Muse

This is a great theory! 100% agreed that the language very much implies Mother Frond is Cultivation, its hard to disagree with this theory. However, related to the discussion, hot off the presses (Koloss Head-munching Day spoiler stream, not on Arcanum yet as of now) is that there are exactly 2 dragon Shards, the 1 dragon Shard WoB was always just a mistake he made! So if this indeed Cultivation, then it's either a drive-by to send Dusk on his IotE path (implying that she believes he can be a major influencer at some point) or she is very new to the neighborhood, maybe not long enough to even generate a pool (while its not impossible, there is strong evidence that this is a pool related to Autonomy since Patji is/was related to Autonomy - https://wob.coppermind.net/events/312/#e8902).

I went back and re-read these chapters with an eye on this specific topic (time travel). I suspect there is another option that will come out of left field because we known Brandon is extremely creative, but without more info, agreed that these are the most likely options. That said, if I had to bet, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that we are seeing a new manifestation of Fortune in action (i.e. Time Travel Option 1 - it was a "vision", but maybe stated with different language). Here's my evidence: 1. Fortune appears to pull on one thread of possibility, which explains why we see one option for the outcome of her life. 2. December's eyes have an outsized significance and the last thing she does before her 21st birthday (the day she "restarts") is cry into her pillow - this crying could be an unintentional MoI of Fortune The description of her eyes like her mother's which are "eyes of the storied variety which made people say that within them you could see the very stars". To me, this feels like a way to infer they have many possible futures. At the end of chapter two, as she re-forges her (actual) future, "December pulled on her black coat, towing a dark shadow of the future behind her—a cloak, as if made of the space between the stars themselves". This feels highly correlated to the description of the "stars" in her eyes and could be describing how Fortune showed her a possibility which allows her to "change" the future. 3. It would not surprise me if December's mother (or her ancestor) is the Prophet - almost certainly a Prophet could emerge via a Fortune MoI This is the story description: "...a young woman named December learns a devastating plague is on its way. But who will believe her? Against impossible odds, she sets sail up the River Violet to warn the king's court, determination—and wisdom beyond her years—burning in her eyes." It seems like December will be in a similar situation as the Prophet, she will have foreseen a devastating future which she is trying to prevent with "wisdom beyond her years". 4. Hoid states that December is important (even though he did not realize it when he met her) All that said, maybe this is the cheap solution to "time travel", but after re-reading, this all seemed to fall into place for me. I'm probably wrong but with limited pieces, this is my working theory! Just for completeness: Time Travel option 2 (December's new life is in a vision) feels like December could not have any real impact on in-world events and so why would Hoid focus on her story in that case? Time Travel option 3 (resetting people's bodies, minds, souls, the in-world environment) may be possible, but feels wildly powerful - I'm skeptical even a Shard could reverse the effects of time on people and the environment (like resetting the river of demon's blood back to its previous state). If Brandon allows this to happen, it allows a mechanism for cause without effect on the world.

Almost pure speculation at this point, so I don't feel super strongly about this, but I was referring to "an ailment of December's" with which she was unknowingly inflicted which did not allow her to have children, although I'd bet that the fuller manifestation of said ailment is related to her "time travel" (likely not true time travel but almost certainly some form of investiture allowing her to experience a version of her future).

One detail that stuck out to me:

Find Frost. There were definitely a few moments when I guessed he would be trapped in the center of the island somehow and that Dusk would bring Starling to him.

Just noting that his reading of the new book is recorded on Brandon's YT channel in the Tailored Realities release party video! He read the first two chapters here.

I'm sure this is topic is a bit hand-wavy since its "magic" and it has not been spelled out explicitly apart from the info we know from descriptions of usage, but if I were to speculate based on what we know, I agree with your take that visual illusions, as we've seen them, probably don't operate by generating light. Instead, they likely generate illusory pseudo-matter and energy with Investiture that interacts with the environment (e.g. ambient light) such that a particular image is perceived by others. Many of your observations lend to this idea. That said, sound waves are a slightly different phenomenon than light waves because light comes from an external source, bounces off matter and reflects into a sensor like an eye while a voice (as a sound wave) comes from vibrations in the vocal cords and vibrate air molecules propagating out from the person speaking. This would either require the illusion to cause some physical manifestation from the illusion (e.g. vibrate vocal cords) or to actually generate sound waves. Since the illusions are generally not material and can't cause this vibration, it seems like the illusion would have to directly generate sound waves (since there are no physical vocal cords to generate that sound). From this, I gather that a Lightweaver can both manipulate and generate light / sound waves, whatever is needed to match the physical phenomenon they are trying to create. If this were true, I think this would also allow the Lightweaver to generate light in a dark room (I can't think of any examples of this happening off hand, but seems like a way to confirm or deny this theory). Either way, if all this is true, then Lightweavers can likely manipulate frequency and direction of waves as well as generate waves in specific direction as they can probably manipulate the perception of matter to match the Lightweaver's intent. One last note that seems in line with this hypothesis (WaT spoiler):

Hi! That's an interesting question, I basically live in a forest and by choice, I live around and love trees. But the Japanese Maple is probably my favorite. I love the jagged pattern of the leaves and in fall, they almost look like they are on fire because they turn a bright red.

Twinborns are a fun topic! If I were to ignore compounding, I love the idea of a A-Bendalloy, F-Zinc twinborn (not sure if there is a name for this?) so one could throw up a speed bubble and use stored mental speed to think through many possibilities to strategize in tight situations. Feels like you could achieve Taravangian-esque mental abilities (on his intelligent days) with this combo!

Ah, that’s pretty clear!

Just out of curiosity, do we actually know Honor corresponds to the number 10? Maybe there’s a reason I’m forgetting at the moment though.

Sounds like a fun tradition which definitely will lead to confusion

Have fun at dsnx! Hoping to attend in future years, sounds like a blast! So hard to pick a favorite Wayne quote but maybe from the prologue of Lost Metal? Yep, I'm current through WaT, such a great series! I'd probably identify as a Truthwatcher, I have a quiet, contemplative vibe and am a scientist, so it fits. My favorite non-Sanderson book has changed over time but right now I'd probably pick The Expanse series, really excellent sci-fi universe with memorable characters. Food is one of my favorite things, both making and eating. I love making and trying new things and nerd out on cooking, (e.g. perfecting sourdough, fermenting different foods) I think boringly, my favorite flavor of water is just classic fridge temp and filtered, no extra flavors. I'm so curious why y'all are named Ookla?

My favorite Sanderson book is still the 1st Mistborn, I feel in love with the Vin, Kelsier, Sazed, all those characters and world and pulled me into the Cosmere, holds up as a killer read and its a good starter for friends and I love talking about it with them as the world is unveiled. Favorite non-Sanderson book changes over time but at the moment I'm a big fan of The Expanse series, such great world (universe?) development and I loved the characters. I'm a sucker for interesting and evolving characters in a story. I'm always open to recommendations! Currently starting the Farseer trilogy. No story to my username, just a fun name ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm obviously a big reader, also into running, a cooking nerd, and very much into classical music.

Wow, that's a tough question. Not sure I can pin down an all-time favorite but since it's so fresh on my mind, I'd pick one of the many excellent Wayne quotes. One of my all-time favorite literary characters!

Hey everyone, nice to meet y'all! This year, I plowed through all of Brandon's published Cosmere books and am current through IotE, so I finally get to speculate and theorize on the future (and past) of the Cosmere with you all. Haven't read any of the unpublished books or other series yet. Nice to meet everyone!