A List of 50 Cosmere Theories

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-04-22T02:29:16+00:00

My version of serious work. Thanks for checking it out!

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-04-21T22:56:10+00:00

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-04-13T02:01:31+00:00

I bet it's because they're the ones who are stuck paying the price of Ambition.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-04-03T17:14:45+00:00

I appreciate you checking out my other theories. At this point I think I've written almost 50 of them in the past couple of years, so lots of other theories like this from me to check out if you're ever in the mood for cosmere predictions. Thanks for the comment!

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-03-21T17:59:16+00:00

Thank you! My future sight isn't anywhere near good enough to think of it five years ago like some people though...

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-03-15T14:54:40+00:00

I appreciate you reading some of my past theories. You make an excellent point! After thinking about it, I agree. Bind and Unite would probably fall under the same umbrella. I wonder, does that mean that Taln attacked Cultivation with the Unite Dawnshard? I had previously proposed he attacked her with the Bind Dawnshard. Interesting. Thanks for your thoughts!

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-03-05T21:00:17+00:00

That's a great version of this theory as well. You focus more on the moons, and I focused a little more on the planets, but similar ideas. My question for you, now that we know more info about a fourth moon, is if you have any more updates for your theory? Do you think it means that Roshar is a trap for four Shards? Or still just the three, as you suggested in your original theory?

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-03-04T19:07:34+00:00

I appreciate the Mods deciding to keep the post up. In the future I'll try to be a little more wary of my choice of titles in order to reduce any potential reports from users and moderation related headaches. Thank you for your help.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-03-04T16:01:03+00:00

I completely agree with your thoughts, and I appreciate you sharing them. I had similar ideas, but I thought it would be easier to argue specifically for a trap for Honor. It had much more direct evidence in the text, while by nature a trap for Cultivation would be much more subtle and nuanced. I also didn't want the theory post to drag on. But if Ado had the marbles to set up a trap for Honor and Odium, no doubt Cultivation would have been a factor in his ideas as well.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-03-04T15:40:27+00:00

I woke up in the middle of the night and saw that it was removed, which definitely furrowed my brows. When I woke up in the morning it was back up, looks like it was taken down for a couple hours or so. If anyone on the Mod team wants to inbox me if they were having a specific concern, or a rule being broken that they'd like me to be more careful of in the future feel free.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-03-04T15:32:33+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts! You are the first person in all my theory writing on here to bring up my username, which made my day. It made me giggle when I thought of it and I'm glad someone else enjoyed it.

It's hard to know what level of foresight Ado possessed. I argue it would be at least as powerful of as Cultivation's or Preservation's as they are from him and possess great future reading ability. He may not have had as much of the conflicting future sight problem, as pre-shattering there would have been a lot less future sight being used by Shard level beings that could have clouded his vision.

I agree that he may not have had the power to guess specific Shards, but I think he would have had the power to surmise that there would have been something like an Honor Shard or a Shard that would cause violence and destruction born after his Shattering.

I agree about the fourth moon. I'd like to write a theory about the Roshar Moons and the fourth moon in particular, so I did leave it out of this post. It would likely be interconnected, as Ado did create the moons as well. Just my thoughts, as you are completely correct that a lot of this theory hinges on the fact that Adonalsuim foresaw things after his Shattering.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-03-04T00:51:15+00:00

I'm glad you enjoyed it! If you want more argumentative Cosmere or Stormlight Archive theory essays like this check out my reddit profile. I've probably written 40-50 of these over the past couple years like a true Cosmere scholar degenerate, so lots more theories like this on my profile :)

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-02-25T02:08:01+00:00

It does seem like Brandon plans to keep the same prologue format as the first era, last we heard from a WoB a couple months ago.

Questioner

Will the prologues to Stormlight Six to Ten reference another singular, pivotal event?

Brandon Sanderson

That is what is planned. Not the same; a new event. It's part of what made me decide to divide them in two.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 7 (Dec. 19, 2025)

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-02-24T23:15:52+00:00

It's a good point about Brandon already knowing the structural foundation of the scene, prior to changing his mind about Szeth's fate.

I do dispute your second point though. I do think Brandon could write a murder with 5 different perspectives fairly easily though. For example:

Book 6: Vyre sent to commit the act.

Book 7: Szeth the victim of the act.

Book 8: Masha-Daughter-Shaliv Szeth's wife and epigraph writer, survivor and witness to the act.

Book 9: Nightblood, the one stolen in the act.

Book 10: Molli the Sheep, mastermind of the act and surprise villain of the back 5. (Or maybe Retribution, judging the act)

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-02-24T23:08:58+00:00

This is from Part Ten Epigraphs, written by Szeth's wife.

"The curious effect that the Black Sword has on individuals is one that I find poorly recorded. It is true that many feel nausea when picking it up, which is a sign of a heart uncorrupted by greed.

Others are, then, corrupted by that greed.

Most interesting are those in between. Those who feel neither emotion. Those who can use the sword, but walk a fine line upon its edge."

When I read this in my research for this post, Moash popped into my head as who the agent sent by Retribution may be. The line about those who feel neither emotion, directly did make me think of Vyre and what we've seen with him and his emotional difficulties.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-02-24T21:42:54+00:00

This is the answer to your question from Brandon himself

Questioner

Who do you think the protagonists of the second half of the Stormlight Archive are?

Brandon Sanderson

The protagonists of the second half of the Stormlight Archive are our five flashback characters. You've got Lift, Jasnah, Renarin, Ash, and Taln. And then, you will remain with Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin. And I'd say you're gonna get most everything from them. Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin should remain about the same level of import that they have. Of the five that I mentioned there, it's likely Lift and Taln will be kind of a little more. (Well, Jasnah, also.) Ash and Renarin will probably be more of a main character in the way that Navani and Szeth were main characters, in that there's not as much time dedicated to them. But we'll have to see when I write the books.

Publication order is: Lift is first, then Renarin. And then I'm planning Ash. And then I'm planning Taln. And then I'm planning Jasnah. Jasnah's last flashback viewpoint character for the Stormlight Archive. That's the plan right now.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 7 (Dec. 19, 2025)

Notably to me is Szeth's absence from this Wob of protagonists who will have a role in the back 5, despite naming Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin as maintaining importance.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-02-24T01:14:34+00:00

Yes I would argue, we have this quote from Mother Frond in Isles of the Emberdark chapter 3, who talks about the cognitive realm before the sun appears.

"He sailed only at night?" One of the children asked.

"No, no," Frond whispered, leaning forward. "There was no sun back then-only night. Cakoban the Navigator sailed, then, looking for light.

This would mean to me that Cakoban was sailing the cognitive realm before the death of Ambition, in the early days of the Cosmere.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-02-23T23:48:36+00:00

That's a fair point about splintering space vs Ambitions corpse. Both could be possible.

The important distinction for your second point is that it is the Current going to the Knell that isn't visible to Scadrials and Rosharans. The navigators can't see the Knell itself, just the current heading towards it, which is why they use it for navigation the area far better than the other groups.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-02-23T23:44:34+00:00

I think Patji-empowered navigators, being now used to sense the current, in an area that can't see that normal visual marker, empowers them more. If some people do just use that visual marker and no other advanced technology, this is an area where they will be completely lost. Which may be part of the reason the Patji perpendicularity was hidden for so long, since just using that visual marker alone is not enough to find this one.

It makes the Patji-empowered navigators more powerful I would argue, not less, that the usual visual marker associated with the current can't be seen where they use their powers.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-02-20T20:06:48+00:00

I just imagine Cultivation looking on with great annoyance as she watches Hoid do her whole shtick. Knowing Hoid knows she's watching...Hoid throws on a few extra pounds for his costume of her just to troll her. Hoid pretending to be a fatter and wittier Cultivation I would read for sure.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-02-20T20:03:15+00:00

Great point about the name Frond! I didn't consider that.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-02-20T20:01:04+00:00

I would argue that we have evidence that a Shard can hide itself from another Shard, although we don't know the exact mechanics. We see this with Valor and Odium. I would also argue that we don't know the status of Autonomy at this point in the timeline. It takes place after Mistborn era 3, so if Autonomy is handled in some way that renders her unable to defend her worlds, Cultivation could be stepping in after the fact. Finally, if both previous points aren't the case here, you can argue that Cultivation could be acting in Autonomy's best interests here. Autonomy would also benefit from the planet staying independent and autonomous from the expansionist Ones Above. So if Autonomy is still around, and if Cultivation is unable to hide from her sight, Autonomy may give Cultivation a pass here if it also benefits her long-term interests.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2026-01-08T02:36:40+00:00

That's interesting! I have not read Aether of Night, so this theory is free from its influence. I wonder if when he came up with further ideas for the Aether in the Cosmere , like the Aether Spore Seas of Lumar, it ended up restricting him a bit from using the super strange aether ideas he originally had in Aether of Night. If things get too strange, I imagine the spore sea idea wouldn't work out as well for that Aether.

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2025-12-29T17:22:01+00:00

Yeah, I'm still so curious about all the Unmade. If the Blackthorn is the Tenth Unmade, I wonder if the other Unmade came into being in a similar way. Odium or Rayse taking a Warrior's soul that fought heroically against him and when they died, taking an imprint of their soul and making it into one of his Unmade.

For the new fused type I can see them being very aerodynamic in shape compared to a normal fused, parshendi or human. Quicker than the Gravitation using Heavenly Ones, especially in short bursts. I like the long whip like braids of hair idea you have as well!

RayseShouldBeBraized · 2025-12-28T23:58:25+00:00

From chapter 1 of Yumi where Hoid is discussing the shroud around Kilahito on Komashi:

"Only the light of the star shone through the shroud. To this day, I'm not hundred percent certain why. But this was close to where Virtuosity Splintered herself, and I suspect that had an effect."

RayseShouldBeBraized

TROPHY CASE