[OB] Tukks

[Jazzy Kandra she/her]

Hmmm, for some reason this feels like a blast from the past, somehow. Kandra proposing another worldhopper...sigh. Bad kandra. However, this is not the first time someone has mentioned it, but with the new Kaladin flashbacks in Oathbringer, I would like to again propose a simple idea: Tukks was indeed a worldhopper, but with new evidence.

Originally, this idea was mentioned in Way of Kings when Kaladin's drill sergeant (Tukks) advised Kaladin thus:

Quote

The first step is to care, Tukks’s voice seemed to whisper. Some talk about being emotionless in battle. Well, I suppose it’s important to keep your head. But I hate that feeling of killing while calm and cold. I’ve seen that those who care fight harder, longer, and better than those who don’t. It’s the difference between mercenaries and real soldiers. It’s the difference between fighting to defend your homeland and fighting on foreign soil.

WoK, 435. In which Tukks, oddly, uses soil in a way that Rosharans do not.

However, what's more proof is Kaladin's description of him in Oathbringer, which fits the descriptions used for other worldhoppers from Sel and Scadrians (to some extent):

Quote

Sergeant Tukks walked to one of the bunks and settled down, the wood groaning under his weight. Younger than the other sergeants, he had features that were …off somehow. Perhaps it was his short stature, or his sunken cheeks.

Oathbringer, 869-870

Other worldhoppers, like Felt and Iyatil are described as short, and while Kaladin doesn't notice that kind of detail here, he does think there's something off about Tukks such as his height. Perhaps something non-Alethi and foreign. I think that while this isn't really all that near to 100% proof that Tukks is a worldhopper, it's maybe enough now to ask about (and I know others have mentioned it before).

At least I'm not using coats this time, eh?

[FuzzyWordsmith]

4 minutes ago, Ookla the Kandra said:

Hmmm, for some reason this feels like a blast from the past, somehow. Kandra proposing another worldhopper...sigh. Bad kandra. However, this is not the first time someone has mentioned it, but with the new Kaladin flashbacks in Oathbringer, I would like to again propose a simple idea: Tukks was indeed a worldhopper, but with new evidence.

Originally, this idea was mentioned in Way of Kings when Kaladin's drill sergeant (Tukks) advised Kaladin thus:

Quote

The first step is to care, Tukks’s voice seemed to whisper. Some talk about being emotionless in battle. Well, I suppose it’s important to keep your head. But I hate that feeling of killing while calm and cold. I’ve seen that those who care fight harder, longer, and better than those who don’t. It’s the difference between mercenaries and real soldiers. It’s the difference between fighting to defend your homeland and fighting on foreign soil.

WoK, 435. In which Tukks, oddly, uses soil in a way that Rosharans do not.

So, you brought up an excellent point, and there is actually a WoB to back you up, so I think you're onto something. 

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/181-stormlight-three-update-4/#e3779

Argent

In The Way of Kings, Chapter 54: Gibletish, Dalinar has a brief conversation with Brightlord Hatham, one of his ardents, and a few other people. During the conversation the ardent uses the word "soil" in a way most Rosharans wouldn’t. After the conversation he tells Dalinar of "our goodwill toward you" and that "we will speak with you again." The odd use of the word "soil" combined with what could be a vague reference to the ardent’s associated with a group other than the ardentia has led some of us to believe he might be a worldhopper. Plus, we know Nazh is around in the area, or will arrive soon. Is there truth to this idea, or are we overthinking this?

Brandon Sanderson

Alethi use the word "soil" on occasion in their language to mean "dirtied" or similar. It's a holdover from an earlier time. But they don't associate it with the ground, and if you see it used instead of stone like in this quote, it should indeed raise an eyebrow.

Argent

Sooo... I mean, my eyebrow was already raised. Let's not bait the RAFO too hard, and drop the worldhopper part - is there more to this particular ardent than meets the eye?

Wait, hold up. How can "soil" be a holdover from an earlier time if Roshar was always a rocky place? Or did you mean that it's one of those words that carried over from Yolish, or whatever other language people spoke before they migrated to Roshar (like "hound")?

Brandon Sanderson

It is similar to hound, which is one of the ones that Hoid pointed out as an oddity. But people did not migrate from Yolen to Roshar. Roshar was inhabited before the shattering of Adonalsium.

Argent

Hmm. I am rusty on my Roshar history, I'll have to review what we know the topic. I know Roshar existed before the Shattering, and it was presumably populated, but I didn't think there had been humans there. They don't feel native. I've been working under the assumption that the Parshendi were native (maybe), but the humans came from somewhere - the Tranquiline Halls myths also kind of support that.

Or have I missed something?

Brandon Sanderson

Technically, what I said doesn't actually contradict anything you just said. But just to be extra safe: RAFO. I have to keep a FEW secrets safe from you people to come out in the books.

 

Footnote: Resolved in the OB tour. It's a worldhopper but not Nazh.

In summation, excellent observation.

 

[ccstat he/him]

Thanks for pointing this out, Kandra. I'd ignored Tukks on my first read. You are definitely right about his being a worldhopper, though I don't see any hints to indicate where he might be from.  I'll keep my eyes open on a reread.

[Fulminato he/him]

this make tukks the first dead worldhopper on roshar

The Parshendi looked eager, angry, deadly. They wanted blood. They would cut into the bridgemen and rip them apart, then drop the bridge—and their corpses—into the void beneath.
It’s happening again, Kaladin thought, dazed and overwhelmed. He found himself curling up, drained and shaken. I can’t get to them. They’ll die. Right in front of me. Tukks. Dead. Nelda. Dead. Goshel. Dead. Dallet. Cenn. Maps. Dunny. Dead. Dead. Dead …Tien. Dead.

Chapter 67: WORDS

Edited December 2, 2017 by Fulminato

[BeskarKomrk he/him]

5 hours ago, Fulminato said:

this make tukks the first dead worldhopper on roshar

The Parshendi looked eager, angry, deadly. They wanted blood. They would cut into the bridgemen and rip them apart, then drop the bridge—and their corpses—into the void beneath.
It’s happening again, Kaladin thought, dazed and overwhelmed. He found himself curling up, drained and shaken. I can’t get to them. They’ll die. Right in front of me. Tukks. Dead. Nelda. Dead. Goshel. Dead. Dallet. Cenn. Maps. Dunny. Dead. Dead. Dead …Tien. Dead.

Chapter 67: WORDS

Or at least Kaladin thinks he's dead.

In general, I found this theory pretty convincing, and I'm on board.

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

If he's a Kandra, then we know they can't be killed by typical means. If he didn't have access to a particular magic system, then he most likely is dead. I'm definitely in agreement that this could be a Worldhopper.