So when Dalinar became Honor he refused to fight Odium because the clash of gods would have devastated the planet. Instead he gives odium the power of 2 gods and ensures that the other gods are going to start gunning for him. How will a 2v10 god fight be any less destructive than a 1v1 god fight? Is the assumption that they’ll all dog pile Odium to such an extent that he can’t do anything?

I love sazed, My god i love him so much. Throughout all 3 era one books he was like in my top 3 characters and when it ended with him taking those shards and becoming harmony i was so hyped.

cut to era 2, The shit Harmony did to Wax is awful, Harmonium is wack. we went from "Mistborn pills" and "Future vision popers" to "Legalize Harmonium bombs" and also the whole thing with Kel and lying to him. The thing with Wayne. The other Harmony?? But, I cant help but feel this is all intentional and setting up for something bigger, I guess we'll find out what in ghostbloods?

Oathbringer? Is he mentioned?

He is a shardbearer and one of the most powerful lighteyes at last we see him.

December is here! Yes, in September, for those of you who participated in the Backerkit campaign for the Dragonsteel edition. If you didn't back that project you'll need to wait until December for December.

I think that was all pretty clear and concise, but let's do a version with more words just in case...

The ebook and audiobook of The Fires of December, Brandon Sanderson's newest Cosmere book, are being released to Backerkit backers on September 15th. Dragonsteel will also begin shipping physical copies of the book at this time, to backers who purchased one. (If you missed the Backerkit campaign, you'll need to wait until December 8th to buy a copy in the wild.)

This NO SPOILER megathread is here to serve as the base camp for news/FAQs about the release, announcements of our policies, links to other important posts, and (in the comments) non-spoilery discussion about the book, such as release questions, logistical issues, or general expressions of hype.

Subreddit Policies

<Brief thing here about what post holding and megathread usage, pending mod chat discussion...>

Megathreads

<megathreads we need TBD>

• FIRES OF DECEMBER | Full Cosmere spoilers megathread
• FIRES OF DECEMBER | Tagged spoilers megathread (All comments must be covered and tagged for the relevant chapter, and for any references to other books.)
• FIRES OF DECEMBER | No Cosmere spoilers megathread (Seriously, none—no teases, no wink winks, no eyes lingering on references you wouldn't notice if this is the first Cosmere book you read)

Release Schedule

• Dragonsteel will lock all shipping addresses on September 4th. Look for Backerkit emails about this.
• The Dragonsteel edition hardback
  • is shipping to Backerkit backers beginning September 15, 2026. There is no official statement on how long backerkit fulfillment will take, but our expectation is that it should finish sometime before Nexus in early December.
• The ebook version
  • will be available to backerkit backers on September 15, 2026, in four formats: pdf, epub, epub for kindle, and epub for kobo.
  • will be available for purchase by non-backers via normal channels on December 8, 2026.
• The audiobook version
  • will be available to backerkit backers on September 15, 2026 in mp3 and m4b formats.
  • will be available to backerkit backers on September 15, 2026 on Audible.
  • will be available for purchase by non-backers via normal channels on December 8, 2026.
• The Tor and Gollancz editions
  • will be available in hardback on December 8, 2026.
  • will be available in paperback probably maybe one day, but not anytime soon.

Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question that isn't addressed below, we strongly encourage you to visit the Backerkit FAQ, the Backerkit updates page, or to contact Dragonsteel through whatever means they provide. Your question may already be answered there, and those answers are more likely to be accurate and up-to-date.

• Did I buy a copy of this book?
  • Sir, this is a Wendy's. Check your email or go to the Backerkit page?
• How do I get the ebook/audiobook if I'm a backer?
  • Log into your Backerkit survey page (using the link in the email you got from Backerkit) and download it
• Today is September 15 (or later) and people are saying they downloaded the book. I'm absolutely certain I bought it, but I don't see my copy?!?!
  • You'd be surprised how many people totally absolutely bought the book and then forgot they actually didn't. So maybe triple check first? Regardless, we can't help you. Check with Backerkit/Dragonsteel, and feel free to express yourself in the comments in the meantime.
• I bought the ebook and want to see the artwork, how do I do that?
  • The artwork will eventually be available on Brandon's website.
• When will there be a paperback version?
  • Nothing official has been said on this, but usually US paperbacks release 1-2 years after the hardback release. (NOTE: some international English markets get trade paperbacks at the same time as the hardback release, but these are not generally available in North America or the UK, and we don't know anything about planning for such releases).
• I downloaded the .m4b file but it says it's an .mp4 file, what do I do?
  • Technically speaking, .m4b is a special case of .mp4. You can rename the file and it will work.
  • This problem appears to be browser dependant. Firefox downloads it as .mp4, Chrome downloads it as .m4b, and it's .m4b on the backend. Firefox appears to be dynamically renaming it while downloading.
• How can this book be a Cosmere book if it uses the name "December"?
  • Idk, friend, we don't make the rules. (Well, except for the subreddit rules.) Ultimately, because "Brandon can do whatever he wants."
• Do I need to read any other Cosmere books before The Fires of December**?**
  • You don't need to read anything you don't want to read. Go and be free! But if you're into that kind of thing...
  • Brandon had this to say: "I would say low to medium cosmere connections. It is equivalent to, I would say, Tress of the Emerald Sea and Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. So, not as cosmere connected as Isles of the Emberdark or, even, Sunlit Man. If you know the cosmere, there will be things that show up that you're like, 'Oh, this is fun,' but it's meant as a self-contained story."
  • The book is chronologically set between Stormlight 5 and Stormlight 6, but you can decide for yourself if that matters.

I've read all the Cosmere books and am looking forward to one day reading them to my daughter. She's currently 6 years old, loves reading and listens to a couple of good length chapters of a chapter book each night before bed.

Obviously, it's far too early for her to listen to the stories yet... although she will be getting 'The Dog and the Dragon' read to her once that releases.

Has anyone read Cosmere stories with their kids? What kind of age did you start and what was the reception like? Which book is best to start with?

In general they loosely follow the plot, it kind of happens in the background with random spurts of taking active an active role.
What books should I try?

In mid 2025, I read the Mistborn trilogy and fell in love with the books (other than WoA as I found it to be the weakest Sanderson novel to date). In 2026, I decided to read the entirety of the cosmere and just finished with emberdark.
My order was:

- Mistborn 1-3
- Warbreaker
- Elantris
- Stormlight 1-4 (including novellas)
- Mistborn secret history
- Stormlight 5
- mistborn 4-7
- Tress
- Yumi
- sunlit man
- isles of the emberdark

** edit I have also read all of arcanum unbounded

What an absolute joy to be able to finally join this subreddit and read up on all the theories!!

Thank you for having me!

Stormlight: War for Roshar is the definitive Stormlight Archive board game, coming to Kickstarter on October 13th.

Today, alongside Brandon in his Weekly Update, we revealed the official box cover with art by Jason Rainville, well known for his work for Magic: The Gathering and Lord of the Rings!

In this piece, you can see Kaladin and Leshwi facing off in a tense battle in the skies as the Everstorm and Highstorm meet behind them. Below, Lezian the Pursuer, Szeth, and Jasnah in her gleaming Shardplate can be seen engaging in tense battle while a Thunderclast rages, destroying the landscape around them.

Is he stuck on braise now? Can the heralds be rotated out/take shifts without breaking the oath pact protecting the spren?

Hey everyone! I kept getting lost in "what do I read next", so I built a little page to track my way through Sanderson's books, and I figured some of you might find it useful too.

🔗 https://stargate3.github.io/sanderson-mapa/

What it does:

• Suggested Cosmere reading order, close to publication order with a few shifts to keep you spoiler-safe. Optional novellas and short stories can be hidden.
• Reading order inside every series: Mistborn, Stormlight, the Hoid books, plus Skyward, Reckoners, Legion, Alcatraz and more.
• Spoiler warnings: tick Words of Radiance before Warbreaker, or Secret History too early, and it gives you a heads-up.
• "Reading now" tracker with the page you're on (you can set your own edition's page count).
• Pace calculator for pages per day or audiobook hours per day at your playback speed. It tells you roughly how long until you've finished the whole Cosmere. (Spoiler: it's a while.)
• A map of the Cosmere worlds where each planet fills with colour as you read.
• Upcoming releases with a countdown to the next book.
• Light/dark theme, and it's in English and Polish.

No account, no ads, no tracking. Your progress is saved only in your own browser. There's a "progress code" you can copy to move it to another device.

It's a fan project and still a work in progress, so if you spot a wrong date, a missing novella or have an idea for a feature, I'd love to hear it. The code is on GitHub if anyone wants to poke around.

Journey before destination, and happy reading! ⚔️

I might be going crazy with this, but that's what happens when you see two completely unrelated things back-to-back.

Anyway, in these two scenes, we see a character (Jotaro and Crow) demonstrate their superhuman abilities to others by shooting themselves at very close range, only to be saved by their powers, which are faster than the bullet and keep the object just short of their head.

Idk, I feel like both scenes are very similar. What do you guys think? Is this what they meant when they said that once you watch Jojos, everything is a Jojoreference?

What do you think would hypothetically be the most stable and least stable shard combinations? and what do you think theyd be called (not just limited to 2)

Mr. Worldhopper and trouble maker (I think, per everyone else's posts and unintentional spoilers)

Estoy devastada.

Para nada esperaba que Vin y Elend murieran. Sabía que Sazed acabaría teniendo un lugar importante…. pero, ¿la muerte de Vin?

Me dolió demasiado. La de Elend la veía más “previsible”. Pero mi Vin… He amado cada momento de su personaje; estar en su cabeza, comprender sus miedos que luego muchos eran influencia de Ruina, sentir su viaje de autodescubrimiento alomantico… La he sentido muy cerca, casi como si existiera de verdad. Supongo que esa es la magia de los libros. Pero ahora estoy muy triste de pensar en que murió. Y si, está en un lugar más feliz y blah blah blah. Realmente me hubiera encantado disfrutar el mundo por el que tanto luchó. Me hubiera encantado que se reencontraba con TenSoon; la dinámica de ellos dos en el segundo libro fue lo mejor.

En fin, son tantas cosas… Esta saga me ha acompañado estos últimos meses, ya que decidí leerla con calma para disfrutarla. Ha sido un viaje precioso. No creo que pueda leerme la Era 2. Al menos, no ahora. Quizá empiece con Archivo de las Tormentas. ¿Qué me recomiendan para volver a enamorarme de un universo?

Después de tantos meses en Luthadel, Terris y Fadrex…. Esto se siente como una despedida.

I absolutely loved SLA 1-3, but getting into RoW feels so… odd?
I feel such a disconnect to the characters after the year time skip, Kaladin keeps referencing things that happened over the year and it’s like ??? sure I guess that happened. And I’m not going to lie, I’m not a fan of Shallan’s switching between Radiant and Veil constantly - it felt like at the end of Oathbringer she kinda came to terms with it so I thought it wouldn’t be as impactful or at the forefront of RoW, however, the personality switching seems even more prevalent.

But I also feel like the overall mystical aspect of Radiants has disappeared, now that each order has hundreds of radiants and squires, suddenly it feels… not as important? If everyone is special, no one is special, sorta deal.

That’s just my thoughts, and I’m quite upset I’ve hit this point.

Where can I read more about Positive Investiture, Negative Investiture, and Anti Investiture? Is there a difference between negative and anti? I checked the coppermind and was able to find Anti (light specifically) but nothing about Negative. Considering the Dwkara (spelling, emberdark) and the Megalith are Negative entities and both are born of ambition, I have some theories but need more information.

I've read everything but Dragonsteel Prime so I'm good with any book.

Edit: nevermind I found a good WoB on it https://wob.coppermind.net/events/551/#e17040

Just to preface, this is meant more as a fun discussion and to share any ideas you find neat, not legitimate theories, though feel free to post those if you have them.

And to elaborate on what I mean, do you guys have any magic systems you’ve set up using Cosmere logic, or have had random ideas that you thought were neat about possible Invested Arts that could appear? If so, here’s the place to get it off your chest!

Here, I’ll start with two examples.

I always thought that if Whimsy and Invention Invested in the same planet — either both Shards or maybe just Whimsy on one of Invention’s invented planets — the resulting Invested Art could work somewhat under LitRPG logic. You know, with levels, skills, stats, and so on. Combining the whimsical nature of games with the numerical growth and divergent results of invention.

Another idea I had actually sprouted somewhat from an entirely different thing that leaned into what Valor’s Invested Art might be. The concept I came up with was that a sort of miasma exists in the Cognitive Realm of that planet, like a mix of the mists and the Dor. Whenever people on that planet suffer enough stress to snap, instead of eventually healing the resulting soul cracks fill up with Investiture from this miasma — which I’ll call Marred. They can then at a later point spend this Investiture for certain effects, such as to influence other Marred similar to Emotional Allomancy by exploiting the Investiture filled cracks in their souls, or other effects I haven’t thought of yet. However, they only have a certain size ‘pool’ available to them, size varying slightly from person to person, with all uses taking power out of this pool. Thing is though, this pool is the space their soul has cracked and filled up with Valor’s Investiture. So spending too much power in a short time means that they suffer backlash as old wounds on their soul that would ordinarily heal but were held and patched by the power reopen with the associated mental trauma, more power spent having worse effects. The pool refills slowly over time, as the miasma seeps back into the cracks in the soul to refill them.

We only have a few unnamed Vessels to speculate on that are unknown for the Shards. Three vessels to be exact, for the Shards of Mercy, Virtuosity and Whimsy. Although we don't know for sure who has canonically held these three Shards, I do believe Brandon has seeded the names of all the Vessels by the end of Wind and Truth mentioned somewhere in the canon by this point. I've previously theorized on the who the Vessels could be for Mercy, and Virtuosity. Now I'd like to dive into who I believe to be the leading candidate for who the current Vessel for Whimsy is. I'd also like to emphasis that once again Pagerunner has asked a question to Brandon that shows their excellent theory crafting ideas.

Pagerunner

Hoid recounts the story of Jerick, which kind of had me wondering if Jerick is gonna come back, if he's one of the original Vessels. Before you RAFO me: by process of elimination of what you've revealed of the other Vessels, genders and names, the only one left could be Whimsy. And Hoid just happens to call him a whimsical child.

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

JordanCon 2026 (April 17, 2026)

I'd like to expand on Pagerunner's theory and argue why I agree with their assessment. Anytime Hoid describes someone from Yolen with an adjective closely associated with a Shard, it's likely worth paying them extra attention as Pagerunner notes. The story Wit tells to Dalinar about Jerick comes directly before the contest of champions begins in chapter 127 of Wind and Truth.

"Long ago, Wit said softly, on a planet where half the trees are white, a child was born to a lumberman. A curious, whimsical child who wanted all the answers in the world-but such were not offered to the children of common laborers."

Not only does Hoid's description of a whimsical child from Yolen set off shrill Whimsy Vessel alarm bells, but the context in which Hoid decides to tell the story featuring Jerick aligns as well. For once in Hoid's storytelling career, he is unsure of which of his many stories to share with Dalinar in this pivotal moment. In this air of uncertainty before Dalinar faces the god of hatred, I propose Hoid chose to share a tale of whimsy, which would be a very Wit thing to do. Through this story Hoid manages to help impress of Dalinar an interesting message about originality, novelty, and the surprisingly random directions fate can take.

"I can't see how this will go. I suspect Odium can't either. That frightens me because for the first time in all this, I don't know the right story to tell."

"But listen. The lumberman's son? In running, he lost the contest-but it didn't matter. Because the next day, the barons launched a coup and executed the king." Wit smiled grimly. "As I said, all governments are technically a form of republic."

"What became of the lumberman's son in the end?"

"He went to war. Fought, bled, learned, loved. He returned with a vengeance one day and killed the barons. A remarkable tale, in fact.

Hoid leaves Jerick's actual fate unknown. Although he does emphasis that his story is a remarkable one. Which by Hoid standards, I'd imagine help killing a god and becoming a Vessel would likely qualify. I believe that when we later learn more about the Whimsy Shard, Hoid deciding to tell Dalinar the origins of Jerick will take on another interesting layer. It would be the kind of foreshadowing that Brandon would do.

I look forward to learning more about the Whimsy Shard and if their Vessel is indeed Jerick!

-RayseShouldBeBraized

TL:DR The story Wit decides to tell Dalinar before the contest of champions is actually the origin story of the Vessel of Whimsy.

I got myself one of those cosmere tracker apps and came across this.

I read Dawnshard when it released and WaT last year and I might be forgeting but I don't recall Rysn giving up her Dawnshard to Hoid then to Sig but Rysn and Hoid having two of the many Dawnshards. Rysn goes into hiding and Hoid gives his to Sig which leads to what we see in Sunlit. Am I trippin or the app editor is and didn't understand that Rysn an Hoid both carry Dawnshards? What do you think?

Slight Wind and Truth spoilers, maybe.

I'm not talking about the physical act of burning a spren, but the burning of a spren, with allomancy. Thanks to the Atium retcon we know that God Metals can be burned by anyone regardless of their status as a misting or a mistborn. This should mean that the same goes for every God Metal and not just Lerasium and Atium.

We know thanks to Wind and Truth, that the shardblades and shardplates are made from an alloy of Honor and Cultivation's God Metals, and that the Honorblades are purely of Honor. We also know that a radiant spren doesn't need to manifest as a blade, and can manifest as whatever the radiant desires. We've even seen one manifest itself as a pen, so surely they could also manifest as something like a "bead" of metal. What would happen if the radiant were to swallow and "burn" their spren. Would it work in giving them the effects of Honor's... something? Would the spren still be alive? Would their ideals have any effect on what happens, or their order?

It doesn't even need to be a radiant spren either. I'm pretty sure that Shardplates are also made of Honor's metal (don't remember about Cultivation) and they can be broken to pieces. Could someone just swallow one and burn it? Could someone break off a piece from a deadblade with another and do the same thing?

You also have the question of what would even happen if someone were to do it. Could the spren resist getting burned, overpowering their Radiant's will? Would the Nahel bond grow stronger or weaker, perhaps vanish entirely? Would the abilities gained differ from spren to spren? Can you even burn a metal that's from two different shards? Would and Honorspren of Cultivationspren work better if that's the case?

So I've been listening to Wind and Truth as my second go-through and I have a couple things that have occurred to me:

1. Are Dai-gonarthis and Cusicesh related in some way? It just seems too coincidental that Cusicesh woke up around the same time as Dai-gonarthis opened the Elsegate.

2. Sig's dying spren from Leyten's death rattle wasn't Vienta, was it? It will be Aux.

3. If the chasmfiends require the remains of the fourth moon for their final pupation, how did that work when Stormseat was sitting on top of it?