The Night of Sorrows is about to happened in the end of book 5

[The_karni]

So, lets start from the beginning.

The Night of Sorrows is an event that was mentioned since the WoK, and was only mentioned 3 times in all of the 4 books. 

“The Night of Sorrows will come, and the True Desolation. The Everstorm. ”

—Honor, in a vision of the Recreance^[2]

“Unite them. The sun approaches the horizon. The Everstorm comes. The True Desolation. The Night of Sorrows. You must prepare. ”

—Honor^[5]

“I have seen the end, and have heard it named. The Night of Sorrows, the True Desolation. The Everstorm. ”

—A Death Rattle^[7]

 

every time it was mentioned it was mentioned together with the True Desolation and The Everstorm, which made us think it has already occurred like the other two. But I don't think it is the case, and there are a few WOBs to support this (I found them before but I cant find them now, if you know which ones I'm talking about live it in the comments).

in my opinion the night of sorrows talks about the event in which the sun in Shadesmar will set, as we all know right now it is Just above the horizon. but up to here I haven't said anything new, this theory was already proposed, but I'm pretty sure i have a proof that this happens by the end of book 5, and here comes the reason I put this in the cosmere and not stormlight dissuasion.

 

In misborn secret history, which we know is about 300 and something years before the events of stormlight, we get the first description (that I can remember) of the sun in the cognitive realm, and it is described as in the middle of the sky, than in the end of the bands of morning we get our next description from Scadrial, and it is described as just below the horizon. 

If we assume this is the same sun all across Shadesmar this means that somewhere between the end of RoW, in which the sun is above the horizon and the end of The BoM the sun sets. Since we know mistborn era 2 happens between book 5 and book 6 i assume something happens in book 5 that makes it set.

 

It might all be a coincident, but I think its much more plausible that something wired is happening because of the timeing and the general importance of the sun (for example jasnah's icon). 

 

what do you think about the theory? do you have an idea what the sun setting might cause?

Edited October 13, 2024 by The_karni

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

I don't think we even know what the Shadesmar Sun even is.

But you do raise an interesting point. The description of the 'Cognitive Sun' being in different positions at different points in the timeline

Secret History Chapter 1 

Spoiler

And high in the sky, some kind of light. A tiny sun perhaps, as seen through the dense grey clouds.

Bands of Mourning Chapter 28

Spoiler

Wax continued walking. The shadowy cavern vanished, and Wax had a feeling of blurring. Mists became darkness, and all he could see was a distant light, like the sun below the horizon.

And it's not even mentioned in MeLaan's Epilogue in The Lost Metal, despite the fact that she is describing literally everything else in the Cognitivie Realm there is no mention of its sun.

I have not the foggiest clue at what could make something like that happen, if the 'Sun' is meant to be the same for every world then that means that whatever happened affected the entirety of Shadesmar, which sounds insane. Or that the Shadesmar sun is an actual thing that is from Roshar, and that it just so happens to be bright enough to be seen in other Subastrals. Though Scadrial's and Roshar's subastrals are right next to each other, with Scadrial's being known as the 'Expanse of the Vapors'.

[alder24]

3 hours ago, The_karni said:

In misborn secret history, which we know is about 300 and something years before the events of stormlight, we get the first description (that I can remember) of the sun in the cognitive realm, and it is described as in the middle of the sky, than in the end of the bands of morning we get our next description from Scadrial, and it is described as just below the horizon. 

If we assume this is the same sun all across Shadesmar this means that somewhere between the end of RoW, in which the sun is above the horizon and the end of The BoM the sun sets. Since we know mistborn era 2 happens between book 5 and book 6 i assume something happens in book 5 that makes it set.

It's not the same sun, it looks like each subastral has its own sun. When Kelsier left Scadrial to find Ire, he left the sun behind. SH ch 5-1:

Quote

He'd hoped to have the sun back once Ruin vanished from the sky, but after walking far enough out, he seemed to leave his world behind—and the sun with it. The sky here was nothing but empty blackness.

As for the sun in BoM, while Wax initially stepped into the Cognitive Realm with Mists all around, Harmony created a vision for him and let him see the world and its sun in the Physical Realm. That's why the sun was behind the horizon, because at that point they were walking through the vision of the Physical Realm - through the parts of Scadrial where there was night. Wax didn't see the sun in the Cognitive Realm, he saw the sun of the Scadrian System in the Physical Realm. How do I know this? Because Wax saw the entire planet and it's impossible to see a planet in Shadesmar, this can only be done in the Physical Realm (but it was just a vision, similar to those in SA). BoM ch 28:

Quote

Around Wax, everything became misty and indistinct. The cavern, the rocks, the ground itself—all just mist. He could stand on it somehow. [he clearly starts in the Cognitive Realm]
[...]
Wax continued walking. The shadowy cavern vanished, and Wax had a feeling of blurring. Mists became darkness, and all he could see was a distant light, like the sun below the horizon. [as they are walking they step into that vision of the Physical Realm, that's why it becomes dark]
[...]
The light ahead suddenly rolled outward, and Wax found that they’d been rounding a planet. They stood high above it, and had stepped from darkness into sunlight, which let Wax see the world below, bathed in a calm, cool light.
Beyond that hung a haze of red. All around, pressing in upon the world. He could feel it choking him, a miasma of dread and destruction. [they see the whole planet in the sunlight, which clearly is from the Physical Realm]
[...]
“What is it?” Wax asked, trying to take in that vast redness. It beat inward, but he could see something, a thin strip of light—like a bubble around the world—stopping it.
“A representation,” Harmony said. “A crude one, perhaps.” [Harmony confirms it's just a representation he made up - a vision]

 

Personally, I do believe that the Night of Sorrows is ahead of us, but I believe that it would be endless Weeping, which will happen after the Stormfather will be killed/deadeyed. With no Stormfather, there would be no Highstorms, no Stormlight, only endless rain and Weeping - the Night of Sorrows.

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

1 hour ago, alder24 said:

Personally, I do believe that the Night of Sorrows is ahead of us, but I believe that it would be endless Weeping, which will happen after the Stormfather will be killed/deadeyed. With no Stormfather, there would be no Highstorms, no Stormlight, only endless rain and Weeping - the Night of Sorrows.

There are Death Rattles that seem to possibly reference that. Talking about rain that hasn't stopped, how the lights fade and how 'He has beaten us'.

Very ominous. 

Plus Dalinar making the Stormfather into a Pseudo-Blade during Oathbringer, which nearly killed him. So there's already some foreshadowing.

And if Dalinar loses the Duel, he becomes a Fused, and either the Stormfather will be forced to serve Odium or break the Bond, either of which could lead to the end of the Highstorms.