Mckeedee123

The stick is obviously a symbol for people who are too set in their ways to adapt. His story is a dramatic tragedy. He had the potential to become something useful (a fire) and help Shallan, but because his conscious percieves his identity as a stick so strongly, he refuses to be a Good Samaritan (Stickmaritan?) and change, so is instead a waste of Shallan's time and stormlight. Though personally, I think his story would be much more satisfying if he was able to redeem himself, going through a journey of self discovery that eventually leads him to realize he needs to adapt in order to survive the everstorm. The deleted scene from WoR seems to indicate that Brandon Sanderson was originally set on this destination for stick's persona, but decided the story would be more poignant if left as it was. We don't know everything, though. Perhaps stick's destiny isn't set in stone after all.

I started with Firesoul because it would mean I would never have to worry about being too hot or cold. I could just adjust myself. Subsumer is probably 2nd though, for reasons stated above (I'd like to see the looks on those buffet managers' faces when i clean 'em out)

I'm really not sure if what Nalan told Szeth at the end of WoR mellowed him out (gave him a real purpose) or further unhinged him. Nightblood could also be a good or bad influence. After all, the chronology between Cosmere books is muddled, and Brandon has hinted in the Warbreaker annotations that Nightblood understands more than Vasher thinks. We could be looking at a Nalan-influenced Nightblood crazed for the opportunity to help Szeth get revenge, or one that's surprisingly lucid and manages to coax Szeth back to sanity As for Szeth's inner conflicts, I'm convinced that Szeth just needs to be his own man (or Shin, as it were), and stop being a tool up for grabs for every evil guy in Roshar. He's a good guy, he just has a sense of duty that's totally out of place. A truly redeemed Szeth would be great to see.

Nope. Windrunners definitely beat Edgedancers in terms of coolness any day of the week.

I've always thought the spren that follow Greatshells and Skyeels around are a little more mundane than you're suggesting. As an organism's mass increases, its strength increases at a disproportionately lower rate. Creatures like chasmfiends, or especially the Reshi Island Greatshells, would be much, much, too big to actually exist. Skyeels shouldn't be able to fly either, bladder or no bladder. These arrow-spren probably exist to help these organisms defy gravity just a bit. In fact, they might even be symbiotes. Most, if not all, greatshells have gemhearts, and these gems might serve as a repository of stormlight that attracts these spren.

Hmm... Szeth and Nightblood make a pretty good pair on their own, actually. Nightblood has the capability to further unhinge Szeth, and Nalan's simplistic view on morality would probably appeal to Nightblood, who hasn't ever really understood what the complex definition of evil is.

All of the secret societies operating in Roshar... One of the main things that bugs me about the Stormlight Archives is that we still have basically no idea what the true conflicts are.

I'm actually pretty sure that the last clap is based on a supposed technique that ninjas used to catch a samurai's blade (saw it on mythbusters). There's nothing magical about it and it is do-able provided your enemy didn't swing his sword hard enough.

I'm pretty sure that the tranquilline halls are actually Yolen. After all, isn't it supposed to be the source of all humans in the Cosmere? Looking at it in that context, the whole "history of humanity" as defined by Vorinism, begins to fall into place.

It's implied that even though the exchanging of the pendants is a Korathi tradition, each partner is supposed to do something unique (so tradition doesn't mandate any specific color, black or otherwise).

Now that you mention it, I'm pretty sure that greatshells shouldn't be able to stand, since they'd be so heavy (as you increase an organism's size, its mass is increased disproportionately to its strength). Those spren, I bet, are what keep them on their feet. The fact that they follow skyeels too is probably a hint that they let their hosts defy gravity just a bit (since inflatable bladders or no inflatable bladders, those guys shouldn't be able to fly). Perhaps their gemhearts are intended to collect stormlight which they can feed to those spren in return for the ability to walk. They're symbiotes. Too bad we don't know a lot about shadesmar yet, though Stones Unhallowed will probably offer a better description than what we have so far.

I've actually thought about this a little myself. The series is organized very episodically, with several different plots going on at the same time. I could see each book being split into ten episodes, with a season finale that includes the big battles. As a movie, it would lose a lot (since the interludes wouldn't translate very well and it's so LONG). The problem with TV, of course, as has already been mentioned, is budget. With all of the special effects and extras (Huge armies, makeup for the parshendi, shardplate and its properties), the production simply couldn't be produced well without some studio sinking in a few hundred million dollars, which is ridiculously high for TV.

It would be very difficult, if not impossible, for her to survive. Not only is that a drop of 200+ feet, but the storms would be creating a massive flood underneath these chasms, which would drown her in shardplate (not to mention dash her to pieces... Though with all those faked deaths in WoR, I wouldn't be surprised if she lives for some reason...

A few weeks ago, I decided to reread all of Sanderson's Cosmere works in order of publication (just finished Mistborn Trilogy). Wrapping up Elantris, I noticed, in the wedding scene, an object that seems oddly reminiscent of Gavilar's black pendant (the one he gave to Szeth in the prologue with the completely innocuous "'You must take this. They must not get it.'" line) Gavilar's Pendant is described as: "a small, crystalline sphere tied to a chain... It was odd, unlike any [szeth] had seen before. Though it was completely dark, it seemed to glow somehow. With a light that was black" Then there's the Elantris reference. During Sarene and Raoden's wedding, they exchange a couple of pendants (some sort of Korathi wedding tradition). Sarene's was innocent enough (a chunk of jade with some gold bands). But the one Raoden is mentioned like this: "Somewhere, [sarene] had found a heavy black stone that polished up as if it were metal, and its reflective darkness complimented Raoden's silvery skin" The connection is tenuous, I'll admit, but the very nature of the description raises some flags (by which I mean that it's suspicious that the pendants are mentioned at all!). From what I've seen of Sanderson's writing, he's pretty blunt. The only descriptive writing we see, most of the time, is directly tied in to the worldbuilding. I can only name a few times in which possessions are specifically mentioned, and it always has that air of "This is going to be significant later on" (like when Shallan first meets Mraize and he's got all that stuff on his shelves). So reading on, I made sure to keep track of references to black stones (just for kicks) and, so far I only found one other reference (like I said, I've only finished Elantris and the Mistborns so far) to them, and it's even vaguer (as in: i doubt there's a connection, but because it's part of a random description, it seems like it's pretty suspicious) Aaaanyway, The item in question shows up when Vin tries to run away from Camon, and she goes through her possessions before being betrayed by Ulef. All she has is her earring, some pebbles and a chunk of stone described as: "a bit of obsidian the size of a large coin. It was chipped into an irregular pattern - Reen had carried it as some sort of good luck charm" I hesitated to add this one... after all , it's not exactly mysterious-like as Gavilar's Pendant was, and it's specifically referenced as being obsidian. It's still part of an out-of-place description, however. Vin slips it into her pocket and we never hear about it again. For those of you were as confused as I was about how Vin got spooked just before she met with Hoid in Fadrex, however, it provides a possible explanation. Hoid seems to be gathering various... "stuff" of significance (Lerasium bead, the moon scepter... Honorblades?) and if he thought that she had Reen's little good luck charm, then... maybe? Like I said, the object itself just doesn't seem very magical, so this one probably means nothing. When I reread Warbreaker, I'll be looking for another "Black Stone", and maybe I'll find one. I'd suggest that you go to the books to see the context in which the stones I'm referencing are mentioned (as my quotes are a little too short for people to really get the "feel" of them) So there. Feel free to respond with some skepticism. EDIT: Curiosity has mentioned a WoB that states that Vin's obsidian shard isn't anything magical. So nevermind on that one.

Honestly, my ideas on this subject are that while Rosharians aren't truly fighting to reclaim paradise, the story of their fall from the tranquilline halls is based loosely on what happened to them. We know that in Scadrial, the world didn't start with humans on it. Ruin and Preservation had to work together to make them. From the epilogues of "Hero of Ages" (and interviews)we know that they got the idea for them from what they had seen before- The inhabitants of the original cosmere planet: Yolen. While it's hard to say how, and under what circumstances, humans were sent to Roshar, several people have introduced the theory that the Parshendi were its original inhabitants. We also know, as stated above, that religions in the cosmere are usually based on truth, but are warped by the cultures that believe in them. The Vorin areas of Roshar are heavily invested in war. Humanity believes that history consisted of -Being driven out of the tranquilline halls -The cycles of the desolations -The final defeat of the "voidbringers" and several thousand years of peace -The Recreance -The Hierocracy So, to wrap this up, my theory is that the tranquilline halls are Yolen. Some humans left Yolen (or were driven out) and came to Roshar. Humans contended with the Parshendi (who apparently sided with Odium against the spren who betrayed them) until the Heralds broke the oathpact, then comes the modern era (after the recreance and hierocracy and all that). Over time, the earliest events have become shrouded in myth, and if the heralds are depicted so incorrectly in Vorin mythology, you can bet that no one remembers as far back as Yolen. The "war to reclaim the tranquilline halls" is, essentially, a way to rationalize the Vorin kindoms' obsession with war with the legends of the "paradise" from whence humanity came. The end of "Warbreaker" and "Hero of Ages" seem to present the afterlife as a peaceful place, where Vin, Elend, and Lightsong can finally have some peace. Roshar is the only world we know of that describes it as being a place of conflict in any way whatsoever. And even then, I think they would like it that way.

Admittedly, I don't think it's even possible to guess who the "wanderer" is. The writing is so vague (deliberately vague, in fact) that any male person- on or off Roshar- could be him, just as long as his presence throws a wrench into Taravangian's speculations.

To me, the diagram has always been a little "off". Theoretically, the idea is to preserve humanity, but it does this through creating massive chaos. After all, it really would have been easier to ally with Dalinar, who was concerned with the desolations (and rumors must have been all over the place that he was seeing visions), instead of trying to kill him. Taravangian's efforts actually seem to be hindering humanity instead of helping it.

If true, could this have something to do with the origin of Stone Shamanism?

Aww... Well, too bad novelty is the thing men value most Should I delete this or something?

The first time I read through The Way of Kings, I didn't think much of the death rattles. Most of them just didn't seem to have a clear direction (practically all of them were just "Death, destruction, everstorm, blah blah blah") . Seeing that WoR actually doesn't have any, though, seems to make them more significant. The death rattles, it seems, are meant to actually foreshadow specific events in the series (I know this isn't exactly plains-shattering, but I'm trying to point out that we should be looking for these prophecied events as we read). As I reread the book, I saw this epigraph in chapter 64, and it just kind of clicked “They come from the pit, two dead men, a heart in their hands, and I know that I have seen true glory.” It seems to me that this is a reference to Kaladin and Shallan reemerging from the chasms in WoR into Dalinar's warcamp. The fact that it says "two dead men" might seem to debunk this immediately, as Shallan is, obviously, not a man*. Still, if this rattle doesn't have some sort of context, it's pretty weird. a heart in their hands? This could be some sort of twisted metaphor, unless that "heart" is actually a reference to the gemheart that they brought out with them. The gloryspren around Kaladin during the scene also connect pretty well with the speaker's "and I know that I have seen true glory". The rattle also refers to them as "dead", which makes sense because Dalinar and most of his retinue already figured that Kaladin and Shallan were dead twice over (from the fall and the highstorms). Given all that (especially with "heart" part, which is just weird in any other context), It's apparent to me that the death rattle is referencing this specific event. This, however, raises some questions on its own. First and foremost, are the rattles from the perspective of the speaker (in a vision)? Or is the person "channeling" someone else that witnessed the event? Is the guy who's dying here (A rickshaw puller,13 seconds pre-death.) seeing this and commenting on it? or is this from one of the characters' perspectives that he's voicing (Dalinar or some random soldier)? Either way, it makes me a little giddy, for some reason, that Kaladin and Shallan are so important to the history of Roshar (and, therefore, the cosmere) that even this little blip from their lives deserves a place among all of these all-important, apocalypse-ey visions that we're reading about. For the record. I have no idea whether this has been brought up yet, but I'm not about to read through thousands of posts to find out. * A few people have challenged this fact, I believe. But that's just plain silly.