Brandon Sanderson
Collection of Cosmere Short Stories. Anything I did not summarize myself comes from Coppermind: The Brandon Sanderson Wiki
SELISH SYSTEM
THE EMPEROR'S SOUL
THE HOPE OF ELANTRIS
After Elantris' restoration Raoden sits alone in his palace noting the city's new found wealth. Ashe, Sarene's seon, floats in through an open window to inform Raoden his wife will not be attending their dinner, because she is pregnant and "it's his fault." Raoden settles in to listening to Ashe's testament to his whereabouts during the last hours before Elantris' restoration.
Everyone has a role in New Elantris; Matisse looks after the children of the Roost but on this night they cannot find the will to sleep. Outside, many of the adults have begun drawing Aons. Matisse ushers the children to bed with threats of doing more school work if they wanted to stay up. As Matisse observes many of the adults outside surrounding Galladon, Idotris claims Aons are useless before Matisse leaves the Roost. Searching out her adoptive father, Dashe, he explains to her that Galladon is having the Elantrians practice Aons in the new form that he and Raoden discovered in Elantris - adding the chasm line.
While watching Galladon lecture the Elantrians, Matisse and Dashe are approached from behind by Ashe. He had come with a message for Karata, but Dashe informs him she's in the library; with Galladon otherwise pre-occupied Ashe delivers his message from Sarene about the shipment of weapons coming into New Elantris to Dashe. After Dashe leaves to organize men to collect the weapons, Matisse asks to borrow Ashe for a moment.
Back at the Roost, Ashe tells a story to help a young girl fall asleep, then he speaks to Matisse outside. She apologizes for taking his time to which he responds that he is pleased to do so again, since Sarene has grown up. Mareshe calls out to Matisse looking for Dashe. She warns him not to wake the children. Mareshe lets slip that Galladon and Karata have disappeared now too. Suddenly, New Elantris erupts into distant screams; Ashe flies away to see what is happening while Taid - the adult supervisor of the Roost - runs to investigate himself.
On the verge of following, Idotris is stopped by Matisse, who ushers him inside to wake the children. Crossing the street, Matisse finds two lanterns when Ashe comes back to inform her that a Fjordell army has invaded the city, and they are heading her way. Filled with dread, Matisse forces herself into action, realizing that the soldiers will be following the cleaned up streets to find the Elantrians and taking the children to the dirty areas of the city will be safer. Ashe is sent to find Dashe.
They flee the Roost, Idotris quieting the children whenever they cried, all staying close to the little lantern light they had. From behind, the harsh tongue of Fjordell is raised and Matisse turns to see three soldiers pursuing them. Horrified by the realization that these men would kill the children, she tells the children to run. Ashe comes back to distract the soldiers so that Dashe can charge them unseen. Urging the children on again, Matisse whirls around, wishing she could do something to help Dashe. He fights bravely but is overwhelmed by numbers and a weakened Elantrian body. He takes a sword to the chest and sees Matisse, mouthing "run" to her. Matisse screams, drawing the attention of the soldiers.
Ashe tries to motivate her but an idea occurs to her. She sends Ashe on to find Idotris and tell him to lead the children to the library where Galladon and Karata will be. Hoping it will work she begins drawing Aon Ashe, the symbol for light. The soldiers advance after a slight hesitation but are blinded by a brilliant light when she completes the symbol with the chasm line. Then she runs. Into the slime of Elantris proper Matisse goes, picking her way through the streets until she finds herself surrounded by Fjordell soldiers. One of the soldiers grabs her but a well placed kick causes him to slip on the sludge and release her. Her leg now damaged and unhealing she limps away from the soldiers still fighting to upright themselves. Finding Dashe's body and the blaze of New Elantris in flames she realizes she's gone in a circle.
Dashe repeats the mantra of a Hoed, his mind broken. Instead of running from the approaching soldiers, Matisse holds on to Dashe's body, not wanting to flee. The Fjordell soldier interrogates her as to the location of the children, threatening her with pain before something happens: the ground shakes and suddenly Matisse feels warm, her skin turning silvery and her wounds healing. The Fjordell man is taken aback but still intent on causing her pain. Elantris is returning to life, but she is going to die at this man's hands. However, with the city's healing came also Dashe's, as he announces before killing the Fjordell man with the same sword that had impaled Dashe not long ago.
Ashe finishes his story; Raoden understands that Ashe wanted to stay with the children until the crisis was over, explaining his absence. Raoden then inquires to Ashe which of the two seons he sent Dashe for his services he gave to Matisse, expecting it to be Ati. Instead, Matisse has been given Aeo which Raoden considers equally appropriate.
Aeo means bravery.
THE SCADRIAN SYSTEM
THE ELEVENTH METAL
It tells the story of how Gemmel taught Kelsier the art of Allomancy. They travel to Mantiz and attack Keep Shezler.
Kelsier draws pictures of a story Mar used to tell him. Gemmel scolds him for living in the past. They are in Marnitz in the Western Dominance planning to attack Keep Shezler. Gemmel shoves him to the ground reminding Kelsier he is mistborn. He is the only mistborn Kelsier knows and is determined to learn from him. Gemmel says he needs to learn to fight if he wants to get back at those that captured him and kept him in the mines. He feels like the spark is gone since Mar's betrayal three months ago; he only feels rage. Gemmel teaches him to burn all the metals at once, not just the physical ones. Copper kept others from knowing he was buring metals. Tin let him see through the mist better. Gemmel wears a mistcloak. When Kelsier had asked him for one, Gemmel laughed at him. When Kelsier launches himself into the air, Gemmel attacks him with coins. He warns him not to use his hands to push because it wastes time and to keep pewter burning. Gemmel tells him they are infultrating the Keep. Kelsier wants to go back to his friends, but can't go back to Luthadel until he has mastered this and can be himself again. Once inside, Kelsier finds two women chained up. They tell him they have been used to test new metals. Kelsier frees them and becomes inspired to help others instead of just focusing on himself. He goes to the lab where the nobelman Shezler is. While Shezler is a more experienced Allomancer, he doesn't expect Kelsier's strenth. Kelsier usually avoids fighting, but he is furious at Shezler for his treatment of the skaa. He picks up a piece of glass from the floor and stabs Shezler in the neck with it three times. Gemmel apploauds himself on starting Kelsier out with an "easy one." Kelsier goes back to the skaa to get them to the underground movement for help. Gemmel finds a book of Shazler's notes and Kelsier takes it. Once the people are safe, he goes off to find someone that can make him a mistcloak.
ALLOMANCER JACK AND THE PITS OF ELTANIA
The story starts with Jak waking up in a cave, out of metals. He then escapes the cave by jumping into the river in the canyon below after licking a tin deposit on the wall of the cave. He is promptly recaptured by the Koloss who want to make him their leader and a Koloss. He discovers that his girlfriend Elizandra Dramali is Koloss blooded. He does not want to become a Koloss, so he says that he already is one and will prove it by getting the Survivor's treasure from the bottom of a spear-shaped pool. He dives down, finds a chest, and brings it back up. It contains a number of Koloss spikes. The Koloss are so excited to have new spikes to increase their numbers, Jak and Elizandra manage to escape, and Jak realizes that the chest itself is made of precious aluminum.
MISTBORN: SECRET HISTORY
THE TALDAIN SYSTEM
WHITE SAND
THE THREENODITE SYSTEM
SHADOWS FOR SILENCE IN THE FOREST OF HELL
Daggon tells Lamentation Winebare a story about the bounty hunter known as the White Fox in exchange for drinks at Silence's waystop. Daggon eats dinner and thinks about marrying Silence, believing her to be fond of him. Meanwhile, Chesterton Divide and his men eat and prepare for travel.
1. Silence and William Ann realize that the merchants in the common room are really Chesterton and his men in disguise. They make a plan to poison the men and track them, knowing that the bounties on these men will be enough to keep Silence's creditors at bay. William Ann goes to fetch the poison while Silence speaks to Sebruki, who is cleaning the pig shack. Silence asks Sebruki to stay out the common room, worrying that Sebruki will recognize Chesterton as the man who murdered her family. Silence goes to the stables and tells Dob the stable hand to take his break, intending to water the horses. However, she is interrupted by Theopolis, who comes asking for money she owes. Theopolis threatens to take over her waystop, effectively forcing Silence and her family into slavery, if she cannot pay off her debts. After Theopolis leaves, Silence waters the horses and considers killing him. William Ann delivers poisoned drinks to Chesterton and his men. Silence returns to the kitchen in the waystop to find Sebruki with her crossbow, intending to kill Chesterton with a poisoned crossbow bolt. Silence manages to talk Sebruki down, but Sebruki drops the crossbow and accidentally fires the bolt through the kitchen window. Fortunately, no blood is shed in the process. Silence sings Sebruki a lullaby to put her to sleep as Chesterton and his men leave.
2. Silence and William Anne pack their bags and prepare to track Chesterton and his men. Silence remembers learning the Simple Rules from her grandmother, and tries to pass on what she's learned to Wiliam Ann. The two of them follow the road, looking for signs that Chesterton has left. Silence and William Ann discuss religion and belief in the God Beyond. They find the camp, where Silence strangles the guard before he can call for help. The two of them set about killing the men one by one, using bags lined with tar to prevent blood from spilling and enraging the shades. The third man wakes before they can get the bag over his head, and Silence is forced to try and strangle him as well. Before she can finish him, Chesterton wakes and tries to run away. Silence drops the third man to chase Chesterton and kill him instead. They manage to finish him without enraging the shades. William Ann had finished the third man while Silence was chasing Chesterton. Before they can search the men, they are found by Red Young and his band of Fortfolk. Silence gives up Chesterton's corpse to Red Young, knowing that Red could simply kill them and take the body. However, after they leave, Silence and William Ann follow alongside the road, tracking them to get their bounty back. Silence thinks that Theopolis is likely to be behind this, as he was the only one who knew she was tracking a bounty and knew her methods. Silence and Wililam Ann are able to get in front of Red and his people. Silence sets a gunpowder trap on the road intended to confuse Red's band and cause the shades to attack them, allowing Silence to sneak in and take Chesterton's corpse back. The trap works as intended, though two shades begin to follow Silence and William Anne as they drag the body away. Silence sends William Ann on with the body and tries to kill the shades with her silver knife. While she manages to destroy both shades, she is badly wounded in the attempt. William Ann, in a panic, empties Silence's entire pouch of silver dust, trying to save Silence from being withered. The two continue on until Red emerges and takes William Ann captive. Red, badly wounded by the encounter with the shades, uses William Ann as a hostage to barter for Silence's silver. Silence decides to comply with his demands and track them after. Before she can do anything, a crossbow bolt strikes Red in the shoulder, causing him to jerk away from William Ann. As he moves, the knife he was holding to William Anne's neck unintentionally draws blood, enraging the shades. Red shoves William Ann through a shade, attempting to protect himself as they converge on him. Silence carries William Anne's withering body as she searches desperately for more silver to stop the effects of the shades. After the shades kill Red, they come for Silence and William Ann. Silence uses the last of her silver dust to draw a protective circle around the two of them. As she waits for the shades to break through and wither them both, Silence catches sight of the silver crossbow bolt that Sebruki had fired earlier.
3. Silence uses the silver bolt to clear a path through the shades and back into the waystop. Near death herself, she manages to find a jar of silver powder and dump it onto William Ann.
4. Silence, on the edge of death, flashes back to a conversation with her grandmother regarding their migration from Homeland and the recent death of Silence's husband.
5. Dob the stableman covers Silence with silver powder, negating the effects of the withering. Silence returns to consciousness. William Ann also survives her encounter with shades, albeit with a wounded arm and leg. Dob asks about the events of the night, revealing that he has known all along her secret identity as the White Fox. Silence washes William Ann and puts her to bed, next to the still-sleeping Sebruki. Silence tries to think of a way she can pay off Theopolis now that she no longer has Chesterton's body. While she prepares for the day, Theopolis comes to collect his debts. Silence accuses him of tracking them throughout the night, but cannot get him to confess. Finally, she points out that his shoes are covered in the glowing paste that Silence used to track Chesterton and his men. Silence attempts to open the door behind her, but Theopolis stops her, slapping her across the face and drawing blood. The door opens, releasing the shade of Silence's grandmother kept inside. The shade kills Theopolis, then allows Silence to trap it behind the door again.
6. Silence finds the hidden cave where Theopolis had stored Chesterton's body and brings the body back to the waystop.
Daggon and Lamentation Winebare share another drink. Lamentation has signed on to work at a nearby homestead, spending his nights at the waystop. Daggon thinks again that he should marry Silence. Lamentation informs him that Silence has received seven proposals in the last month, thanks to her receiving the reward for Chesterton's body. Silence claimed that Theopolis was the White Fox and that he had killed Chesterton before being withered in his cave, where she had found both of their bodies. Daggon begins to tell a story about Bloody Kent.
THE DROMINAD SYSTEM
SIXTH OF THE DUSK
The story follows a trapper named Sixth of the Dusk as he strives to save his island home from a catastrophic danger he has been warned about, but does not understand.
Dusk carefully makes his way thorugh the waters (with dangerous creatures lurking just below the surfice) in his canoe to get to his home island. His bird companion Aviar, Sak, who can show him possibilities of his death. When he sees his own dead body, he makes adjustments in his actions to prevent it. On his way to his home, he finds a woman, Vathi, who is caught in a net. He frees her and quickly becomes annoyed with how much she talks and asks questions. He takes her to her house knowing she won't survive in the open by herself. He has her check the beds for venemous insects while he checks on his birds. Suddenly, he starts seeing his body everywhere and realizes something is wrong. Her people are trying to claim the islands by putting fortresses on thiem to control the Aviars. They have been meeting witth the Above Ones that say they wil trade with them when they are advanced enough. She says more than 200 men have come to the island with a machine that scans the island and print out a map that shows the locations of Aviar. When it turns on, it causes the Aviars to be agitated. Dusk says they have to get her people and tell them not to turn the machine on because it will kill them all. On the way, Sak lands on Vathi and she sees her own death. She is suprised because the Aviar is from the mainland, which don't usually get talents. He tells her all Aviars must come to this island and spend time there to be granted talents. She realizes the only way this would have been possible for Sak would have been if Dusk had brought Sak to the island as a chick. They find another dead trapper along the way who has a note asking whoever finds him to take care of his birds. They continue on and Vathi pulls at a mating plume from a tree that sends down spikes. Dusk pulls her out of the way, but gets cut. He tells her the mating plume is the symbol of her ignorance. If it looks too easy, question it. He tells her his mother named him Dusk (not because of the time of day he was born as is tradition) but because she saw the end of their people. A beast called a nightmaw appears and Dusk throws his machete at it. Vathi puts a tube on the ground and it explodes. The nighmaw dies and Dusk is shocked. Vathi wasn't sure it would work. He wants to use the devices to kill all the nightmaws. Vathi thinks it would have too much impact on the ecosystem. More nightmaws start after them and they start moving quickly. They make it to the place the Aviars come when they are young to get their talents from the worms. He hands Kokerlii to her and tells her he is going to lead the nightmaws away from her so she can tell her people not to run their machine. Instead, she sees a flower that draws in predators. She attaches it to her spear and uses her explosive device to launch it away from them. They run to the lake to hide in the shallow water. They make it back to Vathi's peple and she scolds Winds for turning on the machine while she was gone. He tells her they didn't, but they opened it to see how it worked and if they could replicate it. Below the machine is a den of deathants. Dusk tries to warn them the machine was never meant to be used, but opened to release the deathants. Dusk is sent away. He later goes to the fort and Vethi comes out to meet him. She has found a manual in the machine. Just like they had planned to take over the islands, the One Above are planning to take them over. Dusk shows her his own mating plume that was the symbol of his ignorance. He tells her they will gather the other trappers and not fall for the tricks of the Ones Above and not let htem take over.
THE ROSHARAN SYSTEM
EDGEDANCER