Green Hoodie Mistborn

I believe this is it. I don't remember hearing about 3 full White Sands novels, but with everything else happening and on the plate I doubt he's developing the content/outlines whatever for another 6 graphic novels.

That's an interesting breakdown! I'd probably have to argue in 5e that both Windrunners and Skybreakers are Paladins. Windrunners would be the "NG"ish Oath of the Ancients, while Skybreakers are more the "LN" Oath of the Crown style. There is certainly a lot of flavor tie in's to how you've associated them though, I'd agree!

That is actually perfect! Each blade wielder is a Hexblade Blade lock on top of whatever else they are!

I think of Adonlin as more of a Battle Master Fighter. He doesn't have any magic himself, just magic items. Shallan would/could/should probably be a Sorcerer with subtle and extend spell metamagics at least. I'd say she's probably a Divine Soul... at least that's my thought.

I’ll be honest, I’m surprise he wasn’t one of the qualifiers that have to fight just to get into the main bracket. As much as I love Brandon’s writing I don’t know if I can vote for Davriel over Jace or Bolas... I mean one is the living Guildpact and the other subverts whole planes. Davriel just doesn’t seem to play on the same level as them…

I don't think you're saying something different than what the rest of us are saying here. The OP is a bit mixed as the title is What would your essence mark be? while the text of the OP was "what would you change about yourself?" But regardless, "what would you change about yourself" would require buidling the entire "lifeline" of that mark so would yield the "fanfic" life and skills you're talking about. And you can build whatever Essence mark you want.

Which are all based on "what-if alternate life you might have had" events built into the Soul Stamp, it's the basis of those skills and appearances.

I'd have one where my ADHD was diagnosed in high school... that would have had a massive trajectory impact on my life. Another where I joined the Navy like I contemplated mid-college to at least try for Seals And you can totally use a mark to gain another magic system, it's just hard https://wob.coppermind.net/events/36/#e1560

Yes, payment and coercion are both external to the magic system, which I think only reinforces my point that BioChromatic magic is not dark or nefarious or evil or whatever terms people want to use for it. it is the simple passing of investiture from one person to another. Payment is the simplest, most common, and humane way to engage in the passing of investiture. On the complete opposite side of that spectrum however, we have Hemalurgy. The magic system, that to even use to pass investiture from one person to another, requires you to kill or rip/tear the soul of someone to the point that they become worse than a Drab (again, per WoB). If @Calderis is correct about Hemalurgy being the foundation of Southern Scadrian medallions/tech I'm going to be pretty disappointed. My feeling in reading the Era 2 stuff is that the tech is being set up in opposition to Hemalurgy and that Hemalurgy is going to Sith fade into the background with the Set until Era 3 when we get the Mistborn Serial killer. That's my hope. I suppose we shall see though!

That specific comment was more for @CosmereScholar and their comment at the top of the page, sorry to conflate you in that response! I don't think that Awakening itself is darker than other magic systems. It is a tool, just like a gun and can be used for good and evil by the people using it. To break it down into two sections: The Gaining: Hemalurgy as we have seen it practiced and from Harmony's perspective "always" requires death from the donor. That makes it pretty evil. Per WoB, even if someone isn't killed in Hemalurgy, they are left in "worse condition [than a drab]". This theft is the defining feature of Hemalurgy Awakening, requires the voluntary surrender of your breath and you become a drab, but are paid for the loss. Society/Economic disparities may make portions of this exchange dark, and certainly evil people can force your hand to "volunteer" your Breath, but that is extrinsic to the system of Awakening itself. The Use: Hemalurgy twists the recipient physically and mentally and also creates holes in their mind/soul to be controlled. The powers granted by Hemalurgy are just a tool to be used based on the will of the recipient (unless controlled or Koloss!). Awakening is just a tool once Breath is transferred, use depends on the morality of the user That is my perspective on the two systems and their relative "dark" or evilness. I won't begin to throw discussions about Surgebinding requiring people to be broken mentally or spiritually to a degree in order to allow a Spren to Bond! That's a pretty dark requirement for "Gaining" as well, but more specific to individuals so hard to suss out. My POV of Edgli, which as an original Vessel means that her personality has probably been overpowered by the Shard's at this point, is based on what we have seen of her. She endows all people on Nalthis with enough investiture to improve their health above a normal persons. She purposefully splinters part of her power to create Returned to go back to the world to try and prevent certain events/catastrophe's from happening. And in general "endowment" generally evokes positive connotations. At least for me.

I'm going to leave the discussion of Hemalurgy to another thread save to say that Scadrian knowledge of it doesn't need to grow for greater Cosmere knowledge to spread. There is another Shard contending with Harmony for Scadrial now who has already made use of it with Paalm. If that Shard is indeed Autonomy who is seemingly all over the Cosmere, that could be enough. Plus... worldhoppers. I disagree with the terms evil or nefarious for Awakening, I mean they are actually just synonyms, so switching to the other doesn't really change what you're saying. Maybe "pernicious" is the best word for it? Gradual/subtly harmful? Yes you can coerce or torture breaths from someone, but that is a separate evil for the purposes of power, not a "normal" part of either the magic system or the economics of Breath on Nalthis. I don't think any of the Shards are really benevolent, they are all divorced from any benevolence that Adonalsium may have possessed, though some seem to have benevolent tendencies, and I think that Endowment is one such. I also agree that Awakening is not limited to what we've seen. I mean Vasher manages to Awaken a living person to a degree. He endows breath on her, uses commands and her memories are altered. If he can do that, then there is TONS of potential in awakening that has barely scratched the surface.

The differentiator here is that the drabs get to choose to keep living after voluntarily selling part of their soul. Yes some % is going to die from their sicknesses, and some may kill themselves because of depression, but it was THEIR choice to sell their Breath in the first place. PG-13 Spoiler - I'm not sure we're going to come to an agreement point since I know which in my opinion is more evil, and you have your opinion which seems pretty solidly formed.

I agree that Hemalurgy, at least on Scadrial is going to be outdated soon in their history with medallion technology. I guess I have a very different view of the structures of Breath economy than you do. Outside of the donations to the gods and the god-king, I have the impression that general Awakeners aren't buying the individual breath of one person at a time. There is an economy built up around it, so that means a supply-chain with middle men, etc. Maybe its just my profession horning in on my headcanon, but I can't imagine that each Awakener out there has personally bought each breath they own. It's too cumbersome a system to support outside of the religious version of that. And those are individual "sacrifices", not commerce per se. You can see that in Jewels reaction to Vivenna's "sympathy for her plight as a drab". She is truly indignant, and feels that she did a great thing for her religion, and her family. Maybe I'm trying to defend it because that is the magic system I'd most want to get in on, precisely because you can buy your way to immortality, rather than having to be chosen at random by an unconscious Shardic force, or murdering people to get access to a false immortality with Atium. I don't argue that its systemic, but there is no way that it's more evil than straight up murdering people to steal parts of their soul. At least the drabs get paid for the part of their soul they give up.

I agree that Awakening is bad, but is it evil? Is it really worse the murdering people to steal their powers as Hemalurgy requires? It's more akin to Systemic racism/sexism, in that it is part of the established Power structures of the world, so it's definitely bad in that regard because it can force economically distressed people into decisions they wouldn't make otherwise. BUT, no one can force you to give up your Breath. It has to be voluntary. So in that way I'd say that it's not "evil", it still comes down to someone's choice to give up their breath, whether to a relative, or for sale. The game changer would/will be if people on Nalthis ever figure out how to split breaths when bequeathing them like Vasher and Denth know/knew how to do. So an inheritance cycle can begin. In a family with 4 grandparents, 2 parents (assume they are only children) and an only child, that child will eventually have 7 breaths, that they can then bequeath to their child/loved one. If they know how to split breaths then each can get a portion, otherwise just one will get them. But they'd also have them from their mom and those grand parents... you could easily have a surplus of Breath on Nalthis already. But people don't know how to effectively use that Surplus.

Awakening... I love art and so it'd be amazing to enjoy music and art to a greater depth. Plus making things animate to help out? Plus being able to buy immortality (from age and disease and poison anyway), yes please!

Fair enough! Some of V's words still seem fishily worded to me though! To Vasher I believe is the implication there. Its just so hard to tell with the little information we have. I hope that V & V meet up again in Book 4! It'll be an interesting showdown if she tries to claim Nightblood from Szeth too and then Vasher shows up to stop her or help her. I also can't wait for Vasher/Nightblood reunion that we have to get in Book 4 now that Szeth and Nightblood are in Dalinar's camp along with Vasher... man. I guess I just can't wait for BOOK 4!

The phrasing “and the one who brought it to your land” to me has always seemed a misdirect. I don’t think she’s after Vasher at all because I think his separation from Nightblood happened well before Nightblood was brought to Roshar (personal theory, no proof). What I can’t wait for in book 4 is Szeth with Nightblood coming near or into contact with Zahael in the Kholin camp/orbit whatever. God I hope we get that next book....

I think I'm going to chime in between the two. I don't think Jasnah had plate before or she would have used it, to me she is far to practical to not have. The moment she spares Renarin is so revelatory for both of them that I agree it was a turning point for her in her growth as a Radiant. Especially when Ivory says Whether she said her 4th ideal off screen or is about to on-screen in the next book I'm not sure. The geometric shapes around her remind me of when windspren slow with and around Kaladin as he revels in his flights, and seem to aid him in flight as well. It could also be a function of the three realms being so close together. Jasnah can see both Shadesmar and the Physical realm at the same time, she uses that to good effect in the battle. Adolin is the one to see the odd geometric shapes around her in that scene, perhaps his recent foray into Shadesmar along with his growing bond to his blade, let him partially glimpse things of that realm in the physical as well?

What makes you think this is the case? I'm not in whatever other group you guys are talking about (maybe Discord) to see your theory @RShara

I like this ^ That would also be a great counter point to King T and the Diagram's entire existence.

Elantris, I got in early when it was just that and Mistborn on the shelf. I got them both at the same time and read Elantris first since it said it was his first book! I loved those covers and the back blurbs...

Not to mention all the Lifeless that he "poofs" with just a scratch, probably takes their investiture in that action as well!

Sorry but no. Sanderson is already one of the most prolific SciFi authors working right now. I love his work, but asking for him to have someone else writing in his worlds just so you can have more content seems a bit... demanding to me to put it politely.

Wow... like how he casually dropped that!

A few options that don't have Derethil fighting with the Fused: Derethil is actually a Parshendi? (not likely) Parshendi were already considered 'Voidbringers' in Derethil's time so no issues (maybe?). Hoid is speaking intelligibly to his audience, in terms Kaladin will understand (my mostly likely option).