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MR54: Cycle One: Shaking and Pacing: The Emperor of the Rose Empire, hailing from the Glory Faction- a faction that truly lived up to its name- did not feel particularly glorified at the moment. In fact, he was downright terrified. He paced across his room, waiting tensely for his Head Arbiter to counsel with him. The man was late. Curse him. No, the Emperor thought. He's the most trusted friend I have right now. Maybe my only friend. There was a single knock at his door, a deliberate one made with a sharpness that the Emperor recognized. "Come in", he said, wincing. When did his voice become so weak. He knew the answer to that. The moment the Heritage Faction had arisen from the pit of slime he had cast them into, and everything had begun to go wrong. His Head Arbiter strolled through, unusually calm. Perhaps the Emperor was just unusually tense. "My Emperor." he said, bowing so low his bald head almost brushed the tiled floor. The Emperor waved a hand. "Stand up, man. We haven't got the time for the formalities." "Yes, my Emperor." The Arbiter rose, then retreated to close the door. Smart man. As he studied the Arbiter's demeanor, the Emperor was reminded why the Arbiter was in the position of power he was. He knew how to handle a crisis. And they had a long list of things which to discuss. * * * Not quite so deep under the palace as they once had been, the Soul Forger plotted. The time called for action, and action required a closer proximity to those who were to be acted upon. The Soul forger smiled, shaking a bit at their continual relishing of the moment. Finally, they thought for what was the dozenth time. Finally, it can begin. And begin it would. Right now. Cycle One has begun! The cycle will end in a bit under 48 hours, on Monday, November 8th, at 1pm PST. There will be an execution today, with no vote minimum. Tied votes will result in a decision by RNG. PMs are open, 1-on-1 only. Please include myself and Elandera in any PMs you create. Each player is allotted a single action per cycle. Don’t forget to use it! An activity filter has been added. Failure to post for two cycles will result in replacement or removal. The Soul Forger has been included in the game, just to be clear. If you did not receive a PM, please contact me ASAP. Player List:

I hear you need another player in order to have an SK. Say no more, Steel is coming out of break for a shot at murdering everyone again

Sorry, think I'm going to have to pull out. I'll have to remember to use Kaoren another time. It's the third day of leave and I'm still passed out so I don't think I'm in a good state to play a game. Apologies, and have fun with your murdering!

Yep Nope In the same way that healing can't seal the cracks in your soul that let Investiture in, it wouldn't be able to restore the Spiritweb's original shape. Savantism changes the Spiritweb, but it doesn't register as "damage," similar to how it's not (directly) damage when excercise affects your physiology. Or possibly more like ritualistic skull deformation an the like. Or inbetween those points. Per this WoB (spoilered for length): Healing doesn't really have an effect on Savantism. And since healing (generally) acts by aligning the Physical with the Spiritual, as filtered through the Cognitive, and the problem is that the Spiritweb has changed from repeated infusions of Investiture, so the healing would neither fix the Physical side effects or the Spiritual "deformation." I imagine it's similar to being a Sliver, which Brandon has described as being like how a ballon that has been inflated stays stretched if deflated, but with your soul, and, in the case of Savantism, on a much smaller scale. Brandon has also alternatively described Savantism as warping the soul and opening the cracks in the soul more. I'd think if anything can "purge" Savantism from your Spiritweb, other than the known Shardic intervention, would be aluminium and (possibly) chromium allomancy: But that depends on what "healing the Spiritweb" means and what the nature of Savantism is. If Savantism doesn't leave residual Investiture in your Spiritweb, you probably couldn't purge it via these methods. Interestingly enough, Savantism is also described as being like an unchecked spren bond: And per an earlier WoB, the reason why Radiants are "protected" is not because of healing. If healing doesn't oust the spren from the Spiritweb, it probably can't oust Savantism. It is of course possible that if you know what you are doing and have enough Investiture, you could replicate however a Shard can undo Savantism, but that is probably something that requires some mental trick, Intent or both. I'm not so sure about that, once the Spiritweb has been warped, it might stay that "shape" until further warping. So it might just regrow in the same "shape." If I'm not mistaken, the time clause on healing is because of the healing filtering through the Cognitive, which I'm not sure would happen when healing the Spiritweb. Or if this is about healing away the Physical consequences, I could maybe see that being the case, though you'd still be working from a warped Spiritweb. I want to quibble the "purposefully" here, I don't think that you need to specifically try to become a Savant, though of course actively trying would make it happen faster, assuming that you can freely use your powers. You'd warp your soul faster if you were deliberately shooting for it, but I don't think Spook was trying to become a Savant. But of course in doesn't really happen to people who use their powers more sparingly. Brandon has also said, both in world and in WoB, that some people become Savants without noticing, which wouldn't be possible if it required Intent. ¤_¤

Other: Nale’s nuts

There actually is a break when he merges with the Well, and then wakes up in it.

okay well seeing as I'm somehow not in this game I'm signing up as a pinch hitter @Matrim's Dice

Anylasis of the Rules: Combined 48 hour cycles. There will be an execution each cycle, with no vote minimum. Tied votes will be decided by RNG. PMs are open. They must be 1-1 and include both the GM and IM. Each player is allotted one action per cycle. Nothing unusual here, the only real thing of note is that PMs are open. Go wild. Factions: The Glory Faction: Standard village faction. The Glory Faction wins when all members of the Heritage Faction, and the Soul Forger, are dead. The Heritage Faction: Standard eliminator faction. Has a kill each cycle, which counts as an action. The Heritage Faction wins when they outnumber the Glory Faction, and the Soul Forger is dead. Nothing unusual, both need to kill the soul forger. The Soul Forger: Neutral faction and role. The Soul Forger wins when all members of the Glory Faction and the Heritage Faction are dead. An SK, which seems to normally be quite rare in SE, so we'll see how it goes. Soul Forger: The Soul Forger has a Soulstamp, three Essence Marks, and the Engraved Plates to finish each of the Essence Marks. The Soul Forger starts with either the Grand or the Urchin already complete. This means that they either get an automatic double life or vote. I would guess double life as that is far more beneficial to a SK, but I would like to see other people's thoughts. The Soul Forger may submit an action to complete a Mark and unlock its ability, which takes two cycles (but only one action). Only one Essence Mark may be created at a time, and the Urchin only once. This means a Forger could theoretically cancel their action to make a different Mark, but i doubt that will gain any use. If they start with the Urchin, that likely means they get two extra lives. @Matrim's Dice, is that true? In that hypothetical scenario of course. Essence Marks: The Urchin: The Soul Forger will passively survive a single attack. Already talked about a little, could be very strong is good for their survival. The Grand: The Soul Forger may use an action to double their vote for the cycle. Gains a piece of art. Not super useful, but there are scenarios. The Warrior: The Soul Forger may kill one player each cycle. Very useful, likely instrumental to their success The Essence Mark creation does not count towards the single action allotted per cycle. That's a big buff and could be very helpful to them. The Soul Forger will only be included with a player count of 13 or more. We have them, so this is mute. Faction-Specific Roles: Emperor: Each cycle, the Emperor can redirect someone’s action randomly to a new target. Starts with a piece of art. Pretty standard action redirecter, although it is random. Head Arbiter of the Glory Faction: Each cycle, the Head Arbiter of the Glory Faction may move the vote of any player. This action cannot change a no-vote to a vote, nor a vote to a no-vote. Starts with a piece of art. Vote mover. Nothing super special, just that it can't add or take away votes. Head Arbiter of the Heritage Faction: Each cycle, the Head Arbiter of the Heritage Faction may cancel any player’s vote. Starts with a piece of art. Vote canceler, once again, nothing special. It is worth noting that all of these start with a piece of art. Non-Faction Specific Roles: Bloodsealer: The Bloodsealer can use an action to create a Skeletal. They can then use another action (in a future cycle) to use the Skeletal, roleblocking a player’s action. If they are unsuccessful (i.e. their target took no action) the Skeletal is retained. Decent role, I would say that this is definitely more useful for the village. The retaining of the Skeletal is definitely useful for them. Also, I would like to start a petition for renaming skeletal roleblocking to skeleifying a person. Striker: Strikers have access to a kill they may use three times per game. Decently strong vigilante. Fire wisely. Rememberer: Each cycle Rememberers have a 50% chance to receive an order to Forge a piece of art, which they may turn into any of the three types. The Rememberer cannot use these pieces, but can send them to other players. This does not use an action. If the Rememberer receives art from another source, they are free to use it. Passing art from other sources requires an action. Not sure about this role, but I would certainly appreciate any art you create! Art: All art is passable between players. This requires an action. Vase: Can be used to attempt to roleblock a player’s action. Not super powerful. We'll see how many of these there will be. Painting: Can be used to attempt to protect against a single attack. Useful, but not the end all be all. Scepter: Can be used to attempt to kill a single player. Pretty powerful, there are going to be a lot of kills flying around this game. OoA: Skeletal Usage/Vase Emperor Head Arbiters/Grand Rememberer Execution Painting Eliminator kill/Striker/Warrior/Scepter Skeletal Creation Art passing Nothing special that I can see.

*sigh* I really hate my internet at times. Day 5 of Sketching

Healer startles, turning to see the passed out Love Interest. "I can try. You're lucky that mostly dead is still a little bit alive." She barely flinches at Corrupted Hero's death, too focused on trying to help Love Interest, though she does begin to grumble something under her breath. It sounds rather like "See if I ever work with Heroes and Villains again, dying all over the place . . . attacking . . . no respect for . . . plot holes . . ." All this while bandaging the worst of Love Interest's wounds, pulling the necessary supplies from a satchel that seems way too small to actually carry everything she's using. Once she's finished, she stands again, brushing hair out of her face with the back of her hand. "I've done what I can. Now it's up to him, and whatever care he gets from here on out. If you're smart, you'll find a place where you all can rest and recover."

I will think fondly of you from my porch. Hope you get some good rest!

Gandalf's lung cancer is a bigger threat to him than Dumbledore would be.

I feel like, if you’re going to call your band BUMP OF CHICKEN, you have two options: either be so over-the-top it borders on parody, or be so good that it doesn’t matter what you call yourself. So far, IMHO, they are solidly in the latter camp.

I'm going to say no, based off the idea that your soul itself has changed, and what most healing does is take the body and make it match the soul.

Thank you! I was actually pretty apprehensive about that line, glad I ended up put it in Yours was awesome by the way, especially the rhythm. I literally had to start rapping under my breath when i was reading it it lmao

Wow. That is a perfect interpretation of that scene. Its horrifying. Perfect Job!

LOVE IT, ITS NOT SO CREEPY IT IS TERRIBLE, IT CAPTURES THE SCENE PERFECTLY AND NO I WILL NOT STOP USING CAPS

Taravangian has a Herald, it's impossible to tell how much of is information came from her, but we can't rule that out. Even the Ghostbloods have a hard time keeping track of Honoblades and they have far more resources than anyone on Roshar. So how would anyone see use of the Honorblades? I can't find that passage, could you point it out?

Beautifully creepy!

It wasn't at the same time. Feverstone keep was just Windrunners and Stonewards, the other orders did so at different times. However Once oaths were broken none of them had a way to check on their spren to see the effects Even if they did find out Windrunners broke oaths first, there would have been no way to communicate it to the others.

If you double-click/double-tap an image when editing, you can set alt-text via the Image Title field. It's not super obvious that that's a thing you can do, though. (I myself only discovered it recently, though I tried to make use of it in yesterday's roundup article once I realized it could be done.)

I don't know that there is any quality, free software that will help you achieve good alt text. :/ (Side note: Good alt text is genuinely something I would prioritize over having just any alt text!! While alt text is great for SEO, its primary implementation should be for accessibility. If the alt text is bad, you may be making your site less accessible for those with visual impairments, who could be using screen reader tools.) In an ideal world, with unlimited resources at your disposal, I would suggest that you have a human being go through every single image >after &/or alongside any software that you might use for alt text. ...If this sounds unfeasible (like it did for our company!), you could consider outsourcing the job to a marketing/SEO team. If that also doesn't sound feasible, maybe you could wrangle a bunch of us Shardies to help — similar to NaCoWriMo. It's a much easier job when there's a team working on this, if you're going to go the manual route. (You'll want to break down exactly what kinds of images take precedent, and create a process for how you'd track it and get it all done.) Final note: When trying to add alt text for the company I work for, I have this Hubspot page bookmarked for best practices.

Cool! I like the rare fanart including 17th Shard logos, but these will be much easier to recreate with my limited graphic design skills lol, and the updated site looks fresh btw this talk of alt text has me excited, and most of the work is probably just promoting it! People usually just forget and leave it blank, so having a reminder with images wouldn't hurt... and the Coppermind could just link to Wikipedia's guide. Unlike Gallery images, Forum posts don't seem to have an option for captions or alt text, but maybe it would work to just add text beneath them >_>... This could be a thread on its own, so I started a thread! Like I don't use a screen reader, but it seems the infrastructure is mostly just lacking on mobile, where the link icons for news, search, and other just says "link" with no description. I'm not sure what @cosmere_play is referring it, but the update seems alright as long as the update doesn't remove <alt="17th Shard The official Brandon Sanderson Fansite">! It would probably be best to hire a blind person to look at it either way ¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

I could see a Cultivation spren being attracted to Vasher, since he often finds himself looking out for people despite his hermit-like tendencies. He'd probably shoo it away and refuse to swear any oaths -- because he's Vasher.

You are right that others come seeking trade: -WoK, interlude I-4 However, this tells us nothing about how many these others are. We do possibly get something of a hint earlier in the same interlude however: -WoK, interlude I-4 This tells us that this is not a major trade route, or even one that an apprentice merchant was really aware of, which I'd argue would be in her interest to have educated herself about. The fact that the trade takes place in a meadow is, to me, also indicative of how little outsiders are trusted. You'd expect trade to happen at a market or port, not a meadow where there's not much of anything. The same interlude also mentions farming villages, and that outsiders aren't allowed there, but you'd think that a trading post of some sort might exist outside the view of any farms. The fact that there isn't trading infrastructure would seem to imply that either they don't really trade, or they don't want to trade. And yet Vstim trades in a meadow? We also see over the course of the books that no-one really knows what the heck is happening in Shinovar, with the most knowledge known to be possessed by an outsider is Taravangian knowing the exact specification of an oathstone. They refuse the invitation to the coalition and basically seem content being Switzerland by way of isolationist Japan. We also see that the caravan is not too far into Shinovar: -WoK, interlude I-4 I'm not so sure this is true, while yes, we do get to know this: -WoK, interlude I-4 However, going by this: -WoK, interlude I-4 As well as Szeth calling Nale "Nin-son-God" might imply that there are different rules at play regarding the Honorblades. And if you, like me, think the Stone shamanate are less than benevolent, it might simply be a case of different rules for different people, just like rich/famous people are often given more lenient sentences for crimes IRL. Or it could be a little of both, the Honorblades being "holy" or "special" or somesuch and the Stone shamanate being corrupt or not held to the same standards as the rest of society. There's also this WoB: The Shin see themselves as having a privileged reference frame, they think they know what happened, that might also play into having special rules for the Honorblades. I wish to highlight something from an earlier quote, "They may be a little too stable. The world is changing outside, but the Shin seem determined to remain the same." They shun outside influences pretty hard I'd say. And I'd say that basically everything we see is that no-one really knows what's happening in Shinovar. - both Oathbringer, chapter 24 -Oathbringer, chapter 122 They don't seem to communicate with outsiders unprompted, and even Taravangian doesn't seem to know much about them. In addition, Bandon describes them as xenophobic, at least historically, and there's not exactly much evidence that this isn't true in the present day. I think RoW explicitly contradicts that: -RoW, chapter 111 Neturo held Ishar's Blade, it doesn't seem plausible that he did that without ever touching it. If nothing else, he'd presumably need to do that to bond it, and how could he ever have summoned it without touching it. We also know that Szeth has trained with all the Surges, which would require the Bondsmith Blade, as the Stoneward Blade was unavailable. Did Neturo summon it without touching it and Szeth catch it in midair? I don't think we can say that for certain, we only have one data point. Szeth isn't allowed in the Valley of Truth, IIRC, but unless that refers to all of Shinovar, Truthless need not be exiled. Fair, fair. I suppose it could be both, in the same way that all Investiture belongs to a Shard, the ideas might be fundamental, but retroactively assigned to Shards. And my gut feeling is yes. If the Fused are Surgebinding, it should affect them too. It would be really nice to see how much is different because they're singers (closer to the Rhythms), how much is different because they are Fused, how much is different because of compounded experience, how much is different because they align with Odium's Rhythms and how much is different because they seem to "live" their Surge (which may or may not be the same as being Fused.) IMO, this is the likeliest option. I could see either of these being the case too, yeah. Fair enough. It still feels different somehow. I suppose it's the fact that she's leaking mist like a Radiant leaking Light, but it's not noticably going into her Push, for instance. But yeah, for how ridiculous the Metallic Arts can get output-wise, they seem to use very little Investiture to do it all. Now there's a thought, given how relatively inefficient Surgebinding seems, what with Radiants leaking Investiture as standard, what would happen if the Ghostbloods actually managed to export Light and were able to hack it into the Metallic Arts? That seems like a recipe for something quite spectacular. Or it just dissipates too fast to do much without recharging, though possibly quite the thing while you have it. Yeah, they are probably WAY more Investiture than I realised. I see. I suppose that makes sense. I'm not one to talk as I think that singers are "naturials," basically. It could be that the interplay between the fauna and the spren in general can be classified as such. Though I of course think that it all originates in the Surges in the end. Hmm, nooo, I don't think I do, actually. I've never given much thought to summoning Shardblades, but I don't think I've ever thought of it as Surgebinding. And if manifesting your spren as a physical object, then manifesting their cousin-spren also isn't. Both are the same thing, but they are not Surgebinding. The Radiant ability to infuse things with Light I'd also categorise as separate from Surgebinding. I'd also not categorise moving Breath around (the standard "my Breath to yours") as Awakening or ingesting lerasium as allomancy. The Radiant/spren interaction is (probably) a function of the Radiant bond and the main spren and Radiant "blending" together, but the "perks" of the tipping points are not Surgebinding. I suppose my main disagreement would probably be calling it a magic system. Oh! Then again, it could be a cheat! If the fauna and spren are a manifestation of the same thing as fabrials, just one happening naturally and the other artificially, then it's possible that the Radiant bond, in the spectrum between tipping point three and four, allows for a bond of that nature to be leapfrogged to the Radiant. Kaladin commanding windspren is somewhat similar to the situation with Rysn and the luckspren at the Reshi Isles. I think this may be the same basic thing. Uh-huh... I don't like this. That feels like saying that physics can be debated. Like, if it exists it has rules. Just because we are at times mistaken about what the rules are, doesn't mean that they don't exist. Anyway... Yes, I second this. Yeah, I suppose they are. In that case it's of course convenient if everyone agrees on the same definitions. ¤_¤

I might be wrong, but I don't think Navani got stormlight by humming Honor's tone. The fused can get voidlight via a rhythm, but I think they can do that because Odium gives it to them. The rhythm is just a way to get his attention. If you're referring to Navani making towerlight, that is not because of a rhythm but because of her bond with the sibling.

Wait a minute. I missed my Shardiversary! I mean, I don't talk a lot, so I don't know y'all very well, but you seem like nice people and it's been a pleasure to be here. I intend to stay here for awhile yet and look forward to what will happen. And with that, there are a few people I need to give thanks to. First, @Scout_Fox. I know you aren't on anymore, but you welcomed me before anyone else and I thank you for that. Next is @Aspiring Writer, who gave me my pfp. I really appreciate that you did that! @Frustration, who answered several of my stupid questions. @Channelknight Fadran for the various awesome things you've written that I've read. @Danex for my awesome Clone season pfp. Thanks to all the mods for keeping this place from descending into chaos (haha no pun intended) Aaaand to all of you who follow me! Y'all are storming awesome and I hope you all have a good day/night/whenever you see this!

I am pleased.

Personally, I think that a cognitive shadow is an imprint, or a shadow, of your "soul", or innate personality. In other words, a cognitive shadow is not a new you, or a new construction of you, but it is also not really "you". It's the thoughts, beliefs, and ideologies that make up the way you and others think of you. This fits with the idea of the cognitive realm being about how others perceive you (spren that change with how people think about them) In summary, your cognitive shadow, or the imprint left by your soul, is the the sum of how you are yourself and how others are you. Of course, this just my opinion, which fits with my personal beliefs.

Personally I just don't get other people's expectations of Era 2. It's a fairly logical progression from Era 1, and it's built more like urban fantasy than high fantasy. Something I was expecting from the moment I started reading it with the wild west setup of the first chapter. Those typically don't have, or at least don't start with, the grand scale of high fantasy works. I also find the Metallic Arts to be far and away the most interesting of Brandon's magic systems. There is just enough vagueness for mystery and surprise but mostly being consistent. The fun part is all the ways clever characters use it in spite of its limitations, and thinking about interesting implications of what each thing can do.

Yeah, Alloy of Law kinda sucks. Era 2 is really difficult to get into after the grandeur of stuff like the original Mistborn trilogy, Stormlight and the other stories. It only started liking it upon rereads. It's... just too different in flavour from the rest of the Cosmere. Ah, the Metallic Arts, I remember when I first put The Final Empire in my to-read list, I'd thought that they literally ate metal, as in metal instead of food. Yeah, it's kind of hmm in comparison to the rest of the magics. Very input this, to get this. That can take away from the wonder of magic. Also after reading TZKS which has a magic system that actually uses the chemical elements and chemistry in one of its... subcategories of powers, I just can't help but compare the two and feel like TZKS did it better for more scientific magics. But the Metallic Arts are still fascinating enough. I think they're supposed to come off as less mystical. And there's a lot to uncover with the magics and its interactions with other magics. The books are short, push through till Bands of Mourning! That one makes the rest of series worth reading. And once you kinda lose the expectations, the series actually makes for a decent lighthearted reread.

This is prolly because the metallic arts are just less in MBE2. It has just died down through the generations. Read it, there is still PLENTY of mystery in MBE2 (BOM spoiler) IMO you should. The characters are well written, the plot engaging, all in all just a good book. While the magic is less, there is still plenty, and these limitations make it quite interesting. Here is someone who shares your opinion, slight spoiler warning I promise it gets better in the second and third books. The first one more sets the scene for the second 2. Definitely less action heavy, but still good imo.

you know, you are probably right. still, gran-gran suddenly manifesting skills she didn't have didn't feel good. too much like a deus ex machina; the saving grace of that scene is that they could have used one of the known cytonics to extract her and cobb anyway and yet, killing jorgen's parents, now the story has less Weight [ducks] I could practically feel the plot itself uttering "you have outlived your usefulness" in that scene

Imo this is really kind of in general a split on the chart—orders on the right are more about proper exercise of power, while orders on the left are more about personal expression and self-knowledge (though there's elements of both in all of them, of course). Note that in many cases I'm looking beyond the words of the oaths and at what the order blurbs say the order in practice tended to be. Right side: Windrunners: focused on protection and aiding those who need it Skybreakers (at their best, anyway): focused on keeping those in power from abusing it and becoming tyrants, and making sure nobody is above the law Dustbringers: focused on self-control and keeping destructive power carefully and precisely channeled Edgedancers: focused on making sure those in power are truly serving those they lead Left side: Lightweavers: about finding your truth and understanding yourself, and often creative and artistic Elsecallers: about finding your true potential and self-improvement, and often wise and thoughtful Willshapers: about freedom and self-expression and will, along with teaching and helping people build themselves up Stonewards: about always being able to be there, and known for participating in sporting competitions and generally trying to reach their peak (hmm, interesting name those spren have...) Middle: Truthwatchers: the blurb actually lists out two main ways they tend to be expressed: scientists and thinkers who work to unravel the secrets of the world and expand their knowledge, and more investigative reporter types who are concerned with making sure those in power are truthful, which align rather neatly with the categories I outlined. Bondsmiths: generally focused on bringing others together, but as we see with Dalinar's Third, there's a strong component of being your best self overall, as well, and the blurb mentions the oaths tend to be incredibly varied and the theme is a very loose one (I'm hesitant to put this directly as an Honor-Cultivation split, as it's close in theme but doesn't quite feel right for many of the orders, so I've tried to avoid language that frames it as that, exactly.)

Yes. She's utilitarian not vengeful or mad.

Storms is the most versatile. You can say "storms" for general use, "storm you" and "storm off" to curse at people, "Storming _____" to curse at things (or lighteyes), and "Stormfather" for shock value.

"Vorin man spellings", that's a good one, lol

murder make magic emotional support fairy god parent magic finger painting Kirby but with metal magic piggy bank-wrist bands very fancy stamps magic karate rainbow cpr

Any Nahel bond: Navi with benefits.

+1 for Gavilar. There’s been a ton of build-up through other POV’s who interacted with him. It’s time we learned how he got those spheres, how he met the Heralds etc.

Just found this thread and I think it's hillarious. Had to do one on my own (didn't read all, so maybe someone already did something similar, but it was just fun). Since I am new, I am not sure about the spoilertag I am using, probably RoW, but really, really minor.

I felt a treatise instantly jump to mind, but it's one of those ones where the thousand-word pictures are there and in line, but the actual words to describe it all are difficult to find.I'm gonna chalk it up to "I'm tired" but here's my attempt. I find it's rare to have a character like this in fantasy; where an intelligent, powerful woman isn't punished by the story for being competent. Jasnah feels amazing as a female reader, where I don't have to worry Brandon is going to decide she needs to be brought "low" for no reason, just because she "deserves" it or whatever. She is an extremely guarded person, because she is surrounded at all times by people who think she should be brought low - because she's a woman, an atheist, whatever - and she is constantly putting on her strongest face, because to let everyone know she's touchable is an opening to destroy her. A lot of people want to destroy her. She's seen as cold, and that's an effect of her persona, she doesn't emote or present her emotions - but she does have them. There is a disconnect between what she feels and what other people see in her that is so frustrating, when you're in her shoes. Better to let people think you're an emotionless witch, it serves her appearance of strength, and in the meantime she... quietly wonders whether she's making a mistake. But she lets her walls down occasionally - with Shallan on the boat in WoR, with Renarin at the end of OB... She's always planning, conniving, scheming - and while a lot of the people around her think she's invincible because of her skill in this, the reader knows she's afraid she's just barely ahead of the curve. This is textual, in fact, in the beginning of WoR, when she lets down her walls with Shallan. We know for a fact Jasnah is treading water, discovering secrets almost too late to be of real use - coming back to Urithiru when all of her expertise is no longer needed, the Heralds' open return making her years of hard work basically irrelevant. Jasnah is a woman desperate to use her abilities in a way that matters, and she's barely breaking even. All of her intelligence and ability honed to an edge, and she still doesn't get to swoop in and save the day deus ex machina style like she would be able to in another, weaker story. If you don't like Jasnah, you don't like Jasnah. On principle, I hate the term "Mary Sue" and I think it's illegitimate, but this thread isn't really the place. She's competent, but competence in a female character is not enough to make her a cardboard cut-out. Part of her character is based on the fact that she's very secondary, even tertiary, right now - she just isn't going to get the role where we experience her pathos with her until later. In the meantime, what Jasnah really is a woman who intentionally obscures who she really is in public and sometimes even with her family. She requires a second look to see beyond the persona.

Different take on the same song: (Spoilers for Warbreaker and Oathbringer.)

My Nightblood's voice is eager like a child who is getting ready to play a game