Hoid and the Purelake

[Shardlet]

So we know that three members of the Seventeenth Shard have been searching for Hoid in the vicinity of the Purelake (See WoK, I-1, hardcover pg. 167-171).  This area seems a rather backwater place (I made a pune) to look for Hoid who (at least as far as we have seen so far) tends to turn up in close proximity to significant events, people, and places.

 

This suggests that the SS (acronym really puts them in a neegative light) has a reasonable suspicion that either Hoid has spent some time there or the place will be of significant importance.  However, I do realize that they have Ishikk doing the searching and they are checking in with his efforts.  Thus, they could have many locations on Roshar where a similar search is being conducted by other locals and they periodically check in with each of the searchers.

 

However, I have a suspicion that Ishikk knows more about Hoid than he is letting on.  While his internal thoughts in the interlude don't suggest this, he does make one statement that does (to me).  On page 171, Grump (Galladon) says "Where are you Roamer?  What a fools quest this is. Alavanta kamaloo kayana." and splashes away to follow after the other two SS searchers.  This is the part I think is important: Ishikk then says "Well, you've got the 'fool' part right."

 

Now, while I realize the easy answer is to assume that he thought the search a foolish endeavor, I think, given the emphasis on the word 'fool' and also given Hoid's penchant for assuming the guise of a troubador (Warbreaker), court jester (WoK), or Imperial Fool (ES), I think Ishikk is making a joke to himself because he at least knows Hoid, and knows Hoid has been currently playing the part of Wit.

 

I also think, like several of you have voiced, that the purelake will be shown to be a region of critical importance because of it's unique qualities (i.e., sheer size coupled with shallow depths, magic fish, and recession of waters when a highstorm comes).

[Shardbearer]

I don't think he knows about Hoid. My thought is that this statement is nothing more than Brandon putting in a sense of irony.

[Phantom Monstrosity]

Or that they feel like idiots.

[Nepene]

Ishikk could have laid a false trail at the request of Hoid. Hoid is likely rich enough to bribe him.

[Shardlet]

Sigzil, as shown on WoK, is a Worldsinger and Hoid is his master (i.e., trainer) within that organization.  So, Hoid has spent a substantial amount of time on Roshar working with an organization notably similar to the Terris Keepers (and presumably the Worldbringers) on Scadrial.  This means he likely spent a great deal of time travelling throughout Roshar.  

 

I do not find it unlikely that he spent some time in the Purelake (I would say at, but the people seem to live 'in' the lake) due to the interseting geography and the distinct and intriguing culture of the people.  I think it well within the realm of plausibility that Hoid and Ishikk know each other.  Perhaps even well enough that Ishikk is directly helping Hoid by, at least, running interference for him. 

[Leuthie]

Have we concluded that Hoid wrote the Letter?

If he did, he states in it that he's set a false trail for those looking for him. Ishikk might be helping him, but I see no reason why Ishikk would have any idea who Hoid is or is pretending to be.

Personally, I think Ishikk was pointing out how foolish he thought the three searchers looked.

[Shardlet]

Have we concluded that Hoid wrote the Letter?

If he did, he states in it that he's set a false trail for those looking for him. Ishikk might be helping him, but I see no reason why Ishikk would have any idea who Hoid is or is pretending to be.

 

To my knowledge, there is no confirmation of this.  Though this is a theory I espouse (though, I have not yet included espoused theories in my signature).  Thank you for bringing this up, it would be a significant support for this current theory.

 

I don't see anything to strongly confirm that Ishikk knows that Hoid is the King's Wit, but I also don't see anything to make it unlikely other than it is a big world with lots of people in it.  Perhaps the theory is a little bit circular in my evidences, but I don't think it is critically or fatally circular. 

Edited May 28, 2013 by Shardlet

[Phantom Monstrosity]

Well, this reddit quote all-but-confirms it

http://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/1a3fj0/discussion_of_the_week_shadesmar_truthspren/

NEPENE:
Would Ruin be more compatible with Rayse, would he pick up that shard had he visited Scadrial and shattered him? All the shards we have seen that he has shattered seem rather different in intent than him- Honor, Cultivation, Love, Dominion. But Ruin seems more in line with Odium. Rayse has ruined the days of quite a few people.

BRANDON:
Technically, Ruin would be most compatible with Cultivation. Ruin's 'theme' so to speak is that all things must age and pass. An embodiment of entropy. That power, separated from the whole and being held by a person who did not have the willpower to resist its transformation of him, led to something very dangerous. But it was not evil. None of the sixteen technically are, though you may have read that Hoid has specific beef with Rayse. Whether you think of Odium as evil depends upon how much you agree with Hoid's particular view.
That said, Ruin would have been one of the 'safer' of the sixteen for Rayse to take, if he'd been about that. Odium is by its nature selfish, however, and the combination of it and Rayse makes for an entity that fears an additional power would destroy it and make it into something else.

(Emphasis added)

[Isomere]

The strongest argument for Ishikk knowing who Wit is would be the "fool" comment and Conservation of Characters. Meaning, many authors try to limit the number of extraneous people we need to remember by forming unlikely but plausible connections between seemingly unrelated characters.  

 

The argument against is simply that we are over-interpreting the fool comment which has a clear face value meaning that doesn't link to Wit at all. 

 

My personal view is that Ishikk doesn't know about Hoid's penchant for being a Jester, but Brandon is throwing in an easter egg and a fun play on words. 

[Shardlet]

The easter egg idea is very possible.  It may just be that.  Perhaps I should not have used the term "theory" in that reply earlier.  I don't think the evidence is sufficient to bring it to the level of a theory.  But, I still hold it to be a rather plausible idea.  Things missing to support it as a theory would include:

• Some positive affirmation of Hoid having been to the purelake;
• An indication of whether the Purelake is a specifically selected location to look for Hoid rather than a dart on a map;

So, I continue to think it an interesting idea, but I suspect that further evidence is needed (and is not currently available) to either elevate it or annihilate it.

 

Perhaps a good question to ask Brandon would be: At the end of the Ishikk interlude, Ishikk says "Well, you've got the 'fool' part right."  Is Ishikk calling the searchers foolish or is he making an allusion to Hoid?