Dreamwa1ker

Agreed on TwinSoul I need more of him. Loved his character immediately. I'm kind of hoping he'll show up in a novella or secret history 2 or something. About Wayne I think Wax has more book learning and an analytical mind that is suited for detective work and science - but I think Wax is very intuitively intelligent. For one, his ability to put himself in someone else's head is definitely a kind of social/personal intelligence, but also with his investments it is like he just has a really good intuition. I think this is part of why Wax and Wayne complemented each other so well as partners in terms of skill set.

So Kelsier name-dropped a new place (planet?) in the Lost Metal in his epilogue: Mythos. It's pure speculation at this point as we don't have much but wanted to make a space for theories here. So what we can establish about Mythos from this very short exchange: 1. Not Moonlight’s world (we know this anyway because we know Moonlight’s world so this just confirms Mythos is not some other nickname for it) 2. Not aether planet 3. Implied it may be reached by Shadesmar (Sazed's reply is about using Shadesmar to reach out) 4. Potential allies there, presumably with some sort of power/Investiture. But Kelsier seemed to suggest it off hand as if it would be more of a stretch than Moonlight’s world or aether land. Unclear if this is due to it being a harder place to reach or that inhabitants might be more hostile or less willing allies. So what do you think/want it to be? My current take: simply because of the name, I would love this to be Valor's planet. Mythos just sounds like a place full of badass Spartan warriors or something like 300. Or combo of Spartans and Vikings. A land of mythical warriors could definitely be powerful allies and I also could see that if "Valor" is what is revered there they may only ally themselves with you under certain circumstances or could be risky (don't tick them off and make them your enemy).

I actually really enjoyed the Marasi plotline with the Ghostbloods for the most part (though it ended a bit too quickly to me). I think my favorite part of it was the bit where she is with Moonlight, meeting and then running around with the other Ghostbloods - this group of people with vastly different abilities from around the Cosmere working together was like a fun "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" kind of vibe. Maybe it's partly the slightly steam punk setting of Era 2 together with it giving me that feeling. Also - vote Marasi 2024 I adored Wayne's whole arc and I cried. I hope in Era 3 we see a lot of his impacts, the father of noseball league and things named after him. Wax fighting up the Shaw was action movie awesomeness. I LOVED Steris getting some recognition for how amazing she is At the end the conversation between Kelsier and Harmony - this quote: Uh you literally did 2 mins before this about the Lerasium from Wax's experiment. Actually you have probably been lying through your teeth to lots of folks....going to have to reassess everything he has said now. Was he really so helpless or blinded or is some of it an act? I am getting a sneaking suspicion that in same way that Marsh and TenSoon have cameos in Era 2, Wax might have a cameo in Era 3 now. He has a spike, and there was still whatever happened to him from the lab experiment (seems like a mild Mistborn) - might he live longer than normal? I feel we still need some payoff from what happened there as Harmony brushed it aside when talking to Wayne saying it didn't work and I think Harmony lied here too. Maybe it could come in Secret History 2

Maybe Intent is important here. Wax was actively trying to split harmonium into its parts, the Set were trying to make a bomb? Maybe you have to have the intent to split it? Then again, you'd think the Set also would have tried to get lerasium and atium so maybe that's not it ...

The blue lines Wax is seeing sound similar to the way Steel Inquisitors see from Marsh PoV so it is making me think the dust has done something hemalurgic to him.

This could be spun slightly more around delegation - as a leader you can't do everything yourself, and in military type org some of that means you may be actively ordering troops into a situation where some will not come back, to protect others. And the divine attributes for their order are Leadership/Protection - first 3 ideals are more about protecting but it makes sense the last couple could start being about balancing this with being able to lead. The 4th ideal is a start on this path but 5th ideal could further it. The situation you gave with Sigzil is a great example I think.

Oh I am HERE for worldhopper Marasi. I loved how in these chapters she just lit up with excitement when MeLaan mentioned going off world. I do think mystery lady is not with the Set but more likely a worldhopper.

I'm very suspicious about the earring that Wax receives, I don't think it's from Harmony. I agree if it was Trellium it would have been too recognizable. I could see it somehow being from Kelsier or used to communicate with him, it seems like something he would do, especially impersonating a God is like his M.O. now. If it is from Harmony, the only thing I could think of would be if for some reason he wants Wax to have an Atium earring and Lerasium earring to be his "sword" that can both protect and destroy but unsure why earrings would be needed or what that would do. Both of those are "Lost metal" though right? I was starting to getting nervous about potential foreshadowing with Max being so cavalier about heights. If something happens to that precious child I don't think I could take it...

Wow I actually love that take, because it would fit with the quote from WoR about Odium: with the lack of context being what makes him scary. With your idea, he gets more balanced the more Shards are added to him, hence why Rayse was resistant to merging.

I had always pinned Cultivation + Odium as Malignance - partly for the cancer implications around growth and spreading/metastasizing, but also the colloquial use of the word which can also mean "passionately and relentlessly malevolent - aggressively malicious". The Genocide take is an interesting one I had not considered, thinking about taking something like Eugenics and then putting it into practice forcefully. Though I'll say I could see depending on the Vessel and its interpretation that Cultivation all on its own could be inclined towards something like Eugenics - rather scary to consider. I would think Genocide could be a more likely combo of Cultivation + Dominion though.

This has largely been my take as well. I overall enjoyed the show and was fine with, and actually liked, most of the changes (though I am reserving judgement about Perrin's arc until I see where they take it). But the season was a little rushed - two more episodes would have helped a lot of the pacing issues, and as you mentioned the last 2 episodes were weaker ones (due to some production issues it seems). I really look forward to what they are able to do in season 2 when some of those problems shouldn't be impacting as much, though I don't think they lengthened the season unfortunately.

This is the kind of shenanigans I was thinking of - some sort of spirit web surgery. Perhaps involving some transplantation. And with Sigzil and his spren already being enmeshed due to their oaths, changes to him changed the spren in some unexpected ways too perhaps.

This makes me think of the godspren- we know that the Stormfather for example was around long before Odium came. So he could be wind. Could the others be the Nightwatcher and the Sibling (having trouble remembering if the Sibling was around in some form before Urithiru or not). Or could the God of spren be Ba-Ado-Mishram before she was Unmade?

I just had to pop in to say you just blew my storming mind! I had never made this connection and it makes so much sense with humanity history with Odium

Along the lines of the permanent bond between 5th Ideal Radiant and their spren, what if 5th Ideal is what you need to Worldhop with your spren - they become more Connected to you than to Rosharan system at that point, and pulled so much into the physical realm that it is possible? This would fit with the WOB that it would be really hard to worldhop with your spren right (5th Ideal is pretty dang hard)

Anyone else get like a very Mad Max vibe from this world? What with the inhospitable planet, the Ember people and gladiator fighting and the hacked together ramshackle floating city/vehicles that's constantly moving/running? In any case this is like the most metal Cosmere work so far.

On Chana - major props to @teknopathetic it was already a really interesting theory and now it seems pretty likely. So timeline would be: Shallan kills her, she goes to Braize and after 5 years breaks (Taln never broke) - that means she has likely returned to Roshar somewhere as well around the time of WoK. This SCREAMS for Shallan to come face-to-face with her mother in Stormlight 5 - I get chills thinking about it. WOW. On Stormfaker vs Stormfather: I'm not 100% in either camp but am really enjoying the theorizing because it's fun. The Stormfather did feel a little off to me but there are potential reasons for that. For Ishar theory specifically, I can see where people are going here, and the timeline. The thing that doesn't fit for me though is this - wasn't Ishar the one that proposed what the Heralds did in leaving Taln behind? And it seemed to be working, Taln wasn't breaking. So why now would he be trying to replace him? I guess Ishar wanting to be able to die and not be immortal anymore might work as a motive. For it actually being the Stormfather theory, I'm ok with slight personality shift, maybe even the lying (though it seems counter to his obsession with oaths, but the really big thing that threw me were the words. Gavilar says something very close to the first ideal and it gets rebuffed as "not even close." The thing that he does say is close "give it to me. Now. I need it" sounds almost Odium Passion-y to me to be quite honest. I think a candidate for Stormfaker that is getting discounted too much is Odium. Motive: Odium probably would want someone to replace Taln - Taln is like the last piece of the Oathpact still holding, and he isn't breaking. Means: He would have the power of a Shard which makes him likely to be able to pull the impersonation off. And he seems able to give people visions. He is also bound there by the Oathpact so I think it is not unlikely that he could tell when a Herald returns to Braize. And he would have future-sight which would explain the moment where he seems to look ahead and know Gavilar is about to die and says he won't stop it. I think the main evidence against Odium as Stormfaker would be the moment where Gavilar says he would just give up on Braize immediately, that there would just be endless war, and the Stormfather pauses and says this was a mistake. Wouldn't Odium want that? I think he might not mind endless war, but wasn't Odium's main goal to escape the system so he could Splinter more Shards? Having the desolation continue forever would not further that goal, he would still be stuck in the system. He wants to break the loop.

I read it more as what Sigzil does saves Hoid specifically. Hoid being a bit full of himself or knowing his own plans has a take that this is saving the Cosmere because Hoid is doing things to save the Cosmere, but it sounds like what happens firstly saves Hoid's bacon. Now, I do agree that it likely is triggered by Hoid realizing about Todium and his memories, and it likely also has to do with concern about whether someone could trace the Dawnshard. I was thinking that there is some sort of Identity or Connection hacking that goes on, where Hoid is swapping something with Sigzil (the connection to the Dawnshard maybe?). And I suspect messing around with Connection and Identity, which the bond relies on, could mess with the spren too: So my theory: Hoid swapped part of his Identity and Connection with the Dawnshard with Sigzil. We now see Sigzil has some of Hoid's attributes like the Torment, maybe some of his worldhopping or other abilities as well. In the process, Sigzil's spren bond was damaged, the aspect of him with his Oaths was excised. This is why we get: And He doesn't say that he broke his Oaths, he says they ended. I think that wording was intentional. His Oaths were edited out (perhaps partially), and now his spren is altered, his bond is altered, and we get Auxiliary as not-quite-a-deadeyes but not a normal spren bond. I say partially because it seems like by acting in accordance with his old oaths he is reConnecting or reforging his bond with his spren a bit, hence summoning the Shardblade once. Anyway, I think all of this also fits thematically with the story we see here - his name is different (the spren name could be different too), he thinks several times of the man he used to be. While that is also a way people phrase things, it could more explicitly in this case referring to Identity shenanigans making him a bit of a different person.

Oh this gave me an idea. This whole thing is starting to smell like some sort of Identity shenanigans to me, or some sort of spirit web hacking. Could Sigzil have undergone some sort of "surgery" to swap some bits of his identity/self with Hoid, like a transplant/donor situation? Because we know: 1. Sigzil saved Hoid by becoming this way 2. Sigzil seems to suffer some of Hoid's afflictions now (the prohibition on violence) but also has some of his abilities maybe (hard to kill/regen, Connection, etc) 3. Sigs oaths "ended" and his spren is now the knight not him If someone has a spren bond and you modify their Identity could that cut out their oaths? "What oaths?" Could it edit the spren as well in the process? A 3 way exchange because they were already bonded/enmeshed? I like this idea partly because it could fit thematically with the story we are seeing so far. Sigzil has a different name, even talks about being a different man in the past.

Or this is so far in the future Kal lived a long and fulfilling life and died peacefully at a ripe old age.

Almost at the very end, in chapter 10, Aux is explicitly referred to as a spren Maybe Aux refers to himself as a knight and Sigzil as his squire as Aux's take on their present relationship. This is along the lines I was thinking, but I hadn't considered BAM. Stormlight RoW spoilers .

Ok, I'm joking but... we did have a Chiri-chiri viewpoint. Just sayin' Also, with all the kandra guesses I would kind of also love if it was a Sleepless... but with this new info the only one that has had POV is Nikli I think, and he was maybe too much of a main character in Dawnshard to qualify.

I voted Herald: Ishar's past on Ashyn, told in journal/epistolary form.

Very true - she is a product of the overall system of this world which uses these children as resources. We don't have enough screen time of Warden yet to see how much of this is her role vs her own personality or self, and there could be more depth to her character to come. However, the effect on Yumi as a character is the same.

I saw a lot of threads already about the arcana and Cosmere implications of SP3, but I wanted to have some more discussion about the characterization we've seen so far because I found it really compelling: Yumi & Warden Yumi herself I am already finding a very interesting character. Her story so far and the position she is in especially with Warden make me think of someone who is a child prodigy in some field. Think some of these Olympic gymnasts or Piano players who have been working on perfecting their craft since they were 3, to the exclusion of any normal childhood. Now I am sure there are some people in that situation who don't have as much conflict over it, but there are definitely some people that deeply feel this loss of normalcy or want a change later in life. And some people have someone like Warden pushing them, tearing them down, and exploiting them. Warden makes me think of a bad coach or stage parent, one who is utterly controlling and pushing their charge. She cares more about Yumi's performance than about her mental or emotional needs or wants. And nothing Yumi does ever seems to be good enough to receive praise from Warden, so Yumi just pushes herself harder and harder. It seems like an awful and frankly abusive situation and power dynamic - Yumi has minimized herself so much she feels guilt even over having feelings or wants at this point. Yumi's thoughts about being blessed or how she should feel blessed and grateful, are also something these kind of prodigies can feel: that they should be grateful for the great talent they have or for the opportunity to compete at a high level - even if they are inwardly unhappy, or in the case of some high profile gymnasts where there were horrible things happening behind closed doors. I don't know if this was all what Brandon was going for but I felt he nailed this kind of dynamic, where talented young people can be treated as a resource (for fame, money, attention, entertainment) rather than a person by those around them - but in Yumi's world she literally is being used as a resource. Virtuosity I also wanted to comment that this character setup between Warden and Yumi fits really well thematically with the Shard name we get, Virtuosity. What is happening with Yumi is like an extreme twisted/unhealthy version of this trait. She is trying to be impossibly perfect at her craft to the exclusion of all else, and Warden is pushing her that way. Is some of this system a result of Virtuosity being splintered - have things gone off the rails because of that? Or is it simply the nature of Shards having narrow Intents without context or balance of the rest, that takes this to the extreme? Painter I am still putting thoughts together on Painter, but would love to see more discussion on him as well. What did you guys think about some of the characters here?