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Brandon said recently that he's now undecided as to who the flashback character for Stormlight 3 will be. Remember that he previously said it will be Szeth. He even had a title in mind, "Stones Unhallowed", though he did say it wasn't final. "Skybreaker" was also a possible title for Stormlight 3, in reference to Szeth's new role as a follower of Nalan. But now that Szeth being the main POV is no longer a sure thing, I've decided to create a poll, just for fun, to see who you guys think the main character should be.To help you decide, here's what I think will most likely happen to Szeth, Dalinar, and Eshonai in Stormlight 3, and how these things relate to the past (in other words, what their flashback scenes might be): Szeth Szeth+Nightblood will kick major shin. Szeth's beliefs, and how his religious leaders betrayed him in the past, will definitely color his interaction with Nightblood. It will be interesting to see the development of his views on what "evil" is. Nalan will show Szeth what it is to be a Skybreaker in modern Roshar. If Szeth accepts the role of being a Knight under the Herald, this will signal a conflict with Taravangian, his previous master. If Szeth no longer feels any obligation to follow the holder of his Oathstone, he might actually kill Taravangian for his crimes (this was predicted as a possibility in the Diagram). A flashback scene in Szeth's POV, depicting the start of his Oathstone-based servitude, would serve as a nice contrast to his showdown with Mr. T. Szeth will return to Shinovar with the intent of vengeance for being wrongfully made Truthless. If Stormlight 3 is going to be his, then the circumstances leading to his becoming Truthless should be part of the flashback sequences. DalinarDalinar will resume his mission to unite the Knights Radiant to fight the Desolation. He will have to unite people from different countries, many of whom might not be willing to follow an Alethi Highprince. Dalinar was in a similar position before when he and his brother Gavilar were trying to unite Alethkar. It will be nice to see how Dalinar the Bondsmith might handle this problem differently from Dalinar the Blackthorn. Kaladin's Squires, knowing that their leader is a Knight Radiant who is therefore higher than any normal lighteyes, might start doubting Dalinar's authority over them, especially if Dalinar commands them to do something they think Kaladin might not like. Remember that Kaladin's Squires can use Stormlight, so Dalinar's status as Knight might mean little to them, especially now that he has no Shardblade. Again, the current Dalinar would probably handle this differently from Blackthorn. At least, I hope so. EshonaiIf Eshonai is still alive, then she will probably continue her struggle with the voidspren controlling her. There might still be a chance that she will break free from Odium's grasp (I'd hope so, or she'd just be another Marsh). Her flashbacks would focus on her dreams of traveling as a youth, and the her feelings of being trapped by her people's isolation from the world, which led her to set out on the expedition that would expose her people to the Alethi. If Eshonai is dead (or presumed dead for most of the book), then the focus will be on how Rlain and any remaining (non-Voidish) Listeners will escape being transformed by the Everstorm. Rlain's bond to Kaladin might be helpful here. If they decide to fight in the Desolation, then they will go against people of their own race, people now controlled by Odium. The flashbacks would probably depict the various discussions Eshonai and the other Parshendi leaders had with regards to their hated gods and the Alethi threat, perhaps revealing a secret contingency plan that might save the world even when their gods do return. ***Myself, I vote Eshonai. She may not be the most interesting Stormlight character in my opinion, but that's only because we haven't really seen much of her. She was barely in Way of Kings. And in Words of Radiance she was, frankly, kind of pathetic, being mostly a tool for Venli's ambitions. I fear that if Stormlight 3 doesn't make her more interesting, she'd be wasted as a character. That's why I hope she'll get the flashback sequences.

Eshonai hears voices advising her. Is this Odium, or the stormspren?

So again, I'm reading into the tiniest of details, but I believe that Eshonai's mother can see the future, and that is part of the reasoning behind her dementia-like condition. Moving out? Where could she have gotten that idea. From the story she tells immediately before, I infer that the listeners have been living in Narak for quite some time. They also revere their dead, so I can't imagine Listeners moving into nice home's because the owners have died. It seemed very strange to me that she would think something like this, and then have it happen. Here's a people who have been stagnant for years and years, and she thinks that she is going to move out? So to make this theory work, I think her condition is being caused by seeing the world through different time periods. Take this quote: This makes us assume she's suffering from some Listener form of dementia, all the classic symptoms are there, but what if instead, she actually is seeing Eshonai from that time? We know there are magic systems that do something simlar (e.g. Gold in Allomancy) so maybe she's become adept at that sort of magic. Then, soon after, she sees into the future, and see's the house ruined, or abandoned, and realizes she's going to have to move soon to survive. I'm also assuming that the maps she gives Eshonai are an important part of snapping her out of Stormform, and that Eshonai's mother gave them to her for that reason, but that's a whole different speculative can of worms.

This is more for a meta-narrative question than a strictly literal one; obviously the narrative itself offers a reason for Dalinar not to go meet Eshonai (security, et. all). However, this seems like a peculiar excuse. Dalinar goes out on the the plateaus without much concern in every other situation; now, those situations do involve having an army with him, but it's not like you can hide an army on the Plains; there's no cover for anything. The situation seems rather contrived. Dalinar has to communicate using a spanreed, so it's not strictly Dalinar's words or Eshonai's words that are being interrupted; it's just Dalinar never meets Eshonai. Eshonai also implies that she's met Dalinar before (though this might have been a reference to the feast, and it's also implied Eshonai might have been part of the first contact group). It's worth noting that only Adolin (of the main protagonists) meets Eshonai during the final battle of WoR, as well (in particular Dalinar does not see her). So, from a meta-narrative perspective, what could be being hidden by Dalinar not meeting with Eshonai? Of course, he dueled her during TWoK and didn't recognize anything special (though he was pretty dazed at the time). One possibility is that it's not Dalinar, but Kaladin that's being 'hidden' (Kaladin explicitly stays behind to protect Dalinar). I'm not sure how valid this is, because it seems like Kaladin could have been left behind even if Dalinar went onto the plateaus (covered by Skar or Moash and team). Shen/Rlain is part of Adolin's bodyguard team (specifically noted) but it's unclear that that has any bearing here. I'm not completely convinced that there is something hidden here, but when I read the scene it felt very peculiar; re-reading it still seems contrived why Dalinar can't go meet with Eshonai. Something related to his gift/curse from the Nightwatcher? It seems quite possible that Dalinar visited the Nightwatcher shortly after first contact with the Parshendi, as he has an interesting hesitation when he talks to Kaladin about why he wasn't around for the Roshone affair:

“True Wit is Nature to advantage dress’d What oft was thought, but ne’er so well expressed” [ASIDE: In the Spirit of Sanderson, I thought I’d begin with an epigraph of my own, this one from Essay on Criticism, the 1709 poem by Alexander Pope. Unlike our Wit, Pope was a hunch-backed asthmatic dwarf. But, like Wit, Pope was the leading satirist of his time. His jibes earned him the enmity of many. Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. were not the original “gangstas”; when Pope wandered the London streets at night, he took with him two loaded pistols and his two Great Danes (what an image!) You’ve all heard many of the lines from Essay on Criticism, but might not have known their source. Here are a few: “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread”; “A little learning is a dangerous thing”; “To err is human, to forgive, divine.” ASIDE OVER – thanks for reading this far!] On WoR’s last page, Wit says to Jasnah, “You’ll find God in the same place you’re going to find salvation from this mess…Inside the hearts of men.” Of similar import is this phrase from the epigraph to Chapter 71, from the Second Letter: “[Rayse] bears the weight of God’s own divine hatred, separated from the virtues that gave it context.” [Second aside: Does that mean the Second Letter writer considers Adonalsium to be God?] I believe these statements capture the theme of The Stormlight Archives, and perhaps all of the Cosmere novels: the importance of balance. Not necessarily of “harmony,” which assumes perfect equilibrium, but of balance, offsetting characteristics that temper the edges of each. The shattering of Adonalsium upset the balance of the Cosmere by giving primacy to specific aspects of Godhood: Honor, Hatred, Growth, Ruin, Preservation, etc. Maybe it’s the imbalance of each Shard holder that causes them to lose their humanity, since each Shardic Intent operates within them unopposed. I think Wit’s statement to Jasnah means that to defeat Odium, men’s hearts must return to honor – doing what’s right and not only what’s legal. That doesn’t mean that people won’t hate, but that hate cannot be allowed to dominate them – balance is necessary. Sadeas and Nalan appear to be character devices to illustrate what happens when imbalance captures the heart. Adolin may end up showing us balance despite his lapse. As I’ve said in other posts, Honor binds, Odium divides – centripetal and centrifugal forces. To find the place in the middle, they must be combined – not the harmony of Mistborn, but a complementary tension. I think the Battle of Champions in Book 5 will be fought by Kaladin and Eshonai (not Szeth, who is clearly unbalanced in every meaning of that word and will likely continue his story into the second five books). Halfway through her bonding with the stormspren, Eshonai tried to halt the process. This may have caused an imperfect bonding and may explain why the rhythms of peace still try to assert themselves within her. I predict that during the Battle of Champions, her desire for peace will defeat her desire for destruction. Eshonai and Kaladin together will form that unity, that bonding of honor, that will enable them to halt Odium’s gains – the Everstorm may or may not continue at that point, but Odium will be temporarily thwarted. In the second five books, he will seek another approach: hatred among men. Odium is already a long way towards reaching that goal (see Jah Keved and the wars in the West). One last observation: before WoR was released, I speculated on another post what Odium gains by the Desolations and the Everstorm. Based on the Second Letter, epigraph to Chapter 69, we now know that Odium is bound to the Rosharian planetary system: “Rayse is captive. He cannot leave the system he now inhabits. His destructive potential is, therefore, inhibited.” The natural inference is that he seeks to destroy Roshar to free himself from his bonds. The Second Letter writer further states (in the epigraph to Chapter 70) that this binding might have been by “Tanavast’s design.” One can envision that either the Oathpact or Tanavast’s splintering might have had the effect of causing Odium to be so bound. How interesting, then, that Hoid/Wit, who has “never been a force for equilibrium” and who “tow chaos behind [him] like a corpse dragged by one leg through the snow” (epigraph to Chapter 74) should be the one who seeks to re-establish equilibrium by focusing on “men’s hearts.” He may be (reluctantly) content to destroy humankind on Roshar if necessary to triumph over Odium, he tells Dalinar. But if humankind is to save itself, it must find balance within its own hearts.

All of the speculation of Szeth vs Kaladin duel has focused on either one-on-one combat (refuted by the released cover) or by the additional role played by Adolin (or even Renarin). However, recall how: 1. Eshonai is regretful that Gavilar had to be killed 2. Cognizant of the fact that his death was in vain 3. Looking for a way to arrange matters diplomatically (in vain) This seems like the perfect opportunity for the Parshendi, or at least for that one Parshendi, to right the wrong and help defend Dalinar. Furthermore, in shardplate she might be able to approach the chaos of a fight either unrecognized and unnoticed or at least unopposed. Certainly, the cover doesn't show Eshonai. On the other hand, everyone expects Kaladin to fight Szeth - there's no doubt that he will - but Eshonai's role is too much of a prize to give away on the cover. So, I say, Eshonai to the rescue!

Hi! So ... can someone please explain the cover of WoK to me? Its been bothering me to no end. I remembered reading something about it recently, where Brandon commented on it, but I couldn't for the life of me find the reference again. So, the cover of WoK. Is it Eshonai on the cover in the foreground saluting with a Shardblade? If so, who is in the background? It can't be Dalinar, because the figure in the background appears to be holding a spear. Is it Kaladin in the background? If so, who is in the foreground? Dalinar? I don't remember Dalinar saluting Kaladin when he was holding a spear. If anyone can shed some light on it, I'd appreciate it. Maybe I'm thinking about it too much, while I'm trying to waste away my time waiting on WoR to come out.... Thanks

Not sure if this has cropped up, but what are people's opinions regarding the Pareshendi having possession of the honorblades? Two quotes: and from Eshonai's reading: Two sentences is not much, but the same feature is described. And the environment appears to be similar. The prelude's description sounds like it not necessarily much different at that point in time to the environment now.

One thing that has been expressed in WoK and has become more and more interesting in light of certain preview chapters is the concept of the Parshendi acting with honor. Despite the assassination of Gavilar (something that at least some of them now regret) they seem to portend themselves with dignity and purposed that frankly outshines many of the human characters in the series so far , excepting the main characters. So right now there are a lot of good threads going around discussing why there are parshmen , what different forms they will take, and how they became "voidbringers" if Jasnah's hypothesis is correct. When asked if humans were native to Roshar Brandon responded RAFO. The rest of this post will focus on the "what if" scenario where the answer to that is "No". So what if originally the Parshendi were the good guys, just dending their territory. Somehow Odium came to Roshar brought humans along somehow and let the inevitable conflict of clandestine expansion ensue. Then He used this conflict to corrupt the Parshendi and put forth his plan of desolation and deicide on Roshar. This would be thousands and thousands of years in the past so it would really be the inciting incident of the whole series, The Arrival of Man on Roshar. The Shin throw another wrinkle into this because Shinovar specifically seems like it was made for humans.. but what if it WAS made and not naturally formed. There's a lot of history in there and a lot of time for weird crap to happen when Shards go to war. I know there's alot of stuff out there that talking about the Desolations and Parshmen so if this specific point has been brought up just light this post on fire. I searched and didn't come up with anything so have at it.