Argel

Could you be more specific?

It's even worse than that -- he still has a wounded hand. Because of Sadeas's betrayal at the end of TWoK. Dalinar's forces were decimated -- that's a lot of lost comrades, windows, orphans, etc. How many might applaud what Adolin did? Adolin is probably lucky he wasn't found at the crime scene still cleaning up. Most likely both of Sadeas's teams (guards and his wife) thought he went somewhere else (like back to wherever they are staying) and didn't go back to look for him till much later. Otherwise, I would think that e.g. after 15 minutes at least his wife would have backtracked. That's not a lot of time to do a lot of cleanup, especially with a recovering hand that was just presumably partially re-injured. Yeah, he could definitely be discovered quickly. It really depends on how quickly Sadeas's people go looking for him. Note that if they go back a different way, it may take awhile before they realize he (Sadeas) was last seen out there where the exploration parties were. The other factor is if the exploration team notices something and starts asking questions (like where that blood he probably missed cleaning came from). If the original injury to his hand caused bleeding, then he may be able to make up an excuse (tripped and fell an re-injured it). But anyway, I agree he could definitely be discovered quickly.

Brandon has referred to Adonalsium as a "he", which implies more than a force of nature. Also, Frost's letter to Hoid suggests Adonalsium foresaw the shattering and put a plan into motion to account for it, which implies intelligence. Sazed does seem like the best candidate to become the new Adonalsium out of all of the characters we have seen so far. That could change by the end of SA as the characters gain in life experiences.

The Koloss were designed by TLR, not Ruin. Sazed gave them the ability to procreate after ascending to Harmony.

Considering how much Dalinar likes his Rysh(however the frack you spell it) horse I would say odds are good we see her in SA3 flashbacks. Maybe we even get to see Adolin's first time riding (certainly an additional flashback opportunity).

Those are good arguments. Regarding knife vs Blade, given the amount of shardblade training and real experience he has had, I would lean towards he has been conditioned not to use it in a way that risks e.g. cutting your hand off, so I don't think he would make that kind of mistake. It's never stated, but he probably has a canteen. That would make sense if exploring for a few hours. And he could have cleaned his hands and the knife on Sadeas' clothing. Note: bloody hands opening a canteen.... Another possible giveaway. Not looking so good for Adolin. One thing that could work in his favor though is if that team is wrapping up their exploration and heading back. That could give him a chance to get cleaned up before the members of the team learn about the murder. If they learn about the murder before Adolin has a chance to cleanup.... I was thinking more that Sadeas's clothes could catch on fire. Good point about the type of lantern. It's never stated what either type is, though we can guess that Adolin's is more likely to be oil since they are so low on Stormlight. But "lantern" is used for both sphere lanterns and oil lanterns, so we cannot say for sure. Sadeas's is more likely to be a sphere lantern though. Well, it would be very interesting if Adolin left with an oil lantern and came back with a sphere lantern.... Not looking good for Adolin. It's starting to look more like he will be found out. I guess one question is will the exploration team cover for him. Was it a Kholin only team? Was an ardent with them (or more than one)?

There's no "awesomeness" in killing people (spiking them) for power.

@Pagerunner, I think you right -- I think that slipped into my headcanon!! Good catch!

I thought some spren predate Honor and Cultivation?

I agree with you guys overall, just saying I don't think it works well here once taking a closer look at the scene. One thing that bothers me is that if the lantern is the only lighting, it should be more memorable. Not to mention that did Sadeas immediately drop it or try and hit Adolin with it? ANd we don't know how sturdy the are -- did a fire start? Maybe Brandon is thinking you just pick up your light source (e.g. flashlight in the woods) as second nature, but unless he returned via a different route, he should have run into his other lantern, and I just do not see how that is something overlooked. Now with that said, if we assume that what we are told is reliable, then that could be a strong clue that Adolin returned a different way and there are chalk marks he failed to etch away, which in turn means others will probably be more likely to notice the etched off chalk mark(s). Here's his return: Where the weapon is implied to be Oathbringer. The "Blade" is not mentioned for the cuffs, so I think it's implied he took the knife out of Sadeas and used those to cut off the cuffs. Edit: That's not the kind of thing you would use a shardblade for -- one slip and you could cut your hand off. So in theory he has the knife and went back a different way.

Brandon is not conveying Adolin's shock through Adolin, but through an unreliable narrator voice in pseudo POV. Those are by definition writing gimmicks. Or are you going to claim that this is what Adolin is actually thinking at the time? That's a rhetorical question, because it's clearly a narrator's voice. It's an unreliable narrator, not Adolin. In fact, if this was actually written from Adolin's POV -- what's really going on in his head, the jumping shadows as the lantern falls, etc. then it would be much better (assuming quality writing).

I'm sure it is. That doesn't change that it's a gimmick. It's like learning how a magic trick is done -- it's much harder to enjoy the trick afterwards. I would have been impressed with a true POV scene. Instead we have an apparently unreliable nattartor and/or a pseudo-flashback. Granted, doing this scene correctly (i.e. without the gimmick) is hard to do, so maybe this is what Brandon had to settle on, but that doesn't change that he's using a writing gimmick to pull this off. I suspect this scene may have suffered a bit from rushing WoR, and changing it in a revision would probably be too drastic (and probably a lot of additional work). Regarding incompetent assassins, we haven't really seen any yet. Tyn has been the weakest, but she's more of a jack-of-all-trades than an actual trained assassin, and even she was effective against Jasnah (only being a KR saved Jasnah, and Tyn was not aware of that -- not clear if the Ghostbloods were either). IIRC, all failed assassination attempts we have seen fail due to interference from someone with superhuman abilities.

I agree with maxal that we already have too many redemption stories. So maybe Moash won't be a redemption story -- maybe he will keep making bad choices and turn into a tragic character that also gives us insight into the Diagramists.

EDIT: Having seen a dragon in human form may just be headcanon. According to a WoB, we've seen a dragon in human(oid) (cannot the exact wording) form. Good luck figuring out who it is though. It could be as obscure as the terriswoman in Warbreaker and the worldhopping Kandras. But anyway, they can take human(oid) form. Maybe someone who has read DragonSteel could chime in with more details? Anyway, Brandon read a lot of dragon stuff in his early fantasy reading days, and of course is a bit of a gaming geek, so there are plenty of influences to draw from.

It's likely his calling as an Ardent (have to have a way to "freeload").

It should have been possible, but it may have been harder to enter the CR. Of course, in theory Adonalsium was a worldhopper. Regarding "the biggest RAFO ever" according to the quote, Brandon was laughing when he said it. So I think we should be careful not to read too much into it. It could be an inside joke or it could be a RAFO because of the comedic value (don't tell the punchline of a joke ahead of time). Hoid is known for his crazy antics.

Adolin had to pick Sadeas lantern up to see the platform below. Well, I suppose if there is a ledge along the floor, the lantern could have fallen in such a way as to light the fight scene area and the area below, but it's a stretch. And then work his way back to his lantern in the dark (or maybe his was casting enough light to be visible enough to work his way back). I'm leaning towards a bit of both -- he used Sadeas lantern for that area (e.g. where to throw the Blade) but left it behind to pick his up. If not, then he has two lanterns to deal with. He backtracked, so assuming his lantern is giving off light (and that is implies because if it could be shuttered, he could have brought it with him), it would be hard to miss.

I just re-read the scene. He leaves it behind when he first hears the voices, so it wouldn't give him away. But I hate to say this, but it feels like some sloppy writing here. Sadeas also has a lantern, and we learn nothing about it in the fight. It's like it's in his hand when they meet, and then they start fighting, rolling, etc. and we never learn anything about Sadeas's lantern. Later on, Sadeas uses his hands to defend, so we know he doesn't have it later on. So it was dropped at some point, but there's no mention of it, even though supposedly that's the main source of light for that scene. We know Brandon felt a bit rushed with WoR (the revisions, why SA3 was delyaed), etc.. Maybe this was one of those scenes where problems with it easily overlooked so it was never updated. I had a theory that it was to help us feel the sense of shock Adolin was feeling aftwerwords, but the problems start before then with Sadeas's lantern. It's not even clear how Adolin can see down to the platform below. The lantern has to still be up there, and we are never told he picks it up. Only thing that would make sense is if the lanterns can hover or are on a pole that never tips over. Anyway, at this point I am hesitant to try and draw too much from this scene because too much is left out.

I am hoping the prison sequence is there to help cement Adolin is a good person and that the Sadeas event will not completely ruin his life. I think the duel meant a lot to Adolin. Renarin came to help, but needed help, and Kal came in, and gave them the chance to turn things around. I think it meant a lot. Probably a bit of a bonding moment for both, but more so for Adolin. You know, Adolin seem remarkably openminded for a lighteyes, compared to many. Kal comments on it. I suppose that could also be a "requirement" for KRs. So far I don't think any KR or proto-KR we have seen as truly prejudiced, except possibly Elhokar, and that could be more about "that's just the way they are" (i.e. societal prejudices, not personal ones). As a side note, Elhokar may be sympathetic to Adolin if he's forced to judge him (Adolin), because he knows he botched their chance to get Sadeas after the duel by getting angry at Kaladin. So his father could feel some remorse for not dealing with Sadeas himself, and Elhokar could for botching their plan to trap Sadeas. So there's a path to Adolin getting off light.

I think it's implied Frost and Hoid have some way to communicate because why have the 17th Shard chase him if they can just wait at the mail drop? It's probably not a coincidence the letters in the series with spanreeds....

What about Jasnah? Seems like a good place to slip her in as well (vs. an Interlude). I so hope you are right. That is such an overused trope and some fast resolution for Kaladin would be a welcome change of pace.

No, he's viewed as sharper than previous wits, at least by those paying attention. The fact that he is disliked, etc. are all what imo give him just enough credibility. It doesn't have to be enough for everyone -- just to the people that matter the most. I actually think he was overreaching at this point. He tells Adolin there can only be him or Dalinar, and suddenly Salinar is on the rise. Sadeas can try and discredit him, but all of his attempts to do so in the past have turned out to be failures. Even the visions have born out to be true. I'm sure he could still cause a lot of trouble, but more in the short term, and that really matters given the situation they are in. But Sadeas was on the losing end of the power struggle, so it's hard to guage how much trouble he could cause vs. how much he through he could cause, vs. how desperate he was. And being telported by a mythical oatgate from the shattered plains to U is also ridiculously unbelievable. Think about the surviving highprinces and scholars/ardents that survived because Shallan got the gate working that can testify that that happened. Also, Shallan's Lightweaving has gotten better so she be able to exude even more confidence and believeability. Don't the neutral/indifferent Sebarial was there, as well as Aladar, who had been siding with Sadeas up till that point. They are more likely to agree, because even after the seat of power moved to the Shattered Plains, Jasnah didn't. They didn't just read about these events in a couple pf books, they lived those years out. Jasnah was not a major player in Alethi politics for years. There is no reason to believe they would not recognize that more than we would. We didn't get to read about every political meeting over the past six years, but they were there, and Jasnah's absence would have been obvious. You think three years after Gavilar's death with Jasnah knee deep in research the Alethi elite would still consider her a major political player?? Anyone not at the shattered plains was not a major player. That could be. But I have never disputed that if someone wanted to head down that path for irrational reasons, they could. But let's keep in mind that the Everstorm really happened, that the armies really wore teleported. Ialai can choose not to believe any of that, but as I mentioned, Aladar can confirm it. If she's acting rationally, then there is a lot more credibility there. I mentioned the KRs returning because it factors into the power shift occurring. It doesn't matter how much someone believes it's really happening, whether it's a good thing, etc. What matters is that it could reduce the number of potential allies she has available, or even cause one to go double-agent on her. It could spark some noble reactions as well, but just from a pure survival/shrewdness standpoint, it's prudent to be careful. More so with Sadeas dead, because now he really can't try and take Dalinar down -- the power shift became more palpable. And even if someone thinks the Kholins did it, that doesn't mean said someone's loyalties will not shift to the apparent victor as a matter of being pragmatic. Another factor is the desolation has hit. That could affect how tolerant Dalinar is to childish highprinces. Frustrating we have another year to wait to say the least!!

Oathbringer (SA3) Kaladan Chapter Spoilers

Or he learns how to channel the intent to actually accomplish something. It's not clear how the perceptions of the vessel and the intent of the shard(s) relate. So there may be a way to game the system.

The point there is that he's more credible as a neutral witness. And who's to say what is believable given all of the recent events? Plus, Shallan could vouch for Shadesmar. Also don't forget that Pattern has been revealed at this point. Now that I think about it, we have Jasnah's outdated notes on the highprinces, which suggests she has not been keeping in touch, in which case there's even less reason to suspect her, because she has clearly not been heavily involved in Alethi politics for some time. Has she even been to the Shattered Plains? It doesn't sound like she has, or if so, not in years. One of the strongest reasons she would not be a suspect. Edit: I think I fianlly stumbled upon why the Jasnah idea doesn't work for me -- she has to be a player to be a candidate, and she hasn't been a player in Alethi politics for quite some time now. She's been doing the scholarly research thing pretty much since shorty after her father was assassinated. The fact she thinks Sebarial is worthless is another hint of that -- he's clearly very sharp when it comes to economics and if she was seriously involved in Alethi politics she would have picked up on that. Her notes to Shallan are not just outdated -- they are from someone who is a peripheral player. The best assassins won't leave a paper trail.