Difference between revisions of "Threnody"

Unlike some of the other worlds in the Cosmerecosmere where full Shards of Adonalsium are present, such as [[Roshar]] or [[Scadrial]], Threnody has no active manifestation of Investiture that humans can use themselves.{{wob ref|6889}} The Investiture on Threnody takes the form of [[shade]]s, barely conscious Cognitive Shadows of human spirits{{au ref|Threnody}} that appear as translucent white figures that wander the Forests.{{book ref|sfs}} They are not innately aggressive, but become enraged and respond violently to any violations of the Simple Rules. Any flesh that a shade touches becomes black and withered, and if the contact is bad enough, the person will die and occasionally return as a shade themselves. The only thing that is able to combat shades is silver. It is unknown whether or not silver on Threnody is Invested in any way. The Evil is also related to Cognitive Shadows in some way, but specifically how is still uncertain.{{wob ref|7726}}

Threnody is the the third planet in the Threnodite system, located between the planets of Elegy and Purity, orbiting a red star.{{map ref|Threnodite system}} The planet itself has no moon. Visible in the night sky of Threnody is an unusually bright patch of stars, called '''Starbelt'''.{{book ref|sfs}} It is useful for navigation in the [[Forests of Hell]] during the night; the light usually filters through the trees fairly well. The Starbelt is the same patch of unusually bright stars that is visible from Scadrial and other worlds in the Cosmerecosmere.{{wob ref|6089}}{{wob ref|3363}}

[[Brandon Sanderson]] planned for Threnody to exist within the Cosmerecosmere for many years, intending to one day write a novel detailing the escape of humanity to the Forests of Hell, seeking refuge from the Evil.{{sots ref|2016}} He had not yet written a book set there when [[Wikipedia: George R. R. Martin| George R. R. Martin]] asked him to write a story for an anthology he was planning with [[Wikipedia: Gardner Dozois| Gardner Dozois]] called Dangerous Women.{{au ref|sfs}} Brandon planned to tell a story about a middle-aged woman working as a bounty hunter, and discovered that the already-planned world of Threnody would fit the story well. Brandon still intends to one day write a full novel set on the world, but is toying with the idea of changing the story to follow an expedition from the Forests back to the Forgotten World.{{sots ref|2016}} Many of the names used on Threnody are based on [[Wikipedia: Puritan| Puritan]] names.{{au ref|sfs}} The Simple Rules were inspired by the [[Wikipedia: Jewish| Jewish]] rules for the [[Wikipedia: Shabbat|Sabbath]].{{book ref|sfs|part=postscript}}