Ati

If I could give you infinite rep points for this, I would.

It seems to me that we can be a little more specific about Shallan's bond with pattern. I believe it is stated that Lightweaver's have only one ideal, and the rest of their progression is based on recognition of truths, seemingly specific to self discovery. Further, where Syl was drawn to Kaladin's acts to protect those around him, Pattern states specifically (as noted earlier in the thread) that he was drawn to lies. We've already observed that Shallan has an extremely powerful selective memory. Her intentionally ignoring conversation pertaining to the truth of her mother's death is a repeated theme in WoR. The implication seems to be that there was some trauma prior to Shallan's mother's death that she also forgot for self preservation. I'm also curious as to why people are suggesting that Pattern had been unable to manifest as a Blade prior to the struggle with her mother. I hadn't noticed anything to support that.

Not sure if it's an ancestral thing, would definitely be in keeping with their culture, I think. Strongly agree that Parshendi likely have gemhearts though.

Moogle, Looks like I need to do a better job in my cursory searches before posting. Speculative perhaps, but well detailed. A couple points: First, I have a slightly different interpretation on the Jasnah based timing. The idea that she spent an extended period of Roshar time in Shadesmar is supported only by Szeth's comment about when Gavilar left the party (so far as I can tell). But there is absolutely nothing to prevent Gavilar from having walked around having various shady conferences between when he leaves the party and encounters Jasnah. As far as him saying that he's going back to the party, I offer two potential solutions. 1. He lied. I don't think this would be a shock based on the feel of his exchange with Jasnah. 2. He planned to return to the party, but whatever caused him to put his shardplate on happened en route and he never made it to the party. Szeth's POV in WoK certainly allows for either of these in my opinion. As further support, someone on your thread pointed out that any Shadesmar time dilation we've seen so far results in very little time passing in Roshar. I also agree with your assessment that her choking puts a hard limit on time spent in Shadesmar. Second, I saw that some people raised some concerns regarding the possibility of using lightweaving to disguise Tearim as Gavilar. I would need to see a lot more evidence before I was convinced that Gavilar was alive, but I will offer an alternative to lightweaving that I didn't notice proposed in your thread. I believe I read in WoB that Shai is present on Roshar. Now, I don't recall ES stating that Gaotona changed form when Shai stamped him, so this idea would hinge on whether that is possible or not. Still, I would think Tearim would be the third best candidate to imprint as Gavilar following Dalinar and Elhokar. So, again, I don't actually think it happened, but I suppose it's another possible route. One that should not have interference with shardplate as an issue.

I'd suggest checking out Blood Song: A Raven's Shadow by Anthony Ryan. That's the only full novel he has out (sequel following in a few months) but he's one of the very few I've read who can stack up. Adolin, I agree with the idea behind what you're saying, but I'm not sure that's exactly the issue here. Yes, every author has strengths and weaknesses, but Sanderson, in my opinion, manages to write in such a way that his weakness(es) (yes, he has at least one, don't hate me guys!) are seriously minimized. I still have other authors whose work I love, Butcher (Dresden), Gaiman, Anthony Ryan and Brian McClellan both strike me as serious up and comers, Rothfuss has phenomenal prose (agreed). But Sanderson...Sanderson has managed to put himself in a different weight class as far as I'm concerned. So, it's not that I don't enjoy other authors, it's just that Goodkind is like a $10 bottle of wine, Lynch is more like a $30, and Sanderson is one of those limited 20 year old vintages that goes for amounts that my bank account has yet to reach. It's not that you can't enjoy a $10 bottle, but you might not want to drink it right after a really really really good bottle. (For reference, GRRM now "writes" mad dog 20/20). For me at least, part of what sets Brandon apart is his Cosmere concept, where you're not just reading a one dimensional series (in the sense that there is a great deal of continuity with primarily a change in time). Instead, each of Brandon's series are the analogue of that one dimensional series from anyone else, but they also interact with each other. As a result, each book or series that you read within the cosmere brings its own qualities, but also enriches and is enriched by the rest of the related works. I've seem similar methods, at least to a degree, in other mediums, but certainly never to this extent in fantasy literature.

Ok, let me start by saying that if I'd noticed this with any other author I never would have thought twice about it. Since it's Brandon, this has me wondering a little, especially since we're going to see the events of this night from three more view points (I think). /TL:DR My basic question here, odd as it seems, is what was Gavilar doing in his chambers wearing his plate? We lose sight of Gavilar during Jasnah's prelude scene in WoR. When last we see him, he is with his guard, Tearim, who is wearing the king's Plate. Jasnah also note's that he is returning to the party when he leaves her. /End TL:DR Based on the description of Jasnah's activities between leaving him near the party and seeing him dead near his chambers, relatively little time could have passed by. Several minutes in Shadesmar, several minutes with Liss, and the time she spent walking off her encounter in Shadesmar. It seems to me we're probably talking about a span of time somewhere around 15-20 min give or take. If that is correct, I figure Gavilar would have needed to return to his chambers almost immediately following his conversation with Jasnah (according to Szeth in WoK, he had retired from the party hours before, so presumably he does not return following the conversation with Jasnah). Then get Tearim out of his armor, get himself into it, and engage in a relatively long fight with Szeth in order to get dropped and impaled in time for Jasnah's arrival on scene. So, trivial as it seems, why did Gavilar (who, as noted by Jasnah in this scene had stopped wearing his Plate lately, letting Tearim wear it instead) rush back and put his armor on? He told Szeth that he had expected an assassination attempt, but if he knew the exact timing, one would expect him to be much better prepared. If he knew that it would take place that night, but not when, one might expect that he'd still be much better prepared, AND he'd be wearing his plate the entire time, or at least as long as propriety allowed once the treaty signing was completed... I can come up with a crackpot theory or two, but I feel ridiculous enough even asking the question. Anybody else want to take a stab at this, offer a different accounting of the timeframe, or just tell me I'm nuts?