Shadowfax

I can't disagree with this. The loss of the blade is just looming over the story. I just also don't want to believe it cause I'd REALLY like to see it used. lol

I've been trying to think of what would make an interesting story and think it would be fitting for Dalinar to press an honorblade into Kadash's hands. Doubt it would happen, but it would be great to read. I also wouldn't mind seeing it given to Zahel and seeing him react to having yet another sword to deal with, but again, doubt it will happen. But I also don't think Adolin will end up with it. It just doesn't fit where his story is right now, but I guess it depends on where his story ends up going.

If this theory pans out, this is what I look forward to discovering. Just how far fabrial-tech can go!!!!

We don't know for certain yet what his boon & curse are. All we know is that one of the two has to do with him no longer being able to recall his wife. This theory could cover a couple of options: 1. The resonance only diminished the effects of the pain involved in forgetting his wife, thus restoring some/all of his memories of her. 2. The resonance diminished the effects of the Old Magic, which included the lost memories of his wife as well as either his boon or curse, depending on which one the loss of his wife's memories are. When I created this theory, I was thinking more in line with option 1. If forgetting his wife was the boon, we may see this slip into option 2 territory, depending on what his curse is.

That's why it's just a theory. To make one, I did have to make certain assumptions, and this was one of them. I'm not proposing this is permanent per se, as we haven't gotten far enough to know how much of his memory was restored or how long those effects will last. I am just proposing this theory as to how the memories we saw return (hearing her name, seeing her face) may have come to be. Also why passage of time was part of the SF's forces he talked about with Dalinar. It was such a sideways inclusion I couldn't ignore it. I, too, am not a fan of the stormlight healed him thing. It just seems too off to me.

Oh, I also wanted to add, that back in WoK, that was a very early incarnation of the fabrial. 2 books later, and in a new device, I would assume she's had her scholars working on improving the effects in some way. My theory builds on this assumption.

Perhaps heal isn't the right word here at all, but it is the one everyone is tossing around so I used it. Diminishing... that is an interesting word. It is possible the effect is similar though. Combined with the force "passage of time" in a resonance, it could still have the same result... diminishing the effects of the Old Magic from Dalinar's past. Dalinar did not lift himself up into the air. He was previously holding Kadash down onto the ground, stuck Kadash there, and simply lifted himself up off the ground back into a standing position.

Ah yes, then I think we're on the same page here The way I understood the scene was that the resonance he created was a combination of Shallan's powers and his own Connection with the Stormfather. It's still the bringing together of 2 different things to create 1 output.

I think a time-keeping fabrial would be sufficient. In the latest Dalinar chapter the Stormfather includes the passage of time as a force, like gravitation. Gravitation is a surge. I do not see why the passage of time could not also be treated in the way we'd think of gravitation, adhesion, etc.

I think the explanation would be that the original painrial was both a new thing that was still in development and was not affected by resonance. In my theory it wasn't the time/painrial itself that healed him but the resonance of them combined that healed him.

I came up with this yesterday in Discord, and many people really seemed to like it, so I've been encouraged to post it here to share. I don't really post (or even come up with) theories, so I'm a bit nervous. I hope you guys like this one. My theory is simple: Dalinar essentially healed himself. He used Navani's fabrial, unwittingly, to do so. Basically, the fabrial she created was both a TIME fabrial and a PAIN fabrial. Due to his unique abilities as a Bondsmith, he created a resonance between those to heal the missing memories of his past. Fabrials are powered by stormlight-infused gemstones, much like surges are powered by stormlight. We've seen Dalinar unwittingly create resonance before in the situation room when he tugged Shallan and created the map. I believe that was a set-up to show what he's capable of, and that is what happened with the fabrial. He does not need to have invested himself to do this; we have seen Shallan use her mnemonic abilities without being invested, and Kaladin has squires without having to constantly be invested, so it stands to reason he can create resonances without himself having to be invested as well. Simply wearing the fabrial on his person was enough for that resonance to occur. That's it. Pretty simple theory.

I think this is because he isn't putting blame on Adolin. This post is about Shallan. Her story happens to include Adolin in it. It's about Shallan, and that includes her relationship to him (which is different than his relationship to her, because this is from her story and her PoV). The theory includes a proposition that Shallan's desire to hold onto her betrothal to Adolin was a key reason for Radiant's creation. Therefore in discussing the theory, that relationship is important. Adolin is not being victimized. It isn't about Adolin. It's about Shallan, and what could help her or hinder her. Radiant emerged, as proposed by this theory, due to Shallan not wanting to lose her betrothal to Adolin and wrapping herself in lies in order to go along with Adolin's wanting to train her in using her blade. SLNC appears to be using the available chapters (as well as the previous books) to draw up his theory, I don't understand what bias you seem to think there is here or what point is or isn't being acknowledged. I am quite seriously confused. I'd love to be able to understand what you mean in this. From what I understand of the posts on this topic, he is in fact NOT blaming Adolin for Radiant's creation, he is simply stating that Adolin was a (to use his word) catalyst for Radiant's creation. It's causal only; there is no responsibility being placed on Adolin. The blame is Shallan's, as it was her decision to create Radiant. Adolin (or rather, her fear of losing the betrothal to him) was simply the reason she made that decision. There is a distinction. And no one has been discussing shipping in regards to this theory. Kaladin has simply been in a place of hatred and worked through it to embrace who he needed to be to progress and this theory suggests that that insight from him could benefit Shallan. Kaladin knows Shallan is broken deep inside; he saw it in the chasms. It's not a stretch to think he could be able to help her, and that is all this theory proposes. This theory also proposes, from what I understand, that Radiant is a setback for Shallan simply because once again she is creating lies for herself instead of working through her issues. To be fair, ANY relationship in which not just one, but BOTH individuals, are hiding things from one another and unable to share what is going on in their lives is unhealthy over the long term. Shallan is very concerned about losing her betrothal and because of that concern she shuts herself down, creates a new persona to adopt and hides herself and her issues away. Shallan is not opening up to Adolin, she is doing the opposite of that. That is a flaw in a relationship, ANY relationship. Your tone is quite antagonistic and really your post seems to put the absolute worst spin on what this theory was proposing. I don't think the theory is so far-fetched as to require a response that twists words around and puts words into SLNC's mouth. I don't know either of you, but I've been in this thread because Shallan is my favorite character and her development is interesting to me. Her latest chapters show her sliding further and further into her lies and it's quite concerning. I tend to agree with quite a bit of this theory because IF Shallan continues to be unable to share her true self with Adolin, then no, he won't be any good in helping her progress simply because he will still have no clue there's even an issue. Personally I think Shallan needs to work through this stuff on her own and with Pattern, but I do think that Radiant is a step in the wrong direction for her; even Pattern doesn't seem to like this turn of events. I'm not defending the theory it its entirety, but I will defend the theory's right to exist without such harshly negative responses that seem only to insult the theory simply because you don't like it. If, however, you have any counter-arguments as to why Radiant is not a setback for Shallan, or what Adolin could provide that could help her with her progress, I would be interested in hearing them. As I said, she's my favorite character and her story is quite interesting to me. I love reading what people think of her and her arc.

This is where I am going to agree to disagree. I do not think time is a factor, since it is only when initially summoning the blade that we read of her issues with doing so. For this we will have to read and find out. I am open to seeing how it goes.

I read this as Pattern being confused because she had indeed been that person, who has wielded the blade before and he doesn't understand why NOW, all of a sudden, she's freaking out about it instead of pushing through it like she usually does. By this point she'd been using Pattern as Blade for some time operating the gate. Then this... suddenly her freak out makes sense. And thus, Radiant is born.

After they reached the city is when I'm speaking of. The Everstorm was circling around, they feared it's return and the destruction it would leave in its wake. They didn't know where the stormform Parshendi were hiding out. The threats were real. Dalinar had her operating the gate to save lives by bringing people from the warcamps into the city. She hated the blade while doing it. She mentioned it in the text. She was drawing and trying to ignore it but couldn't because of the Truth she had revealed. She still pushes through that hate to operate the gate though. This could have been a catalyst to creating Radiant, but this isn't how the story went here. It proves she doesn't need Radiant to summon the blade, even after acknowledging that she killed her mother with that blade. And I am reading your posts. Disagreeing with someone doesn't mean I am ignoring them. I just believe differently, based on what I read and how I see her story forming. I don't need you to agree, I don't need to be right, I'm just stating what I think based on what I've read, and then offering further explanation when I feel I hadn't been clear in my statements.

This is where I believe her story arc is going. Her story needed to have a reason to create more lies, Adolin presented a good option for this push in her story. She will have to spend this book trying to come to terms with the fact that SHE is all these personas AND that Pattern is both spren and blade; she won't be able to keep everything separated forever.

Stormform Parshendi, the Everstorm returning who-knew-when... Dalinar needed her to operate the Oathgate, she dealt with that need and pushed past her hate of the blade to do what Dalinar asked. She didn't create Radiant to do this. She created Radiant so she wouldn't screw up her betrothal to Adolin. She panicked and it was easier to wrap herself in lies in that moment than just do what needed to be done. Tyn warned her about becoming too invested in her lies and how it can destroy a person; I believe that to be foreshadowing what could happen to Shallan if she keeps wrapping herself in lies this way. Shallan hated her blade before and after admitting she killed her mother. She's wielded Pattern as Blade before and after she admitted killing her mother. Radiant was created only when she felt the need to hide in lies to protect herself from the fear of losing Adolin.

She also used it to kill Tyn, to carve out holds in the chasms, and had no problem letting Kaladin use it to fight off the chasmfiend (she had to draw Pattern as Blade first, and will it to stay out and functional as a blade for that to happen).

I haven't posted here in a really long time, but this discussion intrigues me. I want to start off saying, I am not a shipper of any sort. Shallan's story is her own and I honestly don't think she's capable of an actual relationship because she has no idea what a healthy relationship is supposed to be. First, I believe that SLNC isn't trying to blame Adolin for anything, because everything Shallan did, she chose to do. But I also believe that she chose to do what she did due to her betrothal with Adolin and not wanting to lose it. The betrothal means a lot to her, and it was a topic of some focus in the chapters so her perception of it is entirely relevant. Adolin is the one, in the text, who sparked her actions. That is undeniable. He was the one who stated she needs to train with her blade, and he is not wrong; even Pattern agrees. Shallan, not wanting to lose her betrothal, not wanting to let Adolin down, not wanting her evening with him to end, creates Radiant as a coping mechanism against the fear/hate of Pattern as Blade. Shallan did that. FOR HER BETROTHAL TO ADOLIN. Whether or not she may have done it with anyone else does not matter because in the text she has already done it, and done it for him. Pattern is confused about the Radiant personality. Again, Shallan is hiding from hard truths, unwilling to face her fear/hate. This does hinder her progress. This is a setback. Coping mechanisms are never healthy for the long term. Does it hinder her right away? Not entirely, since she is at least finding a part of herself that is willing to hold the Blade. It's still not the correct solution; SHALLAN has to be the one to wield the Blade. The theory, from what I can understand, only states that because of what Shallan has already done -in the text we have- in regards to her fear/hate, when Adolin was around, that perhaps he's not the one to help her overcome it. It's not a wildly outlandish theory and it makes some sense. If Shallan doesn't change her feelings about the betrothal, she will never be able to be her true self around Adolin, and that will hinder her progress. The theory also seems to state that since Kaladin has been there - in a place of hate and having to overcome it to become what he needs to be- that perhaps he is in a better position to offer Shallan some help. I don't disagree with this. IF they have another moment like they did in the chasms, it could happen. Ultimately Shallan needs to work out her issues with Pattern. If she gets any help from the outside, the theory proposes Kaladin would be the better option since he has been there in that place of hate and has overcome it. I am just honestly confused why people seem to think this theory is vilifying Adolin when it doesn't seem to be at all. This is a theory about Shallan, and what may help her more. My interpretation of the chapters we've gotten is similar to what was stated in this theory; Adolin may be good for Shallan as a person, but not as a growing radiant who needs to progress through her issues, and not just find ways to cope with them in the short-term.

Hi everyone!!! My laptop died a while back so I pretty much disappeared. Sorry :/ I have a shiny new desktop now though

Is this better? I no longer have the image of the queen crying, but she's not important anyway so I'm (mostly) okay cutting it. I liked the imagery but it does nothing for the plot.

Thanks for taking the time to read this again, much appreciated. I'm glad it feels tighter, and I will be adding to it and hope to keep it just as tight. I'm pretty sure I can add what's needed and change a few things to give the people what they're asking for in regards to reactions. I spent weeks trying to decide if I added another scene with the scribe, and what he decides to do, and his actions after the queen's proclamation. In the end, I left that out, and I stand to that and will continue to leave it out (it will be revealed later in a different character's POV chapter). However, I agree with the across-the-board sentiment that the emotional/physical reactions of those present are non-existent, so I will address those concerns in editing.

Thank you for reading and commenting. You've given me a lot to think about and I'm glad these posts are up on a board so when I do get around to doing line edits and revising I can come back and refer to the ones that have info like that in them.

LOL true, I am the one most affected by my silly internal conflicts Sadly, I still have to deal with them. You also make valid points. I hope I one day get to the part where people risk parting with their money for my words LOL in other news: SCAPULAR! I found it! I did a google search for "pope's clothes" and long story short, found the piece I've been looking for. I remember seeing a picture of a pope wearing one and bam! Yay! The most important part of this for me is that scapular has a strong religious usage, so for readers who know what a scapular is, they will get that extra layer of religious context, as in chapter one I don't actually mention the Orders as being part of a religion. We get some background on the Orders, but the religious aspect will be viewed from POVs outside the Orders, whereas the character IN the Order... well, she's weird. LOL