Wrae

For once I figured out the twist quite early. As soon as Huck didn't give his real name and then blabbered in the same way as Charlie, I had the "crack theory" that they were the same. Then Hoid mentioned how many quests would be a lot shorter if the people checked if they already had what they were searching for and told Tress she already had what she needed, and I actually began to suspect my theory was the truth. And the hints only piled on from there. I was nearly thrown off when Huck/Charlie said he was the Sorceress' familiar though.

Kaladin has actually "stopped" the highstorm before - or at least stopped it in a small area by parting the winds: Right before this, he demanded that the Stormfather stopped and had mercy on the people caught in the storm. He did something similar when swearing the fourth ideal, so it's probably also foreshadowing him getting plate, but I thought it fit well with the Fleet angle as well.

I don't think it would break the agreement if the champions refused or were unable to kill each other. Like @Frustrationsaid earlier: the contest would just not be finished until one does die. Also, sending a child who is unable to kill Dalinar (and thereby win the contest) - and then relying entirely on Dalinar keeping to his word of "a single innocent death is one too many" even when keeping to this means essentially surrendering - doesn't really sound like a good enough plan. Taravangian believes the end always justifies the means - I doubt he'll not at least think there's a possibility that Dalinar would change his mind under the circumstances (even if Daliniar wouldn't). Taravangian strikes me as the person who makes sure a challenge always falls in his favour, no matter the outcome. He probably knows Daliniar will be his own champion. So, Taravangian has a few options I can think of: 1: Win the contest Which would require an unbeatable champion, or at least unbeatable for Dalinar. Any of the Heralds, Unmade, and a lot of the Fused could beat Daliniar in a straight-up duel to the death, however, Dalinar's bondsmith abilities make this outcome less certain. Therefore, I doubt Taravangian would risk it unless his champion is someone who could counter these abilities (Ishar, maybe Ba-Ado-Mishram). The second option is to make sure the fight is not a standard duel (which I think is much more likely). I suspect Adolin's duel will be foreshadowing for this, somehow, though likely not in a 'you didn't specify the number of opponents'-way. Likely, the battle will rely on something outside of brute physical or magical strength; something Dalinar didn't plan for. The third option, which can easily be combined with one of the other two, would be to choose a champion Dalinar doesn't expect and which throws him off his game. While this is likely some kind of betrayal (though could also be a complete stranger that Dalinar doesn't know what to expect from, e.g. El), I doubt it would be a child (for the reasons I mentioned earlier). The most impactful champions for this would be: Adolin, Renarin, Jasnah, Nivani, and Kaladin. However, the problem with this is that the champion needs to be willing, and I have a hard time seeing any of these characters willingly siding with Odium at this point. I don't know if tricking one of them into it would uphold the "willing" part. 2: Have Dalinar break the agreement This is the only option if Odium wants to be free (unless Dalinar is able to free him after becoming a Fused ...) and would most likely require Dalinar to break this part on the agreement: There are several ways for Dalinar to break it, and Taravangian only needs to trick him into doing one of them: - Dalinar (or less likely: Dalinar's willing champion) is not at the agreed place at the agreed time. Odium cannot directly prevent them from reaching the destination per the agreement, but the Fused and their allies can. - Dalinar, or someone under his command, accidentally harms Odium's champion. If Dalinar doesn't know who they are beforehand, this could be easy to arrange. - Dalinar, or someone under his command, deliberately hurt the champion, because not doing so would lead to some other horrible outcome, e.g. the death of all their loved ones. Don't tell me there's not a single soldier under Dalinar's command who wouldn't "stab first and consider the consequences later" in such a situation. TL;DR: I think TOdium has a lot of better options to get what he wants than relying on Dalinar refusing to kill the other champion

Well, sexual selection is a thing in evolution. Doesn't have to be practical. The Thaylens might just find long, white eyebrows attractive ... Who knows, maybe Cultivation sped the process up?

Maybe I am remembering it wrong, but doesn't one of the books say something about the Nahel bond being unbreakable after the fifth oath? I would think the "gain" from swearing the ideal has something to do with this. Also, what would this mean for the spren, when their knight dies? (Seeing as there are no non-herald fifth oath radiants running around, I doubt they gain immortality, but you never know).

I think Kaladin will swear the 5th oath, but I don't think it will be during or right after the duel, and maybe not even in book 5. It took him more than a year to go from his 3rd oath to his 4th, and then it takes him only 10 days to get to the 5th? Which is supposed to be nearly unobtainable? I think maybe Jashnah will swear her 5th oath on-screen in book 5, thereby completing that part of the promise, but Kaladin will swear his later. Maybe even in book 9 or 10? I think he'll be in the story by then, though not in the same role he is/was in the first arc. And if he does end up as a herald in book 5, as I think is likely, he can still swear his last oath - just like Nale did

I think Navani is more likely to reach the fifth bondsmith oath than Dalinar after her character growth during the last book - So yes, if Dalinar ends up being on the other side of the war, their relationship will definitely be interesting. It will force her to truly shine in a way she couldn't last time her husband died. Navani outgunning fused-Dalinar with fabrial-super-weapons would be a fun read for sure! That is if Gavilar doesn't rise from his grave and forces her into completing her character arc, then I don't think Dalinar will have a similar fall arc, though who knows?

Thank you! I'm currently reading Well of Ascension so I'm really excited to finish the trilogy and be able to read Secret History

Thank you! Probably Lift, though I never got to read the novellas, so this might change

If "H" is allowed: Honor of Winds Keeper of Heroes Key of Worth Killer of Hope Knife of Honor Knights of Weeping Hollows Knight of Whispered Truths

Hi! I've been reading Stormlight Archive for a while and after I read Rhythm of War, I decided it was time to explore the rest of the Cosmere. Though I've probably been spoiled on most twists even while trying to avoid them, I thought it was probably still worth the ride. Haven't regretted it yet. Happy to meet you all!