Ixthos

I disagree. Aether of Night spoilers:

The first time he had nothing to say indeed (aside from when Shallan hugged him ... and Kaladin asked him for a story ... you know what, he's been rendered speechless more often than I'd thought).

Hurt someone hurt someone who is alive (other options include become an Elantrian - unless he found a way around that - and remember his first conversation with Taravangian)

I did a quick sketch in FreeCAD to get a possible feel for how the planet would look from a polar view and to gauge how close the moons are to the planet and to each other - if anyone could check my maths and my assumptions I would appreciate it. This is what it looks like with only two moons, and I apologise for the roughness of the picture - I have removed the constraints to make it is easier to see how the planet looks: So each moon orbits above the planet at approximately 1.8928 percent of the planet's diameter, and each is likewise 1.8928 percent of the planet's diameter. The top V shape is 60 degrees from the horizon and likewise 60 degrees between the two arms of the V, and the bottom V that connects to the planet centre is 30 degrees so that twelve of them may fit around the planet for the twelve moons. I used 60 degrees so that each moon would take up one third of the sky when seen from directly below (and this should still apply when considering a circular profile superimposed on a dome), and positioned the moons so that as one begins to dip below the horizon the other begins to rise above it. Again, please bear in mind that this is a rough sketch based on the information so far provided. This is actually a lot smaller than I thought it would be, and also rather close. If the planet is the same size as Earth then the moons are each - assuming uniform size and distribution - approximately 241 km in diameter and their surfaces are 120.6 km above the surface of the planet, so (again, assuming the planet has the same proportions as Earth) they orbit at a radius of 6491.6 km from the centre of the planet (bearing in mind the planet is 6371 km in radius). This puts it above the Karman line, but only just, and I believe they would experience the effects of atmospheric drag, so this likely is being compensated for in some way. Also, further supporting that conclusion, they would have to be orbiting at a considerable speed to prevent them from colliding with the world. A quick and dirty calculation, again using the Earth as a reference, they would crash into the planet in two and a half minutes, so unless the planet orbits very quickly with a 1.27 hour day they likely are being held in place by some form of magic. For comparison, our Moon - which is large as moons go - is around 3474.8 km in diameter (over 14 times the diameter of these moons) and orbits at an average distance of approximately 384400 km. Here is a graphic to display those proportions, as well as other objects in the solar system: They are considerably larger than Phobos (22.2 km) and Demos (12.6 km), the two moons of Mars, which have orbits (if I have my facts straight) of 9377 km and 23460 km, respectively. This puts the distance between the surfaces of Mars and its moons at 5987.5 km and 20700.5 km respectively, just under 50 and 166.5 times the distance respectively between Tress's planet and its moons. All this is based on the assumption that Hoid's description was mostly accurate, and using Earth as a base. Here is what the planet would look like from a polar orbit with all the moons and with the pole marked: This is a rather interesting configuration, and it almost certainly has to be maintained by magic.

Not a lot has been revealed about how magic works on that world, but considering there is someone called the Sorceress, there likely is some knowledge of an Invested magic system on that world. We also don't know yet if the spores are themselves Aethers, or just related to Aethers, or if the Sorceress is herself using one or more Aethers. I can see a useful weapon present though - on some world which doesn't know about this someone suddenly throws a handful of spores at someone's face and then they are incapacitated. I was thinking a similar thing, along with the use of silver chains to produce anchoring affects, but I also think the fact that the spores react to water is interesting as it also potentially relates to Taldain and the white sand, which also needs water in a magical sense.

There are a few other seas mentioned with different colours, and the seas are all supposed to be pollen or spores, so it could be the other moons drop different things or different types of spores, but Verdant was described as green.

Considering the location is near to a place called Verdant Lunagree, and Vedant was one of the Aethers, and that Aether was associated with plants, and Verdant Lunagree drops spores ... that does seem likely.

Yes. You're welcome and thanks! (Also, greetings fellow South African!)

... That's not quite what I meant, but that actually sounds better Also: "Gemheart, are you okay?" "Uhhhh, no, not really. Tell your mother that your "pure gold" forks aren't as pure as you suppose. I think I can see my lunch's history ..." ... and now I'm thinking of an Electrum Misting hitting on someone: "Baby, I can see we have a future together." [Edit] @Goatbringer I think its this week, so later today Brandon will be reading a sample of secret project 1.

That would be really cool it also could help with when they move in space.

@Matrim's Dice and @Spren of Kindness seconded - I want to know (have you ever seen the rain / shinin' down on a sunny day) what the overall setting and plot for each is. Either way we'll be surprised when the book comes out and the twists (or the twist that there is no twist!) of the plot come out. These are new Cosmere planets and a new unrelated setting, and I'd like to know details.

Or are there!? *cue mystery music*

Okay, I was just thinking - what if secret project 3 is a Stormlight/Mistborn crossover, with a Mistborn and a Windrunner on a third planet. The top figure looks like they have a mistcloak, and the bottom figure looks like they might be wearing an Alethi uniform, and the symbolic shape behind them implies winds swirling around each other, such as mist and air. Also, I'm even more convinced secret project 4 is on a space station.

@EmulatonStromenkiin as in the chamber manifests as a spren? That may work, but the platform itself also remains. Also, those were specifically made as spren, so I'm not sure that would work, as items map to items, and the general distinction between what is land and what is water (and possibly sky) remain. @Oltux72 the thing is though that Lasting Integrity has a distinct mapping between all its surfaces and the rest of Roshar's Cognitive Realm, and is also a construct entirely in the Cognitive Realm, rather than being a mapping of a location in the Physical Realm to the Cognitive. With a space station it will always be in motion relative to any planet it may be orbiting, and it will itself also for those which use rotation to provide gravity rotating as well, so which area would be the "bottom"? @AquaRegia High five! On Brandon's consistency in the Cognitive Realm, I think Brandon does still intend to provide explanations for some phenomena, as I'm hoping he'll explain why Scadrial is accessible from Shadsmar if you travel south-east when both planets in theory are in constant motion relative to one another, and the star for Scadrial moves across the Rosharan sky, not remaining fixed in one place. One possible further suggestion as to why I think this will be covered is because we know - or at least I think it was confirmed - that Taldain corresponds to the Expanse of the Broken Sky, and it is a world with two different, constant, skies - Dayside and Darkside. I think Brandon has given some thought as to how these elements play out and I think they are consistent. @Elsecaller_17.5 that likely is a representation of the local laws. I wouldn't be surprised if it somehow is explained due to the nature of the planet - as we know for example that Scadrian Cognitive Realm plants have mist while Rosharan plants have crystals, each corresponding to their own local feature. I also think its important to remember that we only saw Scadrial's Cognitive Realm through Kelsier's perspective, and he was dead. There may be more details shown from other points of view of Scadrial with characters who aren't dead - I think it unlikely they'll see if differently but they might.

That would be cool, and would fit with it being a gift to his wife as Warbreaker was also written for her if I remember correctly, but I think it was stated each is set on a new world, so it likely is a world that we haven't seen before.

So, for no particular reason, *cough* *cough* I'm wondering what the Cognitive Realm would look like inside, for example, an O'Neill Cylinder. If the surface you walk on eventually loops overhead, or definitively ends several kilometers away from you, how does the Cognitive Realm look? If you are in orbit over a planet, how does it relate to the planet's Cognitive Realm subastral, and how would you get in or out, or would it be completely isolated? For that matter, how would it look in an ancient space station - to ensure it has a well established Cognitive Realm presence - of any configuration, including those that are still small and don't make use of rotation to produce their gravity? There are several possible space age megastructures with interesting potential configurations and relations to various planets, other space stations, and themselves - especially themselves, with their potential to wrap around and have one part of the floor be another area's "sky". What impact would that have on the Cognitive Realm, and would a massive ship - seen as a world - be a mobile patch of space in the Cognitive Realm, an island that can move from one area to another?

Well, and beating up Kelsier in Mistborn: Secret History I'm wondering if secret project 4 is set inside an O'Neill Cylinder, based on the pattern in the background, with the "clouds" being plants or buildings further along the tube.

@Kureshi Ironclaw it is helpful thank you I think that putting the further emphasis of the total loss of the substance in a separate paragraph as you mentioned - possibly right before the end when Evbli is musing on the motivation and goals of their enemy (and the names definitely need to be changed) - would make it flow better in its thoughts, and that also makes me wonder if splitting the entire journal entry up into discreet sections and having them as epigraphs for chapters in a novella to lead in could be very helpful, as well as setting up twists and irony with how events play out. Part of the intention on Evbli belabouring the point was how triumphant it felt over finally proving the institute, of whom Evbli is a political enemy, was wrong, by repeating over and over how emphatic the institute had been, but that can be conveyed in other ways. I agree with you, and thinning out unnecessary details at the start can certainly help put the emphasis where and when in needs to be. This was very helpful, thank you I'll see if I can work this into a story to post at some point - thank you again for your suggestions!

Brandon recently made an announcement that has massive implications for the future of his writings in the Cosmere. See the video here: What follows is in spoilers for this video, so please watch it first before continuing.

Brandon you massive troll. ...

Thanks Sort of - I made this from whole cloth, so it isn't exactly part of an existing story, but it can fit into the wider setting as one of the species that thinks its a major power but would get smacked down once they try to expand into too many other universes. While writing it though I did get an idea for a novel or novella, as well as three new species to add to the meta setting. I think they would make fun additions to the setting, as I've been meaning to produce more semi-major powers as localised threats, and I'm actually rather exited to write a story with the native life slowly figuring out that their two celestial visitors aren't what they initially appeared to be (the idea that came into my mind is that Dolni and Kubu initially appear to resemble the native life, only much larger and slightly alien, but this is actually because Dolni and Kubu's species are in essence parasitic, and the bodies they are using are the repurposed corpses of their species' enemy, which is somehow related to the native life, hence the idea that they will use other forms of life as machines, each seeing the body they wear as a vehicle, but there are a lot of potential twists in this, including Dolni's feelings of protectiveness for the native life pushing them to save the native life, and Kubu and Dolni's own relationship, following with further stories of the native life now having to repel invaders that are in effect like gods to them, and dealing with traitors in their midst, and the invading species likewise having internal division and discovering the enemy's plan may have been more complex than Evbli thought - I may change some names though). This was fun, and it was helpful for helping spark ideas I'd appreciate that I may use this method in addition to my primary one, or together - it certainly helped produce an interesting idea!

I'm not sure. Brandon's time zone is nine hours behind mine on average I think, so this video announcing the upcoming video came out about an hour ago, at around 09:00 am his time - I assume the second video will come out around the same time, though we'll have to wait and see.

It is worrying, but until we know more I'm hoping for the best. He did seem tired - hopefully that isn't it though. All we can do is pray and hope.