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{{spoilers|book=sa3}}{{update|book=sa3}}
The '''cosmere'''{{
Brandon has said that you do not need any cosmere knowledge to understand the books, and that they can be enjoyed separately, but it will be necessary eventually to have a certain understanding of Realmatic Theory.{{wob ref|
The underlying mythology of the cosmere revolves around [[Adonalsium]], the power of creation, which was broken into sixteen pieces called [[Shard]]s. The Shards are effectively gods, and magic is derived from their power.
== Properties and Forces ==
[[File:Shadesmar (TWoK).jpg|thumb|right|350px|A map of [[Shadesmar]]--a part of the Cognitive Realm{{
The structure and physics of the cosmere are the same as our own, but the main story of the cosmere occurs in a compact dwarf galaxy, meaning it has many fewer stars and systems than our galaxy.{{
There are ten primary planets in the cosmere, sometimes called Shardworlds, as the [[Shard|Shards of Adonalsium]] play major roles there.{{
The physical universe of the cosmere only tells one part of the story. In fact, there are [[Realmatic Theory|three Realms]] of existence: the Physical Realm, the Cognitive Realm, and the Spiritual Realm that all coexist simultaneously, and everything has aspects in each of these Realms.{{tes ref|12}} Even planets themselves have souls.{{
There are also other forces outside of things derived from Adonalsium. One is a force that opposes Adonalsium, which still exists,{{
== Planets ==
There are currently twelve known planets in the cosmere. Three of these planets (Ashyn, Braize, and Roshar) are known to be in the same solar system.{{map ref|Roshar system}}{{wob ref|9847}} Two of these, Threnody and First of the Sun, are worlds that currently have no Shards.{{wob ref|2930}} Note that the following chart lists Shards currently on the planet, and there may have been other Shards there at other times in the past.
{| class=infobox width=100%
|-
! [[Ashyn]]
| ''None''{{
| [[The Silence Divine]]{{
|-
! [[Braize]]
| [[Odium]]{{
| [[The Stormlight Archive]]{{
|-
! [[First of the Sun]]
| ''None''
| [[Sixth of the Dusk]]{{
|-
! [[Nalthis]]
| [[Endowment]]{{
| [[Warbreaker]], [[Nightblood (book) |Nightblood]]{{
|-
! [[Obrodai]]
|-
! [[Roshar]]
| [[Honor]], [[Cultivation]]{{
| [[The Stormlight Archive]]{{
|-
! [[Scadrial]]
| [[Preservation]], [[Ruin]];{{
| [[Mistborn (series)|Mistborn]]{{
|-
! [[Sel]]
| [[Devotion]], [[Dominion]]{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}}
| [[Elantris]] & sequels,{{
|-
! [[Taldain]]
| [[Autonomy]]{{
| [[White Sand]]{{
|-
! [[Threnody]]
| [[Ambition]] ''formerly'' {{au ref|threnodite}}
| [[Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell]]{{
|-
! [[Vax]]
! [[Yolen]]
| ''Unknown''
| [[Dragonsteel]]{{
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>[[Harmony]] is the combination of two Shards, [[Ruin]] and [[Preservation]], that are intermingled since they are under the control of [[Sazed|one individual]].{{
== History ==
}}
Little is known of the extremely distant past of the cosmere: the time before the Shattering of [[Adonalsium]] and the [[Shard]]s. It is not clear who or what Adonalsium was/is. It is unclear whether it is a force, a person, a god, or the metaphysical god. It isn't clear if it was self-aware or not. Regardless, it is sometimes described as the power of creation,{{
Humans existed on worlds before this time,{{
There is a force that opposes Adonalsium{{
=== The Shattering ===
Through unknown means, Adonalsium was broken, in an event called the Shattering. Hoid was present,{{
{{sidequote
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, as they were familiar with their original names.{{epigraph ref|sa1|23}}{{epigraph ref|sa2|69}}{{epigraph ref|sa2|70}} Some of these individuals and the Shard they took up are: [[Aona]] ([[Devotion]]), [[Skai]] ([[Dominion]]), [[Ati]] ([[Ruin]]), [[Leras]] ([[Preservation]]), [[Tanavast]] ([[Honor]]), and [[Rayse]] ([[Odium]]). Another individual who took up a Shard was [[Bavadin]], whose Shard's intent has been revealed in interviews with Brandon to be [[Autonomy]] . There are three more known Shards: [[Cultivation]], whose holder is female but otherwise unknown, [[Endowment]], whose holder is [[Edgli]], and [[Ambition]] (splintered) with the original holder unknown.
It was not random who took up the Shards,{{
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.{{epigraph ref|sa1|18}}{{
At some point, some Shards traveled to other worlds. The Shards were now the primary source of magic in the cosmere,{{
=== Early Shardic History ===
The exact timeline of what the Shards did after the Shattering is not clear. Shards settled on specific planets, but could have gone to other places before residing upon the worlds they now stay.
Endowment was the only Shard who traveled to [[Nalthis]].{{
Bavadin was the single Shard to travel to [[Taldain]].{{
Devotion and Dominion went to [[Sel]].{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}} During this early Selish era, magic was present on the planet, though different than the kinds seen later, utilizing the [[Dor]].{{17s ref|topic|2622}}
==== Scadrial ====
Ruin and Preservation, having intents that opposed each other so perfectly,{{
{{sidequote
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.{{epigraph ref|mb3|55}} 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.{{annotation ref|mb3|chapter=81}} He also altered [[Allomancy]] so that there would be [[atium]] (and [[malatium]]) Mistings,{{
==== Odium's Quest and Roshar ====
}}
Odium wanted to become the strongest being in the cosmere.{{
{{sidequote
|left|300px|
}}
Odium traveled to Sel for a short time to attack Devotion and Dominion, and Odium Splintered them.{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}} This left a lot of energy on Sel, and, with no release valve and entity to control the power, [[Shadesmar]] became incredibly hazardous on Sel.{{
At some point--perhaps before Odium's actions on Sel, or after--Honor and Cultivation went to [[Roshar]] together.{{
Odium eventually killed Honor, using the same method as he did with Devotion and Dominion.{{book ref|sa1|75}} However, Honor was crafty, and even though Honor perished, Odium was then trapped on the Greater Rosharan System.{{epigraph ref|sa2|69}} At some point, Odium ended up being on Braize, which he is currently located, prior to the [[True Desolation]].{{
Before Odium's confinement on Greater Roshar, at some unknown time, he also killed another Shard in addition to Devotion, Dominion, and Honor.{{
=== 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.{{epigraph ref|sa1|28}} He sent a letter{{epigraph ref|sa1|23}}{{
The Seventeenth Shard are a group of [[worldhoppers]] moving between planets using various magics, and are perhaps led by the Recipient.{{epigraph ref|sa1|26}} Their members are from many worlds,{{
There is also [[Khriss]], a worldhopper who is the most knowledgeable person in the cosmere, by far.{{
However, there is an end goal of the Seventeenth Shard.{{
There is not a universal language for all cosmere worlds that these worldhoppers speak.{{
=== The Ascension of Harmony ===
==== Ruin's Plan for Freedom ====
On Scadrial, the [[Well of Ascension]], that power that came from Preservation, could be utilized by humanity. For much of Classical Scadrian history, a person called the [[Hero of Ages]] by 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.{{
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, release it, then the prison on Ruin's mind would vanish, and he would then be free to finally destroy the world.{{epigraph ref|mb3|46}} To do this, Ruin manipulated the Terris Prophecies over a long period of time. He made it so the Hero of Ages would include the "sacred piercings," actually [[Hemalurgy|Hemalurgic]] piercings, so he could influence the Hero.{{
Then, Ruin drove the world into desperate straits so that people would believe in a hero of ancient prophecy. If he fought Preservation, the mists--the Shard of Preservation's direct essence--which still protected the land would oppose him. So, he used Preservation to his advantage: the mists Snapped [[Allomancy|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]].{{epigraph ref|mb3|81}}
Ruin did not know that Preservation had actually selected Vin to take up his power,{{epigraph ref|mb3|74}} which enabled Vin to draw upon the mists--Preservation--directly.{{epigraph ref|mb3|79}} Unfortunately, Vin could not use this power with her earring being a Hemalurgic spike, as Hemalurgy, being of Ruin, pushed away Preservation.{{epigraph ref|mb3|77}}
In those final days, the shadow of Preservation's mind that remained communicated with Elend, and then passed.{{book ref|mb3|55}} 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 dangerous, as happened on Sel when [[Odium]] destroyed [[Devotion]] and [[Dominion]].{{
Vin eventually caught onto Ruin's ploys, and would not find the atium for him.{{book ref|mb3|67}} Because of this, Ruin sent his Inquisitors, along with Marsh, his main Inquisitor, to kill Vin.{{book ref|mb3|72}} 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.{{book ref|mb3|72}} Vin could now access the mists--Preservation's power--fully, and upon burning it, she ascended, becoming Preservation.{{book ref|mb3|44}}
Upon Vin's ascension, she tried to oppose Ruin, but learned that she could not do much, for Ruin would oppose her.{{book ref|mb3|76}} On the ground, Elend and Sazed discovered the atium, and Ruin immediately sent his forces to destroy them.{{book ref|mb3|79}}{{book ref|mb3|80}} 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.{{book ref|mb3|81}}
Sazed, on the ground at the battle, saw the corpses of Ati and Vin, with the power of their Shards leaking from their bodies, and Sazed took up both Shards together. The power did not vanish as the Well of Ascension's power did; 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.{{book ref|mb3|82}} This event will later be known as '''the Catacendre''', meaning "the end of the ash".{{
Now under the control of one mind, Ruin and Preservation's power began to intermingle, and Sazed became known as [[Harmony]].{{
Odium became aware of Harmony, is scared of him,{{
== Development ==
He still loved the idea of a huge epic series, so he decided to create a "hidden" epic to link his novels together. His ideas for this connected universe--the cosmere--came about when he wrote [[Elantris (book)|Elantris]], [[Dragonsteel]], [[White Sand]], and [[Mythwalker]] (which became [[Warbreaker]]).{{qa ref|847|3}} Brandon had seen other authors who made a single universe for all their books, like Isaac Asimov, but Brandon didn't like how Asimov had to retcon and shoehorn things together to connect their books. Brandon wanted to do the cosmere from the ground-up, so it would always be consistent.{{qa ref|622|49}}
Some ideas that came into the worldbuilding of the cosmere came from Plato's theory of forms, which contributed to the idea of [[Realmatic Theory]], and the idea of the Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual Realms. In this, the distinction of what is perceived as "ideal" and what is the true ideal is important: true ideals have much to do with the Spiritual Realm, while people's perception of ideals deals with the Cognitive Realm. Another influences is Spinoza, with the idea that God is in everything.{{
There is a distinct beginning, middle, and end to the cosmere sequence, and a clear sequence Brandon wants to tell.{{
{{sidequote
| I hope that people will stick with me for all these books, because I'll do a lot of them. But they will fit together in some really cool ways once they are all done. I think you'll be very very impressed, but that's a while off.
| Brandon on the cosmere{{
|left|300px|
}}
At the start of Brandon's career, he wrote cosmere novels in chronological order, but there are books that are skipped, like Dragonsteel and White Sand,{{
Hoid, a character who appears in each cosmere novel, is one such easter egg. It is not random where he is; Brandon has said that if Hoid appears in a place, that place is about to be very dangerous.{{
Brandon does not feel that the cosmere is restrictive to his writing.{{
[[The Rithmatist]] used to be a cosmere novel, and its magics take many elements from cosmere magics,{{
Eventually, there will be an official timeline for cosmere events.{{
Brandon does generally plan out which cosmere hints to give to fans, but sometimes he gives hints on the fly. Usually, fans are able to pry much more than he initially intended to tell.{{
== Bibliography of the Cosmere ==
*[[The Lost Metal]], the fourth and final Era 2 Mistborn novel.{{sots ref|2014}}
*[[The Silence Divine]], a novella{{sots ref|2014}} that will take place on [[Ashyn]],{{
*[[Nightblood (book) |Nightblood]], the sequel to [[Warbreaker]]
*[[Elantris sequel]] and [[Elantris finale]], the sequels to [[Elantris (book)|Elantris]]. These will be written in between the break of Stormlight 5 and Stormlight 6, and needs to be written before the next Mistborn trilogy can be written.{{sots ref|2014}}
*Era 3 Mistborn trilogy, the trilogy with Allomancy in a modern, 1980s technology level. This will be written in between the break of Stormlight 5 and Stormlight 6.{{sots ref|2014}}
*[[Dragonsteel]], the origin story of [[Hoid]]. This will not be written until after the Stormlight Archive is finished.{{sots ref|2014}}
*Era 4 Mistborn trilogy, the science fiction trilogy. [[Hoid]] is a main character of this.{{
=== Chronological Order ===
The exact order of cosmere stories is difficult, as Brandon has typically not canonized it, as he wants to remain flexible for the behind-the-scenes stories with worldhoppers and other unpublished works. An uncanonical timeline of the cosmere has the distance between the Shattering and the breaking of the [[Oathpact]] is about 6000 years.{{
Generally, cosmere novels have been written chronologically, so Elantris is before era 1 Mistborn books, which is before Warbreaker. However, Brandon will go back and add other works into this scheme, like Dragonsteel.{{
A rough chronological ordering of current cosmere works is:
* [[White Sand]]{{wob ref|
* [[Elantris (book)|Elantris]] and [[The Hope of Elantris]]
* [[The Emperor's Soul]]{{wob ref|1410}}
* [[Mistborn Era 1]]
* [[Warbreaker]]{{
* [[Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell]]{{wob ref|6445}}{{wob ref|10273}}
* [[The Stormlight Archive]]
* [[Mistborn Era 2]]{{
* [[Arcanum Unbounded]] essays{{
* [[Sixth of the Dusk]], which is in the age of Era 4 Mistborn books, the science fiction trilogy{{
[[Dragonsteel]] will be the beginning, before the [[#Before the Shattering|Shattering]]. Mistborn Era 4, the sci-fi trilogy is at the end.{{
==== Speculation ====
{{theory}}
Prior to The Way of Kings, all Cosmere books were published in Chronological order, but some important stories had been skipped.{{
== Trivia ==
=== Capitalization ===
The capitalization of the word "cosmere" is inconsistent at best from official sources. Generally, in the novels, like Stormlight Archive books, cosmere is uncapitalized,{{book ref|sa1|54}}{{epigraph ref|sa2|75}} but exclusively in [[The Alloy of Law]], its [[Ars Arcanum]] refers to it with a capital C.{{book ref|mb4|part=ars}} Adding to the confusion, these Ars Arcanum are written by the same person,{{
From interviews where Brandon types responses, Brandon sometimes capitalizes cosmere,{{
== See Also ==
<references>
{{17s ref|topic|2622|The things that they do in those books, couldn't have been done pre-splintering|date=Nov 29th, 2012}}
{{qa ref|622|49|Where did your idea for the Cosmere originate?|date=Aug 31st, 2011}}
{{qa ref|637|3|Where did ''Alloy'' come from?|date=Nov 7th, 2011}}
{{qa ref|847|3|I've read a bit online about how you have an overall storyline covering all of your novels|date=Apr 14th, 2012}}
{{qa ref|979|10|Have you ever felt constrained by this commitment to consistency across the Cosmere?|date=Apr 15th, 2013}}
{{qa ref|1097|18|''The Stormlight Archive'' is set before ''The Alloy of Law''.|date=Dec 6th, 2014}}
{{tweet ref|607208955069100032|How is cosmere supposed to be capitalised?|date=June 6th, 2015}}
{{qa ref|944|15|Received my first rejection letter|date=2013}}
</references>
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