mirahound

Aiyaiyai, what monster have I created? This is a forum about a series of books we all love. There's no need to get nasty if we have differing opinions. If you want to fight it out, please find somewhere else to do it.

I can definitely see the concern, but from the little we've seen of Jenet, I personally wouldn't feel like she was "left-overs". At least, she certainly wouldn't let Kaladin see her like that.

So, I know I'm totally opening up an explosive topic here, but I'm curious. Is there anyone else that kinda ships Kaladin with Jenet (the woman in charge of Dalinar's horses, that started throwing rocks at Adolin)? I just think it would be funny, considering the way she was totally unimpressed by Captain Stormblessed. On a more serious note (or as serious as this topic can be), I think Kaladin needs a wife who will challenge him. Obviously Jenet has no problem with this ("You're the one they call Stormblessed? You need a haircut). Granted, we haven't seen much of her at all, and this is more a crack theory than anything, but what think you?

These are actually a few really good points I hadn't considered before. After all, we saw in one of Kaladin's flashbacks that Syl was hanging around before Kaladin was made a slave, even if she was still acting like a windspren at the time. I do still wonder if characters like Shallan and Jasnah would have had to have a stronger bond than spren just hanging around would provide, though. Then again, we don't know too much about their orders at the moment, so maybe I'm wrong.

You have no idea how happy this topic makes me! I think wolf is perfect for Kaladin. I really can't see another animal working better. Jasnah... Hm. It would need to be something elegant, but dangerous. I almost wonder if she wouldn't be a large cat as well. Probably smaller than Navani, maybe an ocelot. Elhokar would probably be some sort of baby bird that hasn't figured out how to fly yet, and I can see Dalinar as either an eagle or a lion. As for Szeth... rabid dog?

... Is it bad I would love to hear Shshshsh every time Dalinar did? I kinda think it would be funny...

Oooh, more information on Shshsh!! Is that why he carries her necklace? If she were more moral than the Blackthorne (assuming the Blackthorne only ever cared about killing in those days) would she have been a calming influence on him? Is that why he was such a heavy drinker before Gavilar's death? I NEED MORE ABOUT SHSHSH!!

I'll definitely agree with your thoughts on Amaram. I think if Jasnah was abused, whoever committed the act is long dead.

I disagree. I think choosing a lifestyle that is both something you enjoy AND something that is safe from abuse is one of the bravest choices Jasnah could have made. And I think the coolest thing is that she hasn't completely shut herself off in order to do it. As mentioned, she's open to new ideas, and to going back to old ideas. If a devotary manages to convince her to return to Vorinism, she's willing to give it a try. That suggests to me that if someone can convince her marriage is worth the risk, she's willing to try again, which means she's HEALING. That, to me, makes an incredibly powerful story and character.

Oh, I'm not trying to explain her reasons for not getting married, just for her breaking. Process of elimination (and foreshadowing with Shallan) suggests that either Jasnah or someone she knew was hurt by a man. I can definitely see where you might think Gavilar was condescending, but I've always read it as teasing more than cruel. It's the same sort of thing my older brothers would say if they were trying to tease me, at least. So I read her relationship with her father as fairly healthy. It's hinted she has some sort of beef with Navani, and considering what she says about her in her letter with Dalinar, I can see it being enough to break her, but I don't think we have enough textual evidence for that yet. On the other hand, her reactions to the muggers she kills, as well as Shallan's thoughts about what happened, tell me that there's at least enough there that Brandon wanted to draw attention to it.

That's what I meant. Her interactions with Gavilar were perfectly normal for a healthy father/daughter relationship, which is why I don't think he contributed to her breaking. Sorry if that wasn't very clear, I have a tendency to overcomplicate everything I say.

So, um, Regalia said that every Epic has to go through a rending (whether or not facing fears before gaining powers negates that is a topic for another day). We know Prof has to have gone through a rending, and we know that the school he taught at was destroyed by an Epic... is it possible Prof was the Epic who destroyed the school during his Rending?

It wouldn't surprise me if David really did end up with powers, and just doesn't realize it. That would explain why he doesn't use his powers when they could be helpful. It also *SPOILERS FOR THE EXCERPT* explains the prologue given in the Calamity excerpt.

I agree that it might help break her, but I kind of doubt she found out in time. If it had been enough to break her, she would have most likely cut any emotional ties with her father, even if she acted the same as always in order to watch him. However, in her POV prologue she was friendly with him, and there's no reason to suspect she was faking that. And even if she found out later, she was already broken enough to travel to Shadesmar.

That's actually a really good question, I'm surprised it hasn't been brought up yet (unless it has and I've just missed the thread. ). I wonder if maybe it has something to do with Adolin? Trying not to upstage his brother? Also, it wouldn't surprise me if he suspected he was the one writing the countdown on the walls, and it scared him. If he's a Truthwatcher who can see the future, he might have seen something that disturbed or worried him enough to keep him quiet until he could figure it out.

My personal opinion is that there was a negative experience with men that contributed to Jasnah's breaking. It may not have actually happened to her personally - I would expect her interactions around men to be a bit more volatile if it had - but I can see her discovering something that happened to a friend or close acquaintance that would both close her mind to the idea of marriage and help break her enough for a bond.

*Spoilers galore* I think a lot of that has to do with what exactly it was Shallan did to hurt Pattern. Was it suppressing the memories, or was it the fact that she outright rejected him? And was he "killed" in the same way Syl was, or was he merely wounded or banished back to the Cognitive Realm?

I think it will depend on the book. Obviously Kaladin and Shallan know, and probably Renarin as well, considering how he reacted during the four-on-one duel, but as for the other Radiants, I'm not sure. I think as more people learn what happened to the spren, there will be more ethical debates about whether or not the Alethi should continue to use Shards. However, considering the way the Alethi lighteyes behave, I imagine getting them to give up their Shards, even knowing that they are essentially spren corpses, would be incredibly difficult.

I think any radiant can heal themselves with Stormlight, which is how Kaladin fixes his arm after Szeth's Honorblade cuts it, but only those with Progression can heal others.

I think if bacteria could have killed him it would have been the first thing the Reckoners tried. However, I do love the idea of big, invincible Steelheart desperately trying to ignore a mosquito bite.

I always imagined him fairly lean, with thick, messy brown hair.

Personally, I'd both chop and dye my hair (probably to some crazy color my family would never expect), force myself to lose a TON of weight, and possibly buy colored contacts.

I definitely think there was more going on in Shallan's family before her mother tried to kill her. I just think there's no way she would have had a Shardblade otherwise, and honestly, something just felt off to me about her interaction with her father right after she kills her mother.

It's been mentioned several times that new Epics will usually go after the people that they know first, because they're most likely to guess an Epic's weakness. So, if someone you knew were to suddenly become an Epic, and you were trapped in the same city with them with no way to get out, how would you hide from them?

Honestly, for me reading Way of Kings actually taught me a lot about writing. I have a tendency to make my plotlines overly simple (ie, BORING!!!), and reading something that takes so many fantasy ideas that would normally make people laugh, and then makes them work so well, really helped me open up and actually start having fun with my writing again.