Mattel Posted November 27, 2024 Posted November 27, 2024 The first time I read through the Stormlight Archive, I somehow completely missed the fact that the Stormfather also sent Gavilar visions, which he apparently shared with Taravangian the night he was assassinated, which spurred Taravangian on to eventually create the Diagram. The Stormfather sent Gavilar visions. After he died, several years later, Dalinar started receiving them. This raises two questions for me: what made the Stormfather choose Gavilar, and what was the reason for the massive gap in time between the visions of Gavilar, and the visions of Dalinar? Here are the thoughts I have, and then I'm curious what the Shard community thinks: The Stormfather probably ended up choosing Gavilar because he was in a position of power he had created through "uniting" Alethkar, and was a large figure in the political world. This would mean he was well placed to try and create a world to weather the coming storm. The Stormfather is not omnipotent and is not everywhere, so he probably only saw the face that Gavilar presented to the outside world, and presumably had no clue of the... sketchy behaviour that Gavilar had, such as creating anti-light. It is a little ironic that despite all his attempts, the Stormfather inevitably ends up becoming more human, for he chose someone powerful, someone with a massive figure and wake. He assumed that such a person would unite, and did not seem to realize that unassuming people can unite the world as well. As to the second question: Is it possible that the Stormfather sent visions to other people in that time? Or perhaps he lost the will to try and help humanity; there was already little love lost between him and humans, and perhaps he didn't view it as necessary. So maybe when he felt the Everstorm and everything starting to dwell on the horizon, he decided he had to choose someone. It is rather strange that on his first pick, the Stormfather chose a rather bad person for the job. Honors Sons wanted to actively return the voidbringers, so Gavilar should instantly have been ruled out as an option. He also lacked the... moral and ethical capabilities for the job, in my opinion (though some might disagree, I realize), whereas Dalinar was a man of conviction and morals. Anyone have any WoB's or answers for me?
alder24 Posted November 28, 2024 Posted November 28, 2024 15 hours ago, Mattel said: The first time I read through the Stormlight Archive, I somehow completely missed the fact that the Stormfather also sent Gavilar visions, which he apparently shared with Taravangian the night he was assassinated, which spurred Taravangian on to eventually create the Diagram. The Stormfather sent Gavilar visions. After he died, several years later, Dalinar started receiving them. This raises two questions for me: what made the Stormfather choose Gavilar, and what was the reason for the massive gap in time between the visions of Gavilar, and the visions of Dalinar? Here are the thoughts I have, and then I'm curious what the Shard community thinks: If I were to guess, it's because Gavilar successfully unified Alethkar. This and his public religious favor probably made the Stormfather think that Gavilar would be a good candidate. Gavilar started to receive visions some time after becoming the king, at least 23 years before OB as that was when he started mentioning Radiants and the importance of the words. However, Dalinar started to receive visions shortly after Gavilar's assassination, the first one happened the night before his visit to the Nightwatcher, which was around 5 months after that fateful night (judging from dates of OB flashbacks). So there was no massive gap in time. In those 5 months, the Stormfather sent visions to other people (it was somewhere confirmed that there were other people receiving visions, can't find it now), but probably reverted back to Dalinar because none showed the same potential that he had. OB ch 49: Quote TWENTY-THREE YEARS AGO The fire’s embers seemed to pulse like a heartbeat. “Do you ever wonder about the time when this kingdom was truly great, Dalinar?” Gavilar asked. “When people looked to the Alethi. When kings sought their advice. When we were … Radiant.” [...] “Words are important,” Gavilar said. “Much more than you give them credit for being.” “Perhaps,” Dalinar said. “But if they were all-powerful, you wouldn’t need my sword, would you?” “Perhaps. I can’t help feeling words would be enough, if only I knew the right ones to say.” OB ch 114: Quote FIVE AND A HALF YEARS AGO Dalinar came to himself, gasping, in the cabin of a stormwagon. Heart pounding, he spun about, kicking aside empty bottles and lifting his fists. Outside, the riddens of a storm washed the walls with rain. What in the Almighty’s tenth name had that been? One moment, he’d been lying in his bunk. The next, he had been … Well, he didn’t rightly remember. What was the drink doing to him now? Spoiler coltonx9 How many people, about, were sent visions by the Stormfather? Brandon Sanderson The Stormfather? It was less than ten. Fewer than ten. Idaho Falls signing (Dec. 29, 2018) Spoiler Questioner The visions Dalinar gets in WoK always struck me as odd - you don't just look at the past, you are able to act within this experience. Now we know that Gavilar was also on the way to being a Bondsmith - was he acting in a different way? Were the visions only basically the same but different in the end depending on the personal reactions? Is this something like a test? Brandon Sanderson He did see the same visions. They were the same thing. But... I will say that his reaction to them were very different from Dalinar's reactions to them. Anyway it was difficult for the Stormfather without a bond to determine/to tell the difference between very easily. When Spren are bonded, they gain a lot more ability to understand the world around then, so you'll find out soon more stuff about this in the third book. Leipzig Book Fair (March 24, 2017) 4
+Oltux72 he/him Posted November 29, 2024 Posted November 29, 2024 Does this need to be complicated? He needed somebody to unite Roshar. Gavilar already ruled a good party of Roshar.
FollowYourMuse she/her Posted November 29, 2024 Posted November 29, 2024 Gavilar was not the only one, I assume it was because of his actions in uniting Alethkar. Quote coltonx9 How many people, about, were sent visions by the Stormfather? Brandon Sanderson The Stormfather? It was less than ten. Fewer than ten. Idaho Falls signing (Dec. 29, 2018) 1
Recommended Posts