Cosmere

by David Palumbo

The cover of Arcanum Unbounded, featuring Khriss

This page or section contains spoilers for Rhythm of War!

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“You’ve stumbled into something far, far bigger than you, your politics, or your little planet ... Your questions are dangerous. Once you step behind the curtain and see the actors as the people they are, it becomes harder to pretend the play is real ”

—Khriss to Kelsier

The cosmere is a fictional shared universe where several of Brandon Sanderson's books take place. As a result, books set in the cosmere share a single cosmology and underlying rules of magic, and some characters from one world will make appearances on other worlds. Despite the connections, Brandon has remained clear that one does not need any knowledge of the broader cosmere to read, understand, or enjoy books that take place in the cosmere.

Elements of the cosmere are slowly being added to the books, and will eventually come to the forefront in the Dragonsteel series and the final Mistborn trilogy.

Current series in the cosmere are the Elantris trilogy, Mistborn series, Warbreaker (and its eventual sequel), The Stormlight Archive, and White Sand. It does not include any books that reference Earth, as Earth is not in the cosmere. For a complete list of books in the cosmere, see the bibliography section below.

The shared "creation myth" of the cosmere revolves around Adonalsium, the power of creation, which was broken into sixteen pieces called Shards in an event known as the Shattering of Adonalsium. The Shards are effectively gods, and magic is derived from their power.

Properties and Forces

by Isaac Stewart

The cosmere symbol

Realms

For more information, see Realmatic Theory.

In the cosmere, everything exists in three Realms: the Physical Realm, the Cognitive Realm, and the Spiritual Realm. The three Realms have existed since the beginning of the cosmere.

When someone in the cosmere dies, their body remains in the Physical Realm and a Cognitive Shadow forms in the Cognitive Realm. For most people, this Cognitive Shadow quickly moves on to the Beyond and their Investiture returns to the Spiritual Realm. The more Investiture someone held in life, the longer they can linger before being drawn to the Beyond, but only Slivers—those who once held a significant portion of a Shard's power—can resist the Beyond forever, though they can still choose to go if they so desire.

The Physical Realm

In the Physical Realm, the cosmere is a star cluster of about 50 to 100 stars. The laws of physics are the same as our own, except when the other Realms are involved. Currently, there are ten known planetary systems in the cosmere, which contain a total of twelve notable planets. The cosmere is also home to other celestial objects, including several dwarf planets, gas giants, and constellations. At least one person has tried to leave the physical bounds of the cosmere, with unknown results.

The Cognitive Realm

by Isaac Stewart

A map of Shadesmar, the region of the Cognitive Realm around Roshar. Regions labelled "Expanse" lead to other planets in the cosmere.

The Cognitive Realm is closely modeled on the Physical Realm, though there are significant differences. Because the Cognitive Realm is the Realm of thought, it is substantially impacted by how people imagine and perceive ideas. For example, outer space is significantly compressed in the Cognitive Realm, because people do not spend much time thinking about the space between planets. There are also some entities that naturally exist primarily in the Cognitive Realm, such as the spren who personify thoughts, emotions, and natural features, as well as certain Cognitive Shadows.

The appearance of the Cognitive Realm around a particular planet seems to reflect salient characteristics of that planet—around Scadrial, for instance, it is composed of mist, while around Roshar it is composed of spheres. Land and water are inverted in the Cognitive Realm—what is solid land in the Physical Realm is unstable ground in the Cognitive, while bodies of water in the Physical are solid in the Cognitive. As a result, physical beings attempting to traverse non-solid regions of the Cognitive Realm risk drowning in whatever composes the local Cognitive Realm, though cognitive entities can traverse these regions safely.

The Spiritual Realm

“All things exist in three Realms, Gaotona. Physical, Cognitive, Spiritual. The Physical is what we feel, what is before us. The Cognitive is how an object is viewed and how it views itself. The Spiritual Realm contains an object’s soul—its essence—as well as the ways it is connected to the things and people around it. ”

—Shai discussing the Realms with Gaotona

The Spiritual Realm exists beyond space and time. As such, it is not truly a place, but rather is the Realm of concepts like Identity, Connection, and Fortune. Everything exists in the Spiritual Realm in its ideal form.

Identity is the Spiritual property that demarcates one person or object from another and describes who or what they are. Losing their Identity during the False Desolation turned the singers into slaveform. Identity also serves as the lock and key for metalminds; Feruchemists can only withdraw attributes stored by someone with a matching Identity—ordinarily, this means only attributes they stored. Because Identity describes who a person is, it is closely tied to the concept of a Spiritweb, which is sometimes called Spiritual DNA. Spiritwebs are not entirely understood, but they are quantifiable in some way, and seem to record information about a person's Investiture, such as the genetics that make one an Allomancer.

Magical healing in the cosmere usually works by using Investiture to make a person's condition in the Physical Realm more closely match their idealized self in the Spiritual Realm, though this idealized self is filtered through the person's perception of themself in the Cognitive Realm. As a result, healing is usually limited by how a person views themself, and once a person accepts something as part of themself, it will not be able to heal.

“Yours is the power of Connection, of joining men and worlds, minds and souls.”

—The Stormfather to Dalinar Kholin, explaining the powers of the Bondsmiths

In addition to containing this information about a person or obejcts's Identity, the Spiritual Realm also stores Connection between people, objects, and even more abstract concepts. For example, a person can form Connection to a region, which will allow them to speak that region's language. In order to take up a Shard after a Vessel dies, a person must be Connected to that Shard.

Because the Spiritual Realm exists beyond space and time, it—along with the associated property of Fortune—can be used to see events in other locations or even the future, though this is generally very difficult.

Investiture

“[I]t seemed you were Soulcasting to give your illusions weight. But then, concentrated Stormlight has a faint mass to it. ”

—Jasnah Kholin on the relationship between Investiture and mass

Just as there is an equivalency between mass and energy, in the cosmere these things can also be exchanged with a magical power known as Investiture. When Investiture is accounted for, the cosmere adheres to the ordinary laws of conservation and thermodynamics. Investiture mostly exists in the Spiritual Realm, though it is more precisely understood as transcending the Realms. However, it can also exist in a "condensed" form in the Physical Realm as solid, liquid, or gas.

If left alone, Investiture will, over time, become self-aware, resulting in a Splinter. Khriss suspects that the land itself on Sel is undergoing a process like this as a result of Devotion and Dominion's Investiture being trapped in the Cognitive Realm. More common examples of this process include seons and spren.

Investiture has a property that associates it with one of the sixteen Shards of Adonalsium; at the Shattering of Adonalsium, all Investiture was divided evenly between the Shards. Even though, as a result of the Shattering, all Investiture is associated with a Shard, Investiture also remains linked to Adonalsium in some way and the Shattering meant "everything and nothing at the same time" to Investiture.

A Shard can also "co-opt" another Shard's Investiture or interfere in a planet where they are not already present. When this happens, the effects will often be colored red. For example, when Trell's Faceless Immortals on Scadrial possess someone, their eyes glow red. This effect is also seen with many of Odium's servants on Roshar, as Odium is primarily Invested in Braize, not Roshar.

“This is a powerful magic, and one where humans themselves have often had access to grand bursts of strength. I would challenge one to identify another planet, save only Roshar, where one can find such strength of Investiture so commonly in the hands of mortals.”

—Khriss on Allomancy and Feruchemy

Investiture can be divided into two categories: Kinetic Investiture and Innate Investiture. Kinetic Investiture refers to Investiture actively doing something. When Investiture is kinetic, it can often be detected by various methods, such as Allomantic bronze or sand from the Dayside of Taldain. Innate Investiture refers to all Investiture not actively doing something, from the piece of Preservation in all Scadrians to Feruchemical charge in a metalmind.

Cosmere scholars term the various methods of utilizing Investiture (such as the Metallic Arts, Surgebinding, and Awakening) Invested Arts, Since the Shattering, these can be grouped into three main categories. The most common are those powered directly by the Shards, which arise from the interactions between a Shard and the planet they are Invested in. Such Invested Arts are capable of far more spectacular results than other Invested Arts. If a planet does not have a Shard in residence, it inhabitants can still access and use Investiture by the ordinary laws of Realmatics, but, without a Shard to provide additional power, the results are far more limited. The last category is the few Invested Arts left over from before the Shattering of Adonalsium, of which the only known example is Yolish Lightweaving.

Perpendicularities

by Wanda Sonnemann

Dalinar Kholin summoning Honor's Perpendicularity

“Honor's Perpendicularity. A well of power that pierces all three realms. A pathway home. ”

—Syl to Kaladin

When a sufficient amount of Investiture coalesces in one place in the Physical and Cognitive Realms, it creates a junction between all three Realms known as a perpendicularity. Most stable perpendicularities form from the presence of a Shard on a planet and the massive amount of Investiture they bring with them. Sentient beings can use perpendicularities to travel between the Physical and Cognitive Realms, which in turn facilitates easier travel on and off a planet for those with the knowledge to use them.

Adonalsium

“There was a God. Adonalsium. I don’t know if it was a force or a being, though I suspect the latter. ”

—Khriss on Adonalsium

When the cosmere began, there was an entity known as Adonalsium; this entity is widely believed to have created the cosmere. Perhaps for this reason, Adonalsium is sometimes referred to as "the power of creation." Investiture was Adonalsium's power, which has led cosmere scholars to conclude that either Investiture seeks intelligence because it used to be Adonalsium or that Adonalsium came into being because Investiture sought intelligence.

The exact nature of Adonalsium, however, remains unclear. It may have been a mere force that acted according to specific rules or an actual entity that could think on its own; Khriss suspects the latter. The way Adonalsium saw the cosmere was simply the way its magic worked. For example, the spren on Roshar could not form fabrials prior to the Shattering because Adonalsium did not want them to be able to do so. Given Adonalsium had this level of control over the cosmere, some have suggested that Adonalsium may have wanted the Shattering to occur.

Some say there are "subtle forces" being manifest in the cosmere, separate from Adonalsium, likely referring to belief in the God Beyond.

Shards of Adonalsium

Shards of Adonalsium
Shard	Original Vessel
Endowment	Edgli
Cultivation	Koravellium Avast
Honor	Tanavast
Odium	Rayse
Preservation	Leras
Ruin	Ati
Devotion	Aona
Dominion	Skai
Autonomy	Bavadin
Ambition	Uli Da
Invention	Unknown
Mercy	Unknown
Valor	Unknown
Whimsy	Unknown

“[Odium] is far greater than I, but the power of ancient Adonalsium permeates him. And controls him. Odium is a force like pressure, gravitation, or the movement of time. These things cannot break their own rules. Nor can he. ”

—The Stormfather on Shards of Adonalsium

During the Shattering, Adonalsium split into sixteen pieces, referred to as Shards of Adonalsium. Each of these Shards represents a particular facet, or intent, of Adonalsium. Sixteen people involved in the Shattering then took up those Shards, becoming the first Vessels and effectively ascending to godhood. There was some sort of force or property of the cosmere that caused Adonalsium to shatter into the sixteen Shards that it did, and the distribution of the Shards to the Vessels was not random.

Though the power of a Shard requires a mind to control it, known as a Vessel, the intent of a Shard will slowly warp the minds of those that hold it, overriding their independence. For example, after Leras Ascended as Preservation, he became unable to cause harm, even to preserve other things. It is unclear whether the original Vessels knew this when they took up their Shards, but, eventually, the Vessels came to be known simply by their Shard's name.

The Shards have access to infinite power, but the Vessels' minds, even though they are expanded by holding the Shard, are not capable of wielding it all at once. The Shards are also limited by certain rules that restrict how they can act; for example, they must fulfill a formally made oath. Shards can also intervene to block another Shard's actions, though not perfectly.

Despite these restrictions, however, the Shards are generally capable of both subtle and incredible changes. Among other things, they can change the orbit of entire planets, make changes to individuals and entire species on a genetic level, alter some of the mechanics of an Invested Art resulting from their presence on a planet, and speak into the minds of people. Since Shards exist primarily in the Spiritual Realm, they also have some ability to look into the future, though not all Shards are equally good at this and it fragments into more and more possibilities the further they look.

Since the Shattering, the Shards have been the primary source of magic in the cosmere. The interactions between their Investiture and a planet give rise to Invested Arts that are far more powerful than those formed by people accessing background Investiture.

Planets

For more information, see Physical Realm.

“Other planets ... Yes, there are dozens of them. Many are inhabited by people much like you or me. There is an original, shrouded and hidden somewhere in the cosmere. I’ve yet to find it, but I have found stories. ”

—Khriss to Kelsier

While the cosmere has a wide array of planets, twelve are currently known that are relevant to the broader cosmere. Three of these planets—Ashyn, Braize, and Roshar—are in the same planetary system.. Cosmere planets have something akin to souls.

by Isaac Stewart

A star chart of the cosmere in the Physical Realm

Primary Worlds

Nalthis is a world of color. Color is needed to fuel its magic system, Awakening, and those with large amounts of Breath will enhance the colors around them and can see perfect shades of colors. When someone dies, Endowment, the resident Shard, occasionally sends their Cognitive Shadow back as a Returned to prevent a tragedy they forsee after their death.

The Rosharan system consists of three planets of note. Ashyn was nearly destroyed in an apocalypse long ago, though a few cities remain floating in the atmosphere. Anyone with a disease there also gains a magical power. Roshar is a planet with a powerful storm that frequently blows across the continent and where spren can cross into the Physical Realm. Braize is the prison of the Fused where the Heralds are tortured between Desolations.

Scadrial is the most technologically advanced planet and the most similar to Yolen. Its three magic systems all use metal to store and access Investiture.

Sel is a large planet with three great domains. It has many magic systems, which are tied to the user's location and are accessed by creating shapes in the proper form, rather like programming.

The planet Taldain is tidally locked between two stars, a blue-white supergiant and a white dwarf. The side of the planet facing the former, Dayside, is a vast desert where Investiture arrives from the light of the star. Darkside faces the white dwarf and is in perpetual twilight, and many things there fluoresce in ultraviolet light. Its Shard, Autonomy, keeps the planet isolated from the rest of the cosmere.

Primary Worlds of the Cosmere
Planetary System	Planet	Shards	Books	Reference
Nalthian System	Nalthis	Endowment	Warbreaker, Nightblood (unpublished)
Rosharan System	Ashyn	None	The Silence Divine (unpublished)
	Braize	Odium	The Stormlight Archive
	Roshar	Cultivation, Honor	The Stormlight Archive
Scadrian System	Scadrial	Preservation, Ruin (combined as Harmony)	Mistborn series
Selish System	Sel	Devotion, Dominion	Elantris trilogy, The Emperor's Soul
Taldain System	Taldain	Autonomy	White Sand

Other Notable Worlds

The Drominad system is home to several planets, all of which have water as a dominant feature. Three of them are inhabited by humans, the most of any planetary system in the cosmere. The innermost planet, First of the Sun has a perpendicularity, though travel through it is incredibly dangerous.

Threnody is a planet with two principal parts: the Fallen World, which is under the control of an unknown entity called the Evil that is so dangerous that everyone left, and the Forests of Hell, which is home to dangerous Cognitive Shadows known as Shades. Perpendicularities on Threnody are unstable and have a morbid origin.

Yolen is the original planet of humans and the location of the Shattering. It has few inhabitants in the modern era and has been hidden from most of the people of the cosmere.

Little is known about Obrodai and Vax.

Other Worlds of the Cosmere
Planetary System	Planet	Shards	Books	Reference
Drominad System	First of the Sun	Patji (Avatar of Autonomy)	Sixth of the Dusk
Unknown	Obrodai	Avatar of Autonomy, possibly others	None (Referenced in Oathbringer)
Threnodite System	Threnody	Ambition	Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
Unknown	Vax	Unknown	None (Referenced in Elantris and Mistborn: Secret History)
Unknown	Yolen	Unknown	Dragonsteel series (unpublished)

History

Before the Shattering

“It was a distant place where two lands meet and gods have died. ”

—Hoid on pre-Shattering Yolen.

At some point, the Dawnshards were used to create the cosmere.

The first humans lived on Yolen and were created by Adonalsium. Yolen was also home to dragons and Sho Del. At some point, a poorly-understood and parasitic ecosystem hostile to humans, known as fainlife, began to develop on Yolen. It began to spread and overtake the landscape, though the other inhabitants eventually learned how to keep it in check. Plants and land overtaken by fainlife retain their shape, but turn bone-white and spill red liquid when crushed or snapped. Information about fainlife remains accessible enough in the modern cosmere that Khriss was able to mention it to cosmere-aware people without need for explanation. Prior to the Shattering, Yolen's technology was likely pre-industrial.

Most of the other planets in the cosmere existed and were named prior to the Shattering, though worldhopping was much less common at the time. During this time, Adonalsium created the entire Rosharan system and grew the supercontinent on the planet Roshar; as a result, the continent is shaped like the two-dimensional projection of a Julia set.

Investiture still existed prior to the Shattering, though its form was different. During this time, there was a plot to destroy Adonalsium, but it failed. Hoid, the dragon Frost, and the original Vessels all lived before the Shattering.

The Shattering of Adonalsium

by Connor Chamberlain

A depiction of the Shattering of Adonalsium

“Sixteen people, together, killed Adonalsium, ripping it apart and dividing its essence between them, becoming the first who Ascended. [They were] a diverse group, with equally diverse motives. Some wished for the power; others saw killing Adonalsium as the only good option left to them. Together they murdered a deity, and became divine themselves. ”

—Khriss on the original Vessels

Eventually, a group of people that opposed Adonalsium came together and plotted its destruction. This group included people of all three sapient species on Yolen: humans, dragons, and Sho Del. To achieve their goal, they created a weapon that utilized the Dawnshards. In an event known as the Shattering of Adonalsium, the weapon was used to "undo" Adonalsium, splitting it into the sixteen Shards; the weapon was expended in the process, though remnants of it exist in the Physical Realm and are responsible for Hoid's immortality. As part of the Shattering, sixteen of the people who had opposed Adonalsium took up the new Shards and became the first Vessels. There was some sort of force or property of the cosmere that caused Adonalsium to shatter into the sixteen Shards that it did, and the distribution of the Shards to the Vessels was not random. The Shattering occurred on Yolen, though there is some "weirdness" with regard to Yolen and location, and occurred all at once. As a result of the Shattering, all Investiture in the cosmere became aligned with one of the sixteen Shards.

Hoid was loosely involved in the plot to Shatter Adonsalsium and was present at the Shattering. He also had the opportunity to take a Shard, but turned it down. He and Frost both knew the original Vessels personally.

After the Shattering, the new Vessels made some sort of agreement to not interfere with each other, though the exact agreement was somewhat ambiguous and the Vessels who suggested it did not make sure to get a formal oath from the others. Regardless, the Shards then went their separate ways. Most settled on a planet, though at least one did not. Some chose to go off on their own, while others stayed together with other Shards. Around this time, Ruin and Preservation created the planet Scadrial, using the non-fain parts of Yolen as a guide.

Odium's Quest

“One need only look at the aftermath of his brief visit to Sel to see proof of what I say. In case you have turned a blind eye to that disaster, know that Aona and Skai are both dead, and that which they held has been Splintered. Presumably to prevent anyone from rising up to challenge Rayse. ”

—Hoid on Odium in his letter to Frost

Soon after the Shattering, or possibly even beforehand, the Vessel of Odium, Rayse, decided he wanted to become the strongest being in the cosmere. However, Odium is, by its nature, selfish and Rayse did not want the intent of an additional Shard to make him into something else, so he instead decided to destroy the other Shards so that there would be no one left to challenge him. To do so, he developed a way to Splinter a Shard's power, which also results in the death of its Vessel.

“He bears the weight of God's own divine hatred, separated from the virtues that gave it context. He is what we made him to be, old friend. And that is what he, unfortunately, wished to become.”

—Frost on Odium in his reply to Hoid

Odium's first target was Ambition, as he feared that it would be a threat to him. However, while searching for Ambition, he encountered the Shards Devotion and Dominion on Sel and attacked them, likely because he could argue they had violated the Vessel's pact to not interfere with each other. In the ensuing battle, Odium successfully splintered Devotion and Dominion and killed their Vessels, Aona and Skai. In order to ensure that no one could take up their Shards, he then somehow moved most of their Investiture from the Spiritual Realm into the Cognitive Realm, which made the Selish Congnitive Realm incredibly dangerous and the Selish Invested Arts location-dependent.

Sometime after he splintered Devotion and Dominion, Odium finally found Ambition, who had settled in the Threnodite system. Odium attacked and mortally wounded Ambition, though the Shard fled and was ultimately Splintered elsewhere, possibly by another cause. Chunks of Ambition's power were ripped off in this clash, which twisted the people and planet of Threnody.

by taratjah

Odium and the Fused

Sometime after Honor and Cultivation arrived on Roshar, Odium traveled to the Rosharan system. Odium never intended to Invest himself in a planet, but, at some point, he became Invested in the Rosharan system to the point where he would now have to leave some of his power behind or forcibly tear it out in order to leave. At some point while he was in the system, Honor and Cultivation used their power to trap him in the system.

As a result, Odium has since been waging a war to free himself from whatever binds him to the system so that he can continue his quest. To that end, he Splintered off pieces of his power to create the Fused, the Unmade, and voidspren, and also Invested in the Rosharan system enough to create and grant access to Invested Art known as Voidbinding. When the Fused first appeared, Honor created the Heralds, who could seal the Fused on Braize, though the Fused tortured the Heralds into allowing them to return to Roshar. Every time a Herald broke, a Desolation would begin and the Heralds and Knights Radiant would fight the Fused until they could be sealed on Braize again. This situation continued for millennia and the Shards remained at a stalemate. As a result of his past clashes with Shards, Odium has "scars that do not heal," which makes him more careful about future engagements.

At least some of the other Shards are aware of Odium's actions. Endowment is currently indifferent to him and thinks he was justified in Splintering the Shards he did; she also believes she could "deal" with him if he becomes an issue. One of Autonomy's avatars, Patji also expressed indifference, though he did indicate that a different avatar might be more receptive. There is also a Shard who just wants to survive that is aware of Odium's goals and is "smart enough" to stay away.

The Ascension of Harmony

by Kelley Harris

Sazed as Harmony

For much of Scadrian history, Ruin's mind was trapped in the Well of Ascension, which prevented him from destroying the planet. After the death of the Lord Ruler, however, he was successfully able to manipulate Vin into taking up the Well's power and then releasing it, which allowed him to be free. After Marsh removed her Hemalurgic spike, Vin Ascended and became the Vessel of Preservation. During the Battle of Hathsin, Ruin had Marsh kill Elend Venture, which inspired Vin to sacrifice herself and kill Ruin's Vessel, Ati.

Leras, when he held Preservation's power, had forseen all this and planned for both Ruin and Preservation to be left without a Vessel so that Sazed could take up both Shards and their intents could moderate each other. As a result of one person holding both Shards, Ruin and Preservation's power began to intermingle, and Sazed became known as Harmony. It is considered a single Shard, much like a king of two countries is still just one king.

Odium is aware of Harmony, is scared of him, and is making plans regarding him.

Splintering of Honor and the True Desolation

Some time after the Recreance, Odium finally managed to Splinter Honor, even though Cultivation was assisting Honor in some way. Honor, however, had prepared for this eventuality by, among other things, giving the Stormfather the power to create new honorspren and recording a series of visions for the Stormfather to show to potential Bondsmiths.

Eventually, after approximately 4,500 years of torture on Braize, the Herald Talenel broke and allowed the Fused to return to Roshar, though Voidspren had already been actively preparing for their return, most notably by guiding the listeners to summon the Everstorm. Odium is now waging the True Desolation against the people of Roshar, while Dalinar Kholin and the newly re-founded Knights Radiant attempt to stop him. At the Battle of Thaylen Field, Odium agreed to a contest of champions to decide the fate of Roshar.

About a year later, Odium returned to set the terms for the contest. Ultimately he and Dalinar agreed that, no matter the outcome of the contest, Odium would remain bound to the Rosharan system and would cease hostilities against the coalition of monarchs, with only the fate of Alethkar, Herdaz, and Dalinar's soul depending on the outcome of the contest. The protections specified for Hoid in Dalinar's initial, written, proposed contract also appear to be in effect. The contest is set for the tenth hour of the tenth day of the month Palah at the top of Urithiru.

Shortly after Odium came to this agreement with Dalinar, Taravangian orchestrated an attack on Odium with Nightblood, which killed Odium's Vessel, Rayse. Taravangian then Ascended as the new Vessel of Odium; he remains bound by the agreement Rayse made with Dalinar and plans to beat Dalinar.

Trell and Scadrial

Around three hundred years after the Catacendre, the kandra Paalm used a Hemalurgic spike made of an unknown metal to hide herself from Harmony. After Bleeder's death, Marasi Colms connected this metal to the entity Miles Dagouter named just before he died, Trell. When Waxillium Ladrian died, Harmony showed him a red haze of "dread and destruction" surrounding Scadrial, held back by a thin strip of light. Harmony does not fully understand this, but it is another Shard manifesting its power on Scadrial, most likely Autonomy or Odium.

Worldhoppers

Some people who are aware of the broader cosmere have learned how to travel between planets and are known as worldhoppers. Since space in the Cognitive Realm is linked to how people think about that region, most of outer space is extremely compressed in the Cognitive Realm. Therefore, if one could shift from the Physical to the Cognitive Realm, they could quickly travel between planets. The most common method for transfer to the Cognitive Realm is by going through a perpendicularity, though it is also possible with the Surge of Transportation. Travel is also possible through the Physical Realm, though it takes a long time without faster-than-light travel, which all planets could develop, though Scadrial is expected to take the lead on. It may also be possible to worldhop using the Spiritual Realm.

In total, the number of people traveling between planets probably numbers somewhere in the thousands. Some of these people are involved in the broader events of the cosmere, but many just want to immigrate to another planet. There is no universal language that all worldhoppers speak, though some can use Connection to speak local languages. These worldhoppers drive a thriving interplanetary trade system that includes the trade of mundane objects from different worlds, rare items like paintings from the Court of the Gods, and at least one courier service. The most important commodity, however, is Investiture, though it is difficult to transport off of its home world as it is strongly Connected to that world and its Shard. Planets are not equally easy to access through the Cognitive Realm—Nalthis is easier to get to than most and even has customs for travelers to go through; Sel is incredibly dangerous due to the power of Devotion and Dominion being stuck in the Cognitive Realm; Roshar can be welcoming or dangerous, depending on the era; Scadrial was relatively easy to access and had a stable mercantile system before Kelsier destroyed the Pits of Hathsin and rendered Ruin's Perpendicularity unusable for transferring between the Physical and Cognitive Realms; and Taldain is inaccessible as Autonomy has closed it off from the rest of the cosmere, though some of its sand has made it off-world.

Hoid

by botanicaxu

Hoid with Frost

“For I have never been dedicated to a more important purpose, and the very pillars of the sky will shake with the results of our war here. I ask again. Support me. Do not stand aside and let disaster consume more lives. ”

—Hoid on his opposition to Odium

Hoid is a mysterious worldhopper who has been alive since before the Shattering of Adonalsium and was present for that event. He has collected a variety of Invested items from around the cosmere and gained access to multiple Invested Arts. His long-term goals are unclear, but he is an adamant opponent of Odium's attempts to become the sole god of the cosmere. He has written to Frost, Endowment, Autonomy, and Harmony, hoping to enlist their help in dealing with Odium, though only Harmony has responded positively. He has some ability to manipulate Fortune, which lets him learn where and when he needs to be to advance his goals, though he often doesn't know why being somewhere is important.

Worldhopping Groups

The Seventeenth Shard

“However, it seems to me that all things have been set up for a purpose, and if we—as infants—stumble through the workshop, we risk exacerbating, not preventing, a problem. ”

—Frost to Hoid on his non-intervention policy

The Seventeenth Shard is a group of worldhoppers that seeks to research and study the various worlds of the cosmere without interfering in existing cultures. They believe the Shards separated for a reason and want to minimize the risk of conflict between the Shards. Frost may have some influence over them, either formally or informally. They are worried about Hoid, as they fear his actions on planets will exacerbate Shardic conflict and are trying, unsuccessfully, to hunt him down, though they have larger objectives as well.

Silverlight

by botanicaxu

Khriss and Nazh

Silverlight is a city in the Cognitive Realm with both worldhoppers and long-term residents, as well as at least one university. The researcher Khriss, the most knowledgeable person in the cosmere and author of the Ars Arcana, is associated with Silverlight and at least one university there. Her employee, Nazh, who, among other things, draws and annotates maps, and collects other things for Khriss likely has ties there as well.

The Ire

“Perhaps the Ire know more [about Investiture on Sel], but they are not speaking on the topic and have repeatedly denied my requests for collaboration. ”

—Khriss on the Ire

The Ire is a group of worldhopping Elantrians. They existed prior to the Reod and were off-world when it occurred, which may have played a role in allowing them to weather it. Their objectives are unclear, though they did attempt to Ascend one of their members as the Vessel of Preservation after Leras died. At that time, they were at least associated with a group whose forces were keeping the Shades of Threnody contained in the Threnodite system. They have some method of storing and transporting Investiture, which they use to sustain themselves and trade with others, such as the honorspren of Lasting Integrity.

The Ghostbloods

The Ghostbloods is a cosmere-wide secret society led by Kelsier. Not all of their members are worldhoppers, but some, such as Mraize and Iyatil, are. They have also recruited at least one Sleepless and seon, though they are also worried about the Sleepless trying to take over their organization. They would also actively recruit the Seventeenth Shard's field agents and are not collaborating with the Seventeenth Shard. The full scope of their goals is unclear, though they are working on finding a way to transport Stormlight from Roshar, where it is easily accessible, to places where Investiture is harder to obtain.

Other Notable Worldhoppers

For a complete list of worldhoppers, see Category:Worldhoppers.

Most, if not all, of the Five Scholars of Nalthis were worldhoppers and are well-regarded by the cosmere-aware scholarly community as pioneers of the study of Investiture and Realmatic Theory. After learning from one of the Scholars, Vasher, Vivenna became a worldhopper as well. Felt was involved in trade through the Pits of Hathsin and has been involved in several different worldhopping groups over the years. The dragon Frost is extremely knowledgeable about the cosmere, but is not actually a worldhopper, as he has not left Yolen. The Sleepless are present on several planets across the cosmere, though most have chosen to settle on Roshar and only the Rosharan ones are capable of imitating humans. Additionally, there are several kandra from Scadrial who have become worldhoppers, likely to help Sazed figure out the dynamics of the cosmere.

Development

“During my unpublished days I wrote thirteen books, only one of which was a sequel. ... But I wanted to be writing big epics. This is what I always wanted to do; something like the Wheel of Time. So I began plotting a large, massive series where all these books were connected, so I could kind of "stealth" have a large series without the editors knowing I was sending them books from the same series. It was mostly just a thing for me, to help me do the writing I wanted to be doing. And then when publication came I continued to do that, and told the story behind the story.”

—Brandon on the beginnings of the cosmere

When Brandon was beginning to write and trying to get published, he loved gigantic epic fantasy series. He knew, however, that starting with a big series might not be the best idea. If he wrote four books in a series, and the first one didn't get published, he couldn't submit his sequels, so he decided instead to focus on standalone stories. However, he still loved the idea of a huge epic series, so he decided to create a "hidden" epic to link his novels together. Brandon had seen other authors who made a single universe for all their books, like Isaac Asimov, but didn't like how Asimov had to retcon and shoehorn things together to connect his books, and so wanted to build the cosmere from the beginning, so it would always be consistent.

Some ideas that came into the worldbuilding of the cosmere came from Plato's theory of forms, which contributed to the development of Realmatic Theory. 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 influence is Spinoza, with the idea that God is in everything. Brandon also incorporated the idea of a "unifying theory of everything" from physics into the magic in the cosmere. All magics have underlying rules, and are derived from a single unified theory of magic.

“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

The cosmere sequence has a clear story that Brandon wants to tell and is fairly firmly outlined as 35 novels, plus a variety of novellas and other works, with the Dragonsteel series, Mistborn series, and The Stormlight Archive forming the core of that story. Dragonsteel will tell Hoid's backstory and the story of the Shattering of Adonalsium; Mistborn will have four series, following Scadrial from the Final Empire to the development of faster-than-light travel and the interaction between the various planets; The Stormlight Archive will be split into two arcs of five books each and is the story of the clash between the people of Roshar and Odium. Generally, knowledge of the cosmere as a whole will not be necessary until Dragonsteel and the final Mistborn trilogy, which are the beginning and the conclusion respectively of the cosmere sequence

Brandon does not feel that the cosmere is restrictive to his writing. Though cosmere novels are intensive, as they require more thorough planning and continuity maintenance, Brandon also has an internal wiki and people like Peter and Karen Ahlstrom who help him keep the cosmere on track. When Brandon feels like he needs a break from the more stringent requirements of the cosmere, he'll turn to work on a less intensive novel or novella, which are almost always non-cosmere. If there is a concept he really wants to write but doesn't fit in the limitations of the cosmere, he moves it into a non-cosmere book. For example, The Rithmatist started as a cosmere novel, and its magics take many elements from cosmere magics, but Brandon decided that he did not want a version of Earth in the cosmere, and so moved it to its own universe.

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

Published Works of the Cosmere
Publication Year	Title	Series	Planet	Length
2005	Elantris	Elantris trilogy #1	Sel	Novel
2006	The Hope of Elantris	Elantris trilogy #1.5	Sel	Novella
	Mistborn: The Final Empire	Mistborn (Era 1) #1	Scadrial	Novel
2007	The Well of Ascension	Mistborn (Era 1) #2	Scadrial	Novel
2008	The Hero of Ages	Mistborn (Era 1) #3	Scadrial	Novel
2009	Warbreaker	Standalone Novel	Nalthis	Novel
2010	The Way of Kings	The Stormlight Archive #1	Roshar	Novel
2011	The Alloy of Law	Mistborn (Era 2) #1	Scadrial	Novel
	The Eleventh Metal	Mistborn (Era 1) #0.5	Scadrial	Short Story
2012	The Emperor's Soul	Standalone Novella	Sel	Novella
2013	Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell	Standalone Novella	Threnody	Novella
2014	Words of Radiance	The Stormlight Archive #2	Roshar	Novel
	Sixth of the Dusk	Standalone Novella	First of the Sun	Novella
	Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania	Mistborn (Era 2) #1.5	Scadrial	Short Story
2015	Shadows of Self	Mistborn (Era 2) #2	Scadrial	Novel
2016	The Bands of Mourning	Mistborn (Era 2) #3	Scadrial	Novel
	Mistborn: Secret History	Mistborn (Era 1) #3.5	Scadrial	Novella
	White Sand Volume 1	White Sand #1	Taldain	Graphic Novel
	Edgedancer	The Stormlight Archive #2.5	Roshar	Novella
	Arcanum Unbounded	Anthology	*	*
2017	Oathbringer	The Stormlight Archive #3	Roshar	Novella
2018	White Sand Volume 2	White Sand #2	Taldain	Graphic Novel
2019	White Sand Volume 3	White Sand #3	Taldain	Graphic Novel
2020	Dawnshard	The Stormlight Archive #3.5	Roshar	Novella
	Rhythm of War	The Stormlight Archive #4	Roshar	Novel

Forthcoming

For a complete list of possible future stories Brandon has mentioned, see Unpublished works.

The following are confirmed upcoming cosmere stories:

• The Lost Metal, the fourth and final Era 2 Mistborn novel. Projected release in spring or summer of 2022.
• Elantris sequel and Elantris finale, the sequels to Elantris. Expected to be written after The Stormlight Archive book 5 and Mistborn Era 2 are done. They need to be written before Mistborn Era 3 and Nightblood.
• Era 3 Mistborn trilogy, the next Mistborn series, set to take place when Scadrial has achieved a technology level similar to that of the 1980s. Planned to be written in the break between books 5 and 6 of The Stormlight Archive.
• The Stormlight Archive, which will have ten books in total, plus novellas. Book 5 will be written in the somewhat near future, after which Brandon will take a break and there will be an in-universe time skip of about a decade before book 6 picks up.
• Nightblood, the sequel to Warbreaker. Likely won't be written until The Stormlight Archive book 5, the Elantris sequels, and Mistborn Era 3 are written.
• The Dragonsteel series, the origin story of Hoid and the Shattering of Adonalsium. Brandon is loosely working on it, but the series will not be written until The Stormlight Archive is finished.
• Era 4 Mistborn trilogy, the science fiction trilogy, with Hoid as a main character. Chronologically, this will be the last series in the cosmere sequence, and has much to do with the worlds coming together.

Chronological Order

Brandon has been somewhat evasive about the order of cosmere stories, so that the timelines remains flexible for future books that he writes. He has estimated that there are roughly 6000 years between the Shattering and the breaking of the Oathpact, with the latter event still predating White Sand. Although this figure is non-canonical and subject to change, Brandon has also stated that the books have mostly been released chronologically, which allows a rough timeline to be constructed:

• Dragonsteel series
• White Sand
• Elantris trilogy and The Hope of Elantris
• The Emperor's Soul
• Mistborn Era 1
• Warbreaker and Nightblood
• Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
• Arcanum Unbounded essays written by Khriss
• The Stormlight Archive (books 1 through 5)
• Mistborn Era 2
• The Stormlight Archive (books 6 through 10)
• Mistborn Era 3
• Sixth of the Dusk
• Mistborn Era 4

Further Reading

• Realmatic Theory
• Investiture
• Adonalsium
• Shard
• Perpendicularity
• Hoid

Notes

This article is still missing information. Please help The Coppermind by expanding it.

This article was complete and reviewed prior to Rhythm of War, but now needs to be updated.