Firesong

Or, maybe it wasn't a lie. He said "died and returned to damnation", we see when Heralds die and return to Damnation, they are not detected. As you can see in the Prelude. But, when a Herald permanently dies, like Jezrien, they do. As shown at the end of Oathbringer and in Kalak's epigraphs. So... He would actually be telling the truth. Just omitting the fact that a Herald has permanently died, just not returned to Damnation. That is a possibility.

Oh yeah, forgot about that. But I feel that doesn't really add much to our understanding. We already knew he was in the Horneater Peaks. But it is at least something. And yeah, Unmade have been very relevant in Oathbringer and Rhythm of War, and tangentially in the other books through Death Rattles. And they are definitely gonna play a big role in 4.5 and 5. I do ultimately wonder what they are, as it is very heavily implied that they used to not be Unmade. With the Unmaking attempts on the Sibling, Sja-anat saying that they were unmade. And other things. Everything implies they were not simply created by Odium ex nihilo (well, we knew that already as something can't come from nothing in the cosmere, but you know what I mean), but were in some way a corrupted form of something else. And that fascinates me. We know they are splinters, but everything we have seen just doesn't make sense if they were normal Splinters. I feel maybe they were entities separate from Odium, which were then fused with Splinters, therefore becoming Splinters and being Unmade.

I know this is quite a necro, but I have a question to ask. How exactly did we get this number, the 10^19729 one? I know combinatoric formulae and tried using them in several ways to try and get this number, but I just, can't get to even one-centillionth of it. Can someone actually show the work behind it, so that I can see if it actually makes any sense. I could only get 65535 if order doesn't matter, and 5.6874039553×10^13 if it does matter. If you add allomantic metals, then it rises to 7.1526377254×10^35 if order matters, and 4.294967295×10^9 if it doesn't. But would technically be less as this includes a lot of combining alloys with a metal that they already contain. And it also assumes that mixing together non-god allomantic metals makes another viable allomantic metal. I even went absurd and added Feruchemical and Hemalurgic metals to it as well, and made order matter, and still got 3.4491444203×10^89. Even more extreme, I counted alloying something with itself as a different metal, and got 4.0027434866×10^115. So, how did you get something with almost 20,000 zeroes?

Hmmm, yeah, I think I remember that too.

What implied Renarin has a gemheart? I forgot any implications towards that, can you elaborate?

Whatever it is, it is going to be a very massive reveal, I presume. Given how long the reveal is taking, mixed with how much he refuses to say, telling us we will see it eventually. Like, what is it Brandon? Please, answer us. All we know: It usually is associated with the Unmade It is associated with telling the future There are ten forms of it It is associated with using Stormlight to power abilities different from normal Surgebinding, but that that idea is only "close to" what Voidbinding actually is It is not the Surges used by Fused Past that, it is RAFOs all the way down.

They definitely would have some relation, but I am really interested in what Voidbinding is. For a while we thought it would be what Voidbringers used, but it just, isn't. The Fused use just modified Surgebinding. Which makes me more curious about what the hell Voidbinding is. I do hope we go more into it in SA5, with the greater Renarin focus we will be getting. As current theories posit that he is a Voidbinder. Brandon's cageyness about literally anything to do with Voidbinding just makes me even more curious.

I would disagree there. Sja-anat really interests me in her worldview and in how she is secretly working against Odium, and Nergaoul was quite relevant to Dalinar's arc and a lot of Rosharan history in general. Re-Shephir is really interesting in her connection to the Midnight Essence. Moelach is interesting in interpreting the meaning of the Death Rattles and what they imply for future events, and wondering what it is doing at the Horneater peaks. Outside of those ones, yeah, the others do feel more like just names, due to how little we have of them.

Sja-anat we know has all of her own plans, and she is connected with the Spren of Rlain and Renarin, who are both going to be playing a bigger role. IIrc, there is also an Unmade that fled to Shinovar, which is where Kaladin and Szeth's stories will take place. So, I feel that at least BAM, Sja-anat, and the one in Shinovar would be playing a significant role. But I doubt that Dai-gonarthis or such will be playing much of a role, yeah.

I forgot she said that, that definitely supports my idea even more, and I already had a lot of reasons to believe that Odium and Honor would fuse (a lot I didn't mention here), but if they don't, we at least know that they are definitely gonna either lose, or it would be a pyrrhic victory where like, half the planet dies, and Odium is sealed away for 15 years. Either way, it is not gonna be a happy ending, with all those Death Rattles along with a lot of other evidence. Even the mere fact this is only the halfway point suggests it. I am excited for KoWaT, but also scared as it seems to be entering the part of the series where a lot of people are going to start dying and the apocalypse is close at hand. (there are literally like, 5 different death rattles about humanity losing, our chances of the protagonists winning are not good). Hope we get more on the more hidden Unmade in SA5. I don't mean BAM, we already know we are getting more on her. But like, Dai-gonarthis, Moelach, and Chemoarish. Especially the first and third, which we know nothing about. Moelach we know a little, but ultimately know close to nothing beyond "it gives death rattles". Dai-gonarthis interests me the most, in how they are likely envolved in the Scouring of Aimia. We will likely get more on Moelach in Book 4.5, as we know Moelach moved to the Horneater Peaks. My theory, maybe Odium sent Dai-gonarthis to Aimia to try and get the Dawnshard, as some things in the books, and a WoB, seem to imply that Dawnshards are involved in Splintering. Like, one part (forgot where, forgive me), there was a quote that implied that Odium was weaker and not as much of a threat without a Dawnshard. And in one WoB, somebody asked about a Shard with a Dawnshard and Brandon said the combination would be terrifying. So, maybe Odium had a Dawnshard, used that to Splinter Shards. Thus he wanted it back. This likely was what brought the Scouring, and would imply that Dai-gonarthis is one of his more higher-ranking Unmade.

It scares Rayse, not Odium. I feel that Taravangian would have a very different view on the idea. Another possible piece of foreshadowing, is that he becomes the king of two different nations before his Ascension. Might foreshadow him being a Vessel of two Shards later.

Perhaps. Also, Sixth of Dusk Sequel Preview Spoilers, Mistborn Era 1 ending spoilers, and theory on the ending of Stormlight

Perhaps. And yes, there is 100% some sort of Everstorm Spren. what if its the stormfather?

I talked about a lot of these in a different message. I agree with a lot. I purposely excluded Dai-Gonarthis for the exact reasons you mention. I didn't have enough to even try theorizing. And on Truthwatchers, just due to how much she is similar to Mistspren, with the face being solid and mask-like but everything else being weird. Also, Truthwatchers are definitely special in their location on the Surgebinding chart, directly opposite to Bondsmiths.

He is inconsistent on them correlating, so I will go with them correlating as there is a lot of evidence in the text for that (especially the gemstone connections). So I guess that BAM would be Windrunners instead of Bondsmiths. I just assumed Bondsmiths due to being a leader, and being able to manipulate Connection. But Windrunners *are* also connected to ideas of leadership and have a lot of Squires they give power to. So BAM does also work as a Windrunner analogue.

I have a theory that each Unmade corresponds to the Ten Essences, largely based on Sja-Anat and Nergaoul. They display traits of the Ten Essences and inversions of them. For Sja-Anat: She can only be seen in reflected light (Lucentia, which comes from a Latin word meaning "shining" or "becoming visible") Her eyes in particular are described as glowing white, and we always focus on her eyes. Furthermore, we also got a focus on the eyes of some corrupted True Spren (The focus of Vev is the eyes) Loving and Healing, she is shown to be a very loving mother to her corrupted children, she also sees it as a form of healing and enlightenment, a form of growth. She actively talks about how it is so similar to the Vorin doctrine of growth and becoming better, which is associated with Cultivation, and the type of Spren associated with Vev, Cultivationspren. Whilst others see it as the inverse of healing. (Loving and Healing) Due to how she only is seen in reflected light, she makes herself known through reflections in glass and crystal (Glass and Crystal soulcasting focus) Thus, Sja-Anat is connected to Vev. Nergaoul Nergaoul brings forth the Thrill, which makes people extremely brave. I think I remember the Thrill being compared to a fire multiple times. He was sealed within a ruby, which is the polestone of Chach. Furthermore, in a WoB, Brandon stated that Jezrien being sealed in a sapphire, the polestone of Jes, was completely intentional. Chach is closely associated with red (fire, Chanarach had red hair, rubies, the symbol of Dustbringers is red, so is their Shardplate) and Nergaoul is notably a mass of red light and smoke "The Dustbringers believe that great power requires a strong will to control it, and their oaths are designed to teach them to control their destructive power. While their powers can be used to destroy large swaths of land, acting like artillery, they prefer to work in a more controlled and nuanced manner." The Thrill is basically a complete loss of will and control, mindless passion in ones destruction. It is the very opposite of the self-mastery and control that Dustbringers vie for. Thus it fits the inversion attribute. Nergaoul itself is notably lacking in control as well, being mindless, basically an emotion spren. Like the ashy and gaseous nature of Ashspren, Nergaoul too takes the form of a gaseous substance. Chanarach is associated with protecting people, as you can see in various evocations of her name. While Nergaoul is basically all about hurting people. Thus, an inversion. Thus, I think Nergaoul is connected to Chach. Re-Shephir Re-Shephir is a creator, with her midnight essence she makes many things. Much like the Shash aspect of Creativity (as in an act of creation). For Honesty, she imitates others, copying their shape. This is essentially an inversion of honesty. The Death Rattle about Re-Shephir was chosen to be in the month of Shash. (not the best evidence, but thought I would mention it) We see in the Gem Archive this statement, ""I am worried about the tower's protections failing. If we are not safe from the Unmade here, then where?", this (which obvious is about Re-Shephir), was actively from a Lightweaver, the order of Shash, and was thus recorded in a Garnet. Garnet being the polestone of Shash. Re-Shephir is actively terrified by Lightweavers, the order off Shash. Thus, I think Re-Shephir is connected to Shash Yelig-nar Yelig-nar causes the possessed person to start to transform into amethyst, the polestone of Kak. It is also contained within an amethyst, just like Nergaoul is contained within a ruby. Thus, I think Yelig-nar is associated with Kak. Ashertmarn: Ashertmarn basically makes people completely undependable and self-obsessed, so it is maybe an Inversion of the resoluteness and dependability of Stonewards "Throughout the world, they were widely known for being dependable, strong and filled with resolve, but also stubborn to a fault and prone to taking on projects larger than themselves". Those under Ashertmarn are definitely not resourceful, they engage in such wasteful indulgence, and even with that indulgence, they still waste so much food, leaving it to rot. Thus, they are an inversion of resourcefulness. Stonewards serve as frontline troops, while Ashertmarn and those it effects hide away, far from battle, and ignore all conflict and even internal issues as the world collapses around them. We saw Ashertmarn in Kholinar, which contains the Order of Talenelat. Kholinar was also the first place Taln warned after returning from Damnation. Thus, I think Ashertmarn is associated with Tat. Chemoarish: She is conflated with the Nightwatcher, who is very similar in description to the Mistspren. I dunno, this one we have so little on it is hard to tell. Thus, I think Chemoarish is maybe associated with Palah. Moelach This is one I am having some trouble with. It might be with Palah, due to Moelach giving knowledge of the future, therefore Learned and Giving. But they are both corruptions as it only gives it to you at the end of your life, when you don't have any more time to actually use or hold that knowledge. But it could also be about wise and careful. Giving wisdom of the future, whilst not being careful about what it shares or who it does it with. Hoid has said "be careful of anyone who claims to see the future", so it may be some inversion of careful. On the idea of Betab, it only shares visions at the transition point between realms, and Elsecallers are all about transition between Realms. They are in act considered the best at this transition. Thus, I think Moelach is maybe associated with Palah or Betab. Learning towards Betab. Ba-ado-Mishram: She is very heavily implied to have been a corrupted Bondsmith Spren (in too many ways to get into right here), and is also deeply associated with the manipulating of Connection. So I feel she would be the Unmade of Bondsmiths. She guided the Singers during the False Desolation, like the Bondsmith aspect of Guiding. She also was their commander in various other desolations, much like how Ishar, in the west, is considered the leader of the Heralds. She was sealed away by a Bondsmith (like how Re-Shephir, of Shash, was scared away by two different Lightweavers) She is basically an inverse of pious, essentially trying to replace her god, Odium. This seems to reflect the way that Ishar, in his inversion of Piety, began to consider himself a God-Priest above all others. Thus I think Ba-ado-Mishram is associated with Ishi Connection Theory: I have noticed there are also some connections with where Unmade appear. In Kholinar we saw Ashertmarn, Sja-anat, and Yelig-nar around at the same time. So Tat, Vev, and Kak. If you look on the Surgebinding chart, Tat connects to Vev and Kak with lines. Yelig-nar and Nergaoul are also seen at the same place at Thaylen Field, and Kak and Chach are also directly connected. More on these connections, there is a theory that The Bondsmith Spren all are actually meant to be orders adjacent to Bondsmiths. The Sibling is a stone tower and stands for Stonewards, Stormfather is Windrunners for obvious reasons, and Nightwatcher is Truthwatchers, again, for obvious reasons. Well, Re-Shephir is Shash, which connects to Tat, and guess what, Re-Shephir was hiding away in Urithiru, by the Sibling's core. Thus giving further evidence to this connection theory.

Another note, is it does change various lines of dialogue, changes some art, and retcons saltrification (which Brandon repeatedly said wasn't even meant to be in the original release, as it doesn't fit with the magic system and kind of breaks things). So it is more than just the added prologue and ars arcanum. I do really recommend it.

My bad, forgot this wasn't the SP3 section for a second, I got really excited when I connected the dots just now. Have edited it.

SP3 Spoilers

True, true. It could be nothing. But I just personally feel there is something special to it and it isn't just a normal Shard. Due to how Brandon has been talking about this Shard for years but always only gave small hints. But as you said, it most definitely could just be a case of him not finding a chance to bring it up. That is also likely.

True, that is possible. I just would assume that the Lands are to some degree divinely ordained, as they don't talk about Lands as if they were something they chose themselves. The way they talked about it and their faith makes it sound like it is either preordained, or placed into their mind via the One (or just directly told to them).

The map supports it being Taldain, as if you overlap it with the expanses we know, Taldain is in Broken Sky. We also see Scarial, Sel, and Nalthis be either important in the story, or having some large presence in Shadesmar. Taldain is also relevant with the white sand being very relevant in RoW, and a bunch of letters in the epigraphs talking about Autonomy. So, I am pretty certain it is Taldain, but yes, Brandon has been avoiding it. (Not sure if he explicitly confirmed Vibrance either but like, come on, its obvious.) And also, yes, Hoid is translating things. The honorific was just something that his audience would be familiar with. It mostly just means they have a honorific that they use, but we don't know what it is. Kind of like him saying maipon sticks, when they were actually different (probably like more normal chopsticks compared to the unique weirdness of maipon sticks)

That actually makes sense, it could explain why nobody ever mentions the 16th Shard. It also does explain what the One is, and it would fit with them wanting to hide and survive. We have seen that they fled Roshar to go to Scadrial during or after SA5 (according to my understanding, as a very Iriali-like people are explained to have appeared suddenly on Scadrial in TLM, which takes place after SA5), and we also know they fled Lumar after Xisis appeared on the planet. The changes in planet we know of or can assume were just cases of running away from what could be a threat. So, yeah, the "hide and survive" idea fits... kind of. I would be remiss to not mention how dumb it would be for such a shard to lead its people to a planet as dangerous as Roshar, literal millennia of constantly being attacked by a homicidal Shard and its army. Then moved to Scadrial before it was attacked by Autonomy. It doesn't seem that compatible or eurythmic with a desire to hide and survive. It does fit with Lumar, with Lumar being pretty hidden and backwater. Not the best for survival, due to the spores reacting to any water. But it is rather hidden, so they could survive from whatever they are hiding from. (Also, I used compatible or eurythmic as I couldn't think of the words I meant, but just thought of them. Conducive and implicative. Thank you brain for remembering.)

As people said, it is kinda complicated. They can easily Invest multiple in the same system, but it can be difficult to leave a system that they Invest. Their Investiture is their body, and when they Invest a system they basically make it part of their body. Thus making it hard to leave. As the cited WoBs said, they would either have to cut off that part of their body, or tear it out of the system, neither of which is the best of options for a Shard. However, they can easily influence planets outside of the system through various methods, as you can see in the influence Autonomy has all across the cosmere with her Avatars, and does Invest planets to a minor degree through these Avatars. But we don't fully understand exactly how Avatars work yet (we mostly know that they could be considered a form of Splinter, but are more autonomous and people can be made into them), probably going to get a lot more in Mistborn Era 3. But from WoBs, basically any Shard could do what Autonomy is doing, they just don't. In another point of view, every shard is technically everywhere at once. But that is very different than actually Investing a system, so that doesn't really count in what you were asking.

Yeah, I may not trust the Stormfather and think he is hiding a lot of things, and might even just be evil for all we know. I don't think that either is a fake Stormfather, they are definitely the same entity. (or maybe it is them swapping between being Stormfather and Tanavast, but that is just a theory I randomly thought up due to the flip-flopping, us knowing fusing with Tanavasts CS changed the Stormfather, and due to Brandon saying "we will know for sure about the remnants of Honor at the end of Book 5", but I have no real attachment to the theory, just thought it up randomly)