Shardlet

I took the time to go through and search (e-books are great for this stuff) more about the Marks Cross. It is only mentioned in the illustrations and it appears to have two functions 1) to anchor a line of warding; and 2) to provide addition chalkling attachment points. There is no indication that the lines of a Mark's cross are lines of forbiddance (LoFs) except that there are/were only four known rithmatic lines. While a dual wield seems likely to able to produce such a structure with LoFs, it still seems that it would have problems with itself. I expect however that this is something that will be mentioned in the next book as well as LoFs on movable surfaces and vrtical surfaces. I would also expect that trying to stand on a field of a LoF which is drawn horizontally on a wall would be really really really tricky since it would be essentially a frictionless surface (think mag-lev trains). You could push directly against it (force applied normal to the plane of the field). But, if you tried to walk or even shift your center of gravity from a balancing position, you would fall down.

I'm afraid that that is not accurate isomere. A salt is an ionic compound which results from a neutralization reaction between an acid and a base. So, while an oxide is an ionic compound, it is not a salt. Thus several stormlight gemstones, such as amethyst (SiO2), are not salts. And, as an irrelevant side note, your beryllium aluminosilicate example is stable at room temperature whereas diamond is not. Diamond appears stable because the kinetics of the allotropic transformation are so slow. (Diamond is however very stable against chemical attack). Edit: While you are closer Weiry, salt is much broader than groups 1 and 7 ionic compounds. For example Fe2(SO4)3 (ferric sulfate) is a salt. Edit2: corrected my terrible error (in the context of my post) of saying that it was a salt/base rex'n rather than acid/base rex'n <forehead slap>.

Do we know that the Mark's Cross is composed of two lines of forbiddance? I am currently rereading and I don't recall these (so far) being identified as lines of forbiddance.

So, tangent. Does Nightcrawler pop into and out of Shadesmar for his teleporting? Edit: added emoticon to give context

Well, a bullet, which is a solid object (in the sense that it is a particle or made of particles rather than in the sense of solid, liquid, or gas), is deflected (meaning its original course is changed) by hitting the bubble. Sound is transmitted by particles (atoms, molecules, etc.) vibrationally smacking into each other. So, essentially sound waves (vibrational frequencies passing from particle to particle) cannot pass through the bubble without being deflected. Since sound waves are continuous (as opposed to instantaneous), and objects hitting bubbles are dflected in unpredictable ways, then presumably sounds hitting a bubble would become incoherent relative to their original form since a first part of the soundwave would be deflected in a different manner than a second, thrid, fourth, etc. part of a sound wave. edit: clarified what I meant by 'solid object'

YES, he could have.

Upvote for the beautiful reference to a fabulous classic SNL character, excellently portrayed by Gilda Radner.

I agree. But the important point is that the prophecy of the Hero was not found only in the Terris religion, but was also found in other cultures/religions as well. Think the Flood. This story is known to most of us as the story of Noah. But, many other cultures (other than Judeo/Christian/Muslim) contains legends and stories about a great flood which covered the Earth.

Recall also however, that Kwaan had a truly remarkable memory outside of his metalminds, yet he flattered himself to think of himself as the announcer. That is a fairly significant role to overlook for one who has such a storied memory, especially so, when one believes the subject to apply to oneself. I think 'the announcer' fabrication predated Kwaan, otherwise the change would have set off major alarms for him. He didn't change his thinking until after the Worldbringers jumped on the bandwagon and he started to notice the prophecies fit Alendi too closely. Subtle differences clued him in. This suggests that the addition of the announcer would have been a pie in the face. Edit: Sorry Phantom, I failed to accurately respond. Yes, the announcer was originally identified as Sazed. Ruin did indeed tweak it to become "the Holy First Witness". However, Tensoon did call Sazed "the Announcer" and Sazed recognized the original title which peaked his interest in the Kandra.

Whether or not the announcer was a complete fabrication is largely irrelevant since it was a pre-TLR fabrication. If you'll recall, TenSoon referred to Sazed as "the Announcer" in HoA as he was about to leave Urtreau. This is what brought Sazed out of his funk. The Kandra did not have written records except the first contract which was inscribed in a metal plate. Nor did they have metalminds since they were no longer feruchemists. Their religion was handed down orally by a generation which was contemporary with Sazed as well as Alendi. Thus, we know that the announcer fabrication pre-dated TLR.

Without getting into specific quotes, in HoA WoA, Sazed and Tindwyl's Hero of Ages research was greatly enhanced once they discovered that other cultures and religions spoke of the hero and the announcer, using different titles and names. (I just reread Mistborn over the last month).

Taking the tone down a notch, I'd like to point back to forging (not even Shai specifically). Forging involves rewriting the history of an object or person in such a way as would be in harmony with the target's physical, cognitive, and spiritual self. That means, to be a successful forger (such as is the case with Shai), one would need have a fairly intimate acquaintance with the interactions between the physical, cognitive, and spiritual aspects of a single object or entity. It seems to me that, to be a successful forger (meaning above average skill), one must have at least a basic understanding of realmatic theory. This, I believe would support the majority opinion on the quote interpretation. I am inclined to agree with the majority on this one. I get your point Phantom and your interpretation cannot be ignored. It certainly appears to indicate your interpretation on its face. But, I think there is some room for interpretation (particularly in view of evidence seen in the books. The books are unalterable canon. I'm not even saying that Brandon misspoke (though, that is a possibility). Here is an extraordinarily hyperbolic example: Assume Brandon said in an answer to a question that Kaladin was not bonded with a spren. However, you know from reading TWoK that Kaladin is bonded with Syl and Syl is a spren. Are you more inclined to ignore what you've read in the book, assume that Brandon misspoke, or find an alternative interpretation of the book or the quote in order to reconcile the two?

I don't know how much of the Terris religion was the prophecy. At the end of the trilogy the only aspects of the religion we know about is that it is centered around Ruin and Preservation and that it contained the prophecy established by Preservation and corrupted by Ruin (yes, broad strokes, but that sums it up). But, it is important to remember that this same prophecy was seeded throughout several other religions on Scadrial. Also, it is important to note that Ruin changed aspects of the Prophecy to manipulate indivuals to a single goal, releasing Ruin from Preservation's prison. Everything else was butter. I don't anything other than that to indicate a broader corruption of the Terris religion. In the case of Vorinism, I expect it will be a more banal source of corruption, people's quest for power and influence. I don't think it will be particularly seeded by Odium himself.

Mistborn had subversion by Ruin directly. But even then, there was only tweaking. As to TLR's actions, he didn't subvert religions he suppressed and destroyed them. The key difference in TWoK would be, I presume subversion for personal gain rather than influenced by a Shard. And even it was under Odium's influence, the subversion is different since this is the state religion of five nations. The impact and theme is very different than subverting an ancient prophecy.

Thanks, good tips. I haven't read any Dick, but I know he has a bit of a dystopian bent that I may enjoy. I've read a lot of Clarke. Gibson is new to me, though.

Thank you both for your comments. I really appreciate your input.

I'm not so sure about that. I don't see anything to identify that Shai is a shard or a splinter, but she seems to have at least the fundamentals down pat.

The Jasnah quote is definitely very suggestive. But many of us have been quick to discount Jasnah's belief that the parshmen are are the voidbringers saying that while she believes this she is incorrect. And that is about a subject which is Jasnah's prime focus of study. Also you and others have said that you believe that the Cryptics live in Shadesmar, but I do not understand why. Clearly they can grant access to Shadesmar, but we have never seen a Cryptic in Shadesmar. I am not saying this to be hostile. I just don't understand why you believe this but I would like to know.

You may be able to understand esoteric concepts and mathematical constructs, but only with a grounding in how that level of math operates and a knowledge and understanding of the evidences and information that lead to those concepts and constructs. If someone started spouting string theory to you and you had no understanding or knowledge of anything on even an atomic level (much less a subatomic level) or the math that suggests string theory, then you wouldn't have any clue on what they were talking about, what the significance they were talking about was, or even be able to reasonable piece through what they were saying, much less understand it.

I think it is important to note that the knowledge of at least 4 of the remaining 16 metals was suppressed by TLR. At the very end of HoA, Sazed informs Spook that there are two more metals that are so far not known (bringing the total to 16). Unless there were other metals that Sazed felt would be very bad for them to be known, I would expect that Sazed would have indicated more. Also if there were metals that Sazed intended to remain unknown, I would expect he would have given Spook more specific information on the remaining two metals he indicated. FYI, Sazed said (paraphrasing), "By the way, Spook, there are two more metals out there and I think that you'll think they're pretty rockin'."

True, but surgebinding abilities can exist and be used outside of a spren bond. Szeth, we know, is not bonded to a spren, yet he can use lashings. We have been quick to tie Shallan and Jasnah to KR orders, but the only characters we are justified in doing anything more than speculating about this are Kaladin maybe Dalinar because of his interactions with Honor. But, since we have seen KR abilities outside of KR conditions (i.e., no spren bond) then we should not use speculation as evidence against different speculation. Also, for the record, neither I nor Meg said that See, you say here that the Cryptics are very likely connected to Shallan's soulcasting, but above that you point out that there appears to be a bit of a disconnect with Jasnah, when it comes to the Cryptics. Again, I point to Szeth and abilities with no spren bond. Also again, it may very well be the beginning of an enduring spren bond. I don't think we have enough evidence to refute either theory, but I personally feel that the evidence we have so far leans transient. As to your comments Crysanja, recall that at this point Shallan has been at Karbranth for quite some time. I think this span of time is long enough to justify a general 'always' in the sense of the 'whole time we have known you'. I think the fact that there are several Cryptics in the general vicinity of Shallan and Jasnah suggests that they are something significantly different in nature than Syl.

However, we have no indication yet whether the bond that was formed between Shallan and the Cryptic was transient or enduring. It is entirely possible that such a transient bond could be established to gain access to Shadesmar. The Cryptic does not appear to play any role in the actual soulcasting other than giving Shallan access to Shadesmar where she accomplishes the soulcasting. The soulcasting appears to be an interaction between just Shallan and the goblet. On the other hand, it may very well be the beginning stages an enduring bond. We simply don't have any evidence one way or the other that I have seen. If you have or know of any other evidence to support your belief happyman, I would love to know about it. Because I, like Meg, am dubious as to the Shallan-Cryptic bond being enduring. As to the drawing, that Shallan "sees" the Cryptics in her drawing clearly verifies that something mystical is happening when Shallan takes and draws her "memories". However, she has also clearly been making these drawings for a long time without having ever seen the Cryptics until she started doing drawings in the Palanaeum. I think this indicates that the Cryptics have little, if anything, to do with her drawing ability.

We are aware of vision because we are aware of blindness. If everyone had perfect vision, there was no blindness, no way to blink or obscure your vision, there was no darkness and only one constant level of light regardless of your setting (inside a cave, or a building, or in an open field on a sunny day) then the concept of vision would be completely taken for granted and ignored. All these things we have been discussing have such absolute meaning to us that we honestly cannot dissociate ourselves from this experience. People frequently express sorrow or sympathy for people who have been blind from birth, but to them it is completely normal. Their only concept of light and vision is anecdotal. Their experience with these things comes only from what they have been told by others. While temperature has a scientific absolute, if temperature in all things was constant, then the concept of temperature would never be explored and understood, even empirically. The point is everything we have experienced we understand only because of contrast. We recognize fear because we usually don't feel fearful. Contrast is everything in our perception and understanding of our experiences and emotions.

There are, two allomantic alloys which are formed from two allomantic base metals. Bronze (copper and tin) and brass (copper and zinc). Let's assume one of these as the basis for this inquiry. Allomantically, it would simply be an alloy brass or bronze. I suppose the overall effect would be determined by: 1) What is the compositional percentage of the alloy? 2) How pure a base metal must be to be allomantically sound? 3) What is the allomantic composition for brass/bronze? 4) How close must an alloy composition be to the allomantic alloy composition to be viable for use? Condition 2 applies also for metals which together are not used to make an allomantic alloy (chromium, aluminum, iron, etc.). In other words if the mixture of, say, tin and copper is close enough to the allomantic bronze composition, then it would burn like brass with weaker strength and probably give you a headache or worse. If it is a mixture of aluminum and chromium then, unless the amount of tin was low enough to make the alloy viable as impure chromium, the also a headache and weak power at best. If it is outside that range, then it would either be unburnable, as some have argued, or kill you since you could burn any metal and bad metals will smack you. I can't think of any reason why the fact that both metals are by themselves viable would save you.

The idea is not that you would not be able to recognize hot without having experienced cold, but that much of the things that we perceive are relative and contrast provides increased understanding and clarity. As to love and hate, I really don't consider them to be opposites. I think ambivalence or absence of feeling towards someone or something is a more accurate opposite to either.