The Harlem Worldhoppers

I made a post related to this if you want to check it out. I posit that the mechanism through which SA corrupts higher spren is similar to the mechanism involved in editing an individual's spiritweb. Cracks in the spiritweb allow a nahel bond to be formed, thus granting you the power of surge binding. I believe that SA could be used to sidestep the extreme emotional trauma typically required to cause these cracks in the spiritweb, giving someone a much easier path to becoming a radiant. The Ghostbloods have been seen to have many investiture related artifacts from various shardworlds so it would make sense if they were trying to give themselves an easy path to surgebinding, which is why I believe they want SA. Some Mistborn Era 1 spoilers:

You only need to take a brief glance at the favourite Mistborn book poll as evidence for this.

I felt like the Vin/Elend/Zane love triangle created some cheap tension between Vin and Elend that I feel could have been created more effectively say through a difference in morals This is kind of explored in the aftermath of Vin butchering Cett's men but it did more or less brushed over it as a bump in the road when it could have substituted for the love triangle I my opinion. Love triangles are one of fictions oldest tropes which is why I'm surprised that Brandon would use them frequently given his habit of turning tropes on their head. Then again, subverting tropes is itself becoming a trope so by conforming to traditional tropes you could actually be subverting tropes *points to head*. Some successful examples off the top of my head are: Pride and Prejudice, Great Expectations, The Princess Bride, Gone with the Wind. Terrible love triangles tend to be more memorable than ones which are done well which makes me feel like it is an unnecessary risk from a storytelling perspective. In my experience both watching tv and reading books, love triangles seem to be poorly done more often than not as a means of creating artificial drama in the story. The decision to create a love triangle between Shallan/Adolin/Kaladin is probably my biggest issue with the Stormlight Archive (I have very few issues with the books in general. Seriously, I love them). Brandon has had plenty of arranged marriages before so he could have very easily had a linear betrothal between Adolin and Shallan with no need to introduce Kaladin into the mix. I'd argue that both Kaladin and Shallan are unfit for romantic relationships at their respective psychological positions in their character arcs so the rushed wedding at the end of OB felt off to me.

Come on man, you're not supposed to discuss this outside the Obstetrician Spoiler Board

I'm of the mind that Mraize and Hoid will come into conflict at some stage. Mraize is the only character apart from Hoid that has made efforts to both visit numerous shardworlds and collect Investiture related artifacts. Shallan notes that Mraize's hand looks like it was broken and poorly set, but I think this gnarled bony look is the result of a partial Dakhor monk transformation. In the scene where Shallan first meets Mraize she confuses him with Hoid. Here's an interesting post someone made on the topic. We have seen the Ghostbloods aim progressively higher in pursuing their goals, with their next target being Sja Anat. Logically, the most ambitious gambit the Ghostbloods could make would be an attempt to take up one or more of the shards on Roshar, and as Mraize said to Shallan they do value ambition. So from Hoid's perspective the Ghostbloods might be seen as villains for hindering his plans. I think Hoid is trying to reforge Adonalsium for purely selfish purposes. Hoid denied his chance for a shard so there is obviously a huge difference between what a single shard is capable of compared to what Adonalsium is capable of. From reading The Traveller, I think it has something to do with bringing someone back from the beyond. Hoid won't let anyone stand in the way of accomplishing his mission so he could end up at cross purposes to our heroes. Just to clear things up; The anti-Adonalsium force referred to the people who shattered Adonalsium and took up the shards. So while the existence of an anti-Adonalsium devil figure has not been ruled out I do think it's a little too cliché for Brandon. I think we will mostly have Shards and humans as villains throughout the Cosmere.

My bad. Thanks for clearing it up. Even so, compounding Atium would allow you to live well beyond a normal human lifespan so a feruchemical Atium spike would still serve a valuable purpose. On a related note, I think Kelsier would truly be capable of living forever due to the strange circumstances surrounding his return. The Lord Ruler's soul knew it was 1000 years old and resisted the effects of compounding Atium while Kelsier died in his mid thirties and had his soul stapled onto a body. Kelsier's soul probably permanently identifies itself as thirty something years old as this is how old Kelsier was when his string was cut so to speak.

I'm resigned to the fact that I probably won't be able to ask Brandon any of my questions unless he makes a return trip to Oz (I started reading the Cosmere earlier this year) so I'll list some questions I'd like answered. Are the gnarled bones in Mraize's hand the result of a partial Dakhor monk transformation? Outside of using Lerasium to become a Mistborn, how would you rank the relative effectiveness of using Lerasium as a metal mind, using Lerasium as a hemallurgic spike, allomantically burning Lerasium and allomantically burning a Lerasium alloy? Is Sja Anat's ability to corrupt spren analogous to altering an individual's spiritweb? If so, could Sja Anat for, cracks in someone's soul without that person having gone through trauma, allowing them to form a nahel bond without being broken? Were the Ghostbloods as we know them always known as the Ghostbloods or did they ever go by another name? Was the white sand in Mraize's basement reacting to the Investiture of someone other than Shallan or Pattern? Is Hesina known by the Kholin family? Would a Radiant wearing shardplate be more efficient in holding Stormlight? Could a competely full unsealed Aluminum metalmind be used to restore Identity to a listener in Slaveform? Could Harmonium be separated into pure Atium and Lerasium? Is Harmony pruning someone to take up his shard (as of Mistborn era 2)? Edit: Almost forgot Has Kelsier changed for the better following his experiences in Secrer History? Were the feruchemical Atium spikes made by Ruin part of a long term plan to use his Inquisitors to destroy life across the Cosmere? Are the scars on The Sovereign's arms caused by Perception? Is Kelsier post-Secret History capable of leaving the Scadrial system?

Point 2 definitely makes sense. Compounding Feruchemical atium would allow you to live forever which is overpowered for obvious reasons. That begs the question of why Ruin would want his Inquisitors to live longer than normal humans; my answer being his plan to destroy all life in the Cosmere would take a long time and his Inquisitors would have to endure it. As for point 1, I think those spikes were made post Lord Ruler's death from the keepers in the Synod. Prior to this, the Inquisitors were said to live normal lifespans so we know they didn't have the spikes back then. It is also highly unlikely that the spikes had been created during The Lord Ruler's lifetime as hemallurgic spikes lose potency over time.

This was my take on it as well. The parshmen in Slaveform seem to have been stripped of their spiritual identity. This is, as you said, achieved by an excision of the spiritweb. Dullform mimicking Slaveform to a less extreme extent supports your argument that Dullform is only a partial excision of the spiritweb. The partial excision of the spiritweb as a protective mechanism against unwillingly bonding a voidspren makes sense. A nahel bond fills cracks in the spiritweb so Venli's bond with Timbre is likely acting as a shield against the Voidspren integrating with her spiritweb. This would also put Venli in a tough spot as if she were to break her nahel bond through not following her ideals she would be exposed to a hostile takeover by the Voidspren. Edit: I just realised that this mechanism could allow a more peaceful resolution to the human-singer conflict. Jasnah proposes committing genocide as then the voidspren would have no Hosts. However, converting the parshmen into Radiants would have a similar effect and may be a large part of Venli's character arc next book.

This makes me wonder what a non-Scadrian Allomancer such as Hoid would be capable of burning allomantically. He is connected enough to Honor and Cultivation to form a nahel bond and he is also a full mistborn. In theory he should be able to burn a shardblade and gain allomantic abilities in doing so. If there's anyone we know that could make something like this work it would be Hoid. Maybe we'll have another Shallan scene where she panics thinking Hoid is going to kill somebody, only this time she sees him pull out a shardblade and swallow it whole .

https://wob.coppermind.net/adv_search/?query=Marsh#4142 I came across this WoB that gained my curiosity I believe that these 'reasons I haven't spoken of yet' refer to Ruin's plan following the destruction of Scadrial. Ruin would have been free from the Scadrial system, intent on causing more destruction. If Ruin were to attack a shardworld he would likely reach a stalemate, similar to the current situation in Mistborn 2 involving Harmony and the red haze (Autonomy?). In order to conquer a world, Ruin would need to deploy ground forces just like the shard currently attacking Scadrial is doing. The inquisitors are Ruin's hands and would make the perfect tools for conquering world and bringing destruction in their wake. The timeframe involved in moving from world to world destroying as you go is far longer than an Inquisitors lifespan. The inquisitors age normally and can die of old age.... Unless they are using a feruchemical Atium spike. Ruin could supply the Inquisitors with Atium which they could use to attain immortality through compounding. I know that this is hardly relevant now but I still found it fun imagining events in a parallel universe where Ruin had won. Any thoughts?

That's interesting to think about. We know that the Shard itself is Odium but Odium/Rayse does not completely identify itself as Odium, instead seeing itself as Passion. We also have a WoB that, over time, the god metal produced by Kelsier holding the shard of Preservation would exhibit different properties due to the intent of the vessel. Following this, if Odium genuinely sees itself as Passion then it's magic system will be influenced as such. We actually kind of see this with Moash at the end of OB. He feels dead inside until he gets some of that sweet Voidlight which brings him Passion. It works a little bit like a drug in some ways as by giving yourself in to Odium you give up your passion and to recover this passion you must tap into Odium's investiture. Edit: I'd say that the opposite of passion is apathy and that in order to be able to hate something you have to be passionate about it. Hate is passionate but not all passion leads to hatred. When people give in to Odium they become apathetic.

Well those magic systems you list above have the Shardic intents affecting the individual who is using the power. Knights Radiant are forced to follow oaths (Honor) and in order to progress in their oaths they must experience personal growth (Cultivation). Given this, someone who makes use of an Odium driven magic system will probably be influenced to hate. A magic system that entices it's user to hate would be a frightening thing to see. At the extreme end it could function like Epics in The Reckoners (I know it's not Cosmere but my point still stands) or like the inquisitors being influenced by Ruin. As for how the magical abilities manifest I'd have to think it would be something which maximises ones ability to exert their hatred against others. I suppose we'll never know exactly what an Odium shard world magic system would look like as he will never pour his investiture into a planet. Still fun to speculate though

Thanks for the responses . We have seen different manifestations of the same surge e.g. Kaladin's (physical) adhesion and Dalinar's (cognitive) adhesion.I wonder if, from these explanations, a normal Truthwatcher has the Physical aspect of their surges, allowing them to see all of the goings on in the Physical world, while Renarin has access to the Spiritual aspect of the surge, allowing him to glimpse into the spiritual realm and see the future.

I'm interested in how the same fundamental surges exhibit differences between the radiants and the Fused. We've seen some differences between Kaladin's jerkier rapid acceleration and the Fused's fluid movement where both groups are using the surge of Gravitation. It also begs the question of how Renarin was able to use the Odium surges without Voidlight. Maybe Glys is acting as a filter of sorts. I'm feeling a bit tired right now, could you explain how a normal Truthwatcher would probably differ from what Renarin does in 5 year old speak? @Calderis

When you realise that you are the only lighteyes in your friend group and wonder if you should exercise your divine right to rule.

That's an interesting theory. I wonder if the Honorblades being connected is more to do with all of the Honorblades being made of Tanavastium, thus being linked by Honor's essence in a solid form. We don't know if the Truthwatcher honorblade would function identically to Renarin's surges, as Renarin has some strange stuff going on with his spren.

I wish this weren't so true . I've seen too many toxic love triangles in real life for one lifetime..

Very true. People get annoyed about clichés but forget that they are steeped in realism. I'm sure many readers here have been involved in love triangles or witnessed love triangles unfold in real life so I don't think people should be so quick to trash on them, although they are done poorly more often than they are done well in my opinion. Yep, this is pretty much my feelings for romance in the books summed up. I think it's a little unrealistic to have a cast completely full of asexual characters or characters who prioritise everything from saving the world to doing the laundry ahead of romance (looking at you Jasnah). I feel like characters are a bit more believable when they have some romantic inclinations but I get frustrated if these inclinations come to dominate their narrative arc or when the head over heels in love trope is used to diminish a characters worth. Oh I wholeheartedly agree that they have a lot of things to work through. Part of the reason I started this thread was that I felt like too many readers were dismissing the potential future issues in their relationship simply because they were married. Plenty of people in real life get married as a Hail Mary thinking it will magically wash away their problems, only for it to lead to issues down the line. I personally believe that Shallan will have to make s choice between saving her bond with Pattern or continuing to ignore the truths she has sworn and living a simple, happy life with Adolin.

Something interesting that this strongly implies is that Radiants who have sworn more ideals become increasingly efficient in their use of Stormlight, which I'm fairly certain has been observed by Kaladin in text. I'm in the camp that believes that Radiants get shardplate after swearing their fourth ideal and this shardplate could exponentially increase their efficiency as a human body is a poor vessel for Stormlight, allowing it to leak out through their skin. Shardplate could allow them to hold Stormlight better and I for one hope this is the case as Kaladin running out of Stormlight mid fight has become a running gag that irks me. Getting back to the main topic, do you @Calderis believe that the spirits of the stone Szeth mentions could have anything to do with the Stone Shamans ability to locate and recover the honorblade? I'm wondering how the Shamanate would be able to detect the honorblade and the most logical in world conclusion would be that some sort of spren would be involved. I doubt Brandon would just offhandedly mention the spren of stone if it had no significance to the plot, unless he seriously enjoys making us overanalyse every last line of his books.

Mistborn Era 1: Warbreaker: Elantris: Secret History:

Great theory that I am just now aware of. Have some rep. I'm very curious to see the Shin culture and learn more about the Stone Shaman. Some of theme were trained to use honour blades so it would definitely be possible for them to use surges to travel to Kholinar to intercept the blade. If I could point out some flaws it would be that the switch was made in secret and an honour blade wielding Shin would be highly conspicuous and would likely start rumours. Also, with the whole Stone Shaman religion and their reticence to walk on stone and break their treaty with the Listeners by entering their lands it would be unlikely for them to travel all the way to Kholinar.

You have good taste. Llarimar and Lightsong's interactions were hilarious, Sazed's ascension and basically the climax of HoA as a whole was fantastic and the Unity scene in OB almost made me tear up. Top 3 fight scenes for me would be Kaladin in the arena, Kelsier vs the Inquisitor in the courtyard and Vin vs Cett's men featuring one belt buckle. Top 3 character interactions would be Lightsong and Llarimar, Kelsier and Hoid, Hoid and Shallan in Kholinar

I belatedly welcome you to the Shard @Quantus Nice theory you have there on Shardic Intents btw. Quick question: What are your 3 favourite Cosmere moments so far ?

Some of my general theories: Using Harmonium as fuel and burning bendalloy and duralumin simultaneously will be the basis of FTL travel in Mistborn 4. Kelsier is involved with the Ghostbloods. Rock will become King of the Horneater people Something fishy was involved with Shallan bonding Pattern before she was broken by her mother's death. My money is on either Cultivation or Sja Anat. Rlain will become a bondsmith and be critical in uniting the listeners and humans. The surge of adhesion is known to control vacuum and wind pressure and I believe it could be used to create powerful storms (given an infinite stormlight situation ala Thaylen city). This is also why Jezrien and the stormfather get confused in Rosharan mythology.