Usuario:Chaos2651/Cosmere

Eric's notes: This a draft of the revision of the Cosmere article. Its main benefit is the history section. I focus on the history of the Shards, though there is a lot of Shardy things on Scadrial. It needs a lot of citations.

The Cosmere is a fictional universe where Brandon Sanderson's adult epic fantasies (including Elantris, Mistborn, Warbreaker, The Stormlight Archive) are all set. It does not contain Earth.

Brandon has said that it is not important to know about the Cosmere to enjoy his books, and that they can be enjoyed separately. Elements of the Cosmere slowly be added into the books, such as in the Dragonsteel books, and the final Mistborn books.

The underlying mythology of the Cosmere, so far, revolves around Adonalsium, the power of creation, which was broken into sixteen pieces called Shards. The Shards are effectively gods, and almost all magic is derived from them.

Physical Properties

The structure and physics of the Cosmere are the same as our own, but the main story of the Cosmere occurs on a compact dwarf galaxy, meaning it has many fewer stars and systems than our universe. Time flows the same on the Cosmere (except under special magical effects, such as Allomantic cadmium and bendalloy).

There are ten primary worlds in the Cosmere, called Shardworlds, as the Shards of Adonalsium play major roles there. There are also minor worlds, where Shards have little influence, but may have lesser powers, like Splinters on them. Magic on these worlds are called Investiture, or manifestations of Investiture, and all magic we've seen has been derived from the Shard's (or Adonalsium's) power.

The physical universe of the Cosmere only tells one part of the story. In fact, there are three Realms of existence: the Physical Realm, the Cognitive Realm, and the Spiritual Realm that all coexist simultaneously. Investiture works through all three of these Realms. There is also something beyond the Three Realms, where people "pass on," but Brandon does not wish to reveal anything about it.

Planets

Same list as before.

History

For a more specific chronology of events and the books in which they occur, see Chronology.

Before the Shattering

Little is known of the extremely distant past of the Cosmere: the time before the Shattering of Adonalsium and the Shards. It is not even clear who or what Adonalsium exactly is. Is it a god, the God? Is it a force, or person? Regardless, its power is described as the power of creation, a power which does not vanish.

Humans existed on worlds before this time, though how many is not clear. At the very least, there were humans on Yolen, as Hoid is from there, and was there before the Shattering. Magic (Investiture) also existed prior to the Shattering, though its form was different.^{[Falta cita]}

There is a force that opposes Adonalsium.^{[Falta cita]} Adonaslium's opposition also created a weapon,^{[Falta cita]} but important specifics, such as if it is still around, or if it had played a role in Adonalsium's Shattering, are unknown.

There was once a plot to destroy Adonalsium, which had failed.^{[Falta cita]}

The Shattering

Through unknown means, Adonalsium was broken, in an event called the Shattering. Hoid was present, and due to Hoid being from Yolen, it is thought that this event occurred on Yolen.

Adonalsium split into sixteen pieces, referred to as Shards of Adonalsium, each taking a particular facet, or intent, of the greater power of Adonalsium. Sixteen people took up those Shards, effectively ascending into godhood. Hoid and the Recipient knew these sixteen people prior to their Ascension. Some of these individuals and the Shard they took up are: Aona (Devotion), Skai (Dominion), Ati (Ruin), Leras (Preservation), Tanavast (Honor), Rayse (Odium). Another individual who took up a Shard was Bavadin, though their Shard is not known, and there is another Shard, Endowment, whose holder is not known.

It was not random who took up the Shards^{[Falta cita]}, and there was some sort of design in the way Adonalsium was split.^{[Falta cita]}

It turned out that, though the power of a Shard required a mind to control it, the specific intent of the Shard would slowly warp the mind of those that hold it. It is not known whether the Shardholders knew this would be the case. Eventually, the people who took up the Shards would simply be referred to as their Shard's name, and referred to as Shards.

At some point, some Shards traveled to other worlds. The Shards were now the primary source of magic in the Cosmere, and so they Invested some worlds with their power, and in some cases, created humans and other species on these planets.

Early Shardic History

The exact timeline of what the Shards did after the Shattering is not clear. Shards settled specific worlds, but could have gone to other worlds before residing upon the worlds they now stay.

Endowment was the one Shard who traveled to Nalthis, and Bavadin was the only Shard to travel to Taldain.

Devotion and Dominion went to Sel. During this time, magic was present on Sel, though not in the form seen via the Dor.

Ruin and Preservation, having intents that opposed each other so perfectly, found themselves in conflict with the other. If Ruin tried to destroy, Preservation would stop him, and vice versa. At some point they both ended up on Scadrial, but they could not act much without the other.

They came up with a deal: they would work together to create life, with the condition that Ruin would eventually get to destroy them.^{[Falta cita]} But Preservation wanted to create life that they had seen before--humanity^{[Falta cita]}--and creating sapient life required more energy. Ruin was not willing to put in that extra energy, so Preservation did. This lead to Preservation being slightly weaker than Ruin. Because of this, Preservation knew that Ruin would inevitably triumph and destroy what they created.

Preservation couldn't stand to let Ruin destroy their creations, so he felt the need to do anything to stop this from happening. Preservation, then, betrayed Ruin. Preservation could not destroy Ruin--doing that sort of assault would result in both Ruin and Preservation's death, and the Shard had influenced Preservation's mind too much for him to do something so destructive. In order to stop Ruin, he needed another plan.

Preservation attacked Ruin with his mental power--the distinct mind controlling the Shard's power, rather than the power itself. This would trap Ruin's mind, making him mostly impotent. However, it cost almost all of Preservation's mind. Preservation knew that the moment he did this attack, he would not be able to help life on Scadrial. Preservation saw the future, creating the Terris Prophecies, to give hope to humanity, and to let humanity know that he had a plan in mind. He also altered Allomancy so that there would be atium (and malatium) Mistings, and set up his power--the mists--to Snap those Allomancers. And with that, Preservation gave up his mind, imprisoning Ruin in the Well of Ascension, the essence of Preservation's mind.

Honor and Cultivation went to Roshar. Later, Odium went to the Greater Rosharan System, particularly Braize. Devastating wars called the Desolations were fought over Roshar, between Odium's Voidbringers and Honor's Heralds and Knights Radiant. Cultivation's role in the Desolations is not clear, but Honor and Cultivation were a romantic item.^{[Falta cita]}

Odium's Quest

Odium wanted to become the strongest being in the Cosmere. He realized that if he ever took up another Shard, that Shard would change him, and Odium preferred his own. So, in his quest to become god of the Cosmere, instead of absorbing all the other fifteen Shards, he decided to destroy the other Shards. He developed a way to Splinter a Shard's power, and in the process, killing its holder.

Odium briefly traveled to Sel to attack Devotion and Dominion, and Odium Splintered them. This left a lot of energy on Sel, with nowhere to travel outwards, and so this is why Shadesmar is incredibly hazardous on Sel. The Dor was created, and Selish magic itself changed. Odium left Sel after this event, and there is no other known evidence of his time on the planet. This is perhaps because if he were to leave a lasting impact, he would have need to Invest a part of himself there.

Odium also killed Honor using his same method. However, Honor was crafty, and even though Honor perished, Odium was then trapped on the Greater Rosharan System.

There is a [Survival Shard|Shard who just wants to survive]], presumably against Odium's onslaught.

Hoid and the Seventeenth Shard

Hoid was deeply concerned about Odium's involvement on Sel, and thought that his war would lead to devastate the whole Cosmere. He sent a letter to a person (possibly a dragon) to call off his "friends of the Seventeenth Shard" and help join Hoid. The recipient of Hoid's original letter did not see things as Hoid, and said that the reason these events have occurred is because of their involvement. As such, he advocated nonintervention, where Hoid meddled a great deal, on all main worlds.

The Seventeenth Shard are a group of worldhoppers moving between worlds using various magics, and are perhaps led by the Recipient. Their members are from many worlds. They searched for Hoid on Roshar shortly before the Everstorm was summoned. They may also be nonintervenionists.

There is also Khriss, probably a member of the Seventeenth Shard^{[Falta cita]}, who has been to many worlds and writes the Ars Arcanums, as well as her associate, Nazh. Their motivations are not clear. However, there is an end goal of the Seventeenth Shard.^{[Falta cita]}

The Ascension of Harmony

Ruin's Plan for Freedom

Back on Scadrial, the Well of Ascension refilled every 1024 years. For most of Classical Scadrian history, a person called the Hero of Ages under the Terris Prophecies would take up the power and become a protector of mankind. They would live the rest of their lives blessing people with the power of Preservation, renewing Ruin's prison, and watch over the world. The power would then vanish, and reappear after 1024 years.

Ruin was keenly interested in the Well of Ascension. If he could get a person to hold the power there, but instead of utilize the power, but release it, then the prison on Ruin's mind would vanish. Ruin would then be free to destroy the world, as he was promised. Ruin manipulated the Terris Prophecies over a long period of time to advance this purpose. He made it so the Hero of Ages would include the "sacred piercings," actually Hemalurgic piercings, so he could influence the Hero. More importantly, Ruin changed the Prophecies extensively so that the Well and the Hero's purpose was obscured. Now the Hero was supposed to take the power, and release it.

Ruin needed to drive the world into desperate straits so that people would believe in a hero of ancient prophecy, to "save" them. He used Preservation to his advantage: the mists Snapped Allomancers, and people misinterpreted the mists as a negative thing. Instead of fighting against the mists' action, Ruin enhanced them, bringing the death of plants, and causing the threat that became the Deepness.

This meant when a Terris Worldbringer, Kwaan, claimed that Alendi was the Hero of Ages, Ruin saw an opportunity. He altered the Terris Prophecies to fit Alendi more perfectly. Alendi came to persuade kings and all the Worldbringers who denied him that he was the Hero, and under the threat of the Deepness, Alendi was their leader. So, to defeat the threat of the Deepness, Alendi traveled to the mountains of Terris, where the Well of Ascension lay, to take up the power, and release it to eliminate the Deepness.

Kwaan, however, had a fabled memory, and noticed that the Prophecies had changed. But Kwaan was not able to persuade Alendi that he was not, in fact, the Hero after they had argued for so long to prove that he was the hero of legend. So Kwaan, knowing something was awry with the Well, tasked a nephew, Rashek, who hated Alendi, to be Alendi's guide through the mountains. Since Rashek was a Feruchemist, Rashek and his friends were easy picks for Alendi. If Rashek could not lead Alendi astray, he was to kill him.

And Rashek did murder Alendi. Rashek took the power of the Well himself, and in those few moments of Ascension, he tried to stop the Deepness by moving Scadrial itself closer to the sun, to burn the mists. To counteract the heat, he created the Ashmounts. He also altered humans on Scadrial, creating skaa and nobles. He learned of the Metallic Arts, developing Hemalurgic constructs, and with the discovery of Allomancy, he figured out a way to combine Allomancy and his Feruchemy to become immortal (through Compounding). Rashek would be the Lord Ruler, the Hero of Ages, and protect the world from Ruin.

Ruin saw the Lord Ruler's poor use of the power and saw that the Lord Ruler would be an agent of spectacular destruction. So, subtly, Ruin manipulated him to destroy. The Lord Ruler did do things to stymie Ruin, such as hiding the atium, but Ruin's subtle manipulations took a toll on the man, and led to him subjugating his own people, among other atrocities. But as destructive as the Lord Ruler was, a thousand years later, the Well of Ascension was about to refill. The Lord Ruler planned to retake the Well's power, and Ruin would not have that happen.

So, Ruin plotted the Lord Ruler's downfall. He subtly put in Kelsier's mind the idea of an "eleventh metal" to the ten known Allomantic metals of the time. This, combined with Kelsier's desire to see his dead wife avenged and her dreams of a world without ash be a reality, led Kelsier to seek to kill the Lord Ruler. He formed his crew, consisting of many, but including Vin, a skaa Mistborn who Ruin manipulated; Marsh, his brother; and Sazed, a Terris Keeper, who studied the past before the Lord Ruler. In the process of leading the skaa to revolt against the Final Empire, the Lord Ruler killed Kelsier. Vin confronted the Lord Ruler, and using the power of the "Eleventh metal", discovered that the Lord Ruler was a Feruchemist. She somehow drew upon the mists and pushed the Lord Ruler's metalminds away, leading to his death a mere two years before the Well was replenished.

Ruin now needed a person who could hold the Well's power. The servants he could touch most easily through Hemalurgy, the Steel Inquisitors, could not hold Preservation's power, so Ruin had Vin do it. Ruin, early in Vin's life, had caused her mother to go insane, killing her sister with an earring. The earring turned out to be a Hemalurgic spike, so Ruin could influence Vin. The spike, through increased bronze Allomancy, allowed Vin to hear the pulses of the Well of Ascension. Ruin strengthened the mists again to recreate the threat of the Deepness, and influenced events so that Vin seemed like the Hero of Ages.

With all this, Ruin led Vin and Sazed to the Well of Ascension for them to "save" the world once again. However, Preservation had a shadow of his mind left, and in the form of a mist spirit, tried to foil Ruin. Preservation even wounded Vin's husband, Elend, at the Well so Vin would use the power to heal Elend instead of releasing it. But Vin did what the prophecies supposedly asked, releasing the power.

Ruin was free once again.

Vin and Preservation

Ruin could now directly affect the world, but the power of Preservation--in the form of the mists--still protected the planet. Ruin had been weakened since the Lord Ruler hid his essence, atium, and so Ruin and Preservation were balanced again. Ruin could not find the atium personally, as he could not see metal, and the Steel Inquisitors, had spikes in their eyes, and so had this same flaw. So, Ruin continued to use his pawn, Vin, along with Elend, to find the atium for him.

Ruin did not know that Preservation had actually selected Vin to take up his power, which enabled Vin to draw upon the mists, which was Preservation. This allowed Vin to draw upon the mists, but she could not do so with her earring being a Hemalurgic spike, as Hemalurgy, being of Ruin, pushed away Preservation.

In those final days, the shadow of Preservation's mind that remained communicated with Elend, and then passed. This had the potential to be a catastrophic event: when a Shard lacks a mind controlling it, and the power has no "release," it is incredibly bad, as happened on Sel when Odium destroyed Devotion and Dominion. Fortunately, Kelsier, who had not passed on beyond the Three Realms, held onto Preservation's power for just a little longer, until Vin could take it up.

Vin eventually caught onto Ruin's ploys, and would not find the atium for him. Because of this, Ruin sent his Inquisitors, along with Marsh, his main Inquisitor, to kill Vin. Marsh, though almost entirely under Ruin's direct control, held a small bit of himself back, and he used that shred of humanity to tear the Hemalurgic earring from her. Vin could now access the mists--Preservation's power--fully, and upon burning it, she ascended, becoming Preservation.

The Catacendre

Upon Vin's ascension, she tried to oppose Ruin, but learned that she could not do much, for Ruin would always oppose her. On the ground, Elend and Sazed discovered the atium, and Ruin immediately sent his forces to destroy them. Ruin, through Marsh, killed Elend, and Vin realized Preservation's plan. Preservation needed someone who could preserve, but also destroy, and Preservation was too touched by his Shard to destroy Ruin. Vin knew she had little left to live for without Elend, and so, directly attacked Ruin with her power. She pressed in, not shying back, and in the assault, killed Ruin and herself in the process.

Sazed, on the ground at the battle, saw the corpses of Ati and Vin, with the power of their Shards leaking from their bodies.

He took up both Shards together. It was not like Vin had described, where the power would burn out and vanish in a short time; these were the Shards themselves, which, under the control of one mind, could both preserve and destroy, or create. Using the knowledge from his metalminds, he began to remake the world, and undid the damage the Lord Ruler did to Scadrial. He placed all the survivors in a green field, the Field of Rebirth, and created a paradise for them to live in. The conflict on Scadrial had vanished, for now.

Now under the control of one mind, Ruin and Preservation's power began to intermingle, and Sazed became known as Harmony. It is considered a Shard, much like a king of two countries is still a king.

Odium became aware of Harmony, and is scared of him and the power he represents. Odium is making plans regarding him.

Bibliography of the Cosmere

Roughly the same as before, with better aligned tables, and with the forthcoming section at the bottom where I can describe Dragonsteel and Mistborn Era 4 better.

Notes

<references>

{!{Cosmere}}