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(DISCLAIMER! This is completely for silliness purposes! Don't take it to seriously) What do we know about Lopen's past? Close to nothing! This CLEARLY is intentional so we never figure out that The Lopen is Cousins with the King of Herdaz! How did our incredible Hero lose his arm? SIMPLE! He lost it fighting a Greatshell in Herdaz! He speaks of building his Castle often! I mean this is a dead give away! (Less silly for now...) In all seriousness though I don't know whether Lopen mentioning building a castle is Lopen, just being Lopen, or whether it's like a right of the king of Herdaz, or WHATEVER. So now I open the floor to you, cousins.

In Dawnshard Lopen says the 3rd ideal, but it was paraphrased. So I wondered, if Lopen said the 3rd ideal in a situation that one of his cousins resent him for some of his pranks, perhaps the 4th ideal should be something about some people not laughing at his jokes regardless of what kind they are.

So, from the information we currently have on Dawnshard from the released prologue makes it seem that Rysn and Lopen will be at the helm of the journey to Aimia. Until recently, they had something in common, disability. Rysn lost use of her legs in the Reshi Isles in Words of Radiance, Lopen was one-handed till he became a Radiant. Despite Lopen's injuries being much older he never viewed himself as a cripple and constantly cracked one-armed Herdazian jokes. Rysn, on the other hand, started seeing herself differently after the incident, to the point that Renarin couldn't heal her with Regrowth. There could be another journey that the characters make, Lopen might teach Rysn to view herself differently, possibly enough for her to deal or maybe even enough for her to heal.

I just wanted to start a thread on funny The Lopen Quotes so I found some in late WoK. On page 933 WoK: Sure, if you’re crazy you’re a good type, and I like you. Not a killing-people-in-their-sleep kind of crazy. Besides, we all follow crazies all the time. Do it everyday with lighteyes. On page 964 WoK: A one-armed Herdazian is still twice as useful as a nonbrained Alethi. On page 966 WoK: Kaladin: you do have a lot of cousins. The Lopen: Never enough. You bother one of us, you bother us all. That’s something you strawheads never seem to get. No offense or anything, gancho. That’s all I have right now please show me some more that you find.

So I have a weird thought - Brandon Sanderson has a way of foreshadowing things in strange ways. In fact, he has said that one of the reasons he likes Lift as a character is cause he is able to make her say weird things which character turn out to be foreshadowing of things in her own unique manner. As I was re-reading Oathbringer, Lopen struck me as a similar type of character. Often in Words of Radiance and in Oathbringer, he refers to himself as "The Lopen". He also seems to multiply cousins just when Kaladin seemed to need them. In the oathbringer, when training Bridge four to be squires - he lashes himself to the ground and then coaxes the ground by saying, "Don’t worry, dear one. The Lopen is vast enough to be possessed by many, many forces, both terrestrial and celestial! I must soar to the air, for if I were to remain only on the ground, surely my growing magnitude would cause the land to crack and break". Call this wishful thinking or conspiracy theories - but I really do think that there is more to Lopen than we know to date. After all the Herdazians are not completely understood by the Alethi (example, Rock - correction Rock is a Horneater, my mistake) Think any of this thinking makes sense or is it too far fetched?

Near the end of Oathbringer, Lopen is watching Dru care for the wounded and thinks “Loving a soldier was not easy, and now that Kaladin has returned from Alethkar...” I remember someone on bridge 4 was gay -maybe Dru- but is Lopen in a relationship with Dru and is Lopen pining secretly for Kaladin? As the above line implies?

We've seen in the cosmere that most healing works by changing your physical self to more accuratly match your spiritual self. It has also been said that after a person has accepted a wound and learned to work around it magical healing won't work because your spiritual self would have changed. So that brings me to Lopen. In WoR we see him start to regrow his arm and it finishes in OB. But by this point hasn't Lopen accepted his missing arm? Why is he healed?

This is really just a discussion for everyone to add their ideas onto, but to get it started off: Whether a member dies while fighting the fused, a freak accident, or while protecting someone else, the most likely candidates for who I think will kick the bucket in Bridge 4 would have to be Lopen, Rock, and Teft. While I don't necessarily think they'll have to die in order for Kaladin to swear the 4th ideal, I do think their deaths could be his breaking point. And if there's anything that Sanderson likes to do with characters, it's break them. After working so hard to protect Bridge 4 and essentially bring them out of the trenches, it would tear Kaladin apart to see one of them die- or even get injured as we saw in Words of Radiance with Hobber. So while that's true, the most impactful deaths for the reader would be a character that we've been the given the chance to get to know. And so that brings my first candidate, Lopen. I have to say that he is the most probable character for me as of now. Lopen is sort of like a class-clown in Bridge 4 in that he tends to mess and joke around much more than the others, and so it would come as a shock to the readers to suddenly have him cut down and die, leaving a hole in Bridge 4. Without Lopen, they'd be out of a serious need for laughter and light-heartedness and anyone who knows Bridge 4's story knows that that's something they desperately need. Next up is Rock, but I will admit that I don't think Sanderson will kill Rock- at least not in the first half of the books. The biggest reason he just made my list is because of how much it would hurt the readers. Rock has been a big figure in Bridge 4 since the beginning, and with just that it would make his death heartbreaking. But adding on to how we were able to meet his family in Oathbringer and seeing just how much he cares about everyone around him with the chapters from his point-of-view, the readers would definitely be in tears. Add on the possibility of him dying while trying to tell Kaladin about the Horneater Peaks (of which he always told Kaladin he'd bring him to) and Sanderson has a whole fanbase weeping. Now is the time for Teft. Teft's death seems both logical and inevitable to me. He served as a friend and leader to Bridge 4 and was a major reason for them getting as strong as they currently are with him helping to train them. The only person to play a bigger role in the rehabilitation of Bridge 4 is Kaladin, and Kaladin himself holds high respect for Teft. Bottom line, his death would be devastating to the moral of Bridge 4. Without Teft, I'm not entirely sure how Bridge 4 would carry on. Everything they would do would remind them that Teft isn't there as it was Teft who helped to train them with the spear, first told them of the Radiant powers with Kaladin, and essentially acted as a grumpy uncle. That's all from me. Tell me what you guys think! How would the other members react to one of their own dying? What would it mean for the story? HOW do you think they'd die?

I tried to make it so the post's title isn't an Oathbringer spoiler in and of itself, but after re-reading Oathbringer after giving it a few months to settle in the back of my mind, I appreciated several things much more than I did the first time (which was partly due to reading the preview chapters as they were released, something I feel disrupted the feel of the pace of events for me, and partly due to my overwhelming desire to Get To The Plot Advancement Stuff ASAP). I could make a list of things like that - such as my much better appreciation of how plausible it was that Shallan's mind was cracking in the way that it did, when the first read-through it felt much more awkward - but the biggest swing, oddly enough, was in my appreciation of the scene where Lopen swears the Second Ideal. The first time through, I read it as straight comic relief, because, well, it was Lopen. The Lopen. He was mugging for some injured soldiers, doing tricks with one arm (even though he now has two), and talks a bit about becoming a Radiant, and mentions that he'd been "trying to cry a lot, and moan about my life being so terrible, but I think the Stormfather knows I'm lying", to "crack" his soul more, when he casually speaks the Words of the Second Ideal - obviously not for the first time, since he screams at the SF about "Why didn't you listen earlier?!"... And has his Words accepted, with the burst of light, the frost-drawn Windrunner symbol, and everything. He is literally hopping mad, making a double-handed obscene gesture to the sky, and Rua, his spren, joins him in support (who even grows two extra arms to double-double on the gesture). It is a funny scene, to be sure. But.. It's also really touching. Because while it's funny to us, the reader, it wasn't a joke to the Stormfather. YOU WEREN'T QUITE READY. I remember laughing out loud the first time I read that, like it was a punch line. But the second time, on a re-read, I teared up a little. Because it's not like the Stormfather has a sense of humor, and was pranking Lopen or something. He was - can only be - dead serious. In the midst of the epic battle for Thaylen City, with Fused, Thunderclasts, Voidbringers parshmen singers, red-eyed humans, and even Odium himself making an appearance, Lopen had been desperately reaching for the Second Ideal, and drawing a blank. Because he really wasn't ready! He was grasping towards being like Kaladin was when he rescued Dalinar from his entrapment at the end of The Way of Kings, and "leveled up" in one of the most dramatic ways possible. But the Ideals are, like we saw in Teft's interpretation of the Third Ideal, tailored to the Radiant who swears them. And that's not who Lopen is. That's not his metier. Only now, in giving comfort, hope, and morale to injured soldiers who'd lost limbs, with his unique blend of self-deprecating and insulting humor, is he living, and not just speaking, the Second Ideal. Lopen has always been about being an indomitable source of humor, light, and hope - even as a one-armed bridgeman, a death sentence with a handicap - his high spirits and antics raised even those of Kaladin. Bringing that light to those wrapping themselves in darkness - that's who Lopen is. I will protect those who cannot protect themselves... From depression, from despair, from giving up. Thank you for what you do, Lopen. I look forward to seeing what your Third Ideal will be like.

I love One Armed Herdazian Jokes, we may be short on time for One Armed Herdazian Jokes, Oathbringer will be out soon, and we can't know what happens in the book especially if the forshadowing is correct "Rafo" If you haven't. SO! Lets get them while we can. How do you get a One Armed Herdazian out of the Tree. Wave! Sadly, I'm not very inventive with Jokes SO! Lets hear yours!

I know there are lots of theories floating around about what order so-and-so could be or what such-and-such a Surge might do, but the Willshapers are really intriguing to me, and there doesn't seem to be much discussion about them in particular. So here goes. (Also, apologies in advance for the long post, but I've been thinking about this a lot lately.) (I think my fascination may come from the fact that that description fits the Doctor to a T. Especially Eleven.) Theory 1: Lopen is a Willshaper So Lopen has some connection to the Knights Radiant. Whether he's a squire, a full Windrunner, or another order entirely is up for debate. I'm inclined to believe it's something more than what the other members of Bridge Four are experiencing, since Lopen took in Stormlight consciously and independently (neither of which can be said for certain about the men fighting the Parshendi.) Or, to be more meta about it, why single out Lopen to get his own scene if he's just one of a dozen squires? I think it's equally likely that Lopen will turn out to be another Windrunner vs. that he'll be a different order. But if he is another order, my money's on Willshapers. Of all the potential Radiants out there, Lopen seems like the best fit for the Willshapers. He's enterprising (his very first bridge run, Kaladin asks him to bring water. He grabs Dabbid and Hobber, builds a litter, and piles on twenty waterskins). I'm may have a certain fondness for him, but I'm sure lots of people find him frustrating and unreliable. And he loves adventure, novelty, and oddity. Various things from the training scenes in WoR Chapter 12. "Fly!" "Walk on walls!" "Stick me to a wall!" And of course It's really only going on his personality, but it's such a good fit! Theory 2: Axies the Collector is a Willshaper Of the three theories here, this is the one I'm least confident about, but I'll at least put it out there as a stepping stone to the next one. Axies is at least as fascinated by novelty and adventure as Lopen, as evidenced by his many travels in search of spren. Also, his shadow is seen to act erratically, much like Jasnah's. (This could make him an Elsecaller, but he doesn't seem to have the right temperament for it.) There's something from his interlude in WoK that stands out to me. I know this is thin, but bear with me. Axies got drunk, was robbed and knocked out, and woke up disoriented. Fine. I'll buy that. I'll even buy that he didn't immediately remember where he was before getting drunk. But I would think that someone who's just groggy would respond more with, "Oh, right. Kasitor." Not this kind of vague, "I'm just gonna take your word for it" response. He deliberately came to Kasitor to see Cusicesh. It probably took him a while to get there by land or sea, and he'd probably been looking forward to it for a while. Is it really that surprising to him that his pre-hangover self came here? Or was he expecting his assailants to have taken him to another city after they robbed him? It's not like he's in a field somewhere, or a shed or something. But if he can travel large distances in the blink of an eye, he might have just popped over to Kasitor on a whim. He might be used to traveling halfway across Roshar between one day and the next. And that's not the only time it's suggested. Superstition? Yes. But there's a fair chance it has grounding in fact. Now, maybe it's referring to the fact that Aimians can manipulate their body/appearance. But without some severe reshaping, he's not likely to get out of his bonds. If he could teleport away, on the other hand... There are obviously some major flaws with this theory. Most of what makes Axies distinct is implied to be because he's Aimian, not because there's something specific to him. (Though I would like to point out that it doesn't ever specifically say that Aimian=anything other than blue nails and eyes.) (1) The comment about Aimians refers directly to the first sentence, and then the narration appears to switch tracks. You could read this as. "Maybe it was because he was Aimian. Or maybe because he was a Radiant." (2) This suggests that "his kind" (that cast strange shadows) are Aimians. But "his kind" could just as easily be "Radiants." Or maybe the difference between Siah and Dysian is that Siah are Radiants/something similar to Radiants. The scouring of Aimia might have happened because Siah Aimians had access to unnatural powers (aka Surges.) (If WoB has said that all Aimians have wonky shadows, I missed it. Forgive me and move on to Theory 3 below.) The only real reservation I have about this is that Aimians aren't humans and thus might not be capable of becoming Radiants. In that case... Theory 3: Axies has some other connection to the spren of Willshapers or Elsecallers If Axies can't be a Radiant, he might still have magic and/or a spren bond. Maybe it's the Old Magic, or Voidbinding, or something else (Surgebinding that circumvents the Nahel bond? Symbiosis with spren lacking a proper bond? Some mixed human/spren blood???) It could be that the magic systems on Roshar function similarly to those on Scadrial--same catalyst, different (but sometimes related) effect. Tineyes and Windwhispers (tin Ferrings) both use tin to enhance their senses. Elsecallers and the corresponding Old Magic-bound Aimians bind the same spren, getting the same strange shadow, but otherwise aren't that similar. Could even be that each race on Roshar is particularly attuned to a particular type of magic. The Listeners/Parshendi to Voidbinding (formerly Surgebinding until humans lured the spren away), humans to Surgebinding, and Aimians to Old Magic. And while humans lost their magic, by and large, after the Recreance, Parshendi and Aimians may have held onto it. Any number of Aimians might have been Radiant analogues before the scouring.

So my entire theory is this: The day before Lopen succeeds in breathing in Stormlight, a spren is watching Elhokar about to bond him and Lopen tries and fails to breath Stormlight. Then he's like "What were those Oaths Kaladin talked about?" Then he says the first Oaths (and maybe the second one for whatever order it is, or a truth if it's a Cryptic) and this makes the spren bond him. Basically the point is him bonding a Spren was a complete accident.

I have arrived! The super-sexy, always down for some chouda and a pint, supermodel Hot Herdazian!! I am honored to allow you all to bask in the radiance that is the Herdazian race and I am thrilled to have joined such a devoted group of individuals who work tirelessly to expand and explain the writings of the great head-gancho himself: Mr. Sanderson! Can't wait to get to know some of you and explore what the 17th shard has to offer. I congraduate those of you who shall go down in history as being among the first to up-vote this delectible piece of Herdazian flesh!!! Furthermore, should any of you wish to learn more of my illustrious race I shall be happy to sedate your curiosity. Shout out to all my Herdazian cousins! I know you're out there and cannot wait to be reunited with you all. Yours truly, THE Hot Herdazian

Does any of you have any idea to which order might lopen belong to? i.e. is there any supposed theory about this. I am bringing this up because I remember reading in the words of radiance that the 'willshapers', as a whole, were decidedly odd, only joined by there common love for oddity and adventure. Also, I know i am supposed to post this in some other thread, by I am lazy...............Does anyone of you have any idea about the next Brandon Sanderson release date, and the book that will be released.

I don't have the exact quote, but Chouta is described as meat in sauce with bread around. It immediately reminden me of the german/ austrian döner. what do you think?