Windrunner

I just thought I'd drop this here as something that seems to imply that this theory is not entirely correct. So Cultivation is clearly still knocking about, not mindless or entirely Splintered for now.

Good to have you here, AyeJay! I know the feeling of waiting for Elantris. My library was in it's own little district where it couldn't get any inter-library loans, so I had to wait weeks to get it. Just know that it's well worth the wait!

Here's some quotes to help the discussion a bit. I couldn't find anywhere it specifically said that the gems in spheres came from gems cracked in Soulcasting, but this could be something.

Mmhmm, we already knew that not every one of the core ten had multiple Shards. Nalthis doesn't, and it wouldn't surprise me if Silence Divine had a single Shard as well, along with others we don't know about yet. The only thing I was saying was that I personally find it hard to believe that Yolen specifically would have one or no Shards.

I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree then. I never claimed it was like a game... I think that as a general rule, stories and worlds with fewer or no Shards are less significant than stories with more Shards. They're at the core of the overarching story. I find it unlikely that one of the stories we've been told is at the heart of the behind the scenes story we've been told would have no Shards.

That's not a compelling argument for me at all. Scadrial started out with two Shards and they remain there, even if they have begun to fuse. Elantris is a single loose trilogy with only three planned full novels and it gets two Shards, with a third in its past. I think that it's not terribly far fetched to believe that there are multiple Shards on the world where the Shattering occurred, one of the three main pillars of Brandon's cosmere sequence.

That's why I said, "implies," not, "says definitively". With a five book series set on Yolen, I'd be shocked if there isn't at least two Shards there.

The quote itself sure seems to imply that there are Shards there still.

I see the flash of light as being a sign that it had been bound to a new holder. While I see spren being trapped in Shardblades as a distinct possibility, I do not understand how you drew that conclusion from the flash of light. Would you mind walking me through your thought process?

There's a planned five book series set there post-Shattering, so I think there's definitely still stuff there.

It might have been the Taravangian one as well.

As a side note, my last day of class is June 7th, so my first priority after that is going crazy entering all the recent interviews into the database. I've been putting smaller reports in as the come, but the larger ones take serious chunks of time. Rest assured, they will all make it in there.

Glad you've come out of the shadows to join us again! I was a lurker myself for quite some time. I'm sure Kerry will be along before too long to distribute the cookie

There is at least one death vision of someone who seems to be describing Shadesmar as well.

Good to have you here!

I disagree that Aluminum is end neutral. If burned enough it has the ability to remove cleanse the spiritual aspect or something along those lines. That power is coming from somewhere.

Depends on how you define, "Dragonsteel". Some people like to attach Liar of Partinal and Lightweaver of Rens to the series. However, they're set centuries before the main Dragonsteel sequence and the stories are largely unconnected.(Think like the first Mistborn trilogy and Alloy). The main Dragonsteel sequence is set to be five books. Yeah, Elantris is going to be a loose trilogy, with side characters from the previous books becoming main ones in the new one. Alloy would not figure into the count of 36, because that number was given before Alloy was even a short story. White Sand is a trilogy, and there's another cosmere novel you don't have on there. Silence Divine, a standalone set on a world in the same solar system as Roshar I'm glad you came to discuss with us, Fifth!

I tend to disagree with that. I see it more as being Endowment choosing people s/he wants to have Return, and then showing them the potential future and offering the chance to Return and change it.

Okay, I'm adding your questions to the list as is, Kurk, Meg, and Morsk. It is worthwhile noting, Morsk, that Scadrial is intended to be an Earth analogue, so there's going to be something similar there for everything in our world, like waffles.

Glad you finally decided to give us a try! Hope to see you around, even if it is only a bit

It's worth noting that the Iridescent Tones are not entirely correct in believing that a heroic deed is what causes someone to Return.

One of the first things that caught my attention when I read TWoK was this: The idea that the Heralds actually had to travel somewhere to go back to Damnnation surprised me. This obviously isn't in a place that can be easily accessed, being so alien to the way Roshar is described. Obviously somewhere off-world or at least far away from the main Rosharan supercontinent. And we haven't heard any indication of the Heralds having to journey back to Damnation after the Desolations. It seems fairly clear to me that there has to be some other way to get to Damnation. So, I think that the Heralds have access to Shadesmar and the knowledge of how to Worldhop. We know little of their abilities at this point, so it's at least plausible. It would certainly be useful in coordinating a worldwide defense against the Voidbringers. They can easily return to Damnation, be it on Roshar or elsewhere. Another point in favor is that, to Worldhop you go to Shadesmar. When Heralds die they automatically return, and we know that Shadesmar is where people seem to be going when they die, so that ties together quite nicely. I wouldn't even be surprised if the Travel surge was based off a similar principle. I know this is kind of an insignificant, rinky-dink theory, but what do you guys think?

I wasn't really saying either way. Personally I'm inclined to disagree with you. Personally, I see the real metal at the core of the two god metals to be basically irrelevant. Much as the Allomantic properties of a metal are overwritten by a Feruchemical charge, I think that whatever metal is underneath the Shard's power have no influence on what the two god metals do. Personally, I'd go with aluminum as well, for as Phantom said, general weirdness.

Mmhmm, here's the quote for you, skaa, in case you hadn't seen it already.