JamesMc6

Suppose in Book 4 Shallan Lightweaves into Veil, puts on her white pantsuit and hat and starts hitting on Kaladin. Cool, not cool? I mean, it's Shallan that's married to Adolin, not Veil. It doesn't matter that Shallan thinks Veil has bad taste in men; Veil thinks she has great taste in men and should have the freedom to flirt with the Bad Boys. #slipperyslope

Yeah, this has really tripped me up in liking the Shallan - Adolin interaction (intentionally separated). The chasm sequence was just so good, I was like, "more please, " and never really got it in Oathbringer at all from any of the relationships (intentionally not shortened). The frustrating part is that Adolin and Shallan are such great characters on their own in OB, but put them together and the story does flatten out, IMO. I guess I'm going to give Brandon the benefit of the doubt that there was an intentional reason for not having a substantial scene with just Shallan and Kaladin, like the aforementioned Chasm Sequence, aside from some brief conversations in the Shadesmar section. I always thought it odd that the original trip by Kaladin and Shallan to open the Oathgate in Theylan City was entirely offscreen. If Brandon wanted to have that Kaladin-Shallan scene that could have been the place. Again, I think this was all intentional on Brandon's part and it's RAFO. I am feeling pretty nervous jumping in on page 87. Be nice to me.

Quick, someone find Miracle Max! (Sorry. Couldn't help it.)

I want to jump in here--which is probably jumping back 75 pages or so in this thread--and talk about the Kaladin and Syl discussion about "losing" Shallan and the "ooooh, pretty!" rock. You all know the scene I'm talking about. I just come across it again on my reread of OB and it's got me frustrated. The first time I read it I really thought Kaladin was saying Shallan reminded him of Syl. And it might be foreshadowing a romance with Syl- and before you start I'm not shipping Syladin here, and I wasn't when I first read it. That was just how I interpreted the scene my first time through. Okay, when I mentioned my interpretation of the scene here in the forums I got a lot of "yes, that's how I read it too," but also got a lot of "no, Kaladin was comparing Shallan to Tien." Well, on my reread yes I finally got the Tien connection because my memory was jogged about Tien loving rocks and always lightened Kaladin's mood. My frustration is that unless BranSan mentions Tien's mood lightening rocks earlier in OB and I missed it, then that is a very old, and some might say obscure callback for that very, very important scene. Frustrating. And truthfully, after rereading it a couple of time I'm still not sure which interpretation is correct and it seems like it has to be one or the other. Or could it be neither? Sorry, I'm not trying to reopen any cans of worms, but it does seem relevant to this thread. Anyone else frustrated with the ambiguity of this scene?

This may have been debunked, but I’ve always thought Wit switched the blades and stashed Taln’s Honorblade somewhere between Kholinar and the Shattered Plains. When Wit was riding with Bordin(?) in the carriage carrying Taln, he made the carriage stop twice to bang his head against a wall or something. I’m having a hard time finding the right passage near the end of WoR where Dalinar is questioning Bordin(?). The first time Wit stops, he retrieves the dead Shardblade from where he had it stashed, makes the switch in the carriage, and then the second time he stops the carriage he goes off to stash the Honorblade. Someone cited a WoB that “Wit doesn’t have it,” but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have it and stashed it somewhere. Again, this may have been debunked, but it seemed very obvious to me that the whole point of that section of WoR (someone find it for me!) was to establish Wit had the opportunity to switch the blades.

I have a question that I believe has a WoB answer but I can not find it. I'm hoping that someone has asked Brandon if the painting Kaladin is so fascinated with in Shadesmar is the very same painting in which Lightsong saw a woman with a black sword? The spren selling the painting said it was from the Court of Gods, was unusual that it was not destroyed, and that everyone sees something different in it. I do recall that Lightsong ordered that particular painting--the woman with the black sword--to not be destroyed. Thanks, I'll hang up and listen.

Oh, yes of course they do. "Meatheart." I love that. I'm totally using that in a sentence very soon. Probably the next time on Facebook. Bravo.

Do Listeners have two hearts? That is not my recollection.

Well we are only at book 3 of 10. It's hard to guess the end game. Let's call this a working theory.

Not yet, but I imagine she will be able to as she advances as a Knight Radiant. Which brings up an interesting question. She is literally bonded to two spren; timbre a Willshaper spren, and an Envoy(?) voidspren. So will she be able to switch back and forth? Like a like light switch that changes her eyes from red, to normal, back to red? That's a little tongue-in-cheek but you get the point of the question. I think she is the only character in the series so far that has bonded two spren, correct?

My gut agrees with your gut, but would this be too similar to Mistborn? Preservation + Ruin = Harmony? Cultivation + Odium + (Honor) = Unity?

If I remember correctly, the quote is "I am Unity." That capital is a big deal, I think. I'm also thinking along those lines. Thus the Sliver of Honor, which Dalinar briefly is after ascending, will unite all the Slivers of investiture on Roshar. Could this happen by Dalinar somehow bonding the Stormfather (Honor); and the Nightwatcher (Cultiviation); and the Sibling (Unknown)? Not three Bondsmiths, but one Super Bondsmith? My understanding is those three high spren are just very, very strong Cognitive Shadows, but bonding all of them would generate some serious investiture. Enough to Ascend with all of it? (Some of this might be realmatically incorrect. I'm not an expert on this yet so correct me if that's the case.) Anyway, when all is said and done--and this is not a new theory--Honor will still be dead, but there will be a new Shard of Unity with Dalinar as its vessel.

I'm going to go cross-court theory on you about the Ghostbloods, and say they are the mystery party that acquired Nightblood and delivered to Nale* * Yes, yes I'm sure this theory has been floated before-many times-across 17thS.

I have to say, there is a huge aspect to "Syladin" that is right in front of our face, but I think most people are missing it, or not talking about it. Syl, apart from Kaladin, has a huge story arc: the development of her increasing humanity. Folks, Syl has been with us right from the beginning, through all three books, and we are just starting to get bits and pieces of her backstory. She's the Ancient Daughter, she escaped/fled from home, she's a fugitive, she's a Spren's version of a Lighteye, she's been bonded to a Windrunner before, she looks hot in a red dress and dark hair. We know more about Syl then any of the other bonded spren we've met; including Pattern, Ivory, or Wyndle. She is the Star Spren of the show, and is much more important to the series than just "Kaladin's spren." Because she is only slowly regaining her memories from before Kaladin, she hasn't been a POV character yet; but I think she will be starting in book 4. Maybe that's why so many are not catching on to where I think Brandon is taking this. So let's turn this around for a moment. Up till now, Syladin has been all about Kaladin's character development; helping Kaladin overcome loneliness and depression, the oaths, the almost oath-breaking, the "you should totally ask Becky to the Prom, I won't mind at all even though inside I desperately want you to ask me;" and the so many other Kaladin character development plot points that I'm not remembering. However, I think starting in book 4 (hopefully) Syladin is going to be all about Slyphrena's character development. Sure, of what we know right now about sprens and Nahel Bonds, Kaladin and Syl together is a little creepy, but I think this "ship" is going to look a lot different after the next couple books when we know even more about sprens and Nahel Bonds. Where do I think this is going? Well whenever I try to predict what may happen in the Cosmere, I try to remember that BranSan is always looking to turn stereotypical fantasy troupes on their head. Looking through that prism, I can absolutely see Syl becoming some sort of proto-spren where a more traditional relation'ship' between her and Kaladin is possible, and not so creepy. Remember, Syl is the Star Spren of the series. Heck, I'm just going to go on record now as saying that by the end of SA, Syl will be able to manifest entirely and completely in the Physical Realm. And of then of course, Kaladin and Syl will get married and live happily ever after. But I'm a helpless romantic so I have to say that. (But so is Brandon, I think.)

That was always my inclination, but then Ulim is not one of the Unmade. So these spheres can trap any voidspren, not just unmade. I guess yes because we haven't been told "only Unmade" have we? So there may be more than just the two "Void Spheres" (do they have a name?).