Yezrien

@WhiteLeeopard, that's a good point. I'm assuming some of the old social order has survived the chaos in Alethkar, which is probably a dicey proposition. Clearly the desolation is going to change everything. With all the attention the books have given to the unjust inequalities in Alethi society, I'm sure all of that will be torn down, and a Radiant-centric leadership caste will arise in its place. And if that progresses quickly, a Kaladin-Jasnah marriage could certainly be proposed. But I don't think Kaladin would go for it. Why? Because the only purpose of such a marriage is to cement the new Radiant aristocracy. It would lay the foundation of a new system in which Kaladin's descendants would have privilege because they inherit his bright blue eyes. In other words, a new system identical to the old system. Once Kaladin's eye color changes permanently, and he realizes that all the injustices he grew up with are ultimately the result of ancient Radiant supremacy, he will want no part in this. He swore to protect, not to rule.

Yes, but the rule that automatically elevates shardbearers was calibrated for traditional Alethi society. The nobles, who hold the power, abide by that rule because they know it's practically impossible for a darkeyes to acquire a shardblade. It's like saying, "sure, if a pig learns to fly, we should totally make that pig a senator." What happens when thousands of pigs start flying? Are you going to hand your entire government over to pigs, just because you said you would? Or are you going to change the rules? If any old bridgeman can become a radiant and pull a new shardblade out of thin air, the rules need to change. The greedy, moneygrubbing lighteyes of Alethkar will not stand by and let an arbitrary custom undermine the social order that gives them their power.

I think the problem is that Jasnah has to think politically now. Kaladin may be important to the war effort, but he's still a commoner by birth. If Jasnah marries him, she's basically telling all of Alethkar that Radiants outrank highprinces. She's telling her entire nobility that status no longer comes from noble blood, but from nahel bonds, which even the lowliest servant can attract. To us, that looks like progress; to the conservative nobility, it will justify a coup. Ialai might respond by marrying one of the other Highprinces, making him lord of two princedoms. And if he starts advocating traditional noble authority, every powerful lighteyes left will support him as king.

I think the healing process is pretty automatic, with life-threarening injuries taking priority. Maybe healing savants have greater control?

There's been a lot of discussion about this, and Brandon has refused to explain it. Odium says "Ascend," capitalized, so it's clearly more than just becoming a bondsmith. But that doesn't necessarily mean he's becoming a shardholder. It might refer to something in between, like a Sliver. Think of the Lord Ruler, who briefly held Preservation's power, and was permanently enhanced by that experience, but did not actually become a Shard.

I assumed Lift's language power was a result of her Cultivation-related weirdness. Maybe being partially in the cognitive realm gives her some kind of passive telepathy, or extra Connection. Lift's a lot like Dalinar right now: it's hard to say what's normal for her order, and what's just her. Also, can we start referring to the consequences of savantism as "savansequences?"

Isn't it plausible that evolution might happen just a little bit faster with Cultivation around?

He might also be like the Returned, unconsciously reshaping his body to match his self-image. Apparently cognitive shadows can do that. It might be a similar principle to forging, though.

Might not be a survival advantage, per se.

But @WhiteLeeopard, I'm assuming he did abandon her, and the man Lirin met was not Hessina's real father. Either he's a decent man who stuck around to raise a child that wasn't his biologically, or his wife never told him that he's not the father.

It's ugly, but shouldn't we acknowledge the more cynical possibility? Kaladin's maternal grandmother was an ordinary but attractive darkeyed girl, and some lighteyed lord wouldn't take no for an answer. The big dramatic twist will be that the lord has a name we recognize. Maybe it was Torol Sadeas's father. Maybe Kaladin has a legitimate (albeit illegitimate) claim to the Sadeas princedom.

Sazed definitely thinks ahead about technological progress. Didn't he once say "you should have developed radio by now" or something like that? I'm sure he provided for electric power when he remade the world. Also, considering all the canals, there might be hydroelectric power.

If her avatars are anything like the Nightwatcher and the Stormfather, they're just large spren. Only the main investiture-body of Autonomy has a mortal vessel, and that vessel is Bavadin.

I had the same thought about the Sibling, actually. Since the Nightwatcher is so clearly of Cultivation, and the Stormfather of Honor, I thought maybe the Sibling was some kind of tenth unmade. Maybe there were ten "Made," and the Sibling was the one of them that escaped un-making. (I used to assume these "Made" were the Dawnshards, but I'm not so sure these days.) But if there is a tenth Unmade, I doubt that it's the Nightwatcher. I don't think Cultivation is "just waiting to be splintered." She's not helpless, and she's not hiding: If anything, I suspect Odium will steer clear of the Valley because he's afraid of her. Remember what the Stormfather said: So the last place he'd go is the Valley, where Cultivation seems extra present. The Nightwatcher is weird and creepy, but I think that's just supposed to signal that Cultivation isn't as nice and loving as we might assume. I'm not convinced that Odium has any influence in the Valley.

Maybe just the Shattered Plains, and a highstorm raging on the horizon. And in the foreground, just Dalinar, looking into the oncoming storm. There's your microcosm.

If they ever do make a full Stormlight game, I like the idea of using gloryspren as exp.

Vasher? What Zahel are you doing here?

I think Ruin can speak to Vin while she's in the Well because that's where Ruin is. He's trapped in the Well's power. The spikes allow him to communicate with people from a distance, but he doesn't need one when Vin comes to him. As to your second question, I think Ruin can simply observe the world. He can't read minds, and he can't see metal, but other than that he can see plenty. For instance, he only tells Zane "kill him" when Zane is actually talking to someone male. Ruin has been watching Vin for her whole life, and he's learned to read her moods and behaviors. He can tell when she's experiencing self-doubt, guess what it's about, and whisper an appropriate insult in Reen's voice.

I own several pens, but I have not named them.

Yeah, healing seems to filter through the cognitive realm, so it's influenced by self-perception. In Roshar's pre-modern society, no one has ever heard of autism, and no one has ever told Renarin that his personality is a disorder or disease. It's more like a weird birthmark: unusual and sometimes off-putting, but not a medical issue. Moreover, his poor eyesight and epilepsy probably come from very specific, very localized physical defects, which can be easily corrected by a burst of stormlight. His autism is more complex than that; to "heal" it, you'd have to restructure his entire brain.

It might also be a modesty issue. Seeing inside someone's body is like an extension of seeing them naked (which is also part of being a surgeon). Maybe that's just too scandalous for the delicate sensibilities of the proper Vorin female.

I think we have no choice but to take Nohadon literally. Due to their constant exposure to stormlight and crem, the average Rosharan is invested enough to linger in the cognitive realm for several hours before passing on to the Beyond. They spend these hours literally dining with the Nightwatcher. Seconds after death, they are whisked across Shadesmar to the cognitive version of the Valley, where the Nightwatcher hosts a never-ending dinner party. Think of it like the Mad Hatter's tea party, but with a creepy lovecraftian demigod instead of Johnny Depp.

I like to think it's a young chasmfiend. As Brandon said at the Chicago signing, we've seen phases two and three (coccoon and giant monster) of the chasmfiend life cycle. Obviously he's thought the whole thing through, and he's deliberately holding back that first stage for a later book. And why, after all these years camped on the Shattered Plains, has no Alethi ever seen stage one? Maybe because the larval chasmfiends are born somewhere else, hundreds of miles away, and they don't migrate to the Plains until they're ready to pupate. It's a stretch, but it's the only way I can imagine this interlude being significant.

Maybe this is what Brandon was hinting at with the "art is expectation" speech. If something underwhelms you, it's only because you expected something different. Oathbringer is the third book in a 10-book series. We're moving into the long middle of the Stormlight Archive, and we should calibrate our expectations accordingly. From here to book nine, every book must deal with conflicts that were introduced in an earlier book, but won't be resolved until a later one. And now that we're hooked, and the main plot is underway, the series can become less episodic. It'll become harder and harder to judge each book individually. (That being said, Oathbringer blew me away.)

You mean this?