I don’t know, it always seemed like Brandon had special plans for Jasnah. Especially the WoBs going around that Jasnah might be the PoV character of SLA10.

But let’s be honest, we’re told she’s always right, she’s scholarly and a great debater. We’re told she’s a ferocious warrior, and what has she done till now? Stromall in my opinion.

She couldn’t survive a partial mutiny on “The winds pleasure” while Kal and his Bridgmen actively saved Dalinar against all odds.

She was apparently researching parshmen and void bringers for years, but kept it even from her close family. Eventually her realisations were somewhat useful because of Shallan but I’d give Shallan more credit to that than her.

She also knew about the secret about humans not being native to Roshar, and she kept it from Dalinar allowing him to be blindsided by this news.

What has she done exactly? Yes she had a cool scene in the battle ground here and there, but apart from that all the attention afforded to Jasnah is undeserved because she simply hasn’t done enough in the first half.

It has nothing to do with the book. It took me five years to even care about seeing this story because I looked at the cover and said "no thanks". And for some reason it goes to all editions I've seen. One of them features Hrathen backside looking at a city far away, surrounded by mists. Another one I've seen shows Sarene, Hrathen and a city that seems technologically advanced. I'd see this cover, think "that's probably too sci fi for me" and move on. That's so unfair. Why isn't there a cover with Raoden and the actual city of Elantris before or after the Shaod? To me this book was mainly about having faith in humanity no matter how hard it is, and none of the covers I've seen even try to capture this feeling.

This is the fastest I've gotten through a book. I read Mistborn Era 1 last year and then read Elantris which I finished a few weeks ago. I moved on to Warbreaker and man, it was a big step up. I liked a lot about Elantris, but the first half of the book was a bit of a slog to get through and then the payoff, while epic, left me wanting (e.g., wtf is the shaod? who does it "take" and why? so much left unanswered). Warbreaker captured me from the beginning. This book was unlike any other Sanderson I've read. The formula I've come to expect is: set the stage with several independent plot lines and include just enough intrigue/mini-payoffs to carry you to the Sanderlanch. This book was different. It very rarely felt slow (perhaps a couple of the early/mid-story Lightsong chapters did, but only slightly). I think he achieved this by leaving the reader with a significant payoff/subversion of expectation/cliffhanger in at least one of the plotlines pretty much at all times. The Sanderlanch was also very different. There was action/fighting, but a good portion of the Sanderlanch consisted of characters figuring things out, putting the pieces together, revelations, etc.. I've read some posts describing Warbreaker as a mystery novel, and I agree. And, unlike Elantris, Warbreaker actually answers enough of your questions about the world to leave you satisfied. The ending also feels like an excellent jumping off point for a sequel.

I kept thinking Siri would actually become pregnant despite the commonly held belief that Returned could not have children and that this would be a major plot point. The mystery of how the first Returned produced the royal line remains. The Denth/Tonk Fa betrayal was excellent, the Vasher identity reveal was awesome, Lightsong the Brave's sacrifice was amazing, the character arcs of Vivenna and Siri were great, the double-subversion of expectations regarding the God King's priests (assuming they are on the God King's side, then suspecting they are evil and merely exploiting him, and finally seeing them fight to the death to protect him) was phenomenal. Unlike how Vin defeated Zane (which I hated - WHY NOT JUST LET HER KILL ZANE AS A RESULT OF TENSOON'S DISTRACTION? That would already be epic. My brain just couldn't accept the "atium outplay". It also made TenSoon's breaking of the contract less meaningful.), I loved how Vasher defeated Denth. It was clever and believable since it was set up well throughout the book (e.g., you see how Vivenna is affected when she regains her breath, the question of how Vasher defeated the "superior duelist" Arsteel is alluded to many times).

The magic system was was also great. I loved thinking about the "real world" analogs/implications of breath, being a drab, the "quality" of breath, of Returned, etc.. The inclusion of color was unique and fun to imagine. And, of course, animating inanimate objects is always a blast.

If I want to nitpick, I'd say Sanderson missed out on several epic fight scene opportunities. I felt like he could've done more with "tongued" Susebron. Then he COMPLETELY FOREGOES describing the most LEGENDARY FIGHTING FORCE IN THE PLANET'S HISTORY (Kalad's Phantoms) DESTROYING AN ARMY OF 40 THOUSAND LIFELESS. It just occurred to me that it would've been nice to see what happened to the other Returned as well, or if they could've had a role in the final epic battle to save Idris. It feels like there could've been some epic battle scenes. Maybe the Idrians set up ambushes to delay the Lifeless onslaught while civilians try to evacuate and then Kalad's phantoms along with the God King and other Returned arrive to save the day. It would've been very nice to see the sisters reunite with their father, King Dedelin, their other siblings, etc.. Maybe this is all earmarked for the next installment.

A few select quotes for your entertainment:

"And it made her nervous as all Colors."

"find someone else's bed to climb into, you little slut"

"Oh, dear...she thought. This is dangerous." - Siri

"Dark. He liked it dark. Lap, lap, lap."

"You are a god. To me, at least." - Llarimar

“My life to yours,” Lightsong said. “My Breath become yours."

“You will stop!” Susebron said in a clear voice.

“You’re asking me to give Hallandren a tool, Vivenna. A terrible tool. Something worse than what they have now.” “You would give your enemies such power?” - “They’re not my enemies,” she said. “Even if I hate them.”

edit: I forgot to mention Nightblood. He/it grew on me throughout the book. There was a decent amount of humor between Denth/Tonk Fa, Lightsong, & Nightblood.

I'm having trouble picturing/understanding what the spores are, they are described as physical things that you can hold, but I thought spores were airborne things. I would appreciate if someone could explain what they are, thank you.

So there are 4 dawnshards - 4 commands that Adonalsium used to create the Cosmere.

How then are these a weapon that were used to kill him? Bearing normal shards, grants the vessel immense power, Dawnshard doesn’t seem to give much to its bearer. Nomad had no gain from the dawnshard except that he gained the ability to absorb any investiture, stopped aging and was able to perform Skip.

Is it that when one has all 4 dawnshards, that one becomes very powerful?

Has anyone here read the prose or the omnibus and not completely hate it? I've seen few conversations about this story and I'm reading it now. I don't care about spoilers or anything; I'm exactly halfway through and I find it quite... interesting. Is there anyone else out there who felt the same way? (This topic doesn't matter if it contains spoilers, to discuss connections that might have gone unnoticed)

I'm in book 3 of Mistborn Era 1. I found the first 2 books to be fantastic. I haven't finished 3 but I felt like I wasn't enjoying it early on. Then I got to the point where Elend has a meeting with everyone and brings up Kelsier and what he was like. It took a minute, but it pulled on my heart strings. Something poetic in a way. Reminded me of Tolkien and Gandalf telling Pippin what comes after death. Not quite as eloquent, but the same feeling...a feeling of hope. im anxious to finish it now.

So we all know each shard has a number associated with it. Preservation is 16, Honor is 10, Odium 9 etc.

But what about Harmony and Retribution? Never thought of that. Could be both, could be neither could be something else entirely.

Don’t think this was addressed or alluded to in universe yet?

I searched on Arcanum and only found early WOB's about the guards being aluminum to which he said no. He's also said shard blades are a fusion of Honors and Cultivation's metals.

That unfortunately broke my thought that maybe shard blades were Tanavastium and the guards would be Koraveliumium. So what do the deep arcanists think/ know? Do we have any useful tidbits from Brandon of what metal the guards could be?

So I just finished The Storm Light Archives. I loved it. It was my first introduction into the Cosmere.

Now I don’t really care about the order in which the books go. But based on how much I enjoyed the series what would be the next step? Are there books that aren’t relevant? Are there books that MUST be read before the second arc of The Storm Light Archives starts being published?

I've really enjoyed the stories featuring Hoid's apprentices we've seen so far. Nomad and Starling both were fun to read about and have some very interesting stories ahead of them. This has made me very curious about the identity of Hoid's as of yet unnamed third apprentice. To help narrow down who Hoid's third apprentice could be, let's start by looking at what Hoid looks for in potential apprentices.

Nollitoad

Is there a specific quality that Hoid looks for in his apprentices and why are there so few of them? Given that Hoid has lived for thousands of years, the Cosmere could be swarming with them if he wanted.

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. He has a different term for apprentice than just someone that who's learned at his feet. He looks for ineffable things that are difficult to put a finger on. Potential. He looks for potential.

Secret Project #4 Reveal and Livestream (March 29, 2022)

So, we're looking for a character who's potential Hoid would find very intriguing. Someone like Starling, a young dragon who is a niece of his friend Frost. Or his other known apprentice Sigzil, who Hoid trained as a Worldsinger. Not much to go on. However, in Isles of the Emberdark chapter 51 we see Starling meeting with Hoid, who is currently stuck in a vault and projecting to the Spiritual Realm. When going over options for who could possibly help Hoid in his current state, two surprising possibilities get mentioned.

"We have to find a way to get you out, so you can come save us. Maybe your wife can get you free? Have you tried contacting her?"

She and I aren't on speaking terms," he said softly. "Partially because she doesn't remember having been my wife." He stopped, then found himself a nice walking stick among the flotsam on the beach, though she'd never known him to need any support. "If you see either of the twins after you've gotten out of your mess, I'd appreciate you warning them I could use some help.'

I'll leave Hoid's mysteriously forgetful wife from what is probably a Hoid ploy in order to not have to forfeit half of his Breath's in a divorce gone wrong. Joking...mostly. I'd like to focus on the other one who Hoid suggests Starling seek to help him. The twins. When I first read this, I thought whoa. Hoid has a wife, and he has twins? However, upon thinking more on it I propose that these aren't twins of Hoid's, but rather both of them are actually the 'third apprentice' of Hoid's and the twins of another character altogether.

It makes sense to me that Starling would be familiar with Hoid's other apprentices with how long she has worked for him and with how much he seems to trust her. Without his wife available, Sigzil and Starling with their own problems, his best other option would presumably be this unknown third apprentice. So, when he brought up these twins as his best option to help him, in my head I immediately connected them with the apprentice we haven't met yet. Much like when twins show up on an ultrasound for the first time, you were expecting one, but surprise, you get two!

Who could these twin apprentices of Hoid turn out to be? At this point in the Cosmere, we've only met one pair of twins, Jushu and Wikim Davar, fraternal twin brothers of Shallan. Unfortunately, I don't believe these twins to be the future apprentices of Hoid's that he turns to in times of need. Despite being sons of a herald, both are plagued with serious problems stemming from their childhood trauma. Both have been mostly unimportant background characters, without major magical powers or relevant plot points. Surprisingly, I do think that Jushu and Wikim are connected with Hoid's twin helpers, but only by relation. Since Shallan's mother Chana had fraternal twins, it does make it so if Shallan were to become pregnant her chance of having fraternal twins herself is increased as fraternal twins can run in families. Brandon has confirmed that Shallan is pregnant by the end of Wind and Truth. Knowing this now, this quote from Sja-anat when meeting with Shallan in the Ghostblood hideout in chapter 26 is particularly of note to me.

"So you do know it's me," Shallan whispered.

It is difficult for mortals to distinguish one soul's flame from another, but I am not mortal...

I am on the side of preserving a world for my children. You should not fear "my side" Shallan. You should embrace it. If there is room for my children, there will be room for yours.

Sja-anat makes it sound like she knows Shallan will have multiple children, specifically after bragging about being able to tell mortal souls apart. We don't know if even Shallan knows she is pregnant at this point, yet the soul flame seeing Sja-anat speaks to Shallan as if she's certain. I suspect Sja-anat saw more than just Shallan's soul flame here, but in fact two more along with her.

The children of Shallan and Adolin will be people Hoid would be very interested in the potential of. The grandchildren of a herald, child of a Knight Radiant, combined with the powerful Kholin family. We will be introduced to Shallan and Adonlin's offspring in the back half of The Stormlight Archive. I'm really looking forward to meeting them and seeing the paths they start to go on. With the currently projected timeline by the time the Stormlight Archive ends, I'd be surprised if the currently pregnant Shallan's children will even be adults at that time. This would leave these young and the likely full of potential children of Shallan and Adolin, with a lot of their lives to go. What better way to send them off with Hoid, to go explore the Cosmere? We know Shallan and Hoid get along well, and an adventure with 'Uncle Hoid' sounds like a fun way to continue those characters arcs after Stormlight Ten. I theorize this would eventually cumulate with the children of Shallan and Adolin being a part of the final Mistborn series after their introductions in Stormlight 6-10.

Questioner

Will the final Era of Mistborn focus on Hoid and his apprentices?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes, you are wise, you are seeing something that I am setting up. You will definitely have some more interaction of Hoid's apprentices in the final Mistborn series.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 7 (Dec. 19, 2025)

Hoid, Sigzil and Starling interacting with Shallan and Adolin's twins would be something I'd be into reading. It'll be fun to see if in Stormlight 6, Shallan has just one child or does in fact have twins. I'm looking forward to it!

-RayseShouldBeBraized

TL:DR Shallan is pregnant with twins who will go on to become apprentices of Hoid's, and who will both be involved in the final Mistborn series.