Guest Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 (edited) You know how Brandon likes to hide things in plain sight? There’s a chance Shalash was darkeyed. The likelihood of her having "nearly white eyes" when Jezrien had dark eyes is slim. Being a cognitive shadow, she has the ability to view herself however she perceives herself but she can't. I'll talk about that later. Quote Sin16 Has the Nightwatcher ever changed anyone's eye color? Brandon Sanderson Yes, she has. Good question. Skyward Pre-Release AMA (Oct. 31, 2018) Eye Color Quote "Her eyes were so faintly violet, they were almost white" The Way of Kings: Interlude # 7 Her eyes are described differently than most characters. Most people are described as having light/pale or dark plus a specific colored eyes. They are not described to a degree in which their eyes are of a certain color. There's one person described as have fully pale eyes - Lift, who runs on Life light, which is Cultivation’s light. From "Rhythm of War" Chapter 65, Lifelight is described as "faintly green." The exact word used to describe Shalash's eye color. I don’t think Shalash is using Lifelight, but I think the wording here indicates that she has been changed by the Nightwatcher. Death Rattle Quote "Her eyes were so faintly violet, they were almost white" The Way of Kings: Interlude # 7 She changed her own physical eyes. This was inferred as Shalash destroying depictions of herself, but it can also mean that she is destroying the image SHE HAS OF HERSELF. So she's can't view herself anyway she wants - like a regular cognitive shadow. She’s destroying herself in two ways, through art depicting her - she's trying to erase herself from Roshar and through destroying her own beauty - her dark eyes. She's the dustbringer book. Dustbringers are all about "self mastery" which is self-control. Even though she is a cognitive shadow who could perceive herself as someone with light eyes she lacks control because she feels guilty for abandoning Taln and she keeps destroying artworks of herself so she needs outside help (the Nightwatcher). The Baxil Interlude I've probably this interlude multiple times (because Shalash is my fav character and this theory makes me so excited), but it never dawned on me why we are introduced to a herald this way. We are introduced to Shalash as Baxil's mistress. This is an interesting choice because we see Jezrien through the eyes of Dalinar, Szeth, and Moash - who all carry his blade at some point (Dalinar briefly in Oathbringer). We originally see Nale through the eyes of Szeth - his pupil. AND THEN IT ALL CLICKED! BAXIL AND AV WERE TALKING ABOUT THE NIGHTWATCHER THE ENTIRE INTERLUDE AND THEIR CONVERSION WAS SO ON THE NOSE AT SOME PARTS. Quote "I've been thinking of seeking the Old Magic," Baxil said, partially to keep himself from cringing as the mistress moved on to gouge out the eyes of a fine bust. "I don't know," Baxil said. "Seems like something to do with myself..." This part highlight the themes of what is happening with Shalash and what I mentioned above. Not only did she change her eye color, but she has a boon and a curse given to her by the Nightwatcher. Some extra speculation I don't know where her story is going from her. It would be awesome to see someone's journey involve reversing their eye color. There's also another parallel if this is all true. Two women who were originally darkeyed sought the old out magic - one to not change her body, one to change a part of body. Edited March 19, 2022 by doctorkaladin formatting
Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 (edited) I like this theory. I think we need a little more info though from the books or from a WoB. Edited March 19, 2022 by Thaidakar the Ghostblood
Guest Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 21 minutes ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said: I like this theory. I think we need a little more info though from the books or from a WoB. Yeah, I think so too. Not much is given about Ash.
Thaidakar the Ghostblood he/him Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 Just now, doctorkaladin said: Yeah, I think so too. Not much is given about Ash. yeah. one thing I see is that I don't think Ash is a dust bringer, I'm pretty sure she's a lightweiver.
crème de la crèmling Posted March 19, 2022 Posted March 19, 2022 This is a really neat idea! I'm not totally on board just yet, but it is super fun to explore. Some thoughts: Something worth mentioning that is thematically similar (but not necessarily connected) is Sja-Anat, who is depicted in the books as a black shadow with white eyes. Her interference also affects the eyes in some way ("thank you for my eyes" etc.) Immediately, I would question why the Nightwatcher would be connected to Ash's "pale violet, nearly white" eyes if Lift's pale white eyes were a result of her being touched by Cultivation, not the Nightwatcher. It's also notable to me that no one finds these eyes to be particularly unusual in everyday interactions. I would also compare it to things that are already proven to change dark eyes to light, albeit temporarily: Shardblades, Honorblades, etc. To me, it looks like that's a connection to some kind of investiture that peeks out of the eyes in some magical way. Jezrien's Honorblade turns the eyes of the wielder into a pale glassy blue, for example, regardless of the natural color, while an ordinary Shardblade appears to turn up the brightness on the wielder's natural eye color. (Assuming Moash really does have dark brown eyes that turn light tan when he's got the Shardblade in WoR. This is also leaving out whatever special exception Kaladin is; as far as I can tell, he's the only darkeyes whose eye color outright changes, brown to blue, that gets mentioned.) I'd look at something like Ash's pale violet eyes (assuming there is really is going on here) and think to myself: if faintly green/white is Lifelight, and faintly blue/white is Stormlight, what is faintly violet/white supposed to connect to? "Ash's eyes" is used all the time as an exclamation, which could also suggest that there was something unique or special about her eyes that was eventually made worthy of swearing by, and it's been that way long enough to filter into common use. This doesn't preclude the Nightwatcher (or Cultivation's) involvement, I suppose. It's really suggestive that the conversation is about the Nightwatcher, boons and curses, and the practice of seeking out the Nightwatcher.
Kandrafish Posted March 20, 2022 Posted March 20, 2022 For the main theory, I like the ideas. It fits pretty well. I wonder whether Cultivation would provide the boon herself though. 11 hours ago, crème de la crèmling said: "Ash's eyes" is used all the time as an exclamation, which could also suggest that there was something unique or special about her eyes that was eventually made worthy of swearing by, and it's been that way long enough to filter into common use. This doesn't preclude the Nightwatcher (or Cultivation's) involvement, I suppose. It's really suggestive that the conversation is about the Nightwatcher, boons and curses, and the practice of seeking out the Nightwatcher. I wonder if that could, perhaps, be the reason why she changed her eyes. If it is a part of her identity and everybody swears by them, she needs to change hers so that way they no longer match. She doesn't deserve them in her mind. Also, 12 hours ago, Thaidakar the Ghostblood said: yeah. one thing I see is that I don't think Ash is a dust bringer, I'm pretty sure she's a lightweiver. Not really a spoiler just a common theory that revolves around some serious meta-gaming. Spoiler So Shalash is the Lightweaver herald, but there is a common theory that speculates that she will become a Dustbringer based on her actions and attitude. This would make sense based on the fact the Taln and Shalash are both supposed to be viewpoint characters in the back 5 of the Stormlight Archive, and, since Book 2 was Shallan as a Lightweaver character the book that Shalash is the main character of cannot be the one with the Lightweaver symbol on the front. So, you can kind of see where the theory comes from. Another thing that occurred to me now: We think that we know that Dalinar was becoming a Dustbringer before he sought out the old magic and if we compare Shalash's behavior to Dalinar from back in the day, there are some similarities. People have probably already used this as evidence before, though. It is a pretty old theory, I think.
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