[Theory] It has been foreshadowed that Adolin will be a Radiant.

[Shardless]

More foreshadow that Adolin will be a KR.  After this first fight in WoR he feels "drained".  Brandon uses the drained term after Shalan and Kaladin are tired from using Stormlight.

 

Plus the fight was not normal.  For some reason he switched to that other stance.  Could be the influence of a spren.  

Can Adolin pull stormight from his shardplate though?  I thought it was hard/impossible to do that while the plate was intact.  Maybe not though.  Elokar might have cracked his shardplate gems by drawing on them in Way of Kings (heard that last idea from someone else on the forums).

[Numb]

The problem with the Edgedancer theory is that Adolin only seems to remember his mother locket as a ritual instead of a core part of him. Compare that to Lift who says she cares because someone has to(Paraphrasing). The mentalities are completely different. Lift doesn't do it because she'll get something out of it, she does it because it's a part of who she is. The same way Kaladin protects people because that's just who he is. He isn't protecting people because he thinks he'll be happier. in fact his nature often makes him more depressed. 

 

Think the Releaser theory is more likely.

 

Mistborn spoilers below regarding lift being a thief and not a warrior

Lift is actually pretty similar to Vin in that regard. Vin started out as nothing more than a thief that distrusted everyone but turned out to be the most talented warrior the world had seen. Can't judge a 13 year old girls potential lol. Actually Lift is like a Vin if Vin had a loving family

[trevorwilliam]

The problem with the Edgedancer theory is that Adolin only seems to remember his mother locket as a ritual instead of a core part of him. Compare that to Lift who says she cares because someone has to(Paraphrasing). The mentalities are completely different. Lift doesn't do it because she'll get something out of it, she does it because it's a part of who she is. The same way Kaladin protects people because that's just who he is. He isn't protecting people because he thinks he'll be happier. in fact his nature often makes him more depressed. 

 

Think the Releaser theory is more likely.

 

Mistborn spoilers below regarding lift being a thief and not a warrior

Lift is actually pretty similar to Vin in that regard. Vin started out as nothing more than a thief that distrusted everyone but turned out to be the most talented warrior the world had seen. Can't judge a 13 year old girls potential lol. Actually Lift is like a Vin if Vin had a loving family

 

 

Hmm. You guys make good points. Where do you think his character struggle will derive from as a Releaser? The next book has to take a dive for Adolin before he develops radiant abilities I think. Obviously Sadeas's murder is going to play a big part. Will he find a way into cowardice or disobedience before looping back around?

[BaoTheWyld]

I personally like the idea of Adolin as an Edgedancer, and I am not certain if Brandon has said anything that would make us believe there won't be multiple members of each group of KR. I would think with both Darkness and now Szeth that would make it possible for there to be more than one in each order. I could be wrong, but I really would love to see groups of each with our main characters as leaders of those subsets. I never saw Adolin as a Windrunner, but his murder of Sadeas was jarring to me and my perception of his character. Hopefully he can recover and be redeemed. 

[-Deleted-]

I hope Adolin is a Radiant. I'm pretty sure the Radiants are the four we currently know (trying to avoid spoilers here), Adolin and then a few others we haven't met yet. On a more unlikely note, I hope Lift becomes a Radiant and that Rysn becomes involved in some way.

Edited March 27, 2014 by SebastianWeitzeil=Lord Jim

[Awesomeness Summoned]

I personally like the idea of Adolin as an Edgedancer, and I am not certain if Brandon has said anything that would make us believe there won't be multiple members of each group of KR. I would think with both Darkness and now Szeth that would make it possible for there to be more than one in each order.

 

I agree we'll likely eventually have more than one member of each order but I wouldn't base it on the Darkness/Szeth example since darkness is a herald (not the same as a KR) and Szeth isn't technically a traditional skybreaker.

 

On a more unlikely note, I hope Lift becomes a Radiant and that Rysn becomes involved in some way.

Sanderson has already stated that Lift will have a book dedicated to her in the second half of the series so its a pretty safe bet she'll be a Radiant. He has also said that many of the significant interlude characters (like Rysn) will be more prominent in the last five books as well.

[Green Hoodie Mistborn]

I imagine that with the murder of Sadeas, Adolin will discover a conflict with obedience and bravery. He likely will be banished, but will feel the need to stay (because of the coming conflict) and will have to hide away in some way, maybe still in connection with Shallan. 

 

he'll have all sorts of fallout to deal with related to Sadeas' murder. I bet you he eventually confesses it to Dalinar before it is widely known to the rest of the Alethi and that is going to cause conflict with father/son obedience as well. 

[+eveorjoy]

I say Adolin will be a Dustbringer because...
 

So there.

Edited March 28, 2014 by eveorjoy

[trevorwilliam]

I imagine that with the murder of Sadeas, Adolin will discover a conflict with obedience and bravery. He likely will be banished, but will feel the need to stay (because of the coming conflict) and will have to hide away in some way, maybe still in connection with Shallan. 

 

he'll have all sorts of fallout to deal with related to Sadeas' murder. I bet you he eventually confesses it to Dalinar before it is widely known to the rest of the Alethi and that is going to cause conflict with father/son obedience as well. 

 

What if one of the Releaser-related vows gives him a pass on the Sadeas murder as the right thing to have done? WoB says some orders would be very pleased with his doing. Maybe the murder is the act that sparks the spren's interest in Adolin? We know that all the orders' vows don't have to morally make sense (ie: skybreaker). The future conflict would arise from Szeth on his chull for breaking the law. Szeth and Adolin would then share 1 surge, making that future fight (somewhat) even, I suppose. Do we have any idea what that surge does other than it being incredibly destructive? It must relate to the name 'Dustbringer', as that's the colloquial term the civilians gave to them (and they hate it for being too close to Voidbringer). It must kick up a lot of dust when used.

 

Who has the power and WILL to 'banish' Adolin, anyway? Dalinar, maybe? He vows to unite instead of divide. Does that mean it has to be peaceful unity? Does removing the cancer count as a sect of division?

Edited April 1, 2014 by trevorwilliam

[Kobold King]

What if one of the Releaser-related vows gives him a pass on the Sadeas murder as the right thing to have done?

I've actually been thinking about this theory the past couple of days--I think it is very probable that Adolin will become a Dustbringer, and I think his... last minute interactions with Sadeas may actually make him eligible for a Nahel bond.

 

I believe I may have figured out what the Second Ideal of the Dustbringers is:

 

"I will destroy my enemies."

 

If you think about it, this would fit what little information we have on the Releasers. We know that they were a particularly combat-oriented Order, and that they were highly feared by the common folk of the Desolation eras.

 

Does that sound logical? Would anyone else accept that as the Order's Second Ideal?

 

Also, I see that some people are opposed to the idea of Adolin being a Dustbringer due to their commitment to the "Adolin will revive his Shardblade" theory. I just wish to point out that in the first draft of WoK, we know that somebody was dual-wielding Shardblades. What if in the future we get to see Adolin swinging around an Edgedancer and a Dustbringer Blade? He certainly has the skill for it...

[Aoibheann]

Adolin can feel the Thrill in Eshonai when they are fighting. He encourages her to make poor choices, leading to her fall into the chasm.

The Spren causing the Thrill is about. Adolin is not influenced.

Edit: there's a statement in the prologue to tWoK about the Dustbringers. It made me think they cause explosions.

Edited April 2, 2014 by Aoibheann

[Crazy Mraize]

All I could think about after he killed Sadeas and I finished the book was Nalan would come after him once he and Szeth take care of the Shen leadership. Unlike the Lift situation, I'm sure Elohkar won't just pardon him on the spot.

There is a part of me however, that doesn't want Adolin to be a Radiant. I think there's something special about being a powerful, normal person on Roshar. But maybe he was never normal, his interaction with his own shardblade makes me think he's more intelligent in a cognitive sense.

[Chrono]

As for stuff on the Dustbringers, Shallan mentions in her spiel about the KR that there were some that could "melt stone with a touch." Sounds to me either a manifestation of the Division surge or manipulation of the Abrasion surge. You take your bet, but I'll eat my leather longcoat if that phrase doesn't describe the Dustbringers.

[Dark Knight]

When I first read that part I thought the exact same thing. But upon a re-read of that part it also kind of felt like it was him telling himself to duck. He makes no reference to how some awkward voice told him to duck. 

 

I also seem to remember that at some point when Adolin was dismissing and calling up his blade, he thought he heard a sigh of relief.  Something like that. I've been looking for the quote, maybe I just imagined it in my sleep addled brain. If I find it i'll edit with the quote.

Further fuel to this theory is when he was duelling the 4 shardbearers in the arena he heard Zahel's voice giving him instructions even though at no point are we told that Zahel's was in the arena. It doesn't seem like the sort of thing he would go to see either. I think that was his spren helping him again. Either that or his sword talking back? Zahel might even be the one that helps him become a radiant as Zahel's can see spren.

[Dark Knight]

I've actually been thinking about this theory the past couple of days--I think it is very probable that Adolin will become a Dustbringer, and I think his... last minute interactions with Sadeas may actually make him eligible for a Nahel bond.

 

I believe I may have figured out what the Second Ideal of the Dustbringers is:

 

"I will destroy my enemies."

 

If you think about it, this would fit what little information we have on the Releasers. We know that they were a particularly combat-oriented Order, and that they were highly feared by the common folk of the Desolation eras.

 

Does that sound logical? Would anyone else accept that as the Order's Second Ideal?

 

Also, I see that some people are opposed to the idea of Adolin being a Dustbringer due to their commitment to the "Adolin will revive his Shardblade" theory. I just wish to point out that in the first draft of WoK, we know that somebody was dual-wielding Shardblades. What if in the future we get to see Adolin swinging around an Edgedancer and a Dustbringer Blade? He certainly has the skill for it...

I can't see how his 2nd ideal will specify his enemies. It'll be aimed at enemies of mankind so more along the lines of destroying or stopping tyrants/evil

" I will destroy the tyrant/evil wherever it may be"

[Aleksiel]

Further fuel to this theory is when he was duelling the 4 shardbearers in the arena he heard Zahel's voice giving him instructions even though at no point are we told that Zahel's was in the arena. It doesn't seem like the sort of thing he would go to see either. I think that was his spren helping him again. Either that or his sword talking back? Zahel might even be the one that helps him become a radiant as Zahel's can see spren.

 

Zahel is Adolin and Renarin's swordmaster, why wouldn't he be at the arena? That duel was the event of the year, almost everyone was there. What makes you think Zahel wasn't? Yes, it wasn't stated before Adolin heard his voice, but it makes more sense for Zahel to go be at the arena rather than for him not to be there. So, the way I see it was needed to be said if Zahel wasn't there, not if he was. I don't think it was said Zahel didn't watch duels.

[Dark Knight]

Zahel is Adolin and Renarin's swordmaster, why wouldn't he be at the arena? That duel was the event of the year, almost everyone was there. What makes you think Zahel wasn't? Yes, it wasn't stated before Adolin heard his voice, but it makes more sense for Zahel to go be at the arena rather than for him not to be there. So, the way I see it was needed to be said if Zahel wasn't there, not if he was. I don't think it was said Zahel didn't watch duels.

 

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 387973120 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 437442864 bytes) in Unknown on line 0

It was more Zahels character that I was referring to, he doesn't seem that into the duels. Either way, if he was there then I'm sure he would've got a mention but if I'm recollecting correctly, the passage specifically says he heard his voice. It might just be Adolin recollecting what he was taught but if it is, then he does it twice so it could be the spren that is instructing him. The spren could have imitated Zahel's voice like Pattern does on numerous occasions.

[Aether]

It was more Zahels character that I was referring to, he doesn't seem that into the duels. Either way, if he was there then I'm sure he would've got a mention but if I'm recollecting correctly, the passage specifically says he heard his voice. It might just be Adolin recollecting what he was taught but if it is, then he does it twice so it could be the spren that is instructing him. The spren could have imitated Zahel's voice like Pattern does on numerous occasions.

This seems a bit too convoulted for Brandon, though. He's all about ridiculously deep and subtle foreshadowing, but not to the point of lying to his readers. As far as I am concerned, if it said that he hear Zahel - as opposed to hearing something that sounded like him -  then that's what he heard. Also, Occam's Razor. 

[Darkness]

I've actually been thinking about this theory the past couple of days--I think it is very probable that Adolin will become a Dustbringer, and I think his... last minute interactions with Sadeas may actually make him eligible for a Nahel bond.

 

I believe I may have figured out what the Second Ideal of the Dustbringers is:

 

"I will destroy my enemies."

 

If you think about it, this would fit what little information we have on the Releasers. We know that they were a particularly combat-oriented Order, and that they were highly feared by the common folk of the Desolation eras.

 

Does that sound logical? Would anyone else accept that as the Order's Second Ideal?

 

Also, I see that some people are opposed to the idea of Adolin being a Dustbringer due to their commitment to the "Adolin will revive his Shardblade" theory. I just wish to point out that in the first draft of WoK, we know that somebody was dual-wielding Shardblades. What if in the future we get to see Adolin swinging around an Edgedancer and a Dustbringer Blade? He certainly has the skill for it...

If that is a Dustbringer ideal, then they would definitely hit it off with Nightblood! I wonder if a sword can become a Radiant…? ;-)

[Fifth of Daybreak]

I found a tiny shred that we all can read way too much into and get excited over. 

 

 

"My father," Adolin said with a grunt, sweat from his nose dripping down onto the blade of the knife, "thinks I'm a better man than he is. He strained, and felt Sadeas's grip weaken. "Unfortunately for you, he's wrong."

Sadeas whimpered.

With a surge, Adolin forced the blade up past Sadeas's nose and into the eye socket-piercing the eye like a ripe berry-then rammed it home into the brain. 

WoR Chapter 89: The Four    Bold emphasis was mine. 

 

That's an interesting choice of word to use...

Edited April 15, 2014 by EMTrevor

[maxal]

 

 

Who has the power and WILL to 'banish' Adolin, anyway? Dalinar, maybe? He vows to unite instead of divide. Does that mean it has to be peaceful unity? Does removing the cancer count as a sect of division?

 

I think Adolin's actions will cause a rift in the Kohlin's family. Dalinar, for one, will definitely not be OK with his son's actions once he founds out, not after spending a whole book claiming how such a good son he is. I believe Dalinar may be forced to choose between his so desired "unity" or his son. He cannot ask everyone to follow the code and yet ignore the rules when it comes to his son.

 

No.

 

Dalinar won't have a choice to trial and sentence Adolin. He won't have a choice to banish his own son and that won't sit well with the rest of the family. I can almost see the scene where Dalinar ask Adolin to yield his shardblade and brake the bond (how great would it be if the sowrd suddently starts screaming more badly then the others when that happens?). I do not think Renarin and Navani will agree to this decision. I would love to see calm and quiet Renarin loose temper on his father for having sent his brother away on a one way ticket. I would also love to read a grief stricken Dalinar having a hard time living with the fact he basically lost one of his sons by his own decision. Hard.

 

As for Adolin, well, I think he is in for the roller-coaster of his life. If I were Odium, knowing that Dalinar is leading the Radians, I would want to oppose him the one person he cannot beat, the one person who may be an equivalent tactical genious, the one person he knows Dalinar won't want to kill: his own son. I do think Odium will try hard, very, very hard to get Adolin on his team and with Adolin being exiled, alone and away from everyone he loves, well.... Brandon would be crazy not to explore this avenue.

 

However, I do hope the ploy won't work and that Adolin will, somehow, escape Odium and screw his plans. I love the idea of him reviving his shard's spren (although, if he is banished, he most likely won't have his sword with him anymore) and I love the idea of him becoming a Dutbringer, but I think it will be a long and hard process. I do not know what the second ideal of the Dustbringers may be, but I could definitely see Adolin escape Odium by saying something along the lines: "I will protect those I love even at the expense of my life, I will not be Odium's champion", since this would be pretty much consistent with what we saw from him in the books.

[Dark Knight]

A spren causes the Thrill, so the absence of it just shows the spren was absent and nothing on Adolin as a person.

 

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Mr T calls it evil and names it Nagoech or something like that. He also mentions Moeloch as another evil spren. The fact that Adolin doesn't feel the thrill shows he's progressing into a KR as did Dalinar. Also, his

Rowers in battle and during the rana duel he hears Zahel's voice but there's no mention of Zahel's being there. I think that could be a spren doing a pattern and instructing him using Zahel's voice.

[Aleksiel]

Mr T calls it evil and names it Nagoech or something like that. He also mentions Moeloch as another evil spren. The fact that Adolin doesn't feel the thrill shows he's progressing into a KR as did Dalinar. Also, his

Rowers in battle and during the rana duel he hears Zahel's voice but there's no mention of Zahel's being there. I think that could be a spren doing a pattern and instructing him using Zahel's voice.

 

Since we don't know what attracts Nergaoul, it's too soon to conclude a potential Radiant would push him away. May be Nergaoul was in Jah Keved at the time. Did anyone is the Shattered Plains felt the Thrill at that point? 

 

There was no mention of Zahel not going to the arena. Spren's voice manifesting as a distant voice from the crowd? May be, may be not. Adolin had some interesting inner thoughts in italic that helped him in other cases like 'Duck' in his fight with Szeth, which is different from the dueling scene. I suppose we'll see.

 

edit: wrong name

Edited April 16, 2014 by Aleksiel

[Aether]

Did anyone is the Shattered Plains felt the Thrill at that point? 

Eshonai did, which was how Adolin was able to lead her towards the edge of the chasm without her noticing.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Aether

[Aleksiel]

Eshonai did, which was how Adolin was able to lead her towards the edge of the chasm without her noticing.

 

He claimed to feel the Thrill in her, but that is not the same imo. We didn't get Eshonai's PoV and we can't know if Adolin was mistaken or not.