Syl’s Sentience and Kaladin

[ivoryblade]

It’s been established that the more Kaladin acts according to Syl’s nature as an honorspren, the stronger their bond—Kaladin becomes stronger and more proficient at Surgebinding and Syl becomes smarter. This is accomplished not only through oaths taken, but also simply by Kaladin’s thoughts and conduct.

 

What makes me curious is why Syl would become more intelligible over the course of Kaladin’s slavery; he notes Syl following him around as a mindless windspren for a few months prior to the start of WoK, but it’s only when he stops fighting back—when he’s at the lowest of the low—that Syl appears to him as a sentient being. What caused this change in Syl? Kaladin has stopped fighting, has stopped striving for honor, yet it is at this moment that Syl emerges as sapient?

[Alfa he/him]

I think this has something to do with the fact, that a proto-radiant has to "break" before becoming a surgebinder. Somehow similar to allomantic snapping. And Kaladin was broken at the moment, when Syl started to talk with him.

[Seloun]

Syl doesn't really get that much more intelligible during the course of Kaladin's slavery before arriving at the Shattered Plains . What little intelligence she has is due to the scattered honorable acts Kaladin apparently did during his backstory (helping the other slaves out). The big turning point is the scene where Kaladin is considering suicide at the Honor chasm:

 

 

Kaladin almost laughed. She had no concept of what she’d done, fetching him a leaf of one of Roshar’s most deadly natural poisons because she’d wanted to make him happy. It was ridiculous. And sweet.

 

“Everything seemed to go wrong when you lost that leaf,” Syl said in a soft voice. “Before that, you fought.”

 

“I failed.”

 

She cowered down, kneeling on his palm, misty skirt around her legs, drops of rainwater passing through her and rippling her form. “You don’t like it then? I flew so far…I almost forgot myself. But I came back. I came back, Kaladin.”

 

“Why?” he pled. “Why do you care?”

 

“Because I do,” she said, cocking her head. “I watched you, you know. Back in that army. You’d always find the young, untrained men and protect them, even though it put you into danger. I can remember. Just barely, but I do.”

 

“I failed them. They’re dead now.”

 

“They would have died more quickly without you. You made it so they had a family in the army. I remember their gratitude. It’s what drew me in the first place. You helped them.”

 

...

“I don’t know what you mean most of the time when you speak,” she said. “My mind is so cloudy. But it seems that if you’re worried about hurting people, you shouldn’t be afraid to help the bridgemen. What more could you do to them?”

 

“I…”

 

“One more try, Kaladin,” Syl whispered. “Please.”

 

One more try….

 

The men huddled in the barrack with barely a blanket to call their own. Frightened of the storm. Frightened of each other. Frightened of what the next day would bring.

 

One more try….

 

He thought of himself, crying at the death of a boy he hadn’t known. A boy he hadn’t even tried to help.

 

One more try.

 

Kaladin opened his eyes. He was cold and wet, but he felt a tiny, warm candle flame of determination come alight inside him.

Sanderson, Brandon (2010-08-31). The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive) (pp. 161-162). Macmillan. Kindle Edition.
 

 

Kaladin refers to the slaves he attempted to help before finally giving up on several occasions throughout TWoK, which presumably is part of why Syl is able to speak at all. But there's a huge difference between Syl before and after the Honor chasm scene, as noted by Syl herself:

 

 

She looked down. “When I found you near the chasm after the highstorm yesterday,” she whispered, “you were going to kill yourself, weren’t you?”

 

Kaladin didn’t respond. Yesterday. That was an eternity ago.

 

“I gave you a leaf,” she said. “A poisonous leaf. You could have used it to kill yourself or someone else. That’s what you were probably planning to use it for in the first place, back in the wagons.” She looked back up into his eyes, and her tiny voice seemed terrified. “Today, I know what death is. Why do I know what death is, Kaladin?”

 

...

 

“Yesterday, I didn’t know what death was,” she said. “Today I do. Months ago, I didn’t know I was acting oddly for a spren, but I grew to realize that I was. How do I even know how a spren is supposed to act?” She shrank down, looking smaller. “What’s happening to me? What am I?”

Sanderson, Brandon (2010-08-31). The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive) (p. 218). Macmillan. Kindle Edition.

 

Given the enormous change (over the period of just one day, no less) I don't think there's really a lot to be explained here: Kaladin's actions during Araman's army and his various good deeds during the early part of his slavery is what gives Syl just enough sentience to speak (but not really understand anything); it's Kaladin's pushing through his despair that really makes Syl intelligent.

[Numuhuku he/him]

The way I see it, is that while Kaladin was behaving honorably enough to attract Syl, there wasn't the necessary crack in his soul to fit the Nahel bond. So it was only when he broke, and slowly began to recover, the Syl began to make great strides in self-awareness.