WitAdjacent

Really kinda feels like youre just trying to kill the vibe man. This was meant to be fun. If you know that its just words on a page written by Bandin why are you trying so hard to prove a point? I just thought it was a cool theory that was bouncing around my noggin - its not a doctoral thesis.

But who was the Sovereign?

Okay, I am arriving late to the party, but has anyone considered if the Bands we see in The Bands of Mourning, and The Lost Metal are actually the Bands of Mourning? Maybe thats why everyone was surprised to find a spearhead as the "Bands", and a statue of Kelsier whom they incorrectly identify as the Lord Ruler. Could Kelsier have taken the true Bands and left behind a lesser version of the Bands as a misdirect? There are a lot of gaps that haven't been filled between the end of Era 1 and Secret History that haven't been explained, at least to my knowledge.

Sorry about that! New around here. I'll do better!

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I know the terminology can get twisted easily. Like the idea of someone becoming a "sliver" or a "bearer" or "vessel". Goodness im already confused. I think what you're saying makes sense now that you've clarified terminology for me. Harmony is a conflicted being that cannot act due to Rules applied to him from the Shards he carries. If we thought Preservation or Ruin were limited by their Shard's Traits, then Harmony must be practically immobilized. I can see how, and its coming back to me as I type this, that Wax could be an arm of Harmony (and Wayne as well in his explosive way) by preserving as they ruined. If Harmony were to act as purely interested in Ruin or Preservation he would cancel himself out, as Ruin and Preservation often did in Era 1. Doesn't he make the comment, almost every time he enters the mists, that his pain goes away or he feels invigorated? He must be pulling on them subconsciously.

Is Sazed already the "avatar" for Preservation and Ruin? Like Rayze, then Taravangian, is for Odium? Its my understanding that Autonomy is unique in how the power is shared to individuals, not making them full avatars, but "splinters" of the shard while still connected to the main shard? I dunno if that makes sense. You think there was a little more to it than him just being aligned though? Like didn't Wax inhale some of the harmonium leading to him hearing voices and seeing things? He also had like enhanced coinshot abilities far and away from what others had been able to achieve, save Ole Iron Eyes.

I love Wayne, and I think he's way smarter than he let's on. He seemes fragmented, so easily accessed by beings like Harmony, but if he is being directed by Harmony, I dont know of he's aware of it. Dragons-very cool. I wish there were more of them in the books, though I think the lack of them makes them even cooler when they show up in-cosmere, as they feel overdone in every other fantasy series, except for LotR, I think Tolkein got em just right. I think the compounding that I like the most is gold, simply because it gives you essentially invincibility, although I dont know all of the different types of compounding, so maybe I should look into that more! I know the idea of compounding bendalloy is tantalizing, but I dont know the specifics of what that looks like. As for noncompounding, I really like Wax's combo of changing weight and being a coinshot, what a fantastic combination to fly and be as heavy or light as you need to be for pushing! I resonate strongly with the Windrunners, and have nearly cried ever time Kaladin has come to the words of his next ideal, I feel a strong kinship with him in his feelings of remorse, guilt, and putting pressure on himself to be enough and to save everyone. As for surges, I think the edgedancer surges are the coolest, being able to glide on any surface and heal others seems like the best combo. I mean Hoid is fantastic, in every scenario I like him more and more. Sigil was a surprising like for me, as I didn't like him at all at first, and was not expecting him to fall into the role he's fallen into.

Thanks for your response @Schizoposting. I did, and do, use AI to organize my thoughts into a post or other things. I spend a lot of time on the road and enjoy using the "chat" feature to spitball my ideas and type them out. I typed this out, but im comfortably at home today While I could see it as being "plot armor" I find that in Sanderson's books he rarely does something that doesn't have a meaning behind it (whether or not its apparent at this point or not), but I could easily be reading more into it than is actually there. Plot armor didn't seem to stop Wayne from dying in the biggest damn explosion a human has ever made (much to his excitement and my sorrow). And yes, Harmony is limited, but it just makes me think back to Secret History where preservation was kind of an idiot too. Harmony is just on the other side of things. He is new to it and struggling to balance, while preservation had a plan and was dying and couldn't remember his plan. I also think of it being somewhat like his preservation side has to hide things from his ruin side and vise versa. He's a being of duality and opposing forces that limits his ability to intervene one way or another, but he still finds ways to do so, and maybe thats what we're seeing - this cognitive dissonance of sorts- thus his "ham-fisted"-ness. Not trying to convince anyone per se, but its just a thought that occurred tk me while driving and listening.

Hey all! I go by WitAdjacent. I’m relatively new to the Cosmere, but I made the questionable life choice of reading almost the entire thing in about a year… which means my brain is currently a dense knot of Shards, Investiture, and “wait, that felt important.” As a result, I’ve gone full theory goblin. I’m especially interested in: Subtle Shardic influence and constrained gods Identity, Fortune, and Investiture mechanics Characters who look like comic relief but quietly nudge planets That last point is what finally pushed me out of lurking: I posted a theory about Wayne, Harmony’s limitations, and how small, seemingly throwaway actions might be doing far more work than they appear. If that sounds interesting (or heretical), I’d love thoughts, counterarguments, and WoBs I probably missed: Wayne, Subtle Shards, and The Butterfly Effect - A Unified Theory Looking forward to learning, being corrected, and overthinking the Cosmere with you all. — WitAdjacent

Hello my fellow BrandySandy fans, I want to float a bundled theory about Wayne that ties together several ideas that are often discussed separately: Fortune, identity, Harmony’s limitations, kandra connections, and Wayne’s seemingly “random” influence on Scadrial. Core premise: Wayne is not a full Feruchemist—but he is a uniquely effective agent of Harmony precisely because of how subtle, indirect, and unconscious his influence is. 1. Harmony’s Problem: Subtlety Harmony repeatedly states that he is constrained—blind in places, unable to act decisively without upsetting the balance between Ruin and Preservation. Historically, both Shards relied on nudges, not commands. Preservation’s plans worked through tiny interventions; Ruin excelled at indirect manipulation. Wayne fits this pattern perfectly: He never receives direct orders. He acts impulsively, emotionally, and chaotically. Harmony still explicitly calls him “one of my agents.” That combination feels intentional. 2. Wayne and Fortune (Not Feruchemy) Wayne displays repeated, abnormal “luck”: Winning at cards (often framed as cheating, but reads like Fortune). Taking or trading objects that later prove symbolically or narratively important. His fixation on small trades—always leaving something behind. This doesn’t require Wayne to consciously tap Fortune. Instead, it suggests: Harmony subtly weighting probabilities. Wayne being nudged toward actions that look meaningless but ripple outward. The handkerchief-with-the-rabbit scene, paired with Wayne’s monologue about the past changing the future, feels almost too on-the-nose to be accidental. 3. Identity, Performance, and Aluminum Brandon has said Wayne is “just a very good actor.” I agree—but that doesn’t rule out Cosmere mechanics reinforcing that talent. Points of interest: Aluminum becomes more common as Era 2 progresses. Wayne is constantly swapping items and carrying objects in his duster. Identity storage doesn’t require hats specifically—clothing and carried metal would suffice. His personalities are context-perfect, not random. Even if Wayne is not storing Identity himself, he may be unusually malleable to it—something we know Investiture responds to. 4. Wayne as an Unacknowledged Catalyst Wayne: Funds technological advancement (electric lighting, sports leagues). Accelerates cultural change while believing he’s “wasting money.” Has no attachment to wealth or legacy. Is almost never credited. That is exactly how a Shard constrained from overt action would prefer change to happen. 5. Kandra Adjacency (Not Necessarily Heritage) I’m not asserting Wayne is half-kandra—but the parallels are interesting: Deep emotional resonance with MeLaan. Comfort with fluid identity. Kandra are now agents of Harmony. Wayne’s father disappears mysteriously and was a “mine worker.” Even if no literal lineage exists, Wayne occupies the same narrative function as a kandra: adaptive, unnoticed, transformative. 6. The Literary Device From a storytelling perspective, Wayne works as a “background force”: Readers write him off as comic relief. His actions accumulate quietly. Only late do we see how much he altered the trajectory of Scadrial. If this is intentional, Wayne isn’t the hero who saves the world—he’s the one who makes sure the right world exists to be saved. TL;DR: Wayne isn’t a secret Feruchemist or a chosen prophet. He’s something more dangerous and more useful to Harmony: an unconscious vector for subtle change, probability nudging, and cultural evolution—guided, but never commanded. Curious what others think, and whether there are WoBs or textual counterpoints I may have missed. — WitAdjacent