Who is speaking to Nohadon in OB?

[Zelly]

In Dalinar's flashback of Galivar's funeral (ch 105), he over hears Jasnah reading the beginning of The Way of Kings.  In the passage, Nohadon is speaking to "one who claimed to have seen the future" and gives him life advice about journeys vs destinations that ultimately motivates him to act.

The gender of the "one" is vague. The doubled quotations are tricky as they are a quote within character dialogue, but I think at one point there is a "she replied" that refers to this unnamed speaker rather than Jasnah. 

Do we know anything about who is mystery lady may be?  

I'm leaning towards Cultivation as she speaks about paths and choices.  Possibly one of the female Heralds?  If not a female, it sounds like it could possibly be Hoid from the speech/tone.

Edited October 28, 2018 by Zellyia

[Zelly]

Pardon my bump, but anyone? Anything?

[Quantus he/him]

OK, I have a theory, but it's so far out there and lacking any but the most tinfoil-hat of support, I dont think you are going to like it:  A Returned, or some other agent of Endowment. 

We know that Warbreaker was conceived as to provide backstory for Vasher and Nightblood that were already part of the proto-Stormlight.  We know that the honor-blades represent a Version 1 of such blades, with Spren-blades as the Version 2 and Nightblood the Type IV Robot Spren is Version 3.  We've been told that the Radiants were not intentionally created by Honor and Cultivation but rather because the spren figured out some of how the Honorblades were working.  We know that Worldhoppers have been traveling between Nalthis and Roshar for a really long time, and that the prophetic Paintings from the Court of Gods on Nalthis are legit enough to be marketed to offworld spren (and seemed to anticipate some of Roshars stuff).   And we know that Endowment has a Strong tendency to manifest the Number 5 in her orbit (Nalthis Mostly) which could imply her meddling is involved.  I know that she did not give that impression in her Letter, but that seems consistent with both a) her retaining plausible deniability in Writing, and b)the general nature of Endowment seems to have and/or imply a relatively Hands-Off approach to problem-solving in the sense that she grants others the knowledge and power to accomplish things themselves, and then stands back and lets them succeed or fail on their own.  I could see her acting against the obvious threat that Odium represents in this sort of round-about way. Given how unsympathetic she was about the slain shards, I dont really see her just waiting for Rayse to arrive at her doorstep, but I could see her arranging that the fighting happens elsewhere

 

[Gasper he/him]

On 11/9/2018 at 8:43 AM, Quantus said:

OK, I have a theory, but it's so far out there and lacking any but the most tinfoil-hat of support, I dont think you are going to like it:  A Returned, or some other agent of Endowment.

I think you might be on to something. Why would the Returned be making their own shardblades and why did that Shardblade happen to become the cosmere equivalent of the Deathstar? I agree with all of your other points except one, the Returned are a rather recent development on Nalthis. Vo, the first returned was less than a thousand years before Warbreaker, which is most likely with in 300 years of Stormlight. I think that the person might be another agent of Endowment and they made the Returned at create items like Nightblood to deal with things like the Fused and Thunderclasts. 

[Quantus he/him]

On 11/10/2018 at 5:05 PM, Gasper said:

I think you might be on to something. Why would the Returned be making their own shardblades and why did that Shardblade happen to become the cosmere equivalent of the Deathstar? I agree with all of your other points except one, the Returned are a rather recent development on Nalthis. Vo, the first returned was less than a thousand years before Warbreaker, which is most likely with in 300 years of Stormlight. I think that the person might be another agent of Endowment and they made the Returned at create items like Nightblood to deal with things like the Fused and Thunderclasts. 

This is a good point.  I had a really well-written follow-up theory for that, but my browser just crashed and lost it so I'll cut to the chase: 

Returned are a suspiciously recent development when compared to how long Endowment and other shards have supposedly been settled on their worlds.  So what if the intermingling of the two worlds is even deeper: What If Returned are the result of Endowment attempting to copy the Heralds?

[+Invocation]

54 minutes ago, Quantus said:

Returned are a suspiciously recent development when compared to how long Endowment and other shards have supposedly been settled on their worlds.  So what if the intermingling of the two worlds is even deeper: What If Returned are the result of Endowment attempting to copy the Heralds?

I thought there was something about Endowment upping the amount of Returned for some reason (something happened elsewhere in the cosmere* or some such and Endowment got nervous), but I can't find it now, so that suggests they are supposed to be some sort of defense against things from another world, much like the Heralds and the Oathpact.

 

*The last time I saw something about that, it was theorized that the event that made Endowment nervous was Harmony's Ascension. 

[Gasper he/him]

4 hours ago, Quantus said:

Returned are a suspiciously recent development when compared to how long Endowment and other shards have supposedly been settled on their worlds.  So what if the intermingling of the two worlds is even deeper: What If Returned are the result of Endowment attempting to copy the Heralds?

It is. My best guess is that Endowment want a way to defend his/her? world against beings like the Heralds, Fused/thunderclasts, and beings like Kelsier. Thus the Returned. The Returned are limited and recycle themselves in what I am guessing is an effort to given Endowment a Herald like army. Given their large amount of investure in the divine breath, it is likely that their main purpose is to store breath and use it to make and power weapons like Nightblood.