moptop

That's what I was thinking. Maybe the difference between a Windrunner and Skybreaker is that if it's illegal, no matter why the person performed the crime (such as the example I posted previously), the Skybreaker would consider it wrong and make it stop. S/he might just have leeway on the exact punishment. Btw, what does kolo stand for?

You are right. I did not read it yet, but now I am that much more excited. Thanks!

Hi guys, I recently began rereading Words of Radiance and I have a question about Skybreakers. We know that the Skybreakers now are specifically targeting criminals that can surgebind. Is this because their herald is ordering them to focus on surgebinders (or for some other reason)? Or can any individual Skybreaker choose to pursue the crime/criminal s/he deems most important? On the one hand, no one law or crime is more important than any other (unless the law itself says so). But on the other hand, wasting time chasing petty criminals when there is a serial killer on the loose is not practical in any functioning society, and therefore perhaps it is implicit within every law that policemen focus on the crime deemed most important. Plus, it seems that the Skybreakers are choosing which crimes to focus on. My second question is: Do Skybreakers choose which punishment a criminal will suffer? From the fact that they are now killing all the surgebinders they find, no matter how minor the crime, it seems that the choice is up to them. And what if the law itself includes the punishment (as is the case with most law systems, both modern and ancient)? If they are allowed to decide the appropriate punishment, this means that a Skybreaker can decide that the exact same crime can be handled extremely differently depending on the situation. For example, someone stealing from a noble to feed his/her starving family can be treated very differently than someone stealing for other reasons. The choice of the appropriate punishment can actually give Skybreakers a lot of power. To summarize I have two questions: Can Skybreakers choose which crimes have the most priority? And are they then allowed to decide the appropriate punishment? I'm looking forward to all your thoughts. Thanks in advance!

Thanks for all the responses. I really like what Oudeis's explanation, and especially that his theory has very clear evidence from Shallan. I also want to respond to this post: Yes, of course good people can dread decisions even that they know are right. My problem was (according to initial understanding of this episode), that a Windrunner will always know if he had made the right decision. And by agonizing I didn't mean agonizing once one had made the choice - I meant agonizing while making the choice.

Your first point does answer my question, so thank you for that. I don't understand your second point, though. They know they are doing the wrong thing, because they are losing their abilities. Therefore even if they start believing that the ends justify the means, they will be disillusioned of it very quickly. So where is the challenge, the need to make the right choice and to agonize over the difficult decisions, that make us human? All a surgebinder has to do is check if his abilities are getting weaker, and he simply knows he is doing the wrong thing! Yes, it might still be hard to do the right thing, but it is made easier by the fact that he gets to keep his awesome abilities,and by the fact that he 100% knows he has made the correct choice!

Hi all! I have two questions about the Radiants, specifically Kaladin's order. First, why does he lose his abilities after deciding to kill Elkohar? He is obviously not breaking the second Ideal, as Elkohar can protect himself easily (he is both a king AND a shardbearer!). So he must be breaking the first Ideal. However, which part is he breaking? According to Kaladin, Elkohar is not innocent, and killing him will save the lives of countless others! So what is he doing wrong here? Answering that the fact is that simply doing the wrong thing kills his spren, and his interpretation of his actions vis-à-vis the Ideals has no bearing whatsoever, would lead me to my next question. Once someone becomes a Knight Radiant (which automatically means that he is a good person), and then understands this fact (that doing the wrong thing kills his/her spren), then where is the challenge to do the right thing? If one notices his spren dying, then what he is doing is obviously wrong, and he needs to change! It just seems to me that surgebinders, specifically Windrunners, have no choice to do the wrong thing, ever, or they will lose their abilities, not to mention killing their best friend. Or am I wrong? Do I just simply not understand how the Ideals work? Thanks in advance, guys!