Atlas333

I can't remember specifics but I could have sworn Shallan described Vathah as being not as mean as he seems and that his intimidating presence was all an act so that could be a truth. If not, I'd imagine he'd have a truth about why he deserted. He must have done something awful because he refuses to talk about it any time it's brought up. You also forgot to mention Stargyle (the lightweaver who paints). I imagine because painting is a feminine art one of his truths involved admitting that he was a painter. Edit: Had a lightbulb moment the other day. In chapter 16 we learn that Gaz's other eye has healed. We know that stormlight healing is based on how he perceives himself. What I'm trying to say is that before he became radiant he was turning a "blind eye" to the suffering he was causing but now that eye has been healed he's at least acknowledged it. However, Red says that Gaz was crying about the bridgeman and admitted he hurt them while drunk but wasn't "ready to say it." So I imagine that admitting he hurt the bridgeman will be his 3rd ideal but maybe his 2nd was just admitting he was aware of it.

I think narratively it has to be Adolin. Szeth and Kaladin are busy doing their mission (it'd be weird to get that plot thread going and then backtrack on it). Leaving the fate of Roshar in the hands of a character we didn't know about until this book wouldn't feel satisfying so the stoneward is out. Jasnah is probably the second most likely but generally, she doesn't think one person should have so much power and she's more a scholar than a fighter. That just leaves Adolin. While it doesn't make much sense because he isn't a surgebinder he could make progress with Maya and get a power boost there or he could wear Shallan's shardplate which would help at least a little. Honorable mentions are Renarin, Navani, and Lift but I don't think they're likely at all. An argument could be made for Taln as he was incredibly powerful in his prime but he is not in good shape and would likely make for a poor choice.

I'm willing to bet that Sibling platespren will be keenspren, given that they've so far only shown up around Navani after her bond.

Would be crazy if the story of Fleet was actually foreshadowing and the contest is a race.

Interesting theory. I think this could work assuming something happens to Syl (I don't think she would like to share). Syl could either die, be pulled into the physical realm or willingly break the bond because she has to do important ancient daughter stuff. I do think that Kaladin's path is changing (that seems an understatement). There are too many lines to pick one but there are a lot about how kaladin is starting a new chapter of his life. The one below perhaps the most obvious. While he could continue the path as a windrunner this is specifically communicated as something new; not a continuation of his current path. I also think that Kaladin's decision to go to Shinovar isn't very "windrunner-y." Yes, windrunners follow orders but who is Kaladin protecting by going to Shinovar? Dalinar? The coalition? The shin? While I think any of those could be the answer they don't seem to be the main one as seen below. Instead, Kaladin is stepping up because he's the only one with the skillset for this specific task. This matches up with what little we know about the order of stonewards as seen below (bolded for emphasis). And finally, just to touch on one of your points: I agree it's weird that Tien would have two items. Why not just the horse or just the rock? Why both? I definitely think the rock isn't connected to tien, if it was then what's the point of the horse? Rather, the rock has to be some other thing. A hopeful peakspren is really the only option I can think of that can make sense.

I wonder if double-bonded abilities are tied to an order's resonance. We know that the lightweaver resonance is the ability to memorize things via art and shallan's double bond makes that art even better (although in a completely different way). This line of theorizing isn't especially useful as we don't know many order resonances but the windrunner resonance is a greater number of squires. I wonder if that just means that they have even more squires than a normal radiant or much like shallan it specifically taps into spiritual realm stuff. I could see windrunners subconsciously manipulating connection, perhaps making them seem more commanding, and charismatic and those around them are much more likely to listen to them.

Would tattooing a soul stamp have a different effect than just stamping someone? Really stamping is just a delivery method for getting an ink pattern onto a person's body. I see little reason why tattoo wouldn't be a viable alternative. The bigger question is would this act differently than a normal stamp and if yes how so? I think there are a few ways this could go. 1. The crazy idea is that this would make a soulstamp permanent While this is unlikely as souls change and grow constantly I wonder if it would be like when you tie a young tree to a large pole. It doesn't prevent the tree from growing but it does influence how the tree grows. 2. This could potentially just make the soulstamp last slightly longer but then what happens to the tattoo when the forgery wears off? Would it disappear or just remain inactive? 3. There is the possibility that this just straight-up doesn't work. I could see an argument that a stamp is like a command and it's given all at once. A tattoo instead would take hours to complete; I wonder if that would make the command incomplete. It's also likely that the medium doesn't matter as much because soul stamping is more about stamping the soul than it is about stamping the body. 4. The final possibility is that this does make a soulstamp permanent but it's not worth it. Part of what makes Shai so effective is how she can adapt to any situation by using a different essence mark. If she was locked into one essence mark it would actually be a downgrade. I would love to hear other's thoughts.

That's good feedback, thank you guys. I was a little worried that shapeshifting and manipulating mass would be too complicated but if that isn't the case then maybe it doesn't need that limitation. I think tying larger/smaller limitations to skill level as suggested above is a good compromise. I implemented the mammals-only rule for similar reasons but again skill level might be a more interesting obstacle than flat out saying it's impossible. This is one element I hadn't considered in my initial brainstorming. I'd imagine they'd be more similar to Dakhor monks due to the sacrifice during the process but still somewhat location-dependent. Your suggestion seems reasonable enough. I think this is well within the realm of possibility for this magic system but it feels more like an "era 2 mask" for lack of a better term (kind of like how we see other magic systems develop and grow more complex as time progresses). Similarly, I had the idea of a "partial transformation" that would allow the shifter to take on one attribute of an animal (say the eyes of an eagle) without undergoing a full transformation but I wanted to focus on the basics of the system first. But these are all things that I think should be possible as the magic system is studied and developed.

As a fun creative exercise, I've been trying to create my own magic system that could theoretically exist on Sel. Sel is the perfect place for this exercise because 1. The magic system is very open-ended. Anything is possible with the right combination of aons/symbols which makes Sel a big sandbox. 2. Sel is a massive planet. We've only seen a handful of countries but have about half a dozen magic systems. Should the trend continue Sel could easily be hiding half a dozen more. I've worked on it myself for a while but would like some help making it "fit" better. Essentially, does it work like a cosmere magic system would, specifically a selish magic system? If not, how can it be improved? Here are the ground rules for selish magics as I see them. The magics exist on a spectrum of devotion to dominion. Magic systems that lean devotion are more skill-based (aons, chayshan, and forgery) while magics that lean dominion are more sacrificial in nature (bloodsealing, darkhor, and the potions - although I don't have much proof for that last one). Additionally, every selish magic system has a focus on symbols or forms that channel the power. Using those rules I came up with this: The main use of the magic system is that by putting on masks (inlaid with aon-like symbols) the practitioners (called shifters) can transform into a specific animal. Of course, any cosmere magic system needs defined rules. Here's what I've got so far - when transforming mass is maintained meaning that you can't become much bigger or smaller than you already are - the animal the shifter is becoming has to be a mammal (my logic is that mammals share some body similarities. Transforming into birds, lizards or fish is theoretically possible but takes more power than the average shifter would have access to). - transformations are fairly short; I don't imagine longer than 10 minutes although frequent use can increase this limit. - In order to create a mask the practitioner must find the animal they want to transform into and perform a sacrificial ritual which forges a connection between the person and the animal. As part of this process, part of the animal's skull is incorporated into the mask. - Because of this ritual a shifter can only use masks they've made. If someone else tries to wear their mask it won't have any effect. That's the gist of the magic system. My goal was to take a somewhat common magic power (shapeshifting) and adapt it to the cosmere. So now I ask, does this seem realistic for a selish magic system? If not how could it be improved to better fit into the world of Sel? (also, just as a side question I'm curious what you guys think would be useful animals to transform into. I'm struggling not to default to basics - bear, wolf, etc.- and would appreciate some help brainstorming).

I've been lead to believe that Sel is massive by cosmere standards. Essentially, is the map below all that is on Sel? Are there other continents not pictured here? Or does this represent the entire planet and the countries are just really big? Have we been given any hint that there's more to Sel than what's on this map? )

While uniting nature could be the goal of the nightsmith, I don't think most forms of nature are really sapient enough to do so; rather, I think it's much more likely that the nightsmith will focus on uniting the parshendi (and potentially traitorous fused). I think this makes sense as the parshendi are more in touch with nature than other cultures we've seen. Additionally, the listeners seem to be reemerging as a new faction that largely goes along with what you've said (grassroots organization and close relationship to gemhearts). Finally, listeners left their previous god and essentially sacrificed themselves; I think it would be poetic for them to get a new god (cultivation) to protect them.

Of the two I think Lift is the most likely to bond the nightwatcher as cultivation has a very specific interest in her (comparable to Taravangian and Dalinar which implies Lift is fairly important). Additionally, Adolin's arc is about escaping his father's shadow, and becoming a bondsmith seems contrary to this (but not impossible). However, I think a third option is much more likely: Rlain. His title among spren is "bridger of minds." If that's not foreshadowing a bondsmith I don't know what is. Additionally, Rlain already acted as a bridge uniting the rebelling singers with the humans of the tower. Comparatively, Lift hasn't shown many leadership qualities (although she has plenty of books ahead of her); Adolin does have leadership qualities but he's an unlikely choice for the reason I explained earlier.

ChayShan is largely a mystery and I hate mysteries. I've long wondered what ChayShan can do but we hardly get any info on the magic system, but given how some magic systems resemble each other (a relevant example is bloodsealing and awakening) it may be possible to learn more about ChayShan by examining other magic systems. We know it's meant to "sharpen a warrior's mind and body before battle." On-screen this means it gives increased strength, speed, spatial awareness (Shuden fights with his eyes closed), and increased mental speed (this isn't shown but is implied by the short description of the magic system although that could be another term to describe the increased spatial awareness). Given we have 4 potential uses that's barely enough to form a pattern but I realized all of those can be lined up with feruchemical metals (pewter, steel, tin, and zinc respectively). If that's the case then the other physical and mental attributes and maybe even the hybrid attributes could be possible as well - weight, warmth, wakefulness, health, breath, and energy. This makes sense to me as ChayShan is described as "sharpening" existing attributes rather than shooting fireballs or doing something outside of the body. Instead, it just increases what a human is already capable of doing much like Feruchemy does when tapping an attribute. Of course, this theory is based on very little information and could easily be proven wrong in Elantris 2. Maybe we'll discover that Shuden was taught by a group of warriors who focused on combat but in reality, there are way more uses. We'll have to wait and see.

I've been thinking about Rhythm of War and The Lost Metal. They are quite different but both have a similar element of transforming investiture into different forms (Navani's various lights and purified Dor). Purified Dor is especially interesting as it seems to be a source of investiture usable for any magic system. While this could be a quality of the Dor I don't see any reason there wouldn't be equivalents in other magic systems. For context, to create anti-light Navani put light into a vacuum to remove its rhythm. She then used a tone to recode it, but what if she hadn't used any tone and had simply put the rhythmless light into a gemstone? I propose this would create a new light: Null light. This new light would be a useable substitute for any light (void, life, or storm). However, I still think this isn't the exact same as purified Dor as I don't think an allomancer would be able to use this light yet because they don't have the ability to breath in light. This may be purely a cognitive thing that could be learned or (more likely) there might be another step to make Null light into a purified Dor equivalent.

I'm writing a fic with some Koloss characters and was wondering if anyone had some insight into koloss names. Are there any real-world cultures that might be a good analog? Or do they have any other naming conventions that I should follow? Anything would be helpful. Thanks!

This isn't a very serious suggestion but it was a fun thought I had the other day. We know that the current radiant orders were meant to mimic the honorblades (down to accessing surges and forming blades). You know what is also a legendary sword on roshar with magic powers? That's right Nightblood. Additionally, nightblood recently killed Rayse so I could hypothetically see some spren being impressed enough to do what they did with the heralds. So for fun, I created a radiant order who's spren wanted to mimic Nightblood, not an honor blade. Name: Evilkillers (hey, Nightblood isn't know for being subtle) Main spren: Smoke spren Surges: division and leeching (while not one of the 10 surges it closely matches what Nightblood does. Also, larkin can do it so why not a radiant?) Ideal: Destroy Evil, as they progress through their oaths they'll realize how complex this concept is 2nd oath: I will destroy evil wherever I find it 3rd oath: I will destroy evil even when it appears to be good 4th oath: I accept that there are some necessary evils This is mostly just for fun but I will end by saying that this is very very very unlikely but technically possible. Throw in a bondsmith without honor to stop him from binding new orders and who knows what could happen. I'd love to hear other's thoughts.

Not sure if this has been figured out already but I was rereading the Bands of Mourning and a scene stood out to me that might point to her having the blessing of Awareness. When they're infiltrating the warehouse with the ship, this scene happens If I'm reading this right Marasi and MeLaan are right next to each other but only MeLaan is able to hear what Irish says. Sounds like the blessing of Awareness to me. I'm still doing my reread of Wax and Wayne so I'm not sure if there are any other hints about her blessing but this seems fairly concrete to me. I would love to hear other theories though.

The idea is crazy and probably doesn't work but I wanted to try it anyway. A couple of assumptions explaining why this might work. 1. The idea comes from the Mistborn Adventure Game (I know it's not automatically canon but stay with me). The twinborn combo of A Chromium and F Nicrosil (leech metals and store investiture) is called a sapper and is described as "Steals and hoards the power of others." 1. F Nicrosil stores the ability to use an invested art 2. Leeching is described as "pulling on the power and returning it to an external source." (the spiritual realm) 3. There is a WoB suggesting that a chromium savant does more than just remove metal reserves but is actually interacting with a person's spirit web (closing the cracks) The idea works as follows: A leecher leeches someone using an invested art (let's say burning steel). Then when they pull out that power instead of letting it return to the spiritual realm they store that in their nicrosil mind. They then tap that metalmind at a later date to gain access to that invested art (ie become a coinshot for a short time). Of course, there are some problems with this theory. 1. Identity might make it impossible to tap this stored investiture even if you could store it 2. I don't think this would be a permanent thing by any means (after all people can burn metals shortly after being leeched). I imagine this combo would only grant short bursts of invested arts. For more permanent stealing hemalurgy is probably the way to go. 3. You might need to be a chromium savant to even have a chance to make this work and as chromium burns in an instant I don't imagine many leechers become savants. Thoughts?

Forgot about another potential interaction with electrum - tapping determination (the interaction is discussed further in this thread The short version is that tapping determination would theoretically make your decisions less swayed by outside influences including electrum shadows. This would then lower the total number of shadows to a potentially manageable amount because you aren't constantly reacting to your own shadows. I still think F-zinc is better but I thought it deserved a mention.

Spoilers for the cosmere rpg

I don't think we have a ton to go off on mercy but I honestly don't think they'll be evil by any means. We don't know how much they helped Odium but I struggle to see a mercy shard as the aggressor. I think it's much more likely that odium left ambition gravely wounded and mercy exercised mercy by finishing the job. I don't really see mercy being as dangerous as odium (a shard that wants to wage an interplanetary war). While there is a chance that Brandon wanted to go for a nice juxtaposition of a "good" quality shard actually being evil, I don't think it's likely given what little information we have.

I'm curious if you could capture Voidspren to make some new fabrials (I don't see why not, they act like normal spren even if they're rarer). Shock glove: capture a storm spren and put it in a gauntlet. Boom! You've got great value storm form but for humans. Alternatively, you could add the gemstone to a net, wire, or fence for other electric-based fabrials. Investiture alerter: secret spren are able to detect active investiture which would be a very useful fabrial. I imagine it would only be able to glow more in the presence of kinetic investiture (or maybe it would scream like the spren do?) so you might have to play a game of hot-and-cold but you could eventually find it. A bit more tame idea: lower-gravity harness: trap a luck spren and attach it to something heavy and it should become lighter (like a chasm fiend does), probably good for delivering heavy cargo.

Yeah, sorry, I have no clue how I got so mixed up when talking about F brass and how I somehow thought that F gold was an allomantic power... I got a couple of wires crossed it looked like, but thankfully you seemed to get the gist of it.

Hmmmm... I guess it could be a combination fo the surge of transportation and cohesion... especially considering (spoilers for cosmere RPG)

Love the idea and love the list. However, I agree, compounding is a bit of a cop-out as it's obvious those are good. I'm personally much more interested in the niche ways that these two powers synergize (beyond just making feruchemy stronger). Here are a couple of combos I feel are worth mentioning: I think there is potential synergy between A pewter and F Bendalloy or F Bronze. Pewter Dragging is a potentially powerful ability of A pewter but results in a massive amount of fatigue and hunger. Either of these feruchemical abilities could help counteract these costs. Personally, I think these are both more useful than the current best combos for these feruchemical metals. Additionally, I think that A Pewter or A Gold would be the most beneficial to A Brass as a person storing heat isn't instantly fireproof and might take a bit more skill to avoid burning themselves. These allomantic powers would help make A Brass safer to use.