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The '''cosmere'''{{qa ref|428|73|Is this "character" a common link between your books for religion or magical or maybe even both?|date=July 2009}} is a fictional universe where Brandon Sanderson's adult epic fantasies (including [[Elantris (book)|Elantris]], [[Mistborn (series)|Mistborn]], [[Warbreaker]], [[The Stormlight Archive]]) are all set.{{qa ref|680|14|I thought I saw somewhere that you said that all your books (yours not WOT) are connected somehow|date=Jan 18th, 2010}} It does not contain Earth.{{tweet ref|22409638968295424}}
Brandon has said that it is not important to know about the cosmere to enjoy his books, and that they can be enjoyed separately.{{qa ref|1044|6|The first, most important thing to say to the person who's being sent there is to enjoy the story you're in.|date=Mar 24th, 2014}} Elements of the cosmere slowly be added into the books, behind the scenes, until it comes into the forefront with [[Dragonsteel]] and the final Mistborn trilogy.{{qa ref|1076|7|Are you going to expand on the cosmere in its own book?|date=Mar 6th, 2014}}
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{{qa ref|1070|3|Is Shadesmar just a name for the Cognitive Realm or is there a difference?|date=Mar 4th, 2014}}--from [[Roshar]]'s perspective. Expanses on this map represent other planets in the cosmere.]]
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.{{17s ref|post|42426}} Time flows the same
There are ten primary
The physical universe of the cosmere only tells one part of the story. In fact, there are [[Realmatic Theory|three Realms]] of existence:
There are also other forces outside of things derived from Adonalsium. One is a force that opposes Adonalsium, which still exists{{qa ref|979|85|Before Adonalsium shattered, was it consciously opposed by something, be it people or another cosmic force? Is whatever opposed it still around?|date=Apr 15, 2013}}, and some say there are "subtle forces" being manifest, separate from Adonalsium, perhaps referring to the [[God Beyond]].{{qa ref|836|44|There are those who would say there are other subtle forces being manifest|date=Sep 22nd, 2012}}{{
==Planets==
There are currently ten known
{| class=infobox width=100%
|-
! [[Ashyn]]
| ''None''{{qa ref|1088|37|This is a world that does not currently have a shard.|date=Mar 22nd, 2014}}
| [[The Silence Divine]]{{17s ref|topic|3934|Is that Shard on The Silence Divine?|date=Aug 8th, 2013}}{{17s ref|post|62323|Ashyn and Braize|date=Aug 9th, 2013}}
|-
! [[Braize]]
| [[Odium]]{{qa ref|1041|4|Odium's presence is felt on Roshar, but he is on Braize, the 3rd planet in the system|date=Aug 8th, 2013}}
| [[The Stormlight Archive]]{{17s ref|post|62323|Ashyn and Braize|date=Aug 9th, 2013}}
|-
! [[Nalthis]]
| [[Endowment]]{{qa ref|428|59|The Voice is, indeed, one of the Shards of Adonalsium|date=July 2009}}
| [[Warbreaker]], [[Nightblood (book) |Nightblood]]{{qa ref|428|106|One other question, what is the name of the planet that Elantris is on?|date=July 2009}}
|-
! [[Roshar]]
| [[Honor]], [[Cultivation]]{{qa ref|985|6|Were Cultivation and Honor romantically involved?|date=May 22nd, 2013}}
| [[The Stormlight Archive]]{{qa ref|428|106}}
|-
! [[Scadrial]]
| [[Preservation]], [[Ruin]];{{qa ref|727|19|Is Scadrial the name of the Mistborn world?|date=Oct 10th, 2008}} [[Harmony]]*
| [[Mistborn (series)|Mistborn]]{{qa
|-
! [[Sel]]
| [[Devotion]], [[Dominion]]{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}}
| [[Elantris]] & sequels,{{qa ref|428|106}} [[The Emperor's Soul]]{{qa ref|749|38|On the second day he read from a new novel set in the Elantris world|date=April 2012}}
|-
! [[Taldain]]
| [[
| [[White Sand]]{{qa ref|428|106}}
|-
! [[Yolen]]
| ''Unknown''
| [[Dragonsteel]]{{qa ref|428|106}}
|-
! [[Threnody]]
| ''None''
| [[Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell]]{{17s ref|topic|7544}}
|-
! [[First of the Sun]]
| ''None''
| [[Sixth of the Dusk]]{{17s ref|topic|7544}}
|}
<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]].{{qa ref|979|174|If Sazed were to die, would he drop the shards Ruin and Preservation, or would he drop the shard Harmony?|date=Apr 15th, 2013}} Harmony is referred to as a Shard,{{qa ref|642|10|Were Ruin and Preservation two shards or one?|date=Nov 21st, 2011}} though it is not one of the original sixteen Shards of Adonalsium.
==History==
===Before the Shattering===
{{quote|Even now, I can barely grasp the scope of all this. The events surrounding the end of the world seem even larger than the [[Final Empire]] and the people within it. I have delved and searched, and have only been able to come up with a single name: [[Adonalsium]]. Who, or what, it was, I do not yet know.|[[Harmony]] in the [[Words of Founding]]{{epigraph ref|mb3|39}}}}
Little is known of the extremely distant past of the cosmere: the time before the Shattering of [[Adonalsium]] and the
Humans existed on worlds before this time,{{qa ref|1115|5|Were any of the central cosmere worlds inhabited by humans?|date=Jan 17th, 2015}} though how many is unknown. At the very least,
There was a force that opposes Adonalsium{{qa ref|979|85}} which created a weapon,{{qa ref|1103|1|There was a weapon created by the opposition of Adonalsium|date=Mar 4th, 2014}} 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
===The Shattering===
{{sidequote|Ati was once a kind and generous man, and you saw what became of him.|Hoid on [[Ruin]]{{epigraph ref|sa1|18}}|left|250px}}
Adonalsium split into sixteen pieces, referred to as Shards of Adonalsium, each taking a particular facet, or
It was not random who took up the Shards,{{qa ref|1011|8|It is not random who got which Shard|date=Mar 16th, 2012}} and there was some sort of design in the way Adonalsium was split.{{qa ref|1042|5|Was there a force determining which way it shattered?|date=Nov 16th, 2013}}
It turned out that, though the power of a Shard required a mind to control it, the specific
At some point, some Shards traveled to other worlds. The Shards were now the primary source of magic in the cosmere,{{qa ref|979|160|Are there any magic systems in the cosmere that aren't shard based?|date=Apr 15th 2013}} and so they Invested some planets with their power, and in some cases, created humans and other species.{{book ref|mb3|76}}
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
Bavadin was the
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|The things that they do in those books, couldn't have been done pre-splintering|date=Nov 29th, 2012}}
====Scadrial====
Ruin and Preservation, having intents that opposed each other so perfectly,{{qa ref|691|9|Because they're such perfect opposites|date=May 2010}} found themselves
{{sidequote|The only point in creating something is to watch it die.|Ruin to Vin{{book ref|mb3|57}}|right|200px}}
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.{{
====
{{quote|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 in the
Odium wanted to become the strongest being in the cosmere.{{qa ref|1011|7|Odium wants to be the only Shard|date=Mar 16th, 2012}}{{qa ref|675|12|His goal is to destroy them all and be the only one left at his power level|date=Dec 15th, 2011}} He realized that if he ever took up another Shard, that Shard would change him, and Odium preferred his own.{{qa ref|944|8|Rayse knows this, and prefers to leave behind destroyed rivals as opposed to taking their power and potentially being overwhelmed by it|date=March 2013}} 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.{{qa ref|1011|7}} He developed a way to Splinter a Shard's power, and in the process, killing its holder.{{epigraph ref|sa1|22}}
{{sidequote|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.|The Second Letter on Odium{{epigraph ref|sa2|71}}|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.{{qa ref|944|7|Does Roshar have a similar problem, with Honor being Splintered?|date=March 2013|asker=Windrunner}} Selish magic itself changed,{{17s ref|topic|2622|The things that they do in those books, couldn't have been done pre-splintering|date=Nov 29th, 2012}} and perhaps the [[Dor]] was created--a force that can drawn upon but with no controlling entity. Odium left Sel after this event, and did not Invest any of his power on the planet.{{qa ref|944|7|Odium did not leave his power behind, one should note|date=March 2013}}
At some point--perhaps before Odium's actions on Sel, or after--Honor and Cultivation went to [[Roshar]] together.{{qa ref|985|6}} Later, Odium went to the [[Greater Roshar]] system.{{qa ref|836|49|Is Odium native to Roshar?|date=Sep 22nd, 2012}} Before this, Odium did not settle on a specific planet, but on Roshar, he Invested his power, and his magics are felt there,{{17s ref|post|150659|Odium never really settled on a planet|date=June 10th, 2014}} and perhaps other worlds in the system. Devastating wars called the [[Desolation]]s were fought over Roshar, between Odium's [[Voidbringer]]s and Honor's [[Herald]]s and [[Knights Radiant]].{{book ref|sa1|42}} Cultivation's exact role in the Desolations is not clear, but Honor and Cultivation were a romantic item.{{qa ref|985|6|Were Cultivation and Honor romantically involved?|date=May 22nd, 2013}}
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]].{{qa ref|1041|4}} Cultivation, on the other hand, survived Odium, and is still alive.{{qa ref|985|5|Is Cultivation's holder still alive?|date=May 22nd, 2013}} Odium has not killed another Shard after this point.{{epigraph ref|sa2|70}}
Before Odium's confinement on Greater Roshar, at an some unknown time, he also killed another Shard in addition to Devotion, Dominion, and Honor.{{qa ref|1091|3|Odium has killed at least one more Shard than the ones we know about|date=Nov 29th, 2014}} There is also a [[Survival Shard|Shard who just wants to survive]], presumably against Odium's onslaught.{{17s ref|topic|2652|Give us the name of a Shard's intent we have not seen before|date=Dec 9th, 2012}}
===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}}{{qa ref|944|8|Though you may have read that Hoid has specific beef with Rayse|date=March 2013}} to a [[The Recipient|person]] (possibly a dragon{{epigraph ref|sa1|19}}) to call off his "friends of the [[Seventeenth Shard]]" and help join Hoid.{{epigraph ref|sa1|26}} 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.{{epigraph ref|sa2|66}} As such, he advocated nonintervention,{{epigraph ref|sa2|74}} where Hoid meddled a great deal, on all main worlds.
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,{{qa ref|987|31|I want to know if the Seventeenth Shard members come from all of the planets, not just Sel|date=Nov 6th, 2012}} including [[Scadrial]], [[Taldain]], and [[Sel]]. They searched for Hoid on Roshar shortly before the [[Everstorm]] was summoned.{{book ref|sa1|i|1}} They may also be nonintervenionists, due to their possible relationship with the Recipient.{{epigraph ref|sa1|26}}
There is also [[Khriss]], a Worldhopper who is the most knowledgeable person in the cosmere, by far.{{qa ref|1069|16|Khriss is the most aware by a long shot|date=Mar 11th, 2014}} She writes all the Ars Arcanums,{{qa ref|988|10|Are they all written by the same person?|date=Dec 6th, 2012}}{{17s ref|topic|23181|He is kind of like a cosmere special agent, who gathers things for the person who is writing the Ars Arcanum|date=Feb 7th, 2015}} and as such, is a member of the Seventeenth Shard.{{qa ref|632|4|It's either Hoid or a member of the 17th Shard|date=Nov 11th, 2011}} She has an employee, [[Nazrilof|Nazh]], who, among other things, draws and annotates maps, and collects other things for Khriss.{{17s ref|post|167585|Khriss is Nazh's employer.|date=Aug 8th, 2014}}{{17s ref|topic|23181|He is kind of like a cosmere special agent, who gathers things for the person who is writing the Ars Arcanum|date=Feb 7th, 2015}} Their motivations--and exact relationship with the Seventeenth Shard--are not clear.
However, there is an end goal of the Seventeenth Shard.{{qa ref|1075|2|The Seventeenth Shard has a specific purpose|date=Mar 5th, 2014}} In the immediate future, they fear Hoid's purpose will not align with theirs, and so they hunt him down.{{qa ref|1052|77|So they have a task, they have goals, and they are worried that he is going to be at cross purposes to them, so they are trying to hunt him down|date=Mar 21st, 2014}}
There is not a universal language for all cosmere worlds that these worldhoppers speak.{{qa ref|977|71|Is there one universal language?|date=Sep 2012}}
===The Ascension of Harmony===
====Ruin's Plan for Freedom====
On Scadrial, the [[Well of Ascension]], that power that came from Preservation's mind, 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.{{qa ref|727|43|What was Vin supposed to do at the end of Well of Ascension?|date=October, 2008}} The power did not vanish, instead returning every 1024 years.{{qa ref|691|3|The well refills every 1024 years|date=May
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.{{qa ref|727|30|Alendi's "Piercings of the Hero"?|date=Oct 16, 2008|asker=VegasDev}} More importantly, Ruin changed the Prophecies extensively so that the Well and the Hero's purpose was obscured.{{qa ref|727|43|What was Vin supposed to do at the end of Well of Ascension?|date=
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}}
{{sidequote|One can see Ruin's craftiness in the meticulousness of his planning. He managed to orchestrate the downfall of the Lord Ruler only a short time before Preservation's power returned to the Well of Ascension. And then, within a few years of that event, he had freed himself. On the time scale of gods and their power, this very tricky timing was as precise as an expert cut performed by the most talented of surgeons.|[[Harmony]]{{epigraph ref|mb3|50}}|right|300px}}
Ruin saw the Lord Ruler's poor use of the power and saw that the Lord Ruler would be an agent of spectacular destruction.{{book ref|mb3|63}} So, subtly, Ruin manipulated him to destroy. The Lord Ruler did do things to stymie Ruin, such as hiding [[atium]],{{book ref|mb3|71}} 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,{{
So, Ruin plotted the Lord Ruler's downfall. He subtly put in [[Kelsier]]'s mind the idea of an [[malatium|"eleventh metal"]] to the ten known Allomantic metals of the time.{{epigraph ref|mb3|24}}{{book ref|11m}} This, combined with Kelsier's desire to see his [[Mare|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 [[Kelsier's crew|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.{{book ref|mb1|34}} Vin confronted the Lord Ruler, and using the power of the [[malatium|"Eleventh metal"]], discovered that the Lord Ruler was a Feruchemist.{{book ref|mb1|38}} 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.{{book ref|mb1|38}}
====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.{{epigraph ref|mb3|58}} 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,{{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]].{{qa ref|944|7|Does Roshar have a similar problem, with Honor being Splintered?|date=March 2013|asker=Windrunner}} Fortunately, Kelsier, who had not passed on beyond the [[Realmatic Theory|Three Realms]], held onto Preservation's power for just a little longer, until Vin could take it up.{{qa ref|727|50|
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|
====The Catacendre====
{{quote|Preservation could never destroy you! He could only protect. That's why he needed to create humankind. All along, Ruin, this was part of his plan!|[[Vin]] to [[Ruin]]{{book ref|mb3|81}}}}
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}} He then created a [[Elendel Basin|paradise]] for them to live in.{{map ref|Elendel Basin}}{{qa ref|637|3|Where did ''Alloy'' come from?|date=Nov 7th, 2011}} 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]].{{qa ref|979|174
Odium became aware of Harmony, is scared of him,{{qa ref|1094|40|Is Odium mad about Sazed having two Shards?|date=Sept 4th, 2014}}
==Development==
{{sidequote|I wrote thirteen novels before I sold one. I spent a lot of time practicing and learning, and I love big epic grand series. However, you know, you can't grow up reading the Wheel of Time without loving big series, but advice I heard early on was, selling a big series is actually pretty hard from a new author and if you, for instance, spend your life and you write like six books in the same series, and you send off the first book to someone and they don't buy it, you can't really send them the second book. ... I wanted to expand my chances, and so I wrote thirteen novels in different worlds, all with their own different magic systems and own characters. But secretly I loved the grand epic, and so I started connecting all these worlds during my unpublished era, and telling a hidden epic behind them all that I was setting up for.|Brandon{{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}}|right|350px}}
When Brandon was beginning writing 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.{{qa ref|847|3}} He decided instead to focus on standalones and trilogies. Not only would they be easier to market to publishers, but Brandon also wanted people to trust his writing before digging into something bigger.{{qa ref|622|49|Where did your idea for the Cosmere originate?|date=Aug 31st, 2011}}
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.{{qa ref|979|11|[Do] you think it is necessary to use philosophy to make a good fantasy world?|date=Apr 15th, 2013}} Brandon also incorporated the idea of a "unifying theory of everything" from physics to the magic in the cosmere. All magics have underlying rules, and are derived from a single unified theory of magic.{{qa ref|622|142|Do you have all the rules for them written down somewhere?|date=Aug 31st, 2011}}
There is a distinct beginning, middle, and end to the cosmere sequence, and a clear sequence Brandon wants to tell.{{qa ref|1052|52|there's a beginning, middle, and end to the shattering of Adonalsium and the involvement there.|date=Mar 21st, 2014}} There's about 36 main cosmere books, and Brandon has three "core" cosmere series: [[Dragonsteel]], [[Mistborn (series)|Mistborn]], and [[the Stormlight Archive]],{{qa ref|1077|17|How many series in the cosmere?|date=Mar 7th, 2014}}{{qa ref|112|30|Is it safe to say The Stormlight Archive will become the backbone series of the story of the cosmere?|date=Apr 16th, 2014}} which are well-planned out.{{qa ref|622|120|How much of the Cosmere and its story would you say you already have a plan for?|date=Aug 21st, 2011}} Dragonsteel is the start of the cosmere sequence that will tell [[Hoid]]'s backstory{{qa ref|689|5|When will we see a Hoid book?|date=Nov 8th, 2011}} and, presumably, the Shattering of [[Adonalsium]]. Mistborn will have three big trilogies, its last one being science fiction, deals heavily with the cosmere{{qa ref|977|206|When will be see the whole Cosmere-concept (Shards, the plans of Hoid) at the level of the books?|date=Sep 2012}} and has travel between the different planets of the cosmere.{{qa ref|1076|8|Will you ever have characters use the different systems of magic openly in front of each other?|date=Mar 6th, 2014}} Stormlight Archive is set in the middle of the cosmere sequence.{{qa ref|988|4|What time period do they all fit in, do they all fit in time- at the same time?|date=Dec 6th, 2012}} Generally, the cosmere will not come into the forefront until Dragonsteel or the final Mistborn trilogy,{{qa ref|1076|7|Are you going to expand on the cosmere in its own book?|date=Mar 6th, 2014}} and the final Mistborn trilogy is one of the last cosmere series, if not the last. Brandon has said it will all fit together, and thinks we'll be impressed.{{qa ref|675|5|Do you ever feel stifled?|date=Nov 14th, 2011}}
{{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{{qa ref|675|5}}|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,{{qa ref|988|4}} some of his earlier, unpublished novels. (Those unpublished novels would need to be rewritten from scratch, much like Brandon rewrote The Way if Kings.{{qa ref|810|24|Are you planning to revise these books that haven’t been published and to reinvent them, so to speak?|date=May 2012}}) He wanted these cosmere novels to not require knowledge of previous books in the hidden epic of the cosmere. Generally, clues to the cosmere are currently easter eggs, and will not be in the forefront. However, more hints to the greater universe are inevitable, and eventually the worlds will cross over and interact,{{qa ref|979|136|When do you expect to have more crossover between worlds|date=Apr 15th, 2013}} perhaps in the last Mistborn trilogy.
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.{{qa ref|1044|6|What basic concepts regarding shards, magic systems and world hopping do you think are most important?|date=Mar, 24th, 2014}} Hoid is doing things behind the scenes, and at some point, we might have Hoid short stories explaining what is doing and why.{{qa ref|680|29|Will Hoid have a short story, novel or will we have to try and piece it together?|date=Jan 18th, 2010}}{{qa ref|622|135|When will we see a book that basically revolves around the concept of the Cosmere and the shard-travelers?|date=Aug 31st, 2011}} There are also other people who cross between worlds that eventually Brandon thinks will be much clearer later, once we see those characters more.{{qa ref|1078|5|Are there going to be other characters other than Hoid that will be crossing over between books?|date=Oct 14th, 2013}} But for now, they are easter eggs.
Brandon does not feel that the cosmere is restrictive to his writing.{{qa ref|675|5}} Though cosmere novels are intensive, as they require more planning and specific rules{{qa ref|997|6|How do you address the different types of magic systems in your different books?|date=May 13th, 2013}} (Brandon has continuity editors, like [[Peter Ahlstrom|Peter]] and Karen Ahlstrom, on his internal wiki to keep it straight{{qa ref|1057|5|Lots of work in my internal wiki mixed with continuity editors.|date=Mar 18th, 2014}}), he feels that if he needs to take a break, he can just write a non-cosmere novel. Those "breather" novels are used to keep Brandon creatively engaged, and are almost always non-cosmere.{{qa ref|944|5|Is this book [Steelheart] part of the Cosmere?|date=Jan 2013}} 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.{{qa ref|979|10|Have you ever felt constrained by this commitment to consistency across the Cosmere?|date=Apr 15th, 2013}}
[[The Rithmatist]] used to be a cosmere novel, and its magics take many elements from cosmere magics,{{qa ref|1019|1|The Rithmatist is (mostly) consistent with the Cosmere rules|date=Jul 10th, 2013}} but Brandon decided that Earth is not in the cosmere, nor any alternate Earths.{{qa ref|1052|70|For some part of its existence, the Rithmatist was in the Cosmere|date=Mar 21st, 2014}}
Eventually, there will be an official timeline for cosmere events.{{qa ref|979|125|is there a cross-book timeline available?|date=Apr 15th, 2013}} There will probably be a cosmere encyclopedia at some point, but not for a long time.{{qa ref|979|65|Are you planning on putting together a Cosmere bible at any point?|date=Apr 15th, 2013}} It is more likely there will be Stormlight and Mistborn worldbooks first.{{qa ref|704|16|Do you think you'll eventually publish a "The World of Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere"?|date=Nov 14th, 2011}} There will eventually be a [[Shadesmar]] map and star map for the cosmere that is released.{{qa ref|1097|23|Eventually, he'll come out with a Shadesmar map of the cosmere, and a Starmap as well.|date=Dec 6th, 2014}}
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.{{qa ref|704|15|Do you decide what cosmere hints you'll let out before going to events?|date=Nov 14th, 2011}}
==Bibliography of the Cosmere==
! 2005
| [[Elantris]]
| Standalone
|-
! rowspan=2| 2006
| [[Mistborn: The Final Empire]]
| [[Mistborn (series)#Era 1|Mistborn (Era 1)]]
|-
! 2007
| [[The Well of Ascension]]
| [[Mistborn (series)#Era 1|Mistborn (Era 1)]]
|-
! 2008
| [[The Hero of Ages]]
| [[Mistborn (series)#Era 1|Mistborn (Era 1)]]
|-
! 2009
| [[Warbreaker]]
| Standalone
|-
! 2010
! 2011
| [[The Alloy of Law]]
| [[Mistborn
|-
! 2012
| [[Shadows of Self]]
| [[Mistborn
|-
! rowspan=2| 2016 (forthcoming)
| [[The Bands of Mourning]]
| [[Mistborn
|-
| [[Stormlight 3|untitled]]
| [[The Stormlight Archive]]
|}
===Forthcoming===
The following are other confirmed upcoming cosmere stories.
*[[The Lost Metal]], the fourth and final Era 2 Mistborn novel.{{bws ref|state-of-the-sanderson-december-2014|State of the Sanderson: December 2014|date=Dec 18th, 2014}}
*[[The Silence Divine]], a novella{{bws ref|state-of-the-sanderson-december-2014}} that will take place on [[Ashyn]],{{17s ref|post|62280|Q&A at Spokane Barnes & Noble|date=09 August 2013}} a planet on [[Greater Roshar]].
*[[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.{{bws ref|state-of-the-sanderson-december-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.{{bws ref|state-of-the-sanderson-december-2014}}
*[[Dark One]], a young adult "series" that is centered on the individual destined to destroy the world, rather than save it.{{bws ref|state-of-the-sanderson-december-2014}}
*[[Skyward]], a young adult cosmere novel{{bws ref|state-of-the-sanderson|State of the Sanderson|date=Jul 24, 2013}}
*[[Dragonsteel]], the origin story of [[Hoid]]. This will not be written until after the Stormlight Archive is finished.{{bws ref|state-of-the-sanderson-december-2014}}
*Era 4 Mistborn trilogy, the science fiction trilogy. [[Hoid]] is a main character of this.{{qa ref|689|5|Hoid is very involved in the third Mistborn trilogy|date=Nov 8th. 2011}} This will be one of the last known cosmere sequence, chronologically, and has much to do with the worlds coming together.{{qa ref|1076|7}}
===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.{{qa ref|1091|1|Current timeline, which I have NOT canonized, is around 6,000 years|date=Nov 29th, 2014}} Do not take that for exact fact, but it probably means that these time scales are in thousands of years, not millions of 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 and White Sand.{{qa ref|988|4}}
A rough chronological ordering of current cosmere works is:
*[[Elantris (book)|Elantris]] and [[The Hope of Elantris]]
*[[The Emperor's Soul]]{{url ref|url=http://kogiopsis.tumblr.com/post/111814753399/3-7-2014-beaverton-or-signing-words-of|site=Tumblr|text=When is The Emperor’s Soul set relative to Elantris specifically and the other cosmere books?|date=Mar 7th, 2014}}
*[[Mistborn Era 1]]
*[[Warbreaker]]
*[[Mistborn Era 2]] and [[The Stormlight Archive]]{{qa ref|988|4}}
*[[Sixth of the Dusk]], which is in the age of Era 4 Mistborn books, the science fiction trilogy{{qa ref|1115|49|Is it up into the third trilogy of Mistborn?|date=Jan 17th, 2015}}
[[Dragonsteel]] will be the beginning, before Elantris. Mistborn Era 3--the modern day trilogy--will be between the two halves of Stormlight Archive. Mistborn Era 4, the scifi trilogy is at the end.{{qa ref|112|30|Is it safe to say The Stormlight Archive will become the backbone series of the story of the cosmere?|date=Apr 16th, 2014}} [[Nightblood (book)|Nightblood]], the Warbreaker sequel, will be set closer to Warbreaker than Stormlight Archive.{{qa ref|1108|2|If you write Nightblood, the Warbreaker sequel, chronologically, will it come before or after Stormlight?|date=Mar 13th, 2014}}
==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 Arcanums are written by the same person,{{qa ref|988|10}} and [[Words of Radiance]]'s Ars Arcanum uses lowercase.{{book ref|sa2|part=ars}}
From interviews where Brandon types responses, Brandon sometimes capitalizes cosmere,{{qa ref|944|5}} and sometimes leaves it uncapitalized.{{qa ref|977|17|Hemalurgy really is an oddity in the cosmere|date=Sep 2012}} [[Peter Ahlstrom]], Brandon's assistant, has said that generally, cosmere is uncapitalized in books, but capitalized outside of them.{{tweet ref|607208955069100032|How is cosmere supposed to be capitalised?|date=June 6th, 2015}}
==See Also==
*[[Shard]]
*[[Adonalsium]]
*[[Investiture]]
*[[Hoid]]
*[[Realmatic Theory]]
==Notes==
{{columns|count=3|<references>
{{17s ref|post|42426|Physical structure of cosmere|date=Sep 28th, 2012
{{qa ref|718|8|Tell me something new about the cosmere|date=
{{tweet ref|22409638968295424|Are you going to cameo in the cosmere?|date=Jan 4th, 2011
{{url ref|name=yalive
|url=http://new.livestream.com/92Y/YAFantasy/videos/34988457
|site=Livestream
|date=Nov 16th, 2013
|text=YA fantasy livestream
|post= - min 55:33
</references>}}
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