navybrandt he/him Posted April 24, 2014 Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 If this is discussed elsewhere, just point me in the right direction, but I was wondering about what Syl said to Kaladin in Way of Kings. In chapter 2, "She bent down, looking at his hand from different angles, like a child expecting to find a hidden piece of candy. “What is it?” Her voice was like a whisper. “You can show me. I won’t tell anyone. Is it a treasure? Have you cut off a piece of the night’s cloak and tucked it away? Is it the heart of a beetle, so tiny yet powerful?” Any theroies on what these two expressions mean? I saw one person say the heart of a beetle might be like a tiny gemheart, but would that really be powerful? And what does the night's cloak mean? I haven't heard a single theory. Maybe someone could bring it up at a BS Q&A... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent he/him Posted April 24, 2014 Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 "Piece of the night's cloak" could be a metaphor, an expression to say "a piece of darkness." "Heart of a beetle" sounds much more literal to me - I had been assuming, perhaps wrongly so, that small animals have powerful hearts. In retrospect, it makes more sense for a large animal to have an overdeveloped cardiac muscle, but I keep thinking about how many species of insects can lift several times their body weight. So there, strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimmingly he/him Posted April 24, 2014 Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 Of course, syl is basically the definition of flighty and whimsical, so it could be poetic license on her part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybrandt he/him Posted April 24, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 It could simply be Syl waxing poetic. Personally, I'm going to be on the lookout for these references in future Cosmere books. If BS ever comes to Virginia Beach, I might ask him about it too. Regardless, if anybody else has any theories, please post them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortaan he/him Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Considering Syl has no heart at all, any physical being's heart might seem powerful to her. As for Night's Cloak... well, there is the Nightwatcher. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSU Tiger he/him Posted April 28, 2014 Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 I always thought it referred to a gemheart for the beetle and I never gave much thought to night's cloak. As it is not capitalized I do not think it refers to the Nightwatcher, There is very little to go on and my guess is poetic for both. I'll show the only none mundane reference to night I found but I don't think they apply. Venli hummed Irritation. “In the old day, all forms came from the gods. We have found that nimbleform does not harm us. Why would stormform?” “It is different,” Eshonai said. “Sing the song; hum it to yourself. ‘Its coming brings the gods their night.’ The ancient powers are dangerous.” WoR I-4 Stormform is said to cause A tempest of winds and showers, Beware its powers, beware its powers. Though its coming brings the gods their night, It obliges a bloodred spren. Beware its end, beware its end. —From the Listener Song of Winds, 4th stanza WoR ch22 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybrandt he/him Posted April 28, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2014 Great quote... It really makes me think "what is the gods night?" I doubt Mr Sanderson puts too much in his books that don't mean anything, so I tend to over-analyze every syllable. I've read both SA books that are released so far, and now I'm slowing reading them again and making notes and really analyzing each chapter. (Is that a sign of a problem? ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybrandt he/him Posted November 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 I've been thinking about this, and what if a tiny beetle gemheart is incredibly powerful, but no one knows it yet - except Syl. You know how in the movie Monsters, Inc. laughter is way more powerful than screams, but no one knew about it. What if tiny gemhearts are the same. After all, why would anyone go to the trouble of harvesting a gemheart from a beetle when they think it's not very powerful? Then, one day for reasons unknown, someone tries to use a beetle gemheart and it turns out to be 10x more powerful than a greatshell gemheart. This is obviously wild speculation, but it'd be pretty cool if it turned out to be true. still no idea what night's cloak means yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Tavash Shar Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 I've been thinking about this, and what if a tiny beetle gemheart is incredibly powerful, but no one knows it yet - except Syl. You know how in the movie Monsters, Inc. laughter is way more powerful than screams, but no one knew about it. What if tiny gemhearts are the same. After all, why would anyone go to the trouble of harvesting a gemheart from a beetle when they think it's not very powerful? Then, one day for reasons unknown, someone tries to use a beetle gemheart and it turns out to be 10x more powerful than a greatshell gemheart. This is obviously wild speculation, but it'd be pretty cool if it turned out to be true. still no idea what night's cloak means yet... Well think about it. What are gemhearts? Sources of investiture. And we have a WoB that gemhearts structure and composition are just as important as there size for determining their power. Depending on the Beetle they might just end up being pretty powerful compaired to a normal gem. That said the great shells already remind me of Massive bugs so I don't think they will be stronger than those....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver he/him Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 (edited) Random thought that just occurred to me- and which I have no idea how to research. So... I thought I'd leave it here, then watch you guys poke holes in the theory with a stick. Could the gemhearts of smaller creatures be influenced by how often they beat? Smaller animals (I think) have hearts that beat more often per minute than larger ones do... if that's the case- and the beetle heart isn't just poetic licence (which I think it is, but I digress)- might smaller creatures gemhearts have developed in a way that lets them hold stormlight for longer? Edited November 19, 2014 by Quiver Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oudeis he/him Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 Realize that we yet have no reason to assume that "gemhearts" have anything to do with the cardiological organ which pumps blood through the human system. It's theoretically possible, but not necessarily presumptive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navybrandt he/him Posted November 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 So, perhaps the beetle gemheart has superior structure and composition than chasmfiend gemhearts. I like the idea that they maybe can't hold as much stormlight, but they can hold it for a longer time. They might end up being the only source of stormlight at the end of a weeping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Tavash Shar Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 Realize that we yet have no reason to assume that "gemhearts" have anything to do with the cardiological organ which pumps blood through the human system. It's theoretically possible, but not necessarily presumptive. I was under the impression that the Greatshells used storm light to support their massive bodies and the spren they are in symbiosis with. Making their gemheart a very important organ for them. Also now that I think about it the gemheart could be touching there Moving blood............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oudeis he/him Posted November 19, 2014 Report Share Posted November 19, 2014 Since, according to Adolin, they are connected by "sinews and veins", they almost certainly touch moving blood. It's widely assumed that it must have something to do with their size, and we know their size is connected to their spren. The question, of course, is how are these things all connected to each other? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AerionBFII he/him Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 I always thought it was a nod towards Patrick Rothfuss's character Auri. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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