Is Navani a Willshaper?

[snote]

I keep thinking that she will become one. She seems to have a knack for manipulation. She definitely fits the love of "novelty" with her interest in fabrials. She talks about practicing looks that create certain emotions. She wears Dalinar down to fall for her again. Something that is easier said than done, with his overly stubborn personality. Everything about her screams "Willshaper" to me. Am I the only one who thinks this?
 

[natc]

Back we come to the Knights Kholin.

This is getting out of hand. So much bonding.

[skaa he/him]

I like this, though only for irrational/abstract reasons. One of my theories is about the importance of metal in fabrial creation, and so a Fabrial Scientist like Navani becoming a member of the Foil Order of Willshapers would greatly amuse me.

 

 

Back we come to the Knights Kholin.

This is getting out of hand. So much bonding.

 

Well, technically, Navani is just the widow of a Kholin and the mother of two Kholins.

[Moogle]

Back we come to the Knights Kholin.

This is getting out of hand. So much bonding.

 

While I agree it's a bit much, I entirely expect it to continue. The spren are going to purposefully choose Kholins and people related to them more than random chance because they've got a strong support network. Even Jasnah was working to bind Shallan to her family. If they just choose some schmuck in Iri, they're going to get themselves possibly knocked off by Nalan with no one to defend them (though I guess he's going to temporarily stop that). It just makes sense for the spren to choose Surgebinders close to the Kholins, and it's definitely what I would do if I were a spren.

 

As to Navani: yeah, I can see her being a Radiant. Not sure on Willshaper, though it at least fits more than most of the orders.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Moogle

[Blaze1616 he/him]

While I agree it's a bit much, I entirely expect it to continue. The spren are going to purposefully choose Kholins and people related to them more than random chance because they've got a strong support network. Even Jasnah was working to bind Shallan to her family. If they just choose some schmuck in Iri, they're going to get themselves possibly knocked off by Nalan with no one to defend them (though I guess he's going to temporarily stop that). It just makes sense for the spren to choose Surgebinders close to the Kholins, and it's definitely what I would do if I were a spren.

 

There could also be a genetics thing. Such as spren only being capable of bonding people with specific sDNA. The Kholin line might be a sDNA goldmine for Nahel Bonding. It just so happens that Shallan, Navani, and Kaladin all wound up involved as well. I'm sure Brandon has an explanation other than "they're the important players in this story."

[Moogle]

There could also be a genetics thing. Such as spren only being capable of bonding people with specific sDNA. The Kholin line might be a sDNA goldmine for Nahel Bonding. It just so happens that Shallan, Navani, and Kaladin all wound up involved as well. I'm sure Brandon has an explanation other than "they're the important players in this story."

 

I find it unlikely to be sDNA. One of the things Brandon said he wasn't going to do was magic-by-birth, because he's implied its a trope he wants to get out of:

John Ottinger

How did the idea germinate and come to fruition for the gem-studded magic system of The Way of Kings?

Brandon Sanderson

One of the things to keep in mind is I that developed this book before Mistborn was published. I do wonder if sometimes people are going to say, "Oh, he did metals before, and now he's doing crystals." But the thoughts arose quite independently in my head. You may know that there is a unifying theory of magic for all of my worlds—a behind-the-scenes rationale. Like a lot of people believe there's unifying theory of physics, I have a unifying theory of magic that I try to work within in order to build my worlds. As an armchair scientist, believing in a unifying theory helps me. I'm always looking for interesting ways that magic can be transferred, and interesting ways that people can become users of magic. I don't want just to fall into expected methodologies. If you look at a lot of fantasy—and this is what I did in Mistborn so it's certainly not bad; or if is, I'm part of the problem—a lot of magic is just something you're born with. You're born with this special power that is either genetic or placed upon you by fate, or something like that. In my books I want interesting and different ways of doing that. That's why in Warbreaker the magic is simply the ability to accumulate life force from other people, and anyone who does that becomes a practitioner of magic.

In The Way of Kings, I was looking for some sort of reservoir. Essentially, I wanted magical batteries, because I wanted to take this series toward developing a magical technology. The first book only hints at this, in some of the art and some of the things that are happening. There's a point where one character's fireplace gets replaced with a magical device that creates heat. And he's kind of sad, thinking something like, "I liked my hearth, but now I can touch this and it creates heat, which is still a good thing." But we're seeing the advent of this age, and therefore I wanted something that would work with a more mystical magic inside of a person and that could also form the basis for a mechanical magic. That was one aspect of it. Another big aspect is that I always like to have a visual representation, something in my magic to show that it's not all just happening abstractly but that you can see happen. I loved the imagery of glowing gemstones. When I wrote Mistborn I used Burning metals—metabolizing metals—because it's a natural process and it's an easy connection to make. Even though it's odd in some ways, it's natural in other ways; metabolizing food is how we all get our energy. The idea of a glowing object, illuminated and full of light, is a natural connection for the mind to make: This is a power source; this is a source of natural energy. And since I was working with the highstorms, I wanted some way that you could trap the energy of the storm and use it. The gemstones were an outgrowth of that.

(source)

 

Edit: He outright confirms it's not genetic here, though it is paraphrased:

Brandon Sanderson

He talked about the link between his magic systems. One of the core principles is 'investing'. In a lot of his systems people are through some mechanism invested with magic powers. In Elantris through the Shaod, In Mistborn it's genetic, in The Way of Kings it depends on what someone has done.

(source)

 

This doesn't confirm sDNA plays no part, but non-Rosharans can attract spren, so I don't see any way sDNA would matter, beyond the bit of Honor in every human (assuming that theory is true) giving them a slight tendency to be more honorable people that attract Nahel bonding spren than people from other worlds. Non-Rosharans should be able to become Surgebinders. Actually, now I think on it, maybe lighteyes in general will be Surgebinders more often because they have more Honor/Cultivation in them to influence them to honorable actions. Hrm.

 

Really, on the whole I don't have a problem with tons of Surgebinders ending up being Kholins or people near them. Spren are clearly aware of what's going on in the world, and they'd definitely want to get Surgebinders in one place to help with them training each other and share in each other's protection. As well, it makes sense from the perspective of the family itself: it's not genetic, but Dalinar is clearly teaching his sons to be honorable by being honorable himself. (Or at least, he has been ever since Gavilar's death.)

Edited February 10, 2015 by Moogle

[Cold Fusion he/him]

Potential KR tend to influence those around them for the better.  Example, Kaladin led a group of ordinary bridge men to the point where they started using stormlight  in just two books.  There will be likely be a good sized cluster of surge binders around the kholins and kaladin.

[Arondell]

It is also been speculated that Navani might attract a highspren and become a skybreaker.  A number of things hint at the possibility.  Her love of order as well as drawing and then kneeling before the large glyph of justice are two of them.  A few other hints scattered here or there.

[natc]

It is also been speculated that Navani might attract a highspren and become a skybreaker. A number of things hint at the possibility. Her love of order as well as drawing and then kneeling before the large glyph of justice are two of them. A few other hints scattered here or there.

Well she certainly doesn't care for the moral and social implications of dating her own brother-in-law after her husband died.