Rolacka

On point 1. - that was actually a response to some comments suggesting you change dotted to solid line. I agree with the Visio. On point 3. - fair enough! I hadn't thought of it from that side. Point 4. is purely an aesthetic comment. I think the eye naturally reads left to right.

I know this was awhile ago, but what a great Visio file! Fantastic work by The Young Bard and Navybrandt (both upvoted). My thoughts / comments: 1. I disagree with the suggestion that Elantris and Emperor's Soul should have a solid line - they are optional in order to read. 2. Why is Emperor's Soul purple, when the other short stories are orange? I think they are of equal important and should be same colour. 3. I don't think it is Mandatory to read Era 2 Mistborn after Era 1, and suggest changing that solid line to a dotted. The position of the books will adequetely convey the Chronology. 4. If I were getting somebody to read Sanderson I would suggest Elantris and Warbreaker before Stormlight. Is that a common opinion, and if so, would it be better to switch those columns? (that is a genuine question I don't know the answer to).

I'm not claiming that in all cases the travelling Returned will find their purpose and - e.g. none of the Five Scholars appears to have. Hmmm, that's a pretty compelling counter-argument to my opinion travelling Returned are more likely to find purpose actually! That said - I stand by it. I'm making some big assumptions here, but If 1. , prior to Returning, Returned can see the future and know exactly the time and place their action can make a difference (I'll call pressure points), and 2. Whilst Returned their subconscious pushes them towards that purpose, then the Priests' control would be redundant, as being fee to travel would increase the radius where they could make Pressure Points. I don't think we know enough about the theology to determine whether the Priests believe the Returned's subconcious push them towards being in the right position at the right time, but it is consistent with the belief that their subconcious manifests in dreams of the future etc. We also don't know how precise the Returned's visions of the future are, and whether they can see these with enough accuracy to determine Pressure Points. I suppose I am coming at this from the perspective of the real world in which Rule of Law and Human Rights are pretty ingrained. So you need a strong case to imprison or sequester someone for me not to see a sinister motive. If we accept that Priests primary goal is for Returned to find their Purpose then I can't reconcile why they would limit the radius the Returned are active in.

Landis, I was being somewhat hyperbolic with the bath example . That said, I was referring to the Returneds' agency over their own lives - rather than their decision making power of Hallandren. Whilst they have the power to declare war, they don't have the power to... decide to visit Idris to negotiate directly. All the arguments for and against War come from the Priests. If you like - I'm saying the Priests set the agenda and terms of all decisions the Returned can make - though the Returned can make (admittedly important) decisions within those term the Priests set. I have same understanding of Iridescent Tones, and accept your assertion that Returned are more likely to care about their homeland than elsewhere. That said, I don't accept that keeping the Returned in a small geographical location gives the best chance of averting the future. Leaving them free to travel seems more likely to me that they will find their Purpose.

Hi, first time poster, so be gentle! The priests act more as prison wardens than anything else for the Returned - and seek to remove agency from them. As examples the priests: Force Returned to listen to petitions. Force Returned to review artwork. Do not Allow Returned to leave the Court of The Gods Make the rules around which Gods can vote and their duties (e.g. Lifeless army security phrases) Obviously the whole God-King cut out tounge/ replace with younger God-King Any power the Gods have is akin to the old example of a parent giving the child a choice of bath before or after dinner. Either way they will get wet! Letting the Returned know who they were before and how they died would give the Returned potential clues as to potential allies outside the Priesthood - which would risk the Priest's power and control. If Lightsong had saved the daughter of a wealthy merchant (whether relative or not), that person would be loyal to Lightsong the man, and Lightsong could use that loyalty to have influence outside of the Court. In conjunction with Returned not being allowed outside Court I think this is the key reason - to maintain the Priest's control. This point goes a bit beyond the thread - but why the Priests control the Returned is very interesting - as I believe the Priests genuinely revere the Returned. The limitations on Returned do certainly seem to impede the chance that they find their Purpose (what is the likelihood that the action they must complete is in a small group of buildings in one part of a country/world)? A related question - do the populace of T'tellir know how the Returned died? For example do they know Lightsong died saving a drowning girl? My instinct says not, as that would risk Returned finding out. However, some of the Returned must die publically so there must be a strong propaganda campaign to keep the details secret. Also, I would expect the populace to be slow to have faith in Gods if they didn't have proof they died 'well' (bravely etc).