skaa

I think there's one point that's being missed here. Atium doesn't store age. It stores youth. Storing makes you older, and is therefore what is attuned to Ruin's Intent. Tapping from an atiummind makes you younger, which is the opposite of ruining you. If lerasium follows the same theme, then tapping from a lerasiummind would make you less preservation-y. So, if anything, it would be storing in lerasium that would make you more durable/stable.

It's 1AM right now here, and changing from 32-bit Ubuntu to 64-bit is trickier than I thought. Looks like another sleepless night. Edit: Done! Good night, Sharders!

@Jondesu and @Stormgate: As Khriss would say, I find this unlikely, considering that Devotion is dead—and, by my best guess, has been for a very long time. The reason why the Dor affected Raoden more was given in the annotations:

THE WORDS ARE ACCEPTED, skaa said reluctantly.

Here is what VenDell said: So you see, by "usable by anyone", he was only referring to anyone with Feruchemist ancestors, even if they aren't actually Feruchemists themselves. It's just that it is very probable that everyone living in Elendel has some Terris blood due to the Terris Originators, so Identity-less nicrosilmind Investiture can be tapped by anyone in Elendel. But maybe VenDell was wrong about that. *shrugs* I still think Southern Scadrians have machines that run using the Metallic Arts. Otherwise, if "mechanical Allomancy" is just getting powers via aluminum and nicrosil (which doesn't sound "mechanical" at all, by the way), they'd just be another society of Allomancers and Feruchemists, just with way more Allomancers and Feruchemists than the Northerners, and that seems a bit anti-climactic. I mean, it's totally possible that Rashek somehow made sure that Southerners could access Identity-less Nicrosil. That's fine. But how exactly would that lead to the promised Allomantic FTL of the space-age trilogy? Surely there must be something more than obtaining bodily powers, something that could be harnessed by advanced technology.

Unless Rashek moved some Terris people to the southern continent, there wouldn't be any Twinborn there, nor any Feruchemist. I guess he could have made some Southerners Twinborn during his Ascension. That would work. There is still another problem, though. Nicrosil and Aluminum Feruchemy might be able to give powers to lots of people, but what Brandon said about Southerns is completely different from that. He didn't hint about powered people, but rather powered machines:

Maybe, but to me that sounds more masculine. Edit: To be honest I've been using edge-ly from the start, even back when I thought Edgli was a male name. I've been pondering on why I didn't use ed-glee before, and I think it's because it feels really weird when I pronounce it that way. I guess I was looking for a pronunciation that was more natural for me, so I settled with edge-ly.

Edge + ly (IPA: /ɛdʒ.li/)?

Nice! This looks like a pretty solid Realmatic analysis of Awakening, Moogle. @Kurk: I think we all understand the part that Intent plays in Investiture even if we use other words for it like "will" or phrases like "copying a portion of a Cognitive aspect", but I agree that using "Intent" is good for consistency. My only question now is this: what are other implications of an object (say, a ball) being colorless/not having a soul/having its soul "shrink to nearly nothing", aside from it being useless for color-draining? Would Shallan be able to converse with the ball in Shadesmar? Could it be Soulcast at all? Forged? And what happens if you paint the ball's surface? I suppose the paint itself could be used for color-draining, but would the ball be Spiritually affected by the paint at all? Are the dyes made from Tears of Edgli capable of re-growing the souls of color-drained objects? Is that why they are preferred in Awakening? Well, okay, so that's more than one question.

Eh, the joke presupposes that all the requirements (whatever they are) for creating a gemstone that attracts a specific type of spren have been met. Cool theory, by the way. It fits well with my theory that all the "natural" forms of magic on Roshar (e.g. the spren-attracting properties of gemstones, animal-spren symbiosis, presumably including Parshendi-spren symbiosis, etc.) are connected, and probably originate from a single Shard. I think it's Cultivation, and that Voidbringers and their odious Rhythms are Odium's way of corrupting Cultivation's system via his voidspren.

Last month I compiled all possible theories I could think of about trellium, hoping to eliminate theories one by one as new evidence comes out. Trellium=Harmonium is one of them. Here's my entry on that: Here's the symbol I'm talking about. Like others here, my main complaint about this theory is that MeLaan claims that Sazed doesn't know of Paalm's metal. The reason I'm keeping it in my list is because Sazed (or MeLaan) might be lying.

LOL, go ahead. See you around, TheLerasNosed!

Even if we assume that I've got the gem type and cut right? Aw, drat. And here I thought I could make some theory fabrials. I think I fit in more than one KT order. Theorydancers: Although I don't have eidetic memory, I do remember the gist of many, many WoBs, and this familiarity helps me when looking for an exact quote. This is why whenever I mention a WoB, I almost always quote it. Theorywatchers: I spoil myself silly all the time, even though it means I need to keep certain theories to myself. Theoryweavers: Theories from small details? I once theorized that Dawnshards are musical instruments just because other "dawn-" terms on Roshar have something to do with music/sound. I came up with the grandiose "Each Shardworld has an Essence" theory all from the tiny coincidence that Foil is metal and Scadrians have metal-based magic. As for "What If", let me introduce you to my Awakener wand theory, the bizarre Hemalurgic acupuncture theory, and the even more bizzare Essence/Surge-pairs theory. Theorycallers: My current god metal theory uses ideas from at least two other previous theories. L-Theory was inspired by the ideas I had in my Unified Surge Theory as well as the waveform-related theories of other people. Theoryshapers: As you probably noticed, plenty of novel extrapolations happened in my L-theory, as well as my Degenerate Rithmatics theory, my lerasium theory, my theory about kandra worldhoppers, my "Upside-Down Roshar" theory, and my infamous (and obviously abandoned) Shardblades are Odiumspren theory, among many others. Theorysmiths: My theory on Roshar's Focus was the result of a mishmash of many observations. This is also true with my Essence/Surge-pairs theory, my Investiture Resonance theory, and (to a lesser extent) my Self-Awakening theory. Um, I realize what I've written above looks like arrogant self-promotion, so let me say that I would be a terrible Theoryward because I abandon theories very easily, perhaps because some of my theories just aren't very good. I guess it's a quantity over quality thing: I tend to hastily write down even the most fanciful of ideas, which is why I have so many theory threads. Other more intelligent people here seem to prefer waiting until their theory is as good as proven before posting them. Not me. I am too impatient. I guess I'll just let you guys decide if you want me as a member, and which order you think I fit the most.

Don't download this song! (Funnily enough, that YouTube video is no longer available in my country.)

That was incredibly creative of that guy. He even invented his own symbols. Pretty cool. Thanks, MistLord! @ChickenPlague: Goridem looks like an Allomantic hack to mimic Nicrosil Feruchemy, which is interesting. Also, what inspired your idea to make Baridum turn metals to dust instead of burning them away like regular Allomancy?

*gobbles up liquid-filled bunny in one go* Delicious! *gives Kamyth my lucky 25 Philippine centavo coin as trade* That right there is a genuine lucky coin, Kamyth. I swear that I have never died while in possession of that coin. You're welcome. I might come back later to trade for more drinks. *leaves*

Cool idea. If that is the case, then Worldhopper babies born on Nalthis will still gain BioChroma, as I proposed, because there is no reason for the Shardworld to distinguish between Nalthis-born people with local parents and Nalthis-born people with alien parents; both categories of people would have a connection to Nalthis through birth. How about Mistings or Ferrings? They are apparently recipients of this mysterious Initiation as well, so does that make them "more comparable to becoming a Herald or Returned than being an Awakener"? It could be as simple as Khriss going through the following thought process: The Returned are obviously Initiated by Endowment directly ("Shard's Decision"). Endowment is the only Shard on Nalthis. Shardworlds with a single Shard have only one type of Initiation (speculation, but let's assume it's true and that Khriss is aware of it). Everyone on Nalthis is Initiated via Shard's Decision. In fact, the way she worded the Initiation section of the Elantris Ars Arcanum could be interpreted in a way that makes each Shardworld only have one type of Initiation no matter how many Shards it has, but that conclusion might be too hasty. Or, I dunno, maybe she's aware of Worldhoppers who settled on Nalthis and had children with Breath, and concluded that Endowment herself chose to Initiate those children. Or she could have made the Shard's Decision conclusion via some other experiment involving Worldhoppers. Maybe Khriss is wrong. Maybe Initiation is just a thing she made up. But we do not know that, so we are allowed to speculate as if she is totally correct until we get strong evidence that she's not.

So, on a whim I bought the ebook version of The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes. I've been fascinated by the mitochondrial DNA ever since high school, and Sykes' idea of giving mitochondrial haplogroups female names (Jasmine, Helena, etc.) is very intriguing to me because it helps people realize that these haplogroups originate from actual individual women who lived thousands of years ago and who passed down their mtDNA to their children, to their daughters' children, to their daughters' daughters' children, etc., in a long unbroken matrilineal descent all the way to the present. But now I'm having trouble deciding which book (The Seven Daughters of Eve or The Blinding Knife) I should try to finish before the year ends.

May I ask why you are uncomfortable with it? Whatever Initiation means, the gaining of Elantrian powers is one form of it. I don't see how the gaining of Awakening powers would somehow be in a different category. Even then, Preservation must have consciously assented to begin that process of descent-based Initiation, because Initiation on other Shardworlds doesn't necessarily involve family descent, as the Elantris Ars Arcanum implied. The creation of Breaths at birth may or may not be automatic, but if it is then the rules of that automation would have been decided by Endowment. If she decided to let all children born on Nalthis, regardless of their parents' origins, gain BioChromatic Breath at birth, then that's how it will work. That was the point I was trying to make.

All of it: *start of baseless speculation* I agree that there is a difference between a Drab and a normal non-powered individual outside of Nalthis, but I don't think it's necessarily in their level of Investiture, but rather in the state of their spiritual aspect. Imagine if someone managed to rip out all the Allomantic abilities from a Mistborn directly (i.e. without using Hemalurgic spikes) in a way that he survives. The ex-Mistborn would not just be as powerless as any non-powered Scadrian, he'd also have a Spiritweb with a gaping hole where the ripped-out chunk of soul had been. In a way, he'd be more damaged than a regular skaa with an fully intact soul. I think the same thing happens to people who give away all their Breath. It doesn't matter if you're a native Nalthian or not; if Endowment Invested you with BioChroma, removing that via Breath-transfer will have consequences on your soul, and you'd become a Drab. I think this is just part of sharing in Endowment's Intent of sacrificing oneself for others. *end of baseless speculation*

Maybe, maybe not. But as we've seen Endowment being very generous with her Investiture, as well as actively creating Splinters for the Returned, I don't see why she wouldn't be able to give Nalthis-born children of Worldhoppers the gift of BioChromatic Breath. I think that's something she would be very capable of deciding.

I'm now reading The Blinding Knife, book 2 of the Lightbringer series by Brent Weeks. The Black Prism was okay, but I hope it gets better.

We're not certain of that yet. What we do know is that it depends (among other things) on having some sort of spiritual connection to Arelon, e.g. being born there: Note that one's birthplace and one's ancestry may not be related, so someone who considers himself Arelish, having been born and raised on Arelon, might still be eligible for the Shaod even if his parents aren't from Sel.

@Yata: The Elantris Ars Arcanum states that Initiation on Nalthis depends on the Shard's decision.

Not really into oath-taking and stuff, and I'd like to keep my soul free from outside influence. But these spren do look interesting. Hmmm... *casually places theoryspren-attracting gemstones in inconspicuous locations*