[OB] One small detail that's been bothering me (or: Ash has x-ray vision?)

[Necessary Eagle]

So we're at the end of Oathbringer, and Ash and Taln are collapsing on the ground because Jezrien died. And just before she passes out, Ash sees that Jasnah has their pictures.

Except... how is that supposed to work, physically? Jasnah is standing in front of the Heralds and looking from them to Hoid's drawings. So the pictures should be on the side of the paper facing Jasnah. Ash shouldn't be able to see anything except the back of the paper.

Is Jasnah contorted in some weird position? Is she helpfully holding out the pictures in the other direction just in case anyone wants to see? Is the paper really thin, and the ink bled through? Or is it just a plothole?

[Stormfather-in-Law]

She also knew the painting of her was in Mraize's room before entering. Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuun!

[Necessary Eagle]

Huh. I'd assumed she'd simply heard that Mraize had bought it- it was a famous painting and he was probably spreading the news around in a way that would lure her in- but sure, if she turns out to have a ~mystical~ connection to artwork, that would be good foreshadowing.

[Weltall]

Mraize was trying to lure her with the painting and that doesn't work if the person he's trying to lure doesn't know about it; he probably made sure to show off the paintings to people who would them gossip about Mraize's excellent taste in artwork, then waited for that information to filter down to Ash.

As for Hoid's drawings, while the text doesn't explicitly say so I think we can assume that after looking at the picture, Jasnah lowered it enough that Ash could see what was on it and the text simply didn't mention it.

Edited April 17, 2018 by Weltall

[RShara]

Quote

They caused a stir in the refugees, and someone detached themselves from the group of scribes up ahead. A woman in deep violet. The Blackthorn’s niece. She looked at Ash, then at Taln, then at a piece of paper she’d been carrying. It contained shockingly accurate sketches of the two of them. Not as they were presented in iconography, but real sketches. Who … why?

Yeah, it sounds like Ash was just able to see the drawings as Jasnah lowered them or held them.

[Necessary Eagle]

I'm still having trouble picturing it.

[RShara]

So when you raise a piece of paper to look at it, then lower it again, watch the way your arm moves.  A natural position is to have your palm facing toward your body, with the wrist and shoulder slightly bent outward to keep the paper from smacking into you. That turns the paper outward and makes it visible to anyone standing in front of you, particularly in front and to the side opposite your hand.

[Necessary Eagle]

okay, that does make sense

[Toaster Retribution]

Or Ash simply has X-ray vision:

Quote

Rybal

Can the Heralds Surgebind without their [Honor]Blades, and if not are they under the same restrictions the Radiants are?

Brandon Sanderson

[...] I will say that the Heralds without their Blades are incapable of the powers you are familiar with. It doesn't mean there aren't other things they can do, but they are incapable of the powers you are familiar with throughout the book.

 

[Stark]

I always pictured it something like this

Spoiler

 

Jasnah, holding the picture in front of her so it faces the viewer, asking "Have you seen this man?  Have you seen this woman?  What about this herald?"

[ScarletSabre]

It could also be that Jasnah, having detatched herself, was standing at an angle. I imagine that Jasnah simply stepped away from the group and was standing side on to Ash, letting her see the pictures from the angle she held, which I imagine she was holding in front of her like a clipboard...

[The One Who Connects]

15 hours ago, Toaster Retribution said:

Or Ash simply has X-ray vision:

Paraphrased, but 5 Months More Recent. Who wins?

Quote

Seonid (paraphrased)
I asked him to tell me about one of the Herald's innate powers.

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)
They have none.

[Toaster Retribution]

3 hours ago, The One Who Connects said:

Paraphrased, but 5 Months More Recent. Who wins?

Ah, a WoB fight? Well, I guess my WoB is supported by Talns super-reflexes as well as the fact that it isn't paraphrased :-D

[dvoraen]

On 4/19/2018 at 7:33 PM, The One Who Connects said:

Paraphrased, but 5 Months More Recent. Who wins?

No one!  Because I think someone asked the wrong question.  I mean, Jezrien supposedly was able to tell that one of the Unmade (Moelach) was nearby in one of Dalinar's flashbacks, as well as insinuating he can sense Dalinar was fractured/consumed by one of them.  That doesn't seem like a "power" so much as an augmentation if that makes sense.  I guess you say I think the answer to "Is it a 'power' to have heightened abilities?" is "Not necessarily."

We know they have capabilities related to the other Heralds just from Ash sensing Jezrien's death.  We still don't have the full details of the Oathpact, so it could relate to that, but having "none" for "innate powers" (note the emphasis) makes me suspicious of slippery answers.