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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.