The Nexus of Transition

[Blightsong]

At the end of TWoK we see Dalinar view the first vision he ever received from the Stormfather. At the very beginning he sees a strange place described thusly:

 

Quote

He turned about, wary. The sky was dark and he stood on a field of dull, bone-white rock, jagged and rough, extending in all directions. Off into eternity. Amorphous shapes made of curling grey smoke rose from the ground. Like smoke rings, only in other shapes. Here a chair. There a rockbud, with vines extended, curling to the sides and vanishing. Beside him appeared the figure of a man in uniform, silent and vaporous, rising lethargically toward the sky, mouth open. The shapes melted and distorted as they climbed higher, though they seemed to hold their forms longer than they should. It was unnerving, standing on the boundless plain, pure darkness above, smoke figures rising all around.

It struck me recently where this place is. Look at the below image with that description in mind.

Spoiler

White jagged rock? A place that really doesn't sound like it exists on the Physical Realm. I'm pretty sure this area is what Dalinar is seeing. It's interesting that this place is called "The Nexus of Transition" seeing as how it seems to be pictured as the chapter heading art for Taln's interlude in WoR.

 

Spoiler

Also take note that there seems to be nine star/sword looking things above those hills. I'm pretty sure that this is where the Heralds move from Roshar to Braize. I always found it very suspicious that Braize does not seem to share a Cognitive Realm border with Roshar like it does with the planets associated with the "Expanses" labeled on the Shadesmar map. Also take note that those white mountains share a color scheme with where Shadesmar trails off into other Shardworlds. Let me know what you guys think!

Edited September 24, 2017 by Blightsong

[Yata]

Indeed It's possible, I always believed Braize was Just behind One of the Nexus but I never linked It to a specific One.

I am still quite confused in how the Heralds manage to cross the Realms in their selected locations (Honor's Perpendicularity maybe) but this is another topic

[Blightsong]

14 minutes ago, Yata said:

Indeed It's possible, I always believed Braize was Just behind One of the Nexus but I never linked It to a specific One.

I am still quite confused in how the Heralds manage to cross the Realms in their selected locations (Honor's Perpendicularity maybe) but this is another topic

On that topic, my crackpot theory is that the Herald's souls/cognitive aspects aren't tied to their bodies but are waiting out somewhere. Lift seems to have a knack for seeing thing's cognitive aspects and she describes Nalan as lifeless and dead. 

Quote

She looked out the window. Surely she’d escaped Darkness, the man in the black and silver with the pale crescent birthmark on his cheek. The man with the dead, lifeless stare.

 

[thegatorgirl00]

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The shapes melted and distorted as they climbed higher, though they seemed to hold their forms longer than they should

I think this sounds more like someone entering the beyond than it does someone worldhopping. Secret History quotes below. 

Spoiler

Hoid worldhopping at the Well

Quote

He stepped into the center of the pool, the deep portion, and vanished into the light.

Elend moving to the Beyond

Quote

To Kelsier’s horror, he had begun to stretch out. He turned toward something Kelsier couldn’t see, something Beyond, and smiled, then stepped in that direction.

 

 

[Zmann966]

4 hours ago, thegatorgirl00 said:

I think this sounds more like someone entering the beyond than it does someone worldhopping. Secret History quotes below. 

 

Or perhaps, dying and, instead of the beyond, going to Hell? Going to... Damnation?