Search the Community

So I'm not sure if this is a theory that's already out there and I'm late to the party - it's probably something a lot of people have speculated about, but I came across this quote in a WOBs Shardcast recently and decided to gather all of the evidence in one place: The panelists and questioner didn't remmeber the scene clearly (it's a confusing one), as Venli actually notes that the spren of the thunderclasts do not seem like regular Fused: From WoK days, there have always been some parallels between thunderclasts and Fused: we see thunderclasts in the prologue, and then the Alethi assume that the chasmfiends are the Parshendi gods. Pre-Oathbringer, a lot of fans thought chasmfiends might actually be thunderclasts, though this was debunked. There are, however, some further parallels between the two: the thunderclasts clearly have a degree of intelligence, as seen in the Battle of Thaylen City when one of them targets the King's Drop (receiving instructions from Odium via a Fused). The same creature is smart enough in its clash with Adolin to concentrate on him, identifying his Shardblade as the greatest threat to it: In WoR, we get Kaladin and Shallan's perspective as they face a chasmfiend. The creature is cunning enough to wait for them, rather than going away once they hide in the slit in the wall. Kaladin observes: We also have one more instance - that I could find - of a character picking up on similarities between the two - this time when Adolin faces the chasmfiend: We get a description of this head from Venli at the end of RoW: The arrowface reminds me of the shape of the mandras who inhabit chasmfiends and other greatshells, enabling them to defy gravity. As for why the spren of ancient chasmfiends - and possibly other greatshells - would be assisting the souls of ancient singers in an eternal war against the humans, the scene quoted above may hold the answer. At the end of RoW, Venli finds the remaining listeners and discovers that they have somehow bonded or befriended the chasmfiends, who helped them survive the chasms. As we are often told, new things are made from old things. It seems plausible that the ancient singers may have had this ability, as this kind of symbiosis is common for Rosharan species. For singers, this bond may grant them protection, while for chasmfiends - and greatshells in general - it might increase their intelligence/cognition, similar to the Nahel bond: new things are made from old things. We have seen in Rhythm of War that Chiri-Chiri - a larkin - has developed her intelligence to the point that she can speak with "mouth noises". If the ancient singers had this bond with chasmfiends and other greatshells back at the time of the First Desolation, and it did indeed enhance their intelligence, then I think Odium may have Elevated these greatshells into what we now see as thunderclasts. When they manifest, they rip free of the earth, forming a great shell of stone around their spirit.

I once showed my friends younger brother (he is 9-10ish) a picture of a chasmfiend, and he fell in love (he like sharks, dragons, dinosaurs, that ilk). He has asked me to draw him a chasmfiend for his birthday, which is in a little less than three weeks. My question: Should I trace it out of the book and color it in, or should I just stare at the book and try to draw him an original picture? Or should I do something else entirely? Help would be greatly appreciated. ((And I'm sorry, I had no idea where to put this topic. Q&A? Stormlight board? Hidden in the depths of the Reckoners RPG?))

I grow bored at times, and occasionally random lulzy-conversations spark some interest into that boredom.

So I'm making a short film about the Way of Kings, book 1, chapter 13. This is purely for the community, and I'll be posting the link up when it's complete. However, I'd like to know the community's thoughts on seeing this scene hit the screen. How have adaptations let you down in the past? How have they lived up to your expectations? Writing the screenplay, I realised that certain things that were described weren't physically possible, even with power armor haha. So there will be some minor changes. I hope you will understand. But more importantly, I hope you're looking forward to it!

Hi everyone! I just posted another lego fan art album. This one covers WoR part 4. Link: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10206526279223783.1073741840.1474667500&type=1&l=1871eccbf7 The prominent scenes are Lift's interlude, the Feasting Basin, and the scouting expedition on the shattered plains (and the encounter on the way back). The albums are all public so you don't necessarily need a Facebook account to view them. If you haven't seen the first 3, here are the links for reference. Part 1: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10204046680875374.1073741833.1474667500&type=1&l=f1ba0bd743 Part 2: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10204588445459150.1073741835.1474667500&type=1&l=a5db382e61 Part 3: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10205431248648703.1073741839.1474667500&type=1&l=03f174d7f3

Had a thought on the relationship between Chasmfiends and Parshmen yesterday, though it has been a couple months since I read WoK. If I recall correctly, the released excerpts from Words of Radiance confirmed that the Parshmen do take on different forms. Forgive my haste, I haven't gone back to confirm what I am thinking, but I believe I remember that these transformations have to do with their interaction with different kinds of spren? So let me throw something your way: What if Chasmfiends are the reaction between Parshmen and Death spren? Perhaps the reason the Parshendi are so obsessed with dealing with their own dead is because if they do not, they will turn into Chasmfiends over time.They could even be working for the inverse goal. Maybe it is some kind of honor to be turned into a Chasmfiend, and toying with the body limits your ability to attain godhood or something of the sort? Maybe they purposely sacrifice certain Parshendi to grow gemhearts in this way? It does explain their weird obsession with handling the dead. Now I'm not sure if this explanation has been debunked yet, but I thought this thread might be an interesting discussion, if not just a confirmation that I should stop thinking about this.

I came up with this theory after my third read of The Way of Kings and it's a little weird, but I decided to post it in case I turned out to be right. (If someone else has already thought of this, feel free to slap me) Essentially, my theory is that Parshendi turn into Chasmfiends. Originally (before the Parshendi Interlude reading) I imagined the Parshendi pupating in to baby chasmfiends, but I think the it works even better now that we know something about their forms. My reasoning is kind of flimsy, mostly just some random connections. First, Parshendi and Chasmfiend blood smells the same (moldy), second we know that at least one form involves the Parshendi become more crustacean, and third, chasmfiends in their cocoons are waiting for a highstorm, supposedly, and we know that Parshendi change forms during highstorms. These connections could simply mean that they both have similar means of changing shape, but not that they're necessarily different forms of the same creature. Or this could just be the product of bad theory crafting. Any thoughts?

Okay, so I have a few theories that I want to propose. Some of them may be RAFO, and some are speculation (not necessarily theories) but I find them interesting and hope someone else does too. First. Are Elhokar and Sadeas in cahoots? Think about it, when Dalinar is talking to Sadeas and the king (Chapter 50) Elhokar is very insistent on Dalinar accepting Sadeas's bridges. It sounded like they were maneuvering him. Sadeas is always by the king, whispering in his ear, who is to say they had a way to get rid of Dalinar? I know in the early chapters (chapter 18) Elhokar is very foreboding about Dalinar, comparing him to his father who went insane during his last years alive. Is Elhokar in cahoots with Taravangian in killing Dalinar? Dalinar may not notice because he is too naive. Speaking of Elhokar, who were the men at the beginning of the prelude Szeth sees talking to him? The fact that Elhokar hates it when people compare him is understood, but the fact he becomes severely irate is strange. Did he have something to do with Gavilar's death? And speaking of foreboding, what about in chapter 27, when Rock is praising Kaladin for his kata, he calls him "Master Brightlord." Did Syl tell him about it and Rock know that Kaladin was a true lighteyes? Second, at the beginning of chapter 4 a Reshi chul trainer who is being bled speaks of Shadesmar. He describes it the sun he sees as "dark and cold shining in a black sky." When Shallan enteres Shadesmar, the same dark sky and distant sun are described. So, one can extrapolate, that some, not all, people when they die see Shadesmar. Sanderson explains in an q & a on Barnes & Noble[1] that there are three main realms: the physical. the cognitive, and the spiritual. Shadesmar appears to be the cognitive, but it may be the spiritual. I firmly believe the Heralds are either reincarnate in the forms of Kaladin and Szeth; Shallan and Jasnah; and Dalinar and someone else. Kaladin is the first to find his spren (spren are accompaniment to Heralds). It may also be that these characters are the Radiants alive whom need shardblades (that turn into honorblades) because the Almighty tells Dalinar "the Radiants must stand again." About Syl, notice how Syl starts following Kaladin after he kills the shardbearer. It was the fact Kaladin did not take the shardblade that made him personify honor, which is why and when Syl followed him. Syl hates shardblades. Do all spren hate shardblades? It seems that is why the Horneaters can see them, because Horneaters don't have any shardblades. If they were honorblades, would that change anything? I think the "shards men once bore" were honorshards, as evidence by their glowing. Once the honor left the Radiants (aka, the Day of Recreance) the shards became "mundane." Without honor, the blades and plate could not act as they should. It is interesting to note that Szeth says in the prologue how you cannot surgebind while wearing plate, but in Dalinar's first vision we see (chapter 19) the Radiants could surgebind (hence, why they "fell" from the sky). Maybe if Kaladin could get into plate, he could surgebind? Also note that, as I speculated above, Szeth may be a Herald, or Radiant, reincarnate. If this is so, the reason he hasn't found his spren, unlike Kaladin, is because he acts without a key ingredient. I do not know what this is; it may be honor or something else. Speaking of Szeth's honor, in the prologue we assume Szeth became Truthless because of his belief in the voidbringers. Whether that belief manifested itself into a resistance, or was merely heretical to Shin religion is up to debate. When Gavilar said "find the most important words a man can say," did he mean the Radiants codes? (May be why the next book is "Words of Radiance" because Dalinar finds them). When the Almighty tells Dalinar to "unite them" who is he talking about? Is he telling whoever (it just so happens to be Dalinar) to unite Alethkar or is it something more than that. Does he mean unite the people of Roshar? Maybe. I think he means Dalinar, or whoever because he doesn't know who's listening, to unite the Lost Radiants into a new Knights Radiant. This would bring back honor to them, especially if they follow the Codes and the Radiants Codes, and allow them to surgebind with shardplate 'n' stuff. Essential, have the shards become honorplates and blades. So, stormlight infuses itself into the spheres at a definite point during a highstorm. This is evident when Kaladin is in the highstorm. If the stormlight infused spheres throughout the storm, in duration, the sphere Kaladin held would still be lit (because the highstorm was not finished when he blacked out). That being said, is it possible to surgebind during a highstorm? I understand the human body may not hold it or even it may become overloaded. If it is overloaded that raises the question can you control how much stormlight you breathe in? I know you can control how much breath you inhale, but do you also control the amount of the stormlight itself that enters? Even so, I wonder if Kaladin and Szeth have the ability to surgebind unlimitedly during a highstorm, as long as they stay safe. Now here is a tricky one. It is based on speculation from a reading Sanderson did from a draft of "Words of Radiance" before it was called that. The taping took place before Christmas of 2012. After you hear it, come back and I'll say something I've been thinking. [2] So Sanderson states that Parshendi are that way because they bond to a spren. He may change that later or he may not, but it is interesting to note that the Parshendi need the gemhearts. Why is that? Alethi assume for soulcasting, but what if it is for some kind of religious ceremony? Isn't it interesting to note that yes the Shattered Plains are expansive, but the Alethi and Parshendi have been battling for 6 years and still there are more and more chasmfiends. Adolin notes after the chasmfiend is dead in chapter 15 that there are spren coming from it. There is also moldy smell of blood of the chasmfiend, also of the Parshendi. Could the chasmfiends be Parshendi that have evolved into a hulking monster? Eshonai talks of different forms that form different bodies. Perhaps the most revered place in Parshendi is to become a chasmfiend? The chasmfiends may become uncontrollable and turn hostile, which is why the Parshendi don't have any in reserve. That's all I got! But stay tuned for more! References [1] http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Fantasy-Science-Fiction/Post-Questions-For-Brandon-Sanderson-Here/td-p/354645/page/3 About halfway through (try ctrl + f and type "three;" it should be on there after a couple) [2] https://soundcloud.com/stringbean1982/brandons-reading Sanderson begins Stormlight talking about 8:53 and reading at 12:10