Jofwu

Good catch. We don't know Vin's age at the time, as far as I can tell, but given she doesn't remember the event or her mother very well and for the sake of picking a round number I'm going to change their death dates to "c 1010 FE" (when Vin was 5). I don't see anything wrong with a 'circa' date. It's better than nothing.

@ag23blue, there's a pretty good one here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JJtJhHwpKdow01n2-bsT3scVvqJd6lZh4uvpNwcslv8/edit#gid=0

I agree with Blightsong. The wording here and when Jasnah mentions it both suggest it was relatively recent. Probably a few generations back. *Maybe* hundreds of years ago. Not a few thousand years ago. And I disagree with some of the finer points of your four 'facts'. I don't see how it really matters one way or the other though, so far as it affects the main idea here. Which I understand to be the idea that Odium's prison is a fabrial (in some sense of the word) and that the Aimians guard a secret relating to his imprisonment. I totally agree with that. The most logical interpretation of the "ends of worlds" comment is that the secret they guard relates to Odium's trap. It strongly suggests to me that they have some knowledge or some item which could be used to free Odium. The idea that this secret relates to fabrials is less certain to me. But it does fit very nicely.

The question about Ruin confuses me. If you want to compare the Shards to universal constants, Ruin is probably the only one that isn't ambiguous.

@maxal, Yeah, it's not an exciting theory with twist potential. Just a backstory for the blade that I suppose is more likely. @Pagerunner, That's a good point. I hadn't given much thought to the last point about who it might belong to. Despite Jezrien's role among the Heralds, I always felt the Bondsmiths played some kind of leadership role. Partly because of Dalinar. Partly because of Ishar's role in their formation. I dunno, a few things like that. You make a very good point though. The only thing holding me back from being ore certain you're right is that Sunraiser doesn't strike me as very Windrunner-y.

Wow... @Mestiv apparently you need to increase your search to values around 10^80.

I have to utterly disagree with this statement. But even if I didn't... I don't see how you can enjoy half of what Brandon writes, considering he breaks gender stereotypes left and right. Not to mention that this is a fantastical world that can have different stereotypes. I also don't see how the presence of a second female character distracts from the first. They're totally different characters in totally different roles. Ais and Kenton haven't interacted really yet, but I don't see how her presence interferes with his relationship with Khriss? I mean... does the presence of Aarik take away from their relationship? Lastly... who's to say the graphic novel won't be different on purpose? What if female Ais IS supposed to affect the way you see Khriss and Kenton, in this version? Basically my point is that it seems the resistance to female-Ais isn't related to what the gender-swap actually does to the story (after all, we don't even have the full story to fully judge by yet), but rather it stems from simple discomfort with the story being different than what was expected. As someone who read volume 1 before the prose, I didn't sense anything off about Ais. In fact, the idea of a male Ais seems kind of... boring.

Haha, sorry guys. I wasn't critiquing the concept of how Odium was trapped, but the way it began with being connected to Gavilar's comment. I just read the whole thread, but I guess that clarification comment didn't register.

This caught my attention as well. My assumption is that soulcaster fabrials make use of spren in the same way that Radiant soulcasters do. The intermediate spren is important, and may explain why the type of gem is important for soulcasting (as use of other surges doesn't involve this "partnership" in the same way). I don't think the type of spren is revealed here. Maybe it's a familiar type, maybe not. Kaza doesn't seem to be deep enough into Shadesmar (or aware enough at least) to identify the spren. It's little more than a presence to her. The questions I'm left with are... Is a specific spren tied to each soulcaster? Do ALL soulcasters rely on a specific spren? (unlikely) Or does using a soulcaster simply attract one who's "nearby"? And if it's this last one... Are they required/compelled to show up in some way? Or is it more a voluntary or natural thing? The "modes" are quite a puzzle. I definitely think Shallan's comment about Jasnah's being "attuned to three essences" implies it is one of the "three mode" soulcasters that Kaza refers to. I think this rules out the concept of a "mode" being a different control mechanism of some kind. My best guess is that for each essence you attune the soulcaster to, the thing's overall power increases, and the "mode" refers to the number of essences it is attuned to. Apparently the maximum they are able to achieve is three (due to either a theoretical limit or a practical/technological limit). A soulcaster attuned to one works with that one of course. Perhaps it technically works with the others but it so weak as to be considered utterly impractical (like the amount of stormlight required is beyond realistic). A soulcaster attuned to three is best with those three, but can reasonably work with all essences. And a soulcaster with two would presumably be somewhere in the middle. Good with those two, okay with a few more, and basically useless with the rest. That's not a perfect explanation for the modes, but it's my best guess. @FeatherWriter (Alyx) wondered aloud on Discord whether this concept (a one-mode soulcaster that can't work with other essences) is a mistake. Don't know if she got an answer, or if she's allowed to share it though.

I also don't think this is talking about Odium. It's possible that Odium's prison is related, but it seems like a stretch for me to think that Gavilar is aware of how Odium was captured. That happened a LONG time ago, and I doubt humans were directly involved.

But it's entirely possible that Nightwatcher existed on Roshar prior to the Shards, just as Stormfather did. Just because Nightwatcher has become associated with Cultivation in someway doesn't mean she can't also be associated with some kind of ancient Adonalsium magic.

I dismissed this at first, but I like it the more I think about it. I don't think comparing with Nightblood is right? Or at least that the comparison can't be taken too far. But anyways, I'm curious what the greater implications are... Larkins/Lanceryn seem to associated with the Knights Radiant in a positive way, no? If nothing else they seem to be a healthy, natural creature on Roshar. So what does this theory imply about them beyond this specific practical usage? (a cure for savantism surely can't be all they're useful for) What does it mean for the world that at least two live larkins are out and about in the rest of Roshar? And why are the Aimians (or this one at least) so determined to keep this secret?

Re: Sunraiser... This is probably well known? But it never occurred to me: Elhokar's blade is the one that appears in the KR logo. An honorblade seems like a stretch to me. Requires too many explanations. My guess is that it belonged to some kind of leader of the Knights Radiant. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that they had a central leadership. I'd assume that this role belonged to a Bondsmith, but Brandon seems to have shot this idea down. My next guess would be that the job belonged to a Truthwatcher. If not that, perhaps the job passed around to different orders (by vote or some other means of selection). In any case, the idea would be that this blade belonged to whoever the "leader" was when the Recreance happened.

Over on Reddit we're making an effort to build a list of theories as a resource for new fans, to make it easier for them to get up to speed with the rest of the fandom. We've named 8 categories, and every two weeks we'll be collecting theories for one of those categories. Voting (on Reddit) will determine how theories are ordered in the list. The final list will be posted on Reddit and on the 17th Shard forums. For more details, see the announcement post here. If you don't have a Reddit account, we can still use your help! Please feel free to submit theories in this forum thread and we will make sure that they get included in the vote and in the final list! Right now we're collecting theories that relate to Kaladin and Bridge Four, so any theories involving Kaladin, his family, Syl, and Bridge Four. Don't post full theory explanations here! Just share a brief name/description, a link to the full theory, and credit to the person who created the theory. It would also be helpful if you could note any relevant tags/keywords related to the theory, as well as the level of spoilers involved. If you do have a Reddit account, feel free to submit theories and vote here. We're taking submissions for the next 9 days, followed by 3 days of voting only. Let me know if you have any questions!

I wonder if some arcanists might argue that Nalthians are all savants. I believe it's WoB that Breath makes one more invested than a "normal" person, while a Drab is slightly less invested than a "normal" person. Living with a Breath changes a person in very tangible ways, including physiological changes if I'm not mistaken. Can't you tell a Drab apart from others, if you know what to look for? Remove a Breath from somebody who has always lived with one and they feel very disoriented until they are able to adapt. The Warbreaker notes say that it can indeed be argued that Breath is part of one's Spirit. (as you would expect of course; just emphasizing it's not like a chunk of investiture that you hold off to the side) Surely living with investiture like Breath changes you in fundamental ways such that you could be considered a savant? A potential redefinition could change all this... There definitely aren't any detrimental side effects of having Breath. But on the topic of redefining savantism... I think it's much more likely Brandon will turn it into an in-world debate rather than deliver a hard redefinition for fans. He's done this with a few things now, and it works perfectly for savantism. He doesn't have to take back his previous statements about who a savant is. He can just point out that cosmere scholars use the term in different ways and can't agree yet on how to draw the lines. Ultimately, I'd expect a "Savant Spectrum" would rise out of that debate. A few other related thoughts: I wondered if maybe the number of Breaths could factor in. Meaning one Breath isn't enough to make you a savant, but a thousand would. But Susebron has had a lot of Breath for quite a while, and he doesn't seem to be any different besides his extra abilities. If just having Breath(s) isn't enough to make you a savant, perhaps the use of it in Awakening would. Perhaps taking Breath in and out widens hairline cracks each time. With our without Awakening.

Another edit: I'm fairly certain "The Thrill" includes the two Dalinar flashbacks already listed. So there are four total, but only two additional flashbacks in it.

Venus isn't warm because of cloud cover. That's not how the greenhouse effect works. What you have is sunlight shining through the atmosphere and warming up the surface normally. Warm things then radiate heat as infrared light. On a planet with no atmosphere, this light shoots back off into space. But some gasses found in an atmosphere (greenhouse gasses) absorb infrared light themselves. This means the heat has a hard time escaping the atmosphere. Venus is particularly warm because (besides being closer to the sun) it has an atmosphere 100 times more massive than Earth's (and 90 times the pressure at the surface), and it's loaded with a higher percentage of greenhouse gasses as well. The clouds are just a byproduct of all this. So you don't need lots of clouds to keep your planet warm at night. Just say the atmosphere is a bit thicker than Earth, with a bit more greenhouse gasses. An extensive ocean would also help a lot with temperatures, I believe. Ocean temperatures are very constant. Throw in some ocean currents that can bring warm water to landmasses on the other side of the planet. Consider how Europe is a temperate climate thanks to the Gulf Stream, despite being at the same latitude as Canada.

Dang, I was just about to do this myself. @ZenBossanova, feel free to copy everything I have here into your OP, so that people don't have to scroll down looking for it all. Kaladin Chapter (returning home) Source: http://www.tor.com/2014/09/30/brandon-sanderson-stormlight-archive-book-3-first-chapter/ Video/Audio: none? Dalinar Flashback #1 (a battle) Source: http://www.tor.com/2015/10/23/brandon-sanderson-reveals-a-dalinar-chapter-from-stormlight-archive-book-3/ Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNJiQROElck Dalinar Flashback #2 (dinner party) Video #1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMFx9hFkDzs Video #2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4o-dWiwgqI Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TgW20NgNsPnMe1nxCxMu7jib2Bf9dZGMjaYgZJfKnM8/edit Note: Two more Dalinar flashbacks in "The Thrill" Prologue: Eshonai Audio (older, early draft): http://www.17thshard.com/forum/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=14217 Video (newer revision, but incomplete): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNHscNkg2Ws Transcript: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/57932-oathbringer-prologue-spoilers/?do=findComment&comment=533740 Interlude #1: Ardent Alista Source: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/56954-2017-02-17-boskone-54-boston-ma/#comment-511614 Audio: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9fo0ba8ynPxLWpJYjQxVlZVRFk/view Transcript: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/56954-2017-02-17-boskone-54-boston-ma/?page=4#comment-538486 Interlude #2: Soulcaster Kaza Source: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/58578-ad-astra/?page=4#comment-561711 Audio: https://soundcloud.com/user-254460900/ad-astra-reading-and-qa Transcript: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/58578-ad-astra/?page=5#comment-563497 Other Stuff: Brandon's last update on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/5zidxz/oathbringer_spoilers_stormlight_three_update_7/ Cover reveal: http://www.tor.com/2017/03/16/revealing-the-cover-to-oathbringer-the-third-book-in-brandon-sandersons-stormlight-archive/ Amazon Blurb: Edit: Appologies, this took multiple edits to get the formatting right!

I wondered if the boon was to forget his wife and the curse was Renarin's sickness. But seems like the timeline doesn't work out - - that Renarin showed symptoms at too young an age for this.

There's an Oathbringer channel on the Discord chat, if you're really itching to discuss in the meantime.

I mean... It's ultimately a cultural thing.It's an Aonic name if it contains an Aon and is used by someone from an aonic culture. Just like an Irish name is a name originating from Ireland. Oreo COULD be an aonic name. Though, it would be pronounced something like "o-REE-OH" not "OHR-ee-oh".

Most of this is totally up to you, honestly. 1. Color/size of star just depends on how long you want the day/year to be. Here's a nice little chart for comparison. Size increases from bottom left to top right. Consider the extreme case of the recent TRAPPIST-1 announcement. It's a star all the way down near DX Cancri on that chart. It has seven planets crammed around it, three of the m the habitable zone. The whole system is well within the orbit of Mercury. The planet orbits are each just a few days long and the habitable planets are fairly close in size to Earth. Note that, in order to cram this many sizeable planets into a small place the orbits have to be somewhat resonant. So that's the extreme case of a red dwarf with Earth-sized planets. You probably want something bigger than that. For a sunset on Earth, the Sun moves roughly 20 degrees across the sky to go from day to night. Assuming that's about the same for your star/planet, and you want the sunset/sunrise to take 168 hours (7 Earth-days) then you need a 3024 hour solar day (126 Earth-days). Decide how long you want the year to be and then you can calculate the length of the sidereal day. (i.e. how fast the planet needs to spin) Of course you can achieve a long day no matter how long your year is. Year length and rotation speed both play into the length of a solar day (and thus how long a sunset/sunrise takes). As long as the rotational speed is reasonable (say 1 rotation per 6 hours max speed) you can take a year length and reach the solar day you want. 2. Planet size is pretty flexible. Like I said, there's evidence of Earth-sized planets around very small stars. A planet doesn't fly away or fall into the star because of it's size. That doesn't really come into play unless the planet is comparable in size to the star, which it won't be. Density is pretty flexible. 3. A thick atmosphere would certainly help with keeping temperatures uniform, but you don't want to go the direction of Venus because then you get ridiculously high air pressures at the surface. A bit thicker than Earth should be fine. Go as high as you can on greenhouse gasses without getting unrealistic for life. 4. Moons is up to you, but more moons means stability is complicated. You don't have lots of moons on terrestrial plans. The Moon makes the possibility of other moons around Earth difficult. A second moon would have to be very small and very close to Earth or small and much further out. Mars has two moons that are both very small. Roshar has three small moons in close elliptical orbits, but they're also technically unstable. 5. As you can see with TRAPPIST-1, other planets are totally possible. They might need to be in resonant orbits though. 6. A formula for what exactly? There's no catch-all formula for planetary science.

No, they occasionally send weak girls, in order to avoid suspicion and to portray their people as weak in the Power. There are at least three Aes Sedai (all pretty weak and in the Brown Ajah) from among the Sea Folk Zemaille, Nyein, and Aiden. Might be some Accepted or Novices as well... can't remember.

You got answers about the chapter 84 epigraph. Simple translations are here:

I get the sense that he is a bit of a spoiled brat. :-) From the graphic novel at least.