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  1. I am facinated by Corrupted spren and I want to talk about them 1. What spren would more easily be enlightened? 2. What would they look like? 3. What powers might they give to bonded radiants? This is all theoretical, so nothing is of the table. What do you guys think?
  2. Introduction Well, this is one of the most incoherent theories I've ever cobbled together. But I think I have something, at the very least. Regardless, here we go. I will first state the theory, for the sake of retaining reader attention, then explain the evidence I have to prove it. Whatever the case, I believe I have found the nature of whatever resonance the Truthwatchers possess, or at the very least an ability they somehow employ. I will delay no further; I believe the Truthwatchers had the ability glimpse the future. Please understand, I have not taken temporary leave of my sanity. I know Renarin is not a true Truthwatcher, and I understand the Surges as well as any Cosmerenaut. Allow me to present my evidence, such as it is. Evidence 1: The Urithiru Gem Archive I think everyone who's closely read the epigraphs has flirted with this theory at one time or another. I quote below an entry made by an unknown Truthwatcher, detailing their plan to deny Voidlight to the parsh armies. See below: It has already been established that the gem type corresponds with the Order of Knight who recorded the message. I invite all to look at the final message, recorded in "a particularly small emerald." Obviously, whoever recorded it must have felt a need to record their foresight. Now, this can be taken two ways. The Truthwatcher had an uncannily acute sense of foresight, and very accurately judged the eventual findings and conclusions of a group of scholars, tacticians, and warriors. The word "foresaw" was used in a more literal sense. I'm inclined to believe the latter, for the fact that the gem was "particularly small" as well as the Truthwatcher's evident need for secrecy. Evidence 2: The Surgebinding Chart It is interesting to note how specifically the Truthwatchers are placed. Directly below the Bondsmiths. Not only this, but a strange line connects the two, completely unrelated to the surrounding art. I am not the first to note this; indeed, another user asked a question concerning it. Brandon admits that there is some significance to this placement, and that Truthwatchers are different from other Orders in much the same way a Bondsmith is. How interesting, especially in light of Evidence 1. Evidence 3: The Nature of Resonances We have some details concerning the nature of resonances. Kaladin and Shallan---and to a certain extent, Jasnah and Lift---have all demonstrated abilities that occur from their two Surges interacting. Kaladin can adopt far more squires, and those of far more power, than any other order. Shallan has uncanny mnemonic abilities that Brandon attributes to her order. The same goes for Kaladin. Jasnah is noted by Wit as having an uncanny sense of direction, leading to some speculation among the fanbase. Then Lift, who displayed a very keen sense of comprehension in the face of street slang worse than that of Spook's. What's interesting is how all these resonances seem have certain common characteristics. These are the ones I have noted. The resonances we do have, and some suspected ones, are at least tangentially related to the Surges that produce them. The resonances, at least in the case of Knights Radiant, seem to follow their order's underlying themes. There seems to be an almost thematic connection between the Surges and the resonance. Evidence 4: Renarin Fear not, intrepid readers, for I yet retain my sanity. I bring up Renarin only to point out the connection between this theory and one of Renarin's main abilities. As a Cosmerenaut, I do not believe much in coincidences, and find it very convenient that a Truthwatcher of old "foresaw" something, and Renarin, a corrupted Truthwatcher, sees the future in intermittent fits. Putting It All Together From all these pieces of evidence, I believe enough data has been gathered to draw conclusions. So, diving right in, we start with the very high likelihood that a Truthwatcher past somehow saw the future. This was something he fear, or was ashamed of, but regardless felt necessary to maintain secrecy over. Evidence 2 introduces the thought that Truthwatchers have some abilities that almost resemble those of a Bondsmith. At the very least, they have something Cognitively and Spiritually related. We know that seeing the future involves the Spiritual Realm, where time has no meaning. The conclusions drawn from Evidence 3 are the shakiest I have to offer, but I'll do my best to be clear. Truthwatchers of Ideals surrounding the nature of truth, and seeking it out. Thus, they are commonly scholars and scientists. They seek to banish lies and understand the world better. More than that, the Surges exclusive to Truthwatchers are those of Progression and Illumination. What an interesting combination. Looking at these purely thematically, a combination of the two might illuminate a future path, a way of progressing forwards. Finally, Renarin. Again, I find it far too coincidental how he can see the future. And perhaps this provides some insight as to the nature of Sja-anat's Enlightening. Maybe Enlightened spren almost lean into the resonance, and that is the pattern of affected Orders. Conclusion None of these pieces of evidence alone serve to help prove this theory. When taken together, however, the connections drawn follow some common paths. If you have any thoughts over this, please comment so. Any and all criticism are welcome. Many thanks for reading, Longshot97
  3. Okay, so seeing the future. We all know that it's bad in Vorin culture(I think it's Vorin, right?). So... ...where did that come from? So, we know that seeing the future comes from bonded a corrupted(oops, I mean Enlightened) mistspren(is that the only kind of spren that can cause future-seeing?) from Sja-Anat. And it's sort of of Odium, which is kind of evil? A little bit? But back when that culture-ness started, in the first beginnings of the Knights Radiant the first time, I'm pretty sure Sja-Anat hadn't been doing any corruption then... So where did that come from? What did y'all think? (also yay it's basically my first non-Kaladin post! go me!)
  4. Sja-Anat is shown to be rebelling against Odium. She wants to be free of him, and just be herself. She also has been known to corrupt spren, lesser in older days, higher in the present (At least according to Hessi). She only "Enlightens" willing spren and Mistspren seem some of the most willing to work with her (see Glys). If I were an unmade trying to release my bonds to Odium, I would find a rival force and bind them to me. The Radiants. And we see her doing it in the present. But could she have started her plan long ago? She grants Fore sight to "Enlightened Radiants" like Renerian. She has access to some of the powers of Odium. Maybe she saw something of what is happening now ans saw an opening for success. So she starts creating "Enlightened Radiants" way back before the fall of Urithiu. We see a recording in the Library room that might support this. A particularly small emerald (polestone of Truthwatchers and same order as Renerian). Dawer 30-20. The secrecy and the foreseeing reminds me alot of how Renerian acts. So, Sja-anat had corrupted higher spren in place during the evacuation of the tower, Truthwatchers specifically. She manipulated events to finally get rid of Rayse. She specifically called Taravangian a weapon. Big take away would be that the old Knight Radiants had some members that had bonded Corrupted spren, and this is why Sja-Anat was the most feared. She basically had spies and minions inside the orders. (Yes I know it says only "lesser" spren, but that could have been a cover up to keep the people's faith in the Knights strong, or simply a mis-translation or error in transcription.)
  5. We learn in The Rhythm of War that Mraize approached Sja-anat (through Shallan) to send to him a corrupted/enlightened mistspren to bond. Fortunately, Tumi (the spren) chose Rlain instead and Mraize is probably not able to see the future yet (yay!). It would be rather terrifying if the Ghostbloods had access to oracular powers. What do you think happened between Tumi and Mraize? Did the spren consider him personally not worthy or did it turn out to be mechanically impossible for someone of his decent?
  6. What happens if Sja-anat touches another Unmade or one of the Godspren? Also, can the Nightwatcher give her Bondsmith infinite boons?
  7. Ever since I read the Sja-Anat interlude, a quote has stuck with me. That quote was said by Tumi and I find it so fascinating due to certain implications. We know Sja-Anat Englightens spren through mechanics we don't know but seeing it described as a giving of eyes by one of her children is interesting, to say the least. Is this giving of eyes metaphorical, the way shedding light onto something makes you see the truth of the object? Perhaps it's more literal--deadeyes are described as basically lacking eyes after all, and giving that most symbolic part back to a deadeye must mean a lot to said deadeye. I'm surprised no one has theorized about this quote and I want to hear your thoughts on the quote. Could Sja-Anat Enlighten a deadeye back to "life"?
  8. So as RoW proved, Singer forms come from nahel bonds with spren in their gemheart. Lifespren for mateform, windspren for nimbleform, etc. We've also seen that Radiant bonds with highspren act differently when the spren is corrupted. So what happens when Singers bond a corrupted lowspren? Do they produce new forms? Old forms with slightly different abilities?We've seen forms of power, but those seem to come from true spren of odium, not just corrupted spren. This is even something that could have happened in previous desolation, unlike the corrupted radiants, because Sja-Anat has been able to corrupt low spren forever.
  9. Sja-Anat is showing with Glys and now others the ability to modify True Spren which she couldn't in the past. So far, Dalinar and Taravangian were major parts of her plan that she used the Old Magic to cultivate, but Renarin seems to be one of the most important. It seems interesting that Cultivation wouldn't have used the Old Magic to cultivate Renarin's path in some way. Could Sja-Anat have went to the Nightwatcher and been granted a boon/curse by Cultivation herself? Sja-Anats new abilities seem like they could be Cultivation linked, allowing her to help sentient spren change their paths. Also, letting some children die so that others may live seems a Cultivation type approach. If its possible, a long view of Cultivation's plan could mean she helped link BAM to the Parsh and cause the False Desolation leading to everything happening now, but mainly curious if she could be responsible for Sja-Anats boosted abilities.
  10. Sja-anat got away with helping Team Honor because Rayse knew that she was betraying him, but he couldn't prove it. So as long as he didn't catch her, she was able to play I-know-that-you-know-that-I-know games with Odium. Now that the new Odium has that proof, firsthand. And he's decided he's in this to win. I think he's going to keep a much closer eye on S-a, and she's going to have to actually work against the Radiants. And they're going to keep sort-of trusting her because she's been sincere until now, and they're going to fall into a trap.
  11. So Rhythm of War gave us quite a few interesting tidbits about Mistspren. I'll start with the most startling observation: at the end of the book there are only 4 known bonds, and 2 of these have chosen to be corrupted by Sja-Anat. Considering that only a handful of higher spren have chosen this, it's rather interesting that the only 2 confirmed ones are Mistspren. But after consideration, I realized that it actually makes sense that if any type spren would volunteer, it's them. First, look at the humans the uncorrupted ones bonded or, in Ym's case, wanted to bond: misfits who try to help those even less fortunate than them, and have accepted 2 things: 1) no one is going to praise them for their work, 2) an imperfect world requires imperfect solutions. Hence why Ym tries to find the best type of shoes for the orphans he has in stock and why the Stump is willing to engage in money laundering. Secondly, the ancient Truthwatchers were 'scientists, scholars, and tinkers', and 'concerned with abuse of power, as well as finding out the truth'. Thirdly, the ancient Truthwatchers were involved in the binding of Ba-Ado-Mishram, and they may thus be aware of the links Kelek mentions between the Unmade, spren, and all of Roshar. Some residue of this knowledge may still be known among their (surviving) spren. Fourthly, according to Kelek several spren were considering joining Odium's forces. And fifthly: the 2 corrupted Mistspren have chosen candidates with the same criteria as the uncorrupted ones. Now imagine a type of spren which is inquisitive, interested in esoteric truths, and willing to use unorthodox methods. Wouldn't this type of spren be interested in exploring the phenonom of Sja-Anat's corruption as an alternative means to end the conflict? So my theory is that the Mistspren (or else: a group of them) deliberately agreed to let Sja-Anat corrupt a handful of them in order to study the effects of this corruption on them and on the Radiant bond.
  12. This might have been asked elsewhere but is there a way to undo sja-asnat corruption/let the oathgate transport people to kholinar again?
  13. Looking for some clarification. I have tried to find this on the Forums and Arcanum, but what I have found so far is either contradictory or incomplete. Corrupted investiture. IF I understand it correctly is "what happens when one shard interferes with the investiture of another shard"? And the investiture turns red when it's corrupted? OK, what I can't figure out is the difference between what happened to Glys (which is red) and all of the other spren that Sja-Anat had corrupted (none of which is red, but IS weirdly misshapen)? Is their any actual information about this? Or am i misunderstanding something?
  14. Okay so we know that Sja-anat can corrupt spren, with us first assuming she could just corrupt normal spren. Then we find out that she has already corrupted Glys and created a weird mixed investure KR. It's like whoa cool! But this has got me thinking. What else can she corrupt. I seem to remember OB saying something about how Sja-anat could corrupt humans, and we know that she can corrupt powerful spren. (Truthwatcher spren, and Oathgate Spren) But my question is does she corrupt spren, or just investure. Because if so could she make some Corrupted Honorblades? I want theories, but also cool ideas of Sja- corrupted investure. The second part does not have to confined to Roshar
  15. 1. I am, like, 99% certain Cultivation inspired the Diagram "It sure is suspicious" that Taravangian managed to figure out all those secret things about Roshar just from being really smart. The primary candidates for giving Mr. T a helping hand have been Odium and Cultivation. Odium's reaction to the Diagram at the end of OB implies that it's the first time he's seen it- and more importantly, there are parts that he can't perceive. It seems reasonable to me that the only being that can hide things from a Shard would be another Shard. And which bits can't Odium see? Something about Renarin Kholin. (Who, it may or may not be relevant, was the one who wrote the Diagram in WoK Prime). 2. Renarin the sorta-Radiant and Glys the sorta-voidspren The most unique thing about Renarin, of course, is that he bonded a corrupted spren. Whatever that means. As far as I can can tell from Renarin's PoVs, Glys is solidly on Team Kick Odium's Chull Back To Braize. This despite the fact that he was remade by an Unmade, and (as per Argent's Secret Hint) gives access to Voidbinding. I think Glys used to be a normal Truthwatcher spren, because he does give regular Progression, and because Renarin's visions sound like a corrupted version of normal Truthwatcher resonance. There's a very popular theory around here that the top of the Surgebinding diagram is the orders and spren closest to Honor, and the bottom is the closest to Cultivation. Truthwatchers are right in the double eye, smack in the middle of the presumed Cultivation-centric spren. 3. Sja-Anat Sja-anat, despite being an Unmade, wants to defect. I think this must be a recent development, or Odium would have noticed. If the epigraphs are to be believed, her ability to corrupt bondspren is a recent thing, too. 4. Theorycrafting: Cultivation's long game Renarin might just be a central piece in Cultivation's long game. What if Cultivation is working with Sja-anat to help her break free from Odium? Subtly, at first, so that at the right moment S-a can switch sides without getting squished by her former boss. What if Cultivation deliberately sent Glys to Sja-anat, to be corrupted in a very specific way which would further Cultivation's plans? Maybe she even helped S-a with the corruption process, which is why S-a was able to "enlighten" a bondspren in the first place. Thus, Odium eventually loses one of his nine strongest minions. And Team Honor-Cultivation gains a new type of Radiant, one that, for some reason, is in Odium's blind spot.
  16. I admit right off the bat that at this point this is almost entirely a matter of conjecture, since there isn't really a shred of hard evidence for it one way or another, but I thought I'd put it out there and see what everyone thinks. As per Oathbringer, we know that the Unmade Sja-anat wants to defect from Odium (or at least that's what she has claimed, and for the sake of argument I'm just going to assume that this isn't merely a ploy and that she is being genuine), and that she seemingly aided Kaladin, Adolin and Shallan by preventing the Oathgate she had corrupted from killing them. And that got me thinking: Sja-anat, along with the other Unmade, are supposedly Splinters of Odium's power that gained sentience (at least in the case of some of the Unmade) or else were deliberately created by Odium, which should mean that they would share Odium's general nature, but from what we've seen this doesn't appear to necessarily be the case with Sja-anat; she seems to be fighting to free herself from Odium's influence. Ironically, it would almost seem like the corrupter is itself corrupted, or at least in the process of it. So if this is true, and admittedly this does depend on a number of unproven assumptions, it begs the question of what exactly could be behind this. Honor? Possibly, though I personally don't think so, because corrupting Sja-anat so as to make her betray Odium doesn't really seem like it would be consistent with what we know of Honor's nature. Cultivation? Again, possible, and in my opinion far more likely than Honor. But what if it's another Shard altogether? A Shard who most people assume is an ally (albeit probably in a very loose way) of Odium and whose Shardic Intent would certainly seem to be compatible with 'corrupting' something with the desire for freedom and individuality. Might it be that Autonomy isn't quite as sympathetic to Odium's cause as she would have him believe? Like I said earlier, at this point this is purely conjecture. However, we do know that in spite of what she would have others believe, Autonomy has no qualms about meddling in the affairs of other worlds, including other worlds that have Shards, if we assume that she is the one behind the opposition of Harmony on Scadrial. So, is it really that big of a stretch to assume that maybe she's meddled on Roshar as well? Could it be that Autonomy is subtly opposing Odium by 'infecting' one of his greatest servants with a spark of her own power? At this point, I honestly don't know, and I'm by no means convinced of this (in fact, I honestly think it's probably more likely false than true). But it would have a certain poetic form of irony if it did turn out to be true.
  17. Okay,this is more of a "Would this even work theory?" then a "Can I predict Lord Branderson's plans?" theory. If Sja-anat managed to defect to Team Radiant,would she be able to make her own children? Hear me out. We all know that spren are simply sentient Investiture,as Investiture is oft to become when left alone or shaped by a Splinter's power,as seen with the Stormfather. We also know that Team Radiant are able to capture the Unmade and will probably try to do this because Odium is a terrible father and his kids deserve better. There is also the theory of the Radiants taking the gem holding Nergaoul,or the Thrill,and cleansing him/using him in a fabrial. While they probably will not need to capture Sja-Anat as she is willing,would it be possible to make a fabrial allowing her to shape Investiture into not a corrupted spren,but a new kind of spren entirely? You would need a hideous amount of Stormlight,I would think,probably needing to use most of the gems in Urithiru along with shoving it into a highstorm. But it might work. So what do you think? Am I a genius or should I be dragged off to Bedlam?
  18. This month’s Shardcast concludes Sja-Anat “corrupts” a Truthwatcher spren, Glys. The Shardcasters believe Renarin both Voidbinds (foresees) and Surgebinds (heals). Many posters agree. I see another possibility: Maybe Cultivation transforms a Sja-Anat splinter, Glys, into a Nahel-bondable Radiant spren? Sja-Anat says to Shallan during their Oathgate encounter (OB, Chapter 84, Kindle p. 817), In the next chapter, Sja-Anat sadly tells Shallan (OB, Chapter 85, Kindle p. 822), IMO, Sja-Anat juxtaposes her corruption of the Oathgate spren – which she was “compelled to touch” – with her “son” and other “children.” This suggests Sja-Anat’s children are not corrupted spren like “the spren of this device” (a cold description, I think). She doesn’t claim the Oathgate spren as her children or ask Shallan to check with them. Other Kholinar spren Sja-Anat corrupts appear to be pre-Shattering Adonalsium spren – exhaustionspren, painspren, and shamespren. Spren “create” children. Their children share their Investiture. Syl is the Stormfather’s daughter. After the Recreance, the Stormfather “created only ten more” honorspren. (OB, Chapter 108, Kindle p. 1015.) Notum’s great-grandmother was one, who in turn “created” his grandfather, who then “created” his father, who “created” Notum. Ico’s father was a Radiant spren. Though it’s possible, I don’t believe spren “adopt” other spren’s children by injecting alien Investiture into them. The injected Investiture instead “corrupts” them (IMO). Here’s my theory: I think Cultivation transforms Sja-Anat, freeing her from Odium’s influence – “I am of me. Now, only of me.” Sja-Anat remains Odium’s Investiture, but her mind now is her own. IOW, I believe Cultivation gives Sja-Anat free will. Sja-Anat then creates her “son,” the voidspren Glys. I believe Cultivation transforms Glys to make him Nahel-bondable. Glys gives Renarin his powers through the Nahel bond. IMO, that makes Renarin a Surgebinder. A Nahel-bonded voidspren can process Stormlight to Focus any power Cultivation wants it to, including foresight and healing. My “Pathways to Power” post concludes all Shards use the same powers. Brandon says Shards differ only in ”the means of getting powers,” the “WAY the magic is obtained.” Surgebinders IMO gain magic through the Cognitive Connection of the Nahel bond, which Renarin and Glys share. I believe Cultivation wanted Renarin to have foresight. Renarin’s name implies his uniqueness: “Like one who was born unto himself.” (OB, Chapter 52, Kindle p. 515.) Cultivation needs a voidspren to provide foresight because humans personify foresight as “of Odium.” In presenting my interpretation of Glys and Renarin, I don’t mean to impugn other interpretations. All are valid, but none rise to the level of “cosmere fact.” @Calderis, if you look again at my last post in our prior conversation, you’ll see I do account for your “context” when I disagree with you about Renarin’s Voidbinding. As I said there, you may be right, but there is ample room for other views. I do think Sja-Anat is capable of corrupting Radiant spren, and she may have corrupted them in the past. It’s possible, though, Cultivation caused the earlier “corruption.” I believe Glys may be part of a far-reaching plan Cultivation’s long-considered.
  19. Following the most recent episode of Shardcast, I brain spewed forth this idea. As we have not yet seen Sja-anat in physical form, since we have not yet seen her features (her form is a black shadow iwith glowing white eyes), and since she seems to display not only sapience, but also independence of thought and action, is it possible that she is powerful among the unmade? If she has enough power, could she manifest a physical form? Since Odium was preparing Dalinar to fall, could Evi have been Sja-anat? Drawing from the podcast, if we assume that Sja-anat can resurrect dead spren, then it could be that Adolin's communication with his shard blade is inherited from his Unmade mother. This would also make Renarin a son of Sja-anat, and could potentially make him more susceptible to bonding to one of her corrupted spren. His sickness could also be a result of him possessing mixed DNA, or a mix of innate investiture. It also makes sense that Odium would use Sja-anat, posing as Evi, to push Dalinar further over the edge and make him more susceptible to The Thrill. She could do this by constantly challenging his values, or by acting completely out of character and doing something brash, like get captured by an enemy side.
  20. Not everyone seems to have appreciated PsychoShallan as much as I did, perhaps because I suspect her psychosis is not an arbitrary plot device. What if Shallan's multiple personality issues are because she's seriously corrupted by Sja-anat? The only times we see Sja-anat herself are through mirrors Shallan is looking into (OB pages 634 and then 815-822) and when Shallan's shadow actually becomes Sja-anat, as she nears and hears the Heart of the Revel. Sja-anat is a reflection of Shallan? The bolded, italicized parts above denote where I believe Sja-anat is speaking whereas the unbolded, italicized parts seem to be the Heart of the Revel (Ashertmarn). Twice, she reacts quite differently to Sja-anat than she does to Ashertmarn, both here and on page 731 where she says, "That last one stood out, like a scar on a beautiful man’s face. Jarring." Sja-anat, Taker of Secrets. Who has more secrets to take than Shallan? So I don't really have any answers here but lots of questions, and I'd love lots of discussions on these or related ideas. I don't think we know enough to have definitive answers yet, but perhaps through discussion we can learn more than we now know. Shallan has always had multiple personalities, but when did they truly start becoming an issue, bleeding into each other and out of control? Was that only in Kholinar or just before? Where has Shallan heard Sja-anat's voice before? Why is Sja-anat so shocked (page 634) when she first sees Shallan in the mirror in the palace? Why is Sja-anat the most feared of all Unmade? Has Sja-anat already corrupted Shallan as she corrupted spren? Is she in the process of corrupting Shallan, hence Shallan not yet giving Sja-anat's corrupted children a home? Is Mishim's story (page 670-676) an analogy of Shallan's crisis, with Mishim shirking her moon duties to be what she is not? Or is the story related in some other way(s)? Starspren? Gemstone constellations? Do wrong-facing shadows always denote Unmade as they do for Odium's Champion? If so, what does that say about Jasnah's shadow attack? If so, what does that say about Aimians? It just seems to me that all of these things are complexly related to each other. I'd love for us to hash out some ideas as to why that may be. ETA: Ash's eyes, I've learned so much from your responses! I've combined and stolen much to come up with an answer, of sorts, that I'm reasonably happy with and excited about, which I describe in this post:
  21. So let’s talk Renarin, shall we? Now, if you fine folks are anything like myself, you might have found yourself confused by some of the reveals that Oathbringer brought about regarding Renarin and his powers. This was a twist that I saw coming a long way off, and so I was more than ready when we found out that Renarin had been affected by a voidish corruption and that this was the reason for his strange and ominous visions. If you’d like to see how WoR foreshadowed this moment, you can check out my theory Renarin’s Visions and Truthwatching and see all the reasoning for this twist. However, what I want to do here today is get into the nitty gritty of what’s really going on. Is Renarin a Voidbinder or a Surgebinder or both? Is Glys a Voidspren? How do the visions work? How did this happen? All those good questions are the ones that I’d like to try to tackle here. Theory Disclaimer: Most of these things have not been confirmed in canon and Brandon has been cagey about answering or confirming. However, this explanation is the one which seems most plausible to me based on the evidence at hand. So let me do a bullet point run-down of what I think is happening: Glys is actually a valid Truthwatcher spren, not a voidspren. Renarin is a valid Truthwatcher Radiant and therefore a Surgebinder with access to the surges of Progression and Illumination. Renarin uses Stormlight to power his surges, just like other Radiants. Glys has been corrupted by the Unmade Sja-anat. As a result of this corruption, in addition to his normal Truthwatcher powers, Renarin is afflicted by involuntary visions of the future which neither he nor Glys can control. The points above are those that I feel are fairly concrete, and I’ll go into the reasoning behind those ideas later below. However, upon this assumed situation, I believe that the following ideas are viable possibilities. The following points are less certain than those above, but these are the ideas that seem the most plausible to me, given the circumstances: The powers that the Fused display are expressions of Voidbinding. Renarin’s future visions are possibly also an expression of Voidbinding, but his other powers are not. If Renarin’s Voidbinding and Fused Voidbinding work in the same way, it is possible that all Voidbinding powers come from the influence of the Unmade, in that Sja-anat can grant Voidish future visions while other Unmade grant different powers, like illusions, frictionlessness, or gravity, as we see other Fused use. And upon these assumptions, we find several questions arise regarding the nature of the situation: If both Renarin and the Fused are Voidbinders, is a spren involved in the granting of Voidbinding powers to the Fused in the same way they were granted to Renarin? If Voidish powers are each affiliated with an Unmade, why are there seemingly 10 powers on the Voidbinding chart if there are only 9 Unmade? Does Odium grant a Bondsmith equivalent himself? If Voidbinding powers are not granted by the Unmade, how are they gained? In what way are Renarin and the Fused similar in situation that grants them the same powers? What caused the hypergraphia that accompanied the visions of the Everstorm, and why does that no longer happen when Renarin gets visions? All of which are fascinating, but unfortunately, more likely to get a RAFO than an answer in a signing line. The first I have already asked and been RAFO’d and I believe the others are going to be answered similarly, if attempted. If I had to guess, these are reveals that will happen in Renarin’s flashback book. Considering that book is in the back five, we’ve probably got a while to wait. Alas. Regardless, no use fretting over the information we don’t have when it’s so much more fun to dissect the information we do have. And Oathbringer certainly gave us plenty to dissect. So, let’s take the situation that I’ve outlined above and break it down with some textual evidence to help explain where these ideas come from. Glys the Truthwatcher spren and Renarin the Radiant This is one of the easiest points to guess, considering the wealth of information we have on the topic. A lot of this is due to the Renarin point of view chapters in Part 5. (Thank you, Brandon, I owe you my soul for those.) Renarin’s surges seem to work perfectly normally. He heals people with Regrowth at several points in the novel, fairly naturally. I believe we see a slight, unconscious use of Illumination in the scene with Adolin and Gallant, when Renarin makes a perfected vision of Adolin appear. Renarin also mentions trying to train with Shallan in using Illumination, but he has difficulty with it. Now, it could be assumed that Renarin’s failure to grasp Illumination is a sign that his surges are wrong, and yet I think this is simply another example of a Radiant finding one surge more easy to pick up than another. Shallan is naturally better at Illumination than Transformation. Lift is better at Abrasion than Progression. It seems common enough that Radiants have an affinity for one of their surges over the other. For Renarin, I believe this is that Progression is easier than Illumination. In addition to his surges, Renarin’s other expressions of Radiant abilities seem normal. Glys is able to form as a Shardblade, which no one deems as looking out of the ordinary. It also functions to open Oathgates. His healing factor works as the other Radiants’, albeit augmented by his power of Progression to make healing extremely rapid. Most tellingly, his powers use Stormlight, just as all the others do. Ivory says that there is a rightness to the bond between Renarin and Glys and that spren of Odium should not be able to bond with humans under normal circumstances. Through all of these things, one can assume that Renarin and Glys have a valid Nahel bond and are bonded as Radiant and spren, just as the others are. Sja-anat’s Corruption However, in addition to the normal suite of a Truthwatcher’s powers and the Nahel bond, there is another factor in the mix: Sja-anat. When Sja-anat speaks with Shallan she speaks of her son when telling Shallan that she is not an enemy, as though he would vouch for her. This is undoubtedly Glys. It’s interesting to note that this seems to indicate that Glys is working with Sja-anat, possibly willingly. Perhaps she approached a Radiant spren hoping that by giving changing one of them, she would have an ally who would help the Radiants trust her. Or perhaps it’s something else. Hard to say at this point. Regardless, it is because of this that Renarin can see the future, and why he is consumed with visions. Though it is possible that other Truthwatchers have a manner of foresight, I don’t believe it would manifest as Renarin’s does. Ivory states that future sight is a power of Odium, as the Vorins believe. I believe Sja-anat has been hoping to swap sides and is using Glys as a way to do it, as well as helping Shallan instead of killing them when they went through the Oathgate. Voidbinding So in the end, what is Voidbinding? Hard to say with certainty, since despite how often we see Voidbinders, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of answers about it. Working under the assumption that the Fused’s powers are Voidbinding we can see a few things, at least: Voidbinding seems to line up with surges in many cases, as we see Fused manipulating gravity and friction, just like Kaladin and Lift. It’s hard to tell if this means that Renarin’s corrupted sight is also a form of Voidbinding as well, since it doesn’t seem to line up with a Surge the way the others are. The Listener Song of Secrets speaks of Nightform, a form of power which can see the future, which seems as though it might be more similar to what Renarin can do than anything else we’ve seen. The question is, Renarin is getting his void-powers from a corrupted spren, but I don’t believe that the Fused have a corrupted spren giving them powers, which initially made me think that Renarin’s visions were not Voidbinding like the Fused. Now, I’m not so sure. For the moment, I think I will lean toward the idea that Renarin’s visions and the powers of the Fused are both Voidbinding somehow, even if we don’t have details to confirm anything either way. There’s just not enough answers for the moment. Time will tell. If anyone can get answers out of Brandon regarding this topic, I’d be greatly appreciative but I doubt he’s going to answer things. Conclusion There’s a lot that we just don’t know yet, but I’m excited to see where this goes in the future. For now, this is my best guess at what’s really going on until we get some more information on all of it. One thing that hasn’t changed is that I adore Renarin with all of my heart and somehow Brandon continues to write his plotline and character arc in ways which are intensely fascinating to me. Oathbringer has been a triumph and I can’t wait to see what’s in store!
  22. Okay, so anyone who finished Oathbringer will remember Sja-anat, the sapient unmade that (seems to) want to defect from Odium's forces and either be free or perhaps even join the other side. So here's a really crazy storming theory I came up with: You know how Renarin bonded a corrupted spren? Well, why can't someone bond an unmade if said Unmade, say: (A) Is willing (B) Has defected from Odium, and (C) Technically a godspren like the Nightwatcher, the Stormfather, and the third one (which I suspect is Cusicesh the Protector)? Yes, you read the third one right: I think that Sja-anat (and all the other unmade, or at least the sapient ones) is technically a godspren, meaning that if someone bonded her, they would become a bondsmith. I suspect that, if she turns out to be genuine, one of the characters will bond her, becoming a fourth bondsmith, and the second knight radiant to bond a voidspren. This would, of course, be a monumentous event, and possibly even turn the tide of the war. However, it would also be extremely awesome, and I would like to see how her and her radiant's spren-radiant relationship would be like and how it would be affected by her being an unmade. Don't forget to leave your opinions on this theory, questions, comments and concerns, and who you think will/would like to bond Sja-anat in the comments below.
  23. If we were to follow the idea that Shardplate consists of lesser Spren (windspren for windrunners, creationspren for Lightweavers, gloryspren for Bondsmiths), Sja-anat's ability to corrupt becomes far more dangerous than imagined. Maybe her ability, by corrupting the Spren, result in a Surgebinder not being able to summon their Shardplate (as she has now influenced them). We know that hungerspren don't get corrupted, (and they don't seem to be the kind of Spren that could make Shardplate). We do see gloryspren, creationspren, lifespren and many others corrupted by Sja-anat's influence. This could be just one aspect of her ability, and if the theory that that is the manner in which Shardplate is made, she seems even more dangerous than previously thought. The ability to remove the KRs defence leaves them in harms way. I do realise that their are other types of Spren which are affected by her abilities, maybe these are for different reasons than mentioned above. What do you guys think?
  24. So this is an Idea that has been bouncing around since my first read through, and is heavily influenced by To start we know spren are bits of power, shaped by the cognitive definitions of physical realm inhabitants ( human, listeners, etc) For the sake of this idea i will only focus on true spren ( bond capable spren) These spren are made from a combination of Honor and Cultivations power. Some are more honor, some are more cultivation. Now with the Advent of the everstorm It seems Odium has greater ability to effect/ invest in Roshar. So his generals/unmade may all be made more powerful due to this advent. So Sja-Anat can now effect greater spren, spren with more investure. So here is the question/ what i am thinking. Sja-Anat makes a connection between a spren and Odium, inserting his investiture into the touched spren. In the case of true spren, does the touch of Sja-Anat insert odium investitures such that they are formed from the power of three shards, or does it replace the investiture of one of the shards, or both? I can think of a number of questions id want to ask Brandon to see if we can start teasing this out, what does the shard think about this ?
  25. OK I give. Clearly there are glyphs in the frame, but I'm at a loss. Anyone worked this out yet?
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