The Way of Kings Reread Questions

[WeiryWriter]

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

The Knights Radiant, it is mentioned in one of the Words of Radiance readings.

[Shardbearer]

#23 Unknown, though the death chants, the return of surgebinding, and a bunch of other stuff all started happening around the same time the Parshendi showed up. Or maybe it was closer to Gavilar's assasination. There may be a cause and effect there, or those may just be more effects of some other cause.

 

#24 Probably something to do with the Stone Shamans. They might have been able to protect information better since they don't need to worry about highstorms.

[Moogle]

#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? 

 

22. Unlikely to be Alethkar, more likely to be the Radiants. Honor was being stupid here and being vague for no reason.

 

23. Unknown. Or rather, we know this: Gavilar did something. Nothing more specific than that, though.

 

24. Not known for sure. My favorite theory is that Szeth knows so much probably because the Stonewards, or a group of them, ended up in Shinovar and slowly morphed into Stome Shamanism. Everything the Radiants knew was probably passed down, if a bit corrupted.

[KevThinker]

22. Unlikely to be Alethkar, more likely to be the Radiants. Honor was being stupid here and being vague for no reason.

 

23. Unknown. Or rather, we know this: Gavilar did something. Nothing more specific than that, though.

 

24. Not known for sure. My favorite theory is that Szeth knows so much probably because the Stonewards, or a group of them, ended up in Shinovar and slowly morphed into Stome Shamanism. Everything the Radiants knew was probably passed down, if a bit corrupted.

I'm a big fan of your answer for 24.

[KevThinker]

22. Unlikely to be Alethkar, more likely to be the Radiants. Honor was being stupid here and being vague for no reason.

 

23. Unknown. Or rather, we know this: Gavilar did something. Nothing more specific than that, though.

 

24. Not known for sure. My favorite theory is that Szeth knows so much probably because the Stonewards, or a group of them, ended up in Shinovar and slowly morphed into Stome Shamanism. Everything the Radiants knew was probably passed down, if a bit corrupted.

For #24, if you're correct, would that lend a reason to why Szeth is truthless? Perhaps he displays different powers than the rest of his family, or perhaps just because he has powers?

[Moogle]

For #24, if you're correct, would that lend a reason to why Szeth is truthless? Perhaps he displays different powers than the rest of his family, or perhaps just because he has powers?

 

Maybe. The Stonewards and Windrunners have been together before, though, so I don't know if there's that big of an issue. However, we know that Szeth is Truthless because he was "perceived as betraying his people in a fundamental way". (source)

[KevThinker]

#25. Syl reactions to the Shardblades seems odd. What exactly are Shardblades? Are they pieces of Honor? If so have they been tainted by Odium thereby causing Syl's reaction?

 

#26. Why is the power of foresight considered bad in the Vorin religion? It seems to me that Honor uses it

 

#27. Is there a power play being executed by the Vorin Church and its devotaries? Several things seem to indicate this such as Shallan's father, the secrecy surround the nature of soul casting, the events of the Hierocracy and the actions of the priest who befriends Shallan.

 

#28. Is Shallan a sort of Rosharian Terrisman? She seems to store memories and information just in a different type of medium

[Moogle]

#25. Syl reactions to the Shardblades seems odd. What exactly are Shardblades? Are they pieces of Honor? If so have they been tainted by Odium thereby causing Syl's reaction?

 

#26. Why is the power of foresight considered bad in the Vorin religion? It seems to me that Honor uses it

 

#27. Is there a power play being executed by the Vorin Church and its devotaries? Several things seem to indicate this such as Shallan's father, the secrecy surround the nature of soul casting, the events of the Hierocracy and the actions of the priest who befriends Shallan.

 

#28. Is Shallan a sort of Rosharian Terrisman? She seems to store memories and information just in a different type of medium

 

25. We don't know what they are. Them being Splinters of Honor is about as good a guess as any, though some think they might be pure Odium while the Shardplate is Honor.

 

26. Honor is bad at it. There's another quote in the book saying that "the heart of voidbinding was trying to divine the future" (paraphrased), so one suspects Odium is really good at it. Cultivation is also supposedly good at it.

 

27. There are ardents working with Taravangian, and there was a really creepy one trying to gain Dalinar's favor. There seems to be a connection between the Ghostbloods and the ardentia in part, though obviously we don't know how much. Ardents are involved heavily in politics now, as Dalinar sees in one chapter. It's reasonable to assume that they want power still. They might even want power for good reasons; the visions of the Hierocracy might have been real (and the same one Dalinar saw), despite everyone thinking they were fake.

 

28. Likely. Using her memory-ability seems to store things in Shadesmar, or else she herself has a connection to it. She was able to touch the symbolheaded spren, and we have reason to believe that those live in Shadesmar. Her memory ability probably works the same as a coppermind.

[Shardbearer]

I get the sense that Shallan has an upper limit to how many Memories she can store. It seems like there is a little built up tension when she takes new Memories and she needs to release the tension by putting the Memories on paper.

[KevThinker]

29. Are the Parshendi Voidbringers?

30. Why did the Parshendi only show shardplate and blades after they encounter the Alethi?

31. Why did the Parshendi want to see maps?

[WeiryWriter]

29. Are the Parshendi Voidbringers?

Jasnah certainly seems to think so. Whether it is true, we don't know

30. Why did the Parshendi only show shardplate and blades after they encounter the Alethi?

31. Why did the Parshendi want to see maps?

RAFO... These are very likely plot points for future books so Brandon hasn't really discussed much about the Parshendi in interviews.

[KevThinker]

32. Are the fabrials known as Soulcasters merely props meant to disguise soulcasting as an inherent ability? Or are there really working fabrials that give people the ability to soulcast?

Edited December 20, 2013 by KevThinker

[KevThinker]

33. Is the secret society of the 3 triangles linked to the Ardents?

[Moogle]

32. Are the fabrials known as Soulcasters merely props meant to disguise soulcasting as an inherent ability? Or are there really working fabrials that give people the ability to soulcast?

33. Is the secret society of the 3 triangles linked to the Ardents?

 

32. Jasnah says that real Soulcasting fabrials exist. Luesh, Shallan's father's steward, was apparently able to make their fabrial work. It's possible Shallan's father or Luesh could Soulcast inherently, but unlikely. We know that every single Surgebinding skill can be replicated with a fabrial from interviews.

 

33. Kabsal, an ardent, was a member of the Ghostbloods. There was a creepy ardent that talked to Dalinar who might have been one. There's 'evil' ardents working for Taravangian that move the people that are bled out. I think it's safe to say that the ardents provide a fertile ground for secret societies, though we don't know if they're all Ghostbloods/Restares' group.

[DocHoliday]

29:My theory: The Parshendi are and are not Voidbringers, depending on their form (WoR)<br />30: Why is the US watching Iran so closely? Everyone watches the guy with a big stick. Hiding the weapons keeps Alethekar interest at a minimum.<br />31: The Parshendi are very much aware that the is something afoot concerning Odium(whether they know about Odium or not), they killed Gavilar to stop him from doing who knows what. Maps are used to determine where locations are and how to reach them. My theory is the Parshendi were/are looking for Urithuru.<br />32: yes fabriels are real, working, pieces of machinery. Navani uses one for pain near the end of WoK.<br />33: I believe the triangles are Ghostbloods ? There is no known connection at this time beyond that Kabsal pretended be was a member of the Ardents.

[KevThinker]

34. When someone comes into the possession of a shardblade, do their eyes actually change color?

35. Is there a distinction between Honorblades and Dawnshards and if so what are they? I just read a chapter where Shallan treats them as two separate things. 

[KevThinker]

36. The giant water spren mentioned in the interlude (the one with the changing faces), what the heck is up with that?

37. How is a Nahel-Bond initiated?

38. If Szeth doesn't have a bond with a Spren, then why is he able to surgebind?

39. The Shin seem to be a people who say one thing but mean the complete opposite. By saying that Szeth was worthless and that they hope there will never be another, are they actually saying that he is of importance? 

40. Why are there no Spren in the Shin valley?

41. How did Szeth get his Shardblade?

[DocHoliday]

Whew, you know you did read most of this right?

34: We have no information.

35:We have no information.

36: It is a unique Spren, presumably with its traits written down somewhere, preserving its singular purpose of watching the Origin. We have no further information.

37: Through Honorable action/living.

38:We've been RAFOed.

39:they don't speak backwards. They speak honestly. If what they're trading is trash in their eyes, they say so. The Shin think Szeth is worthless, that doesn't mean the Parshendi do or Taravengian.

40: there are no Highstorm in Shinovar, we assume there is a connection but don't know.

41:We don't have a clue.

[Moogle]

34. When someone comes into the possession of a shardblade, do their eyes actually change color?

35. Is there a distinction between Honorblades and Dawnshards and if so what are they? I just read a chapter where Shallan treats them as two separate things. 

36. The giant water spren mentioned in the interlude (the one with the changing faces), what the heck is up with that?

37. How is a Nahel-Bond initiated?

38. If Szeth doesn't have a bond with a Spren, then why is he able to surgebind?

39. The Shin seem to be a people who say one thing but mean the complete opposite. By saying that Szeth was worthless and that they hope there will never be another, are they actually saying that he is of importance? 

40. Why are there no Spren in the Shin valley?

41. How did Szeth get his Shardblade?

 

34. Unknown. We know of no actual darkeyes winning Shards, though, only lighteyes.

35. Honorblades are the Shardblades the Heralds had. Dawnshards, or one of them, are "known to bind any creature voidish or mortal"

36. Current best theory is that it is a spren formed of Adonalsium. Most spren on Roshar are Honor+Cultivation, but we know some are from Adonalsium.

37. You act in a certain way, which draws the spren to you. Much like a firespren is drawn to fire, an honorspren is drawn to honorable people like Kaladin. There's also evidence that you need to have a 'cracked soul', according to the WoR dustjacket.

38. Some speculate he has an Honorblade and this is what lets him do it. I favor the interpretation that Odium is granting him the power, because he's so hateful and filled with self-loathing, though of course he wasn't like that in the prologue. No one knows. We do know he has no spren and is not a Radiant.

39. I don't think so. They see violence as something terrible and low. I believe them when they say they don't want another like Szeth.

40. Favored theory at the moment is that it's because highstorms don't reach there. The Stormlight released from highstorms might 'feed' spren and make them visible, or cause fissures between the Physical and the Cognitive.

41. Taravangian says he was 'given' it. We don't know much else.

[Aether]

29. Are the Parshendi Voidbringers?

30. Why did the Parshendi only show shardplate and blades after they encounter the Alethi?

31. Why did the Parshendi want to see maps?

29. Our current information (mostly what we get from Jasnah) seems to suggest that they are. There are some on this forum, however, who suspect that this may not be correct, or at the very least only part of the answer. The Parshendi might very well have been corrupted by Odium (or some other unknown force) at some point in history, but they probably only made up a small part of the forces that collectively made up "the Voidbringers. Thunderclasts, for example, seems to have nothing to do with the Parshendi at all, other than being at the same side as Odium.

 

30. Gavilar seems to have suspected that they did, but they only showed them openly after the hostilities started.

 

31. It seems like they haven't been outside of some great forests around New Natan - and later the Shattered Plains. Eshonai in particular is curious of the rest of the world and its inhabitants.

Edited December 21, 2013 by Aether

[KevThinker]

42. Can Gaz see Syl?

43. Why is Lamaril blackmailing Gaz?

44. Do Hardazians have crystalline skeletons or just metallic hair and crystal colored nails?

[name_here]

42. Maybe, but his paranoia seems to predate meeting Kaladin, so if he's really seeing Spren with his missing eye it's not exclusively Syl.

43. The money.

44. Considering that hair and fingernails are made of the same material in humans and bones are made of other materials, probably not.

[cem]

42. Nope

43. Because he is the type of person who blackmails people and he has a handle on Gaz.

44. The latter.

[Aether]

43. I should note, that we do not really know how he blackmails him, though. Lamaril has something on Gaz, but we do not know what.

[KevThinker]

Sorry for the absence, Christmas was a whirlwind. Continuing!

 

45. Is Uruthiru the mythic Tranquiline Halls?

46. Are the Cryptic Spren that Shallan sees the Dawnsingers?

47. Who is Teft, your theories?

48. When Hoid says he started out as words on a page and then stole himself, is he making a meta joke?