Ixthos

So the question becomes if contact with a sphere of anti-stormlight, or the anti-stormlight leaking from a broken sphere, is enough to wound a Radiant or their spren. It is a cool mental image though - firing little gemstones in glass balls at the enemy, like silver bullets only for magic knights rather than werewolves.

That depends on how they would plan on firing it. If they could fire spheres of anti-stormlight, would that be enough, or would they also need Raysium? I think the future conflict would require more developments on both sides before we could draw any conclusions.

[Edit] You are welcome :-) [/Edit] Fair enough :-) I know this can be a sticky topic as you put it, though unfortuanity when it comes to belief everyone has to think that those who believe differently are, if not wrong, then off the mark, otherwise we would all share the same beliefs. The key is to remember to respect the person, if not the belief. Avoid conflict with others as much as is possible. I thought I was being nice :-P I do agree with you on this. The main thing is to remember that, all other differences aside, we are all people and should love one another and care for one another, even if we disagree. No one on this planet is exactly the same as anyone else, no one thinks the exact same way, but we are all still people, and all deserve care and compassion.

Fair enough :-P I wonder what the rules for levelling would be, or restrictions on using multiple magic systems? Oh! A game where you have to take part in the shattering, or you take up a shard! Reenacting events from the novels as a background character - being one of the Seers who fought the Koloss, or a Knight helping to evacuate Hearthstone! I hope if it does get turned into an RPG there is a little timeline with key setting changing events listed, so for example you can pick a period just after Silverlight is founded - so there is some setup there, but only a few things can be learnt or bought, assuming it does become a hub for worldhoppers - but before Scadrial was first changed. Or being able to pick a period after Endowment settled on Nalthis, but before Roshar experienced the final desolation, etc. in effect a chart where every event that changed the nature of each world is shown, so you know which parts of each planet book to look in to plan magic, cultures, events, and species for a period of play.

Mixture of the last three. This is a big topic, and I'd be happy to discuss it in full either via PM or in the General Discussion section, but in brief God created the universe and humanity, and other spiritual beings (the Sons of God) Mankind repeatedly fell (Adam and Eve, Cain and Lamech, the Nephilim, Babel), so God gave humanity to the Sons of God so the Sons of God would rule over them, but He chose Abraham's line to be the method of bringing all of humanity back to Him again - i.e. being assigned to other gods was a temporary thing Thus the Sons of God - and later deified ancestors and conflations between angelic powers, ancestors, and God - became the gods worships by others across the world, though some elements of and knowledge of God remained (Also, another massive topic by itself, worship is a function of a person's spirit. This is a personal belief of mine, but I think humans have three bodies in two worlds (something that facisnated me about Brandon's writing is it matched something I had believed before I read what he wrote), the bodies being the physical body, the soul, and the spirit. This is esoteric and I think trying to focus on this can be a distraction from focusing on God. I think this is the case though Physical body three types of organs: organs of sensing (eyes, ears, skin), organs of being (stomach, heart, lungs), organs of actuation (muscles) Soul (merger of physical and spiritual): organs of sensing (intellect), organs of being (emotions), organs of actuation (will) Spirit: organs of sensing (intuition), organs of being (conscience), organs of actuation (worship) Going into detail would take a long time, but in general spiritual things and physical coincide in some ways.) The gods worshipped by other cultures aren't worthy of being gods - aren't worthy of worship - but they do exist. There are some legends that are true, some that are false, some that are misremembered, and all tie to the common ancestry of humanity Also, completely forgot from your previous post: I hadn't thought of it like that, but that could also tie into the idea of his name signifying a separation from shardic future sight - his ending is fully under his own control.

I really want to keep this on topic, I'm just finding the urge to correct that view a little hard to resist :-P I, and a few other Christians, actually can't have that applied to us, as I believe the gods of other people WERE or ARE beings, but not the true God - i.e. there is a unique qualification to be God that none of them have, and being worshipped isn't enough, but they are beings created by God and appointed over the nations (see Deuteronomy 32:8), and so are real, but worship (a function of the spirit) is not owed to them. They were worshipped, and were called gods, but they were unworthy of that title. Complete side note, but I did have to say it. I agree Brandon can do whatever he likes in his books, I'm only saying I hope he doesn't do this because it would make me every uncomfortable and it also would make me worry for him. To put it another way, think of a topic that makes you uncomfortable, and imagine Brandon putting that in his books. I am not saying "how DARE Brandon do this!", but rather, "please don't do this Brandon! It would really bother me if you did." Again, Brandon is free to do what he wants, I just hope he doesn't do this.

Ahhh! That would be cool :-) that does make me wonder why they stopped using it though, either Odium or the Heralds. Was it too powerful? Or is that what happens when a Knight has surges unrestricted, they stop surgebinding and star voidbinding?

Those are all valid viewpoints, and I can appreciate your stance. And make no mistake, Brandon is my favourite living author, and I even like a lot of what he writes more than many other authors whose works I enjoy who are dead. His handling of different religions is something I appreciate, and I enjoy the diversity of belief his characters have and how he portrays them - I think he does an amazing job. I also can appreciate your own view, on the idea that claiming to follow the one true faith can be or be seen to be arrogant, though I think that same logic, when applied to other things, doesn't hold up (I am someone who believes my religion has verifiable proof, i.e. it is rational , but I can respect that not everyone would agree with the evidence or think it is enough, for all that we would then be in disagreement). With that said, and with regards to the potential issues, it does come down to two big points however. The first, fundamentally, comes down to whether or not you can grok the idea of sacred, and so if someone then takes something sacred and then debases it, intentionally or not. If you can understand the idea of sacred and what it means to someone, which you may have in some form in your own life, just not religiously sacred, then you can understand why, seeing an author who I respect and whose stories I enjoy, doing something that makes me uncomfortable would be offputting. The second is that, as a Christian, I know the Cosmere isn't set in this universe, but I believe that, to put it crudely, it still is a part of God's domain - i.e. the series might not have God or Jesus acknowledged in it, it doesn't have an Earth which God created Adam on, but it also doesn't have you in it, and if the stories disrespected you that might be a problem for you, and your mind still exists over the series also. He still exists over the series, especially if the God Beyond is a reference to Him. To put it another way, God is still God even in the Cosmere, even if the Cosmere doesn't mention Him, which it actually might as referenced by the God Beyond. Capitol G for God is universally acknowledged as a reference to the supreme God, while lower case g means the idea of a god in general. In setting I can get why they do it, but it still makes me uncomfortable, much in the same way someone in a book who is a psychopath being referred to as [real person's name] would make [real person] uncomfortable, like when Michael Crichton named a character in one of his books after a critic. I hope that makes my views a little clearer. Also, if any of this came across as rude or condescending I hope you know that wasn't intended. I try to be very careful when responding to this sort of thing, and I know how easy it is to react to strongly or misunderstand someone. I hope you know I appreciate your points, as they are good ones. I hope you are right! I like Brandon and what he writes, its just the creeping paranoia someone can get that something is going to fall off a tight rope.

I've mentioned a few times that I have never played tabletop RPGs before, but I think, if the Cosmere is ever made into an RPG, that would be a fun game to play. I know we already have a few games, a Mistborn RPG, board games, etc., but I am referring to a Worldhopping game, where you can play as a character from any world who has travelled to any world, using magic from one planet on another, and teaming up with or fighting other characters. How cool would it be to play a game where you can pick a point in the Cosmere's history and play as period appropriate characters travelling from one planet to another, or remaining on your home planet and deal with local problems or other travellers? Or visit Silverlight to stop off and prepare for a trip to Sel, braving the dangers of its cognitive realm? Just after Dragonsteel when the shards first arrived at new planets and perpendicularities formed, Sadrial didn't yet exist, Honour hadn't been shattered and Surgebinding hadn't developed yet, and Sel still had two shards and Threnody still had magic? On a space station in Era 4, in the middle of a conflict between planets? That would be cool - playing as one of several possible people or cosmere species, with period appropriate powers and cultures, when investiture was still something being discovered and when investiture was a fully developed science? I hope the Mistborn Adventure Game eventually becomes this. What do you think? :-)

The issue though is that those are all out of series bits of information. In the books the term voidbinding has only been used once in the main text in the Way of Kings, and in the Ars Arcanum. Nowhere else has it been used, not even to describe what the Unmade are doing. This becomes my main issue - in the series, no character other than Kadash has so much as referenced voidbinding, and most of what we know has been from Brandon hinting at things but not confirming.

The problem is Brandon has steered very close to this already. Many times the Shards or tLR refer to themselves as God with a capitol G, Kelsier before his sacrifice deliberately paralleled certain traits of Yeshua, Jesus, and on Roshar one of the Fused also uses part of the Hebrew name for God, El, along with Adonalsium's name being a reference to the name used to prevent someone from actually saying God's Name. Brandon is a Mormon, and while I don't know every nuance of Mormon theology I do know that they have several key differences from most other Christian beliefs, such as believing God was once a man before becoming God, and while I could be mistaken I don't think they mean this in the sense of how Jesus took on humanity and became human (if there are any Mormons reading this could you perhaps clarify what that that phrase "as man now is etc." means?), which makes me nervous about how Brandon will approach this later. I am referring to when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush: "I am who I am. Tell them I Am sent you." In Hebrew it is spelt with four letters, Yod Hey Vav Hey. I hope you are right about it being to show how Evi didn't understand, and also how Dalinar neglected her. If that were the case that would be a relief.

@Leuthie and @Frustration there certainly are arguments to make as to whether it applies to Hoid or Taln, but as to the root statement - the elements in WoK prime carried through - we can also say, for example, that the Diargam's origins, Shallan's role, etc., are all different from the original plan. @Leuthie, I hope you are right!

That is the measure of it :-) And I agree, the scar almost certainly is important for future books - something from the past, but the local universe or the whole universe who can say.

Quick! Ask it how Era 4 will end!

I agree it would be in the back five, but my theory for the future of the shards is that their power has to be distributed among a group with each member representing a part of the shard or shards involved (I made a theory about it a while back here: But even if that isn't taken into account we can still look to Mistborn for the possibility of the dead taking up a shard :-P It also looks like a lot of Brandon's original plans for the series have changed - how likely is it that WoK Prime spoilers:

That will likely remain a mystery until Dragonsteel or Mistborn Era 4, or possibly even after. I personally think the Power came from another cluster which was seeded with life, and the series will end with the power leaving to seed a new area. Brandon probably will leave it a mystery though.

I agree, though Brandon might be trying to do double duty, so showing Evi's misunderstanding while also foreshadowing something. If you are up for it I'd be interested to hear why you don't think Renarin will become a vessel :-)

The idea is that the spiritual realm is closest to the power, and when a perpendicularity forms it pierces all three realms and is made of investiture, so a spike - the diamond's corners - that pierces the cognitive realm and physical realm made from the spiritual realm would indicate a perpendicularity. The cognitive realm lies between the spiritual and physical, and the physical consists of isolated worlds, so not so much curved shapes but rather isolated shapes, with the cognitive as a single solid whole.

*WARNING: THIS TOPIC RELATES TO REAL WORLD RELIGION* So, Renarin's name means "Like one who was born unto himself." That sounds very similar to the Name of the LORD. God's Holy Name, His Covenant Name, is a declaration of eternal existence and self sufficiency. As such I hope Brandon isn't deliberately trying to imply anything about Renarin or his future role. I don't mind Renarin becoming a vessel for a shard - or even one of ten people collectively holding one/two/three shards. But I would really hate it if Brandon deliberately is using Renarin's name to reference God's Name, as that Name is sacred. I'm hoping Brandon is using it purely in the sense of Renarin being someone immune to future sight ("he was born to himself, his history and future are his own"), and if that is all of what Brandon meant I am all for that. If anyone would like to discuss this topic please remember to be nice to one another and respect one another's beliefs - I know this is a potentially sensitive topic, and I'm nervous making this, but this is something that has bothered me for a while. I can appreciate if someone else who isn't a Christian or who isn't Jewish doesn't see the issue in this, but if you don't please remember that to myself and others this is a deeply personal part of who we are. Thank you, and I hope, whether or not anyone comments here, that anyone reading this has a great morning or night, or day or evening.

Outside of the Ars Arcanum, Voidbinding has been mentioned only once in setting, by Kadash when talking to Adolin about Dalinar's visions and Vorin history: That is it. That is the only mention of voidbinding by any character in the story so far, aside from Khriss's own musings on the ten essences and the magic in the Rosharan system: Where it not for Kadash's own musings I would assume Voidbinding was something that was still to come on Roshar, some unique manifestation of power due to Warlight, as Voidbinding has ten levels. And we know Renarin's own abilities are likely to be voidbinding of some form, though whether this is imperfect voidbinding or a proper form of it, who can say (I personally think Glys isn't yet fully in command of its own nature yet, as I think when complete Glys will be equal parts of all three Rosharan bound shards). But if voidbinding is something that has existed on the planet before - as evidenced by Kadash talking about it, and mentioning a power associated with it we now can see manifested with Renarin and Glys - then WHO in the Rosharan system originally used it? The Fused use surges, not voids. And we have seen fabrials that use surges, but none using voids. Was voidbinding a weapon used by Odium? But then who originally used it if not the Fused? Did the Fused use it on occasion - is that how the Defeated One was brought back so quickly? Was it a weapon used AGAINST Odium? That would make sense in that Shards' powers can in principle be used against a shard, see Paalm, and used without the Shard's approval. And the ten associated with it and the idea of binding would indicate Honour is involved. But then who originally used it, and against whom? And also, what would this more esoteric power be, that is sibling to both? And in what way would voidbinding be esoteric itself - perhaps as a softer magic than the rigid rules of surgebinding? What do you think?

Do we know this? The way I heard the original interpretation of the symbol the diamond portion represented the spiritual realm, the round section represented the cognitive realm, and the four curves represented the physical realm, with the centre representing the shards. The cognitive realm is one solid reality that allows you to walk from anywhere to anywhere (round), while the planets were isolated from one another, effectively closed off (curves), and the perpendicularities formed from the investiture from the spiritual realm intersecting both physical and cognitive allowed travel. I agree the dawnshards would make sense, but I don't know if that has been confirmed.

@Trutharchivist it's okay :-) do whatever you feel is best for this setting. Our suggestions are only suggestions, you know the setting better than we do.

@Cheyenne Sedai Interesting article :-) I think if one really wants to learn foreshadowing it is best to look to Agatha Christie and her novels. They are mystery and detective stories, but they are also useful to study even when writing in other genres. Harry Potter is also a great example of fantasy mystery, with lots of little twists cleverly sprinkled in the story. Fas est et ab hoste doceri, and mystery fiction isn't even the enemy, yet still it is something to learn from. Thanks for your own insights :-)

In part, but I was also thinking along the lines of treating them like batteries or additional computing power - basically linking to someone and then drawing energy from them, etc. Fair enough :-P though perhaps if a telepath knows another telepath is looking for them they can suppress their mental presence, so negating the ability to sense their mind, though that then adds a situation where a telepath is looking for someone and notices they can sense ten minds when they can see eleven people, etc. After a fashion - more like they blank on what is happening, maybe fully knocked out, but when they come to they don't realise they were knocked out.

A few other possible additions: For any illusion or control ability, the ability to add a time delay or real world trigger, so not just making them see something now, but adding something which could be triggered later - this doesn't have to be a weapon, this could also be a message to a friend who is about to do something dangerous, telling them not to, and preventing them from doing so Dream weaving - a bit like telepathy and illusion, only for when someone is asleep, and possibly allowing multiple people to experience the dream Mind upload - adding a copy of oneself to someone else's mind, or a partial copy of oneself, which can report back Initiating one or more of these with someone, and then passing control to someone else who might not have abilities themselves - so placing an illusion in someone's mind and then passing control of the illusion to someone else sharing power with a non telepath, so you link to them and they then direct the telepath's power at the discretion of the telepath, like letting someone next to you use the car wheel Linking to other minds to increase one's own abilities or to work on a problem together - not the sharing power, this is mainly centred on the telepath Broadcasting a thought telepathically, so telepathic loudspeaker Hiding one's mind from another Knocking someone out without them realising it