Book 4 Predictions

[Karger he/him]

2 hours ago, SwordNimiForPresident said:

WB Spoils

But only because he knew the danger and specifically avoiding looking at it or thinking about it.  He also ordered it to be thrown out of the way so I don't think he could resist long term.  Also the case is slightly different more then a few fused are actually crazy.

[Inky]

8 hours ago, Subvisual Haze said:

As this book is from Eshonai's viewpoint I expect it to be full of tragedy from the perspective of a heavily oppressed minority.  By the end of it I expect I will be seriously considering adopting the "kill all humans" viewpoint.

It's not from Eshonai's viewpoint, because she's dead. It's from Venli's viewpoint with Eshonai flashbacks

Edited April 10, 2019 by Inky

[SwordNimiForPresident the sword/that sword]

2 hours ago, Karger said:

But only because he knew the danger and specifically avoiding looking at it or thinking about it.

Quote from WB, Vasher PoV. Spoilered because this is SA.

Spoiler

Vasher watched, hoping to see the lust appear in Denth's eyes. Unfortunately, Denth was far to strong-willed to be taken by the sword.

 

2 hours ago, Karger said:

He also ordered it to be thrown out of the way so I don't think he could resist long term.

This could just as easily be because he doesn't want anyone else picking it up and using it on him.

2 hours ago, Karger said:

Also the case is slightly different more then a few fused are actually crazy.

I agree that the crazy Fused would be easier for Nightblood to influence.

[Karger he/him]

58 minutes ago, SwordNimiForPresident said:

I agree that the crazy Fused would be easier for Nightblood to influence.

Perhaps that is how the oathpact will be restarted?  They take Nightblood with them to Braize and use him to kill fused there.

[SwordNimiForPresident the sword/that sword]

1 hour ago, Karger said:

Perhaps that is how the oathpact will be restarted?  They take Nightblood with them to Braize and use him to kill fused there.

I doubt Nightblood will be the answer to the Desolations, it's not a Stormlight character. It would be like an Elantrian showing up and winning the war in one day. I get the feeling that Brandon included the characters from WB because he thought it was fun and he knows that the fans like crossovers. I also expect that he wanted to be able to write a little for characters who might not get a book of their own for 10-20 years.

Also, that wouldn't restart the oathpact, it would simply remove it's reason for existing.

Edited April 11, 2019 by SwordNimiForPresident

[Calderis he/him]

28 minutes ago, SwordNimiForPresident said:

I get the feeling that Brandon included the characters from WB because he thought it was fun and he knows that the fans like crossovers

Nightblood and Vasher both originated as Stormlight characters. Warbreaker was written as a prequel to explore the backstory of the characters, and then confused things by being published first. 

Quote

Questioner (paraphrased)

Why did you put Nightblood in The Stormlight Archive?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Nightblood and Vasher were in the original version of The Way of Kings before I wrote Warbreaker. Warbreaker in a way was actually introducing those two characters I'd already created.

Words of Radiance Houston signing (March 11, 2014)

 

[SwordNimiForPresident the sword/that sword]

@Calderis I'm not sure where you're going with that. I am aware of that WoB. Are you saying that you do think that Nightblood will be as important to the story as the viewpoint characters? I get that they originated in the first version of WoK, but Nightblood isn't even in that book anymore, he doesn't make an appearance until the prologue of WoR. As for Vasher, he has very little page time, and only one viewpoint chapter that I can remember.

Like I said, I feel like it would cheapen the story to make them important. "Good news everyone, we've recovered ancient powers that control the Universe. Now lets throw them in the garbage and use this magic sword from another series".

On the other side of the argument, I guess if he wrote an entire series just to introduce them, they must be important. None of the SA characters got their own origin story, so maybe those two will be the only thing that matters.

[Calderis he/him]

@SwordNimiForPresident I don't think they're going to be the be all end all of stormlight. We have 10 focus characters for a reason.

But as you said, they're a big enough deal to have spawned their own book (hopefully plural) and one of them is storming Nightblood. 

I don't think they're going to be the answer to everything... But I definitely think they're more than just crossover Easter eggs. 

[Elegy he/him]

Have the epigraphs been a topic yet? I like the idea of Dovcanti's "epic" on the False Desolation that Jasnah mentioned to serve as a source for them, maybe even the eventual namesake for the book. It would fit the singer theme (with Venli and Eshonai) of the book and Oathbringer's epigraphs have gone a long way to foreshadow the False Desolation (and Ba Ado Mishram) becoming an important topic in the near future.

[ShardShaper he/him]

My predictions are:

- There is going to be information on the stonewards. They are the only type of Radiant that hasn't manifested.

- They are going to discover another type of surgebinding.

- People will continue to ignore the possibility of  peace with the voidbringers via treaty. Dalinar really should give that another try.

[Calderis he/him]

1 hour ago, ShardShaper said:

- They are going to discover another type of surgebinding.

Could you explain what you mean by this? 

[ShardShaper he/him]

Well, so far Brandon Sanderson's series have included multiple forms of investiture per world, such as feruchemy, allomancy, and hemalurgy on scadrial, and AonDor, CheyShan, and others on Sel. So far on Roshar we have seen Surgebinding (And possibly Aimian investure, though that's confusing). It follows that other forms of investiture will follow, or at least new types of surgebinding.

[Calderis he/him]

21 minutes ago, ShardShaper said:

Well, so far Brandon Sanderson's series have included multiple forms of investiture per world, such as feruchemy, allomancy, and hemalurgy on scadrial, and AonDor, CheyShan, and others on Sel. So far on Roshar we have seen Surgebinding (And possibly Aimian investure, though that's confusing). It follows that other forms of investiture will follow, or at least new types of surgebinding.

Ah. Yeah. There are three on Roshar, and we know, roughly, how two work. This WoB is from before OB. 

Quote

Questioner

How many magic systems are in The Stormlight Archive, and how many of them haven't been seen?

Brandon Sanderson

I would say the only major one you haven’t seen is Voidbinding, it depends on how you count them.  I count fabrials as one, Surgebinding as one, and Voidbinding as one.  And then the Old Magic is kind of its own weird thing.

Calamity Seattle signing (Feb. 17, 2016)

So far, I think Renarin is the only Voidbinding we've seen, so I agree that will definitely start getting explored. 

[Inky]

if there's not at least a bit of Voidbinding info in Book 4 I'll be sad

[Isilel]

On 7.3.2019 at 1:40 PM, Child of Hodor said:

True, she won't be the primary caretaker. Navani makes sense, and it might help her deal with the loss of Elhokar in some ways. I just like the idea of Jasnah out of her comfort zone trying to logic bomb a 4-year old . 

If Sanderson goes for even a marginal plausibility with this, rather than the comedic effect , then neither of them can be the kid's primary caretaker, since both have very demanding, time-consuming jobs. Gavinor should get a nurse - likely a widow of some junior officer fallen in battle, with a child or 2 of her own, for him to play with. OTOH, I also like Hesina (and Oroden) for the task, should she ever get to Urithiru.

 

On 11.4.2019 at 5:55 AM, SwordNimiForPresident said:

I'm not sure where you're going with that. I am aware of that WoB. Are you saying that you do think that Nightblood will be as important to the story as the viewpoint characters? I get that they originated in the first version of WoK, but Nightblood isn't even in that book anymore, he doesn't make an appearance until the prologue of WoR. As for Vasher, he has very little page time, and only one viewpoint chapter that I can remember.

Nightblood is going to be important. I don't expect it to get a viewpoint, apart from an odd Interlude, perhaps, but it is already heavily featured in Szeth's PoV and also gets some stage time in Lift's. IMHO, Nightblood will be instrumental in permanently removing some of the Unmade from the game board, since trapping them is clearly just a stopgap, which will lead to constant attempts by Odium's side to release them again.

Vasher, I am less sure off. He might be mainly there to introduce and explain Nightblood. I expect him to perform his miracle at some crucial point in Book 5, but beyond that he might not appear much. OTOH, there is a WoB that he didn't figure out how to Awaken with stormlight _yet_, so maybe he will in the future and will play a more substantial role in the narrative as an exotic artifabrian?

Anyway, here are my other predictions:

There is going to be an expedition to the Horneater Peaks, culminating in the fight for Cultivation's Perpendicularity, which is going to be cleared of the Fused and the Voidspren. Somebody - Dalinar?  is going to become  an ambassador to the spren and travel Shadesmar, trying to convince the reluctant ones to commit to Radiancy again and to talk some sense into the Highspren. Vivenna is going to finally re-enter the physical realm of Roshar.

Rlain is going to find the Listeners who refused the stormform and, hopefully, also the Parshendi children who have been inexplicably missing from the narrative so far. He may also find the surviving stormforms and convince them to eject their voidspren, before it is too late and/or to refuse to house the Fused. He might also go on undercover missions among the new parsh. He'll at least begin becoming a Bondsmith, though, personally I prefer him for the Nightwatcher's one, as I think that the Sibling's one is supposed to stay in Urithiru. He'll become the bridge between the listeners/singers and the humans.

Jasnah is going to move back to the camps and will have her hands full dealing with the waves of refugees from the southern Alethkar, ardentia, the nobles, etc. and trying to grow enough food to support them all, while fending off the Fused raids, as Urithiru can't manage this until it becomes fully functional. Teft and his squires are going to help her with protection of the people. Some of her Veristitalian pen-pals are going to join her - I am tipping on the Thaylen pastry-chef in particular, in order to help her with her research and become her squires.

Generally, we'll see the Radiants working with and learning from each other, as well as a good number of new Radiants and squires. Szeth is going to teach everybody about the basics of all the surges and how to work with and against them. They'll also set up a big ice-rink at Urithiru and skating will become the new  rage!

Shallan will take over the intelligence-gathering for Kholins from Jasnah and balance precariously between it and her work for the Ghostbloods. She will have to find out the full truth about her family's past, confess what happened with their mother to her brothers and make her peace with their reactions - which will likely range from forgiveness to hatred and breaking of ties. This and only this will allow her to truly accept and incorporate her most recent Truth. Her work with Sja-Anat will lead to the important insights about the Unmade, though I am half-convinced that the whole defection story is a trap. It will also, hopefully, give us a glimpse of the Ghostbloods goals and maybe a hint of their origins. I hope that Ishnah will become her squire and a friend - we need some lighteyes - darkeyes friendships among the women too, but I am very much afraid that she is a Ghostblood plant.

Kaladin, I see gallivanating around the continent on heroic quests, though I very much hope that he makes moving his family to Urithiru a priority. He'll be finally able to swear his Fourth Oath towards the end of the book.

Another Herald will die.

Not touching Adolin predictions with a 20-foot pole, as I don't want to provoke an eruption of "triangulations", but I do have some ideas about him too .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[SwordNimiForPresident the sword/that sword]

3 hours ago, Isilel said:

 

Nightblood is going to be important. I don't expect it to get a viewpoint, apart from an odd Interlude, perhaps, but it is already heavily featured in Szeth's PoV and also gets some stage time in Lift's. IMHO, Nightblood will be instrumental in permanently removing some of the Unmade from the game board, since trapping them is clearly just a stopgap, which will lead to constant attempts by Odium's side to release them again.

I don’t see how Nightblood could destroy one of the Unmade. It would be like him killing the Stormfather. We’ve already seen that he has an upper limit on how much he can drink before he gets drunk.

Killing the fused seems perfectly reasonable though.

That being said, there is this WoB

Quote

Questioner

What would happen if a Shardblade hit Nightblood?

Brandon Sanderson

Nightblood would act like a Shardblade, in that it would stop a Shardblade. It is significantly more Invested than a Shardblade, so it would have some ramifications beyond that.

Barnes & Noble B-Fest 2016 (June 11, 2016)

What those ramifications are could change a lot about my opinion on this matter.

[Subvisual Haze]

Based on the Lirin preview chapter:

One of the central ideological conflicts of the book will be if it's better for the welfare of the local population to just acclimatize to enemy occupation or actively resist the enemy and potentially bringing great reprisals and suffering on the local civilian population.  Lirin and Kaladin will clash on this matter (with Lirin taking the "stop fighting, just heal people" approach).  Some kind of tragedy/reprisal will happen, or Kaladin will see the aftermath of a battlefront on the local population, and Kaladin will temporarily become a pacifist like Lirin because "war is hell".  Then some deep evil being conducted under Odium's rule will brought to light in a "This is why we fight!" moment, finally convincing Kaladin and Bridge 4 that they need to commit themselves to fighting this war, even knowing the consequences.  They need to kill in order to protect.

[ZenBossanova]

Queen Jasnah will struggle with ruling more than she expects. Kaladin's next oaths will involve leadership... as king of Alethkar, with Queen Jasnah. This is NOT what he was planning on and NOT what he likes. 

The ancient history of Roshar is not going to be simple good guys & bad guys, just because people and history is complicated. Humanity may not be innocent, or even guilty of everything, but the Singers will be more complicated in their motivations, and not as perfectly innocent as the dawnchant translation might indicate.

 

Taravangian is more important than Odium realizes, and he is a fool for trusting Mr T. I wouldn't make a deal with the Devil, but on Mr T's genius days, I pity the Devil! I doubt Mr T will survive book 5. Bonus points if Rayse & Mr T both die, meet in the Cognitive Realm, and Mr T just laughs himself hoarse, at what he did to Rayse. 

 

Put this relationship on sizzle. Their banter will have sparking flying. Jasnah will verbally shred Kaladin frequently, but be delighted that he is intelligent enough to stand up to her sparring. More conversations like the one about cuddling a skyeel. If they don't kill eachother, then it will be hot. If they don't kill each other. 

 

 I  expect that Rlain will bond the Sibling. I expect Mr T will bond the Nightwatcher. And once he does that, Dalinar can't get rid of him at all! These will be our Bondsmiths. 

 

Something odd is going on with Rock. I am not sure he going to have a typical spren bond, considering he used a shardbow at the end of book 3, and considering his unique Listener heritage. Lopen could have a unique type of bond as well for similar reasons. Natanatans may also have unique bonds considering their Aimian heritage. Further, we could see some unique bonds and unique resonances in Venli and Renarin. 

 

Adolin and Maya may make some progress, but she will not be restored until book 9 or 10. Adolin may have struggles with his father and with being a father, potentially. 

 

Cultivation will continue to play coy and uninterested, and Odium will continue to think she isn't doing much. He is so wrong. He greatly underestimates her. She is cultivating the entire population of Roshar to do what she needs. She will also gain control of Odium's surges, and perhaps even one of his Unmade. This will not all happen in book 4. Maybe book 5. Not finished until book 10.

 

Zahel and his old friend will have a serious talk. Not sure how he is getting out of this one. But Nightblood will play a crucial role at crucial moment. 

 

Nale and Ishar are going to be a big a problem as the Singer/Listener armies, if not bigger. 

 

Hoid will continue to be witty and in places you don't expect. Book 5 will end with Odium himself coming straight at Hoid, and Hoid has to run, and use every magic and trick he knows. The clash of armies will pale in comparison. Armies fighting, might even stop and watch the fireworks. It will be spectacular. 

 

At some point, perhaps book 5 or later, Nightblood will either be held by, or (more likely) strike Odium. This will be like sticking a fork in a power socket, with the power of a shard being drained through Nightblood. Expect some fuses to blow and Odium to temporarily lose a significant amount of power. I hope Nightblood will survive this. Endowment has been planning this for Odium from the very beginning, and this is the real reason Zahel is on Roshar, no matter what he thinks. His divine breath will be used at a crucial pivotal moment, much like Lightsong. 

 

Navani will continue to develop Mage-punk tech. Also, we have not seen the last of Jasnah's bandolier. She may introduce firearms to Roshar as a way to neutralize Voidbringers. 

[Lightwing8888]

Navani and Shallan are gonna get closer.

Taravangian is Odium's new champion, and the compassion side of his boon/curse thing will be important to Odium's downfall.

Lift and Lopen are going to be friends. Pancakes!!!

Kaladin's dad is going to die.

Edited March 10, 2020 by Lightwing8888
I wanted to add stuff.

[18th Shard he/him]

On 4/12/2019 at 7:02 AM, SwordNimiForPresident said:

I don’t see how Nightblood could destroy one of the Unmade. It would be like him killing the Stormfather. We’ve already seen that he has an upper limit on how much he can drink before he gets drunk.

Killing the fused seems perfectly reasonable though.

That being said, there is this WoB

What those ramifications are could change a lot about my opinion on this matter.

Quote

Mason Wheeler

You said that every rational being in the Cosmere who knows about Nightblood is terrified of him. Does that include Vessels?

Brandon Sanderson

There are Vessels who are scared, yes. That does include Vessels. Terrified might be a strong term, but yes.

Legion Release Party (Sept. 19, 2018)

Quote

Questioner

If it's possible for Nightblood to actually interact with a Shard, what would happen?

Brandon Sanderson

A Shard would try to stay very far away from Nightblood. Nightblood could not plausibly destroy an entire Shard but the Vessel could be in danger.

Starsight Release Party (Nov. 26, 2019)

Quote

Questioner

You've previously said that Nightblood is the most powerful non-Shardic being in the Cosmere. Is he more powerful than the Unmade or Stormfather in terms of raw Investiture?

Brandon Sanderson

Raw Investiture? Here's the thing, when you say powerful, it can mean lots of different things. More raw Investiture than the Stormfather... probably not. Than the Unmade, probably. I would have to look, I don't have the numbers on this. But the Stormfather is very restricted in what he can do.

Orem Signing (March 16, 2019)

I wouldn't bet on the Unmade in that contest - Nightblood has more raw investiture than they do. 

[SwordNimiForPresident the sword/that sword]

4 minutes ago, 18th Shard said:

I wouldn't bet on the Unmade in that contest - Nightblood has more raw investiture than they do. 

I guess it would come down to whether on not he can eat his own "body weight" (or nearly as much) in Investiture. Personally I think he would get "drunk" first, though that would probably leave the Unmade in a pretty bad way.

[Kalaksbreath he/him]

On 3/4/2019 at 1:50 PM, Singer the Ooklalala said:

Gavinor. I just need to see him being well taken care of, that's all.

 

he's gonna get rased by bridge 4.

[joesleepsalot he/him]

I like the Jasnah firearms addition... plus there’s the third mistborn trilogy and it’s technological setting to consider when pondering how the rest of Stormlight plays out. For book 4, I think that as a general vibe we are gonna be taken to a very depressing place. This is an extreme hand wave, as generic as humanly possible:

Book 1-great hook, fairly up and down, strong ending with huge promise

book 2- sort of in the doldrums for a good portion, a few really high points, exciting ending with a big cliffhanger

book 3- loads of headway and a lot of questions answered, some victories for both sides

book 4-previous three are generally positive with a lot of victories for the good guys and a lot of intrigue, but tbh we haven’t had a huge amount of loss.. in other words, the good guys have not been beat into the dust. I think we “need” that (def. not “want”) in order to set the stage for book 5 and the next 5 after that. 
 

i fully expect book 4 to be a hopeless bloodbath with a lot of pissed but addicted fans, and I wouldn’t put it past good writing to have someone like Kaladin or Dalinar dying. 

[Wander89 he/him]

On 13/03/2020 at 1:20 AM, Kalaksbreath said:

he's gonna get rased by bridge 4.

Bridge Baby!

[+Oltux72 he/him]

It would surprise me a lot if they will not have worked to reactivate Urithiru. On the other hand this happening off camera would be odd. So they will have been failing for most of a year. This needs an explanation.

I'd speculate that it is just impossible without the Sibling going back to Urithiru. So who would be the second Bondsmith? Navani looks like the logical choice to me. It would also explain what would justify her venturing out into the field away from Urithiru. Now, this could have other reasons. There may be a big archive or university in Shadesmar. BUt then what about Urithiru?