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Forgive me if this has already been discussed. I did a bit of searching and found similar topics, but none that really fully discussed what I was wondering. What I want to know is this: in WoK, Szeth says that Shardplate interferes with his surgebinding, and we have a WoB that says that it's because it's difficult to affect something that's heavily Invested (such as Shardplate). However, in Dalinar's vision we see a KR that uses what I can only assume is Gravitation (flying in from the sky and all) while wearing Shardplate. Not only that, but the Plate glows, which is something modern Plate certainly does not do. Clearly this KR has no problem with the Plate interfering with their surgebinding, so what I want to know is this: why? What changed? Does Plate work the same as Blade, where it's actually a spren (or extension of the same spren as the Blade) that forms it? And only after they die does it become an interference? If this were the case, why are there gemstones built into the Plate? Does the KR just Lash themselves, carrying the armor with them? I suppose this might bypass the Plate interfering, since they're not trying to Lash the Plate directly, but that seems very inconvenient, seeing as how the Plate (not being affected by the surgebinding) would still be dragging the KR down wherever they went. I really don't know, what do you guys think?

It's kind of funny how a reread can change perspectives, I've noted a few things here but feel free to add your own/throw rocks and fruit. Shallan For one, I definitely found Shallan much less annoying on reread. I mean, she still feels too Suey. But I used to find her chapters a chore to get through, and now less so. I still don't really like her wit, mainly because she gets praised for stuff that is just kinda weak and bland (maybe that is Vorin wit?) but I actually found her chapters to be a nice contrast to Kaladin's grim early WoK chapters and his later heavy brooding chapters. In general it was really cool to see her come out of her shell and to (re)learn a lot of the stuff about Roshar with her. I will say this though, the mind blanking stuff is frustrating as allthing. Kaladin Wow. You really notice the tendency to self flagellate on the reread, and the racism against lighteyes. Overall I was actually rather surprised how much less I liked Kal on the reread. Not to mention the number of times he could have done better if he'd acted different. Top marks for genuinely struggling to function and having legitimate issues with authority and emotions. This aside though, I was still pleased with how cool he could be. Maybe because I noticed how close to the edge he was through so much of WoK and how torn up he gets in WoR. Adolin Wow. Adolin is way nicer than I remember. Maybe it is just because he is fighting in so many of his chapters I always kinda imagined him as a brasher, darker character. Maybe that's just because of how WoR ends. But even right up to Sadeas I was in his corner and thinking about it I still am. I mean on my first read I was very into Dalinar and Kaladin, but I think in general Adolin comes across as a much nicer, cooler character. Maybe even too cool. I mean, awesome at the sword, funny, stands up for the little guys, makes choices based on solid evidence, and the one time he does actually lose his temper and snap it is to kill a man who has just declared that he's pretty untouchable, unashamed and won't stop at anything. Noting this, I am definitely in Adolin's corner with Sadeas. Much more than I was on the first read. It is pretty comparable to the situation with Straff in Mistborn so far as I see it, maybe even more justified. Dalinar I was actually surprised by how little Dalinar does and how much of a doormat he is for so much of tWoK and how little he does in WoR. Really. I remembered him as pretty solidly badass with the rest of the Highprinces acting like kids, but he drops the ball on so many occasions it is actually surprising. Still a good character, but I spent way more time than was healthy... puzzled...by how he acted. I suppose the big thing that struck me if how often we're told he is a good commander or leader, but how rarely we see it. I'm honestly surprised he got as many Highprinces as he did at the end of WoR. Strangely enough, I actually think in a lot of ways Dalinar might be the most human SA character. On the first read, especially with the gap between WoK and WoR, I didn't really notice just how haunted he was by Gavilar's death and how isolated he was. This may have come across as pretty negative, but I don't mean it that way, I actually might be happier with how the books are now.

When Shallan meets Kaladin in the war camp in Words of Radiance she gets into a fight with him and she said a lot of really uncalled for things. First, off Kaladin is the Captain of the King's guard so he has to check everyone thoroughly and Shallan had already lied to him so he had no reason to trust her. She acts really spoiled when she feels offended when Kaladin doesn't trust her. Second, when she attacks Kaladin's parents and says that Kaladin never knew them. Seriously, what the Hell Shallan? Just, because Kaladin is a Darkeyes you assume that his home life was terrible? Also, she was no one to talk about a bad home life. While we are at the conversation, Kaladin's dig at Shallan's ancestors mating with sponges was also uncalled for, especially since he is such good friends with Rock. I know this conversation was to show these characters starting at each others' throats, but seriously what was with all of those low blows?

When we first entered the world of Roshar, we are introduced to the world through the character of Kalak and his breaking of the Oathpack. From the little we see of Kalak we know that he is fundamentally a broken man who has suffered one too many times. This is rather similar to how we are introduced to Kaladin when he gets his own narration. He has seen his squad killed, he became a slave, and every time he fought back he made things worse. He is almost as broken as he could get and all it took were the bridgeruns to fully destroy him. From there Syl saves him and we see him rebuild his life bit by bloody bit. Not only do these two characters share nearly identical names, but they both start out in similar situations of being at their lowest possible low. My theory is that they are mirrors of each other. I feel that at some point the two will run into each other and see in the other what might have happened if they chose a different path. As to what will happen then I don't know, but to me the similarities in more than just name seem too much. Sorry if someone else has commented on this before, but I can't read everything.

I was reading through Way of Kings again, and I noticed something very odd. On Kaladin's first bridge run, there is an unnamed bridgeman who says, "Talenelat'Elin, bearer of all agonies." The bearer of all agonies part interests me, because it clearly refers to the fact that he is the only Herald still being tortured in death, while all the other Heralds broke the Oathpact and are still alive. However, all of the common people believe that the Heralds won, stopped the cycle of Desolations, and chased the Voidbringers into the Tranquiline Halls. That being the case, how does this random bridgeman seem to know this information about Taln when nobody else does? Additionally, he is described as being old and leathery-faced. I don't know how much older he would be than Kaladin, but I imagine it's pretty significant, especially when you consider the physical strength and stamina needed for a bridgeman. How would such an old man have survived carrying bridges long enough to know the ins and outs of how the whole process worked? He knew enough to tell Kaladin tips for making the carrying easier, knew not to make Gaz mad, and was able to look for the signs to see that the current bridge run was "going to be a bad one". It seems odd that someone so apparently old would be strong enough to survive carrying bridges as long as he must have. The man also is the only bridgeman we see to show any kindness at all to Kaladin, while all the other bridgemen are pretty much completely dead inside. Much like Kaladin when he becomes "the wretch," they don't care about anything or anyone. So why does this bridgeman, who has clearly gone on at least a few runs before (and it seems likely that it's more than just a few), suddenly help Kaladin without any real reason to do so?

Hello, I recently read two books of Stormlight Archive, and they are the first I have read from Brandon Sanderson. Those were mildly a good surprise, and I did enjoy reading through them. So far, I like - Kaladin - Hoid - Jasnah - Adolin - Renarin - Elhokar - Pattern - Tien - Amaram - Hesina - Lirin - Sigzil Dalinar and Shallan though...I'm not sure what to make of them.

When Kaladin achieved the Third Ideal, a glyph appeared. Is it known what this glyph was? Was this the glyph for the Windrunners? I suppose that could be shaped like wings since there are stylistic choices available with glyphs to make them appear differently.

Could he turn her into other tools or objects? Just think! Any good ideas?

After a brief conversation with Brandon on the matter, I think I might be onto something. This theory revolves our current understanding of Physics so it would be some time in the timeline before we could confirm these theories. However I cannot stop thinking about these ideas and Brandon confirmed a couple of my speculations. But if the skills that Shallan has displayed, along with the words of Pattern, we can extrapolate incredible future abilities. Now I could be wrong simply because we don't have an understanding of all the radiant groups as of yet, but here me out about this. So what do we know are Shallans abilities? Well the first and probably the most powerful (that we KNOW of) is the soulcasting. Shallan can separate her cognitive mind from her physical body and interact with shadesmar directly. Once she masters this skill she will be able to use storm light as a bargaining chip to convert matter and form. I'm excited to see what this entails and if there are any real limitations to this power. Like can they only soul cast into one essence at a time? Why do the soulcasters in the Alethkar army look like they have stone for skin? So many questions, but despite this ability, I want to focus on lightweaving itself. i just feel that transformation is "more powerful" than progression. No the ability to manipulate light is the real power here. Although "Lightweaver" is a deceptive name. Remember how Pattern said that Shallan could manipulate sound as well as light? When I read that the second time through I did a double take. I mean, on the surface these two are vastly different. Light is a collection of photons, where as sound is a vibration in moving particles. The only thing that these two truly share is that the nature of light and sound is determined by the waves and wavelengths that they maintain. So how could this be? If Shallan is creating false light barriers, then that should be the extent of her abilities. it would still be amazing and incredibly versatile, but that's it. Including the ability to affect sound waves tells me that there is something far greater going on. If Lightweavers actually shape the wavelength of physical particles and energy waves, then her powers become nearly unlimited. First I'll start with sound. If Shallan as a Lightweaver can control waves of vibration to create sounds, then what else could she do (Assuming stormlight were no object for the sake of speculation) Well she could most likely stun people with powerful sound waves. Especially in the water, large enough shock waves can actually stun of kill. Remember a noise is simply a managed vibration in particles including liquids and solids. If you can manipulate shock waves and add enough power, stunning people would not be too far fetched. Even Earthquakes are effectively massive shock waves that travel through the soil. They seem vastly different from a verbal shout, but on the large scale they really operate on the same physical premise. And we now know Shallan uses her powers to effect shock waves, so far just on the small scale. So we can presume that with enough stormlight, Shallan could cause an earthquake. Now to the real power. Light manipulation. Often times we get comfortable in our spectrum of light. We have the colors of the rainbow and every shade in between. Shallan had displayed the countless applications of light manipulation in stealth and espionage. However we are not so limited in Physics. Visible Light is a tiny part of the Electromagnetic Spectrum. The levels of light along the spectrum are only different in their wavelength and frequency. This is where things get exciting. First lets go to the large end of the spectrum. So if we have two lightweavers, perhaps standing on the peaks of two different mountains. If the lightweaver can manipulate radio waves, using stormlight to create a variable radio broadcaster and receiver, we would have the perfect way to communicate without anyone being able to listen in. This could be very useful, although span-reads honestly are better at this, so this is less exciting. More likely Lightweavers would become radio hosts in the future as they transmit music and voices into the homes of radio owning families in the future. I can imagine Lightweavers as traveling radio performers sharing their skills as actors of comedians across the radio waves. But it's the other end of the electromagnetic spectrum that gets really crazy. Imagine how soon x-rays for medical diagnoses could be used when your doctor can literally create x-rays out of thin air? Crime scene investigators will have a local Lightweaver create UV lights to help reconstruct the crime scene and look for trace evidence. But the ultimate form (That Brandon said would be too much to be practical both in needed stormlight and application) would be the control of Gamma Radiation. If this could be harnessed, Lightweavers could literally become mini nukes, or death guns. The biggest downside to making Gamma radiation would be the damage the lightweaver would most likely suffer. So gamma radiation is impractical but its a fun thought experiment. So that's the end of my thoughts, I just see people talking about how Lightweavers are cool, but not as powerful as Windrunners. Now you know the possible future of lightweavers! The best part of this whole speculation was how excited Brandon was about my train of thought. I don't know if anyone had brought up this train of thought before. But he was happy to remind me that things will get pretty interesting when Lightweavers discover lasers and start using them in combat. Seriously, he said that, I couldn't ever make this up. Hope you enjoyed!

From the Houston signing thread. This got me thinking... If I'm at all in any way right - and you don't want to think about how it all ends. DON'T READ FURTHER! Of course - I'm probably not right though! Theory: I propose this last chapter mentioned in the WoB quote above is (at least partially) the story that Wit and Kaladin concoct while Kaladin is in prison in WoR. (sorry?). I realize that it may be connected to the epigraphs also(and/or) but consider how Hoid and Kaladin's story fits within the larger framework: Words of Radiance p. 730 and Words of Radiance p. 730, 731 and most convincing for me: Words of Radiance p. 731 I think this has to do with beating the everstorm through strength of will, belief and perseverance, and self-sacrifice. Or maybe Wit is just talking about other cosmere stories we have seen (or will see ). Chances are excellent that I am 100% wrong and I freely admit that and actually wouldn't mind a bit if that turns out to be the case. This just seemed kinda like it might fit as an ending... Thoughts? Disagreements? Other ideas? *hides*

Here is my first musical composition for the Stormlight Archive. This is what I imagined for Tien's theme, which would (theoretically) be used for Kaladin's memories throughout The Way of Kings. The first melody you hear (A section) is for Tien - it's meant to be song-like and sad. The B section has some major chords and is more or less Kaladin's hero theme. It brings a sense of determination and resolve to the overall "Tien theme" which seems appropriate for Kaladin. My goal was to create a theme for both characters that brings together the emotion of their story. This is all on piano - although feel free to imagine a full orchestra! :-D WhenIf I figure out a program to make that happen, it will definitely be on my list of things to do! (Please excuse the "lameness" of the video. I only have Windows Live Movie Maker and for anyone who is familiar with it: you know my pain. For those of you who don't: it stinks. But, hey, I'm a musician not a film maker :-P) Enjoy!

Hello, i don't think anyone has ever done a poll so that people can say whether they want Kaladin and his parents to be reunified or not ( evil laugh in the background) so I just created one. If you think/hope another option that wasn't in the poll will happen then feel free to tell me. quick question too: aren't Lirin's name a lighteyes one and isn't Laral (the daughter of the first citylord of Hearthstone) a symetrical and so profane name.

Hey all! Possible spoilers unless you are up to date with Stormlight and Warbreaker. Just wondering about a link between Kaladin's healing ability in relation to the Zahel's ability to change how he looks. Sanderson has confirmed that the reason Kaladin cannot heal his scars is related to the way that Kaladin still views himself as a slave. At the end of war breaker, Zahel (there referred to as Vasher) explains that the Hallendren gods "Look exactly as they think they should. The old ones look old, the heroic ones become strong, the ones who think a beautiful goddess be well endowed become unnaturally voluptuous. It's all about how they perceive themselves" At which point Viv thinks "and this is how you perceive yourself Vasher? As the scraggly man, rough and unkempt?" This implies that Kaladin could (or any radiant), with the help of storm light as a source, completely change how he looks right? More than just no longer viewing himself as a slave and then healing his scars. If he viewed himself as something more, would he not "heal" himself until he was what he perceived himself to be?

*Spoilers* Have you ever noticed how similar Kelsier and Kaladin are? They are both leaders of a 'team' - for Kelsier, it's the crew, and for Kaladin it's Bridge Four. Kelsier is encouraging the skaa to rise up, and Kaladin is the one coming up with ways to keep Bridge Four alive. Even their names are almost the same - Kel and Kal! Can anyone think of more characters who seem the same?