A Joe in the Bush Posted December 6, 2014 Report Share Posted December 6, 2014 In Chapter 5: Heretic, of Way of Kings, we see Jasnah Soulcasting for the first time. She did it because Coincidentally, a Large part of the ceiling had fallen in, blocking off the room with Taravangian's Granddaughter stuck inside. Is it at all possible that Taravangian was trying to determine is Jasnah was one of the Knights Radiants? We know he's willing to sacrifice thousands so long as Humanity survives. He seems like he'd be willing to sacrifice his Granddaughter. Speaking of which, are his Wife or children ever mentioned? 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king of nowhere Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 (edited) I suppose it is fully possible. the only blank point we miss is how he could distinguish jasnah soulcasting under her own power or with the soulcaster. as far as we know, he has no way of ascertaining if works or not, but there are many things we don't know. On the other hand, from a storytelling point of view, that scene served to introduce the readers to soulcasting, so it may as well be a coincidence that serves a narrative purpose. Edited December 7, 2014 by king of nowhere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lol_king Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 Well Taravangian is a king, and probably has access to normal soulcasters, so he could very well know how it is supposed to work, and i wouldn't be surprised if he actually knows how to use one, his minions sure can. Also, i may be remembering wrong but i think jasnah tells everyone to clear out of there, but Taravangian stays, so maybe he stays so that he can spy on jasnah. And as i said he has access to soulcasters, so if jasnah couldn't rescue her granddaughter he could still have saved her, still risky but not as much of a sacrifice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moogle Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 Well Taravangian is a king, and probably has access to normal soulcasters Kharbranth has no Soulcasters officially, which is why they brought Jasnah in at all. (The Diagramists have them, though, but he couldn't use one publicly.) Taravangian later notes that Jasnah is a Surgebinder, so he found out somehow. The rocks are the most obvious way to do that. I think it's possible you could distinguish a fabrial from a Surgebinder by how efficiently they use Stormlight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oudeis Posted December 7, 2014 Report Share Posted December 7, 2014 I actually find myself wondering if Jasnah knew Soulcaster fabrials so well, from her mother's expertise, that she was better able to fake it than others would. Recall that a LOT of time passes between the Test and Taravangian's comment that she was definitely a Surgebinder, so he could have found out at another time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimiddle04 Posted December 8, 2014 Report Share Posted December 8, 2014 He could have noticed at the party when her shadow points the wrong way. He might not have known what to think of it at the time but later after he got his boon of being smart he recognized what it meant. Another hint might be that she isn't turning to stone or whatever it is that happens to people that use Soulcasters. I don't know how long she had hers but if she has had it a while it might look weird not to change to someone "in the know." Again I'm not sure because I don't know how long it takes for that to happen and how long Jasnah was faking having one but I think it's a maybe. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suspense Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 He might not have known what to think of it at the time but later after he got his boon of being smart he recognized what it meant. Do we know the chronology of when he actually went to the Nightwatcher? Or do you just mean that maybe he was less smart that day, and realized it on a smarter day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oudeis Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 There's a WoB somewhere about it definitely being post-That Night. Which means that one epigraph where he talks about making a Truthless is weird, since he presumably realizes that Szeth is already a factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimiddle04 Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 (edited) Do we know the chronology of when he actually went to the Nightwatcher? Or do you just mean that maybe he was less smart that day, and realized it on a smarter day? This WoB is what I was going by. It's pretty straight forward although at first he does say it's the other way around. But Peter apparently later confirmed the second answer was correct. If you click on that link you can just use "control F" to find the actual one I posted below. Sorry I don't know how to link to the actual words on a different page. Q: Did Taravangian go to see the Nightwatcher before or after Gavilar's assassination? A: Um, oh man. I'm going to have to look at my timeline. I believe it's before, but I can't guarantee I'm right, because these things are all happening around the same time. Q: Because he says that Gavilar confided in him the night of. A: Ooooh, you're right. Nope, it's after. It is after. You can send that question to Peter so we can confirm it. There might be something I'm forgetting about Taravangian. [Peter said by PM: "As far as I can tell from what the book says, he went to the Nightwatcher after the assassination."] Edited December 10, 2014 by Mimiddle04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suspense Posted December 18, 2014 Report Share Posted December 18, 2014 It's also interesting that he asked Jasnah about how she got her soulcaster after the incident in question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oudeis Posted December 19, 2014 Report Share Posted December 19, 2014 (edited) Keep in mind the Diagram has Blades and Soulcasters. Kharbranth doesn't. If Taravangian Soulcast the stone himself, he'd have to explain to the palace staff how he'd done that. The only sure fire way to keep a secret is to keep it a secret. Edited December 19, 2014 by Ooklalhoo'Elin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suspense Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 I read through that encounter again and noticed something else. Taravangian says "If only we had a Shardblade." I think he was fishing for another way to determine if Jasnah was a surgebinder. I agree with OP's hypothesis. Whether he caused the rockfall or not, Taravangian was definitely trying to figure out if Jasnah could surgebind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oudeis Posted December 21, 2014 Report Share Posted December 21, 2014 I personally believe this. I know some people who take it as a given. I don't find it implausible that he simply took advantage of lucky happenstance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AerionBFII Posted December 24, 2014 Report Share Posted December 24, 2014 I always thought that it was strange on my third re-read it seemed a little too coincidental. On my second re-read of WOR i thought he was trying to determine whether Jasnah could Soulcast without the Aid of a fabrial, i think regardless of how well she does at keeping it secret we find out in WOR he still suspects her. So i believe he already new he was just looking for 'confirmation'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts