The Diagram under observation.

[Calderis he/him]

So I hopped into this thread and it got me thinking. 

The "death rattle" in question, which I don't believe is truly a rattle, involves a "patient" getting a glimpse of the Cognitive Realm and there just happens to be a a cryptic there watching. At least that's my understanding of the "head of lines" comment. 

I see two possibilities.

1: The person who the diagriamists recorded at this moment was being considered to become a Lightweaving. 

2: The Cryptics are watching the Diagriamists, or at least the death rattles.

I lean towards option two for the following reason. In tWoK, before Shallan soulcasts and fakes suicide, she observed the Cryptics through her drawings. At the time, I reasonably assumed that she was why they were there. Why though, would someone already bonded to a Cryptic require so many Cryptics to observe them?

If my thinking is correct she doesn't. They came to see her because she is already bonded to one of them. She's a curiosity that they couldn't ignore. The timing of their appearance could be explained through them feeling Patterns reawakening and wanting to witness it, but their purpose in Kharbranth is to observe the Death Rattles. 

Shallan's interactions with Pattern have shown us that the Cryptics are scholars of a sort. The interactions of one of the unmade, on a regular basis, essentially being harvested to update and maintain the Diagram would be a pretty fascinating source of information for them. 

So if this is going on, is it just the death rattles, or are they interested in Taravangian and the Diagram as a whole?

Thanks @retrorocket1 and @Andy92 for drawing my attention to that little tidbit. 

Edited May 8, 2017 by Calderis

[+Extesian he/him]

It would be consistent somewhat with this WoB from the Boskone signing

Quote

Q: Is being a Knight Radiant at all genetic? Because you have Jasnah, Dalinar, and Renarin in the same family.
A: It is not genetic, however… Um… Families or people close to one another are more likely. It’s not genetic. So for instance, if everyone were adopted it would still have the same prevalence.
Q: Okay, fascinating!
A: Um, so there--
Q: [interruption hard to hear]
A: Well, there are a couple of reasons for that. One is which, attracting the attention of a spren can mean that other spren are paying attention to that area. There are also things in the Cosmere (the shared universe of them) where people are connected spiritually. Um… and that’s part of the magic as well. So… You are more likely to become a Radiant if you know a Radiant. 

 

[Khyrindor he/him]

Pattern was bonded to Shallan for a long time before she came to Kharbranth, as well, and I think Pattern would have said something if he had been spying on Taravangian before Shallan progressed in her Oaths (that is, if he remembered).

[Yata he/him]

4 minutes ago, Khyrindor said:

Pattern was bonded to Shallan for a long time before she came to Kharbranth, as well, and I think Pattern would have said something if he had been spying on Taravangian before Shallan progressed in her Oaths (that is, if he remembered).

I think He refers to the others Cryptics Shallan saw.

They were there to Spy Mr. T but when a former Lightweaver arrived. They took interesting in her. Hoping to create a chance to restore Pattern

Edited May 8, 2017 by Yata

[Calderis he/him]

33 minutes ago, Yata said:

I think He refers to the others Cryptics Shallan saw.

They were there to Spy Mr. T but when a former Lightweaver arrived. They took interesting in her. Hoping to create a chance to restore Pattern

Exactly. She sees far more cryptics than just pattern. I think they were already there in Kharbranth, and when Shallan's bond with Pattern started rebuilding they stepped away from their observations to see her. Their reason for being nearby in the first place was because of the bleeding stations gathering death rattles. 

Quote

Pattern was bonded to Shallan for a long time before she came to Kharbranth, as well, and I think Pattern would have said something if he had been spying on Taravangian before Shallan progressed in her Oaths (that is, if he remembered).

He'd been bonded to her long enough that I think any observation of Taravangian or the death rattles would have started after their bond. I doubt he'd be aware of what the other Cryptics have done in his absence.

Edited May 8, 2017 by Calderis

[Khyrindor he/him]

I suppose that makes sense. Though, I think it's likely that the person in the hospital was truly a proto Lightweaver, and the amount of Radiants is what drew the Cryptics. I'm not even sure how they would be able to spy on Taravangian from the Cognitive Realm, unless they hear the death rattles as well. 

[Fulminato he/him]

“My return . . .” Pattern said. “Because of this.”
“What? Why haven’t you said something!”
“Say . . . speaking . . . Thinking . . . All hard. Getting better.”
“You came to me because of the Voidbringers,” Shallan said, moving closer to the trunk, bloodied rag forgotten in her hand.
“Yes. Patterns . . . we . . . us . . . Worry. One was sent. Me.”
“Why to me?”
“Because of lies.”
She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

WoR Chapter 13 The Day's Masterpiece

 

don't think we have any proto lightweaver, aleast before the everstorm.

[Calderis he/him]

9 hours ago, Khyrindor said:

I suppose that makes sense. Though, I think it's likely that the person in the hospital was truly a proto Lightweaver, and the amount of Radiants is what drew the Cryptics. I'm not even sure how they would be able to spy on Taravangian from the Cognitive Realm, unless they hear the death rattles as well. 

My thoughts kind of focused in on the death rattles themselves, because there has to be some interaction in the Cognitive Realm seeing as the rattles are location dependant. 

The Spren have to have some way of spying on the physical realm though, even if it's just monitoring the light that represents a person. We know that they observe potential Radiants. Without some means of viewing events or people in the Physical Realm, that observation would be pointless. 

[king of nowhere]

11 hours ago, Extesian said:

You are more likely to become a Radiant if you know a Radiant. 

 

I'm already picturing Lopen

"Ho gancho, I have this cousin who would really like to join the radiants, do you mind putting a good word for him with your spren?"

[Khyrindor he/him]

2 hours ago, Calderis said:

My thoughts kind of focused in on the death rattles themselves, because there has to be some interaction in the Cognitive Realm seeing as the rattles are location dependant. 

The Spren have to have some way of spying on the physical realm though, even if it's just monitoring the light that represents a person. We know that they observe potential Radiants. Without some means of viewing events or people in the Physical Realm, that observation would be pointless. 

The location dependent thing is only because the Unmade that causes death rattles can only affect certain areas at a time. What happens is, the Unmade uses the spark of death to glimpse into the Spiritual Realm to see a possibility of the future. The Cognitive Realm isn't really used in this ordeal, which is why I think you're right that the fragment collected wasn't a Death Rattle, but wrong about whether they're bonding a spren. 

[Calderis he/him]

20 minutes ago, Khyrindor said:

The location dependent thing is only because the Unmade that causes death rattles can only affect certain areas at a time. What happens is, the Unmade uses the spark of death to glimpse into the Spiritual Realm to see a possibility of the future. The Cognitive Realm isn't really used in this ordeal, which is why I think you're right that the fragment collected wasn't a Death Rattle, but wrong about whether they're bonding a spren. 

The rattle itself isn't a Cognitive function no, but the distance limitations show that their ability to cause the glimpse into the Spiritual Realm occurs  in the Physical and/or Cognitive.

I'm not trying to change your opinion here. I just like the discussion. 

[retrorocket1]

I think I agree with you @Calderis that the cryptic was there to investigate the death rattles not to bond. But being spren you would think the piece they have of honor and cultivation inside of them would already allow them to somewhat predict the future since both honor and cultivation were capable of it.

but as we know cryptics are scholars, so could they perhaps be trying to interpret how the unmade cause the death rattles?

Edited May 8, 2017 by retrorocket1