Irish Truthwatcher

Crackpot theory but could Reason have invested itself in the cognitive realm of a system? Do we know if the plasma storm of Devotion and Dominion was simply because of their death, or due to too much shardic power being invested in the cognitive realm? If the prior is the case, maybe reason has settled into the cognitive realm. The way Reasons been set up in the story, (last shard revealed, hidden from Odiums view etc. etc.) leads me to believe that the Shard must be located somewhere we've already visited. (Roshar? or Threnody? The three simple rules are pretty rational, plus we've heard that Threnody's cognitive realm is super dangerous, similar to Sel's.) I doubt the shard would have changed intent without anyone else realizing though. But then again, he's invisible to Odium.

From what we know I would say Endowment may embody the caregiver, seems to align fairly well with its intent. Invention also lines up fairly well with the Creator, but an argument could be made for Virtuosity here as well, especially considering the Y in CYM = Iriali theory

So Retribution made some comments about the face of Roshar being changed as a result of his ascension, from what I remember the Purelake is overflowing and the planet is wracked by earthquakes. I was wondering if anyone else had any thoughts on how the map of Roshar might change, we know Azir, the shattered plains, Urithiru and presumably Thaylenah if Fen made a good deal will remain unchanged, but what of areas of Roshar we've only heard mention of and never travelled to? The places that jump out at me personally are the Selay nations, Babatharnam, Marabethia, and Yulay. The latter two may potentially be completely wiped off the map if the changes surrounding the Purelake are permanent. Geography dictates that Shinovar will probably be the same, but what of the coastal nations to the west, like Tukar, Steen etc. Will their deals with Odium protect them? Iri too without the Iriali lacks any major players so could be decimated (though Lifts flashbacks taking place for some part at least in Rall Elorium should protect that city at least) I would say Aimia is also a goner now that it's served its narrative purpose vis a vis the Dawnshard and Chiri-Chiri's transformation. I also expect the Reshi islands to begin wandering slightly further afield throughout the oceans of Roshar, sort of becoming rebel outposts on the sea. Maybe they could function as pirates? Sinking Thaylen ships as revenge for betraying the coalition?

Love this idea! Of the shards we are still yet to formally meet, I would say Whimsy is the most likely to fit this description, though Invention could also have a travel pattern like this while dealing with the grand apparatus

This is the best argument against a fourth shards presence on Roshar to be fair. But I feel like there are some clues towards the presence of a fourth shard particularly in wind and truth, that can't be ignored. Notums description of a feminine voice encouraging him to make the leap into the physical realm, the description of the investiture binding together the plate of the unoathed, there was also the description of the bravery Taravangium felt when he killed Rayse, that description always stood out to me as odd. However I actually think another argument for the presence of a fourth shard on roshar is a mathematical one, there is an obsession with symmetry in the Rosharan system, the whole planet is one big equation, there's just something in the back of my mind that tells me based on this, along with the four pure tones of the Chasmfiends, that there has to be at least an avatar of a fourth shard present in the system.

I like how characters from Nalthis use colour to swear! Gloryspren! Steelpushing and Gold. I love the three I referenced in my original post but I think Dalinar is my all time fav, there's something about a man who can never be fully redeemed trying his best anyways that I find really inspiring. Sorry, I don't know what mols are. is that a shorthand for magic systems? if so my favourites are forgery and awakening!

Finally decided to make an account on the site after reading theories on here forever. I've read most published cosmere works, with the excpetionsof white sand, ( Waiting for the prose version!), Tress, Yumi, and TSM. Some fun facts about me, I'm Irish, If I was a Radiant I would be a truthwatcher (shocking), my favourite cosmere characters are Dalinar, Shai, and Elend, and my first introduction to Sanderson was skyward. My favourite Cosmere stories are probably The emperors Soul, WOR, and Shadows of self. My favourite Sanderlanche however, is Oathbringers! I love thinking up new theories about the cosmere (even if most are crackpot!) Hope that's enough information, bye for now!

That's a good point! Maybe Reason has come to the logical conclusion that acting is the only way to survive at this stage of the game. Sort of like an end to the Shards appeasement of Odium. ( Slight tangent here but the whole reaction to Odiums release really reminded me of the build up to WW2 in our own universe.) This also made me think about how Tanavast described Roshar. He put a lot of emphasis on how Roshars creation was based around equations and that sort of thing, that kind of symmetry could've pulled a shard like Reason towards the system.

As we've reached what seems to be the halfway mark of the cosmere with the release of wind and truth, is there any chance we'll be introduced to any more shardworlds at this stage? There are a couple shards left to work with, namely valor, invention, mercy, reason and whimsy, and of those five, I believe one to be hidden on roshar (valor), another to be roaming the cosmere (Invention) and another seems to be hidden from everyone else (reason), so I guess what I'm trying to ask is do we know if theres any new novels planned that could take place on mercy or whimsy's shardworlds. Personally, my own crackpot theory is that mercy is invested on threnody. I think Whimsy's intent could lead to some cool magic systems though! Maybe the Kite Planet?

Since I've finished wind and truth, I can't help feeling like the unoathed have something to do with "the fourth shard." I won't go through every tidbit of what I perceive to be evidence, but I have this gut instinct. Anyways, after reading a bunch of posts on this thread, I'm fairly convinced that the shard influencing the unoathed is Valor. Her intent seems to line up well with the situation this group find themselves in, stranded and besieged behind enemy lines, sounds fairly valorous to me! I believe that Azir could also be serving as a parallel to Valors own situation. The last beacon of resistance left outside of urithiru in the Rosharan system. While Valor remains the last (hidden) shard left in the system working against odiums influence. As well as this, I find that Adolin is the perfect character to represent valor within the text. He's brave, an incredible warrior, and explores what it means to do good for the sake of people, not ideals. All of which align with my own interpretation of Valor. I think Valor also works the best thematically as a shard on Roshar. A planet that has seen near constant war for eons. There's a process of elimination to consider too, we'll subtract the shards we already know are invested or splintered, leaving us with... 1. Valor 2. Invention 3. Mercy 4. Whimsy 5. Reason Of these five shards, I find it hard to think of one which is more suitable for the rosharan system than Valor, I can see the possibility that it could be invention or maybe reason, but those are outside bets. This is my first post on the forum, so feel free to poke holes in my logic! The Azimir plotline just really got the wheels in my head spinning.