Erunion

We have every reason to believe that this Spren is of Odium. It is described as such by Syl, it can sense the Everstorm, and it’s behaviour is extremely suspicious. In addition, we already know of cultivation-Spren (Wyndle). Edgedancer spoilers: I like some of your bigger picture stuff. I definitely feel that Odium is manipulating people. One thing to consider - some Spren are closer to Honour, others closer to cultivation, but some are also in-between. Is it possible that some voidspren are on that same spectrum? Some Honour mixed with Odium? Others cultivation mixed with Odium? Others still pure Odium? In which case this particular Spren could be only slightly Odious.

I like the idea of the Spren trying to recruit Kaladin - it’s entierely possible that they require the same spiritweb cracks to bind as do regular Spren. However, the bonding (especially long term bonding) of the voidspren is not confirmed. We have seen sapient unbounded Spren in the physical realm (night watcher, stormfather pre-Dalinar). We also know that perpendicularities ease transitions between realms. It’s entirely possible that this holds true for Spren - thus if we assume the everstorm to be Odium’s new perpendicularity it is no stretch to imagine that voidspren could make that jump with their intellect intact (this may explain the lack of voidspren - a theory I have coalescing). Finally, we don’t know much about voidspren at all. They could be fundamentally different in operation - especially with the ‘ecosystem on Braize’. All in all your theory is entirely possible, and really interesting, but far from the only reasonable explanation - so we must be cautious.

The voidspren’s strong presence in the physical is likely because they were able to use Odium’s perpendicularity on Roshar - which is almost certainly the everstorm.

The Spren that kal talks to is definitely a voidspren. It felt the everstorm coming in time to hide the parshfolk (keeping them from becoming true voidbringers eh? I see more of their Odious plan). Calling it now: I bet it’s a Spitespren. It seems more spiteful than raging. Mraize continues his ‘recruit Shallan’ plan. Dalinar is threatening to return to the Blackthorn. Bonding is not the cause, Stormlight as the cause is still possible - strengthened by the limited recovered memories and the lack of further recovery. Points go to ‘memory switch’ and ‘painrial’ as both of those seem more likely culprits now - sadly Mr. T cleverly shows up stupid and emotional. Veeerrrrryyyy interesting chapters.

I like it. The city being designed to glow? Works for me. Possible that it needs a radiant to transfer light to the city? Feed it? Orrrrr..... it’s been fundamentally broken by something and this has to do with the ‘sense of wrongness’ and possibly the copycat murders.

I have a vague idea this may have been answered in the past, but here it goes - do we know if there's a second continent on the Planet Roshar? Roshar (the continent) is pretty clearly in the Southern hemisphere - in fact, we know from the environments that it stretches from the frostlands in the south (near Roshar [planets] arctic circle likely) to what appears to be near the equator in the north (it's super warm in the north and northwest of the continent). But that leaves an entire hemisphere (the Northern one) unexplored. Is there a second continent? Or did Brandon already answer this? Thanks!

@Subvisual Haze - Nicely done, and ninja's a theory I had brewing. I'd upvote but I ran out so I'll have to later Some thoughts - likely a lot of Listeners were bonded to void forms during desolations. It's implied that they were a significant threat. This means that if the initial dumbing-down of the Listeners was accomplished during the Last Desolation, then it wasn't so morally reprehensible (breaking them of their bond to Odium with the side effect of breaking their ability to bond. While unpleasant - it's trading being mind-controlled slaves ruled by hatred and cruelty for being regular, if incredibly dull, slaves). However, a much more interesting possibility is that the breaking of the Listeners occurred between the Desolation and the Recreance. That it happened during a time of (relative) peace. And that it was done as a pre-emptive strike by Ishar and/or the bondsmiths he worked with. If that is correct, then it truly is a 'wicked thing of eminence' and very much against Honour - destroying the minds of an entire people to prevent the possibility of them turning evil. And it would also explain Nale's task - Knight's Radiant would draw in Bondsmiths who could have undone the damage done to the Listeners. Thus he and his controlled Skybreakers would kill all Radiants to prevent the occurance of Bondsmiths - or possibly just uncontrolled surgebinders - who could undo the damage done to the Listeners, allowing them to once again bond voidspren.

Or a few Breaths stored as a reserve?

@Darkness ooh! Good question about Zahel. On Dalinar, I don’t see him as unintelligent, just wilfully simple. He cares about fighting. He doesn’t want to involve himself in more complicated things, so he doesn’t. He doesn’t want to be complicated or sophisticated. He just wants to be the Blackthorn. Modern Dalinar has simply learned to pay attention to more complicated things.

Do we know when the Listeners were enslaved? Was it at the last desolation? Or was it between the desolation and the recreance? I’ve the bones of a theory... but need more data.

Ahhhhhhh give me more chapters!!! I want moar! To unpack what we have: Dalinar: Young Dalinar is incredible, and hilarious. But also scary. He seems almost intentionally simpleminded - as in he intentionally ignores things that don’t help him be The Blackthorn. I reckon that getting married was his first step towards being the Dalinar we all know and love. Important Things: Stormstriders! Possibly throwing boulders! Are they tangible creatures? Spren embodiments of the storms terror and power? Both? Also, the plate IS stolen, and Sadeas and Ialai, whatever else we may think of them, were a great couple. I wonder what they’d have been like without The Thrill. Kaladin: Ugh, give me more! Too little at a time. Sah continues to be intelligent and articulate, but clearly feeling some Odium towards the Humans. The voidspren is likely feeding that as much as possible. I strongly suspect that Rlain will be very important in the near future. I’m hoping that Kaladin will help protect the Parshfolk long enough for them to unify with the last of the Last Legion - giving us an army of Parshfolk fighting against the forces of Odium, fighting to free the Parshendi from slavery to Odium. Because that’s what this is about: Odium wants the Parshfolk to be slaves, a slavery and corruption of the mind more odious even than that which made them Parshfolk. Important Things: Sah is striking points home. Kaladin is resisting what will likely lead to his next oath. The Parshfolk don’t particularly like the Voidspren, and do hear the rhythms. Looks like they need a little Rlain in their lives. Shallan: Not much to say here. Shadolin continue to be absolutely charming together. Pattern is funny. Shallan is leading a somewhat destructive lifestyle. Adolin wants to confess, and things with Ialai are about to get interesting. @maxal I think your fears are going to prove unfounded. The Murder plot progresses! (Finally!)

Captain: Kaladin Spy: Shallan Stone walker: Szeth Traitor: ....Eshonai? King: Dalinar Looks like Kaladin wants to make up for past tragedies... reconcile the Parshfolk and the humans? Shallan’s going to be more internal I think, looking for emotional and mental stability and ‘completion’. Szeth will be a cautious and introspective search for truth methinks. Eshonai is trying to get free! Yay! But Dalinar... he’s going to have to deal with the Recreance?

@Delightful - no nanorobots, I’m not that cool. Just robots to automate and simplify research processes to make researchers lives easier and faster

Clearly, he will welcome himself back Orrrr.... Vivenna? Cuz I among others definitely are hoping for Zahel/Vasher to play a bigger role More likely? Eshonai. I wouldn’t be surprised if she went AFR (Away From Roshar) sometime in this book, and (hopefully!) lost her voidspren, then came back with Plans and Significant Things To Do. But honestly, it is so, so early. For all we know it could be Frost, Rayse, is no one!

So, I've been working at my new job for the past 3 weeks, and I'm really enjoying it. It's great. The people are great. The work is interesting. And I'm building robots that people are using to find the cure for cancer. And I think that's pretty darn cool Addendum: Yes I know there isn't one 'cure for cancer', but the stuff I'm building is being used in cancer research. And Diabetes research. And organ replacement research. And other awesome stuff.

So, the thanksgiving long weekend starts on Saturday for me this week (in Canada we get the Monday off, and thanksgiving is in October), which is good. Unfortunately, I think I'm getting sick just in time for it. Which sucks. Super tired with a nasty headache and some headcold symptoms And I'm supposed to be working in the lab all day tomorrow (which is cool, but won't be fun if I'm sick as I think I'm falling )

Not always - that’s the way Vasher did it usually. He would throw the sword at the person and let them kill themselves with it... usually. But the test is just the blood lust vs. Nausea experienced. If Vasher/Szeth kept hold of the sword they could use it to kill (instead of letting people kill each other).

Before WOK for sure. Characters from Warbreaker are in Stormlight, clearly after events that happened in Warbreaker. EDIT: Ninja’d by @Calderis

@aemetha - solid expansion on the theory

Best upvote speech I’ve ever seen in any thread on any forum.

(Sitting in a tree....) Serious Theory Time: Szeth is rebuilding a moral code based on Nightblood, and that will seriously affect all of his future interactions. Spoilers for Oathbringer, Edgedancer and Warbreaker. When Szeth ‘died’ and was revived by Our Friend Nale he admired Szeth’s dedication to his law, and tried to recruit him to the Skybreakers. And then he introduced him to Nightblood. Nightblood, destroyer of evil and sword of terrifying hilarity. Would you like to kill some evil today? Nightblood is a super sword created to destroy evil, and it’s pretty darn good at it - well, the destroying part anyway. Most interestingly, however, is that Nightblood has a resonance with people. If someone is good/innocent/relatively moral, they will feel profoundly nauseated by Nightblood. If someone is evil/selfish/relatively immoral they will be filled with lust to claim and use Nightblood; all but inevitably ending in their death. Where does this leave us? Well, Szeth is starting to dedicate himself to, or at least live by the precepts of, the Sword. He will go about ‘destroying evil’ - but only those who are nauseated by Nightblood. This will create extremely interesting conflicts as he uses the ‘Nightblood Litmus Test’ to determine who he should kill, and if he should kill. This will especially be interesting when he runs into our ‘voidbringers’ the freed Parsh-people. It will be even more interesting when we run into ‘possessed’ parsh-people like Eshonai. Would they qualify as evil to be destroyed? But that’s an aside. Evidence for this theory: this mostly comes from Edgedancer. It’s pretty clear that Our Friend Nale was trying to recruit Szeth, and Szeth was hanging around, but he was not buying into the Skybreaker motto, and did not drink their kool-aid as it were. He’s openly questioning the man he believes to be the Herald of Justice. Interestingly too they have a discussion about being unable/unwilling to trust their own minds. Most strikingly, when Szeth notices Lift, he doesn’t turn her over to Nale’s ‘justice’. Instead, he uses the Nightblood Litmus Test. Lift is nauseated, passing the test, after which Szeth talks to her and helps her, instead of killing her or turning her in. So, I think Szeth, not trusting the minds or manners of feeble Men or their laws, is instead trusting himself and his behaviour to the Nightblood Litmus Test. Of course, there’s a lot left open - where will he go? To whom will he apply the test? But there we are!

This theory is clever, tragic and would make for heart breaking drama. And I hate it so much you guys please no! For Honour’s sake, no! Storms no! This would suck so much you guys. That being said, let’s now stretch to find reasonable alternate theories: Stormlight & Connection - dalinars Connection to Evi was severed, but is now being healed. Why it’s reasonable? Dalinar continually thinks of it as a wound, a hole, as damage. And he thinks of it that way every time her name is mentioned, and only when she is mentioned. It’s a hole in his mind that he ignores except when it’s brought to his attention. So what happened? He was holding a lot of Stormlight when he was reminded of his ‘wound’.... and it was healed. Honour & Cultivation - Dalinar is bound to a Spren that is very close to Honour and Honour’s investiture. Investiture resists Investiture of other types, save where it’s intentionally woven together using that resistance (like Saidin and Saidar from WOT - evidence being the Mistborn magics where Investiture resists other Investiture save where it’s used specifically and intentionally together). Why it’s reasonable? As stated above, Investiture resists Investiture. Bondsmiths, like Windrunners, are very close to Honour. Our Edgedancer friend Lift is bonded to a cultivationspren - the Spren closest to Cultivation! It’s only natural that her Investiture wouldn’t work against her boon/curse. No one has mentioned Evi between his formal bonding and now, so he hasn’t noticed the change. Now the change is noticed and he’s shocked. Remember, this too will bring about a lot of drama. He’s had no memory of his wife for what, a decade? Now it’s coming rushing back shortly after he married someone else? That’s not gonna put any dramatic challenges or soul searching in here at all, especially not of something tragic/horrific happened.

@king of nowhere - and the Shin Stone Shamans will have to deal with the everstorm and the voidbringers having returned.... Dalinar: It’s seems that Dalinar’s Connection to Evi is being restored. This will cause problems, but may lead to growth! Interesting concerns - is this because of storm light? Because of, as some have said, the disconnect being ‘noticed’ as damage by his Invested self when her name was mentioned while he was surgebinding? Or is it that as he becomes more Invested with Honor, that investiture conflicts with Cultivation (a possibility not dismissed by Lift, as Edgedancers are much closer to Cultivation than they are to Honour). Kaladin: Oh softhearted bridgeboy and leader, I’m glad you’re the first of Our Heroes to meet the freed Parsh-People. Who are likely being led by a voidspren. Interesting things: voidspren leading groups of Parsh-People, but not possessing them - does that mean that Odium wasn’t able to possess them all at once, or that he wasn’t willing to do so and has some devious odious plan in the works? A little bit of both? Likely he’s planning on building up an army of Parsh-People and stoking the flames of their hatred, making for a much messier last desolation than anticipated! Further fun things to look forward to: can radiants kill voidspren? If so, can windrunners, or only the more Cognitive of orders? How about Honorspren? They hunt some Spren in the cognitive: can they slay them in the physical? Will we see an epic Syl vs. Voidspren smackdown? If so, sign me up please for the cheering squad! shallan: So, it looks like her mental health forecast is bleak. I echo.... some smart person from the past 11 pages ...in saying that this is likely her big conflict to be resolved this book (as Kaladin had to deal with his own mental health last book). I hope we get a CMOA from her. ... but maybe she’ll go dark and won’t come back (for a while). Looks like the copy-cat murders are supernatural. Interesting. Unmade? Mad Aimian? Herald? Something Else? We shall see.

Now you need someone who has 608 posts and is a storm warden! hah! I’ll reforge my soul to match.... wait. That’d take way too much time. Nvm. I’ll get back to work on my PC... (Forger)

Likely he will be ordering his skybreakers to stand down, and then going and confronting Ishar. Which could be interesting.