Krandacth

I did try and find similar theories using the search, but didn't find anything that posited that the Stone Shamans are the Missing Order. But then, the search function is notoriously hard to use if you phrase your theory differently to previous ones! :-P Probably is relevant for developing your idea/theory Hmmm, useful. I'm not suggesting that it was a specific response (as I'm sure the Recreance would have happened much sooner otherwise); also, another Desolation didn't happen, so I don't believe the KRs would have suspected that the Heralds had lied. I'm suggesting merely that the Heralds abandoning the Oathpact, and/or the act of lying regarding winning, are connected to the betrayal the Knights felt; probably indirectly; perhaps Spiritually? Anyway, I'm not willing to give up on the symmetry of "nine of ten X broke their oath(s)(pact)", even if one was not a response to the other.

Are the Shin Stone Shamans the descendants/remnants/legacy of an Order of Knights Radiant that did not fall at the Recreance? Is that why they have all the Honorblades? As a slightly separate but related point: Was the only Order of Radiants that didn't feel betrayed, and so renounce their oaths, the one Order whose Heraldic Patron didn't lie to them about the desolations, i.e. Taln and the Stonewards? In which case, does this tie back to the theory that the Stone Shamans (the organisation that teaches that Stone is sacred and ward against its being walked upon) are the legacy of the Stonewards? Or is that a bit too much of a stretch? :-P

I think that one order did secretly continue, based on one of the epigraphs (Chapter 41, WoR). In fact, I haven't seen anyone else propose my particular theory on that. I'll go start a thread :-) I don't think it was the Skybreakers though, as the epigraph in question states that "they entertained great subterfuge at the expense of the other nine," which doesn't seem very Skybreaker-y.

To be fair, the Fire Nation was kind of there tech-wise anyway, they were just entirely focused on war and kept their tech to themselves. Given a generation of peace and the sharing of that tech, Korra's world is not surprising (apart from the Mechs... But even they aren't out of the question, as they seem fairly simplistic and fallible).

If you're interested, alternatives to Sanderson, just for a break, are being listed here:

I'm not 100% on this, but I think Shallan mentions thinking that one of Tvlakv's slaves might be female, but that it is almost impossible to tell with Parshmen without undressing them. Edit: On the move, so no access to the text to give a reference

The trip from Dalinar's camp to Sebarial's took "about an hour", so I imagine the trip from there to the outer market being comparable. And outside a given camp there would be plenty of time in which he was unobserved. But yes, it would still have been a risk. Also, this would grow Wit's reputation for unpredictability by word of mouth, without him actually having to do it, so he doesn't suffer that greater indignity.

Firstly, Eshonai says in her... First POV? that she finds it strange that humans are essentially always in mateform. Also, mateform is known as such because it encourages sexual urges in adults, but I don't see that being the case for Parshchildren for the same reason that human children don't generally have sexual urges: Their biology doesn't support it. If you take away the sexual urges, what is left of mateform seems pretty childlike to me. Secondly, Seconded

This puts me in mind of the conversation between Kal, Hesina and Tien in WoK, talking about the fact that the longroot has a spren, and if you cut it in half then each piece has a spren. That would then make sense of a Parshbaby being bonded to the same type of spren as its mother. Also, Mate form makes most sense to me for Parshchildren, as it is most like our own children: Playful and easily distracted. Also, their gender characteristics would presumably develop in a similar way to a human's in that form, so wouldn't be prominent by early-teen-equivalent (when I assume is their day of first transformation, from the way Eshonai's mother was talking).

I assume I'm not the first to think Hoid's apparent "switch with a carriage driver on the way to the menagerie" was faked, using something like Lightweaving. The man's accent was described as "unfamiliar" by Kaladin. The character seems a little too stereotypical, and his description of Wit's supposed behaviour also seems like a parody of Wit's character, both of which would seem a grand joke to Hoid. It is unlikely Hoid got another worldhopper involved, as they all seem out to get him, or at least not to like him much. And he is known to like taking on disguises and characters. But... What does this achieve? Is it just a meta-trick, making them think they've been tricked one way by tricking them another, just so Hoid can laugh at the triplicity (duplicity +1) of it?

I'd like to weigh in on the OP and say that I think the Heralds were probably stronger/more efficient Surgebinders than any KR, even though others using Honorblades are significantly worse than any KR. This is actually a natural conclusion of my previously-posted theory, linked below, and lines up with the statements and theologies in the books.

I always visualised steelpushing a coin into the ground in the same vein as pushing a coin through the air towards the ground, and steelpushing against a grounded coin like doing a press up. Exert the same explosive force downwards in both cases and, in the former, the coin moves and you do not, while, in the second, you move and the earth does not. The primary difference is Steelpushing doesnt involve any moving parts that can be put under strain by the impact implicit in moving from the former to the latter. On the original topic: To me this implies a reason that Kaladin and/or shield were not pulled towards the arrows. If the shield imitates the spiritual link it has to the earth, then the strength of pull on other objects becomes as strong as that of the planet, and its resistance to the inverse of that pull becomes as strong as that of the planet. Note this means that any force not the result of its own borrowed gravitational field would still be able to move the shield as if it were just a shield, hence the impact knocking Kaladin backward, but would render the shield virtually unaffected by the pull it exerts on the arrows. If this effect was described as giving the object a gravitational field, or applying a force like amplified gravity, then either the shield would become too heavy to lift, or yes, would be pulled into the air. But that isn't the explanation given. This obviously isnt the same mechanic as a ironpull

Given what happened to Kaladin the first time he was exposed in a highstorm, I think I assumed they were constantly being hurt by storm blown stones and debris too small and numerous to dodge, but healing the damage immediately. Szeth then stops healing that damage to prioritise fleeing. Szeth may have been hit by the hammer, but I'm pretty sure Syl never cut him. I think we need a reread to confirm, or someone more certain, at least.

He did? I thought he got hit once, and it ended the fight... The other times he took the hits on his Blade, I believe. Anyway, I agree with the perception argument, in that I think it would be possible. However, Syl says he uses Stormlight at a "dangerous" rate, and Kaladin healing from a Shardblade wound took a large amount of Stormlight, even for him. So for Szeth to heal from such a wound would take impractical amounts of Stormlight. Unless you were running around in a Highstorm! Oh... Shame the hit cut him off from Surgebinding!

I don't remember Wyndle ever saying this.I don't even remember the spren specifically mentioning Cultivation(just mother but Wyndle could be referring to Nightwatcher like how Syl refers Stormfather as her own father) like Syl does with Honor alot. That's a good counterpoint. Though yes, it is unclear who Wyndle means by "Mother", would the spren of a living shard act so differently to that shard? I wouldn't have thought so. On the other hand, would a Shard whose Intent is to encourage things to flourish allow its Vessel to give up on something that is struggling to do so? Also probably not. If the Nightwatcher is what is perceived of their God in places that worship Cultivation, as Stormfather claims to be for the Almighty, then if people believed their God had forsaken them would the Nightwatcher not do so, independently of Cultivation? But it may still be obedient to Cultivation, like the Stormfather dispensing visions for Honor, and so have provided what She wanted to someone (many people) with appropriate requests.

Did anyone else get a chill imagining Archer from Fate/UBW let lose on Roshar as a Radiant? Make him a Dustbringer and you get the potential for explosive arrows to boot.

On the day that the Diagram was first written, was Taravangian as intelligent as he thinks he was?

@Yata Our theories seem to be based on the same hard evidence, there's just more conjecture in mine. Yours doesn't take into account the particular phrasing of the WoB about what spren get from the Bond (I.e. What they get is "mostly" physical manifestation, memory and personality), but that one word is hardly evidence that they get more. It is good conjecture-fodder though Edit: For example, it has been postulated in other threads recently that honourblades allow superior stormlight efficiency for heralds than they do for other weilders, and maybe even moreso than does the Nahel Bond. This fits with my theory, as follows: If Honorblades were designed for specific individuals, then they would be perfect stormlight conduits for those individuals. The spititwebs of other individuals, on the other hand, would not align nearly so well. Based on my theory, in fact, in which spren meet the human halfway, Honorblades are likely to be even less efficient than a First Ideal Bond for anyone other than their corresponding Herald, being unable to adapt at all. On the other hand, even a Fifth Ideal Bond is unlikely to be as perfect a match as an Honorblade and its Herald, making Heralds stronger Surgebinders than full KRs.

@Yata I forgot to ask before: What is your idea for how this works? How is it opposite? Inquiring minds want to know (and it would definitely fall under the title of the thread).

If Nightblood were influenced by the intent of a Shard from which the Investiture it consumes was derived, and (Warbreaker spoiler) shouldn't it be a lot more generous by now?

Perhaps this is Voidbinding? If it were Voidbinding, this makes the above unlikely due to the fact the we have WoB that we haven't seen Voidbinding. Although, knowing Brandon, that doesn't mean we haven't seen a Voidbinder. And that would very much explain Shallan's father's surviving the super-potent Blackbane...

This fits with the premise of the theory, that being the Taravangian was basically incredibly open to influence at that point. In this we see hints of a Mistborn spoiler Desolations feel like the pruning metaphor again to me... Trapping Odium by letting him attack repeatedly, knowing that the repeated attacks would prune Roshar and encourage stronger future growth. This then actually aligns with the Almighty's words to Dalinar at the end of WoK, saying, "He realised that, left alone, you would weaken yourselves," (paraphrased) or, in Cultivation's view, civilisation would grow too prolifically and start to strangle itself. Your latter point, though I prefer my "pruning back" metaphor

So, most people seem to believe, as Taravangian does, that the Diagram is the result of his most genius of days (though a few mentions have been made of "something more supernatural" going on). My theory is that the Diagram was written at his most empathetic, and that Cultivation is the true author (though it was written by Taravangian's hand). My reasons: In WoR I-14, Taravangian comments that "genius and idiocy are so similar," that on his "most stupid days and [his] most incredible, [he] is unable to interact with those around him in a meaningful way." In fact, about the day of the diagram: "Then, too, he'd spent the day staring at the wall." (Emphasis added, presumably drawing a parallel to his behaviour on his supposedly most stupid days). Perhaps he feels that, at the extremes, the only way to tell the two apart is the result? Taravangian treats the Diagram with "reverence", as if it is "holy". The author of the Diagram repeatedly refers to someone (presumed to be Taravangian) in the second person (presumed to be his most brilliant self talking to his future, less intelligent self). The only quoted time, in fact, that the author uses the first person is in reference to "the wanderer," whom many people posit is Hoid, whom Taravangian seems to have no reason to know of. The entire Diagram is prophetic, to a high degree of detail on a massive scale. The Diagram is in a hitherto unknown language that is more expressive in ways required to discuss some of the advanced concepts it covers. [Intuitive leap, based on other speculation and thematics] Taravangian at his most intelligent is introspective, so rejects external influence in favour of his own knowledge and reasoning. At his most compassionate/empathetic he is most susceptible to external influence, having no conscious thought to get in the way. Also: Cultivation is known to be one of the Shards with greatest foresight. The vessel of Cultivation existed in an advanced civilisation prior to humanity existing on Roshar. The Nightwatcher: ...seems to be, or be connected to, Cultivation, with Wyndle (Cultivationspren, according to WoB) appearing to call it "Mother" in WoR I-9. ...granted Taravangian the "capacity to save the world". Therefore, the author of the diagram is Cultivation, while Taravangian was at his most dull, and so most susceptible to Her. This aligns Taravangian's interpretation of the intent (Intent?) of Diagram, being to tear civilisation almost to the ground in order to build it stronger, with a ubiquitous gardening technique that would come totally naturally to Cultivation: pruning back plants, in some cases to the ground, helps them grow fast and stronger. This actually aligns with a previous theory, in which it is by Taranvangian's empathy that the world will be saved, and also with the last comment on that theory, which is that Taravangian's (Cultivation's?) approach to saving the world is a valid-but-conflicting alternative to that of the known KRs (particularly Kaladin, guided by Honor):

I assumed the OP was suggesting that it is how Mr Sanderson derived the word, rather than an in-Cosmere reason. However, there is plenty of word-play throughout the novels that relies on English idioms, which there would have to be, because otherwise we would be constantly as confused as the bridgemen are around Zahel. I take this to reflect the meaning of the conversation and the nature of the jokes (or threats, or whatever) made, not necessarily the exact jokes. Extrapolating, it is possible that the names as written could be derived from English in the same way that the "real" names are derived from, for example, Alethi. That being said, why would the term for delineating the upper-class social hierarchy of Alethkar be based off a Bavlander* accent? So my assumption remains that the OP thought it might be something that Brandon had noticed and thought, "Cool!". *As far as I can see, this is the nearest linguistic equivalent in-setting, I am not drawing a cultural comparison.

Ah ha, I haven't read BoM yet, waiting for the paperbacks to go with the rest of my Cosmere collection. As such, I can't comment. Maybe someone else could second this interpretation? It does indeed fit, though what traits the spren would adopt when filling a mechanically derived hole (rather than naturally/emotionally derived) is anyone's guess. What is the general Intent of a Dustbringer's spren, do we know?