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Ok, so I realize that I am submitting this way early, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to tomorrow, so here it is! Good luck, @Lunamor, @Fezzik, and @Matrim's Dice!!! May the best roast win!

Here's a discussion thread on RoW Prologue and Chapter 1. You can read them here: https://www.tor.com/2020/07/23/read-rhythm-of-war-by-brandon-sanderson-prologue-and-chapter-one/ A new chapter (or two) will go live every Tuesday at 9am Eastern.

I'm curious to see who gets this joke.

I am Talenel'Elin, Herald of War. The time of the Return, the Desolation, is near at hand. We must prepare. You will have forgotten much, following the destruction of the times past. Kalak will teach you to cast bronze, if you have forgotten this. We will Soulcast blocks of metal directly for you. I wish we could teach you steel, but casting is so much easier than forging, and you must have something we can produce quickly. Your stone tools will not serve against what is to come. Vedel can train your surgeons, and Jezrien... he will teach you leadership. So much is lost between Returns... I will train your soldiers. We should have time. Ishar keeps talking about a way to keep information from being lost following Desolations. And you have discovered something unexpected. We will use that. Surgebinders to act as guardians... Knights... The coming days will be difficult, but with training, humanity will survive. You must bring me to your leaders. The other Heralds should join us soon.

There's been a lot of speculation about the Fourth Ideal of the Windrunners, but less so about the fourth Edgedancer Ideal. I'm speculating that the Fourth Ideal of the Edgedancers is something along the line of "I will speak for those who have been silenced". I think this makes a logical progression with the other Edgedancer ideals we've seen. Their Second Ideal is to remember, which is a very passive act (you just have to refrain from forgetting what you already know). The Third Ideal advances from remembering to listening, so now you not only cannot forget the little people but you need to actively be willing to open yourself to their concerns and problems. And then the Fourth Ideal goes from listening to speaking, requiring that the Edgedancer not only be aware of those who others overlook but actively do something to help them. Thoughts?

Hello fellow mind-readers, just wanted to let you know that Tay and I have started book 2 as of last night. Shadesmar is henceforth to be known as The Spooky-Spook.

Thank you so much! I have been getting a lot more comfortable with the different tools in Autodesk, which helps a lot. Before, I was struggling a lot with the interface and it just made me so frustrated. Hopefully my newfound knowledge with the app will translate once I have time to do a big drawing on my computer! I find the best way to improve is to DRAW DRAW DRAW and don't stop drawing! Stockpile some references, make a folder of inspirational artwork that you want to learn from, and get a private sketchbook that you can just mess around in without being afraid of judgement. I only start improving once I practice with intent. As far as poses and styles, find references similar to what you want to draw and use them to help with the framework for your own art. With enough practice, I know you will be very happy with your sketches! Here is a bonus Szeth

Here we will be listing the official sample chapters and linking to our discussion threads for each. There may be some changes to these from previous readings. For general info, see here: https://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/86705-stormlight-4-readings-and-info/ Sample Chapters Prologue and Ch. 1 - Audiobook Prologue / Audiobook Ch. 1 - Discussion Chapters 2 and 3 - Audiobook Ch. 2 / Audiobook Ch. 3 - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapters 4 and 5 - Audiobook Ch. 4 / Audiobook Ch. 5 - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 6 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 7 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 8 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 9 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 10 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 11 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 12 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 13 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 14 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 15 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 16 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 17 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 18 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Chapter 19 - Audiobook - Discussion - Brandon's Annotation Syl Interlude (found in Brandon's newsletter, no public posting) - Discussion

So my shower thoughts this morning ended up on Roshar, specifically the grains on Roshar. Forgive me if this is something that's already been discussed, but I had some interesting (to me, at least) thoughts about what we've been told. Now the good news is that there are no huge issues here. There are a couple things that don't add up to me, but there are ways for Brandon to resolve all these - it was just interesting to think about and wonder if he considered this when world building. I mentioned this to my wife, and she thought you all might appreciate this. So here goes: To start, we're told that lavis corresponds roughly to Earth corn, and tallew to Earth rice. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/409/#e13805 Unfortunately I couldn't find a wob for tallew, but here's the coppermind article that mentions it being similar to rice: https://coppermind.net/wiki/Tallew#cite_note-The_Way_of_Kings-37-chapter-1 Now the first problem we run into is that neither corn nor rice contain gluten. For the most part, Brandon has stuck to foods that don't require gluten. He mentions boiling tallew, using lavis for flatbreads (think tortillas), etc. And this mostly works, except for nixtamalization. If you're not familiar with it, nixtamalization is the process where corn is cooked in lime (the mineral, not the fruit) to change it into something that you can actually use for flatbreads. Ground corn on its own (cornmeal) doesn't hold together very well. In order to use a corn-like grain on the scale we're talking about in Roshar, and for things like chouta, you're going to need to nixtamalize it. For a bit I thought that the lime would be an issue, but then I figured that they mine enough stone on Roshar that it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume they've mined limestone and figured out how to extract the lime. (Of course, that assumes that limestone, a sedimentary rock formed in ancient seabeds, would be present on the Roshar continent, even though we've been led to assume that this continent was created more or less as it currently exists, without ever having been on the sea floor. But I'm making some assumptions there, and I'm not a geologist, so I'm going to ignore that.) Alternately, since rockbud shells burn, and I believe there's soap on Roshar, I'm going to assume that they have access to rockbud-ash lye, and they could also use this for the nixtamalization process. I don't think they would use wood-ash. Wood is too valuable. Once they've got the nixtamalized corn, then they need to grind it. And this is a wet grind, producing an already-hydrated dough, perfect for flatbreads. Not super portable, though, so there would need to be mills in the warcamps (and everywhere else too, obviously. Just maybe should be more noticeable in the warcamps), as well as areas where the grain was nixtamalized (assuming you can't soulcast pre-nixtamalized pre-ground lavis. I honestly have no idea if this is possible.) So that's quite a bit of text to say that yes, flatbreads are possible with Rosharan resources, but they require a few processes that we haven't seen on-screen and that tbh Brandon may not have considered. So on to the issue that I referenced before - gluten. Now, I'm just going to get this out of the way and admit that Brandon can fix this by saying "actually, tallew contains gluten" or "every gluten-containing bread you've seen onscreen is made with wheat exported from Shinovar" or some such. But for our purposes, given that pancakes were everywhere in Yeddaw, I'm going to assume that they're making them with lavis or tallew. If that's the case, I don't have any good explanations for this. Given that these are not described as flatbreads, I initially thought it was safe to assume that they're fluffy. Which would mean some sort of gluten structure. Or additives. It's possible that they're using xanthan gum or the like, though this seems like a stretch to me. Still, it seems like the likely solution to this is either "tallew contains gluten" or "they're using whatever that Thaylen buckwheat stuff is, or another grain I haven't told you about, since they're out West." (Or, see below, another solution could be "these aren't pancakes, they're just flatbread.") Last one, then. How are they getting these pancakes to rise? Now, this one is a little less of an issue, since he's actually addressed it: https://wob.coppermind.net/events/394/#e12998 This leads me to believe that either he forgot about the pancakes when he gave this wob, and they're doing yeasted pancakes (which sounds weird to me, but could work. idk, I've never tried) or more likely they're really just another form of flatbread, and they're not fluffy. Which ruins my image of Lift running around the city stealing piping hot fluffy bread disks a little, but I can live with it. (I will note that it's highly unlikely that these are the quickbread pancakes we're familiar with, which use bicarbonate of soda, which in our world wasn't used in cooking until the mid to late 19th century. Given differences in progression of technology, it's possible they would have this, but I would be surprised if it was an ingredient commonly available to the masses.) So there you have it. Nothing earth shattering, (or plains shattering? eh? eh?) but just my morning muses. I don't think anything's "broken" here, per se. Brandon has addressed the gluten and rising bits mostly satisfactorily, but I think there's still a bit missing around the nixtamalization. And just to reiterate, all of this could be easily solved by Brandon just saying "oh, yeah, things are different on Roshar." Anyways, I think it's just a fun little corner of the world building that hasn't been completely fleshed out, and would require a couple logical jumps to get working.

Poor Navani. Also good for you Navani! You never let him defeat you.

Just as a reminder/update/refresher, The Dragon Prince is having a Comic-Con At Home panel tomorrow, Friday July 24 at 3 PM Pacific Time (5 PT Central Time, 6 PM Eastern Time). It's not known what will happen and/or be announced, but I'm sure it'll be an interesting event.

Ooh, Kiss Vin, Marry Pattern, Kill Moash Spensa, Kelsier, Lopen

Hey everyone! So I, like many of you I'm sure, have been trying to successfully convert my wife to the Cosmere. Literally since I met her I've been trying to get her to read The Way of Kings but there never seemed to be a good time for her to jump into it - either she was reading something else, had too much work, or just couldn't commit to a 1000-page book whose series wasn't finished yet. However, we've recently figured out that she really enjoys being read aloud to - she likes the sound of my voice and it helps her relax after a long day (she's a high school English teacher dealing with teenage angst all day - please show her some sympathy here). So naturally, I finally sold her on tWoK and I've been reading it to her for the last few months, a bit at a time. At the moment, we're in part 2 and just read the scene where Dalinar experiences the first vision we see 'on-screen' where the Midnight Essence shows up and he fights it off with a fire poker. So here's another thing: my wife is absolutely hilarious and also has trouble remembering names (to be fair, Alethi names have a lot of -lin, -as, -nar suffixes), so I recently asked her to give me a breakdown of what she remembers each character as. Here's what she's got: Kaladin - Slaveboi - "He used to be soldierboi, now he's slaveboi, but I'm pretty sure by the end of all this he'll be shardboi" Shallan - Sneak - "She's so mean! She's just becoming friends with her to steal her magic jewellery. I don't like her." Dalinar - Jeffrey Dean Morgan - "He looks like JDM." Adolin - The Hot Brother - "He's kind of a slut right?" Renarin - The Awkward Brother Sylphrena - Manic Pixie Dream Girl Sadeas - B****boi - "He's the idiot with the bridges right? Yeah, he's a b****boi." Jasnah - Princess Jasmine - "She's a princess right? No? Yes - she's the daughter of Dead Kingy Boi." Gavilar - Dead Kingy Boi Szeth - The Michelin Man - "Because he's big and all in white!" "Tay, he's average size. Just his eyes are described as big." "Are you kidding me?" Elhokar - Boi King - "You're making sure to write these all as 'b-o-i', right?" Gaz - C***! - I know this board doesn't allow swearing - but she just straight-up shouted the c-word when I mentioned Gaz. The Stormfather - The Stormdaddy - "Make sure they know it's being said in an uncomfortably sexual way." Chasmfiends - Rock Lobsters Some early hot takes from Tay: - Dalinar killed Gavilar so that he could become king because he's in love with Gavilar's wife. - The shardbearer who Kaladin fights in the first chapter killed all of his men and enslaved Kaladin. - Sadeas is behind the cut saddle. - Kaladin and Syl are going to fall in love. - Kaladin is going to get a shardblade ("He's obviously going to get a shardblade Chris... don't mess with me here.") - Shallan already has a shardblade (!) - Shallan is going to feel too guilty to steal Jasnah's soul-caster OR "Princess Jasmine is going to catch her sneaking around and say 'Hey Sneak. Let's have a DMC about why you want to steal my magic jewellery.'" I also thought I'd pop back in on this thread every once in a while to update you with any fun observations she makes in the future, and thought this could be a nice place to share our experiences with introducing the series to the people in our lives and their reactions to us being insufferable and incorrigible nerds!

Very quick response on Oathbringer as an Honorblade. That was, indeed, a mistake; it was a Stoneward Blade.

It reads to me like Gavilar's personality has changed rather drastically in a short time beforehand... Here are a few selections: This, to me, reads like there is more going on here than just faded love. I mean sure, maybe Gavilar is just a mean man who has let power go to his head. But what with his likely visit to Braize, his meddling with Voidlight and Voidspren, and his megalomaniacal ambitions, I suspect that much like Eshonai in Words of Radiance, Gavilar here might be possessed by some sort of force from Odium. He certainly matches Eshonai's mannerisms after she went stormform. (Minus the demonic red eyes, of course.)

A few years back I wrote a song about our favorite bridgecrew called Bridge Four. I recently made a video for the song featuring a bunch of awesome fanart and official art and thought I'd share it! Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7G1HsS... Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/brid... Art (in order of appearance): 1) Kaladin & Syl by Audry Hotte, IG: @AyHotte (https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Dx...) 2) Kaladin Stormblessed by Toyin Morby Ajetunmobi, IG: @toyin.ajetunmobi (https://artofmorby.com/projects/ba1aOm) 3) Kaladin & Syl - Julia Metzger, IG: @juliametzgerart (https://juliametzgerart.tumblr.com/po...) 4) Kaladin - Rumyana Zarakova (https://rumyanazarkova.tumblr.com/) 5) Kaladin - Corey Lansdell, IG: @coreylansdell (https://www.coreylansdell.com/) 6) Life Before Death Kaladin - IG: @3li_7aji 7) Kaladin - Lex Allen, IG: @alexallenart (www.alexallenart.com) 8) Kaladin Headshot - IG: @muhash14 9) Kaladin Stormblessed - Antti Hakosaari, IG: @hakosaari_art (https://haco.artstation.com/) 10) Kaladin - Mycks, IG: @mycks_art (https://remycks.tumblr.com/) 11) Words of Radiance Cover - Michael Whelan, IG: @theartofmichaelwhelan (http://michaelwhelan.com/) 12) Bridge Four Poster - Zack Stella, IG: @zackstella (http://www.zackstella.com/)

Most of this has been seen before, either through a reading or through the newsletter. I was going to link my previous comments, but I can't find them, so I'll just restate some of them, maybe throwing in a few new ones: Is Navani's "impostor syndrome" Unmade influence? "Border dispute" might be important, since we've seen the Sons of Honor collecting lots of secret maps. Intentionally misdrawn maps to hide something big, and the Highlord caught on because something was costing him money. Gavilar's friends; the same Heralds we'd seen before. The way I understand this: Gavilar has been to Braize, and has captured Voidspren in gemstones. He has some apparatus, a "box," that doesn't sever their natural Connection to Braize, but allows them to be removed and brought back to Roshar. The Heralds are interested in this because they want to get off of Roshar, and are looking for a way to free themselves from their Connection to the planet. This big focus on Navani's feelings in this prologue further reinforces to me that she's the third main character of this book. This seems to be setting up a larger character arc, coming to deal with her personal problems of insecurity and people-pleasing. Gavilar seems really evil here. I wonder how much of it is an act? If he's trying to drive her away to protect her? If Navani married Gavilar for power, why would Gavilar marry Navani if he truly thinks so little of her? Not too many comments from Chapter 1. I think we're setting poor Kaladin up to have a bad time. The character heading for Part 1 contains five characters: Kaladin, Shallan, Navani, Venli, and Lirin. I haven't compared those to the character oultline, but we've historically had characters who only get named on one Part because they have a chapter or two. Looking at OB, we've got Jasnah in Part 2 and Navani, Taravangian, and Venli all in part 4. I think Lirin's in the same boat; he gets a chapter to start us off, but I don't think he'll be a feature POV character for the book.

Thanks for linking this! When Brandon said “soon” I figured August. What a nice surprise. Gavilar comes across really poorly in this one, again. Not as badly as in OB prologue. He’s clearly smarter and more informed than he seemed previously. Found the realm of gods and going to be become one? Has he figured out enough about his bond with the Stormfather that he thinks he can Ascend to Honor? My theory is he wants to be Moses and lead his people out of Roshar to a more hospitable system. That’s the great journey he wants to start.

We are aware of things being double posted. There's not a lot that can be done currently. In the meantime please press Hide (it's next to Quote and Edit) on posts. On topics, go to the top and hit Moderation Options and then hit Hide. We don't know why it happens, and especially not why it's doing that on everything right now. EDIT: It seems things aren't double posting for everything anymore, which is good.

Haha. Yeah, I think I skipped over the end of that scene the last time I reread. This may only make sense if you've seen "I Think You Should Leave" on Netflix Scene can be found here: about 1 minute mark

Wow. I just read this whole thread and laughed a bunch. Thank you! This is so fun and entertaining. I love your wife’s names for everyone. Kaladin is Slaveboi forever now.

Suddenly the voice of Schrodinger echoed across the planet, as if the scientist had momentarily dropped from his newfound quantum state using the power of a single bar of cell service, saying: “Did you ever hear the story of Darth Plageuis the Wise? I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi would tell you. It's a Sith legend. Darth Plagueis was a Dark Lord of the Sith, so powerful and so wise he could use the Force to influence the midichlorians to create life... He had such a knowledge of the dark side that he could even keep the ones he cared about from dying. The dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural. He became so powerful... the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did. Unfortunately, he taught his apprentice everything he knew, then his apprentice killed him in his sleep. It's ironic he could save others from death, but not himself.” “It’s also ironic that Nameless could save others from death, but not himself. But that’s besides the point.”

In OB Chapter 114 the Nightwatcher seems to have Nightblood as she offers Dalinar “A Blade that bleeds darkness and can never be defeated.” In WoR Nale gives it to Szeth. At first I thought there is no way Nale would subject himself to a Bane for a magic sword when has two already. But then I thought that’s not what he would ask for. My theory is either Nale or Kalak (seems more like a Kalak thing) went to the Valley and asked to be released from the Oathpact. They were given a sword that can permanently kill them because it would eat up their investiture which is what gives them persistent life. Boon: You’ll never have to go back to Braize again! Bane: Dead forever. Obviously they weren’t pleased with this solution so either Kalak got it and gave it to Nale or Nale got it and just hung on to it until he found a use for it.

Yes, I am a math nerd. My favorite book series would have to be the Stormlight archive. I think I like WoK the most. Yes, I have read Era 1 Mistborn.

I am Talenel'Elin, Herald of War. The time of the Return, the Desolation, is near at hand. We must prepare. You will have forgotten much, following the destruction of the times past. Kalak will teach you to cast bronze, if you have forgotten this. We will Soulcast blocks of metal directly for you. I wish we could teach you steel, but casting is so much easier than forging, and you must have something we can produce quickly. Your stone tools will not serve against what is to come. Vedel can train your surgeons, and Jezrien... he will teach you leadership. So much is lost between Returns... I will train your soldiers. We should have time. Ishar keeps talking about a way to keep information from being lost following Desolations. And you have discovered something unexpected. We will use that. Surgebinders to act as guardians... Knights... The coming days will be difficult, but with training, humanity will survive. You must bring me to your leaders. The other Heralds should join us soon

At the number one spot was NoLukeIAmYourFathterThat'sImpossibleSearchYourFeelingsYouKnowItToBeTrueNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

I think everyone's getting a little carried away with analyzing this artwork. This piece of art is not part of Stormlight Four. It's part of the WoK 10th anniversary Kickstarter; they're doing a poster, like this, for each Order. Aside from the Windrunners (which are shown on the Kickstarter campaign page itself), we've gotten peeks at Truthwatchers, Elsecallers, Skybreakers, and Dustbringers, aside from this most recent Bondsmiths preview. And while there are several recognizable characters featured on the posters, there are a lot of unknowns, as well; especially with Skybreakers (which doesn't feature Szeth) and Truthwatchers (which doesn't feature Renarin). But you'll notice that all of these pieces of artwork feature two Radiants, one male and one female. They're putting one of each on every poster (like they did way back in the old Immortal Words poster), which means there must be a female depiction of a Bondsmith for the sake of the poster. And she's an incredibly generic Bondsmith; her sigil is the Bondsmith sigil, her attire is the Bondsmith white-and-gold, her ornamentations are the Bondsmith's gemstone of heliodor. And she's got a Shardblade, which Bondsmiths didn't have. Heck, in the original Elsecaller post from above, Jasnah had the Edgedancer sigil instead of the Elsecaller. So it doesn't look like these posters are being put through the rigorous vetting that book artwork is. (Like, for example, several pieces he's doing to go in the leatherbound, featured on his social media and the Kickstarter campaign.) These posters aren't tied to a specific time in-story; it's not like they're "depictions of the Radiant Orders at the start of Rhythm of War," or something like that. They can contain specific characters, and they can contain archetypal examples of Radiants, and they're out-of-universe, so it's not like Dalinar gets a new Bondsmith friend and then tells her "Let's go pose for a band photo somewhere in Urithiru." Going back to Immortal Words poster I linked above, we're not going to theorize that there was an actual banner with those words hanging somewhere with a Stonward and a Windrunner guarding it. These are all artists' depictions; no more, no less. Whoever the next Bondsmiths will be, I don't think we'll learn anything about them from examining this poster. EDIT: And, of course, right after I post this we get a Kickstarter update from Isaac:

Perhaps that might be more relatable, however in terms of being dark Dalinar at the rift is far beyond anything Shallan has. And Shallan's misses it's mark for me and many others. In terms of relatability as you like it so much 1 in 4 people have depression, so Kaladin is very much not whinny and I'm tired of hearing that, have you any idea what it is like to wonder if ceasing to exsist might be preferable to what you see in the future? Because I can(note I never considered suicide, but I did wonder if nonexistence might be better than even the best future I saw.) As to bigotry I'm tired of that accusation as well, at the time every lighteyed that Kal had known had betrayed him in some fashion, was a slave bigoted for thinking all whites where awful? No, no one thinks that. In modern times that would be different as we have internet and more movement of people to give evidence to the contrary, but back then no. Being an idiot? From what? He made the parshendi armor, got the knobweed sap and made bridge 4 the best bridgecrew in the whole army. What did he do that was stupid? Shallan in the chasms was one of the worst parts of the book. Kaladin saving Elhokar had nothing to do with her,so stop saying it. It was the right thing to do and he knew that, and yes it was epic.

Quick update! So I told my wife about how excited everyone was getting on this board. This is generally how it went down: ME: "I got so many points! I went from Prelan to Babsk to Houselord and now I'm a Forescout!" TAY: "None of those mean a single thing to me." ME: "So how about I read to you again tonight? You can help me with my burgeoning career as a Cosmere comedian. Wait - does that make me Wit?" TAY: "No, Chris. It makes me Wit. You're just the vessel I use to share my genius with the masses." Either way, I read a good five chapters last night. Here are some of the zingers: ME READING: "'I can save her,' Kal said." TAY: *snorts* "Ha! No you can't. Why? Because character development, Slaveboi, that's why." Tay tries to convince me by way of a five minute conversation that the White Stripes predicted the plot of the book - "Think about it, Chris! 'I'm talking to myself at night because I can't forget'! Like the Stormdaddy is talking to JDM during the storms! I'm right." She has also predicted that Kaladin secretly killed Brightlord Wisitow when he was 13 - "Because... abuse? Or something. Slaveboi doesn't like Lighteyes anyways." She also came up with the following character names: Rock - Dwayne Johnston Wit - The Court Jester Brightlord Wisitow - Brightlord Wichita (this was the starting off point for her hot take on the White Stripes) Laral - Rosalind - "Rosamund. Because he's got unrequited love with her like Romeo and Rosamund. Wait - no. Rosalind. Rosamund is playing Moiraine." Lirin - Pop-Pop And last but not least, she came up with her title for The Way of Kings. I present to you: The Adventures of Slaveboi and Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Book One of the Stormlight Archive. That's all I've got for now! But if we're stuck at home with COVID-19 any time soon, I'm sure there will be more!

So a lot of theories have been proposed about the nature of Trell, and Brandon has been very coy with the few answers he has given. Most people I've seen seem to think that Trell is an avatar of Autonomy, or there's the lesser number that think it is something to do with Odium. I have even seen it suggested that Trell might be an avatar of Autonomy that has been corrupted by Odium. I believe that all of these theories have merit. However, they also don't entirely make sense to me. Therefore, I offer a new interpretation: Trell is related to the investiture of multiple shards, including Odium and Autonomy. Specifically, Trell is a being of Willfully Corrupted Investiture, influenced by the power and intent of at least 2 shards. How is this possible? Allow me to explain. First, why does Trell want to mess with Scadrial? There are good arguments here for both Odium and Autonomy. Odium is aware of Harmony, wants to be the most powerful shard in the Cosmere, is troubled by the implications of two shards merging, and HATES that there is something so much more powerful than himself. Autonomy believes that the shards are better off separate, so she might feel an impulse to get involved, but all her behavior to date, including the opinion she states in the letter to Hoid, seems to indicate that staying separate means that she won't get involved in any way with another shard unless a shard threatens her. However, Autonomy creates lots of avatars. By the nature of being autonomous, these avatars would all have free will. This is where the theory really takes shape. We know that the events of Stormlight take place between Mistborn Era 1 & 2. Brandon has been asked before if Odium will survive the events of Stormlight 5, and he answered that the Shard of Odium would survive, but RAFO'd whether Rayse would still be the one holding the shard when the dust settled. Let's assume, for a moment, that something is going to happen to Rayse. I believe that when Rayse is killed, part of his shard will splinter, and a portion of his essence will go flying off into the Cosmere. Let's say that one of Autonomy's avatars is particularly rebellious, and would be more willing to get involved - the letter even states that Hoid's plea might have been better received if it had come to the right one of them, indicating that at least one avatar would be willing to get involved in the Cosmere. However, because the power of Autonomy is shared [presumably evenly] between the different avatars, that avatar doesn't have enough power on its own to risk challenging Harmony. That avatar might see Odium's Splintering as an opportunity. The avatar then willfully embraces part of Odium's power to increase its own might, in an act of ultimate Autonomy: the freedom to choose to become something different. The resulting combo will be something that is neither Odium nor Autonomy, but something that is both. The 2 powers will corrupt one another. Now, because they have different Intents, there is going to be some conflict. I figure that the avatar's personality is going to get damaged, and in mending that damage to their cognitive aspect they will tap into the religion of Trellism. Autonomy: a god with many eyes. Odium: a god that is jealous and resentful of all others with power. Trell and Nalt will become one and the same [-ish, in a way, in a weird shard-v-shard battle of interpretation], and they (the joined power of Odium and the avatar of Autonomy) will adopt a new Identity as Trell, a being with two component parts that both have a reason to dislike Harmony. We could take this argument even further if we wanted to: Trell still wouldn't have enough raw power to take on Harmony, and it probably doesn't want a direct confrontation unless it can help it. Therefore, it's going to spend some time preparing. That will mean manipulating agents on the ground on Scadrial, preparing the way through Miles, Bleeder, and the Set. It might also seek more power, in which case it might seek out and try to subsume some splinters of other shards with powers and intents that would be compatible with its purpose, like Dominion [because it needs to conquer and rule over other shards] and Ambition [because it feels an intense drive to achieve its aims]. But I won't go there just yet. I'm just pointing it out as a possibility. Okay, it's time to provide a little evidence other than reasoning for my wild theory [WoBs cited at the end, spoilered for length]. First, Trell is not native to Yolen. We don't know if all the original Vessels were from Yolen, but this certainly allows for the possibility of a Shards-intermingling-in-the-void-type origin. Second, Trell has been many different things throughout its history. Yes, that could just mean that it has performed different roles in different places, but it could also mean that Trell has different components that have originated at different times. Next, as to whether Trell is its own shard or something that was created by a shard: Brandon has RAFO'd the question of whether Odium is Trell, but has confirmed that there is "some connection." Further, Brandon does not say that Trell is a shard- he deliberately calls that an assumption, and then RAFO'd further. This could mean that Trell is not one shard, but pieces of multiple shards. But separately he does confirm that Trell is related to a Shard. That could mean that it is the product of a shard, or it could mean that Trell is literally related to a shard - as in, Trell is made of bits and pieces, psuedo-genetically, of a shard. Next, the god-metal, Trellium. Brandon RAFO'd whether it was always rusty, but I believe the answer is yes. Why? Because it fits. It is the Physical manifestation of corrupted investiture, from being composed of bits of different shards. We know that red is associated with corrupted investiture, and two more WoBs reinforce the idea that this is corrupted. First, Brandon has confirmed that red, and corruption, is definitely associated with the thing [Trell] that is moving toward Scadrial. Second, but before I get to the next WoB, it can't be pure Raysium because we see Raysium in OB, in Vyre's dagger. It is a reddish-golden-white color, while Bleeder's spike is silvery-white with splotches of rust. The fact that it [Trellium] is two colors, and one of those colors is red rust, indicates that it is a product of something corrupted. Therefore, it would involve the power of multiple shards. Lastly, Brandon has RAFO'd, but also said this person was on the right track, when they asked if the metal of Bleeder's spike was related related to something seen in the Emperor's Soul-- i.e., some form of power related to Sel. Perhaps the sceptre, which theoretically allows for the conversion of one form of investiture to another-- this is another possibility for how an avatar of Autonomy could assimilate the investiture of a splinter from another shard. Sorry for the big wall of text, but what do you guys think? Could this theory hold water?

No soil. Most earth plants can't grow on rock or survive highstorms.

At one point when traveling in shadesmar, it is shown that the ship captain's relative, who is a deadeye, is kept on the boat. This is done as to not leave the spren to wander back to its previous location. After the Recreance there were a lot more shardblades than are in use today. Is it possible that Odium's forces, or even the radiants, will try and get old shardblades by following deadeyes in the cognitive realm to where their blade is in the physical realm? Probably not the radiants since their spren don't like the dead blades, but Odium's forces went back for Eshonai's plate and blade so they may want more. Are we going to see some shardblade treasure hunting?

Dang you guys are so lucky. I wish I get to go back but I can't. My family is to high risk for Covid. But I did get to go clean it the other day. That was fun.

See I have no problem with this definition except for two things: 1. From my understanding of the books, all the highprinces except Dalinar fit. They all knew what they wanted and what they wanted to accomplish. They all worked within the system and with other countries to accomplish it so that pertains to allies and enemies. And of the instances we see closely (namely Sadeas and Dalinar), Sadeas isn't side tracked by smaller concerns but at the same time accounts for them, meanwhile Dalinar loses focus to police the surrounding area of the shattered plains, care for Elhokar's feelings, and believe in his visions. Now again, ultimately all of that makes Dalinar a good person, but as pointed out by Sadeas, Elhokar, Adolin, and Dalinar's own officiers, they are politically damaging. Policing the surrounding area of the shattered plains makes them safe for the general populace, but severely weakens his ability to protect his constituents. Caring for Elhokar's feelings makes him a good uncle, but a horrible politician because using kid's gloves with him resulted in Dalinar being outmaneuvered and almost killed including almost wiping out most of his constituents. Believing in the visions turned out to be best for the whole world, but politically, as Adolin pointed out, it was leading to the fall of his house. Meanwhile every step Sadeas took enriched his princedom, fortified his influence, and protected his people. 2. The next response is as you have mentioned before, will be the goals. But what are "acceptable" goals as presented are very subjective. Which is why I believe this will then result in rehashing previous statements. You will say Sadeas does not have the proper goals. I will say what constitutes proper goals. That then lead to the discussion of what is proper or not. Which then leads to a moral/ethical sense, which I believe (and you seem to agree based on your prior post) is not intrinsically related to a "good" politician. Which then leads to defining what a politician is, which then brings us back here again. So once again, I am saying I am good. Not going to reply further. Good luck!

Nameless finished reading a dummies guide to rebuilding the universe, by Nameless. "Hey guys! I think I figured out how to make people die! You just have to turn the death switch off and on again!"

c'mere @Darkfinder @DramaQueen @Emi

If this is your first question post I look forward to more, you raise a few details I had not noticed or had forgotten about! I did remember that Irich reflected on not finding something he'd hoped to find on the train, but no, we don't know what that may have been. As Karger mentioned, it's possible that what he was looking for was the same thing/person that Suit mentioned to Wax via conference call about the only fatality among the passengers having something interesting/special about him... I assumed that was because that person was also a target (for elimination) by the Set, but it could also have been that he had been a target for acquisition who got killed while resisting, or who chose suicide over capture. (Could also have been a kandra?) As for the smell of formaldehyde involved in the attack on the train, that has also not yet been explained, nor has it come up anywhere else in the Era 2 books so far as I'm aware. It was in the air of the courier car that the robbers targeted. So, either something they used to get into the car, or perhaps something associated with this mystery person of interest (maybe the worldhopper is an animated Lifeless from Nalthis, haha). One thing I did note about that train attack was that Matieu, who Wax addresses as "Captain", was somewhat suspiciously eager to get Wax to help him chase down the escaped robbers, given what we hear later from Suit. He also saluted Wax in a "completely inappropriate" gesture for someone "not in this jurisdiction", which seems like it'd be unnatural for someone of the rank of Captain to do wrong. Or maybe I'm reading too much into that - it could also just be an IRL friend/fan insert as a minor character, acting googly-eyed around the Dawnshot. We see Irich in the middle of the fight where Wax "rescues" Telsin and they get away with Allik in the airship module Wilg, where he was "shouting for soldiers not to damage the ship", but that's the last we see/hear of him directly. He doesn't appear to have been part of the party of the Set that went to the temple for the Battle of the Bands (sorry), as Suit thinks of how Irich would be disappointed when he (later) got the news of the "bands" they had acquired being fake. So he wasn't captured by Wax and was also still alive, as far as Suit knew. When did Irich express particular interest in Marasi?

Its just art y'all. its a representation of a KR, not a book character

Late last night whilst rereading Oathbringer, I happened to stumble upon this (context: Kaladin is flying everyone to Kholinar): Page 601 US Hardback edition of Oathbringer (bold added)^^ Which of course reminded me of this: Page 482 of the US hardcover edition of Arcanum Unbounded (bold added). Thoughts? WoBs? Tell me what you guys think! It may just be a throwaway line, or it could be evidence a hint that the Ones Above are from Roshar.

So readily admit it is in no way confirmation, but I feel Syl and Dalinar's conversation is another feather in the cap of my theory that Dalinar will have a hand in Adolin reviving Maya. His powers can literally affect the bonds between radiant and spren. I think this is foreshadowing of him restoring what was lost to those spren that were killed. Fingers crossed I am right!

404. If there's an old bearded dude with a staff and robes and he looks like he smiles a lot, follow him. Chances are, he'll send you on an adventure of fantastic proportions.* *Only applies to fantasy settings. Do not attempt in the real world. (I only realized just now that I could have done something about Error 404, but I guess it's too late... )

This is from the latter part of Part 3 to the chapter where Hoid tells Kaladin about the Wandersail. We’re in the home-stretch now, people! Names: Tanavast = Tabasco "The spiciest of all the Shards" Lopen = Gancho Hot Takes/Reactions: Tay was very switched on for the chapter “Child of Tanavast” and inundated me with questions about the Cosmere. I explained the Shattering of Adonalsium to her (“So they straight-up Julius Caesared him?”) as well as Shards, Vessels, Splinters… the whole thing. In one chapter Kaladin wakes up and "raises a hand to his breast": TAY: Okay I see. Sexism reversed. Please tell the people of Mind Readers that I officially rescind my statement about Shallan being sexualized as Kaladin is too. ME: Mind readers? TAY: Yeah, the website you post my reactions on? ME: It’s the 17th Shard – you’ve been on there. TAY: I feel like I'm close enough. Tay was very satisfied that Shallan got found out re: stealing Jasnah's Soulcaster and was ditched in the Kharbranth hospital. This feeling is soured, however, since she knows Shallan is the flashback character in book 2 (I talk about these books too much). Tay was insanely upset that Kaladin ditched the Shardblade after winning it in Alethkar. She, quite astutely, compared it to coming into a fortune’s worth of Nazi gold. While it is a tainted treasure, it could definitely be donated to a Jewish charity or something to try to do good with it. Admittedly, he tried to give it to a darkeyes, but Amaram dealt with that. Later on that night, Tay was chopping something with a knife: TAY: Hey look, I’m Kaladin. *drops the knife and walks away* TAY: *under her breath*: Idiot. She was also blown away by Amaram’s betrayal of Kal. This followed: TAY: I want a spoiler. Does Slaveboi get to kill Amaram? ME: Do you want a full explanation or a yes/no? TAY: Just a yes or a no. ME: No. TAY: Damnation! Dalinar noticing that the Parshendi fight in male/female teams: “This has led to the belief that there are no dwarf women!” - Sneakly little LotR reference for ya. My last little thing was that I decided to quiz Tay on who was in the Bridge Four poster that was released by Team Sanderson earlier today and, well, she was actually pretty spot-on with most of her guesses. I thought it would be funnier, but as much as she would deny it, I think she’s super into Stormlight now. Guess I’ve succeeded guys! We'll probably have one last post with her reactions to the end of the book that should come within the next couple weeks. Here are her guesses, incidentally.

You're assuming she's lawful good. Rather think chaotic neutral

New doodles. Spensa (cockpit is super inaccurate, sorry), Spook, and Kaladin/Syl Skyward "spoiler" kinda, not really

Renarin, Sureblood, Adolin, Jasnah

Gaz