[OB] What do you want to happen in the year gap between Book 3 and Book 4?

[MountainKing]

• I want Lopen to say his third oath or have his third oath at the beginning of the book.
• More of Bridge Four getting some type of spren
• I want more radiants in general to work their way towards Urithiru
• Rlain to have found a better form than warform, I actually want to see Bridge Tour's reaction to that.

[RShara she/her]

I don't think there will be much of significance in the year gap. Remember that there has been about that much time in between many of his other books, particularly Mistborn. Think of what happened in those gaps, and it will probably be comparable.

[mosaab]

I really hope he changes he mind about this gap, it's completely unnecessary. Things are just to up in the air for that, after the forth book would be better:

- after kaladin shallan swear the forth ideal, and be a little bit stable.

- after Venli join the side of the radiants

- after urithiru is reawkened 

And so many things, it took them less than a year from TWOK till now to devolop this much, discover this much, I don't buy that an entire year will pass without any great moves from either side, and if it happens than that's just bad writing 

Edited July 6, 2018 by mosaab

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

If more Bridge 4 are going to be Radiants, it should happen between book 3 and 4. The exception I can see is Rock: I think he could be a Bondsmith.

 

[Subvisual Haze]

3 minutes ago, Toaster Retribution said:

If more Bridge 4 are going to be Radiants, it should happen between book 3 and 4. The exception I can see is Rock: I think he could be a Bondsmith.

 

Rock loves to cook and to act as the personal therapist for Bridge 4 members.  He's a perfect Edgedancer.  Rock's cooking + Lift's stormlight metabolism = hilarity and awesomeness for all.

[MountainKing]

17 minutes ago, RShara said:

I don't think there will be much of significance in the year gap. Remember that there has been about that much time in between many of his other books, particularly Mistborn. Think of what happened in those gaps, and it will probably be comparable.

I think that Bridge Four getting their own spren, more Radiants making their  way towards Urithiru, and everyone just getting better with their powers would be comparable to what happened in those gaps especially considering what happened between the Well of Ascension and the Hero of Ages.

[mosaab]

What about Odium? Is he going to sit on his chull for a year? The idea of a year where nothing happens but the radiant gathering and training is ridiculous. 

The voidbringers are not hapless koloss or petty nobility squabbling amongst themselves, they are legions of destruction, united in purpose,  fighting on multiple planes of existence, using every weapon at their disposal. A year is long enough for all of those restored Singers to start getting with what Odium is selling. 

The singer's comprise the bulk of Odium's army, since every one of them can take a form of power and also house the fused; odiums most experienced soldiers and general's and voidbinders. If Dalinar,Venli and Rlain manage to flip them from odium's side, it's over. The fused have no hosts, so they are trapped in damnation. The unmade can be captured, and Odium can only win if he start to SMASH things around like Ruin. But unlike Ruin there is another shard waiting to knock his teeth out if he tried. 

Sorry for the rant.

[RShara she/her]

6 minutes ago, mosaab said:

What about Odium? Is he going to sit on his chull for a year? The idea of a year where nothing happens but the radiant gathering and training is ridiculous. 

The voidbringers are not hapless koloss or petty nobility squabbling amongst themselves, they are legions of destruction, united in purpose,  fighting on multiple planes of existence, using every weapon at their disposal. A year is long enough for all of those restored Singers to start getting with what Odium is selling. 

The singer's comprise the bulk of Odium's army, since every one of them can take a form of power and also house the fused; odiums most experienced soldiers and general's and voidbinders. If Dalinar,Venli and Rlain manage to flip them from odium's side, it's over. The fused have no hosts, so they are trapped in damnation. The unmade can be captured, and Odium can only win if he start to SMASH things around like Ruin. But unlike Ruin there is another shard waiting to knock his teeth out if he tried. 

Sorry for the rant.

Well, what did...Oh Mistborn spoilers

Spoiler

Ruin do in the year that he was free between WoA and HoA?

Consolidated power, positioned troops. Very boring stuff.

[mosaab]

Spoiler

Ruin didn't have his body, otherwise he would have just destroyed the the world like he said, also ruin only had about twenty inquisitors and mindless koloss, odium has unmade,spren,fused and singers.

 

Odium consolidated his power, and positioned his troops during Oathbringer, he conquered Alethkar and lost only the thrill in thaylen city. 

[Doomdrinker she/her]

All I really want to happen is getting a bunch of new radiants getting introduced.

[Andy92]

12 minutes ago, mosaab said:

  Reveal hidden contents

Ruin didn't have his body, otherwise he would have just destroyed the the world like he said, also ruin only had about twenty inquisitors and mindless koloss, odium has unmade,spren,fused and singers.

 

Odium consolidated his power, and positioned his troops during Oathbringer, he conquered Alethkar and lost only the thrill in thaylen city. 

Odium lost his Champion in Thaylen City. What Dalinar did was a pretty significant blow to his planning. 

[+robardin he/him]

I think one of the things we'll only get in flashback to what happened in the "gap time" between books 3 and 4 will be exactly what happened or was going on with Rock. What "lies had he told" to Bridge Four about his family or clan? Why did he say he was a fool for "letting" his brother go on his foolish quest to challenge Sadeas for his Shardplate, implying he could have stopped him? What was the real reason he refused to enter combat before, and what does it mean now that he has done so?

I bet we'll see him either on his way back to the Horneater Peaks, or already having gone back, on something related to his having taken up the Shardbow and killed Amaram (and becoming a full Shardbearer - which if he really is Going Radiant, he won't be able to touch). But he won't just come out and tell Bridge Four what the deal is, either.

Now, Rock was already a Windrunner squire who (only) drew in Stormlight when Kaladin was near, as recently as his arrival through the Oathgate to the battle at Thaylen Fields; does that make it easier, or harder, for him to bond a spren other than an honorspren?

Edited July 6, 2018 by robardin

[mosaab]

Just now, Andy92 said:

Odium lost his Champion in Thaylen City. What Dalinar did was a pretty significant blow to his planning. 

Dalinar was the quickest way to freedom, that's it. And he didn't seem all that broken up about it when he talked to Taravangian.

 

Edited July 6, 2018 by mosaab

[Nathrangking he/him]

The reunion of Zahel and a certain sword that bleeds black smoke for starters. 

Perhaps Azure makes her way back into the PR and makes her way to Urithiru.

Hoid finally returns to the Alethi and lets a few secrets out.

Taravangian gets a visit from an Assassin in white.

Renarin learns how to use his surges effectively.

Ishar bites the dust. 

Liss is revealed to be Chana.

Edited July 6, 2018 by Nathrangking

[Angsos]

I don't seek Rock as a Bondsmith, I think it'll be Rlain and someone we don't expect because there has to be a reason Rlain hasn't got a spren when everyone around him, including non-bridge member are squires or knights.

I would love to see a Rock and Lift conversation, maybe he can make different pancakes

[CrazyRioter she/her]

I absolutely support Rlain as Bondsmith.

I want to see Adolin and Lift interact, and more Adolin and Maya stuff. I might be a bit obsessed with Adolin and Maya.

[Calderis he/him]

Everything on both sides shifted with the end of Oathbringer. 

The Voidbringers have actual land to fortify and manage, and assaults to prep for. 

The coalition has to basically redo all of their diplomatic efforts and position their own troops for defense and assault prep themselves. 

It will be a year of nothing but minor skirmishes and logistics. Necessary setup that is absolutely essential to the war effort on both sides and extremely boring to read. 

I'm sure any significant character events will be flashbacked or at minimum alluded back to. They've hit a natural lull in events caused by the aftermath of Thaylen City that makes gap understandable. 

[mosaab]

Just now, Calderis said:

Everything on both sides shifted with the end of Oathbringer. 

The Voidbringers have actual land to fortify and manage, and assaults to prep for. 

The coalition has to basically redo all of their diplomatic efforts and position their own troops for defense and assault prep themselves. 

It will be a year of nothing but minor skirmishes and logistics. Necessary setup that is absolutely essential to the war effort on both sides and extremely boring to read. 

I'm sure any significant character events will be flashbacked or at minimum alluded back to. They've hit a natural lull in events caused by the aftermath of Thaylen City that makes gap understandable. 

you're  pretending that they are equal forces, but they aren't. Rebuffing the voidbringers at thaylen city is not equal to losing Alethkar, also Odium's forces are fighting on multiple fronts. They attacked thaylen city while they were rebuilding kholinar, the unmade are loose on the land,the everstorm rages on, bringing in more fused. What lull are talking about?

You say minor skirmishes, but between whom? These are Regals and Fused with forms of power and voidbinging, not some parshendi tribe. I almost forgot the thunderclasts. Maybe an alethi army supported by a dozen shardbarers can fight off a fused and Regal army, but what about a reshi army? or herdazian army? or horneater army?

I don't mind the desolation being a drawn-out long campaign, but that's not what we got in OB. we got an enemy who is organized, methodical & prepared. suddenly having them stop for a year so the heroes can catch their breath is bad writing.

 

 

[MountainKing]

There will be no regal army, they used the Parshendi as vessels for Fused, and most of the Parshendi were already dead because of them fighting the Alethi army, the fused dislike the Parshmen because they behave like humans, and we have no confirmed Parshmen even getting a regal form, they get regular forms. The Parshmen don't know how to fight and just about all the Parshmen, besides the Alethi Parshmen don't want to fight. They joined Odium's side not because they agree with him, but because he offered them continued freedom, and once they realized that the humans can't take away their minds again, what's to stop them from breaking away from Odium.

[Calderis he/him]

"Regals" are non-Fused regular singers with forms of power. There aren't currently many of them, and won't be until more of the Singers follow the Fused and Odium in truth. Odium doesn't have an army beyond the Fused. He has a population of people he needs to convert. Thaylen city was supposed to be a show of power to help this effort and it failed spectacularly. 

The Singers, for the most part, are not yet motivated to fight. 

[mosaab]

The fused are inpatient with the singer's, the listeners are the ones who fought the alethi. Regals are singers who adapt forms of power by accepting a spren to themselves. 

You are acting like the only crime of the humans is taking away the singers minds, this entire war started because the humans took the singers home.

 

[Mage of Lirigon he/him]

Just now, mosaab said:

You are acting like the only crime of the humans is taking away the singers minds, this entire war started because the humans took the singers home.

True enough, but the singers don't really have a sense of that. Most of them have no real desire to fight humans at all, from what we've seen.

[Calderis he/him]

16 minutes ago, Mage of Lirigon said:

True enough, but the singers don't really have a sense of that. Most of them have no real desire to fight humans at all, from what we've seen.

This. They must be truly converted. If they can be cajoled into the right mindset to accept a spren, they can be controlled. Without that mindset, they will continue to be reticent. 

[mosaab]

Just now, Mage of Lirigon said:

True enough, but the singers don't really have a sense of that. Most of them have no real desire to fight humans at all, from what we've seen.

They may not want to fight the humans, but why would they fight Odium for them? The humans took their minds and enslaved them for millennia. Odium gave them their minds back, Odium gave them their lands back, Odium gave them their powers back. They did fight and they won Alethkar, and there are far more fused to guide them than there are radiants, who don't know their history or their power all that well.

honour is dead,the heralds are broken. one year or ten years, it's not gonna make a difference, this is not a war you win with numbers, this is a war you win by breaking old barriers. Like opening a perpendicularity or singer saying the oaths or unmade joining the other side.

The only thing a time-skip will do is break narative momentum.

[Calderis he/him]

They don't have to fight Odium. All they need to do is fail to engage. Until this point, Odium has been able to take part directly. Due to his acceptance of a trial of champions and Dalinar's rejection, he can no longer do that. He has to act through intermediaries. This is the entire reason he made his agreement with Taravangian. 

He is more limited than he was, and must rely completely on Moash, Taravangian, and the Fused, until the Singers can be converted and start taking form of power for themselves. Which he now has Venli covertly acting against as well. 

It is not a straightforward surge in which he has the moment like you are implying. His momentum was halted at Thaylen City.