Zxevicus M. Cortillius

On 3/19/2026 at 1:46 PM, PanLin said:

Yup! And I mean, this is true in the real world anyway, but especially in the Cosmere; Sanderson pulls heavily from the philosophy of Plato's Forms (the theory that the physical world is only an imitation of the real world, which is composed of Forms, or in the Cosmere, Spiritwebs) and Animism (the idea that every person, animal, object, location, and even concept has its own identity and soul).

Both are really interesting to read about and imo help to explain and give context to how the Cosmere fundamentally works, and why some concepts in the Cosmere are the way they are. A good example is Progression—being unable to heal old or otherwise notable wounds sounds like a weird implementation of a healing power to start with, until you realise that what it's actually doing is reshaping someone's physical form to better represent their cognitive Identity and Spiritweb (or Form, as in Plato's definition).

I'm getting carried away, but I bring this up because that story about beauty really leans into these concepts without fully stating them. Perception holds sooo much weight in the Cosmere, from which vessels hold which Shards, to the creation and evolution of spren, to so much more outside the Stormlight Archive (which I won't bring up here obvs). I really think Sanderson intentionally used Hoid talking about beauty here as a sort of proxy to get us, the readers, to really internalise those questions and to think about what it means to love or enjoy or appreciate something.

In the Cosmere, the spiritual realm is where divinity lives, and it's also where people (and animals and objects and concepts) are truly defined. Those true, divine concepts are conceptualised in the cognitive realm, and represented with context in the physical.

In a setup like that, the most important thing someone can do is simply be themselves. Art, beauty, Identity, Connection, Fortune, Investiture, pride, guilt, love, loss—it's all the same thing, and to live is to define what your Identity is as an individual within that while navigating your Connections with everyone and everything else that's doing the same.

Soooo ooo oo ooooo true even though i tend to lean more into nihilism. Plus i dont really believe in animism its a good idea since everything has a physical manifestation even concepts. Its like how the cognitive realm exists to hold the idea of something like the spiritual realm holding the spirits and the physical realm being the world of these ideas and spirits manifest into a deity.

On 3/20/2026 at 9:26 AM, Nitpicking said:

As I understand it, the LDS Church teaches things that look a lot like animism. One can't help but be influenced by one's upbringing.

A lot of religions have animist parts in them. Similarly like alethi believing in a dead man's spirit going to the tranquilline halls which i think is a metaphysical manifestation of peace or something in the cognitive or spiritual realms

In WoR Hoid asks shallan what beauty is. What is the meaning of their conversation? What is the theme?
My Theory

-Hoid talks about what true beauty is, people give him simple answer that hoid is beyond.
-Hoid asks if you take away a man's vision, his hearing, his sense of touch, taste and smell can he not feel beauty?
-I'm theorizing that Wit means that beauty is perceptive like how the Mona Lisa is known as a masterpiece but a fake copy is dismissed as fake and forgery. For if beauty were inherently tied to the object or human than it would not matter first or second fake or real.
-Beauty is also relative since a high lighteyes would see many things that to him are average and only something of extraordinary to impress them.
-In contrast what is average to a highlord would be of splendor to a darkeyes even of high ranking.
-One may also find beauty in some things and not others.

Bascially TL;DR Beauty is Relative and is not inherently tied to an thing but to the human perspective.

On 2/9/2026 at 7:53 AM, Qianweilian said:

I haven't finished licanius, though I hear it's good.

Warbreaker is free on Brandon's website.

You would burn lerasium? Haha, very funny.

Wheel of Time is a big commitment. You don't have to do it all at once.

Oh, you have to choose between TWoK through O or TFE as your favorite/least favorite... (They are some of the best).

If that's all you've read, I strongly recommend you stay away from the Stormlight, Mistborn, and Cosmere Discussion subforums. There are 6 Mistborn books (and a novella), 2 Stormlight books (and 2 novellas), and like a bajillion other Cosmere books. You will get spoiled in a confusing and major way. Stuff like "x died," "x turned evil," or "x Ascended to a Shard." Spoilers that will significantly change how you view series as you continue through them.

one thing i forgot to put im "one of those" who love spoilers

x is someone i know.

still cant pick 

Licanius is really good

10 hours ago, CoderDrag0n8 said:

I like Math!

Mind telling us what books you've read?

Well my favorite are the stormlight archive, mistborn, the licanius trilogy and the ember quartet.
Cant name all of them

17 hours ago, Qianweilian said:

If you were a Returned, what would your Returned name be?

If you were a misting/ferring, what power would you like to have the most?

Have you read the Wheel of Time?

What cosmere books have you read/not read (whichever is shorter)?

Least favorite book?

I havent read Warkbreaker yet apparently.
If i was a misting i would want burn lerasium
I havent read wheel of time im planning to finish the cosmere first.
Ive read stormlight books 1, 2, and 3 mistborn book 1
Hard choice ill think about it.

5 hours ago, Ink and Embers said:

Welcome to the Shard!

Which book is your favourite? If you were the Vessel of a Shard, which Shard would you be and why?

My Favorite Stormlight book is Oathbringer because it has that one scene "You cannot have my pain" and Kaladin confronting Amaram about "The Reforged Spear" Basically the chapter where they become The Reimagined King, The Reforged Spear, The Reformed Woman and the Reborn assasin ofc they dont get the titles until WaT

My Favorite Shard singular is Cultivation because Cultivation is one of the cores in the Knights raidiant. Basically saying growth over perfection. Cultivations is change, growth means changing for the better plus Cultivation is smart and knows not to do up to odium and start wresleing like honor or something like that. Shes also not bound by oaths only the intent to change.

37 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

Yup, the ones with spikes through the eye sockets.

The ones that haunt my brothers dreams

12 minutes ago, Qianweilian said:

I’ll remind you of one of my previous pfps. It was a picture of me dressed in an awesome steel inquisitor costume. Unfortunately, it’s a bit dark, so too hard to tell what it is without significant editing.

Ati was, by all accounts, an extremely kind and generous man.

Steel inquisitors the hermalurgy guys

44 minutes ago, Aliroz-The-Confused said:

(It's okay, Xzevicus, the forumites here destroy all theories (it's why I don't make theory threads anymore).  I think your theory is a good one.)

thank you

32 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

Yeah, we usually do.

But, it's all because we love being Ruin's little minions deep down, so it's okay.

Ruin lmao

1 hour ago, Qianweilian said:

Brandon has explicitly said there will be an “end” to the Cosmere. Whether that means a radical change after which he doesn’t write further, destruction, or something else, I doubt that it will be cyclical as WoT.

 

Dalinar is dead, unfortunately. While the Blackthornspren leaves some possibility, I doubt it will just replace him.

 

Possible, but half of the original vessels are dead.

I don’t get the “monster” part of this? Also, the resultant shard with a somewhat subsumed vessel will still have issues from friction.

Wheel of Time Spoilers

  Reveal hidden contents

Rand doesn’t “surrender his god-like power.” The thing with Moridin was entirely unintentional and he was arguably more powerful after the fact. There are many theories about this, go read them.

 

Doubt it. See #1. Also he appears to be less interested in “multiverse” type stuff (not exactly the same thing, but same vibes).

 

This WoB suggests that Hoid is at least cordial with the idea of reforming Adonalsium. Although it’s still not a lot.

 

.

(I don’t actually know what this is supposed to mean.)

I agree with Frustration here. (It can sometimes be frustrating when he discredits your theory.)

 

All in all, I think a lot of this evidence isn’t as clear cut as you think, and it feels like a more unlikely outcome. Although, the general concept is still fully possible (maybe not the stuff with Dalinar).

a lot said

Hello, I am new to this forum and i exist. Im a big fan of Mistborn and the stormlight archive and am delighted to be here with this community.
For starters i like History, Philosophy, Technology, Mathematics, Science and Fantasy Novels.
Dalinar and Kaladin are my two goats.
Lopen and Rock are my Gs
Looking forward to future cosmere books and maybe one about the adonalsium.
If you need me my Discord is sovereign_heraldemperor_30275 and link your 17th shard ac in the DM or my mom wont let me add people apparently she never lets me add anyone.
Cya

What if the Shattering wasn't an assassination, but a consensual "System Reset" where Adonalsium is using the current Shardic conflicts to "filter" its power through a new Vessel—specifically one holding a combination of Shards that creates "Retribution"—before ultimately reforming itself?

The Evidence

1. The Nohadon "Trojan Horse": The version of Nohadon we see in Wind and Truth feels more like a direct manifestation of the "Will of the Universe" than a standard Cognitive Shadow. Is this "Adonalsium’s Will" grooming Dalinar to become the "Magnet" that pulls the Shards back together?

2. The "Retribution" Intent: Many speculate on the "Honor + Odium" combination. If the result is Retribution, that Shard’s literal purpose would be to hunt and punish the original 16 Vessels, effectively acting as a "clean-up crew" to reclaim the scattered pieces of Adonalsium.

3. The "Monster" Filter: The theory suggests that as a Vessel (like Dalinar) collects these conflicting Shards, the internal friction will turn them into a "Monster" in their own eyes. This psychological breaking point forces the Vessel to "descend" (surrender their ego), allowing the human element to fall away so the divine power can unify into a reformed Adonalsium.

4. The Wheel of Time Parallel: Brandon has already written a "God-Cycle" where the Hero (The Dragon) must become a "Monster" to save the world, eventually surrendering his god-like power to restore the status quo. Is he mirroring this "Circular Narrative" for the Cosmere’s endgame?

5. Hoid’s Motivations: This explains Hoid’s fear. He isn't just stopping Odium; he’s trying to prevent the "Reformation." He wants to keep the universe "Shattered" because a unified Adonalsium means the end of mortal agency.
   
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