Kalynaanne - Thoughts And Creations

The Sorting

I read a lot and have a lot of books that I enjoy, but a friend recently introduced me to the Stormlight Archive and it has inspired a level of obsessiveness that I haven't had since I met the Harry Potter series back in middle school. My new obsession led me to the Cosmere Challenge tumbler and then the current prompt led to this.  Hopefully someone else will also find this entertaining :-)

Rough premise:  Something has caused Shallan, Kaladin, Adolin and Renarin to be thrown into the Hogwarts world with their character development through the end of Words of Radiance but Hogwarts aged.  I'm imagining that it is Harry's 4th or 5th year and that Renarin is Harry's age and the others are older. I have multiple plot bunnies in my head that require variations on the premise.  Regardless, here is what I imagine happening when they are sorted:

The sorting hat barely touches Adolin's head before calling out “Gryffindor!” Adolin doesn't know quite how to handle the new situation he has found himself in and falls back on what he does understand as a defense. Unfortunately, this means he comes across as a superficial person who is extremely cocky and a huge flirt and the general impression that everyone gets is that they have been saddled with a new McLaggan. It takes several months and lots of set backs while Adolin learns how to interact with a world where the fact that he is a lighteyes Highprince is irrelevant, but he eventually finds his way and is accepted into the Gryffindor fold.

The sorting hat is less sure what to do with Renarin. It recognizes his quiet intelligence and wit and considers Ravenclaw, but Renarin wants Gryffindor. He has been told from the time he was very young that he is not cut out to be a warrior to the point that he has internalized the idea that he can't be. Despite this, he has always wanted to be able to follow in his father's and brother's footsteps. He is not at all confident that he truly belongs in Gryffindor, but he does know that that is where he really wants to be. The sorting hat considers and tells him that it would probably be truer to himself for Renarin to go to Ravenclaw, but that Gryffindor will also help him grow and respects his choice. Once he is in Gryffindor, Neville recognizes him as a kindred spirit and takes him under his wing. He is shocked the first time he has one of his minor epileptic fits and the other boys just shrug it off – after all, it is nothing compared to Harry's Voldemort induced visions. It boggles his mind that, for once, he is more popular than his brother and that it is more common here for him to need to defend Adolin's character than the other way around.

Kaladin doesn't believe it at first when they tell him a storming hat is going to sort him into a “house,” whatever that nonsense is. It sounds like a lighteyes thing – house Kholin, house Davar – and he wants nothing to do with it. Further explanations lead to the conclusion that it is more like being sorted into different barracks, which is at least something he can understand. Then they bring the hat out and it is an ancient thing that talks using a rip in its fabric as a mouth. Kaladin seriously considers throwing his hands up and walking out, but Adolin and Renarin are here, which means he needs to be here as well, so he grits his teeth and plays along. They put the hat on his head and he can suddenly hear it talking in his mind. Apparently these people have trapped a spren in a hat. The hat laughs at this thought and responds that it is not a bad analogy, but assures him that it is fine and there is no real hatspren that needs rescuing. At this point, to the surprise of the hat, Syl joins in the conversation. After much confusion, the sorting hat decides it is going to have to treat Kaladin and Syl as a single entity. It almost sends them to Gryffindor, but then realizes Kaladin's strong sense of honor is deeply rooted in his belief in the powers of hard work and doing what is right even when it isn't easy and sends them to Hufflepuff. Syl is pleased by this, but Kaladin is so overwhelmed by the whole business at this point that his only immediate reaction is to grumble that it is going to be hard to keep an eye on the storming Gryffindor Highprinces when he is in a different house.

Shallan gives the hat it's biggest challenge – at least until it discovers Pattern. Her dedication to her family and the hardwork and determination she showed while convicing Jasnah to taker her as a ward make her a solid candidate for Hufflepuff. Her clever use of lightweaving and willingness to do anything to achieve her goals, despite the questionable legality/morality of it, makes her the epitome of a Slytherin. She has the Gryffindor tendency to dive into things without fully thinking them through and a Ravenclaw's passion for learning. In the end it is Pattern's philosophy that “Truth is individual” and that “Your truth is what you see” that tips the scales and makes the hat decide to send them to Slytherin. Once in Slytherin, Shallan concludes that what she learned while figuring out how to navigate the Ghostbloods will serve her well in her new situation. It is going to be a challenge, but, with Pattern's help, she is absolutely up for it. [Note: There is so much potential here I can't even...  We will see if I can get any of it to solidify. If anyone else wants to play with it (or any of the rest of it) I'm totally cool with that.] 

In an alternate premise where Renarin is the only one who has jumped universes:

The sorting hat recognizes Renarin's courage and inner strength and wants to put him in Gryffindor. However, for the first time Renarin is in a place where no one knows him, where there are no preset expectations for him. In this new world, no one thinks it odd for a man to want to read and write. No one knows that he is the son of a Highprince. No one thinks he is a failure for not being comfortable around swords in general and shardeblades in particular. Gryffindor feels too much like the expectations he has escaped. He thinks Ravenclaw sounds acceptable. He would prefer not to be thrown into any preconceived classification, but if he has to have one, scholar sounds like a breath of fresh air. He thinks this might be an expectation he could actually live up to. The sorting hat grumbles about it and tells him that Gryffindor would be good for him, but accepts Renarin's choice in the end.

I just finished part 4 of The Final Empire and I need to rage for a bit before I can keep reading.  Don't mind me. Ranting and wild theorizing under the cut.

"I represent the thing you've never been able to kill, no matter how hard you try. I am hope."

 speech and presented yourself as a STORMING IDIOT MARTYR and LET THE LORD RULER KILL YOU WITHOUT FIGHTING BACK. DAMMIT KELL.

This is why you spent all of that time building your reputation among the skaa and getting them to practically worship you. This is why you were asking Sazed about the Valla. You were reassuring yourself that the movement would continue even stronger after you sacrificed yourself. You hoped it wouldn't come to this, but you knew it would. You've trained Vin as your replacement.  She proved her competence in her fight against Shan and her power by seeing through your copper cloud. In the process she helped you understand what happened with Mare so that you could let it rest. SHE JUST ASKED YOU A COUPLE NIGHTS WHEN YOU WERE GOING TO LEAVE HER and you hedged. You didn't know exactly when, but you knew this was coming. You knew it would probably be soon. Dammit Kell.  

Elend, you lovable naive fool of a nobleman, you need to find Vin and help her hold herself together so she can take over. Or maybe so the pair of you can take the lead if you can rally your friends and make them actually care enough to act. She has just had her brother's training that everyone will abandon her reinforced though, so she's probably going to try to push you away in a form of emotional self defense. I hope you don't let her. She is unbelievably strong, but there is power in having people you truly care about that she doesn't fully understand yet (The very last thing Kelsier said to Vin was "You still have some things to learn about friendship, Vin. I hope someday you realize what they are."  Dammit Kell. That sounds like you knew you weren't going to be there. Maybe you had already decided that today was the day to get yourself martyred afterall.)

Other Thoughts:

* IF there really is an 11th metal (which I'm skeptical of), then there needs to be a 12th.  They come in pairs.  

* There is more to gold that Vin currently understands. Gold is disturbing and creepy and no one wants to burn it which also means no one has fully explored it.  

* Feruchemisty is going to become important.  Vin's experiment with Sazed's metal is going to come back.  It could have just happened to answer the question of whether the two can interact (because I was definitely questioning it before it happened) but I will be surprised if it never surfaces again. 

* In fact, some combination of Feruchemistry and Allomancy could very well be what lets the Lord Ruler survive things like having a spear run through his chest.  Oh Storms.  What if the reason he has been so intent on killing Keepers is because there is a way to store their life force in a metal (Gold? If I had to guess it would be gold) and then he can steal that life force by burning the metal.  It would be like Allomancy meets Feruchemistry meets Chromatic Breath and the immortality of the Returned in Warbreaker.  

Shallan's Journey: Chapter 1, In Which an Experiment Goes Wrong

Shallan grimaced as Pattern formed into a sword in her hands. She still wasn't completely comfortable with the idea of wielding a sword, but it was what needed to be done, so she would do it. She, Navani and Jasnah were running experiments on the portals at Urithiru, trying to get a second one open. Prior to Jasnah's return, everyone had been completely stumped, but between the knowledge Jasnah brought back from her time in Shadesmar and her abilities with the transportation surge, she brought new energy to the project. Their current working theory was that they would eventually need Jasnah and Highprince Kalinar working together to permanently reopen a portal, but they wanted to make sure they had things right before Kalinar bound it open. If this worked, Shallan would use the portal to briefly visit Jah Keved and then promptly return to Urithiru. Jasnah was physically sitting in the tower, but was mentally in Shadesmar monitoring and guiding the portal. Shallan slid Pattern into the sword slot and was excited to feel the portal unlock – finally, actual progress! She rotated the fabrial and, as expected the stormlight in the lamps faded. That, however, is where her expectations broke down. As the lamps faded, the room itself seemed to fade until she seemed to be floating in a black void. Once she got past the initial shock she called out “Oh storm it! Pattern, are you still here? Something seems to have gone wrong...do you have any idea where we are?”

Shallan closed her eyes against the overwhelming darkness as she lost her self in the contemplation of what to do next. What would Jasnah do in this situation? She sighed. Jasnah would know how to navigate Shadesmar, and that wasn't something she could do. As Shallan pondered this, she felt a tapping on her shoulder, startled, and whipped her head around hoping to be able to see something in the inky blackness. She was relieved to see pattern glowing gently, “Mmmm, didn't mean to startle... you were getting lost...”

“Well, yes, when we think hard on something we can get lost in those thoughts.”

“Yes. Dangerous here. Lost in thoughts in Shadesmar is lost entirely.”

Shallan considered this. “Pattern, I'm not sure what you mean.”

“Mmmm... Thoughts are Shadesmar... A lie, but a good lie. If you get lost in thought in thoughts you are lost.”

Shallan shook her head. “I'm still not sure I follow, but I'll try to be careful. Do you have any suggestion as to what we should be doing next? How can we get back to Roshar?”

“Look. Your truth is what you see.”

“Look where? Pattern, the only thing I can see is you...”

Pattern took her hand and pointed with it. As Shallan squinted in that direction she could make out... something. At least it wasn't pitch black. “Ok, how do I get there?"

“Mmmm... Lightweavers aren't for traveling... Lie? The best lies become like truth...”

Shallan looked over at Pattern with eyes narrowed in thought as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. “Do you mean that I just need to be sufficiently convinced that I am already there and then I will be?”

“Mmmm.... not sure... perhaps?”

“Well I guess I don't have any better ideas...” Shallan took a deep breath to center herself and tried to focus on believing that she was at that point in the distance that was something other than inky blackness. She quickly realized that as long as she could see that she was still surrounded by darkness, she was not going to be able to truly believe it, so she closed her eyes tightly and tried to block out her skepticism.

Suddenly, she felt herself fall and land on...something...she didn't recognize. When her brain caught up that things had changed and she was once again in a new situation, her eyes snapped open and she quickly sat up. As she looked around, her eyes grew wide – where on Roshar was she? She was definitely outdoors and seemed to be on the ground, but it wasn't any kind of ground she was familiar with. For one thing, whatever vegetation she was sitting on didn't seem even remotely inclined to retreat back into the rock...which...didn't exactly seem like rock, it was too soft. There did appear to be large rocks standing around though... Did she end up somewhere in Shinovar? Shallan knew that they at least had plants that didn't retreat, and maybe this soft stuff was the soil she had read about... She reached into the bag of supplies she had packed in case something went wrong to pull out her sketchbook. Drawing often helped her make sense of what she was seeing. As she did, she thanked the Almighty that her bag hadn't gotten lost somewhere in her unusual journey. That thought reminded her of her traveling companion. She looked around, but didn't immediately see him and, as her heart started racing in panic, she called out, “Pattern? Did... Did you make it here as well?” She was highly relieved to her a sudden buzzing above her and to see Pattern's tangled mass of lines floating down as she looked up.

“Mmmm... still with you... still don't know where here is. Here is a nice pattern though.”

“A pattern?”

“Mmmm... big rocks all around in a circle with rocks on rocks, but maybe some missing.”

Shallan raised her eyebrows as she carefully stood with her bag and sketchbook and began to slowly walk around in wonder investigating the area she had so unceremoniously landed in. She didn't know as much as she wished she did about the Shin, but this seemed like something that might have been sacred to them at one point. It also seemed abandoned and was impressive enough that she should have come across it in her studies. “Pattern... Either we have discovered some long lost sacred site in Shinovar, or...” here she took a deep breath, “or we aren't on Roshar anymore.”

Whrrrrrrrrthwick! Whrrrrrrrrthwick! Whrrrrrrrrthwick! Whrrrrrrrrthwick!

Dumbledore looked up from his desk and frowned at the little silver device that had just started going off. He had many similar devices in his office to alert him of strong magical disturbances at key locations. This one suggested that something significant had just happened at Stonehenge. Thankfully it was just whrrrthwiking - if it had been shrieking that would have meant dark magic and likely that Voldemort had decided to come out of hiding. This, however, was just intriguing. He glanced back down at the paperwork he had been filling out and shrugged. It could wait. He looked over to his phoenix, “Fawkes, my dear old friend, would you be up for a visit to Stonehenge?” Fawkes chirruped and cocked his head. “Something seems to have happened there, and, beyond the fact that I am curious, it would be prudent to investigate.” Fawkes stretched his wings and trilled as flew over to Dumbledore who stood reached out for his tail feathers. They vanished in a flash of fire.

Hi, I'm auditioning for the role of Spook, Survivor of the Flames, and I'll be singing "Village Lanterne" by Blackmore's Night.

So... I was experimenting with the watercolor brushes in FreshPaint and playing around with ways to get different effects for skies...and then this happened... so here, have a happy playful skyeel flying through the sunbeams with its little fishy spren friends.

Happy Pi Day! Have some chocolate π   

Inspired by a conversation with Ashiok in the chat :-)

Badger and I were contemplating what color axehounds should be and then they said there should be sparkle axehounds and that reminded me of My Little Pony and then Badger drew this and it is EXCELLENT. 

my little axehound, my little axehound ~

Sisters

After some thought, she decided that the concept of loving siblings was a little like the Allomantic pulse lengths she was supposed to be looking for - they were just too unfamiliar for her to understand at the moment.

Oh, Vin. Your brother may have helped you survive, but he was a horrible, horrible brother. And she HAD a baby sister that their mom killed.  I can't even...

Vin still needs to have Lift as a little sister.  Then, one night when Shallan is out on a mission as Veil she needs to come across them and bring them in off the streets and eventually be accepted into their little group as the big sister. She would try to tame them somewhat and teach them things like writing, but they would spend just as much time corrupting Shallan.  They would create an alter-ego for Lift so that the Ladies Davar, Valette and [I'm still trying to come up with a good name] could go out together, but they would also create a third alter-ego for Shallan (beacuse they wouldn't want the ghostbloods to recognize Veil) so that they could sneak out in the streets together.

Now I really want to know if burning copper affects lightweaving at all... Can Vin see through lightweaving if she is burning copper? or maybe if she is burning tin? hmmm.... Also, if Shallan weaves a disguise for another Radiant, can they maintain it with their stormlight even if they aren't a light weaver?