Ketek

...And now I have to cut my eyes out with a knife because I just realized why you wanted brain bleach.

To be fair they did expect it to stop the Desolations from coming. And considering how he was one of those tortured nonstop I'm not sure we can really say he doesn't have the moral high ground. Were I in his position I might well have done the same. By betraying Taln, they gave Roshar 4.5 millenia of peace and development, instead of near-constant destruction, so... And now that it's starting to return, he's at least trying to do something. None of the other Heralds are.

First the kandra... then spren... now Lifeless... Excuse me while I go take a walk into a highstorm.

"The pit beckons, and helplessly I tumble into it. I have seen what lies inside; I have seen the hand of men sully the spren. The deranged ones come..."

I think the Stormfather was around even before Honor died, since he personified the belief humanity had in him. Yes, I agree about the liason part. They are the politicians - and politicians are pretty much the leaders anyway. Perhaps the vision going to others means that they were worthy of being a Bondsmith? Could have been a 'cast your net wide and catch what you can' gambit by the Stormfather. I heavily disagree with the Heralds making them less independent, though. The oaths were given to the Surgebinders to prevent them from abusing their power, not just to keep them at odds with each other. That's the last thing you want in a war - they'd lose the Desolations if that had been the intent. The Bondsmiths likely help to smoothen any conflict of oaths, since their own oath is literally to unite instead of divide. And I think the Radiants will end up being an independent organization. Right now, it's about surviving; the niggling details can be settled when alliances are being made.

Vacations to new, exotic planets! Sip some juice while lounging by the Hallandren beach! Go jungle trekking on the First of the Sun! Discover wonders you've never seen in Elantris! See a glimpse of the future on Elendel!

The Syl thread is infecting other threads, it seems... And they'd sell... A SHRUBBERY.

Apparently not. The Heralds have lived for 4.5 millenia and Taln has shown the ability to catch two darts with superhuman reflexes, so...

Yeah, just Windrunner powers. Although each Honorblade is different. And it's hinted that the Heralds have powers other than Surgebinding, which is what made them so powerful.

According to WoB it could strengthen his own powers but not by much; compounding isn't really as notable in Surgebinding as it is in Allomancy/Feruchemy. Strength comes more from the amount of Stormlight you have, apparently. And the Honorblade would just eat more Stormlight while granting a minimal increase in power, so not too useful.

There is supposedly a Terriswoman running around on Nalthis too.

It's okay, I'm having the same problems too. Well, I figure they're the leaders based on 1. They bond special spren rather than the usual ones. Dalinar bonded with the Stormfather - the closest thing to Honor now that he's gone. I figure this means they have something special to go with the Radiant status. 2. Ishar, their patron, has the attributes of piety and guidance - the latter sounds like something a leader would need. 3. Dalinar did say he was going to lead, and the Stormfather gave him those visions for a reason... And we have this quote too, which doesn't really say anything but imho, it hints at the Bondsmiths being in charge: 'Resolved to destroy the Voidbringers'... it sounds like he was the one giving the orders, or at least the brains behind the strategies. Anyway, I think that the Bondsmiths are responsible for turning the Radiants into a cohesive force, Heralds aside (whom I believe are responsible for only their orders). It's sorta like the Aes Sedai's hierarchy; there is a council, but each Ajah also has a leader of their own. It certainly fits in with their second Ideal. And how would they do that with all those oaths conflicting? I figure they likely strive for an acceptable compromise - so in a sense, they are both diplomat and leader. As for Kaladin's oaths conflicting, Kasimir has pretty much said everything I could, but I'll add that his mission is not so much an 'Alethi' mission as it is a Radiant mission, or a personal one.

Agreed, and this is not surprising considering that they provide spiritual sustenance for the other orders.

Aether has answered this somewhat, but I'll add something to it - the Bondsmiths were apparently the leaders of the Knights Radiant, along with the Heralds. So not only does Dalinar outrank Kaladin in the military, but also KR status, even if oathwise he is one step down from Kaladin. Note how he calls him 'soldier' and his mentioning to the Stormfather that he needs to join the KR if he is to lead them. It won't be given to him to use; not necessarily, anyway. Dalinar would probably command that it be kept for safeguarding for now, a prudent move since its last wielder caused havoc all over Roshar. Would you risk giving it to someone who might end up doing the same? As for Kaladin's oaths getting in the way, I think that's unlikely. He can't protect every single person - I think his oaths are flexible enough for him to choose when he can save someone and when he can't (or when not saving someone would allow him to save more later). If the oaths were that strict, the Radiants would never get anything done at all. 10 different orders with different ideals... man, that requires some compromise.

I don't think it's Kaladin's decision. As of now, Dalinar Kholin is his immediate superior, not just in the military but also the Knights Radiant. If anything, it'll likely be safeguarded by the Alethi while the latter figures out whom to give it to. Some likely candidates: 1. Adolin (a very, very competent Shardbearer and likely someone Dalinar would figure he could entrust with an Honorblade). 2. Dalinar himself (he's always been loath to give up power, and he does need a Shardblade). I can't really think of anyone else, but a darkeyes would likely be the last person on the list. Alethkar isn't quite ready yet to give someone of that status the blade of a man who was considered near-godlike himself.

I highly doubt Moash will become a Radiant. The thing is, he could have forced Elhokar to step down instead of killing him. There were ways that did not require assassination; this was petty vengeance. I've always seen Moash as a dark mirror of Kaladin. And now that he's part of Taravangian's crew, I doubt he'll ever redeem himself - remember, the moment he tried to leave he'd either be killed by T's men or put on trial by the Alethi for attempted assassination. It's far more likely that he gains something like Voidbinding, or if that doesn't happen, he'll become one hell of a Shardbearer. You don't need Surgebinding to kill a Surgebinder. Extreme competence in arms would suffice.

This is so from that Syl thread.

The Ardent Zahel and a certain black blade. Also Wit's mention of perfect pitch and his 'storytelling' sessions with Kaladin.

The answer is quite simple. He joined the Cult of the Stick and turned into a stick.

Hemalurgic spikes don't turn people into crazed murderers, that was Ruin's influence. Now that Harmony is in charge, the influence he would have is pretty much to turn people into more passive participants. Or he wouldn't do anything at all. Beyond that, the only thing a spike would do is grant someone powers. Since we have never seen Sadeas use Allomancy, or Awakening, or one of the Dor-based magics, it's highly unlikely someone spiked him.

I don't know about six or seven words, and I'm gonna let you finish, but 'it was the cut-flower sound of a man waiting to die' is the most poetic sentence of all time! Of. All. Time!

I don't know for sure, but I'd say he treats them much like a strict headmaster, especially towards those who haven't sworn any oaths, like the ones using the dead Shardblades. And he'd want to recreate them because they're directly under his control; it makes them easier to manipulate unlike Windrunners or Edgedancers, for example. They follow the same code, after all...

Szeth wasn't bound to an honorspren. He was using Jezrien's Honorblade, which does not require the 'checks' a spren would.

I think the Skybreakers adher to it because to them, it sets a bad example to just pick the laws you like. If everyone did so, then the law would be pointless. In a sense, laws provide stability; without them, there is only anarchy and chaos. A foundation of sorts, even if some of it isn't exactly right. It's like what Lirin said. If nobody starts doing it, then no one will, only it's applied to following rules instead of doing what is right. And remember that the Skybreakers are a military organization - in war, stability and unity comes first and foremost, not being nice. Being nice comes when the war is done with, although obviously some of the other orders wouldn't agree.

1. I did a bit of Googling on the term axial, and based on that I have come to the conclusion that it may mean the forces that hold something together. In short, I think a Bondsmith can weaken something that is strong in the first place (diamond) or harden something very soft (mud) by pulling together or loosening the forces that bind things together. 2. I have an inkling of how it might work but since my grasp of physics isn't that strong, I'll leave it for someone else to explain.