Ketek

Interesting points about it being a Splinter. I hadn't thought of it that way, but it does make sense. And if Nightblood is a Splinter of Endowment... wouldn't it be the first man-made Splinter, where others were all created by the parent Shard? And if so, can one create Splinters for other Shards, or is it unique to Endowment alone, given its intent?

I actually am rather fond of her, but being a redhead has something to do with it Beyond that though, I love her powers. Not so in-your-face like Kaladin's, but no less powerful, and I've always loved illusions. Not to mention she's also an artist - a kindred soul, so to speak. And the snark! But the main reason I really enjoyed Shallan as a character was how she developed; from hesitant, frightened girl, she became a woman with poise and calm to match Jasnah's; she inspired slavers, deserters, potential rapists to be more than they were, to embrace the nobility that laid dormant within themselves. A true lightweaver if there ever were any. Essentially, to me she represents the person I could be. Should strive to be. Minus the faith in the Almighty, that is.

The title essentially says it all, so I'll get to the why. We know that Shards require a sentient mind to be attached to their power, whether it's that of another being or one it created on its own. Well, I think that Nightblood essentially requires the same. Shashara tried to give it the ability to rationalize and think, but it didn't work because the invested Breaths gave it more of a Spiritual, rather than Cognitive presence, which I think could have been the original intent. Thus, you end up with a extremely powerful sword that lacks the context to fulfill its intent - destroy evil. This is where the cognitive mind of another sentient being comes into play. Like Shards require holders to bear their power, Nightblood does too - the mind of its current holder focuses the intent and provides a context to the concept of evil. Simply put, every time someone picks up Nightblood, we're witnessing (on a much tinier scale) something not so different from what Vin or Sazed did when they ascended. Simple, I know, but it just struck me and I had to share.

I agree, but that is what others have speculated. I personally don't think Moash will be a Surgebinder.

Because people were asking whether Adolin would ever be accepted by any order of the Knights Radiant, having murdered Sadeas. Brandon said some orders would approve of what he did; he gave a smile and half-nod(?) when somebody suggested the Dustbringers. Since Moash did something similar...

I don't think it would, really! I do think that a character he can't relate to would ruin the book though - and that's where it stands at right now, imho. Like how he thought Khriss from White Sand was terrible because he couldn't really write women well enough then. You make fair points, and I don't disagree. It's just that religious beliefs are hard to shake, and I've always been a pessimist at heart. But it could happen, yeah. Let's hope it does So am I, and I have the same fears. I do hope it all works out for you though, heh. We definitely need more LGBT characters around. I was reading A Republic of Thieves recently and there were two minor characters inside - more like props, really - who were a gay couple. But the awesome part about that scene was how there wasn't any homophobia from the other 'props', everyone looked on it as being normal. It's a small thing, but it's something I dearly wish I'll someday see in real life.

Yes, but it's really at the writer's discretion, so we can talk for ages about this subject, but unless we intend to write our own books this line of discussion is pointless. And this may be uncomfortable to some, considering how we're all big fans of his writing, but Sanderson has a slight problem with homosexuality. Granted, it was three years ago and he may have changed his stance on gay marriage, but I find that unlikely. It's not very easy to change what you believe in even when given time, and one's beliefs does influence the nature of one's writing. I don't expect an openly gay main character anytime soon, let alone a same-sex romance arc in his novels - it'll take time for Sanderson to work through his beliefs, and putting an LGBT main character inside 'just because' would ruin his books. If it ever comes, it has to be natural. Before you get offended, this is not a criticism of Sanderson, although it would be if he were openly discriminating against the LGBT community. I'm just saying that we cannot realistically expect a main character who's not straight anytime soon. It is what it is, although I'll admit that if the day ever comes, I'll be overjoyed.

Man, Lightsong's death made me tear up. The way he was so at peace when he gave up his Breath was... emotional, to say the least. He finally found his purpose. And Vasher drawing Nightblood is a storming awesome scene. DESTROY EVIL!!!

Yeah, everyone has life sense if they have even a single Breath, but I wouldn't really include that, since everyone already has it, Drabs aside. It's around the First Heightening that it really becomes a standard magical ability, methinks.

Jasnah. Although it would make her a cougar of sorts.

Fourth Heightening is perfect life sense, as far as I know. You have life sense from the First Heightening onwards, it's just not perfect. And considering that Kaladin needed to be outside his door for Zahel to sense him... if he does have Breaths there's probably not too many of them.

*cough* Lightweaving *cough*

Zahel suppressed his Breath too. He'd look like a Returned otherwise, and there is no way no one would pick up on that.

Hood with breath? o.O Anyway, the aura would be something you'd need to really look out for, especially if you didn't have a Heightening of your own. Second Heightening doesn't grant too noticeable an aura. And it's safe to assume that Rosharans, were they to notice it in the first place would attribute it to a trick of the eye.

Noticed Weiry mentioning that there's a WoB from the Waygate livestream that says there's a kandra worldhopper. Talk about hard to find...

I highly doubt Surgebinding is hereditary. It's based on one actions and the nature of one's soul, rather than sDNA.

We don't know for sure how Surgebinders (besides the Heralds) tie into the Desolations. My point was, Nalan knows things we do not about it - and for all we know he could have a very good reason for killing other Surgebinders.

Well rust.

The only argument I would against this is that far too many Kholins seem to have become Radiants already. Otherwise, yeah it's plausible. However - we have yet to see Cultivation's magic system, or Voidbinding, so if it is indicative of anything, it may not necessarily be Surgebinding.

Apparently Jewels will be paying Yesteel a visit to see if he can restore Arsteel's personality to him in Nightblood, which will be very interesting.

Ha! Where are you from anyway?! I'm from Malaysia.

This one: http://brandonsanderson.com/annotation-warbreaker-chapter-twenty-two-part-2/

Interesting! I'm Chinese and I never noticed that at all (partially because I'm not too interested in my own culture). Definitely a question to ask Brandon.

There is evidence. Check the Warbreaker annotations. It mentions Jewels sleeping with Clod, although whether it's just 'sleeping-with-a-corpse' sleeping or 'doing-the-nasty-with-a-corpse' sleeping is unclear. I probably don't want to know what it is, do I? Jasnah... and a chull... someone with such poise and elegance... bending over... OKAY NOPE. *dies on the inside*

Eh, that's not as squicky. Seons are basically webcams anyway. Pretty sure some of them have been used for mutual masturbation before. What would really be squicky would be if the Dak-*shuts up before anything regretful happens*