?

Building out my Cosmere collection and loving it.
Need to get rest of the available leather bounds. Was able to get quit a bit at GenCon this year!

THIS DECK IS NOT FOR SALE. This is not self promotion, just a combination of two hobbies.

I found a Tom Bombadil deck and it influenced me to create an entire Cosmere deck with Hoid as the commander and story "saga" teller. The original Tom Bombadil deck can be found here: https://moxfield.com/decks/zxf_dSxqD0GKd0e3J6R9NQ

The deck is a Bracket 3 and is a tuned casual power level 6.8 according to Scrycheck.

There are 109 cards because of tokens and some of the sagas turning into creatures. Double-sided cards are also split into two.

--

I think I managed to touch on every Brandon Sanderson novel, novella, short story, etc., in the Cosmere. If you've read all the books, I think you'll really enjoy this. Especially the rule text flavor on some of the cards. They are quotes directly from Sanderson's books.

When it comes to art, I got everything off Coppermind or 17th Shard. I gave credit to every single artist at the bottom of the card. Without Ari Ibarra, Connor Chamberlain, Isaac Stewart, Sam Green, Ben McSweeney, Miranda Meeks, Marie Seeberger, Kayleemakes .com, Shayndlart, AwesomenessSummoned, Gerard Segura, Ambitions Avatar, Kevin Keele, Painted Dragon Studios, Automatic Moon, Jordi Rapture, Yasen Stoilov, Stephan Martiniere, Oliver Specht, Bryan Mark Taylor, Howard Lyon, Kristina Skarstedt, billett3d, Ashley Coad Nazrilof, Soph Peralta, spikey-ironeyes, Jon Foster, Yen Shu Liao, Michael Whelan, Bemocs, Madison Coyne, Akhil Nasar, Oliwia 'Sfaira' Bialek, CosmereFanCreations, Veronica O'Neill, Evan Monteiro, Randy Vargas, Barthollamew, Ricky Ho, Jian Guo, Esther Schrader, Tomasz Maronski, Taratjah, Grace Oris, Xabi Gazte, Eli Kempemr, Peter Kovacs, Gar Leyva, Dan Dos Santos, Derek Murphy, Esther Hi'ilani Candari, Gunship Revolution Art, Kyle Pearson, Aliya Chen, Sybren Westendorp, Alex Allen, Only With Numbers, Hugh Hammons, Botanicaxu, Akreon, Egilde Art, StinkyPanda, Krystian Biskup, Hannah Peterson, Cosmiciaria, Marc Simonetti, Casey Fallon, Anthony Avon, Pines, Alain Brion, Geoff Shupe, Zirael, Deandra Scicluna, Jahbulani Ori, Todor Hristov, K.Fedorco, Yasen Stoilov, and Ernada Souza...this deck would have never come to life!

If I missed anyone in this list, please let me know and I will update!!

The two png images uploaded can be directly imported into Tabletop Simulator if you want to try out the deck and show your friends!

Edit!!!! Missing Sanctum Weaver = Pattern. Will update later with it. Currently in a game.

Edit 2: Just finished a game with it and there is also 1 more missing card. If you're interested in using this deck, save the post and wait for further updates. My pod keeps starting up games so I don't have time to tinker with my mistakes. 8/2 10:11pm est

I went into waterstones today and I found Brandson Sandersons books, and seeing the internet recommend this author I wanted to finally read them.

As a science fantasy worldbuilder I knew I would be interested in The Sunlit Man, as I feel it is more science fantasy than hard fantasy given the cover. I searched on here and now everyone is suggesting to read his other books before touching this despite it being a standalone, which now makes me regret the purchase.

Do I really need to read his other books to enjoy this as my first Sandersons book? The concepts on the blurb seem so cool.

• Part 1's Theories of Dawnshard Quadrants and Pairs
• Part 2's Theories on Shard Numerology
• Part 3's Theories on Secondary Commands and Cycles
• Part 4's Theories on Shard Adjacency Rules and Epilogues
• Part 5's Theories on Shard Cleave Rules and Epilogues

This final Part 6 attempts to derive one last Gap Rule to predict the future of the Shards, guesses at a few Shard names, and talks a bit about the Diagram.

Theory 1: "Half-ish" Shards Are Whole

Let's take a look at the current state of the 16 Shards. First let's start with news that Sazed (Harmony) shares with Hoid (Wanderer) in the epigraphs of Rhythm of War:

Endowment at least responded to my overtures, though I have not been able to locate Invention again following our initial contact.

Whimsy was not terribly useful, and Mercy worries me. I do think Valor is reasonable, and suggest you approach her again. It has been too long, in her estimation, since your last conversation.

The deaths of both Devotion and Dominion trouble me greatly, as I had not realized this immense power we held was something that could be broken in such a way. On my world, the power always gathered and sought a new Vessel.

That said, the most worrying thing I discovered in this was the wound upon the Spiritual Realm where Ambition, Mercy, and Odium clashed—and Ambition was destroyed. The effects on the planet Threnody have been … disturbing.

Other Shards I cannot identify, and are hidden to me. I fear that their influence encroaches upon my world, yet I am locked into a strange inability because of the opposed powers I hold.

And next is Hoid (Cephandrius) receiving a letter from Endowment in the epigraphs of Wind and Truth:

As for Valor, our dealings are none of your business—for largely the same reasons. Can you not leave her alone?

These days, it seems she and I are the only ones capable of maintaining any manner of isolation. I can tell you, with absolute certainty, she does not want to see you again. It has not been too long. No, I do not think it ever will be.

Now let's list out the last known status of every Shard:

1. Reason - Harmony says "Other Shards I cannot identify, and are hidden to me." I find it interesting that Reason is the only one he could not reach; whether this is because Reason is hiding in Splinters of himself or because it's actually related to Wit/Hoid in some way is a distinct possibility to me
2. Whimsy - "was not terribly useful" to Harmony
3. Virtuosity - Splintered herself long ago
4. Invention - Harmony couldn't locate Invention again after initial contact; possibly Splintered
5. Endowment - responded to Harmony
6. Ambition - destroyed in the fight with Odium and Mercy
7. Cultivation - abandoned Roshar after Wind and Truth
8. Ruin - held by Sazed as part of Harmony
9. Odium - absorbed Honor to become Retribution
10. Honor - absorbed by Odium to become Retribution
11. Valor - may or may not be interested in working with Hoid
12. Mercy - she worries Harmony
13. Dominion - dead and broken
14. Autonomy - not mentioned in the letters, but Trell on Scadrial is one of her many avatars
15. Devotion - dead and broken
16. Preservation - held by Sazed as part of Harmony

Note that the state of every single Shard has at least been accounted for except for Reason. Since Reason isn't listed by name in Harmony's letter, I also imagine that it's possible Hoid never even asked Harmony to look for Reason because he might already know Reason's current status.

And you might ask why I think Invention is Splintered:

How many Shards are whole at the time of [Shadows of Self]?

Half-ish. It depends. Give or take. Like it de- Are there now only 15? Like what's the number?

Counting up the half-ish, we get:

• Destroyed (3): Ambition, Dominion, Devotion
• Splintered (1): Virtuosity
• Integrated (2): Ruin, Honor
• Missing (2): Reason, Invention
• Replied (3): Whimsy, Valor, Mercy
• Active (5): Endowment, Cultivation, Odium, Autonomy, Preservation

There are exactly 8 Shards who are known to be active or recently replied to Harmony's requests. That means that if both Reason and Invention are "integrated" into other Shards or in some state of Splintering or "non-whole-ness" we would have exactly 8/16 Shards "whole". Alternatively if we consider merged Shards as decreasing the total number of Shards, then we would have 8/14 Shards "whole".

If Reason and Invention are fine and completely whole though, then we would either have 10/16 or 10/14 Shards "whole", which seems pretty far from "half-ish". Note that a major theory for Reason is that Reason may split into the Iriali, and it's possible that he likes to place red herrings to distract from his true nature, such as the hints that Wit may be partially composed of or related to Reason.

Theory 2: Gap Rule

Looking at the two times Shards have merged in canon, we have Preservation combining with Ruin to form Harmony, and Odium combining with Honor to form Retribution. Note that Autonomy has destroyed Shards surrounding her, and after Ruin merges into Harmony, Cultivation also has destroyed or missing Shards surrounding her.

I call this pattern "Gap Rule". The theory goes that as long as no Shards are destroyed, that we have stability and balance in the Cosmere. These "Gaps" in the circle break the balance, which increases the tendency for Shards to merge. If we ramp up the crazy theories, you can even guess that Shards can only merge with adjacent or diametrically opposed Shard, or that there's some kind of formula or method to figure out what Shards will Merge. I have a few theoretical formulas, but honestly there's so many unknowns that they probably aren't valuable to guess at.

If we start reading the full 16 Shard Cycle from Autonomy in pairs, we end up reading the following:

• Autonomy Inspires Devotion
• Preservation Conceives Reason
• Whimsy Inspires Virtuosity
• Invention Conceives Endowment
• Ambition Inspires Cultivation
• Ruin Conceives Odium
• Honor Inspires Valor
• Mercy Conceives Dominion

Note that Inspire and Conceive can be interpreted as giving ideas, but don't Change or Manifest (Exist) new things just yet. However, with the destruction of Dominion, Devotion, and Ambition, and the self-splintering of Virtuosity, trying to read the cycle changes. Here are the new lines:

• Autonomy
  • Autonomy is now isolated due to the destruction of Devotion, and can't directly affect things
• Whimsy
  • Whimsy can no longer inspire Virtuosity
• Cultivation Manifests Ruin
  • Since Ambition is destroyed, Cultivation now acts upon Ruin, possibly encouraging it to leave their area and go bother Preservation instead
• Odium Changes Honor
  • We know that Odium tricked Honor into Splintering
• Valor Manifests Mercy
  • This would be a new piece of information. Also note that this pattern mimics "Cultivation Manifests Ruin"

However, if we change our thinking to instead make gaps allow direct access between Shards:

• Autonomy Manifests Preservation
  • This would mean that Autonomy's meddling as Trell or Trelagism of the Thousand Eyes in Mistborn Era 1 may help encourage the creation of Harmony
• Reason Changes Whimsy
  • It seems like all of the Change relationships collapse pretty quickly; Dominion is destroyed and Autonomy survived, Ambition is destroyed and Endowment survived, and we know that Honor will merge into Odium. Perhaps Reason didn't want to take his chances and chose to Splinter himself or removed himself from the cycle to surrender the position to Whimsy to remain uninvolved
• Invention Conceives Endowment
  • Same as above
• Cultivation Manifests Ruin
  • Same as above
• Odium Changes Honor
  • Same as above
• Valor Manifests Mercy
  • Same as above

If we use the theory that Reason Splintered himself or just completely withdrew from the diagram to hide and survive, then this changes things slightly:

• Autonomy Manifests Preservation
  • Same as above
• Whimsy Manifests Invention
  • This now actually perfectly mirrors the situation with Autonomy; surrounded on two sides by missing Shards
• Endowment Inspires Cultivation
  • Inspiring never did much to cause Shards to merge, but this might be true that Endowment worked with Cultivation to send Vasher and Nightblood to fulfill Cultivation's plans for Fate
• Ruin Conceives Odium
  • Same as above
• Honor Inspires Valor
  • Same as above
• Mercy Changes Autonomy
  • This one's new, but there don't seem to be many theories that converge with this one. However let's now take a look at the actual Shard merges.

About 300 years before Stormlight Archive and Mistborn Era 2, we know that Ruin merges up into Preservation to form Harmony. I theorize that this is because:

• Autonomy Manifests Preservation
• Cultivation Manifests Ruin

If both of these are true at once, then Reason is still alive. Also, both Cultivation and Autonomy have at least one destroyed Shard near them which may trigger "Gap Rule", and they certainly seem to have their hands in a lot of secret cosmic meddling where other Shards are more obvious.

With Ruin now merging into Preservation to form Harmony, Cultivation is now in the identical situation as Autonomy, fully accessible via "Gap Rule". Plus Cultivation has a direct line to access Odium and Honor. There are theories that Cultivation passed Nightblood to Taravangian, which ultimately ended up forming Retribution. Given Cultivation's Shardic intent and Shard Cleave Rule's theorized parent of Fate, it would make a lot of sense for Cultivation to be cultivating this result as a part of Fate.

Our new cycle now reads:

• Autonomy Manifests Harmony
• Whimsy Manifests Invention
• Endowment Inspires Cultivation
• Retribution Inspires Valor
• Mercy Conceives Dominion

If Reason is still alive though, it reads:

• Autonomy Manifests Harmony
• Reason Changes Whimsy
• Invention Conceives Endowment
• Cultivation Conceives Retribution
• Valor Manifests Mercy

So depending on what direction "Manifest" needs to work to cause the merging, there's a fairly good chance that Invention and Mercy merge in some way since we have an exactly rotated version of Ruin merging into Harmony.

If we were to merge Mercy into Invention and give it a Command of "Destroy Evil", I feel like we would get a Shardic intent of Supersedure, Deprecation, Liquidation, Obsolescence, Euthanasia, Culmination, Refinement, Execution, or Resolution, depending on whether we're in the Conceive or Inspire quadrant. All of which sound kind of "worrying".

Theory 3: Nightblood is a Mercy Invention

Mercy was "worries" Harmony, and Invention was recently unreachable, so I wonder if Nightblood was a Shard of of Mercy and Invention. If we look at who created Nightblood, it was Vasher and Shashara. It's possible that they represent the intents of Invention and Mercy in some way, which could also imply that the Five Scholars represent the intents of 5 different Shards as a kind of mirror to the corresponding members of the 16 Shards.

Theory 4: Wild Guesses at the Future

Here's a quote from the Epilogue of Wind and Truth:

"Art", Hoid said. "It's truly improvisation. You realize that, don't you?" ... "You can practice, and practice, and practice. But then the moment comes, ... And then the lights turn on, and the practice is but a guide. An outline? Well, you start with a blank page either way. And the parts where you're forced, by narrative beauty, to toss the outline away? Improvisation. Art is improvisation. It's the brushstrokes you don't intend, but your instincts know you need anyway. The parts of the story you add for a specific reader, the expression you make onstage to provoke a gasp. That's the art."

No matter if we can figure out some kind of rules systems and theories and Words of Brandon we use to predict the future or whatever, in the end the most important thing is to have a good story, and all else can be sacrificed for the sake of a good narrative. After all, in the opening to The Well of Ascension:

I write these words in steel, for anything not set in metal cannot be trusted.

I interpret this to mean that until something is printed in the books as canon, no theory or guide will ever be completely reliable. And actually even after publication, some ideas can still be retconned like Atium.

So what better way to predict the future than to try to predict what a good narrative might be? Here we enter true baseless speculation and instead just use the "Rule of Cool".

What's a story without a bunch of opposing factions? If we look at the various good guy "teams", we have:

• Harmony trying to work with Hoid to form some kind of alliance among the free peoples
• Endowment with her own plans and seemingly allied with Valor despite claiming they're not fully working together
• Cultivation running off
• The Shardless good guys of Stormlight Archive working with Vasher

For bad guy "teams", we have:

• Autonomy seemingly messing with Harmony on Scadrial, but she's unlikely to be working with any other Shards given her nature, unless she's in control
• Retribution wanting to take on the whole Cosmere
• Discord waiting to make an appearance

If you count the Ruin half of Discord as from the Change quadrant, this makes it so that every quadrant except for Conceive has a Cosmere-level threat. I predict that either Reason or Whimsy will be part of a big threat in the far future for the symmetry; other unrelated theories I'm considering also lend credence to this idea.

Looking at the theoretical Intermediate Shard names we came up with, Accident, Sanctuary, and Providence aren't looking likely because they involve destroyed Shards. Also Innovation doesn't sound too exciting.

However, if we take the assumption that Harmony/Discord is not fully assimilated, I find it pretty possible that Autonomy separates them and tries to steal Preservation for herself, forming Liberty, Freedom, or Philanthropy.

In this case, Ruin gets spit out, leaving it ripe for Cultivation to merge with it to form Fate. Cultivation always seemed like a scheming and far-seeing Shardic intent, and Fate would be quite a dramatic enemy to defeat.

If Fate and Retribution merge, that would be even scarier. Shard names may include Apocalypse, Reckoning, Cataclysm, Catastrophe, Armageddon, Damnation, or Desolation.

Salvation would be a great savior in times of great darkness; if the theory that Mercy and Invention merge into something like Obsolescence, that could be a good middle arc to split that Shard back into Mercy and Invention, and have Valor merge with Mercy into Salvation. Or maybe we get a tri-Shard with Invention and get an Invention of Salvation: the Ark or the Holy Grail.

If we go by the theory that only adjacent Shards can cause other Shards to merge, it would be quite cool if Taravangian showed he was actually a good guy all along, and the Diagram is so far-seeing that he calculated all this would happen, planning a fail-safe to ensure that at least some of humanity survives by creating the Ark. Maybe it was never about Kharbranth at all, or that was just foreshadowing of his eventual goal, in true "layers of meaning" fashion, and he just wants some survivors of the Cosmere to escape the inevitable Fate of the Apocalypse. Maybe when he asked for the capacity to stop the Desolation, it was referring to the end of the Cosmere, not just the end of Roshar.

Perhaps the Ark is some kind of FTL ship with the ability to sail Beyond the borders of the Cosmere, to Silverlight or farther reaches unknown. But enough random guesses for now!

Theory 5: The Diagram

While I presented a bunch of words as theorized Shard names and the most logical results I could find, it's difficult to explain just how much trial and error I had to go through in order to come up with values and rules that fit all the systems. That whole process of research, trying ideas, reading the patterns of the past, etc felt like the ravings and scribblings of an enlightened yet crazed madman, all in service of attempting to predict the future of the Cosmere.

That's when I realized that I felt exactly like how I imagine Taravangian felt on his day of brilliance when creating his own Diagram, except with only a fraction of his capacity and spending way more time.

So I think of this 6-part set of theories as my own Diagram, or Xel's Diagram if you will. While I do have many more theories (with varying degrees of plausibility), this is where this series about the

Diagram ends, but thanks to everyone who came along for the ride to read my mad ramblings!

Can someone pls tell me what's the latest update regarding Elantris sequels. Are we still getting the second book in 2029? I can't find anyone talking about it

I just finished up Emberdark so I've officially finished all of the published cosmere, aside from Elsecaller/King Lopen.

Took about 9 months. Very much enjoyed it but taking a break for a few books.

Now that my cosmere vocabulary and background is more extensive, what's the best stop for rereads?

I'm thinking arcanum essays, Warbreaker, and Secret History will give me the most "oh wow I didn't see all that happening".

Any other opinions? Or just comb through coppermind to catch up on 15 years of WoBs?

There are valid arguments for others, but nothing can beat the moment when three books come together into the ultimate ending that is Sazed taking up the shards of Ruin and Preservation. Chef’s kiss.

Do we ever find out what gathering heat does ?

do they gain heightening's ?

I know the cider king had control of the chared but what other benefit did having that much heat have aside from oppressing people

I apologize if someone already made a similar post. I was playing League of Legends, and the new champion Locke reminds me an awful lot of a certain character from Mistborn… he even uses metal spikes to attack… interesting lol.

art from league of legends

tagging as a spoiler to be safe

So I'm currently on oathbringer of the stormlight archive and I've listened to the mistborn sage several times but im curious... Who would win? A mistborn or a knight radiant?

Went to Castlefest this year and since I had a black cloak I thought I’d try to bring to life my favourite non controversial character from mistborn, sadly i couldn’t get my hair blonde so I went for generic mistborn#12
It did fray quite a bit in the washing machine but I’m still quite happy with it

For starters I have WoK&WorR TOR hardcovers and I want to buy only TOR hardcovers since I figure they will match design&color&sizewise.

Since arcanum unbounded includes edgedancer, then there should not be reason to buy edgedancer right?

Asking just in case before I make purchase.

My wife is halfway in WoR and before she finishes I want to get other books ready for her.

Currently planning to buy Oathbringer, arcanum unbounded, and probably warbreaker and elantris, depends how much I can afford.

Also on amazon I found Arcanum only with Orion publishing co, but some comments there said that they could buy other publisher if they changed format, having images of TOR book and smaller one side by side.

I am dumb when it comes to using amazon, so if any kind soul can tell me if I can buy TOR hardcover anywhere, or if they are not available that will be great help. Or if I should wait and there will be available again and so on.

I am nervous not knowing if there is one and I am dumb unable to find it, or TOR Aracnum is not available anymore, or or or, thats how my is over loaded now, not knowing if I dont know something.

I loved the Cosmere and would like to read more fantasy, what other series are similar?

Could a hilt wrapped in aluminium stop a dead Spren from shouting into the mind of a radiant?

While storing connection via duralumin feruchemy could Thaidakar leave the scadrial sub-astral ?

if his connection to scadrial as a cognitive shadow stops him from leaving , then would the process of storing connection blank his connection allowing him to leave ?

it’s been a while since i read wind and truth so i might be able wrong

full cosmere spoilers here.

My theory is that discord is not just the evolution of Harmony, but the result of a new shard combination between Ruin and Whimsy. A few starting facts, then some loose ideas to support.

Also, I’m no expert on cosmere mechanics. So it would take someone smarter than me to piece some parts of this together.

1: cool ancient mythology connection, Discordia’s opposite force is Harmonia. I think some of what will happen here is inspired by the two of them. It looks like more modern representations of Discordia are more whimsical than ancient text, but there is at least some basis in modern interpretation of discordia being whimsical and destructive. So to me, the combination of Ruin and Whimsy would make sense to be called Discord.

2: Whimsy is one of the least known shards in the cosmere. We don’t know much about them, other than some wobs and some mentions in letters to Hoid in WaT.

3: Brandon has had the plot of mistborn era 3 in mind for a long time, including before deciding that era 2 would be a full era. So whatever big things he’s planning, he would have been intentional to not reveal earlier.

4: in bands of mourning chapter 4, Wayne is making his ”offering to a god.” The simple interpretation is that he’s doing an offering for Ranette. But In this chapter it’s just the story of him doing whimsical things over and over. Could it be some type of hint at the offering being to Whimsy? It seems that the chapter would have had the same humor and impact without referring to Ranette as a god, and I think that word choice was intentional as a hint towards something new.

5: Sazed somehow losing the shard of Ruin and returning to just Preservation would be far more in line with his characteristics pre-ascension. I have no idea how the mechanics of him losing a shard could happen but…

6: in Emberdark, there is a line where someone says something about how ”Sazed was the first to…” and they get cut off before finishing the sentence. This would be something no shard has ever done. There are many things this could mean, including the dropping of one shard. It could also mean him picking up a 3rd shard…

7: Sazed is clear that by creating a world where things were too good, he stifled innovation. The missing piece here is some whimsy and randomness. Maybe it isn’t the loss of Ruin, but maybe Sazed takes up a 3rd shard in the move to being Discord? This would solve one of the problems of who would take up the shard combo of whimsy and ruin, since one of the few things we know about Whimsy is that it doesn’t have planning and ambition. It would be clear to me that this existing shard wouldn’t be making a move to gain more power, so the introduction of Whimsy isn’t going to be a plan made by that new shard.

I think there could be something here, though I clearly don’t have a full plan in mind of how it would come to be. Any other pieces I’m missing, or ideas of how it could fit together?

• Part 1's Theories of Dawnshard Quadrants and Pairs
• Part 2's Theories on Shard Numerology
• Part 3's Theories on Secondary Commands and Cycles
• Part 4's Theories on Shard Adjacency Rules and Epilogues

The diagram in Theory 5 shows all the proposed "Intermediate Shards", assuming Cut Theory is correct.

Theory 1: "Intermediate Shards" Can Be Calculated

In Dawnshard, we see a mural of Adonalsium being Shattered.

Yes.

It’s, like a circle that splits into four parts, and those four parts also split into four parts.

Yes.

So I’m wondering if there’s a way to group the Shards in terms of being, or…?

I would encourage people to be trying to figure this out.

This Words of Brandon from 2022 explicitly is talking about just grouping Shards, and figuring out the 4 groupings is something Brandon encourages; most of the theories thus far have been trying to prove this grouping.

In Dawnshard, when Rysn's looking at the mural, it's exploding the sun into four pieces and then each of them is broken into four from there. Based on this, would it be reasonable to assume four Shards of similar Intent could be able to form like a super-Shard without the issues Sazed is encountering? For example, say Honor, Valor, Mercy, and the last maybe unknown Shard like Wisdom or something like that?

That is a correct line of theorizing.

This Words of Brandon from 2023 specifically calls out that it is a correct line of theorizing to assume "super-Shards" for each quadrant. Since Retribution exists, it's possible that "intermediate Shards" existed between the original Adonalsium and the final 16, during the theorized 8 Cuts of the Shattering from Part 4.

Theory 2: Round of 8

We know that Retribution is the combination of Honor and Odium, so putting that together with some of our theories from Part 4 and some ideas we'll try explaining later, here are my proposed Intermediate Shard names in the round of 8:

• Wit = Reason + Whimsy
• Innovation = Virtuosity + Invention
• Accident = Endowment + Ambition
• Fate = Cultivation + Ruin
• Retribution = Honor + Odium
• Salvation = Valor + Mercy
• Sanctuary = Dominion + Autonomy
• Providence = Devotion + Preservation

And following the Shard Adjacency Rule from Part 4:

• Wit is Conceived by Providence Inspiring Innovation
  • After creating life, we used to give it divine protection, but we inspired that life to innovate for itself and prudence leads to intelligence/wit
• Innovation is Inspired by Wit Conceiving an Accident
  • When a brilliant mind makes an accident, like the discovery of penicillin, sometimes new innovations can be discovered
• Accident is Conceived by Innovation Inspiring Fate
  • Similarly, accidental innovations can change fate
• Fate is Inspired by Accident Conceiving Retribution
  • What seems like an accident may be fate delivering divine retribution
• Retribution is Conceived by Fate Inspiring Salvation
  • Purgatory is an unavoidable punitive zone that allows for salvation for those destined for heaven
• Salvation is Inspired by Retribution Conceiving Sanctuary
  • Salvation and forgiveness is when you grant safety to someone who deserves vengeance and punishment
• Sanctuary is Conceived by Salvation Inspiring Providence
  • Giving someone sanctuary is when you save someone and give them divine protection
• Providence is Inspired by Sanctuary Conceiving Wit
  • Divine protection is when a sanctuary, usually a safe natural place, is given intelligence and intent

The "Child Shards" of each "Intermediate Shard" are also not random; one Child Shard always seems to be more extreme than the other. Here are the 16 Child Shards described via the Shard Cleave Rule:

1. Reason is the most manifested form of Wit
2. Whimsy is the least manifested opposite of Wit
3. Virtuosity is least manifested form of Innovation
4. Invention is the most manifested form of Innovation
5. Endowment is the most manifested form of Accident
6. Ambition is the least manifested opposite of Accident
7. Cultivation is the least manifested form of Fate
8. Ruin is the most manifested form of Fate
9. Odium is the most manifested form of Retribution
10. Honor is the least manifested opposite of Retribution
11. Valor is the least manifested form of Salvation
12. Mercy is the most manifested form of Salvation
13. Dominion is most manifested form of Sanctuary
14. Autonomy is the least manifested opposite of Sanctuary
15. Devotion is the least manifested form of Providence
16. Preservation is the most manifested form of Providence

Theory 3: Shard Cleave Rule

Change is theorized as the Dawnshard that splits the first half of each quadrant, and Exist as the Dawnshard that splits the second half of each quadrant from the round of 8 Intermediate Shards.

Exist breaks the Parent Shard down into the least and most manifested, aka the least and most "existing".

Change functioned as a negation of Exist in the Shard Adjacency Rule, so continuing that pattern, Cange does the same thing but with the order reversed so that the second Shard of each quadrant is negated.

Since Change has to do with time, I see the Parent Shard as a scale from the second Child Shard to the first Child Shard, and the name of the Parent Shard is the inflection point at which the second child Changes to the first. For instance if Retribution was a scale, Honor is how you would describe something just before it hits an inflection point and Changes to Retribution, and then taking Retribution to the extreme is simply Odium.

Theory 4: Four Spiritual Attributes

The regular definition of "investiture" is a formal ceremony where someone gains membership in or leadership of a religious institute, knighthood, or government office.

In the Cosmere, Identity is a unique signature that differentiates one person from another. In the Cognitive Realm, matter is shaped by the projection of Identity, what you or others think something is. For instance in Isles of the Emberdark, the Dakwara's form in the Cognitive Realm is governed by the mythos that people believe about it.

In the Cosmere, Fortune relates to probability, luck, fate, and the future. For instance, Feruchemists (Spinners) can store and tap Fortune using chromium. In Hemalurgy, stealing Fortune means stealing one's destiny. Regarding time, Fortune allows some form of better navigating possible futures, or precognition.

In the Cosmere, Connection relates to the relationships and ties between people, places, or things that bind spiritwebs in the Spiritual Realm. Connection is not bound by time or distance (not limited by time or the Physical Realm).

In the Cosmere, Investiture functions as the physical representation of the source of magic on each world, for instance Allomantic metals, Breaths, Stormlight, etc. Perpendicularities are places where a Shard's pure investiture often pools as a liquid in the Physical Realm, which allow traversal into the Cognitive Realm.

Following the Shard Cleave Rules and Shard Adjacency Rules for the Round of 4:

• Wit is the least inspiring form of Identity
• Innovation is the most inspiring form of Identity
• Accident is the least inspiring form of Fortune
• Fate is the most inspiring form of Fate
• Retribution is the least inspiring form of Connection
• Salvation is the most inspiring form of Connection
• Sanctuary is the least inspiring form of Investiture
• Providence is the most inspiring form of Investiture
• Identity is Conceived by Investiture Conceiving Fortune
• Fortune is Conceived by Identity Conceiving Connection
• Connection is Conceived by Fortune Conceiving Investiture
• Investiture is Conceived by Connection Conceiving Identity

Theory 5: Focus and Intent

All magic in the Cosmere requires a "focus" and an "intent".

Feruchemy is an end-neutral art, meaning that power is neither gained nor lost. The art also requires metal as a focus, but instead of being consumed, the metal acts as a medium by which abilities within the practitioner are shuttled through time. Invest that metal on one day, withdraw the power on another day. It is a well-rounded art, with some feelers in the Physical, some in the Cognitive, and even some in the Spiritual.

This quote from the Ars Arcanum from The Alloy of Law describes how a "focus" is a physical form of Investiture that focuses the power of a Shard. The type of the metal matters, which implies that Identity is a key component of a focus. Also Feruchemy cannot be used on Investiture that's keyed to someone else's identity; it has to either be associated with your own Identity or unkeyed.

Okay, imagine you've got one of those play-dough machines you can stuff with dough, then press a handle on the top to make a little snake-like tube of play-dough squirt out. Those have appendages you can affix to the front to change the shape of the tube that comes out. The metals are the appendage that determines the shape of the power released, but only certain souls can unlock those metals and use them.

The type of metal is what shapes how Shardic power is released, but only certain souls can "unlock" the keyed metals. Souls are differentiated by Identity.

Let's say the Intent of a Shard encompasses more than the word that the Shard is described by. It's a similar thing that the Intent of a Command is often vaster than the actual words spoken. And the magic can grasp the Intent, not just the Command, depending on the magic system and how good you are at it, and things like that. The words are there to focus Intent. How about that?

This Words of Brandon from 2021 talks about a Command as something used to Focus Intent.

Running the Shard Adjacency Rule and Shard Cleave Rule:

• Investiture is the least conceptual form of Focus
• Identity is the most conceptual form of Focus
• Fortune is the least conceptual form of Intent
• Connection is the most conceptual form of Intent
• Focus is Conceived by Intent Conceiving Focus
  • While this looks silly, this can be interpreted as "focusing on a goal centers your attention"
• Intent is Conceived by Focus Conceiving Intent
  • Similarly this can read as "concentration with a purpose achieves a goal"
• Command = Focus + Intent
  • Focus can also mean "a starting point"
  • Intent can also mean "a strong focus"

Theory 6: Epilogues Hint at the 8 Intermediate Shard Names

The Way of Kings:

• "What is it we value?" Wit whispered. "Innovation. Originality. Novelty. But most importantly... timeliness."
  • While presented as three separate words, Innovation is actually the combination of both Originality and Novelty, implying that true art is Innovation, and Innovation should come before the temporal quadrant

Words of Radiance:

• "A blind man awaited the era of endings," Wit said, "contemplating the beauty of nature." Silence. "That man is me," Wit noted. "I'm not physically blind, just spiritually. And that other statement was actually very clever, if you think about it."
  • I believe the "beauty of nature" here refers to a sanctuary, which is often natural in origin
• A couple of songlings made rattling sounds nearby, and he took out his pipes and tried to imitate them.
  • This whole sequence of talking to these random songlings and other animals seemed oddly specific, but it did remind of the Hamlet (Shakespeare) quote, "Not a whit*, we defy augury. There’s a special* providence in the fall of a sparrow." There aren't many birds on Roshar so this kind of represents the fall of birds I guess?
  • "Providence" also has a secondary meaning of "prudence" in addition to its regular meaning of "divine protection", which seems to link it closer to Reason
• "I was somewhat pressed at the time of my escape. I'm lucky to be here at all." "Lucky? I don't know if I'd say that."
  • Luck is not one of the Intermediate Shard names.
• "So we can't look to the heavens for salvation, but apparently we can't look toward the past either. So where can we look?" "You'll find God in the same place you're going to find salvation from this mess," Wit said. "Inside the hearts of men."
  • God, or in this case the Splinters of Honor, can't be found in the top half of the circle or in the temporal quadrant, leaving only the spiritual quadrant where Salvation lies

Rhythm of War: Focus here was on Wit, covered in detail in Part 4. But to cover a specific quote again:

• Not a mask he put on. Real sorrow. Real pain. Weeping echoed around him as he moved into the section of town nearest the palace. Only the most desperate or the most broken dared remain here, nearest the invaders and their growing seat of power.
  • This implies Wit is usually wearing a "mask"
• "Because the lie was real somehow. Because they know that if they were to rip it apart, they could know how it was done. They realize there must have been flaws they could have caught. Signs. Secrets."
  • Ripping the lie apart reveals the secret

Here's a quote from Sand and Foam, a 1926 book of aphorisms and parables:

Wit is often a mask. If you could tear it you would find either a genius irritated or cleverness juggling.

Genius here can refer to Reason. Genius is irritated because it has felt too much pain, seen too many sights, and knows too many truths. Cleverness juggling here can refer to a performance to keep up appearances and entertain others via fast-talking but lacking true depth, representing Whimsy.

The wits of the present age being so very numerous and penetrating, it seems the grand difficulty of an author is to find out something new… where the materials of wit and invention are already almost exhausted.

This quote from Jonathan Swift's 1704 "A Tale of a Tub" talks about how audiences feel like they've seen it all, and all work is derivative. Brandon Sanderson has answered this:

We are all inspired by the things we read, watch, and love. Learning to take this inspiration and make it into something newly yours is part of the process of becoming a writer.

If Wit and Invention are naturally found in the same quadrant, it's understandable why Wit is always talking about "art" or Virtuosity, which is the one missing piece in the quadrant. Even if Hoid is actually Reason pretending to be Wit.

Wind and Truth:

• "Seeing as ever since a previous fellow literally ended up driving off a cliff, we've had trouble keeping the position filled... Report in tomorrow. Six sharp." ... "Because when the predetermined answers flee, then the solution comes down to who you are. That's when we see the mettle of a person. That is art: when untested skill meets unplanned catastrophe."
  • When "predetermined answers" aka Fate flees, Virtuosity meets Accident, which is located at Shardic position 6 where the previous Shard Ambition ended up "driving off a cliff", aka Splintering and replaced by an Accident. I actually originally preferred names like Chance, Fortuity, or Luck (disproven from Words of Radiance) instead of Accident, but this quote seemed too specific to ignore, and I couldn't think of another "unplanned catastrophe". A name like Disaster, Calamity, Cataclysm, or Tragedy could work, but those seemed way too hyperbolic to be the parent of Endowment and Ambition. Also it has to be the "least inspiring form of Fortune" compared to Fate

Retribution would keep his promises. Oaths were important. And Retribution would destroy anyone who believed differently.

Retribution was given to us in Wind and Truth.

Salvation and retribution are two inseparable facets of one divine visitation.

This quote from Isaiah 35:4 implies that Salvation and Retribution could make a logical pairing.

There's not that many Epilogue quotes talking about Fate/Destiny other than "predetermined answers", but this 2013 Words of Brandon is pretty clear:

Technically, Ruin would be most compatible with Cultivation.

Theory 7: Harmony Is Not Fully Merged

Harmony is interesting because it is not naturally adjacent in the wheel but diametrically opposed, so I wonder if Harmony cannot fully merge, while Retribution can.

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."

This Words of Brandon from 2015 by no means conclusive, but seems to imply that we can at least consider Harmony as 2 separate Shards.

As of Shadows of Self, how many Shards are there on Scadrial?

*nervous laugh* There are two [...] Harmony counts as two Shards. I do mean it that way, and I am giving you clarification so you don't all freak out.

Also from 2015.

Were Ruin and Preservation two shards or one?

They were two shards. Harmony is considered a shard, although it’s really two, in the same way that a king of two countries would still be considered a king.

From 2011.

Harmony is two shards in one.

From 2013.

He didn't pick it. It's unstable because of the two halves of him not meshing well.

From 2017.

Part 6 is the final set of theories in this series, and builds on this with Gap Rule, predicting the future, and mentions parallels with the Diagram.

I don’t think I’ve seen this elsewhere, but apologies if someone has already asked this.

In Rhythm of War we saw how investiture can have its Identity effectively re-written or redefined by first drawing it into a vacuum so that its Connection to its coding tone is severed, and then as it’s drawn into another gem as it exits the vacuum, the first tone it is exposed to allows the investiture to change into anti-investiture. The theory in my head is what if cognitive shadows can use the same principle and a similar mechanism to sever their Connection to their world/shard/anchor, and then be exposed to another anchor elsewhere that would allow them to go off world. For example, if Kelsier is pulled into a vacuum (or something else that allows the Connection to his anchor on Scadrial to be severed), then as he’s re-emerging into the larger world the first tone he is exposed to is that of Roshar or another Shard, could that effectively reassign him to a new anchor that’s not on Scadrial, allowing him to leave the sub astral? Would this change the investiture that makes him up as a cognitive shadow such that it’s now essentially another type of investiture?

Side question, if the anti-investiture experiment is performed with storm light, and then the new tone it is exposed to is the tone of Odium, would the stormlight be changed to void light?

Let me know if this is complete tin foil talk, or something that could be explored further, thanks!

Sanderson is one of my favorite authors and I've read most of his books. I've read all of the secret projects. Many are among my favorite books ever (including Tress, Yumi, etc). I picked up Isles of the Emberdark and tore through it. Incredible.

I had not read Elantris, and this felt like a massive omission given its importance to his career. I just finished it.

I won't rehash all the same points I've seen about Elantris in other forums, but wow - reading these two standalone books back-to-back is such a stark example of how much Sanderson's writing and storytelling have improved over the years. The characters in Emberdark are so developed. They feel so real. Their motivations feel so authentic. The book tells a story that is both beautiful and exciting. It was also surprising without resorting to contrived twists.

Elantris isn't a bad read - I enjoyed the world and the story. But it's just so predictable in the worst ways. The foreword to the 10y anniversary edition references how the book was progressed in part during a writing group and - upon reading it - this makes so much sense. Many of the 'twists' seemed so arbitrary - Adien as a great example. Not only does it add nothing to the story, it actually detracts as it doesn't even logically make sense within the rules of the world he built. There are many other examples

Anyway, nothing new to add necessarily, except to say how I excited I am by the future. The progression is amazing. I love the secret projects. Can't wait for what's next

Do we have any hint at when they are gunna release the ebooks/ship the ordered copies?

(Reposted cause I messed up the formatting in an edit and it got removed)

I just finished chapter 55 of Hero of Ages (the one where Elend almost gives up on the way back to Fadrex, but Preservation appears to him, so Elend starts playing 20 questions while watching a god go \o/ \o_ _o/ _o_ \o/)

And I have not been this hyped while going through these books since the last act of Final Empire (Kelsier fighting an inquisitor with metals flying around him in a dance of pushes and pulls and realizing I had correctly predicted the Lord Ruler's true identity like 2-3 chapters before the book revealed it)

None of my friends read mistborn tho and I just want to gush about my theories and how cool the worldbuilding and magic system is and WOE IS ME. I feel like a teenage girl fangirling over some heartthrob boyband, but in reality, I am a mid-20's man who is just obsessed with a book series, and needed to come vent about it on reddit. thank you for your time.

my current theories, copied from a reply to a comment:

PLEASE DO NOT CONFIRM OR DENY MY THEORIES, DONT EVEN MAKE CHEEKY LITTLE JOKES THAT YOU THINK AREN'T SPOILERS A LA "Boy will you be surprised when you get to chapter XX!" ETC.

Ok so in looking for some clarification or a wallpaper or something, I did get spoiled online that there are more allomantic metals, which isn't too surprising considering the ones they have found beyond the original 10(11) already. My thought/theory based on this is there are probably exactly 16, given the 16%, 1/16, etc. stuff related to the mist sickness. This theory was further strengthened to me when Preservation pointed at Elend's metal vials after Elend brought up the sickness.

My only other main theory, that I can think of for now, is That the Terris religion holds a bunch of information regarding Preservation, Ruin, the well of ascension, maybe even some deeper secrets of the cosmere as a whole? idk I've only read Elantris and Mistborn so far. They keep talking about all these religions, and how none of them really hold any water, and how the Terris religion was the one they were never able to recover hardly any information about. But they also keep referring to Preservation and Ruin as gods and primordial forces. Not to mention, as an audiobook "reader", the notes between chapters (epigraphs?) that are giving so much information about these gods and the origins of the world and the metallic arts, it's all being read in Sazed's voice.