Wyndlerunner

*2 years ago* James reclined back against a large oak tree, the shade dappled as a light breeze swept through the boughs, and Theo sat down beside him. In the distance, seas of wildflowers sprung up around decrepit gazebos, and a river that curved too perfectly to natural cut its way through the landscape. Once, this place had been a botanical garden, but when the founders started realizing that they were losing more money than they were making, they closed it. Despite the long years since the garden's closure, nobody had quite been able to bring themselves to tear it down; so it had been left to grow more wild, and for that James was thankful, after all, this was his favorite place to come with Theo, who had proven himself to be James's best friend. Normally, when they came here, they relaxed, they discussed books, anime, and all of those shared interests that had led them to bond in the first place. Today, however, Theo took a more serious turn. "James, what is leadership?" he asked, not an ounce of levity in his expression. James looked over at him and rolled his eyes, "Theo, just because you made first chair doesn't mean you have to start pondering the philosophy of leadership." he said, giving him the look that was supposed to signal when Theo was taking something too seriously. Theo looked back over at him with a wry grin, "thanks, man", he said, "but this isn't about that at all. So my question still stands." James looked up through the branches of the tree, shading his eyes against the sunlight, "I don't know, but I think a leader is someone who can help people become their best selves." He finally answered, prompting a good natured laugh from Theo, "That is so like you, dude. But I think your definition is missing something: A leader doesn't always make others happy. Sometimes leadership means having to do the right thing, even if it won't make everyone happy." That had been their last conversation. *The Present Day* Rob's proposition sent a tangible chill through the otherwise temperate room, and James could practically feel the color drain from his face. "Rob," he said, quietly, unable to keep the horror from his face, "That's suggesting we commit mass murder. In fact, it's nigh unto genocide!" James had always tried his hardest to be a force of mediation; someone who could provide a level of emotional steadiness to any issue. At times, he'd been called a 'people pleaser' or a doormat, he'd been so determined to help others achieve what they wanted. Not now though, in this moment, the chill in the room shifted, from icy pragmatism to cold steel, the steel of James's determination. "I know you feel hurt, Rob, and I know you feel like we're caught in a cycle." James met Rob's eyes, grim, pained, but willing to do what needed to be done, "If you attempt to go through with this, I will do what it takes to stop you." His memory went back to that day beneath the oak tree, and the words of a dear friend. "Because I'm a leader... and that means doing what's right, even if it means I can't make everyone happy. As much as that hurts, I will do it." James inhaled Stormlight in what felt like a massive amount, and even in the daylight he could see the wisps of Light rising from his skin, bright like luminescent smoke. These Words are Accepted The Nightwatcher said, reverently. The Fifth Ideal of the Bondsmiths, the truest burden of leadership, and at the same time, its greatest honor. Thank you, Theo James thought, You were, as usual, right. "Please Rob, don't go through with this." he said, calm, but firm, "This isn't who you are. Stonewards aren't supposed to be emotionless, they're supposed to be dependable, loyal, stand by the people who care about them." James didn't know how he knew that last part, but it seemed like something Rob needed to hear. @AonEne

Your skills are very impressive, you must be very proud

Brandon I believe intends to keep the Beyond a sort of unknowable. It's not likely the concept will play majorly into the Cosmere's plot. The fact that Adonalsium was killed, at least in my mind disqualifies it from being a capital G God. I also think part of the reason Brandon hasn't really talked a lot about what exactly the Beyond is comes from preference to let the reader decide what it is. I personally do believe in an afterlife, so I've always viewed the Beyond as a classical, 'heaven'-esque, style afterlife. But, if for example, someone doesn't believe in an afterlife, the Beyond can be simply an end to existence. If it makes sense, I see the Beyond as being Brandon's way of leaving the details of what happens after death up to the reader's individual preference and interpretation.

James nodded in response to Cassie's remarks. "She's right, we're not gone yet. I can't help but feel that if this division among us continues to spread, it will only lead us into darker places." He turned and looked at Rob, trying to keep his expression that perfect mixture of empathetic and stern, "Let go of the Stormlight, Rob, nobody here is trying to hurt you." @I think I am here.

You know, to be honest, that is kind of a shocker. I binge read RoW over the course of an obsessive 24 hours, so smaller lines like that were probably lost in my mind compared to some of the more 'in your face' reveals in RoW. That's super interesting, and definitely works with the thought of at least Honorspren and Cultivationspren having been directly formed by the influence of H+C. Yeah, that's also true. I do assume Adonalsium did create some spren, since he did directly create the whole Rosharan System, I assume that the Dawnsingers were either directly created by Ado, or evolved naturally with the tools that had been given them, which in the case of forms, definitely requires spren of some variety to be present. I like this way of phrasing this quite a bit! I also tend to agree there's some combination of the two theories, especially as I've reflected more after posting this. I'm all about that juicy, juicy synthesis. Thanks for your thoughts and feedback! I really appreciate it!

James caught the look in Cassie's eyes and tried his hardest not to grimace. When had they come to this? When had their little family become so distrusting? He thought he noticed a slight smoky glow rising from Rob's skin as well. What in the name of Lights is going on? James thought, as his hand also instinctively went toward the pen in his pocket that became the strange, black Shardblade that had nearly killed him when he tried to use it. When Cassie leveled her accusatory question to Rob, James' jaw dropped, as he looked from Rob to Cassie, and mouthed to her "What in the world is going on?" But James thought he already knew the answer. A division was creeping amidst their ranks, and whether or not Rob's strange black sphere was the root cause, James seemed to instinctively know that a division among the Knights Radiant could only lead to dark times. What wicked thing of eminence creeps among my family? He thought, nearly speaking the words aloud. What he did do, however, was step between the two, and shot an intense glare at both of them. "I don't know the root of this, but I won't have this division lead to violence. Rob, let go of that Stormlight you're holding, before I take it from you." Can I actually do that, can I go through with that bluff? He asked the Nightwatcher, who simply replied with a curious, I don't know, why don't we find out?

I was always under the impression that was because there's always wind somewhere on Roshar, so they're constantly being drawn into the physical realm.

I do think there are a few key differences here, being namely that Seons do not exist primarily in the Cognitive Realm, and formed after the splintering of Devotion, whereas varieties of Rosharan spren are noted to have existed even before the Shattering. Then of course there's the interesting matter of only one Seon existing per Aon (whether or not there's a similar limit with the Skaze is unknown, yet given their parallel nature to seons, I assume they are also similarly restricted) Spren are pieces of the Shards (particularly Honor, Cultivation, and Odium), but given that of those 3, only Honor is dead, I don't think that spren are necessarily just investiture without a holder, as that would imply that all the shards are dead

So, recently the fact that spren are super weird just kind of wiggled into my brain and wouldn't leave until I'd tried to parse it out. So, I devised a couple of theories that might explain why spren only manifest on Roshar, and nowhere else in the Cosmere. Individual Sections will be put in spoiler tags for length purposes, although I'd pretty much say if you've read Era 1 and 2, Elantris, and SA 1-4, you should be fine. If you have any ideas of how to streamline these theories, or any of your own feel free to post them! Really, I just want to talk about spren and figure out why they're weird in the ways that they are. Introduction: What is a Spren?: This brings us back to the question, what is different about spren, and why do they only appear on Roshar (and to a lesser extent Braize)? If they are ‘ideas’ as Pattern claims, then why do they not appear on other sufficiently Invested planets with sapient life to imagine these concepts? At the moment, I have two working theories as to why this is. Theory 1: Shardic choice Theory 2: Spren exist because Realms interact differently on Roshar: I apologize in advance to those of you who are more 'evidence' based theorycrafters. I simply didn't have the time or patience (or ebooks) to look up every WoB or quote referenced. Like I said at the beginning if anyone has other thoughts to streamline either of these ideas, or any ideas of their own about why spren only manifest on Roshar, I would love to hear it!

Whether you Love Evangelion or hate it, you cannot deny that the music is just incredible.

I'm not even an Evangelion Fan, but that song is just such a vibe. I love it

I have to agree. While it might not be quite the level of coolness it would have been to get a Mistborn movie/show reveal or tease, this will definitely put Mistborn, and Kelsier, into the public consciousness (which I have a feeling our Secret-lovin Survivor of Hathsin wouldn't mind the extra attention). As the old saying goes, "No such thing as bad publicity"

Well, that is certainly... unexpected to say the least. Just... wow. Well played Brando, well played

Congrats on the Marriage Chaos! Wishing you two many happy years together! That comment about El using the metal to do like a human cosplay gave me the biggest chuckle I've had in a while.

It would seem that you are the Nailsage now...

Well that's a familiar name! Welcome back. I actually can't recall if we talked much, but it's always good to see a familiar pfp from ye olden days of 2018 17th Shard.

James stood up, and hoped his eyes didn't look too red from the silent weeping. I have to be strong for them he thought, repeating it like a Buddhist mantra in his head. My friends rely on me for support, and I want to be there for them. He walked past Rob, and opened the door. "Hey Cass", he said, trying to seem nonchalant, but knowing deep down he was visibly shaken. "Come on in"

Personally, I'd say at a conceptual level, very few world-building elements could be taken as plagiarism. I think it really all comes down to execution of the ideas, and the plot. If the plot of your work hinges too close to either of the works mentioned, people will be more likely to take it as 'too derivative'. Honestly, making use of these ideas might be a great way to entice the reader base you want to read your stories, in the same endearing way that we talk about things saying 'it's just like [Insert fictional work here]!' So with general conceptual things like what you've mentioned, I think you're fine to use them. If a concept brings to your mind only 1 very specific story, I'd avoid using it.

Roshar has definitely had a lot of mingling of its various cultures in the past. From the Thaylen Passions clearly having an Odiumish origin, to Moash being a singer name. We've seen a lot of mixing. Perhaps Elithanathile was the Dawnsingers' way of referring to Honor, since he was their god first, before that whole Human-Singer flip flop

Not sure what you linked there as it won't load for me

So, I've been reading the Stormlight Archive to my youngest brother, who asks questions to me that I've never thought about. Tonight he asked me "If I were to Soulcast something into blood, whose DNA would it have? Would it just be the Soulcaster's DNA. or...?" So, my lovely people who have more knowledge about Soulcasting mechanics than I do, is there an answer to this question, or at least a prevailing theory? Help me, Brando Sando Fans, you're my only hope.