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  1. From the album: The Stormlight Archive

    I tried to paint Syl! This was quite a bit out of my comfort zone (all in blue!) but she's so lovely.... I just hope I did her justice!
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  2. Incident Report 17-01-766 First responders rushed to the scene of a fire in storage room L. They used CO2 extinguishers to keep the flames at bay until additional help could arrive. About ten minutes later reinforcements charged into the room wielding aluminum blankets. The fire was quelled, but any fire in the cognitive realm yields world changing dangers. It is expected that the culture of Sel will never recover. Their traditions are lost to their minds, and while we will try to pick up the pieces, there is a more dire threat. We must find the instigators. There was one casualty. The Young Pyromancer hasn't shown up for role call and it is assumed his was the body pulled from the flame, though the body was burned beyond recognition. Some argue this was his comeuppance, but it is possible more nefarious actors are at fault. The Young Pyromancer was lynched! He was a Loyal Intern. His background in physics did little to keep him from swift and violent retribution. After studying recent ballots, you have discovered he has been tampering with the intern-removal process. Action: Remove someone's vote, your vote will be assigned randomly to someone with at least one vote. Votes Young Pyromancer (4): Gears, Lotus, Lahilt Lahilt (3): Kasimir, StrikerEZ Lotus (2): Matrim, Illwei, Vapor Mint (2): Sart, Araris Araris (1): TJ Shade Sart (1): Player List
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  3. From the album: Natural History of Roshar

    This is actually from a while ago when I was planning to concept some fruits of Roshar, but one thing after another, and this just fizzled out. Seeing how I won't be going back to it anymore, I want to put this potential Rosharan plants idea out there - hiding underground to avoid high storms, and emerging only when mature... like peanuts! :D
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  4. Why are they God, just because they are super powerful beings? If we met aliens with technology that could bend time and space and had unlimited power sources, would you consider them Gods? Some people would, but I wouldn't. They would just be...extremely advanced and powerful beings. Here's a good topic with a lot of discussion on it back then, that I think covers a lot of people's thoughts both for and against. (We should continue discussion here, of course, just putting this here as a reference)
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  5. Suppose you have two production lines for sturdy boxes. One line makes reasonably large boxes, the other line makes tiny boxes. You have a tiny box but you want a large box. So you make a Forgery to the effect that orders were mixed up and you got a large box. Should be rather simple. Your cute family pet "Fluffy", who fits snugly into the larger box climbs into it. You destroy the soulstamp. What happens now? Does it involve pet juice, remorse, traumatized children and a divorce?
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  6. This reminds me of the pegicorns in Disney's Onward eating out of trash cans and generally acting like racoons. I want to see some old lady wacking a grazing pegasus on the leg with a broom going "Get off my lawn!" While the pegasus. Does. Not. Care. Edit: "And then Katie felt inspired to draw..." "...but with her terrible luck, the photo would only post sideways."
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  7. Bamboo doesn't work, though. It's explosive growth is only because it grows during a single 60 day period during the year, so the poor pegasi are out of luck the other 305/306 days of the year, not to mention that it take three years to even start growing at all once planted. Relative to other plants, it's actually a pretty slow grower. I wouldn't get hung up on this. Enough laws are being violated as it is by the pegasi flying - there's no way for their wings to generate enough thrust, among other things - so the audience shouldn't blink twice if the pegasi eat the same as normal horses do, but even still, that's a lot of food. That said... Imagine if you had the island covered in trees which produce airborne seeds that drift on the wind and would periodically release clouds of the seeds into the air, which the pegasi then flew after in great flock to eat. Seems like kind of interesting food for pegasi to eat. Something based off the cottonwood, maybe?
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  8. Truthwatchers and Lightweavers share the Surge of Illumination. In Oathbringer, Renarin had been having trouble using the Surge of Illumination to craft illusions like Shallan does. While Shallan is a standard Lightweaver, Renarin is not a standard Truthwatcher as his spren is Corrupted, that makes comparisons difficult. We do, however, have another example of potential usage of Illumination by Renarin. In the Battle of Thaylen City, Renarin uses light to banish a Thunderclast. I don't think this is specific to Renarin's unique condition as, like Glys, Ym's spren too told their Radiant that they could make things go away with light when Nale attacked him in WoR. We do know that the Surges have a Spiritual component to them. Shallan using Connection to those she draws for her Lightweaving. Renarin glimpsing into a person's Spiritual and applying it on the Physical body. Both Illumination and Progression have a Spiritual element within them. Perhaps Truthwatchers are more proficient in Spiritual manifestation of their Surges, like the Bondsmiths. We do know that the Surges don't always manifest in the same manner among the Orders that share them. Perhaps this is how the Surge of Illumination manifests in Truthwatchers. Maybe they don't craft illusions. Truthwatchers are more about truth than lies, which are under the purview of the Lightweavers. Alternatively, the banishing light could also be a combination of the Surges of Illumination and Progression, their Resonance perhaps, a cleansing light (might as well go full throttle on that paladin theme)
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  9. Heh heh heh, poor all the other authors.
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  10. This may have been touched on already so my apologies if it’s redundant. Due to the nature of the RoW chapter introductions from Navani, I think that the sibling fled the tower, similarly to how the midnight mother subsequently came in, then later fled. Makes sense to me for a few reasons: 1. The nature of Navani’s intro material for each chapter is how to lure a spren into a gemstone. The obvious parallel is that the sibling was once “trapped”, albeit willingly, in the core column of Urithiru. intro’s by Sanderson are never accidental or itrelevant, and based off what we’ve read so far I’m willing to bet Navani is the mystery main character. Sorry Adolin. 2. the midnight mother copies what she sees, as we all know from OB. Perhaps she copied the sibling by hanging out on/around that column. Got it, she was previously trapped by a light weaver and eventually escaped—- but that info comes from whack job shallan who I wouldn’t trust with a potato gun (reference the movie “Armageddon”) 3. I think the sibling is “slumbering” at the honor spren city in Shadesmar, and that Adolin and Shallan’s expedition to that place will accomplish 2 things: get the honor spren to commit, and the sibling to wake up and throw some skin in the game. 3.a. The Stormfather is well aware of the siblings whereabouts, and the humans thought/reported that he had died due to Urithiru’s light. I think his 100% absence from the physical realm is more to blame. 3.b. This does nothing to answer the issue of similar Urithiru style veins in the rock in Kholinar, perhaps someone can make more connections.
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  11. I just took my Official Knight Radiant quiz (Windrunner btw) and was reading through all the descriptions and the Stoneward description stuck out to me as a good fit for Adolin. I think that Adolin can fit pretty squarely into the descriptions of the order. "Renowned as their finest soldiers" -- Adolin is renowned as possibly the best duelist and is described as being very effective in battle. "most interested in warfare, prowess with weapons, or athletics of any sort" -- Again, huge duelist and a military leader "Like a challenge" -- The whole duel plot of WoR was a huge challenge for Adolin "Taking on enormous projects (more than they can handle)" -- Again, duel plot. Huge project and definitely more than he could handle alone "Dependability" -- I think this is a good fit for Adolin but arguable. "sometimes gregarious, they are never flighty" -- I mean, look at his relationship history and the interaction with the prostitute in WoK -- He definitely does not run from confrontation "If a Stoneward is your friend, they will be there for you" -- Look at his relationship with bridge four in WoK and OB, and his continual supporting role across the books "Though not known as inventors or creators" -- hahaha, Adolin is definitely not one. " they are good at improvising solutions to problems in the moment." -- Can't think of any examples for this right now, but I imagine one's can be found. What are your thoughts? Regardless of his future, if Adolin took the test, what order would he be?
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  12. I can not wait to see a hopefully in book art of the fourth bridge. To me it sounded like a star destroyer.
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  13. I actually tried to calculate the calorie intake for dragons once. More. You're thinking in 1 dimention. I'd say 200 gallons, but I'm not sure the mass works out right. Would castle walls work (8 ft of solid stone)? If not, you now have heavy siege weapons. Isn't the exact opposite of what everyone wants? I suppose this would open up space for companies to "buy" the pregnant mares, handle the birth, then "sell" it back. And then probably give a huge fee for the colt. Is that the right word? Given the amount that you said that they would have to beat the pegasi into submission, I don't know if that's a problem. At this point, this is where I start tearing out my hair at the implausability and cry into my pillow for a few days. This can be SO COOL though. Good Luck!
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  14. We’re getting this short story, right?
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  15. I've been thinking about this, and it doesn't even need to be magical. Bamboo is a type of grass that grows extremely quick, so mother nature has already proven that some high calorie, fast growing grass could exist without magic needing to make it possible.
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  16. I have nothing to add as I know zippo about horses, but this was incredibly fun to read.
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  17. *Cracks knuckles* If there's one thing I love, it's equine-based worldbuilding. I'm breaking this down into two sections. Biology: So we've got 36 hands high drafties. That's 12 feet at the withers. That's definitely an equine beefcake with hooves the size of your chest. This knocks out two of my concerns my sister and I came up with yesterday when we were brainstorming this, which were carrying capacity and carrying location. Carrying Capacity: First concern was that how were they going to be strong enough to carry large amounts of weight. An average horse should carry no more than 20% of their body weight generally, and, from a biological standpoint, pegasi would most likely weigh less than an average horse of the same size because they would most likely have a lattice skeleton and air sacs. Not to mention, would probably need a more Akhal Teke or Thoroughbred build, something lightweight but with powerful hindquarters to take off with. Keep in mind, the pegasus might not be as beefy as a Clydesdale, so it can also be light enough to balance out the weight feathers are going to bring to flight. Let's go with the average Clydesdale, which can weigh anywhere from 1,800-2,200 lbs, and use the average of 2,000lbs. If a pegasus is twice the size, it probably would weight somewhere in the ballpark of 3,000-4,000lbs. So that means the average transport pegasus can carry roughly 600-800 lbs per trip, not including harnesses. Carrying Location: The second concern was where the items of transportation would go. This is still a slight concern, slightly mellowed by the sheer size of these beefcake equines. Normally, a pack horse or mule would carry the goods on something called panniers. They're essentially cloth chests that sit on either side of a horse's back, across a pack saddle. Pack saddle below, in foldable spoiler case for space: Panniers: The problem with normal panniers/pack saddles is the wings. Pegasi are going to need space for their wing joints and enough space for the wings to - whoosh! - beat. Thanks to the sheer size of your pegasi, you could potentially have the goods stored lower on their barrel (belly), or, potentially, tied underneath their belly as long as they have enough room with which to run. I'm concerned about passengers, see Space for Riders. Wings: Okay, obviously the pegasi are going to have to have a boost from magic to fly. Doubtful they're flying on itty bitty wings. If you've got a pegasus that is 12 ft at the withers...a horse with good confirmation is a little less than 3 heads at the withers and about 4 heads long...so your pegasus is probably 16 feet nose to tail...When drawing pegasi, I generally like the 1.5 ratio for wings...so, in my head, we're looking at 24 feet long per wing, or a total wingspan of 48 feet. Ear to floor, your pegasus is probably around 14-15 ft tall. Does this matter? No, but it does help visualization. And help you realize how wide your runway is going to be. Space for Riders: We still run into the "space for a rider" problem. If the wing joints are right behind the withers: Then a rider would awkwardly be perched with his legs over a moving wing joint, or continually bashed by beating wings if his legs stick under the feathers. Horses aren't flat enough on the back to comfortably ride them laying down like a Skybax. However, horses are herd animals, and birds can flock in V formations. If you've got one lead mare or stallion at the front with a rider, then the rest of the constellation (I rather like this one) would likely follow off of instincts. That would also increase the amount of goods you are able to transport when not every pegasus needs a rider. I'd likely just never bring up how a person rides a pegasus. People (besides me) tend to just assume pegasi are rideable. Calorie Intake: Horses, draft horses included, eat about 1.5-3% of their body weight daily, with at least 1.5% of their body weight in forage (hay/grass). Budweiser Clydesdales eat roughly 40 lbs of hay and 12+lbs of high calorie grain daily. That's minimum 45lbs a day for a 3,000lb pegasus, to as much as 120lbs for a 4,000 lb pegasus. That doesn't include the fact that flying burns a butt load of calories, so they're probably eating even more. They're literally eating a hale bale a day with grain on the side. I'd have your pegasi on a diet of timothy or oat hay with a good heap of alfalfa hay, and a mix of grains like oats, corn, and barely. I'd also suggest a cup or two of vegetable oil for fats. Beef pulp first soaked in water is also a good idea for fiber. I'm basing this off of a racehorse diet, since they burn calories like mad and need a high energy diet. A draft horse can drink somewhere around 25 gallons of water a day, so your pegasi are probably going to drink over 50 gallons of water daily. Hope you've got good water access. Breeding: I'm concerned about breeding 36hh pegasi to normal horses, even drafts. It isn't impossible, but it would pose serious health risks, whether the dam be a pegasus or a horse. I cringe at the thought of a horse attempting to squeeze a huge half-pegasus foal through their pelvis, and artificial insemination might be necessary to breed a pegasus mare. Honestly, I think you've managed to make it difficult enough to own a pegasus to negate breeding horses. See my notes below in Worldbuilding. Worldbuilding: Cost: This is why I don't think it will be necessary to add the conundrum of horse breeding (as fun as half-breeds can be): To own a pegasus, you need to be able to house, feed, and train it. For housing, you're going to need a hella large barn. If you take my idea of needing a fleet of pegasi to get a V formation to create a transportation fleet, you are going to need an airplane hangar. You're going to need space for the pegasi to take off, training facilities, housing for employees, feed storage, a tack room, etc. Might want a roofed round pen for training? Then there's feed. A single acre of land can produce approximately 100 bales of hay. If you have a fleet of, say, seven pegasi (one lead mare, three transporting pegasi), that's seven bales of hay a day, or 210 bales of hay in a thirty day month. All that hay has to be stored in a water-tight place during months where hay isn't harvested. You've got risk of mold, fire, and droughts. I didn't even calculate out the grains, which is considerably more expensive than hay. Equines also need bedding, horseshoes, tack, grooming equipment, training equipment, treats, and more. Owning an average sized horse can cost upwards of $7,000 a year. Owning one pegasus? That's going to be killer on your pocket book. What are going to be the veterinarian costs? Then there's cost of breeding. If pegasi are hard to breed in captivity, it means that once you have a pregnant mare, you're going to want to protect your investment. That means specialized veterinarians, that means grooms hired to watch the mare 24/7, that means special supplements and larger housing. What about the cost for a pegasus? If you have to train them from a young age to make them manageable (see below in Training), then you're not going to be able to go out into the wild and break a pegasus whose hooves can kill you in one blow. So you're going to have to go to someone who already breeds them, and shill out the money. Not to mention, hiring specialists...sure, you can hire anyone to scoop up pegasi poop the size of melons, but what about your trainer, your vet, your farrier, your rider, your tack maker, and more? Plus the costs for actually running a company with the ability to generate transportation business across multiple islands... Owning a regular horse is like owning a $75,000 two seat Cessna and comparing it to a $379,100,000 Boeing 747. Only the extremely wealthy (like kingdoms) are going to be able to afford to use pegasi as transportation. At least you could probably recoup some of the money selling poop for fertilizer as well as horsehair and feathers for various projects. Training: You've got a equine that can stand 12ft at the withers, weighs several hundred pounds more than my Toyota Corolla, and can fly. Can't exactly put them to pasture when they might decide "screw this" and fly off. So I vote giant barns. A normal draft horse needs a 12ftx16ft stall, so you're going to need something considerably larger, since your pegasi have wings. Keep in mind too that horses are incredibly strong. My aunt had a 2,000lb 18hh Brabant who would get bored and literally pick up and move his metal fencing. His teeth would leave massive dents in steel tubes. Double that? And you've got pegasi that can probably crunch a man in half from sheer jaw strength. A kick would be absolutely deadly. Those stall doors better be reinforced. Training and housing a stallion would be a nightmare. Stallions tend to be @$$holes by nature, so I would assume very few companies would want to have a massive one. Breeding costs to a stallion would be major money, though. Can you imagine trying to castrate a pegasus??? I mean, jeez, a Clydesdale stallion probably has balls the size of grapefruits. A pegasus stallion would probably have the nuts the size of watermelons. Can you imagine the fountain of blood if you don't clamp them fast enough??? You'd definitely have to get the colts castrated as soon as safely possible. Due to this all of this, training is going to be hell if done the wrong way. And, of course, there are going to be idiots who try to bully a 36hh pegasus. So you've got the nutcases who are going to beat their pegasus into submission (mind games might be terrifyingly accurate. Horses and birds are social creatures. What happens if you lock one away from its peers?), and you've got those who are going to use the natural horsemanship route. I'd definitely think about how both bird and horse behaviors are going to affect pegasus behavior. You'd have to start when the pegasus is a foal. Do they clip the wings to make sure yearlings don't run off? This has a lot of potential for quiet worldbuilding. Pegasi who shake, sweat, and foam at the sight of their owner, covered in scars. Pegasi who lash back. Pegasi who follow their owners around like giant puppies bedecked in ribbons. Hmmm...dyeing feathers might be a fun pasttime for some owners. Or to show different nationalities or shipping companies. Feathers/Hair: Birds molt. Do pegasi? What about their shed feathers? Just saying, with giant feathers, maybe it is a fashion statement to have pegasus feather fans, skirts, capes, hair accessories, collars, even blinds. Then there is the hair you can cut off the mane and tail. Horsehair fabric, horsehair pottery, horsehair paintbrushes, horsehair fishing line, horsehair violin strings, horsehair wigs (why not, might be a fashion statement), horsehair jewelry... Plumes of horsehair or feathers on military helmets... You could go nuts with this. Military: I mean, the sheer cost of owning a pegasus will keep you from having a massive equine airforce. You could definitely go hog wild with this, or negate it completely by saying pegasi are too flighty by nature and can't be trained to withstand the stress of war without bailing. Overall: I had a lot of fun writing this up. I think it's possible to replace railroads with pegasi, but I also think it is going to take a lot of work. Hopefully I helped instead of overwhelmed.
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  18. Stormlight Recap Series: World and History | Main Characters | Other Notable Characters Welcome back! If you missed the first three Stormlight Archive recap articles you can find them here, here, and here. So far we've covered the world and history of Roshar and most of the really important characters. In this final article we will begin with significant groups on Roshar, and then mention a few ongoing mysteries to keep an eye out for. This article will have spoilers for the Stormlight Archive, but there will NOT be spoilers for other Cosmere books. Let's get to it! GROUPS The Knights Radiant Founded in the distant past to aid the Heralds in their defense of mankind during the Desolations, the Knights Radiant disbanded a few millennia after the Last Desolation in an event referred to as the Recreance. Now, under the leadership of Dalinar Kholin, the Knights Radiant are returning, with spren once again seeing the need to bond humans despite their betrayal during the Recreance. The Radiants consist of ten orders, each with their own values, culture, and set of ideals that must be sworn to advance. How will the Knights Radiant have changed over the year following Oathbringer? Some of the orders will surely have grown, but not all the spren and Radiants are on the same page. One order in particular--the Skybreakers--never disbanded in the first place, and under the leadership of the Herald Nale have actually joined Odium's side in the conflict. By the way, in case you missed it, back in June Brandon posted an official Knight Radiant order quiz! You can find the quiz itself here. Take the quiz to find out which orders of the Knights Radiant you are most suited for! Odium's forces Pitted against the humans and the Knights Radiant are the native singers, supported by the forces of Odium. Most notable among them are the Fused--ancient singer souls returned Desolation after Desolation in order to carry out their vengeance against the human invaders. There are several types of Fused, each with access to different magical abilities not unlike those of the Knights Radiant. Below the Fused are the Regals--regular singers with a Voidspren in their gemheart, which grants them some minor magical abilities. On that note, we should mention the Voidspren themselves. These include all spren, sapient or otherwise, which have been suffused with Odium's power. We also can't forget the Unmade, the nine mysterious spren-like beings of immense power, that include the likes of Nergaoul (the Thrill) and Re-Shephir (the twisted being driven from the heart of Urithiru). Lastly (so far as we know) are the Thunderclasts, destructive monsters of animated stone, who played a pivotal role in the battles at Kholinar and Thaylen City. The Diagram The war isn't as simple as two sides pitted against one another, of course. While Taravangian's secret organization, the Diagram, was originally committed to preserving all of Roshar (questionable means aside), the aged monarch made a deal with Odium at the end of Oathbringer in order to secure the future of Kharbranth alone at the cost of the rest. We have seen that members of the organization are permitted to interpret the Diagram with some measure of liberty. Will everyone agree with their leader's decision to betray the other humans? Most importantly, the Diagram itself, or at least Taravangian's interpretation of it, has been proven fallible. What does this mean for the organization's future? The Ghostbloods The Ghostbloods aren't even particularly invested in the outcome of the war, seeking merely to capitalize on current events for their own mysterious ends. Shallan has infiltrated the group to some level, serving under Mraize, but their goals and motivations are no small secret. Who is the mysterious Thaidakar who leads them? What are they after, and will their aspirations align with Shallan's own or drive a wedge? The Sons of Honor The Sons of Honor are another notable secret society on Roshar with mysterious goals. On the surface, it appears they simply sought to return the Heralds, reignite the Desolations, and restore power to the Vorin church. However, we also know that Gavilar, a key leader in the organization, had plans far more enigmatic. Furthermore, we have yet to meet the mysterious Restares--another high-level member of the Sons of Honor. Amaram may have fallen to Odium, but the Sons of Honor aren't quite down and out. MYSTERIES Urithiru & the Sibling When Urithiru was rediscovered, the new denizens hoped to find ancient knowledge and technology that would aid them in their fight against Odium. This expectation was unfulfilled, however, with the only real discovery being a few records stored in gemstones by ancient Radiants, and much of the tower city is still a mystery. There are many indications that the tower has not been restored to full functionality, likely related to the slumbering of a powerful spren known simply as "the Sibling." Will the Sibling be restored, and the secrets of Urithiru uncovered? Gavilar's schemes When Dalinar trapped the Unmade Nergaoul in a gemstone at the end of Oathbringer, it glowed with a dark light which Navani noted she had once seen in Gavilar's possession. In the prologues, we have had a glimpse of what Navani may be referring to. Gavilar gave both Szeth and Eshonai strangely colored spheres on the night of his death, and their contents were not entirely clear. All we know is that Eshonai's sphere made the listeners decide to kill the Alethi king, and Szeth's was apparently so important that Gavilar used his dying words to have Szeth take and hide it. Will Rhythm of War reveal what Gavilar's schemes entailed? The lost listeners As the Everstorm was summoned, most of the listeners in Narak had assumed stormform and were fighting against the humans. But some small number saw Odium's dark influence in the form and refused it. This group, including Eshonai and Venli's mother, was lost without a trace amid the chaos of battle. While they are generally assumed dead, it is possible that the group still lives in seclusion. The legacy of the listeners, singers who rejected Odium and set off on their own, certainly lives on and bears great importance. Rlain of Bridge Four and Venli, a budding Knight Radiant, have both rejected Odium to some degree, and we have seen that some singers are more interested in making a new life than they are in seeking vengeance. Will these singers find an ally in one another--and perhaps the humans too? Wit and the letters Quick affirmation--this article will NOT be drifting into Cosmere spoilers! ...Something that bears repeating as we turn our eye on the enigmatic Wit. Wit is a peculiar character who has a knack for showing up at random times for unknowable reasons. He has shown up in each book so far to share ancient myths and bestow wisdom upon Kaladin, Shallan, and Dalinar. Aside from a handful of other varied appearances, we can always count on Wit to show up in the epilogue. He was present when Taln returned from Braize at the end of The Way of Kings. He was present when Jasnah returned from her unexpected trek through Shadesmar at the end of Words of Radiance. And in Oathbringer he was able to rescue and bond the Cryptic (who had planned to bond with Elhokar) from the ruins of the Kholinar Palace--those new Lightweaver powers are sure to come in handy when he tells stories! There's one other important, but extremely subtle, roles that Wit has played in the books so far, and it can only be found in the epigraphs (the text that precedes some chapters). In The Way of Kings Part 2 we saw a letter from Wit concerning the danger Odium poses to Roshar (and the Cosmere at large). In Words of Radiance Part 4 we saw the recipient of that letter dismissing Wit's concerns, and in Oathbringer Part 2 we saw similar letters with a variety of different responses from three others (who presumably received similar warnings from Wit). While we have some ideas (containing Cosmere spoilers) about who these letters are from and what Wit is trying to do, we can only guess what will happen next. It wouldn't be terribly presumptuous to assume that we'll get another letter (if not more) in Rhythm of War, and we can't wait to see how they play into the story! And that should do it! We hope that reading these articles will prepare you for reading and discussing Rhythm of War this November! If you found this helpful, make sure to tag your friends or share it around. If you feel like something important was left out, or if you have a question, let us know in the comments. If you haven't visited our forums and Discord server, consider this your welcome! We'd love to hear your voice in the conversation. Until next time, Life before Death! Check out our other articles in our Stormlight Recap Series: World and History | Main Characters | Other Notable Characters Special thanks to the artists whose work was used in this article! Kaladin and the highstorm by Howard Lyon Face the Unmade by Artem Demura on behalf of Brotherwise Games Ghostblood Agent by Soph Peralta on behalf of Brotherwise Games The Tower by Ben McSweeney
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  19. ^This. That's your answer @Szeth_iz they have more powerful magic, but they aren't gods. The God Beyond is what would actually count but his exsistance is intentionally kept from being cannon, although so is his non-existence. The canon is very agnostic.
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  20. If there are only a few spren together I'd call it a sprenkling.
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  21. I'm not experienced enough in the group to vote. Although, since the group has been going on for 10+ years, it may have been attempted before. My guess that the reason why we don't go through Google Drive and instead use the forum is because there are a high degree of people who join and then...disappear. @Snakenaps, you absolutely get a vote. This is not some kind of stuff, set-in-its-ways group where a bunch of cronies run the show. It's a open group and that goes for voices being heard too. Everyone should feel free to have an opinion on this topic, or anything else See, I had to pinch myself when this came up in one of our emails, as you know. I think it's quite some achievement what you've done so far, and how committed to the project you are. Well done <thumbs up> I believe the first rule of vampire club is don't...er...nevermind. Yeah, this is one very important point. Another one, @Turin Turambar, is that I think you will actually get less feedback by going the complete draft route. Think about it this way. If we all put drafts of our novels up on drive, that would be--what--maybe six or seven novels all going up at once? That's going to be something like 500,000 to 700,000 words all appearing at the same time. Who's going to read that, and how long is it going to take them? The reality, I think, will be that one or two projects will get all the reads and others might be left languishing unread. You end up with a two-tier system (at least) and some folks get no crits at all. Another thing to consider: the format we have results in us getting through a powerful amount of critiquing. Potentially 25,000 words a week, in parallel with our own writing. I think that's massive, and I don't think We already have an alpha readers thread, and anyone is free at any time to post up there looking for a complete read, where they can email their M/S (and therefore have more control over distribution) to individuals who put their hands up. As @Mandamon said, we have had offshoot groups like Write About Dragons, where a handful of us went through Brandon's online course in parallel with subbing to that group. As with this group, I think we started with maybe 10 folks and ended up with three of four, the rest disappeared, starting from quite early on. So, I would say, it ain't broken; let's not fix it
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  22. Yeah, definitely. This page is just pretty old and didn't get enough love. On the Coppermind Glyphs Index page we note that the exact meaning is unknown but that it's "presumably indicative of Sadeas princedom".
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  23. Quick questions: Hypothetically, how valuable would this make Bad M's pegs? If you could steel one could you make your own peg sub breed? Would this make it nessicary for every peg he didn't want to breed to be sterilized to prevent the breed from getting out if one was captured? And if they are a tame sub breed, would there be any difference anatomically? Or even just from environment ie wild vs captive Orca's dorsal fin. Also, how about rest/refueling stations midway across bodies of water? Like an aircraft carrier but for Pegasus. I know little to nothing about pegasus, but how about a 'Flight' of Pegasus as a collective name. Anyhoo, that's my un-informed thoughts :-)
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  24. To switch topics, I'd like to just give a quiet "Hurrah!" Today is August 6th, marking exactly one year since I began the first draft of Name of the King. It's been one hell of a year, and I'm amazed at how far I've come since I first started. I've grown so much as a person, writer, and critiquer. I'm excited that I've been able to share half of that year here with Reading Excuses (did I really join in February? It feels like I'm so much newer than that) and I hope that I will be able to continue to share this journey with this incredible group. Thanks for everything. To another great year of writing! . . . Also, P.S., @kais, you're getting a pegasus rant tomorrow, be prepared.
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  25. Actually @Rainier I hadn't added that until Brandon commented on it. I just added it a bit ago. I had seen the chapter 2/3 one, but not the chapter 4/5 one. We'll try to keep these up to date on the index. Maybe he'll even put them on his website someday!
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  26. I can only join the bandwagon, the focus on stuff that is important for the whole story is the right thing to do. <heresy> Perhaps this was one of the things he learned from his work on WoT, which imho has at least 2 books in the first ten which I could have done without *duckandcover* </heresy>
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  27. From the album: Natural History of Roshar

    Can't believe how long it's been since I last got around to fleshing out my basket full of axehound sketches! I guess it's just one of the side effects of struggling with tar pit of depression, plans getting shelved for longer than intended. Anyway, this is another design for axehound where I really push for cuteness and pet-me vibe while still keeping the carapaces.
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  28. Yeah, it's past midnight and my mind is not the best ATM.
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  29. Nothing too weird but a couple of fun stories: 1.My companion and I were walking across the street of a Golf Course and he got completely blindsided when a golf ball drove into his face. He described it as “It felt like Satan punched me in the mouth.” It was hilarious observing the entire thing (after I found out it wasn’t a serious injury). 2. We were teaching a family that had a daughter that had these fits where she had to be taken to the hospital occasionally. She started having one and a blessing was given; it stopped immediately. The family had never seen anything like it. In case you were curious I don’t think they ever got baptized to my knowledge. I can not tell you the number of families (of our faith and not of our faith) I’ve met who have had miraculous things happen to them and they just blow it off and don’t want to live the life of discipleship.
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  30. I will.take Shallan I LOVE redheads her hair could really "pop" off of the cover with her using Stormlight.
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  31. Shallan or Veni. They are the only two front 5 flashback characters who haven't been on one. WoK: Dalinar and Eshonai saluting across the chasm. WoR: Kaladin and Szeth OB: Jasnah (photobombed by a Thunderclast) So far the cover has been from a big battle at the end. I'm going to guess Venli at Urithiru or Shallan at Lasting Integrity or Sterling Reputation or Perfect Attendance, one of those awful sounding Honorspren cities.
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  32. I think there are two different questions here. 1. what order seems to fit Adolin the best based on the quiz order descriptions 2. what order does he seem like he’ll end up in? If he ends up in an order at all, which is still in the air... I agree he fits the stoneward fits the best on profile. At the same time, his blade that seems to be reviving is most likely a Edgedancer blade. New things feel like they’re happing with the spren and bonds and orders. He’d make a beautiful Edgedancer gliding around the battlefield too...
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  33. I made them up xD And that is the correct answer. I sent Matrim a list of 10 diseases, and he chose the one I had. I need no more proof that he indeed is a role-blocker. Illwei claimed to be the vote manipulator.
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  34. From the description, I had the impression of goats.
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  35. Life in and of itself is miraculous. The universe should not exist. Why would it? Where did it come from? Why would it happen? How did it begin? And how did it line up in such a way where life is possible? Yet we have atheism here too. And in many ways its far more rational than religion. Jasnah denies that there is an all powerful creator worthy of worship. And she's right. The almighty was not an all powerful creator deserving of worship. He was both once human with all the flaws that come with that, one of 3 such entities in that solar system, sharply limited, and not deserving of worship. He wasn't benevolent. He wasn't the creator of the cosmere. He was rigidly bound to be honorable. Nothing about that made him worthy of worship or praise. He was just powerful and in his way tried to help. He failed. He died. Shards are not gods.
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  36. wlmkfi (paraphrased) If i was holding Szeth's Oathstone would he understand my commands? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Good question, I don't believe anyone has asked it before. No, an Oathstone doesn't have any magical properties whatsoever. Supanova 2017 - Sydney (June 18, 2017)
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  37. 419: Remember the rule of ones. Anything mentioned one time in the very beginning of your journey will inevitably be the most important thing in the universe.
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  38. I thought Ashyn fell to people with Surges getting puppeted by Odium. Or is was that what drove the original voidbringers out, then in Silence Divine something else happened? Pyro raises a good point. We don't know what these diseases can do, and Silber's role existing (role erasure rather than roleblock) leaves me very very worried. Although he could be trying to generate discussion that doesn't revolve around him. That being said, I want an action.
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  39. Meaning In the cosmos, our choices are insignificant. It's fortunate, then, that we don't see our lives from the universe's perspective. What you do with your time makes a difference to you - that's what matters. Our time is short, so we must choose to give ourselves purpose. Endings define our lives.
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  40. Given that the relationship between Orders is based on shared Surges and Brandon's picking when to focus on which Order for plot reasons and to avoid overwhelming us, I suspect that the reason the Orders we've been focusing on are mostly connected on the chart is because it's easier for Brandon to jump between ones that have some similar powers than to throw us all the way across the chart where we haven't seen much if any of the Surges yet. The Willshapers share one Surge with the Elsecallers (who share one with the Lightweavers) so it won't be completely unknown territory for us to see Venli's Surgebinding.
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  41. It is now. I hereby award Channelknight Fadran with a Top Hat for bravery and heroic action. With this award, he now becomes DramaQueen's 11th Favourite, captain of Company B, Squad 12.
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  42. You could probably get Ash to spill immediately just by threatening to have Shallan draw a few pictures.
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  43. "Bring out the Edgedancer." They lock Lift in a room with the Heralds they will break.
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  44. The spears are not just made of aluminum they are also fabrails that drain stormlight. Perhaps Aluminum somehow conducts investiture? The way metals conduct electricity? I am thinking normal when investiture hits aluminum it is moved into the spiritual realm by this process and they have found a way to use this property to pull power into gemstones?
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  45. Lopen alone should contribute a couple of hundred just by recruiting some of his cousins...
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  46. When the group was onboard honorspren ship in Shadesmar, kaladin makes windspren appear on shadesmar which never happens. Now I'm thinking that ability is of supreme importance, kal can make wind (air) appear in vaccum. Might be useful in space travel in later arcs.
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  47. Hard to imagine what it would be like to have a wildly ignorant extreme narcissist as your nation's supreme executive.
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  48. It's so delicious that he catches that Fused monologuing and takes out the entire support squad without his own weapon.
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  49. Gavilar seems to be like Amaram, and if that's the case then he probably had some influence in shaping Amaram, which to me makes him worse.
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