Wind and Truth Predictions!

[Aredor]

With Stormlight 5 only a few months away, I wanted to sort of copy Shardcast and do some predictions! These don't necessarily all represent ideas that I want to see happen, but they are the ones I think will happen. And I do think it will be cool to have these gathered in one place, especially for when the book comes out and we can know if we were right or wrong! If you would, let's try to just be complimentary with our comments. If someone says something that's been proven wrong by either WoB or in the text, let's try not to point it out. I feel that makes this area the most suited to predictions it can be. Also, if you must spoil some of the preview chapters, please do it in a spoiler box. With that being said, have a drink, take a cookie, and let's get theorizing! 

 

1. Kaladin/Syl

At the end of RoW, Dalinar told Kal that he would be going with Szeth to Shinovar to search out Ishar and try to rehabilitate him. In ten days. Obviously, this will fail spectacularly because Ishar is completely off his rocker, not just because he's old but because he's a spren that was harmed by the binding of BAM. I predict that the fifth ideal will be sworn in this book, and that Kal will find some resolution with Moash. I do think that there will be some Kaladin / Jasnah scenes, and I do want a lot of back and forth like was in that one meeting in OB. Kal will be able to help Ishar right when BAM is freed, and will be annoyed he isn't the champion. 

 

2. Shallan

The past will be revealed! What will it be? I do think that Chana Davar is the most likely option, though I think it'd be hilarious if it was instead Vedel Davar or Battah Davar. These will be conveyed with flashbacks like the ones Kal had in OB. I do think that Radiant will come back into Shallan like Veil did to give Shallan her memory back. Fifth truth: I am Shallan Davar. Her plotline will be about her war against Mraize and the ghostbloods. She'll find BAM and free her, causing untold chaos while yet saving millions. Her final scene will be her telling Thaidakar the equivalent of "Stick to your own storming planet, you idiot. Don't make me come and slap you around." She'll start doing research on how to get herself offworld.

 

3. Dalinar

Our favorite tyrant will learn a whole lot about his powers. Hopefully we learn from him how powerful Bondsmithing can be, and why Ishar needed to limit it. He'll fight Odium, be shocked that Rayse is dead, and lose the contest of champions. He'll have planned for this, though, so he immediately breaks his bond to the SF like they must have done before the Recreance, which hurts both but makes it so they don't deadeye a Bondsmith spren. He becomes a Fused. 

 

4. Szeth

We learn why Szeth is so messed up. He gains his fourth Ideal and we actually learn something about his spren. He learns Division from Nale, which he couldn't do before because he was in prison. Uses Nightblood to destroy the Unmade in Shinovar, ensuring we know absolutely nothing about Chemoarish other than that she is not the Nightwatcher. Makes the Shin realize that the reason outsiders walk on stone is that there is no grass. Is manipulated into being Odium's Champion, crushing him when he realizes Odium is Taravangian. Joins Kal's Therapy Sessions™. At some point, the fact that the Skybreakers had Tien killed will get to Kal, which will not end well. 

 

5. Adolin

He will revive Maya the most that is possible to do before BAM is freed. She will be awesome and completely different than any other Spren we've ever seen. Somehow will become either a Voidbinder or a Lifebinder, whatever those mean. He will Duel someone, probably. 

 

6. The Listeners

Chasmfiend mysteries revealed! Venli will be cooler because we will know about her powers more. Rlain will be cool with Renarin and we'll learn about their future sight. Leshwi will be able to meet her Honorspren friend Riah after millennia. 

 

7. The remaining Kholins

Navani will stay at the Tower for a long, long time. And be with the Sibling learning about Fabrials and working things out. Renarin will be learning things with Rlain. Jasnah will be annoyed that she can't make the Fifth ideal yet, will break off her relationship with Hoid, and will do cool scholarly things. 

 

8. Interludes

No random interludes like Puuli. Instead, they'll all be plot relevant in some way, even if they are all about Adin in some way. Through line will be Moash. Tarah's will be the coolest interlude. We might learn that she's actually Shallan, but Shallan had just repressed that memory. 

 

9. The Singers 

El will be setup for the back 5. He will be the other option for Odium's Champion. Taravangian will be annoying. We will hardly get any viewpoints from anyone on this team. 

 

10. Contest of Champions

This will take place at the end of part 3. Something unimaginable will happen, in which the rest of the book is trying to play catch up to Taravangian's master plan. Dalinar will lose, but Szeth will not kill him. Taravangian will let Dalinar try to fix things for a second before making him a Fused. This will be a surprisingly short chapter.

 

11. (Bonus)

Hoid will give a story and help Shallan then exit Roshar for the epilogue. We will learn just enough to give us ten years of theorizing fodder. The Epigraphs for the letters will be from the Sixteenth Shard, which will be name dropped. It will be the "Shard that just wanted to hide and survive." Finally, we will get a single name drop of the 17th Shard. That will be all. 

 

Only six months to the release! Only six months until we find out how right or how very, very wrong we were. What are your ideas? 

[anna she/her]

My boring prediction that a lot of other people believe is: Team Radiant will lose the contest of champions, but in an honorable way that we (the readers) feel good about.

And my "out of left field" prediction is: Vasher will have a reunion with Nightblood and Vivenna. We'll find out that his Returned vision had to do with Odium and the aftermath of the contest of champions. Towards the end of the book he gives up his Divine Breath to heal either the deadeyes Stormfather or all the deadeyes spren.

[CtrlAltDepressed]

On 6/7/2024 at 7:20 PM, anna said:

And my "out of left field" prediction is: Vasher will have a reunion with Nightblood and Vivenna. We'll find out that his Returned vision had to do with Odium and the aftermath of the contest of champions. Towards the end of the book he gives up his Divine Breath to heal either the deadeyes Stormfather or all the deadeyes spren.

I have wanted Vasher to go off for YEARS. If he and Nightblood even have a conversation in SA 5 I can die a happy man.

[Goatbringer he/him]

It feels, to me, lukring delightfully while reading others' theories about SL5, is that we were treated to a big, nice, juicy name drop in SL3's climax: "I am Unity".

We know Dalinar is going to have a much larger role to play in SL5, and it feels like the fandom's consensus is that he's going to name himself champion, lose, and become a Fused. 

To me, this feels a) defeatist and b) like we're all missing the fact that Dalinar is kind of already Ascending. Maybe yes, he is going to lose the contest of champions, but there's something bigger and more intense afoot with him than a simple storyline involving losing the contest. I think SL5 will properly allow Dalinar to Ascend and become Unity. 

Do I know how? Nope. But I'm going with that as my main theory.

[r0cketm00se]

Adolin flights a shardbearer and is disarmed. He tries a lastclap but is too slow. At the very last moment, Shallan makes a pun so cheesy it stops the shardblade.

[Ookla she/her]

4 minutes ago, r0cketm00se said:

Adolin flights a shardbearer and is disarmed. He tries a lastclap but is too slow. At the very last moment, Shallan makes a pun so cheesy it stops the shardblade.

(Slow clap) That pun is thoroughly terrible, and I love it. Well done!

[Use the Falchion]

Kaladin - Ascends to become Honor. If he doesn't, then Syl becomes able to live in the Physical Realm and the two become a couple.* But I think more things point to him becoming Honor than not. Some things that feel like hints to me with Spoilers for the Kaladin Preview Chapters:

Spoiler

Being called "Son of Tanavast" instead of "Son of Honor"

Saying "Honor is Dead but I'll see what I can do" would feel AWESOME in retrospect

Kaladin focuses on Uniting people as much as Dalinar does, just not on the spiritual side. (Bridge 4, the Singers, the people of Urithiru in support of him) 

Being told by Wit that he needs to fight without fighting and "learn to play the flute without playing it." To me, these sound like Avatars and Appointed Champions as well as the Pure Tones of Honor. 

 

Syl - Either replaces the Stormfather once he dies and either starts a relationship with Honor!Kaladin that way or she becomes able to live in the Physical Realm. 

Shallan - Will free BAM, no idea after that. Maybe wage a personal war against the Ghostbloods?

Dalinar - Will win the Contest of Champions but die as a result and become a Fused. He'll quickly be transported off-world and start causing problems that way. 

Taravangian - Will do something to strike at Kharbranth and/or Roshar and sink it. He'll also kill the Stormfather. He may escape, but he certainly won't do it without getting injured. 

Cultivation - Might be the Big Bad of the second half, might be trying to retire her position as a Shard. Not sure just yet. 

Wit - Makes his way off-world, to the ire of both sides. 

Contest of Champions - Gavinor is the Champion. Dalinar swears his Fourth and/or Fifth Ideal and uses Bondsmith's power of Connection to switch roles in the Contest, taking on the role of Odium's Champion. He'll give the role of Honor's Champion to someone else (like a temporarily sane Taln) who will mercy-kill him. In his last moments, Dalinar will give his bond to the Stormfather (which, depending on whether Odium strikes first or not, may just be the power of the Stormfather and Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow, not the mind of the Stormfather) to Kaladin, who will use this to Ascend into Honor. This will allow Team Honor to win but will result in Odium escaping, because while Dalinar was willing, Odium didn't agree to Dalianr being Odium's Champion. Odium, in a fit of rage, will strike out and either sink Kharbranth or Shinovar and possibly destroy the Stormfather. (If he destorys the Stormfather, then Syl will probably replace him. But that's not a guarantee.) This will result in an extended Weeping period for Roshar that will cause flooding all throughout the world. We call this the Night of Sorrows. 

Moash - He and Wit will sit on top of Urithiru or another mountain and talk about the nature of beauty right before Wit leaves Roshar.  

Szeth - He will have a cool back-to-back stance with Kaladin as they prepare to fight against the Stone Shamans who hold the Honorblades.

Adolin - He will bond Notum in a time of need, and then BAM's return will allow Notum to fill in more cracks from Adolin while Adolin fills in the cracks from Maya. 

 

Other potential Theories. (MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR SUNLIT MAN)

Spoiler

Sigzil will find one of the 2-3 Dawnshards on Roshar and uses it. I think more likely we'll see Sigzil Swear his Fourth Ideal towards the beginning of Wind and Truth and then break his bond towards the end of the book. I think the Dawnshards will be saved for the second half, but I could also see Sigzil taking up a Dawnshard as the Inciting Incident of the Second Half of the book. It really depends on how old Sigzil is during this first half. 

 

*I think there's a not-small chance that Kaladin-as-Honor will romance Lift-as-Cultivation IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SERIES AT THE VERY MINIMUM. Sanderson isn't afraid of large age-gaps (Roughly 10 years between Wax & Steris, I think over 25 between Susebron and Siri, and eons between Hoid and Jasnah. All of those are larger than the gap between Kaladin and Lift.) 

Edited June 24 by Use the Falchion