HipsterStick

Hoid must be way older than Khriss. By this virtue alone, he should have more knowledge. Though, I guess it makes sense that Khriss knows more because that’s all she actually does (study)- perhaps Hoid is far too busy mucking up politics throughout the Cosmere for deep study. Still- mad respect for Khriss for being considered more knowledgeable than Hoid, that’s awesome.

How in the ever-loving heck does Khriss know more than Hoid? Not gonna lie, that’s legit pretty terrifying. If Hoid, who is some kind of proto-deity from an age before the Shards, knows less about the Cosmere than Khriss- then what the storms is Khriss?

My one regret about the theory. Maybe Taln gets to stay behind?

I think that Gavinor will become the ‘Adolin’ of the back five books- I.e., a non-flashback character with significant prominence. I’m almost certain he’ll bond a Spren as well, and possibly become obsessed with hunting down Moash (assuming Moash is still around). In fact, maybe that’s a major inciting incident! Picture this: it’s the prologue/early chapters of Book 6. At the end of the last book, all 10 viewpoint characters took up the Oathpact and traveled to Braize to delay the Desolation. Adolin is now High King of the Coalition, and the coalition is locked in a tentative peace with Rira, Iri, and some of the other areas that supported the Fused and are still hostile. Word comes that Moash has resurfaced in these kingdoms, but the Coalition cannot take him out without risking war with them. So, in a tense scene, Gavinor enters Adolin’s court, swears the first three oaths of one of the orders, and convinces Adolin to let him hunt Moash on his own. Farfetched, yes- but dang, I think it’d be so storming cool.

I would note here that while part of Hoid’s goal is almost certainly to collect investiture, it’s almost certainly not the end-all-be-all (or at least, he’s willing to wait til circumstances are right to obtain it). I don’t remember where exactly, but I remember Brandon saying that Hoid hung around Sel for a while trying to become an Elantris, but it didn’t quite work, so he stopped trying. Given his hatred for Rayse, I think a similar situation might arise regarding Odium’s investiture.

Awaken a stick. Give it thousands upon thousands of breaths. Enough to give it sapience. Enough to make Vasher blush. Then, when this god-like stick has been created, give your new stickish overlord the command to

Thank you! Man, I wish I could upvote this a thousand times over, this is really good. For the Iri, maybe they can gain a free technology every time they found a city on a new continent? And perhaps something to do with maintaining loyalty while on different continents (a la maintaining cultural identity whilst world hopping).

A little while back, @LordMistbornII and I had an idea for a Stormlight Archive mod for Civilization 6. I ran into it again today as I was looking through my Google Drive, and I thought I'd put it here and open it up to community discussion. I'm curious to hear y'all's thoughts- do you have any ideas? https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UX7MfK7o6fFHSBeuvgvR18gypBTUznBAhAYajuKSpT4/edit?usp=sharing

That teaches us there’s not going to be some great Cosmere heroic ensemble- but it doesn’t preclude the possibility of a Cosmere-wide conflict. In fact, the quote does quite the opposite- it confirms there’s going to be some kind of “intergalactic... thing” going on. In short: Cosmere ‘Endgame’? No. A Cosmere end-game? Potentially. Sometimes, clichés are clichés for a reason. It’s because they work. Think back to the Stormlight Archive; how many of the main books end up with an epic battle? Yep, all three. A final battle type dealio is great as a logical zenith of conflict; if the conclusion of several series worth of books ends up being less epic than the conclusions of each of the individual series, I reckon there’s a problem. I’m not saying the final battle should include everyone in the Cosmere, nor am I saying that it needs to be the ‘stereotypical’ final battle (a lá Wheel of Time or Endgame)- but there needs to be some kind of conflict, there needs to be stakes, and there needs to be a culmination of everything else that has happened so far.

Woah, why so little love for Denth? That man is easily one of the coolest villains Sanderson has written- and that’s really saying something! Charismatic, intelligent, and morally conflicted- what isn’t to like about him? Mind you, Denth is played by Nathan Fillion in my head, so I may be very biased...

Yooooooooooooooo- This might explain After all- who better to entrust with the hiding away of an Unmade than a Knight Radiant.

Hmm... everyone says that Gavilar’s sphere is different from normal void light, and Rlain says it rubs against his soul (whatever that means). Combined with the fact that it is a perfect gemstone, I wonder- maybe Gavilar’s sphere contains part of the Sibling? Any thoughts in that? Also- the Coalition did a really storming stupid thing in just tossing Neragoul into the ocean. Seriously? Are y’all kidding me? Well, at the very least it will prevent the Fused from stealing it once they come to the tower... and maybe some Santhid will pick it up and take it far away. Other than that, I’m very interested in how little Gavinor turns out. I wonder if he could possibly be a point-of-view character in the back five books? Not necessarily a main character, but a recurring one for certain. Also, Adolin spending time with him is 10,000% an Edgedancer thing to do. Really cool chapter all-in-all.

Hoid/Autonomy/whoever the final villain is: “I am- inevitable” Hoid/Autonomy/whoever-the-heck-ends-up-being-the-villain then tries to burn every Shard’s godmetals, but realizes something is wrong. He turns, and sees that Stick has started to become fire, and is burning the metals (which he somehow stole) Stick: “I... AM... a stick” All 16 godmetals burn, Stick ascends, the villain is destroyed, and all of the Cosmere’s greatest heroes lament and mourn the Stick’s apparent death

I love this post and your username just makes it better. This question is tricky. I know how I personally would react- I would try my best to talk to and understand them- but I imagine the culture of Roshar is different enough from our modern culture that if I had been raised there, my answer would be different. Also, hindsight is often 20/20- in the moment, making these kinds of decisions it’s limited information would be very stressful, which could lead to less than desirable actions.

I’m all for Kaladin learning about Listener culture. If that’s not one of the things he ends up doing with his semi-retirement, I’ll be sorely displeased. Also, I’m kind of really hoping he finds that flute again...

For the so-called ‘villains’... VaraTreledees is just a humble mercenary trying to make a living, whose life and livelihood are ruined by a degenerate hobo that steals his sister’s intellectual property and then kills her. Gavilar is a pioneering scholar that actively flouts oppressive gender roles and tries his best to restore a dying people’s cultural heritage. Rashek is a beleaguered chief-of-state that has to deal with a completely inefficient bureaucracy and a buffoonish upper-class whilst maintaining the balance of a fine-tuned labor machine that would cause mass cataclysm if it were to fail. Ruin is a rebel that refuses to stick with the status quo, and rages against a failed state in an effort to change the world. Taravangian is good with kids. And finally... Cosmere’s Best Boss Odium (TM) works tirelessly to prevent dangerous murderers with delusions of godhood from lording over others like deities. He is a devout conservationist dedicated to wiping out a particularly nasty invasive species in the Rosharan system. He is very cordial and polite, and is an excellent counselor- it’s almost like he can take away your pain! He provides employment opportunities for minorities and individuals of indigenous origin, works to accommodate employees who have mental or physical needs, and is a proud supporter of gender equality- in fact, several of his chief officers are femalen! The health benefits in his organization are incredible, and his life insurance policy is particularly revolutionary. It should also be noted that Odium has a terrific sense of fashion, with White and Gold being quite in vogue. As for the ‘heroes’... Syl is a shameless voyeur that has a strange obsession with forcing relationships on her good friends in an attempt to make them happy. Vin is a convicted robber that once murdered every single one of a paraplegic man’s caretakers. Also, she released an Eldritch abomination hellbent on destroying humanity. Kelsier started a bloody revolution against a remarkably stable government due to some minor personal grievances he had regarding mistreatment in a government sponsored work place. Shallan is a pathological liar who actively oppresses poor dark-eyed soldiers by stealing their boots and insulting their families. Elend used the aftermath of a violent revolution to start a hare-brained political science experiment, and then promptly got butthurt when the assembly voted him out of office; he later scrapped this semblance of democracy for a full-blown dictatorship, in which he held all power. Spook is a semi-functional tin addict. Vasher is a man playing a murder-hobo run of Skyrim. Except Skyrim is actually real life. And he really does murder several people; then he starts the fantasy equivalent of the First World War, creates what is basically a sentient tactical nuclear weapon, and dorks around for a few centuries while Hallandren oppresses the Pahn Kal and the Idrian people. That’s all for now folks!

This would be fascinating. Furthermore, it would set Kelsier up to be a major Cosmere player, and I would love to see more of Kel in the coming days. I do have a few concerns though. First, the Ghostbloods do feel- well, they feel a little bit villainous. Or maybe a lot a bit villainous- I haven’t decided yet. Now, Kel isn’t exactly a goody two-shoes guy, but I don’t think he’s an outright villain as well. So unless the Ghostbloods turn out to be really unscrupulous heroes, I hesitate to say that Kelsier is Thaidakar. Second, I don’t think the Ghostbloods possess the same values or ideology as Kelsier. Kelsier was a thief, but he was motivated far more by a desire to ‘stick it to the man’ than by a desire to acquire wealth. This character trait was carried to its culmination in his death, which he orchestrated in such a way as to create a religion and a movement in active opposition to the Lord Ruler and the Steel Ministry. The Ghostbloods don’t seem to possess the same megalomania- they’re a financial/economic organization, motivated more by a desire for power in and of itself than by a desire for power preceding a purpose. In short- Kelsier inspires, the Ghostbloods transact. Hard to argue on the manipulation points though. Kel is very good at that.

Definitely the Mafia. And as a side-note, I now cannot get the image of Marlon Brando as Mraize our of my head.

I’ve talked about this with my dad and my brother a lot, but consider: Red Dead Redemption II meets Elder Scrolls- on Roshar. Maybe the map would need to be limited to Alethela/Alethkar or one of the Silver Kingdoms, but even with the limitations, imagine how awesome it would be! There could be a dynamic weather system with High Storms, and you’d have to find shelter or die. You could hunt Great Shells, enlist with a High Prince’s army, maybe even fight Parshendi. You could meet Sleepless, Aimians, people from all over Roshar. Most of all, your choices and play style could attract certain Spren, and you could become a Knight Radiant based off of your choices! How awesome would that be? Complete open-world freedom to travel around Roshar and just experience it. Throw in a top-of-the-line story by Sanderson and BOOM- you’ve got the perfect game. (Also, I think a KotOR style game would also be amazing and I would probably play the crem out of it).

Carth can be annoying sometimes (I overall like him, felt he had the best voice-acting), but did you ever play the second game? Let me tell you- Kreia is worse. So, SO much worse... Words cannot describe the hatred I have for her. Also- Andrei, from the new movie Tenet, is a pretty vile character. As is Cadsuane from the Wheel of Time.

Woah.... WOAH.... This would make a lot of sense!!! What if one of Shallan’s personas is somehow acting as an informant for the Ghostbloods? What if Shallan is the spy inside Navani’s circle- and she doesn’t even know it? Not sure if it’s plausible- but it’d be interesting.

I find very unlikely that Kaladin is killed off. Book five, perhaps- but definitely not book five. I’m no literary expert, but killing off a protagonist in the middle of their arc seems like it would alienate the fan base a little too much, especially in a series as optimistic and- pardon the pun- as idealistic as the Stormlight Archive (and I would argue that, compared to most modern fantasy, Stormlight Archive is VERY idealistic). Furthermore, I find it unlikely that Dalinar will die, for reasons mentioned on this thread. However, I still think someone’s gonna die. Why? Two reasons. First, to maintain a sense of desperation and to raise the stakes for the final book, there’s going to have to be a tragedy or a bittersweet ending, a la The Empire Strikes Back. Second, Sanderson has said that this book represents a shift from petty villains (Amaram, Sadeas, etc...) to more Cosmic/Eldritch villains (Odium, the Fused, etc...). I reckon that the same is gonna hold true with the heroes. In this battleground of Gods and Demons, it’s unlikely that the average man will maintain relevance. In short- I think Adolin is toast. He’s mentioned several times that he feels out of place in a world full of Radiants. And he’s right- Shardplate and Shardblades, cool as they are, are not going to be very effective against Fused. He’s a support crutch for several major characters, yes- but if these people are going to progress, the crutch may need to go. Also, let’s not forget that (spoilers for WoKP): So, yeah. As much as I hate to admit it, I think he’s done for. Personally, I think he’s going to go out in a blaze of glory and- somehow- revive Mayalaran. Adolin may die- but I think his death will inspire the Spren to trust humanity, and prove to them that they are worth saving.

Interesting theory! However, I’m not certain that Thaidakar is a Vorinization of a Cosmere name, for the simple fact that Mraize used the name in that form. Perhaps it is a result of Roaharan linguistic finneagling- but I feel that Mraize’s Cosmere awareness would compel him to the proper pronunciation of names. Further more, the names of Nalthis and Scadrial were only one letter removed from their original, whereas Thaidakar is quite a few letters away from Dakhor. I think Sel’s omission from Ialai’s list is in large part due to the difficulties of world hopping to Sel. This difficulty keeps Sel relatively isolated from the Cosmere as a whole.

I agree with this. However, here’s an idea- What if Moash survives Stormlight- and goes on to become a Cosmere aware character? And tries to earn his redemption there? Consider: it’s book 5 (or book 10, I don’t know where it would fit better) of the series. There’s this big climactic battle between Kaladin and Moash. By the end of it, something happens to Dai-gonarthis (who I am convinced has something to do with Odium’s apathy-inducing aura) or maybe Odium himself, and all of Moash’s pain returns to him. He breaks down and begs Kaladin to kill him- but Kaladin leaves him and just walks away. Moash is left to deal with the accumulation of all of his past misdeeds and confront his shame. Then comes the epilogue. It’s Wit as usual, making his normal fancy speech- only this time, it’s not evident who he is talking to for the whole chapter. Until, that is, when he gets to the end, and finishes with some inspiring statement about redemption. And then, he extends to Moash (who has just been revealed as the person he’s been talking to) the opportunity of redemption. From there, Moash works tirelessly to help the Cosmere fight Odium, and to make it a better place. So instead of getting a rushed, slightly forced redemption arc, Moash gets a LOT of time to work out his problems (behind the scenes, but still happening). Plus, then he can show up if there’s a big Cosmere finale.

Man, the description is good enough for me! That's awesome!!! And, the perfect end-credits scene.