WaT Endpapers Revealed

[Dreamwa1ker she/her]

Tor posted the endpapers on Facebook today. I think they are showing Taln, Tanavast/Honor, Koravellium Avast/Cultivation, and Battar.

Cultivation's image has the Nightwatcher lower right, which I missed at first. I was wondering what the crystal-like shape in front of Tanavast was - a representation of a Shard? But with Cultivation having the Nightwatcher I wonder if this one is a representation of the Stormfather somehow. Or it's the Wind- it looks much more like some of Kaladin's unusual Wind moment like parting the highstorm in OB.

Taln we have seen before so I don't have much comment. I LOVE the image of Battar but I feel like we don't know much about her yet. I can't determine what she is holding or manipulating in this picture with her safehand, the other hand seems to have a flower or plant. She also is in front of a moon like the Ishar image. Do we have 3 moons between all the herald endpapers?

[Subvisual Haze]

Tanavast is clearly a fan of that "Here's what you would look like if you were Black or Chinese" meme account.

I do think it's interesting that he has a similar windspren helix pattern as the Jezrien endpaper.  Something to do with him being connected to The Wind?  Or maybe related to that Epigraph about how people shifted from worshipping the wind to the storm.

[Taliax none (name only)]

48 minutes ago, Dreamwa1ker said:

I was wondering what the crystal-like shape in front of Tanavast was - a representation of a Shard? But with Cultivation having the Nightwatcher I wonder if this one is a representation of the Stormfather somehow. Or it's the Wind- it looks much more like some of Kaladin's unusual Wind moment like parting the highstorm in OB.

I was assuming it was just a gemstone, since stormlight has the power to infuse gemstones?

Battar is sooooo pretty. Might be my favorite of the endpaper portraits (definitely my favorite of this set; I need to go back and look at the others).

[coolsnow7]

I think Battar is in the Purelake? I was hoping we’d get more from her artwork since they saved it to the end. I have no idea what those rocks hanging from her belt are.

Does Taln perhaps look like he’s in Urithiru?

Tanavast’s floating platforms remind me of scenes we’ve seen of Dalinar in various visions of destruction, standing on a platform above the void. In particular at the end of Way of Kings/beginning of Oathbringer, and when he brought Venli in in Oathbringer.

[alder24]

Battar looks spectacular. I looove it. And are those chicken skulls (looks like parrots) hanging from her belt??  WHY?? 

Tanavast holds the gem directly above his heart - a gemheart. This reminded me of a certain death rattle, which probably is unrelated, but sounds poetic in this context:

Quote

Ten orders. We were loved, once. Why have you forsaken us, Almighty! Shard of my soul, where have you gone? 

Also Tanavast has a chain as his belt - a chain he used to imprison Odium?

Cultivation looks like she just had the most fabulous musical entrance.

Taln looks cool, we've seen this image before so not much to say. 

11 hours ago, Dreamwa1ker said:

Do we have 3 moons between all the herald endpapers?

Yes. Violet Salas with Battar, blue Nomon with Ishar (all three moons are present on Ishar's image, but Nomon is in the center) and Mishim is with Ash. However Mishim is green, but the moon on Ash's image is red/orange, but this may be because only a tiny sliver of Mishim is illuminated in that image, unlike moons in Battar and Ishar's pictures, which are fully illuminated. I wonder why they have moons behind them and if this is someone related to Hoid's story.

[Sandra she/her]

31 minutes ago, alder24 said:

And are those chicken skulls (looks like parrots) hanging from her belt??  WHY?? 

could those be Tamu Keks?

[alder24]

2 minutes ago, Sandra said:

could those be Tamu Keks?

Maybe, but I don't think so. Hoid's Tamu Kek is described as a bone, not a skull.

[Dofurion]

2 hours ago, alder24 said:

Battar looks spectacular. I looove it. And are those chicken skulls (looks like parrots) hanging from her belt??  WHY?? 

I interpreted that those hanging from his waist were locks

[morcey2]

They missed out on the perfect opportunity to put Ialai Sadeas in the endpapers, just to Honor her.  As she would have wished....

 

Spoiler

 

My son sent me that meme in response to some joke I told.  I had been reading WaT discussions on here so much that I read "WAT" on the meme as "Wind and Truth" and was very confused for a few seconds.  (Yes, I mad the 'a' lowercase so it was more appropriate for the discussion.)

Apologies for putting everyone through that. 

[listerfeend]

On 10/1/2024 at 12:18 AM, coolsnow7 said:

Does Taln perhaps look like he’s in Urithiru?

There are skulls and twisted bodies on the wall (pillars?) behind him, I suspect Taln is being depicted on Braize?

 

Also, is Tanavast depicted on the Shattered Plains here?

 

Edited October 4, 2024 by listerfeend