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Hey! I collected all of Hoid's stories in a document! This is for your theorizing pleasure, and for potential memorization! Hoid's Stories I was interested in reading all of them, so I collected them, and couldn't think of a better place to share them than here!. I included the Wandersail (Way of Kings Chapter 57), Fleet (Words of Radiance Chapter 59), The Girl Who Looked Up (Combined both Shallan's Version and Hoid's, Oathbringer Chapters 25 and 82), Mishim and Tsa (Oathbringer Chapter 67), The Dragon and the Dog (Rhythm of War Chapter 80), The Origin of the God Kings (Warbreaker Chapter 32) Hoid’s Stories.pdf Hoid’s Stories.txt

I wasn't sure if this should go here or in general, but I opted for here to be safe, mods can move it if I chose the wrong place. I think we may have started to see the fulfillment of one of of the Way of Kings death rattles here at the end of Rhythm of War Specifically the chapter 11 epigraph: I think Taravangian might be the Broken One. Everything that he's done weighs on his soul as he himself admits, and now he's a god. He's reigning over the Fused. What this might mean for Cultivation's fate I don't know.

Newish reader to Brandon Sanderson here! In just a month, I've sped through Mistborn Era 1 + Way of Kings (just finished an hour ago!) and what a wild ride! As I was reading, I immediately noticed a few very striking similarities between Mistborn and Stormlight, from a plot, character, and literary structure perspective. What do you all make of this? Is Brandon just a more formulaic storyteller? Does this hint at broader themes in the cosmere? In what ways do you think the plots will diverge? Here's what I've found so far: Setting + Society - Set in a "modern" time juxtaposed against an ancient history that has lost - Society likely equivalent to 15th -17th century western civilization (pre industrial) - Class system based on bloodlines (skaa vs darkeyes) - Strong religious organizations / influence (Ministries vs. Vorin) that are later de-legitimized - Scholars questioning religion and history (Sazed vs. Jasnah) -- they are the ones to discover the truth Villans + Mystery - Mysterious, pre-historical enemy that is known only as an abstraction, that is later revealed to be an unexpected twist (the Deepness vs. the Voidbringers / the Desolation) - Said mysterious enemy's return is imminent and the world is in vast danger - Lost or old texts that serve as clues to unravel the mystery (Alendi's journal vs. The Way of Kings and all the books Jasnah / Shallan read) - An almighty force for good that has disappeared (Preservation vs. Almighty) - Magic system that is related directly to physical objects and natural resources (metals vs gems) - Monsters that are revealed to be descendants or related to humans (Koloss and Kandra vs Parshendi?...making a guess on the Parshendi) Themes - Central characters struggling with what it means to be a "good leader" (Elend vs Kalladin) - "Good" characters and leaders being defined by upholding honor and maintaining trust - Hope as an empowering force to save characters Really curious to hear what everyone thinks! It did strike me a bit, reading through way of kings immediately after mistborn. It felt like I was playing the next generation of Pokemon games -- same overall template and predictable, but different enough that it's fun and entertaining. I'm curious to hear if anyone thinks it's something more -- do all these similarities have something to do with the broader Cosmere mythology?

My quarantine contribution: Peeps Before Death: I will protect peeps who cannot protect themselves.

My review of Way of Kings. Going to review the first 3 books before RoW comes out in anticipation of the release. Spoiler free until 4:49 then Spoilers.

so im finally reading it. if @Emperorstick ever see's this, he'll probably be dissapointed in me for waiting so long. Im not done, but im really really enjoying it so far. (im on way of kings btw)

I was just skimming through Pawn of Prophecy, the first book of David Eddings's Belgariad. (I do this from time to time; these books are a guilty pleasure for me.) And I stumbled upon THIS: Yep, "it's the way of kings!" It's probably just a coincidence... but we do know that Brandon is an Eddings fan. He's read this book. So maybe, just maybe, this is a little Easter egg. (How topical!) After all, this quote seems relevant to a lot of Rosharan history -- especially modern Alethkar.

I just wanted to start a list of minor questions people have going into Rhythm of War. Put them all in one place so maybe we can put our heads together to solve them. This is meant for minor questions, not major plot points. my Questions: Was Danlan Marakothra a member of the diagram or just working with Graves because she believed his stated goal? What happened to her and will we ever see her again? Where is Kalak? I’ve never seen any theories I find credible about where he is, what he’s up to. Who is Dova? Is she really a herald? Is it Battar, Paliah, Vedel? Who is Navani’s family? Is she from the senior Kholin branch? A family killed by the Kholin brothers? Sister to another high prince? Same questions but for Aesuedan. Where are Hesina’s parents? Is she a bastard daughter or a lord or is one of her parents just a low dahn lighteyes that married a darkeyes? What happened to Tarah? Will she come back into the story? Kaladin’s story? Will Laral? What happened to Redin after he killed his father? What does Brandon have planned for him? Who will be the first Stoneward we see? Who will be the next member of Bridge 4 to attract a Spren? is Lys the assassin one of the Heralds? Is she Chana? Vedel? What are the oldbloods? How many are there and when did they rule? let me know what your minor questions are?

I just re-read chapter 1 of The Way of Kings, and I was struck by a couple things - the prevalence of the color red in the decor, when the Kholin color is blue, and the description Szeth gives of a "new rhythm" played by the Parshendi drummers: "...like a quartet of thumping hearts, pumping waves of invisible blood through the room." At least twice in the first 2 pages, he uses the word "revelry" to describe what's going on. The red might relate to something else, but the rest of it (to me) kind of screams "Heart of the Revel." What do you all think?

A few years back I wrote a song about our favorite bridgecrew called Bridge Four. I recently made a video for the song featuring a bunch of awesome fanart and official art and thought I'd share it! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7G1HsS... Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/brid... Art (in order of appearance): 1) Kaladin & Syl by Audry Hotte, IG: @AyHotte (https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Dx...) 2) Kaladin Stormblessed by Toyin Morby Ajetunmobi, IG: @toyin.ajetunmobi (https://artofmorby.com/projects/ba1aOm) 3) Kaladin & Syl - Julia Metzger, IG: @juliametzgerart (https://juliametzgerart.tumblr.com/po...) 4) Kaladin - Rumyana Zarakova (https://rumyanazarkova.tumblr.com/) 5) Kaladin - Corey Lansdell, IG: @coreylansdell (https://www.coreylansdell.com/) 6) Life Before Death Kaladin - IG: @3li_7aji 7) Kaladin - Lex Allen, IG: @alexallenart (www.alexallenart.com) 8) Kaladin Headshot - IG: @muhash14 9) Kaladin Stormblessed - Antti Hakosaari, IG: @hakosaari_art (https://haco.artstation.com/) 10) Kaladin - Mycks, IG: @mycks_art (https://remycks.tumblr.com/) 11) Words of Radiance Cover - Michael Whelan, IG: @theartofmichaelwhelan (http://michaelwhelan.com/) 12) Bridge Four Poster - Zack Stella, IG: @zackstella (http://www.zackstella.com/)

I, and I suspect many others, have never bought one of the leatherbounds before and while I made pledge for the Way of Kings Kickstarter I am unsure whether or not I should go through with it. I am not sure if the cost will be worth the amount of value I will get out of them. So I have made this poll to give myself and anyone else who is considering buying these leatherbounds or any others an idea of what sort of value and usage to expect to get out of owning one of the leatherbounds. Hopefully this will help me and anyone else who has the same thoughts I am having come to a decision. So if you are the owner of a leatherbound please select the option in the poll that best describes how you use your leatherbounds. Thank you! (Of course, if you do not own one of the leatherbounds please don't vote in the poll. That would defeat the purpose)

Hello everyone! I have a very nit-picky observation/ question, so I thought about posting it on reddit, but at the same time, I thought maybe it's the right reason to sign up for this forum. Re-reading the Way of Kings I found something that bothered me even on my previous read, and that is the inconsistency surrounding Gavilar’s reputation as a swordsman and duelist, and his later loss of appetite for these activities. In the Way of Kings, but I’m reasonably sure that in the next two books as well, there are several mentions about Gavilar being a master swordsman, someone who like and engaged in dueling. On the other hand, we are told about 0 such duels, yet we are told on numerous occasions that Dalinar was the fighter and the duelist, while Gavilar was the leader. Presumably in their effort to conquer Kholinar and becoming Highprince, Gavilar did his fair share of fighting, we know almost nothing about these years, but we do see quite a few glimpses of the unification wars, yet at that point Gavilar is already transitioning more and more towards being only a political leader, and maybe a war-strategist, but certainly not a duelist. Few quotes: “It was said few men could rival Gavilar Kholin’s swordsmanship” – Szeth – Way of Kings- Prologue Not an exact quote “You didn’t duel a Highprince. It just wasn’t something that’s done” – Adolin – Way of Kings (There are also references in the series, that it wouldn’t be proper for a king or leader to duel someone below his station) Not an exact quote: “He started to refuse duels, you know… near the end” Elhokar to Dalinar – Way of Kings. (Sadeas has a similar comment also in Way of Kings. “Gavilar had been the leader, the momentum and the essence of their conquest, but Dalinar had been the warrior. Their opponents had surrendered to Gavilar’s rule, but the Blackthorn, he was the man who had scattered them, the one who had dueled their leaders and slain their best shardbearers” – Dalinar – Way of Kings” – Assault of the Tower plateau In the Dalinar flashbacks in Oathbringer, I clearly remember that when Tanalan (leader of the Rift) was challenged to a duel, it was obvious Dalinar would be the one taking him on, and then Tanalan asked what if he kills Dalinar? And the answer was “then Sadeas gets a crack at you”. So the option of Gavilar dueling an enemy leader, (Highprince and/or shardbearer) isn’t even entertained, and this was way back in the year 1141, towards the end of the unification wars, so towards the end of the period where we could reasonably expect Gavilar to engage in a duel. Elhokar wasn’t even born yet (only in 1147), not sure if Gavilar was already king, or just Hihgprince and the de facto leader of the Alethi, being the leader of the coalition poised to unite Alethkar. The second Rift uprising was in 1163, Gavilar stayed at home and sent Dalinar once again to deal with it. The timeline of the early wars is fuzzy, but we have at least the exact time for the Rift uprisings. Gavilar may have been a duelist in the early year, before Elhokar was born. But in the time Elhokar could remember, he was already king, and hasn’t been doing any in-person fighting on the battlefield in years. So, if he’s not challenging enemy shardbearers, who could he have dueled? It’s fairly clearly stated that challenging a Highprince was a very rare occurrence, challenging a King should be even more so by that logic. Maybe his closest allies could challenge him for friendly duels, but Dalinar and Sadeas certainly make no such remark; some of the other Highprinces maybe? Wouldn’t that be strange, a former enemy, whom he defeated in the unification wars, challenging him for a “friendly duel”. He could have dueled ardents for sport, I guess, but he would be the one challenging in those situations. All in all, I know this is a next level nitpick, but I think Gavilar couldn’t have possibly had many duels in the lifetime of his son, so it could be noticeable for Elhokar that his father lost his appetite for sword-fighting "near the end". What do you think? Am I missing something?

Hello everyone! I just joined the forum and I thought I'd share an image I made a little while ago of Kaladin leaping across a chasm at the end of WoK! Thank you!

I have been listening to the Kaladin album over and over again since it went out, and I think it is a priceless addition to the experience one can have of the Way of Kings. As the songs of the album are reflecting the events in the book, I wanted to write an article describing my interpretation of each song and what they refer to. So I sorted them by book chronology, and tried analyzing them as best as I could ! The goal here is to deepen the experience, and show this awesome soundtrack some love ! I also added an extra section at the end, listing the main themes and leitmotivs I found throughout the album (like the Stormlight sound for example). This work is not definitive, and I may have misunderstood things ! Comments are always welcome, and I would love to improve this with your help, my final goal being annoting my copy of WoK with some briefs descriptions of what track should be listened to and when. Without further ado, here goes ! Songs sorted by chapter: (spoiler free analysis) Oathpact Abandoned: Prelude The epic start of this tune represents legendary figures. It quickly fades into a grim, pessimist ending, leaving an impression of shame and despair. This song tells of former heroes, abandoning their companion to his fate. As the title suggests, an Oath has been broken, and will set fateful events in motion. The Assassin in White: Prologue Drums are beating as a celebration is going on. It is a day for joy, for peace has been achieved. However, a figure in white stalks in the castle, represented by a deep bass under the drums. After a few guards are killed, the music shifts to a rushing, dark tone, as guards are unable to even understand what is decimating their ranks. Once Szeth finds Gavilar, we hear the epic tones of a duel, before a single voice sings as Gavilar falls from the balcony during what seems to be an eternity. The track ends with a sad Dalinar theme played on the cello, as he helplessly runs in the gardens to find his brother dead. Honor is Dead: Chapter 2, Honor is Dead: Kaladin is a slave, locked in a van, full of regrets and remorse. He has seen too many tragic events, and has no plan to escape, as his last attempt caused even more killing. The very light and depressed start of the song reflects that mindset, before an event that will change his life radically transforms the end of the song as a windsprend begins to befriend him. The Shattered Plains: Chapter 4, The Shattered Plains Kaladin, locked up in the slaver’s wagon, first witnesses the harsh environment of the Shattered Plains. We can hear the Alethi warcamps and the sound of men training, before a chasmfiend shrieks in the distance. Finally, the last seconds are a humming choir, the leitmotiv of the Parshendi populating these lands. Bridge Four: Chapter 6, bridge Four The song begins with voices grunting and yelling rythmic motives, maybe Gaz and Sadeas’s soldiers forcing the bridgemen to run, or even bridgemen themselves staying in rhythm through these chants. We can hear a voice, possibly Kaladin’s, panting with exhaustion as the cries continue. The Parshendi throat singing then begins, foretelling the arrival on the battlefield and the increasing danger. The aggressive violins and trumpets make for a chaotic battle scene, all while the panting and yelling continues. Bridgemen are being targeted in the middle of this hellish scene, and hope is gone. The voices gain in intensity, full of panic and despair, and all there is is running forward. SasNahn: Chapter 9, Damnation Here, Kaladin is at rock bottom. He’s lost everything and everyone, and is in a place worse than hell. The opening of the track vanishes like an old memory, and a sour oboe shows the grimness of Kaladin’s depression. He now feels defined by the brand on his forehead, a dangerous slave until death. The choirs symbolize his abandon of all hope of ever escaping his conditions, with notes reminiscing those of “Oathpact Abandoned”. Honor Chasm: Chapter 11, Droplets On his way to the Honor Chasm, Kaladin almost feels relieved, hence the light beginning of this music. Everything will soon be over: no more suffering, and no more struggling. In front of the chasm, violins tell us of the tragic beauty of this place. At the very last moment though, the note is held as Syl comes back with a blackbane leaf, not knowing what her gesture means. The light flute and bells are Syl trying to convince Kaladin that Life is harder than Death, and that Kal’s duty is to live and keep fighting through every day. As Kaladin’s resolve ignites again, the music gains a more positive tone, accompanying on his way back to the camp, a new man full of determination. The Blackthorn: Chapter 13, Ten Heartbeats This track can be listened to while reading the Chasmfiend hunt scene: the first choirs represents the urge of Dalinar’s charge rushing to aid Elhokar and protect his nephew, before fighting the chasmfiend on his own. As he catches the huge claw threatening to crush Elhokar, the music becomes more tense, with a very aggressive Knights Radiant theme sounding while Dalinar lifts the monster’s claw. The fight keeps going, before the beast is finally defeated and Elhokar rescued. But to me, this song also is about the Blackthorn, an Alethi general with great renown. The martial atmosphere and quick violins show us Dalinar as seen by the Parshendi: an unstoppable, terrifying momentum. At the end of the song, Dalinar’s real character appears: honorable and righteous, trying to follow the Way of Kings principles. Sylphrena : Chapter 14, Payday Sylphrena’s entire progression as a character is represented here. First, she wanders with fragmented memories, a windspren playing among others. She then meets Kaladin, and the song tends to get deeper, her personality slowly resurfacing. Her memories coming back, she starts to remember what she is and realizes the depth of the bond she has with Kaladin. She is changing rapidly, and is growing into something unique, something unseen for centuries. You’re in my Spot: Chapter 17, A Bloody Red Sunset After his deal with Gaz, Kaladin is now the leader of Bridge Four. He endorses his role, choosing to take the first position, determined to not let anybody die again. The battle begins, and we can hear the Stormlight motif is used as Kal is already unconsciously using Stormlight. Bridge Four is running, arrows are raining and the Parshendi voices are menacing the bridgemen: they are facing the full extent of the Parshendi wrath, coming at them in waves of angry choirs. However, this song is significantly less despaired than “Bridge Four”: here, the bridgemen are holding on to their lives and the ones of their crew. The Bridge Four leitmotiv concludes on a hesitant note, as, for the first time, no one in Bridge Four got killed. Unite Them: Chapter 19, Starfalls The Knights Radiant’s leitmotiv opens this track, showing Dalinar visions during the highstorm. The solemn ambience of this song resonates with the command Honor gives to Dalinar: Unite Them. In the second part of the song, Dalinar wakes up and wonders how to achieve this enormous task. Interestingly enough, we can hear a hesitating Dalinar’s theme on a lone cello, reflecting his doubts and fears. The beginning Knight Radiant’s theme starts once again at the end of the track, a faint glimpse of the plan forming in Dalinar’s mind and of what is to come. The King’s Wit: Chapter 22, Eyes, Hands, or Spheres Wit is at the King’s Feast, playing on his flute lightly and throwing jokes at guests. The quick flute is of course Wit himself playing the song, and even beatboxing, adding some sharpness of mind and tongue on the more classic and distinguished cellos expected for an event among nobles. Chasm Kata: Chapter 27, Chasm Duty Deep down in the chasms, in that place so calm and otherworldly, Kaladin finds a spear. He then tries a few moves with it, before the violins gain in volume as Kal is getting fully immersed inside his training. What his men are seeing is a man dancing with a spear with total harmony, totally unaware of his surroundings and lost in memories. The song ends quite abruptly when Kal opens his eyes to meet the disbelieved stares of the other men, with a new light of respect in their eyes. Rysn: Interlude I-IV: Rysn (after Chapter 28) The very exotic ambience of this song reminds us of Rysn, the little Thaylen merchant traveling around the world with her babsk. The peculiar instrumentation of this song, with lots of choirs, drums and flutes, sound very much like Polynesian music, reminding of her journey to the Reshi Isles. The lead singer, full of optimism and astonishment, represents Rysn herself. Nota: This is the only song in the album that seems to be directly referencing Book 2. However, the exotic music sounds so much like what we would hear in the Reshi archipel that I had to quote it here. Alethi Codes of War: Chapter 3, Darkness Unseen This music is the main Bridge Four theme, and has been described by the composers as a “Bridge Four training montage music”, a purpose it perfectly fits with. Here, the bridgemen are now Kal’s crew, and train during chasm duty. From slaves, they become fighters, and practice with the spear. Bridge Four Shield: Chapter 32, Side Carry Kaladin and his bridgemen are now ready to try the plan that they perfected while training with the bridge. The more martial version of the Bridge Four theme we can hear reflects their will to stand against the Parshendi and protect each other. However, as we can hear, the song suddenly goes silent, reflecting the sour turn this plan takes and the tragic ending of this battle. Interestingly enough, the Stormlight sound can also be heard at the end of the song, although I could not figure out what it seems to reference. Highstorm: Chapter 35, A Light By Which to See Sentenced to be judged by the Stormfather, Kaladin is hanged outside a barrack during a highstorm. The first seconds show us the empty Alethi warcamps, with a tense, alarm-sounding noise, litterally the calm before the storm. Then, as the rain and winds start, the music becomes more frantic, before, with a blasting Stormlight sound, the stormwall hits Kaladin. The chaotic drums and sounds let us imagine the violence of the elements, with whilrling violins and violent debris beating Kaladin nearly to death. Before he faints, a loud sound resonates, before a surreal silence, and we’re able to imagine what seeing the Stormfather in the eye of the highstorm feels like. Hearthstone (Tien’s Theme): Chapter 44, The Weeping The very soothing and calm beginning of this tune tells us of the temper of Tien and is also reflective of what life looks like in Hearthstone. The singer is presumably Tien himself, humming songs as he manages to calm Kaladin’s spleen during Weeping. The track ends as wardrums and a distant violin starts to resonate, foreshadowing Tien’s destiny… Stormblessed: Chapter 47, Stormblessings Cenn is panicked at the idea of being thrown into his first battle. The beginning of the track is dark, tense, reflecting the terror of the young boy surrounded by enemies. Then, as a radiant sun piercing the darkness, Kaladin Stormblessed and his squad forms around him to protect him, and we feel the awe of Cenn at the sight of the young prodigy. The last voice, humming deeply with a hoarse voice at the end of the song, may represent the Thrill itself, known to be felt by Alethi soldiers at the time. The Day of Recreance: Chapter 52, A Highway to the Sun Inside the vision, Dalinar sees the events at Feverstone Keep, and immediately feels that something is wrong, as we can hear in the stressful singing and violins. A grandiloquent theme follows, showing us the Knights Radiant Orders in all their might, before being quickly counterbalanced by the grim piano and voice, as Dalinar witnesses their betrayal and the ensuing bloodbath among soldiers. 16 Seconds Pre-Death: Chapter 56, That Storming Book Here, Dalinar and Sadeas are in a tricky situation. Surrounded by Parshendi forces, as shown by the strong Parshendi throat singing, and despite the bridgemen’s best efforts, that we can very clearly hear during the beginning of the song, the battle looks lost. After a chance to escape, we can hear Dalinar turning back and returning into the fray he managed to get out of for Sadeas. Wandersail: Chapter 57, Wandersail Hoid’s flute is heard, playing softly playing around a campfire, when Kaladin joins him. As Hoid starts his story, the music takes off to illustrate it, although always guided by the flute: first, with glorious violin and dynamic choirs telling us of the most valiant crew, on the largest ship there is, set to explore the Ocean. After fighting a highstorm on water, the ship manages the prowess to stay afloat, and ventures to faraway lands once the weather has calmed. Crashed on exotic islands, the Wandersail is repaired and the crew meets the Uvaran. All seems well before the flute taakes a sad, grieving tone, witnessing the discovery of the tragic fate of the Uvaran King. The crew is then forced to escape with their guide as the Uvaran society litterally crumbles around them. The story then softly ends, as Kaladin decides to fully assume his role of Bridge Four leader. Three Glyphs: Chapter 62, Three Glyphs Parshendi are heard chanting menacingly as a new battle is preparing. Kaladin, now bridgeleader, starts the bridgerun with his trained crew, and we can hear him drawing Stormlight to protect the other bridgemen. The glorious, epic tone of this track reflects the heroic nature of Kaladin, and the fighting spirit of Bridge Four. The Tower: Chapter 65, The Tower The assault on the Tower begins, with an impressive amount of Parshendi forces represented by the choirs. The rest of the track represent the desperate battle fought by the two generals, before suddenly breaking on a abrupt and dissonant note, as Dalinar realized the betrayal of Sadeas. The end is a sad, hopeless version of the Knights Radiant theme. Tien: Chapter 67, Words This tragic music narrates the death of Tien in Kaladin’s flashback. We can hear the situation getting more and more dramatic, Kaladin realizing he won’t make it in time to save him, before time slows, and a final sword slash is thrown, Kaladin’s world tearing apart as his beloved little brother is killed in front of him. A melancholic version of Tien’s theme is heard at the end of the song, marking his death. Rhythm of Mourning: Chapter 68, Eshonai This very peculiar music can only be interpreted as what Parshendi Rhythm sound like, and what they sing or hum when they attune to a particular Rhythm. Thath (Justice): Chapter 69, Justice The sad, mourning beginning of this track represents Navani’s sorrow and disbelief at the news that Dalinar is dead. Dalinar’s Theme is played on a lone alto violin, strengthening this impression of loss. Sadeas tells her of their defeat, and a few notes from “The Tower” can be heard. A sad version of the Knights Radiant theme is sung by possibly Navani herself, before becoming more aggressive as pain turns to anger and doubt. Main Leitmotivs: Dalinar’s Theme This motif, first heard at the end of “Assassin in White”, represents the character of Dalinar. Slightly melancholic, this theme also sounds extremely determined and righteous, reflecting Dalinar’s personnality. Stormlight being used: This noise shocked me when I first listened to the album because of its very electronic-like feeling. Its most impressive occurrence is in “Highstorm”, and it wasn’t long before I tied it to the use of Stomlight and Surges. Its odd feeling perfectly fits what you would feel while seeing someone using superhuman powers only heard of in legends. Parshendi singing: The Parshendi rhythms play a huge role in their behavior, and they have always be described as singing or humming during battles. The best way to represent Parshendi is therefore this very raw and deep singing, multiple voices attuned as one. Most of the vocals in this album are lyricless, and used to describe Parshendi. Bridge Four Theme The root of this theme is “Alethi Codes of War”, but it is played on various occasions, always in moments where Bridge Four acts united as one crew. The Knights Radiant Theme This theme is best heard in the eponymous track. It depicts the Radiants in all their glory, and is sometimes used during Dalinar’s visions (see “Unite Them”). The special “Rainbow Remix” hidden at the end of this track sounds particularly awesome. Tien’s Theme Simply enough, this theme represents Tien in all of his simplicity. It is only heard in two songs, but leaves a striking impression of comfort and a longing for home. Bonus Tracks: (SPOILERS FOR Words of Radiance): Tarah: This sad tune is for Tarah, and especially for the life that Kaladin could have had with her, if their relationship hasn’t ended. Shallan’s Lullaby: Shallan’s Lullaby directly uses the lyrics given in book 2. While the song starts as a dark but soothing lullaby, it suddenly takes a very dramatic turn, as Shallan commits the worst crime, of which this song is an important part. The choirs in the background are calling her name, judging her for her actions.

I have a theory regarding how truespren make it back into roshar the first time. This theory came about as a result of the scene where Shallan had to draw Pattern before he could manifest. That seemed odd to me that she had to do that when none of the other new Knights have had to do something similar. I think it has to do less with her drawing him, and more with the amount of creationspren she attracted doing so (the quote says hundreds of creationspren were drawn to her at that time.) My theory comes from an assumption that each true spren type has their own "squires" so to speak. Cryptics have creationspren, Honorspren have windspren, Cultivationspren have lifespren, the Bondsmith spren have gloryspren. ( I posit that there has to be a sufficiently large amount of these "squire" spren in an area to punch a whole between the Cognitive and Physical realm "big" enough for these true spren to come through. For Syl, that mean there needed to be enough windspren, say in a windy area like barren plains or when fighting with a spear, which has been stated to generate windspren. For Pattern, Shallan had to actually be creative enough to draw enough creationspren to allow pattern to fully manifest, rather than poking through like most spren do. Idk, what do you think. I think this theory has holes, but its going somewhere.

I had a question regarding the meaning of the Chapter 57 epigraph. The death rattle states, "I hold the suckling child in my hands, a knife at his throat, and know that all who live wish me to let the blade slip. Spill its blood upon the ground, over my hands, and with it gain us further breath to draw." My question is regarding the meaning of this death rattle. Correct me if I am wrong, but death rattles provide both premonitions and also sometimes an insight into a past event? Further more when Maps dies, he says, "And all the world was shattered!" Maps yelled, back arching, eyes wide, flecks of red spittle on his cheeks. "The rocks trembled with their steps, and the stones reached toward the heavens. We die! We die!" Could this be regarding whatever event happened that formed the Shattered Plains? If so, could this be some sort of indication of the use of Dawnshards on Roshar?

Hello everyone! So for my first post I need an answer for a little dilemma I'm in of possible. I've been a Sanderson fan since he finished WOT and I will forever read anything he writes. Luckily my 10 year old daughter has taken to him as well. She's read all of Alcatraz, Skyward, and is just now finishing up Mistborn and is in love with it. My question is, is she too young at 10 to be reading The Stormlight Archives? I was worried about Mistborn a little but she's so far ahead in reading for her age and we've had some awesome, in-depth conversations about the story and characters, but I'm just concerned that SA might be a little too much. But she wants to read it badly when she finishes Mistborn. Do you guys think she'd be fine with SA if she made it through Mistborn?

I just searched through the site and couldn’t find any other threads talking about this game, so I don’t know how many people even know about it. So if you don’t know about it, a couple years ago Brandon mentioned that they were developing a board game based on and around the war on the Shattered Plains. He even gave out a bunch of promotional Szeth cards/standees with some cryptic game stats on the back alongside the release of Words of Radiance. Supposedly the game was supposed to go to kickstarter sometime in 2018, but that got bumped back. Then today, this troubling news was posted on boardgamegeek.com: I went ahead and sent an email to [email protected] to ask about this. We’ll see what they say. To anyone else interested in this game, I’d encourage you to send them a polite email as well- who knows, maybe if we show them enough support they might revive the game!

This is really just a discussion for everyone to add their ideas onto, but to get it started off: Whether a member dies while fighting the fused, a freak accident, or while protecting someone else, the most likely candidates for who I think will kick the bucket in Bridge 4 would have to be Lopen, Rock, and Teft. While I don't necessarily think they'll have to die in order for Kaladin to swear the 4th ideal, I do think their deaths could be his breaking point. And if there's anything that Sanderson likes to do with characters, it's break them. After working so hard to protect Bridge 4 and essentially bring them out of the trenches, it would tear Kaladin apart to see one of them die- or even get injured as we saw in Words of Radiance with Hobber. So while that's true, the most impactful deaths for the reader would be a character that we've been the given the chance to get to know. And so that brings my first candidate, Lopen. I have to say that he is the most probable character for me as of now. Lopen is sort of like a class-clown in Bridge 4 in that he tends to mess and joke around much more than the others, and so it would come as a shock to the readers to suddenly have him cut down and die, leaving a hole in Bridge 4. Without Lopen, they'd be out of a serious need for laughter and light-heartedness and anyone who knows Bridge 4's story knows that that's something they desperately need. Next up is Rock, but I will admit that I don't think Sanderson will kill Rock- at least not in the first half of the books. The biggest reason he just made my list is because of how much it would hurt the readers. Rock has been a big figure in Bridge 4 since the beginning, and with just that it would make his death heartbreaking. But adding on to how we were able to meet his family in Oathbringer and seeing just how much he cares about everyone around him with the chapters from his point-of-view, the readers would definitely be in tears. Add on the possibility of him dying while trying to tell Kaladin about the Horneater Peaks (of which he always told Kaladin he'd bring him to) and Sanderson has a whole fanbase weeping. Now is the time for Teft. Teft's death seems both logical and inevitable to me. He served as a friend and leader to Bridge 4 and was a major reason for them getting as strong as they currently are with him helping to train them. The only person to play a bigger role in the rehabilitation of Bridge 4 is Kaladin, and Kaladin himself holds high respect for Teft. Bottom line, his death would be devastating to the moral of Bridge 4. Without Teft, I'm not entirely sure how Bridge 4 would carry on. Everything they would do would remind them that Teft isn't there as it was Teft who helped to train them with the spear, first told them of the Radiant powers with Kaladin, and essentially acted as a grumpy uncle. That's all from me. Tell me what you guys think! How would the other members react to one of their own dying? What would it mean for the story? HOW do you think they'd die?