Theory: Who wrote "Sixty-two days, Death follows."

[YmYm]

It's been referenced that seeing the future is of the voidbringers.  So I wonder, what if Odium influenced a Voidbringer or some other minion to leave the message for Dalinar.  Maybe Odium knows what's going on with Dalinar and his visions and so he's trying to push Dalinar to do some crazy stuff to get the Final Desolation show on the road.  Assuming that whatever changes Galivar was going through, Dalinar is going through too, then it'd be consistent with the Parshendi offing Galivar before Odium can influence him into doing something that won't turn out so good.  

 

Given the crappy bargain Honor somehow got the Heralds into, with those centuries of melting flesh and stuff, I guess I really just don't have much faith in his vision-advice to Dalinar.

[meddler]

I think at the end of the 62 days, we finally get to see a Voidbringer and why they are dangerous enough to make 60 foot Thunderclasts seem easy kills. As to who wrote it, I don't think its Szeth since he is still on his way to the shattered plains.

 

It might end up being one of the bridgemen, Shen ?

Edited January 14, 2014 by meddler

[hoser he/him]

Given the epigraphs, it seems to relate to the Parshendi, as Navani is tying them together in retrospect. 

Presumably Odium could put Dalinar to sleep and write some glyphs, but why would he warn Dalinar and why would he write poorly?

Assuming it is not someone coming in the window or through the walls, it is a member of Dalinar's household. 

[Shardlet he/him]

I think at the end of the 62 days, we finally get to see a Voidbringer and why they are dangerous enough to make 60 foot Thunderclasts seem easy kills. As to who wrote it, I don't think its Szeth since he is still on his way to the shattered plains.

 

It has been a couple of weeks since the end of WoK when the writing turns up.  Given the short window of time for the events of all of WoK (not including the prelude and prologue, of course), and the amount of damage that Szeth did all across Roshar (starting at about halfway through WoK), I don't think it is out of the question that Szeth could have arrived at the Shattered plains in time for the writing.  He clearly has means (whether mundane or supernatural) to travel substantial distances over a fairly small amount of time.

 

Edit: @hoser-  If Odium could put Dalinar to sleep, would he not have been able to put key players in the opposition (albeit perhaps not Heralds) to sleep at key times as well?

Edited January 14, 2014 by Shardlet

[hoser he/him]

I still don't see Szeth as the writer:

• Poor writing - he is extremely literate
• Why warn Dalinar - we know his orders and how well he executes them
• Why wait 62 days to strike? Mr. T says "It must be done quickly"

[meddler]

It has been a couple of weeks since the end of WoK when the writing turns up.  Given the short window of time for the events of all of WoK (not including the prelude and prologue, of course), and the amount of damage that Szeth did all across Roshar (starting at about halfway through WoK), I don't think it is out of the question that Szeth could have arrived at the Shattered plains in time for the writing.  He clearly has means (whether mundane or supernatural) to travel substantial distances over a fairly small amount of time.

 

 

I suppose, but then again he was sent to kill Dalinar, and a sleeping target with no defenders would be a much easier kill.

Taravangian intends to lead, so it would go against his intentions to actually warn Dalinar in some form.

[Chrono she/her]

The problem I have with Szeth writing the message on the wall is twofold.

 

1. If he was in Dalinar's room, why on earth did he not just kill him? Now, granted, Szeth is under some huge emotional and moral strain at this point. Heck, in his last chapter in tWoK, he nearly stops Mr. T from killing that poor kid in the secret hospital. But still, at this point, I think that he would still kill Dalinar instead of writing some cryptic message on the wall. I admit, this argument is weak.

Edit: And it's been ninja'd. Dangit.

 

2. When Dalinar tells Adolin about Gavilar's final words, he mentions that Gavilar wrote them; he made no mention of glyphs, which are barely acceptable for a man to write. This implies that Szeth is perfectly fluent in written Alethi (which is why it was so controversial for Dalinar and co. to discover the message). Szeth would probably not bother to write in glyphs, and if he did, he would most certainly get them perfect instead of sloppily written.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Chrono

[Swimmingly he/him]

<p>

I still don't see Szeth as the writer:

• Poor writing - he is extremely literate
• Why warn Dalinar - we know his orders and how well he executes them
• Why wait 62 days to strike? Mr. T says "It must be done quickly"

The poor writing seemed deliberate to me - fudging glyphs to give them dual meanings.

[Vortaan he/him]

I think it was Dalinar himself. He nodded off, and an after-effect of the vision caused him to scrawl the glyphs. I also don't know that they are a death warning, so much as the double meaning is intended. 

[Maresia he/him]

I think dalinar wrote it, and he nows it. Thats why he didnt care too much. He dont know how yet, but he did. Maybe some voidbringer spren take control of him when he was sleeping. (i think i read somewhere that voidbringers could posses bodies, i dont really remember)

[YmYm]

Presumably Odium could put Dalinar to sleep and write some glyphs, but why would he warn Dalinar and why would he write poorly?

Assuming it is not someone coming in the window or through the walls, it is a member of Dalinar's household. 

 

Well, just like Ruin helped Vin to kill the Lord Ruler (which seemed like a good idea at the time) because it helped his plans along, I thought Odium might facilitate Dalinar figuring out how to bring the Radiants back if it's going to bring along the Final Desolation sooner.  The Radiants and the Final Desolation seem connected and even though Nalan seems corrupted, he could be right that bring the Radiant-type-people back is going to cause all sorts of awful things to happen.  

 

But yeah, I doubt Odium actually picked up some chalk and wrote on the wall.  I just thought he might be the brains behind the message.

[Shardlet he/him]

Why warn Dalinar - we know his orders and how well he executes them

I suppose, but then again he was sent to kill Dalinar, and a sleeping target with no defenders would be a much easier kill.

 

While I am not wedded to the idea that Szeth wrote the message, I would note that I would find it to be extraordinarily unlikely that Szeth would ever slaughter a sleeping target unless specifically ordered to do so.  His sense of honor would absolutely forbid it.

Edited January 14, 2014 by Shardlet

[Beowulf25 he/him]

At the end of WoK Honor tells Dalinar in one of his visions that Cultivation is better at seeing the future than he is. So I suspect that it was a cultivation-based spren that wrote it. Possibly even the spren that Dalinar will end up bonding with.

[Shardlet he/him]

It would have had to have been a pretty tricky spren.  Syl was a little ways along in her strengthening when she brought Kaladin the leaf and she really struggled with it.  It seems like it would be even more challenging for a spren to move a rock and especially to the extent of being able to write with it.

[Swimmingly he/him]

It would have had to have been a pretty tricky spren. Syl was a little ways along in her strengthening when she brought Kaladin the leaf and she really struggled with it. It seems like it would be even more challenging for a spren to move a rock and especially to the extent of being able to write with it.

Unless the physical presence of the spren grows as the bond strengthens, allowing them to get up to more shenanigans as the KR grows in strength?

[Shardlet he/him]

That is quite possible, but whose spren-bond would have developed to such an extent?  Jasnah's is the oldest spren-bond we have seen so far.

[Swimmingly he/him]

That is quite possible, but whose spren-bond would have developed to such an extent? Jasnah's is the oldest spren-bond we have seen so far.

I wonder what happened to the crowds of Cryptics and strange shadow-wielders from before?

[The Rooster he/him]

My initial reaction was that it was referring to killing Dalinar, not the desolation.

[hoser he/him]

I wonder what happened to the crowds of Cryptics and strange shadow-wielders from before?

I assume that only the one that bonds has an anchor on the other side.  Without the anchor, they might go totally mindless.  Or maybe it is such a brave thing to do that finding even one to do it is rare. 

The bond seems to be one-one.  I have no idea how the spren decide which is to bond whom. If crossing over is a betrayal, the others leave or the spren police chase them away.

Edited January 15, 2014 by hoser

[Shardlet he/him]

I don't think the others were precisely in the physical realm.  Jasnah's comments about their physical manifestation v. their cognitive manifestation suggest otherwise.  That being the case, it seems like only the spren which bonded with Shallan would manifest in the physical.

[Natans he/him]

Lift could "touch" Windle cognitive vine because she was "partially in the cognitive world".

 

Maybe Shallan could "remember" the cognitve wolrd when she take "a mental picture" what she remember are the "cognitve aspect" "idea" whatever of the thing that she is saving.

 

She interected with plenty of lie spren because their gathered close of the "lies" that Taravigian sustain in his city. When she fisrt saw one lie spren, the lie spren was beside of the most notable lie in the book. That spren as there because of another thing but she "saw him" or to say better she saw what him looked like in the cognitive wolrd.

 

I theorize that she will have similar effect with Sly, if she take a mental image of Kal and sly are at his side she would remember.

 

Side note now that she aren't in Taravigian city the lie sprens aren't at her side any more, appearing in her drawing, they stayed there. Her spren bonded with her entering the physical world, this is the reason of his weak presence and the reason of why she now can see him normally, where before she couldn't see anything only remember =)

[Colateralwar]

I think it was Shen. They have already mentioned that he is comming out of his stupor, and it is important that he is the first of the Parshmen to regain his wits. However, I think it is also appropriate that he be the first one to go mad and start killing. Kaladin will probably end up killing Shen in this book.

[Aether he/him]

I think it was Shen. They have already mentioned that he is comming out of his stupor, and it is important that he is the first of the Parshmen to regain his wits. However, I think it is also appropriate that he be the first one to go mad and start killing. Kaladin will probably end up killing Shen in this book.

Sorry for this, but I have to down-vote that post just because I am firmly against the idea of Shen going on a killing spree. I am somewhat daydreaming of him taking on warform or something while still preferring to stay with Bridge Four.

 

I trust my fellow Sharders will forgive me for this compulsive down-voting, and that they will up-vote you again properly.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Aether

[hoser he/him]

Sorry for this,...they will up-vote you again properly as.

On it.  The idea horrifies me too, but downvotes horrify me too.

[EvilKetchupCow he/him]

He started awake some time later, the fire having burned out. Storms. Was he falling asleep in the middle of the day, now?

 

 

 

I think you guys are missing this. The fire was out. Seems likely that whoever wrote it came in and left through the fireplace.

 

I believe that this happened within a 2 hour time peroid(Kaladin walking Navani to the palace and back)

 

 

 

The walk between the barracks and the king’s palace—which the king had started calling the Pinnacle—took an hour or so, which gave Kaladin plenty of time to think. 

Edited January 15, 2014 by EvilKetchupCow