Jasnah in the second arc of Stormlight

[Atlas333]

Recently, I've been thinking about a lot about Jasnah and her place in the Stormlight series. While I know her debate with Odium was divisive I think it sets up some really interesting things about her character and would like to hear other's thoughts on the subject.

 

To start, the back half of Stormlight will focus on different characters (some new, but with quite a few returning faces) with Jasnah being one of them.

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Questioner

You mentioned you were going to break up the Stormlight Archive into two sets of five books. So, how is that going to work? Are you going to change stories, with different characters?

Brandon Sanderson

Characters from the first will appear in the second five, the ones who survive. The first five is Kaladin/Dalinar/Shallan's story. The back five is Jasnah, Taln, and the story of the Heralds, and things like that. And that's how I've broken it up in my head.

The break point will make for an obvious break point, where you could almost say I'm starting a new series when I start the next one.

Steelheart release party (Sept. 24, 2013)  

I'm very curious how this will go because in the first arc, Jasnah is very much a mentor character: she has all the answers (or most of them) and is mostly there to guide our protagonist, Shallan.

While one could argue that this could continue in arc 2, I find that unlikely for a viewpoint character, especially after the debate, which I think sets her up pretty nicely to become a protagonist and learn a few lessons. However, from a meta perspective, I've got a ton of questions. A big part of Stormlight so far is seeing characters learn about their powers and progress through their oaths. How will a character who already knows a lot about their powers and is already at the 4th ideal work? Could Jasnah potentially "backslide" into a lower oath and have to reswear them as she rebuilds herself? Or (even crazier) could Jasnah join another order?

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PyroSkink

Is each book in this series a focus on a particular character? Did I read that somewhere?

Brandon Sanderson

Each one has a flashback sequence dedicated to a certain character, and a plot that has something to do with the flashback sequence. I do this to help differentiate them, and we sometimes call it "their" book--but that's a little of a misnomer, as the main plot may not revolve around the flashback sequence. It will simply relate to it.

PyroSkink

Ah right. It was Kaladin then Shallan, next is Dalinar? Or is it Szeth?

Brandon Sanderson

This one is Dalinar most likely. Then (probably) Eshonai, then Szeth. Unless I swap those two.

Back five are Lift, Renarin, Ash, Taln, Jasnah. Not necessarily in that order. (Though that is the planned order right now.)

I do have to give my standard disclaimer. Someone getting a flashback sequence does not indicate they survive until that book. I'm fully willing to flashback to a character who died in an earlier volume. So that isn't as much of a spoiler as it seems.

And Taln is defined as "The man who thinks of himself as the Herald Taln, and whose viewpoint we got briefly in Words of Radiance."

Stormlight Three Update #4 (Sept. 9, 2016)

Finally, I find it so interesting that Jasnah is the final flashback character for the series (assuming this WOB is still accurate). By the time we get to book 10, Roshar will probably be an incredibly different place from book 6, let alone Jasnah's childhood. How will her flashbacks be relevant? This is especially curious to me because we already have the basic idea of what those flashbacks will be about (her illness and potentially Amaram courting her).

[QuantumAce]

2 hours ago, Atlas333 said:

While one could argue that this could continue in arc 2, I find that unlikely for a viewpoint character, especially after the debate, which I think sets her up pretty nicely to become a protagonist and learn a few lessons. However, from a meta perspective, I've got a ton of questions. A big part of Stormlight so far is seeing characters learn about their powers and progress through their oaths. How will a character who already knows a lot about their powers and is already at the 4th ideal work? Could Jasnah potentially "backslide" into a lower oath and have to reswear them as she rebuilds herself? Or (even crazier) could Jasnah join another order?

We have already seen plenty of characters learn about their powers and progress through their oaths. I don't feel the need for another repeat of that arc. Jasnah still has room to develop elsecalling abilities, even without the oath progression. I have a feeling we will see a greater emphasis on power limitations. How do we get the most out of these powers with the available resources. How do we adapt current technology and processes in a post highstorm environment. 

2 hours ago, Atlas333 said:

Finally, I find it so interesting that Jasnah is the final flashback character for the series (assuming this WOB is still accurate). By the time we get to book 10, Roshar will probably be an incredibly different place from book 6, let alone Jasnah's childhood. How will her flashbacks be relevant? This is especially curious to me because we already have the basic idea of what those flashbacks will be about (her illness and potentially Amaram courting her).

Brandon sat on some pretty big reveals through most of the first 5 stormlight books. I could easily see him continue teasing Jasnah's childhood illness right up through book 10 chapter 100. Maybe establish the timeframe in book 6, feature a scene from it in a book 8 Navani flashback, etc.

[Teravangian]

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the Jasna book. Too bad it's so late in the second arc, though I suspect she'll still be a strong viewpoint character leading up to that point.

[Endnighthazer]

I think partially Jasnah's flashbacks may mainly just be providing us with better context for whatever character journey she goes on. We will be getting to know her full story and everything that shaped her, right as her arc is coming to its climax.

[ParaTulip fae/faer (declines as she/her)]

I think this all depends on what the time scale for the second arc is and what the heck Jasnah is going to be doing as a former queen. I can't imagine her deciding to just hangout and act as an advisor and warrior for Renarin and Rlain's project of a unified Human-Singer state that isn't ruled by the Fused and Taravangian.

If the story is going to span the whole 80 years of slowed time (Jasnah's a fourth oath radiant who is probably spending a lot of her time in Urithu, where her body is constantly able to access to radiant self-healing, so her living that long isn't implausible considering how high levels of investiture seem to extend lifespan) then she can get up to a lot of things off screen while still being a major perspective.

Or she is just going to go worldhopping and thus will be out of the picture for long stretches of time, and whatever she gets up to out in the rest of the cosmere is going to be saved for flashbacks.

[Ninth of the Night]

6 hours ago, ParaTulip said:

If the story is going to span the whole 80 years of slowed time

The 10 year timeskip between books 5 and 6 will take care of that. The second arc isn't gonna cover 80 years of Rosharan time.

Also I feel it's important to note that a flashback character doesn't need to be alive for their book to happen. While I doubt she'll actually die before then, it is totally in the realm of possibility that she'll be gone from the present day by the time book 10 occurs.