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  1. I have a theory that I don't know If it has been addressed. There was a stone or something whose voice was heard by szeth in his youth. Could the stone have been one of the unmade? Especially ba-ado?
  2. What will happen during Kaladin and Szeth's Excellent Adventure to Shinovar? This fic originally started as an RP between me and BlindRadiant. It explores Kaladin and Szeth's inner turmoil and external adventure as they fight enemies, fight each other, and fight to obtain their goals in Shinovar. Major Rhythm of War spoilers below! Convergence Rated Teen, will top off around 50,000 words, currently at about 30,000 and posting weekly. This is chapter 1. For chapter 2, click here.
  3. My reading of the @brandsanderson Stormilight archive continues in preparation for the next novel. This was a really fun piece to do. Honestly I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this, as before this, I've always had a harder time imagining Szeth in a defined way. It's amazing how putting ideas to paper can really condense your imagination. This is a quick cut away from chapter 2 where he is about to assassinate King Gavilar. I wanted to continue expressing this slightly more Mediterranean, Arabic, north African vibe I have been looking at. I wanted Szeth to be clearly pale skinned and almost albino. Someone who would be almost ghostly to the other darker skinned Alethi folk. (See my last image of Gavilar for reference) I realize this isn't canon, but I am enjoying myself and this style. In my mind the world of Roshar always felt a bit more hot in parts, and more desolate than most of Europe. Except Shinovar of course. Szeth is naturally a very gifted and athletic sky breaker and so I wanted him to strike quite a strong and athletic physique while still appearing slim. It was also important to me that he was intimidating but someone who is so unfocused in their mind that they appear almost as if they are just not engaged. I kept his eyes specifically unfocussed as if he is just staring at the cinema screen of his own thoughts. Anyways I am always happy to hear feedback. Let me know what you think.

    © Graeme Brandham

  4. Truth Will Be by BlindRadiant (shared with permission) Rated General, 10K words What if the reasons why Glys needed to become enlightened, and how Szeth became Truthless, were the same? Keep reading
  5. I know that I was not the only one who thought about this when reading through Yumi and the Nightmare Painter, and I have seen people mention a thing or two about it in various places, but I figured it would be good to compile thoughts all in one place. What are people's thoughts/opinions about the connections between the people of Komashi and the Shin people? There are just a few choices that seem too intentional to me to not have been on purpose. These are the few things that I have personally noticed about it. Things suggesting there might be a connection: The people of Komashi use the honorific "-nimi" (At least they did 1700 years ago), just like we see Szeth do in Stormlight. Both the Komashi and the Shin do not walk on stone. Things suggesting that there might NOT be a connection: We know that of the people groups on Roshar, the Komashi specifically look the most like Vedens who very much do NOT look like the Shin. The Komashi do not walk on stone because of its heat (they use clogs to elevate themselves off of the stone instead of touching it directly with their skin), whereas the Shin do not walk on stone because they view stone as holy and it would therefore be sacrilegious to do so. Now, on that last note, I do think it is interesting to take a look at the religion of Shinovar. It is stated that they do not worship stone itself, but the spirit of the stone. Considering that on Komashi, one, they have spirits, and two, the spirits are the ones who give heat to the ground, making it unable to be walked upon, I could see some distant connection between them and the Shin here that got warped through time and generations. This is without mentioning the fact that Komashi spirits are drawn in by the stacking of stones, adding more to why stones themselves would be seen as holy. On top of all of that, the religion of Shinovar sees the sun as the "god of gods" which seems to be a sentiment that very much would be agreed upon by people of Komashi because of the whole situation with the Shroud (given there would likely be some timeline issues with that). BUT, all in all, there seem to be a lot of interesting connections between the Shin people, how they talk, and their religion and the Komashi. So, any thoughts on this? Anything I did not bring up or notice?
  6. Hi everyone, I'm not sure if this has been posted already, so go ahead and link it, delete or whatever needs to be done. I've been thinking about the way ideals progress since there's no ironclad definite way to know other than off of personalities of the characters and the information surrounding the knights. The majority of my information for this post will be referenced from this link: https://www.brandonsanderson.com/the-ten-orders-of-knights-radiant/ Well, I think I may have stumbled onto something, I believe that the progression of the ideals is correlated with the clockwise direction of the Herald Wheel. I think it's best I explain using each character so we can go in order: Windrunners 2nd Ideal: “I will protect those who cannot protect themselves.” —The Second Ideal of the Windrunners (as spoken by Kaladin and Lopen) The general motto and purpose of the order. Great. 3rd Ideal: These all have a common theme between them. They each maintain what is a positive distance between what they want to do and what they need to do. There is an order that focuses on moral justice and fairness, more specifically understanding that the rules must be followed over personal attachments. Like the Skybreakers. Their order is all about fairness and it makes sense that Windrunners would add a standard to this ideal. 4th Ideal: I accept that there will be those I cannot protect!” — The Fourth Ideal of the Windrunners (as spoken by Kaladin) Kaladin utters these words when he notices that his friend Teft is dead and he nearly resorts back to the state that did in Kholinar from Elhokar's murder. He is faced with death and will face it more. In order to progress as a leader he must accept that death is a possibility for everyone around him, no matter how hard he tries otherwise. Kaladin is always the first into a fight, he can't help himself. But when he is unable to accomplish his duty, he folds. Bravery is about moving forward despite what perceived failure one might face. While this seemed like an easy villainous act to kill Teft outright but it was actually clinical. He must have noticed how Kaladin reacted to Elhokar and then Roshone, knowing full well this would break him. Something that is a common theme among Dustbringers (I can sense the Moash Dustbringer theory fans rubbing their hands together in delight) The main goal of the Dustbringers is self-control and Kaladin will not be able to function optimally if he's not able to keep it together. 5th Ideal: I AM STORMBLESSED! We obviously don't know the last but I think some of you can tell where I'm going with this. It has been brought up on numerous occasions regarding Kaladin's medical background: He was meant to be trained as a surgeon in Kharabranth. He has trained those under him to render medical care. He talks with Syl about turning into a scalpel. He's trying to join the ardenture as well as help the mentally ill. During the tale end of RoW, we see that Kaladin had misremembered or rather misunderstood Tien's final moments and decision. This moment was instrumental in him reaching the 4th and I believe will play a bigger part in KoWT. These are all traits that an Edgedancer carries out. We know in Book 5 he is traveling to Shinovar to do some healing, in what way we don't know yet. Based on the order's focus on the simpler people, I would imagine he will be focusing on them. Other forms of overlap are that the Edgedancers were made up of nobility or at the very least had the demeanor of one and there are a number of instances in books like WoK and WoR have glimpses of his past with him being teased as a 'lordling' or 'wannabe lighteyes' to paraphrase. Both orders are noted for being scouts and accomplished weapon masters. Skybreakers 3rd Ideal: “I swear to follow the will of Dalinar Kholin. This is my oath. ” —The Third Ideal of the Skybreakers, as sworn by Szeth I skipped to the third to get more to the point. The order of Dustbringers is about being brave and obedient and with this specific oath, the Skybreaker has become precise and how they pursue justice. This guideline can be a law or an individual, in this case, Dalinar. Releasers are about self-control and holding themselves accountable. Szeth has struggled very similarly to Kaladin but in an even more grotesque way. His destructive power is known throughout Roshar as the Assassin in White. The man who killed many, in particular, Gavilar the brother of the man he now serves. 4th Ideal: I will cleanse the Shin of their false leaders, so long as Dalinar Kholin agrees. ” —The Fourth Ideal of the Skybreakers, as spoken by Szeth Here is where I start to stretch things a bit. From the phrasing of the words, it sounds like he is taking out an infection. The last ideal was about learning the boundaries under Dalinar's supervision and now he is acting out his sense of justice with his master's consent until he becomes his own. Edgedancers are all about remembering and this quest is very personal to him and he hasn't been home so he would find that his memory of things will be misconstrued or turn out a lot different than he remembered. Another thing to note is that if my theory is right - Both Kaladin and Szeth are on the same level of progression in the story. Kaladin is on his 4th and working on the 5th with Szeth currently working on the 4th. 5th ideal: I AM THE LAW “If you progress as a Skybreaker, you will need to become the law. To reach your ultimate potential, you must know the truth yourself, rather than relying on the crutch presented by the Third Ideal. Be aware of this.” —Szeth's highspren on the Fifth Ideal Szeth-son-son-Vallano is truthless. Was born in the Valley of Truth. The title is the next release is Knights of Wind and Truth. Need I say more? But in all honesty, will this hasn't been confirmed that I believe Truthwatchers has a resonance of empathy. They can feel people's emotions and in order to be the best law enforcer you need to balance upholding the law with the spirit of said law and how it translates to those involved. Edgedancers 3rd Ideal: “I will listen to those who have been ignored. ” —The Third Ideal of the Edgedancers, as sworn by Lift This one is connected to observing people. In particular, in this case, Lift is trying to convince Nale to see the ever storm which was the first time it forced him to acknowledge his conviction of killing Radiants was misplaced. 4th Ideal: "I will remember to care for myself/I will remember where I came from/I will remember who I used to be." Lightweavers are all about realizing who they really are and noticing the lies people tell themselves. Lift wished that she wouldn't 'grow' anymore but from a physical aspect she's growing. I imagine there is still something left in her past that we haven't come across. Maybe she will admit that she isn't a child anymore? 5th Ideal: "I will always cherish/remember what is most important about myself." Since we have so little on the Elsecaller oaths I can only go off of the purpose of the order which is to reach their potential. In terms of a character arc, this feels like it matches for someone who doesn't want to grow up but will eventually grow up while still keeping the parts of her that define her. Truthwatchers 3rd Ideal: "I will tell someone my truth." I remember towards the end of Way of Kings when Dalinar had commanded Renarin into battle, he tried to convince Dalinar otherwise because he was having his visions or he had seen something that scared him. Anyways, I think he might have sworn his ideal just before he told Dalinar and Adolin about him being a Truthwatcher in Oathbringer. Their order struggles with telling and giving others the information they possess. I even imagine that a lot of starter truthwatchers weren't upfront when they got their bond. 4th Ideal: "I will advise only on the best possible outcome." We get to the Elsecaller aspect which is about potential and the draw would be that with the vast amount of knowledge they know, they would prefer to give the information in a way that does the most good. However, I step out on a leg and say that Renarin's corrupted aspect takes root here. The scene that makes me think Renarin is close or has sworn his new ideal, was his involvement with Taravangian up to getting executed by Szeth. That scene involved T becoming a God. If that doesn't get you shardplate, I don't know what will. 5th Ideal: "I will seek to enlighten those who wish it." There is a subset of truth watchers that are linked to investigative journalists in some of the new info that came out with the release of RoW. Giving people certain amounts of information can be absolutely devastating so the Truthwatcher in question must be sure that the person they are presenting their information in the most altruistic manner even if the main consensus might disagree with it. Lightweavers 2nd truth: “What am I? I'm terrified. ” —A truth as spoken by Shallan It's obvious that most of her arc is about overcoming her fear by using various identities or telling even more painful jokes. 3rd truth: “I'm a murderer. I killed my father. ” —A truth as spoken by Shallan[7] The best connection I can come up with this is the fact that Shallan's father was the one thing stopping Shallan's growth as an individual. We knew that he had saved Shallan after her attempted murder and then covered it up. Whether overtime due to the influence of the unmade or his own personal frustration, his desire to protect Shallan turned into one of abusive control. Her brother might have died had she not poisoned and strangled her father and had she and her siblings never tried to leave, who knows where the family would have ended up. 4th truth: "I killed my spren." -Paraphrased truth spoken by Shallan I don't think it's any surprise that Shallan spoke this truth in RoW that is centered around Willshapers. Blocking out the death of a spren, especially in an environment where killing spren is the biggest taboo within Shadesmar. This is also the time when Shallan loses her persona of Veil. 5th truth: "I am RADIANT!" Shallan has one alter ego left, Radiant. The Stonewards are focused on team dynamics and working with others. We can see glimpses of this with Shallan's 'Unseen Court', her operation with Adolin in tracking down the Sons of Honor, etc. But has always kept things close to the chest with her interactions with the Ghostbloods which she ended in RoW. Up until this point she had one foot in the door and out the other by keeping her dealings a secret until the end of the latest book. It will be interesting to see how all that pans out but at this point, Shallan should be divorced of her wishy-washy attitude to things and acknowledge who she really is. Shallan the RADIANT! Elsecallers As we have no official oaths to link from, I'm just going to base what I think each ideal is off of clues in Jasnah's life. 3rd Ideal: "I will express what I think is the truth" We have a small timeline of seven years off which Jasnah has been bonded to Ivory as her flashbacks to the night of her father's death was were we get a mention of Ivory's appearance. I'm not 100% sure when she started making her secular views open but I will she sure of an ideal when she made such a thing public. 4th Ideal: "I will trust those beside me" For the longest time, Jasnah was on her own in regard to her philosophical views and her knowledge of Voidbringers. The closest was the Veristitalian, which is a group of scholars. I believe she wsore this oath in Oathbringer around when she is considering killing Renarin lest he betrays them all. 5th Ideal: "I will protect the potential for a brighter future." We see Jasnah in RoW standing on the front lines with a blade and plate on. This sort of thing is usually, Kaladin and Dalinar or even Szeth sort of thing. She is coming out of her comfort zone but Hoid reminded her that she is kneecapping herself for the sake of 'fairness' that even she can recognise is pointless. The Windrunners are some of the best warriors in the Radiants along with Stonewards so if my theory is correct, it makes sense this is where Jasnah would be. She is the current Queen of Kholinar and based on her intentions, the last monarch of Kholinar. I don't know how things will pan out but she will be wearing a crown of some sort for the foreseeable future. Willshapers 3rd Ideal: Venli at the end of RoW is now searching for a home for the singers that have left the Fused. Venli up until this point has only been figuring out a means of emancipation for herself and those who are like-minded. But the next stage will be establishing a community will all these singers that have various views despite their shared desire for independence. Most likely they will face persecution from Oduim's forces and she must now have a way of defending these people which means a militia of diverse forces must be established. 4th Ideal: Once her settlement is established, there is a high chance that they will set Venli up as their leader but she will be extremely hesitant to take it or pursue this. 5th Ideal: This will most likely be the most difficult challenge for Venli. For someone who had years of resentment for following the traditions of her tribe only to be shunted in favour of her adventurous sister was what brought on her desire to bring back the Fused. We saw this clearly in the flashbacks of her before the Alethi arrived. I think this definitely makes sense. Let me know what you guys think. Am I full of it and projecting too much or am I doing a poor imitation of someone else's post?
  7. I was listening to RoW, in particular Kaladin's spar with Zahel. When Zahel was talking about Type 2 Invested entities, when a departing soul is drenched in power and stapled back onto a body. I'm paraphrasing from the audio, but Zahel says "It's what happened to me. Happen to your friend in the tower too. The one with the sword." That's gotta be referring to Szeth right? There's also this WoB, particularly the bolded section: So... did Nale just cut the timing really, really close, or did he deliberately wait until Szeth was dead before sloppily stapling his/a soul back to his body? If so, why? What about Gawx? With Szeth in particular, I started wondering if he would end up being in some measure Kaladin's guinea pig for the project Dalinar gave him - namely healing the Heralds' minds. As a slight tangent, I wonder if Moelach was deployed by Rayse specifically to accelerate the mental degradation of the Heralds. It seems unlikely that the Death Rattles were meant to benefit humanity, particularly the Diagram. Maybe it was meant to give insight for the Fused and attack the Heralds? Perhaps Moelach will have to be bound before the Heralds regain any of their sanity. Any ideas as to why it might be important that Szeth is potentially a Cognitive Shadow? Thoughts?
  8. From the album: Duality

    Here's a lil' closeup for your viewing pleasure =) more on my website!
  9. From the album: Duality

    It's been a while since I've posted anything in here. But I'm pleased to announce that I'm back at it! haha. Went to Dragonsteel 2022 and was seriously inspired. I started sketching up this idea while I sat in some of the sessions, and have been chipping away at it evenings and weekends ever since. You can also check out more of my fan art at my website. I'll be adding more art from Brandon and other authors over time, but for now it's aaaaaall Stormlight stuff :P Artist thoughts: Yeah, I know Szeth doesn't don a black outfit when he goes all Night-shade-y. And I know that the sword is the only thing leaking black smoke. But by golly, it fit the theme! I wanted to do my own take on the blades, rather than running with the canon designs. Would love to know what y'all think!

    © Vivid Sketch LLC 2022

  10. What if instead of lying drunk while his brother was killed the Blackthorn was ready for Szeth would he have won with the help of Gavilar? Or on his own?
  11. On a whim earlier today, I decided to see what might happen if I fed the opening lines of the prologue of WoK into a bot and watched what it came up with. Bizarrely, it seemed to have some idea of what the Stormlight Archive is, who some of the major characters are, and even concepts like bridge crews, lighteyes, spren, etc. It also managed to be marginally coherent, at least until the character limit ran out. Of course, being a bot, it has no idea of the context of anything, and so ended up producing a twisted funhouse mirror version of WoK where Kaladin and Bridge Four are trying to build a bridge under the not-so-watchful eye of a nameless king, while Kaladin is apparently pretending to be Sadeas's son for some completely inexplicable reason. Oh, and Szeth may be the Dragon Reborn, but I'm not entirely sure on that. The text I gave it was, of course, "Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king." The bot I used was here:https://app.inferkit.com/demo As for the "story" itself, behold behind the cut! And yes, I know it cuts off in mid-sentence. That's part of the charm;).
  12. I hope so... Normally I think they wouldn't risk the Honorblades but Szeth is pretty pissed and he's got a so
  13. This is a simple observation. Despite Skybreakers being known to follow all laws, and Brandon even saying that the generic Second Oath is "I swear to follow the law", Szeth never swore to follow the law. His second oath was "I swear to seek justice, to let it guide me, until I find a more perfect Ideal". This is not explicitly an oath to follow any law, and considering Szeth being willing to take advantage of technicalities of phrasing (like with the dye-throwing contest), he can get away with breaking laws if he thinks they are unjust and gets his highspren to agree. His Third Ideal is also not to follow exactly the laws of the land (as many Skybreakers do) but rather to follow Dalinar, which still does not explicitly restrict him to legal actions.
  14. One of the things I like most about the Stormlight Archives (and possibly what makes them so popular) is the moral questions is forces readers to consider. What is the right thing to do in a given situation? Szeth's biggest role in the story so far has been his work as the Assassin in White, killing King Gavilar and many other rulers across Roshar. As we all know, he did this because he was sworn to obey whoever held his oathstone, part of his punishment as a Truthless for raising the alarm that the VoidBringers were returning. His people believed it was a false alarm, and punished him. As we also know, he was actually correct the entire time, and the VoidBringers and Knights Radiant really were returning. Kaladin making him realizing this is what made him stop fighting at the end of WoR. Just before Kalading ends the fight, Szeth makes the comment that he was never Truthless, that he could have stopped the murders at any time. Kaladin counters that he's using the oath as an excuse, and that he's being a coward for not accepting that he had a choice. Presented from Kaladin's viewpoint, it's hard not to see the validity of his point. Szeth always had a choice. But in RoW, Dalinar makes the argument to Taravangian that keeping promises and oaths are part of honor. As far as Szeth knew, he was bound by a promise as part of his punishment (at least, as far as we understand how being a Truthless works), so he was honorbound to commit the terrible acts he did. But he always had the option to choose to reject the orders. Even if he had truly been wrong, and he truly was a Truthless, would it still have been honorable for him to reject the orders he'd been given? The SkyBreakers might be misguided, but they are still an order of Knights Radiant. I think it's fairly certain that this conversation is going to come up during Stormlight 5, considering that Szeth and Kaladin are travelling to Shinovar together. The two haven't interacted since their battle in the highstorm, which I suspect is a deliberate action on Sanderson's part. Honor (not the person) is obviously a subjective concept, but what do you think? How will the conversation between them go?
  15. From the album: Stormlight Archives

    I really hate this drawing but it took me a while so I'm posting it lol Like somethings off but I don't know how to fix it you know?
  16. I've been thinking about how Szeth's oaths may play out in SA5; and some possible ways his narratives may come together, especially given that Szeth will be the flashback character in SA5. Here's our oaths to start as a reminder: I'm interested to see if Dalinar looses the contest of champions then how does Szeth's future play out in light of his Third Ideal? Does he become an agent of Odium by proxy of Dalinar's will? Does he break his oath to follow Dalinar consequently killing his (mysterious) Highspren? Does he say his Fifth Ideal, circumventing his Third Ideal? Or does Dalinar have the power of will to release Szeth from his Third Ideal without breaking it? What ever happens I think we will see a conflict for Szeth brought to light as we learn his backstory, particularly with that caveat in his Fourth Ideal: "So long as Dalinar Kholin agrees"... and it's going to be GOOD READING! Bonus theory: Imagine if Szeth-Nightblood are tricked/convinced into being (T)Odium's champion...? (T)Odium guy has so much emotional leverage over Szeth already, I can see him giving it a go... especially if Taravagian uses the advantage of no one knowing of his ascension to his advantage. Szeth has his Fifth Ideal as a nice little get out of my Third Ideal card to draw too! By the Almighties Tenth Name that would be a terrifying scenario for Dalinar, et., al! Nice knowing you team!
  17. From the album: General SA Art

    This is one scene I really wanted to depict! Perhaps I’ve never said before, but Szeth is my fav other than Dalinar in OB =)
  18. @Ookla the Frog @Ookla the Semi-Here @SzethTheHonorblade @Toothless of Shinovar (idk if you're active anymore but) come hither
  19. Introduction: This started out as a twitter thread but the more I thought about it, the more ideas I had and the more it expanded. Family Before they were handed over to the Honorblades and became devout members of Stone Shamanism, Szeth’s family were farmers- the highest respected position in Shinovar. Given the name Stone Shamans and Szeth’s psychological state, we can assume that the Stone Shamans are a religious institution in Shinovar. Szeth’s family went from respected members to the lowest members of society. Later on, Szeth was labeled as truthless and kicked out of Shinovar. Here we have a powerful (religious) institution wielding their power and using it against their citizens which drastically changed the fate of Szeth and his family. As Szeth is labelled as truthless and exiled from Shinovar, he slowly learns that he wasn’t wrong and Stone Shamanism was false. He comes to view Shinovar’s “false leaders” as a great injustice. His solution is to cleanse Shinovar of its false leaders. Moash was raised by his grandparents who were darkeyed silversmiths in Kholinar. They were high ranking darkeyes - 2nd Nahn and Moash noted that they were important darkeyes. They had a competitive business enough to the point it bothered Roshone. He used his connections and powers to the crown to have Moash’s grandparents sent to jail. Despite Moash’s grandparents being important enough to demand a trial, they were not as powerful as the lighteyes and the Kholin Dynasty. They still lost their lives. The common thread here is that two institutional powers from two separate countries abuse their power, which causes two younger men from well regarded families to have traumatic experiences with institutional powers in their own countries. Despite being of important rank, it meant nothing compared to the institutional power. Their traumatic experiences both deal with their family being affected by those more powerful than them. They both have grievances toward these said powers and view murder as a method to solve their problems. Both of their closest family members died while they were away. Ishar killed Szeth’s father after Szeth was exiled from Shinovar. Moash’s grandparents were killed while he was working on a caravan. Manipulation (Relationship with Taravangian / Rayse) Taravangian used Szeth’s mental instability against him. He knew that Szeth was unanimously kicked out of his country and that had nothing else left to him except for his honor and Stone Shamanism, which Taravangian used against him. He made him into what he wanted - a weapon that terrorized the world. Hell, Taravangian had notes on manipulating Szeth. Any time Szeth stepped out of line, Taravangian made sure he was not to be questioned. Taravangian traumatized him to the point where if he moved abruptly it caused Szeth to jump with a sword. In Rhythm of War, he constantly has trauma responses to anything dealing with Taravangian. When he heard Taravangian needed a round stone with quartz inclusions” Szeth went into panic mode. He thought Taravangian was going to use him again. The only reason Szeth’s mental health slightly progressed is because of Nale. Rayse establishes his relationship with the fused, singers, and Moash on a lie. He appears to them as a singer when in reality there are no singer shards and he appears as a Shin person to Dalinar. If human-hating Moash ever found out Rayse was a human, it would diminish his perception on the shard. He makes Moash (and probably everyone who turns to Odium) dependent on him. Moash needs Odium to take away the guilt and the pain for this relationship to even occur. He positively reinforces Moash by telling him that he understands Moash. Rayse reinforces his authority towards Moash and tells him that he needs to fear him. Rayse uses Moash to get to what he really wants: Kaladin as his champion. Most people don’t really notice this aspect because Moash is planning to manipulate and abuse Kaladin at the same time he is being manipulated. Also, part of it is consensual, but still built on a lie. Despite being manipulated and used, they both are responsible for committing heinous crimes in the names of other people. Moash is responsible for trying to get Kaladin to kill himself. He is responsible for killing Teft and killing Jezrien at the demands of the fused. Szeth is responsible for killing the world leaders and plunging the entire world into chaos. Their psychology in this aspect is interesting because both of them are followers, not leaders. They have trouble forging their own lives. They are isolated from people, from human interactions, which makes it easier for them to be manipulated. Anger, Vengeance, and Hatred The word Vengeance is persistently used in relation to Moash. For instance, Kaladin tells Moash he just wants “petty vengeance” and Moash himself when questioned by the fused said he wants vengeance. Ever since we met Moash, he’s carried this grudge against Elhokar and let the hatred toward Elhokar build up and fester. We never met who Moash was before this event so that’s why he seems like a miserable person from the beginning. In The Way of Kings, Moash said he wanted to impose the same system that existed back on the lighteyes, not end the system entirely. He expresses that he wants to be in charge and have the lighteyes work the fields and die by Parshendi arrows – not that slavery should be abolished. He wants to hurt those who hurt him. Moashs’s wrath led him to irrational conclusions such as thinking killing Elhokar would do anything for Moash. He didn’t end the monarchy or solve anything between lighteyes and darkeyes. Did he avenge his grandparents? Maybe, but do you think his grandparents would love to see how their beloved grandson has been spending his time as a menace to society? He sought out to fulfill his own personal revenge because he was obsessed with punishing Elhokar. When Kaladin thwarted Moash’s plan to assassinate Elhokar, he said he would try to get justice for him, Moash didn’t want to listen because what he heard was Elhokar escaping his punishment. Moash viewed Elhokar has the sole perpetuator in his grandparent’s murder when in reality the entire system was to blame for their death from the king to (especially) Roshone to the palace guards to the conditions in the prison cell. In the end, vengeance meant so much to Moash that he let it break his relationship with Kaladin. Szeth’s greatest fear was someone taking advantage of him because he knew he would comply with their demands because of his honor. Taravangian manipulated and abused Szeth’s nature as truthless. Szeth has been hating Taravangian ever since he met him. He mentions he wanted to murdered him but his honor prevented him from doing so. It wasn’t until Szeth learned his father died did he let go of his tightly held honor and kill Taravangian. When Szeth killed Taravangian, he also killed Rayse which left a power vacuum open for Taravangian to take up in the similar fashion Moash killing Elhokar left a power vacuum open for Jasnah to step in and become Queen of Alethkar. They both killed people they held deep resentment and hatred towards. It wasn’t until their family member died did they unleash their emotions and start killing in anger. It was his family’s death that caused Moash to hate Elhokar for years and he let that resentment fester, until he killed Elhokar. It wasn’t until Ishar confirmed that he killed Szeth’s father did Szeth unleash his hatred towards Taravangian. Guilt, Pain, & Self-Hatred They both have extreme and exact opposite coping mechanisms when managing their guilt and pain. Moash gives into the pain. He doesn’t want to feel any pain. He wants to forget about everyone he’s hurt. Szeth is the exact opposite. He feels the pain. He feels the screams of those he killed. He doesn’t allow himself a moment of peace because he feels guilty for the people he’s killed. He carries his burden to his own detriment. Justice Justice is a theme for both characters. They both have been wronged by their respective societies. They both see the wrongs of their society because they have been personally wronged by it along with their loved ones. Neither of them mention a desire to make their society better. Moash cares about justice, but it’s different from a Skybreaker’s pursuit of justice. Moash brings up injustices and brings awareness to the reader of the injustices in Alethkar. On the other hand, Skybreakers deal with injustices and keep the upper class in check. “Another form of justice” is the title of the chapter where Moash says he wanted to assassinate Elhokar to Kaladin and avenge his grandparents. Revenge is another form of justice. In addition, when he was with the fused, he noticed how the listener slaves were being treated far worse than everyone else and demanded answers from the fused as to why this was allowed to happen Szeth’s motivation for cleansing Shinovar is ambiguous however it’s been on his mind ever since he learned he was never truthless. It could lean towards vengeance. He was unanimously kicked out of Shinovar. Unlike Moash, Szeth has a highspren, Nale (despite being crazy), and Dalinar to help and guide him in understanding justice. Szeth’s journey seems to be that he needs to learn what justice is, which is the theme of the next book. Fun Fact: There is a Seth in the bible, son of Adam and Eve, born after Cain killed Abel. Abel was considered “God’s chosen” and he was loved by God. Cain killed him out of jealousy. A common interpretation for him is that he’s a symbol of God’s law. No matter how many times you try to kill Abel, God will place a Seth. Evidently, Seth represents divine justice. Other Similarities Slavery: Both went from slave to warrior. Both were used as weapons to kill for their masters. Gifts from the Leaders of their Groups: Moash was gifted a shardblade by Kaladin who was the leader of Bridge four. Similarly, Szeth was gifted Nightblood by Nale who is the leader of the Skybreakers. Both men left their groups. Isolation from family: If Moash and Kaladin are the same age, that would mean that Moash lost his grandparents at age 14. He’s been without his family for 5 and half years. Working for the Kholins: Moash worked under the Kholins as a bodyguard for Dalinar then killed a member of the Kholin family. Inversely, Szeth killed a member of the Kholin family and eventually worked as a bodyguard for Dalinar. Diagram: they are both connected to it. Murders I don’t want to say there’s no difference between these two characters. They both have killed "gods" and kings. Most of Szeth's murder are people he wasn't close with nor did he kill people the readers are close to. Moash is on the opposite end. He killed Teft and Elhokar. After Image They both have after images. Moash “Moash shied away from the light—but a version of him, transparent and filmy, broke off and stepped toward the light instead. Like an afterimage." Szeth “And Szeth … if Szeth moved too quickly, he could catch sight of his own frail soul, attached incorrectly to his body, trailing his motions like a glowing afterimage.” Eyes In Rhythm of War, Taravangian describes Szeth’s eyes as “dead” and Navani’s describes Moash’s eyes as “lifeless.” Dead and lifeless are synonyms. There’s some heavy “the eyes are the gateway into the soul” metaphors that are going on here. “He prepared himself for the sight of Szeth. That haunted stare. Those dead eyes. Instead, at the window, Taravangian saw a young man with black hair peppered blond.” “Where were you, lighteyes, when your son condemned innocents to death?” He turned, affixing Navani with those lifeless eyes. Identity Issues (Name Changes) “Szeth-son-son … Szeth-son … Szeth, Truthless … Szeth. Just Szeth. Szeth of Shinovar, once called the Assassin in White, had been reborn.” - Oathbringer chapter 90 Naming convention in Shinovar is about which family you belong to and Szeth here is struggling to find where he belongs. Is Szeth part of his family? He hasn’t seen them or thought about them in years. Is he a skybreaker? He is a skybreaker but he’s not connected to the others in the order. Vyre is the person attached to Odium. Moash is the person he was once. He had this whole struggle. Moash was chained to Kaladin. Jezrien’s Blade Stormlight begins with Jezrien, the leader of the heralds, leaving his honorblade in stone, and abandoning humanity and Taln. The next chapter happens 4500 years after, where Szeth wields the same blade to kill Gavilar and Szeth views it as a curse. Everyone who has held the blade is troubled. This same blade was later given to Moash by the Fused for killing Jezrien. Syl in Words of Radiance say “No. But Kaladin, you have to understand. With this sword, someone can do what you can, but without the...checks a spren requires.” Szeth and Moash came into vast amounts of Windrunner power without saying the Oaths required. This could be the glimpse into what went wrong on Ashyn. Two Blind Men Theory Szeth and Moash seems thematically fit the “Two Blind Men” story really well. Recap “Two blind men waited at the end of an era, contemplating beauty. They sat atop the world’s highest cliff, overlooking the land and seeing nothing.” “Huh?” She looked to him. “‘Can beauty be taken from a man?’ the first asked the second. “[...] ‘But what if your ears were removed, your hearing taken away? Your tongue taken out, your mouth forced shut, your sense of smell destroyed? What if your skin were burned so that you could no longer feel? What if all that remained to you was pain? You could not know beauty then. [...] “Then beauty, to that person, would be the times when the pain lessens. Central theme of this story is that beauty is experiencing less pain, which is a shared theme between these two characters because they don’t know how to handle their pain. Moash is constantly saying “take my pain” Szeth is experiencing the screams and guilt everyday and he’s not letting experience any moments of pleasure Side note (that may or may not fit this story): Szeth is referred to as a work of art and Nale did call Szeth holding onto his personal code “the only genuine beauty in the world.” Blindness Jezrien asked three people “have you seen me?” Dalinar was the only person who confirmed that he could. Moash said “no” and now he’s blind. I think this scene foreshadowed Moash becoming blind and it also might foreshadow Szeth becoming blind as well. “Have you seen me?” the man asked with slurred speech. (The Way of Kings Prologue) “Have you seen me?” the man asked as Moash knelt. “No,” Moash said, then rammed the strange golden knife into the man’s stomach. The man took it with a quiet grunt, smiled a silly smile, then closed his eyes. (Oathbringer) Conclusions Separately, these two characters seem to have vague similarities but altogether it starts weaving a greater picture. There has been a lot of prediction towards these two characters dying. Moash dying would only absolve Moash of what he did. Szeth dying would mean he’s free to never feel guilt for what he’s done. No, dying would be the cheap way out for them. Their stories seem lead towards a place where they need to live knowing what they did was wrong and deal with the pain.
  20. From the album: Other Cosmere Art

    This challenge again! Characters are: Lift (Stormlight Archive) Vasher (Warbreaker) Szeth (Stormlight Archive) Kelsier (Mistborn) Marsh (Mistborn) Raboniel (Stormlight Archive) (I was so pumped when drawing Kelsier & Marsh together xD Also Raboniel's lab goggles, they're just my personal quirk, not canon though.) Lift (in Azish robes) wanting more pancakes!
  21. I have a feeling that szeth us going to be the first radiant to swear the 5th ideal.. Because the clues are there throughout the books. While describing the 5 ideal the skybreakers described the 5th ideal as becoming truth, so it would be a good character moment. Szeth going from truthless to becoming truth.
  22. I know there is already a thread on the Mistborn Movie cast, but I didn’t see one on the Stormlight Archive. This is where we can speculate on the cast of the Stormlight Archive Movie.
  23. I'm re-reading the Stormlight Archive and I wanted to do something :o
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