course it may prove unfeasible if you need an adjacent group to be brain dead idiots for days at a time.

I will admit that motive is something of a blindspot for me when it comes to Kelsier. He smiles through so much and gives us so few moments of realness that I can never be too sure if what he's doing Final Empire-wise is a passion project, a salve to his pride and ego, a revenge fantasy or his genuine attempt to bring hope back to the masses. I suppose it could be all of them, I've seen evidence of all of them from him. I know he loves and believes in his crew and for me that was enough to take at face value.