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You know that moment where you look at your IRL friends and are like, 'why am I friends with these people'? And then you remember the Shard, and how you've never thought that. And then you remember the good things about those IRL people. And then you don't know what to think. Well I'm glad I have both.

So, I feel like I must leave the Shard for a while. It may or may not be long. (If it takes too long Fadran will probably start yelling at me). Anyway I will still be active on the Discord, but those who aren’t there, BYE GUYS! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

I’m late for yesterday’s prompt, because my photos were giving me a hard time. Here it is. I’ll post today’s prompt a little later, once I’ve finished it.

Adolin and Maya during the trip through Shadesmar. From my Reddit post: Brandon: As a mother of a child with severe cognitive delays, I want to tell you thank you. Thank you for the scenes of Adolin and Maya. Thank you for showing his belief in her and her understanding. Because the doctors told me my big girl would never be capable of anything. Would never know or understand the world. Just like all the Spren told Adolin. But she smiles when she sees me and her big brother. And she has a rivalry with her little sister. And today she lifted her hand onto her crackers because she wanted one. And, God willing, someday she’ll speak up for herself, like Maya got to do. Until then, and even after, we’ll be like Adolin, giving her our strength so she can find her own. Everyone here talks about how well you portray mental illness. But no one talks about how well you portray what it’s like to have a child with cognitive disabilities; the hopes and the struggles, and the wonder in the smallest acts. So thank you for showing it here in Rhythm of War

Yes, you read the title right. No, I wouldn't have made this if we still had the downvote-button :-P But honestly, while Moash is chull dung, he is also incredibly efficient. You have to give him that. He gets stuff done. Just look at his track record as a villain in two books: killed off Elhokar, Teft, Jezrien and Roshone, almost broke Kaladin, almost killed Navani and almost prevented the Sibling from recovering. Compare this to some of our other villains: Rayse: Spent four books being tricked by Cultivation, lost every battle he commanded despite having the better odds, and got tricked by Mr T on one of his dumber days, and then died. Sadeas: Traded away the most valuable military company on Roshar for one Blade, failed to kill Dalinar and Adolin, lost Aladars loyalty, almost got tricked by Adolin, and then died. Amaram: Was manipulated by basically everyone, failed to control Sadeas army, got tricked by Dalinar, ate an Unmade, and then died. Mraize: Has spent three books being on the phone with Shallan, and then she hung up on him. I could go on, but I think you guys get it. Moash may be reprehensible, but at least he displays competency.

First Cultivation replaces boring, dry old Tanavast with Dalinar. Then she replaces broken Rayse with Taravangian. Next she’ll replace herself with Lift. And then they can all work together to replace all the crusty old vessels throughout the Cosmere (look what happened to Ati!) Maybe she thinks the Shards need a new vessel from time to time to keep things fresh and functioning because as Todium says, the Cosmere is being run by a bunch of fools. She and Todium might be in agreement for what comes next. Because what better to cultivate than the Shards themselves! (Apologies if this is obvious and posted elsewhere. I just thought of it.)

Actually did you know the reason they shorten it to Xmas? X originates from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Christós, so sometimes in history they would... nevermind, sorry for geeking out for a second @Ookla the Shadowed My family has the same pickle tradition! There was one year that we actually lost the ornament, so we hid a real pickle. Ours is also much more competitive (because this is what my family does to everything). Usually it's a couple dollars is the prize, or something from dollar tree, but we will fight for that pickle! As most of my family are adults now, the pickle gets more and more... extravagant every year. Last year it took us three weeks to find the darn thing. We also make sugar cookies and have a big decorating party sometime during the December month. Every single year, a big argument goes down about whether we should but the angel on the tree, or the star on the tree, though at this point we've had the argument so many times that it's not a real argument. I think only once or twice have people gotten upset, usually it's just humorous stuff. The funniest part is that the main argument is "what we did last year", but no one can remember what we did the year before. The people arguing for the angel usually say, "We totally did the star last year, we've given in to you guys a couple times lately!" and the star people always say, "we never do the star! We always do the angel! The last time we did the star was when we lived in Colorado!" As you can probably guess, the angel usually wins. We hide our presents for most of December, and then the night before Christmas we set an alarm for the middle of the night, and sneak out and put our presents under the tree so that when we wake up, the presents are all underneath. We are very very very sneaky. All of us girls make Cinnamon Rolls with our great-grandma's recipe the night before, and let them rise overnight. On Christmas morning we stuff ourselves with those cinnamon rolls as we wait for the family to gather. My Dad always tells the christmas story right before the gift giving. We have a very organized way of opening presents, most Christmases in our house go into the afternoon. We all open our stockings at the same time, announcing anything that is really cool, and then we get to the bigger gifts. We start with the youngest in the family (me), but instead of getting presents for me to open, I get one present that's for anyone in the family but me or the next oldest sibling (for efficiency reasons). I deliver it to them, and while their opening it, the next oldest sibling (my brother) goes and gets the next present. Again, for anyone in the family but him or the next oldest. He holds the present in his lap while the person who just opened their gift announces it to the family, who it's from, maybe tells a story about why they got that gift, and then thanks the person who gave it to them. Then they throw the wrapping paper at our TV which is playing a video of a fireplace (this is a very vital part of our traditions). It keeps going like that, with people getting presents for each other from under the tree. Normally we take a fifteen minute break at lunch to clean up all the wrapping paper, put away the presents we've gotten, and put out the snack bar - little sausages, cheese, crackers, and black olives. Then we finish opening the presents in the afternoon.

What silliness exists in the shadows? Where can they escape from the Witless wits? Around a crackling fire where more learning is present than all of the libraries in all of the lands. Warmth spreads and songs rise. They spin around and join with wisdom around flames bounded by wisdom.

I can’t get this idea out of my head, and I haven’t been able to find folks talking about it, so I thought I’d put it to the hive mind. If this has been debunked already or is being discussed elsewhere please let me know. Also, strap in, because this gets long and rambling. Possibly mad. Theory: I think the Unmade are the Dawncities (Dawnspren) In the same way the Sibling is Urithiru. I think that Odium unmade the Dawncity spren, most likely with their consent, by offering them more freedom in the physical realm, but at a cost he played down. And the Singers either helped Odium accomplish this, or choose to attune his Rhythms anyway after seeing it happen, which I believe most other Spren would see as horrifying and unforgivable. So reasons I think this: Brandon’s world building, and foreshadowing are masterful. And anytime we get big exposition dumps and insight into the structure of a shardworld or the Cosmere (pretty much all of Oathbringer and RoW) he’s usually setting up mechanics for later stories and reveals. So we learn in RoW: The Shards are Sound. They’re vibrational energy that can be perceived as a Tone as well as light (Iridescent Tones anyone?) People can blend those tones to create new harmonious or dissonant tones/light, and Shards can blend their tones/light to shape the stone of Roshar and with Intent create a massive sapient spren. Those spren can be Unmade. Exactly like we see Raboniel doing to the sibling, but Odium would be doing this at a much greater scale, and more quickly. Add to that to all the comparisons between Urithiru and Kholinar’s strata in Oathbringer. So here’s some wild speculation: Before the Shattering, Adonalsium creates the Rosharan system, and the planet of Roshar. He is God, and as God created an ineffable and infinite universe. But maybe, the part of Adonalsium that is sentient and personal, wanted to create an Eden. A place of perfect harmony and symbiosis where the perfect tones of Adonalsium ring through the cosmere. Regardless, he makes the system and the planet, and it is the Garden of Eden, for crabs. As part of this elegant and divine ecological system Adonalsium uses his pure tones to shape the Dawncities, which is why they look like cymatic patterns, and in that shaping gives the Dawncities sentience and effectively creates the first spren. Or maybe creates it all simultaneously, because he’s God. So crab folks have a place to live, the continent itself talks to them and cares for them (there has to be a spren of Roshar, the closest real world analog I can find is Roshii, Japanese for old teacher. And often associated with a Turtle. Shelled creature. That cannot be a coincidence when the other two planets are called Ashyn and Braize- the burnt and the burning, respectively.) Tangent aside, these folk are happy as clams. They’re singing to their stones, and the stones are singing back. All is peaceful, and harmonious and in perfect symbiotic stasis. And probably so, so, boring. As Raboniel tells us, and shows us with her actions, the Singers are more inclined to work within natural systems, than push the boundaries of the systems. Enter Hoid, and/or the 16 original vessels, I think as the Cosmere developed, life found ways to travel and eventually stumbled upon this idyllic crab world and Hoid got to dance with a Dawnsinger. (Although this could definitely have happened post shattering) I think that their visits to Roshar may have seeded the jealousy and ambition that led to the shattering So Hoid and the vessels leave, shatter Adonalsium, scoop up some god bits and ascend to limited divinity, hoping to go make they’re own little paradises. Then they realize, oh damn, we did not understand what we were getting into. They agree to go their separate ways, and play with their own toys in their own rooms. Hoid gets no toys. Honor and Cultivation make their way back to Roshar, because it calls to their respective Intents, and set up shop. But it’s chugging right along because it was designed by God to be a perpetual investiture machine, and doesn’t really require him to be “present”. Honor and Cultivation start experimenting and copying what Adonalsium did with the original spren(Dawncities), and from this we get the Stormfather, the Nightwatcher, and the True Spren. Enter Odium. He’s been wandering around the Cosmere, splintering shards, like one does. Sees Honor and Cultivation and says: I am going to break their toys, and then break them. He enters the system, sets up shop on Ashyn, and either creates human life there, or he appropriates humans that settled there pre or post shattering. Odium pushes these humans’ passions to such an extent that they break their planet. Honor and Cultivation allow refugees to come to Roshar, and set up a nice ecological reserve for them, they just need to follow some rules. The Serpent is in the Garden. I think allowing the humans onto Roshar, gave Odium the foothold he needed to work around Honor and Cultivation. Probably through some Connection mumbo-jumbo. Because it definitely allowed Odium to become a pure Tone of Roshar, which I don’t think he was entirely just being in the Rosharan system. Odium becoming a pure tone that the Singers could hear would definitely influence their feelings about him and would allow him to spread his promises and suggestions, like the proverbial serpent from Genesis. And convincing 9 of the most powerful spren on the planet; the Dawncities themselves, to embrace their passions and take his light/tone, would be very thematically consistent with Odiums Intent. (Also don’t think the similarities between the Unmade and the Nazghul are coincidence. 9 unmade, 9 nine rings of temptation, 9 kings, come on.) So Odium corrupts and unmakes the Unmade, and probably creates the Fused at the same time with similar promises. Then he pushes those humans still loyal to him to start a war. Honor, Cultivation, and most of the spren, see this as a horrific betrayal. They swear off the Singers and convince those humans disillusioned with Odium to fight against him for the good of the planet. Honor copies Odiums idea with the Unmade but tweaks it a bit to create the Heralds. Ishar uses his knowledge of Connections to create the Oathpact. Which binds Odium to Braize, and probably stops him from being able to unmake any more spren, or make more Fused. But the Heralds constantly bending/breaking their oaths while intrinsically bonded to the god of Oaths create the opening needed to splinter Honor. Similar to what Odium says to Dalinar when they’re hashing out the details for the contest of champions. Whew, ok. Done now. Timeline may be a bit wonky, but I think it fits.

People keep talking about Syladin saying “oh it’s possible now, we saw spren bodies in the physical realm”. Everyone seems to be glossing over the part about how those bodies are kinda super DEAD. Being in the physical realm is unnatural for them, it’s horrible. Even if you found a way to keep them alive, it’s probably excruciatingly painful.

Three things: One: Two: Three:

I have been thinking about this more after this book and I do not think I agree with this. I think we will see something similar to the MB books between era 1 and 2. There will be a distinct conclusion/resolution after book 5 with some lingering implications like we saw in MB. The reason I feel strongly about this is there will be some considerable time both in world and out of world between the two series. I just do not see Brandon letting doom and gloom linger that long. For sure some characters will not have a "happy ending" but overall I think book 5 will end on a positive note. Of course just like you said it is all opinions at this point and man so many of ours have been wrong here on the shard

Tbh,and I'll always say it ,the Navani Raboniel dynamic was the best thing about this book,I loved it. I don't even see Raboniel as a villian because from their perspective,they are just fighting for what's rightfully theirs. This to me is the very top thing I want to see Brandon explain,how is he gonna reconcile millenia of fighting between the two races. Anyway,I digress,The Lady of Wishes and The Voice of Lights killleeeddddd ittttttttt

Oh boy I just found this I better post before the next prompt ahhh If you ever doubt your abilities as an artist, behold me

This is gonna be a long rant.... EVERYTHING KALADIN! From beginning to end, every darn part which featured Kaladin was phenomenal. So well written, so engaging that I was sitting of edge of my seat, screaming and sputtering nonsense about what would happen next! Part 1, him being badass, fighting Pursuer for first time and then Leshwi, getting powers supressed but still managed to kill 4 singers along with freaking Pursuer within seconds--talk about skills now! Then Moash came and it was heart-breaking. I actually froze when Kaladin did...I wanted to move, I wanted him to move but I KNEW we could not. We just couldn't. And then seeing Teft, Lopen and Skar talking to their Highmarshal, making sure he's alright was touching. And then he became surgeon and all I imagined him as wearing apron with wide-broad shoulders and stormy blue eyes, looking fiercely handsome as storms was to die for. Then Kaladin planning to bring a medical revolution, making path to become Roshar's first therapist...they need that difference, and he was being that difference-- Brandon did extraordinary out of extraordinary. All those interactions between Adolin and Kaladin, the former making sure the other isn't alone...that is the ultimate friendship, the best Sanderson has ever written. I'm hoping they get to have such interactions again in book 5. And then, whatever came next kept me tittering on edge. When Radiants fell and Kaladin didn't, I understood his fears of facing failure and witnessing others succumbing while he remained standing...watching and reeling. The whole chase in dark hallways, running from Pursuer and I was like Don't GET CAUGHT! RUN! Then Kal and Syl talking to each other, sharing parts of lingering darkness in their souls...promising each other to be their lights made my heart melt. Syl is the ONLY one I could accept for Kaladin. They have something so deep, so unfathomable that only death shall do them apart. Then Kaladin being all badass again without half of his powers, shooting around DIE HARD and always coming right in time to foil plans of Reboniel, escaping--then interacting with Dalinar as Rider. Then came The Dog and The Dragon. I was just...damn...uncontrollable tears began leaking out listening to this story. I was scared and confused and petrified when Odium kept torturing Kaladin in freaking Braize, and then Wit came and he's like...yeah, things are going to be worse after this but by the end of it...you'll be warm again Kaladin, you will have the light you need in this night... Part 5...it was an avalanche I expected but was flabbergasted each page. The whole sequence of Kaladin walking, headstrong, eyes confronting darkest storms-- being HOPE for his people, being SHIELD that they needed, being the POWER and STRENGTH they flared within and then locking gazes with Pursuer, and then defeating him--the glorysprens and people revering him with chants as Stormblessed...I was shaking, trembling...and then Teft...I wasn't crying then. I was too stunned to even turn the page. I was too stunned to even move and pick what Kal does next. I was just frozen in time just like Kal, kneeling beside Teft body, kneeling beside the man who has always believed him from beginning--who had loved him like his own son--was now...gone, never to smile and laugh again... What came next was a scene that would haunt in my nightmares. Kaladin going all berserker and then brutally murdering Pursuer--ripping his freaking head out then proceeding to kill two more Fused without even blinking--that fear, that expression raised hair on back of my neck. And then he jumped. I'm not strong enough. Then whole scene with Tien was...alright, I was horribly crying by this time. Emotions were running so high, so bad...you're good enough, Kal for me. You're strong enough for me. You are here with me...it doesn't matter how painful it becomes, the enemy cannot have our moments. He cannot have our light, our Connection. He cannot take what we make, we cherish....and then Kaladin rose, in the black storm, in black winds-- a lance of light as he spoke 4th Ideal holding Syl's hand...it couldn't have been better. It couldn't have been so cinematic, so ground-breaking when thousands upon thousands of Windspren chose to Connect with him, forming a tunnel of Radiance light and HOLDING BACK A FREAKING HIGHSTORM! And then they slammed into him--finally rewarding him a living Shardplate to be reborn as Kaladin Stormblessed, the Knight Radiant! Just wow! Plus, the way he used his Shardplate to protect others...clever, crafty and wonderful. And then, he finally bid goodbye to Teft, embracing his statue then smiling to fulfil what his old friend would've wanted. To start healing himself. Can't wait for next book and his adventures! Maya and Adolin I don't think this scene needs any description because "WE CHOSE" had me trembling, cursing tenth name of Almighty at the ferocity of those words! "YOU CANNOT HAVE MY SACRIFICE!" Yes Maya, yes! Show them girl, show them all that you are not dead. Show them all that it was your choice, not theirs. Show them that you sacrificed to save Roshar! And Adolin, dear, you amazing man! Lending support to his spren, teaching her kata, teaching her to fighting side by side! Reboniel A show stealer she was. Killing her daughter so that she could be free, protecting Navani from Vyre even though she was nearly gone... Her last interaction with Navani...together singing Rhythm of War was...damn, it got me. Leshwi "Ask your spren..." she whispered, attuning to joy, "Ask your spren does she know a honorspren Riah? She was my friend...they have returned! They have forgiven us!" This moment when this creature of thousand years became overwhelmed and fell on her knees, remembering a friend who was long gone...Sanderson, why do you keep stabbing us! Shallan I'm your veil, Shallan...you made me so that I can protect you, and now it's time for me to go so that you can protect yourself. You are strong enough. You can do this. A satisfying acceptance to her arc. Teft Aw, Teft...when I reel back to TWoK and recall how he supported Kaladin throughout his journey as a Knight Radiant, then waited right at mouth of chasms for him to come back...struggled with addiction but swore his Ideal...then stayed back in RoW with Kaladin so that both of them can lean on each other, whispering about their trauma....their battle shock. And then...his interactions with Phendorana are so funny-- both of them carved out of same wood. He shifted as Phendorana poked him. He looked over and caught her grinning as well. “Fine,” he muttered. “You were storming right. You have always been right.” Teft was worth saving. And when they were going to save radiants, yes Teft, you did good with Kaladin. Maybe your life wasn't the way it is but you did with Kaladin for which he loves you so, so much...and your spren does too. Yes, she is one of the best thing that happened to you. And then...Vyre came and everything shattered. But like I said, it made me cry...I was heaving from sobs but in end I knew it wasn't Moash who won because just like Tien said, the enemy cannot ever have what we do. It cannot have our moments, the feeling of being loved and feeling of loving someone more than your life. And Teft died knowing that in world, there are people who love him, people who will never, ever forget the legend he lived. The better man be became. Confident, and somehow still full of hope.... Rlain Keep fighting, a voice said in his head. Salvation will be, Rlain, listener. Bridger of Minds. I have been sent to you by my mother, at the request of ­Renarin, Son of Thorns. I have watched you and seen your worthiness. Speak the Words, and do not despair. AHHHHHH! RLAIN AND RENARIN ARE GOING TO BE SO AWESOME TRUTHWATCHER DUO! Dabbid Life before death Yes! Yes! And Finally Navani "Journey before Destination, you bastard!" In your face!

Here's a picture of a fallen tree in the woods today, I didn't edit the color at all, the tree was actually even more purple looking than in the picture. Crazy.

In that scene, Lirin is clearly feeling sorry for himself and exaggerating for effect. The rest of the scene - where he confronts the townsfolk - and a later scene helps clarify this issue some more, and discusses the very issue of moving away from the town: (emphasis mine) One sentence expressed in frustration isn't a perfect reflection of the situation. There's clearly some level of affection/respect between the townsfolk and Lirin. Leaving them is abandoning them; the fact that Lirin could easily find a job elsewhere speaks to the rarity of competent medical professionals. Even if they could somehow find another physician, what is the likelihood they would provide similar level of care for a similar cost? It's weird to say that helping the townsfolk is somehow putting Lirin's interest over his family's. You could argue that he's putting the townsfolk's interest over his family's (though even that is not quite so cut and dried) but it's not reasonable to simply ignore the benefit Lirin's services bring to the townsfolk. Regardless of whether or not Lirin has ulterior motives for staying (and again, this is far from obvious), his presence does benefit the townsfolk. Blaming Lirin for Tien getting conscripted is almost literally victim blaming. Let's be clear: the reason Tien gets conscripted is because of Roshone. Assigning responsibility for Tien getting conscripted to Lirin requires, among other things, for Lirin to have somehow expected conscription to occur in the first place. No one in town expected this: Lirin not specifically mentioning Tien with respect to the immunity from conscription is because he's surprised like everyone else in town, and he's working through the possible consequences in real time with the rest of the townsfolk. Suggesting that Lirin should have predicted that this was going to occur and pre-emptively move away is applying a ridiculous standard to Lirin. Here's a counterpoint: if this was so likely and predictable, why didn't Hesina already think of it and have discussed it with Lirin beforehand? Or did she also 'not consider Tien much at all?' There's a number of signs that Kaladin's desire for fighting is not quite as pure as it may seem at first glance: (emphasis mine) We can see in Kaladin's thoughts a bit of a slip - his thoughts are that he needs to train with Zahel to be able to beat the Fused, something which he's supposed to have moved on from. This is ultimately why Zahel ends up rejecting Kaladin. Kaladin's propensity for violence and his enjoyment of it are real potential issues and Lirin's concern about it is not unfounded. Lirin was out of line when he called Kaladin a monster. it turns out though that people get emotional and can say hurtful things to people they love. We recognize that love by seeing them make up and move beyond it; this is precisely what occurs after Hesina challenges Lirin to look at Kaladin's position. I covered this in the earlier post in the thread. To reiterate that post (and the main gist of this one as well): Lirin is not perfect, but to consider him significantly worse than any other character in the series require you to hold him to an absurd standard.

It is on Scadrial! Rest of the Cosmere: You wear... tin foil hats... Scadrians: No, aluminum foil. It protects from mind control! Rest of the Cosmere: (rapidly backsteps) Oookaaay then... Assuming they don’t know about Brass/Zinc, that is. Aluminum seems to block everything, so it probably could block Connection. Odds are this would be lethal for the Heralds, who seem to need the constant Connection to maintain their existence. The Heralds need a way to become self-sustaining. It probably would work for Kell, but he wouldn’t be able to leave the box as his ‘tether’ would immediately drag him back to Scadrial. He needs a way to cut the tether without damaging himself. Unlike the Heralds, he’s a Sliver and is self-sustaining. He’s actually much closer to a Spren than they are.

I completely agree on that. Raboniel is honestly one of my favorite villains ever now. She was extremely intelligent, cared about her daughter, and was legitimately impressed when Navani outsmarted her. And despite all that, she was still definitely a villain. You rarely see so much depth in the evil characters, especially when they're female.

I'm not sure why I went into this thread thinking that this would be about Navani giving Kaladin Bridge Four, and thinking that I'd just missed that in the book or something.

Shallan is probably actually my favorite character, probably because I suffer from avoidant personality disorder, and it's similar in a lot of ways to what she's going through. I do get how most of you find her frustrating, and I imagine she was frustrating to write. And I think that's somewhat intentional. The world is slowly working on acceptance, for example go check out the Jasnah and Rlain sexuality posts, so much love on those posts. But people are like "I just hate that version of her" bro she hates all of the versions of her. Especially towards the end, where she's having a full blown meltdown, and her trying to rationalize with herself - I love it. I think people are more sympathetic towards Kal because everyone has fought some amount of depression. I mean shots fired, we're here obsessing over a book. It's an escape, it's our escape, if you're reading this, you probably suffer from depression. Shallan suffers from something a little more rare, and difficult to understand. But so example. Be me, physically handicapped (though not as much as many) terrified of people, certain loud noises, paranoid, just want to sleep and hide. I work a job where that won't do. I had to create an aspect of myself that was confident, self assured, bold. I do this because helping people is a core ideal for me I guess. But most times, when my weekend rolls around after a week of 12 hour shifts listening to, reacting to, and fighting the horrors that are reality in our world, I'm exhausted more than just physically. It's a heavy mask to wear. Friends moved on, I frustrated them too much by wanting to be around them but not wanting to do anything. Relationships don't work, I'm a burden. Everything Shallan has going on in her head is real. The personas don't help her cope, they help her survive. Anyways, tldr, you're absolutely allowed to not care for Shallan as a character, that's your right as a reader. Just maybe cut her some slack, she's trying. (Also this isn't meant to be a pity-party-post, just thought maybe a realistic example would help) Cheers guys

I like the line in The Way of Kings about her Shardblade being the "fruit of her greatest sin", which never really made sense until we learned that her greatest sin was killing Testament.

Finally, we are having a separate discussion on this! So, why Kaladin's eyes turned yellowish-red? Hmm...the correct answer is... Nobody knows. But there are theories and it began the moment everyone fell unconscious to Tower's corruption except Kaladin Stormblessed. Kaladin remaining awake just because he's 'far enough into his oaths' or 'close to Honor' is a generalized way of saying we freaking don't know. It is weird to know that each individual oaths have their own levels, and if we look into Kal's story from mid-part 3 and part 4, then Kaladin certainly wasn't going 'far enough into his oaths'. His depression was taking control in episodic manner, crippling his insides but Stormblessed never lost his powers. It meant he should be 'going down on his oaths' but that wasn't the case. In fact, he got better to use Adhesion as the story progressed. Teft regained his consciousness only when Lift healed him, and he needed a constant supply of Lifelight healing to stay awake or else he'd stumble back into coma. And pretty sure the whole tower was filled with Radiants who have been far along their oaths as well. For example, I heard Stoneward squires present which meant that at least a Stoneward was already into her third Ideal to have squired. Doesn't make sense, does it? I think we need a whole new page for that. But remember something has always been different about Kaladin from other radiants. Anyway, let's come back to our yellow-eyes stuff. It's Odium trying to enter his soul. Here is how that goes: RoW spoilers: The moment Teft died, Kal's soul began fracturing and Odium invaded in, trying to tempt Kaladin by taking away his pain and making him feel nothing again. There was a power struggle between the Honor within Kaladin and Odium's temptation and it manifested in form of corrupted Investiture which surprisingly Kaladin was able to control. But corrupted Investiture often exhibits abnormal behaviour in Surges ex. Rlain/Renarin's Futuresight but in case of Kaladin, Honor's true Surges manifested still (another mystery) which meant he was pushing Odium back despite the pain and temptation. People think Kal's resolve will break but I know by far he has one of the strongest will power to combat against anything. Oh, and for why Reverse Lashing didn't glow like Gravitation Lashing? It's simple because it doesn't. Here is the explanation: But there are a whole lot of things which make little sense about Kaladin: His spidery senses while trying to avoid Pursuer. His whole remaining conscious since Tower corruption has not been explained properly. The way Cryptics near Elhokar tried to avoid when Kal came near. 'Shadows go away' Kaladin never felt effect of Tower's corruption except 'a growing darkness pressing against him' Kaladin's power kept working even though healing was difficult, in fact his powers kept improving. Why didn't Kaladin's Surges behaved abnormally when Odium Connected to him? Why Honor's true Surge still remained unchanged? Reverse Lashing is a combo of Gravitation-Adhesion. Tower put a damp of Gravitation but then how RL still worked? The freaking whole Son/Child of Tanavast thing! What the heck did Odium see in future about him? Vyre kept repeating that 'Kaladin Stormblessed can't be killed, he's the force of storms and storm can't be defeated.' X ten times in whole book. Why would he repeart this? What did Odium showed to Vyre? The way Kaladin uses his Surges/Windspren to freaking deflect Highstorms!! AHHH HOW is that possible! In case you are wondering some interim detailed reasons for Kaladin to remain awake during occupation, I have delivered a long reasoning about it in a separate thread. The link's below, do check it out and provide your views. Why Kaladin was awake during occupation?

So literally just finished rhythm of war and while reading it I had a thought that I had to get down. Don't know if anyone thought of this already but i believe Mraize is the rogue aimian. That is why he has scars on his face. To hide the seams between his cremlings. I'll add my other observations that led me to believe this tomorrow but just wanted to put it down while i had the chance

I've seen several hate posts floating around on here, and while I completely understand needing to rant, sometimes you just need to rave about things instead. So here ya go! This post is ONLY for things that make ROW great. NO criticisms, NO hating on characters or plot points, NO talking about things you wish had happened. If someone loves something you hate, DON'T SAY ANYTHING. I don't want any arguing debates, no matter how polite it may be. This is a safe place for fans to be fans. Talking about sad or terrifying things is totally allowed, as they add to the overall stakes and make the book more exciting. Hopes and theories about the next book are also allowed. I'm going to start out by talking about the one scene (ok, scenes) that made me cry: The Fourth Ideal. Teft's death did not make me cry (I was too much in shock for that), but it DID put me on an emotional high that just kept rising when Kaladin gave up, and then Tien showed up and that was it. I was gone. I'M SO PROUD OF KALADIN. Also, I'm fascinated by Dalinar's powers, because not only did he send Kaladin the vision-y thing, he also ACCEPTED THE WORDS. Imo, this is the best argument I've seen that he'll ascend later. The Coppermind makes Bondsmith powers seem so simple, but all they did was list the Surges. There's something BEYOND that when it comes to Bondsmiths.

I feel like there is something big here. Is it the Sakaar of Roshar? How is this merchant getting so many items? Hoid’s Flute was something Kaladin left behind in the Shattered Plains as were Sigzil’s brushes. But Tien’s horse was back in Sadeas’ homeland. And Rock loves his Razor why would he just get rid of it? I feel there is something big here. And by something big, I mean something minor.

0. TL;DR Ba-Ado-Mishram is an ancient, natural Bondsmith spren of Odium, and the "spren" of the Eila Stele's "spren, stone, and wind"[27]. 1. Wait, isn't that the Sibling? 2. Okay then, why Ba-Ado-Mishram? 3. But why do you think she wasn't Unmade? 4. And if she was Unmade? 5. Why did she gain new abilities at the time of the False Desolation? 6. There's a few WoBs and quotes that contradict the theory... 7. References

So it's not finalized and some of the lyrics are iffy, but: Elkohar: Jasnah! Navani's kissing Dalinar! I saw mommy kissing Dalinar Right beside the fabrial at night Kal didn't see me creep Past his guards to have a peek He thought that I was guarded In my palace fast asleep Then I saw mommy read for Dalinar As he sat by her and looked at her just right Oh how bad it would have been If Daddy had been alive to see Mommy kissing Dalinar last night Jasnah (skeptically): You saw mother kissin', kissin', kissin' Dalinar? Elkohar: I did, I really did see her kissing Dalinar! Jasnah: And I'm supposed to believe that? Interlude happens You saw mother kissing Dalinar Right beside the fabrial at night? Oh, what a laugh it would have been If I had actually believed You 'saw' mommy kissing Dalinar last night Elkohar Jasnah But you really should believe You expect me to believe That I really saw That you have really seen Mommy kissing Dalinar last night Mommy kissing Dalinar last night Elkohar (Jasnah refuses to accept, maybe skeptical noises): I did, I did, I really did see Navani kissing Dalinar! You gotta believe me, you just gotta believe me C'mon, Jasnah, believe me, please just believe me Feedback is welcomed/requested

*ahem* I know I already did one of these today, but I just noticed something odd. I've been stuck at Full Feruchemist for what feels like forever, and now all of a sudden I'm a Worldbringer. It just shocked me when I saw it. That is all, sorry.

Finally finished it! Part 2 of Forces of Nature. In case you missed yesterday's, here is link: And here's the story:

When you open a new bag of brown sugar, and it does the thing where it cracks, and you think, 'ah, the Shattered Plains.'

@Ookla's Dice

I'm going to have to nitpick this. Dalinar is a ridiculously busy man, dealing with a buttload of trauma and regrets, and has discovered relatively recently that the son who he thought was a stand-up kid (and probably considered to be a better person than himself, at that) murdered a guy in cold blood and kept it secret from Dalinar for weeks, only admitting it when he was about to be given lots of power. This is like calling Lirin the worst father ever for being mad at Kaladin because Kaladin's now a war-hero Radiant. (Lirin isn't a great dad, and I think he's a weak man in his own way, but then I think Dalinar is weak in a very specific way too, which I'll get to in a moment) These men are kind of going through something like what Kaladin did in WoR--unsettled and trying to deal with a whole bunch of new, unexpected things. They're going to stumble and storm up before things get fixed. Also Dalinar has always been a kind of distant father, even after he tried to be a better guy and father after Cultivation pruned him. He also has a tendency to project his own values onto others--he assumed that Sadeas worked in the same fundamental framework and with similar fundamental values right up until Sadeas betrayed him, and he took that extremely personally. He assumed that Adolin was basically a mini-Dalinar even though they're dramatically different people (both in terms of how they are good people and in terms of their way of their self-awareness). E.G. Dalinar doesn't really understand how corrupt and broken Alethi society is on an internal level. He recognizes it consciously but he's just not able to internalize it even when he tries really, really hard and acts like a total sociopath to try to drown out the screams in his flashbacks. Adolin instinctively understands that Alethi society is fundamentally broken on an internal level even if it takes him a while to externalize that, and he has a grade-A chull-dung detector where Dalinar has a tendency to get suckered by people like Sadeas and Amaram and has to work to be more aware of cremlings like those two. (Adolin smelled chull dung on Amaram the moment that worm stepped foot on the Shattered Plains even though his relationship with Kaladin was a hot (probably closeted bisexual) mess at the time; Dalinar had to put Amaram to the test before he could truly believe it, even though he otherwise trusts Kaladin implicitly) And Daliniar doesn't get that Adolin is so fundamentally different from him. So basically Dalinar looked at his son admitting that he murdered Sadeas, and refusing to apologize, and he remembered being the Blackthorn on the battlefield thinking that being honest about being a monster would make the screaming stop, and he thought, Oh storms, my son is becoming me. And he doesn't quite get that no, that's not what Adolin's becoming, Adolin killed Sadeas because he thought of all the lives that Sadeas had ruined and would ruin and recognized that Sadeas needed to be stopped, in that moment, by any means necessary. Dalinar internally glosses over Adolin's guilt over killing Sadeas and never seems to grasp Adolin's fear of holding power because he just doesn't understand how fundamentally internally honest Adolin has always been with himself. (Because Adolin is clearly feeling guilty about murdering a man in a dark corridor in cold blood, and while he knows internally also that Sadeas was a monster who had to be stopped, he does not want to risk becoming somebody who could treat lives with casual disregard) Dalinar is a weak man in this way. He is easily suckered, he has to work at understanding others, he is hard on Adolin because he sees him as a mini-me. Dalinar IMO needs to understand--and I think this is probably going to be a big character moment for him, almost certainly important wrt. his Bondsmith oaths--that he and Adolin are very different people internally, he needs to internalize this. Dalinar grew up in the shadow of a brother he both idolized and resented, a brother who everybody admired but was probably always just a charismatic abusive/manipulative asshole. Adolin grew up protecting and supporting a brother who he loved passionately and who was picked on by everybody. Dalinar developed a longing to be a better man because he couldn't cope with being an asshole and probably a little bit of wishing he could be what he saw in Gavilar. Adolin grew up learning every single slight and petty cruelty heaped upon his brother, learned how to protect and support Renarin, learned people in a way Dalinar never really had to, while watching his father, the Great Man of History he idolized, crumble before his very eyes. He also very clearly had to learn himself as well--I will bet my life savings that there was a moment in Adolin and Renarin's past where Renarin got frustrated at Adolin being overprotective and Adolin had to learn how to let Renarin stand up for himself. So basically they are coming from completely different formative experiences and Dalinar has trouble recognizing that. Does this make Dalinar a terrible father? No. It makes Dalinar...slightly better than Lirin. Which is basically, not terrible, but also emotionally distant and difficult to be the child of. Dalinar is not a horrible person or an evil parent, he's a flawed man who's doing his best to be better every day. Just like Lirin is a flawed man who tries his best (even if he can be storming infuriating). Also I kind of get the feeling that Adolin kind of wants to be his father but also knows that he never can be because they're fundamentally different and might be struggling with that a bit, rereading his bits in WOR. And that's my incoherent word salad of the day. XD

Well, here's a picture of the shadow of a tiny Christmas tree. Unfortunately, my phone's camera isn't super great. And the bird, the tiny gremlin that things he's the center of the universe. He made taking that first picture very difficult. Merry Christmas!

I didn't have much time so...

OK, this is way more whimsical than I usually write, but let's go (for the prompt: tree): Sequel coming tomorrow!

YAY Advent!!!! I am by no means an artist, but I still want to participate, so here’s my drawing for the day! I might have a few days I miss, but I’m trying to do a Polaroid drawing everyday! Also this is my 500th post woot woot.

I mean...calling established and very real mental illnesses ‘cringe’ is honestly super tacky but whatever floats your goat I guess... This was actually one of the best reveals imo, because there actually are some very subtle but very clear hints in tWoK. A couple times she thinks about how she needs 10 heartbeats to do something, and when the Patternblade was revealed, we all thought it was referring to that, but obviously Living Blades don’t need 10 heartbeats to be summoned. So there were hints that Shallan had a dead shardblade since the very beginning.

If Ruin and Preservation were each others’ anti-investitures, then Sazed would never have been able to pick up both Shards and mix them together. Anti-investitures don’t mix, they cancel each other out, which seems to result in explosions. I don’t think the intents are really relevant once the investiture is brought to the physical realm. I think the Shard/intent is more like a filter that the investiture goes through when it is brought over from the spiritual realm, which results in the different rhythms (which are essentially frequencies of investiture). This is also why the Shard’s intent has more to do with the ability to access investiture and than with the actual powers that the investiture fuels. The names Towerlight and Warlight are something people gave the hybrid lights after the fact because they needed something to call them and these names seemed fitting/descriptive. They aren’t indicative of some new Intent being given to the investiture. I don’t think investiture itself has intent, or else you couldn’t use Preservation investiture to destroy things. It’s the Shards themselves (and people) that have Intent, which shapes the rhythm of the investiture that they bring into the physical/cognitive realms.

Yeah, I think given the timing of these letters, it's more likely to be Autonomy. If it were Odium, Harmony would know and mention it. Harmony's thinking about Odium, talking to Hoid about plans to combat him, watching him. And in the timeline, at this point Harmony's *already* opposing that force. If it were Odium, the force wouldn't be mysterious, it would just be Odium. Autonomy is conspicuously absent from the list of Shards that Harmony mentions contacting. That fits with Autonomy being an "unseen antagonist" - if Harmony knew what the red force was, he'd have named it in Mistborn, but he hasn't, so it must be something he hasn't identified by name.

I'd assumed it was He Who Quiets. (And I'd be happy for him to take it back, with prejudice. Storm Moash!)

Storms. I've just discovered how liberating getting past a writer's block can be.

This was fun to make, haven't ever made anything like it before.

Tbh the Rosharan being 7ft tall, I’m willing to bet good money this is actually a singer and not a human under that armor, another good reason to not reveal the face.

@Oltux72 pretty sure this will be the case. as it was with Mistborn Era 1 and 2. I have similar feeling about Navani and the Sibling. its one of the big gripes I have with the series. every Kholin is special and does something amazing. Adolin could have been the one ray of hope, but nah. hes about to do the impossible and give Maya a second life. Navani bonding the Sibling... ugh.

When you realize M. C. Escher must have visited Lasting Integrity...