Arkangel

From the reading: This makes it sound like the Scadrians are skeptical of the local religion, clearly finding it laughable. They may not know that Patji is a Shard (or part of one in this case). You'd think, at this point, they'd take more stock in religion as they've had a few based around real magical entities.

I've always been firmly in the camp of Unmade being Splinters of other Shards. At least some of them. I know that many in the fandom believe that they are all from Roshar...mainly because of this WoB: I could see it going either way. However, I could also see it being a Connection thing. The Unmade are now all Connected to Roshar in the same way that (TSM)... Actually, speaking of TSM, there are some other new insights that could relate to "unmaking"... I wonder if this is a similar process to how Odium unmade the Unmade. He combined his own Investiture with that of his conquered Shards and then implanted it into a spren of Roshar.

Not necessarily. Shards play the long game. I fully expect the Autonomy conflict to extend into Era 4.

I'm going to lead off with the WoB about Canticle and megastructures. I'm sure you're all familiar with it by now: https://wob.coppermind.net/events/522/#e16261 So Brandon's wording is a bit vague here. My theory is that the specific purpose Canticle was built for was not to be a megastructure itself but to be a battery for one. The oft suspected "very powerful being" here would be Invention. I don't think we know enough about the nature of a Shard Investing in a planet (or star) but I suspect that just straight-up dumping a load of Investiture into a little planet all at once wouldn't work for Invention's purpose (just a theory...no solid evidence). It may also go against Invention's Intent, somehow. The fact of the matter is that Canticle is getting juiced up. The Investiture is being stored there, hence the extra mass of the planet. I believe that Invention created the planet to slowly absorb and store the Invested sunlight. Perhaps it needs to be a slow process to keep the planet from exploding? Maybe Invention is like Ron Popeil with his famous RonCo Rotisserie, "Just set it and forget it," so that the battery worlds just slow cook over thousands of years without its direct attention. A trickle-charge until Invention needs them. The magic system of the planet seems to fit the theory. The Canticlans...Canticlites? The former Threnodites living on Canticle can give and take heat/Investiture. The planet itself is taking the heat/Investiture of the star and could presumably give it out again. Once the battery world is "full", Invention uses the planet's super heavy Investiture-mass to punch it through the Spiritual Realm and teleport it where needed. Then they simply flick the switch from "suck" to "blow" and ??? profit. As for the megastructures themselves...I'm not sure. I think dyson spheres and ring worlds are cool but for what purpose? Perhaps the battery worlds become micro-stars? The sky's the limit, I guess. Edit: Adding to this theory the possibility of Cognitive Realm power conduits, as seen in Secret History with the Ire fortress, being used to channel power directly from Canticle. Instead of a battery waiting to be fully charged, it's more of an elaborate solar power collector/converter.

I love the Firefly vibes the last chapter was giving off. I'm a big fan of a misfit crew, especially when they all have different powers/abilities and are different species to boot. Each member of the crew becomes so unique, with rich, lore-filled backgrounds. Starling: A young dragon, niece of Frost, apprentice to Hoid, locked in her human form until she learns...something. Who put the bracers on her? Nazh: RIP Nazrilof. Or not? He's a Shade...but a smart Shade...not a blood-thirsty murder Shade...but maybe he could be if he wanted to? I'm interested to learn the hows and whys surrounding his death and afterlife. Aditil: An Aetherbound (yessss) with a dead aether and a broken bud. Character flaws mean room for sweet character development! Looking forward to learning more about Dhatri, her homeworld...maybe the Aether homeworld? ZeetZi: Something NEW. A Lawnark! Feathered humans...fascinating. I instantly envisioned him as Abed from Community. Chrysalis: Ship's doctor and resident Sleepless horde. Possible war criminal. Part of me is hoping she turns out to be our precious kawaii swarm from Komashi. Captain: Crow? Please? It's Xisis' ship so this is entirely probable. Her disembodied voice seemed kind of intimidating like Crow. The Dynamic: Mustn't forget the last member of the crew...the ship herself! Following in the thruster wakes of bucket-of-bolts before her, such as the Millenium Falcon and Serenity, Dynamic is a hodgepodge of Rosharan, Scadrian, and Dhatrian tech. No Awakened metalminds though...too expensive. I do love a ship with character.

Yes to your first point, no to your second. The Machine had to knock over the stacks to keep going so that makes sense. Yumi's rocks, in her yoki-hijo "nature preserve" were real - made up of rubble, mostly. Hoid said that her epic stacking pulled a real spirit from the Machine and I doubt Shroud-rocks would do that.

This must be what I was conflating it with. Thank you for digging that up and sorry for the confusion, everyone! I guess I skimmed the first handful of chapters thinking that, since I had read the preview chapters I was good. Clearly there is a difference. The rocks sticking together really stuck with me (pun intended). It is a bit odd that Brandon changed it in the final draft. My only speculation is that Adhesion is Honor's thing (Honor's Truest Surge and all that) and Brandon didn't want the hassle of explaining why it was also in Virtuosity's kit.

I agree. The act of stacking is all skill. However, it is noted that, when the spirits come and are transformed, the stacks are fused together. I suspect there may be something akin to Adhesion on display here. Edit: Turns out the fused stacks are only found in the preview chapters and were changed for the final draft, removing wording to suggest Adhesion.

Indeed! Also, Brandon just read a chapter from SA5, at Tampa Bay Comic Con. I'm not sure if this falls under the blanket of full Cosmere spoilers since it's not technically published material so I will spoiler tag it... Check it out!

Welcome!

Indeed, I think there is definitely a distinction between naturally being a quiet person and having learned how to be quiet when necessary. Oldest children have, generally, had to learn the art of being quiet. This is all very good. Thank you all for your input! I won't be publishing any papers on it but it has certainly helped toward cementing my theory.

Amazing! Could you explain your process? What kind of laser machine do you have? What type of metal? Did it engrave directly onto the bare metal, was it anodized, or did you use a metal marking spray?

Thank you!

There's always bound to be those who buck the trend!

Hey nova, welcome!

Hello fellow eldests! I have a question. Has anyone noticed a correlation with birth order and loudness? Let me explain... My wife is the youngest of four and I have noticed that she is...not subtle in situations where lower volumes are required, let's say. She whispers loudly (but is getting better) and generally moves around without being fully aware of how loud she is. I also have an 11 year old nephew (the youngest of three) who comes over and sounds like a heard of elephants clomping down the hall. My hypothesis is that, as the youngests, they were not required to learn quiet behaviours while their baby siblings were trying to nap. I am interested if anyone else has experienced this within their family or friend groups.

Sometimes I wish that I was less of an adult again. I'm in my mid-30s, married with a 3 year old and a not-quite-one year old. I work much of the day (thankfully from home) then I help with the kids and meals. Don't get me wrong, I love my life, but it would be nice to have more than 30 minutes, after the kids are in bed, to read. I see these youngin's saying they stayed up all night to read TLM on release day and I'm here on chapter 10! Not to mention, if I try staying up all night to read, it will take me a month to recover that lost sleep...hell, I'm still recovering from Daylight Savings.

Welcome! I also pandemic'd with the Cosmere. Do you have a favourite character or are you also like me in that there are way too many to choose from?

It's likely that he was waiting until this moment because Ati and Leras would be too focused on their currently unfolding respective plans to notice Hoid passing through.

I was wondering the same thing. I was hoping for a situation more along the lines of Republic City in Legend of Korra, where benders are seen in many specialist positions. There are also, notably, many associated with crime - hence the need for a metal-bending police force. The world was advanced (from Last Airbender) with more thought to how benders bending all over the place would effect the growth, flow and function of a city. I definitely feel like that didn't happen as much with Era 2.

I like this theory. I personally believe that the entire Cosmere sequence will end with the reunification of all Shards into Adonalsium. Harmony was just the first. Since OB, I've believed that Honor's Splinters would be bonded and picked up by Dalinar but, after RoW and TOdium, this seems like a more likely outcome. Tinfoil hat theory: Odium takes up Honor. Taravangian's "fresh" Intent over his Shard + Honor's Intent tempers War into more like Crusade - seeking to bind all other Shards and Splinters together once again.

Edgedancer, wing Windrunner.

Just a thought but what if the dust Wax inhaled was harmonium that alloyed with, say, the iron case or even Trellium? Or the explosion somehow stabilized a fraction of the harmonium to prevent it from reacting with water?

Depends. Live-action for Mistborn but animated for SA. That said, Brandon has said that money likely wouldn't be an issue. At least in regards to VFX for concealing Earth plants on a live-action Roshar. I don't see the budget being too big for Way of Kings since magic use is still minimal and the locations are mostly set on the Shattered Plains (Brandon has talked about ideal locations to shoot this in Utah) and Kharbranth (could be done largely on-set). The numbers start running up when you consider all the CGI for creatures and spren....