Leonpaintbrush

But I don't assume that nor did I assume that. My point was that any reasonable discussion of this particular theory has to incorporate all sources of information. Further, the point was that not all sources of information are equal or should be treated as such. I do not believe that all sources of information are equal. I do not believe that someone's "belief" of an uninformed opinion is equal to an informed one.

From Gavilar's POV, its clear that he thinks whatever being he has been talking to is the Stormfather--but he remarks on the changeability of that being himself, something that a Spren, by definition, is not. A Spren--as a piece of Living Investiture with particularized Intent--is anything BUT readily changeable, perhaps unless their particularized Intent is changeability or some offshoot of that idea. The point that I'm making here is that points of view in the Stormlight Archive are necessarily flawed and colored by the perspective of the person "driving" that chapter. We see characters be incorrect in their assumptions and the things they hold as "truth" in the Stormlight Archive literally all the time--see literally any Shallan POV for a character who actively deceives themselves and provides false information to the reader. It is so curious a thing, to me, for any reader to accept as fundamental truth anything that Gavilar Kholin presents as such from his extremely limited perspective. All we can say for certain, absolute certain, is that there was a voice that spoke to Gavilar and showed him visions, and that Gavilar referred to that being as the Stormfather. Whether or not that being, at all times, was in actuality the Stormfather is in direct question--by the intent of the author himself--because all the behavior we see in this chapter cuts against literally all other information we have about the Stormfather as an Entity from multiple perspectives throughout four books. If one is not juxtaposing the information obtained in one character's POV chapter against all other sources of information they've received, then, they aren't searching for the "secrets" or the "truths", they're merely accepting biased assertions of fact. If one is willing to discard four books worth of other character's insights and perspectives regarding the Stormfather simply because one POV chapter says all that all other data points must be discounted, they are merely giving deference to novelty. Without balancing new information against ALL the old, and without balancing the quality, veracity, and sources of the new information against that of the old, one isn't interested in finding the truth of the matter--one is just cremposting.

Hi @alder24, thanks for the reponse. I agree with you that we don't know if Ishar is still an Ashynite Bondsmith, but without hard evidence to the contrary, I don't necessary believe he's not, particularly when he believes that the "God" that once bound him is dead. I agree that Honor might have taken any Ashyn abilities away from him, but find it equally plausible is that Honor did not. Again, without evidence that showcases that Honor did take it away, I have no reason to believe that he would. I'm not sure that I agree with any characterization of Tanavast/Honor as particularly cautious. His own oversight or negligence in the creation of the Oathpact allowed the spren to mimic the type of bond he created and give surges to humans without Oaths. A Shard finding out after-the-fact that his own splinters can mimic what He did with the Heralds and provide unfettered access to the surges cuts heavily against any proposition that Honor was some very careful, plotting entity that expected the surges to be abused and took precautions to prevent it. If anything, the facts of the story paint Honor as negligent considering that he was shattered/splintered/"killed" as a result of his decisions. If Honor really wanted the surges to be bound, the surges would have been fully contained from the time of the Oathpact--if not fully bound at the time of the great migration--but they were not. Calling Honor anything but negligent here is to ignore his clear culpability and oversight in the spren's ability to form a nahel bond and give men unfettered access to the same surges that destroyed Ashyn. I agree that Ashynite Bondsmithing may have been different from Rosharan--but just like Yolish Lightweaving deals in the same fundamental principles as Rosharan Lightweaving, I think by using a broad term, we can assume that the same basic components are at play--we're dealing with a magic system that largely deals in Connection and its manipulation. Its not like Ashyn Bondsmiths were dealing with the surge of Progression in order to use regrowth. It seems clear that during the great migration Ishar likely had access to Bondsmith abilities--because he's literally the only other Bondsmith we know of and the only Bondsmith of the Heralds. It seems, then, extremely likely that he arrived on Roshar with his Ashynite Bondsmith abilities intact. Even were his magic disease-based--just by having access to Bondsmith abilities, generally, and being able to play with Connection, generally, suggests that Ishar could circumvent a limitation such as "I need to be sick in order to have this power". A Bondsmith that could help make a feat like the great migration happen, that could help bind the surges to oath levels for the Knights Radiant, and that could literally attempt to steal the connection between Dalinar and the Stormfather is clearly a being that has an understanding of a fundamental surge at such a level that to assume that his hands would be tied to his ability to catch a disease is laughable to me.

Late to the party, but throwing my hat in the ring with the Stormfaker believers, and just want it noted before SF5 at the end of the year. Its so clear to me that the "Stormfather" we see here is off and wrong. Either we're to believe that the author has actively lied to us about the characterization and mannerisms of this entity for four books, or we're to trust that the author hasn't actively deceived and lied to us and rewards close reading and analysis. I think Stormfaker is Ishar. Ishar is a Bondsmith from Ashyn. Access to his Honorblade is irrelevant to that fact. The great migration took place before the existence of the Oathpact and was manifested due to a combination of Elsecalling heightened by Bondsmithing. Thus, Ishar clearly had access to Bondsmith abilities prior to even arriving on Roshar. Without access to his Honorblade, he is still an Ashynite Bondsmith (whatever that entails--but the max power level of that is a cross-planetary mass migration when you add in Elsecalling and a likely Dawnshard's assistance).

Trusting a half dead shard to have told Kelsier the fundamental truths about why he used the number 16 in a plan that he no longer remembers the details of, is certainly a position to take. But I guess we'll agree to disagree on this one.

Hi @alder24 and @Onironte, Wanted to thank you both for your contributions thus far. While this post will mainly dive into @alder24's original comment, I think aspects of it may be responsive to @Onironte in some ways. Also, sorry if this post's formatting is a hot mess. I've tried to use spoiler tags and quotes where I thought appropriate. Since the post has been moved to the Sunlit Man discussion forum, hopefully if any issues exist they are more minor in scope. In a huge abundance of caution, I'm stating a massive spoiler tag upfront as I talk about things all over Mistborn, Secret History, parts of Stormlight Archive, and likely more. I've personally read just about every Cosmere book or short story, so I tend to jump all over the texts to cite examples that I think are relevant. I think that's a good point to make, and a great quote in general. I read Secret History way back, so was not as up-to-date with the direct quotes. But with the quote you referenced, I feel like there may be some nuance and a few more questions surrounding it that could be explored. Firstly, I’m not sure that we know with absolute certainty that Some Words of Brandon have suggested that when the voice of a Shard that is “heard” by a person it is not a direct statement from the Shard, but is the subject’s mental interpretation of an impression that the Shard is sending. Secondly, it has long been held and supported both by the texts of Mistborn Era1 and by WoBs that it is Ruin that can speak, and Preservation that can listen. Thus, Preservation “speaking” to Kelsier during the snapping seems to break a fundamental rule that we’ve been told, and shown, is fairly sacrosanct. Thirdly, we see snapping multiple times in Era1, particularly with the return of the Deepness in books 2 and 3 of the trilogy, and not once does anyone else on Scadrial mention hearing a voice telling them to “Survive.” This makes Kelsier’s snapping stand out, in stark juxtaposition, from every other snapping for which we have descriptions. Fourthly, when asked directly the question of who was speaking to Kelsier during his snap, Brandon did not give a direct answer: If the answer was simple, and already spoken to within his core text, I’d like to think that Brandon would give a direct answer. Of course, this point can be easily and simply explained by the fact that Brandon has a tendency to focus on certain parts of questions posed to him and not others, and that’s fair enough. But the question was directly asked—subsequent to the publication of Secret History—and we did not receive a direct answer, at minimum. Fifthly, by the time Kelsier encounters Preservation/Leras, the shard is in a highly diminished state. If there is a comparison to be had between the depiction of Fuzz in Secret History and the depiction of Honor in Stormlight Archive directly prior to and subsequent to the Recreance, it is plausible that Fuzz has become obsessed with concepts that parallel or inform his original Intent/Plan while lacking context for their importance or significance. We know that when Honor was being slowly shattered, that he became more obsessed with the saying of Oaths, but not their context, and with Dawnshards in particular as a harbinger of destruction/calamity. If Fuzz's breakdown parallels Honor's at all, I find it plausible, if not entirely likely that he too has become hyperfixated on certain "key words" that represent elements of his plan to betray and eventually win against Ruin, but lacks almost all the context or significance behind the words. This is to say, when Fuzz gives us a bold pronouncement of truth, I'm not sure how much we can trust it. I think its at least worth looking at the claim--and here the claim was that Fuzz "told" Kelsier to "Survive" during his snap--which as I already mentioned cuts against a core rule that we know exists on Scadrial. Of course, Brandon does provide us the out that special things happen in the cosmere when someone is very close to death. So perhaps a weakening of the realms explains everything here. But snapping put many people close to death and that weakening of the realms didn't provide them with Preservation's command. All these things in tandem point to Kelsier's snapping being extremely pivotal and of heightened significance. It also is suggestive that there could be another secret here. While I agree that a Perpendicularity can be independent from its Shard, I'm not sure that I generally agree that a Perpendicularity is generally independent from its Shard. This might be more of a semantic point, than anything, however. I hold it true that a Perpendicularity is essentially a huge concentration of Investiture that warps the realms. Further, enough concentrated Investiture in one place will pierce the Realms, no matter what form it takes. This does not suggest to me, however, that a Shardic Perpendicularity (also referred to as a shard pool in older WoBs) is independent from its Shard, only that some Perpendicularities are independent from Shards. A non-Splintered Shard can control where and how their perpendicularity manifests. Further, A Shard may have more than one Shardic Perpendicularity/Shardpool. We also have an example in the Cosmere of a Shard completely closing off their planet, and thus “sealing” one of their perpendicularities with Autonomy and Taldain. Additionally, a Perpendicularity of a shard can effectively be sealed off if using it would put the user in the power or control of a Shard sealed within it, as is the case with the Well of Ascension late in Era1 and Ruin. When we take all of these things together, if a Shard has the ability to control where and how their shardic perpendicularities/shardpools manifest, and can make the use of their shardic perpendicularities/shardpools carry such cost as to effectively make them non-viable for cross-realm travel, I certainly don’t agree that a Shardic Perpendicularity is completely independent from its Shard. I would agree, however, that not all Perpendicularities are Shardic, and thus there can exist in the cosmere a number of Perpendicularities that are “independent.” Sorry if that point was overly semantic and in the lack of clarity in my original posting. I stated a lot of things very broadly originially, and now that we're getting down into the nitty gritty, I've been provided an opportunity to really flesh out my points and my understandings of the cosmere. I think this depends completely on one's interpretation of “back then.” Though at the outset, I admit I did not clearly define what I meant by "back then" in the original post. I think we’re in agreement that there existed a time where Ruin and Preservation acted together in concerted effort to create Scadrial. We likely also agree, then, that there is also, some period of time in which Preservation/Leras abided by the co-operation agreement with Ruin/Ati. I think that Preservation’s “betrayal” of the cooperation agreement likely took some time and some planning, and may have had something to do with Shardic influence (the power's influence) over the vessel of Leras. Thus, I think that there is almost assuredly, some span of time from the point the two shards created Scadrial together to the point where Preservation started to plan his betrayal, wherein Ruin would have had more than just a "measure" of control on Scadrial and on its people—including but not limited to the placement of its own Perpendicularity on the planet. If we can judge the level of control that a Shard’s Power (Intent) places upon the vessel by using Sazed as a data point, there is likely around 300 years of time before a Shard’s Power (Intent) starts noticeably affecting a vessel’s actions. The closer we are to the vessel’s original date of ascension as a Shard, the more control the vessel seemingly has over the power. The longer we go from that point, the more influence the Shard’s Power (Intent) will have over the vessel. But other factors, such as vessel and shard compatibility likely impact these metrics. So, then, I think there was a time on what I'd label "Ancient Scadrial" where Ati/Ruin was free, unbound by Leras/Preservation [outside of the terms of their cooperation agreement], and thus able to move his shardpool/shardic perpendicularity at will, or at minimum decide its original placement on the planet. I agree that at some point in the Cosmere timeline, Hoid likely has enough power, investiture, and access to magic systems that a Shard’s whims have no bearing on Hoid’s ability to use a Perpendicularity generally—particularly where a Perpendicularity is merely a hyper concentration of investiture and not a Shardpool/Shardic Perpendicularity. But I would not necessarily agree that a Shard never had the ability to keep Hoid at bay or prevent his use of a Shardpool/Shardic Perpendicularity at any point in the cosmere timeline. A WoB showcases that it was almost entirely through Perpendicularities that Hoid was able to reach many of the places in the Cosmere to which he traveled: We also know that Hoid has been stuck on at least one planet due to the perpendicularity of that world being non-functional. So, I don’t hold true that just because Hoid is able to hide from Harmony during the Stormlight Archive (per letters) and in Era2, that he has always been able to hide from all Shards since the moment of the Shattering. I also don’t hold true that if a Shard wanted to prevent interactions with Hoid, that they couldn’t move or change their perpendicularities such that he would effectively be prevented from using them. I’m not sure that any of the Shards would be so petty as to effectuate such a change on their perpendicularities just to spite Hoid—but I don’t rule it out as a possibility just because Hoid at some “middle” state of the cosmere is able to get to Scadrial without Harmony sensing it. That merely proves, to me, that he’s able to hide effectively from Harmony (and possibly Odium/Rayse as he seemingly successfully did that for a number of books on Roshar). I think its entirety in the realm of possibility that a Shard with heightened future sight, such as Cultivation, wouldn’t need, necessarily, to even “sense” his presence on their planet directly, but could read the future and predict where he is likely to appear to such an extent that “sensing” him directly is largely irrelevant. So, tied in to my semantic discussion of perpendicularities earlier, I think you're right in that Hoid can use some perpendicularities without any say by shards generally. Particularly around Era 2 Mistborn and Stormlight Archive. But the closer in time we are to the Shattering, the more likely, I think, that a Shard would be able to prevent Hoid from using a Shardic Perpendicularity/Shardpool--either by moving it to a location that is difficult to get to or by sealing it off completely. (And as Whitesand is very early in the timeline--we may have seen just that on Taldain). This all leads me to a refining of the originally posted theory. The point that I was clumsily trying to make is that there is some evidence that Hoid visited "Ancient" Scadrial because of his link to the Worldbringers. If we presuppose that Hoid visited Scadrial at a time while Preservation and Ruin were still working together, and before Preservation "betrayed" their co-operation agreement, then he must have had a reason to do so. We've seen, in text, that Hoid does not always know why he is in a place--but through some sort of "fortune sense" he kind of just appears where he is needed--though this has led him to getting stuck on planets for long stretches of time and in many precasious predicaments. My theory is that if he went to Ancient Scadrial, he was there to do multiple things 1. acquire more magic; 2. do some sort of helpful thing for the cosmere generally or for a person/entity on Ancient Scadrial particularly (whether that is his intent or not, we dont know, but where he shows up he tends to be helpful regardless). My theory presupposes, that this early in the Cosmere timeline (up to a few hundred years after the Shattering), that Hoid would still have retained possession of his Dawnshard, but would have started feeling more of its effects on his spirit web (using Nomad as a data point by which we can likely draw a parallel). And while he may not trust all the Shards, this early in the timeline he could probably trust Preservation most out of any of them. This is because Preservation's Power (Intent) as a shard can likely be trusted to maintain the status quo. Not only can Preservation's Power likely be trusted, but Preservation's future sight is particularly strong, which could eliminate trust completely from our equation. Hoid is a known drafter of Shardic oaths/contracts--as he felt comfortable doing so with Odium of all shards (multiple times, I might add). I assume that his expertise therein had to have originated somewhere and with some amount of practice. Thus, I find it completely feasible that Hoid could draft a contract/oath between himself and Preservation, relying on the Shard's Power(Intent), future sight, and self-preservation instinct to ensure that were Hoid to give the Dawnshard to Preservation for safekeeping, that the Dawnshard WOULD be protected for some amount of time. We know that Preservation hid some "weapon" on Scadrial--he says so to Kelsier in Secret History: I think that there are only so many things that Preservation/Leras would consider a "weapon." And a Dawnshard is definitely something that all the vessels would think of as a weapon--as they used it particularly for that purpose. Moreover, the sign Fuzz is referring to is the number 16, a number tied intrinsically to the Dawnshards that created the 16 shards during the Shattering. I agree that in the wrong hands, a Dawnshard can be used to disastrous effect by a Shard with ill-Intent. But that point is counterbalanced with the thought that in the right hands, a Dawnshard can be used to ensure that Preservation wins its struggle against Ruin. I agree that Hoid isn't foolhardy, and wouldn't give up a Dawnshard if he thought there were a chance Ruin could find it or use it. But in the hypothetical I've presented here, I think I've made a solid case for why trusting Preservation with the safekeeping of a Dawnshard on Scadrial is not necessarily foolhardy or risky. At minimum we have an entire Era1 of books that showcase that Preservation was correct, that his futuresight was so strong as to be able to accurately plan against the machinations of another Shard over eons and in spite of diminishment. I think a Dawnshard being hidden on planet is the only thing that explains Preservation being able to plan a betrayal and victory in the first place--without something extra the shards are "balanced" in power and Preservation is diminished by the extra Investiture he put in Scadrians. Thus the original co-operation agreement comes to fulfillment and Ati gets to destroy their creation. But with "Survive" as a Dawnshard, Preservation can know ahead of time that his message will survive across the eons in spite of Ruin's interference. Preservation knows that his creations will Survive. And Hoid knows that a Dawnshard is kept secret, kept safe, and kept far away from his spirit web for some predetermined amount of time. Further, as we know that the Terris prophecies written by Preservation before the "betrayal" of the co-operation agreement with Ati/Ruin are truth, and that they predicted not only Sazed's ascencion as Harmony, but his corruption into Discord, then it seems to me that Hoid putting trust in an non-Fuzzed Leras/Preservation, would have not only been a safe bet, but a winning bet.

Hi @alder24, I wanted to thank you so much for your comment. You've given me a lot to think about and dig into. I'm going to respond with a longer comment in near future. I need to collect a lot of my thoughts and be able to figure out how to hide certain spoilers and quote certain pieces of text in the same way that you did--I'm a newbie to using these forums, so I hope you'll bear with me as I figure it out. But I will absolutely be responding with a sizeable update that will, hopefully, clarify some of my positions and make the overall theory more compelling. Thanks again for bringing up so many compelling points of questioning.

My running theory is that "Survive" as seen multiple times across Mistborn novels, particularly in Era1, is the command word given to one of the Dawnshards. "Survive" as an Intent/Command is antithetical to causing harm--because if one is directly harming another thing's active homeostasis, it is directly impacting its ability to survive. We know that Hoid cannot harm things, by his own admission. That is part of his Dawnshard's torment. The reason that Kelsier heard the word "Survive" in the pits of Hathsin was because he was getting close to where the "Survive" Dawnshard was hidden. We know that Hoid has been to Scadrial, and likely ancient Scadrial in particular. Hoid's "worldsingers" have been connected in Words of Brandon to Scadrials "Worldbringers" a group in the Cosmere best known as spiritual leaders, philosophers, and storytellers during Scadrial's Classical Era, who were, historically members of the Terris people. "But @Leonpaintbrush, why would Hoid go to classic Scadrial?" Good question audience, two reasons pop out immediately. First, to obtain Feruchemy, the magic system of Scadrial that was most common during the Scadrian Classical Era. But dear reader, the better question is "How would Hoid go to classic Scadrial?" And the answer, in all likelihood is "through a perpendicularity, of course!". And as there were two shards present on Classic Scadrial, we have two options for perpendicularities--Ruin's or Preservation's. I find it particularly unlikely that Ruin would have anything to do with Cephandrius, or that Hoid would willingly seek Ruin out. So that leaves Leras/Preservation. But why would Preservation let Hoid on planet, I hear some of you ask. Well, Hoid is a known Dawnshard, and was, in theory, a Dawnshard for a particularly long time. Long enough to feel its effects on his spirit web. Long enough that he became vegetarian. Long enough that he cannot cause other people harm. Long enough. "But @Leonpaintbrush, Feruchemy as a system is genetically based!" Yes, but when did Hoid know that? Surely it is unlikely that he discovered that Feruchemy as a magic system is entirely genetic before he traveled to Classic Scadrial. How then is a poor Hoid to get the magic he so obviously craves? Well, outside of a deep understanding of Hemalurgy (something which Hoid is likely unwilling to do anyway as it opens up one's spirit web to Shardic influence), the only other way I can think of is by making a deal with Preservation--and if that fails, then you just have to come back a few hundred years later and steal a bead of Lerasium. But even if Hoid didn't go there seeking magic, he may have gone there seeking a safe place to keep the Dawnshard he held. By keeping it within himself, he is increasingly subject to its influence. But by letting go of it, he risks someone else picking it up...what is a poor Hoid to do? Perhaps a shard like Preservation--with a heightened level of future sight would be helpful? "Well, @Leonpaintbrush, how do you even hide a Dawnshard? We've only seen Change, and it was turned into a mural on an "uninhabited" island policed by bug people!" Well, reader, you hide it under a bigger pool of Investiture--something like a perpendicularity. Something like, the Pits of Hathsin. This has been my unhinged Tedtalk. Would love to discuss further.

Hi Onironte, Interesting questions posed here. I have a few thoughts that are wide ranging and maybe not directly applicable to the question asked: First, it seems you state that Nomad "got rid" of the torment. While I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly, I think that he only successfully managed to skim a portion of the torment away from his spirit web--just enough to be able to better function as he needed to within the story. The change that a Dawnshard has on the bearer is compared to scar tissue, if I'm not mistaken. This is likely related to the intent of the source of investiture--in this case the Dawnshard. Though Dawnshards are a primal command of Adonalsium, and a tool, they likely carry his Intent in their making. This line of reasoning follows from the laws that we see at play in Awakening on Nalthis. The command words are a way for Awakeners to channel their Intent, but are not their Intent in totality. Much like Nightblood's command words were "Destroy Evil", those words only serve as a refined nexus point for the instillation of the Awakener's "True Intent." What Vasher and Shashara actually Intended with Nightblood is in question, and their perceptions of what "evil" and "Destroy" mean, as Returned, as Nalthians, as Worldhoppers, all likely come into play in some form or fashion in how we have seen Nightblood grow and change in line with its commanded Intent. Getting back to Nomad, it is unlikely, then, that he has "gotten rid" of his torment. He has likely merely lessened its effects, for a time. As you stated, it would be weird for someone who is not Hoid to have figured out a way to magically get rid of something that Hoid himself still seems to be grappling with on a deep realmatic level. If this possibility is an absurdity to us as readers, then I think we can assume that it is not the author's intent that our take away is that Nomad has accomplished this feat. Second question: Is there a reason Hoid would choose to keep his Torment, or does being a bearer of a Dawnshard for a longer period of time come with more limitations? We dont know if Hoid does, in fact, still retain his torment. Nomad speculates that he has overcome it by some means, and merely plays into an act. I, however, think that the factors that you mentioned, such as holding the Dawnshard for a prolonged period of time, absolutely would have a pronounced effect on a being's spiritweb. Much like holding a regular shard, if one holds a Dawnshard, they are being affected by its particularized Intent. For Hoid, the effects, at least at one point, were stated to be such that he cannot cause harm to others and that he can no longer eat meat. I'm sure there are other effects that have been mentioned as well. If Hoid held his Dawnshard for a very long time, it seems rational that he would have more "scar tissue" built up on his spirit web by the Dawnshard's Intent. Now, if Hoid did manage to lose his Torment at one time, I think a good option for why he is currently afflicted by it is because of the Old Magic and the Nightwatcher. We have a Word of Brandon on point that says that Hoid visited the Nightwatcher. But we don't know why he did so. While it could be that he was merely trying to talk to Cultivation--and he has admitted openly in Stormlight Archive that he knows Cultivation is avoiding him--he could have also been visiting the Nightwatcher specifically to get a boon and a curse, much like any other pilgrim. Depending on the boon he asked for, it would be pretty fitting for him to be bound by a Torment that he thought himself free of. Of course, this is wild rampant speculation on my part. I think the most likely case is that Hoid held his Dawnshard for so long that it caused a massive amount of "scar tissue" on his spirit web--so much so that it is likely very hard if not impossible to remove. As such, he is still affected by his Torment because he never cured it in the first place.

Hi Teknopathetic, Just to add a little bit to your theory here-- Shallan's "oath level" has always been a major question/enigma, and seems to bounce around depending on a number of variables including her own self-deception. We know that she intuitively sucks in stormlight rather frequently--sometimes without even realizing she's doing it or has done so. So, with that said, I think its completely possible for Shallan to have manifested some illusion within the safe that would have drawn her father's attention--even a sound is within her capacity--or wheelhouse-- as we see her use Pattern to replicate sound. Even taking into account of the "Killing" of Testament, she may have had access to her powers, or some level of ability with lightweaving in general. Just because Shallan thinks she "killed" Testment does not mean she did. She's an unreliable narrator at the best of times and there are many grains of salt that must be taken with any assertion of hers that even seems to approach an "objective truth".

Hey guys and gals! Thanks for the warm welcome. @Morningtide As for favorite book--I think I'll have to go with Rhythm of War for now, at least until Stormlight 5. Mainly because of the nature of Roshar being this big hub for so many characters we know and love. Its always interesting to see greater Cosmere puzzle pieces come into play. Outside of Stormlight, I really enjoyed Warbreaker--the magic system and the focus on color was just utterly fascinating.

Well Hello Thaidakar, or maybe I should just start calling you Boss? lol. Yeah, big fan of the GBs in general, so had to show my support, its obligatory after all. As for favorite character, that is truly such a difficult question with so many good ones to choose from. The obvious fanboy answer would be Kelsier. The secondary, more "deep cut" would be Lightsong. But Vasher is right up there too, as is Nightblood.

Hi All, Obligatory "Long time cosmere fan, lurker, but first-time caller" type opener. I follow the 17th shard podcast videos and have read all the Cosmere novels, some multiple times. A big fan of theory-crafting and sifting Brandon's works for key details and clues that point to the next "other secret". Looking forward to discussing with you all.