Renarin Foreshadowing

[Morningtide she/her]

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but my random Sanderson thought of the day was about Renarin. In Way Of Kings, it was always being stated that Renarin should become a Stormwarden. Stormwardens are the only people in Vorin culture who are allowed to tell the future, even just the little bit that they do. My thought was that this was totally foreshadowing for Renarin's arc where he becomes an enlightened Truthwatcher and can tell the future. 

Thoughts? If this has already been discussed before, just point me in the right direction!

[+mdross81 he/him]

2 hours ago, Morningtide said:

I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but my random Sanderson thought of the day was about Renarin. In Way Of Kings, it was always being stated that Renarin should become a Stormwarden. Stormwardens are the only people in Vorin culture who are allowed to tell the future, even just the little bit that they do. My thought was that this was totally foreshadowing for Renarin's arc where he becomes an enlightened Truthwatcher and can tell the future. 

Thoughts? If this has already been discussed before, just point me in the right direction!

Oh, my friend. I’ve got a lengthy document preparing a post about this exact topic. Renarin is really interesting because we still really don’t know a whole lot about him as a character, and haven’t spent much time in his POV. But the foreshadowing is constant.

He frequently appears in shadows or is referred to as a shade and he later bonds an enlightened mist spren. (Sja-Anat is said to be made of shadows and mist). His spectacles are mentioned frequently early on, which may have resulted in reflected light, which is necessary to see Sja-anat. (note that Ym, another proto-Truthwatcher also wore them).

There are constant references to him not fitting in, just like how Sja-anat laments that her enlightened spren don’t fit in anywhere. Jasnah remarks at one point that she won’t have him wasting his time trying to predict the future with the Stormwardens. He now sees the future. He’s the one who has the idea to try to find evidence that Dalinar’s visions are true (foreshadowing him becoming a Truthwatcher). You’re definitely right that the foreshadowing is really frequent with him.

Its a bit late tonight to try to list all of the examples, but I’ll try to add them here tomorrow if I have time. 

[+mdross81 he/him]

As promised, I'm back to list some of the numerous examples of Renarin symbolism/foreshadowing I found.

Shades/Shadows (in in-world chronological order)

• OB 94: Dalinar wept and clung to that youth, that child, as if he were the only real thing left in a world of shadows.
• WoK 18: Shardplate wouldn't solve everything, but Renarin would have his chance. Dalinar would see to it. I know what it's like to be a second son, he thought, as they continued toward the king's chambers, overshadowed by an older brother you love yet envy at the same time.
• WoR 5: Kaladin wasn't sure what to make of Renarin. The youth - he might have been older than Kaladin, but sure didn't look it - wore spectacles and walked after his brother like a shadow.
• WoR 41: "My father and my brother," Renarin said softly, face shadowed, "they're warriors. Soldiers. I'm not, if you haven't noticed."
• WoR 76 (bonus mention of awkwardness too): Renarin stood like a shade at the back of the group. The bridgemen were coming to accept him, but he still seemed very awkward around them. Of course, he seemed awkward around most people.
• WoR 89: "Four," a voice said from the shadows of the stairwell. Renarin stepped into the lit room. He looked at them, then shank back. ... Renarin remained in the darkness, looking down.

The really cool thing, is that this last one is pretty much the end of the shadow/shade references, which I think is meant to represent Renarin coming forward and revealing that he's bonded a spren. What takes the place, however, are references to darkness/clouding the future.

Darkness/clouding the future:

• OB 2: His sons, steady Adolin and impenetrable Renarin.
• OB 122: As he drew near, Taravangian saw that the words were blacked out into eternity starting from this point on his wall. As if something had happened here. A ripple in what Odium could see.... At it's root, a name. Renarin Kholin.
• RoW I-6: Why specifically can't the Diagram see Renarin Kholin? Why is he invisible?
• RoW I-6: I'm close to Renarin, Taravangian realized. Everyone close to the boy has their future clouded.
•  RoW 54: "Friction between the two of you," Renarin said, pointing up at the stained glass. "And a blackness interfering, marring the beauty of the window. Like a sickness infecting both of you, at the edges." ... "Oh, that one's easy, Father," Renarin said. "That's me."

I'm not going to list all of the various references to him not fitting in, not knowing his place, being awkward, or straddling two worlds. Trust me when I say they are plentiful and fit nicely with him bonding a spren who similarly doesn't fit.

Here are a few other little connections that I found that I really liked

Turning around and finding things different

• WoR 22, talking to Kal about fabrials: "Every time I turn around, it seems the world has changed somehow."
• Now check out OB 63, when Shallan is investigating the gloom covering the Kholinar palace, which is likely being caused by Sja-anat: She kept feeling that she wasn't seeing it al. When she'd glance away and look back, she could swear that something was different.

Arrows

• WoK 26: The room fell silent. Renarin had a habit of doing that, felling conversations like an enemy archer hunting officers on the battlefield. (maybe a reference to Teleb?)
• RoW 54: "I see you in this vision," Renarin said to his father. "You're in a lot of them. In this one you stand tall, formed as if from stained glass, and you wear Shardplate. Stark white Shardplate, though you are pierced with a black arrow." ... "I think it might be a symbol of you, who you were, who you became."

Oh the irony, Jasnah

And finally, these couple of lines from OB 53 I'm including because it they hit so many of the foreshadowing beats, and because I'm amused by just how ironic Jasnah's thoughts ends up being:

Quote

Renarin was there, standing near the corner, watching the work. He’d been joining the scholars with some regularity, but he still wore his uniform with the Bridge Four patch.

You can’t spend forever floating between worlds, Cousin, she thought. Eventually you’ll need to decide where you want to belong. Life was so much harder, but potentially so much more fulfilling, when you found the courage to choose.

...

- the boy could be a powerful addition to our ranks. He shows interest in numerology, and asked me if we can truly predict events with it. I will speak with him again –

That last one was from the stormwardens. Jasnah tightly pursed her lips. “Ivory?” she whispered.

“I will watch them.”

He left her side, shrunken to the size of a speck of dust. Jasnah made a note to speak to Renarin; she would not have him wasting his time with a bunch of fools who thought they could foretell the future based on curls of smoke from a snuffed candle.

Anyway, thanks for posting the topic and giving me a chance to share these. The foreshading/symbolism is certainly impressive, but here's hoping we get a little bit more substance for Renarin in book 5.

[Morningtide she/her]

You're welcome and nice list! I wonder if Rlain, now that he is also an enlightened Truthwatcher, will also be invisible to future sight. Renarin is one of the most fascinating characters imo. He went from an apparently unimportant side character to one of the most important characters in the books! Can't wait until Stormlight 7 and his flashbacks...