DiePie

Perhaps this is similar to the sphere of connection that Kelsier stole from the Ire in Secret History (the on he used to ascend)

I think the best way to start this out is to establish the relationship between the 3 things in the title, Imperialism, Roshar, and the Cosmere's "Endgame". the reason Imperialism and the Cosmere's Endgame are related has to do with the political entities as large as planets: I've highlighted the relevant part of the WoB, which is relevant because it details that the Cosmere's Endgame will be a conflict between planets (since conflict between planets is really the only way to make MB era 4 both a Space Opera, and a conflict that has it's roots in cultural/social differences). And so the question is, why are they fighting? Well in modern history countries primarily fight over 2 things: resources and markets. And so it makes sense that MB era 4 would be about Imperialist powers (planets) competing over influence in smaller or less developed planets. I don't think I need to convince anyone that Roshar is going to be important but here's a Relevent WoB just in case: While the connection between Roshar and imperialism can be established just by association, I have more to add. First of all, here's an excerpt from the as-of-yet unreleased Sixth of the Dusk story: Something else I want to explore as well is how perfect Fabrials are for establishing an imperialist empire, because they can only be powered using Stormlight. So the Rosharans can manufacture and sell Fabrials to the Cosmere, who then have to continually buy Stormlight from Roshar in order to use the Fabrials. Fabrial technology could cause a planet to establish a modern standard of living in <50 years, and so Roshar would definitely be able to leverage the economic power in gains from holding the key to the functioning of entire societies in order to effectively control those planets politically as well. So, Imperialist competition between planets. How do we get there? I think Roshar has an easy answer to that near the end of RoW. Right after Todd ascends he realizes that he can "save" more than just Roshar, and thinks that being bound to Roshar is a bad thing. The combination of Honor and Odium is called War for a reason, and the book reaffirms repeatedly that Odium is here to stay, and so will influence and corrupt Roshar's Honor-dominated investiture (personally I think that Sja-Anat is going to corrupt all of the spen so that they have Odium's influence to them in the same way that the spren are divided between Honor and Cultivation). I think the other (or at least one of the other) major factions is going to be Scadrial, because they are the most technologically advanced civilization (the north is approaching turn of the 20th century USA, though it's hard to place Roshar because Magitec development isn't really analogous to IRL history), and also because the books where this is all set to go down is literally named after the Scadrians. So, in summary, I think that MB era 4 (or maybe the back half of the SA, I don't see what other conflict could go in there, but there's probably something), will detail a conflict between Scadrial and Roshar for political and economic dominance over the Cosmere. On another note, I don't think that either side will be the "bad guys" because I really want a bit of moral ambiguity in a BS book, and I think that showing us that neither conflict of a fight like this is truly the "good guys" is a theme he has not yet explored enough.

The most obvious reason would be that it's an easier way of fueling the Returned than Breaths, but even still Fabrial technology (once a way of getting it offworld is discovered) would be a mahor Rosharan export, and would create a reliance on Roshar because it is the only place where you can get stormlight.

I find it more likely that while certain kinds of spren (such as maybe the Peakspren, Cultivationspren, or Cryptics that were mentioned above) knew this information, other kinds (such as the Honorspren) did not, and this is the sort of knowledge that would be kept as state secrets, and would be dismissed by most people not already in the know if some simplified version spread. Honorspren are not especially liked by the other kinds of spren, and so would be one of the last to hear of a rumor like this.

Rosharans (and I assume spren as well since they are shaped by the perceptions of Rosharans) would call a lot of things spren that aren't actually spren. Heralds are cognitive shadows stapled to a body (similar to a returned such as Vasher, though for whatever reason returned have a much easier time with the whole connection thing. Maybe it has to do with losing their memories?), though that's just a small nitpick and doesn't really affect the theory as a whole. Though I though about it a bit, and looked up the epigraphs on the coppermind: This states that a gemstone wouldn't work, though the same principle should apply to aluminum foil. If you could selectively cut certain connections with aluminum foil and thus only cut a herald's connection with Roshar and not the connections that keep them alive (assuming those are different), you could theoretically use an aluminum foil hat to smuggle a herald off of Roshar

"corruption" in the Cosmere is generally where investiture is modified after it's original creation. For example: Sja-Anat "corrupts" spen by using Odium's investiture to modify them. though corrupted investiture could definitely be a byproduct of an investiture and anti-investiture reaction, especially in situations where the anti-investiture and investiture don't perfectly align, so there are leftover parts that don't participate in the reaction? I believe we see red light (red signifying corruption) during the W&W series, but I can't remember the context for that.

the problem I have with the idea that 4 dawnshards created 16 shards is that it has been said that it would have been easy to create a 17th shard for hoid and redistribute the power to make that happen, but if there's a 5th dawnshard that could've done that...

It doesn't really seem like there's any other reason for a group of armed Tukari to try and incapacitate an Honorspren besides to try and bring it to the physical realm as part of Ishar's experiments. Though as for why Ishar is trying to bring Spren to the physical realm I've heard of 2 theories: The first is that he wants to use Spren for Hemalurgy (imagine having a Nahel bond but without any the limitations of a Spren), or that he wants to no longer be a cognitive shadow, and so is experimenting with trying to move cognitive beings to the physical realm so he can do the same with himself. I've heard this in tangent with wanted to become to shard, with a theory stating that cognitive shadows have trouble ascending and being vessels.

Dahkor is specific to Sel, the geography of Sel (if I'm remembering correctly), and the Dor. And if he just wants Hemalurgy then the time it takes for the spren to die isn't too much of an issue since he can just spike them in the intervening time.

I took the "weaker" part as that Rayse had inhibited the Odium shard by making deals, and thus had effectively weakened the shard by restricting its power. So far it seems the main way vessels can defy the intent of their shard is by being recently ascended, with your autonomy (lowercase a autonomy) to make those decisions decreasing over time as you hold a shard.

I think it's fairly safe to assume that godmetals (or any other physical form of investiture) have atoms that correspond to each different shard. Ettmetal atoms, then, would be Alkaline Earth Metals (group 2 on the periodic table), because of its reactivity with water (the explosions come from the energy released by the reaction). So assuming this theory is correct (in a literal sense), then would an ettmetal atom be made using different sub-atomic particles in replacement of Protons or a neutrons? Would it have either of them? Does it even have the same atomic structure as a normal atom does? Does it replace an atom we have on the periodic table? Or would a particle with the same atomic number even have the same properties because of its similarity to a god-metal? Has Brandon even gotten that far?

are the terms of the previous pact binding until the end of the battle? because if not that gives a minimum of 10 days during which Todd can do whatever the frik he wants, or if he can extend the duel indefinitely (through any number of possible methods), he can just do whatever he wants.

Would Odium even still be bound to that agreement since Mr. T had violated it by working against Odium when he was a human? It seems to be that oaths made are made to the shard, though it does seem like they can be re-written by someone with enough authority, so Todd could just nullify the previous agreement right?

I feel like people are forgetting that (besides for whoever Todd has revealed it too) there is a group of people that know that the vessel changed: Sja-Anat and their faction (Renairin and everyone else with a corrupted spren is probably in this group). It’s impossible to know whether or not Hoid is in contact with them but it is a possibility. There’s also the fact that Todd would influence the Cosmere in a way that is distinct from Rayse, and so someone who knows how Rayse behaves may be able to deduce that something’s wrong (remember that there was probably a reason for Hoid to confront Odium) though we also know via WoB that Hoid has a way of knowing “where he has to be” (probably by burning chromium), and so may have been lead there by that, for the purpose of finding out that Odium has a change in management.

There is no garuntee that the duel will only last a day, while normal duels with shardplate/blade seem to last upwards of a few hours, and that was without storm light to heal one’s self. The fact that Dalinar is planning on choosing himself as the champion seems to indicate that he has some distinct advantage over, say, Kaladin or Szeth who (now that they have their plate) are probably the best fighters Dalinar can reliably get. That leads me to beleive that this will be no ordinary duel, but will instead have much more to do with Dalinar’s powers as a Bondsmith (which is why he wants Ishar to teach him - and I would like to point out that there is no stipulation that Ishtar can’t teach him during the duel, coaching Dalinar through more complex motions). Assuming the duel will happen in this way, Todd will probably appoint a champion that can match Dalinar in the amount on investiture they can muster (and if I’m not mistaken) there was a WoB about large amounts of investiture warping space/time in the same way matter does in a black hole, so we may see some form of time warping based on your proximity to the duel, which would allow a lot more to happen in the book to all the other characters during the time the duel is fought (remember what Odium gets to keep under his control in case of a loss is based on what he controls at the end of the duel)

To me all signs seem to point that this won't be a traditional battle. In that very same section of the chapter Dalinar regrets not being able to prove to Mr. T that he was right... A little piece of dramatic irony in the fact that he still can... Though that seems to foreshadow that he will have to. Dalinar also seems to think that his powers as a Bondsmith will be important, which is the main reason I think that this battle won't be fought in the traditional sense. Going over this has really reminded me of the final fight in WoT, of Rand and the Dark One creating scenarios of the world upon their victories. So I think that the final battle in the next book will be incredibly similar, with Dalinar and Todd using their powers and ability to create connections to create visions of the world upon their rule (note that while Rayse had little to no concern for the people of Roshar, Todd was created, in part, as a response to the plea to do so). This "duel" will probably last a long time (even if only because of the affects high densities of investiture have on the surrounding area, once again similar to the final battle in WoT) and so I would expect it to last something like half the book. Also like WoT, I do think that neither side is going to "win" in the sense that Rayse or Dalinar thought when they agreed to the duel. This is almost the exact same argument that made up the final battle in WoT and I think it will be resolved in a similar way, with it being decided that both the power of Honor and Odium are needed. And also (I theorize) with the acknowledgement that the wider Cosmere is worse off than Roshar, and so an agreement is made to "enlighten" the rest of the Cosmere. And so after that what happens? Well we already know what happens when Honor and Odium are combined, we get the Rhythm of War. Rayse had already said that Roshar was going to be used to conquer the Cosmere, and Cultivation would not have let him cultivate such a martial spirit in the Rosharans if it did not serve her ends as well, and as Harmony said:

My point is that Cultivation is messing with Dalinar's Connection to the memories not the memories themselves, which is irrelevant either way because Tod is trying to avoid his oath to not hurt Wit, and the wording in the book seems to imply that messing with memories (or their relationship with a person) would break that oath (which seems to be to not hurt Hoid, probably similar to Hoid's own oath of non-violence) The way I always interpreted it was that Vasher only showed her how to, not that he did it himself

If I'm remembering correctly Cultivation was only able to block Dalinar's memories, not truly remove them. Which is why Odium would have been able to "give them back" to Dalinar, had Cultivation not done it themselves. We were actually shown him doing this in Warbreaker, it though it wasn't him doing it, it was the girl who did it to herself. Also, when vessels ascend to being a shard, their minds are expanded in order to comprehend all of the new facets of godhood, and with that in mind I think that being smarter or more intelligent would give only the most minuscule advantage to the vessel of a shard. What seems to matter is a Shard's craftiness. Instead of raw intelligence being important, it's a shard's ability to use it. While Rayse was obviously crafty (he killed 4 shards), Todd is probably more so. Even as his intelligence declined, he was still trying to maneuver Nightblood into a vision with Odium, simply because he heard somewhere once that Odium was scared of the sword, and his knowledge of how dangerous it was.

I don't think Wit's genuine terror is enough to confirm either side... Even if he had planned for Odium to take the memory (or to tamper with it) he would still feel afraid. When you've lived for thousands of years as the next best thing to a god, it would be terrifying to have your memories messed with, whether or not you knew it was coming. Plus being the god of emotions and all that, Hoid would want to put up a show for Odium in order to trick him. And the conversation about tricks and illusions seems out of place if Hoid wasn't planning something...

So I just finished RoW and there was a little section in Part 2 that I really wanted to talk about. This is the epigraph to chapter 29, a part of Sazed's* letter to, presumably, Hoid (I'm just assuming that's the case from now on). While this first made me think of Nightblood, Nightblood's purpose was to destroy evil, which matches neither the word choice nor the theme of the sentences. But the wording "both protect and kill", is extremely similar Kaladin's character arc, as his main struggle throughout the books has been trying reconcile the idea that he can kill to protect with the morals that he has grown up with, and that his radiant oaths align with. And so I suspect that Kaladin is Sazed's champion. Though that is not the only reason I think so, even though it is by far the best. Kaladin's name sounds a lot like Kelsier's (Kal, Kel), and they do share some similarities in their character. Most noteworthy however, is Kaladin's ability to inspire others, assuming Sazed wanted to influence Roshar using a person, he would probably try to mold them off of influential figures in his past *cough cough* Kelsier *cough cough*, and so may end up making them (intentionally or unintentionally) inspirational. (does the crowd chanting "Stormblessed" not remind anyone else of how the people of Luthadel treated Kelsier and their idea of the survivor when they revolted against the Lord-Ruler). Assuming that Thaikadar is Kelsier for a minute (I remain skeptical, though Kelsier's "end justifies the means" attitude would make him a perfect antagonist for the SA), this would also create a parallel between kelsier/Shallan and Sazed/Kelsier, with the latter being scaled up (with a Sazed and a sword replacing of Kelsier and a knife), and this theory also sets the precedent of Scadrians actively operating on Roshar. I also think that there were some lines in Kaladin's chapters that felt suspiciously like allomantic tampering (surviving things that he shouldn't by being tough, people's emotions being not matching up to what they should be [I'm thinking of Kaladin's owner who gave him the Shash brand, but also I think I remember a line near the end of RoW where his stress/anxiety/nervousness are drained away, described similar to soothing, though I couldn't find the scene so I think I may be mis-remembering it]), and that feels a lot more like the work of Sazed than Cultivation. This does not, however, explain the whole "Child of Tarnavast" thing. *I don't want to use Harmony because of the statements that were made previously that Sazed was acting against the intent of the power he held (sorry if that's not the way those words are supposed to be used)

fortune? or some rudimentary form of it? It would stand to reason that since that's how Renarin sees into the future, that it's how Truthwatchers see normally

At first this feels like a coincidence, warlike cultures naturally tend to associate the highest portion of the afterlife with warriors. But thinking about it more, "tranquiline halls" sounds a lot like something that comes from Norse or Norse mythology.

Found something relevant to the subject searching for something on Hoid's immortality (he heals through a spiritual process, making him heal differently to other individuals, right?) <spoilered for length, and only the very end is relevant> So I would think that your Spiritual Ideal would change based on your age (to grow older) so that this loophole didn't exist. Amen. We'll just have to Read and Find Out.

After reading this thread I got the idea that the rhythms are a side-effect of investiture, with different intents of investiture forming on a scale (like electromagnetic radiation) and some sort of radiation is given off by each type. Singers can "tune into" the 'frequencies' of latent investiture (somewhat like the microwave background of the universe), while a Bronze Seeker would "tunes into" the frequencies given off by the usage of investiture by other Allomancers (or people using other forms of magic in the Cosmere). When the Listeners became connected to Odium they got a new host of songs because they used Odium's investiture more instead of Honor's, which is a whole new part of the spectrum (going back to my comparison to the Electromagnetic Spectrum; it's like going from visible light to being able to see ultraviolet as well). This could also answer why the shards could be split into more/less than 16 pieces, since those pieces were cut on arbitrary lines on the scale, so it would be easy to move the lines around to create more or less shards. Also, some WoBs I found relevant (spoilered for length):

To me it makes the most sense that the Humans from Ashyn either a. spoke dawnchant or some variant or b. started speeking dawnchant when they emmigrated to Roshar since that is what the majority (singer) population spoke. Then after a number of desolations (after which society basically collapsed), and thousands of years all but the most isolated parts of Roshar held on to those same dawnate roots. As society collapsed again and again (and communication between areas practically disappeared for generations at a time), these places developed differing languages to each other. English for example has changed immensely in 1000 years, and that's without 90% of everyone dying out every few centuries. As for Vorin, it would make sense for the Hierocracy (and later the Sunmaker… Or any other Empire that came out of the region) to enforce a single language throughout their empires to help centralize their empires and make them more culturally hegemonous.