The Death of a Gemstone

[Khyrindor he/him]

I'll address this letter to my "old friend," as I have no idea what name you're currently using.

 

Have you given up on the gemstone, now that it is dead? And do you no longer hide behind the name of your old master? I am told that in your current incarnation you've taken a name that references what you presume to be on of your virtues.

 

This is, I suspect, a little like a skunk naming itself for its stench.

 

 

Words of Radiance, Chapters 59, 60 and 61 Epigraphs, pages 725, 733, and 746 (emphasis mine).

 

We know this to be Frost, the Dragon from Yolen, replying to Hoid's letter. Over the last few years, people have teased some answers out of Brandon here and there, and we now know that Hoid was actually the name of Hoid's master many years ago. And, obviously, the current alias is Wit, but what about that first part? Another quote somewhere (I couldn't find it, though) states that one of Hoid's old names was Topaz (correct me if I'm wrong), so it could be that Frost is asking after his aliases, after all, he opens without knowing to whom he should address his letter. I could be that "the gemstone" is simply a reference to his old name, and that that alias died, and Hoid did whatever regeneration thing he does, moved on, and picked a new name.

 

I do not think that that is the case.

 

 

 

      The King's Wit cocked his head, then smiled. Finally, he held out his hand to Kaladin. "And what is your name, my thoughtful bridgeman?"

       Kaladin hesitantly raised his own hand. "Kaladin. And yours?"

      "I've many." The man shook Kaladin's hand. "I began my life as a thought, a concept, words on a page. That's another thing I stole. Myself. Another time, I was named after a rock."

       "A pretty one, I hope"

       "A beautiful one," the man said. "And one that became completely worthless for my wearing it."

 

The Way of Kings, Chapter 57, page 801 (emphasis mine)

 

I hereby theorize that it is the gemstone itself that died, not the alias itself. Perhaps something Hoid did "killed" it, or him using it lead to its "death." More on this later. 

 

Now, I was reading through some WoBs, and I found this:

 

 

Q:  When Hoid was talking to Dalinar, he seemed to expect that Dalinar had heard of Adonalsium.  Why would he think that?

A:  He thought that Dalinar was part of some of the secret societies on Roshar.  And he had thought his way into thinking Dalinar was part of them and that was how Dalinar was knowing certain things.  Which he really wasn't he was getting them from the storms and things like this.  But he thought that Gavilar had confided things in Dalinar.  That Dalinar would know more about this.  So he was kind of testing to see.  And he was wrong.

 

 

Which relates to the section in WoR chapter 54 when Hoid name-drops Adonalsium, blows it off, talks about taking people apart and stitching them back together, and says his goodbyes to Dalinar. I would say that this subject was very important to Hoid, as Dalinar notes that he seems preoccupied, which is quite unusual. 

 

This WoB tells us a few things.

1. The secret society that Gavilar was part of knew, at the very least, the name "Adonalsium."

2. The secret society also knows more about the History of the Knights Radiant, Honor, and the Desolations, than the average Rosharan.

3. Hoid needs to know about them for some reason.

 

What else do we know about Gavilar? Not much, except that he handed Szeth a black glowing sphere upon his death, saying "they must not get it."

 

Another WoB I found:

 

 

Q: Why does Hoid show up in all of your books?

 

A: Because they are all connected and he is looking for something.

 

I theorize that this sphere is the gemstone after which Hoid was named, and it has since died, which is why it has gone black and weird. Hoid is looking for it, which is why he wanted to know if Dalinar knew anything about Gavilar's secret society. Frost asked if he has given up on it, now that it is dead. Perhaps he meant "given up on looking for it," rather than "given up on the alias."

 

 

Q: The gemstone Gavilar gives to Szeth, is that the gemstone that's spoke of in the epigraphs?

 

A: RAFO

 

Source.

 

Since Brandon didn't correct the questioner, this could confirm that the black sphere was at least a gemstone.

 

So? Thoughts? Feel free to poke holes, theorize, and add to this as you will. Thank you for reading.

Edited January 17, 2016 by Khyrindor

[Weltall]

Apparently, Topaz was indeed a name Hoid once went by, named for a gemstone he wore. I doubt it's directly connected to the black sphere; sometimes a RAFO is just a RAFO. And now I'm trying to think if there are any other gemstones mentioned in the epigraphs. I think there was one that's considered a reference to a gemheart, at least.

 

http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/45901-shadows-of-self-byu-midnight-signing/#entry337201

[Moogle]

Unfortunately, we know that the gemstone refers to the name Topaz from the WoB you referenced at the start of your post:

 

2) In the Second Letter Frost mentions a gemstone; is this the Moon Sceptre?
Brandon - No, no it isn't but good question. It is actually in relation to Topaz, a name used frequently in his past
(source)

[King's Twit he/him]

I haven't read the unpublished works, but I remember in another thread someone mentioning that Topaz could be in reference to an object in one of those (It may have been Aether of Night).

 

 

Unfortunately, we know that the gemstone refers to the name Topaz from the WoB you referenced at the start of your post:

 

Based on the wording in the letter, I think Frost could be referring to both Hoid's alias Topaz and to the name's source or inspiration, so Brandon saying that the letter refers to Hoid's old alias does not mean that it is only referring to the alias.

[Khyrindor he/him]

The Topaz could have been the black gemstone, before something happened to it, is what I'm saying. That's why Hoid is interested in Gavilar. He wants to get it back, and fix it or use it. 

[Moogle]

My apologies. You're both right; I misread a few things and didn't think things through.

 

It's an interesting theory. I still learn towards the theory that Topaz was the name of an aether Hoid had which ended up dying, but this one on it being the black sphere is very possible.

[Weltall]

Having read Aether of Night and knowing that Brandon wanted to incorporate that system into Hoid's origin story in Liar of Partinel (whose sample chapters I haven't read yet), yeah, that could be where he got the name from. I doubt we'll know for a long time since the rewrite of Liar is waaaay in the future and any possible reworking of Aether would be even further along.

 

Edit: Apparently Brandon confirmed at a signing that whatever the black sphere is, we'll find out about it in the third book.

Edited January 17, 2016 by Weltall

[Khyrindor he/him]

I really should request the unpublished books. 

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

My only qualm (aside from my own ideas of what the sphere actually is) is how would Hoid known about the stone was dead? At what point would he have gotten so close to Gavilar that he would have seen the sphere as he only became Elhokar's Wit not that long ago. Granted, we know so little about before the assassination but still, food for thought. i like the idea though!

[Khyrindor he/him]

My only qualm (aside from my own ideas of what the sphere actually is) is how would Hoid known about the stone was dead? At what point would he have gotten so close to Gavilar that he would have seen the sphere as he only became Elhokar's Wit not that long ago. Granted, we know so little about before the assassination but still, food for thought. i like the idea though!

 

I'd say that the stone was in Hoid's possession when it died, as he told Kaladin it became worthless for him wearing it. And then it was stolen and presumably used for evil, and that's one of the reason's he's back on Roshar.

[iBambam]

I think this theory is really cool, and as I plan on reading SA again after bands of mourning I'll definitely pay attention to this!

[Khyrindor he/him]

I think this theory is really cool, and as I plan on reading SA again after bands of mourning I'll definitely pay attention to this!

 

Thank you!