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Nahel Bond and Non-Linear Time + Kaladin and Spears


Invocation

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I was recently rereading Way of Kings, and there was the whole deal with Kaladin being shenaniganly good with a spear while still in Hearthstone. Why? Is it because due to his impending Nahel bond to Syl (who was already in the Physical Realm I believe, correct me if I'm wrong)? Why would that have an effect? Is it just Spiritual Realm idealized self shenanigans?

Also, as another thing that kind of feeds off that, Syl seems to experience time non-linearly in some cases, as do many other spren under the correct scenarios (mostly via Nahel bond). Syl says she crossed over into the Physical Realm again because she knew that Kaladin would one day call for her, amending her previous statement of her hearing him call for her. The Stormfather (and a couple other spren that are bonded) say that they don't know what their Radiant can do, but once they do know, they've always known. Here's a theory: you get enough Investiture together that it begins to develop sentience like that and it does funky things with their perception of time. Nightblood does the same thing, seeming mostly stuck within the first few hours/days of his existence. Is that a viable idea?

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10 hours ago, Invocation said:

 

I was recently rereading Way of Kings, and there was the whole deal with Kaladin being shenaniganly good with a spear while still in Hearthstone. Why?

 

I think its just because he put in a lot of practice. A nahel bond doesn't make someone a master with a weapon, but enhances previous training.

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1 hour ago, Invocation said:

What previous training? He was like 10.

Given that the societal development of Alethikar is similar to that of medieval Europe, I think it is likely that boys where taught at least something of how to hold a spear. Also, given my experiences with my friends at that age, we would turn almost any long, reasonably thin item into a sword, spear, bow, or gun. Say what you will about cultures of violence, but given that Alethi society is built on war and conflict, I think it is likely that this is where Kaladin got his start with the spear.

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20 minutes ago, Gasper said:

Given that the societal development of Alethikar is similar to that of medieval Europe, I think it is likely that boys where taught at least something of how to hold a spear. Also, given my experiences with my friends at that age, we would turn almost any long, reasonably thin item into a sword, spear, bow, or gun. Say what you will about cultures of violence, but given that Alethi society is built on war and conflict, I think it is likely that this is where Kaladin got his start with the spear.

Quote

Something changed in that moment. Kal felt an energy as he held the weapon, an excitement that washed away his pain. He spun, smashing the staff into one of Jost’s hands. Jost let go with that hand, screaming. Kal brought his weapon around and slammed it into the boy’s side. Kal had never held a weapon before, never been in a fight any more dangerous than a wrestling match with Tien

 

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There's been topics about this sort of thing before, but I don't think we really reached a solid conclusion.

1) Kal has a lot of natural talent.  He's a spear genius.

2) Because he will be a spear master, he has always had an affinity for spears.  This is the timey-wimey Spiritual connection that at lot of people frown at.

Edited by Zellyia
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4 minutes ago, Zellyia said:

There's been topic's about this sort of thing before, but I don't think we really reached a solid conclusion.

1) Kal has a lot of natural talent.  He's a spear genius.

2) Because he will be a spear master, he has always had an affinity for spears.  This is the timey-wimey Spiritual connection that at lot of people frown at.

I hope Brandon builds on this in later books, because it's interesting to think about.

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There's a WoB for that.

Quote

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

Why is Kaladin so proficient--like naturally born to wield a spear. Is that a weapon he likes or is it a destiny for him?

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

So destiny is a strong term. I would say he has natural aptitude, but no more so than a normal person who has a natural aptitude for something. But the way the Spiritual Realm works in the cosmere and the way Connection works, there were certain things that were happening to Kaladin before they happened.

Questioner [PENDING REVIEW]

*inaudible* Time and space.

Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW]

It's like Syl says in one of the books. "You didn't know me then, but I knew you then. Even though we hadn't met yet, I still knew you." You see some weird Connection things too. And these are mostly just for fun sort of cosmere connections. Like when you see Syl take on the look of Shallan standing on the beach. There's gonna be a connection there. It's forming, it doesn't exist yet, but all things are one in the Spiritual Realm, and we're just kinda seeing echoes of that. It's not meant to be destiny, it's more meant to be, "Hey there's little connections happening".

I would not say Kaladin is any more naturally gifted in that than your average professional sports player is naturally gifted in what they do.

source

So yeah, he IS naturally talented but also there's weird Spiritual echos going on.

The Spiritual Realm is screwy.

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A theory would be that the proto-radiant candidacy is like a small Connection that gets larger as the KR forms a nahel bond and progresses through their Ideals. The fact that Kaladin has a natural aptitude in fighting with a spear is an indication of that small Connection even as a kid.

Connection transcends time so the past, the present and the future are interconnected. Maybe there is a vague sense of reincarnation or destiny that affects young Kaladin from either the past or the future. 

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8 hours ago, Scion of the Mists said:

I've seen that WoB and it's always bothered me.  Have we seen any other examples of young characters being extra super good at something because they'll be extra super good at that thing in the future?  Or is Kaladin the only one?  

Mistborn Spoiler

Arguably Vin.  Even before she knew what she was she was using what little Allomancy she had to good effect.

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On 11/20/2018 at 5:57 AM, Scion of the Mists said:

I've seen that WoB and it's always bothered me.  Have we seen any other examples of young characters being extra super good at something because they'll be extra super good at that thing in the future?  Or is Kaladin the only one?  

Tien (a proto-lightweaver) was very good at carving. Shallan was very good at drawing. Jasnah was very good at sarcasm and snark. 

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10 hours ago, A Traveler said:

Tien (a proto-lightweaver) was very good at carving. Shallan was very good at drawing. Jasnah was very good at sarcasm and snark. 

Best first post ever. Welcome to the Shard! Please tell me you made an account just to say that :D

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