ZenBossanova

It was all just a dream and Kaladin is really just an accountant.

Technically right, that the surges are universal, but the magic/power of Honor and Cultivation was blended both in the formation of the Heralds and the KR. Notice, that orders range from Honor to Cultivation and everywhere in between. I suspect that is particularly odious to Odium.

I have long suspected that the people who shattered Adonalsium, did it because they thought it was a desperate necessity. Odium may be taking this to the next level, and shattering the shards as well. He may consider this vital for mankind, as he (I suspect) thought when he helped in the original shattering. Vital enough to continue shattering shards. Notice, that Honor and Cultivation blended their surges, so Odium may be particularly opposed to them.

I really like Creationspren for LIghtweavers and Firespren for Dustbringers for secondary spren. (I still think Adolin will be a Dustbringer) There has also been a WoB on the main Elsecaller spren.

My suspicion is that they way Odium shatters Shards, is the same way the Recreance destroyed spren - you get people or Shards to act contrary to their investiture. For Ambition, he fought until he/she was less ambitious. For Dominion, he fought until he was not exercising dominion. For Honor, he would fight to make him unhonorable. So between the Heralds and the KR (both highly invested, perhaps the KR more so, by sheer volume) abandoning their oaths, Honor was splintered more because of them than Odium per se. I bring this up because Honor couldn't walk away from this fight, because of his honor. But neither could Odium, because of his hatred. Honor understood perfectly well what Odium was planning and purposely walked into it, because that was his nature. And neither he, nor the Heralds and KR could walk away, without damaging Honor. Fighting the long fight was the only honorable option, even if it cost everyone dearly.

Very true, yet we have not seen anyone burn it yet. Perhaps in the next book. I see a WoB that shardblades are body of a god, but I don't see one about shardplate. Plate seems to be very different from blade. Spren don't freak out over 'dead' plate.

Keep in mind, most of the periodic table is metals. but only about 16 and the godmetals, are allomatically burnable, or ferochemically active. Is it really Tanavastium? I was going to argue it would not be burnable, but do we have a WoB on the metal in the last Wax and Wayne book? Is that a godmetal? And is it burnable?

What interests me most about Vasher on Roshar, is that each Returned is sent back for a reason. Is that reason he came back, the conflict on Roshar right now?

And that suggests to me, that the Rosharan Afterlife is highly significent.

Thanks for the clarification. In that case, I have to expect that Rall Elorim is inhabited with either ordinary dead Radiants, or those Radiants in the Recreance. You only (?) become a cognitive shadow if you have sufficient investiture. The primary people we know about that fit that catagory are all Radiants.

Is a Cognitive Shadow different from a soul? If my Cognitive Shadow did something, then did I do it, or just my ghost clone?

On a related note, I have wondered what the effect of the Nahel bond is for people, after they are dead. Are those shadows of ordinary people, or shadows of Knights Radiant, or more interestingly, Knights Radiant who broke their oaths in the Recreace? Brandon has repeatedly said that in order to bring the dead shardblades back, you would need the original person. Is the original cognitive shadow enough?

While I am very suspicious that we have Odium meddling here, another possibility is the Old Magic. We know Dalinar went there for some reason. Perhaps, Renarin was that reason. Dalinar wanted him to be a mighty warrior or something, and that is what he asked the Old Magic for. And this is the way that "wish" was being fulfilled.

I suppose part of the question is, where do you get that much investiture without taking it from an existing shard? I don't think ascension is inherently murderous, but the current supply of investiture is limited, and the main source is the shards themselves.

If people gain surges and power because of cracks in their soul, perhaps Szeth will be particularly powerful because his bond to his soul is so damaged.

My guess is, each surge will have a physical surge, a cognitive surge and a spiritual surge. So, for Shallan, that will be making images, helping people see things (or maybe her memory?) and helping people become things. I expect Dalinar will be able to bond things together, and bind people together, as a nation or army.

The idea of nexus=perpendicularity probably won't work. That would mean that Roshar has 3 (why 3?) perpendicularities. Could the third have anything to do with the shard that was on Ashyn? Or, Braize? This is too convoluted.. probably.

Ok, we know what the expanses represent. But are the nexuses ? Are they related to perpendicularities?

I don't think Shallan did classical mind control. She wasn't forcing them. There was at least one man who resisted what she was doing when she convinced the mercenaries to help defend her wagon train. She was helping them see themselves differently. Of course, I really wonder if it could be used in a dangerous way and how much the oaths defend against that.

Very interesting. Here is a more chilling reading. It is Taln saying this about Cultivation. Of course, I have no idea what promises she might have broken, but we know she has pretty much given up on Mankind. Still, I expect you are right. And I do wonder if Cultivation and Odium were friends at some level before Odium started killing everyone.

We know all objects exist in the three realms, Physical, Cognitive, and Spiritual. Perhaps the surges exist that way as well. We see that Shallan's lightweaving could do some flashy physical things, but where it really got profound was when she helped change other people. That was either a cognitive or spiritual aspect of that surge. I suppose, all the surges must have this three-fold nature. Perhaps all the magic systems in the Cosmere are really this way.

Just an additional data point, Hoid sees that same afterimage when Jasnah Elsecalls at the end of WoR.

Word All the Heralds are actively avoiding their responsibility (9 of them, anyway). Even Nale is using his job to avoid his real responsibility. So, if you get a shardblade with the 3rd oath, shardplate (maybe) with the 4th, what do you get for the 5th oath?

Book 10 of the Stormlight Archive, will end with Odium defeated, and out of the Roshar system, but still at large. Perhaps helping out Bavadin.

I am sure it is Hoid. I am not arguing that. I am just saying, there isn't enough time for him to have been in there, for that to be the thing he was talking about. Hoid said he was in there the better part of a year. But there has not been that much time since Lift was in Azimir. Likewise, I don't think Wit has been away from Alethkar for that long a period. It might be possible to shoehorn that in, but that is going to be really awkward timeline-wise. I think the best answer, is that what Hoid/Wit was referring to, was sometime previous.