First time in forever joining a fansite

[rererak she/her]

Uh... hi? Introduction pages have always been a bit of an awkward thing for me. How do I start? With a name? A 'hello'? A background story? I can do all of those, but I'm never sure how to do them without sounding mechanical, so instead you get the weird ramblings of a person who chooses to name herself after a crazy wizard of her own making.

Honestly, excluding sites where I can get advice from professionals or people with a least a little more experience than I (in otherwords, I joined a cat help site back when I first got my new kitten), I haven't been a part of a fansite since high school, and those were largely containing "fangirlism" at jumping at the cutest boy in whatever anime/movie/whatever I was into at that point. Man, I've come a long way. I hope. However, I ran into a recent dilemna. A friend got me into this book back in September of 2013, you see, and I read it patiently at first, being polite (I don't like most books my friends loan me) and then prompty finished it off in record time. Of course, when the second book out I grabbed it and read it in 3 days. Sooner if pesky sleep and work weren't required.

 

Anyway, I finished it, tried to push it onto others and returned to the friend who loaned me the first book. He hadn't read the book and had too many books on his list to return to it quickly enough for my patience. Only three people in my group of friends agreed to give it a try, and of them only one (my mother) has actually started and is only about half way through Way of Kings at this point in time. So what is a girl who has become so obsessed with this book that she has re-read her favorite scene in Words of Radiance four times and is presently rereading Way of Kings again to do? (Ugh that sentence looks ugly) I have so many questions I want to bounce off and so many fan theories (and romances, some parts of me have not advanced far from my high school self) that I want to lay to rest. So, I finally arrived here, to now torment the people of this forum with my questions. Questions/Statements I hope to go into deeper, but my primary ones are as follows:

Who is the Alethi and Azish person Elhokar has been noted talking to by both Szeth and Jasnah in the prologues?

Anyone else note how Kalak and Jezrien and Kaladin all feel as though they're broken? It IS a point Syl mentions...

I feel as though Navani-Gavilar-Dalinar have a very similar relationship as Shallan-Adolin-Kaladin where the girl "chooses" the middle option but secretly loves the last one (no one else in all the comments I read around the 'net feels like pointing this out, but I have not read all the comments around the 'net)

Will there be a chance Eshonai becomes a Radiant? I somehow doubt it but one can hope....

Did I miss why the Parshendi are so upset if someone moves their dead? Also, what value does the chasmfiend hold that would make the Alethi think they think the fiends are gods? (also, chasmfiends totally didn't look like what I thought they would look like)

On that note, what secrets do the fiends hold? Shallan brings so many questions to light. Why pupate on the plateaus, why stick around afterwards?

GAH, so many questions. Well, I guess that's why I'm here. Also, I will be getting into his other books soon.

Edited March 21, 2014 by rererak

[Shardlet he/him]

Welcome, rererek!  You have come to the right place.

 

On to your questions: 1) The Azish looking fellow proclaims himself to be Nalan (one of the Heralds).  You can also see him make an appearance in the Lift and Ym interludes as well as the final Szeth chapter in WoR (Words of Radiance; we like a lot of acronyms here).  As to the Alethi looking fellow, we don't know.  But some have speculated that this is Kelek (The Herald whose POV makes up the Prelude found in WoK).

 

2) There is an interesting parallel ther.  I wonder if Navani will recognize it and give advice to Shallan.

 

3) There is a chance, but I'm pretty sure that we have WoB (Word of Brandon) indicating that historically there were no Parshendi KR (Knights Radiant).

 

4) You did not miss it.  But Brandon has said that this is primarily a cultural feature and that there is no particular importance to the story of this practice (if I recall correctly).

 

5) Gavilar and his scholars misinterpretted the importance of the chasmfiends to the Parshendi.  It appears that they would have been a food and/or gem source.  WoR makes it pretty clear that they are not nor are they related to the Pashendi gods.

 

6) It seems that the storms play a significant role in the chasmfiend's pupation.  Other than this we know little if anything else.

[rererak she/her]

Thanks, I must have missed it the Nalan part. This is why rereads are important.  And I know that Chasmfiends aren't their gods, I was just wondering what actions would've lead them to assume they were.

 

Also, your signature makes me smile. The Lopen quote is one of three I use to try and convince people to read the book.

[Cracknut he/him]

Shallan+Adolin+Renarin would've been more like Navani+Dalinar+Gavilar but Renarin got creep-zoned and now she's ruining my Jasnah+Kaladin ship :angryfanboygonefangirlingandstuff:

Welcome btw Have you read Brandons other adult novels?

[rererak she/her]

Not yet, they are on my list but a lack of funds inhibits that. I have a friend who I will be meeting up with who owns Mistborn and we'll be doing a trade (my Stormlight for his Mistborn), outside of that we'll have to wait and see. I REALLY want to read Warbreaker though, as I've heard rumors Zahel is in it.

[Cracknut he/him]

Not yet, they are on my list but a lack of funds inhibits that. I have a friend who I will be meeting up with who owns Mistborn and we'll be doing a trade (my Stormlight for his Mistborn), outside of that we'll have to wait and see. I REALLY want to read Warbreaker though, as I've heard rumors Zahel is in it.

Warbreaker is free, you can download pdf from here.

[Claincy he/him]

3) There is a chance, but I'm pretty sure that we have WoB (Word of Brandon) indicating that historically there were no Parshendi KR (Knights Radiant).

Yeah we have WoB to that. However he did say that it was possible for Parshendi to become knights radiant now. So maybe, maybe not. He has also said that each book will focus on a different order of the Knight's Radiant and implied that it would focus on someone from that order and Eshonai will have a viewpoint book (book 4). So it is quite possible that Eshonai will become one, I'm calling Willshaper as they are noted as we know that they loved adventure and that fits Eshonai perfectly.

 

 

Q:  Is Eshonai going to be one of the Radiants?

A:  In the past, Parshendi were not allowed to become Knights Radiant. However, from what I've said, might imply that that can change. No promises.

 

 

“And now, if there was an uncut gem among the Radiance, it was the Willshapers; for though enterprising, they were erratic, and Invia wrote of them, “capricious, frustrating, unreliable,” as taking it for granted that others would agree; this may have been an intolerant view, as often Invia expressed, for this order was said to be most varied, inconsistent in temperament save for a general love of adventure, novelty, or oddity. —From Words of Radiance, chapter 7, page 1 ”

And here is a thread discussing the possibility.

And I thought I was clever for picking willshapers for her. *sigh*