Guest Posted April 13, 2022 Posted April 13, 2022 I’m rereading the whole cosmere and am in the Words of Radiance. I came across this scene right before Shallan enters the Shattered Plains. She is just drawing what she feels like drawing when: Quote [Shallan] paused, noticing what she’d drawn: a rocky shore near the ocean, with distinctive cliffs rising behind. The perspective was distant; on the rocky shore, several shadowy figures helped one another out of the water. She swore one of them was Yalb. A hopeful fancy. She wished so much for them to be alive. She would probably never know. She turned the page and drew what came to her. A sketch of a woman kneeling over a body, raising a hammer and chisel, as if to slam it down into the person’s face. The one beneath her was stiff, wooden . . . maybe even stone? I had never noticed that these two scenes almost certainly are real. The first is of Yalb surviving and the second of Shalash (shoutout to my wife for catching that). It makes me wonder if this is a part of the ability she has with Dalinar and the Stormfather to draw what either one’s seen in the Highstorm. However, Dalinar hadn’t bonded the Stormfather at this point. Furthermore, she was just thinking of her wreck before drawing and had burned a prayer to Shalash. I wonder if that’s important? Maybe she’s feeling very connected to them at that point. Do we have any information about this scene?
Olmund Posted May 11, 2022 Posted May 11, 2022 (edited) Still muddling through Shallan WoBs, but here's something slightly relevant: Spoiler Questioner (paraphrased) Why can Shallan draw the Cryptics without seeing them, and can she do the same for other invisible spren? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Shallan and the Cryptics have a "special connection" that allows her to draw them. Steelheart Chicago signing (Oct. 1, 2013) I suspect it's a connection thing -- Shallan was connected to the sailors through her friendship with Yalb, and connected to Shalash as her namesake. Good question, though! Edited May 11, 2022 by Olmund
NameIess Posted May 11, 2022 Posted May 11, 2022 It's probably because of a connection of some sort: Quote Kalanit Taub When Jasnah picks up the bead for the palace, is that the same bead that Shallan picks up in Oathbringer? Brandon Sanderson Yeah. Kalanit Taub Is that a coincidence or is there something else...? Brandon Sanderson So, whenever things like that happen you can assume there's little bits of Connection going on that's changing the probability a little bit. You're not meant to read much into it, but the probability is increased because of thing like that. And you'll find, if you look really closely, there are connections between the characters that are really subtle that I'm doing, that anyone who's touching the Spiritual Realm or thing like that. For instance, in the second book, Syl turns into Shallan while Shallan is washed up on the beach while Syl is talking to Kaladin somewhere else. There's enough Connection going on that you see Syl change shapes, and Kal's like, "It looks like she's walking on a beach!" It's just Syl... because through all of that, is turning into... You'll find things like that <happening> all through the books, really subtle, really small. There's just meant to be, one of the things in the Cosmere is Connection. Your Connection to people, Connection to things, places, influences probability a little bit. ICon 2019 (Oct. 15, 2019)
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