Botanica she/her Posted December 21, 2014 Posted December 21, 2014 (edited) Hello all! I noticed this sparkflicker thing when rereading WoK and WoR, but couldn't quite get what it is. Till now, the word appears twice (emphasis is mine): He was a short man, with some Herdazian blood in him as evidenced by his dark, crystalline fingernails, though he didn’t wear a spark-flicker. (WoK Ch. 26) She stopped, grinning at a man performing a show with puppets and a box. Farther down the way, a Herdazian used a sparkflicker and some kind of oil to make bursts of flame in the air. If she could just stop off a little time and do a sketch of him . . . (WoR Ch. 43) And we also have a saying of Lopen: Flick my sparks! I think this probably comes from the sparkflicker. “Well flick my sparks,” Lopen said. “Rock, you never said it was so pretty!” (He is talking about Syl.) (WoK Ch. 49) “Gon, I haven’t been to Herdaz since I was a baby. There are as many Herdazians in Alethkar and Jah Keved these days as there are in our homeland. Flick my sparks, I’m practically an Alethi! Only not so tall and not so grouchy.” (WoR Ch. 41) My first thought? It can be a typical Herdazian ornament, and I did a search in Coppermind and SA Wikia to see how it goes: - The Coppermind says: A sparkflicker was an ornament or article of clothing that was worn by some Herdazians on Roshar. - SA Wikia says: A sparkflicker is a type of ornamentation worn, typically, by Herdazians. Havarah, however, of mixed descent, did not wear a sparkflicker. It seems that I'm on the right track. But how exactly does a sparkflicker look like? Is it kind of a stick or torch used by some firebreathers or something? I couldn't quite imagine it. I also wonder the actual meaning of that Lopen saying. If anyone can muse on this, that will be of great help! Edited December 21, 2014 by Botanica 9
Twenty@20 he/him Posted December 21, 2014 Posted December 21, 2014 First impression. Sounds like a flintstone worn as an ornament.. 1
Zea mays Posted December 21, 2014 Posted December 21, 2014 Very interesting find Botanica. Well spotted, as they say. My scay first idea- maybe they use their fancy fingernails and this sparks-flicker (a flintstone or Rosharan specialty) to start fires. 1
Patrick Star Posted December 22, 2014 Posted December 22, 2014 It turns Herdazians into Jubilee, apparently. 3
Redbird he/him Posted December 23, 2014 Posted December 23, 2014 (edited) Herdazian xmen, i'm not sure of I should be in awe or very afraid. Edited December 23, 2014 by Redbird3000 3
Patrick Star Posted December 24, 2014 Posted December 24, 2014 I don't know, redbird. The resemblence to the brotherhood is a little bit... uncanny. YEAH!!! 1
DanTheSeamonster he/him Posted December 24, 2014 Posted December 24, 2014 As per your WoR reference, it not only sounds like sparkflickers have an ornamental purpose, but a practical one too. Apparently it's used to make fire, and who doesn't love a good fire? Zea Mays, the WoK reference specifically says that "he didn't wear a sparkflicker", so I'm going to assume that they aren't their fingernails. (although that would have been awesome). As for the meaning of the saying "flick my sparks", it sounds like it would be used in the same way of "well I'll be a monkey's uncle" meant to show surprise. 1
Zea mays Posted December 24, 2014 Posted December 24, 2014 Oh, I did not mean to imply their fingers were the thing. I was agreeing that it is a flint (or emery, or something unique to Roshar) that they wear on a chain. I imagine them running their fingernails on it to raise sparks. Hopefully they do not burn their fingertips in the process. 3
Zea mays Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 Do pardon the double post, but seeing this on Weiry's transcription of a recent signing rather made my day. Q: What is a sparkflicker and what is it used for? B: Oh good question, are you 17th Shard as well? Q: I am not formally… B: You’ll be interested in this. Sparkflickers are [...] Herdazians, their fingernails are stone. A sparkflicker is so they can start fires. They’re actually flint-and-steel-ing. So it’s a fire-maker using their actual fingernails. Q: So they don’t have a martial application? B: Not really [... males yes if your fingernails are rough]. but there is a deep implication to that that I don’t think people have picked out yet. Q: *long pause* Holy crem thank you! (Brandon probably wrote something in his book…) To the question asker - if you are reading this, please join the forum and post, so that I may grant you a some of the upvotes that you deserve. 5
blad3mast3r he/him Posted January 13, 2015 Posted January 13, 2015 "whats that on your hand?" "oh, it shoots blasts of fire" 2
Patrick Star Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 "whats that on your hand?" "oh, it shoots blasts of fire" We need "Words of Radiance, the FLAMETHROWER!!! A children's toy!" 4
Botanica she/her Posted January 14, 2015 Author Posted January 14, 2015 Someone really asked this during signing?! I can never thank him or her enough! So one problem is solved and I can translate this word into my mother tongue properly (Also thanks, Zea mays, for posting the transcript except!)
vineyarddawg Posted January 14, 2015 Posted January 14, 2015 We need "Words of Radiance, the FLAMETHROWER!!! A children's toy!" (The kids love this one.) 1
CabbageHead he/him Posted February 1, 2015 Posted February 1, 2015 B: Not really [... males yes if your fingernails are rough]. but there is a deep implication to that that I don’t think people have picked out yet. I wonder what this deep implication is? I'm assuming it has to do with the fact that Herdazians have stone fingernails, and not that they use their fingers to start fires. Might they be only partially human? Part Parshendi perhaps, or something else?
Lindel he/him Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Doesn't sound like Parshendi to me. Parshendi have carapace, but no stone. Reminds me of someone who's used a Soulcasting fabrial over an extend period of time, actually. 2
Patrick Star Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 Wait a minute... nails hit flint... flint sparks... you need friction for sparks... abrasion is friction... HERDAZIANS CAN USE THE SURGE OF ABRASION!!!!
WeiryWriter he/him Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 I wonder what this deep implication is? I'm assuming it has to do with the fact that Herdazians have stone fingernails, and not that they use their fingers to start fires. Might they be only partially human? Part Parshendi perhaps, or something else? Actually we have WoB that Herdazians (and Horneaters) are related to the Parshendi: He then went on to say that Aimians are not in fact related to Parshendi at all, but the Horneaters and Herdazians are! (source) 1
Fatebreaker he/him Posted February 2, 2015 Posted February 2, 2015 I automatically assumed that a sparkflicker was a Rosharan Zippo lighter. 2
Curiosity he/him Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Doesn't sound like Parshendi to me. Parshendi have carapace, but no stone. Reminds me of someone who's used a Soulcasting fabrial over an extend period of time, actually. This. Especially since he was just talking about the Essences in the previous context.
CabbageHead he/him Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Doesn't sound like Parshendi to me. Parshendi have carapace, but no stone. Reminds me of someone who's used a Soulcasting fabrial over an extend period of time, actually. This. Especially since he was just talking about the Essences in the previous context. Perhaps an inherited trait similar to light coloured eyes? We know Lighteyes have high status in Alethkar and Jah keved, where the vast majority of known Shards are, which cause the light-eyed trait. Alethkar is also known to have been the Silver Kingdom associated with martial prowess. I would really love for a map of the ten Silver Kingdoms, and the Heralds/Orders associated with each one (is there such a thing anywhere?) Maybe one of the Soulcasting orders was based in Herdaz, and they made lots of soulcasters for their squires to assist them? Yes, this is pure speculation.
WeiryWriter he/him Posted February 3, 2015 Posted February 3, 2015 Perhaps an inherited trait similar to light coloured eyes? We know Lighteyes have high status in Alethkar and Jah keved, where the vast majority of known Shards are, which cause the light-eyed trait. Alethkar is also known to have been the Silver Kingdom associated with martial prowess. I would really love for a map of the ten Silver Kingdoms, and the Heralds/Orders associated with each one (is there such a thing anywhere?) Maybe one of the Soulcasting orders was based in Herdaz, and they made lots of soulcasters for their squires to assist them? Yes, this is pure speculation. Well here is a map of the Silver Kingdoms. As for associated Heralds/Orders, we don't really know if there /are/ connections like that, or at least nothing has been confirmed. Granted I do think there is a connection between the Silver Kingdoms and the Heralds (less so with the Orders) but the only connection I'm reasonably sure about is Alethela/Talenelat (Since Alethela was the kingdom dedicated to the arts of War, Talenel is the Herald of War, and "Taln" shows up at Kholinar (which was probably the capital of Alethela).
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