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The more benevolent Shards, like Cultivation or Endowment; how do they feel about Sazed holding two Shards?
You'll have to ask them. That's a RAFO. I want to stay away from too many questions, about the interaction between Shards beacuse that years off, and I want to be careful not to be saying too much before...
Will Sazed appear at all in the Stormlight Archive?
There are no current plans for him to do so.
How far does Sazed's power actually extend?
It is mostly limited to his immediate sphere of influence, so the planet.
...But doesn't he move stars at the end?
No, he moved the planet. His solar system, he can definitely have influence on the whole solar system. But none of the other planets around Scadrial are inhabited.
In Mistborn Era 2 Marsh has a pouch with some atium leftovers. If he burns a bead occasionally (and hereby burns a part of Ruin's body) does this weaken the Ruin part of Harmony/Sazed somehow?
Technically yes, but it's too little atium to make any difference.
Who provoked the confrontation, Tanavast or Rayse?
RAFO.
Could a hypothetical shard of double power split itself into two different single power shards at will?
RAFO I'm afraid.
Chapter Eighty-Two
Sazed Ascendant
The answer is yes, I planned it from the beginning. And I didn't.
It's difficult for me, even as the author, to trace back when and where the various threads of a story began. I wrote all three of these books in a row, and to me, they're one long story. Yes, I chose three distinct segments of time over the five-year span, and separated out those chunks. But it's all part of a whole, which is why it was so important for me to be able to write this series as one singular book.
So, if I go back to my very first notes, will it include a discussion of Sazed becoming God and using the stories in his metalminds as guidelines for remaking the world? No, I don't think it's there. Just like Kelsier wasn't originally planning to create a rebellion through his sacrifice, just like Vin wasn't even originally female.
Things change and grow with a book as you write it. However, let me say that I knew early in the series that I wanted Sazed to end up as the Hero of Ages and ascend with the power. I felt it was the only way to deal with the world ending and have it start anew. Plus, he's the only one who really deserved it, as he was the only one of the characters who ever cared much about religion.
I kept this in mind while revising the first book, as I'd finished the rough draft of book three by that time. I planned how to use his religions and feature them in the novels in a way that would show off their finer qualities.
In a way, this is my compromise. As I've said, I don't believe in the "spokes on the wheel" theory. Not every religion can be true, if only because they—logically—disagree on so many points. But every one of them can teach things that are true. This is something I actually believe. And, like many of my beliefs, it ended up influencing how I wrote this book.
Sazed speaks to Wax
So, if it matters to you, this is actually Sazed talking to Wax here. It's not just Wax's imaginings.
I'm not sure what readers are going to think of this. My goal with the original Mistborn trilogy was to set up a mythology for the world, one in which real characters were playing a part. Sazed is, essentially, God now. Maybe a lowercase g would be better on that word, but regardless, he's the one watching over the world and making sure things go as they should. At this point, he's working hard to discover what's going on with the other Shards and to keep another disaster from coming Scadrial's way.
I've spoken before on my fascination with religion, and this aspect is a particularly interesting one for me. I've played with the ideas of men being treated like gods in Elantris and Warbreaker—but they didn't really deserve it. Here, however, we have Sazed who is approaching more of what a god would be. Should he be prayed to? Why or why not?
You should know that holding two opposed Shards of Adonalsium has made Sazed more . . . zen, if you will. Not inactive. However, he has taken a belief that both Ruin and Preservation are important in people's lives, and doesn't feel that interfering is something he should often be doing. He sees his primary role being to encourage people to be better, to keep an eye on the other Shards, and to make sure the world keeps working as it should.
Now that Sazed is both Ruin and Preservation can he not see metal too?
Yeah, it's the same thing for him.
Sazed is a Shard. Just like a king of two countries is still a king, a holder of two Shards is a Shard.
Can Sazed "will" himself to any Shardworld if he so desires?
Yes, he has the capacity for it. However, will he? Don't know. If he did there would be a lot of ramifications for it...
Does Sazed talk to Wax when he has that thing in his ear, while he’s praying?
Yes, that is Sazed.
Will Sazed have any role whatsoever in the Stormlight series?
Only a tangential one.
I asked if Sazed is the only one to hold more than one Shard.
"Sazed is the only one to currently hold two Shards." After a few seconds, he added, "I'm not going to say he is the only one to ever hold two."
If someone did, like what Dalinar did at the end of [Oathbringer], go on Sel, and they Ascended to take up the Dor, would they be stronger or weaker than Sazed?
If someone were able to take up the entire Dor, would they be stronger or weaker than Sazed? I would say equivalent.
Aren't they all Shattered? Aren't they all Splintered, both of them?
The thing about it is, taking up the power-- taking up the power would-- So, I'll leave it at this. I would say equivalent. Everything still considered.
Can a Returned like Lightsong go to Roshar and form a bond with a spren?
Investiture interferes with other Investiture.
And they have a lot of it.
And they have a lot of it. That is not-- It's not completely-- For instance you can Push on Invested metal, but it's hard. There's a resistance, the more Invested the harder-- So a bond for instance-- forming a bond-- It's, yeah-- It can be done--
I mean Sazed took two of the powers up, right? But I kind of imagine what he did as a nuclear reaction. Where breaking an atom is hard, unless you are in the middle of a sun. And he was in the middle of the sun. At that point--
There was a lot of stuff going on around him that facilitated.
Yes, definitely. But when you've got that much power you'll-- In other words if there is a lot of power going around, these things become easier.
So, possible but difficult is--
Yes.
Have we met any of the champions in The Stormlight Archive yet?
Have you met any of the champions in The Stormlight Archive yet. Yee-- You have-- Um, I'm not going to answer that one.
Some of the few Shards Rayse Splintered included Ambition, I believe, Dominion, and Devotion.
Yes.
And those were all way back, in the history. So, we know that the Shards' personalities overrides the Vessel's personality over time?
Strongly influence, and depending on the individual, override.
Okay. So did Rayse choose those Shards because--
He went after Ambition first, but didn't find Ambition until after going after Devotion and Dominion. But Ambition was number one on his hit list.
Was it because of the Shard or because of the Vessel? Like did he hate the person?
In this case it was the Shard, primarily, that drove him--
Oh, he was maybe afraid the Shard would grow too powerful and take over--
He was afraid that this Shard that would rival him. And so he's like "This one is number one on the hit list. We're taking down Ambition." But then he got trapped in the Rosharan system.
Can all Shards have champions?
This is a, um, Theoretically possible, but you will find more about the backstory of why this works here.
Are Ruin and Preservation separate in Sazed or are they fully combined together like can he give one of them, or does he have to give both.
They are not fully combined. I mean that's not the way this works. He could pull off a piece of one even and make-- stuff like that. That's totally, totally viable. I mean it's basically what happened with the spren. The spren existed before even Honor was destroyed and things like that.
So, did the-- my gosh, on Sel-- the Aons-- not the Aons-- the seons did they exist before the Splintering?
They did not. That's a good question. But they are not the majority of the power. They're just little pieces, they are like the sparks when something gets destroyed. The sparks are not the majority but they are the sparks that were thrown off, if that makes sense?
Sazed's two Shards do not "cancel out", as Brandon said that it would like being pulled by two huge gravitational tides. You can get to a way that you aren't instantly ripped apart, but that doesn't mean you don't feel it. (When asked what effect the Shards would have on Sazed, Brandon said, "Read Alloy of Law to find out".)
Was it relevant that Ruin mentioned Passion to Vin?
Yes.
If Sazed got bored one day, could he split the two Shards he has?
Read And Find Out.
So for right now, there are fifteen Shards?
Right now, there are sixteen Shards, but fifteen Vessels. Well, not even that, 'cause, you know.
Will Sazed eventually go mad trying to hold two Shard's power at the same time (being pushed to two different Purposes simultaneously for millennia)? Why hasn't anyone else tried this trick before in the Cosmere?
No. Since they're so opposite they work together to create a whole. However, after a LONG time it would change him as a person.
Could [Sazed] also bring back lerasium beads, if he wanted to?
It would be within his power to do so, yes.
Is Sazed the "Seventeenth Shard", as referred to in the epigraphs of part two of The Way of Kings?
Sazed is not the Seventeeth Shard. Whether he's IN the Seventeenth Shard is another question. It is an organization.
I wanted to ask, is the Shardbearer [Vessel] of Odium a human?
Not any longer.
Ok, that's... I didn't expect that one.
But what the answer to your question you really want to know is, was he originally human?
Yeah.
Yes. That's a good question! But I don't think he counts anymore.
I currently have a pet theory--
Oh yeah? What is it?
That... there's a-- That there was-- Whatever the fourth Shard that Odium [Splintered]-- People-- The people who founded Threnody were--
So you should read Khriss' introductions to the worlds in the Cosmere Collection.
*after reading a personalization request* What do you mean by specifically what Paalm was doing, which thing?
Her ultimate goal, we think, was to Shatter Harmony.
You think her ultimate goal was to Shatter Harmony?
*audio obscured*
Her ultimate goal was to free people from Harmony, so I wouldn't say her ultimate goal was to Shatter Harmony. So what you're asking me is "Is Taravangian trying to combine Harmony?
We thought that Paalm was trying to divide people from Harmony in order to Shatter Him. *audio obscured* Taravangian was doing the opposite, trying to gather his people so that he could pick up-- so Honor could come back.
Not really. Good question, once I figured it out.
So, in the beginning of Alloy of Law, Bloody Tan says that he has met God, Death, and the Survivor. We know that Lessie was working with Harmony the entire time. Was Bloody Tan also under the influence of Harmony?
So, "under the influence of" is perhaps a...so I would say "No," but, he is not lying at that point.
Oh, that is awesome.
So, "under the influence" is extreme, but...Harmony is also not 100% guiltless. Let's put it that way.
You know, that feels like a good answer. That way I can at least have Harmony not my most hated Shard, but...
Harmony does not deserve to be hated, but Harmony is having troubles figuring out how to make things work.
Has ever a Shard been forced - besides Odium in Roshar - to leave their planet after it was destroyed.
Yes.
Yes - besides Odium?
Besides Odium? Yes. Has a Shard been forced to leave their planet after the planet was destroyed? Yes.
So in Shadows of Self, when TenSoon and Wax are fighting the spiked creature things, TenSoon mention that he was Harmony's "Preservation."
*Brandon seemed a bit apprehensive about that statement*
And he said that Wax was Harmony's "Ruin."
*still apprehensive* Yes...
Well since Harmony has been around for about 300 years someone else would have had to fill that role, right?
Probably...
And could that person possibly have been Paalm?
Maybe.
So Odium is trapped on a planet near Roshar. Now that Talenelat is no longer being bound wherever he's at, does that mean that Odium's imminence is--
Taln still is keeping to the Oathpact. So there is that. But [Odium's] being bound is greater than the Oathpact.
During Adolin's exploration of Urithiru (right before he murders Sadeas) he comes across a painting
A fanciful picture with animals from mythology. He recognized a few from children's stories, like the enormous mink like creature with the mane of hair that burst out around and behind its head. What was it called again?
Let's answer Adolin's question. Is that a lion. Does this mean that normal animals once inhabited Roshar but became extinct or were forced to adapt after the arrival of Odium or the Highstorms. Or maybe these were artist illustrations from stories brought over to Roshar by worldhoppers? What do you think?
With shardpools being a thing and worldhoppers like Hoid being a thing as well it's entirely possible that people brought stories of the fauna of their world with them when they came to Roshar. After all, we know (via Word of Brandon) that the Horneater lakes are shardpools so they could have knowledge of lions via travelers, seeing them in the pools or some other way (worldsingers?)
Edit-- just noticed you mentioned worldhoppers. I think that's what it is, but it could also be stories from the original inhabitants if (big if) the original inhabitants came from elsewhere in the Cosmere.
Edit again -- They might have gone extinct after the arrival of Odium. If the rest of the world was akin to Shinovar prior to Odium then it's entirely possible for their to have been lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!).
Unless someone asks (or has asked) Brandon then I have no clue.
[Brandon]can you aid us in our questions?
No, it seems like you're asking the right ones.
Can you aid us in getting answers?
I've done so already, by providing two in-depth discussions of the nature of Roshar. They're called The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance.
So the number of Shards that have been on Roshar is three, correct?
Correct.
People have been thrown by you saying that Odium is not native to Roshar.
Odium is not native... see that's the thing. Are any of them native? So if you dig the deeper question, are any of them native, ehhh, none of them are native to the planets that you've seen so far. What I probably should've said to be more precise is that Honor and Cultivation were there long before Odium showed up.
About the Passions. Are they related to Odium, or is there something bigger cosmere-wide?
They are related to traditions from the past that were Odium-influenced. I wouldn't saa-- So, they are technically related to Odium in that sort of method. More in a roundabout way, though.
So, I was actually wondering whether Tanavast constructed the confrontation with Rayse in such a way that *inaudible*
That nailed his foot to the floor?
He's stuck on Braize - at least for now.
Ah, yes. That was, in effect, that was an intentional -
It was deliberate? Okay.
It was deliberate. Yup.
*Inaudible, possibly 'Rayse'* started to win?
Um, well...
I'll keep it secret until it shows up on Facebook.
Yeah, it... so, Odium came at him, and he gave - not as good as he got - but he made it cost.
Did he sacrifice himself, or is Odium better at that sort of thing?
I wouldn't say that he sacrificed himself, I'd say he went out swinging.
Is Odium just better at that sort of thing?
I would say, yes.
In Oathbringer Cultivation calls Dalinar Son of Honor and Son of Odium. Why? Does he Connected to both Shards and technically can be a Vessel for Odium.
Also, why Cultivation says it'd be good for her to have a part of Dalinar inside of her? Is it important?
This is partially RAFO territory, but let's just say that Cultivation takes the long view on someone--and to her, Dalinar represents both the the best and worst of both Honor and Odium.
When Dalinar teleports away from Vedenar back to Urithiru, the Thrill immediately comes to him even though he just went a very large distance away. Was this due to Odium talking to him directly at that point, or did Odium move Nergaoul there to maintain the effect of the Thrill, or was Dalinar already Connected to/consumed by Nergaoul and the distance effectively didn't matter because Spiritual Realm Things(tm)?
Dalinar's feelings are not always the Thrill. A part of him legitimately feels these emotions--and there are other things happening as well. (Either way, Odium did not move Negaoul in that scene.)
How does Connection to a Shard actually work? 16 random people took 16 Shards in the past, I don't think all of them had special Connection to a certain Shard each of them picked. We even know that Ati, Ruin's Vessel, was a kind, generous man, direct opposition to Ruin's Intent.
However, in Mistborn we find out that you must gain certain amount of Connection to become a Shard Vessel. Kelsier wasn't Connected to Preservation well enough (he's more of Ruin), Sazed was somehow Connected to both Preservation and Ruin? So, should you be Connected to a Shard to Ascend? Why was it different in the past?
Also, what would happen if, theoretically Dalinar, a good, honorable man, kill Odium's Vessel and take a Shard for himself? Will he change Shard's Intent to something...let's say less destructive or Odium's intent will just devour his personality and he'll act just like Odium's current Vessel?
That's pretty big RAFO territory, I'm afraid. I'll just say that this is something I do intend to delve into in the books.
It says that it's dangerous to travel to Shadesmar on Sel. Why?
It has to do with the Dor and the lack of an entity controlling much of the power Odium left in his wake on Sel.
Woah, that's interesting. I had no idea Odium left little bits of his power on Sel... I guess it kinda makes sense for evil monks to be powered by pure hate, though.
Odium did not leave his power behind, one should note. He left several other powers which are now, to a large extent, mindless...
If you wouldn't mind answering, does Roshar have a similar problem, with Honor being Splintered?
No, Roshar does not have the same problem. There are some differences going on. One reason being that the spren are far more extensive on Roshar, and provide something of a "release valve." The seons and the skaze on Sel are not numerous enough to fulfill a similar function. Though, of course, that's only one part of the puzzle. Raw power is dangerous.
It's one reason everyone should be thankful Kelsier was around on Scadrial.
I know that you've answered this before, but we don't have citation yet. Was the earthquake caused by Odium's visit to Elantris? You've answered that one before, I believe.
I don’t know if I have. I think I’ve given implications without a strict, direct answer on that one.
And what are the implications, so I can know if I'm thinking of the right answer?
What do you think I've said?
I think you've said, no it isn't.
The Seons existed before the earthquake.
But was the earthquake caused by Odium?
When Odium visited there were no Seons.
So if I understand correctly, every Shard has three different states in which it manifests physically in the world, liquid, gaseous and solid. So my question is, Harmony's holding two Shards, is there any bleedover that would make like...harmonium?
In the newspaper pages, one of the essays is on "Does Harmony have a metal?". So this is a question they are asking in-world, that they think should probably be, and if you look around you see strange metals appearing, including one that is highly unstable. Or highly reactive is what I would say, not unstable, because it's not radioactive but it is...yeah, so.
The fact that Odium has bested other Shards implies he is more powerful. Is Odium inherently a more powerful Shard or is it a matter of his nature?
Both factors play a role.
In reading about Adonalsium and Odium, I get the sense that it's more related to lerasium and atium than it is to, like, Preservation or Ruin. Because, sometimes it seems like we're identifying... Odium and Adonalsium as beings instead of, like, the body of--
Yeah, it is a little confusing by design. The question is, like, telling the difference between the Vessel who is holding the power, the intent of that power, and the physical manifestations of that power as Investiture or as whatever, these things are confusing. And I did this on purpose. I like that blurring between them. One of the things I did when I was designing the magic for the cosmere, was-- you guys know this very easily from looking at the books, I love the ideas of quantum theory, string theory, all this stuff. And even, just looking at quantum mechanics as we understand them right now. And the further you get into the details, the more the rules that you built, everything you understand upon, become blurry. And we live in this world where certain scientific principles, like-- I was sitting at a writing group, talking to my friend who's a mathematician, and I'm like, "I really like math 'cause it is objective. One plus one equals two." And he's like, "Well, the further you get in math, the less that actually is true, and the more 'One plus one equals two' is a philosophical statement, not an actual objective truth." And we talked about the nature of, the further you dig into things--
So, I tried to build the cosmere magic-- For instance, how the Bands of Mourning work. We are getting away from Step 1, which is, "Metals push or pull." We can get that. Into Step 2, where we are building complex machines out of the interactions between the magic. And we will then get to Step 3, where it's like, we can explain the principles, but you need to be a computer engineer to understand exactly how the computer is working. And I wanted to be able to build to get to that point. With the philosophy of, "What is the power, what is the individual, what is the intent," and things like that, we're kind of going that direction, in a philosophical direction. What does it mean? What are the answers?
Humans like things to be divided and put in boxes, but in nature, these boxes are usually arbitrary, of our distinction. So, I like that aspect of our interaction with the real world. So, the answer to your question is, this is not a question for me, this is a question for philosophers. Where does the intent stop, and the being begin? And what does it mean to have a body? Is the body of the original person that has taken up the Shard, the Vessel, when that drops out when they die, is that their real body? Or is that just the power pushing out something that it absorbed and recreating it, and dropping a copy of it? What is that? What's going on there? What's it mean? How much can a Vessel influence their intent? This is all a question for philosophers, that I'm going to explore in the books, but it's not the sort of thing that you're like--
Does one plus one equal two? The answer is, one plus one equals two according to this proof that we believe explains the universe, but is a little fuzzier than you think it is.
Can you give me a hint about Odium?
Odium is not native to Roshar
Was Bloody Tan influenced and/or controlled by Harmony or one of his agents? During those introductory events [in The Alloy of Law prologue]?
Controlled by Harmony? No.
Was he controlled or influenced by anyone outside of himself?
*sounds like he's about to say “yeah”* RAFO.
Are there any other spren from Odium aside from voidspren?
Voidspren is a name for spren from Odium, it covers entire categories of spren.
So they're all just generically voidspren?
Voidspren is a name for them, yes, but there are sub-divisions of things like this.
Can you break that down more?
You will get that broken down in future books as it becomes more obvious what does what, coz they have their own thing that, I'm just going to stop. That's a RAFO.
So the scene at the end of Oathbringer, when Odium is confronting Taravangian and he uses futuresight to expand upon the Diagram, we have this blacked out section with Renarin's name linked to it.
Yes.
Is that because Renarin's abilities interfere with Odium's futuresight similar to how electrum interferes with atium?
Any time that someone else is seeing the future in the cosmere, it's going to have ripples against your ability. Like they are-- you can't-- It's the same sort of thing that if-- someone who has access to atium is going to mess up anyone else's futuresight in any way, because once you use that it's going to cause you to act differently, which then-- And remember futuresight is not very good in the cosmere anyway. But yeah, it's just gonna mess things up.
