Aminar Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 Has anybody else noticed how often people blink in this book? 97 times. That's once every 12 pages or so. Almost every chapter. Now we know Shallan takes memories by blinking. But blinking is tied to important things done by most other major characters too. The first time Szeth lashes it says roughly "He blinked, Lashing himself..." Does Blinking activate Lashing too? Kaladin Blinks before his first lashing too, during his first run as Bride Leader, when he takes the front row by choice. Now the fun one. During two of Dalanar's visions(The one with the Shadow Beasts and the one with Navani) he starts his vision with a blink. This implies that Dalanar's visions are a form of Magic akin to Shallan's memories. I think it might go farther yet. Gaz sees Syl in his missing eye(sort of. He senses her.) I think Shadesmar is reached behind closed eyes somehow. Close your eyes and you see flickering lights and odd shapes. I forget what they are called, but I think that's the inspiration behind Shallan's visit to Shadesmar. Sorry if this has been discussed. I did a search on blinking and nothing came up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nepene Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 You have an intriguing post. I like your idea, that shadesmar can be accessed behind closed eyes, when you are thinking. It may be more than that though. It was over in a few eyeblinks. The enemy squad pulled back, leaving two dead on the stone. The woman reached out and touched Taffa. The flesh on her arm regrew in an eyeblink; the torn muscle remained where it was, but other flesh just grew where the chunks had been torn out. Kaladin’s brother fell just like that. One eyeblink and he was standing there, looking terrified. The next he was on the ground. No, he became fire. Transformed into flames in an eyeblink. Quotes. From my ebooks, he uses eyeblink one other time, in mistborn 2. The eyes are a body focus. Maybe blinking them has some magical property? We know heartbeats are a measurement, with ten heartbeats needed to draw a shardblade. Maybe blinks are a similar measurement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted December 31, 2012 Report Share Posted December 31, 2012 Most likely not a coincidence. Thanks to the blinking we've pretty much established that Shallan's memory is magical, not natural, and I like the idea of visions working through blinks. By the way, the lights are part of hypnogogia, at least when you're falling asleep. No idea what they're called otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aminar Posted January 1, 2013 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 I think it might be phosphenes... Any thoughts on the blinking's connection with Szeth and Kal? They both blink at important times and the phrasing which I can't quote at the moment(audiobook only atm) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Observer Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 I think it might be phosphenes... Any thoughts on the blinking's connection with Szeth and Kal? They both blink at important times and the phrasing which I can't quote at the moment(audiobook only atm) Blinking is the trigger for Windrunning and magic, sorta like whatever you do to start burning a metal. Instead of being mysterious and instinctive, there's something definitive that you do to start. IDK, but that's the best guess with what we know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nepene Posted January 1, 2013 Report Share Posted January 1, 2013 I think it might be phosphenes... Any thoughts on the blinking's connection with Szeth and Kal? They both blink at important times and the phrasing which I can't quote at the moment(audiobook only atm) The eyes are the door to the soul and your power, and by blinking you can build up your power for some action rather than constantly expending it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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