What's a Seawolf? Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Had a random thought when Shallan was remarking on the colors of strata in Urithiru. Has every color of strata mentioned so far also correspond to a gemstone? (I think today's chapters were the first time emerald strata was mentioned.) I'm fond of the 'Odium is invested in stone' theory, and if that is the case, Urithiru having stone that is 'safe' (per Szeth) and invested with Stormlight might make sense. It was the KR home base after all, and being able to draw Stormlight from the very walls would be a helluva defense mechanism. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steeldancer Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 2 minutes ago, What's a Seawolf? said: Had a random thought when Shallan was remarking on the colors of strata in Urithiru. Has every color of strata mentioned so far also correspond to a gemstone? (I think today's chapters were the first time emerald strata was mentioned.) I'm fond of the 'Odium is invested in stone' theory, and if that is the case, Urithiru having stone that is 'safe' (per Szeth) and invested with Stormlight might make sense. It was the KR home base after all, and being able to draw Stormlight from the very walls would be a helluva defense mechanism. And there's another upvote for a really cool idea. It would explain why Strata is constantly being mentioned. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powerfulmoss Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 It was also noted that the rooms have slots in them, where the supposed "spren" snuck into to hide. I reckon that gemstones should go in these slots as they seem to in the slots in the lift to light up the rooms. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blacksmithki Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 It would be a cool way to make Navani relevant if it's broken or mechanical. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betrail Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Was just about to post this, with the minor addition. Secret histories Could the strata actually be honor? Like preservation did to keep the people from ruin? I agree that gemstones should be used there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What's a Seawolf? Posted October 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 1 hour ago, Blacksmithki said: It would be a cool way to make Navani relevant if it's broken or mechanical. That could be very interesting. Especially with news of cities going 'dark.' Maybe the Unmade or Listeners are somehow interfering with Fabrials all over Roshar, and Navani's discovery of fixing Urithiru leads to the solving of the issue world over. Navani's mind for Fabrial's and Fabrial engineering HAS to have some role beyond the relatively minor trinkets we've seen so far. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steeldancer Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Ok someone noted that rare spren show up a lot in Urithiru. If the strata can hold stormlight, that could mean the realms are even closer together, there, which would explain why they're showing up. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiManiak Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 I had a similar theory that I proposed in the "Patterns in the Walls" post here: Quote "What if they help channel/carry Stormlight all through the structure? Like thin lines of gem chips or ground crystals that hold stormlight? Dalinar already noticed that there are baskets/cages that can be dropped into a Highstorm to collect Stormlight. What if there is some type of link or connection from those cages to the strata, that then channel/conduct the Stormlight throughout the Tower via the strata patterns? Thus, providing substantial power to the Tower and its inhabitants. " Shallan notices them way too much for the strata to not serve some type of purpose. There are all kinds of mechanisms, devices and other discoveries just waiting to be found in Urithuru. Maybe all that is needed is for someone to flip a switch during the next Highstorm, and a significant amount of Stormlight can be stored... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
What's a Seawolf? Posted October 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 28 minutes ago, KiManiak said: I had a similar theory that I proposed in the "Patterns in the Walls" post here: Shallan notices them way too much for the strata to not serve some type of purpose. There are all kinds of mechanisms, devices and other discoveries just waiting to be found in Urithuru. Maybe all that is needed is for someone to flip a switch during the next Highstorm, and a significant amount of Stormlight can be stored... Shallan also mentions Jasnah's desire to find technology and knowledge in Urithiru, and so far they have found nothing. Maybe it's staring them all right in the face. Urithiru could be one giant Fabrial, or the strata/stormlight is used to disguise and keep hidden useful information from the eyes of enemies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidWayne Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Does this make anyone else think of the IRE base from Mistborn: Secret History? Spoiler Remember how Kelsier creeps up to an enormous, glowing fortress. He touches the walls of the stone and sees another planet's green landscape. He can sink into the ground and walk through plants, but he can't get all the way through the stone wall into the castle. He climbs the wall instead, sinking his hands into the stone, and climbs through a window. The glowing energy source for the castle seems to be merging with his own soul. So maybe Urithiru is basically a physical realm version of the IRE residence, except it's not "plugged in" right now. Without being infused with Stormlight, the ability to keep voidbringers out doesn't work (like how an electromagnet doesn't attract metal without electricity). Perhaps that's why the Unmade are in it and it feels wrong to Shallan. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaiah Zayth Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 So much good stuff in this thread. I love the idea of Urithiru being a giant Fabrial wrought with gemstone-infused strata that charge up during a Highstorm. Could the Shin peoples' reverence for stone somehow support this theory? Perhaps the concept originated because of Urithiru and the strata and has been passed down for generations? If Urithiru is indeed a giant version of a gemstone, can all that stored stormlight be weaponized? Could the tower be used as a weapon to... oh, I don't know... trap a Shard within a planet? Another random thought: is it possible that strata located in a place where the realms are closer together could hold stormlight more efficiently than a gemstone? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The One Who Connects Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 4 hours ago, What's a Seawolf? said: Navani's mind for Fabrials and Fabrial engineering HAS to have some role beyond the relatively minor trinkets we've seen so far. While I imagine she'll have something important to do in Oathbringer/Book 4, remember that Fabrial-Tech is an industry still in the early R&D stages. Given enough time(say, the 15 year gap between book 5 and 6..) she could come up with some rather useful "trinkets." She could find out something new and important now, and we could have the payoff a few books down the line. Gives her character a realistic amount of time to experiment(a big problem in book/movie/game plots) and gives us a while to theorize about the potential implications of her discovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salkara Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 1 minute ago, The One Who Connects said: While I imagine she'll have something important to do in Oathbringer/Book 4, remember that Fabrial-Tech is an industry still in the early R&D stages. Given enough time(say, the 15 year gap between book 5 and 6..) she could come up with some rather useful "trinkets." I'm really liking the idea of Navani being Q from the Bond franchise. Quote Navani: A spanreed. This is actually a Class 4 sprenade. Three turns to arm the four-second fuse, another three to disarm it. [Taln takes the spanreed, turns the ruby three times]Taln: How long did you say the fuse was? [Navani takes the spanreed back and disarms it]Navani: Oh grow up, Stonesinew.Taln: They always said the spanreed was mightier than the Shardblade.Navani: Nobody said that. Nobody. Ever. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Govir Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 (edited) 31 minutes ago, Salkara said: Navani: Nobody said that. Nobody. Ever. Quote Taln: What? I just did. Someone just said it. Edited October 24, 2017 by Govir 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mierin Posted October 24, 2017 Report Share Posted October 24, 2017 Shallans thoughts during chapter 25 made me think that the Strata were Stormlight power lines of sorts, bringing Stormlight around all of Urithiru for fabrial and Radiant use while also lighting up the corridors and rooms. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDarkDesperado Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 Perhaps like the Oathgates whatever mechanism doesn't just need Stormlight, but to be activated perhaps at a central location nearer towards the bottom perhaps requiring a Radiant of higher status/level than our heroes currently are. Such a mechanism would be useful if they ever abandoned Urithiru, wouldn't want just anybody to be able to use whatever it is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenBossanova Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 What I am reminded of, is Szeth's comment about Urithiru being the only place beside Shinovar, where the stone is not unhallowed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaiah Zayth Posted October 25, 2017 Report Share Posted October 25, 2017 1 hour ago, ZenBossanova said: What I am reminded of, is Szeth's comment about Urithiru being the only place beside Shinovar, where the stone is not unhallowed. 1 Does this mean that Shinovar may also contain strata-filled rock formations? This is assuming, of course, that the lack of strata is what makes the stone holy. That would be an interesting development... I'm sure what it would imply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigalemesh Posted October 26, 2017 Report Share Posted October 26, 2017 I don't think thy shinovar necessarily has unhallowed stone, it's just that they walk on soil so they don't have to worry bout it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWadehart Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 I have a question and a rather far out theory... So we've all read OB a couple of times by now. It has been noted by Kaladin that The Windblades of Kholinar have strata very similar to that of Urithiru. So this has some possibilities. A) That when Kholinar was formed the surrounding geology simply had such strata normally. B ) That both cities were deliberately made with such strata. If B is the correct answer, I have a question, does anyone know of any descriptions of strata in any of the Heraldic cities? Because, and I admit this is a fairly tenuous theory, what if ALL of the Heraldic cities have a certain gemstone column somewhere in them? Or, al least, a 'socket' where a gemstone column should be? What if all of Herladic cities were designed to channel stormlight for defense and other as yet unknown uses? Please disprove this as the idea is making a little starry eyed imagining huge force field walls springing up from the Windblades. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainKing Posted June 7, 2018 Report Share Posted June 7, 2018 (edited) What if the heraldic cities are the dawnshards. Edited June 7, 2018 by MountainKing Fixing Grammar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis Posted June 8, 2018 Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 I don't think that the cities were designed to have strata... I think they have strata as a byproduct of their creation. I don't think that means that all cities had Urithiru's defenses. None of them had the Sibling to power them. But the dawncities and the strata are definitely linked by intentional construction in my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gasper Posted June 8, 2018 Report Share Posted June 8, 2018 Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't Roshar made of granite? as in the base stone underneath the crem build up? If it is granite, that would explain the color variation. Also, granite has large crystals in it that I think might correspond to a few of the radiant gems. That would allow it to transmit stormlight and basically make anything built out of it a giant fabrial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZenBossanova Posted June 9, 2018 Report Share Posted June 9, 2018 I wonder if Urithiru wasn't grown. In which case, the strata are (among other things) simply growth rings, from the process of growing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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