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This idea has been kicking around in my head for a while, but I was a bit unsure if I had sufficient factual evidence to back it up. I'm sure there are people who have contributed to this idea (via comments or threads), so if you have prior art on this stuff let me know and I'll give credit. NOTE: Realm-wide spoilers abound (in particular, for Elantris and Mistborn) Theory: Jezrien picked up the remaining pieces of Honor after Tanavast died. He is the Stormfather and the face in the highstorms. However, the long years of immortality combined with other factors has rendered his mind unhinged, hence the name "The Broken One." But wait, you say - Odium is clearly The Broken One! Let us look at the source of this quote: We know from WoB that there were three primary Shards on Roshar. With the new info from Lift and Brandon we can now analyze this quote. * Honor - Tanavast died and his power was let loose in some way (see below). * Cultivation - Her Shardholder no longer cares about the humans on Roshar. * Odium - At the time of the quote, Rayse was on his home planet Braize. What happened to Honor's power? Well, there was something similar to what happened when Leras, Skai, and Aona died (see here for more): From this, we learn that the uncontrolled power of a Shard is extremely dangerous. The power "builds up," as we saw from Raoden's POV's in Elantris. On Sel, there was some measure of relief in the form of Seons/Skaze, but it was not enough and Shadesmar there is overwhelmed in some way. But cruically, we learn about what one person can do to wrangle the power, even if it is just a small part. There is also WoB that Splintering a Shard is a long process. Finally, there is a WoB somewhere (it elludes me at the moment) that connects the highstorms and the mists from Mistborn, with Brandon stating there is a term we have not yet discovered to describe them. We know that the mists resulted from Leras sacrificing his mind, and therefore control over Preservation, to imprision Ruin. Let's put the pieces together. Jezrien is known as the Stormfather, and as Jasnah points out in WoR Ch 3, the mythology surrounding him seems to be independent of the notions of Honor and Cultivation. There is something intelligent that Kaladin interacts with in the highstorms (the enormous face). And, by the combination of spren and something else, the power that was held by Tanavast is kept in check on Roshar. From these facts (and Brandon's almost hint about Kelsier), I propose that Jezrien actually picked up some large part of the Shard Honor when Tanavast died. EDIT: With the great comments below, I have a better explanation for what is going on in the following paragraphs in a response below. The immediately preceeding statement was an idea I have had for a long time, but there was an important snag - Darkness (almost certainly Nalan) references Jezrien as "drooling." This seems to imply that Jezrien has suffered some severe mental trauma that has left him weak-minded. How can we reconile these two pictures? I propose that Jezrien wasn't able to take full control of the Shard pieces or there was something about his mental damage (due to 4500 years or so of immortality) that rendered him weak-minded. I would love to back this up with data, but we have never seen someone running around with only half of a Shard. I think the current state is that most of Jezrien's mind is occupied with Honor, leaving behind his body with only a token consciousnes behind. His body hasn't been "vaporized" by Honor because he doesn't command the whole Shard, just a large chunk of it. This is where the name "The Broken One" comes in - Jezrien (as everyone would interact with him) is a drooling, mentally weak mess. And the part of his mind that is wrangling Honor still has scars from the Desolations and then abandoning the Oathpact, so it's not doing well either. Why hasn't Odium come back to finish the job? His modus operandi is to be the only Shard at his power level - something which the mostly-Splintered Honor could not hope to match. Thus, Odium would be content to just leave Jezrien scrambling to pick up whatever pieces he can, laughing as the latter's mental demons haunt him. There is one last important quote, from the face in the storm itself. He says "Odium reigns," and many people take this to be the reason that Odium is "The Broken One." However, we can now interpret this as Odium having the upper hand on Roshar. The constant infighting, the failure to follow Nohadon's example, and so on could be construed as a failure of Honor and Cultivation to lead their world. And in doing so, they have let Odium take control. In conclusion, I propose that Jezrien picked up a large chunk of the Shard Honor before it fractured completely. This is the source of the name Stormfather, since the part of the physical embodiment of Honor is the highstorms. Cultivation and Odium are not currently involved with events on Roshar. Jezrien was termed "The Broken One" due to the mental state of his physical body and what issues he still has from the Desolations and immortality. EDIT: New conclusion: I propose that Jezrien picked up a large chunk of the Shard Honor before it fractured completely. This is the source of the name Stormfather, since the part of the physical embodiment of Honor is the highstorms. Cultivation and Odium are not currently involved with events on Roshar. Jezrien was termed "The Broken One" due to his mental health at the end of the cycle of Desolations and subsequent abandoning of the Oathpact. Sorry for the long post, I wanted to be sure that I was clear on all of my points. Thanks for reading!

Had a dream last night that I was trying out for this very exclusive soccer team... and I could inhale Stormlight. I don't believe I had any Surges to bind, I could just do the stronger-faster thing. Everyone knew it, it wasn't illegal or anything, but I was the classic "poor kid, just finished high school, this is my one chance" type deal. I had a cute-meet with some sports reporter. I made the team, hopped on the bus, we drove off... and them somehow turned into a train in a pokemon game, and we had to stop at the first station to deliver mail or we couldn't proceed, and then the team captain split the party and I think I turned into chicken little, and some weird pokemon ate someone's thumbs...

First time post here, hope it's okay that I jump in. My own theory is that Urithiru is near the Valley, in the mountains of what used to be Makabakam, but I admit my reasons beg the question a bit. First, I'm assuming that the story of Parasaphri and Naphris is really referring to Cultivation and Honor, that it's an allegory for her creating the spren capable of the nahel bond/Surgebinding through Splinters of her and Honor's power, and that the ten gems associated with the Heralds are therefore the so-called Seedstones. Second, that the Valley and the Nightwatcher are linked to Cultivation and that she's still close to wherever Honor died, thus "the place nearest to Honor." Beyond that, the Valley is roughly in the center of the continent, which would be useful if the Oathgates/transportation have a limited range (which I realize we have no reason to believe at this point), while also being westward of old Alethela. Plus, the Valley is another place that we've heard is difficult to access-- it sounds like not everyone can find it and you can only go once. Finally, if instead of a floating city, Urithiru is just built high enough on a mountain, you couldn't walk there. A lot of assumptions, I know, and less real evidence than the Shattered Plain theory, but the preview chapters just inspired a re-read and I couldn't help speculating

Hey guys! Here are some Stormlight Archive sketches I've been doing to get out of my artist block recently! So much fun. My tumblr is here if you want to see more of my other art: http://kirrys.tumblr.com Edit: New from WoR 4/1: ------ older:

Hello everyone! I've been lurking around the site for a few years now and have finally worked up the courage to post a theory! I'm not sure whether I should be posting here in the Words of Radiance Discussion, or if this is more appropriate for the general Stormlight Archive discussion...anyway, here it goes: the Parshmen/Parshendi, the betrayal Jasnah mentioned, and the Recreance, with a few speculations thrown in about why Gavilar had to die (I apologize in advance if this theory has already been covered somewhere else, but I couldn't find it all lumped together). I'll cite what I can as I go along... From the new Words of Radiance chapters available, "Once Sja-anat touches a spren, it acts strange." Words of Radiance Ch. 4 Since Odium doesn't want to over-invest himself on Roshar, it seems plausible to me that he would seek to work with or corrupt the entities already present, rather than create new races himself. Enter the Parshendi. Since their sense of identity is essentially bound to whether or not they are bonded to a spren, it makes sense that Odium's corruption of spren could cause devastating changes when one of these bonded to a Parshendi - especially if it happened en mass. I believe this was discussed here. My theory stems from a speculation about how Odium actually corrupts spren. From Syl's interactions with Kaladin during the course of Way of Kings, we see her develop a personality the more time she spends with him: "I'm...taking something from you. And giving something in return. It's the way it used to work...I'm willing to stop it...but I would go back to being as I was before...never remembering anything for longer than a few minutes. If we end it, I lose that." Way of Kings Ch. 57 Throughout their interactions, Kaladin remarks several times about how she is becoming more human. I speculate that when a spren binds to a surgebinder and becomes more human, they open themselves to Odium's influence and can be corrupted. If this is the case, Therefore, I further speculate that in order to break the cycle of Desolations, the original Radiants simultaneously broke their ties to their bonded spren. Unfortunately, this caused devastating consequences for the spren society, since many of the spren would suddenly have lost their identities/memories/purpose: "If we end it, I lose that." Way of Kings Ch. 57 Therefore, the Recreance would be This extra part is really wild speculation: This could also explain the existence of Parshmen (they gave up bonding to any spren to prevent getting a corrupt one), and maybe even why Gavilar had to die: This is pretty much just bits and pieces stuck together with wild speculation glue (and that last part is all wild speculation), so feel free to comment/tear it apart! Also, I'm not quite sure how to format quotes or add spoiler tags (or even if this section uses spoiler tags). Please let me know so I can fix it!

Note: Mr. T is Taravangian or however you spell his name. I am on vacation this weekend, so I probably won't be following up on this much, but I think Mr. T is bonded with a spren or is about to be. I just listened to the scene where Shallan draws a sketch of Mr. T and sees the symbolhead behind him. Obviously we are supposed to think that it is one of those that is following around Shallan later in the book, but I am suspicious now that it may have been her getting a glimpse of HIS spren. I had other thoughts that branch off of this: If Mr. T was more familiar with his spren at the time, it could have told him of Jasnah's and Shallan's spren. If you reread the section, you will see that Mr. T tries to touch on the subject of Jasnah's Soulcaster once or twice. She reassures him she got it legitimately, and he drops it, but I wonder if he was just probing because he is trying to figure out her abilities. It could mean the granddaughter behind a boulder was set up to see if the Soulcaster was working- perhaps he sabotaged it himself. Thoughts?

So many things that I cant even begin to list them. Kaladin vs Amaram is probably at the top of the list for me. So many interesting ways for the story to grow. Dalanar: "He keeps refusing to duel with you." Adolin: "I don't see how we can get him onto the field of honor. His reputation is to good." Kaladin: *cough* "Sir, I have a suggestion."

They are also essentially the Bankers of Roshar. It was said that people give them their spheres to have them infused with stormlight in their secret protected coves, and the stormwardens keep a portion in return. Which means they are also likely to be quite rich, perfect source of funding for an evil organisation. I wonder if they were founded by Taravangian?

I did actually read the Recreance part last night and Dalinar feels dread and "hears" a scream, could that be the scream of dying Spren? This is just after he mentions that the shards glow fades.

hee hee politicspren (Cryptics). I could see why Brandon would laugh at truthspren and Jasnah would say liespren Edit: spelling

I just finished reading the Mistborn trilogy one week ago, and what a ride it was. After I reached the last page, I put my Kindle down and just sat there, stunned. Fantasy is filled with epic tales, to the point where one can get easily jaded, but few deliver in raw emotion and impact like Mistborn did. At least, it did for me. And the primary reason why I found the story so riveting? It wasn't the magic (although very cool) or the world ending or the fantastical creatures or the battle scenes. It was the human relationships with all their shining moments, quirks, and flaws. The relationship that stands out on top is the bond between Vin and Elend. Their story alone is epic in and of itself. They are one of my favorite, if not THE favorite, couples in fiction. Which is why I'm so baffled at the relative lack of fandom surrounding this couple. When I finished the books, I went online and eagerly searched for fandoms, fan clubs, forums where I could find similar fans who share my passion. To my surprise, there is very little out there. Even for the trilogy itself, there seems to be a smaller fanbase than I expected. So my (somewhat rhetorical) question is: Why??

Sell. We'll see all eleven orders. There's always another secret. Upon completion of the Stormlight Archive Brandon will acheive Cognitive Transcendence and become as a God.

Elhokar's secret is that... HE CAN READ!

If Awakening requires you to impose your will over an objects natural tendency, a weak-willed Awakener could have a rope refuse his command and decide to strangle him or something.

I assumed that referred to Taln getting extra torture after his buddies left him dead in hell.

Lift shoots... Lift scores! "YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-CRASH!"

The thing I don't get about the recreance is why did they leave like that? I'm pretty sure the Recreance is the betrayal that Jasnah mentioned. Seems obvious. What I don't understand is why? The feeling I got as I read that part was that the KR gave up on humankind for whatever reason, but even then it seems odd that they should give up like they did. Let's say that they were somehow betrayed by the kings/humankind/whatever and gave up their shards in protest: 1. There is clearly a deep bond between the knight and the spren. If the shards are linked to the spren and the knights knew of it (and I can't imagine how they could not know) I don't see why they'd betray the sprean just because they themselves were somehow betrayed by the rest of mankind. Doesn't make sense. 2. Considering the enormous power of the shards, if their use was somehow linked to bringing about the desolations destroying or hiding them would be the reasonable thing to do. Considering the above I think that the KR were somehow betrayed by both humankind AND "sprenkind" as well. They gave up their shards in protest against both. The why I cannot fathom. If we remember that according to Jasnah the spren have complex organized societies and a high level of sentience, perhaps they're not perfect little creatures incapable of doing harm. They may have their own interests, and it may happen that those interests collided with humankind's after the last desolation. What happened may have been kind of like when a friend of yours cheats on another friend of yours and you know about it. Whatever you say or do may be seen as a betrayal by either (or both) sides. .

Consider: They are both weathermen and, so far as I can tell, the most advanced statisticians that Roshar has. Conclusion: The perfect storm of lies! ( )

She wasn't talking about that at all, but something different that comes up later in the book.

*Possible Spoilers* While reading the Prologue to Words of Radiance I noticed a possible connection to the man who attacked Ym at the end of his interlude and one of the two men seen speaking to Elhokar the night Gavilar was assassinated. From TWoK: (Szeth PoV) From WoR: (Jasnah PoV) From WoR: (Ym PoV) Since in both cases our attention is drawn to the colors of the uniform and the discoloration of the man's cheek I feel like there is a good chance this is the same man, or at the very least that these men are connected somehow. Now I know that one man is described as Azish and the other Makabaki, but could that just be a mistake made by either Jasnah or Ym? Possibly even an oversight by Brandon? I'd love to hear any opinions on this topic, as I've always been curious as to whom Elhokar was speaking with that night! I'm a long time lurker of these forums, but this is my first post so please be gentle I have a ton of other theories, but I figured I should start small and work my way up

The voice in Dalinar's vision says: "To speak of what might be is forbidden." The first, shared Radiant ideal is also about not letting the future control the present. I'm sure Vorinism misinterpreted it somehow, but I think there must be something to it also. Edit: moar conciser

I think it was Shen. They have already mentioned that he is comming out of his stupor, and it is important that he is the first of the Parshmen to regain his wits. However, I think it is also appropriate that he be the first one to go mad and start killing. Kaladin will probably end up killing Shen in this book.

Pfft. You haven't seen the hook(s) yet.

At the end of WoK Honor tells Dalinar in one of his visions that Cultivation is better at seeing the future than he is. So I suspect that it was a cultivation-based spren that wrote it. Possibly even the spren that Dalinar will end up bonding with.

It's hard to say. It might help to have the relevant quotes: Note that it is westward of Alethela and not necessarily in the west. Some theorize it was in Shinovar, however. Here, we see Jasnah say Urithiru was not in Natanatan, which is now called the Shattered Plains. She may be lying, or misdirecting Shallan, or any number of things. However, the Shattered Plains are south-east of Alethkar, and apparently Urithiru was to the west of Alethkar, so I feel that Jasnah's conclusion that Urithiru cannot be the Shattered Plains is correct. The sheer distances involved are a clue, I think. 'Direct method' implies there was a way other than walking hundreds of miles, unless Nohadon took a very roundabout route. Here is a map. If we knew where Abamabar was, it would be enormously helpful. In any case, going from Somewhere to Kholinar to Veden City seems impossible without some sort of teleportation. I would guess, based on the complaints of tariffs, that all the major cities were connected to Urithiru through "Oathgates" or some other thing. Once you went to Urithiru, the Radiants taxed you (with huge tariffs) for moving goods through it, and then you could go to any other city. In summary, I don't know where Urithiru is. Our only evidence is 'west of Alethela' and 'within hundreds of miles of Abamabar'. Abamabar may be where Nohadon's kingdom was, but apparently Kholinar was still around. This is from Dalinar's vision with Nohadon. It seems Nohadon's city was Kholinar, which makes me wonder if it was was known as Abamabar in ages past. In any case, everywhere west of Alethkar seems to be explored/inhabited. It seems odd that Urithiru would have vanished. Here's some possibilities: Urithiru was in Shadesmar, the place Jasnah and Shallan go. Problem: this is not 'west' of Alethkar. Advantage: It explains why no one lives there now. Also, teleportation apparently involves Shadesmar (according to Brandon). Urithiru was in Aimia. Aimia was 'scourged', which could be because Urithiru was there and people were turning against the Radiants. Problem: people know about Aimia, why is Urithiru considered a myth? Advantage: Well, it's about as west as you can go. Urithiru is currently underwater in the Reshi Sea. Problem: We don't know if Roshar is a stable landmass or not. Advantage: It is just westward of Alethkar, and would explain why people think it's myth. It's also close to the Purelake, which may be Cultivation or Honor's Shardpool. Hopefully this gives you some ideas, Rade.

"Hold things I tell you to hold please."".....OK."

I withdraw my point about what the KR would do, admitting we don't know enough yet for them to be an example. Still, even by your examples, the Alethi war is not completely justified. I don't think it was supposed to be shown as justified in The Way of Kings, but perhaps Words of Radiance will shed more light on the issue.

Sadeas's face when he sees Kaladin's mad skills. Kaladin confronting amaram - I really don't care if it's resolved in violence or redemption. I just need them to finally meet again. The "that's impressive, but look what I can do!" moment with kaladin, shallan, and Jasnah. How shallan got her blade and why she killed her father What are the ghost blood's actual goals Elhokar finally growing a pair. Reneran too for that matter. Why the parshendi killed gallivar Mostly, I want more surges. We've only really seen 3-4 of them and, If the Szeth scenes are any indication, things will be epic when we have 10 orders fighting it out.

hoser, that's a really good point. In fact, with that and Argent's very good trio of objections I would like to amend my theory below. My only counterargument to the "drooling" line is that the Emuli people hold the Heralds in very high regard. It seems to me that both the vizier and Darkness seem to apply the line "may he lead in wisdom" to Jezrien in much the same way (In the Wheel of Time) the Seanchan would add "may she live forever" when referencing the Empress. I do agree with you - perhaps Darkness was turning the phrase around to reference (in his mind) the incredibly foolish decision to let Lift go free. Then, with those objections in mind, I can actually revise the last third of the theory. In particular, being "Broken" would simply refer to many Desolations worth of torture and then the pain of betraying a friend and giving up the Oathpact. Kalak (in the prelude) even refers to Jezrien as such: As for Jezrien's status? I would call him Shard-level power, as it would be equivalent to a Shard who has simply Invested a great deal into his world. In this case, it wasn't by choice. Thanks to everyone who read and commented!

I think this is an excellent theory. It is also presented beautifully. Without challenging the base of the theory, I would like to suggest that part of the supporting evidence is more ambiguous than presented. Specifically, it is unclear whether Darkness is referring to Jezrien or the new Azish ruler when he says "drooling." Specifically, the nitpick I have is with the following: The actual quote follows: The new Prime is being announced. It is logical to wish that he lead in wisdom. He is also a young incompetent thief taking a job many others don't want. Darkness echoes the lead vizier in the formulaic reference to Jezrien, but the "drooling" could apply to the new prime, Jezrien or both. It looks to me like 'Darkness (...) references Jezrien as "drooling."' overstates the certainty of the interpretation. I think 'Darkness may reference Jezrien as "drooling."' or something similar would be more accurate.

Odium is away, Honor's holder died, wouldn't that make it more likely that Cultivation is the Broken One? After all, she is the only one who is still kickin, right? We also know she has gone through a bunch of trauma including Honor's fall and her new disinterest in mankind. I'm not trying to debunk this theory or anything, it just looks like Cultivation gets overlooked with both the Odium and Honor theories. I mean, Tanavast died and Odium is off on an evil vacation. That kind of only leaves one, right?

There's no evidence of him having the same type of spren. In fact, we've only seen one member of each Order so far as I know. Elhokar could have a worryspren. They would be good buds

Thats not evidence that they're both honorspren, rather evidence that names are not intrinsic to the spren. If there were different types of honorspren you wouldn't need to argue over who is an honorspren, both can be honorspren. But if you have separate types of spren who both wish to be known as honorspen and prevent the other group(s) from using the title than you do have an argument, because not everyone can be honorspren. It's like Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox arguing over who is the true church.

Yeah, I was probably just being hopeful when I thought "well maybe...". Best for us to not be "that guy" who derails the conversation.

The problem is, we're not really sure how to update that sidebar. The web dude said he would do it later today.

First, I am in the camp that believes that Shards are formed through the Nahel Bond as individuals progress towards becoming a Knight Radiant. I believe that the betrayal was the Recreance, when the KR gave up their Shards. I think that that connection severed the bond, thus essentially depriving the spren of certain aspects that they had come to depend on to live, which resulted in their death. In WoK, Syl tells Kaladin that she can stop what she was doing to him, but that would result in her becoming like she was in the beginning. As their Bond grows, I believe that a Nahel Bonded spren becomes something akin to a symbiotic parasite, for lack of a better term. I doubt that they can survive apart from the one they are Bonded to. Up until the point where the KR started getting rid of their Shards, their Plate was still glowing. However, as soon as they abdicated their role, it became dull like modern Plate. ------------------- Thinking about this also gives me a new theory: The Plate and Blades that are in existence in modern times is only that which was discarded during the Recreance. We don't have enough evidence to show that there are currently that many known Shards, let alone enough to have survived for several generations of KR. If the Shards are formed during the process of becoming a KR, it is possible that it is tied into the life force of the spren powering that Bond. If that is true, then it is possible that, when a KR dies, the Shards go to the Cognitive plane and the spren is merged with the essence of the Shards. Those spren are also more likely to form future Bonds (having been through the process before), which would make the betrayal at the Recreance all the more important and could also explain why it has taken so long for Surgebinding to reappear. Hmm - I guess we'll see.

I don't think Spren do human possession. I had an image of Patrick Swayze as the Spren and Whoppi Goldberg as Dalinar and it just didn't work for me... Could be but I think it is unlikely.... exactly.

Just before that, Thresh stated that common soldiers could not be sold to an outsider. Common soldiers are sold and traded, like slaves or goods, with value. In comparison,Thresh tried to give Szeth away. Thresh states that "He wasn't worth anything at all." due to his being Truthless. The Oathstone as a symbol of ownership is common between them, but they are clearly different classes of people.

I see a lot of people being discouraged by the Sadeas POV and saying that he's a typical mustache twirling villain. I think it just reenforced his interesting qualities from WoK. He's essentially a junky for The Thrill, and he's tricked himself into thinking what he's doing is for the betterment of the kingdom. In one hand he says HE wants to untied the Highprinces in his own fashion and then thinks about how best to destroy Dalinar for trying to do just that. His mind is obviously messed up. He still feels genuine respect and what seems like love for his wife, which is an interesting tidbit for him (no Straff Venture all over again {yeesh that guy was the wurst}). He wants those glorious contests to continue and as some have pointed out in this thread already his lust for The Thrill could be accelerated by his acquisition of Oathbringer. I'm really looking forward to what we see from him in future chapters. It was interesting that his POV came in the middle of a Kaladin chapter as well, I wonder if that's of any significance. Final thoughts: Mark my words Sadeas is a Thrill junkie! Edit: I little fishy told me I got something wrong. Thanks Swimmingly!

Sorry for this, but I have to down-vote that post just because I am firmly against the idea of Shen going on a killing spree. I am somewhat daydreaming of him taking on warform or something while still preferring to stay with Bridge Four. I trust my fellow Sharders will forgive me for this compulsive down-voting, and that they will up-vote you again properly.

My initial reaction was that it was referring to killing Dalinar, not the desolation.

I bet there's a Form that lets Parshendi do that...

I don't care! I want MOARH! NOW!

Shards are 'God' only in the Greek god sense. They're humans with a boatload of extra power (hardly infinite) and altered minds from said power. The Cosmere's magic is just another facet of reality. There are no 'special cases'. You get enough Investiture, you become a Shard. There's nothing special there. Shardholders still have physical bodies. They're immortal, and they have lots of Investiture. It's certainly evidence, and I've never said it's proof. I never claimed that Hemalurgy made immortals. My claim is that Investiture slows aging, which can result in immortality if you get enough. Koloss are altered enough that I would hesitate to call them human or use them as an example for or against Investiture speeding up aging, particularly when they don't die of old age, they die because their altered bodies are incapable of supporting their still-growing bodies (not exactly how old age works). It's possible that 'true' koloss (creatures made directly by a Shard who don't have spikes in them) would age faster. We don't know what the koloss baseline aging rate is, but we do know what it is for humans. Inquisitors, much closer to human biology, provide a better model to study the effects of Hemalurgy on aging. As I've brought up before, what is "direct Shardic intervention" but usage of Investiture? Are you proposing that the Heralds didn't wield blades chock full of Honor's Investiture, which were bonded to their souls? When I look at Heralds, I see Investiture and I see agelessness. I am seeing a suggestive link, and bringing it up as evidence in support of a theory. I'm not trying to say it proves anything. I'm saying it's a perfectly valid data point.

The question in my mind is simple. How do the KR operated Fabrials differ from those that the modern humans use. Does it enslave the spren? or does it kill them and use the trace essence? I can imagine that being part of the reason why they are so hesitant to trust humans. But what if the KR had to fight one and another, different orders linked to different kingdoms? would the spren be forced to fight and kill each other? does a spren die when its Knight dies? I cant see the betrayal being anything to do with the Oathpact or Tanavast. The Oathpact because I doubt the Heralds were bonded to spren, so it would not effect them the same way as the Recreance would. And Tanavast well because him dying wouldnt have been a betrayal. Options to me = Recreance, Fabrials or Spren being forced to fight Spren. I think the reason why there is evidence that the former Knights Radiants left and went to Shinovar is because there are no spren there. I think that was very deliberate, they went to a place of Cultivation rather than Honor, to be away from the spren.

Interesting that neither the Rioter nor the Soother have successfully used their powers yet... Do we know how many Spiked there are? If the proportions work out like they do in games like Mafia and Werewolf, I'd suspect something like 4 of them. The Spiked have one particular advantage. They know who the other Spiked are, and who the normal Villagers are. They, more than any Villager, have the ability to gang up. In the daytime voting, only two people got more than a single vote. I humbly propose that it might be a likely scenario that they pooled their votes to ensure that a villager died. I realize this isn't the only possible scenario; once it became likely that Gray would die, the Spiked might have dispersed, left him to his fate since they knew he was a Villager. Still, it's all I've got to go on. I therefore recommend to the Seeker that he start using his power upon this list of people. I think it's the quickest way that you're likely to find a Spiked. Once you find one, announce it, and trust the Lurcher to keep you alive. If we kill him and he's a Spiked, we'll believe you. If we kill him and he's not, we'll know you're evil, and we'll kill you next. Unless someone has a better suggestion, I think we should try to focus on the seven who voted for Gray. Quinn did it first, then Beetle, then Wilson. At more-or-less random, I'm going to say Beetle. My thought is, Gray might have been voting on his own. If Beetle were Spiked, picking someone who already had a vote, that Beetle knew wasn't Spiked, would be a smart play, and if I'm wrong and Quinn is Spiked, then Beetle was helping a buddy. So. This is my reasoning, and my vote is for Beetle.

by the Doors.

Well, given the fact that Isaac is Isasik Shulin on Twitter, I think we can call this one confirmed.

Under the orders of the Parshendi government Szeth kills many guards and finally the king. Each death is a unilateral and deliberate act of war initiated by the Parshendi. There is no rebel faction. They make no effort to communicate their concerns with their new ally before resorting to violence. The Parshendi could explain themselves at any time. They could deliver those responsible for Szeth's unjustified murders to the Alethi and attempt to negotiate a new understanding any day. All they have to do is send some people under a flag of truce. They never have. The quote you offer proves that the Alethi were more responsible than the Parshendi for attempting to understand. The Alethi sent "envoys and scholars". What did the Parshendi do? Murder innocents and not explain. Rebuff all efforts to communicate. Just because, in moments of private doubt, Dalinar wonders what would have happened if they had pursued peace more strongly, none of the onus for the war they started is removed from the Parshendi. Whether the Alethi are warlike or not and whether they have civil strife at home are irrelevant. The Parshendi started the war with an ally without even trying to negotiate or communicate. Gavilar had no idea that what he was doing would upset the Parshendi. The Alethi attempted to communicate before retaliating. The Parshendi failed to communicate and are repeating that choice every minute of the war. Dalinar may be warlike and he may describe himself as a warlord, but he is acting within his role as part of the Alethi government. He is highprince and will soon be Highprince for War. He has, and will be, performing his duties as an Alethi government officer.

When you start experimenting with doodles of your home country, trying to access the Dor.