Twenty@20

While I may be entirely incorrect in my amateur theory, I am going to put foward my train of thought. The part 3 epigraphs about truthwatchers provide a detailed account of how Ba-Ado-Mishran was responsible for forms of power and was providing voidlight to the Parshendi even after the last Desolation ended. She was captured by Melishi, the last Bondsmith probably similar to how Dalinar captured Nergaoul. This is also hinted at the WoR epigraph regarding Bondsmiths. Gavilar mentions to Eshonai in the prologue how “Our enslaved parshmen were once like you. Then we somehow robbed them of their ability to undergo the transformation. We did it by capturing a spren. An ancient, crucial spren.” This ancient spren seems to be Mishran. According to the essay about Mishran in Hessi's Mythica she is the commander and highprincess of Odium's army. The fact that she is out of commission during the crucial battles in OB may indicate she is still captive. If we assume that the sphere which Gavilar gave to Szeth had a captive Unmade (thats a big assumption, i admit I cannot rebut the voidlight theory; though to me the size of a gemstone doesnot seem to be important in capturing an Unmade, only that it should be flawless) then it is entirely possible that it was Ba-Ado-Mishran. Szeth could have hidden the sphere well enough to keep her out of action.

Random thought. Did the sphere which Gavilar gave Szeth hold Ba-Ado-Mishran?

Had moisture in my eyes reading this. So many emotions.

Yes I was referring to this scene. I remember there was some talk around that time of a Jasnah novella about her Shadesmar travel. Thats sad but perfectly understandable. Thanks for the info Weiry.

Any news/update about it? Thanks

To expand on this concept, could a nicrosil ferring store enough Investiture which when tapped could allow them access to any other feruchemical or allomantic power? Then suppose he becomes a nicroburst temporarily and starts compounding Investiture. Could we have another TLR eventually. Apologies if this sounds implausible. This theory has been playing on my mind since I read Bands. PS:Alternatively a Soulbearer ferring could get a nicrosil spike with the same end result.

Emphasis mineSo using the band someone would have all the powers and can use them to make another band. After all that's how the Sovereign made the original band bypassing the skill problem.

So did Kelsier make the bands of mourning? If so,this raises so many questions. Secret History Can it be that Kelsier stole the bands from someone else and pretended to have made it. TLR could have made it before Vin killed him. During the 1st trilogy it was forgotten and Kelsier later dug it up once he learnt of its value. Other possibility could be that Marsh (does he have all the allo & feru attributes?) made it and then Kelsier stole it. Kelsier making the bands is the biggest surprise of the Mistborn series yet. A throwback to the Original trilogy with cosmere wide ramifications. Just imagine if he makes more of these bands? Can Wax or the Kandra using the band make more bands. Whoa. Game over.

Since no one has brought this up(I think), I have to point out this detail with cosmeric implications. When Wax was chatting with Harmony, Hoid was sitting on top of the carriage. Now that is definitely not a coincidence. Chances are Hoid came to Scadrial specifically for the chance to eavesdrop Harmony. So how did Hoid plan to hear the conversation since it was taking place inside Wax's head? Maybe he had spiked himself too? If Hoid indeed managed to hear Harmony how might he use this knowledge about Harmony's intent and limitations. What are the chances that Harmony took notice of Hoid? Hoid and Wayne were together for an entire ride and we don't know what they talked about. This scene is begging to be written.

So Lord Ruler's superspy fell in love with a lawman for hire. Beat that Romeo and Juliet.

I get a sinking feeling that all this speculation about Highprince succession and associated politics will come to a nought in the face of the Desolation. The neutral highprinces will folk towards Dalinar because they are out of their depths in the face of the Desolation. Among Sadeas' faction Aladar already jumped ship and Ruthar is disgraced through his son. Ialai will have a personal vendetta against the Kholins but she will be hardpressed to find allies. The power of being a Highprince will go for a toss when when the only job of a Highprince is to direct the war effort against the Voidbringers. And dont forget the Voidbringers will target the highprinces. Good luck to whoever wants to be a non-Radiant Highprince. Also its unlikely that Dalinar wll try to install Kaladin as a highprince because Kaldin will be much more valuable as a one man army. I think Dalinar will next try to unite the whole of Roshar and in that his next challenge will be Taravangian.

I bet Brandon thought the same and therefore decided to postpone Szeth's flashbacks to the 5th book. I remember him mentioning in one of his tweets something about deciding whose flashback would take the story forward the best in book 3. And he decided on Dalinar. One can suppose in the same vein, he kept Szeth's story for book 5 because he thinks it would contribute to that book's plot the best. So I would say we can definitely expect some "aha!" moments in the his flashbacks. I wonder what you think about the Listeners as a culture. If our knowledge about their culture was limited to Dalinar's perspective only, perhaps the Listeners or their leaders would also appear despicable for killing their ally on the very night of signing a treaty with him. What I am trying to suggest is that lets not prejudge Szeth and the Shin untill we hear their side of the story.

Brandon started the Dalinar flashbacks on 16th June and finished them on 16th July. Thats a month to write 13% of the 1st draft. i think you have to revise your estimates. Roughly we can expect the 1st draft to be completed around mid February. Let me start by saying I personally would like to know about Szeth's past. I was happy when Szeth's flashback was planned for the 3rd book. Book 2 ended with Szeth starting afresh and I thought his flashbacks and his upcoming expedition to Shinovar would have provided a kind of symmetry to book 3. I would say that Szeth becoming a Truthless was one of those defining moments without which Stormlight Archive wouldn't have started rolling. Szeth is the first character we come in contact excluding the WoK prelude. As much as Brandon talks about years of planning about Dalinar and Kaladin's stories, I am sure he has kept some surprises for Szeth's story as well. Even though we have got some hints about his past, its definitely going be heartbreaking to watch a good honest guy being turned into a killer. If its going to be anything like Eshonai's arc in WoR- a story of manipulation, missed opportunities and evil smothering the good, I look forward to it.

My morning looks so much better after reading this.

He he, I was planning to point out this since I was pouring over the Alethkar map few days back in another thread. Anyways I thought maybe there is another explanation for "Taln's" wetness. What if he was drenched in sweat due to physical exertions during his journey. The fluid loss resulting from sweating can also account for his exhaustion in the same scene.