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There are a few things about Nalan that have me curious about his (possible) abilities... and possibly the Skybreakers' as well. It's not really a proper theory or anything... but maybe you guys can help me figure this out and clear up my confusion. How many Nalan are we really dealing with, here? Here is where my confusion begins in Words of Radiance: Distance - (Interlude-2) We see Nalan in Iri hunting Ym. (Interlude-9) We see Nalan (aka Darkness) in Azir hunting Lift. (Chapter 88) We see Nalan in the Frostlands reviving Szeth (and offering him Nightblood). Iri, Azir, and the Frostlands are pretty far apart on the map of Roshar. Iri is far NorthWest, the Frostlands are far SouthEast, and Azir is nearer to the middle (but it's a little closer to Iri than the Frostlands). In any case, Nalan seems to be covering a lot of ground awfully fast during the events of WoR. How? I wonder how much time it really takes to travel across practically all of Roshar like that. If he is 'flying', then isn't that about the most overt way of getting around that he could possibly choose? If he is traveling by foot, then how would he cover so much ground so fast? Nalan's Minions- When he hunts Ym in Iri, he has no minions. When he appears in Azir, he has two minions. When he appears in the Frostlands, he again has no minions (and is carrying Nightblood). His minions are extremely knowledgeable about stormlight, investiture, and the like. One of them even has a shardblade... So I doubt that these minions were a couple of nobodies just drafted to help Nalan out in Azir only... and only for one case. Time - I'd be willing to believe Nalan simply travelled in one single direction during the events of WoR (First Iri, then Azir, then to the Frostlands) if it weren't for the time he spent on each case. In each case (Ym/Lift/Szeth) Nalan made it a point to explain how much work he'd put into each person. Nalan to Ym = "I had to look very hard to discover your indiscretion." Nalan to Lift = "Even the chaotic can be predictable with proper study.” (Presumably referring to her escape patterns, habits, etc.) Nalan to Szeth = "You? Not worthy? I watched you destroy yourself in the name of order, watched you obey your personal code when others would have fled or crumbled. Szeth-son-Neturo, I watched you keep your word with perfection..." On top of this, Lift already had prior experiences with him and knew he was dangerous. By the time she first saw him enter the palace during her story arc, she already had a name for him in her mind - Darkness. He seems to spend an awful lot of time and energy in each case and location he visits. Even understanding their laws and abiding by them. The mountains of paperwork he and his minions prepared in Azir to apprehend Lift could not have been an overnight task. To some extent, Nalan seems to have some roots in these places. His emotionlessness - When talking to Szeth: "He spoke the words calmly, without emotion." While chasing Lift: “'What was that?' Darkness asked, his voice cold, emotionless." Talking to Ym: “'You were an accomplice to murder,' the man said, pulling his gloves on more tightly, first one hand, then the other. He spoke with such a stark lack of emotion, he could have been conversing about the weather." Notable words from Lift: "He didn’t curse in annoyance. A fellow should curse. Made people feel real when they did that. But of course, Darkness wasn’t a real person. Of that, though little else, she was sure." and she also referred to him having "dead eyes" when she first saw him. All of Nalan's emotionlessness makes me feel like something more is going on than just a personality flaw. Are we dealing with more than one Nalan? Is it possible that we are dealing with Nalan's self-puppets somehow? ...mere husks of "Nalan Prime" whom we haven't really seen yet? Can he somehow use his Division surge to split thereby making "copies" of himself? Is the Nightwatcher involved? ...Or is he getting the help of an Elsecaller? Is he 'flying' and somehow avoiding detection from the general population? What the crap is going on? Am I missing something super simple, here?
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not going to lie, im a little disappointed that WoR is only 600 pages. look at WoK, take the first 600 pages in hand, and imagine that the remaining pages didnt happen. or the story was covered in 600 pages. sad faces. am i alone on this? if im being silly please convert me
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