Ketek - WoK Foreshadows WaT Ending

[Confused]

We know the titles of Parts One through Five of each SLA book form a ketek. I think the plot itself may form a “ketek” – a reflection back to the beginning. Foreshadowing is one of Brandon's foremost tools. Let’s look at the first five chapters of WoK and see if we can  predict WaT’s ending. I’ll start with Chapter 5 and work backwards.

Chapter 5: “Heretic” - Epigraph: “I have seen the end, and have heard it named. The Night of Sorrows, the True Desolation. The Everstorm.”

WoK: Taravangian’s granddaughter is trapped behind a large boulder. Jasnah uses her Soulcasting abilities to transform the boulder into smoke. She pretends her Soulcaster effects the transformation.

WaT Prediction: The full, much larger Everstorm arrives. I think Shallan returns to the Physical Realm with BAM, who is still in her gem. Jasnah transforms the gem to smoke, freeing BAM.

Chapter 4: “The Shattered Plains” - Epigraph: “I’m dying, aren’t I? Healer, why do you take my blood? Who is that beside you, with his head of lines? I can see a distant sun, dark and cold, shining in a black sky.”

WoK: Slavers deliver Kal to the Plains where he sees the Alethi army for the first time. A highstorm passes through and brings life to the Plains. Kaladin develops his relationship with Syl and muses about the wind and windspren.

WaT Prediction: Highstorm and Everstorm meet in battle. The Shattered Plains completely shatter. The chaos causes the Physical Realm to temporarily merge with Shadesmar. Kaladin arrives from Shinovar to take part.

Chapter 3: “City of Bells” - Epigraph: “A man stood on a cliffside and watched his homeland fall into dust. The waters surged beneath, so far beneath. And he heard a child crying. They were his own tears.”

WoK: Shallan arrives in Kharbranth and immediately seeks Jasnah at the Palanaeum. She learns that Kharbranth is very old and protected from highstorms.

WaT Prediction: Highstorm-Everstorm battle threatens to destroy Kharbranth. Taravangian pauses his Shard Fight with Dalinar to protect Kharbranth. That weakens him enough for Dalinar to prevail.

Chapter 2: “Honor is Dead” - Epigraph: “Ten orders. We were loved, once. Why have you forsaken us, Almighty! Shard of my soul, where have you gone?”

WoK: Kal is now a slave who claims Honor died when Amaram enslaved him. Syl appears to show him otherwise.

WaT Prediction: Dalinar Ascends as Unity, having taken Odium from Taravangian. I think Dalinar previously Ascends as Honor to fight Taravangian. Honor is now “dead” because the Shard combines with Odium. (This is metaphoric – even combined, Shards retain their Intent, as Ruin and Preservation do while held by Harmony.)

Chapter 1: “Stormblessed” – Epigraph: “You’ve killed me. Bastards, you’ve killed me! While the sun is still hot, I die!”

WoK: The Wind already blesses Kal: “For a moment, Cenn thought he could see something surrounding the squadleader. A warping of the air, like the wind itself become visible.”

WaT Prediction: This is the Fleet story. Kal dies and Ascends as the Knight of Wind, the Wind's avatar. The End.

*   *   *   *   *

What do you think? All the best! C.

Edited October 7, 2024 by Confused

[Wanguu He/Him]

Wow, amazing idea confused! Although, this does make me worry if Syl will die as part of this

[coolsnow7]

This is like bringing a bucket of dirt and an axe to a peace conference so that participants can bury the hatchet.

Edited October 6, 2024 by coolsnow7

[listerfeend]

On 10/4/2024 at 3:53 PM, Confused said:

This is the Fleet story. Kal dies and Ascends as the Wind’s Avatar. The End.

Why do we assume that the Wind is something that Kal can Ascend to or become the Avatar of? The Wind is definitely not a Shard, and thus far, only Shards have Avatars, or can be Ascended to. This feels a lot like someone suggesting that Lift is Nightwatcher's Avatar, or that someone can "Ascend" to becoming the Stormfather....

[LewsTherinTelescope]

4 hours ago, listerfeend said:

Why do we assume that the Wind is something that Kal can Ascend to or become the Avatar of? The Wind is definitely not a Shard, and thus far, only Shards have Avatars, or can be Ascended to. This feels a lot like someone suggesting that Lift is Nightwatcher's Avatar, or that someone can "Ascend" to becoming the Stormfather....

To be fair, Brandon's made it a point several times that Shards are just humongous spren, and that other big spren can do some of the things they do (like the Sibling talking to the insane).

[Confused]

Well, @listerfeend, I do think Kaladin will be the Knight of Wind. And if the Fleet story is true, he (and I believe Syl) will jointly Ascend in spren form when they hold back the storm in Shinovar. Something rises to fly the winds forever. If that's not Kaladin and Syl, and that's not Ascension as the Knight of Wind, I'd like to hear your interpretation. Perhaps you feel "avatar" is not the right word, as it implies a god's immanent presence in the world. But it might be, since Kal and Syl will probably choose to stay in the PR. I don't see Syl returning to Shadesmar after all the trouble she had reaching the PR. And Kal would probably want to stay and watch over those he protects. Would he even feel the Wind in Shadesmar?

My 2 cents anyway. On to the next chapters! C.

P.S. - Edit to add this clarification. I'm lower-casing the word "avatar" to mean its normal meaning of the manifestation of a deity on earth in bodily form. Not the Brandon Sanderson definition of "Avatar" - Autonomy's progeny - nor the Neal Stephenson definition (from Snow Crash) of a video game player's icon. I do not propose that Kal/Syl become the Wind. As @alder24 says, the Wind is already its own person with its own mind. But I do believe Kal will become immortal - Ascend - as the Knight of Wind.

Edited October 7, 2024 by Confused

[alder24]

A champion, it's called a champion. Kaladin already is considered to be Wind's champion. Kaladin can't Ascend to the Wind as the Wind already has a Vessel - itself. The Wind is the mind who controls the Wind. I don't even think you can separate them without destroying the spren - a spare is the power who gained sentience after all. An Avatar is like a mini-Shard being a non-autonomous part of it, an aspect of a Shard - that would require manifesting a part of the Wind (not Splintering it) and giving it to Kaladin (who would Ascend). But I doubt this is possible for a mere spren. They are just too small and the Wind is still smaller than the three god spren. A spren manifesting an Avatar is just way too pointless. Just bonding is a better option. 

I haven't noticed before that the "watched his homeland turned into dust" Death Rattle appeared in the fist chapter with Kharbranth. Wow. I do think that this is about Taravangian accidentally destroying his city. The fact the Death Rattle is shown when Kharbranth is shown too seems like a perfect foreshadowing.

Spoiler

Alex M

What's the difference between avatar and Splinter?

Brandon Sanderson

These are all very weird terms that I'm just using.

*mistakenly answering for Sliver* A Sliver is a person who has held the power of a Shard, and then let go of it. A briefly held time, holding the infinite power of a Shard, but no longer does. So what does that do? That changes your soul, and leaves markers on it. It's a real physiological thing.

An avatar is... a Shard manifesting a semi-autonomous piece of themselves that is still connected to who they are. An avatar, for instance, of Autonomy - depending on how Autonomy creates that avatar - might know, might not know, but they are still an aspect, they are still part of Autonomy. And when you get down to it a part of them knows that, and it's almost a god roleplaying, but in a way that only a Shard, or a lowercase-g god in the Cosmere, can do.

Brandon Sanderson

*realizes that he answered for Sliver earlier, and clarifies*

A Splinter is a piece of a Shard that is fully autonomous, where an avatar is not. So something that is Splintered does not consider itself - and would not be considered by the definitions  - an actual piece of it [the Shard], and has free will. So once it has free will, and/or could develop free will (because some of the Splinters haven't gotten there yet), but is fully cut off from the direct control and self-identity of the Shard, then it is called a Splinter.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 2 (June 3, 2021)

 

[listerfeend]

On 10/7/2024 at 2:14 PM, Confused said:

Well, @listerfeend, I do think Kaladin will be the Knight of Wind. And if the Fleet story is true, he (and I believe Syl) will jointly Ascend in spren form when they hold back the storm in Shinovar. Something rises to fly the winds forever. If that's not Kaladin and Syl, and that's not Ascension as the Knight of Wind, I'd like to hear your interpretation. Perhaps you feel "avatar" is not the right word, as it implies a god's immanent presence in the world. But it might be, since Kal and Syl will probably choose to stay in the PR. I don't see Syl returning to Shadesmar after all the trouble she had reaching the PR. And Kal would probably want to stay and watch over those he protects. Would he even feel the Wind in Shadesmar?

So, the issue I have is these terms basically mean things. Ascending is a thing in the cosmere that has pretty specific connotations (gaining the power of a Shard, either through becoming the Vessel of said Shard, or becoming an Avatar of said Shard). Avatar has a specific connotation as well (a Shard manifesting a semi-autonomouse piece of themself). I know that comes across as exceedingly pedantic, but without well defined terms, everything becomes a complete mess. Whatever the Wind is (I've heard arguments that it can't be a Spren, but I don't find them particularly compelling), we know that the Wind is NOT a Shard. Therefor, it doesn't feel possible for Kal to Ascend or become and Avatar of said entity. 

@alder24 mentions Champion of the Wind, which is a position that Kal could certainly hold. Bonding the Wind feels like a thing that could happen. It seems likely that Kal and the Wind definitely are going to end up in some kind of relationship like those, but I don't think that Ascension or Avatar-hood are the correct terms. 

Honestly, I don't disagree with your premise at all, I think I was just rejecting the terminology being used. Whatever the Wind is, it is smaller than a Shard, and will run into the same issues that BAM had, why Ulim called her "too small a god"