Ketek

I've been reading the speculation about the Skybreakers - and everyone seems to agree that our beloved Herald of Justice is corrupted/twisted. But I have a different idea. I don't think Nalan is necessarily corrupted. Rather, I think he's trying to stop the Desolation too, but in his own way. Assuming Darkness is Nalan'elin (probably, due to the description and his adherence to the law, which is interesting in itself since Heralds are not known to be bound by the Ideals), we know that he wants to prevent the Desolations from returning. Perhaps instead of preventing the Knights Radiant from returning, he wants to make sure only one specific order will return. His own. The Skybreakers. Why? The Recreance, perhaps. Perhaps he's convinced that all the other orders are not worthy of his trust, and he excludes the Skybreakers because of their oaths to uphold the law, and because he directly controls them. Or perhaps the Skybreakers never truly disbanded. He may feel that one united order is better than ten with different leaders and different ways of doing things. As for the issue of his minions carrying Shardblades, they don't have to be Surgebinders, or even squires. They could just be affiliated with the Skybreakers without being Surgebinders - and even if the highspren don't like it, they won't consider it breaking an ideal. Using a dead spren as a weapon is unsavory, but not breaking any law (I think). And if this is all true, there may be something we are not considering. Perhaps the fight against Odium has other rules, rules we are not yet aware of that the Skybreakers are aware of. Perhaps the new Surgebinders are breaking that rule, or those rules, without being aware of it. For example... what if there can only be a limited amount of Surgebinders in this world, or else something really bad happens? It would then make sense for Nalan to kill non-Skybreaker Surgebinders, as they are one, not under his control, and two, he wants more Skybreakers without going past the limit. Your thoughts are most welcome.

Here you go (you can find it in the compiled WoB list): Q: Is the crossover surge for each Knight the same? A: To an extent, yes. Each of the combinations make a little bit of a tweak to how things act. But when you see the Skybreakers affecting gravity it will look much the same as what you saw on the Windrunners.

It was implied, but nobody knows for sure.

I could use a gift link, just wouldn't be able to connect to Steam atm, although I should have it fixed sometime soon. But I leave it to your discretion, haha.

I think I am going to forget you mentioned this before curiosity overwhelms me and I go looking for slash-fic.

One of the Tension or Cohesion surges, maybe? But the thing is, will humanity try the same thing again? I would probably err towards caution and wipe them out.

Very much so. He cannot be accused of favoritism, not at this juncture.

Agreed. So there is hope. I dunno, if all of them were to transform it'd probably mean their extinction. I find that sad.

And we have our first homosexual shipping for the Stormlight Archive!

Not really guessing, no. The Skybreakers and Windrunners share the Gravitation surge - and unless the Reverse Lashing requires usage of the Adhesion surge, the Skybreakers are therefore capable of using it too. Same for Basic Lashings. We have a WoB saying that surges shared by different orders work the same, unless it's mixed with another surge. As for Regrowth, it is available to two orders - Truthwatchers and Edgedancers. It's part of the Progression surge, not just unique to one order. And all surges are shared by two orders.

There is speculation he could join the Dustbringers, due to hints Brandon has dropped. It's fitting, but... all the Kholins being in the Knights Radiant? Doesn't sound too good for me. Could it affect his relationship with Shallan? Maybe. We don't know, now that Shallan is starting to admit deep, dark truths to herself. Remember, the Shallan in TWoK was different from the WoR one.

Yes, but I think it's rather interesting that before fighting Szeth, Dalinar essentially tells his son not to do things the Blackthorn way. To be just, fair. To be Nohadon, as much as is possible. Dalinar's internal monologue even states that he thinks his son is a better man. And then Adolin goes on and does what the Blackthorn would do. It's disappointing, to say the least. Even if some Radiant orders would agree with what he did, imho it doesn't fit in with his character. He 'snapped'. That to me, implies something. He let out something ugly. Dark. I could just be reading too much into it but it sounds a lot like Anakin's fall to the dark side. First a small evil. Then a greater one. And more, and more, and more...

I remember that quote, yeah. But for the Stormlight Archive, I really don't think it'll surface. Hence why I said we'll learn more with the next Mistborn trilogy. As for Hoid... nah. I really doubt he is. He's just indifferent to the fate of Roshar.

I think Odium will be the big bad of the Stormlight Archive. Unlike Mistborn, or Warbreaker, the Stormlight Archive is more an epic series - I'd compare it more with WoT than the former two. It's hard to think of anything more threatening right now than the Shard of hatred. Not the big bad of the Cosmere? Likely, we'll know more when the modern Mistborn trilogy comes out. And Odium is trapped in the greater Roshar system after all...

It depends. I think the Everstorm has to physically touch them before they can transform. So assuming that they managed to shield themselves from it, you may well see that the listeners that fled Narak are still unchanged. I doubt Brandon is a sucker for depressing endings.

We do know it's not crem though But yeah, there's a lot we don't know. And for it to be another spren seems absurd to me. Whatever it is though, I suspect it'll be pretty significant to them, like a lightsaber is to a Jedi/Sith. And yeah, Shallan wearing Shardplate seems off to me. Although... if only Radiants can obtain it, perhaps they can give it to their squires.

I highly doubt anyone spiked Sadeas with a Hemalurgic spike. Remember, Ruin no longer exists by the time of the Stormlight Archive. It's Harmony. If anything, Sadeas would be compelled to do absolutely nothing.

It does, but then again it could be over-speculation. Anyway, there is a point to both sides of the argument. Killing Sadeas was understandable - shocking, but understandable. In a way, it was solving a problem before it actually popped up. His princedom will now need to deal with the problem of a successor, and that will hinder anyone trying to avenge him. But then again, what we've seen from the Stormlight Archive seems to emphasize this beyond everything else - journey before destination. Kaladin could have solved a major problem by standing by and letting Elhokar die, but it wouldn't be ethically right. Also, remember that the Blackthorn (I'm referring to Dalinar in the past, specifically) is considered a tyrant and warlord. And Adolin is going down that exact same path when even his father realizes that the Blackthorn's way is wrong! What will this mean for Adolin? I don't know. But I'm not inclined to believe that he will end up a Radiant, not when Dalinar and Renarin already are, with Jasnah (and possibly Elhokar) as well. It'll just look somewhat dumb, imho. I think it's more likely that he'll fall to Odium's manipulations. Which is a shame since he genuinely was a good man, if one that wasn't too insightful. He cares about people even below his status, and perhaps in another time and place he could have been one of those that brought Roshar from a system of tyranny to diplomacy. If anything, I think I hate Sadeas even more now for forcing Adolin to go down this path.

It could be, yes. Whatever they are, I think they will need to be forged. The Shardplate will be more than just extremely powerful armor. It will be a constant reminder to the Knights Radiant of their responsibilities - that they are the first and last line of defense against the Desolation. That their main job is not to destroy, but to protect. The 'armor' of Roshar, so to speak.

The answer is yes. They are capable of a Reverse and Basic Lashing. Even Bondsmiths can use one Lashing - the Full Lashing, due to their sharing the Adhesion surge with Windrunners.

Gravitation does cause a black hole of sorts. The Reverse Lashing draws things to it. And yes, I would say their uniqueness depends on how they combine the surges. For example, I think the Windrunners are considered more adept in travelling the skies compared to Skybreakers; and I suspect only Elsecallers can Soulcast things from a distance, while Lightweavers need to get close.

I have a huge suspicion Shardplate is nothing like a Shardblade.

Brandon, I think, has said that Dragonsteel's dragons will not be like the stereotypical dragons we've seen before.

Haha it's perfectly fine, I'm not Odium

Not necessarily, now that the Desolation has returned and Dalinar's visions have pretty much been justified, the Radiants are likely going to be seen as the saviors of humanity, in Alethkar at least. Elsewhere, perhaps not. Interesting (and popular) choice. I have a suspicion it'll be given to someone else outside of Bridge Four, though. I would not be surprised if Adolin got it, for example. I don't think it'd necessarily be Kaladin's choice - Dalinar is the de facto leader now methinks.