StanLemon

Soulcast rare earth minerals. ALL THE MONEY!

Thank you. While I generally don't mind threads veering this was starting to feel like it might get out of hand and very personal for people and I'm aware I wasn't helping in that. I had made this thread because I was interested in how those on here viewed the successes and failures of the Shards as the gods of their worlds and why. I understand that some don't think they even qualify to be gods and thus say they can't be effective gods because of that, but that seems to me to be a closed off approach. To the people of the Cosmere the Shards are gods. They are worshipped and their mere existence shapes the world and lives of those living on it. And that's not accounting for anything they choose to do with their knowledge and power. Whether or not one considers them gods or not, the Shards have taken up the roles of gods and they have varying levels of accomplishments as gods. My personal answer to this question would be Harmony. Unlike the other Shards he has a duel perspective and while his hands are tied in many respects he does appear to be working to make the world better while ensuring as much free will as possible and even seems to lament the more underhanded things he does. I had considered Endowment but decided against it for the same reason I don't think she's as much of a chess master as a lot of the others on the forum do. While she seems to have the best interest of her world and people in mind, it feels too much to me like she's taking a shotgun approach to problems. As a result she seems unnecessarily cruel in the process as she regularly Returns people who can't possibly fulfill their reason for Returning and with them not being able to remember why they Returned they end up running into or causing all sorts of problems even if they don't die in a week

She says they are not God and we have enough context to know she's talking about Adonalsium. Pieces of God are still divine godly beings No, but you were asking about why I say those two especially qualify I fail to see the relevance of this quote as it's more of a comparison than the source Brandon is pulling from The reason I asked is because there is another God in Greek myth actually named Chronos who is the personification of time. Yes I'd consider all the Greek Titans gods. Afterall Helios the God of the Sun was a Titan. Titans were still deities, just their generation had its own title I completely agree with this point. But to the Cosmere Shards are gods. That doesn't make them not flawed. The vast majority of human mythology is filled with flawed gods. One reason I like the Cosmere so much is that Brandon explores the question of what it means to be a god. Generally across human mythology gods share these traits. An aspect or dominion of the world, society, or human nature. Posses great power (though this can get complicated if you get into the minutia). Guide the lives and world of "lesser beings". There is a lot more I could write on this subject but I don't want to bog down this thread with too large of a thing. Studying religions across human history is a hobby of mine which again is one of the reasons I'm fascinated with the Cosmere

Normally I'd agree with this, however it's established in the Cosmere that Shards are gods. Even the more Cosmere aware characters more or less agree on that. Edit: it is a valid answer to believe none of them are worth being treated with worship as they don't fit the bill for what someone should worship but what I can't agree with is saying they aren't gods at all in a setting where they very much are. My first response to Frustration was simply conveying that it depended on how Shards have fit the bill by most interpretations of what a god is. I wasn't even the only one to do so. Let's see, they created Scadrial and all the life on it. They guided and influenced said life. Yes, yet Brandon rather than just going with a Mormon centric view has created a pantheon that's intriguing and complex. A creator god who could and did die and mortals who ascended to godhood I'm assuming you mean Kronos from Greek mythology? Or is this a reference I'm overlooking? Thank you

And I'm not upset, but you are not adding anything to the conversation at all. Merely creating a tangent based on your personal view of what makes a god when discussing godhood in a fictional story where the Shards are very much the gods of the setting. As I said, your reply wasn't an answer. The Shards are the gods of the Cosmere whether they live up to what you would consider a god in real life. And the question was who has been the best god. Saying that they aren't gods when in the setting they very much are is not answering the question

That is a very Abrahamic centric view of gods. 99% of all religions have never considered that for gods. Not to devolve this into a religious debate, but there are many many people who argue that the Abrahamic view of god doesn't even fit that criteria.

I wasn't upset, but you weren't answering the question This isn't an answer, they very much do fit the criteria for being a god. Especially Preservation and Ruin. Please explain how they do not fit the criteria for being a god to you

This depends on how you define a god. Most gods in human religions didn't need worship to still be considered a god. And Shards are for most purposes gods. Especially Preservation and Ruin as they created their world and people. I made this thread to ask the question of who did the best at being a god for those under them, not to argue the validity of whether they are gods or not. Even if they have no hold over a person after they die, their mere existence influences their people's entire lives

As the title says, which Shard do you think has functioned as the best deity for their people. For instance, while Honor ultimately died and had been losing his sanity a little before it, he seems to have been pretty well respected by both humanity and spren and helped pull humanity through a never ending war driven by another Shard. Endowment has probably the most stable Shardworld in the Cosmere, though we don't really know what she does beyond sending Return that may or may not fulfill the reason they chose to come back. Harmony may be restricted in what he can do but he does appear to at least be nudging things in a better direction. Preservation not only created his people but worked out a plan to free them of the threat of Ruin despite his own impotence. I'm curious on all your thoughts on who functioned best as a god

Lift, I didn't like her at all in her first appearance other than when she went to go heal her friend. I didn't really like her in Oathbringer when I first read it either. I didn't get a copy of her Novella until after I read Oathbringer but that warmed me up to her considerably and when I reread her parts I had a new appreciation for her.

I sure hope we do. Even if all we learn is what an Excisor is I think we'll be able to do some decent theorizing

Besides Stormlight being great on its own merit, you really will like seeing how he ties Cosmere threads together in Stormlight. I'd suggest reading the Mistborn sequel series before Stormlight but it isn't necessary but just adds more to the experience

If it does, it would probably be more for world vs world than Mistborn vs Radiant specifically

The other answer is that strength is more complicated than that. Just because you have the strength to move doesn't mean it translates to being able to lift more are put more force into a movement. Take people that weigh 400 lbs for example, their body is constantly exerting the strength to move that much weight but no one would say they are particularly strong. In fact they would often be considered physically weaker than the average person. The way the magic works I've mostly assumed any added strength is only just enough to counterbalance the increased weight of their bodies not a completely proportional increase. Also, we actually can see Sazed use examples of his increased weight to enhance his strength when he isn't working against gravity. While subtle because he's also tapping Pewter at the time, but when he's holding the gate in WoA. He's using the increased weight to make it easier to hold the gates closed during the siege.

This conversation makes me think of how useful this could be potentially. We have a WoB that the scale of how much can be in a metalmind by size isn't as linear as one would think, more like levels. And because of the Bands we know a LOT of a trait can be stored in a small amount of metal though we do not yet know how. Potentially skill or maybe some tech we haven't seen. It might be possible to store a good emergency supply of a trait that you know can't be taken from you.

The way I see it, Scadrial must overcompensate with their casings. The text of the book said the casing was sent flying back implying that it didn't get completely destroyed. The only way I could see things happening the way they do in the books is that between the casing somehow holding itself together and staying in place long enough thanks to Waxes shove of the pin that enough force was directed forward just long enough ahead of the rest of the explosion to kill Forch.

Not necessarily, they could easily still be Spikes, just ones that have been weekend down like Path earings

Faster than sound doesn't necessarily mean faster than perception. Still a stretch but if he Pushed on any fast moving lines, especially if he was paying attention to where gunmen were to begin with then it would technically be possible. We've seen multiple times Steelpushers reacting very quickly to movements of the blue lines. And no amount of force a tiny bullet has is ever going to compare to the force Pushing it away so as long as the Push is initiated before the bullet hits then the Steelpusher will be fine. Edit: Just to clarify, it is possible for the human eye to see a modern bullet in flight. Now yes this is exceptionally difficult and is dependent on the bullet and gun and lighting but it's still possible. Now that is a tiny piece of high velocity metal. A blue line moving would be much easer to perceive at high speeds, especially if you are prepared for it.

True, but I would doubt I'd be as comfortable with manipulating people as much as Breeze

If we put this on the table, Full Feruchemist all the way

As much as I love Mistborn, most Orders of Radiant would just be so darn useful in everyday life.

This is actually an interesting thing, because science and technological development don't need to happen in the same order as they did here on Earth. To me it makes the world feel more real with its history. This could be due to the fact that the Basin is so bountiful and providing of their needs. The have less of a need or interest to learn more as things are for the most part provided for them, but in comparison, material science needs are something they have to provide for themselves and thus more reason to put in the effort and resources to develop it

I could be remembering incorrectly, but if I recall, Brandon has mentioned something about how his abilities will be a plot point in later books by going into why the Stormfather calls him Child of Tanavast instead of Child of Honor like he does with everyone else

I would venture to guess that Ruin would use Zane to further twist Vin into a weapon. Possibly add Spikes her more making her even more so than Marsh Ruin's vessel of destruction. Frankly, it would be terrifying for Zane, Vin, and Marsh to all be under Ruin's thrall.

Which is all the more confusing considering these WoB which further implies they are Connected to the soul #biochromatic breath #the beyond