Shardblades work more-or-less by disentigrating whatever touches their edges. Shardblades can be stopped by applying friction on the flat of the blade, for example the >!lastclap!< technique or a cheese wall .

In the real world, this is pretty similar to a saw (removing material in front of the blade). They probably could not cut cheese either.

As a metallurgist, I have cut my fair share of metal with saws, and there's an easy way to stop them dead in their tracks: compressive residual stress. Residual stress are internal forces trying to push atoms together or pull them apart. An easy way to visualize this is by picturing a bent paperclip. The act of bending pushes atoms on the inside of the bend closer together than they "want" to be. Thus, those atoms push away from each other (tensile) to try to spread out. Similarly, atoms on the outside of the bend experience residual compressive stress.

If you had a bar with residual compressive stress and tried to cut it with a saw (or shardblade), the metal will pinch the blade and stop it. (This does mean your bar will be halfway cut, but that's a lot better than YOU being cut).

There are lots of ways to put residual stress in material, and a popular sword has this universally: the katana.

Katanas are heat treated in a way that causes the edge to change phase into a harder, slightly higher volume phase (called martensite). This volume expansion leaves compressive residual stress in the edge, and is part of the reason the edge is curved.

I haven't tried cutting a katana with a saw so I don't know the degree of residual stress or if it extends deep enough to actually stop a shardblade/saw. But in principle, if the >!lastclap<! works, so would a sword/bar of steel with intentionally high residual stress.

TL;DR: katanas > shardblades??

Do we have any information on wether allomantic copper and bronze interact with other types of investiture?

Could a Seeker be able to sense a radiant/fused using the surges? Could they distinguish the surges or only detect the type of light used?

On the flip side, could a Smoker's coppercloud be used to dampen or cut off the rythms of Roshar. Could copper mistings be used to facilitate the creation of anti or hybrid lights? Could copperclouds be used to isolate a singer from the rythms, could this end up being a form of torture for them?

Trial run before Nexus! Tress is amazing, only need to find the perfect cup.

Shardblades work more-or-less by disentigrating whatever touches their edges. Shardblades can be stopped by applying friction on the flat of the blade, for example the >!lastclap!< technique or a cheese wall .

In the real world, this is pretty similar to a saw (removing material in front of the blade). They probably could not cut cheese either.

As a metallurgist, I have cut my fair share of metal with saws, and there's an easy way to stop them dead in their tracks: compressive residual stress. Residual stress are internal forces trying to push atoms together or pull them apart. An easy way to visualize this is by picturing a bent paperclip. The act of bending pushes atoms on the inside of the bend closer together than they "want" to be. Thus, those atoms push away from each other (tensile) to try to spread out. Similarly, atoms on the outside of the bend experience residual compressive stress.

If you had a bar with residual compressive stress and tried to cut it with a saw (or shardblade), the metal will pinch the blade and stop it. (This does mean your bar will be halfway cut, but that's a lot better than YOU being cut).

There are lots of ways to put residual stress in material, and a popular sword has this universally: the katana.

Katanas are heat treated in a way that causes the edge to change phase into a harder, slightly higher volume phase (called martensite). This volume expansion leaves compressive residual stress in the edge, and is part of the reason the edge is curved.

I haven't tried cutting a katana with a saw so I don't know the degree of residual stress or if it extends deep enough to actually stop a shardblade/saw. But in principle, if the >!lastclap!< works, so would a sword/bar of steel with intentionally high residual stress.

TL;DR: katanas > shardblades??

Does Sazed want Wax to take over the Shards?

Re-reading Stormlight as I’m sure we all are - RoW chapter 29 pre chapter statement says that Sazed is looking for ‘A sword…’ to take up the shards.

Mistborn era 2 was not my jam so Ive only read it once and may be missing s lot, but think i remember wax was referenced as a sword many times

Do we think saz wants wax to take up the shards? Knowing that doesnt happen at the end what do we think? The timeline for me is a bit fuzzy at this point as I know we are close in the timeline, with the fourth mistborn 2nd era taking place after WaT, if I remember correctly

Assuming Adonalsium created Roshar and the original singers on it. Could Adonalsium have left behind:

• Old sentient sprens (prior to The Stormfather, The Sibling, The Nightwatch)
• The original forms of the Unmade (before they were unmade by Odium)
• Avatars of Adonalsium?

So I was relistening to RoW and do you guys think that >!Dalinar could wield Nightblood for an indefinite amount of time and just feed it the spiritual realm for the upkeep? He can reinfuse spheres so it got me thinking!<

SO(10) is a so called Grand Unified Theory (GUT) that attempts to unify the forces of the Standard Model of Particle Physics. In it forces can be thought of as rotations in an abstract 10 dimensional mathematical space, which acts on one generation of 16 matter particles (spin 1/2 fermions). Contained within SO(10) is another GUT namely SU(5).

So are the 16 Shards/metals a nod to the 16 fermions of SO(10), the 10 Surges/Heightenings a nod to the 10 abstract dimensions, while the Returned's divine Breath giving the Fifth Heightening and the Stormlight Archive being split into two series of five books are nods to SU(5)?

There are WoB like this and this where Sanderson says that the idea of a unifying theory of physics inspired the idea of having a unified magic system for the Cosmere, but I couldn't find any WoB where he specifically mentioned anything about GUTs. The map of Roshar was inspired by a Julia Set, so basing the numbers with significance to the the Cosmere on numbers with significance to Grand Unified Theories wouldn't exactly be out of character for Sanderson.

It seems likely that mistborn is heading in a industrial direction, and ferrochemy and allomancy are returning in strength thanks to factions trying to breed new ferrochemists and mistborn. I think it's fair to say, that we will eventually reach a point, potentially in era three, where knowledge and power coincide. By that I of course mean, unkeyed metalmind dust.

Once a full ferrochemist is born (or hemolurgy is used to create similar results) nothing is stopping the production of unkeyed metalminds. Compounding makes the idea of mass produced or at least obtainable unkeyed metalminds a reality. This is great for ferrochemists because it means they wont need to spend all their time storing power. But beyond that, it means that any allomancer could also have access to a new reserve of power, a second ability in the form of metalmind dust.

Every allomancer can use unkeyed dust, it just isn't around to be used. I'm fairly confident at some point in mistborns future, buying invested metal dust will be a common thing, for at least the rich among scadrial. A lot of these invested dusts add some minor extra utility and some offer some wild implications, like the spirtual metals.

But personally I would say that gold is hands down the most powerful form of unkeyed invested dust. Burning gold to heal rapidly is something you could do as needed, where as the other ferrochemical powers don't lend themselves to rapid bursts of power. This means, that technically every gold misting is capable of compounding healing.

Whats more, I think we've all overlooked something about gold. The ability to alter ones identity.
Now I'll be honest, I'm not sure if this is possible, but what Brandon has said makes me think it is. I think looking back at ones alternate past might allow you to reset your identity to an alternate version of yourself. Couple that with gold, and you may be able to regrow limbs or... perhaps rewind aging? Not really sure of the implications of using gold to alter you own identity, but it could have crazy implications. I imagine a gold misting being able to stand again, after using their powers to change their identity then using unkeyed gold dust to heal.

Anyways what do you all think? Do you think unkeyed dust is coming? And what about other kinds of invested metal dust?

If Taravangian had the ability to use a zincmind, would the mental speed that he stored be equivalent to his level of intelligence that day? Say he tapped into his zincmind several times the normal amount it took to store it, could he become several factors smarter than his smartest self while tapping?

I just finished Tress & loved it, such a sweet and well-written story!! Also really enjoyed the weaving in of different elements of the Cosmere. Particularly with the Sorceress (Riina) and her unique combination of powers:

• She is able to curse people using AonDor, as she is an Elantrian
• She can manipulate the aether spores through the Luhel bond
• She can awaken metal soldiers....

It's that last point which I'm super curious about. My first thought when reading it was that she used BioChromatic breath, but her glowing aura seems to be from being Elantrian instead. We also know from Yumi and the Nightmare Painter that other types of Investiture can be used to awaken objects. Could Riina be using Dor to awaken her Army??

I feel like the implication here would be huge, considering Dor can be packaged up and used elsewhere and the ethical issues with using BioChromatic breath. Could someone, with the right Connection and Intent, awaken objects with Stormlight??

Hello! I got the big box of SanderSwag with the Words of Radiance Leatherbound. Does anybody have any recommendations on how to store/display the challenge coins or the pins? I saw that there was a licensed one but that went out of stock two years ago.

Thank you!

I’m in the middle of WoK, and it’s quite a journey for me, and also for Kaladin and Shallan. I’m not trying to see things that aren’t there, but, as good stories do, some scenes bring me back to situations I was in, like a member of my old church trying to convert me back. The scene was Shallan conversing with Kabsal and the appearance of Jasnah.

Thinking about what I ‘believed’ before and feeling like Jasnah, whom Kabsal considered to be a heretic. I guess that what a good book does to its readers.

I have the feeling something great is going to happen after the Highstorm, so I’m diving back in

I am on my reread of Stormlight and I just thought of something.

The Parshendi go into mate form into order to procreate. Is this a requirement of their species? Can the entire species still procreate without mate form, but they use it to get their juices flowing, or do parshmen have a muted form of mate form that they use while in slave form?

But more importantly, am I thinking too deep into the mating habits of a fictional species?

Has to make sure I finished everything in time for WAT - might even have time to reread ROW...

I really want to see or hear about Kelsier trying to recruit Marsh into the ghostbloods.

I wonder if he has made any real attempts to bring him into the fold already and how it went not sure if Brandon has any WOBs on this already

In SoS, Wax visits the mausoleum in the Field of Rebirth. Inside there's a mural depicting the Originators - Hammond, the Lord Mistborn (Spook), Lady Truth, & Breeze.

Who do we think Lady Truth is?

Allrianne.. Beldre?

Are the excisors they use just metalminds that let one store the abilities of feruchemichal aluminum and nicrosil? So that they could then store the ability to use nicrosil and another power in the medallion?

I know it makes things grow and heals, but those uses seem pretty limited. How would it be different between a Edgedancers and Truthwatcher? I think I've seen some hints at spiritual mechanics but not sure.

So how does one store investiture in a nicrosil metalmind?

To store such traits as strength and speed, one must become their nominal opposites - weak and slow, respectively. Investiture, in this case from metalminds, is necessary for this process to be successful.

Surely the opposite to storing investiture is not storing investiture. But how can you do that when latently storing an attribute makes use of investiture?

Edit: further thoughts

As far as I understand the Cosmere, magic systems aren't magic in the hand-wavy gobbledygook wizard kind of way, but rather can be understood and quantifiably measured in units.

When storing attributes, how weak you get and for how long affect how much you store and how strong you can be later on.

But if your access to investiture is simply binary, then the length of time you don't have access to investiture would be irrelevant. Those with nicrosil metalminds would have no need to store anything, exactly, but rather can simply and instantly "store" investiture in an instant. Intuitively I don't feel like this is how Sanderson has set up his otherwise consistent magic system.

So, to me, this implies access to investiture is inherently on a spectrum. This could explain why one Mistborn is more powerful than another. Perhaps this knowledge could be utilised to make stronger Mistborns, Feruchemists or even Radiants.

I started reading the Cosmere in March and just finished The Sunlit Man today. Technically there’s still White Sand, but I’m going to wait for the novelization to read it.

Are there any books similar to the cosmere? With similar in-depth magic systems?

Oooo, this one was fun to make. Portraits are always nice to draw and I feel like this one holds quite a bit in terms of content :)

I was debating on what Immortality meant in the Cosmere since the guy who made everything got shattered… Kelsier isn’t really immortal but I feel like with him making a religion out of himself, being called the Survivor and everything it fits pretty well. (Also him deciding that he wouldn’t die which is pretty cool)

We don’t really know what’s going on with Wit exactly so I wasn’t sure if I should put him in.. would have worked as well.

Hi, new Sanderson reader here. So the other day I finished reading Mistborn and I absolutely LOVED it and I just started well of ascension (Ham supremacy btw) but I have a SMALL gripe…I feel like the fight with the Lord Ruler was kinda underwhelming.

Sure he was putting Vin and Marsh through the ringer and likely could have won if vin didn’t do what she did but I just feel like final fight against the man they spent the entire book plotting against should have been a bit more…intense and longer than one chapter at the very end of the book, I kind of expected him to be the over arching antagonist through the series (maybe that’s on me for expecting that) but is this something that gets addressed in later books and I just have to keep reading to find out how this whole thing wraps up? What are you guy’s feelings on the fight?

#SPOILERS FOR TWOK, WOR, AND THE FIRST 20% OF OATHBRINGER

I finished WoR earlier this year and am trying to finish Oathbringer and RoW before book 5 comes out in December. I'm about at the point where >!Taravangian!< is visiting >!Urithiru!< with his entourage. I did my best to go back and refresh my memory on this character and I still feel a little confused. Here's what I think I've grasped so far:

• I remember that he was the one holding >!Szeth's oathstone!< and instructing him to >!kill the monarchs!< throughout TWOK
• I remember learning in WoR that his condition is such that >!he wakes up with a different degree of cognitive ability, and the Diagram that he wrote on his best possible day is what is guiding his actions!<. I remember that his condition was part of a deal with the >!Nightwatcher!< to >!save humanity from the desolations!<
• He is the only monarch who has agreed to speak with Dalinar at >!Urithiru!<, and seems to be doing so on friendly terms, but there is pretty clearly some icky foreshadowing going on

I guess I'm mostly confused because the whole ">!making a deal to save humanity from the Desolation!<" part seems like he has a good moral compass, but it is clear that he is doing very evil things as part of his plan. So I find myself conflicted on how to feel about him, but it seems like he's going to be a big part of how things unfold in Oathbringer. Is there anything obvious that I'm missing that I should have grasped about his character so far?

Is all of this a RAFO?

I started reading the cosmere in January with mistborn and made it my goal to finish before Wind and Truth, today I am officially done! Just finished The Sunlit Man. What a universe.

Yo, to the loremasters of Cosmere, I have questions.

1)Assuming a Fullborn exists, what are the theoretical steps needed to create Unsealed Metalminds (Since we don't know how Excisor works)

2)If a Fullborn completely stores their Identity, then Compounds Nicrosil to store massive amounts of Investiture. What exactly are they Storing? Their ability to use Allomancy and Feruchemy? Can anyone tap into a Nicrosil metalmind?

3)And finally, does someone using the Spikes from Steel Inquisitors still able to Compound after Sazed's Ascension? I know Spikes made after Ascension are denied the ability to Compound.

P.S. I am writing a fanfic that I hope will grow to span at-least all the main series of Cosmere. It's barely 7k words now.

Here it is : Kelsier's Gambit

Give it a read, if you are interested.