honorblades

I want to say there was a WoB or something that Brandon was playing around with the number of Aethers & landed on a larger number than in Aether of Night ? 
 

anyway, I am 100% convinced this is the Aether planet! So exciting! 

Although Stormlight efficiency is very useful, it feels anticlimactic for a 5th Oath. The Oath which is apparently so difficult that very few Radiants ever reach it. 

With every other Oath, Radiants gain additional Surges, access to a Shardblade, and eventually Shardplate. To me, this seems to indicate that 5th Oath would also grant something rather spectacular. "Better at holding Stormlight" just doesn't really feel that way to me. Seems like there should be something more there. 

3 hours ago, cometaryorbit said:

I believe the Returned can leave because of the Intent of Endowment - Nalthian Investiture is 'given without strings attached', so doesn't form a Connection - or at least as much of a Connection - to the planet as elsewhere in the Cosmere.

Yeah I think you're right on the money here. I still believe Returned have an easier time leaving their planet than most other cognitive shadows, but this is a property of Breath, not of the Returned specifically. Like you said, Breath is "no strings attached" and it's also very "sticky" to one's Spiritweb. 

3 hours ago, cometaryorbit said:

Shades are weird in general. If we knew what makes them (near-)mindless, we might know why.

No kidding. Can't wait for the The Dust Brigade. 

22 minutes ago, Wandering Shade said:

I think Cognitive Shadows can leave.

Sometimes, but not always. The Heralds & the Fused are both different kinds of Cognitive Shadows, neither able to leave the Rosharan system. 

The Returned clearly have no problem leaving, and it appears that Shades may be able to leave the Threnodite system as well. It's kinda messy. 

On 2/7/2022 at 9:16 PM, Trusk'our said:

However, if you could store away Connections you already had, wouldn't someone like Kelsier be able to leave the planet they were tied to by storing away that Connection that bound them there?

I feel like the fact that Kelsier definitely has access to this power and yet as of RoW is still trapped on Scadrial implies . . . something. That (as a Cognitive Shadow) you can't store enough Connection to leave the system? 

4 minutes ago, HSuperLee said:

Should we be very afraid that there's a possibility Hoid can and wants to find a way to override his enforced pacifism?

Quote

You must not trust yourself with me. If I have to watch this world crumble and burn to get what I need, I will do so. With tears, yes, but I would let it happen.

- Words of Radiance, Chapter 67

Yes! Yes we should! 

2 minutes ago, HSuperLee said:

When you say it like that, it kinda sounds like he's trying to obtain the ability to manipulate investiture at a more fundamental level than even the Shards can, because he'd be able to actually change their intent to that of another Shard.

Oh my god. I've never thought about it this way, and I think you might be right. This is indeed crazy, and it's super on-brand for Hoid. 

On 2/6/2022 at 1:14 PM, ShardlessVessel said:

All he needs now is a musical instrument.

I do not believe Hoid needs an instrument, as Illumination is the surge of auditory illusions as well. He could just create any sound he wanted, as long as he was specific about it. And given the other magics he holds, as you stated above (perfect pitch specifically), this would be a piece of cake for him.

Brandon said recently that Hoid should not be a Lightweaver, as it's "too close to various things that happened with the Dawnshards, he is playing with fire". Perhaps you have just touched on exactly why that is. 
 

Absolutely fantastic work! I really hope you continue this for other Cosmere maps too, that would be awesome. 

58 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

Could it be that Microkinesis could also be fixed if once were to gain access to it's Rosharan varient?

Very interesting thought that I did consider while writing this post. It seems to me that some Yolish magics have direct correlations (Lightweaving -> Lightweaving) while others got split up. Microkinesis based on my limited knowledge seems to be a combo of Cohesion and Transformation. Perhaps you'd need both? Or maybe even one or the other? 

Separately, here's an interesting WoB on that very topic... 

Quote

Questioner (paraphrased)

Could a Lightweaver make a black hole by compressing light?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Beyond the power level of the average Lightweaver

Hoid does like playing with fire. He should not be a Lightweaver. He is too close to various things that happened with Dawnshards. He should not be a Lightweaver, he is playing with fire.

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Hoid should not be a Rosharan and Yolish Lightweaver, as it's getting close to something related to Dawnshards.

1 minute ago, Eternal Khol said:

Its a old WoB, but Brandon stated that Microkinesis no longer functions after the Shattering.

Super lame but at the same time microkinesis seems incredibly OP. It's probably for the best 

50 minutes ago, LewsTherinTelescope said:

Yeah, WoB is that microkinesis apparently sometimes led to accidental nuclear fission reactions, which is..... "fun".

Crazy to me that there might be people out there who have some sort of broken version of microkinesis.. like how Hoid's Yolish lightweaving doesn't work they way it used to anymore. 

50 minutes ago, LewsTherinTelescope said:

I don't see where the referenced chapter confirms the Fused are also bound, do you know more specifically what it said?

"Yes, the Surges are bound by Honor. Yet as you can see, his death did not change the world in any appreciable manner." pg. 419 RoW Hardcover 

The full context is too long, but they are talking about how the Surges that Fused and Radiants use are the same, but utilized in different ways.

I think Raboniel is actually wrong here. Either Honor's death unbound the Surges and no one realizes it yet, or the Surges are only bound for certain people and not if you use specific other methods. But regardless, what she is saying is that however the Fused access the Surges, at least to Raboniel's knowledge, they are playing by the same rules as the Radiants. 

50 minutes ago, LewsTherinTelescope said:

Which is sorta weird, because the restrictions seem to have gone away for all the Bondsmiths even before he died (Melishi was bonded to the Sibling and did things previously forbidden, so it's not just Stormfather weirdness). I'm curious whether the restrictions truly are still there on Cohesion, or if Khriss just found a record that mentioned it and didn't realize that this had changed.

It seems to me that Honor choose the Heralds deliberately or through some sort of trial, and also intended to stick around as a check on their power. However, once he died, that is obviously no longer possible. 

Similarly, the Radiants were a surprise to Honor. I imagine the Bondsmiths were an even bigger surprise, and I think you might be right: they were limited by the Oaths, like all other Radiants, but ... It's almost like Bondsmiths have admin privileges on the Nahel bond. There are rules, but they don't have to follow them. 

Hello. Let's talk about Cohesion. 

Cohesion is the surge of inter-axial connection. 

Quote

This ability manipulates the Surge of Cohesion, and is in many ways a cousin to the axial manipulation known as microkinesis-- as both grant the ability to manipulate the forces that bind individual axi together. Fortunately, in my explorations, it appears that Stoneshaping is far less ... explosive of a power, bounded by the rules that Honor placed upon it to protect from the mistakes that happened on Yolen.

(1, 2)

Hoid, who has been to Yolen, talking to Jasnah about the terrible destructive power of the Surges in war:

Quote

 

"You think your powers are unfair because you slay dozens, and they cannot resist? What happens when a single individual can kill tens of thousands in moments-- assuming the enemy will kindly bunch up in a neat little pike block. Things will change rapidly when such powers become common."

"They're hardly common."

"I didn’t say they were," he said. "Yet." 

 

(3)

Although the two quotes above seem distinct and separate, I believe they are related. I think this strongly implies that microkinesis couldn’t only move and change axi - it could split them. Khriss implies that Cohesion could do this too, if Honor hadn't put some protections in place. 

Don't worry though. Right now, Cohesion is limited to a select few; Willshapers, Stonewards, and Makay-im. Thankfully, though Honor isn't around to enforce his rules any longer, it seems the Surges are still bound. Stoneshapers can do many things, but splitting atoms isn't among them. 

The Makay-im, or Deepest Ones, are the brand of Fused that can use Cohesion. Though they have a very fine control over their single Surge, they too are bound by the rules set in place by Honor. (1)

However.  

Ishar shows that with an Honorblade, one can do things previously thought impossible. Honor's limitations apparently do not apply as strongly or at all to those who wield an Honorblade now that he is not around to keep them in check. 

Quote

 

Ishar stood and slammed his fists together. A perpendicularity opened, as it had before, releasing a powerful explosion of light. 

Impossible . . . the Stormfather said in Dalinar's mind. I didn't feel it happen. How does he do this?

 

(4)

So, to summarize: unbound Cohesion can be incredibly destructive, but is made safe by the fact that the Surges are still bound by Honor's limitations. Luckily, there's only two sources for unbound Cohesion on Roshar. One of them is in the hands of the Shin. The other, well . . .

Good thing we know where Taln's Honorblade is, huh? 
 

Sources:
1. Rhythm of War, Chapter 31

2. Rhythm of War, Ars Arcanum 

3. Rhythm of War, Chapter 64

4. Rhythm of War, Chapter 111

9 minutes ago, Nameless said:

That chunk of Ishar's honorblade might be pretty important, huh? 

No kidding! There's a WoB for that too!

Quote

NeedsToShutUp

What would happen if Hoid tried to burn the shard that came off Ishar's Honorblade?

Brandon Sanderson

If you were able to get a hold of that piece and burn it, it would act like burning... You would be burning a very pure form of a God Metal, and those have some very interesting effects. RAFO.

On 11/18/2021 at 8:11 AM, Elegy said:

 because making Stormlight solid would mean making it into Tanavastium which an Allomancer could burn.

This newish WoB makes this a little more interesting - it's possible you wouldn't even need to be Mistborn to burn Tanavastium

Quote

mail-mi (paraphrased)

Are there other godmetals that non Mistborn can burn?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Yes.

34 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

to me it just felt a bit like a fib on Hoid’s part, since he has some limitations magically imposed on him.

I wonder if Hoid willingly held the Dawnshard with full knowledge of how it would affect him, perhaps he doesn't think of it as binding? In that way, he wouldn't really be lying.

That being said, Hoid can definitely lie so it's not like there's anything other than his conscience preventing him from doing so.

18 hours ago, Olmund said:

as an aside, I think it would be an interesting irony if as the Cosmere continues to unfold it is revealed that most or all of Autonomy's avatars are tyrants -- they prioritize exercising their own will rather than ensuring autonomy for others). 

Quoting this separately because it's such a good point, that is exactly what it seems like with Autonomy's avatars! I'm very interested to see how this plays out. There's got to be a twist here that we cannot see yet. 

17 hours ago, Olmund said:

It's worth mentioning that Wax may choose to reject this role, as he has quite a bit of baggage (that even Sazed didn't foresee) and Sazed seems fairly keen on maintaining freedom of choice 

Excellent point. Shards cannot see the hearts of men, after all. 

11 hours ago, Harkain said:

Only issue with Wax travelling to Roshar is that that Mistborn Era 2 happens after the first 5 Stormlight books.
 

I've been thinking about this a lot and I can't quite figure it out either. Especially if Wax were to arrive during the time skip between SA5 and SA6 he's kind of missed out on all the action, haha

Harmony is imbalanced - there is too much Ruin not being used.

rags

How is Harmony balanced when a part of Preservation's power is expended on human sentience? Isn't that what caused all the trouble to begin with?

Brandon Sanderson

Indeed. Hm... What could Sazed be doing with that extra power... //1

In addition, Harmony feels that he is largely unable to act in the ways that he wants to due to the conflicting nature of the Shards that he holds. To help rectify this, Harmony is searching for a Champion, though he doesn't directly name them as such. He says as much in the Stormlight Archive, and alludes to it in Mistborn Era 2 as well. 

• "I have begun searching for a pathway out of this conundrum by seeking the ideal person to act on my behalf. Someone who embodies both Preservation and Ruin. A … sword, you might say, who can both protect and kill." 
  • - Rhythm of War, Chapter 29

I believe Waxillium Ladrian is being set up as Harmony's Champion. He has extremely strong morals which seem to align with Harmony's, at least according to the man himself. 

• "I'm not Harmony's hands", Wax whispered. "I'm his sword."
  • Shadows of Self, Chapter 25

I think we have sufficient evidence that Scadrian Metalborn are not restrained to their planet in the same way that, for example, a Knight Radiant would be. Hoid using allomancy on Roshar is a perfect example of this. They can easily leave their planet of origin and retain their abilities. Similarly, Metalborn only need specific alloys of metal to ingest in order to access their power; this is incredibly useful. They are not reliant on a specific fuel in the same way that Awakeners or Knights Radiant would be; metal can be found almost everywhere. 

Wax is also among the most talented living Metalborn, with an inborn set of abilities that are quite unique: Khriss claims Wax is one of only 3 'Crashers' (Feruchemical Iron + Allomantic Steel) ever born. [Bands of Mourning, Chapter 12] In addition to this, Wax is an extremely talented marksman, capable of making shots others would consider impossible. He may be the best marksman on Scadrial, which would put him in the running for the best in the Cosmere as well (at least with firearms). 

Now . . .  What does this mean for Wax? 

• Will he become immortal (through the Metallic Arts, or perhaps through direct Shardic intervention?)
  • Wax, through Atium Hemalurgy, could become immortal very easily. This is discussed further below.
  • Although we have not seen this onscreen, a Shard (especially the Shard of Preservation) could presumably just stop someone from aging.

Will Wax gain additional powers? 

• To call back to the first WoBs in this post, what better way to use up some extra Ruin investiture than by giving your main guy a few spikes? Maybe a boatload of Atium to boot? 
• Hemalurgy by its very nature is destructive, but Wax could gain it's benefits without most of the downsides:
  • Immortality through Atium Hemalurgy; obtaining Atium is a big roadblock for this method, but Harmony would presumably create a practically unlimited amount of it for his Champion.
  • Having too many Hemalurgic spikes means you are you are subject to Harmony's direct control. This would not matter for Wax, as his would already be enacting Harmony's will. Other than Realmatic limitations to his Spiritweb, he would not be limited to any specific number of spikes. He could have a ton of them, not unlike Marsh. 
  • Hemalurgic spikes are gained by mutilation or death; this could matter less to Wax as he would presumably be using old Inquisitor spikes. In other words, Wax doesn’t necessarily need to kill anyone new to gain these powers. The spikes with needed powers may already exist. 
• An even easier way for Wax to gain more powers, and perhaps the more likely method, is through the Southern Scadrian Medallions. It would also make sense for Wax (as Harmony's Champion) to wield the Bands of Mourning, or perhaps another object very similar to that in scope & power. 

What will Wax do as Harmony's Champion? Perhaps he will travel to Roshar . . . 

Quote

Mistborn: Wax and Wayne Book 4 is “Imperative” to Stormlight Book 5

The concluding volume to the “Wax and Wayne” Mistborn series has to come before Stormlight Archive Book 5. In this year’s update, Sanderson described this book as “imperative to finish before I start Stormlight Five.” This could imply that there’s a plot point in Wax and Wayne Book Four that will enrich Stormlight Five.

3

Now I don't want to put too much stock into this, particularly because SA5 chronologically occurs before the entirety of Mistborn Era 2. 4  However, it does seem to indicate that there is a particular plot point (or character) from WW4 who will be important in SA5. How this will work out, I am unsure. 

Finally, I just think it would be really funny if a man known as 'Harmony's Sword' has never held a sword in his life & wouldn't know how to use one if he did. 

Thanks for reading.

Sources:

1 https://wob.coppermind.net/events/105/#e1155 

2 https://wob.coppermind.net/events/456/#e14607 

3 https://www.tor.com/2019/12/20/state-of-the-sanderson-2019/

4 https://coppermind.net/wiki/Cosmere#Chronological_Order

Could I propose a page in the same vein as Death Rattle/list? Personally, I love that Death Rattle page. I find it very useful & reference it constantly. 

I know as others have said this seems to imply that all visions are related or share the same source, which is not necessarily true. But I think it may be helpful to have all the various visions we are aware of laid out together like that. And in this way I think we could keep the mechanical stuff in the Spiritual Realm page (or somewhere else), as Chaos had mentioned. 

I agree. It may be a good idea to open this up before Koloss Head Munching Day this year as well, as that spoiler stream may give us some more LOST METAL info to talk about. 

7 hours ago, FictionSpren said:

I’ve always wondered, can soulcasting create alloyed metal? 

This WoB, though about food, seems to indicate to me that a full Soulcaster (like an Elsecaller or Lightweaver), if they knew exactly what they were doing, could Soulast an alloyed metal. Idk about Soulcasting godmetal, that seems sorta broken but maybe there's a way to do it with a lot of Investiture? 

I completely agree though, I think there's a huge synergy here with between these two groups. 

On 12/3/2021 at 8:12 PM, FictionSpren said:

does Roshar have access to all the metals from the metallic arts? Navini's notes mention they domt know some things still (I think this was mentioned earlier), is this because they just don't have the metals at all? 

I think the key here is Roshar has theoretical access to all the metals, but they have very little technological incentive to research how to create, say, bendalloy. That either needs to change or they need someone from Scadrial to come and be like "hey this is useful, and here's why" 

On 12/2/2021 at 8:47 AM, Ookla the Ingeniator said:

Oh, there is no evidence, other than how conspicuous the act is viewed in world, and the fact that Fabrial mechanics were shown to mirror some elements of the metallic Arts to make me extra suspicious. 

Although personally I am pretty sure that El's plates are aluminum, I still like this theory. The interesting and unique thing about Hemalurgy is it's one of the few magic systems that requires no initiation and is not physically tied to any region or planet. Anyone with the knowledge of Hemalurgy can practice it, and steal anything. The key of course is the knowledge but... who knows. Very interesting to consider. 

17 hours ago, bmcclure7 said:

If there is some sort of disaster the tower could serve as a sort of ark. It has portals to all of the countries of the coalition and is not dependent on stormlight (Should some thing happen to the high storm) and the enemies powers wont work there and its completely self substantiating.  And could easily see a scenario were thr rest of roshar is concurred or destroyed so the coalition evacuated to the tower.

Yeah this is exactly what I am thinking too. The Tower is uniquely equipped to handle this type of catastrophic event. And if the normal Radiants figure out how to make use of Towerlight / Lifelight as a way to fuel their powers ... well that would just be the cherry on top.