dvoraen

I forgive you.

Honestly, I see Navani as more likely to be a Bondsmith with the Nightwatcher (since the Nightwatcher is basically confirmed by the Stormfather to be the second 'god spren'). Navani plants the ideas, stimulates mental development, looks at the underlying structure to see how it works and will develop. Dare I say, she "cultivates" joint innovation and discovery. Her behaviors have been rather along the lines of the Second Ideal that Dalinar swore, albeit in a more subtle way. I say this with the understanding that I'm making a very big assumption that Bondsmiths have similar Ideals. I suspect the underlying themes are the same (unity), but the Siblings each have their own very different interpretation on how that is accomplished. That said, it's still just as likely she could potentially end up bonded to the Sibling, but there's so much we don't know about the third Sibling that it's really us shooting in the dark. For one, why did the Sibling go dormant? The gemstone (Stormlight?) archive suggests the Sibling did not choose to do so, but something led to it. So many questions, and so many years before answers.

That's not the same though. Those who fall in battle (because they couldn't be saved, perhaps?) versus those who have been ignored and cast aside by their peers is the distinction I'm making.

Or it's far more tragic: I will remember the fallen.

My personal thought is that Spiritual Progression helps repair damage caused by the Unmade, and various other things. I also wouldn't be surprised if it could be used to prevent someone from becoming a candidate for a Nahel bond. I think a better answer would be that it functions similarly (but not exactly) to Allomantic aluminum.

@StrikerEZ The reason I don't think the bonds themselves are the foci is that Odium's usage of bonds is presumably a "corruption" effect of another system, due to the prevalence of red eyes. This sign doesn't seem to manifest with regards to the Fused utilizing the Surges, which I find rather interesting despite the fact they've fueled some of them via Voidlight. However, it's hard to say here, as the Fused (and Yelig-nar's hosts) have each manifested the red eyes. Venli will likely be the settling point here, being in possession of a bond with Timbre and a Voidspren simultaneously, yet curiously not manifesting red eyes. One of the reasons I say that the Unmade are Voidbinding, is partly because they're Splinters of Odium, and partly because they're doing things that the Surgebinders we've seen so far can't. We haven't seen any indications of anyone's thoughts being easily influenced, to name one very common example. Another would be Sja-anat's ability to Invest other Shard Splinters (spren) and align them (polarize them?) with Odium's Shard. Third: precognition (I'm obviously not counting Renarin). The closest to this would be Shallan drawing scenes of Ash's vandalism and possibly survivors from the Wind's Pleasure, and even then I got the impression of "present" rather than future.

I'm basically echoing RShara about Ba-Ado-Mishram and how the parshmen were nearly all Spiritually mutilated: Ba-Ado-Mishram Connected with the Listener race (presumably during the so-called False Desolation). Given that the Unmade have a rather heavy touch (virtually all of them "consume" in some manner), I think it's safe to say that this Connection she made was parasitic at best, taking control of them "as Odium once did". Once she was captured, her Connection with them was completely ripped away, leaving nothing but a big gaping scar where their Identity and minds used to be. She "consumed" (overrode) the part of them that facilitated transformation when bonding a spren, and the removal of her presence effectively neutered them, completely severing their Connections. This damage was likely passed on in offspring Cognitive/Spiritual DNA all the way to the present day. The Everstorm repaired that damage. If anything, reading between the lines hints at what Ba-Ado-Mishram's powers and reputation are, as far as human contact is concerned. The folklore about Voidbringers possessing people probably sources back to this particular Unmade.

One comment I want to make pertains to the matter of how everyone is saying "this is a Void version of X". While there's probably a grain of truth to that, I think if we take a step back, one thing makes matters a bit more clear. To do that, I'll just make a direct comparison: The Scadrial system has Metallic Arts. The Roshar system has Surge Arts. As Scadrial's magic systems and science are based on the metals, most Rosharan magic is based on the Surges. Allomancy, Feruchemy, and Hemalurgy are powered by assorted metals. Similarly, Surge Arts are powered by assorted "light". This is consistent with what we've seen with both Radiants and the Fused. We also haven't seen any major alterations with respect to Surgebinding when other Light is powering it. Lashing from a Fused does not seem to differ from a Lashing from a Windrunner or Skybreaker. Also, and more importantly, humanity used the Surges before ever going to the planet Roshar: The one part that's unclear is whether or not humans were Surgebinding while still following Odium. The implication is yes (because the Fused can use Surgebinding, and they are Invested by Odium), but it could also be they had to "learn how" after humans gained Surgebinding from spren reverse engineering the Honorblades... which muddies the timeline a bit. Anyway, I'm not trying to say 'Void Tension' or the like don't exist, but I think saying something like that is like calling bronze "the detection metal" when we know that isn't the whole story about it, magically speaking. Its core state is bronze, but what it does is going to matter on which system is using it. Right now, we've seen Surgebinding as one of those systems; directly using the Surge for a given effect. I suspect the Unmade are still the primary practicants of Voidbinding currently*, and even then I suspect that some of their powers technically source from the Surges if not a mixture of multiples of them. Arcanum Unbound does more than hint that there's mix-and-matching going on. Just from what we've seen and "been told" (quotes because some of that is second hand so I consider it untrustworthy in the first place ;)), we can assign certain Surges to some of what the Unmade are reputed to do: Yelig-nar** -- Connection to all 10 Surges -> Spiritual Adhesion or all ten Ashertmarn -- Emotional fixation -> Cognitive Gravitation ("gravitates"/"pulls" you to a specific emotion) Moelach -- Precognition -> Illumination Sja-anat -- Enlightenment -> Transformation Re-Shephir -- Midnight Essence -> Cohesion, Tension Ba-Ado-Mishram -- Adhesion, Transformation (Connection forming, "facilitating forms of power") So yeah, I think there's a bit more going on with the Roshar system. * I'm not going into Renarin because he's in a very unique position. Also, I would say it's likely that the Fused we haven't seen yet "awakened" are going to demonstrate Voidbinding, to say nothing of the role of the Unmade with respect to the listeners and possibly humans. ** Yelig-nar is weird. It's hard to say whether he is controlling the individual who ate the gemstone (implied to be possible by Odium) and using the Surges directly through the surrogate, or if he's just simply providing power (Connecting the person to those Surges) at the cost of corroding away the imbiber's soul.

I think the major question with the Diagram, is whether Cultivation can tamper with Taravangian at will without being detected, since the Nightwatcher "blessed" him. Having her super spren do things that open people up to Cultivation's influence (while it looks like the Nightwatcher's work) would be rather sneaky, to me. In other words, the Nightwatcher's blessing is a Trojan horse, and I mean that in almost every respect (including and especially the computer science definition). I definitely like the idea that the Diagram is basically an extraordinary ruse, though.

I thought it was pretty clear that it was Yelig-nar:

It's from an interlude in The Way of Kings.

We can answer at least one of the things that was different from then vs the present: Then The Fused were forced back to Damnation when killed. (This is implied in Part II.) When the Heralds broke, the Fused gradually came from Damnation to Roshar, but not all of them immediately. The Unmade were presumably all freed and able to do their thing, including certain forms of power. Now The Fused return with each Everstorm, rather than one death each. The Everstorm brought them to Roshar, rather than the Fused making the trip back themselves. The parshmen were unable to accept bonds with the Fused; the Everstorm had to repair the damage first in order for the process to occur. The Unmade are not all running rampant; some of them are/were imprisoned. Ba-Ado-Mishram is at the top of the list for why this matters. Forms of power are more limited in occurrence. Now, as far as what Jasnah learned from Wit, I will wager there's quite a bit that we won't see until her book. Among those (and this is strictly me guessing): Pre-Odium humanity and Roshar. The Dawnshards What's really happening with Dalinar. Is he still a Bondsmith? A Sliver? Something else? The 411 about Adonalsium.

This is the exact scene from Words of Radiance regarding the Shardblade that isn't Taln's Honorblade: This Blade isn't mentioned in Oathbringer to my recollection.

Hat(e)ium.

It's very likely (per Lhan's interlude, WoR) that by the time the first Everstorm hit Kholinar, that Ashertmarn had taken up residence in Kholinar, or had been imprisoned there and released. When Sja-anat and Yelig-nar entered the picture is the unclear part.

I got three (ironic?) words regarding Nightblood's role: Consuming the Unmade.

It's probably a very simple explanation. Until Bridge Four, Renarin was, and still kind of is, considered different and partly ostracized by the rest of his kind. Plus, he had a form of epilepsy, or a "sickness". Glys is probably in a very similar circumstance, with his Investment changed by one of the Unmade. Syl considered corrupted spren in Kholinar as "His", so Glys is probably in the same boat, even though he's clearly granting similar powers to Renarin as a normal Truthwatcher. I think here's it's clearly an attraction of Renarin and Glys being two peas in a pod, on top of the normal criteria. Now, on the subject of how this affects things, Glys being 'Enlightened', I think it's going to prove to be more in the nature of enhancing the regular repertoire, that he can do more with those Surges. Part of the reason why I don't agree with him 'Voidbinding' Illumination, that he has half-and-half, is that he's sourcing it with Stormlight still, at least he did so in Thaylen City. (This is explicitly stated on p1181 in the hardback.) I'm talking his general uses for it and Progression, not his precognitive visions. The other reason is that I think Voidbinding is something completely different from the Surges. We've clearly seen the Fused fuel the same Surges that humans get, albeit powering them with Voidlight, but their general effects haven't really been different from Stormlight-fueled Surges. They can Lash themselves and others; they can manipulate friction with 'Slickness' as Lift does with Abrasion. In other words, I think the Fused we've seen are the counterparts of the Radiants and have identical powers. We have not, however, seen any Fused rapidly changing forms or anything like in the WoR songs about the forms of power. From the sounds of it, it's the Unmade that cause this to happen, and they are where we're going to see Voidbinding rear its head. Could Renarin be a nascent Voidbinder, due to Glys? Sure, it's very possible, but aside from the precognition I don't think we've seen him do it yet. One thing I hope someone asks Brandon, is about whether there is a fundamental difference in the Surges the Fused and Radiants use, and whether the Fused Surgebinding are just using Voidlight as the power source.

Yeah, I thought it was pretty clear it was Venli, just based on what she thinks throughout a good portion of the book, to say nothing of what happens to her at the end of her interludes.

This is my assessment too, as it sounds like Odium is largely barred from tampering with the world when the Oathpact is still in force and preventing the Fused and more from unleashing on the world. That said, Odium does seem to have some control over the Unmade, which makes sense as they're Splinters of his Shard and the Vessel is Cognitively intact. I don't think he micromanages who is affected by the Thrill (since it goes for everything from the looks of it), but there is evidence Odium can nudge the Unmade to do things: Sja-anat states she was "compelled" to touch/Enlighten the spren of the Kholinar Oathgate. She seems to be mostly in control of her actions, and even lies to Odium from the sound of it (or lies about lying for her own ends), but she still corrupted the Oathgate all the same. Nergaoul's and Yelig-nar's presence at Thaylen City was a bit too coincidental, to say nothing of Nergaoul being yanked fully into the Physical Realm and going straight for the Alethi troops to open them to being bonded-and-controlled.

Urithiru existed well before the last Desolation, though. That's pretty much fact from the visions Dalinar had. The point I'm trying to make, or perhaps the question I want people to answer, is would it have been "expected" for Urithiru to contain accurate depictions of the Heralds?

I personally had thought the drawings of the Heralds had actually been due to Shallan recreating what was found in the core of Urithiru: I don't see Urithiru having false depictions of what the Heralds look like, do you? Of course, Ash's viewpoint suggesting that Midius had personally drawn them, and distributed them, does lend weight to it being Hoid.

This is what I've been wondering about myself, as well. Iri seems to have a fixation on reading the tides and whatnot, so this interlude was rather surprising to introduce and made a bit more sense with respect to Cusicesh having a water motif. It made me wonder if we'll be seeing human souls that can't die, that were Invested by Odium. I have to go looking for the specific page, but there was a mention somewhere about how the Origin might well be a seal of its own.

My vote is actually going to Dai-gonarthis, but I'm still working on notes for why I say this. It's an upcoming thread/theory of mine, because I think we have a bit of evidence on how Dai-gonarthis influences people, now.

Yes. - She had a wreath of black smoke start winding around her and began growing amethyst crystals throughout her body. She even says "Yelig-nar serves me." - Amaram was given "a proper housing for Yelig-nar", which was a smokestone he swallowed. - Amaram exhibited the same smoke-like aura and crystal growth as Aesudan.

Honestly, I'm thinking Adonalsium isn't as dead as the participants of the Shattering thinks. Dalinar likely did something that only Adonalsium was able to do, which is my personal guess. We haven't(?*) seen any indications a Shard can create a perpendicularity at will. I believe Syl calls it Honor's Perpendicularity because it was Connecting the Physical and Cognitive Realms to Honor's power in the Spiritual Realm. Either that or that's what came flooding through since Dalinar was using Honor's Surges to do it. I'm curious if Brandon will give details on what specifically happened here, but something strongly says "not gonna happen". * I have not had time to read literally every cosmere book / novella / story yet, so I could very easily be wrong here.