CabbageHead

I like your idea that nightform is of Cultivation, especially with the allusion to a champion. It would be awesome if the champion against Odium ended up being Eshonai. Also somewhat satisfying in the sense that the Parshendi would appear to be the original inhabitants of the planet, and to have been enslaved by Odium in the past, while the more populous humans are in effect refugee followers of Honor crashing in his missus' house after getting their asses kicked by Odium on their home planet. On the topic of prophecy, I personally think the reason for the prohibition on seeking to know the future is down to the Intent of Honor. All Shards have some ability for it, and indeed we see some degree of it in Truthwatchers, but for a Shard called Honor the primary Intent would seem to me to be to deal with the present moment, reacting to current reality rather than making plans. Entities like Odium and Cultivation however would be very much involved in the future. Odium is a schemer, and Cultivation by it's nature involves making plans for the future. When is the best time to sow, when to reap, which fields to plant, which to let lie fallow.... it is all about planning for the future.

A fearsome sight to behold! But first, they must strike terror in the hearts of their enemies with a traditional war dance. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sArAC2_ow2k

I'm curious, why do people assume fire was involved? Scouring something doesn't involve fire, just wiping it clean in an abrasive fashion.

I'm not sure omitting to mention any artistry implies there was none, Szeth was merely looking at the differences between this blade and others. As for those differences, there could be good reasons for them. First, Jezrien was the Windrunner type Herald, and aerial combat would probably be easier with a lighter blade; it is mentioned to be double-edged, which again would more useful in twisting maneuvers, compared to a single edge on a sword used in long, hard blows. Secondly, if you want to compare with more modern armies, eg. WWII troops, the grunts would all be rifle men, whereas officers carried sidearms. The weapons are still dangerous, but the officer's primary function is organising and leading his troops, not directly engaging in battle himself. Jezrien was known as king of the Heralds, their leader and presumably one who engaged more in strategy & tactics and less in the fighting than some others.

I don't think we really have a good picture of the relationships between the Shards and the spren. We know there were spren and the Listeners before the Shards arrived. After that, it gets murkier. The Stormfather refers to himself as a sliver of the Almighty, but Eshonai refers to him as a traitor to the Listeners, which is suggestive of him having been around before the Almighty. Both could be true; he could pre-date the Almighty, but have later been imbued with some of his power. The Stormfather refers to the Listeners as "the old people", and their most obvious defining trait, being able to unbond one spren and bond a new one to assume a new form, is very similar to the idea of the old magic both giving you something and taking something else away. This could point to the Nightwatcher, who Cultivation spren like Wyndle refer to as their mother, also having been around before the Shards.

Well, I am going to take a shot in the dark and guess... The Stormfather took up his role as the storm bringer after Tanavast died. Storms do tie in nicely with windrunning. Edit: Just throwing that in as a possible link from Honour to the wind, however I would say he is related to all the spren involved in Nahel bonds. The Stormbringer is just one aspect of his personality. I like this snipped I had forgotten about and just found on the coppermind when looking for the quote above: All of the Radiants have some form of transformative ability, and I think that makes sense for followers of a Shard called Honour. Some Shards like Cultivation, Endowment, etc. seem to have a very specific and static Intent. Doing what is honourable is a very changeable thing, reacting to circumstances, perhaps doing the exact opposite things in almost but not quite similar scenarios. The ability to react in different ways is probably the most important defining feature of someone bent on holding to a rigid set of self-imposed rules that may sometimes conflict with each other.

I think it is likely they have always bonded with the Stormfather. Note "was", not "were", specific. That appears to me to indicate they always bonded with one specific spren. I wonder why having many more than three Radiants bonded to him was seen as seditious?

When she summons her blade at the end of WoR to operate the portal to Urithiru, under pressure, she seems to instinctively summon it immediately. So yes, the 10 heartbeat rule that applies to non-Radiants seems to only apply to her when she believes it and is actively thinking about it. Edit: The reason Kaladin is seen almost instantly understanding the capabilities of his Shard weapon (I won't call it a "Blade" because he quickly grew past that) compared to Shallan, is likely twofold. First, he doesn't have repressed memories that he finds horrifying concerning his. Second, Kaladin is a natural born soldier, seasoned in the arts of war and has taken many more lives than he remembers by the time he first summons Sylphrena as a weapon. Shallan has lived a sheltered life, and is an artist & scholar. She has killed 3 times in her life; her father deliberately, by conventional means, while she cried and sang to him, and twice with her blade, almost involuntarily, out of panicked self preservational desperation.

There are obviously a lot of things going on with Honor (Honour? damnation these american spellings!) Blades that we don't understand. I have a funny feeling that they are still bonded in some fashion to their Heralds. Jezrien's blade didn't disappear when Szeth died; When a Herald dies, he goes to Damnation and takes his Blade with him. I wonder what would have happened if Jezrien was murdered while Szeth was flying about?

I suppose you could take the theoretical position that the voidbringers are the Odium spren. If that is the case, they would have followed from the Tranquiline halls, and they could have different forms based on what native Rosharan species they bond with/subjugate.

Never copped that, good catch. Although, Sylphrena's almost a polar opposite of that character.

Muahahahahahaaaa! My point has been made

I always assumed that "Perpendicularity" was just one of the Spren's unusual lexical constructions, referring to a tower, and that "Honor's Perpendicularity" was a reference to Urithiru, which likely would be a stable junction point for Jasnah to elsecall at.

I don't think she makes a great villain either, but I do like the idea of a redemption story. She has always (until being voidified) striven for the protection of her people. And if she does survives and somehow gain a bond with a non-voidish intelligent spren, we may see the revival of the Dawnsingers.

I would love a live adaption, but there would be several issues. Firstly, I agree with the magic problems; I was very disappointed with the portrayal of Gandalf in the LoTR movies. It was a great character, but they really ignored the whole firemage thing. Peter Jackson said that the wizard throwing fireballs was too stereotypical, but Gandalf is the archetype character the whole stereotype grew from. Another issue would be cost. It would likely be more expensive to make than GoT, and TV executives will be unlikely to spend money on something that is radically different from the formulas that create shows that they expect to be successfull. I can imagine the sales pitch: TV Executive: So, whats the story about? Brandon's agent: Its an epic tale of good versus evil, set on a magical alien world with a unique ecosystem. TV Executive: Aliens can be good. Space aliens? Brandon's agent: No, more an indigenous lifeform. They look similar to humans. But most of the characters are human. The humans were magically transported there in the distant past by their god, to escape one of his evil counterparts. TV Executive: So, what are these people like? Brandon's agent: Kind of like a medieval empire of Polynesians, with a somewhat stagnant culture defined by static social stratification. They- TV Executive: Polynesian? Brandon's agent: Mostly yes, there are several cultures on the planet, but the books are mainly focused around the Alethi. TV Executive: Are there any white people? Brandon's agent: Well, Szeth is white. He's a short, skinny, bald, psychotic mass murderer. TV Executive: Hmmm. I've read some of the character notes. Do you think maybe Hayden Christensen could do Kaladin? edit: words missing