Argel

Wars are a huge strain on the economy, so a society embroiled in say a century or warfare is very likely to fall behind a society with a century of investing in all of the sciences. And in a world with magic, the focus can be on improvements there instead of technology.

Yeah, but they can potentially utilize that without making her a Ghostblood. I hope we learn a lot more about them in SA3!!

Yeah, I'm just not sure how far that can go when we already know at least one element was moved to a different setting. We know Hoid's real name and that he took it from his master, and maybe his personality starts out that way as well, but the more setting specific we get, I think the less we can rely on it. And e.g. no hint of dragons. It's not clear if the LoP Yolen is what Brandon has in his head anymore. Though don't we know Yolen has three races (human, dragon, and ??), so maybe the third race is the one causing the problems.

The problem for me is I do not see why the Ghostbloods would find her worthy of joining their ranks. I think there is too much concern about baggage, trust, etc. there. to overcome. Sadeas' death may change that if she has no political future.

You really need to read Alcatraz to get a feel for it. Blurbs, descriptions, reviews, etc. do not do it justice. And the magic system is much more interesting than it may at first seem. It's not for everyone, but it is well written, and the new updated releases with drawings, new covers, and a map really add to the setting. For me, it's really impressive to see Brandon mix comedy in so well with a well thought out magic system.

It's not canon, so we don't even know if that will occur. We already know one thing in LoP was moved to Aether.

I'm having a hard time reconciling that whole "taking care of our own" thing the Ghostbloods have going with Sadeas. Even Ialai seems like a stretch. Maybe having ties to the Ghostbloods or being used by them, but mroe than that is hard to image. Ialai may be ripe for recruiting now that Sadeas is dead though.

Given that Brandon RAFO'd whether Galivar's visins and Dalinar's were the same, we may get a Gavilar POV flashback.

Yeah, I reworded that sentence and tripped my self up. Thanks for the correction!!

Agonizingly real. I really how the upcoming Lift short story in Arcanum Unbound is one of Brandon's best!!

We have WoB that confirms that the letter in TWoK is from Hoid to Frost and in WoR, Frost replies back to Hoid. Given the contents of those letters, it's clear both existed before the shattering. And there are many other WoBs that contradict your theory. It's an interesting idea, but unfortunately not correct. It does highlight that Hoid must be doing something to alter his appearance, but he is a Yolish Lightweaver and has had considerable time to hone his talents (presumably he was lightweaving before the shattering). Considering what Shallan was able to do as just a novice.... He could also be using some other form of magic to alter his appearance (assuming its not just an actor's trick).

Yeah, pretty clear about the life sense:

Has Brandon published anything with time travel to the past in it?

Brandon does not think of them as good or evil. As an example, he mentioned that an honor spren could be cruel.

Someone in one of these threads suggested that the visions are similar to Assassin's Creed animus. That would allow for some interaction, etc. but still not actually alter the past.

I think you meant Moelach. Interesting to note that T tries to hang around near Moelach for the death rattles. Makes him more susceptible to influence, I would think.

That fits with the idea that Odium realized he can let the humans in-effect wipe themselves out, and maybe he's just nudging things along to make it happen sooner than later.

Interesting point about a Truth. Some on here have speculated that the Cryptics gave up on him, but maybe not after all....

Someone should ask Brandon. With that said, I do not think we have ever read of it occuring in the books. YOu'd think it would come up if it was feasible. (e.g. a bunch of stampeding horses....). Maybe a strong connection to the spiritual realm is needed, and animals are weaker on that front?

Granted. You now understand everything everyone says ... 1 hour later. Your bane is you have a 16% of misunderstanding everyone before that 1 hour kicks in. I wish someone would past that new Arcanum Unbound reading!!

Could it be that she is also a scholar, with some of the familair tropes that come along with it? Based on Dalinar's comments, it also seems like she's mellowed a bit. He really does expect Navani to take advantage of the secret information, so it sure sounds like she used to be more manipulative. Of course, pre-Gavillar and once married, plitals manuevering would be expected (and arguably a requirement). I think it hurt her that she was in-effect in charge of the scholars. That's why Brandon had to add in that scene about not taking the research away from Shallan. I think if she was just a highly respected sacholar but not in charge, that she may have been more likeable. Though with that said, it really feels like Brandon was trying to write her as not likeable. So, there may be some plots twists ahead. Or maybe it will make the flashback scense more interesting. Or maybe he's setting our expectations for the younger, not-so-nice version of Navani so that some of the flash back scenes don't bother us as much. Also, she is Jasnah's mother, so maybe we're supposed to see where some of her personality comes from. Edit: Not to mention that how likeable could Navani be before theories about Jasnah being adopted popped up? There's a certain expectation in Navani's personality because of Jasnah. Also, not that I think about it, but Brandon may want to make sure Jasnah is the scholar we like the most. I mean, it wouldn't do if fans started liking Navani over Jasnah (kind of like how Adolin seems to have a larger fanbase than intended).

She's not really a character I paid much attention to, but e.g. she doesn't try to butt in on Shallan's work. Dalinar thinks some bad things about her, but we don't really see anything that untoward. I also really liked the scene where Dalinar tells Elokhar he's courting her. Too funny!!

Ouch, my head hurts!! But great synopsis. One possible explanation is he thought he was interacting with the visions like Dalinar did (e.g. visions "telling" Dalinar to trust Sadeas). The other would be his visions were influenced by Odium. The obvious problem with that is what about Dalinar's visions? One answer is maybe it didn't matter anymore by the time Dalinar started seeing them. Another could be that the location mattered -- the Shattered Plains could be considered more "pure" (e.g. closer to Stormfather) and/or just away from Odium's influence (e.g. no death rattles there). Presumably we will learn more in SA3.

Actually, I think it's a moot point. I believe we have a WoB that if Sazed dropped his shard, he would drop Harmony, not Ruin and Preservation. So we need to discuss things in the context of what Harmony would want, not what Ruin and Preservation would. And there's nothing harmonious about an invasion. Of course, this could make it hard to invade as well, though e.g. if Odium and/or Autonomy were acting against him and he had proof (or at least a preponderance of the evidence), I believe he would be able to respond. We actually know Odium is worried about/afraid of Harmony and there are things in motion to suppress his knowledge about the Cosmere. If Harmony was unable to do anything, Odium would have nothing to worry about. Instead, he and his allies are treading carefully. Based on that, I don't think it would go well for the invaders....

Regarding TWoK, from what we have seen so far, it seems like Dalinar is the one who really took it to heart. "Interested in" and "believing in" are also two different things. Edit: It's also worth noting all the secret stuff Gavilar was involved in that Dalinar was not aware of. So Dalinar could very easily misunderstand what Gavilar was interested in.