Stormlight during desolations

[Jeffo]

Ok so go easy, my theories don't usually stand up to much scrutiny but during a reread of way of kings something caught my attention and I wondered if this had been brought up before and whether you guys had any thoughts.

During the first vision that we see Dalinar having he asks for light and a lantern is turned on and he remarks it is primitive as it isn't powered by storm light.

my understanding is that the civilisations were more advanced before a desolation and the desolations actually set them back?

now if that's the case and these people did have stormlight lanterns why not use them?

have they realised a connection to Odium with stormlight?

was it protected seen as wasteful to use it for such a mundane purpose?

or am I just wildly over thinking this?

i look forward to your WOB's of theories!

cheers 

Edited October 14, 2018 by Jeffo

[Spoolofwhool]

Stormlight lanterns, while effective, have the downside that they require gems. In a society downtrodden and scourged by war often, gems would, unfortunately, likely be relegated to more useful usages such as being held by the Radiants so they can power their surgebinding or fabrial construction.

[RShara she/her]

7 hours ago, Jeffo said:

Ok so go easy, my theories don't usually stand up to much scrutiny but during a reread of way of kings something caught my attention and I wondered if this had been brought up before and whether you guys had any thoughts.

During the first vision that we see Dalinar having he asks for light and a lantern is turned on and he remarks it is primitive as it isn't powered by storm light.

my understanding is that the civilisations were more advanced before a desolation and the desolations actually set them back?

now if that's the case and these people did have stormlight lanterns why not use them?

have they realised a connection to Odium with stormlight?

was it protected seen as wasteful to use it for such a mundane purpose?

or am I just wildly over thinking this?

i look forward to your WOB's of theories!

cheers 

The civilizations were set back so far that they didn't have time to recover by the next Desolation. Taln's mantra indicates that most of the time, they have to be taught to soulcast bronze in order to make any kind of decent armor and weapons, which means they haven't even reached the Bronze Age yet. So they are primitive.

[Wintermute]

Didn't Taln say that Kalak would teach them to cast bronze? If so he must have been referring to melting down bronze and casting it rather than Soulcasting, as Kalak doesnt have acces ro the Transformation surge.

I dont have my books with me to double check.

[Spoolofwhool]

3 hours ago, boognish808 said:

Didn't Taln say that Kalak would teach them to cast bronze? If so he must have been referring to melting down bronze and casting it rather than Soulcasting, as Kalak doesnt have acces ro the Transformation surge.

I dont have my books with me to double check.

Quote

“Kalak will teach you to cast bronze, if you have forgotten this. We will Soulcast blocks of metal directly for you. I wish we could teach you steel, but casting is so much easier than forging, and you must have something we can produce quickly. Your stone tools will not serve against what is to come.”

- Words of Radiance, I-7. Taln

It doesn't specify that Kalak will be the one who will soulcast bronze for them. Presumably it will be Battar or Shalash. Alternatively, either of them could lend their honorblade to Kalak so he could soulcast bronze.

Edited October 15, 2018 by Spoolofwhool

[Calderis he/him]

Teach to cast bronze... Not soulcast... 

[Jeffo]

Thanks all.

 

just noticed in the Szeth interlude he talks about walking in stone and using Stormlight for illumination as being unholy, I mention it purely due to the connection above.