New Mastrell's Path

[Treamayne]

So, reread White Sand (Omnibus) and working on a Prose reread. I had a thought. Assuming that Kenton managed to revise the Diem's rank structure to be based on ability (skill plus power) instead of power alone, and assuming that the Diem progresses along the lines explored in the story (sending Masters to help with the Tower, Masons and Artisan's guilds) what might a new Mastrell's Path consist of? I think it would have to incorporate many of the skills Kenton mastered with his "one ribbon" before the start of the book. Maybe instead of just "find these red spheres" there is an element of completing tasks to "win" red spheres. The final number found and won determine your "score." Maybe some tasks could be:

• Destroying stone disks as shown in the Ch 1 Zo'Ken "game" (skill of speed and accuracy)
• Lifting progressively larger/heavier objects (skill of strength and endurance)
• Catching falling objects safely (skill of safety - prevent "Gwen Stacy" death when helping other guilds)
• Climbing with Sand (for reaching heights a normal sand jump cannot reach - it seemed the technique of "climbing" was intricate and unintuitive and therefore could be a testable skill)
• Catching "bolts" (in the battle I recall a Lestrall? mentioning that they could never do that when Kenton does)
• Defensive techniques (like walls) employed correctly
• Anti-Terken techniques (as Kenton devised over the course of the story - like the "Table-Fu")
• Sand Decoys 
• Sand Knotwork Art (skill of precision)
• etc.

What else might be a viable skill test?

Edit: When fighting the deep sandling (to save the Lord General) we see Kenton fall because he had to redirect his sand to other tasks. Maybe they could learn to use conservation of momentum (Mistborn Spoilers)

Spoiler

Like a Steel push - shouldn't a Sand Master be able to push hard and let the ribbon do other things while using momentum to continue his "leap?" It would not be the same as the mastrell's version of "flight" which is staying airborne with a continuous stream of sand - but this has further applications, such as when Kenton fought the genre savvy assassin that kept killing his ribbons but swiping his terken arm through the sand stream. 

 What techniques that we have not yet seen might be developed and tested?

Do you think this new kind of Path might be something developed post-story?

Edited September 11, 2023 by Treamayne
SPAG/Spoilers

[Elite01]

That is a pretty good list and I haven’t read white sand in a while so I can’t think of too much more. 
 

maybe some kind of cognitive test? Kenton had a pretty good head on his shoulders and was able to think and strategize which made him useful besides sand mastery so maybe something like that? 
 

this is a really unlikely one but if anyone has seen avatar the last airbender, the airbenders in that show had to create a new way to use air to become a master so maybe creating a new method to use sand could be a test for the highest levels.

Edited November 26, 2023 by Elite01

[Treamayne]

1 hour ago, Elite01 said:

That is a pretty good list and I haven’t read white sand in a while so I can’t think of too much more.

If it has been that long, may I ask if you read the Prose or the Graphic Novel Trilogy? Have you considered reading the Omnibus (or the updated White Sand Summary) to familiarize yourself with the changes?