[OB] Dalinar's Visions

[Zelly]

Dalinar’s had a few weird feelings of light and warmth in both WoR and OB.

But there’s also been one distinctly odd vision in OB where he and Nohadon go shopping while a thunderclast stomps around.  There’s a lot about it that just itches at me, so welcome to my summary + analysis, complete with increasingly wild theories.

First let’s talk about the ~light~.  When the vision begins, Dalinar can’t even look at the balcony because the light is so intense.  The odd point to me is that he also describes it with sound, mentioning noises from it: "They sounded like the voices of people, but muffled” and then describing it as “loud sunlight”.

A scratching distracts him, a door shuts behind him, and he notices the light from the door is gone.

Nohadon is older, but the city is full of life this time (unlike when he was younger and the view was of death and destruction).  Nohadon is also oddly flippant and does not react normally to things.

Then we get to the big “Parable of the Grain” as I like to call it.  Nohadon buys "golden, captivating grain, like the light of captured flames", which is rather curiously descriptive (especially in a vision so “light” themed) and also vaguely sounds like captured spren.  The scales won’t balance, so he pushes on the grain side to force balance, meaning that he paid for more than what he received.  Nohadon rather bluntly refers to this a metaphor when asking,

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“What is the cost of principle… Isn’t a principle about what you give up, not what you gain?”…. “I think life is fair, it’s merely that often you can’t immediately see what balances it.”

So Dalinar’s had his fill of giving things up for principle/honor, such as not courting Navani when he was younger to best keep the peace with Galivar.  However, I’m thinking Nohadon is referring to OB focus events: the death of Evi, living in shame/grief/horror, and then loss of memories of her.  Dalinar paid some hefty prices, which start to seem unfairly paid as painful memories return, except that Cultivation has her finger on the scale.  Things balance as Dalinar is able to ultimately find forgiveness and become a better person.

Holding the bag of grain (representing the forgiveness Dalinar will later achieve), Nohadon touches the thunderclast:

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“What does that thunderclast represent, I wonder?”

“Pain,” Dalinar said… “Tears. Burdens. I’m a lie, Nohadon. A hypocrite.”

“Sometimes, a hypocrite is nothing more than a man who is in the process of changing.”

Nohadon starts talking about how everything exists in the 3 realms, mentioning

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“The Spiritual: the perfect you, the person beyond pain, error, and uncertainty.”

As multiple thunderclasts (representing tears, pain, and burdens) crash down on him, Nohadon asks, “What is the most important step a man can take?” We know that Dalinar will later answer this (and withstand his pain crashing down on him) by saying it is the next step, and the next after that, as a journey means continuing.

THEORY TIME

1)      Dalinar has a connection to his Spiritual self, which is appearing as Nohadon to relay the vision to his physical/cognitive self.  This is the perfect Dalinar beyond pain and uncertainty that is mentioned in the vision, which is what we see Dalinar starting to become at the end of Oathbringer.  Nohadon also quotes Dalinar to himself: “Sometimes, a hypocrite is nothing more than a man who is in the process of changing.”Wait. Hadn’t Dalinar said that? Back when he’d felt stronger? More certain?  More like his complete Spiritual self, perhaps? The light he feels could be the Spiritual Realm, which he can’t access but is growing more aware of.

2)      Cultivation is manipulating his visions.  Odium has appeared in and affected his visions, so why not Cultivation, if more subtly. “Change” is a big part of who/what she is, and the vision not only mentions “a hypocrite is nothing more than a man who is in the process of changing”, but also sets up the imagery of his burdens crashing down on him as he learns to accept them.

3)      Dalinar is using his Bondsmith abilities to “pull” on Renarin to create a compound of abilities, similarly to what he did with Shallan when they created a map of Roshar.

4)      Nohadon was Bondsmith and is connected to Dalinar (here’s a whole topic on this: 

 5)      A Lightweaver is affecting Dalinar/sending him visions.  This would explain the light and sounds cutting in and out weirdly. Unlikely.

6)      Dalinar is connecting to the mysterious Sibling, who is the spren of dreams and resides mostly the Cognitive Realm. Pure speculation.

7)      Hoid is somehow sending Dalinar visions. Unlikely. I do think Nohadon acts like him a bit, though mostly just the flippant glibness.

[Doomdrinker she/her]

My money's on cultivation, we know from Brandon that she has been actively doing things and we already have direct evidence in OB showing that she has plans for Dalinar.