Kittalia

If this is the normal time dilation method, it also tells us that Design doesn't skip forward with him. I'd wondered about that... It is also kind of sad to me, that she has to live through years and centuries disguised as a human without her Knight Radiant. We know there are a few people since Hoid addresses them as "Some of you" but this is a possibility.

My current thoughts on Hoid's story audience is that it is either taking place on Scadrial with a Cosmere familiar audience or that it is taking place on another planet but to a primarily Scadrian audience. The "as you'd say on Scadrial" as opposed to "as they'd say on Scadrial" just makes me think that the audience is either on Scadrial or calls it home. That being said, I think it's far enough into the future that there's a lot more cultural exchange—the mix of references—Seons, MaiPon, Nimi, etc—seems like it's talking to a group that's very familiar with the Cosmere in general, but also maybe thinks of the various cultures of the Cosmere as something familiar and part of life. As for when the story events take place, I think it has to be after Era 2/Stormlight since coatrack Hoid appears to be a long-term thing. My guess is either in the 50-100 year gap between Era 2 and 3 or in the gap between Era 3 and 4.

This theory has been bouncing around in my head for a few weeks now, mostly revolving around Nikli's insistence that Rysn never become a Radiant and Honor's belief that the Dawnshards are lost to the Knights Radiant. Quotes from Honor: Assuming that the Dawnshard is mostly nonfunctional in a non-invested host, we have to wonder why the Sleepless didn't want Rysn to access that power and why Honor thought that the power of the Dawnshard was impossible for the Radiants to reach or more dangerous than Odium winning. There are lots of reasons I can think of that the Sleepless wouldn't want Rysn to gain power of the Dawnshard-- their mission goes beyond one planet and I could see Rysn's lack of power an acceptable loss. Honor is a little bit harder. I've seen people interpret the quote from Oathbringer as simply not trusting the Knights Radiant, but that doesn't make much sense to me. Why would he support them for years and then in his death throes suddenly flip and decide that the danger of them getting a Dawnshard was greater than the danger of Odium winning? The other quote complicates that further since he isn't talking about the danger of Dawnshards, but suggesting that the Dawnshards are beyond their reach. From the information we have, I can see two options: Either Honor's knowledge about the Dawnshards and the KR changed, or something about the Dawnshards themselves changed. If Honor didn't know where the Dawnshard was and thought it was no longer on-world, it could make sense that he believes the Dawnshards are lost to them, but it wouldn't explain why he was convinced that the KR would destroy Roshar with one. Since he already knew that the Dawnshard destroyed Adonalsium and Ashyn, it's hard to believe that there was some bit of knowledge about the Dawnshard's capabilities that would suddenly bump them up to "too dangerous." It is possible that something changed about the KR leading up to this, but there's no indication as to what. We know that they abandoned their Oaths believing it was the right thing to do, so it wasn't like they were corrupted or less honorable. In contrast, it is possible that something changed about the Dawnshard, and Odium's interference seems like the most likely reason. I find it less likely that he corrupted the Dawnshard itself, knowing how powerful it is, and more likely that he somehow set things up so that using the Dawnshard would trigger something Very Bad. [Rhythm of War Spoilers] This would explain Honor's sudden belief that the KR couldn't be trusted to use the Dawnshard without destroying Roshar and his statement that without the Dawnshards he had very few tools to help them. It would also give the Sleepless a further reason to not want Rysn or anyone else to have the power to wield the Dawnshard (although they might not even be aware of the trap). I don't think there's enough evidence to say that this is what happened, but a paucity of other explanations for Honor's behavior makes it seem like a strong possibilty. Any other thoughts on possible explanations? Any evidence I've forgotten that contradicts this?

From the text: I assume that means that even if other mandras were following the ship, it was specifically an Aimian Mandra Chiri-Chiri had to bond with. As for the specific place, I don't think it has anything to do with migration since Larkins are originally native to Aimia and seemed to have only gone to the Reshi Isles after the shattering, and then stayed small. There still may be something special about Akinar itself, but I wouldn't count on it. I"m also not convinced the roar was a Larkin. At the time, I read it as the distant noise of Lopen's battle up above, and I still think that's more likely than there being a hidden ancient Larkin that the Sleepless have missed over all these years and that didn't make an appearance when the Dawnshard was taken. Now, reading over it again, I think it could be more than the slug monster, but I'd still imagine it as some kind of cognitive shadow or magical warning system than a living larkin.

I don't think anyone's brought up that we know now that Spren have subspecies/geographic variations. I found it absolutely fascinating that Larkins need a bond with an Amian Mandra/Luckspren specifically.

My personal crackpot Sebarial theory is that he's currently working for/a leader in the Ghostbloods. We know he's shrewder than we give him credit for, and that the Ghostbloods have meetings/a hideout in his warcamp, and his interest in economics with a farming/industry monopoly reminds me of the Ghostbloods' professed interest in a stormlight monopoly. (Also, I accidentally posted too early, see my edit above) One other reason I don't think it would work is that I can't imagine Polona not accepting Lirin.

That would be a crackpot theory, but I'm guessing that she'd have some sign of Herdazian blood if it were true. Maybe the fingernails are recessive though?

I'm confused, why are people saying Navani should be able to get Nicrosil but not Chromium? Isn't Nicrosil an alloy of Chromium? Or was there an in-world mention of one of them that I missed?

I thought I read somewhere that the prereleases were supposed to end with the end of part 1, and I'd be surprised if they just skipped over the interludes if it wasn't. I was reading this as Kaladin's last chapter/moment of decision before jumping into a new arc, although the time gap is interesting.

They could be talking about Chromium, which means either they're wrong about the pressure differential or they understand more than the Scadrians do. But who knows? It doesn't seem to work the way we understand the enhancement metals. I agree that this doesn't seem like the right direction. I don't think Kaladin will be happy healing, and I think it'll cause a bigger rift with Lirin later. More and more, I'm hoping Syl's interlude is right after this section.

Unpopular opinions: Warbreaker is easily his poorest book. Elantris is way better than anyone gives him credit for Neither Warbreaker or Elantris needs a sequel And (okay, this is a fandom unpopular opinion, but it drives me crazy) people who say that Brandon's books (and especially his romances) feel YA don't know what the term YA means. (Trust me, I took a whole class on YA lit, they aren't)

From chapter 5: So it appears she won her own shardplate in Aimia, but doesn't carry a blade.

I hadn't considered this, but you're right, she's probably using it to her advantage. I don't think their closeness is definitely wrong, but the way Navani throws it into the middle of this meeting makes me feel like it's meant to distract us from some important clue too.

I think the strange metal must be an alloy of aluminum, not straight aluminum. We know they can soulcast aluminum because of Shallan's necklace in her flashbacks, and Navani doesn't recognize the metal. And we know that some alloys of aluminum are investiture-inert like (MB era 2) I'd guess it's a stronger alloy that they don't know how to forge or soulcast, and their metallurgy isn't enough that they can connect it to aluminum Also, relevant WoB on Hoid/Jasnah:

Anyone else adding "Shallan escapes from handcuffs in a climactic moment" to their bingo card?