Tariniel
-
Posts
167 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
News
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Events
Everything posted by Tariniel
-
What do you mean? That because people believe Talenel to be like this is why he is like this?
-
I do agree with this. Hadn't noticed it before, but it does really seem like how Shardblades look when they're summoned. I wonder why this is...
-
Yes, but the bits of wood and leaves in his beard seem un-Damnationlike. They seem more as is he had actually traveled a sizable distance on Roshar itself.
-
"His hair was long and matted, his clothing nothing more than a ragged, sacklike length of cloth wrapping around his waist. He stood with his head bowed, wet, ratty hair hanging down over his face and mixing with a beard that had bits of wood and leaves stuck in it. His muscles glistened, wet as if he'd just swum a great distance." This seems like more than psychological exhaustion to me...
-
These are both really interesting things I hadn't thought of, @Argent, especially the second one. Until now I had just been thinking of it as when the Herald dies in Damnation is when the Honorblade loses its connection ("Experience ended," you might say.) That is why Taln and the other Heralds seem to remember the fires and other horrors, because it was before they died, and so the Honorblade keeps the memories. I'm liking your points a lot better, though.
-
He doesn't have to be Alethi to speak Alethi, @Eki, especially since he is a Herald and would therefore have to deal with all cultures. He also had a wild look, with branches and tangles in his hair and beard, implying that he likely had to travel a long distance to reach Kholinar.
-
@Rasarr It does kind of sound like demonic possession, doesn't it? Hadn't thought of that There is only one problem I have with your theory, which is why I abandoned it when I began thinking through this topic a little more. I'm not sure if even I completely follow my own theory, but it does have a distinct advantage in the 'surprising, yet inevitable' department. Brandon lives for his endings, and after reading so many of his books, I can't bring myself to believe that he would purposely create so much hype around something that will ultimately just be the expected result. On the contrary, I've seen on more than one occasion, where he is very careful to use the right words, or clarify any misunderstanding he thinks might lead to unrequisited attention being put onto a certain topic.
-
The reason Szeth wasn't affected could be because of the way he acquired the Blade. The Heralds aren't dead. Therefore, in some way, the minds of the Blades are still within their original hosts. The blades can only give their surges now, but not make someone a Herald until the current ones die. This is an unprecedented case, as the Oathpact has never been 'broken' before, and so even the magic is probably still figuring itself out. In Taln's case, however, he did die, which is what allowed his mind to be transferred to the new bearer. An interesting thing to think about is how the Blade chooses the new Herald. Do they choose people that already have similar ideals and facial features, or does it slowly transform the holder into the Herald and his attributes, similar to how Shards work?
-
Honestly, I liked him, but wasn't too broken up over his death. I was much more intrigued by the question of who was this mysterious lawman, that seems to give no chances for repentance. Nevertheless, the fact that there are some people who feel this way is a huge point in Brandon's favor. Making readers care about a side character in just one chapter... I could only hope to be there someday.
-
This is what really throws a wrench into the whole thing, seeing as he was the most likely suspect. I am making a separate thread about this, though. I'd rather if this one centered around the discussion of Taln as a person.
-
We have a WoB that it wasn't Wit
-
So what are you saying, that he had a simple unbounded Shardblade? Why would someone switch out the Blades, then?
-
He had the Blade out during this encounter...
-
I've been thinking about this, @Darkness Ascendant, seems to me that it could have been that the Blades are, and have always been, the Heralds. Meaning that the Blades have somehow always held the cognitive aspects of the Heralds, and are just passed on from one user to the other. The minds were never 'transferred,' they were made that way and have developed those personas, which then transfer into their bearers. This could also be the comparison that Brandon often draws between Nightblood and Blades.
-
Yes, that is a prevalent theory. However, that doesn't explain why Brandon absolutely refuses to call him Taln... I'll probably make a separate post on this, but if he had a Honorblade, why were his eyes still dark?
-
What We Know: Brandon, for some unknown reason, refuses to acknowledge this 'Taln' as the Herald Talenelat. He continually refers to him as "the man who calls himself Taln..." This 'Taln' does, however, display certain physical characteristics that have been associated with descriptions of the Heralds before. Namely, he has "dark skin," and speaks "perfect Alethi," without any "hint of an accent." He also catches darts at hyper-speed... He only speaks perfect Alethi in his first appearance by the gates of Kholinar. His accent changes to something like gibberish when Elhokar and Dalinar are 'interrogating' him. Further proof that something strange is going on is his apparent inability to immediately know who he is, as demonstrated by his hesitation ("Who am I? I... I am Talenel'Elin, Stonesinew..."). (I'm pretty sure this happens somewhere else, but I can't remember where, at the moment.) Theories: Here's a compilation of some of the theories I've seen regarding the dual identity of this character: He's the same Taln, but he's been broken over 4500 years of constant torture. Seems to imply that Brandon is just trolling us with his description, which seems highly unlikely to me considering the strange inconsistencies mentioned above. He's someone else (likely a Herald overcome with remorse) who went to the Nightwatcher and asked her to release Taln. The way she 'fulfilled' his wish was by placing Taln's mind in his body, thereby 'releasing' him. This seems plausible; the only issue I have with it is that it seems that just because we don't know the limitations of the Old Magic, we ascribe any unexplained occurrence to the Nightwatcher... Similar to the above, but removing the Nightwatcher aspect. Maybe he's just a Herald overcome by grief, who has developed a multiple personality syndrome as a way to cope. He could be an Aimian impersonating the Herald Talenelat, though that does not explain how he has the memories of being tortured on Braize or knows so much about the role of the Heralds. This is a little far-fetched, but, now that I think about it, he could just be a really good actor that is impersonating Taln... The current Comere-connecting theories are that he's either a kandra, Forgery, or Hemalurgy was involved. (BTW, if we're ruling in Scadrial Investiture, Allomancy could just as easily be an explanation for his lightning-fast reflexes...) My Theory: There is a chance that this has been said before, considering how long the books have been out for, although I did search for it and couldn't find this specific theory anywhere... If it is somewhere, hopefully I'll add something new to the discussion or provoke some new thoughts. Here goes: Could it be that the some form of the Heralds' minds are held in their Blades? Being that the Honorblades are a large part of what makes a Herald a Herald, that seems to make sense to me. Taking this a little further, it could be that the Heralds are tortured on Braize, not only until they break, but until they actually die. At least physically. Their minds live on in the Honorblades, which then return to Roshar and are bonded by the bodies which will eventually become the new Heralds. There is even a WoB (It's here, I believe) which says that they can remain on Roshar for a certain period of time before another Desolation begins. That could be a transitional phase when the bodies accustom themselves to holding the Herald's mind within them, allowing for them to be fully adjusted and ready to carry out their individual missions once the Desolation starts. This 'Taln' could simply be the body holding the Herald Talenelat, a suitable explanation for Brandon's cryptic way of referring to him. What do you guys think? (Now that I'm thinking about it, there is the issue that Brandon doesn't refer to the other Heralds we know of (Nalan and Shalash, for example) in this same obscure manner. Is there a way you can think to explain this or is my theory drowned already...)
-
So... I'm probably the last Sanderfan to realize this, but as I was rereading Warbreaker this morning I noticed that Austre is a play on the word austere, a hint towards the Idrian way of life. This got me interested in these little word twists, and I was wondering if you guys can throw in some other ones you have seen around the Comere Curious to see what else I may have missed...
-
@Blainejstephenson Have you thought of joining our little niche of the forums called Reading Excuses?
-
The bacteria/spores have evolved in such a way as to grant magical abilities to humans as an "incentive" to give them a host body. They are attracted by live blood, but they feed on pain, making them depend on live organisms to survive. Hmmm.... That just got me thinking about the ramifications of these bacteria infecting animals. Gotta write this down
-
Sanderson "Would you Rather"
Tariniel replied to KnightRadiant's topic in Forum Games & Random Stuff
Sprint into a wild Koloss horde. Slightly better chance of survival, I believe. Would you rather that Kaladin die or that Shallan die? -
@Robinski I'm planning on moving through the Seasons again, this time following through with the writing prompts. Hopefully I'll build up to what you are doing with Season 9 and produce a competed novel. The sacrifice itself was the source? That's really interesting! I don't suppose there's any chance you compiled all of the RE submissions into a single file that I can read? This is usually the case
-
Lots of interesting ideas here! I may be mistaken, but I believe endorphins are actually what cause that feeling of excitement. It's kind of like the body's way of cheering you up after a stressful situation. The idea that people who are not "trying" to get magic actually end up with more power really intrigues me, however. I think these are both based on the way I'm viewing these so called "spores" (magical bacteria?). Right now I'm shooting for them to be attracted to the live blood itself, and from there be absorbed into the body. Maybe they just dissolve when the come in contact with endorphins? Magic would probably heal all wounds but the entry wound, as it is in the bacteria's favor to keep their host happy with its newfound abilities. This was really interesting! It got me thinking into how I can extrapolate this, and all of these interesting conflicts between this society and ours. Love the reverse doctors idea That familiar need to get this story down on paper is quite strong now. Just need to outline a plot, then I'll try a quick scene sketch. I didn't really mean spores from a fungi, I was using it more as a general "small reproductive things flying through the air" label. I was looking at it from the angle that the magical abilities were the method of reproduction, as more people will want to give them a host body. Your comments about mycotoxins were really interesting, however, and do represent yet another way I can choose to take this. BTW: How do you tag someone in a post? I see everyone doing it, but I can't seem to figure it out...
-
Not sure if any of you have listened to Season 8 of Writing Excuses recently, but I noticed there are a quite a few episodes centered around brainstorming and the development of ideas. In several of them, the podcasters spit out random ideas in an attempt to further develop certain story seeds, or at least strike a match in the original author's brain. This intrigued me, as it really does seem like something worth trying. Obviously, we can't do it in a live session like in the podcast, but I was wondering if you could try shooting some random ideas at me for a magic system that has been playing around in the back of my mind. I mainly need a plot to go along with it... The story seed I came up with for the previous podcast was a magic system fueled by pain. It has since developed into something a little different, in that there are some sort of spores in the air that are attracted to open wounds (more specific than general "pain"). They enter the body and grant their host with certain magical abilities. Once inside, endorphins are practically the only way to flush them out, meaning that pain still is a factor. The "gee wiz" part of this idea was that certain people may wish to live their entire lives in pain in order to gain these abilities, which is fascinating to me. Maybe the strength of the powers granted have a direct correlation with the level of pain? Just wanted to see if anything can come out of this... Currently planning it as a standalone short story, but who knows? Maybe your suggestions will cause the idea to grab me more... Thanks!
-
Sept 5, 2016 - Vreeah - Dreamt and Lost - Chapter 1-2 (V) - 2,406 words
Tariniel replied to Vreeah's topic in Reading Excuses
Hey Vreeah! Absolutely loved the story! It is a much looser magic system than I am accustomed to reading, but I find myself wanting to know more about it. I feel there are some specifics to its use we don't know yet, and I can't wait to find them out! I also thought the story's pacing, especially in the action scenes, was on-point. The dialogue also had a nice, flowing clip to it. I should mention the funny coincidence that yours and Hobbit's MCs both have similar names. I kept reading Ellis as Elias, but that was probably just my brain's very own type of craziness reading it wrong lol On to a couple of points that can be improved on: Page 1: Ellis is described as a new sentry. I know later on you explain he is a natural, but right here I was under the impression that he was a novice, with little experience to his name. When he started practically single-handedly destroying the dreams I was quite surprised (not in a good way). Page 2: Quick note: It may be worthwhile to mention the wolf has a beak in the sentence where it is first introduced, rather than assuming the reader already knows strange things are happening and having the wolf attack with a weapon we didn't know he had. Similarly, you may want to mention Sofia's name when attention is first called to her (maybe "the lance of Ellis's sister, Sofia, ..." Page 3: "Ellis slammed his hands down." What does this mean? If you mean he slammed them into the ground, how can he reach it if he is standing? Also, how effective is a "grass blade"? Page 4: The flaming spider monster didn't seem so scary. They killed it on their first try, and it did absolutely nothing to them besides for causing all the dreams to congregate, allowing them to be quickly and efficiently destroyed, while simultaneously tying off any loose ends... Seems more like a plot requirement. Page 5: "Ellis heard incoming footsteps and swooshing fabrics, so he looked over to see a lady sitting next to him." This line rings strangely to me, for some reason... Been trying to figure out why, but keep drawing a blank. Sorry Page 6: Trying to stay out of the grammar territory (Robinski will cover that :)), but just wanted to pop in to note some capitalization issues. "Rima sipped a spoonful of red soup. "You didn't come to the cafeteria. Were you not hungry after dealing with the dreams?" Page 7: Sorry, I promise, this is the last one. "Rima lifted her brows," made me imagine her grabbing them with her hands and pulling them up... It could just be me, but maybe "raised" would be better? Also, I had a little trouble with some of the tags you used, here. I believe that are called said-bookisms, but words that you substitute for "said," and, maybe, "asked," tend to pull the reader out of the story. The two I caught were "Ellis sighed," and "Ellis laughed." The second one actually doesn't even make sense if you think about it. When was the last time you heard someone laugh out their words? Page 8: But it's alright if they roam outside, terrorizing everyone else? Overall: The story was really enjoyable, and the magic system seems to have a lot of potential. I haven't read anything that employs a loose magic system in a while, so this will definitely be a refreshing read. Most of my criticisms were nit-picky, and much will probably be explained as the story goes on. I was just trying to throw my first reactions at you, hopefully building the clay ball that you can now mold. Thanks for letting me read this! -
Sounds about right.
