smearedblackink Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 *Possible Spoilers* While reading the Prologue to Words of Radiance I noticed a possible connection to the man who attacked Ym at the end of his interlude and one of the two men seen speaking to Elhokar the night Gavilar was assassinated. From TWoK: (Szeth PoV) Elhokar, the king’s son and heir, sat at the high table, ruling the feast in his father’s absence. He was in conversation with two men, a dark-skinned Azish man who had an odd patch of pale skin on his cheek and a thinner, Alethi-looking man who kept glancing over his shoulder. From WoR: (Jasnah PoV) “I don’t like this. What we’ve done was wrong. That creature carries my lord’sown Blade. We shouldn’t have let him keep it. He—” The two passed through the intersection ahead of Jasnah. They were the ambassadors from the West, including the Azish man with the white birthmark on his cheek. Or was it a scar? The shorter of the two men—he could have been Alethi—cut off when he noticed Jasnah. He let out a squeak, then hurried on his way. The Azish man, the one dressed in black and silver, stopped and looked her up and down. He frowned. From WoR: (Ym PoV) “If you’ve come for spheres,” Ym said, trembling, “I have only the five chips here.” More rustling. The shadow separated itself from the darkness, resolving into a man with dark Makabaki skin, all save a pale crescent on his cheek. He wore black and silver. A uniform but not one from any military that Ym recognized. Thick gloves, colored at the back. “I had looked very hard,” the man said, “to discover your indiscretion.” Since in both cases our attention is drawn to the colors of the uniform and the discoloration of the man's cheek I feel like there is a good chance this is the same man, or at the very least that these men are connected somehow. Now I know that one man is described as Azish and the other Makabaki, but could that just be a mistake made by either Jasnah or Ym? Possibly even an oversight by Brandon? I'd love to hear any opinions on this topic, as I've always been curious as to whom Elhokar was speaking with that night! I'm a long time lurker of these forums, but this is my first post so please be gentle I have a ton of other theories, but I figured I should start small and work my way up 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11thorderknight Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Yes, it is most definitely the same guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delightful Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) You're right about it being the same person, who also appears in the Lift interlude: She looked out the window. Surely she’d escaped Darkness, the man in the black and silver with the pale crescent birthmark on his cheek. The man with the dead, lifeless stare. Surely he hadn’t followed her all the way from Marabethia. That was half a continent away! Well, a quarter one, at the least. There's has been speculation about his identity here http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/4885-darkness-identity/?p=80048 Also more speculation about him here: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/5025-theory-darkness-has-experienced-odious-corruption/?p=82635 and here: Edited January 16, 2014 by Delightful 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoser Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Welcome! Good catch! Please have an upvote for delurking! Lift interlude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Since people from Azir are ethnically Makabaki, I would say this seems pretty likely. Cool. Never noticed that before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smearedblackink Posted January 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Thank you for all the replies and links! I didn't catch him in Lift's interlude Now I'm even more excited for WoR! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natans Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Nice catch, I myself didn't notice this one even after many reads, and even after someone pointed to me in didn't believe. I think that is awesome when somebody by himself notices this kind of thing, hope you stay around and be welcomed. =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocHoliday Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 I thought that this has been discussed on numerous occasions? The consensus was that Darkness is definitely the same individual from Ym and Lift Interlude, and very likely the same man from WoK Prologue. Still, Upvote to Delightful for early timer, link quotiness. Also welcome Smeared! Would you prefer Smeared or Ink as a shorthand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HydrogenAlpha Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 Good catch ! Since i figured that out myself i like to think that all of the remaining Heralds were at the feast. Makes sense considering the parshendi presence. They may have quit being heralds, but I believe they were there to watch over the other humans - who were about to sign a treaty with the "voidbringers". I don't think that they wanted to miss such a significant event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardlet Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 I think it is interesting, though that he is described as Azish in some instances but Makibaki by Ym. There doesn't seem to be any ambiguity in the viewers perception of geographic background. This suggests to me that Azish and Makabaki have different skin tones (one darker than the other). That suggests to me that it may actually be two different people. Not as clear as I used to think. I did not previously recognize the differing descriptions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoneward Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) I think it is interesting, though that he is described as Azish in some instances but Makibaki by Ym. There doesn't seem to be any ambiguity in the viewers perception of geographic background. This suggests to me that Azish and Makabaki have different skin tones (one darker than the other). That suggests to me that it may actually be two different people. Not as clear as I used to think. I did not previously recognize the differing descriptions. Actually, Makabaki people came from the Silver Kingdom Makabakam, which doesn't exist anymore. Azir was founded from a piece of what Makabaki used to be. Referring to someone's ethnicity as Azish or Makabaki is essentially the same thing; Azish is just more specific. For reference: Silver Kingdoms map, Roshar map. Edited January 16, 2014 by Stoneward 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shardlet Posted January 16, 2014 Report Share Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) That would suggest to me that the ethnicity would Makabaki. Given that, and in the lack of a context to assume Azish, why would he then be considered to be Azish over any other Makabaki society. It seems like that would be akin to assuming someone to be Nigerian rather than thinking African. Edit: Now it may be as simple as that there is a visual distinction for ethnic Azish and Ym thought in terms of the overarching Makabaki ethnicity. It just seems a little bit curious. Edited January 16, 2014 by Shardlet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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