The Way of Kings Reread Questions

[Aether]

I do not think he meant for you to post the whole thing again, just the new questions. I'd recommend you to at least remove the questions that have already been answered, as it is difficult and annoying to read the whole thing just to help you with the few remaining questions.

[cem]

8. Is the Shattered Plain the same location that is the setting for the prologue? Are the Herald's blades somewhere on the plain? Is this what the Origin is?

We don't know where the prelude takes place in. But the Origin probably isn't the Shattered Plains. The Origin is where the highstorms originate from and places east of the Shattered Plains suffer from highstorms as well. Rosharan thinks Origin is across the sea.

 

10. Are the Shardblades carried by the Alethi princes blades that came from the Knights Radiant or the Heralds? Also where are the Shard Plates that were worn by the Heralds when they ended the Oathpact? There is no mention of them relinquishing them as they did their blades. Is Saddeas a former Herald?

Shardblades belong to the Radiants. I don't believe Heralds wear Shardplates. I don't think Sadeas is anything other than what he seems: minor antagonist in the grand scheme of things.

 

11. Are King Alokar's fears of assassination justified? They mention one instance where Alokar speaks with Dalinar about how he is certain there was someone in the dark watching him from his balcony?

Elhokar is probably seeing cryptics and assuming they are assassins.

[KevThinker]

We don't know where the prelude takes place in. But the Origin probably isn't the Shattered Plains. The Origin is where the highstorms originate from and places east of the Shattered Plains suffer from highstorms as well. Rosharan thinks Origin is across the sea.

 

Shardblades belong to the Radiants. I don't believe Heralds wear Shardplates. I don't think Sadeas is anything other than what he seems: minor antagonist in the grand scheme of things.

 

Elhokar is probably seeing cryptics and assuming they are assassins.

What is a Cryptic? That word keeps popping up but I have no clue what that is.

[cem]

The spren Shallan sees. You can find more info about them on the Coppermind.

[Moogle]

 

questions cont.

 

8. Is the Shattered Plain the same location that is the setting for the prologue? Are the Herald's blades somewhere on the plain? Is this what the Origin is?

 

9. What exactly does a Chasm Fiends turn into when it goes into its chrysalis? Are ChasmFiends powered by Stormlight as they have a gem heart? Are they some kind of ancient fabrial?

 

10. Are the Shardblades carried by the Alethi princes blades that came from the Knights Radiant or the Heralds? Also where are the Shard Plates that were worn by the Heralds when they ended the Oathpact? There is no mention of them relinquishing them as they did their blades. Is Saddeas a former Herald?

 

11. Are King Alokar's fears of assassination justified? They mention one instance where Alokar speaks with Dalinar about how he is certain there was someone in the dark watching him from his balcony? 

 

Stay tuned for more to come.

 

 

8. The Shattered Plains might be the same location as the Heralds gave up their Blades, but it's unlikely. From above, the Plains look as if they were shattered by something large because they were symmetrical. The place the Heralds fought was made of shattered rock because of the Dustbringers (a Radiant Order), and I doubt they coordinated to make a symmetrically destroyed battlefield. The Origin is in the ocean, and you can see it labeled on the map of Roshar in TWOK.

 

9. We don't know, but it's supposedly important. We know the mass killing of chasmfiends is going to lead to bad consequences. Chasmfiends grow as large as they do because they have spren helping them. The gemhearts in them are similar to how atium grew in crystal geodes in Mistborn, which means they are connected with one of the Shards on Roshar. They're probably not a fabrial.

 

10. The Alethi Shardblades are from regular Radiants. Honorblades, those belonging to the Heralds, are 'special' and tend to be extremely elaborately decorated. Some think Szeth has one. We have never seen a Herald with Shardplate, but other Radiants were capable of turning their Plate on/off so it's possible that the Heralds can summon their Shardplate with a thought. Sadeas is not a Herald, probably. All the other non-drunk Heralds we've seen speak without accents, and as Sadeas is a highprince, he would have public records of his birth and whatnot.

 

11. Elhokar sees the symbol-headed spren Shallan draws, but only in mirrors. His fears of assassination are justified (see: Szeth), but it's not going to be the spren. It's quite possible he's a Surgebinder.

[WeiryWriter]

9. What exactly does a Chasm Fiends turn into when it goes into its chrysalis? Are ChasmFiends powered by Stormlight as they have a gem heart? Are they some kind of ancient fabrial?

 

Okay this kind of draws on a vague recollection of a WoB that I'm have trouble finding, but chasmfiends don't "turn into anything" while pupating, except becoming a bigger chasmfiend.  The one that shows up during the hunt where Elhokar's saddle snaps is one that has pupated, it is in the "final stage".  As for them being powered by stormlight? I'd say it is complicated.  They do have a symbiotic bond with a kind spren which is what allows them to grow to such sizes and there is some evidence that spren require stormlight to manifest (they don't appear in Shinovar where the highstorms and there stormlight don't reach).  We know that the gemhearts form as a result of a leak of the Spiritual into the Physical Realm (in the same way that atium is produced).  I definitely wouldn't call them fabrials though.

 

The spren Shallan sees. You can find more info about them on the Coppermind.

I'd actually recommend the main Cryptic article over the brief summary they have on the main spren page.

[dj26792]

I was about to add what Weiry said, I'm pretty sure the chasmfiend on the hunt is pupated, I had a pretty good look and I couldn't find the WoB but I'm sure its out there, although, not in database yet, which isn't surprising if I remember correctly its about 6 month old information and the database is occasionally quite slow.

[Aether]

I remember having read that quote as well. The Chasmfiend was fully grown and past the pupating stage.

[Shardbearer]

My Google-fu is strong but I can't find that same quote about the chasmfiends that everyone is talking about.

[KevThinker]

#12. What the heck is crem? (Or is it Krem, sorry I'm listening to it on Audible and don't know the spelling) I know its that stuff that falls with the rain and makes people sick, but what is it in the bigger scheme of things? They keep referencing how storm water is better than regular water. Why?

[Shardbearer]

Crem is possibly the body of Cultivation.

[Scott]

Okay this kind of draws on a vague recollection of a WoB that I'm have trouble finding

 

I believe the WoB states "You've seen what comes out of the Chrysalis (fully grown Chasmfiends like the one the Alethi were hunting), but not what they start out as"

[Aether]

#12. What the heck is crem? (Or is it Krem, sorry I'm listening to it on Audible and don't know the spelling) I know its that stuff that falls with the rain and makes people sick, but what is it in the bigger scheme of things? They keep referencing how storm water is better than regular water. Why?

Crem is dirt and earth carried in the waters of a Highstorm. It is very nutritional and farmers use Stormwater to water the fields to yield better and healthier crops, and Chull and various other crustaceans use it to form their shells. This also makes it dangerous to drink; you have to let it stand in a barrel or a container for a while in order to let the precipitate fall to the bottom, before you can scoop up the clean water on top and the crem itself to make pots and pans and whatnot.  

 

Another curious effect is that a layer of dirt will form wherever the Stormwater fall. It can even make stalactites on rooftops if you do not clean it regularly. 

 

 

And as Shardbearer mentioned, yes, because of its nutritious nature and important role in the wildlife of Roshar, some people believe it to be Cultivations body.

 

See the Coppermind's article on crem for more info.

Edited December 14, 2013 by Aether

[Shardlet]

#12. What the heck is crem?

Crem is dirt and earth carried in the waters of a Highstorm.

 

I think this is a bit too fine a point to put on crem.  Truth is we don't know what it is.  There are several theories (like the one shardbearer provided).  Some people (apparently Aether among them) posit that crem is sediment picked up and carried by the highstorms.  I personally think that it is somewhere in between.  It is too prevalently and frequently spoken of, to my way of thinking, to simply be sediment carried by the storms.  Because of it's properties (nutriment for plants, shelled beasties, etc.), I think it is of Cultivation.  I am presently not inclined to think it s the body of Cultivation though.

[KevThinker]

#13. Why are there no women with Shard Plate or Shard blades in modern times? 

#14. Are Dalinar's visions supposed to be of events that actually took place? Meaning was Dalinar's consciousness sent into the past to become a part of Heb's history?

#15. How was Odium able to kill another Shardholder without sacrificing himself to do so? Everything taught in the Mistborn books suggest that a personal sacrfice was needed to break the stalemate between two Shardholders.

#16. Are Lighteyed Alethi descendants of the original Radiants? It seems that when one captures a Shardblade your eyes change color, possibly indicating your genetics are somehow tampered with, and that this can be passed onto your children. Are they simply the descendants of the people who took the Blades for themselves?

#17. In Dalinar's visions when Honor is speaking, who is he talking too? Some of his answers don't seem to match up with the questions Dalinar is asking and when Dalinar follows what he perceives to be Honor's advice, things go wrong. Is there another half to this conversation in the book somewhere?

#18. Why did Shardplate glow in the Epoch days? Was this just a side effect of having Knights that were Surgebinders?

#19. How exactly did the Radiants betray mankind?

Edited December 18, 2013 by KevThinker

[Aether]

I think this is a bit too fine a point to put on crem.  Truth is we don't know what it is.  There are several theories (like the one shardbearer provided).  Some people (apparently Aether among them) posit that crem is sediment picked up and carried by the highstorms.  I personally think that it is somewhere in between.  It is too prevalently and frequently spoken of, to my way of thinking, to simply be sediment carried by the storms.  Because of it's properties (nutriment for plants, shelled beasties, etc.), I think it is of Cultivation.  I am presently not inclined to think it s the body of Cultivation though.

I think it is quite clear that the crem is at least partly sediments picked up by the winds. I do believe that it might be "spiked" or something with the body of Cultivation, but we do not currently have much good evidence to support such a hypothesis.

[KevThinker]

#20. How did the Shattered Plains become Shattered?

[Moogle]

#13. Why are there no women with Shard Plate or Shard blades in modern times? 

#14. Are Dalinar's visions supposed to be of events that actually took place? Meaning was Dalinar's consciousness sent into the past to become a part of Heb's history?

#15. How was Odium able to kill another Shardholder without sacrificing himself to do so? Everything taught in the Mistborn books suggest that a personal sacrfice was needed to break the stalemate between two Shardholders.

#16. Are Lighteyed Alethi descendants of the original Radiants? It seems that when one captures a Shardblade your eyes change color, possibly indicating your genetics are somehow tampered with, and that this can be passed onto your children. Are they simply the descendants of the people who took the Blades for themselves?

#17. In Dalinar's visions when Honor is speaking, who is he talking too? Some of his answers don't seem to match up with the questions Dalinar is asking and when Dalinar follows what he perceives to be Honor's advice, things go wrong. Is there another half to this conversation in the book somewhere?

#18. Why did Shardplate glow in the Epoch days? Was this just a side effect of having Knights that were Surgebinders?

#19. How exactly did the Radiants betray mankind?

#20. How did the Shattered Plains become Shattered?

 

13. Cultural reasons. Fighting is masculine, because it takes two hands. Women do things with one hand (and cover their safehand): drawing, etc. That said, you might be interested in some of the readings from WoR...

 

14. The events in the vision happened, but I don't think Dalinar was actually in the past. It was probably a crude simulation. There are interesting moral issues with simulating an entire world for a vision, I think, but I doubt anyone but me even cares about the idea of creating a bunch of people and then killing them off.

 

15. In Mistborn, it could happen only because Ruin and Preservation were opposites. When they came together, they reacted violently. Odium and Honor were not opposites, so that wouldn't have happened. Odium did something else. Odium Splintered Honor, the Shard itself, and this might have ended up killing Tanavast some time later. How Odium did it is not known. I suspect Honor just screwed up. He didn't strike me as very intelligent.

 

16. Possibly. The legends about eye color being associated with Shardblades might come from the fact that the Radiants had lighter eyes, and had Blades. Szeth's blade is apparently unique in its eye-color changing properties. No one knows for sure but Brandon. It's a good theory.

 

17. Honor is not speaking to anyone specifically. Probably. He's rambling on, narrating his thoughts as he watches his visions, knowing someone could be listening to him and seeing the vision. He seems to have set up his journal to help humanity out by explaining things now that he's dead.

 

18. No one knows, but it's probably glowing because the Radiants were glowing with Stormlight, and it filtered through the armor or something. There's other theories, some involving the idea that if someone truly honorable is in Plate, it will glow. (Dalinar's Plate almost glowed at one point.)

 

19. The Radiants probably did not betray mankind. What is more likely is that they gave up their Shards, and cruel men (like the one Dalinar saw) took up their Shards and started slaughtering people and becoming bandits. People thought the people with Shards were the Radiants. The Radiants giving up their Shards might also be why it's called a betrayal. As to why they did that, you might want to check out the Lift Interlude in Words of Radiance that Brandon posted.

 

20. No one knows. Some say Urithiru was a flying city and fell on it, some think it was the site of the battle where the Heralds gave up their Honorblades. Brandon has said that "great magic was released there" and confirmed nothing.

Edited December 18, 2013 by Moogle

[KevThinker]

#21. What did Dalinar gain from the Night Watcher in return for the memories of his wife? Or is it possible that he asked for the memories to be removed?

[Shardlet]

I think it is quite clear that the crem is at least partly sediments picked up by the winds. I do believe that it might be "spiked" or something with the body of Cultivation, but we do not currently have much good evidence to support such a hypothesis.

 I don't doubt whether sediment is picked up by the storms and dropped in the rain.  But I think that that is different from crem.  Sediment dropped in such a way will readily erode during subsequent storms whereas crem essentially forms a shell over everything.

[Aether]

 I don't doubt whether sediment is picked up by the storms and dropped in the rain.  But I think that that is different from crem.  Sediment dropped in such a way will readily erode during subsequent storms whereas crem essentially forms a shell over everything.

There are some funky business with it, sure. But whether or not this is just a freak property of Rosharan Highstorm-created sediments or tinkering by Cultivation remains to be seen. While we both lean towards the second one, I don't think we can claim that it is a certainty at this point.

[Moogle]

#21. What did Dalinar gain from the Night Watcher in return for the memories of his wife? Or is it possible that he asked for the memories to be removed?

 

Not known. It's possible that his boon was getting the memories removed. Some speculate that his boon was curing Renarin, who has an odd sickness. His curse also could have been Renarin. We haven't ever seen a curse be applied to anyone other than the seeker of the Old Magic, though. We know next to nothing.

[KevThinker]

Not known. It's possible that his boon was getting the memories removed. Some speculate that his boon was curing Renarin, who has an odd sickness. His curse also could have been Renarin. We haven't ever seen a curse be applied to anyone other than the seeker of the Old Magic, though. We know next to nothing.

Did Dalinar go to the Night Watcher before or after his brother was killed? Could the boon have something to do with his brother's death? Also if Renarin was the boon, then why is he still sick?

[WeiryWriter]

Did Dalinar go to the Night Watcher before or after his brother was killed? Could the boon have something to do with his brother's death? Also if Renarin was the boon, then why is he still sick?

We don't know, and we probably won't until Dalinar's flashback book which will most likely #5.

[KevThinker]

#22. Who did Honor want to unite? Was it the Heralds? Alethkar? The Parshendi?

#23. Why have surge binding powers only recently returned?

#24. How does Szeth know so much about the Knights Radiant and their powers? 

Edited December 18, 2013 by KevThinker