Vander

Does he? I don't remember that, though I can see it.

People have previously pointed out that Szeth could be a valuable source of information. Remember how there are (presumably) seven Honorblades in Shinovar?

*sigh* I feel like even Jasnah would be making fun of her, if she heard that. "You destroyed the ship, but couldn't start a fire? Seriously?"

...? Meanwhile, Andrew is hilarious sometimes. Have you seen this topic? (Well, you might have: I don't know if I used a link to get there, or searched it up, so...) https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/17862164-hey-andrew---#comment_id_144203389

Koloss?

Well, Kal sort of had years where Shallan was doing it off the top of her head. Admittedly, though, I was slightly exaggerating. Oh, I love it too. It can get a bit much, though, sometimes.

... Well, I've been misunderstanding you, then. Sorry. Well, the Skyeels topic seems exhausted, so onto the next topic! Anybody else curious about the giant eye-squid-thing? What was it's name again? I need images to think about it. Also, what do you think comes out of the chrysalis when a Chasmfiend finishes it's pupating process?

If he felt pity, he shouldn't have let him fall into the Highstorm. He may not have killed him technically, and it may help him sleep at night, but the result is the same.

Hey, I wonder if he'll just randomly summon his Shardblade to look light-eyed when travelling! What with the completely unrealistic way Shallan got to the Shattered Plains, it could have quite the benefit. Well, if he can't fall, for whatever reason. Of course, then we'd get a bunch of emo-philosophy about having to pretend to be what he has hated for a large part of his adult life, but that's a story for another time.

The apathy to good fantasy... It makes you want to call in your personally army of Chasmfiends.

I know I'm backtracking a bit, but the "un-glowing Szeth" thing happened AFTER the strike, as well. As such, he STILL had no reason to divert the attack.

Exactly what I'm pushing for, actually. Bravo.

"Held in" is what I mean by saved up... As in, he was cutting back on expending Stormlight lest he run out and have to recharge mid-fight. While recharging isn't difficult, the momentary lapse in concentration in both concentration and Lashings could prove fatal against an experienced warrior, which Szeth KNEW Kaladin was. Also, I REALLY don't understand why you completely ignored my point on the fact that he could not have known that Szeth could not heal Shardwounds. This is ESSENTIAL to why I say that even if he was disabled like that, he may still have been a threat. Kal did not know that Szeth had unbonded until after he struck; there was no reason for him to change the path of his blade. It's hard to stomach, as you say, because I feel that KILLING Szeth was in line with the character, and sparing him is out of line. Kaladin's goal is to protect, and even the possibility of Szeth posing a threat would have been a decider. You completely ignored my statement as to why Kal would still have thought Szeth dangerous, and thus necessary to kill: it is another point which is essential to my argument. Also, I don't feel disgusted with the fact that Kaladin spared him in the new version; I'm disgusted by the fact that Brandon felt compelled to change it to that.

I read back, and found that he was referring to Elhokar being the cause for Tien's death. As such, the vengeance thing doesn't stand. Sorry about that. However, I still cannot condone the change, because of the fact that it was solely meant to make Kal even more of the good guy. What it ended up being, however, was : "I won't kill him myself, but the storm can do that for me." Further, he would still have thought Szeth was a danger and HAD to be killed, because of this: Stormlight can be saved up, though it diffuses slowly if I recall correctly. I said that Szeth, in Kaladin's eyes, may have been saving up Stormlight to heal Shardwounds, and focusing then on fighting, BECAUSE his Blade consumed more Stormlight to work. If he tried to both stay up and heal simultaneously, it may have consumed too much at once and caused his lashing to cease: Though he would have recharged, it would have left him OPEN TO ATTACK as well. However, if he managed to escape, he could have healed the wounds, and gone on to kill more. Further, Syl only told Kaladin that the Blade was unbonded AFTER the strike. Kaladin still had every reason to be going through with the killing.

Agreed about his darkeyed status. However, things (presumably) work differently in Shinovar. Just because he was important doesn't mean he inherited anything. Heck, being dark-eyed or light-eyed probably doesn't even matter. Of course Kaladin is closer to an average darkeyes: Szeth came from a completely different culture.

What I was trying to say was that if we cannot use the knowledge of evolution WE have, then there is no real point to the entire thread.

I hadn't noticed this one earlier, though. And no, he would be nothing like Nightblood. Killing one dangerous and insane man who has already caused major problems is different from killing anything you deem evil. Thus, he WOULD be protecting. I was using the paragon of virtue statement to say that, through not killing Szeth, Brandon tried to make Kaladin such a thing. And, while he is Radiant, he is by no means a priest. Elhokar was quite different. He was slightly idiotic, and weak, but not dangerous of himself. That cannot be deemed a mercy killing. According to others, she DID tell him. Still, I've already said in an above point why that didn't really matter, through a character's most likely train of thought. Again, Syl: So, his reasoning was (and note that I'm now working from the perspective of the argument FOR the tweak): "Hmm, my ideals and everything Syl has taught me tells me to spare, but now, in the heat of the moment, she's telling me to let him go. Well, she's probably more calm just now. Right?" About Mercy Killings: They are FAR from toonish. Sometimes, if a person is too far gone, (and at least in Kal's eyes, he was) then they should be killed as quickly as possible, so that their pain nor the danger they pose is increased.

Did Syl tell him that Szeth had unbound the blade? Admittedly, Syl telling him that Szeth's blade was NOT a Shardblade could change his conclusions, but if Szeth can Surgebind wouldn't the next logical leap be that he can also use Stormlight to heal himself? It is noted various times throughout that battle that either Szeth's light is dimmer, or expends itself quicker, than Kaladin's. This, combined with the fact that the soul-cut foot wouldn't be needed for an aerial battle, would lead to the conclusion that Szeth was saving his Stormlight, not that he was unable to heal himself. So, what if Szeth escaped again? He would again be a danger to Roshar. Another thing: the whole "Szeth killed my brother!" thing was slightly ridiculous. I felt during the entire storyline that he was trying to pin the guilt he felt over Tien's death (admittedly mislead guilt, but that is beside the point) on somebody else. He could just as easily have said "Amaram killed Tien!" and been done with it. Yes, Gavilar's assassination sparked the war, but the Vengeance Pact was enacted by the Highprinces. Kaladin could then place the blame on Dalinar, or Sadeas, or any of the Highprinces he didn't like. And I meant that if he had killed Szeth out of mercy, it would have fit better with the character. Killing him for vengeance doesn't really seem to be the work of a Radiant, and sparing him so he could live with what he'd done seems more Skybreaker. Because, you know, Windrunners are more about leading and protecting. Further, on the thing about Brandon, I would like to say that while he's a great author, it IS possible for him to get something wrong. Finally, on the thing about Syl: It's slightly weird that you originally stated that Kaladin spared Szeth out of a desire for him to be punished, and then Syl basically told him: "Screw the guy! Go after the sword instead!" If so, why didn't she just tell Kal to kill Szeth in the first place? And, again: If Kaladin just wanted Szeth to be punished for his acts, that's either vengeance or the ideal of a Skybreaker.

The thing is, Szeth was powerful. Kaladin didn't know at that time that he wielded an Honorblade instead of a Shardblade. He DID know, however, that Szeth could Surgebind. This points toward Szeth being a Radiant, to Kal in-character. Since he doesn't exactly know how to SEVER a Nahel bond, he must also then "know" that Szeth can heal himself with Stormlight, from even Shardblade wounds. On top of all this, Szeth was insane at that point. All of this points toward Szeth being a danger. If there was even the slightest chance of him escaping, (and the chance was damnation high, if you look at it with only Kal's knowledge) they would be forced to wait for another attempt at assassination, and who knows how many dead in between. So, HOW does it make sense from a character's perspective to NOT kill Szeth at any opportunity? Heck, if you still want to think of Kaladin as only a paragon of virtue, this could even be counted as a mercy-kill. It doesn't make much sense at all for him to try to disarm Szeth. (Though, if he was using a REGULAR sword...) And then there's this. I didn't even realize the implications of Kal going after the Honorblade instead of trying to save Szeth. I dunno... this "tweaking" makes Kaladin look less like the Radiant he's supposed to be. Edit: On looking back, this may be taken as kinda of angry. It isn't. The capitalization and stuff is all there for emphasis.

On looking back, I realize I messed up slightly. Still, his eyes are normally dark-green, though they turn pale blue when he summons the Honorblade.

Actually, I was sort of disgusted by the changes, which is something I haven't felt for this book in other instances. It's just cheap to make Kal into this "classic I-don't-kill" hero, instead of someone who's willing to go through with the act to protect. I felt that it cheapened both Szeth and Kaladin's characters.

I think at this point I'll say what others said to me: Just be happy in the fact that his attempt at doing the same thing in a new thread was instantly frozen. On the other hand, I got lucky enough to have the last word against him!

Granted. You are now unable to reason, instead always going off on tangents of imagination. I wish I was a Shardholder.

Granted. You have no imagination, and can feel nothing but apathy. I wish for cake!