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  1. I was rereading Words of Radiance and found an interesting quote when Eshonai attempted to convince the Parshendi to take up Stormform. This stood out to me because it sounds exactly like how the Dor was described when Raoden drew his first Aons, which means a similar thing was happening to Odium. His power was essentially trapped like the Dor is. This means that the Everstorm is a natural consequence of having thousands of years with no desolation. It also explains why Odium didn't create the Everstorm during any earlier desolation and how the singers were able to do such an incredible feat despite just recently obtaining Stormform. This also means, if you wanted to point fingers, that the heralds are technically the ones to blame because their attempts to end the desolations technically worked for a time, but that doesn't seem particularly insightful. As for how this theory could be applied to future events, I think it means that there is no future where you can neutralize Odium. Even trapping him on Braize just builds up his power. That means the solution is to either incapacitate him (such as shattering him) or integrate him (such as absorbing his shard or maybe allowing the Everstorm to continue rather than ending it). So, what do you guys think? Was the Everstorm a consequence of Odium's power building up, or is creating something like the Everstorm within the scope of a shard's ability to create?
  2. Panorama of Roshar. Hope you guys like it! I had a LOT of fun painting this one, though I was nervous about accidentally spoiling something as I was only starting the Oathbringer at the time of painting this. I'm definitely painting more of Stormlight in the future. Maybe Jasnah... or Pattern? I'd love to be commissioned for official art for the future books, that would be the dream! I also welcome any feedback and critique, both for artistic execution and lore, but keep in mind that there had to be some liberty in putting together Urithiru so low and close to the Shattered plains and Horneater Peaks, for the sake of making the focal pieces clustered [Urithiru + Stormfather above the Shattered Plains] in the center of the painting as requested, for custom book sleeves with for all 4 books. Their spines, when put together, show the center of the painting. "The most important step a man can take. It's not the first one, is it? It's the next one. Always the next step."
  3. I was wondering, why doesn't the Everstorm fill spheres with Voidlight as a Highstorm does with Stormlight? Even though there is a LOT of Investiture in a Everstorm (which we know is present because of the fact that Singers can change forms in it), my guess as to why is doesn't renew spheres with Voidlight is due solely to Odium's Intent. Odium is inherently selfish, wishing to hold on to as much power as possible, relinquishing only the bare minimum to his Fused and Regals when they need it. Spoilers for Mistborn era 1. If this is common knowledge and I just totally missed it somehow, I do sincerely apologize.
  4. Theory: After Ambition was wounded in the Threnodite System by Odium and Mercy, she fled to another point in space. This point either was, or became, the Rosharan system. Here, Ambition was killed. Her death created the Barrier Storm in the Cognitive Realm around the planet Braize. This storm was later Invested by Odium to create the proto-Everstorm that was pulled through into the Physical on Roshar at the Battle of Narak. Ambition's death also created a wound in the Spiritual Realm in the Rosharan System similar to that which exists on Threnody. This is the reason there are spren on Roshar. Datapoints: I group this into two categories, Spren and Storms. SPREN: From Shadows for Silence in the Forest of Hell, we know that the wounding of Ambition in the Threnodite System created Shades: cognitive beings which manifest in the Physical Realm. We do not see similar manifestations in the Mistborn novels or the White Sand graphic novels. We know there are no Splintered Shards in the Scadrian or Taldain systems at the time these stories are set. We see similar manifestations in Elantris and Emperor's Soul (Seons and Skaze). We know there are Splintered Shards in the Selish system at this time. We see similar manifestations in The Stormlight Archive (spren on Roshar) (and voidspren on Braize). STORMS: From Khriss's statements in Arcanum Unbounded, we know that the Dor around Sel is a whorl of free Investiture created when Odium Splintered Dominion and Devotion there. From statements from Nazh and Hoid, we know that travel to/from Sel through the Cognitive Realm is very difficult and dangerous due to the presence there of the Dor. From statements by Nazh, we know that that travel to/from Braize through the Cognitive Realm was difficult due to the presence of this Barrier Storm. A possible chronology: 1) The Shattering of Adonalsium. 2) Odium and Mercy clash with Ambition in the Threnodite System. Ambition is wounded. 3) Odium (and possibly others) clash with Ambition in the Rosharan system. Ambition is killed, creating the Barrier Storm, and spren. 4) Odium goes to the Selish system. He clashes with Dominion and Devotion. They are both killed, creating the Dor. 5) Odium returns to the Rosharan system, and begins whispering in the ears of the Ashynites. 6) The Ashynites devastate their planet using Dawnshards. They are taken in as refugees by Honor and Cultivation on Roshar. Their God, Odium, comes with them. 7) Honor, Cultivation, and Odium make a deal that they think will allow them to live in harmony on Roshar. This is the Oathpact. 8) Odium intentionally goes against the Oathpact, triggering its punishment prohibitions. He is exiled to Braize, on the far side of the Barrier Storm. The cycle of Desolations begins. 9) Honor is Splintered. 10) Honor's Cognitive Shadow is bound to the spren of the Highstorm. 11) Several millennia pass. 12) Odium invests a not-insignificant amount of Investiture into the Barrier Storm, creating the proto-Everstorm in the Cognitive Realm. This process takes several centuries. 13) Finally, the Everstorm is pulled through into the Physical Realm on Roshar, creating a direct passage between Braize and Roshar. Questions: A] Why is this wrong? B] Were other Shards involved in the death of Ambition? Did Mercy join Odium for the final clash? Did Ambition? Did Endowment (who we know is relatively new to the Nalthian system)? Indeed... were Honor and/or Cultivation in on the kill? C] Did the death of Aona and Skai occur before the initial conflict with Uli Da in the Threnodite system; after this initial conflict but before the final conflict in the Rosharan system; or after the Rosharan conflict? D] When on this timeline did Honor and/or Cultivation arrive on Roshar? E] When was Odium's first contact with the humans on Ashyn?
  5. From the album: Art of Sasha R

    I had a LOT of fun painting this one, though I was nervous about accidentally spoiling something as I was only starting the Oathbringer at the time of painting this. I'm definitely painting more of Stormlight in the future. Maybe Jasnah... or Pattern? I'd love to be commissioned for official art for the future books, that would be the dream! I also welcome any feedback and critique, both for artistic execution and lore, but keep in mind that there had to be some liberty in putting together Urithiru so low and close to the Shattered plains and Horneater Peaks, for the sake of making the focal pieces clustered [Urithiru + Stormfather above the Shattered Plains] in the center of the painting as requested, for custom book sleeves with for all 4 books. Their spines, when put together, show the center of the painting. "The most important step a man can take. It's not the first one, is it? It's the next one. Always the next step."
  6. I am confused as to whether the listeners expected the Fused to return to Roshar when they summoned the Everstorm. They assassinated Gavilar in order to prevent the Fused from returning. As far as I understand it, they didn't want the Fused to come back and dominate their people. Could they have summoned the Everstorm in such a way that the Fused wouldn't have returned? Was summoning the Fused a way of acknowledging that they had no chance of winning the war against the humans without the help of the Fused?
  7. First time poster, so I'm not sure if this theory has ever been brought up before. I apologize if I'm retreading some well worn ground here. I can't explain why or how, but I think that going through an Everstorm for some reason starts to heal/reverse the effects that Cultivation bestows on her visitors. Dalinar in the Storm at the end of WoR starts remembering Evi soon after. Lift in the Storm at the end of Edgedancer and she can tell she is getting bigger and older in Oathbringer. As far as Taravangian, well I haven't finished RoW yet and I know that stuff is supposed to go into that section of the forums. Anyway, just an idea I've had up in the old brain so I thought I'd throw it out to you guys and gals to tear apart. Enjoy!
  8. There's been discussions about whether there's any real downsides, from the Fused perspective, to getting killed. Several people have said that, well, each reincarnation breaks them more, they're going to go mad much faster. That may well be true. However, I'd like to present an alternative hypothesis: that the mental damage of spending up to nine days in the Everstorm in negligible compared to spending decades or centuries stewing in Odium juice on Braize, which is what happened when they died in previous Desolations. I personally think that repeated deaths this round will have less of an effect on them than their one-and-done deaths in the past.
  9. This isn't as much of a theory as it is a notable connection, but here it goes: I always wondered why the Mists in Scadrial never went into people's homes at night, seemingly disappearing at a house's thresholds. But then, I noticed something interesting: At the end of Oathbringer, when the Everstorm passes over Urithiru, Odium speaks to Taravangian, telling him to "open the window" several times before being able to speak with him "in person" as he does with Venli. Why would a Shard, even one trapped in Braize, need someone as insignificant as Taravangian to open a window? That seems almost fey-like from what is basically a god, and it got me thinking: could this be linked to the Mists back in Scadrial? What do y'all think?
  10. With The Everstorm in play the Radiants are faced with a seemingly unwinable problem . The Fused that have fallen are reborn in the next Everstorm . So can u think up a solution . Here is few ideas I have and I wanted to run them by you guys to see what you thought ? The Oathpact is weekend . How about Dalinar , Shallan , Kaladin form a new oathpact to try and keep the Fused on Brayse! 2. Dalinar , Kaladin , and Venli talk the Singers into abandoning the Fused and denying them bodies after they are slain . Probably the smartest solution . But you can’t anybody to agree on anything nowadays 3. Find and locate a way to kill the Fused permenantly . The dagger that was used on the Herald should work on the Fused too . They are both Cognitive shadows . Nightblood should work too. If they could duplicate that dagger Moash had . It might be a start . 4. Contest of champions : I just don’t see this working . Stormfather says this will only buy time . And now the Fused are set free . I just don’t see them stopping Cause Odium is forced to leave . what do you guys think . ?
  11. What form do the listeners have following the Everstorm? It isnt dull form given how easily they can speak and interact. Do they have spren in their gemhearts? If not, how can they be in an intelligent form? I could be completely misunderstanding the nature of their beings, but does someone have some insight?
  12. We do have some idea what the Knights Radiant are facing. Fighting an immortal enemy who can resurrect within days is a serious problem. So an obvious point to strike at is the Everstorm. Yet how do you fight a storm? You could divert it, over open water it is useless to the enemy destroy it, that is the obvious approach render it useless by arcane means So what can be weaponized? The Everstorm was created by a group of Stormform? Can they undo their work? Can their work be done by fabrials Can a large group of Windrunners shidt or destroy the storm? Can they be replaced with Fabrials? Now to the wilder possibilities Drop Nightblood into it Start a breeding programm for Larkin and drop millions of them into the storm form an alliance with Sja-Anat and get her to corrupt a few Radiant's spren to give them super-Larkin abilities
  13. So a theory just popped into my head, I was re reading WoK and thinking about the parsh/parshendi desire to leave the bodies of their dead undisturbed. Brandon has confirmed that this tradition is formed by the cultural scarring that all parsh-people experienced when humans chopped up parsh corpses to get gemhearts in the early human-singer wars. I asked myself why the modern Alethi do not continue the same practice of harvesting parsh gemhearts either from their slaves or the Parshendi killed during the war of vengance. Given that Kaladin refers to teams of Alethi being sent to loot from the battlefields of the shattered plains taking equipment and even the gemstones from Parshendi beards, the only explanation I can think of why the Alethi do not steal Parshendi gemhearts is that they do not know that Parshendi have gemhearts. I find it inconceivable that humans across Roshar know that parsh grow gemhearts and no one bothered to collect them. I also find it inconcievable that the humans have been living among Parshmen for millennia and just haven't noticed that their slaves grow valuable gemhearts. My theory is that the parsh slaves that existed in between the False Desolation and the First Everstorm either had gemhearts that were changed to not be one of the 10 polestones or they simply didn't have them at all. This would explain why they were unable to change form and how the spiritual damage of the False Desolation was passed from generation to generation. Tib
  14. From the album: Semi-Cool Cosmere Art

    My first time doing art This is Kaladin flying in the middle of the Everstorm, it started when I threw around some colours and thought (huh, that looks like the Everstorm) and then just sort of continued from there. Enjoy, I guess
  15. Wouldn't the Everstorm have an appearance/reflection in the Cognitive Realm? (Or in fact be partially in Shadesmar?) If so, why didn't we see it in Part 4 of Oathbringer when Shallan, Pattern, Kaladin, Syl, Azure/Vivenna, Adolin, and Maya journeyed through Shadesmar/Roshar's CR? Is this an error or is there something obvious I missed? What might its appearance look like in Shadesmar?
  16. The Fused show up during the end of WoR. I assumed that they spawned in the Everstorm . but after I think about it and how we saw it done in Oathbringer . The Listeners stood out in the storm and opened themselves up to it. This got me to Wondering did they cone in Everstorm, or were a few of them already been around a few months. Most if not all of the Listeners were in stormform and were actively. Singing to summon the storm. the stormfather told Dalinar the Everstorm was new: “THE EVERSTORM. IT IS A NEW THING, BUT OLD OF DESIGN. IT ROUNDS THE WORLD NOW, AND CARRIES WITH IT HIS SPREN. ANY OF THE OLD PEOPLE IT TOUCHES WILL TAKE ON THEIR NEW FORMS.” Excerpt From Words of Radiance Brandon Sanderson https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/words-of-radiance/id717847678?mt=11 This material may be protected by copyright. So how did the Fused in previous desolation summon the spren to respawn a. Fused? Was a Unmade Responsible? Did the singers have a ritual perhaps? What did Stormfather mean exactly by old design. I’m intrigued by that. Anybody have any ideas how this happened?
  17. Did Roshar originally have Spren? Sylphrena indicates 4 genders of spren. 2 for the Parsh, 2 for the human. I don't think Roshar was formed like other Shardic worlds. No other Cosmere world has spren like Roshar, so far. It would seem that the Parsh thought of their objects being Malen and Femalen, voila SPREN! Perhaps? Maybe? Did the way they think or sing create the spren way back then? Shard worlds seem to have the 3 realms setup. Roshar wasn't created by a Shard (that I'm aware of.) The way I understand the history is that Odium saw the existing native Parsh and decided to become their god. He got invested to that Solar System. Along comes the human Voidbringers to settle around Shinovar (initially.) Honor and Cultivation either settled with them or decided to call it home at a later time. Introducing Honor's high storms, Odium's Everstorm (old in design) and the Cultivation's/Nightwatcher's Old Magic. When I read TWoK, I assumed Honors' death and Splintering brought about the spren. I have now been proven false. So, I suspect Roshar was similar to an Earth like world and topography. The Parsh evolved naturally and all was pleasant until Odium rolled on in. My question is HOW and WHEN do you think Roshar got spren? A certified timeline of these early events would be great to read. Thank you.
  18. So I created an account just so I could pose this questions to everyone. Be warned, Oathbringer spoilers here! ---- We now have scenes from Oathbringer (as well as WoB) demonstrating the use of one type of investiture to fuel a different off world sub-type of magic (ex. Szeth using stormlight to fuel Nightblood rather than breath). Now that Hoid is Knight Radiant in addition to a fully powered lerasium mistborn what sort of effect would stormlight have fueling allomancy? We see Kaladain receive a renewing supply of energy flying at the front of the everstorm and Szeth able to unleash the full effects of Nightblood without having to utilize biochromatic breath. Would stormlight act as a "metal supply" for Hoid? And if so, would it also potentially fuel him with an "atium reserve", possibly even a renewing one if he was near the everstorm? Conversely what sort of effect would metal vials have fueling surgebinding?
  19. Hey all, After reading OB and understanding the Oathpact's purpose and the importance of the Everstorm (now we understand what Jasnah meant at the end of WoR, don't we?), I have thought of something I want to share. As we know, in the current Desolation the Fused can return in the next Everstorm after been killed, as opposed to all previous Desolations (except for the first one, because you know, roles reversed and all that). Given that the Fused are formidable opponents even to the Radiants (at least the 3rd Level Radiants, the ones we have so far), this is a big difference. But maybe there is a solution for this! Since it is known that when the blade (Nightblood) inflicts a wound, it vaporizes and destroys on all three realms, Cognitive, Physical, and Spiritual, maybe it can be used to destroy Fused for good. This is (I think) good for everyone, since we have seen that not all re-Connected parshmen are really into fighting, the Fused being the ones that really hate humans. Since possessed listeners are already dead, killing Fused with Nightblood is not killing listeners. This may be a big step towards ending the listener-vs-humans conflict, so they can present a unified front against Odium. I'm sorry if this has been brought up elsewhere! Edit: formatting
  20. There's been a lot of speculation about what the secret was that destroyed the Knights Radiant, as well as speculation into the causes or mechanics of the Desolations and the Oathpact. I have a wild theory that connects the two. There's probably a thousand things wrong with it, and even I see a bunch of holes and leaps in logic, but hopefully it will at least be entertaining. It starts with a WoB exchange I saw posted in another topic earlier today by Steeldancer, so credit goes to them for finding this quote: So we know that the Heralds all being present on Roshar causes another Desolation to occur. The question is, why? Well let's consider what we know of Worldhopping, because that is essentially what is happening. Spren (and perhaps originally the Listeners themselves) come from Braize to Roshar. Other worldhoppers transition between the Cognitive realm and the Physical realm using Perpendicularities. Other WoB have confirmed that perpendicularities could be caused by a massive amount of Investiture. I believe it was confirmed that Jasnah essentially did a miniature version of this to return to the physical world. My theory is that the Heralds act like Investiture lodestones. If they stay long enough in the world, there is a kind of critical mass that occurs, creating enough of a perpendicularity for Odium's forces to transition en masse into Roshar. This is basically how the new Everstorm worked. Once a critical mass of Fused Listeners was reached, they were able to call the storm. I believe the Everstorm itself is Odium’s perpendicularity on Roshar, at least this time around. We know it carries Voidspren with it, and could be what allows them to come into the Physical realm in large numbers. We also know that it was created by a large number of Fused (ie, Invested) Listeners pooling their energies. That sounds like a recipe for a perpendicularity to me. Now what if the Highstorm works in the exact opposite way (which would make sense, since they are reversed in every other way). The Highstorm is described by (suspiciously colour-obsessed and oddly familiar) “Zahel” as “invested to the hilt and looking for somewhere to stick it.” (As an aside: god bless “Zahel”). The Highstorm disperses Investiture. It takes a huge amount, maybe enough to form a perpendicularity, but then spreads it out across literally the entire world. I submit that this was its primary purpose (because remember, the Stormfather has been tasked with keeping the Highstorms coming, and presumably Honor would have some reason for unleashing these things periodically upon the world). My theory is that there are other ways to enable (or hasten) a Desolation. Perhaps with sufficiently concentrated Investiture, Odium can create a workaround, or at least speed things up, with less time between Desolations. The Highstorm is a check against this by dispersing Investiture, whereas the Everstorm keeps it concentrated (which is which it doesn’t infuse gems with Stormlight). So Honor works to prevent (large) perpendicularities from forming, and Odium tries to create more. Smaller perpendicularities ensure that the two worlds will never be entirely isolated, but might not facilitate a lare-scale invasion. The Oathpact, then , could be an agreement. Honor creates a bargain by which Odium has a shot at Roshar every once and a while. Honor essentially creates the Honorblades as a controlled means of opening a path between worlds by way of highly concentrated Investitute (which could be why Syl refers to Szeth using a dangerous amount of Stormlight with the Honorblade). At the same time though, he makes them double as a means of fighting against the very invasion they facilitate. Odium, in turn, agrees not to just come over to Roshar and destroy it himself, an agreement that binds him even after Honor's death. So how do the Knights Radiant fit in? Well we already know that they were not intended by Honor. They were the result of the spren taking it upon themselves to mimic what he had done. They mimic the Honorblades, which are presumably involved with the Oathpact (see above). What if, unintentionally, they have re-created certain aspects of the Oathpact as well, as a side effect of the nahel bond? The Heralds, when concentrated on Roshar, kicked off Desolations. The Fused, when concentrated on Roshar, kicked off the Everstorm. And for however many centuries, human beings, Invested to the hilt, as it were, were concentrating themselves in a specific location: Urithiru. What if this was enough to, if not cause the Desolations, at least exacerbate them in some way? What if it created enough of a perpedicularity to allow some of Odium's forces onto Roshar in a consistent manner, like a door propped open even between the Desolations. Spoilers from Edgedancer: To me, this seems like the kind of revelation that would utterly crush a group dedicated to sacrificing for the good of all. To learn that they and their spren had in fact been causing or at least hastening/worsening the Desolations, that all of their efforts and sacrifice were only perpetuating a cycle of endless violence, I could see that breaking them, and causing the Recreance.
  21. [ Spoilers from the first 30 chapters of Oathbringer currently released ] So with the "final Desolation" pretty much officially underway as of the end of WoR, the main question going through my mind has been: how the hell can Odium actually lose??? Think about it. We know from Dalinar's visions and various other lore elements that in the past each Desolation nearly wiped out humankind. In fact, the justification for the current level of technology (or lack thereof) is that civilization is basically pushed back to the bronze age with each Desolation because of how devestating they are. And now consider this: that was with the full, organized strength of the Knights Radiant. Literal armies of them. Plus the Heralds! Now we have the Final Desolation coming, and so far there's only a handful of fledgling Knights Radiant, none of whom even have their Shardplate yet. Not only that, but the existing nations are super divided, and at the start of Oathbringer it looks as though it will not be easy to unite even a small number of them. So how can Odium screw this up? How could this be even a close fight? It seems to me that the only possibility is that the Listeners (at least some of them) are going to fight with humans. This is being set-up already at the beginning of Oathbringer, where we see groups of former parshmen slaves, healed by the Everstorm, basically just on the run. Not trying to attack, not out to kill humans in vengeance even (though they have real cause to want revenge). Just trying to survive, and most importantly not yet infused with any type of Voidspren (at least not in any obvious way). We also know that the Listeners way back made a choice to cut themselves off from their gods (Odium and co), restricting their forms drastically but earning freedom. They assassinated Gavilar in an effort to stop their "gods" from returning. They don't want to be Voidbringers, and I can totally see at least some of them fighting to maintain their freedom, refusing to be used by Odium. This could be what is "different" about this Desolation, the edge that humanity needs to balance the scales just enough to have a hope of winning. It would also fit with the themes established throughout the Cosmere books (spoilers for Mistborn series coming). We know from The Hero of Ages that the Deepness was in fact the mists. But more than that, it was Preservation's power tainted by Ruin. Ruin caused the Snapping process to be more brutal than it needed, killing people instead of just awakening their powers, covering the land and blocking out the Sun when it wasn't meant to, etc... This was Preservation's actual power, but Ruin managed to influence it. This shows that the influence of the Shards is not always rigid and distinct. There is overlap and intermingling, where multiple Shards use the same basic phenomenon. That is what the Thrill has to be. Dalinar's first revealed vision, where he fights Midnight Essence, with a poker. The Knight explains that any who feel the desire to fight should be compelled to go to Aletha. The Thrill USED TO BE a force for good, a way of telling people that they were destined to fight evil alongside the Knights (either as a full member or as a "squire." Since then, it has been twisted by Odium into something that makes people lust for battle and death. And without actual monsters around, they turn on each other, or make a game out of war, or almost kill their own brother. Odium is doing the same thing that Ruin did. But maybe it can go both ways. I've seen others here comment that it is odd that the Everstorm seems to heal the parshmen, making them whole again by reforging their Connection (incidentally, because of how we know this works from the second Mistborn series, this explains why they all speak unaccented Alethi). This seems like a very un-Odium thing for the Everstorm to do, especially since they do not seem to be possessed by Voidspren yet. What if Cultivation pulled the same kind of trick? Twisting the Everstorm just enough that it healed parshmen without automatically dominating them, giving them at least a chance to resist, run, be free, what have you? We know from the Jasnath-Hoid dialogue that the Everstorm is "new" or at least working differently than how the Desolations worked in the past. Perhaps the reason is that this time there are forces other than Odium at work on it. There are even hints about this in the depiction of the Midnight Mother. During Shallan's interactions, it is revealed that she was created to sow chaos, but that over time she became curious. Yes, it is a twisted, warped curiosity. But consider her actions at Urithiru. Did she flood the tower with monsters? Did she set about assassinating actual targets? No, she just copied what humans were already doing. Does this seem particularly effective? Or does it seem like a lost, broken creature trying to comprehend these creatures through the only relationship she understands: violence? My point is just this: she has actually changed since her creation. Just like the Everstorm is different this time. Just like maybe the Listeners aren't behaving the way Odium might want this time around. A big theme so far is how the good guys, left to their own devices, become corrupt and fell. But I think Brandon is hinting that maybe, just maybe, the reverse is true for the villains. Odium is banking on how time changes humans, makes them forget why they fought and abandon what they once were. But wouldn't it be poetic if the same was also happening to his forces? The Unmade have changed, however slightly. The Listeners seem to have changed as well. And maybe this time around they will surprise him, make him think that he could actually lose...
  22. Hi team, Two part thought today: 1. How, if ever, will the Everstorm be stopped? Or will it be a new feature of Roshar that persists? If/when Odium is defeated/leaves, will the Everstorm remain? 2. Does the Everstorm just straight up wreck Shinovar? They have been protected from Highstorms thanks to their big mountains in the east and the fact that Highstorms weaken but their western mountains are less imposing and, as far as I can tell, the Everstorm has a more constant level of power. Thoughts? WoBs? Remember, we are not in the Oathbringer sub-forum so please do not use anything from there.
  23. I think the Everstorm brings Voidlight to Roshar. Just as Stormlight enables bonds and “makes things grow,” Voidlight IMO breaks bonds. Voidlight frees the Parshmen, but only Stormlight enables them to bond again. IIRC, @Calderis theorizes Melishi stripped out part of the Parshmen Spiritwebs, putting them into slaveform. He suggests the Everstorm causes the stripped-out part to regrow. I think the opposite is true, that Bondsmiths can make bonds but not break them. I think Melishi bonded Parshmen with a blank pseudo-spren to turn them into slaves. The Everstorm’s Voidlight breaks the bond with the pseudo-spren, rather than regrowing Parshmen Spiritwebs. I think Parshmen exposed to the Everstorm return to their natural sapient state. Parshmen still need Stormlight to bond with spren. Kaladin’s companions may not yet have been exposed to Stormlight and may be unbonded. I think Voidbringing changes the Spiritual DNA of the spren Parshmen (and other lifeforms/objects) bond with. We’ll see how Kaladin’s companions act when exposed to Stormlight. Some of them may bond corrupted spren; some of them may not bond at all; and some may bond uncorrupted spren. The yellow spren IMO is a Voidbinding spren, Odium’s version of a Radiantspren. Such spren are not necessarily evil, since the Shards themselves are not evil. Some Voidbinding spren may be cruel, just as some Radiantspren are. The difference between spren is magical – how they perform magic – not moral. This yellow spren does not appear evil (so far). I believe Voidbinders use the same Surges as Surgebinders, but Voidbinders access the Surges by breaking the internal bonds that make them who they are. I think the Unmade are “unmade” because using Odium’s magic over time reduces Voidbinders and their Spiritwebs. Voidbinders IMO catalyze their magic by consuming Voidlight to break their bonds. Hate gives you power, but you pay a price. Becoming “unmade” – having hate consume you – is Odium’s price for his power. The yellow spren sees Kaladin as a Voidbinding candidate. I suspect it notices Kaladin’s “protecting” character. The yellow spren itself first warned of Kaladin’s presence, a form of protection, and seems to be marshalling the Parshmen towards their rendezvous. I think the yellow spren is Odium’s version of honorspren – “protecting spren” - even if it does turn out to be a Shinovar stone spren. That may explain Syl’s ambivalence towards it. Just some thoughts before tomorrow’s chapters blow them apart…
  24. This is a theoretical model I've thought up to help visualize what's happened to the listeners. This is all theoretical and highly metaphorical, but I think it helps explain things. The way Parshendi attune the rhythms has always reminded me of radio. They change rhythms the way a car radio changes stations. What if we assume that the underlying mechanism is analogous? A radio uses a metallic antenna, which receives incoming electromagnetic waves. We know the Listeners are closer to the cognitive realm, and they seem to hear the rhythms in their minds, so let's assume the rhythms are “cognitive waves,” emitted by an unknown source somewhere in Shadesmar. So the listeners receive these waves using cognitive antennae. Imagine every listener has an antenna sticking straight up from the top of their head. But it's an invisible mental antenna, a protrusion of the mind, existing only on the cognitive plane. Now imagine a shardbearer riding across Shadesmar, holding a shardblade out horizontally. He would slice off the antenna of every listener he passes. And since shardblades slice the soul, these antennae will never grow back. The victims will be permanently unable to receive the rhythms, which apparently also prevents them bonding spren and changing forms. And since this change is on the sDNA level, it becomes hereditary. Now imagine a shardblade the size of Roshar, sweeping across the entire continent and antennectomizing the entire listener race. This seems to roughly describe what someone (Melishi?) did all those years ago. The Parshendi, Eshonai's ancestors, escaped this fate by (the equivalent of) chopping off their own antennae with a butcher knife. They chose dullform, a faulty form with a stumpy, barely functional cognitive antenna. It leaves them almost as crippled as the rest of their species, but the damage is (cognitively speaking) only skin deep. Their cognitive antennae are too short for the megablade to slice, so their spiritwebs are undamaged. They retain the innate ability grow an antenna, attune the rhythms, and change forms. It just took them a while to figure out how. The Everstorm has now invested the Parshmen of the world with stormlight (or voidlight), allowing them to regrow their cognitive antennae the same way Lopen is regrowing his arm. Their souls and minds are whole again. Stormform, and presumably other voidforms, hear 'new rhythms,' unknown before their transformation. This implies that these voidforms have a different kind of antenna, which receives different wavelengths. The new rhythms and the old rhythms might be emanating from two different sources, perhaps one Cultivation-related and the other Odium-related. My guess: the sources are perpendicularities. Listeners are attuned to one of them just like Vin was attuned to the Well of Ascension. (Burning bronze approximates the function of a cognitive antenna.) Thoughts?
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