Erklitt

Thanks for this, I thought I was the only one having a little trouble with Lift, everyone seems to love her so. Funny: in our likes I think we are very different, but after Moash this is the second 'dislike against the rest of the world' we share. (I use 'dislike' here in a very broad sense, a 'not being complete sold out to her' rather than any real dislike)

Just enjoyed it for the ??th time. Just wow again. One remark: For a not-so-quick reader, the text sometimes changes too quickly. I like to spell out the words in my head, and got a little rushed now and then. Which is such a pity. Just a suggestion for your next work - which I really hope we'll hear soon!

I was thinking of boxes like sheep uses all the time in this thread http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/53944-illustrated-sa-scenes-characters/?page=1 Or are those only for pictures?

@Argel You were just a tad quicker than me here's what I just finished typing in my editor: That theory about the oaths having to correspond with the herald's attributes already has at least one exception: "I will unite instead of divide" has nothing to do with being 'pious' and has at best a loose relation to 'guiding'. Working to divide people would be just as much a kind of 'guiding'. All the oaths we've seen so far had an ethical implication, and all the heralds' attributes can be considered as virtues. Therefore, I do not believe the 'Learned' part of Paliah is about pure knowledge (we've seen with Taravangian that knowledge can lead a man to do evil) but rather something like 'knowing the right thing to do' or 'having the necessary knowledge to help with the problems facing humanity' - then sharing that knowledge, which is the 'giving' part. I think (like many others I believe) that Renarin's glimpses of the possible future have something to do with extrapolating from a deep knowledge of the present, seeing beyond the physical realm. In this sense, his 'seeing the truth' makes him 'learned' in the Paliah sense. And the oath I postulated has to do with him not being overcome by that truth.

Just a timid hand raise here: not everyone roots for Moash to be redeemed. I don't. I never liked him. Not because he opposed Kaladin at first - Sigzil did the same, and I can even find some sympathy for Gaz in my heart. But Moash was always too eager about fighting and about having Shards, and his hatred of lighteyes feels much more spiteful to me than Kaladin's. He always struck me as someone who, when faced with a difficult choice, would choose his own advantage over loyalty. I have no strong evidence of this (other then the one big betrayal), but there were many little things like this: WoR Ch. 44 One Form of Justice Sorry, this was a little off topic. But as for bad guys, I am not aware of any shortage: apart from Moash, there are Amaram and the Sons of Honor (nice band name), Taravangian, Mraize and the Ghostbloods (another nice band name), a few crazy heralds with Nalan in the front row...

Just came across a phrase that I never gave any thought to before because I simply had no idea what it meant. This time, so shortly after sharing in this thread, it suddenly hit me on the head. So I guess this is the best place to post this, even if it's something of a necro: WoR Ch. 45 Middlefest (Wit speaking to Shallan in private) That ominous garden scene. That sentence I highlighted in the quote. Shallan playing in the garden. Speaking a truth. Reaching the level that gives her access to Pattern as a Blade. Visiting Shadesmar. Soulcasting for the first time. Probably by accident, almost certainly not understanding what she's doing. In Shadesmar, lifes are seen as lights.

Title says everything... I'm sure this has been answered a hundred times but after searching in vain for half an hour, I give up and simply ask. Edit: I can see the "Spoiler" icon but I cannot change the text "Spoiler" to something else, can I?

An aside: while reading all those magnificent ideas, imagining them in my head and thinking 'Wow, I need to see this movie!' another thought struck: what kind of weird fan forum can inspire people to create such awesome visuals and then actually spell them out in written text?

And not just single sets buried here and there: think of the buildings now closed up by crem, often mistaken now for natural formations. How many of those could be former battle scenes, hiding dozens of shardbearer corpses? This might be where the Parshendi first got their shards (iirc they used to have more than the one), and might also lead to them discovering more. [Edit] @Rasarr:Just picturing someone walking the plains with a shard-dowsing rod, and that rod suddenly screaming, sputtering, wildly pulsating light...

On my current reread, among other things I am paying special attention to Renarin's development. And I have a theory what topic the Truthwatchers' ideals may be about. Different levels would have different wordings of course, but I would phrase the main topic as: "I will attempt a worthy task even if it seems impossible or will likely lead to my death" Several reasons for this: 1. It fits Renarin's behavior Actually many sharders have complained that Renarin tries to help even when he seems to have no chance of doing so. They say he is really a hindrance because he ties other resources / fighters that have to protect him. (Though in the case of the duel, I think he actually did some good by tying up one of the opponents for a while.) 2. Analogy to Lightweavers' 'ideal' Lightweavers speak truths to keep them 'real' in the middle of all their illusions; they need the self-awareness. WoR Ch.57 (Epigraph about Lightweavers) If Renarin's visions are really part of his Truthwatching - and I think they are - then seeing dark possible futures (like his final vision in WoR: "We will all die") can paralyze the seer by making him hopeless. He needs the strength of mind not to succumb to that. (Yes, during the vision he is paralyzed. That does not mean he cannot work to prevent that dark future after the vision is over.) So, in both cases, the ideal has something to do with counterbalancing the side effects of the surgebindings. 3. Chronology of events To be more concise, l’ll temporarily subscribe to the methods of the assuredness movement: In what follows I’ll state my theory as fact. That just makes for shorter sentences. The following scene likely drew Glys to Renarin. (Just like Kaladin protecting young spearmen attracted Syl.) WoK Ch. 13 Ten Heartbeats When first bonding his blade, he didn’t yet hear screams, but as a proto-Radiant he still didn’t feel right about it, just like Dalinar when he had bonded the madman’s Blade. WoR Ch. 14 Ironstance So, he grimaced when first touching it, but during the bonding he trained with Zahel (including jumping down buildings – all that happened during the bonding so he must have held the Blade! Never had realized that before.) He relaxedly talked fabrials with Kaladin, maybe even took rides with Adolin and laughed with Amaram. (It’s not quite clear whether the bonding was finished before that ride.) With all due respect for Renarin, I cannot see him hearing those screams all that time. Though the completion of the bond isn’t explicitly mentioned until later, it must have happened before Adolin’s plateau run to help Jakamav: Teft tells Adolin about Renarin summoning his blade: WoR Ch. 26 The Feather No way he experiences the same in that moment as during the whole bonding week. Now Renarin freezes. Now he hears the screams. Between bonding his Blade and this plateau run Renarin has made a step in his Surgebinding: he swore his second oath. "I will attempt a worthy task even if it seems impossible or will likely lead to my death" His trying to do something about that attacked bridge is him trying to be true to that oath. Same later with the duel. Of course, the latter also fits with what he did on the hunt, driven by the love for his family. The oath is not the whole reason, but it's part of it. The oath fits the character - as was to be expected. [On a side note: did anyone notice his quick grasp of Shardblade commands? The bonding was completed just a few days ago and after Szeth’s visit Renarin’s Shardblade lies ‘discarded at his feet like a piece of refuse’!]

I'm not sure: everything @maxal writes has value, and yet I don't agree. I think that with his 'Can you teach me' arc (as brought up by another sharder recently (just checked: it was @spacenoxx)) he uttered a really powerful truth. And I do believe he's an artist at heart: any room under his influence tends to be something special, whether it is his palace (embellished by frescoes etc.), his feasting grounds (notice the water with the platforms, bridges and boats with glowing spheres of colors matching the current moon) or even something as utilitarian as the Gallery of Maps. Add the cryptics he's seen and all points toward Lightweaver. I agree he has very far to go. Well, that just makes for a more interesting character arc. Though I am far from certain, I do hope, and to some degree believe, that we will see it. [Edit] And I really think this would add to the books: not all Radiants are 'natural born heroes'. The struggles of someone like Elhokar with the ideals of self-aware truths would be really something worth to see.

Got goosebumps. Thank you!

Yes, on her 'Radiant Reawakening'. ('I'm terrified' I believe). But her truths as a child when she first bonded Pattern would have to be different ones, truths about her back then. I wonder just like @Oversleep: what could the truths of a little child look like?

Thanks for the quick reply; it's obviously something that one can live with if necessary

This is really not a big thing but as it happens to me quite often and is a little inconvenient, I thought I'd bring it up: I like using the path directly below the main menu for going back up one level. The browser's 'back' button is a bad option after browsing through a topic with several pages. As you can't see the mouse pointer in the screen dump, I've marked the spot where my mouse was. Clicking there, I end up on the Shardcast page. If I'm careful and think about it, I can prevent that, just have to keep the mouse in the lower half of the path. But still: maybe the area where a mouse-click is interpreted as concerning the main menu item could end a little higher on the page, preferably where the dark color ends?

Funny, I was so close and yet the different appearances of Pattern in the physical and cognitive realms didn't occur to me in this context! Talk of being blind... then maybe that really is not quite as far fetched as I thought. Thanks! (You already got my upvote earlier today)

I don't know comiXology, however if you plan to read this on an ordinary kindle, here is my experience: I got the kindle version and tried to read it on my Paperwhite. Yes, the double tapping helps a great deal, it changes reading from being absolutely impossible to being just a pain. Sometimes the text is still too small, sometimes a speech balloon is split between too panels. Those are rarely rectangular, so most of the time you see parts of another panel while not seeing the whole of the one you are currently looking at. With kindle app for PC, the same double tapping diminishes the pain a little further; if your monitor isn't too small you can now actually read everything. But really: this is only a stopgap if you are absolutely bent on reading it and for whatever reason have trouble obtaining a paper version. Otherwise: keep away! (Or use this comiXology.)

I don't know if this has ever been discussed, I can't find a thread about it. There's a scene in a chasm where Kaladin wonders whether he's the only one with a beginning Nahel bond. Syl says at some point: "I just ... I don't know what I know." but it's not quite clear whether she's thinking about Kaladin's original question at that moment. Then follows this scene, which makes me wonder every time I read it: What made Syl change for a moment? I cannot imagine this is meaningless or just a wrong impression on Kaladin's part. Yet, after several rereads, I've still found no possible explanation. My only idea is that maybe at that moment, she makes some connection to Shadesmar, retrieving knowledge she didn't have before, with the result that she now remembers she's not the only spren that has tried to bond. But that seems a little far fetched. Ideas? Or definite solutions I just haven't been able to find?

For more information: see here: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/14124-who-has-talns-blade/ The short version: Observant readers have realized that the physical description of the sword Taln brought to Kholinar at the end of WoK differs widely from the one Dalinar bonds later after Taln's arrival on the plains. So the swap itself is an assured fact. As for it not being Hoid there's a WoB. By the way, Words of Radiance has been out long enough that it's no longer necessary to hide spoilers, I don't think anyone does that now. With Secret History though that's probably still a good idea.

Granted. Of course, Wayne got wind of this, and is now directing all of his considerable resources, including Wax's deductive skills and Steris's organizing talent, to securing that hat. If you ever want to know a moment of peace in your life again, you'll let him have it. As long as you don't, this bane will follow you: whenever you wear that hat, you will experience everything Wayne would if he had it: the full scale of thoughts and emotions someone naturally wearing that hat would experience. It drives you crazy... but that's not the worst. More terrifying than anything is that mind-numbing knowledge that you posted a Mistborn topic on a Stormlight Archive forum! No chance of ever being allowed to fight for those Tranquiline Halls... My wish is to be spared your horrifying fate!

Quoting from memory, certainly not verbatim but close: Nalan says at some point in an interlude of WoR: "Praise to Yesier! If he ever stops drooling!" Personally, I wasn't sure Nalan was who he pretended to be until I found out about all the heralds being 'a little gaga nowadays.' And only after that was I able to understand why Braxil's mistress is supposed to be Shalash, why Nalan's / Darknesses companion on 'Kill-Gavilar-night' should be Kelek and there's even a theory that the beggar Szeth encounters on that night might be Jezrien the king of heralds himself.

I only know this second hand and have no source link, but my understanding is that whatever the reason, Brandon has confirmed this as a fact, that's why everyone is so sure. As for the reason, my guess would be that it's not easy to live with the decision of betraying the oathpact, and they've had to live with it for a few thousand years now. A very long time to stew with an uneasy conscience...

Deleted scene from 'Words of Radiance': Blade: Lucky you! You don't get soaked everytime your bond puts you on. Plate: At least that keeps you clean. Ever got shat in? Blade: You have no idea. Anyone can borrow me, and some of those idiots drag me behind them all the time, tip in the ground, never caring whether I cut through stone, crem or chull leavings. Plate: Be glad that none of that can hurt you. Ever had to entirely regrow from a small splinter? Storms, what a bother. Blade: And how exactly is that worse than having to rise from the dead several times a day? Plate: Careful, there comes a Knight Radiant in spe. Blade: You don't think he can hear our shard talk, do you? Plate: No, just get ready to be humiliated! Maybe I'll escape being shat in today after all... --- many blows later --- Blade: Talking about humiliation: how does it feel, lying on your back, helpless, locked? Plate: Better then being held by someone lying on his back, helpless, clutched in the grip of a locked plate! See you next duel... [If you think this is poor as a joke (you're probably right), consider it a riddle: what color is the plate?]

Thanks! One more time I deplore the fact I don't have access to theoryland... Thanks all the more for the full quote!

That's a very interesting fact, one I've missed so far. Is that somewhere in the text? Or a WoB? Would appreciate quote/source!