Bigmikey357

His response to Hoid seems to indicate that he actually does want to involve himself in inter-Cosmere events but is restrained by the conflicting Shardic Intents.

I don't believe Maya needs her Shardplate found in order for her to revive. Blade comes before Plate in the progression cycle after all. But assuming Maya gets revived at some point, what Ideal was her previous Radiant on when je severed his Oaths? If he/she was only on the 3rd Ideal then Maya may have never even had a Plate accompaniment at all. If Maya was bonded to someone who swore the 4th and/or 5th Ideal and that Plate survived through the millennia then if Maya awakens I expect that Plate to disappear until Adolin progresses enough to summon it back to the Physical Realm.

When a new Vessel picks up a Shard they do not get a user manual. They do however get a history lesson. The Shard sends a download to the Vessel that shows how it's power was used previously. From there a Vessel can extrapolate their capabilities. For a multi-Shardholder like Sazed this download is of limited utility because the combination of Shardic Intents likely grants additional abilities that need to be explored and experimented with. And if another Shard, a more experienced Shard begins messing with information flow then it makes it very difficult to do the necessary experimentation to explore the extent of the expanded power set.

According to one WOB, agents are purposefully trying to restrict Sazed's information flow. How they are doing so I have no idea.

It's a good thing that Shallan can heal anything short of death with Stormlight. I have a feeling that Shallan will fire off one too many quips and Vin will stab her in the eye with an obsidian dagger. They'll be BFF's after that though. The Lord Ruler and Odium

I think it kinda makes sense. Atium is able to steal Investiture from other systems if you know the bindpoints involved. Allomancy and Hemalurgy are systems that mirror each other. So if one system can do something, the mirrored system should be able to do something similar. Maybe Sazed should crap out some Lerasium beads so the Scadrian worldhoppers can do some experimentation.

I think it possible to destroy a place where the Shard's Investiture pools in the Physical Realm. We've already seen this happen when Kelsier destroyed the Pits of Hathsin. I suppose the Ones Above could carpet bomb Patji and destroy the worms that grant powers to the Aviars or whatever. I assume that there would be ramifications in all 3 Realms, as Kelsier's actions made Ruin's Perpendicularity unusable. But I'm not sure that a Vessel can be damaged but even if it were possible, that can only be a small portion of the Shard. It wouldn't be enough to shatter the Shard; the Shard would just look for another sapient mind to direct and shape its Intent. Destroying a Shard has to be an order of magnitude more difficult. Most of a Shard's power resides in the Spiritual Realm; the only people we know of that have ever been there are dead people and deities. So, to actually shatter the Shard one would have to first get to the Spiritual Realm alive. Then they have to figure out how to bring something with them. Then they have to figure out how to navigate in a place where all places and times are one place and all times. Then they would have to identify exactly which shard they want to break. Next, find that particular Shard, difficult indeed since they know how to move in that place better than you would and will probably see you coming from a mile away. Lastly, there are plenty of weapons that can harm a Physical entity. We have in-world examples of weapons that can strike cognitive entities. Shardblades and Nightblood come to mind immediately. But what kind of weapons can kill a spiritual entity? Adonalasium was shattered so I assume they exist. But the only ones who know the making of such an item presumably have enough intelligent self-interest to keep the blueprints to themselves. At any rate I wouldn't consider that item as 'convetional means' anyway. And even if one were to succeed, like say I shattered Autonomy for instance. Even were I to succeed the power will still be there. Investiture, like matter or energy, can only be changed, not destroyed. A lot of effort expended for very little gain unless one replaces the Vessel. I kill Badvadin to become Badvadin.

Fixed

Have we gotten any clue on what Brandon's Secret Project is yet? The most I've heard about it is that it isn't Dark One.

Roshar sings, Scadrial doesn't so far, Threnody seems too dreary for anyone to do much of anything enjoyable, I assume Nalthis sings since one of the Heightnings grants perfect pitch, Sel is inconclusive, or at least I don't remember any instances of song there. Haven't seen enough of Drominad (First of the Sun) or Taldain (White Sand) to know either way.

Proof: Hemalurgic spikes grant sapience and have you ever looked into the eyes of horned animals? Clearly they are looking at you with scorn. Theory: My Little Pony takes place on a Shardworld. The Shard is Cuteness.

We have to remember that the Shardic Intents are supposed to be the emotional fragments of a God. And while a God can hate, grow, preserve, ruin, endow, inspire devotion or dominate, even have aspects of honor or ambition, I'm not sure I buy an aspect of god that translates to indifference.

Szeth already has martial arts training although I forget what he called it. Lightweavers could use something like a shadow step, casting illusions so an opponent cannot be sure which target they strike. With the transportation surge and Stormlight one can become Cosmere Nightcrawler, although you're probably only going to be able to do it once or twice per engagement. For Edgedancers, friction plus variable spren weaponry means someone that easily slide circles around you. Plus infusing the opponent hands with Stormlight means they cannot grip weaponry. We already know what Windrunners are capable of. Maybe someone else can help with some of the other surge martial art applications.

TLR doesn't have to sleep; there is a metal that stores/taps wakefulness too.

A terror shard huh? Sounds like a typical magic user would be like the Scarecrow in the comics.

I think this illustrates just how bad Kal needs a playmate. For those of you with a more unconventional bent, hows about Kaladin x Adolin?

Well we know Reckoners were never Cosmere. We also know Dark One has been bounced in and out of the Cosmere. Unfortunately, we will probably have to wait for Dark One to come out in order to extrapolate what Shard that would have represented had it remained Cosmere. All we have at this point is a name and a rudimentary plot description.

Being a Lightweaver isn't about repression and denial imo. In fact it's the opposite. To advance in the Order one must become more self-aware, more truthful with yourself. The repression and denial bits are why Shallan doesn't yet have Plate despite having advanced more than Kaladin. We see in the narrative that Shallan was only able to advance because Pattern made her stop repressing her most hurtful secret and she spends the entirety of OB trying to come to grips with that truth. Rock is at the beginning of the Lightweaver progression; he has yet to come to grips with any of his lies. I expect him to shortly; Amaram with the Shardbow seems like a turning point to me.

Well the black one is described a lot like how Ivory is described. If one of them is indeed an Inkspren it would make sense that a spren of transportation is required for Oathgate function. The other guardian looks nothing like how a Reacher is described though. I could see the other spren as the cognitive expression of the Oathgate mechanism. So one Spren as the machine and the other as the power source?

Sorry. Forgot about them. Well in all 3 cases the process was different. For Skybreakers the process was much more formalized, Windrunner squires seem to follow a chain-of-command structure, and who-the-hell-knows what's going on with the Lightweavers. In any case we don't know what the rules are, not enough to speculate at any rate. For example, would Shallan have become Jasnah's squire if she didn't already have Pattern bonded? Does a previous bond with one Order prevent squireship in a different Order? And do Bondsmiths get squires or can the entire Knights Radiant organization be considered their squires based on the boosts Dalinar can provide to other knights (Shallan's 3D holomaps, Kaladin's Stormlight overcharge)? And does it matter if you're not a person likely to attract a spren of your own to be a candidate for squireship? Here's another example. Skar probably isn't going to be a Windrunner either, or if he becomes one he won't progress beyond the Third Ideal. Why? Because he's not comfortable being a leader. A teacher, sure, but he's the type who would rather receive a task than issue the orders. Sounds like a Stoneward more than Windrunner to me.

Rock is definitely a Windrunner squire and not yet drawing Stormlight from his own order. In Part 5, during the attack at Urithiru Rock is stabbed. He does not begin to heal until they get to Thaylen City and close to Kaladin. So Rock is technically not yet a Lightweaver, he will ultimately become one. I brought in the Vathah example as a counter to a potential argument against my theory. It was underlining a question that occurred to me during fury crafting. How does squire-ing work? We've seen 2 Orders get squires so far. The process looks similar in both cases. However we don't know the limitations or the guidelines yet.

I don't know if this has been discussed previously on the boards, but during part 2 of OB when we see the inner dynamic of Bridge 4, one can make a case for Rock not being a potential Windrunner despite being Kaladin's squire. What we see of him more closely alligns with Lightweavers. First, a characteristic of the ancient Lightweavers was providing 'spiritual sustenance' as described by the in-world Words of Radiance. Rock does this constantly, becoming almost by default the Bridge 4 in house therapist. Skar, Renarin, and Rlain specifically are encouraged and fortified during the Bridge 4 sequence, but he has done so almost since he was introduced as a character. He brought Teft into the fold and has even encouraged Kaladin on occasion. Second, Rock is a liar. Lightweavers deal in lies and truths; Brandon seems to go out of his way to emphasize Rock's lies. He constantly dwells on the lies he has told his comrads about his past and is grateful they don't speak his mother tongue. We as readers suspect what Rock is lying about although it has not yet been made explicit. As far as potential truths, he's admitted to himself that he is ashamed at how he lost his will to live running bridges until Kaladin Stormblessed dragged him from the brink. Three and Four are a bit tenuous but serve as background clues, something Brandon would put in so that us readers aren't so blindsided later. Rock refers to his cooking as art; art is typical of the Lightweavers though I'm not sure they were all artists. Even so, art can take many different forms. Shallan's sketchwork is integral to her Lightweaver abilities but we know of other examples. Elkohar, a proto-Lightweaver could draw a good map and was talented at interior design. Wit uses music as a medium for lightweaving, though he is using the Yolish variant. Who's to say cooking cannot be a form of artwork deemed acceptable to draw creation spren. We don't see cryptics gathering, but they and honorspren have quite the antagonistic relationship. Interference is possible. Another thing, we've already seen that one needs not be a Windrunner to be included in Bridge 4. It wouldn't be such a huge step for another example of the concept to manifest. Last, it's difficult to prove a negative, but why hasn't Rock attracted an Honorspren? He was the first of Kaladin's lieutenants and nearly the first to draw Stormlight as a squire. He was integral in the formation of Bridge 4. He's the first to see Syl. But if Sylphrenia is a guide for the type of person an honorspren is likely to bond (by no means a guarantee) then he doesn't quite fit what an honorspren would look for in a bondmate. It seems like they value irreverence in their partners, and Rock is too respectful to be of interest. Cryptics don't seem to be quite as discerning however. One potential problem I see is the squire problem i.e. how can one become a Radiant of one Order if he/she is a squire of another? The counter to this is Vathah. He's Shallan's squire but he doesn't seem to be particularly artistic or lacking in self-awareness. If he were to actually become a Knight I would bet he wouldn't be a Lightweaver. There may be other possible issues with my interpretation. Feel free to pick at the theory at will.

Upvote from me. I like the theory and it's totally plausible even if it turns out not to be true. I'm thinking of implications involving other Shards, as in, if Odium can figure this out then can't other Shards do the same with perhaps a different hack? Rayse and Badvadin seem like buddies. I think they colluded at one point in the past according to a WOB I currently don't have access to. Maybe Baddie is using her Avatars in a similar fashion, using a different method to hack Investiture-based magics. Maybe, just maybe the two of them determined to themselves that they would be the only Vessels of the 16 left standing. Divide and Conquer. It's too bad that 6 Shards are left unaccounted for. Maybe we'd be able to determine if another Shard would be likely to experiment with Investiture in order to beef up their powers, either for defense against the aggressors Odium and/or Autonomy or for to just aggrandizement of their own power. I could see Ambition having plans for the latter and having been shattered by Odium was actually good for the Cosmere. I could see the shard of Ingenuity (if it indeed exists) doing the former as well.

I like this theory even though I'm not sure it works from a practical standpoint. I have a couple of issues. One, it's 10 vs. 16. 16 metal effects, 10 surges. We would first have to make a conversion table and unless Roshar's surges have a wider bandwidth I'm not sure if it's possible to get close to a 1 to 1 correlation between the systems. Second, the surges come in groups whereas Twinborn can be of any combination. So theoretically if Wax used the same metals he should get the same resonance. So say his allomancy and Feruchemy were reversed. A-Iron and F-Steel gives completely different abilities but since the same keys are used the resonance should be the same too. They obviously would not be though. Lastly, which system is the standard? Roshar was designed by Uncle Addie himself but Scadrial has the Cosmere wide 16 for the magic number. Isn't it somewhat like comparing apples to oranges? Not trying to crap on your theory, just need some questions answered.

The betrayal aspects of Moash's behavior is what kills it for me. Every single time. He can see the world changing before his eyes. He had multiple chances to turn away from vengence and play for Team Honor. He in many ways acts out Windrunner Ideals. And he just keeps throwing away his chances. Kaladin had his beef with Roshone. Kaladin had deaths to lay at Roshone's feet. He outgrew them. Moash never even tried. I agree that Kal needs to come clean but his betrayal isn't even in the same ballpark as Moash.