AquaRegia

I think the motions of feather and the hammer will be EXACTLY equal in a vacuum. F = GMm/r^2 , so the masses of the two interacting objects don't ADD, they MULTIPLY. Yes, the force on the hammer is bigger... but its resistance to being accelerated (inertia) is also bigger by exactly the same factor, so they cancel out. At least, that's the high school level Newtonian physics I'm competent at.

Just reread chapter 26 in RoW, in which we find that "Motif, Ishnah's Cryptic... His Alethi was not good, so he preferred to speak in the Cryptic language." Say what, now? Have seen this before? Do other types of spren have their own languages? Did I miss something? I'd been under the impression that spren could speak to anyone. Why? Partly due to the Stump's spren performing as a translator, partly due to the fact that there has never (until now) been an encounter between a spren and a human where communication was a problem, and partly due to the fact that they are - as Syl would say - "immortal slivers of god" and stuff. Suddenly we are supposed to think that spren have to LEARN human languages? If so, doesn't it seem odd that so many of them seem to speak perfect Alethi? Did Wyndle have to study Azish as a prerequisite before being allowed to bond Lift? I feel like everything has changed. Am I nuts?

Anybody else start reading the title of this topic and say "what happens in Shadesmar... STAYS in Shadesmar" ? What I want to know is where deadeyes end up when their holder dismisses their Blade. To to place in Shadesmar they were when summoned? Or where the holder is now? Say I'm in Thaylen City; I summon my Blade, go through the Oathgate to Urithiru, then dismiss my Blade. Where in Shadesmar is my deadeye now?

That person was Tyn. There is still debate amongst Sharders about whether it was Testament or Pattern that Shallan used to kill Tyn... but I definitely think it was Testament. There are contextual clues in that scene (10 heartbeats, for example) that imply the Blade used was not a living spren Blade. That's a really good point, you may very well be right. In any case, Testament would have been able to stay close to Shallan while she went to the Stattered Plains, but would have a long walk indeed to Urithiru. Since most of what we know about deadeyes comes from 1) Adolin and Maya, whom we KNOW are a special case, and 2) living spren, whom we know are wrong about many things, we don't have a lot to go on yet.

My understanding (please correct me where I’m mistaken) is that deadeyes, in the Cognitive Realm, are drawn towards the Physical Realm location of the human who has bonded them, but they can be elsewhere, and they are limited to walking speed in following. Captain Ico comments “they’ll walk right off the deck and into the ocean, looking for the human who holds their corpse.” When a shardblade is summoned by its holder, the spren disappears from the CR (RoW ch. 75). My assumption is that when a shardblade is dismissed the spren returns to the CR in the corresponding analogue of that PR location. Thus Testament would have been at the Davar home when Shallan left to find Jasnah. Once Shallan boarded a vehicle moving faster than a walking deadeye, Testament was left behind. She tried to follow, and ended up on an island, probably close to the Shattered Plains. There she was found and cared for by her old friend, the inkspren shopkeeper, on the shores of the bead ocean nearest to Urithiru (RoW ch. 29).

I enjoyed the analogy of Sanderson as the God of the Cosmere. It was not what I was expecting, and it made me happy. I absolutely LOVE the way Brandon explores the idea of religion - how they start, how they change, and how they influence people's experiences of the world. It's really quite beautiful and optimistic. We see people from different cultures and religions getting along, working together, learning from each other; a lot of the character growth in the Cosmere novels happens because someone's worldview is expanded by either 1) a relationship with another character with VERY different beliefs, or 2) learning a deeper truth about their own religious beliefs.

I'm in agreement with @Kingsdaughter613 and @Bzhydack. At some point I expect we will see an entire enemy army sunk armpit-deep in solid stone.

I have the impression that we're expected to think she's been practicing, although we certainly never see it. I am a bit frustrated at what a mystery Jasnah still is, but it's not like the books are too short and could use some filler - there is a LOT going on behind the scenes. Plus, she's got her own flashback POV novel coming. Also, in principle, "medicine" could mean 100% pure compounds (like aspirin or acetaminophen), which would be MUCH simpler to soulcast than a complex mixture like strawberry jam.

Welcome! I have a master's degree in chemistry, and know I passed at least one graduate course in linear algebra. I was supposedly able to do eigenvalue/eigenvector calculations... and I'm STILL not clear on what they are LOL Do you have a single favorite Cosmere novel?

Hopefully @Kingsdaughter613 will be available to write Secret History 2, just in case Brandon never gets around to it! I know I don't get to choose how things work out (have worked out) for our favorite crew leader. But I can't help but feel that with Allomancy, Feruchemy, Hemalurgy, Realmatic technology, Cosmere awareness, allies, minions, spies, and hundreds of years... if there was a way, he'd have been able to find it.

OK, this seems like as good a place as any to try to get some Kelsier questions cleared up. WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR MISTBORN ERA 1 AND 2, SECRET HISTORY, WARBREAKER, AND PROBABLY EVERYTHING ELSE. We are supposed to believe that Kelsier is "stuck" on Scadrial and wants to be able to worldhop. But WHY IS HE STILL STUCK? As seen in BoM, he's got a physical body as of Catacendre + a few years. He's been a cognitive shadow with a physical body for 300+ years by the time we get to "current" Roshar. He knows Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy; he's got access to a culture in Southern Scadrial who can make unkeyed metalminds for anything, including Connection and Investiture; and he's got agents all over the Cosmere. And we know that both cognitive shadows and highly invested objects can travel to Roshar from offworld, otherwise, how did Vasher and Nightblood get there? I don't get it. Seems to me if Kelsier hasn't been able to figure out how he can leave Scadrial in 300 years, he isn't trying.

I can see either Wit or Mraize as a possible influence on Sigzil. @PleatherDuster, nice catch on the Worldsinger angle, I had completely forgotten about that. I recall that Sigzil was VERY concerned about measuring up to his master's hopes and expectations... but now that he's around all the time, at the SAME STORMING MEETING as Sigzil, they don't even speak to or acknowledge each other? Wit's old student is now a Knight Radiant, and Sig's old master is hooking up with Jasnah... but they don't recognize each other somehow? That seems VERY weird. In any case, I get the vibe that Wit has his reasons for wanting Shallan to become more Cosmere-aware, while at the same time seeming somewhat protective of her, and he clearly has an idea of what the Ghostbloods are up to, as evidenced by his scheme with Pattern. He could easily have a motive for the Shadesmar trip. As for Mraize, @Kingsdaughter613 I agree his motives are quite clear, but I'm confident that a guy as resourceful and devious as he is could find any number of ways to trick, prod, or manipulate someone into making a suggestion at a meeting without actually recruiting and tattooing them. Do you disagree?

Methinks we need a new topic for what Kelsier can and cannot do, and how we know. I'm just finishing a reread of BoM and OH BOY do some things make more sense now... yet there are still so many questions.

ermagerd, yer jerned the Sherd! Cool handle, btw.

@Bzhydack thanks, yeah, I definitely didn't have that all straight - I'm just finishing a reread of BoM now.

Thanks. I found the conversation (ch. 13). In the space of half a page, he says 1) "Investiture is bound to it's home planet"; 2) "Radiants and spren Connected to Roshar are bound by the same laws"; and 3) "I have unlocked the secret to the Connection problem." One could interpret these statements as "Radiants are trapped on Roshar NOW... but once I carry out my plan, they won't be any longer." MB Era 2 spoilers inside

Forgive my ignorance, but how exactly do we know that Radiants can't leave Roshar?

Last we saw of Kelsier, he was physically DEAD. As a Cognitive Shadow he has no ability to burn any metals. What reason do you have to think this has changed as of RoW? Also, regarding the great ambivalence many of us feel about Kelsier, Brandon feels it too: "Kelsier's got this dark edge to him where he could go villain very easily, depending on what’s going on with him. *pause* That’s kind of how I view Kelsier’s defining attribute, if channeled correctly he’s a great force for good, but he’s like right on the line." https://wob.coppermind.net/events/74-shadows-of-self-san-jose-signing/#e4312

YES! I knew there was at least one other character I was forgetting and it's definitely Ulim! Thanks for adding him in. Seems unlikely that the Braize connection is a coincidence.

Moved here because I accidentally spoilered up the Stormlight Forum - sorry! Has anyone else noticed that the Heralds we've seen - Ash and Kelek in particular - talk more like modern-day English speakers than any other characters on Roshar? Ishar speaks very formally, but he's playing the role of a god-king. Nale also has a very severe way of speaking, which fits his severe personality. Ash and Kelek, however, read like contemporary Earth humans. Twice in ch. 17, Ash uses the word "yeah" - the only time, I think, anyone has done so in four novels. Kelek, in ch. 82: "Boy, you're doomed. You realize that, right? Tanavast is dead. Like, completely dead." The only time in four novels anyone uses "like" as the well-known idiomatic filler word it has recently become. He's also the only one to use "hell" and "for heaven's sake". This has to be intentional on Sanderson's part, so I'm wondering WHY? What does it mean that he seems to want these ancient Ashynites to sound the most modern to our ears? Thoughts? I'm also very interested to hear from folks who read other language translations of the novels. Did these differences come through in your experience?

Another clue that Allomancy works differently in Era2: when Marasi accidentally jolts the moving coach with a stationary speed bubble, she says "I should have known better. I haven't done that since I was kid." This implies she both knew of and used her Allomancy as a child.

Just finished Khriss' cameo in BoM (the dance scene with Wax); shortly after, an ad shows up in The New Ascendancy (New Seran) broadsheet: My first thought was that they were looking for Awakened objects like Nightblood... but I guess it might make more sense if they are searching for unkeyed metalminds. But do they "talk to you?" Are they looking for the metal objects, or for the PEOPLE who are hearing metal talk? I'm puzzled. Thoughts?

Agreed. Rereading MB Era 2 now, and nowhere is 'snapping" mentioned. The implication is that Allomancers either know instinctively, or have discovered safe and gentle means by which to find out. Note this advertisement in the New Seran New Ascendancy broadsheet: "Potential Allomancers Needed to Test New Metal Alloys - latest scientific breakthrough has created an ENTIRELY SAFE method of discovering new Allomantic abilities." The metals only need to be inside your body; Brandon has confirmed that there is no digestion involved. Cadmium or other toxic metals could be encased in wax, and pass harmlessly through the subject if not burned. Roger this. Bendalloy can't possibly occur naturally (at least, not on Earth) - it's a weird mixture of mostly bismuth and lead, with tin and cadmium added. It's also quite toxic, even through skin contact. I wouldn't swallow any unless my life literally depended on it. I find it very reasonable that Spook would have known (either through Harmony or Kelsier) about all 16 metals, even the ones that hadn't been "discovered" yet.

I was both surprised and very pleased by Raboniel's character arc. I was expecting someone like Darth Vader or Cruella DeVil, but what we got instead was a very thoughtful, nuanced, realistic-feeling antagonist. I hesitate to use the words "evil" or "villain"to describe her, even though I completely agree with @Kyn's assessment of why she's terrifying. I loved how she was so clearly NOT driven by anger or hatred. She treated Navani (and all the humans) as people, not objects. People she had no qualms about killing, sure, but still people, some of whom were worthy of respect. Her sole motivation was to end the cycle of Desolations and free sentient beings (whichever ones happened to survive) from the despair of neverending conflict. I find her goals and her cleverness admirable, if not so much her methods. I'm sad we won't be seeing her anymore.

Ever since I learned that Roshar is a young planet, wholly created by Adonalsium, nothing about its geology surprises me. Everything we know about how metallurgy normally progresses on a "natural" planet is right out the window; it's possible that there is not one single atom of gold on the whole planet (except what worldhoppers have brought in).