Talenel the Herald

[FellKnight he/him]

I thought of resurrecting the "Who the Heralds Are" thread, but decided this would fit better as it's own thread.

In the prelude, Talenel (Taln, Talenelat) is the sole Herald to die and is abandoned by his peers to be the only Herald to remain bound by the Oathpact. Reading the Ars Arcanum, the soulcasting properties of Tanat are Rock and Stone. It makes me wonder if the reasons behind Szeth's Oathsone's powers, and possibly the entirety of the Shin's reverence for Stone has to do with the fact that Talenel is the one who remained imprisoned at the start of the book.

Fell

[Elwynn]

In the prelude, Talenel (Taln, Talenelat) is the sole Herald to die and is abandoned by his peers to be the only Herald to remain bound by the Oathpact. Reading the Ars Arcanum, the soulcasting properties of Tanat are Rock and Stone. It makes me wonder if the reasons behind Szeth's Oathsone's powers, and possibly the entirety of the Shin's reverence for Stone has to do with the fact that Talenel is the one who remained imprisoned at the start of the book.

But you must remember that even the in-book writer of the ars arcanum states it's 'an imperfect gathering of traditional Vorin symbolism.' And since Taln refers to himself as Stonesinew, which would include Ishar's domain of radiants, I think it's safe to assume that list will change with future books.

And Stone Shamanism (most likely) doesn't even follow Vorin theology, based on Szeth's quotes. It more likely refers to the spirits of things that inhabit stone. The screams and voices Szeth hears come from the stone, and he knows (or thinks--as a cultural belief) that his soul will be given to the stones upon his death, to be tortured for eternity.

Definitely not saying it's impossible, just seems a little improbable from what we know. But who knows? BS likes to pull that wool over our eyes. It's why I love his books.

[Silus - Shard of Flame he/him]

There's a reason it's Stonesinew and not Stone-sinew (other than it not being a very good name ), it's a single term, implying that his sinew is made of stone. So it doesn't actually include Ishar in it.

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

But you must remember that even the in-book writer of the ars arcanum states it's 'an imperfect gathering of traditional Vorin symbolism.' And since Taln refers to himself as Stonesinew, which would include Ishar's domain of radiants, I think it's safe to assume that list will change with future books.

And Stone Shamanism (most likely) doesn't even follow Vorin theology, based on Szeth's quotes. It more likely refers to the spirits of things that inhabit stone. The screams and voices Szeth hears come from the stone, and he knows (or thinks--as a cultural belief) that his soul will be given to the stones upon his death, to be tortured for eternity.

Definitely not saying it's impossible, just seems a little improbable from what we know. But who knows? BS likes to pull that wool over our eyes. It's why I love his books.

My feeling is that those are probably "Stonespren" that he can hear screaming, similar to how whatever the odd spren who follow Shallan around are able to speak with her, or how just before Kaladin spoke the Second Ideal he heard Syl's voice in his head prompting him to speak.

We know that each of the Knights Radiant orders were in somewhat tied to the power of Honor, but their abilities varied based on the different spren tied to their orders. If as the General Theory theory says that the Heralds are indeed splinters of Honor, Szeth could be of the KR order that dealt more with Talenel's splinter...which if so a Stonespren could indeed be imbeded in his Oathstone and is what helps him be a Surgebinder.

Here's an interesting tidbit from a Brandon Q&A at Goodreads:

6. Szeth was perceived as betraying his people in a fundamental way, and you will learn more about that when his book comes along.

Could it be that it's because he's practicing Surgebinding and not the Cultivation magics of Shinovar?

So many thoughts swirling in my head on this book lately...

Edited June 17, 2011 by Green Hoodie Mistborn

[CrazyRioter she/her]

Brandon has said this about Kaladin and Szeth

Jay wrote: "Do Szeth and Kaladin both belong to the same order of knights radiant?"

Szeth isn't actually in an order of Knights Radiant. Something different is happening with Szeth that people have already begun to guess. And Kaladin isn't yet a Knight Radiant, but the powers he uses are those of the Windrunners, one of the orders of the Knights Radiant. Szeth is using the same power set. So your phrasing is accurate to that extent.

so Szeth isn't getting his power the same way Kaladin is.

personally I think the voices are just Szeth being Completely Made of Nuts, but that's just me.

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

Perhaps Szeth is actually Voidbinding, but it can mimic windrunning abilities?

I guess that throws my theory out that Kaladin, Dalinar, Shallan, Jasnah, and Szeth would eventually develop into one of the 10 orders of Knights Radiant. One for each of the Soulcasting orders, a Windrunner, and two unknown orders one of which is similar to windrunning.

[CrazyRioter she/her]

My personal theory is that Dalinar is going to end up in the 8th order (Resolute/Builder) but that's just me. Although I guess he could end up as a Windrunner too. He's a lot like Kaladin personality wise.