Wit Beyond Measure Posted November 25, 2024 Posted November 25, 2024 On my reread, I noticed this gem, hidden in Adolin's stabbing scene with Sadeas. Quote Sadeas gestured for a few of his soldiers to go down one branch of the tunnel-like corridor. His wife and a few of her scribes went the other way, two soldiers trailing. Adolin watched for a moment as the highprince himself raised a lantern, inspecting a faded painting on the wall. A fanciful picture, with animals from mythology. He recognized a few from children’s stories, like the enormous, minklike creature with the mane of hair that burst out around and behind its head. What was it called again? Sanderson, Brandon. Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, Book 2) (pp. 1066-1067). Tor Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. And so I wonder what the mythology of the minklike creature is, of course, and I am certain that will tell us so much about the Herdazean general. I have a strong suspicion that Rosharan mink mythology is exactly like the mythology I found in the quotes below. Quote The mink, with its glossy fur and nimble movements, has a rich history of symbolism that varies across cultures but consistently emphasizes mystery, adaptability, and resourcefulness. ... In various indigenous cultures, particularly among Native American tribes, the mink is a symbol of transformation and keen awareness. ... As a totem, the mink offers several powerful traits to those it represents: Adaptability: Minks thrive in diverse environments, from dense forests to riverbanks. This adaptability is a guiding force, encouraging those aligned with its spirit to remain flexible and open to change. Resourcefulness: Known for their tenacity and ingenuity, minks remind us of the importance of making the most out of limited resources and finding creative solutions in difficult situations. Stealth and Secrecy: Preferring to remain out of sight, the mink embodies the value of discretion and the wisdom of choosing when to reveal oneself. ... --https://animalomens.com/article/what-does-animal-omens-or-totemmink-mean Does that sound like our guy or what? And the symbol of transformation could be extrapolated in fantasy as a shapeshifter, I am thinking. But that is a guess, of course. That makes me want to look more closely at the other references to minks in Stormlight... And the top of my RAFO-card questions will be, what exactly do these children's stories about mink mythologies entail, specifically regarding any and all supernatural abilities?
anarchitect Posted November 25, 2024 Posted November 25, 2024 "symbol of transformation".... kandra alert 2
Hoid Slayer He/Him Posted November 26, 2024 Posted November 26, 2024 4 hours ago, anarchitect said: "symbol of transformation".... kandra alert Wait… didn’t Brandon at one point confirm there was a kandra loose on Roshar? 1
Lord Spirit he/him Posted November 26, 2024 Posted November 26, 2024 This is interesting. My main issue with him being a kandra is how much he seems to sincerely care about Herdaz.
Treamayne Posted November 26, 2024 Posted November 26, 2024 (edited) 22 minutes ago, Hoid_Slayer said: Wait… didn’t Brandon at one point confirm there was a kandra loose on Roshar? WoBs: Spoiler Quote Skaiiwalker (paraphrased) Are there any kandra on Roshar? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Yes. Skaiiwalker (paraphrased) Is Axies one of them? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) No, but good guess. The Aimians are a different race. Teen Author Boot Camp (April 11, 2015) Quote R'Shara Did the kandra that's running around on Roshar have a speaking role in Oathbringer? Brandon Sanderson RAFO! Skyward Pre-Release AMA (Oct. 19, 2018) Quote Pagerunner The kandra on Roshar. Is that Felt's wife, Malli? Brandon Sanderson RAFO! That is an excellent question that one should indeed be... yeah. JordanCon 2021 (July 16, 2021) Quote Nextorl In The Lost Metal, MeLaan is said to be the first kandra Harmony sent off-world. Does that mean that the kandra on Roshar are not in Harmony's employment? Brandon Sanderson Yes! Good way to connect the dots. That is exactly what that means. R'Shara Brandon, you previously said the kandra on Roshar WAS an agent of Harmony. Brandon Sanderson Did I? *sounds uncertain* Well... I'm changing my mind. Yeah. No. I... uhh... Nope, not an agent of- I know exactly who this kandra is and what they're doing and yeah. I'm going to say I don't know why I said that before, but now, no. Footnote: R'Shara is referring to this WOB where Brandon says that the kandra is an agent of Sazed YouTube Spoiler Stream 5 (Dec. 2, 2022) Quote Newan (paraphrased) I asked what planet we have seen the kandra worldhopper on. Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) He said "You have seen her before". Newan (paraphrased) I asked if she was an agent of Sazed Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) He said yes. Footnote: Brandon clarified in a later WoB that this Kandra worldhopper was not an agent of Harmony Salt Lake City Comic-Con 2014 (Sept. 4, 2014) 7 hours ago, Wit Beyond Measure said: On my reread, I noticed this gem, hidden in Adolin's stabbing scene with Sadeas. Quote Sadeas gestured for a few of his soldiers to go down one branch of the tunnel-like corridor. His wife and a few of her scribes went the other way, two soldiers trailing. Adolin watched for a moment as the highprince himself raised a lantern, inspecting a faded painting on the wall. A fanciful picture, with animals from mythology. He recognized a few from children’s stories, like the enormous, minklike creature with the mane of hair that burst out around and behind its head. What was it called again? Sanderson, Brandon. Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive, Book 2) (pp. 1066-1067). Tor Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. And so I wonder what the mythology of the minklike creature is It's a lion - WoBs: Spoiler Quote Pandoras_Penny During Adolin's exploration of Urithiru (right before he murders Sadeas) he comes across a painting A fanciful picture with animals from mythology. He recognized a few from children's stories, like the enormous mink like creature with the mane of hair that burst out around and behind its head. What was it called again? Let's answer Adolin's question. Is that a lion. Does this mean that normal animals once inhabited Roshar but became extinct or were forced to adapt after the arrival of Odium or the Highstorms. Or maybe these were artist illustrations from stories brought over to Roshar by worldhoppers? What do you think? BruceLazer With shardpools being a thing and worldhoppers like Hoid being a thing as well it's entirely possible that people brought stories of the fauna of their world with them when they came to Roshar. After all, we know (via Word of Brandon) that the Horneater lakes are shardpools so they could have knowledge of lions via travelers, seeing them in the pools or some other way (worldsingers?) Edit-- just noticed you mentioned worldhoppers. I think that's what it is, but it could also be stories from the original inhabitants if (big if) the original inhabitants came from elsewhere in the Cosmere. Edit again -- They might have gone extinct after the arrival of Odium. If the rest of the world was akin to Shinovar prior to Odium then it's entirely possible for their to have been lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!). Unless someone asks (or has asked) Brandon then I have no clue. [Brandon]can you aid us in our questions? Brandon Sanderson No, it seems like you're asking the right ones. dangermond Can you aid us in getting answers? Brandon Sanderson I've done so already, by providing two in-depth discussions of the nature of Roshar. They're called The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. General Reddit 2015 (June 18, 2015) Quote Snote85 Have the Highstorms always existed on Roshar? The excerpt that talks about how one of the Bondsmiths had resigned himself to fight the Voidbringers but woke up and had a new idea, one that had to do with the nature of the Heralds themselves. Then, inside the Oathgate, we see "mythical creatures" like lions and such. It would make sense that the world might have been different when the KR were last around. So much so, that if the Highstorms "Opposite" is the Everstorm and it was made by followers of Odium, then the Highstorm would have been made by followers of Honor. Brandon Sanderson Highstorms did predate the arrival of Honor and Cultivation on Roshar, but it has evolved much during the thousands of years since that event. It was not created by followers of Honor, but there is more to this story that you'll find out as the series progresses. General Reddit 2017 (Feb. 10, 2017) The RAFOs are about why these creatures are myth, but the WoB is old - long before Oathbringer clarified that humans came to Roshar from Ashyn, and that's why they retain terms like Wine, Chicken and Hound - but don't quite use them correctly. Adolin makes the connection to Minks, because it is one of the few other mammals to gain a foothold in the Rosharan Ecosystem: Spoiler asmodeus The humans on Roshar have a lot of holdover terms from... before, like chicken, soil, wine, etc. Is "mink" another of those holdover terms, where they are calling something a mink that we may call something else? Is it, mayhaps, actually a lion? Brandon Sanderson No, minks actually are one of the mammals who managed to get a foothold on Roshar, so they know what minks are. (They are mentioned other places in the text.) Good question, though! General Reddit 2020 (Aug. 31, 2020) They call hard alcohol "Wine" because they no longer have a frame of reference for the distinctions, similarly, pictures of unknown predatory mammals sometimes get called by the wrong name (mink in this case) for the same lack of distinction. All of that said, I would be surprised if that mythological association for Minks was not part of the inspiration for General Dieno, though I doubt he's the Kandra, because the Kandra being on Roshar was from book 1, and he wasn't introduced until the Interludes of Oathbringer. Hope that helps Edited November 26, 2024 by Treamayne SPAG 3
Recommended Posts