shadows

Could also be referring to 'Slammer' in the sense of prison if she's the one who worked out how to lock up Rayse in the system. Would be a weird bit of language usage but slammer is a weird word to use in general and Hoid does toss around 'cents' as well later on so he's clearly capable of pulling out whatever he wants for a situation lol

Because valorous actions require situations to be valorous in. I absolutely get that valour is often shown in defensive situations, but to me it seems that the shard needs an aggressive nature to ensure it is injecting itself into / creating situations where valour thrives. It may be that Brandon ties in to something else that creates the conflict, but by nature if none had found it then I do think it would be driven to create it.

Valour is more of an actual value while Honour is more of a recognition of a value. Boldness is a form of valour, while being bold may not always be the honourable thing to do. Brandon must have a distinctive line he has in mind because to me the definition of valour is pretty narrow while the depiction of honour has routinely crossed over into territories that valour would encompass (bravery, courage etc). I suppose it depends on how you define an aggressive shard, but I guess it's because Valour is predominantly associated with attributes like bravery, heroism, and courage, all of which require some kind of conflict to exist in the first place. With that in mind it makes sense the shards intent would be aggressive in looking for or potentially creating content.

I enjoyed this, but I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I expected. There was so so much going on, and there's so much to digest which I'm sure will keep everyone entertained for years, but I think it was perhaps all spread just a little too thin between the number of characters we were supposed to care about and the number of cosmere updates, fabrials and universe revelations thrown in. I also think some of it was a bit telegraphed, but I'm not sure I'd blame Brandon as that's more a case of clear building allowing sensible theorycrafting. Looking back I think my favourite part of the book was Raboniel who was a fascinating and interesting character who actually got the time to be more fleshed out but there were definitely other existing characters who got short changed. My least favourite part was the pursuer who is one of the single worst villains I can remember and who could have been trimmed out of the book without a worry. When I re-read I know which sections are getting insta-skipped hah. The Taravodium surprise was great and opens up some really really interesting questions (is this all according to plan for Cultivation or is this 'i've made a huge mistake'). I have to say I was a bit thrown by him immediately getting one over on Hoid though which felt more like it devalued Rayse and Hoid than elevating big T. I might get lynched a bit, but I think I'm team #ThanksMoash (sorry Teft i loved you) because we really did need someone to prove what was at stake for the named cast. Who knows where book 5 goes at this point - there's a lot of stuff to draw to a closing point but lots of it kind of feels like it has to happen either be closed off or concretely pushed into the next phase of its arc rather than be shuffled into the 2nd half.

I'm not sure how I felt about this part. It felt loaded with little tidbits but how many of them were significant enough to warrant the time spent left me a bit flat on it. I guess part 4 will show how well judged it was. I'm also getting a little meh on Kaladin being depowered and beaten down but still being able to continually outdo the Pursuer who seems increasingly like a joke. I am enjoying the navani / raboniel stuff and I'm interested to see which of them is responsible for the rhythm of war. It's presumably one annotating the other as I can't see a true cooperation at this point

The timeline would line up right? 10 years or so? My other thought is that Pattern's bond to Shallan was to the part of her that she locked away and as such he's fundamentally most in line with what formless wants. -- Loved the epigraphs although sometimes I do worry I'm getting more excited about the tidbits there than the chapter contents hah

I was thinking about this given we know they were splinters of Odium so perhaps it was to do with Odium having part of himself Unmade to form them. With that said I just can't see a situation where Odium has the power of the change Dawnshard and then loses it / gives it up, but I believe we know the creation of the Unmade was voluntary.

WOB says she has acquired enough investment to have a similar effect as (at least) the fifth heightening so given perfect pitch is 2nd heightening then she will have that two. The Command and Awakenings commands are likely different though.

The difficult thing to decipher is whether it is the nature of the Command of the Dawnshard that is unique or whether the situation it has been in or gone through is. Given we now know he was a former holder of one, I could see a scenario where Hoid giving up a Dawnshard willingly meant that it has perhaps remained stronger or purer than the remaining Dawnshards that have been used or passed on in other ways for instance. It would not be surprising if it turned out that major uses of them resulted in splintering (for want of a better word) if not wielded by someone who comprehends fully what they are doing in the way a being with a higher level of thought might. I feel it's slightly tricky for it to be nature dependent given they are supposed to tie back to being the commands that created all things and having anything truly conflicting there becomes difficult when they combined for one goal. Perhaps one might differ because of how much it does / doesn't depend on its user though.

I hope so because the Dalinar / Dawnshard theories are a lot more palatable if he's been imbued with a splinter of one he needs to unite rather than being both a Bondsmith and Dawnshard holder which seems like it would basically put in handwaving away problems territory very quickly. --- Lots of great ideas in here. I'm really not sure I'm fully on board with any primal command that is about preserving or keeping the status quo though. Any kind of fundamental command that was related to maintaining equilibrium should mean there was no way to reach a point of shattering it. I know it's a counterbalance to change, but the universe has always been changing.

Place your bets now. Urithiru is a: Pathway off world? Giant space laser? Weather forecasting system?

Like an interplanetary oathgate? -- I'm now starting to lean towards a line of thinking that says we haven't seen the last of Gavilar in the present timeline That final part feels like a very carefully chosen couple of words...

I've got my tinfoil out with Taln and have a pet theory that his final purpose will be the reforging of honour (or something of similar but different intent). We know the splintering of a shard is technically reversible and who better to be involved in the restoration of it than the most honourable of all men? I still feel it will need something more significant than just Radiant's to drive off (or even overcome) Odium.