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Question; it's often talked about in vorinism the holiness of symmetry, and that taking a completely symmetrical name is blasphemous. it's mentioned in the book that Ialai's name is considered blasphemous, but what about Laral and Rillir? that's 3 characters with perfectly symmetrical names. Am I taking this too literally, or are there names all equally blasphemous?

So in Words of Radiance (can't give the direct quote or page number since I am moving and my copy is in a taped-up box), Sadeas says that he likes his wife Ialai's name because unlike most Rosharan names, which are palindromes except one letter off, her name is a perfect palindrome and therefore a bit arrogant. Similarly, Kabsal compliments Shallan on her name in Way of Kings because it's one sound off from a palindrome. So why does Laral, Kaladin's childhood friend/almost-fiancee/it's complicated, have a perfect palindrome name? Or, for that matter, Rillir, Brightlord Roshone's ill-fated son who died of idiocy when he tried to kill a whitespine? Any ideas on the inconsistency? Perhaps giving your (light-eyed) kid a perfect palindrome name was less of a taboo in the countryside, but Rillir came from the capital city, where it would have been heavily frowned upon.

Hey I am fairly new so I'm not sure if this topic has been covered or not, But... What could have happened to Laral and how might she fit into the next book? Perhaps she has even been broken, which could lead to her becoming a radiant, perhaps a skybreaker so that she can judge Roshone for what he has done. After all we wouldn't want Kaladin breaking more oaths. This could also play into a nice picture perfect scene of the two of them flying through the air together. Now I know some of this may seem a little far fetched I've just got this gut feeling that something along those lines is going to happen. If anyone else disagrees or has their own idea feel free to share as I am VERY interested in what other people may think.

Yup. Laral will be a Knight. Reasons: her name is palindromic* her dad died and she became engaged to a tyrant Kaladin's probably going to fall for her* And... yeah, thats it. But I'm almost certain. * Not quite relevant. More, uh, jokinglyish-things.

Have Lirin and Hesina even tried to contact Kaladin after he joined the military? In his own PoV, I think it's implied that neither have for some time, perhaps never in his entire military career, but in his earliest flashbacks, it is obvious that they both loved him very much. In fact, before Kaladin and Tien were recruited, his mother basically told him that he didn't have to follow his father's path and choose another career if that's what made him happy. Sure, Kaladin may have disobeyed his father's wishes and disrupted his plans, but he is still as much their son as Tien is. No parent ever wants to see their kids die before them, not when your last conversation ended with bitter and angry words. So whatever the reason for their silence, Tien's death should be more than the incentive they needed to contact him, even if it's just to mourn his death together through letters. Unless they got real busy and popped out another one in the past five or six years, he is their last son. Plenty of men have joined the army and survived. He's also done very well for himself before the Amaram incident, youngest squadleader and all. There's no reason for them to completely ignore him as they did... ...Unless Tien's and Kaladin's recruitment into the military was not Roshone's final stroke. As weak as Roshone is, he is still a brightlord, a cousin to a Shardbearer. What little power he has, he can still use to inflict a lot of damage if he wanted to do so. And the loss of his only son could be the last push he needed to dish out the hurt. Kaladin have suffered so much, and it chills my bones just to think of it, but could something have happened to his parents that prevented them from something as simple as responding to their son's letters? And if so, what does this mean for Kaladin as a character? A part of me thinks that they're both alive and well, that Amaram decided to take it upon himself to protect/provide for them after the way he stabbed their son in the back, but this whole situation at Hearthstone stinks if you ask me.