JustQuestin2004

The Sovereign was Kelsier, who had no powers at all due to him being a Cognitive Shadow and not fully alive anymore. But he was working closely with the last known Mistborn, Spook, and they were experimenting with Inquisitor Spikes, some of which held Feruchemical powers. Although they wouldn't have had any spikes that had F-Nicrosil, and all the current Feruchemists were killed by Ruin, or in Sazed's Ascended to Godhood. There would have been Feruchemist children born from the recessive genes in the remaining Terris, but the Bands of Mourning were, allegedly, created within 10 or so years of the Catacendre, not enough time for any Feruchemist children to grow up. Did Kelsier and Spook conscript a Full Feruchemist kid, or a bunch of toddler Ferrings, into their research? Because they would have needed F-Nicrosil to make the Bands and Medallions in the first place. Heck, how did they even get the Nicrosil needed to make all these Medallions in the first place? Nicrosil and the other Spiritual metals like Aluminum were very rare, and with society being rebuilt from the ground up, it would have been very difficult to acquire it. Man, I hope this all gets explained in Era 3 because now I have even more questions than before.

I have just the WOB for you:

I don't think so, Honor embodies the concept of honor, but he isn't the literal concept of it, it just defines him. Same goes for all of them. Not really, lots of types of Investiture is shaped by how people think of it, but the Shards themselves are composed of so much of it, literally one-sixteenth of all Investiture in the Cosmere, and still have their own Identity that it doesn't really matter how people think of them. This is where it gets a little tricky to grok. See, since Matter, Energy and Investiture is all the same thing in the Cosmere, and all Investiture is now split and 'owned' by each of the Shards, it's impossible for a world to be completely Uninvested. And since every world was created by Adonalsium or by a Shard, that means there will always be at least a little bit of Investiture, even if no Shard is actively using that Investiture. First of the Sun is a good example of this. There is Investiture there, with the Aviar and the Perpendicularity, but there isn't a Shard in residence, it's all natural Investiture without a Shard directly Investing, because there was already a bit of Investiture there that became 'theirs' after the Shattering, so they could mess with it without needing to be on the planet. At least, that's kind of how it goes. I should probably check that WOB about Patji again that describes this better.

Part of Kandra culture, the old parts anyway, was that Kandra took their Contract extremely seriously. To experiment with the Bands is the same as using them, which is against the agreement they agreed to. I think the very discovery of the Bands and Medallions is enough, just having the possibility of such things being confirmed would be enough for the Basin to really start trying to figure it out, especially since they're in a Cold War with the Malwish. Kelsier doesn't need to spoon feed them to get them to do it, they already have a bunch of Feruchemists in Elendel who can help with this. I don't believe so, because I don't think he can do anything with them. They must not be able to work for him, otherwise he wouldn't still be searching for a way to regain his Allomancy. I think the main reason of getting the Bands back to the Malwish was to encourage the development of Invested Technology, giving the North a taste of the power they may yet be able to figure out, and giving the Malwish what they need to advance their Medallions even more, perhaps allowing them to create Medallions that have more than 3 powers and more substantial powers like F-Steel or F-Gold, maybe even Allomancer Medallions. All the things that have been heavily implied that they don't have for whatever reason. Where was this said? I'd really like to know because I have no idea where this is said in the book. Also yeah, a bit of a shame not to have the pair to use some Medallions, Marasi already gets Harmonium grenades after all. My personal assumption is that Brandon's didn't let them use Medallions so that he can show them off better in Era 3, though it is still a bit of a copout.

Problem is, Retribution controls all Stormlight now. He can drain it from people and gems. And I'm pretty sure Radiants can't use Lifelight, but at least Retribution can't drain it either. Maybe Unkeyed Light will be the key? Could Retribution mess with Unkeyed Lifelight?

I'm going to assume that I get to keep all of my cheaty-cheat metaknowledge of the books, because otherwise this would be completely impossible. Now, if I can start anywhere in the Cosmere, I'm also assuming that I can start anywhen as well. So first off, I'd start at the Well of Ascension, 1024 years before Rashek took his dip in it. Make myself a Mistborn, Feruchemist and a master Hemalurgist. Then, after making sure I didn't screw up Preservation's plan in some way, I'd focus on the greater Cosmere for as much information I can get. Shadesmar routes, Perpendicularity locations, other worlds that we haven't see yet. All that good stuff. Then with the last of the Well's power, I'd get a few tons of the more technologically dependent metals like bendalloy and nicrosil and especially aluminum. Then I think I'd spend a century or two on Scadrial, master my new powers, gather as much atium as I can get my hands on, gather up some locals to worship me as their god so they can carry my stuff and do my bidding, then start making my own Worldhopping organization. All the while being very wary of Ruin and not trying to make big plays on whatever the current politics is going on during this time to reduce the butterfly effect, stay far away from the Terris. I'd go to Roshar, probably not Bond a Spren because the Recreance wasn't too long ago, gather up some Shardblades, Plate, Perfect Gemstones and Soulcasters. I'd use my cheaty-cheat knowledge to figure out the Tones and continue the experiments to Unkey Stormlight so I can use it. I'd set up a new Branch of my secret organization on Roshar so they can continue to Unkey Stormlight for me, as well as try to Bond Spren so I can try to figure out how to make Nicrosil Medallions to mass produce Surges. And if I am unable to figure out how to get Shards and Soulcaster off of Roshar, I'll want them to hold onto the ones we collected until we can. I'd stay far away from Aimia, no need to antagonize the sentient bug swarms. For any members of my organization who are experienced, I'd send them to places I don't want to go myself, like Taldain if it's open at this time to gather some Sand, and someone to Nalthis to gather some Breaths for me to experiment with. I wouldn't go there myself because I don't want to take a chance for Autonomy or Endowment to Smite me. I'd set up a homebase on a World with no Perpendicularity, because I'd use Compounding to make one myself. By using Unkeyed Stormlight and massive Metalminds I'd fill with Compounding to gather enough Investiture in one place to pierce the Realms. I'd want a world that has people, so I can recruit them all and set up a society all for myself. Then, with a few centuries I'd have a society on a world untouched by foreign gods that have Unsealed Metalminds that grant all kinds of powers, such as Feruchemy and Surgebinding, maybe even Breaths, Sand Mastery and even Aviar. I'd make sure to keep the best stuff to myself and my inner circle of trusted lieutenants, while still giving lots of good stuff to my new people. I'd make sure to keep my world isolated from the greater Cosmere to make sure I don't give away anything, I'd also encourage technological development so that my world would be the most advanced and hopefully push into the Space Age before the True Desolation, or at least to modern level technology. By then, it would be easier for most people to work with me than against me, as I would both hold many secrets of Investiture and be willing to trade. I'd make myself the most successful businessman in all the Cosmere, trading with the dragons of Slverlight, connecting various worlds with trade routes I'd have made and owned, have access to Investiture and technology that everyone would want a piece of. But of course, I'd also be looking and waiting patiently for a chance to steal one of the Shards and Ascend properly. I wouldn't go for Preservation and Ruin, because I like Sazed and would prefer to be his ally. I'd stay off of Roshar when the True Desolation rolls around, as I'd be paranoid about Cultivation interfering. Instead, I'd be quietly researching the Dor, to see if it's possible to push the power back into the Spiritual Realm and then Connect to it to Ascend into a God just as powerful as Harmony. And from there, only the gods know.

Firstly is that thanks to the Lord Ruler, a Full Compounder, ruling the world for a thousand years and being effectively immortal has left some people (Mostly the Kandra and Terris) feeling like it would be best if Commpounders didn't exist just so that no really powerful Compounders, like a Steel Compounder, gets ideas and decides that they want to be the next Lord Ruler. Secondly is that Compounding itself seems to be a dangerous process, the more you do it the more you become dependent on it and can't stop doing it. Mile Hundredlives kept tapping health from his goldminds even when he wasn't hurt. He was a Feruchemical Savant, I'm pretty sure if he ever stopped tapping his surplus of health, his body wouldn't be able to heal properly on its own due to it becoming dependent on the Compounding, which could lead to him becoming very sick and die.

I think that Taravangian said something about conquering them or at least acquiring a contract from them like Theylenah. The only thing of true worth on there was the Dawnshard and a few sets of Plate and Soulcasters. Otherwise it's just too much work for nothing at all. Well, to follow in Taravangian's spirit of Loopholiness, does the Contract really include Shadesmar, or just the Physical Realm? Nah, he got a Contract with them, and Dawn's Shadow too. Speaking of which, that is an interesting question. As per the rules of the Contract that Honor is effectively forcing Retribution to follow even if Dalinar broke it, it only stipulates that the war between the Coalition and Odium's forces has ended and that they cannot attack each other anymore. But what about civil war? What is preventing that? Other than Retribution just smiting anyone who tries it, which in all honesty is probably the main reason why no one would try it. But he's also not on Roshar at the moment and is in hiding, with him selecting an unknown Regent to act in his place (Probably El), so he won't be able to act so openly without the other Shards finding him and trying to kill him, so he'll be forced to let his other, less near-omnipotent subordinates handle that. So, there's still a chance that civil war can break out between Retribution's conquered nations without them being Smited on the spot.

Could be, Connection would be useful for picking up new languages in a new land. Yeah, but seeing your own future isn't necessarily going to help him win this fight, Moash can't see the future so there's really no point. But, as of the end of TLM, Marsh does have regular atium again, so he could use that to see Moash's future and win the fight very easily.

It's made of Tanavastium, the pure Godmetal of Honor. So no, he wouldn't be able to Push or Pull on it, unless he was using a Godlike amount of power in a Push. Maybe if he pulled off what Wayne did except by stuffing his stomach with steel instead then burning duralumin, it might provide enough power to overcome the resistance of Solidified Investiture.

Well let's stack up what we know about them. Moash -Has Jezrien's Honorblade, unrestricted Windrunner powers and theoretically limitless Investiture to use those powers by simply praying to Retribution, assuming the fight is on Roshar. -Gem Spikes for eyes let's him 'See' Investiture to make up for his lost sight. Marsh -Is a Steel Inquisitor with the Physical and Mental Allomantic powers, along with others like duralumin, plus several Feruchemical ones that, due to him being alive before Harmony, he is capable of Compounding with. he is at least capable of compounding strength, speed and youth, as per the Coppermind. -He has lived for centuries and has a ton of practice with his powers. -Has some strange ability that allows him to sneak around with ease. So, both of them would easily be able to disengage from the fight if they wanted to, neither of them could really stop the other from just flying off or 'sneaking' away, or whatever it is that Marsh does. But in a direct conflict, it would be tricky, since Moash would have the ability to one-shot Marsh with a direct strike to his spine. But Marsh can compound speed and is thus much faster than Moash, along with his Steelpushes and Ironpulls to give him great maneuverability, it would be hard for Moash to get that one hit in. Plus with his Gold Spike, Marsh would have the capacity to heal from lesser wounds, though maybe only one or two due to him not being able to Compound Health (As far as we know, he could have spiked an Augur over the centuries). Marsh would have difficulty reaching Moash if he decided to simply stay in the sky, but at the same time Moash has no projectile attacks that he could use to hit Marsh from a distance. So close-quarters would be the only way for Moash to win, which would be dangerous due to Marsh's plethora of abilities. Marsh would need to disarm Moash from his Honorblade to depower him, otherwise Moash will simply heal from most injuries that Marsh could inflict on him. Though a viable method to victory for Marsh, assuming he was willing, would be to use Hemalurgy on Moash to tear apart his soul. Just get him close, then shoot some metal coins, assuming they are Hemalurgically viable, into his body with the Intent to use Hemalurgy. The healing granted by Honorblades has been said to be incapable of healing spiritual wounds such as the cuts in the soul by a Shardblade, so I think the logic would hold that an Honorblade wouldn't let you walk off having a chunk of your soul torn out with Hemalurgy. That, or Marsh waits for Moash to try to get close to slash at him, then taps a bunch of speed and strength and crushes Moash's head before he can blink. In conclusion, I believe that Marsh's plethora of powers and centuries of experience in using them would allow him to hold his own against Moash until he is able to deal a finishing blow.

I don't believe that the timeline matches up for this, at least I'm pretty sure, like 80~ish percent. Here are the facts, Mistborn Era 2 happens after the first half of Stormlight Archives, and MeLaan only worldhops in the epilouge of The Lost Metal. Even with the world-wide slowness bubble, it still doesn't match up. This cannot be MeLaan. And it was Battar who came up with these Gem Spikes, she may have, oh who am I kidding, she absolutely got inspired by Hemalurgy, but I sincerely doubt that MeLaan has any involvement whatsoever within Wind and Truth.

Not all of the Herald's madness was caused by Ishar's foolhardy use of Odium's Perpendicularity. Tanavast himself saw what the Heralds were becoming, with him viewing Nale as becoming too rigid, Jezrien hating himself, Vedel becoming indifferent, and as for Battar. Tanavast saw Battar as becoming 'so cruel'. And that was before they broke the Oathpact. That fact, combined with the interlude, makes it quite clear that she will inevitably betray the others, though it won't be for Taravangian, it'll be for her own gain and no one else's. Taravangian already saw that, with how mercenary she has become. Battar will fight for the highest bidder, which unfortunately is Taravangian.

I can't wait to see how the Fused react to the revelation that their new god is, in fact, one of the humans that they so hate! Chances are, most won't rebel for fear of smiting, but it'll be fun to see some growling about it later on.

And Moash has graciously volunteered into becoming the first 'Crystal Inquisitor', with spikes literally poking out the back of his head. I wonder, since we know from Tress and TLM that the myth of Marsh being Death has been spreading off-world, I wonder how that will work with Moash? Will he suddenly also become known as Death on Roshar? I dunno, that whole thing is just weird. Still, I wonder what else can be done with these Gem Spikes, could certain effects be given if a Spren was placed into one? Like if a Flamespren was stuck in a Gem Spike, then placed into someone in the right way, would they gain some type of heat related ability? Maybe even become a living Fabrial?

I've been thinking this as well, Tanavast also looked up to find Valor, to no avail. Taravangian felt lots of Bravery when he killed Rayse, with a description of it that seemed to match when a Shardic Intent is explained. It would be pretty funny if Valor was right under everyone's nose the whole time. But then why does Endowment say that she is isolated from the other Shards? If this theory is right, then she is in a system that contains a whole quarter of Adonalsium. And why hide? Is she lying in wait for an opportunity? Although, she is a dragon, like Cultivation. So perhaps they've secretly teamed up and are playing a massive long-con.

Something very strange is going on with Valor. I will lay out what little we know and go from there. 1) Valor and Harmony have talked. This was shown during the epigraphs. 2) Valor is somehow hidden, at least from Odium's perspective. As shown in interlude 4 3) Endowment has had 'dealings' with Valor, and gives a relative plethora of informaton on her, though for some strange reason some of it contradicts what we already know. Is she just being spiteful to Hoid, or is something else going on? Though in my mind it's likely both. Epigraphs of chapter 62 to 65 4) And finally, we have Tanavast's own perspective as he called for aid against Odium, only to be ignored. Chapter 115 And at the very end of Wind and Truth, Hoid sets himself the task of finding Valor to recruit her in the fight against Taravangian. Some things have leapt out to me. Harmony found Valor, Endowment also did, but Odium and Honor couldn't? Harmony says that Valor would like to meet Hoid again, Endowment vehemently says otherwise? Valor is isolated from the other Shards, yet requires their aid against something? What the heck is going on with Valor!?

It was said that they were 'Blue Veined Women', meaning that they are probably from Babatharnam, the country that bases their leadership on whoever is the oldest. Probably a very secretive cult Cultivation had very slowly built up in the shadows, to help her nudge things along when she needs to, or to kill for her when she cannot do so herself. They were never said to have powers, just very skilled and well equipped.

Raboniel did seem to use Voidlight on Urithiru's Suppressing Crystal Pillar thingy, then was returned to normal when infused with Towerlight. Although a thought occurs, would a Voidlight-fueled Supression Fabrial only target Stormlight abilities, or any Invested abilities that don't function with Voidlight? With the Voidlight functioning as a 'filter' for the Suppressing effect of 'Don't target this'. The Ghostbloods didn't seem too concerned about the Suppressment, so probably not.

It's exactly what it is on the tin, you have to be in line with a Shards Intent in order to pick it up, if you aren't then your out of luck unless you cheat like Kel did with the Connection Juice. A coward probably couldn't pick up Valor. An anarchist probably couldn't pick up Dominion. And someone with no appreciation for artistry whatsoever couldn't possibly pick up Virtuosity.

I'm just doing it to save space is all. Messing with Voidlight Fabrials, would there be any difference in a Fabrial's operation if you used different Lights to fuel it?

He even refers to the Heralds as his friends. So there is absolutely a history between El and the Heralds. Honesty, I feel like El is meant to be some kind of foil to Rlain. Both liking humans and wanting coexistence between humans and Singers, but very different methods to achieving that. Rlain wants proper peace, where the Singers will be allowed to live as they want without humans trying to conquer them, while El wants to dominate humanity and rule over them.

ROW Chapter 97 Kind of wish it went more into depth on what exactly this means, but thinking on it more, she probably wasn't breathing it in like the Fused or Surgebinders, she wasn't a Surgebinder at the time. But still, what if a Radiant tried this? They might be able to hold Voidlight like they can Stormlight.

The idea of Odium letting his 'Logical' and 'Emotional' halves rule in turn. It makes me wonder if he'll eventually form Avatars to represent both sides, taking a page from Autonomy's book.

I Yeah, that sounds like a problem, a big one. Maybe Raboniel knew this and that was part of why she was fine with Navani having this secret instead of killing her, she was smart enough to know that the Radiants would struggle to gather Voidlight and Raysium, while the Fused would have a very easy time gathering it. Maybe that'll be a big part of the conflict in the Back Half? Studying the Everstorm to learn how to gather Voidlight, then learning how to change the physical state of Investiture from Gaseous to Solid? Making Raysium out of Voidlight and Tanavatium out of Stormlight? Navani already knows how to breath in Voidlight from her experiments, so maybe she'll be able to figure out how to breathe it in from its Storm?