GoddessIMHO

I am curious as to what "professional" help it is that some think exists in Roshar? Wit is pretty much it and he did help her pull back to the main 3 personalities. She is currently better off than she was after Veil's melt down. Being with Adolin gives her a little breathing room to regroup. I expect the next book will be her crisis and level up. I don't see the sort of foreshadowing of a break with Pattern like we saw with Syl. All we have is less interaction but no sign that he is distressed. I think does seem wrong that he is silent during the pre-wedding discussion. I believe she will face her issues alone just like the other Radiants have had to.

The "stars" of SA for now are Dalinar, Shallan and Kaladin. They obviously have the most character development. Shallan has made progress and Adolin does give her some level of comfort. We have seen nothing to indicate that getting married is going to cure her. I fully expect she will have further issues that she will have to face. It may well be that something like defending her child could be the defining moment. Momma bear syndrome could turn her pretty kickass. I hope K,A and S continue to be friends and fight together for Roshar. As for Adolin, let's see: he is the equivalent of a West Point trained officer. Military tactics, geography, leadership and actual battle experience make him valuable in the field. He dramatically displays this in the TC battle. He thinks quickly on his feet and doesn't forget the Thalen foot soldiers. Even Kaladin thinks that Adolin has big picture of battle planning done. He is brave to a fault and leads men into battle, he doesn't send them into battle. He understands how Kaladin could freeze in battle and saves him. He is also a dandy when allowed to choose his own clothing. Again, it's Kaladin who thinks about the soldiers who mock Adolin not knowing he is arguably the best swordsman in Alethkar. Everyone has their thing. He has been having serious thoughts about his own worth. He was raised to be Dalinar's golden boy. Pressure much? Now he has to redefine who he is and what value he has for this new world. He can't fly after all.

We haven't directly been told anything about birth control or average ages for marriage in Roshar. From inference we can guess that marriage is for House gain rather than love match though people do seem to have some say over whom they marry. Once married this society would seem to be one that would push for the heir and spare pretty quickly. The time between Adolin and Renerin was more due to Dalinar's absence than birth control I'd guess.

Looking back I think it wasn't so much that Adolin and Shallan were rushing to be married. It was Navani pushing them. Right before Jasnah has the confrontation with Amaram in the library Navani is trying to get Shallan to go ahead with the marriage to find stability in these troubled times. I keep forgetting the timeline we are in puts all of the actions over days and not months.

Queen Fen was wonderful. Dropped into the middle of a terrible vision she Cowgirl's up and organizes the defense. Queen Jasnah was completely unexpected and the best thing that could have happened. I still love Adolin, even without being a Radiant he leads and fights and doesn't leave Kaladin behind. Cultivation playing the long game. This explains Dalinar getting his memory back but doesn't seem to be what is going on with Lift.

You need to remember that what Dalinar has done is "SOMETHING DIFFERENT". Just reforging Honor is going back the same old same old. Unity is new. I think it is combined of Honor/Odium/Cultivation. Remember how Honor is so bound to oaths even if the oath itself is not honorable any more. Odium and Cultivation have their own failings that need to be tempered. Plus, we are back to the 3 again. Triplets abound in this story. Love triangles, shards, realms, Shallan's personalities, parshmen/listeners/singers. But now they are all different than before. We don't want an Oathpact that places the world into a circle of growth and destruction. We want a new model that lets everyone share this world.

Well, it just now occurred to me: what does a Bondsmith do? He unites things. Who has 3 things that need to be united? Shallan!

I had the same problem reading on my tablet. If I touched the image on the chapter head it flipped me to the chapter listing.

If Adolin becomes a Radiant at some point or even just revives his sword. He is most likely under the Edgedancer style oaths. I believe they were said to be less demanding than the other groups. I doubt that killing Sadeus would even be an issue for them. You won't find many who aren't like Shallan in this regard. Good riddance. The Dalinar issue with Adolin over this should be real interesting when Adolin learns how his Mother was killed. No one anywhere will say that was for the general good.

I love the idea of Lightweaver plays. Thanks for the input on the other stuff. I was starting to think we had a fantasy billionaire somewhere in the back of the castle paying for all of this. They had been trading 2 for 1 on the existing gems just to get lighted gems. Of course, if Dalinar can now be used to relight duns that helps. The Kholins lost so much plus the palace itself likely had a large treasury that is now gone. I totally agree that Jashna is going to kick and take names.Long live the Queen!

Some folks seem to think the "wedding" means that Shallan will be magically cured. I don't think that at all. I think she and Adolin both have major issues they will have to deal with. The strength will come from them working together to overcome the issues. I agree with the person who said that Kaladin is way too sensitive to deal with Shallan. He would likely go back into depression. He has no idea their ARE multiple personalities. It's not that he "sees" the real one, he has no clue. She had not split yet during the chasm scene so of course he saw the "real" Shallan then, there wasn't another one. In OB all he notices are the actual actions she takes, regardless of the personality. Wit was able to stabilize her down to the main 3 which are likely all parts of the essential Shallan. She was totally lost when she was rolling through every single face she had ever drawn. She was at the total break down point and in the most danger of never coming back.

The Kholin'S have lost their city, their land and their taxes. They have a standing army. How can they support this war? Do all the other princedoms still get support from their lands?

Putting aside the RL reality that an 18 year old girl with a personality illness is not a good candidate for a relationship. Adolin, as a proto Edgedancer, is a good partner for Shallan. He is a healer for her. The question is what can she give him when he breaks, as he likely will when he learns how his mother died. I can see him not being torn apart about killing Sadeas. Has ANYONE in the Kholn camp thought anything but "good riddance" when they heard the news? He has issues because he broke the codes but not about what he did being a bad thing. It's not like he would kill just anyone like that. The death of Sadeas is directly related to the troops being taken over by the Thrill so it does affect the story even though it wasn't how any of us guessed it would. Shallan still has to get past how she feels about Kaladin killing her brother. I think that is behind her cutting remarks to Kaladin. Logically, she knows he was just performing his duty during an attack. Emotionally, she still resents him for it. Then Veil comes out leering at Kaladin and wanting a physical relationship with him. Face it, both Kaladin and Adolin are hunks and she is physically drawn to both. Can you say hormones? Given the circumstances I'm thinking all of them may have spent a private time on this issue. They are all at prime mating time in human life cycle.

I think the 'sickening' actions of Shallan and Adolin were to be humorous. New couples are often like this. Kaladin even notes it during the meeting in the storm shelter bar. Shallan needs the sort of acceptance Adolin privides. She has stabilized herself at the main 3 personalities and is ready to go forward. Adolin is standing on the edge of a volcano he isn't aware of. When does he find out the father he idolized killed the mother he loved? He will likely need both Shallan and Kaladin to get through that. He has no magic and has kept pace with the others regardless. He has already been having doubts about his own worth. Having said all that, the whole triangle thing annoyed me. The relationship between Adolin and Kaladin is special, both of them are alone by their roles in command positions. They are all young. Even without all their other issues they are just learning to be adults. Kaladin and Shallan have been crushed by life, Adolin is likely to go there too. Finally, Adolin was relieved at the betrothal. He didn't really know what he was doing wrong. He had lots of women due to his station. Shallan agreed to it as being beneficial to help her family. This wasn't the classic 'no, I'll only marry for love, you can't force me" trope.

Someone back a ways mentioned we'd get no more Gavilar information. I can't remember where but Navani makes the comment that near the end of his life he had turned dark. He gave Szeth that captured dark spren to free didn't he? I think there is more to come about how involved he may have been with either Odium or one of other spren.

I'm always a little down when I finish a book like this. I want the next part now. My least favorite part was Shadesmar. The story seems to drag there even though the characters are physically moving through it. I am very happy with the Adolin arc. I would like to see him awaken Maya but not be a Radiant. The romance did seem a little low key but sizzling and fraught with tension isn't what Shallan needed. She needed loving acceptance of herself, the real Shallan, even as the other parts continue to exist. Adolin is the man raised to be Dalinar's vision of the perfect, code following, man. That he finally stood up and said no to Dalinar was great. I would have been unhappy if he had become king. Jasnah, what can be said? She was amazing. I kept thinking she should be Queen but wasn't expecting it. I thought it would be Sebarial. Moash sucks eggs and I hate him as much as I have forgiven and like Venli. Elokar came so close. I'm happy Wit saved his spren. I take it that is what the fused were looking for. There are many things that I still don't understand.

I'm always hoping for Adolin with Shallan but Kalidin is the main hero so he probably has the inside track. However, now we have Jasnah back. Shallan may say "bye to the boys" and follow her mentor into battle. They are at war and under duress and Adolin still has the killing of Sadeus to deal with. All of them may be off on their own quests.

Well, whatever Irich is, it seems he can't have survived the story. He was pretty nearly dead as it was. The only thing that still bothers me about him is why was he thrown from the train and how did he survive that? At least I think I remember that.

#$@* you and the horse you rode in on could now be a more interesting prospect for Wayne.

So why did the set kidnap allomantic women but not Terris women? Or Terris men? I suppose maybe the breeding program was separate. I guess those women are just forgotten now. It does appear they have Terris people as well as twinborn and allomancers willingly on their side.

I just had another thought about where the next book may go. Wax and Steris moving permanently to the penthouse. It feels like we may be jumping into something more like the 1920s Era in Scadrial. Wax makes a comment about it at the end. I wonder if Wayne will end up still living with them. I also liked when Wax finally told Wayne "enough". It is time to stop dissing Steris.

Wax and Marasi together would have been standard romance novel pairing. I loved Steris in AOL from the contract alone but when she went nearly orgasmic when Wax flew her up out of the building he was destroying I knew she was right for him. Marasi didn't seem to much care for flying about with Wax while Steris lived for it. She even put it into her plans. The big thing though was Marasi was infatuated with a legend, not the man. Steris saw Wax as a person.

I laughed, I cried, I thought for a few pages I'd have to send a hit squad after Brandon for Wax. Wax taking Steris above the mists. HOID! Telsin you bad girl you. Some wonderful Wayne humor. The hotel, scenario 17.

That is similar to LMB'S Sharing knife books where a dying Lake Walker would kill themselves with a special blade that could then be used to create a special killing blade for the monsters they fought. I had no clue the clips would turn out to be a romantic device. As someone on TOR said, that turned into a nerd date. Are Wayne and MeLann still on the main train? There is also an entire group of servants in the car with them. Lots of hostages even if Wax and Marasi could grab Steris and try to escape.

I suspect their progeny will make it to the next books. Steris has two levels of concern here. One is the relationship but the other is her duty. Noble women are still primarily brood mares in Scadrial. She will be considered a major failure if she can't pop out an heir in relatively short time.