+Dragon13 he/him Posted November 12, 2024 Posted November 12, 2024 I know that this is a pretty long stretch, but could Nohadon and Dalinar be the same individual (or at least Spiritual echoes of each other)? The epigraph for chapter 26: "I continued on my way, contemplating dust and the nature of desertion. For I, as king, had walked away from my duties, and it was different for me. Had I not renounced a throne the Almighty had granted, and in so doing, undermined my very own words? Was I abandoning that which was divinely given me?" A king walking away from his duties sounds a fair bit like the internal struggle Dalinar has been having, trying to decide if it is right for him to seek an advantage by entering the Spiritual Realm despite the risk of not being able to return in time for the Contest of Champions. The timing of this epigraph also comes directly after the final decision to take that step. As we are always being reminded, "all things are connected in the Spiritual Realm", and Brandon has been very dodgy about Nohadon's identity.
The Stick Posted November 12, 2024 Posted November 12, 2024 I actually really like an idea like this. SR shenanigans being what they are, I would say that this is a possibility. If Dalinar goes back to watch Roshar's past to understand, then I think it is possible he becomes Nohadon in a sense. Either that, or Nohadon never actually existed, and he was just Dalinar in the SR making the visions work for himself. Of course, I still think it is likely Nohadon was an individual, real guy. However, I am confident that whatever the case, Dalinar will meet him this book. 2
alder24 Posted November 12, 2024 Posted November 12, 2024 8 hours ago, Dragon13 said: I know that this is a pretty long stretch, but could Nohadon and Dalinar be the same individual (or at least Spiritual echoes of each other)? The epigraph for chapter 26: "I continued on my way, contemplating dust and the nature of desertion. For I, as king, had walked away from my duties, and it was different for me. Had I not renounced a throne the Almighty had granted, and in so doing, undermined my very own words? Was I abandoning that which was divinely given me?" A king walking away from his duties sounds a fair bit like the internal struggle Dalinar has been having, trying to decide if it is right for him to seek an advantage by entering the Spiritual Realm despite the risk of not being able to return in time for the Contest of Champions. The timing of this epigraph also comes directly after the final decision to take that step. As we are always being reminded, "all things are connected in the Spiritual Realm", and Brandon has been very dodgy about Nohadon's identity. No, I don't think it's probable. While they definitely share a Connection and Dalinar can reach Nohadon through that and see echoes of the past, they are not the same person. We know Dalinar when he was younger, we saw him through his Oathbringer flashbacks, he was known by others to be a child, like Gavilar or Navani - they knew him and watched him grow up. He can't be ageless so he can't be Nohadon who just forgot everything. Also, Nohadon lived around 5,000-6,000 years ago, he would be closer in age to Heralds and that means if he was still alive, he would most likely suffer from some kind of mental problems. Dalinar does have PTSD, but we know why - the Rift. Spiritually this also wouldn't really make sense. Nohadon's spirit web being attached to Dalinar, as some kind of reincarnation would also suffer from insanity and would also be somewhat visible. Simply speaking, Dalinar was inspired by Nohadon and understands him well because Dalinar is struggling with the same problems Nohadon was struggling with. Nohadon's life resonates well with Dalinar because Dalinar can learn from him and he strives to be like him. This forms a Connection between them and Dalinar with his Bondsmith powers can reach through that Connection into the Spiritual Realm, take out one of the possibilities existing there and create a version of Nohadon he can interact with (that's what happened when Dalinar had a vision of him in OB). Or Nohadon is still alive and through that Connection Dalinar can reach him. But I highly doubt they are the same person, even though mechanically speaking it is somewhat possible. But we will probably see Nohadon when Dalinar goes to the SR. Spoiler Questioner Close to the end of Rhythm of War, Dalinar Connects Kaladin to something, which gives him the vision of Tien. Did he Connect him to Tien's dead soul, and if so, does Dalinar know what he did? Brandon Sanderson There are two prevailing theories on what happened here among cosmerenauts, in-world Arcanists. You would get two different answers. The most common answer is, Dalinar attached himself to the Spiritual Realm, pulled out possibilities, and showed one of those to Kaladin. Questioner If so, where did the horse come from? Brandon Sanderson Either pure coincidence, or some sort of matching of Fortune to the moment, that ended up leading Kaladin to the place he needed to be, which is the way a lot of Fortune works. Fortune would be like, "You should go here," and you don't even know why. That's what the Arcanist answer would be, it would be the most common answer. Some people would say he reached into the Beyond and connected Tien to Kaladin via Tien's actual soul. I will leave these both as equally valid theories. As I've said many times, I'm not gonna say whether there is an actual afterlife in the cosmere because it is too foundational to too many characters' beliefs, or lack of beliefs, or worldview in-world to have the author contradict them either way. Dragonsteel Mini-Con 2021 (Nov. 22, 2021) Spoiler Jofwu Dalinar had two really weird visions. Was that Connection-y stuff like he did with Kaladin and Tien? Brandon Sanderson Which ones are you talking about? Jofwu End of Words of Radiance, and in Oathbringer with Nohadon. Brandon Sanderson Yes, that would be the same sort of weirdness that's happening with Tien. Yes, so you have basically multiple different ways of interpreting this. One is just--what Dalinar wants is directly... he is starting to change the visions specifically, and some might argue he is pulling from the Beyond. Others would argue that what Dalinar wants, feels things in his past, he is actually enforcing upon the vision, and is changing and altering the visions. And that is absolutely going on. It's whether the other thing is happening or not, depends on your personal religious beliefs. But Dalinar is starting, the Bondsmithing is starting to shape the visions. JordanCon 2021 (July 16, 2021) Spoiler Forger (paraphrased) In Stormlight 5, we know they are looking for Ba-Ado-Mishram and some of it will take place in the Spiritual Realm, where we know that time is odd and somewhat condensed. Does that mean that we could have an interaction with Lopen and Wayne? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) It could be possible. But it would be an imitation, like a puppet. That'd be a bad idea, crossing the streams like that. Forger (paraphrased) So the same with someone like Elend? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Yeah, so the Spiritual Realm would be trying to create them. Making them what they should be, but it wouldn't be them. Like the visions. You could interact with them, but it wouldn't be them. Forger (paraphrased) So the SR is using raw investiture to create them? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Yep. Forger (paraphrased) So since they are like the visions, could one replay them over and over? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) They could. FanX 2024 (Sept. 28, 2024) 3
CognitiveShadow he/him Posted November 13, 2024 Posted November 13, 2024 9 hours ago, alder24 said: Forger (paraphrased) In Stormlight 5, we know they are looking for Ba-Ado-Mishram and some of it will take place in the Spiritual Realm, where we know that time is odd and somewhat condensed. Does that mean that we could have an interaction with Lopen and Wayne? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) It could be possible. But it would be an imitation, like a puppet. That'd be a bad idea, crossing the streams like that. Forger (paraphrased) So the same with someone like Elend? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Yeah, so the Spiritual Realm would be trying to create them. Making them what they should be, but it wouldn't be them. Like the visions. You could interact with them, but it wouldn't be them. Forger (paraphrased) So the SR is using raw investiture to create them? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Yep. Forger (paraphrased) So since they are like the visions, could one replay them over and over? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) They could. FanX 2024 (Sept. 28, 2024) Wow. This made me visualize a bit of what the Spiritual Realm experience is going to be like. I'm starting to see it almost like living various moments and accomplishing some task or something that then kicks you into a different time/place or something for another experience, each one crafted specifically around what your Intent is or who/what/where you are trying to get to eventually. Actually it's a little like inception, where reality could get confusing and you eventually could lose yourself if you aren't careful and ensure you can find your way out. Seems like this could get trippy, and I'm here for it!
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