Werewolff Studios

Yep, that's valid. Would be good question for the eventual spoiler stream, I reckon Edit: One thought I've just had regarding this - the yoki-hijo are chosen/ Invested at birth, meaning their soul has always been highly Invested. Since they don't stay a baby forever, their soul likely accepts that higher level of Investiture as 'normal', similar to how a standard human or a Mistborn accepts their innate Investiture as 'normal'. Compare this to Elantrians and 5th Heightening Awakeners, which have their souls/ spiritwebs changed at a certain point, unsyncing their physical body, cognitive mind and spiritual aspect. Not sure how much this plays into things with Yumi, but worth considering.

I agree in the sense that she had a physical body, but I don't know if it was fully 'hers' or something created by the machine. It's only near the end of the book when she realizes the power she has to warp it through her Cognitive perception. Another thing to consider is that souls/ the spiritual aspects in the cosmere know how old they are. This is kind of why the Lord Ruler and the Herald's immortality is flawed - their Spiritual and Physical selves are out of alignment. The way that I see it (though I could be wrong) is that Yumi's Cognitive and Spiritual aspects were 'stuck' at nineteen years old during those 1700 years. She never really aged until her Connection with Painter was established. Also, I feel that her final body was created via the two of them, and part of that was Nikaro's Intent to create a flesh and blood form, along with all the Connection flying about. That made that final body more permanent. And, once it was completed, all three of her aspects were in full alignment and awareness, no longer stuck. And likely able to age normally again. This is a fair point to consider. One thing worth mentioning is that Yumi never talks about the other yoki-hijo having unnaturally long lives during her conversations in the book. They all seemed to live (according to memories prior to the machine) a fairly typical live span. Maybe it's due to their Invested nature manifesting kind of like a Nahel Bond - ie, the spirits gift a portion of their strength to the yoki-hijo at birth, suffusing their spiritweb. It's just a lot more Investiture than the likes of a Radiant. Only a theory though. One point about Elantrians is that they are constantly renewed by the Dor, so the Investiture needed for their longevity is pumped into them. Maybe this is what was happening to Yumi too; she was constantly being renewed by the shroud during the last few centuries. With that gone, she's not got that source of Investiture to draw from anymore. 5+ Heightening Nalthians make for a better argument. It's hard to say exactly what effect it has when conflicting with their Cognitive and Spiritual aspects though, as I don't think we've seen anyone at that Heightening that wasn't also a Returned (unless you count Hoid, but he's weird). But still, this is a solid point to draw from. Would be a good question to ask Brandon.

Not sure how relevant it may be or if Brando ended up changing his mind, but I feel this WOB from the livestream ties into this discussion.

After finishing up Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, I remembered this WOB from the livestream last year: As far as I'm aware, we didn't get any real answers to how yellow ties into the hijo or the hion (though feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here). So, I'm curious: what do you all think happened?

That would be correct, except the shroud doesn't dissipate in one single instant. As it's made up of semi-sentient Investiture, it lingers. And as Yumi, as a yoki-hijo, is one of only fourteen with an intact and highly Invested spiritweb, she would've lingered more than the others. That gave Nikaro time to Connect her Cognitive and Spiritual aspects back to the Physical Realm. After this act, I agree - functionally, she's no longer a Cognitive Shadow (or, at least, she'd be indistinguishable from a regular human, spare her highly Invested spiritweb). Her Cognitive, Spiritual and Physical forms are all in alignment, and her innate Investiture's no longer linked to the machine. Realmatically/ arcanically, she may still be considered a Shadow in Physical form, but for the sake of narrative, she's not anymore.

Well said! I agree - it's basically high-end Radiant Healing. When injured, they convert Stormlight (Raw Investiture) into new body tissue, matching the Spiritual aspect but filtered through the Cognitive. That's kind of what happened here - Nikaro Connected her back to the Physical Realm through his painting and Intent, and Yumi (or I suppose both of them) converted the shroud into a new body. As you said, it would certainly take a lot of Investiture, like how the Lopen needed a lot of spheres to fully regrow only his arm, but certainly possible through current Realmatic Theory.

This is really well put. Was quite the book for getting answers (and more questions!) on the nature of Cognitive Shadows. Was really wicked seeing Nikaro draw Yumi back through both his Connection and her Identity he strengthened through the art. And then both of them crafting the raw Investiture of the shroud into a physical body? Very cool. Only thing I will add is that I feel it's still a matter of perspective whether she technically *died*. I don't believe we know if a Cognitive Shadow is the original soul or a copy only (though correct me if I'm wrong on this). It's kind of like how we don't know whether Kelsier or Vasher are the original soul subsumed with Investiture and stapled to a body, or a cognitive copy of that soul which has passed to the Beyond.

Well, this was probably my most anticipated Secret Project and it certainly lived up to the hype for me. Just a lot to love on all fronts; felt like a very personal book for Brandon to write, and I'm very grateful that he and Emily were open to sharing it with us. Firstly, some things I wasn't a massive fan of. I typically don't enjoy the premise of a bodyswap story/ situation, as I feel it opens up a lot of grey areas about control, consent and how deeply you can impact another's life without them having a say. Something about having your body being controlled by someone else. That being said, I did appreciate that Brandon made it a point that they saw themselves as themselves, and also made specific mention to the importance of not being coerced into something you do not want to do. I also felt some of the descriptions Hoid gave about the nature of the world were a little clunky. Felt a bit too much like a wiki entry at times. Maybe having a little more in dialogue with Design, or having Yumi and Nikaro theorise about it? Not sure - probably comes down to preference. Honestly, apart from that, I really enjoyed most everything else. The worldbuilding and magic is excellent, as ever; particularly liked how much I understood what was going on regarding the nature of Intent, Connection and Identity. I get the feeling this may be a sticking point for some readers, similar to Tress's broader cosmere connections, but as a long-time fan I loved delving into it. The artwork throughout was simply amazing. Loved the painterly style and the Asiatic influence, and overall just how well it matched the vibe of the book! The colours were always very well used, and the depictions of the nightmares especially were terrifying! Aliya Chen absolutely knocked it out of the park. Nikaro and Yumi are both fantastic, and their interactions felt very natural to me, particularly past the halfway mark (loved the carnival scene). Was really interesting seeing how much overlap they had regarding their struggles, despite them seeming strikingly different at first. The flow of their relationship felt good to me too - I was dreading the typical 'third act breakdown' when Nikaro's past came up, but seeing Yumi make the choice to listen instead, and then dragging him out of the past rather than keeping him there...I don't know. It felt more like what would/ should happen when conflict arises between two people who care for each other. All my theories went out the window with this one, and it was fantastic. An Awakened AI producing a dead soul cloud as a by-product? Yumi being Groundhog Day'd unknowingly for centuries? One of their friends being a Sleepless?? Peak cosmere stuff - you love to see it. Really enjoyed Hoid's voice as well. Though I prefer the more up-beat version in Tress, I don't feel it would have matched this story. Plus, I reckon it will work beautifully in Dragonsteel. Design was an absolute joy as well - always good to see spren madness breaking through the social norms, no matter where they find themselves in the cosmere. Honestly, I liked all the supporting characters. Akane and the gang were pretty great, and was cool seeing a more modern friend group then we're used to. Their interactions reminded me of Bridge Four, which is always a good thing. The Sanderlanche was a blast, as is to be expected. Seeing Nikaro being 100% honest, even acknowledging that he could have internalised the whole experience to Akane, was a really neat scene. Also, seeing Yumi's arc about service coming full circle and making the sacrifice for the people she loved was very satisfying; especially with how she combated the machine and the whole argument on what art and creation is all about. Found it quite poignant. And, though I can see why some may not like the way Nikaro saved Yumi, I personally loved that moment. The last thing I wanted from this story was an unhappy ending, and I don't think Brandon would have given that to Emily to begin with. For me, it felt wonderfully sweet - they both crafted masterpieces and gave their all to save each other. The way it tied into the mechanics of how Cognitive Shadows and highly-Invested beings work made it all the sweeter. Overall, very solid work. Just below Tress and above Frugal Wizard, and definitely in my Cosmere Top 10. Bring on the Sunlit Man!

Ah, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for passing on!

In Frugal Wizard, we get a lot of comparisons to Norse Dieties throughout the story; Woden = Odin, Logna = Loki etc. But who matches the Black Bear?

A Link for those that haven't seen. One of Brandon's most brilliant pieces of writing to date. I'm honestly a bit lost for words.

54. Convince them to make a ton of really bad financial investments. Wait for the bank to come and repossess their vials and metalminds. 55. Tell them they're a fictional character, using extra-world knowledge you shouldn't know. If they believe you, tell them surrendering is their only option for the story to continue. If they don't, close the book.

This is an awesome concept @Frustration. I look forward to seeing what discussions this opens up. I don't have anything to talk on right now, but happy to listen to others.

I really like this connection, and it could certainly make for some cool crossovers in the future. I don't reckon we'll ever see anything Cytoverse crossing into it, but Reckoners? Makes sense. As you mentioned, it's kind of baked in. However, I feel that if Brandon pursues it, the connections/ references would be minor at best. One massively connected series of books is hard enough, let alone two.

Yeah, I also found that interesting. Seems like it was changed to set up the nearly drowning thing later on. Still, one line about a bad history with water would've gone a long way. I also felt the singular realization of hating something made for a better start to the book. The first line being "I hate fish" or even "I hate the ocean/ swimming." was a more unique opening, and honestly made everything more mysterious. John waking up ready for a fight gives us context that, at the very least, the situation prior to the transporting wasn't safe, and that he's a fighter by nature. Not an egregious change by an means, but I preferred the original.

A great read, if a little different than what I'd thought going in. Can't say it's my favourite book Brandon's ever written, especially after Tress, but I found it a lot of fun! Some great characters and interactions, and though I felt the pacing was a little rushed at times, it wasn't a terrible drawback. The worldbuilding and technology was really well done, and I liked the way the medieval characters responded to it all. One thing that I really enjoyed was the slow reveal of Runian's past. How assumptions that both he and we make end up being smaller parts of the bigger whole, or just straight up wrong. Really effective, as it's something I've personally only seen in visual media, not written. Makes me want to check out similar kinds of stories. The artwork is also fantastic, especially how it's presented as chapter starters and sections of the actual handbook. Really neat and effective way of conveying relevant information and clearing up the questions about how dimension hopping works, as well as the attitude of the society using it. I also enjoyed the tone of Runian. His whole rating system bit and general comedic voice was pretty well done, though I can see it not landing with others. Overall though, solid book! I think the coolest thing about these secret projects are just how unique they are. Seeing Brando experiment with different styles and voices is really cool, and improve the books he's yet to write! Also, Ealstan's a Radiant, cosmere or not. That guy deserves a Shardaxe.

45. Offer them a shower so amazing they never want to leave. Eventually, rust eats their metalminds. Checkmate Fullborn.

Agreed. Especially if your speed was increased by something like 50% after storing 1 for 1. Feruchemical decay is practically nothing at those levels (WOB below), but moving 50% faster would prove a massive advantage in a fight between equally skilled and athletic opponents. The speed of thought could certainly keep up at those levels, I reckon. I think this was @Tamriel Wolfsbaine's original point as well. Not to discuss how crazy steelrunning can be when compressed (which it is, but physics gets wonky), but to discuss how little speed it would take to produce a substantial difference in perception and ability.

I believe he's just as powerful as he was before, which is VERY powerful, but consuming Rayse only left him full, not more powerful. Nightblood, as an object is already too full - that's why he's always leaking Investiture. Relevant WOB below: Hope that clears it up a bit!

Hi! The Coppermind article references Oathbringer 33, with their line being the following - "Creating modern fabrials requires trapping the proper type of spren in a gemstone cut for that purpose". So you are correct - the type of spren matters a lot. The gemstone/ polestone being used is more to do with housing the spren, as certain types, colours and cuts of gemstone will be more appealing to different spren. From there, the metallic cage that goes over and around the caged spren will determine the fabrial's function/ effect.

This is really cool! Really like the 'bargain and stasis' lines especially. Awesome to hear you're Invested in the other series as well! Would be cool to see your take on some other cosmere characters/ divine beings as you progress through the books. Great stuff

I found this WOB regarding Invested ability, which might help with the first half of your question. However, as per this WOB they can be Commanded to use unkeyed metalminds, and he implies something pretty heavily about the metalmind type. Therefore, I feel like your assumption is correct. If the Lifeless in question was able to fill themselves with more Investiture, they'd eventually become self-aware (this can be seen in Clod, as the amount of Breath he has increased his self-awareness). The final result would likely be something like a Cognitive Shadow of the original personality - a copy of the original soul. I don't know if that would change their physicality to get their blood back though, as their Cognitive Identity might be linked to being a Lifeless. They're kind of like Shaod Elantrians, in that they're spiritual stunted. Hard to say; I leave it to more skilled cosmerenauts to give their thoughts. Anyway, hope that helps!

I think you've nailed it with this section here. This is how I've always seen it working. All other attributes warp the spiritweb, but gold healing strengthens it. Though there probably is still some decay, it's likely not as high as other metalminds. Great observation!

Hi! Welcome to the Shard, glad to have you here! While I can't speak on any actual events going on, Brandon has mentioned on a few occasions that the cliffs, red rock and windblown stone formations in Southern Utah were a big influence on the worldbuilding for Roshar. The Shattered Plains, the Kholinar windblades and the overall rocky nature of the continent are some specific examples. In this WOB he also provides some specific locations. Hope that helps!

Ha ha! That would be fantastic, and though I can't imagine it ever happening, it'd be pretty nifty. However, I have to disagree. I feel that the goofiness inherent in the Lego Movie style would actually match a lot within Skyward. Imagine M-Bot's dialogue, or Spensa sneaking into Rodge's room. Those scenes would translate pretty well to a Lego form. From a broader adaption perspective, Skyward would be a pretty great property to get the Sando movies rolling. It's pretty self-contained and easy to follow plot-wise, and you don't have to hit as many cosmerical beats to keep things consistent. Plus the space battles would be insane.