Lord Magire

I think the problem is theorising about portals doesn't really work because we have no idea how they work, or even if they definitely exist. That said, they need not necessarily have a scaling energy cost, they only need to function like wormholes, in which case as I understand the energy cost would be 'paid' on establishing and keeping open the link, not per transit. That would not break conservation of energy.

If investiture isn't infinite/perfectly efficient when renewing, the energy comes from the (presumably stormlight) used to open the portals. If it is perfectly efficiently renewing, then that is indeed a PMM, as are all invested arts that can physically affect their environment (eg. not Rioting/Soothing etc.). It basically all depends on if investiture refills perfectly.

I was reading through this string, and I would just say, I think the point is that because investiture flows from the spiritual realm that makes it a power source in terms of perpetual motion machines. If investiture is infinitely and perfectly efficiently renewing, then for example surgebinding is inherently an infinite source of energy, and therefore can be used to create PMM with ease. I suspect this isn't true, because of the laws of thermodynamics. I think it is very possible that something is consumed in the transition from energy back to investiture. For example, in allomancy, metal is consumed. If the mass energy of the metal is greater than the energy outputted from the allomantic effect (eg. Steelpushing), then as long as that metal does not also reappear, energy is conserved. It is very possible something similar occurs in surgebinding etc, which would make sense with all this. Possibly highstorms take in energy in some way?

Vyre is a Singer title meaning He Who Quiets. Leshwi gave it to him when she gave him Jezerezeh's Honorblade. I believe it was also El's Title in the past, before it was stripped from him.

Also, I'm not aware of Honor playing an active part in fighting the desolations in the past (except through the oathpact etc.) whereas Dalinar, who has a reasonable portion of Honor's power through his bond to the stormfather, is actively fighting/refueling Radiants in combat. I don't know how much of an effect that has, but it might be relevant.

From what I understand, it is mostly because of the long gap between desolations. I believe that the civilisation destroying nature of the desolations was mostly the cumulative damage of desolations happening faster and faster as the Heralds got weaker. The first few (when the Knights Radiant weren't a thing) likely were repulsed more easily as the societies had technology. Also, modern Roshar has much more advanced Fabrial technology thanany previous civilization. In conclusion, I don't think the desolation isn't any weaker, it's more that the cumulative damage of desolations every couple of years isn't a thing.

Very true. Or to miss an important clue to what's actually going to happen because you can't see past your theory:)

Thanks:) That WoB really shoots it down. Ah well. Thanks for pointing it out (I didn't see it when I looked around a little.

I've had a pet theory for a while that the people who died to the mists were actually those who would have been full mistborn. From memory the text actually says that the reason the atium mistings were ill the longest was because atium mistings were 'the most powerful'. If so, then surely Mistborn would be worse affected and maybe die? That would also help explain why there are no full mistborn in Era 2, as everyone with the Spiritual DNA potential to be a mistborn died earlier. Does anyone know if there's any evidence for or against this idea?