Pagerunner

It just depends on how we define our boundaries. "The Beyond" is called such because spirits travel outside the cosmere. There's a 'death' that people can come back from, like Kelsier or the Cognitive Shadows. But there's also a death that opens the doors to another experience, and that is not the experience Brandon is writing about. It's a fairly common occurrence in fantasy works, actually; there's becoming one with the Force in Star Wars, there's Aslan's Mountain at the end of Chronicles of Narnia, there's the unknown fate of the souls of men in Lord of the Rings (as contrasted with the elves, who remain immortal on the planet). The world of the author can be very well-defined, but any method of explaining the 'ultimate fate' could be unsatisfying (including, as you're pointing out, leaving it as a question mark). I, personally, think it's a good approach to have it be a one-way trip, lest we banalize the afterlife.

Yeah. Someone at the Hoboken signing was looking for an oath, and Brandon said he didn't give them out for two reasons: That's something we'll be learning about for literally the entire length of the series. He hasn't finalized all of them yet, so if he gives one out now, it may change before it becomes canon. But the Inkspren question, that might go through. It depends how much of that is getting saved for Jasnah's flashback book.

Yeah, a more straightforward name like "Magic System Interactions" might be better. I felt like I was digging through a lot of questions about how Breath would interact with Hemalurgy or if Stormlight could power AonDor, which are along very different lines than "Are all Vessels humans?" That's why I think they could be spun off into their own section.

Brandon recently spoke about his future Aether plans. In other words... It's coming! So, Aether was supposed to kick off a series, and we've long thought that the war-between-Shards aspect was lifted out for Mistborn's Ruin and Preservation. The 'dramatic changes' appear to be replacing the Shards of Aether with something new. I hope this means the magic system and the characters will be carried over - those were the best parts of the book in my mind, as I was left very underwhelmed with the ending. The story almost stands on its own, now, and I think that would be a wise direction to take. However, I must admit I don't want to see Aether very soon. Brandon has 5 active cosmere series right now (Wax&Wayne, Warbreaker, Elantris, Stormlight, and White Sand). White Sand won't be as much on Brandon to do, 'cause of the graphic novel and all that, and Mistborn and Stormlight are both the 'big series' he's working on. But I'd like to see him get through Elantris 2 and 3, Nightblood, and Modern Mistborn before jumping into the back half of Stormlight, as he was planning a few years back. If Aether is a standalone (like The Silence Divine), then it could go well as a 'break book' between Stormlight 6-7 or something like that, which wouldn't require fans to wait for him to finish a series. So, that's why I'd like to wait to see new Aether; Brandon's just got a lot on his plate right now, and needs to start wrapping things up. (And that's not even counting his other ongoing series; since Apocalypse Guard is following Reckoners, the only thing he's completed entirely is The Wheel of Time and Original Mistborn.)

So, we got a good number of answers during the AU signings. I went and commented a bunch of them in, and I noticed there was still a good bit of stuff left over that has been answered in Secret History. How often does this list get updated? I think it could get trimmed down. Also, @Chaos, if I may make a suggestion as to organization. There were a lot of questions in the Cosmere subsection "Shards and Magic" about how different magic systems would interact. I'd recommend making a new subsection for them, "Conflux," or something similar, and let the "Shards and Magic" section have questions more like "Can a Shard Invest in a Star?"

That's not the way I interpreted it. I think they want each Shard to stay separate on its own planet, and not team up or interact. Hoid has Investiture from multiple Shards, people can figure out how to worldhop by watching him (like maybe Rock). Not quite like Star Trek's Prime Directive, but somewhat similar - let each Shard have its own world and forget the rest of them even exist. Bringing the common cold was a violation of the Seventeenth Shard's protocol; but, that has nothing to do with Adonalsium (barring some bizarre edge cases), and more about taking things from one world to another. But, I do like the angle you took, and it's definitely possible. I would expect him to be very slippery when it comes to nailing him down on this, but we'll see.

Any word on the tree? Or the dragon? Or Scadrial's placement?

Unusual.

That's exactly why I found this comment interesting - the way Brandon spoke about the Shards in AU and what I heard in Hoboken made it sound like they're separate, that the power of the Dor comes from pieces of two different Shards clashing together. However, here, he seems to describe the Dor as a single entity. I'm typing up a topic on the conversation I had with him on Saturday about the two powers in Harmonium. (Just waiting on a recording so I can get the actual transcript.) He described the chemical reactivity of it, saying that it was because the two powers were contained in the same substance. There must be a balance between the two; Sazed would drop Harmony if he died, and the Dor collectively powers all magic on Sel. On the other hand, Marsh still has atium, and Seons and Skaze are still things. So, maybe combining two Shards isn't a reverse-Shattering, but more of a mixture of two Shards' power. They're still distinct internally to a degree, and there is conflict associated with them, but they're unable to be separated. Still two Intents, but the body of Investiture cannot be separated anymore. Something along those lines.

Usually, I listen to music while I'm working. I'll put something else on in the background instead, today... One that jumped out at me: Q: So, the entity that Harmony is, all the other Shards that we've had named so far, are any of them combinations? Or they all- A: Okay, good question. The only one I would count as a combination is the Dor, right, but it isn't even a full Shard, right? So, everything else, single holder only when we talk about it, okay?

I seem to recall Brandon saying something about it recently on Reddit, that it was Isaac's interpretation and that Brandon hadn't given him guidance on it. It struck me as very similar to the Stormlight story and now to the Constellations image as well. I've gotten kind of lost in Brandon's Reddit posts, though, since he's been really active recently.

Doesn't Khriss say in AU that Ambition was finally Splintered, just not in the Threnodite system?

This is really interesting. I assume you were talking to Brandon at the Chicago signing? (Just to clarify, since you didn't specify in your post.) I'd like to see the audio transcription, once we get it. It presents a view of the cosmere where the Shards are interacting, going from world to world. That's very different than the impression we've gotten so far, where each Shard has their own world and Autonomy is the oddball for messing with others'. Even though this scene got cut, would they still be working together like that behind the scenes of Mistborn 2? I don't think so, since we didn't see any of them in Secret History. This does give a glimpse of hope for a pipe dream I've had to tie together Warbreaker and Stormlight even further. Hoid is looking for help with Odium; he's asked Frost, who I assume to be a Shard. Frost says 'no,' maybe Hoid goes and asks other Shards. Endowment might be one he turns to eventually, and she would go to Roshar to take up the battle against Odium. It would tie together how Vasher and Nightblood fit into Stormlight; we've already seen one of Endowment's Shardblades and magic users on Roshar. I'll check this idea against the Third Letter when we get it in Oathbringer; if it's not to Frost, then maybe he'll get another 'no' for the Fourth Letter, and the Fifth Letter is what gets Endowment to come along. So, all-in-all, a very cool avenue of questioning.

Yeah, we got that at the Hoboken signing, as well. It makes me wonder if he did the same thing to Ambition.

If Earth actually is in the cosmere, then Brandon is playing a very long con on us, since he has said otherwise. Another example is Adamant, a sci-fi novella he's working on and has read portions of at signings. There are a few Shakespear quotes, which he has said he'd have to remove if he wants to fit the story into the cosmere. Yolen, the progenitor world of the cosmere and Hoid's home planet, is an earth analogue in many ways (planet size, wildlife, presence of humans), but also pretty fundamentally different (dragons, something called 'fain life'). It's the same for the universe as a whole; while it shares all of our physics, it also goes beyond that, introducing Realmatics and Investiture, so unlike many sci-fi or fantasty stories, it can't just be set in a different time or place in our own universe. EDIT: Here's another quote from Brandon himself; it's the source for the Rithmatist example, which explains his logic.

I also seem to recall the steel bubble being debunked as a perk, and I'm trying to figure out why. Looking back, a lot of people seem to remember a WoB that it was due to Wax's savantism, (like this guy, for example...) But I haven't been able to find the original source for it, so it's possible it's a rumor that got elevated to tribal knowledge. If anyone else wants to keep searching, that's the vein to do it in - if Brandon confirmed the steel bubble as an ability of a steel savant. EDIT: Aha, I found it! Alloy of Law annotations, chapter 11.

It's a good thought, and I think I agree with you that there is a Shard in Silverlight, but there's a bit of a flaw in your logic. Perpendicularities are the way that people go from the Physical Realm to the Cognitive Realm; once they're in the Cognitive Realm, they can walk from planet to planet. Silverlight, however, is already located in the Cognitive Realm, so they don't need a Shardpool. I'd take a bit of a different approach, and say that interstellar space in Shadesmar is barren without a Shard (like we saw in Secret History), so for a city to exist out there, they will need to find a Shard. Ambition's remains could be one candidate for that, and then there is also another Shard that isn't located on a planet. Either of them could form the 'foundation' to build Silverlight on. But, either way, I don't think it's unusual to assume that a place like Silverlight would need a Shard to exist.

Well, the Star Charts have sold out already. I'll have to keep my eye on the store, for when the second batch comes in. I knew I shouldn't have waited... at least I got a first printing of the leatherbound this time around.

Welcome to the forum - that's a great question, and one which I don't think we have a definitive answer on. Some think it holds one of Odium's spren, a very powerful one. Some think it is Odiuim's 'Stormlight,' the power of his investiture. (More like Odium's version of Preservation's mists.) Some people are going way into the deep end and think that it's reminiscent of Nightblood's black smoke, so maybe there's a connection with him. We don't know what the black sphere is yet, but we will learn in Oathbringer. So, don't worry - the wait is almost over, and we'll have our answers!

Atium and Malatium as Temporal metals are the big one. IIRC, there are also some errors on the WoK table, with divine attributes, but I don't remember the specifics. (And those might have originated out-of-universe, as well.)

Yeah, I did notice that, but I guess I assumed it was too obvious and would rather talk about something more complicated. Thanks for starting this topic; it is a fairly important revelation that deserves some discussion. I agree that Lift attracts lifespren the same way Shallan/Kaladin attract creationspren/windspren. I like your idea for Elsecaller's secondary spren; it fits with the relationship between major/minor spren. (Syl looks like a windspren, Kaladin attracts windspren. Wyndle looks like a living vine, Lift attracts lifespren. Pattern likes lies (or creative lying), and Shallan attracts creationspren.) If we interpret Inkspren less literally, being about books, then logicspren fits in with them quite well. I think flamespren might be a good fit for the Dustbringers, just because it matches with their destructive capability and their color of red. But we'd need to see the Major spren for them first. Skybreakers follow the law; I don't think we've seen anything like obediencespren or bureaucracyspren, but maybe fearspren are a possibility? (That's probably selling the Skybreakers short. They're interesting, but they're not bad guys.)

I've been mulling this over for a while, too. I don't think the constellations represent Shardbearers, because Scadrial is part of another constellation. That being said, there are definitely some undeniable parallels between the constellations and the worlds that are a part of them. So, the big question in my mind is timing. When did these Constellations come about? It's a bit of a chicken-and-the-egg situation. Here are some possibilities. The Constellations are based on the Worlds. Silverlight generated them as they studied various worlds, specifically to match an aspect of that world. If it was soon after the Shattering, then it could have been before Ruin and Preservation created life in the Scadrian system, so that's why it doesn't have its own constellation. (Side note, could Silverlight predate the Shattering?) The Constellations are based on the Vessels. I don't find this terribly likely, since there's stuff like a tree and a lamp, as Argent said above. However, there could be symbolism there, which we just aren't able to grasp yet without reading Dragonsteel. The Worlds are based on the Constellations. I liked the idea that the constellations were viewed from Yolen, and put some thought into this avenue before it was debunked. But, if Silverlight is near Yolen (a not unreasonable possibility; as the source of the Shards, it should be near the center of the cosmere, and Silverlight as a worldhopping community wouldn't want to be off in a corner somewhere), then Silverlight could share similar constellations to Yolen. Elements of pre-Shattering mythology could have driven Shards to drive their magic in that direction. (A recent discussion from the Hoboken signing makes me think that the Vessel could have more of an influence on the magic system than I had previously assumed.) So, if you're on the breath planet, you get Breath. If you're on the fighting planet, you get armor and swords. I think this one would be stretching coincidence a bit. Lastly, this one I just thought of right now, the Constellations are Focuses. As I understand it, a magic system arises between a world and a Shard, and each will inform the specific magic system. A Shard needs to Invest in a world to create a magic system. What if these constellations are representative of the aspect of the world that defines the magic systems? The Initiations, perhaps? Roshar shows a knight; by definition, a knight follows a code. Nalthis shows breath; you need to collect Breath. First of the Sun shows a net; you need to capture a bird. Taldain shows a tree; you need to filter Investiture through other lifeforms. Threnody and Sel, we don't know the Initiation for either of them. Scadrial, I'd probably go back to the first point, and say there's nothing on there because the chart predates its inhabitation. And the cop-out is that the Constellations tell a Story. Khriss's essays, especially the Rosharan Essay, read a little stilted to me, since Brandon had intentionally written them so as not to spoil anything he hasn't written yet. And I don't fault him for it; otherwise, we wouldn't have the essays at all. So, still worth it. But it's possible the star chart is designed to mean more to us, the readers, than it does to those in-universe, and it could contain several levels of association. So it's possible this is giving us hints to the overarching story of the cosmere, the stuff Hoid's been up to, the stuff we haven't seen yet but Brandon promises AU begins to open the door to. It's possible these are relevant to Dragonsteel's plot, hints to the reader while just being constellations to those in-universe. This would ascribe the least meaning, but it is an in-universe art. It might not be any more complex than Earth's astrology, or the stories told by our constellations. Closer, brighter stars take prominence in constellations (center of a tree, light of a lamp, Orion's belt).But maybe going too in-depth would be losing the forest for the trees. So, yeah, those are some of my thoughts. This seems like it will be a big mystery, like the Shadesmar map or the 'Voidbinding' chart. (Yes, I'm aware that there's a good chance it's not Voidbinding, but that's how I've most often heard it referred to.) EDIT: Great point, @Tsidqiyah! I can tie that into Constellations as Focus, with Nazh saying in Secret History that it requires rites to become a Shade. Maybe emotion is a focus on Threnody; you need to feel a certain way to access or interact with magic? (Or did, when it there was Investiture there.) That could be the reason behind why all the worlds in the system are named for things connected with mourning. But, it does fit more simply into the first point, that it's called Threnody so Silverlight decided to make it a mourning woman.

Hey wait a minute, doesn't using a lot of Stormlight create frost, and don't Shardblades come slick with condensation when they're summoned? I wonder if there's any connection to Braize being cold...

It's not a thing. It was a thought experiment that @Segren asked Brandon. I found it surprisingly enlightening. But I'll let him post it (or wait until he has the exact wording from his recording); I'm not trying to be a tease, I promise!

Segren didn't put all his info in his post; Brandon said that Gavilar had been on the Bondsmith path for longer than Dalinar has been. It raised some interesting questions for me about whether or not he might have been Surgebinding on the night of his assassination. But, someone else at the signing (don't remember who) mentioned that he had a deadsprenblade, so he might not have been as far along the path. He's also missing a answer about a hypothetical 'Kelserium' that has some interesting implications.