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  1. Keep in mind that this is all speculation. Below are some relevant WoB's which I will dive into later 1. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] The Ghostbloods. Are they Kelsier's new crew? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Oh, good question. Do I wanna answer this or not? I'm gonna RAFO this one. Yeah, we're gonna RAFO this one. Billy Todd [PENDING REVIEW] Have there been interactions between Kelsier and the Ghostbloods? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] I will RAFO that. 2. ccstat If Kelsier (when Vin knew him) were to join one of the Rosharan secret societies, which one would he choose? Brandon Sanderson He would become part of the Ghostbloods, most likely, and would be in charge of them within a year. source source 3. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Yes, or no. With all of the cosmere books that have been put out, do we have enough information to deduce the Ghostbloods' motives? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Ummm... *laugher* I would say yes, but it's not like you are a fool if you haven't gotten it. Robert Jordan once answered a question like this saying, "Well, the answer should be intuitively obvious to the casual observer." Which I never thought was fair. Like, no, it was not. Szeth, some people guessed it. And some people will guess this. A lot of the foreshadowing in my books, it's this weird thing where, when you do proper foreshadowing, and then people have three years between books, they're gonna figure some things out. Which presents a really interesting challenge to me as a writer, because, like, there are big things that get revealed in Oathbringer, that people who have been steeped in the world for the last seven years... they kinda knew this would happen. We get the beta readers, and they're like, "So? Doesn't everyone know that?" But at the same time, the casual reader, beta readers were like "Holy cow! This is a huge revelation!" And books need to work both for the person who has been really steeped in it, and the person who's reading along that maybe doesn't want to go get all the spoilers from all the fan guessing. So it is this weird balancing act that, as a writer, you have to perform, particularly with the longer books in the longer series, where you want to make sure they're engaging to the hardcore fan, but not overwhelming to the person who maybe hasn't reread the books since the last one came out. And I don't know that I have that balance figured out, but it is something I think about a lot... source Kelsier's motivations post Secret History: After his interactions with Khriss and Nazh in Secret History, Kelsier realises just how little he really knows. Kelsier would see this ignorance as a weakness he must overcome, as to rise to the top he must acquire knowledge. Kelsier's conversation with Spook at the end of Secret History illustrate his quest to pursue knowledge of the cosmere. “Now, don’t be like that,” Kelsier said. “Our work is important. Vital. We’re going to unravel the mysteries of the universe. The cosmere, as it is called.” “It’s a big, big place out there, kid,” Kelsier said. “Bigger than I ever knew. Ignorance almost lost us everything. I’m not going to let that happen again.” He tapped at Spook’s ear. “While dead, I had an opportunity. My mind expanded, and I learned some things. My focus wasn’t on these spikes; I think I could have worked it all out, if it had been. I still learned enough to be dangerous, and the two of us are going to figure the rest out.” If there is one thing we know about Kelsier, it is that he compulsively meddles. He would not be content to swear an oath of non-interference like the 17th shard members. We know from a WoB that the 17th shard and ghostbloods do not work together. Furthermore, Iyatil has South Scadrian ancestry and was a former member of the 17th shard. It is plausible that she converted to the ghostbloods after a little persuasion from the god figure of her ancestors. So the 17th shard does not fit Kelsier, leaving the ghostbloods as the only known worldhopper organisation with a similar agenda. We know that Kelsier always feels the need to operate a crew. This is a constant between pre-Final Empire and post-Final Empire Kelsier, as shown when he treats Preservation/Fuzz as a crew member after determining his goal was to stop ruin and also at the end of Secret History when he recruits Spook. It is highly probable, then, that Kelsier post-Secret History has founded a new crew which is the ghostbloods. So what exactly are the ghostbloods up to? First of all, a minor piece of evidence linking the ghostbloods to Kelsier is the name of the organisation. Ghost= cognitive shadow, Blood= hemallurgy Now, as shown above, Kelsier appears to be on a quest to gather cosmere knowledge. In Mraize's basement we see artifacts from many worlds, including a knife from Threnody (possibly the knife which Nazh gave to Kelsier in Secret History), a vial of white sand, a dye flower from Nalthis (tears of Edgli), possibly Royal Idrian locks and in a later scene we see Mraize with an aviar. This shows that the ghostbloods are collecting investiture related artifacts from numerous shardworlds. The collection of these artifacts would tie into Kelsier's pursuit of cosmeric knowledge. Here's where things get a little crazy. I believe that Sja Anat has known Shallan since she was a child and is responsible for her forming a nahel bond so early in life before everything fell apart. 4. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Was Shallan's family, during her childhood, being influenced by an Unmade? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Um, yes. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Was it <the corrupt...>? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] I'll RAFO that, but yes, there is some external influence there. source 5. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Why don't you have to say the words if you're just bonding a Cryptic? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Every Order's First Oath is the same. Then the Second Oaths for the Cryptics go into truths, but everybody says the First Oath the same regardless of Order. Which should raise the question of... Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Did [Shallan] say it when she was a teeny-weeny, like in the cradle? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] That should raise a question. She wasn't teeny-weeny, but it should raise a question there. source This would tie in with the ghostbloods interest in Sja Anat, as she may be able to grant them nahel bonds in a similar fashion. This would add to their investiture collection. I see the situation as being similar to Hoid collecting investiture from different sources, though the end goals likely differ drastically. 6. Questioner How would - just really generally - the Ghostbloods react if they found or met Hoid? Brandon Sanderson (laughs) They... Some people among them know of him. Questioner So they know he's around. Brandon Sanderson Some of them do, not everybody. But they are aware of his existence. At least in lore, they don't always... Not all of them have connected the King's Wit to this person's lore, does that make sense? So what would they know? They'd probably want to get him and interrogate him. They would want to know what he knows, but he is really slippery and it's hard to get out of him what he knows. source Conclusion: There is a realistic possibility that Kelsier has at least had involvement with the ghostbloods. This could potentially set up conflict between Hoid and Kelsier as they would have similar pursuits and really don't get along very well. We know that Secret History was in the works from as early as 2006 so Brandon clearly felt like he had not finished telling Kelsier's story. Maybe Shallan will finally meet the mysterious Thaidakar with heavily scarred arms.
  2. With such a Powerful shard (Odium), his eternal agents (The Fused), it easy for us not to see a sleeping Giant : the ghostbloods. They seem all knowing , way too informed , a pragmatic to the point it’s scary! Now they want Shallan to convince Ska-Amat to come to their side? This is the. Unmade that was reputed the most feared by the Radiants . What the heck do the Ghostbloods want with SJ ? Whats even scarier how do they even know that Shallan made contact with her? Nobody was on that platform But Azure, Shallan, Adolin, Kaladin , and maybe some members of bridge 4 and maybe few freed house guards . Who could of got word back to them ? Yo shallan is talking to an unmade named Sja-anat. We should look into that . At first I thought this smells just like the set on Scadrial ! I started wondering if the Ghostbloods are being ran by Autonomy . Unless the ghostbloods have a shard behind them what do they have to offer Sja-Anat. If Odium takes back his power she is destroyed. Unless she find another shard to fuel her life essence. Anyways I looked up WoB and only found one that. Says they have communicated with the Ghostbloods. So perhaps that’s not it. Then I thought about Kelsier ! He might know a way to keep Ska-Anat. Tethered . So I searched him on WoB and ran into a wall Of Rafo . So without doing a bunch of speculating . Let’s just ask Two questions . What do the Ghostbloods want with Sj ? And are the Ghostbloods setting themselves up to Rule. Roshar once the battle of shards is over? Thoughts?
  3. Look. You may be looking at Mraize's post and wantng to jjoin, maybe you already have. You made a mistake. When the Ghostbloods disbanded Gancho and I, along with many of the OG Ghostbloods began working in secret, forming a "New" Ghostbloods. Now out of the blue Mraize and TFA decide that they want to reform, and KILL US. This unprecedented action surprised us, but we won't go quietly. If you wish to help us stop this then please PM me or @Gancho Libre.
  4. One of the great mysteries of Oathbringer and the Stormlight Archive thus far is determining the motives of the Ghostbloods. They have many investiture related objects from several shardworlds including a vial of white sand, an aviar, a tear of Edgli flower, a knife from Threnody and royal Idrian locks. They are aware that Sja Anat is willing to defect and are eager for Sja Anat to serve their unknown purposes. So how exactly would Sja Anat serve the Ghostbloods? Other than taking a powerful stick away from Odium, Sja Anat's ability to corrupt spren may give an insight into how she could be of use to the Ghostbloods. I believe that the mechanics involved in corrupting spren are similar to the mechanics involved in altering a spirit web. This would be akin to the effect of a normal person ingesting Lerasium. Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Lerasium overwrites Spiritual DNA. It can do some interesting things, and can overwrite your Spiritual DNA in different ways if you do it right. If a Surgebinder ate lerasium, he would become an Allomancer, but Brandon implied other things could be done. source We know that a nahel bond forms with an individual with cracks in their spirit web. These cracks are caused by experiencing severe trauma, similar to snapping in Era 1 Mistborn. Now here's where Shallan comes into play. She bonded Pattern before her family life was destroyed. While her parents may have been in an unhappy marriage, this would not be harrowing enough to cause cracks in the spirit web to form. This raises the question of how and when Shallan's spirit web was cracked and how she came to originally bond Pattern. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Why don't you have to say the words if you're just bonding a Cryptic? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Every Order's First Oath is the same. Then the Second Oaths for the Cryptics go into truths, but everybody says the First Oath the same regardless of Order. Which should raise the question of... Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Did [Shallan] say it when she was a teeny-weeny, like in the cradle? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] That should raise a question. She wasn't teeny-weeny, but it should raise a question there. source Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] How was Shallan able to bond with Pattern before she was broken? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] She was open to him even before she went through a lot of that turmoil Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] I thought everybody had to be broken in order to-- Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Well, that's their philosophy in-world. But I'm not going to say whether it's correct or wrong. I will imply that there are other means as well. source We also know that an unmade was influencing the Davar family at some point Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Was Shallan's family, during her childhood, being influenced by an Unmade? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Um, yes. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Was it <the corrupt...>? Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] I'll RAFO that, but yes, there is some external influence there. Theory: Sja Anat is the unmade that was present during Shallan's childhood. Sja Anat altered Shallan's spirit web to allow a nahel bond to be formed with Pattern. Additionally, Sja Anat did so at Cultivation's request. Cultivation has powerful future sight as shown by The Diagram, which I and many others believe to be designed to intentionally mislead Odium. Cultivation's scheming against Odium has been going on for at least 5-6 years, as this is the age of The Diagram. Cultivation sent Glys to Sja Anat to be corrupted, giving Renarin access to surges which make him a counter against Odium. This sets precedent for Cultivation and Sja Anat cooperating. So how does this tie into Shallan's history? One only needs to look at the sequence of events caused by Shallan bonding Pattern. Shallan bonds Pattern. Her mother finds out and she conspires with a skybreaker acolyte to kill her. This event permanently scars the rest of the Davar family, driving Lin Davar down into a dark spiral. Helaran Davar joins the skybreakers after abandoning his household. Kaladin kills Helaran in attempting to save Amaram, setting Kaladin down his path. Given Cultivation's incredible foresight, she would have foreseen the consequences of Shallan bonding Patter and these consequences are obstructive towards Odium's goals. If Sja Anat is indeed capable of altering an individual's spirit web as I have theorised above, then she would be an incredibly powerful tool for an organisation such as the Ghostbloods and it comes at no surprise that they would be ambitious enough to pursue it.
  5. Which of the artifacts that the ghostbloods have in the basement in WoR can we Identify. Here is my list so far. Pale sand: Sandmastery Hairpins:? Golden Hair: Royal Locks Tree Branch with writing on it: ? Silver Knife: Keliser's from Mistborn Secret History or from Threnody Odd Flower: dye flower from Warbreaker Pink Crystal: ? Any thoughts.
  6. This was put up by our supposed leader, Mraize. The Ghostbloods have been around for about a month and have provided a new experience that couldn't have been had before. The fact that we're disbanding to be absorbed into the titans about to clash is ridiculous. We have been and are a neutral organization, affiliated with no one, but working for everyone. We would have stood tall and survived through this time if it weren't for cowardice and unnecessary loyalties. Although Mraize is attempting to dissolve our organization, me and an elite few of the Ghostbloods have proposed a New Ghostbloods. We are casting aside relationships with other guilds, and becoming the ultimate weapon to be wielded by whomever wishes us to. I will lead this new and improved Ghostbloods. We will operate as we have, but without restriction. Any who wish to join us may do so, and any who oppose us must reconsider. We have no allegiances. Although we can be your greatest threat, we may also be your greatest sword in the times to come. To join us message me or @Gancho Libre. To hire us do the same. TUBA, DA, Liebrary, Sons of War, none of these matter, and yet any may use us. Consider these words spoken in great passion, and know that we are watching.
  7. @Mraize Has been screwing with us this whole time. He claimed the Ghostblood's were disbanded. This is very false. I discovered the plot when I saw this message: And this one: You can already see the beginnings of this. @PrinceDusty has joined TUBA. Clearly this is a plot to try and assassinate the whole of TUBA. I waited to publicly release this because Mraize has been a friend of the Liebrary for a long time. But if he is going to attempt a complete clearing of the guilds, then he must be stopped. I still hope for peaceful resolution, but I fear this may not be possible. I would like to apologize to @Archer and @Stormblessed Dolphin for having @MacThorstenson lie to them about the identity of the person who tipped him off. I wanted this to be known by the members of TUBA, but didn't want them to know it was me. Using Mac as my intermediary was my solution to this problem. Please. We beg of you. Join us in the fight against these traitors. @Nohadon @Voidus as well. We will all need to rise up against these people if we want to avoid complete death. Join us. Fight.
  8. Is Tyn's name a pun? She's a counter for Shallan, she's ... Tynfoil.
  9. It is a completely crazy and crackpot thought that just would not go out of my mind. It just "feels" to me that we will see Kelseir on Roshar in the near future and it would be in some relation to "ghostbloods". That organization has been hindering odium. Probably its all in my head and I just want it to be true but meh. I had to write it.
  10. Okay so, as far as we know, there are four secret societies on Roshar; the Sons of Honor, the Skybreakers, the Diagram, and the Ghostbloods. The Sons of Honor want to return the Desolations in order to force humankind to reach it's full potential. The Skybreakers want to enforce justice, and they currently serve Odium in order to return Roshar to the Parshendi. The Diagram also wants to serve Odium; in this case, they wish to serve Odium in order to gain favor for themselves when/if he wins. As for the Ghostbloods, well... We don't know what their motivation is. We have almost no clue. Based on the points of data, I have created this theory; the Ghostbloods serve Odium as intelligence agents in the wider Cosmere and on Roshar. The three points are this: 1) All the other three societies we know of serve Odium in some way. The Diagram serves him directly, the Sons of Honor work to return the Desolations, and the Skybreakers want to help the Parshendi reconquer Roshar. 2) Odium has been defeated before. We know that Odium has lost before. This is why Honor believes he will agree to a contest of champions, and presumably why he is currently trapped. Odium is an extremely powerful shard, having splintered four(?) other Shards in his time. Knowing this, I doubt that local forces alone would have been enough to trap him, especially with Tanavast's reference to forces in slumber. This would give him a strong reason to keep an eye on the Cosmere at large. 3) We know the Ghostbloods contain worldhoppers, or the descendants of worldhoppers. Of course, the Ghostbloods aren't an exclusively off-world operation. This leads me to think there is some kind of division in the organization, with some agents working on-world, others working off. This makes sense, as if is theory is correct, they would be the only one of the secret societies completely under Odium's control, and the only one he would be safe trusting with important and covert operations.
  11. As I received book 17 of Oathbringer, my question to Brandon was "name a character that is in the 17th shard, but we do not know it". His response in my book was Iyatil used to be a member of the 17th shard. Thoughts... theories?! Exciting stuff!
  12. So I've checked the search function and I can't quite find any threads asking the question I'm asking, so here goes. The Ghostbloods, whose goals are unknown, seem to have, by way of WoB and evidence on screen, a connection to the cosmere as a whole. We know for instance that at least two Ghostbloods are worldhoppers, and from some items in their hideout (a vial of sand I assume to be from Taldain, a silver knife I think could be from Threnody, among others) which could imply a casual understanding of worldhopping amongst their members. Their goals are vague, but I assume they are greater than Roshar as a whole. Though with only two worldhoppers is it possible that their organization is also a worldhopping organization? Discuss
  13. On my latest readthrough of WoK in preparation for Oathbringer, something struck me about Kabsal's death that hadn't before. Jasnah's actions all not only point towards suspicion of Kabsal, but intent to kill him, and a reckless disregard for the life of Shallan in her attempt to catch the assassin in his own trap. Here's the scene below in a spoiler tag for length: So Jasnah here, as she herself later tells Shallan, anticipates that this is the last interaction that she will have with Kabsal, and she is presented with a unique opportunity to grab the jam. Since strawberry is rare, she has a readily available excuse, the scent, to grab the jar and touch the jam and soulcast it. Her hesitation before she actually sniffs it is evidence that she did not actually intend to smell it, and knows that it is going to smell rancid due to the soulcasting. She likely here has anticipated that the jam has an antidote since she is not fond of jam herself. This gives her a way to at the very least prove her hypothesis about Kabsal. If she's wrong, all she's done is ruin a good jar of jam. Shalln comes to the faulty conclusion that Jasnah suspected poison is in the jam, but Jasnah doesn't need to get rid of poison she has no intention of ingesting, and she certainly doesn't need to cover up the fact that she tampered with the antidote, as Shallan observed she had: But Shallan was far too caught up in the realization that Jasnah had a fake soulcaster to continue to follow the trail to its logical end, or maybe she was too sick from the poison to remember all of the details. Either way, Jasnah has no reason to soulcast the Jam if she suspects the poison is in there, as she has no need. In fact, as the first selection shows she never intended on eating anything at all until Shallan forced the issue. This was a crime of opportunity that put Shallan right in the crossfire. Shallan comes to the wrong conclusion and thinks that Jasnah is trying to protect her, which is understandable, it's not an assumption you want to make about your mentor and hero, especially when you have personally betrayed that person. This will be a large enough realization, that Jasnah was willing to gamble with Shallan's life to kill an enemy, but it becomes even more egregious than that when another few details are brought into the context of the situation. Not only does Jasnah move forward with this plan knowing she's not in any danger, putting her ward in harm's way, but she does so knowing that her talents make it dificult for her to save Shallan, and she does it without a garnet on her to perform the soulcasting necessary to save Shallan. Jasnah is so obsessed with the mere opportunity of taking out a member of the Ghostbloods that she's willing to risk Shallan's life when Jasnah doesn't have the tools necessry to save her, even though it would not be difficult to have those tools on hand. Jasnah is one of the wealthiest women in the world, a garnet should be easy for her to gain access to, and it stands to reason she would want to have one around as a soulcaster for how useful it could be, especially if you plan on risking the life of one of your dependents to kill an enemy. I think it will have a profound effect on Shallan's opinion of Jasnah if she ever reexamines the events and realizes what happened, especially when she correlates them with the things Mraize has said to her. It's actually entirely possible that this is another 'truth' that Shallan has realized and hidden away to protect her admiration for Jasnah, though I don't find this as plausible as Shallan drawing her own false conclusions. I think she'll follow the logical steps later and realize the mistake she made and Jasnah's true intentions, and I think that will push her closer to the Ghostbloods. As an aside, I just watched Deathnote for the first time recently, and going through Kabsal's death scene, I felt a strong paralel to one of Jasnah's quotes.
  14. The Radiants have begun their order. So far we have 5 who we know have sworn there oaths. But is there an actual counter to each hero in our villains? The rule is that they're motivations are similar to our heros but uniquely twisted. For Dalinar we have Taravangian who seeks to Unite in the most twisted way possible and also gathers visions granted by a higher power (Moelach in his case) He unites BY destroying, therefore anti bond smith For Kaladin we have Moash, someone who has also had family killed by the light eyes but seeks to kill those he hates, breaks his word to protect the Kholin family, and ACCEPTED shards where Kaladin did not. It's these two that are the clearest. As for Jasnah I would have to say one of the worldhopping ghost bloods since in theory she too can(has?) world hopp. Mraize perhaps but it seems flimsy I think each character will have a Rosharin counter. Then of course there is Eshonai and her sister, one who sought peace, vs one who did not, one who was tricked by the other to embrace Odium. While her sister embraced it long before. Perhaps it is not as cut and dry as this, but it works well so far, im not sure about Shallan, Renarin, or Lift yet.
  15. So, from the Oathbringer prologue, we have some new information. Specifically, we now know what the motivations of each of the three men trying to "unite them" might be (based on the instructions obtained from the Almighty's vision-diary). Gavilar & Dalinar each received the visions from the Stormfather, and Taravangian heard about the visions from Gavilar. We are directly told that Gavilar intended to "unite them" with a threat of danger. We can infer that Dalinar is determined to "unite them" through common purpose & a sense of honor/duty. We can also infer that Taravangian is attempting to "unite them" with deception, political conquest, and esoteric methods (e.g. death rattles, Nightwatcher-granted super intellect, manipulating a truthless) Obviously, Dalinar is the only one of the three who is going about his efforts at unification in a manner consistent with the first oath of the Knights Radiant. However, my thoughts go from this observation to the secret societies. We have the Diagram society, the Sons of Honor, and the Ghostbloods. Of those three groups, two are represented in this group of men (Gavilar → Sons of Honor & Taravangian → the Diagram society). We also have two of the three shards whose power influenced the formation of two of the societies (Honor → Sons of Honor & Cultivation → the Diagram society). So, where do you all think the Ghostbloods fit into all of this? Acknowledging that it's pure conjecture, likely coincidental, and that correlation does not equal causation; is there any chance the Ghostbloods have a connection to Odium? Wild Cosmere theory: The Ghostbloods do a lot of world-hopping. If the Ghostbloods are connected to Odium, do you think there is a chance that Kelsier might have created a link between Roshar and the Southern Scadrians via Iyatil? What about the possibility that a chance encounter between Kelsier & Odium (or a more mundane connection via the Ghostbloods) is influencing the "other god" goings-on on Scadrial in the Wax & Wayne era?
  16. There is no reference in the books directly linking the two but I got a feeling that these might be the same person. Am I alone in this?
  17. So far, we've heard about 4 groups of worldhoppers. The Ire, which from Sel and was on Scadrial for a time, and is trying to get hold of preservation to give to a member (Secret History). The Seventeenth Shard, which is friends Frost and is chasing Hoid. There are the Ones Above who are extremely advanced and are giving information to First of the Sun which could be dangerous to the inhabitants. And finally, there is Silverlight, a group that went to first of the sun, is known to Khriss, and didn't return after going there. It could be related to the Ire. I feel like the Ire's goal is mostly selfish, because they tried to get a piece of a shard. Seventeenth Shard seems to be centered around an ideal of sorts. The Ones Above seem to be mostly mercantile, and Silverlight seems to be an exploring group. Are these groups working together? What is their goal? Do they know about eachother? Do they like eachother? How do they recruit members? How much do they know?
  18. I have a theory that may might need some scrutiny. The Soulcaster Shallan has in The Way of Kings was cut, and it stopped working. What if the soul casting fabrials are just prisons that hold a Spren capable of soul casting? Maybe I am overthinking, but it seems to me that all Soul Casters would need to contain some form of intelligence that could exchange Stormlight in Shadesmar to effect an object's change into one of the ten essences. Shallan is an intelligent human that could not convince a stick that it wanted to be fire, so we know that the objects can be willful, if not stubborn. Either there exists some trick to force a soulcasting, or an intelligence must present an argument to convince the object to change. If this is true, a Lightweaver's Cryptic could potentially be bound into a soulcaster for others to use, without needing to have a bond. Soulcaster Fabrials are a delicate pattern of chains and gemstones. I imagine them as a web of delicate lines with gemstones interspersed. What if they function as a web and hold a spren in between the cognitive and physical realm? Shardblades are the remnants of a broken bond and a formerly bound spren in some form of agony, which is why those sensitive to a bond can't touch blades without hearing the screams. It does not seem unlikely that Soulcasters are similarly remains of Spren, but in a more active capacity. If this is true, then cutting the soul caster might free an imprisoned spren. We are told that Shallan did not attempt to summon Pattern as a blade after the death of her mother, due primarily to that trauma. She Imagines that the blade is imprisoned in the safe in her father's study. But this does not explain fully why the Cryptic was never visible to her until the events in The Way of Kings. (Assuming that the pattern she is looking at on the ceiling of her quarters before she first heard the "What are you?" question was actually the Cryptic.) Why did Pattern seemingly not appear to a young Shallan after the death of her mother as she was growing up? It's possible she just wished him to leave her alone, but then why dld he come back later? Could there be a procedure that would have allowed her father to bind Pattern and create a Soulcaster fabrial? If the Ghostbloods knew of an ancient secret like this, and found that the Davar daughter had a bonded spren, possibly because her mother talked about her child's supernatural nature while looking for a "cure", it does not seem impossible that they might offer Brightlord Davar the method, and use of the resulting fabrial, in exchange for his allegiance. Perhaps a young Shallan would rationalize an event like removing her bonded spren as her father taking her blade, and putting it away in a safe. It always seemed incongruous to me that Lin Davar, portrayed as an ambitious man who would do almost anything to get a stronger position, did not attempt to gain anything from his daughter having a shard blade. I realize that the Radiants were looked at with scorn, and that it is possible he did not want his House tainted by their memory, but would he have not looked into how the shard blades of the past were separated from their owners originally? It would have solved multiple problems at once. Would questions along these lines eventually lead him to the Ghostbloods? If he somehow took advantage of his daughter after finding out she was bonding a Cryptic, and manipulated events so that he could get a soul caster made from the Spren, that would seem to me to be more in keeping with his character. Pattern lost his memories at the time of Brightness Davar's death, possibly because his bond with Shallan was weakened by her wanting nothing to do with him, and, at the same time, Shallan went mute and became antisocial, presumably due to guilt. I propose that Brightlord Davar somehow took Shallan's spren after the death of his wife, and used knowledge gained from the Ghostbloods to imprison Pattern and create a fabrial for exploitation. I also think that the forced breaking of the bond was what damaged Shallan's young mind and fractured Pattern's memories. Are there any holes in this theory that I am overlooking?
  19. Words of Radiance, chapter 34. One of those scenes so vivid that it stays in your head after reading it, and you find yourself drawing it instead of sleeping on some late weeknights. I always wondered what Pattern would look like as a proper Shardblade, so I drew him as a short sword with fancy Pattern quillions that glow pink-red in the dark. It's better in full resolution: Options > View all sizes > LARGE But if you don't want to bother, here are the detailed pics: Shallan's eyes glow pink-red when she has her Blade. The moneyshot: Original doodle: In progress: And bonus pic for all you weirdos out there: I call it "Mornings". Click for full size.
  20. So, I noticed one of the members of Ghostbloods wore a mask, and when questioned about it by Shallan, she stated she wondered why people here (either meaning Alethkar or Roshar) went about so brazenly without masks. In the newest Mistborn book, we are introduced to a civilization that always wears masks, and said something similar about the people of Elendel not wearing masks. Also, this is my first post, so hi!
  21. So with the information given in BoM I think it can be safely said that Iyatil is most likely from Southern Scadrial, the Hunter Clan specifically. The description of Iyatil's mask and the description of Hunter's masks growing into their faces are too close to ignore, plus Iyatil's whole fixation on everything being about a hunter/prey relationship. This isn't going too far as an assumption, I think. With the advent of Bands, though, we now know what kind of magical capabilities Iyatil may have given her background (if any). I am of course referring to the medallions and their ability to grant a feruchemical power. While there are complexities here that I will not be getting into, I'm sure Sharders will come up with some interesting uses of those. Maybe what comes later in this post will be related, maybe not. I want to go back to something I've been pondering since WoR, observations about Iyatil in particular that I haven't seen discussed. Now is a good time to bring these up. I'll go back and add page numbers for the quotes later on if anyone is interested in them. The question this post considers is does Iyatil have a magical capability, and if so, do we have anything in the published materials that could hint at it's nature? I'm going strictly by published information here, not rampant speculation, so let's take a look at Words of Radiance (WoR). In WoR, consider the first scene we see Iyatil. Shallon finds a room full of Ghostbloods under the apartment. She says nothing about anyone with a mask, though, and we know she was nervous and took a good look around. Then, all of a sudden, Iyatil appears right next to her during her talk with Mraize. Odd that she doesn't notice a person wearing what she later describes a "disturbing" mask, and that such a person basically came up on top of her, I think. But perhaps, you say, intoning Lift, Iyatil is just good at sneaky-stuff like that. Then Shallan leaves the apartment. I will point out to you first that Pattern is the only person who sees Iyatil during the following chase-and-evade sequence. Shallan hears something 'like fabric' while hiding, but never actually gets a look at Iyatil after she leaves the apartment. See, a person wearing a mask like Iyatil's out in the War Camps will probably be pretty noticeable in general. You could easily send folks around inquiring about such oddities, and learn some of her movements, the kind of thing a woman like Iyatil would not likely care for. Being easily tracked. So rolling out with a creepy carapace mask stuck to your face in a War Camp aligned against Parshmen who wear carapace armor is probably an occurrence Iyatil would avoid at all costs if it would be remarked upon. You say again she is sneaky-folk, and can stroll down busy streets with no one noticing. I say people wouldn't notice her following them like they wouldn't notice a Chasmfiend giving chase. You say hoods-up and shadows, sneaky-sneak-sneak. The next Ghostblood sequence is at the camp outside of the Unclaimed Hills. Shallan arrives, looks around. No notice of Iyatil in the group she finds. She talks to Mraize a bit, he tortures small animals during conversation to impress everyone. Bam! Iyatil appears standing RIGHT THERE holding the mink-thing Mraize just shot. Shallan even asks herself this time, "where was this woman hiding?" Hmmm. Sneaky-sneak, in the bushes you say? Maybe she is just good at crouching, Elder Scrolls-style? Chameleon robe?. ; ) On to the scene where Shallan waits at the info drop in the tree; she realizes they are watching the tree as well and decides check around for suspicious folk. She then sends Pattern to see if anyone is watching, and Pattern returns saying he found Iyatil in the building. After that Shallan hides on the stairs and catches her leaving the building. Aha, you say! So nothing to all of this! I'm not buying it. The first thing Iyatil says to Shallan? "How did you find me?" The answer Shallan gives? Shallan just had some random person watching the building, and thus summarily defeated Sneak-Master Mask heads up. Iyatil is thus stymied by a simple old lookout. Just keep in mind it was actually Pattern who did the initial spotting again, so it was really a spren lookout, who can easily see past the Physical Realm. Then the pair go adventuring to the insane asylum, looking for Taln. After showing Iyatil to the Ardents, who immediately freak out at the sight of her, Shallan finds Taln. As she goes to leave, Iyatil asks Shallan, "Who are you, Veil? You caught me in stealth spying upon you, and you can lose me in the streets." These things lead Iyatil to think Shallan is something special. Iyatil isn't talking you-are-good-at-hiding-in-an-alley special. Nor smart-enough-to-use-a-lookout special. This is join our secret world-hopping group with lots of magical artifacts, special. The last time we see Iyatil in WoR, she takes a few pot shots at Amaram from just outside the hole he cut in the small cell Taln is in, as he attempts to sneak Taln out. We conveniently know that the blow-darts don't have much range from an earlier conversation between Shallan and Mraize. Amaram definitely describes Iyatil here and she is pretty close. Taln grabs the darts, Amaram hops out, giving chase (we know the cell is small, so this wouldn't take long). No suspicous mask-wearing folks in sight! Yet another odd occurrence to add to our pile! There is something in all of this, I think. My ideas follow, and I'll be interested to hear yours. I've tried hard to build a case here that at least we have a series of unusual occurrences here that cannot be explained away by Iyatil being simply very sneaky, or by Shallan becoming a master of intrigue. I find it highly likely that Iyatil is either using Southern Scadrial magic to conceal herself or has some method of hiding herself in the Cognitive Realm. A magical method of concealment would certainly be attractive to a hunter who spends her life stalking prey. Also, we have hints that she is a worldhopper, and we know that using the Cognitive Realm is a common method of doing such hopping, so perhaps there is a connection there with her apparent ability to conceal herself. Were Iyatil in fact 'hiding' somehow in the Cognitive Realm when stalking Shallan on the streets, I would guess that Pattern would spot her right away whereas beings in the Physical Realm may look right over her. Same situation when she was, in her own words, "in stealth." Now that we have a likely candidate for Iyatil's background and know a bit about her people's native magical capabilities, perhaps this can yield some interesting conversations. I'm really interested to hear what you have to say, so thanks in advance for reading all of this!
  22. People Moash is working for are Diagramists, right? (Dude with Moash when fighting Kaladin at end of WoR says this isn't what the diagram said or something along those lines) Shallan is working for the Ghostbloods, right? Don't feel like finding the quote again (I found this like 6 months ago and thought I had posted it but I guess not), but Shallan's employer told her that Amaram's life is reserved for another. Moash and the rest of Bridge 4 is, at this point, the only group of people who know Kaladin is a Radiant, and unless the Ghostbloods tracked him all the way from the battle where he became a slave, Moash is the only one who knows that Kaladin hates Amaram (come to think, this might have been after Adolin's 4v1, but I don't think so, and even still there's no reason the Ghostbloods would keep Amaram for him) Therefore Ghostbloods = Diagramists, or at least they are working together. This whole theory is from like 6 months ago, so I might be wrong.
  23. A Rosharan Political Analysis: Secret Societies Ghostbloods, Diagramists, Skybreakers, Sons of Honor, Envisagers, Stone Shamans, Ardentia The following is intended to be a comprehensive guide on known secret societies on Roshar, especially ones interfering in The Stormlight Archive. Due to the complexity and excessive number of such societies, this will hopefully be a useful reference for newcomers, confused fans, and those that want to double check or reference any information. If you note any inaccuracies or things that I missed, feel free to let me know so that I can update the information to be as accurate as possible. The Ghostbloods: The Ghostbloods are the most encountered secret society with the least information given. As Mraize told Shallan at the end of Words of Radiance, we know next to nothing about the Ghostbloods or their purpose. We can, however, make some educated approximations, and codify the information we have been given. · Jasnah Kholin: She and the Ghostbloods seem to be engaged in a policy of mutual assassination; but unfortunately we don’t know the history or reasons behind this. · Sons of Honor: There seems to be a specific rivalry between the Ghostbloods and the Sons of Honor. The Ghostbloods have a keen interest in Amaram at the Shattered Plains, and Iyatil tried to assassinate him at the end of Words of Radiance (most likely, she has at least one nonlethal poison); Amaram also suspected the Ghostbloods of sending Helaran as the Shardbearer to kill him, though later evidence indicates that it was really the Skybreakers. Gavilar’s two suspects for his assassination were Thaidakar (probable leader of the Ghostbloods) and Restares (probable leader of the Sons of Honor). Both are also seeking maps and Urithiru. · Maps and Urithiru: The Ghostbloods have an uncanny interest in maps. (This is not singular to the Ghostbloods; the Sons of Honor, Parshendi, and others seem to have the same interest.) Either they (as well as the others) are putting plenty of effort into the search for Urithiru (as seems likely), or the maps have something else of interest. · Taravangian and Tukar: Mraize, in his conversation with Raspy Voice, seemed to indicate that he thinks Taravangian and the Diagram of little importance. Either he is unaware of the Diagram or its extent, or the Diagram is of less importance than we are led to believe. In the same conversation, he speaks of a “creature in Tukar” that is either not human or not of the local species. As pointed out, this is likely the "god-priest, Tezim," leading the Tukari in the conflict over Sesemalex Dar. · Worldhoppers: Secret conversations, key props, the Diagram, and Words of Brandon confirm that Mraize and Iyatil are worldhoppers. The conversation Shallan overheard in Chapter 54 of Words of Radiance seems to indicate that there may be at least one other. A person with a raspy voice. Conspiracy theory! Dreok Crushthroat! The Ghostbloods could, therefore, be a Cosmere-wide organization in either membership, expanse, or at least information. Significant Members: · Mraize: A man who, on first sight, reminds Shallan of Hoid. He is twisted an scarred, fixates on courage (in his first conversation with Shallan), and likes to use local weapons to learn of different cultures. He is the ward of Iyatil, and a worldhopper. In fact, Adrotagia wondered (in her annotations to the Diagram) if he was the “wanderer Taravangian spoke of. · Iyatil: She is considered the “babsk” of Mraize. The only other babsk we see is Vstim, and from Rysn we learn that the babsk is considered the parent of the apprentice, in charge of “rearing” them to be a full trader. I am not sure how this relationship works with the Ghostbloods. She has an orange carapace mask she refuses to remove, is a skilled actress, and is also a worldhopper. · Tyn: An expert con artist that took Shallan under her wing. She was in league with the Ghostbloods but may not have been an actual member. She was in charge of the operation to assassinate Jasnah Kholin. Shallan killed her with her Shardblade when Tyn discovered her identity and tried to kill her. · Thaidakar: This appears to be a leader or high ranking member of the Ghostbloods (he is spoken of in conjunction with the Ghostbloods in a way that implies he is the head of the organization by Amaram in The Way of Kings, and Words of Radiance reaffirms a Ghostblood position, with the term “Master Thaidakar” used by Mraize. Gavilar suspected Thaidakar for his assassination, telling him that he was “too late;” though Restares (a Son of Honor) and Sadeas were also suspects. We have no other information at the moment. Lin Davar: Father of Shallan and Helaran (along with three other siblings). He assumed the blame for the deaths of Shallan's mother and her friend in order to preserve the secret of Shallan's Radiancy and the fact that Shallan had killed them (albeit in self-defense). He grew politically ambitious, increasing House Davar's importance and preparing to make a bid for Highprince, but making enemies and alienating allies. His steward, Luesh, was his intermediary with the rest of the Ghostblood organization, which had been backing his bid for the Highprince succession and had loaned him the Soulcaster. He was killed by Shallan when he tried to kill Nan Balat during one of his rages. Luesh: Steward to Lin Davar and his intermediary with the Ghostbloods as they backed him politically. He was trained to use a Soulcaster. He (purportedly) died in his sleep after Lin's death, while Shallan was in Kharbranth. Kabsal: A Ghostblood posting as a Kharbranthian Ardent. He befriended and fell in love with Shallan, but his main purpose was to assassinate Jasnah Kholin. He died from poisoned bread during the assassination attempt after Jasnah inadvertently Soulcast the antidote. Shallan: Following Jasnah's "death," Shallan's encounter with Tyn, and her arrival at the Shattered Plains, Shallan infiltrated the Ghostblood organization under the alias Veil. She was ultimately admitted as a full Ghostblood member, but her true identity was ultimately discovered. Despite this, Mraize still offered her the membership. "Let Shallan Davar be a Radiant, conformist and noble. Let Veil come to us. And let her find truth." Interesting quote (from Mraize's conversation with Shallan at the end of Words of Radiance): "Your family [the Davar's] has a long history of involvement in these events." The Sons of Honor: The Sons of Honor are a group of Vorin extremists. Fortunately (or unfortunately), we see a lot of them through the interactions and investigations of Amaram, especially from Words of Radiance. (Ironically, the English singular – Son of Honor – is only one letter away from perfect Rosharan symmetry, a good Vorin name.) Their purpose is to return the Desolations in order to bring back the Heralds and restore the Heirocratic dominance of Old Vorinism. While obviously misguided and misinformed, and seemingly unimportant, they still manage to kick up quite the storm. Restares: We know little more of Restares than we do of Thaidakar. The apparent leader of the Sons of Honor, all we truly know is that he is Amaram’s superior, one of Gavilar’s murder suspects, and that his cronies were “close,” according to Mraize, presumably to finding Urithiru. He is usually mentioned in context with Thaidakar. He is the individual to whom Amaram sent his progress report at the end of Words of Radiance. Amaram: A devout Son of Honor, he has been seeking Heralds (namely the “person who calls himself Taln), gathering maps (presumably seeking Urithiru), and trying to get the Parshendi to transform into Voidbringers. While he has garnered much dislike in the novels and among fans for murdering Kaladin’s men and being generally dishonorable, I feel he is no worse (and absolutely no better) than many of the other misguided, semi-antagonistic members of such secret societies; while he is more misguided than most, he honestly feels he is doing what is best for Roshar, without regard to himself, but has a very destination-before-journey mindset that is common in similar individuals (Taravangian, Mraize, and even Hoid to an extent). The Diagramists: The most appreciated and generally understood secret organization, the society of the Diagram is the prime example of “Destination before Journey,” summarized by the Catechism of the Back of the Flowered Painting: Q: What cost must we bear? A: The cost is irrelevant. Mankind must survive. Our burden is that of the species, and all other considerations are but dust by comparison On the night of his death, Gavilar confided in King Taravangian of Kharbranth, telling him of his visions of the Almighty. Following this, Taravangian sought out the Nightwatcher, asking for the capacity to save humankind. The result? Daily intelligence fluctuations, inversely connected with compassion levels. Then came one “singular day of unparalleled brilliance,” “making connections no man had ever before made”: The Diagram. Information written in an alien script (devised by Taravangian that day to express information more clearly) all over Taravangian’s bedroom, with a key fortunately carved into his table; now codified (in its original form) for more practical use. Although Taravangian’s Interlude maintains that he did not truly see into the future, the Diagram has made “eerily accurate” (though not entirely infallible) predictions of the results of specific actions necessary to unite the world (under Taravangian) to resist the Desolation, as his interpretation of Gavilar’s visions required: “You must become king. Of everything.” Quotes: · Inaccuracies: The Diagram, while startlingly accurate, has been off about a few things, more so the farther into the future it goes. Taravangian hopes for another day of equivalent intelligence to revamp the Diagram, but Adrotagia’s calculations declare this to be unlikely. Therefore, the current method is to use Death Rattles, little precognitive phrases uttered by the dying, created by Moelach (according to the Diagram, one of the Unmade) and powered by the “spark of life itself.” Two problems thus arise: First, that the Diagram is gradually decreasing in accuracy; Second, that the method of updating the Diagram is controlled by an evil, powerful being most likely a Splinter of Odium. These could have interesting future ramifications. · Death Rattles: · Sleepers: These are members of the Diagramist group, likely a term for a specific type of undercover agent. “Wake every Alethi sleeper we have; send every agent in the area.” These may include Graves and his men. · Silent Gatherers: These Diagramists are headed by Joshor and are in charge of murdering the terminally ill in the Kharbranthian hospitals in order to find and record as many Death Rattles as possible to augment the Diagram. Members: · Taravangian: King of Kharbranth and now Jah Keved, Taravangian was the confidante of Gavilar Kholin on his final night. After seeking out the Nightwatcher, he received the boon of intelligence fluctuation and created the Diagram on a day of unparalleled genius (as explained above). Through his occasional brilliance, he is able to interpret the Diagram and is the leader of the society. “Besides, in dealing with the Diagram, he might not remember what he had written or why – but there were echoes sometimes.” · Adrotagia: Head of Taravangian’s scholars and his boyhood friend. Following Taravangian, she probably knows the most about the Diagram. · Mrall: Taravangian’s bodyguard, in charge of determining his capacity to serve in public on a daily basis. A peculiar figure, he claims to be able to “change emotions on a whim,” such as ceasing to take pleasure in suffering. · Graves: A self-styled Alethi patriot and a Shardbearer, he was in charge of the group trying to assassinate King Elhokar. He is now fleeing the Shattered Plains. Through the assassination attempt, he recruited Moash to their cause. · Szeth-son-son-Vallano: Truthless of Shinovar, the Assassin in White. An explanation should be unnecessary. From the middle of The Way of Kings to the end of Words of Radiance, he is under the control of Taravangian and acts on his orders. The Skybreakers: The name originally applied to an order of the Knights Radiant. Whether they remain so, are the organizational remnant of what used to be Radiants, are Radiants ("This act of great villainy went beyond the impudence which had hitherto been ascribed to the orders; as the fighting was particularly intense at the time, many attributed this act to a sense of inherent betrayal; and after they withdrew, about two thousand made assault upon them, destroying much of the membership; but this was only nine of the ten, as one said they would not abandon their arms and flee, but instead entertained great subterfuge at the expense of the other nine."), or merely share the same name and Heraldic leader remains unknown. In any case, they are a group headed by Nalan, Herald of Justice. They do seem to “put the law above all else,” though laws are twisted to suit their needs, and they certainly have a proliferation of Shardblades; however, their actions do not seem Radiant-worthy and they seem to be trying to assassinate – pseudolegally, of course – Surgebinders along the path to Radianthood, all in the name of preventing another Desolation. The best knowledge comes from the Interludes of Ym and Lift, along with Szeth’s portion of chapter 88 of Words of Radiance. I hope for a vast increase of information with the release of the next book (such as the information and references in The Way of Kings versus those in Words of Radiance.) · Nalan’elin: “Nin” to Szeth, almost certainly Darkness to Lift and the man in Ym’s story; Herald of Justice, Divine Attributes of Just and Confident. We don’t know what the years since Aharietiam have truly done to the Heralds, though they seem to be “doing worse.” This one has gained a penchant for assassinating Surgebinders and (Jezerezah only knows what else he’s been up to! I’ll leave it up to your imagination). · Szeth-son-Neturo: Once again, the Assassin in White needs little introduction. Now he has and a mission to bring justice to the leaders of the Shin, and he is learning at the feet of a dangerous Herald who may or may not be just as unstable as Szeth. · Helaran: Shallan’s oldest brother apparently “sought out the Skybreakers,” presumably where he received his Shardblade and Plate. Taravangian and Adrotagia considered him a possible tutor of Shallan in her Surgebinding. Nothing else is known, despite Shallan’s flashbacks (I am beginning to tire of saying that. I expect some good information from the third book!) The Envisagers: A cult, as Teft called them, that “believed in the Radiants, Heralds, and Old Vorinism; especially Old Vorinism.” They believed that if they could return the Voidbringers, it would bring back the Knights Radiant (comparable to the Sons of Honor in the preceding respects). They believed that if they put their members in mortal danger, they would manifest Surgebinding powers – a Snapping concept, of sorts. None did, but many (including Teft’s mother) died trying. Teft turned the Envisagers in to his citylord, who executed them all. If other groups exist, he (and we) is unaware. NOTE: This concludes the section on all known secret societies – at least, those known to be secret societies. The two following are potential candidates once more information is known; as things stand, any accusations of ulterior goals remain theorization. I hope the information is helpful, regardless. The Ardentia: The Vorin ardentia are the religious officials that remain after the Sunmaker destroyed the Heirocracy and Old Vorinism. While they lack the overwhelming political power they had previously, they are extraordinarily well placed to be a massive secret society in the Vorin nations of the East: ardents include cutting-edge scientists, scholars with access to practically all of the Eastern world’s knowledge (especially the Palanaeum), politicians (though they technically aren’t supposed to be), religious authorities and advisors, fighters, Shard-trained soldiers, and Soulcasters – in fact, they control all known Soulcasting fabrials. They seem too suspicious and well-positioned, especially with the fact that they once controlled the major Vorin nations. Stone Shamans and the Shin: I hesitated to include these, but the information, while mildly speculative and not truly a secret society, could still be of use. Stone Shamans seem to be the leaders of the Shin – certainly of their religion, which worships the spren of stone. They have the Honorblades and have kept them safe “for millennia” – likely since the Last Desolation. Szeth mentions eight of the nine, specifically (though he wasn’t terribly surprised with the fabricated news that one was stolen), and we have WOB that a Herald came back for his. Unfortunately, insofar as I know, we lack a time indicator – whether it was immediately following the Desolation, before Szeth’s expulsion, or afterwards is unknown, and the latter would mean that there is another unaccounted Honorblade. Presumably, the Stone Shamans use them, for they would have been able to retrieve the Honorblade following Szeth’s death in normal circumstances (whether they will try or succeed to regain the Honorblade from the new Knights Radiant remains to be seen) – though how this reconciles with the societal abhorrence of weapons and soldiery is unknown. Regardless, we know Szeth plans to “face enemies with Shards and with power.” Besides the ownership of the Honorblades (and potentially other Shards), however, is the potential knowledge, both generally held and that discovered by Szeth, leading to his naming as Truthless. Unfortunately, all that we know is very vague and will likely remain so until Szeth visits Shinovar or we see his flashbacks. Regardless, we can extrapolate from the few glimpses Szeth does give us, namely in Interlude 9 of The Way of Kings and phrases screamed while fighting Kaladin. Something made Szeth believe that the Radiants and Voidbringers had returned. He told others, probably the Stone Shamans, but was convinced or forced - despite what he claims his honor demanded - to become Truthless. (I am of the opinion that he was forced religiously, and he complied in the name of law and order, which Nalan claimed Szeth worshipped - “They told me I was Truthless,” emphasis added, and “There was no place for him in the Valley of Truth,” a name that seems to imply religious significance. There is also an interesting dichotomy following his acceptance of his station; while “his honor demanded” that the Voidbringers existed despite the fact that “his punishment declared that they did not,” the appearance of Kaladin as a budding Radiant made Szeth question his nature as Truthless until Taravangian’s explanation forced him to remain in his place.) Along with a possible knowledge of Radiants and Voidbringers, Szeth recognizes a Herald on sight (albeit by a different name than they are called in Vorin nations), and he knows more about Surgebinding than the Ars Arcanum from The Way of Kings and arguably that of Words of Radiance, despite Shinovar’s lack of access to Stormlight. They also had a knowledge of Urithiru. It will be very interesting to learn more of the Shin in future novels. Honorable mention: These are groups that deserve notice but lack requisite information for full consideration. Worldsingers: An order that travels across Roshar, "spreading knowledge of cultures, peoples, thoughts, and dreams; bringing peace through understanding." They claim that their charge to do so came directly from the Heralds. Related to the Worldbringers of Terris and probably founded by Hoid, Hoid is a member and was the mentor to Sigzil, graduating him during The Way of Kings. Veristitalians: A group of scholars that seeks to find the truth of what has happened in the past, such as finding natural explanations for supernatural phenomena and discovering unbiased history. Jasnah is a prominent member. Stormwardens: A group of make scholars finding loopholes in Vorin restrictions. They mathematically predict highstorms, use glyphs as a written phonetic script, etc. Several stormwardens have been involved with secret societies, but nothing indicates that the organization as a whole is. Vanrial: Am order of artists at Silent Mount in Jah Keved, responsible for preserving the full text of The Way of Kings throughout the Hierocracy. Each year they sing songs believed to be in the Dawnchant, of which Dalinar's visions seem to be giving a translation. Oldbloods: The descendants of the dynasty that once, long ago, ruled Alethkar. They mark themselves with blue tattoos on the cheek. Teleb, a Kholin highofficer and ultimately a Shardbearer, is an Oldblood. "In Yulay, there are groups of people who talk of the Radiants. And wish for their return." This quote from Sigzil may refer to the Envisagers or a separate group. I hope that this compilation is helpful. If you note any inaccuracies or know of anything I overlooked, any and all help is appreciated – I mean this to be a full, complete resource for anyone that could use it. Thank you! Edit 1: Updated the Ghostblood information, switching Iyatil for Mraize (as the assassin fit Amaram), added nonlethal poison as an option, fixed ambiguity of worldhopper status for Mraize and Iyatil, fixed "creature in Tukar," and added Lin Davar, Luesh, Kabsal, and Shallan/Veil. Edit 2: Added Worldsingers, Veristitalians, Stormwardens, Vanrial, Oldbloods, and Yulay groups.
  24. So I am not always here reading various theories, therefore I am surely creating a hypothesis that has already been made before. But what if the Ghostbloods (or at least Iyatil / Mraize) are part of a larger and "opposite" organization to the 17th shard? It does create a nice symmetry again, but could be taking the symmetry idea too far. It seems that Mraize and Iyatil are both worldhoppers. From the scene when Shallan first meets Mraize, she seems to see several things from different worlds, and probably there is another thread where everyone has figured out where these things are from: A vial of pale sand. - White Sand? A couple of thick hairpins. - For Hemalurgy? A lock of golden hair. - No idea The branch of a tree with writing on it. - Not sure, but the writing makes me think of AonDor. A silver knife. - Threnody, holding back the Shades? An odd flower preserved in some kind of solution. - Nalthis/Tears of Edgli? A chunk of pale pink crystal looked like it might be some kind of gemstone - Not sure Perhaps the Ghostbloods are going directly against the 17th shard, trying to figure out how to get super powerful through different types of investiture? Ok, apologies if all this has been said before.
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