mirahound

Wait, I actually thought Szeth was the only "white" character in WoK. Did I miss something?

From what I've seen of Sanderson's work, he manages to make "far-fetched" work really well. However, I remember someone mentioning a WOB where he says that in order for Adolin to reawaken his Shardblade, he would have to recite the oaths in addition to one other, unspecified action. It could be a boon from the Nighwatcher, either from his father or for himself, would have something to do with that.

True, but considering my favorite theory so far is that Adolin reawakens his Shardblade, that could easily be taken care of. And, though Elhokar is a Kholin, I wouldn't necessarily put him in Dalinar's family. Besides, there are still those weird things he sees in the mirror that are apparently scared of Kaladin.

Oh my badness, this is FANTASTIC! I can't believe I haven't seen anyone come up with this before. If he thought his family was broken enough by Shshshsh's death, then I can definitely see the Nightwatcher granting a boon that would involve a bond. Although, this makes me wonder now, what was Lift's curse, to go with the boon of being a surgebinder?

True, but Jasnah and Shallan are both soulcasters, so I think at least some orders of Radiants will use that difference.

Oh, well, there we go then. They each do different things. I assume that means Radiants can do something different with them?

Interesting theory. My assumption is yes, since certain gemstones are considered more valuable than others, but I don't think it's been explained yet. So far Kaladin (our furthest proto-radiant at the moment) has been slowly learning how to use stormlight in its most basic form. I think once he starts fine-tuning things, we'll see a little more variety in what the gemstones can do.

I've actually wondered about Laral, especially since her dad seemed like a pretty humble guy (friends with darkeyes and all that). I almost wonder if he doted on his daughter so much he really did think she deserved a "perfect" name. After all, we don't know much about her mother. It's possible he lost her during childbirth and gave his daughter a palindrome name to honor her? I dunno, I'm just spewing out ideas here, who can tell if they're any good?

This makes sense to me. In addition, considering how destructive Shallash has become in her madness, it wouldn't surprise me if she really was that dangerous in her prime.

Well, some things are cliched for a reason. There are worse things to do. I think it was well-written. And honestly, the two of them had to talk on their own eventually. I think they're the only two that can really understand each other's pain, and therefore start the healing process.

Well, Harry chose his house, but Neville took so long to sort because he was arguing with the hat. He thought he should be a Hufflepuff, but the hat kept saying he was a shoe-in for Gryffindor. I think if it's close the hat will let you choose, like it did with Harry, but otherwise it just puts you where it wants.

I... had never thought of it like that before. Interesting theory! I personally think that what happened at Feverstone Keep was real, but I will definitely be watching for something like this in the back of my mind.

Personally, the song "Dance With the Devil" by Breaking Benjamin makes me think of Kaladin every time I hear it, specifically his hatred of lighteyes and all the betrayal he faces in WoK.

The people of Dalinar's day don't necessarily need to know the history behind the Recreance, only the betrayal their ancestors felt. The way I see it, everyone living during the Recreance felt incredibly betrayed by the KR abandoning them. That sense of betrayal grew into hate, then was absorbed by the Vorin faith, then was passed down through the generations and compounded over and over again until it was just an ingrained hatred in everyone else.

Meh, I dunno. If you look at the second, they were actually a pretty scary group, especially when they thought one of their own was being threatened. I'd actually (cautiously) put Adolin in Gryffindor. Not sure why, just my gut reaction (and I'd like to say I'm not prejudiced, I'm a proud Ravenclaw myself, but who knows?).

Not all that strange. Kaladin does tend to be the butt-monkey on Roshar.

Hufflepuffs are known for their hard work and loyalty.

I dunno, Kal's arm healed in, like, a minute. Tops. I wouldn't consider that "torture", just a way to show how powerful he is with Stormlight. And, Shallan also fell into the chasm. He wasn't the ONLY one. She helped defeat the chasmfiend. Let's not forget our lovely Radiant ladies. I honestly think Kaladin's plot-line through WoR had more to do with him learning how much his actions can affect other people in a negative way. He was willing to kill Elhokar without considering how it would affect the rest of the kingdom, he gave his Shards away to his "best friend" even though he knew how unstable he was, and he KILLED Syl. I think the first book was about Kaladin being hurt by others; in WoR, I think it was more about him unintentionally hurting his friends. I wouldn't say they were redundant.

I think we can all agree that Kaladin is a shoe-in for Gryffindor. Daring, nerve, and chivalry... seems to fit pretty well for me.

Ooh, I love the idea of Lirin and Hesina not actually being there! And that might give him more incentive to go searching for them in Kholinar... I don't know if they would be able to make it all the way to Kharbranth.

I almost wonder if Helaran was working on his own, actually. Granted I've only read WoR once so far, so I might be missing things, but I'm not sure the Skybreakers would consider assassination legal. Then again, it was on a battlefield, so maybe they counted that as fair?

I think the difference people are seeing between Adolin and the others is that everyone else killed someone who was, at that point, a very immediate threat. Shallan's father had just murdered her stepmother and was on his way to killing her brother. And it can be argued that her strangling him was an act of self-preservation to keep him from telling everyone what she tried to do (though I will agree the lullaby was probably a very creepy bit of spite on her part). While Jasnah did go out with the intent to kill those men, she also waited until they attacked. Elhokar... is oblivious. He is a terrible, weak ruler at this point, but I'm not sure whether or not he ever actually meant any harm (as far as we know, he never got to Moash's parents because he didn't know what to do with them and just kept procrastinating. Not condoning this in any way shape or form, just pointing out the possibility). I think people consider Adolin as a potential for Odium's champion because he attacked Sadeas first, while Sadeas was doing nothing more than threatening (if he had attacked while/just after Sadeas was attempting to abandon the Kholin army, it would be a different story). In addition, during this act he completely, knowingly betrayed the moral structure his father had set up for him. While he would do anything for his family at this point, guilt does strange things to people. Who knows what he'll do with the fall-out of his actions? Personally, I don't see Adolin's story arc going in this direction. While it would definitely be an interesting arc for him, I think there are too many other things being set up for him (like reawakening his Shardblade ). However, I can definitely see why many consider this a viable theory. It makes sense in a lot of ways. As far as Lirin goes, I think he'll be overjoyed to have one of his sons back. I think the joy at seeing Kal home safe will override his horror at the idea of Kal as a soldier, or even a slave, and I think that if others from Hearthstone question Kal's authority as a Radiant and a member of the Kholin army (or whatever he counts as when he's a bodyguard outside of the normal hierarchy), his father will be the first to come to his defense.

Aw, this just makes me love Syl even more!! She was trying to save him even though she knew it could kill her? Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!

Then again, Syl did tell Kaladin that he nearly killed her after she came back. Does that mean he didn't actually kill her, or that it didn't count because she did come back?

To be fair, I think from the beginning Kaladin was meant to be the "main character" through most of the series. He's the one taking the obvious hero's journey, and I've read in these forums before that Sanderson had considered actually giving him another POV book. While all the other characters are important and can be considered "main characters", I would definitely classify Kaladin as the series' protagonist.