spoiler How Did Taln Make the Vacuum? [Maybe WaT Spoilers]

[Usseewa ✾ She♡Her ✾]

So, remember that scene where Taln is sitting in the bed and then gets up to fight and he basically shatters the windows with a vacuum? How does he do that? It can't be normal (i.e., it was probably something do with his powers as a Herald or something).

[Through the Living Hopper He/Him]

6 minutes ago, Theory said:

So, remember that scene where Taln is sitting in the bed and then gets up to fight and he basically shatters the windows with a vacuum? How does he do that? It can't be normal (i.e., it was probably something do with his powers as a Herald or something).

He's really fast.

[Nitpicking]

To expand on the above message: he moves so fast he makes a sonic boom.

[Usseewa ✾ She♡Her ✾]

23 hours ago, ThatOneWorldhopper said:

He's really fast.

 

1 minute ago, Nitpicking said:

To expand on the above message: he moves so fast he makes a sonic boom.

That seems very fast. Do you all think it's one of those Herald powers? Didn't Ishar (?) do something when fighting Kaladin (?) in WaT? (I think it was those characters.) It seemed similar to Atium to me. Is the "super speed" just Taln's, or do other Heralds have that ability?

[NameIess]

1 hour ago, Theory said:

 

That seems very fast. Do you all think it's one of those Herald powers? Didn't Ishar (?) do something when fighting Kaladin (?) in WaT? (I think it was those characters.) It seemed similar to Atium to me. Is the "super speed" just Taln's, or do other Heralds have that ability?

It was Nale, and yes, he moved with similar superspeed.

[Usseewa ✾ She♡Her ✾]

26 minutes ago, NameIess said:

It was Nale, and yes, he moved with similar superspeed.

Interesting, thanks for the correction. Side note: that was your 6663rd post, so you are almost at 6666 if you care about "cool numbers"/milestones.

[Nitpicking]

2 hours ago, Theory said:

 

That seems very fast. Do you all think it's one of those Herald powers? Didn't Ishar (?) do something when fighting Kaladin (?) in WaT? (I think it was those characters.) It seemed similar to Atium to me. Is the "super speed" just Taln's, or do other Heralds have that ability?

We don't have details, but yes, it's clearly a Herald thing. It isn't similar to atium (in my opinion), more like Feruchemical steel.

Spoiler for Shadows of Self below.

Spoiler

See Paalm's superspeed in Shadows of Self.

 

Edited December 27, 2025 by Nitpicking

[Usseewa ✾ She♡Her ✾]

1 hour ago, Nitpicking said:

We don't have details, but yes, it's clearly a Herald thing. It isn't similar to atium (in my opinion), more like Feruchemical steel.

Spoiler for Shadows of Self below.

  Hide contents

See Paalm's superspeed in Shadows of Self.

 

I don't really remember the thing you mentioned in SoS. Do you have a specific, page, scene, or general location within the book I can look for examples?

Also, do you remember where the superspeed fight in WaT was? I thought it was near the very end, but can't seem to find it.

Edit: I looked it up and it is in/starts in Ch. 109. I think you're right about speed and not Atium:

(pg. 1031)

Quote

Then the Herald [Nale] moved a little faster, blurring.

(Same page)

Quote

Kaladin struck again, and Nale leaned to the side, again impossibly fast. A little blur and shift.

I was thinking of the dodging aspect, since Atium lets you see where your enemy will stroke and you can dodge, but speed makes more sense here because of the fast and blurring. However, it could also bring a bendalloy speed bubble, no? I'm pretty sure Sliders can change the shapes and sizes of their bubbles (see end of TLM), so Nale could do that to just include himself and a little space around him if Kal is up close (so Kal doesn't also be included in the bubble). That would make sense with the "blur and shift." That's just another explanation, but I still think superspeed is more logical. It seems more "standard" of an ability.

Edited December 27, 2025 by Theory

[Trusk'our he/him]

2 hours ago, NameIess said:

It was Nale, and yes, he moved with similar superspeed.

Ishar too, if I recall.

[Through the Living Hopper He/Him]

7 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

Ishar too, if I recall.

I think that it's just kind of a "dash" ability, where they can do it every once in a while.

[Nitpicking]

7 hours ago, Theory said:

I don't really remember the thing you mentioned in SoS. Do you have a specific, page, scene, or general location within the book I can look for examples?

Here's something from SoS Chapter 22:

Spoiler

Quote

Wax Pushed off the wall, leaping toward Bleeder. She growled, then slapped his hand as he landed, knocking the needle free. Rusts, she was strong. She kicked MeLaan off as Wax dove for the fallen needle.

She became a blur. As he tried to grab the needle, Bleeder snatched it and spun around, slamming it down into MeLaan’s shoulder. It was done in an eyeblink.

Then she lurched to a stop. She seemed jarred by the motion. Her metalmind storage, at long last, had run dry.

 

That's just my first hit, but it's clearly a steelmind. I have no idea why the forum software meshed with text copied out of Calibre to give that weird indenting.

 

Edited December 28, 2025 by Nitpicking

[Usseewa ✾ She♡Her ✾]

14 minutes ago, Nitpicking said:

I have no idea why the forum software meshed with text copied out of Calibre to give that weird indenting.

Did you try pasting as plain text? I think it gives you the option when you paste, and you can do ctrl/cmd + shift + v to paste as plain text (no weird styles) on a computer.