kwirked

This alludes to some of the pre-release chapters in Oathbringer, but I don't think it involves any spoilers - the question came up as early as WoK. BUT, just giving fair warning. We know that in the early years Gavilar had a plate and blade, Sadeas had a plate, and Dalinar had nothing. Even in WoK the only difference is that now Dalinar has a full set and we learn he got his plate from his wife, though the sword is not discussed. And yet, still in WoK, we learn that Alehtkar has more shards than any other kingdom - about 20 blades actually. (ASIDE - Technically, that passage in WoK says the numbers are comparable to Jah Keved, but I feel like somewhere else it's implied Alethkar has more... I could be wrong on that point since I can't point to the passage). Based on averages, each princedom should have 2, but between Gavilar and Sadeas they only have 1, and when Oathbringer starts out Dalinar still doesn't have plate. This means that Gavilar and Sadeas have 1 blade and 2 plates between them. If we still average out the remaining blades Alethkar has, then 3 princedoms would have 3 blades each. Assuming the number of plates isn't vastly different from blades (I haven't been able to find anything on that one way or the other), then a similar imbalance presents itself, making it worse for G/S/D. Now, throwing away the assumption of averages and putting the princedoms of a statistically normalized curve, it's highly likely that there was one or two overpowered princedoms which had way more than their fair share. What if they had four or five blades and plates? I think too many more would invite the other princedoms to gang up on the overpowered one(s), but four or five is manageable and doesnt tip the scales too far. However, based on the way the society and combat are described, it seems unlikely that G/S/D would be able to defeat an army with five full shard bearers and that their meteoric rise would prompt retaliation (all in all, the Alethi nobility seem to favor the worldview that nails which stick up should be hammered). So... who has all those shards and how come they didn't decide to stop Gavilar's advance? Also, to forestall the argument, I'm not sure I buy the whole "they couldn't work together" bit. Yeah, the high princes quibble and bicker, but in the face of an existential threat (or opportunity to put an upstart back in his/their place(s)) I would think that two of them, maybe two with higher than average numbers of shards, would get together to take on a threat to their independence which the books claim they value so highly. edits - just noticed a few errors.

Emperor's Soul has a heavy Asian influence, but not distinctly Korean per se. Technically, it was based on a trip Brandon took to Taiwan and while there he visited a museum of the stamps they used to use (with red ink) for signatures. While Koreans use a similar stamp system (or they used to anyway, it's a little antiquated now) for signatures this isn't strictly a 'Korean' story. They are pretty cool though - if you want to see some copy and paste 도장 into google images and they'll pop right up.

@Extesian -- My first thought was the same as @djammmer - the Korean honorific. I haven't seen any other specifically Korean references in Stormlight anywhere, let alone the Shin language - which we've not seen that much (any?) of. There are generic Asian fusions incorporated throughout all his books, but the only other specifically Korean references that I noticed in any of his books were in Rithmatist.

@Yata - are you sure? Neither Shai nor the monks seemed in any way impeded by the distance from their homeland - if there's some reference to that that I missed by all means please share. @Khyrindor - ok.... so if there are pockets of Dor in Fjordell and MaiPon which the monks and Shai can tap into, respectively, then why can they continue to access those pockets at strength from a great distance and not the Elantrians? Why couldn't Elantris expand its Aons to include other pockets of the Dor? The limitation for only the Elantrians strikes me a somewhat similar to Kaladin's forehead brand - if he thought about it differently, then it would be different (in his case, disappear).

I was re-reading Elantris and the Emporer's Soul and had a thought about how Elantris is tied to the AonDor, though maybe it's been hashed over already and I just couldn't find it. The shape of Elantris is that is Spirit, but over the course of the book we find out its (along with every other Aon) foundation is the shape of Arelon. We're also told that the power weakens the farther Elantrians get from Elantris. I'm wondering which way causation runs. Is the power weaker and the shape of the Aons dictated by the location of the investiture? Or does the physical manifestation of the investiture (the "alphabet's" basis in the geography) limit the powers reach? Asked another way, what if someone decided to modify the basic Aon to include the archipelago of islands to the north and Teod into the design, then adjusted how Elantris was built to reflect the change? Would that then allow Elantrians to use their power in Teod? What about the rest of the world? Isn't there a WOB that dominion and devotion have been mixed together? If I'm remembering that correctly, then since Shai and the Dakhor monks can use their abilities anywhere, it seems likely the limitation on the Elantrian use of Dor is self imposed - in this case a cognitive limitation. Thoughts?

I'm glad to hear that he might redo the novel and re-release it... The graphic novel was ok, but I think Brandon's approach needs to be modified. In all his stories there is a lot of worldbuilding that goes into the novels to set up that world. As each successive set of books (in this case, I would consider each of the Misborn trilogies a separate 'set') comes out, he continues to add and build more information and worldbuilding into them to such an extent that I don't think a graphic novel would work to do the same job. The graphic novels that I've seen don't have to do a lot of exposition or worldbuilding - they use a framework readers a familiar enough with that they can just assume everyone will get the reference, and inferences. I think what Brandon ought to do is set up the worlds with their respective trilogies (or however many books to each series), then use a graphic novel to tell some interesting side stories inside each world. Without any expectation that the graphic novels will add to the world building. I mean, if he can work some in, GREAT, but if not it shouldn't be force. Like a graphic novel about Marsh's time infiltrating the Steel Ministry and then becoming a Steel Inquisitor, or perhaps one about Lopen's backstory - I'd love to see that one. I can't imagine a Lopen story would require too much exposition or worldbuilding, but would still develop the characters. Maybe even a graphic novel of a bunch of compiled little interlude type stories on people we already know - not meant for worldbuilding, just some additional insight into the characters lives.

cool

I also don't think that Adolin or Navani becoming radiants means they'll become the subjects of a book, or even grow in importance. We know there will be several Radiants per order by the end, why not have either/both of them just be members of their particular orders, and continue to be recurring characters without ever getting into the spotlight? I guess I don't see it as any great transformation - in one of Dalinar's vision he's recruited because he can fight to come back to the seat of the radiants to bond a spren and join an order - the guy asking him doesn't seem to think anything more is necessary than he show up to become a radiant... As for Elhokar, same reasoning as above. When Kaladin goes to save him he comments that at least Elhokar never gives up, even if he's a screw up. He sees the cryptics, and I don't see why he couldn't undergo a character transformation over the course of the next 20 years or however long the story arc is. I agree I can't stand the guy, but who better to make a turnaround and become something better? He doesn't want to be bad, just has a hard time committing himself to anything.

Maybe I should clarify - I don't mean to say that families are genetically pre-disposed or anything like that, but just like the bridge crew who has associated with Kaladin has become attuned to his ideals - by association they learn and adopt a similar mentality - and are becoming his squires, families are an ideal place for a similar training ground. Beyond that, since each of the orders has the same first ideal, it stands to reason that there is some unifying trait amongst all the orders. My personal opinion is that the unifying trait is a form of perseverance, enduring through whatever life throws at you and refusing to give up or become less. Through Dalinar's internal dialogue (and some of Jasnah's in the WoR prelude) it seems both he and Gavilar learned the same lessons upon becoming king (well, de facto in Danilar's case), and that association affected their families. I see seeds of what Kaladin and Shallan both learned in their flashbacks of home as well, albeit in a somewhat twisted way for Shallan. Her father's attempt to protect her for years in spite of what the world put him through showed a facet of the first ideal, perhaps even a stronger affinity for a lightweaver - he told a lie to project what he felt was the greater truth - though he let it ruin him eventually. Interesting that you picked Lirin to be the radiant - my first thought went to Hesina. I went back and re-read to see what gave me that idea, but I couldn't put my finger on any particular passage. She just always seemed so steady, I guess.

I was thinking a while ago about who else might turn out to be a surge binder/potential radiant. If this has already been a topic somewhere else, please point me there so I can move this discussion there. If not, please post any and all thoughts on which characters we'll see turn into binders/radiants - and which ones will get a book. My thoughts on this stemmed from the thought that Brandon might be playing out a principle that certain families may predisposes their members to being radiants, or maybe it's that association with a (potential) radiant or surge binder allows others around them to connect with spren more easily. The three main families we have insight into so far are Kholin, Davar, and Kaladin's. The Kholin family has four confirmed potential binders (Elhokar, Dalinar, Jasnah, and Renarin - Elhokar is really the outlier here, he sees spren, but I don't know what to make of him) and a pretty strong indication that Gavilar would also have been. My interpretation of the reading leads me to believe that Adolin and Navani are potential candidates based on their personalities/displayed characteristics, bringing the family total to a potential seven. In Shallan's family, she is one, and her oldest brother had some connection as well. Frankly, this is the weakest part of my theory and I'm very curious to hear more about Helaran. Regardless, Shallan's not alone in her family. Under different circumstances I think her mother and father might have had the strength of personality to become binders, but rather than breaking (as Syl mentioned to Kaladin) and remaking themselves, they shattered completely. As for Kaladin's family, I think there is a significant chance that his mother or father or both could become binders. Their characters seemed to fit the mold of having certain guiding principles they adhered to, and, looking back on the story after WoR, both seemed to have met their potential breaking points: Lirin with Roshone right before Kaladin left, and what mother wouldn't be devastated with the loss of both her sons. I can't wait to see how they've handled themselves in the interim when Kaladin goes back to see them again. As a side note, when considering the PoV's for the 10 books, with 10 books, each on a different character, we'll probably get roughly half men and half women, and half light eyes/half other (e.g. Eshonai). thoughts?

I didn't get the sense that Nalan, despite what he said, was trying to do anything for the good of anyone, but I also get the distinct impression that he will never tell a lie. It would go against his internal law and leave himself open to judgement. My take on his little execution project was that he was going after nascent surge binders because they are easier to kill off than full fledged ones. To accmplish his goal I wouldn't think he'd need to kill every would-be radiant, just enough to tip the scales. If anything, I think kaladin would be the one to hunt Nalan down in order to protect others from him... Just my thoughts.