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Okay, so I have a few theories that I want to propose. Some of them may be RAFO, and some are speculation (not necessarily theories) but I find them interesting and hope someone else does too. First. Are Elhokar and Sadeas in cahoots? Think about it, when Dalinar is talking to Sadeas and the king (Chapter 50) Elhokar is very insistent on Dalinar accepting Sadeas's bridges. It sounded like they were maneuvering him. Sadeas is always by the king, whispering in his ear, who is to say they had a way to get rid of Dalinar? I know in the early chapters (chapter 18) Elhokar is very foreboding about Dalinar, comparing him to his father who went insane during his last years alive. Is Elhokar in cahoots with Taravangian in killing Dalinar? Dalinar may not notice because he is too naive. Speaking of Elhokar, who were the men at the beginning of the prelude Szeth sees talking to him? The fact that Elhokar hates it when people compare him is understood, but the fact he becomes severely irate is strange. Did he have something to do with Gavilar's death? And speaking of foreboding, what about in chapter 27, when Rock is praising Kaladin for his kata, he calls him "Master Brightlord." Did Syl tell him about it and Rock know that Kaladin was a true lighteyes? Second, at the beginning of chapter 4 a Reshi chul trainer who is being bled speaks of Shadesmar. He describes it the sun he sees as "dark and cold shining in a black sky." When Shallan enteres Shadesmar, the same dark sky and distant sun are described. So, one can extrapolate, that some, not all, people when they die see Shadesmar. Sanderson explains in an q & a on Barnes & Noble[1] that there are three main realms: the physical. the cognitive, and the spiritual. Shadesmar appears to be the cognitive, but it may be the spiritual. I firmly believe the Heralds are either reincarnate in the forms of Kaladin and Szeth; Shallan and Jasnah; and Dalinar and someone else. Kaladin is the first to find his spren (spren are accompaniment to Heralds). It may also be that these characters are the Radiants alive whom need shardblades (that turn into honorblades) because the Almighty tells Dalinar "the Radiants must stand again." About Syl, notice how Syl starts following Kaladin after he kills the shardbearer. It was the fact Kaladin did not take the shardblade that made him personify honor, which is why and when Syl followed him. Syl hates shardblades. Do all spren hate shardblades? It seems that is why the Horneaters can see them, because Horneaters don't have any shardblades. If they were honorblades, would that change anything? I think the "shards men once bore" were honorshards, as evidence by their glowing. Once the honor left the Radiants (aka, the Day of Recreance) the shards became "mundane." Without honor, the blades and plate could not act as they should. It is interesting to note that Szeth says in the prologue how you cannot surgebind while wearing plate, but in Dalinar's first vision we see (chapter 19) the Radiants could surgebind (hence, why they "fell" from the sky). Maybe if Kaladin could get into plate, he could surgebind? Also note that, as I speculated above, Szeth may be a Herald, or Radiant, reincarnate. If this is so, the reason he hasn't found his spren, unlike Kaladin, is because he acts without a key ingredient. I do not know what this is; it may be honor or something else. Speaking of Szeth's honor, in the prologue we assume Szeth became Truthless because of his belief in the voidbringers. Whether that belief manifested itself into a resistance, or was merely heretical to Shin religion is up to debate. When Gavilar said "find the most important words a man can say," did he mean the Radiants codes? (May be why the next book is "Words of Radiance" because Dalinar finds them). When the Almighty tells Dalinar to "unite them" who is he talking about? Is he telling whoever (it just so happens to be Dalinar) to unite Alethkar or is it something more than that. Does he mean unite the people of Roshar? Maybe. I think he means Dalinar, or whoever because he doesn't know who's listening, to unite the Lost Radiants into a new Knights Radiant. This would bring back honor to them, especially if they follow the Codes and the Radiants Codes, and allow them to surgebind with shardplate 'n' stuff. Essential, have the shards become honorplates and blades. So, stormlight infuses itself into the spheres at a definite point during a highstorm. This is evident when Kaladin is in the highstorm. If the stormlight infused spheres throughout the storm, in duration, the sphere Kaladin held would still be lit (because the highstorm was not finished when he blacked out). That being said, is it possible to surgebind during a highstorm? I understand the human body may not hold it or even it may become overloaded. If it is overloaded that raises the question can you control how much stormlight you breathe in? I know you can control how much breath you inhale, but do you also control the amount of the stormlight itself that enters? Even so, I wonder if Kaladin and Szeth have the ability to surgebind unlimitedly during a highstorm, as long as they stay safe. Now here is a tricky one. It is based on speculation from a reading Sanderson did from a draft of "Words of Radiance" before it was called that. The taping took place before Christmas of 2012. After you hear it, come back and I'll say something I've been thinking. [2] So Sanderson states that Parshendi are that way because they bond to a spren. He may change that later or he may not, but it is interesting to note that the Parshendi need the gemhearts. Why is that? Alethi assume for soulcasting, but what if it is for some kind of religious ceremony? Isn't it interesting to note that yes the Shattered Plains are expansive, but the Alethi and Parshendi have been battling for 6 years and still there are more and more chasmfiends. Adolin notes after the chasmfiend is dead in chapter 15 that there are spren coming from it. There is also moldy smell of blood of the chasmfiend, also of the Parshendi. Could the chasmfiends be Parshendi that have evolved into a hulking monster? Eshonai talks of different forms that form different bodies. Perhaps the most revered place in Parshendi is to become a chasmfiend? The chasmfiends may become uncontrollable and turn hostile, which is why the Parshendi don't have any in reserve. That's all I got! But stay tuned for more! References [1] http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Fantasy-Science-Fiction/Post-Questions-For-Brandon-Sanderson-Here/td-p/354645/page/3 About halfway through (try ctrl + f and type "three;" it should be on there after a couple) [2] https://soundcloud.com/stringbean1982/brandons-reading Sanderson begins Stormlight talking about 8:53 and reading at 12:10