RoW Chapter 13 Discussion

[Experience he/him]

Is Mraize's chicken an Aviar?

[Raphaborn]

23 minutes ago, Karger said:

Which would make you money on Nalthis?  However why do they want to do this?

Money is useful. But to be the pioneer of Investiture export? This is incredible for a group. Especially considering that they can use this to open a trade to buy Investiture also without the inconvenience of money. Like Breaths, Ettmetal, Aviars ...
Stormlight at the very least serves to aid health, aid in plant growth, or replace Breaths. But that of what we know is possible, I would not doubt that there are more things.
 

[Innovation]

3 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

• Fabrials
• Immortality: Making Cognitive Shadows
• Returned
• Manifesting objects - other planets have a subastral, too.

Manifesting objects...yeah, Stormlight would be very useful for that. Otherwise you would have to take it through the Perpendicularity. 

[paperstones he/him]

So how is Restartes related to Shallans last and family? She will know what to do when she sees him. I’m sure this is where she unlocks her next idea and excepts who she is. 

[+Oltux72 he/him]

And this shows another instance of telepathy: creation spren read the mind of the creator. They knew how stuff in the Davar house looked. That must have come from Shallan's memories.

[Mage of Lirigon he/him]

11 minutes ago, PrinceGenocide said:

Fabrials. I believe that fabrials based on lower Spren can be transported across worlds using the same method stormlight can be .

Stormlight fabrials can be used by anyone , anywhere . 

Fabrials need stormlight to work . Hmm u can imagine the uses and riches it would provide across the Cosmere. 

Not just that. If fabrials can be used to mix and match other magic systems throughout the Cosmere, the sky is the limit on what the Ghostbloods could achieve.

[Nathrangking he/him]

5 minutes ago, Experience said:

Is Mraize's chicken an Aviar?

I do believe that we have a WoB to that effect.

4 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

And this shows another instance of telepathy: creation spren read the mind of the creator. They knew how stuff in the Davar house looked. That must have come from Shallan's memories.

The perception portion of realmatic theory comes into play. Perception shaping the spren on a much more visible level.

Edited September 29, 2020 by Nathrangking

[Karger he/him]

7 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

• Fabrials
• Immortality: Making Cognitive Shadows
• Returned
• Manifesting objects - other planets have a subastral, too.

I am explaining badly.  We are aware of what stormlight can do.  The question, at least for me, is what motivates the GBs to get it.

[Rogueshar]

I'm really excited that we're going to see Lasting Integrity, cause we know the Honor spren are a bit of a powerhouse player in Shadesmar that other spren don't seem to like (its been a while since I've read Oathbringer and I'm not there yet on my reread so just let me know if I'm remembering that incorrectly). The Ghostbloods want to take Investiture off of Roshar makes sense because its so abundant on the planet and on other planets like Nalthis its a bit harder to obtain and there's a cost factor to obtaining it that isn't there on Roshar. 
Also I'm curious about the mole in the mountains. Mraize said it was coming from Shinovar as an invasive species and I thought that was really interesting or maybe its just a metaphor for the humans on Roshar.

I'm excited to go back to Shadesmar, I really enjoyed that portion of Oathbringer and I really wanted to see more. 

[Experience he/him]

1 minute ago, Karger said:

I am explaining badly.  We are aware of what stormlight can do.  The question, at least for me, is what motivates the GBs to get it.

Well, it's an easy source of holding investiture, and there are lots of ways that could be helpful in other worlds.

[Raphaborn]

22 minutes ago, Karger said:

I mean sure but so could ordinary currency/secrets.  Why Stormlight?

Intergalactic currency creates some drawbacks. They do not have the same value among the planets. Metals are not so valuable in Roshar, for example. Of course, this creates an interesting loophole to explore Scadrial. But it can become a problem if you want a massive trading system.
Secrets are valuable to some. Investiture is valuable for practically everyone.

[desi_sparta]

8 minutes ago, paperstones said:

So how is Restartes related to Shallans last and family? She will know what to do when she sees him. I’m sure this is where she unlocks her next idea and excepts who she is. 

I think Restates will be one of Shallan's presumed dead family members. 

[Mage of Lirigon he/him]

3 minutes ago, Karger said:

I am explaining badly.  We are aware of what stormlight can do.  The question, at least for me, is what motivates the GBs to get it.

It has the potential to be transported easily to other worlds, and is a nearly unlimited natural resource. We know Breaths can make the trip, but those are unwieldy. If they solve the Connection problem, they could potentially move huge amounts of Investiture around. That alone has a lot of potential applications, as Mistborn proved.

[Friendshipspren he/him]

Hmmm so let's see, apart from the free trade in investiture , we have :

* Potential for Mraize to be a tineye or have a few breaths giving him Lifesense. I am inclined towards the latter.

* Moles are somehow burrowing into the rock all the way to mountains in Central Roshar. 

Could they be bonding Spren as well like the Rhysydium ? It's interesting. They could pull off an ecological crises. But idk if it's plot diverting. Perhaps just another detail. 

* The Ghostbloods seem to be looking for radiants who can look into shadesmar. Venli in the last chapter displayed that very ability. 

So perhaps they are trying to recruit a willshaper. Willshapers are after all addicts to novelty. So perhaps they would join the GBs for something new. 

Even shallan shows some of the same thrust for novelty. Perhaps mraize intends to use her to help him search for trap spren. 

[Karger he/him]

1 minute ago, Experience said:

Well, it's an easy source of holding investiture, and there are lots of ways that could be helpful in other worlds.

1 minute ago, Raphaborn said:

Intergalactic currency creates some drawbacks. They do not have the same value among the planets. Metals are not so valuable in Roshar, for example. Of course, this creates an interesting loophole to explore Scadrial. But it can become a problem if you want a massive trading system.
Secrets are valuable to some. Investiture is valuable for practically everyone.

But why do the GB care?  They are an organization who has a devoted and well organized following.  The plan they are implementing probably will take decades to come to fruition(it really already has).  Many of the people working on it will not survive to see it happen.  What is it that makes them so intent on getting this to work.

[Raphaborn]

3 minutes ago, Karger said:

I am explaining badly.  We are aware of what stormlight can do.  The question, at least for me, is what motivates the GBs to get it.

Suffice it to say they are places in Shadesmar where our Stormlight—so easily captured and transported—would be a valuable commodity.
You knew the Oathgates would offer easy access to Shadesmar. You want to control commerce, travel, to these other places.

Stormlight is easily captured and transported. There are more practical ways to travel to Shadesmar than Perpendicularities.
Investiture is Cosmere's most important currency. And the GB have just found a way to try to monopolize the sale and purchase of that.

[Subvisual Haze]

The Sons of Honor.  The Honorspren.  Restares hiding out in the honorspren capital.  They've always been working together haven't they?

I found the pacing here good.  Shallan's chapters can get bogged down in too much introspection if she's not pursuing an interesting lore puzzle of some kind.  This chapter reminded me more of a WoR Shallan chapter than an Oathbringer Shallan chapter.

[Raphaborn]

1 minute ago, Karger said:

But why do the GB care?  They are an organization who has a devoted and well organized following.  The plan they are implementing probably will take decades to come to fruition(it really already has).  Many of the people working on it will not survive to see it happen.  What is it that makes them so intent on getting this to work.

Do you know a group called Set? He had plans for centuries. This did not stop them from trying to rush the schedule with other methods. The GB just won that with the Oathgates.

[+honorblades he/him]

Mraize’s chicken is certainly an Aviar, although I’m starting to doubt that it is a parrot like the ones we see from Sixth of the Dusk. Parrots don’t typically eat small mammals, and their beaks aren’t usually described as “hooked”. Could it be some sort of hawk? Regardless, I think this implies that Mraize’s aviar has different powers than the ones we have seen so far. 
 

If Mraize has figured how to manipulate Connection to get Stormlight far off-world, I think that means he knows how to get spren and Radiants off world as well. Powerful knowledge. I think we will find out how Hoid got back to Roshar in time for Era 2 in this book. We may even see current era Radiants leave the Rosharan system. 

Edited September 29, 2020 by lightweaver spy

[NameIess he/him]

Well, after reading this chapter, I am no longer scared of Mraize or the ghostbloods. They don't have some nefarious secret that will result in them destroying the Cosmere, they're just interplanetary smugglers who don't even know how to get stormlight off of Roshar. 

[Mage of Lirigon he/him]

Just now, Nameless said:

Well, after reading this chapter, I am no longer scared of Mraize or the ghostbloods. They don't have some nefarious secret that will result in them destroying the Cosmere, they're just interplanetary smugglers who don't even know how to get stormlight off of Roshar. 

I wouldn't for a second think this is all there is to it.

 

2 minutes ago, lightweaver spy said:

Mraize’s chicken is certainly an Aviar, although I’m starting to doubt that it is a parrot like the ones we see from Sixth of the Dusk.

 I believe this was already confirmed.

[+Oltux72 he/him]

8 minutes ago, Karger said:

I am explaining badly.  We are aware of what stormlight can do.  The question, at least for me, is what motivates the GBs to get it.

To

1. perform these feats themselves
2. sell it to people who wish to perform these feats
3. research it at convinient locations

The ultimate goal of the Ghostbloods may indeed be power, but in the form of knowledge. At least Mraize enjoys displaying tokens of knowledge so advanced that nobody else even identifies them for what they are.

It looks for example that Mraize carries enough Breaths to have a life sense. Trading Stormlight for Breaths is quite a motivation. The Court of Gods is burning enough Breaths for a Fifth Heightening every year.

[SteelShaper]

Squeee!!! So many Cosmere morsels!

Theory about why plentiful Rosharan investiture would be useful in Scadrial system: We know in Scadrial the CR is basically an ocean of mist, that you can't move through/across without having investiture to push against it.  Invest an oar, or a ship, with stormlight, and you would gain a reliable trade route to Scadrial and its growing fabrial tech as well. Meanwhile, on Nalthis, of course, it would be useful to the Returned, even if it would be difficult to use it for Awakening.  

I'm very interested in the Connection problem.  If it is so difficult to bring investiture or highly invested people off-world, how did Vasher manage it? Or Azure/Vivenna? Or the Elantrians?  Except, I've always wondered how much power the Elantrians would retain in the CR.  Certainly, Riino the lighthouse keeper seems not to be silver anymore.  In any case, Either Mraize doesn't understand it as well as he thinks, or he's not yet telling the whole truth about worldhopping.  

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

Mraize is officially the coolest character in Stormlight at the moment. I suspect that he will wind up being pretty nasty to the protagonists sooner or later, and probably die violently (hopefully not in this book), but he is still one of my favorite characters. I also like that he never seems to be lying.

Also, I´m increasingly certain that Sebarial is a Ghostblood, and possibly Thaidakar himself. He is a merchant, which goes well with their stated objective of trading in investiture. He is putting up an act of caring about politics a lot less than he is doing. He joined Dalinars excursion to Narak for no good reason in WoR (Roion and Aladar joined since it was right, but I dont think Sebarial did). And now Mraize is masquerading as a Sebarial guard. The first GB-meeting Shallan attended was in Sebarials camp as well. 

[Shardsplinter he/him]

To those who wanted Shallan confronting Mraize, here it is! and is even better than expected!! 

The road to Cosmere awareness seems to be getting more real every chapter. I know some people have said that it's Brandon's intention that Stormlight Archive can be read without reading other Cosmere books, but this just means that the explications on the Cosmere will feel like a cohesive and necessary part of the story. We are getting our first serious Cosmere sized plot and I for one can't wait to get in on the ride!!!!