Theory about the author of the Epigraphs

[Friendshipspren he/him]

Alright I think that the author of Knights of Wind and Truth is none other than the Unmade Sja-Anat or the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram . 

My theory is aluminium foil hatty , yes ,  but i believe I have some light , vague evidence in the epigraphs.

 

I believe this epigraph is about Sja-Anat's or Ba-Ado-Mishram's childhood, when they came into existence as a newly created spren, either by Adonalsium or by Honor and Cultivation,  before Odium Unmade them as one of his own. 

 

 I believe this indicates that the Wind stopped talking to PPL soon after Odium arrived on Roshar and did not start to talk  again until the Final Ten Days . This rules out Jasnah or the Shin scholar or anyone born in the interim . So the being writing the epigraphs should be vastly older . Older than Odiums arrival on Roshar atleast and they are reasonably intelligent . 

And two of the known Unmade fit this criteria . 

Yes , the epigraphs refer to them  reading that the Wind spoke to both humans and singers , not them actually watching it. But maybe that's cause in the process of becoming Unmade they lost thier memories of then recent events.  Not to mention that it's been implied that Odium unmade them multiple times.

 

We know that Ba-Ado-Mishram was many things. A Commander of the Singer armies for one. Should it surprise us that she regards herself as an historian and philosopher as well. Perhaps she also regards herself as an author of a book

 
We have also seen that there's more to Sja-Anat than meets the eye. So could it be that she regards herself as an historian and a philosopher and an author.  Esp with her philosophy of freeing spren by Enlightening them. 

As far as we know, neither Sja-Anat nor Ba-Ado-Mishram know about the quest to find Ishi'elin. BAM on account of being locked in a gemstone and Sja-Anat being generally ignorant of it. You might argue that Glys might have told her about the quest but I feel it's unlikely Glys is in active communication with Sja-Anat nor do I feel they are a minion to her. 

 

So yeah that's my crazy theory. It's probably wrong but i think it might just be true. Thanks for reading so far

 

 

 

 

 

[alder24]

35 minutes ago, Friendshipspren said:

Alright I think that the author of Knights of Wind and Truth is none other than the Unmade Sja-Anat or the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram . 

It's interesting, fits well with the first epigraphs, but because of the requirement of being a philosopher and a historian, I highly doubt it can be any of Unmades. Sja-Anat clearly isn't either of them, Mishram shares no connections to them as well and it's really unlikely she's a historian/philosopher, while also leading Singer's army during Desolations.

[Friendshipspren he/him]

58 minutes ago, alder24 said:

It's interesting, fits well with the first epigraphs, but because of the requirement of being a philosopher and a historian, I highly doubt it can be any of Unmades. Sja-Anat clearly isn't either of them

ok i can understand why you don't consider BAM as  philosopher or historian due to her being imprisoned for so long and perhaps not having time for other stuff during the time she was the commander of the Singers, but why not  Sja-Anat? i don't think we know enough about her to rule her out. Besides who will be better at being an historian than someone who has actually lived through most of it , some lost memories not withstanding. Also who will be better at being a philosopher than a being that has literally millennia of experience and is of Honor, Cultivation and Odium ? 

 

Hmm come to think of it , maybe Hoid is a good fit too,  but I like my initial theory that Sja Anat is the author better. Hoid writing it well it seems too early for that in the timeline and . Oh wait nevermind, Hoid knows about Kal and Szeth's quest to find Ishi'elin in Shinovar. I believe Kal told him that the Wind was speaking to him too. Also I doubt Hoid spent any part of his childhood on Roshar. 

 

[alder24]

2 minutes ago, Friendshipspren said:

ok i can understand why you don't consider BAM as  philosopher or historian due to her being imprisoned for so long and perhaps not having time for other stuff during the time she was the commander of the Singers, but why not  Sja-Anat?

Because we have her PoV and nothing in there even remotely suggests that she's a philosopher or a historian. 

3 minutes ago, Friendshipspren said:

Besides who will be better at being an historian than someone who has actually lived through most of it , some lost memories not withstanding.

You mean she was slumbering through most of it? Sja-Anat, like most Unmades, was asleep in between Desolations. Living through history and being a historian are two totally different things.RoW I-2:

Quote

During the long millennia before this Return, she’d mostly slumbered. Without her bond to Odium she had trouble thinking. The Everstorm appearing in Shadesmar—long before it had emerged into the Physical Realm—had revitalized her.

 

6 minutes ago, Friendshipspren said:

Also who will be better at being a philosopher than a being that has literally millennia of experience and is of Honor, Cultivation and Odium ? 

An actual philosopher? Again, just because she's lived long enough doesn't mean she acquired skills necessary to become a historian and a philosopher. 

[Friendshipspren he/him]

4 hours ago, alder24 said:

Because we have her PoV and nothing in there even remotely suggests that she's a philosopher or a historian. 

i disagree. i feel we haven't been given enough words about her to make a judgement like that  

Quote

You mean she was slumbering through most of it? Sja-Anat, like most Unmades, was asleep in between Desolations. Living through history and being a historian are two totally different things.RoW I-2

ok but that's still thousands of yrs of history she was awake in 

Quote

An actual philosopher? Again, just because she's lived long enough doesn't mean she acquired skills necessary to become a historian and a philosopher. 

well as i said In the original post , the writer must be someone ancient if she heard the Wind talk to her in her childhood since she stopped talking a bit after Odiums arrival and only started talking again after Tara's ascension. 

That makes the pool of suspect very small. It isn't Hoid, it isn't the Heralds , maybe some ancient singer or spren could qualify. Maybe the speculated spren of Truth  even. 

But I feel like my theory that it's Sja Anat or Ba Ado Mishram has more bite u know. 

[alder24]

8 minutes ago, Friendshipspren said:

ok but that's still thousands of yrs of history she was awake in 

More like low hundreds at best. Just because she lived that long doesn't mean she cared or took notice of what was happening around Roshar. Living long doesn't qualify you to become a historian.

7 minutes ago, Friendshipspren said:

well as i said In the original post , the writer must be someone ancient if she heard the Wind talk to her in her childhood since she stopped talking a bit after Odiums arrival and only started talking again after Tara's ascension. 

I agree, this is a great way of looking at this, I like this connection, however this is not the only option. Kaladin heard the Wind talking to him, guiding him and helping him throughout the entirety of SA so the Wind could have contacted someone else at the same time. We're not limited to the ancient past. It could have been someone from the future, someone new who the Wind contacted after Taravangian's Ascension who is a child right now. There are other options. 

Truthfully, the fact that the author said they read about ancient times, not know or remember, precludes anyone living back then from being the author. 

[Friendshipspren he/him]

14 minutes ago, alder24 said:

 

 It could have been someone from the future, someone new who the Wind contacted after Taravangian's Ascension who is a child right now. There are other options. 

woah , deja vu,  my friend said the same theory just minutes ago

 yeah this could be possible. if so , we have no way of knowing who tho. it could be any child who will grow up to be important in the future . 

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Truthfully, the fact that the author said they read about ancient times, not know or remember, precludes anyone living back then from being the author. 

again in my original post I mention that Sja-Anat or bam could have lost some of thier thier memories of that time when they were unmade , perhaps even several times over thousands of yrs, by Odium and hence had to read about the Wind talking to both humans and singers to get to know that happened. 

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More like low hundreds at best. Just because she lived that long doesn't mean she cared or took notice of what was happening around Roshar. Living long doesn't qualify you to become a historian.

u speak as if this is somehow not still a great number of yrs . also that's the lowest possible estimate. The highest possible ones are around a millenium. 

[alder24]

22 minutes ago, Friendshipspren said:

again in my original post I mention that Sja-Anat or bam could have lost some of thier thier memories of that time when they were unmade , perhaps even several times over thousands of yrs, by Odium and hence had to read about the Wind talking to both humans and singers to get to know that happened. 

So they knew the WInd when they were "kids," they talked to the Wind too, but they don't remember that the Wind used to speak to others? That doesn't really work for me. 

23 minutes ago, Friendshipspren said:

u speak as if this is somehow not still a great number of yrs . also that's the lowest possible estimate. The highest possible ones are around a millenium. 

It's a lot, but not a lot at the same time. It all depends on the number of Desolations and how long each of them lasted. We don't know those numbers. I don't think Desolations lasted that long - Nohadon's Desolation lasted 11 years (WoK ch 60). I think most would last as long or less. And we know there were less than 50 Desolations (WoB) so that's why at best there were low hundreds of years for Unmades to be active. And active they were - fighting in Desolations for Odium. They wouldn't have had any time to educate themselves as historians or philosophers. 

[Dofurion]

15 hours ago, Friendshipspren said:

 

I believe this epigraph is about Sja-Anat's or Ba-Ado-Mishram's childhood, when they came into existence as a newly created spren, either by Adonalsium or by Honor and Cultivation,  before Odium Unmade them as one of his own. 

I think you're dismissing Jasnah too quickly. From my perspective, hearing the wind would fit in nicely with what we know about Jasnah's childhood.

[Miyabi She/Her]

39 minutes ago, Dofurion said:

I think you're dismissing Jasnah too quickly. From my perspective, hearing the wind would fit in nicely with what we know about Jasnah's childhood.

But Jasnah would have known of Szeth and Kaladin going to Shinovar though, wouldn't she? That would disqualify her. 

[Dofurion]

Just now, Miyabi said:

But Jasnah would have known of Szeth and Kaladin going to Shinovar though, wouldn't she? That would disqualify her. 

According to the back cover of the book, it should be in Thaylen City.

[Miyabi She/Her]

Just now, Dofurion said:

According to the back cover of the book, it should be in Thaylen City.

But she's a part of the generalized military effort, meaning she would be in tight communication with Dalinar. The chances of her not knowing are VERY slim. 

[Aon Tia she/her]

I also think that this is Jasnah! or the historian and philosopher thing has been put their specifically to make us think of Jasnah!

I did not know of their quest could also mean that since she was not with them, she did not know every detail about their quest. 

 

[Wyndle88 he/him]

Could it be His Majesty Yanagawn writing this? In Azir, education is a merit. Yanagawn has been slowly educating himself with his tutors over his character arc in the series. The latest chapters shows us that Yanagawn feels 'Is this what I'm meant to do' as he pretends to sleep for the benefit of the 10 onlookers.

 

So I can see him writing about the events and he might fit the requisite requirements to be the author from the clues left. 

[+Oltux72 he/him]

Brandon Sanderson likes to invert things. So this book may be written by the other side. Hence: El?

[Wit Beyond Measure]

On 9/10/2024 at 4:54 AM, Friendshipspren said:

Alright I think that the author of Knights of Wind and Truth is none other than the Unmade Sja-Anat or the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram . 

My theory is aluminium foil hatty , yes ,  but i believe I have some light , vague evidence in the epigraphs.

I love tinfoil theories. I would counter this one, though, with the fact that the speaker sounds extraordinarily rational, unusually so, which to me precludes the Fused, the Heralds, and the Unmade.

My best guesses include Sigzil, Rlain, or Renarin, who are all quite rational and logical, fitting the voice. I do not know that the Siah Aimians were watching any of these three from their youth, though! And that is what that first epigraph implies.

I do think the author will be a Knight (Radiant) of Wind or Truth (Windrunner, Skybreaker, Truthwatcher, or Lightweaver). And this is the story not just of Kaladin and Szeth (the Knights of Wind) but also of Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain (the Knights of Truth).

Szeth and Kal have been precluded as the authors since the author uses 3rd person for them and says he wasn't on their journey, Day 1. I suspect that one of Days 3 through 10 will contain more epigraphs from the Knights of Wind and Truth telling the journey of the Knights of Truth. Perhaps then we will be able to better discern the author.

Would any of these three aptly be described as historian and philosopher? Or is this written not be a Knight of Wind and Truth but a veristatallian: Jasnah? (99% chance I misspelled that.)

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

My only thought here is related to something I read in my re-reads up to WaT release: 

Quote

 

"I knew a voice like your once, sword-nimi."

The whispers?

"No. A single one, in my mind, when I was young." Szeth shaded his eyes, looking across the glistening lake. "I hope things go better this time."

-Oathbringer, Chapter 92, page 876 Kindle Edition

 

I can't get this and the Epigraph from Chapter 1 out of my mind together. They are entangled in my brain. 

[FollowYourMuse she/her]

Interesting theory, ut I just do not see either as getting that kind of redemption and change of personality. Jasnah is an obvious choice. But she is not unaware of Kaladins mission. 

Some who could write it in the future I think it could be Venli while not at this point a philosopher, is a scholar and historian having memorized the oral history songs. Personally I do not think it needs to be someone that ancient, as Wit and the author point out it is more about Kaladin actually listening. I can see a Listener\Singer having heard the rhythms of the Wind as a child. Even if it had no voice.

If we are to read it as it needs to be ancient history having heard the wind, the author could be one of the sleepless. We know one calls himself a philosopher. I have trouble with the quote on being a child though,are they ever children? but fits other knowledge and timelines. 

 

[Wit Beyond Measure]

25 minutes ago, FollowYourMuse said:

Jasnah is an obvious choice. But she is not unaware of Kaladins mission. 

Jasnah might know that Szeth is on his Skybreaker mission and that Kal is accompanying him to help with his sanity and help Ishar, but his real mission is chasing the Wind, as the Wind has told him. Does Jasnah know about that mission, their mission to chase and find the Wind and be her champions? Because that is the mission referenced in TKoWaT, in my opinion. That is, after all, the focus of the epigraphs.

Quote

“I should have known I was being watched. All my life, the signs were there.”

“I first knew the Wind as a child, during days before I knew dreams. What need has a child of dreams or aspirations? They live, and love, the life that is.”

“The Wind told me, before she vanished, that it was the change in Odium’s vessel that restored her voice. I wonder. Perhaps it is the new storm, making people begin to reconsider that the wind is not their enemy.”

“I have read that in the ancient days, the Wind often spoke to both human and singer. It would then mean that the Wind stopped talking not because of Odium, but because of people who began to fear her…
      
Or to worship the Storm instead.”

“As a historian, I find such nuances relevant. As a philosopher, I find them enticing.”

“Regardless, the events surrounding the cleansing of Shinovar are of specific relevance, and I am doing my best to record what I can discover of the Wind’s own words regarding them. Though, now that the Wind and Heralds have vanished, I have only two sources who can speak of these events.
      
They are my witnesses.”

“However, the Wind did not think like a person does. This should not surprise anyone who has familiarity with a spren, though such things are less common now than they once were.”

“Her memory was keen, but her interpretation and explanation of that memory could be fanciful. Those days, though, I believe that she was deliberate, concerned, and focused.

She did not see the future.
      
But she somehow knew it anyway.”

“All agree the first key moment came when Kaladin Stormblessed listened. Though not an Edgedancer, he did a fine impression of their oaths.”

“The second moment had happened already, when Szeth himself decided to take upon him this quest. The one that would shape all of our futures.”

“For while the contest of champions was to happen in the East, a different contest was to happen in Shinovar. And one that the Wind swore was equally vital. Perhaps more so.”

“I was not with them. I did not know of their quest.”

“Yet I will do my best to recount their story, and that of the Wind. For they were her champions.”
 

  

 

[alder24]

13 hours ago, Green Hoodie Mistborn said:

My only thought here is related to something I read in my re-reads up to WaT release: 

I can't get this and the Epigraph from Chapter 1 out of my mind together. They are entangled in my brain. 

In recent chapters Szeth said that it was an Unmade who spoke to him, not the Wind.

[FollowYourMuse she/her]

On 12/3/2024 at 9:41 PM, Wit Beyond Measure said:

Jasnah might know that Szeth is on his Skybreaker mission and that Kal is accompanying him to help with his sanity and help Ishar, but his real mission is chasing the Wind, as the Wind has told him. Does Jasnah know about that mission, their mission to chase and find the Wind and be her champions? Because that is the mission referenced in TKoWaT, in my opinion. That is, after all, the focus of the epigraphs.

 

Good point!  I had not thought of that.