[Theory] The Stormfather is Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow

[WeiryWriter]

WARNING: An update of this theory is currently being rewritten.

 

Version 1.0:

So at the Waygate Foundation livestream I asked a question about what Cultivation's feelings were with regards to the Stormfather and the answer was not what I was expecting.  I would have thought she either didn't like him or he made her sad, because he is a remnant of the man she loved.  However it turns out Cultivation feels exactly the same about the Stormfather as she did about Tanavast.  It kind of threw me for a loop because I wanted to know why that was the case because it just didn't feel right to me.
 

WeiryWriter

What are Cultivation’s feelings with regards to the Stormfather?

Brandon Sanderson

Cultivation’s feelings-- I don’t think that has spoilers-- Cultivation is, um uhhh [long pause] I just have to decide how I can say things that are not spoilers.  Cultivation, the Stormfather reminds her of certain things about someone else she knew, and she feels the same way about the Stormfather in some ways as this person she knew.

 
Flash-forward to earlier today.  I was talking to Joe about the whole "All the Bondsmiths bonded to the Stormfather" theory which I really don't agree with.  I firmly believe he was a result of Honor's Splintering so it would be impossible for any Bondsmiths to bond with him.  Which got me thinking about this quote:
 

I am the sliver of Him that remains. I saw His corpse, saw Him die when Odium murdered Him. And I . . . I fled. To continue as I always have. The piece of God left in this world, the winds that men must feel.

 
When I first read it I thought it was weird that he used the word sliver and not splinter.  Those words mean very specific things in the cosmere and I didn't think Brandon would use them in what I was viewing as an incorrect manner.  But it occurs to me now that it could be exactly correct if the Stormfather is Tanavast's cognitive shadow, his ghost.  That would explain the use of "sliver" and Cultivation's feelings, in a weird sort of way.
 
Now obviously there are some things that the Stormfather says and does that don't exactly fit with this theory, and I will likely expand on this to help explain things but this is the basis of my theory and I think it works.

Edited August 8, 2014 by WeiryWriter

[Moogle]

The Stormfather is not a worldhopper, so I don't think holding him to the "Sliver/Splinter" terminology split is fair. It isn't even capitalized. To be honest, I don't see how he could possibly know the correct terminology, though I suppose Wyndle knows about the term "Investiture", so he might.

 

Also, I think the Stormfather could be a Sliver as well as a Splinter. The Stormfather is responsible for sending the highstorms and infusing them with Investiture. Perhaps he temporarily took up Honor after Tanavast died but before Honor was Splintered and retained a good chunk of Honor, which is what he puts into the highstorms.

 

Spren are created from strong shared ideas. So you have flamespren, starspren, and all those because everyone can see those and they're important and distinct ideas for most humans. Because the Heralds and the Almighty are revered as widely as they are, I think it makes perfect sense for there to be "Honor"spren (the Stormfather) and Heraldspren. If the Stormfather is Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow, I have to ask where the spren of the Almighty is hiding.

 

As well, the Stormfather openly says he's a spren. I may be wrong, but I think Cognitive Shadows are completely distinct from "transformative cognitive entities", as the AA author terms spren.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Moogle

[TheArcanist]

I don't know about not holding him to specific Cosmere terms- people on Roshar seem to be a whole lot more aware of the wider Cosmere than pretty much every other planet. The spren themselves are evidence of this, as Wyndle, for example, specifically refers to Investiture while berating Lift. Roshar definitely seems to be a hub for Cosmere-Awareness, among humans and non-humans alike.

[Tempus]

The Stormfather is not a worldhopper, so I don't think holding him to the "Sliver/Splinter" terminology split is fair. It isn't even capitalized. To be honest, I don't see how he could possibly know the correct terminology, though I suppose Wyndle knows about the term "Investiture", so he might.

 

Also, I think the Stormfather could be a Sliver as well as a Splinter. The Stormfather is responsible for sending the highstorms and infusing them with Investiture. Perhaps he temporarily took up Honor after Tanavast died but before Honor was Splintered.

 

Spren are created from strong shared ideas. So you have flamespren, starspren, and all those because everyone can see those and they're important and distinct ideas for most humans. Because the Heralds and the Almighty are revered as widely as they are, I think it makes perfect sense for there to be "Honor"spren (the Stormfather) and Heraldspren. If the Stormfather is Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow, I have to ask where the spren of the Almighty is hiding.

 

As well, the Stormfather openly says he's a spren. I may be wrong, but I think Cognitive Shadows are completely distinct from "transformative cognitive entities", as the AA author terms spren.

 

 

The sliver terminology thing is actually a point in favour of Tanavast, I think. The cosmere terminology like sliver, splinter, etc, are fairly exclusive in the cosmere. Someone like a shardholder would be one of the few who would know the correct terms. Spren are also interesting, because many spren seem to know the correct terms. This would imply that someone in the know had been informing and teaching them, or else they would have world exclusive terms like the other planets do.

 

In addition, the Stormfather has a clear link to the memories of Tanavast. I am speaking of the visions which Dalinar begins to get around the same time he begins to bond the Stormfather. The ones that come every highstorm. It makes all kinds of sense for these to be directly from the source, rather than some sort of separate special memory magic.

[Moogle]

The sliver terminology thing is actually a point in favour of Tanavast, I think. The cosmere terminology like sliver, splinter, etc, are fairly exclusive in the cosmere. Someone like a shardholder would be one of the few who would know the correct terms.

 

In which case, the Stormfather is using it incorrectly, since he said "I am the sliver of Him that remains. I saw His corpse, saw Him die when Odium murdered Him." He is clearly referring to Tanavast as Him. If he wanted to use the term Splinter correctly, he should have said "Splinter of Honor", since Tanavast was most assuredly not Honor.

 

Splinter is not capitalized when the Stormfather says it, so I don't see the need to assert that he is using the correct terminology. Brandon is very good with that. Even if a character has no way to know a word should be capitalized, it always is in their PoVs. There's no "All I see is snow" vs "All I see is Snow" like you find in A Song of Ice and Fire.

 

 

Spren are also interesting, because many spren seem to know the correct terms. This would imply that someone in the know had been informing and teaching them, or else they would have world exclusive terms like the other planets do.

 

What makes you think they don't only use exclusive terms? The only shared Cosmere term I can think of is 'Investiture', which is a word used by Wyndle. Look at this:

 

“Keep all spheres from her,” Darkness said. “She must not be allowed to Invest.”

 

It seems plausible to me that Roshar was the place where the term 'Investiture' was coined in the first place, based on the verb 'Invest'. Roshar calls the Cognitive Realm 'Shadesmar', so I wouldn't say they're all that up to date on their Cosmere terminology.

 

 

In addition, the Stormfather has a clear link to the memories of Tanavast. I am speaking of the visions which Dalinar begins to get around the same time he begins to bond the Stormfather. The ones that come every highstorm. It makes all kinds of sense for these to be directly from the source, rather than some sort of separate special memory magic.

 

Or we could accept the Stormfather's explanation:

I WAS REQUIRED TO SEND THOSE VISIONS ONCE THE TIME ARRIVED. THE ALMIGHTY DEMANDED IT OF ME. I COULD NO MORE DISOBEY THAN I COULD REFUSE TO BLOW THE WINDS.

Dalinar breathed in deeply. The Stormfather had replied. Blessedly, he had replied. “The visions were his, then,” Dalinar said, “and you the vehicle for choosing who received them?”

YES.

 

If the Stormfather is really Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow, it's really not hinted at very well in the text. All signs I can see point towards him being a spren. Weiry's WoB on how Cultivation regards him is interesting, but there seems to be basically nothing hinting that the Stormfather is anything but a spren in the text. He can even form bonds! Here's what he says he is:

 

I AM HIS . . . SPREN, YOU MIGHT SAY. NOT HIS SOUL. I AM THE MEMORY MEN CREATE FOR HIM, NOW THAT HE IS GONE . THE PERSONIFICATION OF STORMS AND OF THE DIVINE. I AM NO GOD. I AM BUT A SHADOW OF ONE.

 

I could maybe see some sort of connection to Cognitive Shadows based on his phrasing, but being the "personification of storms and the divine" is basically exactly what a spren is. A personification of some idea.

Edited April 17, 2014 by Moogle

[Tempus]

Well, those are all good points. Especially the first quote, which implies the Stormfather was watching as a third person when Tanavast as Honor was shattered. Hard to be the cognitive shadow of someone still living and only a short distance away.

[WeiryWriter]

I'll be responding to these in order so I might repeat myself.
 

The Stormfather is not a worldhopper, so I don't think holding him to the "Sliver/Splinter" terminology split is fair. It isn't even capitalized. To be honest, I don't see how he could possibly know the correct terminology, though I suppose Wyndle knows about the term "Investiture", so he might.
 
Also, I think the Stormfather could be a Sliver as well as a Splinter. The Stormfather is responsible for sending the highstorms and infusing them with Investiture. Perhaps he temporarily took up Honor after Tanavast died but before Honor was Splintered and retained a good chunk of Honor, which is what he puts into the highstorms.
 
Spren are created from strong shared ideas. So you have flamespren, starspren, and all those because everyone can see those and they're important and distinct ideas for most humans. Because the Heralds and the Almighty are revered as widely as they are, I think it makes perfect sense for there to be "Honor"spren (the Stormfather) and Heraldspren. If the Stormfather is Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow, I have to ask where the spren of the Almighty is hiding.
 
As well, the Stormfather openly says he's a spren. I may be wrong, but I think Cognitive Shadows are completely distinct from "transformative cognitive entities", as the AA author terms spren.

 
I do think he would be aware of the correct terminology.  Not only are the spren astonishingly Realmatically aware (and where did they get that knowledge I wonder?) but Cultivation is right there, and I would be extremely surprised if she did not know the correct terminology and didn't explain exactly what he was.  Also I would say the Stormfather knows more about the cosmere than the Lord Ruler, and yet the Lord Ruler knew enough to refer to himself as a sliver.

 

I suppose that is possible and you could be right, but personally it just doesn't feel right to me.  I just don't know if a spren could hold a Shard?  It is definitely worth asking Brandon though.

 

Where are the Heraldspren then?  Why have we never heard any mention of them?  We know that in order for cognitive shadows to stick around they need to have a strong tie to the Physical Realm, Kelsier has this in the form of being worshipped by the Church of the Survivor, the Stormfather would have it through the worship of the Almighty.  I think all of that "thought" could go towards keeping him around as opposed to making a spren (like there is already a cognitive entity that serves that role why would a new one be created? if that makes sense?).

 

Yes he says he is a spren. However there is a pause there, in the form of an elipsis, which is generally indicative of a person searching for the right word to use. If it was as simple as him just being a spren, why the pause/hesitancy?  I see it as the Stormfather trying to put things into terms Dalinar would understand.  He would understand the term "cognitive shadow" but "spren" he would.  It is not technically "true" but it is close enough.  I also would hesitate to say cognitive shadows are complete different from spren, yes they are distinct but they likely share some characteristics.  We know Seons are very similar to spren, without being spren themselves, they could become shardblades in certain circumstances, they could grant abilities on Roshar.  We also know that they would become Shades on Threnody, and what else manifests as Shades on Threnody? Cognitive Shadows, so there is a tenuous connection there. To me, it does not strain credulity that a cognitive shadow would manifest *like* a spren on Roshar.
 

I don't know about not holding him to specific Cosmere terms- people on Roshar seem to be a whole lot more aware of the wider Cosmere than pretty much every other planet. The spren themselves are evidence of this, as Wyndle, for example, specifically refers to Investiture while berating Lift. Roshar definitely seems to be a hub for Cosmere-Awareness, among humans and non-humans alike.

 I agree, from an in-world perspective it is heavily indicated the spren communities have Realmatic knowledge.  But also from a meta-textual level, Brandon knows that we know "Sliver" is a word that means something very particular in the cosmere. He knows the use of it in a situation like that is something we would pick up on.  And to use it, but not according to the definition he gave us feels intentionaly deceptive (and not in the coy way he sometimes does that is good-natured but frustrating) which doesn't fit my understanding of Brandon's character.  I just can't see him doing something like that?

 

There is also the fact that he refers to himself as a Sliver not once but twice.
 

The sliver terminology thing is actually a point in favour of Tanavast, I think. The cosmere terminology like sliver, splinter, etc, are fairly exclusive in the cosmere. Someone like a shardholder would be one of the few who would know the correct terms. Spren are also interesting, because many spren seem to know the correct terms. This would imply that someone in the know had been informing and teaching them, or else they would have world exclusive terms like the other planets do.
 
In addition, the Stormfather has a clear link to the memories of Tanavast. I am speaking of the visions which Dalinar begins to get around the same time he begins to bond the Stormfather. The ones that come every highstorm. It makes all kinds of sense for these to be directly from the source, rather than some sort of separate special memory magic.

 
I agree the spren do know the "correct terms" such as Investiture, and Physical/Cognitive Realm.

 

This is not something I had thought of but it certainly makes sense.
 

In which case, the Stormfather is using it incorrectly, since he said "I am the sliver of Him that remains. I saw His corpse, saw Him die when Odium murdered Him." He is clearly referring to Tanavast as Him. If he wanted to use the term Splinter correctly, he should have said "Splinter of Honor", since Tanavast was most assuredly not Honor.
 
Splinter is not capitalized when the Stormfather says it, so I don't see the need to assert that he is using the correct terminology. Brandon is very good with that. Even if a character has no way to know a word should be capitalized, it always is in their PoVs. There's no "All I see is snow" vs "All I see is Snow" like you find in A Song of Ice and Fire.
 
What makes you think they don't only use exclusive terms? The only shared Cosmere term I can think of is 'Investiture', which is a word used by Wyndle. Look at this:
 
It seems plausible to me that Roshar was the place where the term 'Investiture' was coined in the first place, based on the verb 'Invest'. Roshar calls the Cognitive Realm 'Shadesmar', so I wouldn't say they're all that up to date on their Cosmere terminology.
 
Or we could accept the Stormfather's explanation:
 
If the Stormfather is really Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow, it's really not hinted at very well in the text. All signs I can see point towards him being a spren. Weiry's WoB on how Cultivation regards him is interesting, but there seems to be basically nothing hinting that the Stormfather is anything but a spren in the text. He can even form bonds! Here's what he says he is:
 
I could maybe see some sort of connection to Cognitive Shadows based on his phrasing, but being the "personification of storms and the divine" is basically exactly what a spren is. A personification of some idea.

 
The Stormfather is also trying to make himself understood and the people he is talking to don't know about "Honor" or "Tanavast" but they do know about the Almighty.  As for him seeing the corpse of Tanavast/seeing him die, we don't know the exact process for the formation of a cognitive shadow.  It is possible that somepart of a person's cognitive aspect "breaks off" in the final moments of life, in which case that piece could watch as the prime individual dies.

 

I believe you mean Sliver?  In which case that is a good point and I don't have a response.

 

There is also Physical Realm and Cognitive Realm, both of which Wyndle uses.  Also he does use Investiture which I sincerely doubt originates on Roshar since it isn't the common term on Roshar.  Most worlds have their own word they use for the act of investing, on Scadrial it is "charge" (you charge a metalmind, you charge a hemalurgic spike), but on Roshar that word is "infuse".  So Wyndle is not using the Roshar-specific term.

 

Also not everyone on Roshar uses the term Shadesmar, Jasnah refers to it as the Cognitive Realm, as do the spren.

 

And obviously it isn't hinted at well in the text Cognitive shadows aren't important to the plot of Stormlight at this point but I object to the statement "there seems to be basically nothing hinting that the Stormfather is anything but a spren in the text" because obviously there is otherwise I would not have come up with this theory.  As for forming bonds, that is not the exclusive domain of spren, seons can do it too.

 

Personally I see this as a more poetic view of the situtaion.  The Stormfather isn't Tanavast. He's Tanavast's ghost, a memory of the man not the man himself.  (And I'm not even going to jump on the fact that he refers to himself as a shadow)

 

Okay this has gotten very long, I've probably missed some points I wanted to make but oh well for now...

[Moogle]

Weiry put the exact WoB from the signing in a transcription:

 

WeiryWriter: What are Cultivation’s feelings with regards to the Stormfather?

B: Cultivation’s feelings-- I don’t think that has spoilers-- Cultivation is, um uhhh [long pause] I just have to decide how I can say things that are not spoilers.  Cultivation, the Stormfather reminds her of certain things about someone else she knew, and she feels the same way about the Stormfather in some ways as this person she knew.

 

I think his answer is precise enough that it could be interpreted enough to mean that the Stormfather isn't Tanavast's Shadow.

 

@Weiry:

You make some good points, and I was certainly wrong on the number of Realmatic terms used by spren. That said, I think we've reached the point where we just don't have enough evidence to say much more on the matter. I'm still pretty confident that the Stormfather is 'just' a spren. Perhaps we'll get lucky and get a WoB on the matter.

[WeiryWriter]

Weiry put the exact WoB from the signing in a transcription:

 

I think his answer is precise enough that it could be interpreted enough to mean that the Stormfather isn't Tanavast's Shadow.

 

@Weiry:

You make some good points, and I was certainly wrong on the number of Realmatic terms used by spren. That said, I think we've reached the point where we just don't have enough evidence to say much more on the matter. I'm still pretty confident that the Stormfather is 'just' a spren. Perhaps we'll get lucky and get a WoB on the matter.

 

I've added the quote to the OP as well.  And well, it wasn't quite as clear cut as I remembered it to be and there is definitely room for interpretation.  I can see it going both ways, but the other evidence does push me towards the "Stormfather as Cognitive Shadow" interpretation.

 

And yeah, at this point we just need more information.

[Swimmingly]

Of course, it's also possible that Cultivation feels that way against her will and is slightly weirded out by her attraction to a piece of sentient magic left behind by her boyfriend.

Of course, Brandon never said that the feeling was "love" or "attraction". She could just feel the same frustration at the pigheadedness of both of them.

[Tempus]

I think the key part about that quote is that something about the Stormfather, Cultivation, and her feelings for Tanavast is a big spoiler, which is interesting to say the least.

[WeiryWriter]

Of course, it's also possible that Cultivation feels that way against her will and is slightly weirded out by her attraction to a piece of sentient magic left behind by her boyfriend.

Of course, Brandon never said that the feeling was "love" or "attraction". She could just feel the same frustration at the pigheadedness of both of them.

 

True, true but the way Brandon phrased it doesn't seem to indicate her feelings are against her will.  But I do think gramatically it is important that he said she "feels the same way about the Stormfather" rather than "she feels the same about the Stormfather" since they do indicate slightly different things.

 

I think the key part about that quote is that something about the Stormfather, Cultivation, and her feelings for Tanavast is a big spoiler, which is interesting to say the least.

 

Possibly, though I'm inclined to think the spoiler is that Honor is dead.  But yeah, there might be something there.

[Aleksiel]

True, true but the way Brandon phrased it doesn't seem to indicate her feelings are against her will.  But I do think gramatically it is important that he said she "feels the same way about the Stormfather" rather than "she feels the same about the Stormfather" since they do indicate slightly different things.

 

Could you explain the difference, please? As a non-native English speaker, I don't understand the significance of using (or not) the word 'way' here. 

Edited April 25, 2014 by Aleksiel

[Swimmingly]

The first sentence is a bit more vague. It implies that she feels generally, but not exactly, the same about in stormfather in some categories.

[WeiryWriter]

Could you explain the difference, please? As a non-native English speaker, I don't understand the significance of using (or not) the word 'way' here. 

 

It is sort of a nuance thing, so I don't know how well I can explain it.  Also keep in mind this is my interpretation of things. The second just means she feels the same kinds of emotions towards both individuals, i.e. they both make her happy or they both make her frustrated but not necessarily for the same reasons.  Whereas the first implies, to me at least, the reasons are also similar.  (i.e. the way she is feeling things is the same).  Does that make sense?

[Aleksiel]

It is sort of a nuance thing, so I don't know how well I can explain it.  Also keep in mind this is my interpretation of things. The second just means she feels the same kinds of emotions towards both individuals, i.e. they both make her happy or they both make her frustrated but not necessarily for the same reasons.  Whereas the first implies, to me at least, the reasons are also similar.  (i.e. the way she is feeling things is the same).  Does that make sense?

 

It does, thank you and Swimmingly! 

Though you contradict each other, because you basically say having 'way' in the sentence makes it more specific, which is opposite of Swimmingly saying the first sentence is more vague.

So, I'm actually more confused now... 

[PorridgeBrick]

The difference is too slight to make a difference anyway, since this is Brandon thinking on his feet when asked a difficult question.

[WeiryWriter]

Welcome to another instalment of "Weiry reading something and thinking it supports his theory!" this time it's a quote from the epilogue!
 

"You’ve been making quite a disturbance on the other side,” Wit said. “It’s been a long time since the spren had to deal with someone alive, particularly someone so demanding as yourself."

 

The way this is phrased, with the stipulation of being "alive", implies to me that the spren have had to deal with individuals, just not living ones.  (Its convoluted I know, but I almost jumped out of my seat when I read it during my reread).  Well, implies the people they've interacted with are dead.  Granted I do agree with the theory that people pass through the cognitive/spiritual realms on their way to the afterlife but "deal with" implies more than just "passing through".  So who are these dead people? Well one of them could be a certain cognitive shadow.

 

(And yes I'm aware this might just be me seeing things that aren't there but it makes sense to me, even if that makes me a little crazy.  And in reality, we are the 17th Shard, we're all mad here...)

[Tempus]

Well, it's a little bit of a jump to assume that not seeing living people means they have seen dead ones. I'm interested in the fact that by that phrase, Hoid either doesn't consider the spren to be alive, or alternatively they don't qualify as 'someone'.

 

 

Welcome to another instalment of "Weiry reading something and thinking it supports his theory!" this time it's a quote from the epilogue!

 

I like the pilot epsiodes - you should make a full season. =D

[signspace13]

I feel like the term spren is applicable as is sliver and cognitive shadow. i say this because i feel like sliver is not being used to say, sliver in the case of part of a shard, but instead as to say, part of Tanavast himself, this would make him both a sliver and a cognitive Shadow, and would adhere to our knowledge that Brandon knows what a capital 'Sliver' means, and that is exactly why he didn't use it, because he didn't want us to think the Stormfather was a part of honor, but that he was apart of Tanavast, that has been seriously affected by the opinions and thoughts of humans just like can happen to anything in the cognitive realm.

[Pechvarry]

I really don't like judging this on the basis of capitalization. "Sliver" means nothing to the story of the stormlight archives, so being capitalized wouldn't make sense. It would call undue attention to a concept that will never get explained. Essentially, whether or not it's an Easter egg for us, it would be little more than a typo in the scope of SA.

Even if you don't agree with my first point, consider: this is Dalinar's perspective. Honor is Almighty, and Dalinar would associate that with capital H "he" (yes, he can't read, but the veneration is there). By contrast, "sliver" means nothing outstanding to him, so he would only hear the normal use of it.

Perhaps it would've been capitalized if we were reading from the Stormfather's POV.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Pechvarry

[signspace13]

I really don't like judging this on the basis of capitalization. "Sliver" means nothing to the story of the stormlight archives, so being capitalized wouldn't make sense. It would call undue attention to a concept that will never get explained. Essentially, whether or not it's an Easter egg for us, it would be little more than a typo in the scope of SA.

Even if you don't agree with my first point, consider: this is Dalinar's perspective. Honor is Almighty, and Dalinar would associate that with capital H "he" (yes, he can't read, but the veneration is there). By contrast, "sliver" means nothing outstanding to him, so he would only hear the normal use of it.

Perhaps it would've been capitalized if we were reading from the Stormfather's POV.

 

Yeah this makes perfect sense, but where is the fun in being reasonable? and I still think that the stormfather meant he was a sliver of Tanavast, capitilization or not, it fits what he said best for me "i watched him die", honor didn't die, it's a shard it was shattered, in it's shattering Tanavast died, and the only cowardly part of Tanavast left fled his body with Honor, and it watched him die. so the storm father became something like Tanavast's cognitive shadow, but only a small part of him, and probably not the good part.

Edited May 7, 2014 by signspace13

[Tempus]

Capitalization is usually highly significant in Sanderson books. Words like Investiture, Focus, Intent, Forgery, Aons, and other realmatic terms are always capitalized when used (when referring to the realmatic concepts). Rather than being dismissive about that, capitalization is actually a huge warning flag. In fact, Sliver, when used with a capital in previous books, is used often by people who don't know the realmatic meaning, when referring specifically to... DUN DUN DUUUUUN... the Lord Ruler.

[Moogle]

In fact, Sliver, when used with a capital in previous books, is used often by people who don't know the realmatic meaning, when referring specifically to... DUN DUN DUUUUUN... the Lord Ruler.

 

While TLR was a Sliver, he also took it on as a title (Sliver of Infinity, as I recall), so we don't have much to go on there. I do agree that capitalization is highly important, however. When Wyndle talks to Lift, "Investiture" is capitalized, despite the fact that Lift shouldn't have the slightest idea that it is. When the Stormfather doesn't have it capitalized, I am reasonably confident he's not using sliver as a Realmatic term.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Moogle

[Confused]

I addressed the question of how the Stormfather could simultaneously be a spren, a sliver and a splinter of Honor in this post. I concluded that:

1. The Stormfather was a spren to the listeners, personifying the Highstorms, before humans came to Roshar.
2. Humans personified Honor (the "Almighty") as the Stormfather, by which the Stormfather became Honor's spren.
3. The Stormfather was the only sentient being present when Odium splintered Honor, other than Odium and Honor themselves. WoB says that when a Shard is shattered "Somebody needs to hold the magic. [Otherwise] the magic will gain sentience. Interesting and bizarre things happen then..." Odium did not want Honor's magic, because it would have diluted his intent (WoB). I concluded that the Stormfather temporarily absorbed Honor's splinters, "fled," and then released the splinters, greatly increasing the number of spren on Roshar. WoB: "[spren] were much more prevalent following Honor and what happened to him."

Since the Stormfather also retained a splinter of Honor himself, he was in fact simultaneously a spren, a splinter and sliver of Honor, as he claims, all in a Cosmere sense.

 

On another topic, this thread has some of the best posters on this Forum. I'm very curious what you all think of my post yesterday explaining what Odium's long-term plan is and how he will be defeated. (Shameless plug, but I really am curious what others think.)

 

Thanks!