Jasnah and the Highspren

[Fifth of Daybreak]

Sorry if this had been discussed already, but I didn't find threads on a cursory look through the forums. 

 

What do you suppose she was asking the Highspren about?

 

Obviously it mentions that she learned a few things about previous desolations:

 

"That's not how it happened in the past. I have learned things on the other side."

 

Yes, it's heavily implied that she is merely pumping them for information about the desolations, but at the same time, she was gone for quite some time. I know there have been WoB implying that was due to the inaccuracies of elsecalling and her inexperience with it, but this seems too simplistic for me. 

 

It's also heavily implied that she had to leave in a hurry, and that she was in some sort of battle . 

 

Her clothing was ragged, her hair formed into a single utilitarian braid, her face lashed with burns. She'd once worn a fine dress, but that was tattered. She'd hemmed it at the knees and had sewn herself a glove out of something improvised. Curiously, she wore a kind of leather bandolier and a backpack. He doubted she had either one when her journey had begun.

 

So here are my theories. My first is based more on instinct, that the Highspren warned her about Nalan, and that's what monopolized some of her time. But that was just a hunch based on another theory I have about the skybreakers that I only wish to be true.

 

Then I started looking at that excerpt;

• A utilitarian braid. She wants her hair manageable and out of the way. Usually any time before this Jasnah looks perfect, a part of her presentation to the world. Right now she wants function over fashion. 
• Hemmed at the knees. Again, this a convenience factor. She can move more quickly and the dress won't trip her up. Jasnah is not normally one to rush. 
• She sewed herself a glove out of something improvised. Right here. This is major to me. Jasnah would break from this tradition only if absolutely necessary. She already had enough a reputation with the heresy, so she wouldn't want to distance herself anymore by having people see her as indecent. She thinks it's even more important to have use of her safehand than it is to follow social conventions. I know Navani breaks it, but Navani has more social freedom than Jasnah does.
• She had a bandolier and a backpack that she didn't before. Kind of simple deduction here, she wanted those for simple utility.
• Burns on her face. She presumably just came back from the cognitive realm. Injured. 

 

Ok, so we see a much different Jasnah than we had before she left. Jasnah left a scholar, and yet she emerges as a warrior. In fact, without a second thought she levels a shardblade at Hoid. Fledgling battle instincts? Then there is this snippet:

 

 

"Did you need to elecall this far out in the middle of nowhere?" "I was somewhat pressed at the time of my escape. I'm lucky to be here at all."

 

So now I was thinking she's referencing her escape from the assassins, but that makes no sense. That was months ago, and she has entirely different wounds than she would have from that encounter. She was involved in some sort of battle while she was off of Roshar.

 

The only spren we know she definitely is interacting with are the highspren, who's order of Radiant is currently taking out other bonded pairs. We know the Stormfather has forbidden honorspren from bonding, maybe other spren had similar edicts. This could be interpreted as a law, which the highspren are focused on upholding. 

 

Here is the picture I'm trying to paint. Jasnah makes contact with the highspren, no knowing anything about the current state of the skybreakers, which are presumably hunting bonded to prevent deslolations, and due to broken laws. Maybe the Highspren are endorsing the deaths because the spren disobeyed and came to the physical realm. So after making initial contact, the Highspren give her the information she was asking as a way to distract her, while they summoned the skybreakers, trying to continue their quest to kill bonded. A large fight enues, and Jasnah once again has to elsecall in order to survive, and so she lands WAY outside of where she would like to be, battle hardened, and laden with fresh information, both about the desolations, and about the new threat to surgebinders. 

[Khyrindor]

I think you nailed it! Also, I'm almost certain (that is I have a hunch) that Jasnah ended up sort of close to Hearthstone.

[Fifth of Daybreak]

Oh now that's interesting. Personally, I felt like Jasnah being gone was the best thing that could have happened to Shallan, but she is EXACTLY what Kaladin needed. I feel like five minutes in a room with Jasnah would've destroyed Kaladin's whiny attitude with her pragmatism. "Oh, the lighteyes are mistreating you? Alienating all of them who could possibly help you change that is very constructive."

[Aoibheann]

@ Khyrindor - My thoughts exactly!  Jasnah is close to Hearthstone.  I wonder if she knows about the Roshone affair? 

[PforPandetta]

Wow this is a really good theory. Especially with the whole thing going on with the skybreakers.

Though what makes you guys think she is by Hearthstone?

[FirstSelector]

This is a very good idea!  I will admit that I too thought the burn marks and her battle-readiness came from just having survived the assassination attempt.  However, her most recent fight need not have been in Shadesmar - she must have ventured back into the Physical realm at least once to get leather to fashion into her backpack.

[iZarcon]

I imagine the burns were quite recent as stormlight would have cured them.

[Fifth of Daybreak]

Not necessarily, she could soulcast the objects while still in the cognitive realm and brought them through somehow. We don't know enough about soulcasting yet to know for certain.

[RShara]

I think soulcasting cloth would be really reallllly difficult, since it's not one of the Essences, or one of the things she's good at.  I always thought she'd used the missing hem of her skirt to make the safehand glove, and maybe part of the pack.

[Grayv]

I can't really add on to what the others have said. But I can say that the awesomeness you have posted here has brought an emotional tear to my eyes. (this is what happens when I can't express myself vocally or with extreme movement. I'm at work at the moment.)

[Numb]

Not much to add myself. Just Jasnah does mention a few times how Soulcasting now is much more dangerous than it used to be. Maybe it's somehow connected?

[hoser]

We know she talked to the highspren, but she has had time to have done much in many different locations.  I also think that, as a Surgebinder for the last 6 years dodging assassination attempts alone, she had battle skills before the last few months.

This is a very good idea!  I will admit that I too thought the burn marks and her battle-readiness came from just having survived the assassination attempt.  However, her most recent fight need not have been in Shadesmar - she must have ventured back into the Physical realm at least once to get leather to fashion into her backpack.

I agree that she has probably been in the physical realm, but conceivably she could have transformed something into her backpack while in the cognitive.  I also agree that she could be fleeing from anyone or anywhere, except that whoever it is must be truly formidable. 

 

I imagine the burns were quite recent as stormlight would have cured them.

Burns, you say.  Where else have we heard of fires?  Braize/Damnation? 

[Observer]

I doubt Jasnah would have gone anywhere near Braize as things stand. It's just too stupid a move for her to take all on her lonesome and feeling like she has an important mission. Plus, we already know of a number of ways burns can be caused. Heck, using Stormlight creates frost, I wouldn't be surprised if highspren could cause some scorching. Totally agreeing with how they'd act near a binder, by the way. Odds are it wasn't her they were after though. My guess is that they wanted Ivory for breaking the laws, something Jasnah wouldn't allow. 

[Swimmingly]

Makes you wonder how a Shardblade manifests in the cognitive, huh?

[Chlehrma]

Is there any rule that states that she had to be on planet during this time? She could easily have gone and checked out one of the other shard worlds, perhaps even the original home of the Listeners to find more information beyond that given by the high spren. They may even have directed her to such a place. Additionally, what is so curious about a bandolier...maybe she was hanging out with poncho villa.

[Bramble Thorn]

Makes you wonder how a Shardblade manifests in the cognitive, huh?

 

That is a worthy question for a WoB.

[Observer]

Ivory was capable of carrying a sword, so I'd guess that he just uses his whole body to make a black blade of misery, probably potent enough to damage a spren.

Also, and I have to emphasize this: Jasnah was scared to death of the Desolations coming and not having been able to stop it, so I highly doubt she took any intentional detours beyond the strictly necessary ones, which I can see talking to the Highspren as.

[kaellok]

Ivory was capable of carrying a sword, so I'd guess that he just uses his whole body to make a black blade of misery, probably potent enough to damage a spren.

Also, and I have to emphasize this: Jasnah was scared to death of the Desolations coming and not having been able to stop it, so I highly doubt she took any intentional detours beyond the strictly necessary ones, which I can see talking to the Highspren as.

 

She definitely didn't take any unnecessary detours on purpose.  If you don't really know what you're doing when playing with a power that's an awful lot like teleportation, then you may end up with a whole lot of accidental detours just trying to get back where you started from.

[Observer]

The different planets are entirely different sections, almost like regions/countries, of Shadesmar. It's pretty hard to wander into a different country if you have any kind of goal in mind.

 

Basically, I doubt she had the time to do any worldhopping. Also, if it were that easy, the KR would have mentioned it.

[Fifth of Daybreak]

I disagree that she was able to leave Shadesmar at all before coming back. As concerned as she was about the events happening, it seems very unlikely that she would come back, and not bring herself up to speed on important events. With spanreed information centers springing up, it shouldn't be that difficult to learn what is happening. At the very least, it seems likely that she would learn Dalinar is attempting to refound the Knights Radiant and his appointment of Amaram. Also, WoB directly state that she is so late because of the difficulty of elsecalling. It seems like that would mean she'd be delayed even further if she was continually jumping back and forth between the physical and cognitive realms. Also, in order to find the Highspren, I would have to imagine the journey would take considerable time. Hoid also mentions that the spren are raising a ruckus because of her. He doesn't say which spren, but instead generalizes greatly. That would seem to indicate that she had a large sphere of influence inside of Shadesmar for word to have reached Hoid (unless of course, Hoid is just being an insufferable know it all.)

[Bramble Thorn]

She definitely didn't take any unnecessary detours on purpose.  If you don't really know what you're doing when playing with a power that's an awful lot like teleportation, then you may end up with a whole lot of accidental detours just trying to get back where you started from.

Or since the majority of spren live in Shadesmar, she met a Gilliganspren while there, and things went downhill from there.