Windrunner

Q. Can you tell me something about the Cosmere that you haven't told anyone before?

A. "There are inhabited planets in the Cosmere that don't have any Shards there. There may be inhabited planets that only have a Splinter of a Shard. There are 10 Core Cosmere planets, which tell the overarching story of the Cosmere."

Q. "Are all the Cosmere books so far set on these 10 core worlds?"

A. "Yes"

Q. Are there any of the 10 core worlds without a shard?

A. "All 10 core worlds have significant Shardic Influence."

Can I just say wow! Here I was hoping for maybe eight Shardworlds, and there are ten important ones! Also, worlds with Splinters and some with no Shardic influence at all! It makes me wonder if maybe Nalthis had no Shard on it until recently, just inhabitants left over from the Shattering.

Sel

Scadrial

Nalthis

Roshar

Taladin (Silence Divine)

Yolen (The Liar of Partinel & Dragonsteel)

The planet of White Sands.

I'm pretty sure that Taldain is the name of the White Sands planet, home of Bavadin and whatever Shard he holds. We don't know the name of the Silence Divine planet.

17th Shard: So the linchpin spike is not always the same type of spike.

Brandon: It doesn't have to be. The linchpin spike is just, when you're putting that many spikes together into somebody it needs a spike to coordinate them all. That is part of what's holding their body together from all of this damage, and it doesn't have to be the healing spike. The nature of Feruchemy is separate from that, if that makes any sense. For instance, you could put a few spikes into an Inquisitor without a linchpin spike, and they wouldn't die.

This is interesting. If not all Inquisitors have the same spikes built into them then it makes me wonder, Where is the dividing line between humans and Inquisitors? I know they aren't human anymore but they can still have children with humans. (would those kids have Allomancy even though their parent got it through Hemalurgy?) I mean are there a certain number or type of spikes that makes an Inquisitor not a human anymore? Or is any human that is spiked with an Allomanic or Feruchemic attribute considered an Inquisitor? If that's true this would mean Vin is technically an Inquisitor!

Because the Intent of Endowment is to give of ones self (like Breath), after sufficient time, Endowment would feel the need to give, give, give, keep giving... Until he/she has given everything. It seems to me that if there is a shard that would be able/willing to pass on their power voluntarily, it would be Endowment.

While I agree that Endowment (or any other Shard really) could give up their powers, I don't think that Endowment is going to be driven to give itself away because Brandon said that Shards don't try to apply their intent to themselves. I got the quote by Brandon below from the Principe of Intent topic, so if you really want to find the original interview its from you should ask Chaos.

4) Preservation, as a Shard, is about preserving life, people, and the like. Not about self. No more than Ruin is about destroying self, or Cultivation is about growing herself.

I think if its true for three other Shards it should hold true for Endowment as well

Yeah, it seems to be 8 spikes for the Base Metals (which means they have doubled skill with one of them, most commonly Bronze), an extra spike of Steel (so they can detect metals well enough to "see"), a spike giving them Gold Feruchemy, and one additional spike, which is sometimes (and maybe always) either Atium or Electrum burning, to let them stand against Mistborn with Atium. 11 spikes total.

I was under the impression that "seeing" with iron and steel and their extra power came from being savants. I can't find the quote but I'm pretty sure that Marsh said that he had been blind when he became an Inquisitor and after flaring those metals for a while he began to see more easily. I'm sure that savant level powers would be enough to overcome any regular Mistborn, even accounting with Hemalurgic decay.

This Shard have been held by more than one person. I've seen a theory (sorry, but don't remember, who wrote that) that, because of his/her Intent, Endownment periodically gives the shard to... well... new Endownment. Problem: is it possible to willingly give one's Shard to other person?

Why would Endowment need to switch Shardholders? I don't know why they would want to, intent will influence you no matter how new you are to the power. Even Rashek was in a preservative mode at the Well, and he held only a Sliver of Preservation. Did something in Warbreaker suggest that Endowment changes Shardholders, or is it just the fact that Brandon keeps RAFOing this question? Personally I think he might just be teasing us a little bit, Endowment always felt female to me but that's just my gut talking, I can't cite any evidence.

I've got one question that is semi on topic about the steel alphabet. Are their any patterns in the symbols that show the attributes of the metal? Like any patterns that you've noticed so you could look at the symbol for pewter and go, "oh, that's the Physical, internal, pushing metal because of these attributes in the symbol, like location or number of the spikes or location and number of the rings? The only one that I've been able to find is that if the dot is on the inside it is pushing, and if it is on the outside it is pulling. Maybe I'm insane and the symbols are just there to look cool but the fact that dots are in a pattern makes me wonder if there are other more subtle patterns that anyone can catch

Actually those have similar problems. Weight, if you are always storing some to make you lighter, will give the same problem as astronauts, albeit not as bad. If you are always tapping heat (if it actually increases the temperature of your body) you might head straight into hypothermia because your body isn't used to producing heat to warm up your body. The temporal ones would be weird. With Cadmium one might not breathe without mental commands from the brain, instead of as a reflex. With Bendalloy one cannot digest. Electrum would give a super depression. Don't know about the Enhancement metals though.

I'm going to have to disagree with you here. You can't compound traits that you're storing, so all you have to use is regular storing. I doubt that anyone goes around at anything less then half their weight, because like Wax says, if you don't weigh much it gets hard to move around. Also with heat, I'm pretty sure that a lot of that comes from chemical reactions that go on inside your body. Just because you've stopped compounding heat, doesn't mean that your body stops living, and so those chemical reactions give you heat. I don't think that's something that can turn off. Storing breath, I'm kind of on the fence about this one. Just because you don't need air would that shut off your body's subconscious impulse to breathe? I'm sure that you could hold you're breath consciously but I don't think that would stop you're body from continuing to naturally breathe when you are able. Similar points for determination, would your mind stop whatever chemical reactions give the mind determination? Maybe, I think this is more likely then your body forgetting that it needs to breathe.

It just now struck me how deeply sad and ironic it is that the people in the world most connected to the cosmic force of protecting and keeping safe everything that exists... are known almost exclusively for their power as assassins, and their ability to interact with pieces of cosmic destruction.

Hmm, I think it's semi-ironic, however it also makes a certain amount of sense. Sure their powers can be used for killing and destruction, but its just like how they received their powers, Snapping to Preserve themselves in a moment of danger. The connection to Preservation is so the Allomancer can use their magic to preserve themselves, and everything else worth saving even if it requires destruction. However it is a kind of brutal, ends justify the means Preservation.

Would anything interesting happen if an Allomancer Burned a Hemalurgic spike, or a Feruchemist Tapped one?

Er, well, it’s possible. But you’d have to be burning a Hemalurgic spike that killed you and took your power... Just like you can’t gain anything by burning a metalmind unless you infused it yourself.

17th Shard: Can you burn the spikes? Like, Allomantically? For example, could they burn the steel in their head spikes?

Brandon: (sighs) I considered that and I eventually decided that they could, but it would be an excruciating process that would probably knock them unconscious simply by doing it.

17th Shard: Would they be able to tap?

Brandon: Would they tap them? They can use them as metalminds, yes.

What happens when you burn a Hemalurgic spike?

Burning a Hemalurgic spike would have the effect of splicing your spiritual DNA to that of the person’s that is in the spike, which would have some very strange consequences.

Thanks for this! I searched but I couldn't locate it anywhere. I think that the first things to notice here are some obvious contradictions, how could an Inquisitor burn a spike, if they had to have been killed by it in order to access its power? Brandon obviously changed his mind here on what he wanted to do with spike burning, which throws everything said here into question. I think we are interpreting this quote differently, you see Inquisitors burning eye spikes, while they are in their head, I see them removing a spike from their eye, and then burning it. I can't tell from the question which they meant. But one thing to notice is that when Vin has her earring in, she never feels an extra store of bronze in her reserves, even when she is completely out of metals in the Lord Ruler's or Yomen's dungeons. If she was able to burn that spike she would have felt it.

But, if you agree that you'd have to keep on Compounding age constantly, doesn't that mean that the Lord Ruler, at least, was burning his implanted Metalminds? He fell apart immediately once they were off, and if he were burning a separate reserve within his body, that would not have happened.

Sorry about this, I wasn't very clear. I meant not compounding ever again, so I obviously wasn't paying attention. I don't think he was burning these atiumminds, they were already filled with age from when he had previously burned other the atiumminds that he had stored age in while in his secret sanctum. You are however right in saying that he wasn't compounding while Vin was killing him, just tapping massive amounts of age.

I'm not sure. Either of those sounds logical...I think that his body would lack the ability to heal naturally, since his body would start removing the "superfluous" biological functions, similar to an astronaut's body cannibalizing its muscle and losing bone density because the body doesn't need a lot of muscle mass or strong bones to move in space. In Miles case, the superfluous functions would be those that related to healing: platelets, immune system, cell regeneration, etc. I can see why he would be afraid to stop tapping Health, even for a short time.

I think you are probably right on here, I think this is what is so dangerous about compounding, if Miles ran out of gold he would be screwed. I totally forgot that stopping compounding could be dangerous, although for some things, like weight, body heat or maybe some of the cognitive or temporal attributes, it really wouldn't matter.

Unfortunately, the effect of Lerasium and its alloys of turning people into Mistborn/Mistings is not due to burning the metal, just eating it.

Sorry, I don't mean to be a buzzkill but you are burning lerasium the first time you ingest it.

This is from the 17th Shard interview with Brandon in September of 2010. (I wish I knew how to put that in the quote heading)

17th Shard: If a Mistborn burns lerasium, as in, not just ingests it, what effect would it grant Allomantically?

Brandon: That is a RAFO. It would do something, but the thing you've gotta remember is that, when ingesting lerasium for the first time and gaining the powers, your body is actually burning it. Think of lerasium as a metal anyone can burn. Does that make sense?

The function of pure Lerasium is to increase a person's connection to Preservation, that increased connection makes them a Mistborn as a side affect.

The data we have outside of the books seem to be these: some years ago, he did say that Allomancers can only burn metals in their belly. More recently, he noted that an Inquisitor could burn their spikes (though it would be painful. Granted, Inquisitors are not human, so whether these statements contradict each other is, again, a matter of interpretation.

Do you have a quote for that? I was under the impression that they could burn spikes but only if they took them out of their body and actually shaved them and swallowed them. Since Brandon has made a big deal out of how he wants metals to be used like we metabolize food I don't think you can burn just any metal piercing the body. It has to be in the stomach. I also remember reading that burning would be painful because the burner would actually be grafting the sDNA of the the person who was spiked to their own. The pain would end up rendering them unconscious, If you want me to actually find the quotes I'll check the Brandonothology.

(2) We Miles' POVs where hours pass between battles, but there is no reference to grinding down and swallowing fresh Metalminds.

I'm certain he does though. This is how compounding works, the only reason Brandon didn't actually show him burning goldminds is probably because it's implied, the magic is explained well enough that we don't actually have to see him do it in order to understand whats happening.

(4) Once you start Compounding, it is dangerous to ever stop. Why assume that he did?

Why is it dangerous to stop? The only compounding I see being dangerous to stop is age, because if you were old enough you would die without it. If he stopped tapping gold he wouldn't become sickly or anything, he would just go back to having the health of a normal person (maybe with a bit of decreased immunity because he wasn't used to being sick). I don't think Miles had to be constantly tapping gold, it was more along the lines of an addiction. He was so addicted to not being able to get sick, or have headaches, or feel pain, that he was mentally dependent on the goldminds, but not physically.

If Dragonsteel is supposed to be the final arc and it takes place 100+ years after Lair, and it going to be one of the last books written and every book is basically written in chronological order, then it means that Lair and Dragonsteel also take place after the events of Stormlight Archive.

I'm pretty sure that the fact that all the cosmere books were in chronological order is just a coincidence. After all Alloy of Law just broke this pattern, and I don't think that Brandon has even confirmed that Dragonsteel is the last cosmere series he will write. It seems likely that it will be but I don't think that means that it happened last.

actually he somehow got into the area around the Well using manipulation of Shadesmar, or so Brandon has hinted.

Ah! That makes sense. If you can world-hop with Shadesmar, then I'm sure you can get anywhere you want in the worlds, provided you know where it is.

Do we have confirmation that Hoid TOOK a piece of Lerasium when he was in the Well of Ascension chambers? Or anything that he actually did in there other than being there?

Umm kind of. In the HoA Q&A Peter confirmed that there was at least one other piece of Lerasium at the Well, and the only other person who seems to have any possible motivation to secretly take a piece of Lerasium is Hoid.

This only uses half of the gemstones provided in the Ars Arcanum, the other being Smokestone, Zircon, Amethyst, Topaz, and Heliodor.

I don't have the Way of Kings with me, but when Shallan writes Jasnah her letter and is waiting for her to find it, it says that there are only nine types of gemstones used in the spheres. It did not say however, which type of gem was not used. I'll look for the exact quote and put it up as soon as possible. I imagine it is either Heliodor, or Zircon, because I can't remember ever seeing those types of gems used as currency. I wonder if there is any reason that one of the gems wasn't used.

Then Elend goes back to speak with Spook, where they talk about how they sent Vin back, and how they want to catch up with her, but maybe she's already taken the power at the Well. Although they're being quiet, I bet that Hoid is listening carefully.

Thank you! I was looking in the wrong spot the whole time. I'm sure you're right about Hoid listening in on them, which is interesting. If he found out so close to when Vin took the power he either hustled to Kredik Shaw with an Allomancer buddy before Vin found the Well, or sneaked in afterward, which suggests that the Well does produce Lerasium every time it refills, or else Vin would have seen the extra bead there.

Hi, I know bout the Cosmere and Shards and everything but I had a question about Hoid, and I figured that this would be the best place to ask it, rather then starting up a new topic.

My question is, where specifically, is Hoid in WoA? I know he left the footprints in Kredik Shaw and took the Lerasium from the Well of Ascension. However, I heard that Hoid disguises himself as a Terrisman, and overhears, Vin or Elend or someone else, talking about the Well and he gets a hint that helps him figure out where it is before them. I've combed the book and missed it every time, so can anyone help me out here?

Liar of Partinel

Liar sequel

Dragonsteel - Five books

Elantris

First Mistborn Trilogy

Warbreaker, Alloy of Law

Stormlight Archive - Second Mistborn Trilogy

Third Mistborn Trilogy

A little off topic here but if The Stormlight Archive, and the Second Mistborn trilogy happen concurrently, then I guess that MIGHT (heavy emphasis here) have been where Hoid vanished to during the Way of Kings

If we combine these two and assume that all of the Expanses are worlds we have 3 worlds

Expanse of the Densities

Expanse of the Broken Sky

Expanse of the Vapors

I can't find the quote right now but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that there is supposed to be another Expanse on the bottom left behind where the Shadesmar label is. I think it said they took it off because that was the only place the Shadesmar label looked good or something.

Edit: Found it! This quote is by Peter Ahlstrom from the Observation on Shardesmar topic.

I wouldn't read too much into the number of things on the Shadesmar map. Brandon mentioned something about how there was supposed to be another label where it says Shadesmar, but Isaac deleted it or moved it because it would get in the way of the Shadesmar label. Also, remember that this map is supposed to represent a stained-glass window that actually exists somewhere in the cosmere. It could be just as wrong as the Mistborn metal charts that show atium in a pair with gold.

For shards this would make

2 shards on Scandrial

1 on Nalthis

3 on Roshar

2 on Sel

1 on Silence Divine Planet

2 on Taldain

5 on Yolen

Where did you get 5 for Yolen? That's the world of Dragonsteel right? And I thought that Dragonsteel was set before the Shattering of Andonalsium, but I could be wrong about that. It would be cool if this map did show all of Shadesmar!

This is so exciting! Although I was so sure that Skai's Shard was Unity, I think Dominion fits a lot better with the magic.

This, I believe, is because the Shards are not perfect opposites. Instead, the two Shards' Intents compliment each other - the important thing is how they work together. AonDor would be a Devotion-lead, Dominion-follow system; Dakhor would be the opposite, with Dominion leading, and ChayShan would be a system where neither leads.

While this makes sense I disagree. I think that they are opposites like Ruin and Preservation. They are two opposite reasons for following someone. You believe in an idea or follow a person, either because of your Devotion, or because they have Dominion over you. The two Shards being opposites also fits with my theory that only opposite (or maybe paired?) Shards can form a balance magic like Feruchemy or ChayShan.

I always wondered if maybe since some of the metals stole the little bits of Preservation inside people, the Human Attributes, (Iron Zinc Tin and Copper) that the remaining metals stole the part of Ruin inside people. I'm not sure what the Ruinous Attributes would be though.

Note that, for lack of a better word, I have called the equivalent of the temporal metals the Necessital Feruchemical metals.

I'm pretty sure in the back of the Hero of Ages it just called this quadrant the Temporal Metals. I would check it myself but I lent my book to my dad.

Regarding the two working together to create life, part of it, I'm sure, deals with simple "I don't like you, so I'm not going to let you do what you want" attitude. Also, though, even if Ruin didn't actively oppose, Preservation by its nature couldn't create. Creating life would not be preserving the current state of no-life, so Ruin's influence would be needed to change the no-life state. At this point, Leras obviously still had some of his mind left - while he could desire to create, he didn't have the power to do so on his own.

I always saw this somewhat differently. I thought that the fact that Ruin and Preservation were such perfect opposites was the reason they couldn't create separately. Anytime one tried to do something major, the other blocked him. I know that creation isn't Preservation but if he's creating to preserve I don't see why he wouldn't be able to create something. Ruin after all builds things up to destroy. I think that if they had been on separate planets they would have had no problem creating things on their own.

Why did Desolations stop after Heralds quit? Why wouldn't their mutual enemy defeat Odium and do whatever it is it's trying to do (presumably destroying Roshar) when one of the defenders fall?

I think I can answer this one. This is from the back of the hardcover copy of the Way of Kings when it's talking about their supposed victory over the Voidbringers.

The world became ours, and we lost it. Nothing, it appears, is more challenging to the souls of men than victory itself.

Or was that victory an illusion all along? Did our enemies realize that the hard they fought, the stronger we resisted? Perhaps they saw that the heat and the hammer only makes for a better grade of sword. But ignore the steel long enough, and it will eventually rust away.

This seems to me to be very much in line with Odium's intent, he would want hatred to divide all of mankind, but giving them a common enemy only brings them together in their struggle for survival. As much as I would like to see an anti-Andonalsium it seems like this would be a better plot line if Brandon ever decides to write a conflux book.

I remembered to ask Brandon about this today (yay for remembering) and the conversation when similar to:

me: So, people on the forums have pointed out .... blah blah Marsh does both

Brandon: That's a very excellent question. He would need to do both in order to do both burn and store atium to do the same trick like he does.

So he didn't say HOW Marsh got the ability, but he did confirm that Marsh would need to be able to do both, and that he does do the trick.

Yes! Thank you for asking him this. I was worried that maybe this was a plot hole or something, and either Brandon would have to contrive some solution afterward, or he would have to cut Marsh from future books. Since he kind of side stepped saying how Marsh got his Feruchemical Age storing abilities I think there is something interesting going on here. I like the idea that Sazed is keeping him alive the best.

There are pretty cool! I liked the hanging one alot. The whole grandfather paradox solved thing went straight over my head though. Whenever I hear quantum anything my brain shuts down.

Oh, Some1else, what page is the Dalinar quote in your sig from? I've read the Way of Kings so many times but I've managed to miss that one completely. It's one of the best lines I have ever read!

No hurry or anything like that but is there a time that you guys are trying to have the interview posted by? I'm trying to decide whether or not I want to buy the RPG for the Feruchemical Table of Metals and the new content and it would really help me decide if I could hear about it from the people who made it.