Urithiru is a stormlight-sink (Minor spoilers)

[Josiah Bills]

So, this is actually two theories in one. My first theory is that Urithiru is located in the mountains shielding shinovar. I think this because of the windows, and because of Szeth. At the end of WOR Dalinar wonders how the windows in the tower of Urithiru were unbroken. This could be for several reasons, but I think that this provides evidence for the city being located in the Shin mountains. Secondly, it appears that Szeth visits here during his free time. This could be because the city is close to home, and Szeth was feeling particularly homesick on that occasion.

 

My second theory is that Urithiru acts as a stormlight sink. My main evidence for this is because this city was home to a group of people with magic powers who all relied on stormlight in order to use their abilities. Perhaps Urithiru, in order to weaken the storms and give the radiants access to stormlight, has an enormous store of gemstones whose exclusive purpose is to drain stormlight from the highstorms, weakening them and giving the radiants potential access to enormous stores of stormlight. After being drained of the majority of its stormlight, the highstorm would then pass over Shinovar as a mild rainstorm before hitting the seas, rebuilding stormlight and strength. It would then circle the world to repeat the process over again.

 

Even if I am wrong about the location of Urithiru, and the idea that draining stormlight from a storm weakens it, I still think that the radiants would and will need a massive, constant supply of stormlight. You are already beginning to see the results of lack of stormlight near the end of WOR.

[HydrogenAlpha]

As far as I remember Urithiru is assumed - in the book -  to be near the Emuli mountains, pretty much in the center of the continent Roshar.
Shinovar on the other hand is pretty much as far left as it can be.
Nonetheless, I like your second theory very much. If this would be true Dalinar an co. would have a huge edge in the coming desolation and during the weeping.

[Josiah Bills]

As far as I remember Urithiru is assumed - in the book -  to be near the Emuli mountains, pretty much in the center of the continent Roshar.

Shinovar on the other hand is pretty much as far left as it can be.

Nonetheless, I like your second theory very much. If this would be true Dalinar an co. would have a huge edge in the coming desolation and during the weeping.

Everyone who has read the mistborn series knows what happens when you assume something in a cosmere book. Apocalypses usually. Part of my theory relies on the idea that draining stormlight from a storm weakens it, and that the Shin mountains alone aren't enough to weaken the highstorms as much as they do.

[Argent]

Urithiru is pretty much in the center of the map. 

[Josiah Bills]

Urithiru is pretty much in the center of the map. 

 

Didn't Shallan conclude that they put it at the center of the maps because people saw it as the center of everything? She may have concluded that it is at the center herself, but that could be wrong.

[melancholy]

Couldn't Urithiru be to high for the highstorm to affect it, the weeping doesn't seem to affect it and weve seen kaladin higher than a highstorm already.

[Josiah Bills]

Couldn't Urithiru be to high for the highstorm to affect it, the weeping doesn't seem to affect it and weve seen kaladin higher than a highstorm already.

 

Our airsick lowlanders would have noticed if they were high enough to just ignore the storms. Also, as to how it has remained as clean as it is, I see no problem with there maybe being stone shamans coming to clean the place if it is in the Shin mountains as I theorized.

[Seloun]

For some reason I got the feeling that Urithiru is just too high for the highstorms as an explanation of why Urithiru appears to be untouched by the highstorms. According to Szeth's interlude, the tower in Urithiru is the highest point in the world.

 

The reason Szeth seems to visit Urithiru often is because its stones are unhallowed - his religion allows him to walk on the stones of Urithiru freely, unlike the rock on the ground. This might or might not be related to the highstorm thing.

 

I'm not sure Radiants really needed a better Stormlight source. One of the effects of progressing as a Radiant appears to be more and more efficient usage of Stormlight. Also, pre-recreance might have had a different way of powering Radiants besides the highstorms. Without more information it's hard to judge, of course, but I would be surprised if the Stormlight shortage problem just went away that simply.

[Seloun]

With respect to Urithiru's location, Shallan thinks near the end of the book:

 

 

Judging from the sun height , the scholars placed them near the center of Roshar, somewhere in the mountains near Tu Bayla or maybe Emul.

 

It's certainly possible the scholars are wrong, but they have a very good empirical reason to think it's near the center of the continent.

[shinintendo]

It could possibly work with the fact that the 3rd book is about Szeth. by reference his born place too. 

I like the theory, the locations works with Szeth knowledge of the gate and city in general, Who taught him if not the stone elders back at home?

And many KR = need constant supply of spheres, so it works also if the Urithiru contains one huge sphere or something of that sort to weaken the storm and leech the power.

Edited March 8, 2014 by shinintendo

[Josiah Bills]

...

I'm not sure Radiants really needed a better Stormlight source. One of the effects of progressing as a Radiant appears to be more and more efficient usage of Stormlight. Also, pre-recreance might have had a different way of powering Radiants besides the highstorms. Without more information it's hard to judge, of course, but I would be surprised if the Stormlight shortage problem just went away that simply.

 

Even so, I would think that they would still need a way to store stormlight even if they had a different way of actually getting it back then. If there is not a place with infused stones, I would not be surprised if the searchers found a large store of uninfused gemstones.

[cris34b]

Even if they don't find this store, imagine if someone takes all of the Gemhearts, cuts them in a way to keep them as big as possible (And use the shavings to make more large, but not as big as the gemhearts, stones, and then sort of made giant spheres with these new cut HUGE stones, then put them around the perimeter of Urithiru, or maybe on top of the tower or some such? With stones that big, they would have an ample supply of Stormlight even mid-weeping.

Another question. Does the Everstorm infuse things? If it does, what with?

 

Another another question. If there is only one Highstorm, why does it come back full force when it comes around again? Does it grow stronger as it travels over the ocean? 

 

Also, when the storm infuses something, it does -not- make the storm weaker. Remember, there is only -one- Highstorm, and if it grew weaker each time it infused a gem, then it would have died out long ago. I think the infusion process is something that happens in the Highstorm completely independent from the power of the storm itself. And that when the storm gets weaker, it is indeed a factor of going over land, and that it gets stronger over seas like a Hurricane picking up more water, then hits full force on the other side of continent again in a few days.

[sneeker1988]

As for the lots of needed stormlight. I am guessing the dawnshards are gems that can hold a massive amount of stormlight or are generators of stormlight. The next book will probably focus on a group of people searching for the dawnshards.

[Xavien]

 

The tariffs through Urithiru were growing quite unreasonable. By then, the so-called Radiants had already begun to show their true nature.

from Way of Kings Chapter 46 Epigraph

So the KR were certainly acquiring a large number of gems/spheres via the use of charging people using Urithiru to travel.  Now this could of been simple greed or trying to prevent people from abusing Urithiru aided travel as the epigraph writer believes but I think it goes along with Josiah's second theory of Urithiru being a type of gem Fort Knox for storm light storage.  Sell lesser spheres to accumulate those that hold more stormlight.

 

[sneeker1988]

Is there any proof that the ancients used gems as currency like in the modern era? I am guessing that like the light eyes and shards using spheres is just a corruption of the importance of the items from ancient times

[sneeker1988]

Is there any proof that the ancients used gems as currency like in the modern era? I am guessing that like the light eyes and shards using spheres is just a corruption of the importance of the items from ancient times

[Galavantes]

I tend to agree that the tower is high enough to avoid the HIghstorms. That's why the windows facing east are unbroken and the crem is fairly light even after thousands of years. I'm betting the top of the highstorms just barely scrape the bottom of the tower, close enough to infuse gems, but far enough to avoid damage.

 

Edit: Also the lack of stormlight is only a problem during the weeping. In fact with the oathgates you can really infuse all your gems twice. Once on the shattered plains, then teleport them all west, and let the storm hit them a second time.

Edited March 9, 2014 by Galavantes

[cris34b]

I also agree with "The Tower is Too D**m High" theory. Otherwise, it would be just drenched in crem that people don't clean. Also, Szeth notes how the tower is above the clouds at some point. Whatever crem is up there is probably the result of a normal rainstorm, you know, like some of those really tall high up clouds dropping very rare and light rain. I think those drop Crem, right? The only rain that doesn't is during the Weeping? 

[The Duke]

Somewhere in WoR it's stated that regular rain does not drop crem. I do believe that winds from below should occasionally spray some of the rain up above the clouds, just like the everstorm in WoR is shooting boulders above.

[dyring]

There is some problems with there being only one highstorm that needs to be solved.

 

First, why does the amount of time between highstorms differ? If it was only one it should always hit with the same time inbetween.

 

Secondly, the stormfather created/rushed the last highstorm so that it came during the weeping. How did he do this, if there is only one?

 

Not saying that there isnt jsut one - just saying those thngs need to be sovled;)

[Cayden]

Highstorms are formed from investiture a lot of it, infact no a staggering amount of investiture so much that if you could harness all of it I think you could likely do whatever you like.

 

The stormfather seems to be the one in charge of it, the cognitive manifestation of the storm, I think that the reason there is a discrepancy about the times between when they come is largely due to wind speeds and the amount of time it takes for the stormlight to dissipate or re-converge at the origin(I doubt that Stormlight is unlimited).

 

The weeping is basically meant to be a time of renewel, but it had already been over two weeks since the last highstorm when the Everstorm was unleashed, there had been ample time for the stormfather to do whatever was required before he could start one off, and was likely fully charged. 

[Xavien]

"First, why does the amount of time between highstorms differ?"

 

There is a slight reference to this towards the end of WoR

 

Scholars and stormwardens thought the former (just one highstorm) these days.  Their calculations said that, assuming the everstorm moved at the same speed as a highstorm this time of year, they'd have a few days before it returned...

~Page 1050

So the speed of the highstorm is theorized to be affected by the time of year by inworld scholars.  This makes sense as it means highstorms are slightly affected by regular weather and pressure systems as it traverses the globe.  When Dalinar speaks to the Stormfather (~page 1069) he is told that the everstorm will come "Regularly, like highstorms, though less frequent." So it is not moving as quickly.

 

As for your second question, he's a large splinter of a shard and the highstorm is his embodiment so him having some level of control over highstorms, when he chooses, makes sense.  I think the bigger questions are why no highstorms during the weeping? And why every other year is there no highstorm in the middle of the weeping? Is the weeping related to the Stormfather seeing Odium murder Honor?

[Harakeke]

Is it possible for Urithiru to be located off the southwest coast of Roshar?

http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6487-thaylen-and-alethi-glyph-translation-spoilers/?p=109296

 

 

Speculation time!



I believe the "Compass Rose" glyph is pronounced "Urithiru" -- or is at least somehow associated with the lost city. I don't have a good reading of the sub-glyphs yet, but the first syllable is very plausibly "uR", followed by what I'd tentatively say are "iTh" and "iR".

I speculate that Urithiru is/was located where the "Compass Rose" glyph is on the map of Roshar's southern hemisphere.

"Though many wished Urithiru to be built in Alethela, it was obvious that it could not be. And so it was that we asked for it to be placed westward, in the place nearest to Honor."

The "latitude" markings on the Frostlands map don't correspond to a bearing derived from the equator -- but rather from an arbitrary 0 mark at around 68°S. Roughly the same latitude as the Compass Rose on the Southern Hemisphere map! A non-glyph compass rose shows up at about the same location on the map in the full-color WoR endpaper (ceiling fresco?).

What other bearing would be important enough for maritime cartographers to use as the basis of their maps? The seat of the Heralds!

If Urithiru was out in the middle of the Southern Depths, this would also explain why the ship in Kharbaranth harbor has a Compass Rose glyph on its sail. I had assumed that Shallan had done the drawing, but it really isn't in her style. The presence of a ship from Urithiru implies that it is much, much older. It even looks like there are some storming glyphs hidden beneath the caption!

The Compass Rose glyphs on the various maps likely represent the locations of gateways into the "road" or "rapid transportation" method mentioned by King Nohadon. We see them all over the Frostlands map -- most notably in the Shattered Plains. The Map of Alethkar likewise has a Compass Rose at the location of the Shattered Plains.
Shallan notes that the gateways are very dangerous to activate. Perhaps a gateway mishap is what shattered the Shattered Plains.

 

 

Edited March 11, 2014 by Harakeke

[cris34b]

Hmm, thinking on it, they say there is one Everstorm moving, but they never specifically say there is one Highstorm. In fact, the Stormfather says, to quote a few posts back, "Regularly, like highstorms, though less frequent." That's highstormS plural. Makes me wonder if the origin actually is something that spews out storms, and then they die down when they hit the ocean and eventually dissipate? If this is the case, this is a huge shame the Everstorm is back. people could have sailed West instead of East and just gone around the world and found the Origin that way. However, now with the Everstorm, it is equally dangerous sailing in either direction. Makes you feel bad for the people living on islands or doing ocean trade. It'll become much harder for them with two storms moving at different rates now.

[Kolo]

If Urithiru is a stormlight sink, and that is what causes the storms to dissipate when they reach Shinovar, then it means that stormlight is what causes a highstorm to have strength. OK, so on any given highstorm, we can assume that about one half of the spheres in the world, excepting any in Urithiru,, are being infused before the high storm reaches Urithhiru. It actually does make sense, because a highstorm does indeed get weaker as it moves west, so it is possible that as easterners infuse gems, they are weakening the highstorms for westerners, and then Urithiru finishes it off.

 

P.S I don't believe that the highstorms are all just one highstorm. It would make it extremely unlikely that the highstorms come at irregular times, which they do, or vary in strength, which I,m actually unsure about.