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1* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation:
2** Adonalsium is a central figure of the series, but also the one the least is known about, resulting in copious amount of this. Is WasOnceAMan in effect, or was Adonalsium simply sentient Investiture? Why did he need to be Shattered? Did he decide to abandon his creation, did he plan to destroy it, or perhaps he was already dying and final blow needed to be dealt? Did he know about future Vessels' plan to destroy him, and if so, did he approve? Is everything going according to his plan, or did the Cosmere go completely, irrevocably OffTheRails?
3** Bavadin[=/=][[ComicBook/WhiteSand Aut]][[Literature/WaxAndWayne ono]][[Literature/SixthOfTheDusk my]]. Why is she working with [[Literature/TheStormlightArchive Odium]]? Does it have to do with Hoid’s hatred of her? Did she aid the Splintering of [[Literature/{{Elantris}} Aona and Skai]]? If you take those questions to the forums, you'll get all possible combinations of answers.
4** Skai, AKA [[Literature/{{Elantris}} Dominion]], gets her share. What was her relationship with Aona[=/=]Devotion? Was she evil and/or focused on global conquest, or was she benevolent?
5*** Actually, most of the Shards that we haven’t met face-to-face yet are steeped in mystery. What is about Mercy that worries Harmony? (Odds are it’s related to the battle on [[Literature/ShadowsForSilenceInTheForestsOfHell Threnody]], but that itself is steeped in mystery). What does he mean by Whimsy “not being very useful”? Why isn’t Invention returning his calls? [[spoiler:And why did Virtuosity splinter herself?]]
6** Hoid. Just what are his goals in the Cosmere? Is he the unsung hero, a regretful AntiHero, or an outright villain? What does he plan to do? Just how did he get immortal and unable to harm living beings? [[spoiler:WordOfGod is that Hoid was a Literature/{{Dawnshard}} at some point, which only raises further questions, most importantly HOW he gained it (probably related to the Shattering) and lost it]].
7* ArchivePanic: Brandon Sanderson's impressive output has made the panic already present, and only going to increase thanks to the sheer ''number'' of books planned to be published. The whole Cosmere sequence is expected to encompass at least 35 novels, likely more, not counting novellas or graphic-novels. While currently mostly manageable for avid fantasy readers, casual readers can get easily intimidated.
8** ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'' can cause this by itself. The books are by far the longest in the Cosmere[[note]] Notably just one ''Stormlight'' book is just a little under ''all'' four ''Wax and Wayne'' books[[/note]], clocking in around [[{{Doorstopper}} 390k-450k]] words with 4 published, out of 10 planned. There are also 2 novellas, with at least one more planned, though likely many more than that will be released.
9** ''{{Literature/Mistborn}}'' has multiple sub-series set across different eras. There's [[Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy the Original Trilogy]] with books about 210k-250k words long, plus [[Literature/MistbornSecretHistory a novella]], ''Literature/WaxAndWayne'' which had four books around 130k-160k words long, as well as a planned ''Ghostbloods'' trilogy of a similar length to Original Trilogy, and a space opera trilogy with books ''Stormlight''-length. Sanderson has also expressed interest in writing another era in between the third and fourth eras.
10** There is also currently stand-alone books ''{{Literature/Elantris}}'' and ''{{Literature/Warbreaker}}'' around 200k words long, with ''Elantris'' set for two sequels, and the possibility of one for ''Warbreaker'', and the graphic-novel trilogy ''ComicBook/WhiteSand'' (expected to get a sequel at some point) to round out the main books in the Cosmere.
11** On the side there are three Secret Projects, ''Literature/TressOfTheEmeraldSea'', ''Literature/YumiAndTheNightmarePainter'', and ''Literature/TheSunlitMan'', just over 100k words each, as well as the novellas ''Literature/TheEmperorsSoul'', ''Literature/ShadowsForSilenceInTheForestsOfHell'', ''Literature/SixthOfTheDusk''.
12** Furthermore Creator/DanWells and Issac Stewart are also working on writing '''[[ExaggeratedTrope even more Cosmere books]]'''.
13* CompleteMonster:
14** ''Franchise/{{Mistborn}}'':
15*** [[Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy Original trilogy]]: [[SmugSnake Lord Straff Venture]] is introduced in ''The Final Empire'' as a [[AristocratsAreEvil brutal noble]] ready to commit all manner of atrocities to cement his power. He systematically [[AbusiveParents abuses his children]] to force them to conform to his standards, even trying to have his son Elend assassinated. He sires illegitimate children to use as loyal assassins and spies, and discards his mistresses when they get too old--too old being late teens. In ''The Well of Ascension'', he allows an army of monsters, known for their ruthlessness and utter lack of mercy, to attack an enemy city, regardless of collateral damage. He later decides to allow the city's destruction, concluding he only cares about the Atium rumored to be hidden in the city. Caring for nothing but his own power and advancement, and seeing others as nothing but tools to use or obstacles to be destroyed, Venture stands out as one of the only [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters humans]] in ''The Cosmere'' completely devoid of sympathy.
16*** ''Literature/WaxAndWayne'': [[spoiler:[[AmbitionIsEvil Telsin Ladrian]]/[[BigBad Sequence]] is a [[ManipulativeBitch ruthless manipulator]] driven by an endless desire for more. A rule-breaker since childhood, she became much worse as she grew older, rising to be a high-ranking member of the Set, who recruited her similarly high-ranking uncle Edwarn. Found overseeing the torture and experimentation of Malwish, Telsin fools Wax into thinking that she was an unwilling participant forced by Edwarn, even killing one of her own men to maintain the guise. Telsin ultimately uses this opportunity to shoot Wax, [[CainAndAbel her own brother]], when he's off guard. When things begin to go poorly, Telsin promptly flees leaving Edwarn and all her subordinates behind. Resurfacing six years later, Telsin masterminds a plot to destroy the city of Elendel, inhabited by millions, claiming that it is necessary to stop a more destructive invasion from the god Autonomy, yet [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Telsin]] ignores less violent solutions, with the plan actually intended to impress Autonomy enough [[GodhoodSeeker so that they will make Telsin a god]]. When it appears her plan will succeed, Telsin reveals to Wax that she has always hated him since childhood, and [[EvilGloating gloats]] about her success, revealing her to be nothing more than a petty and callous individual who [[ItsAllAboutMe only cares]] about proving herself superior to others, indifferent to the countless lives that her actions take.]]
17** ''Literature/TheStormlightArchive'': [[SatanicArchetype Rayse]], the Shardvessel of [[ThePowerOfHate Odium]], [[FauxAffablyEvil presents himself]] as a kindly father figure, hiding a vicious, [[TheCorrupter insidious]] tyrant. Intending to rule the Cosmere, Rayse eliminates Shards who could challenge him, one battle turning the planet [[Literature/ShadowsForSilenceInTheForestsOfHell Threnody]] into a DeathWorld. Coming to the Rosharan system, Rayse tricks the humans of Ashyn into devastating their own world, which [[InvadingRefugees led them conquering Roshar]], deposing the native Singers. [[ManipulativeBastard Recruiting the Singers with promises of revenge]], the best become his Fused, warriors who endlessly resurrect in new bodies, killing the original person, less sane each time, [[ResignationsNotAccepted with eternal torture for defection or defiance]]. When Honor seals Rayse on Braize using the Heralds, Rayse tortured the Heralds into releasing him, to wage brutal wars on Roshar that obliterate civilization, until the Heralds could seal him again, a cycle repeated over a dozen times. Sealed away by one Herald enduring torture for 4500 years, Rayse uses his limited influence to kill Honor, and spread wars on Roshar. Returning to start a new war, he frees the Singers from slavery, but forcibly conscripts them, conducting genocide on an independent Singer nation. When Dalinar Kholin negotiates with Rayse, Rayse attempts to [[MindRape forcibly convert]] Dalinar into freeing him. [[NotSoWellIntentionedExtremist Rayse]] claims he is best for Roshar, but only sees the inhabitants as troops "hardened" through his wars, to be unleashed in a mad crusade on the greater Cosmere.
18* EnsembleDarkhorse:
19** Hoid, the Cosmere's original darkhorse.
20** Bavadin seems to be on track to become this, thanks to the fun habit of pretending to be different deities (of both genders) and forming entire pantheons made up only by different personas of her. The fandom has taken the idea and ran with it.
21** Cultivation, due to being TheChessmaster and being confirmed by WordOfGod as a DRAGON.
22* FanficFuel: There’s still one Shard that remains unnamed, with almost nothing known about five other Shards, and there are millennia-long gaps between various books. Oh, and there's an entire city of Worldhoppers out there, so fanfic authors can run wild.
23* HilariousInHindsight: "Brandon Sanderson" is 16 letters long if you don't count the space. The ArcNumber of the Cosmere makes his parents naming of him a riot.
24* MemeticBystander:
25** Hoid was there for, or at least involved with, pretty much everything.
26** Bavadin is quickly growing into this with the reveal that she's been pretending to be many different gods and that there are entire pantheons where every member is actually Bavadin. Everyone is Bavadin now!
27* MemeticMutation: According to WordOfGod, Hoid is very interested in Scadrial... [[SeriousBusiness because they’re this close to figuring out how to make instant noodles]]. Naturally, the fanbase has taken this and ran with it. [[spoiler:In Secret Project #3, Design and Hoid have even begun running their own noodle shop.]]
28* ViewerGenderConfusion: The first mention of Bavadin was lacking gender-pronouns, and a stray WordOfGod pegged them as male. Come ''Arcanum Unbounded'', two years later, and Bavadin is confirmed to be a woman, with Sanderson clarifying that some level of AmbiguousGenderIdentity is going on.

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