I already have a theory along the same lines as your SA afterlife ideas, too, but I think yours is way better than mine.
In brief: certain spren were not always spren, they were once people who, through a series of interesting events, got enough Investiture that they could stay as spren/cognitive ghosts. Originally (read, 2014), this was based on the Stormfather-is-Honor's-Cognitive-Shadow thing, but I think there's more evidence for this due to what happened in SH. I guess it's based on the idea that there is more than one way to get a spren, though whether the formerly-human-spren retain their memory is up for debate. *shrug*
The Splintercast Reads Bands of Mourning, Episode 10: Chapters 25-27
in Shardcast
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I already have a theory along the same lines as your SA afterlife ideas, too, but I think yours is way better than mine.
In brief: certain spren were not always spren, they were once people who, through a series of interesting events, got enough Investiture that they could stay as spren/cognitive ghosts. Originally (read, 2014), this was based on the Stormfather-is-Honor's-Cognitive-Shadow thing, but I think there's more evidence for this due to what happened in SH. I guess it's based on the idea that there is more than one way to get a spren, though whether the formerly-human-spren retain their memory is up for debate. *shrug*