The origin of Shardplate.

[PforPandetta]

 

So either his plate really was glowing, or he had some seriously stormlight infusion going on or....both? And if not spren related, then how was it glowing similar to the KR of old (minus the glowing glyphs of course)?

 

I don't think he did anything special with the plates in this part. If I recall correctly, (at work can't really look up the part) his armor was just cracked all over from the pressure of the claw which made the stormlight "glow" around him as it was escaping the armor. Could be wrong but thats how I remember it

Also I am more incline to think the plate is not from the nahl bonded spren. As state before, Syl turned into a shield with Kaladin and didn't crack at all. Where a couple good hits with a shardblade and shardplate cracks and breaks, so if Syl makes Kaladin a full suit of armor, wouldn't it not crack like shardplate does?

Maybe one of the KR orders main thing is to make shardplate since they weren't all fighters and some where other things like diplomats? Nothing to really support this, just an idea.

[Seloun]

I'm doing my reread of TWoK right now, and found these passages very interesting. If I'm reading this correctly, then Dalinar may very well have subconsciously figured out the secret to shardplate This was during the Chasmfiend hunt scene:

 

 

And again when Adolin thought back on the memory of that moment:

 

 

So either his plate really was glowing, or he had some seriously stormlight infusion going on or....both? And if not spren related, then how was it glowing similar to the KR of old (minus the glowing glyphs of course)?

 

Actually, I was wondering if those related to the WoB about looking for Radiant squires in TWoK. In both cases Dalinar is protecting someone - a clear Windrunner aspect - and we know that Syl seems to keep an eye on Dalinar pretty frequently. We also know now that Radiant squires glow with Stormlight, and the Plate glowing might be powered by the leaked Stormlight as mentioned by couple of people. What if Dalinar was one of Kaladin's squires?

[kaellok he/him]

   

I don't think he did anything special with the plates in this part. If I recall correctly, (at work can't really look up the part) his armor was just cracked all over from the pressure of the claw which made the stormlight "glow" around him as it was escaping the armor. Could be wrong but thats how I remember it

Also I am more incline to think the plate is not from the nahl bonded spren. As state before, Syl turned into a shield with Kaladin and didn't crack at all. Where a couple good hits with a shardblade and shardplate cracks and breaks, so if Syl makes Kaladin a full suit of armor, wouldn't it not crack like shardplate does?

Maybe one of the KR orders main thing is to make shardplate since they weren't all fighters and some where other things like diplomats? Nothing to really support this, just an idea.

 

Well, the bondsmiths probably crafted something 

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

I think the main popular idea right now is that they craft bonds! Someone like Dalinar doesn't seem like the type to craft armor, nor do any of the attributes of a Bondsmith really jive with crafting or creativity in the sense of forging armor/metalwork. 

 

I'm pretty sure that each KR is responsible for their own plate sets in some way... like they are each responsible for "crafting" their own Shardblade...

 

We'll see though!

[trevorwilliam]

Side note:

 

Has anyone asked Brandon if a KR spren can take the form of a bow and arrow and fire a shard tipped projectile? Could Kaladin even throw Syl as a spear? We know you can train to throw a shardblade. Wondering if someone could do the same with their spren.

Edited March 28, 2014 by trevorwilliam

[MistLord he/him]

I feel it important to note that Shardplate seems to be more or less identical, in contrast to Shardblades. I feel that's due to the spren taking liberties to give the blade a more personalised feel, whereas the plate itself isn't so much personalised, giving implication towards disproving the spren theory (at least the sentient-spren theory). I'm actually liking the OP's idea, thinking of them akin to what someone else mentioned, that the windspren are an honour spren's sprensquire

[Swimmingly he/him]

I feel it important to note that Shardplate seems to be more or less identical, in contrast to Shardblades. I feel that's due to the spren taking liberties to give the blade a more personalised feel, whereas the plate itself isn't so much personalised, giving implication towards disproving the spren theory (at least the sentient-spren theory). I'm actually liking the OP's idea, thinking of them akin to what someone else mentioned, that the windspren are an honour spren's sprensquire

Plate is very personalised. Dalinar recognises Adolin's Plate being worn by its original owner, and there all sorts of different styles.

[Shardmancer he/him]

Personally, I'm not convinced about the Plate being made up of spren of any kind. If that was true, those spren would have to be dead in the modern day (the Plate no longer glows like it does in Dalinar's visions; doesn't have the same glyphs; and most importantly, it now interferes with Lashings.)

 

 

Contrast with:

 

 

To me, it seems like old Plate is powered by stormlight. Not formed by the bonded spren like a Shardblade is, but somehow connected to Surgebinding. A fabrial, maybe, but one that doesn't need stones since its bearer can store stormlight him/herself. Navani mentions that Shardblades didn't used to have stones in the hilts (WoR chapter 67) but were added later. The same thing could have happened to the Plate--Radiants could use it because of their spren and/or Surges, but after the Recreance it just became fancy armor until someone figured out how to rework the fabrial so non-Surgebinders could use it. (This would also explain why the old Windrunners could use Plate and Lashings together, but Szeth can't.)

 

Besides, if the Plate is made up of spren, the only thing that could have changed is that they died--and whether or not they realize it, I think Syl would know and be upset about it at least as much as Blades upset her.

 

 

I'm wondering if the Radiants somehow figured out a way to focus stormlight through glyphs to make armor respond to the Radiant's will. It could explain where glyphwards came from and why people burn them (since ordinary people can't just spontaneously make things glow...)

 

But I do like the idea of bonding spren associating with non-bonding spren. Syl and windspren, Pattern and creationspren... Wyndle and lifespren, maybe? We don't see it in Lift's interlude, but Nalan drags her away from the only major bit of Surgebinding she does (healing Gawx), and it would fit, with Wyndle taking the form of a crystalline vines and Edgedancers having the Surge of Growth/Regrowth.

Great theory!! it fills in a lot of gaps and leaves little things to disagree with.. i think this is the most likely scenario.. and the added part about burning glyphwards is the topper on this thoerm.. GJ

[Shaggai]

Perhaps the gems are used to semibond the Plate to the wearer, enabling the "perfect fit" and all that. For the rest, I agree with sprensquires theory. Do we have anything that says whether or not ancient Plate had gems?

[Asha'man Logain]

My theory on this is a little out there but here goes:

 

I think plate is like a second skim that develops at the highest level of the bond.

 

We see Kaladin getting better at holding stormlight and his healing capacity seems much stronger that Szeths.

 

In the fight with Gavilar, Szeths face takes a good few minutes to heal (he still can't speak properly when Gavilar is dead).

 

However, in the arena duel, Kaladin heals two broken legs and two broken feet in a matter of seconds.

 

My theory is that the strengthening and healing effects of stormilight get stronger and stronger as the bond / oaths progress until eventually a critical mass is reached and the stormlight crystallises into shardplate.

 

From that moment on, the sharplade appears whenever the Radiant holds any stormlight and glows when they use the surges.

 

As I said, a bit out there. But it would explain how plate can be a consequence of the bond without involving any spren.

In reference to the "Kalladin healed" bit, I would like to point out that we have WoB (in the WoB thread) that a clue is hidden in the fact that Shardblade wounds cannot be healed, yet Kal did heal from Szeth's attack. Presumabley due to it being an Honorblade and not a true Shardblade.

[Aether he/him]

I'm doing my reread of TWoK right now, and found these passages very interesting. If I'm reading this correctly, then Dalinar may very well have subconsciously figured out the secret to shardplate This was during the Chasmfiend hunt scene:

 

 

And again when Adolin thought back on the memory of that moment:

 

 

So either his plate really was glowing, or he had some seriously stormlight infusion going on or....both? And if not spren related, then how was it glowing similar to the KR of old (minus the glowing glyphs of course)?

Now that we have confirmation that Dalinar is in fact a Bondsmith, and that we have a WoB stating that he had been bonded in some capacity to Stormfather for a while by the end of tWoR, it seems likely that he's here displaying an early sign of Surgebinding or Stormlight usage - just as Kaladin did likely as early as his time as an officer in Amaram's army.

 

Before this information, however, I used to think that it might just thousands of tiny fissures all over the Shardplate created by the force of the Claw clashing with.the armour.

 

Actually, I was wondering if those related to the WoB about looking for Radiant squires in TWoK. In both cases Dalinar is protecting someone - a clear Windrunner aspect - and we know that Syl seems to keep an eye on Dalinar pretty frequently. We also know now that Radiant squires glow with Stormlight, and the Plate glowing might be powered by the leaked Stormlight as mentioned by couple of people. What if Dalinar was one of Kaladin's squires?

Since Kaladin was still very early in his Radiance at this point, and that neither he nor Syl had not even seen Dalinar at this point, I find it highly unlikely that some form of Squiredom is the reason behind Dalinar's feat of strength.