A Roshar without the Everstorm, and Odium's backup plans

[Cocoa he/him]

How do you think the Final Desolation would have progressed had the Alethi managed to prevent the summoning of the Everstorm, either through managing to get to Eshonai before she assumed Stormform and negotiate an end to the war or through managing to kill enough stormform Listeners at the Battle of Narak to drop them below the critical mass needed to prevent its summoning? Even before that point, Taln had returned (which now appears to have been because of Chana eventually breaking after Shallan killed her), so it seems like the Desolation was already in motion.

For that matter, why do you think we didn't see more activity from Odium's forces prior to the summoning of the Everstorm, if the normal condition of 'get one of the Heralds to breaks so that you are released from Braize' had already been met?

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

Maybe the Singers being in Slaveform and lacking their Connection and Identity made it more difficult or impossible for Fused to possess them? Rayse wanted them back to normal, and he doesn't do anything out the goodness of his heart.

I guess that Rayse also wanted to take the chance to stack the deck in his favor some more? Let the Alethi invade and kill the Listeners because he was banking on them pulling the Everstorm to kickstart the rest of the conflict?

It explains why he couldn't just grab some Parshmen, force them into Stormform somewhere and use them to call the Everstorm without anyone knowing or having a chance to stop it, because he literally couldn't because the Listeners were the only Singers left that could change Forms.

[Treamayne]

4 hours ago, Cocoa said:

For that matter, why do you think we didn't see more activity from Odium's forces prior to the summoning of the Everstorm, if the normal condition of 'get one of the Heralds to breaks so that you are released from Braize' had already been met?

This part is in-text. When one of the Heralds broke, the Heralds all returned immediately (because they form bodies made of investiture shaped by self-perception); but the Fused tdo not return immediately - the voidspren begin to return and Singers begin to gain forms of power, but the Regals and Voidspren need to find willing bodies to house the Fused; so, historically, it was a few years between the Heralds' return and the Fused's return. 

 

[bmcclure7]

He probably would be able to put another plan in place for another generation or so

[+Oltux72 he/him]

Use some of the remaining Stormform to return a few Fused. Then use the Shattered Plains as the core of a nation to be built and strengthen it over a few generations. Then he could try again.

[bmcclure7]

On 2/9/2026 at 1:28 PM, Oltux72 said:

Use some of the remaining Stormform to return a few Fused. Then use the Shattered Plains as the core of a nation to be built and strengthen it over a few generations. Then he could try again.

Yes, I agree. This would be his best course of action.  Maybe research an alternative way to restore the parchmen. Without the everstorm.