Stormrunner1730

Wouldn't the Nightwatcher need to be directly connected to Cultivation's host somehow in order for the relationship to be the same as the Stormfather and Tanavast? Also, is it confirmed that there is a particular type of spren of Bondsmiths, or did they just happen to bond the most powerful spren in the past?

I'm in the unintentional villain camp. He might end up being a Bondsmith eventually (with Cultivation's super-spren), but I don't think he currently has any intention of allying with the Dalinar's Radiants. I think he'll end up being a third party (If you think of the "main parties" as 1. Dalinar/proto-Radiants and 2. Odium and his various forces). Mr. T as an antagonist to Dalinar and the proto-Radiants creates a lot of good tension for the story and I think it would be a waste if he/the Diagram were to just become Dalinar's ally.

I cannot wait for this encounter. I'm betting that Nale/Nalan shows up and helps Dalinar and Co. That would be a gamechanger. It would also force the Stone Shamans to face the reality that the Heralds are back (well, most of them never "left", but that's an entirely different discussion), and that a Desolation is coming. This might also officially exonerate Szeth, as I'm making a pretty educated guess that his banishment as Truthless had to do with him proclaiming that the Radiants/Heralds/Voidbringers were returning.

Yes, I agree. Although the "unreliable narrator" aspect is what helps give the series a certain air of mystery. After all... there's always another secret haha.

I doubt that all of the Radiants would have agreed to have high taxes for Oathgate usage. I wonder if that was a misconception that just became the assumption/myth (like many things in the series/world). I think that this is another great/frustrating example of Brandon giving us just enough information to theorize, but not enough to confirm certain things (for now at least).

I would probably say it was more by design than decree. I haven't gotten through WOR yet on my re-read, but I would guess you can go to any Oathgate from any other Oathgate. Maybe it was by decree for certain instances, but I think the Radiants were too varied in philosophy to all agree on the same taxes/rules on Oathgates (unless it very directly related to fighting Odium/Desolations). Interesting concept to think about though.

A poster for with a regal, but doubt-filled Dalinar in Shardplate (helmet off). Kaladin next to a bridge on the ground (for WOK at least) Szeth in a dark hallway, (his own body) lit by stormlight with Jezrien's honorblade at his side. Rotating taglines with the three lines from the First Ideal.

I'm betting the fifth Prologue will be Gavilar's POV. The fourth Prologue will probably be a Herald (Taravangian would be very interesting though). Jasnah's POV when she get's "killed". Amaram's POV when he offers Kaladin Helaran's Shadblade and then proceeds to kill Kaladin's squad.

Windrunner. Go Kaladin! Nicely worded quiz, by the way.

I just re-read the scene in WOK when Kaladin is strung up in a highstorm for his "side-carry" bridge maneuver. It got me thinking about the Stormfather and what exactly he is. I'm sure this is basically confirmed somewhere, but the Stormfather is basically a "god-spren" merged with Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow, right? So in a sense, is Tanavast not as dead as we are led to believe he is?

Yeah I wouldn't necessarily agree with this. I think that "Broken One" could refer to either Honor or Odium given our current lack of evidence/information. Odium is clearly infuencing a lot of events on Roshar. He is ultimately limited in how much "reigning" he can do while he's imprisoned on Braize. However, there's clearly a lot of hateful/negative emotions on Roshar right now. On the flip side of that, Honor is influencing stuff too, although more indirectly via Tanavast's cognitive shadow, etc. So it ultimately depends on how you look at it until we have more evidence. (This is why I love Brandon's writing haha).

Yes. 100 times yes. I can't wait to see what his next move is (Probably some sort of an attack/move against Alethkar. But that might just be wishful thinking haha).

So I'm re-reading SA in preparation for Oathbringer. I'm really liking Dalinar's character/arc alot. This is the crux of his initial story idea (Hamlet setup except the son is a not-so-good ruler and the uncle has to decide how much power/influence to use and/or whether or not to rule the kingdom) and it's pretty evident. I think it's such a compelling idea though. Dalinar's arc is ultimately about sticking to your convictions despite what the rest of society might say (i.e. following the Codes and such in the book). I love the way it's presented though. It's a very nuanced discussion since Adolin often acts as a reasonable foil, calling out Dalinar's actions, but not in the same way as say, the other Highprinces. It's just a very compelling internal struggle. Obviously we (the audience) know that Dalinar is in the right (as we have evidence that a Desolation is coming and the actions he is taking are necessary for humanity's survival), but Dalinar is not certain of this. I apologize if this has been a stream of consciousness, but I just wanted to note my appreciation of Dalinar's personal struggle (in WOK especially).

My favorite character is Kaladin. I just love his character arc and what he represents. Kaladin swearing his third oath is one of my favorite fictional moments ever. My favorite fight is when Kaladin fights Szeth (I know it's cliche, but it's so awesome). It's such a cool fight to imagine. It's also a turning point for both of their characters (more so for Szeth since his entire worldview is turned upside-down with the presence of a real Radiant).

"Defying Gravity" from Wicked for any of Kaladin's flying scenes besides the Szeth fight.

Jasnah- I love her as a character for Brandon to write as it shows his skill as an author (and ability to see that there are valid reasons someone might have a different worldview than him). He (as a Mormom) took the time to learn about and realistically write an Athiest, without making her a strawwoman. I also can't wait to get to her book in the back five books. Yes, she's "important" as the King's sister and (probably) the most "aware" proto-radiant currently (except for maybe Szeth). We obviously haven't seen her actually do a whole lot (since she had to be removed from book two so that Shallan could have more development), but I feel like we're gonna see her have some Kaladin-level moments.

Ah, I see. So you think maybe Dalinar's role will fall more into the "background" once the Orders/Alethkar/People of Roshar are united? On a side note, this is leading to an existential crisis (haha) because Kaladin is my favorite character, but I personally identify with "guiding" more than leading. Although I would probably identify with protecting more than any of the other Divine Attributes, so I'm partially salvaged. I would also want Kaladin's powers haha.

Ah, that would make sense then. And yeah, "super-spren" was more what I was going for. But thanks for the clarification about Ishar's divine attributes. It just seems to me like Dalinar is more likely to be the overall "leader" of the new Radiants rather than Kaladin.

My question is: Why is Jezrien and not Ishar the King of the Heralds? We know that Jezrien is the Herald of the Windrunners and also King of the Heralds. Ishar is the Herald of the Bondsmiths. Both Orders seem to have an emphasis on leadership. However, based on Dalinar's character, it seems like the Bondsmiths should be the Order in a governance role. Obviously we don't know much of anything about the structure of the Knights Radiant as an organization. But given that the Stormfather/Honor chose to show Dalinar/Gavilar (the effective leaders of Alethkar) the way to bring back the Radiants, why would the head of their Order not be in charge of the Heralds? Dalinar also bonded the Stormfather who is one of the most powerful spren on Roshar (and one of 3? "Highspren"). If I'm looking at this wrong, please let me know. It just seems odd to me that the leader of the Order associated with governance is not also the King of the heralds.

Yeah the details are fuzzy in my memory, but I'm pretty sure the thing Elokhar keeps seeing is a Cryptic (adds to his paranoia, etc.). It's an interesting pairing though.

Elokhar has a Cryptic/liespren, right? (I'm currently re-reading WOK, and I forget what his spren exactly looks like).

The only thing I would say is that Dalinar (Bondsmiths) is being groomed by Honor/Stormfather for leadership/governance. I forget which attributes are associated with that Herald though.

Yeah you're right in that there hasn't been enough world building so far to re-forge Honor by the end of the first 5. But I'll be very curious to see how that shape sup in the back five. That's a very good point about Shattering a Shard being the coolest thing a Cosmere villain can currently do. I think Odium is the Big Bad for Stormlight as Sanderson wants the ten book cycle to be able to standalone (despite all of the ancillary connections to the Cosmere at large). But I totally think that Odium could and probably will escape by the end of Book 5.

I'm sure this has been brought up before, but here's a theory: At the end of Book 5, Odium will be free of Braize/whatever other prison he is currently in. However, Honor will also be un-Splintered (there's a better word for this that I can't think of right now). From a narrative perspective, this will give both the Radiants (and their allies) and Odium and his allies both a major victory and defeat at the end of the first five books. It will also create a really great springboard into the next five books. I'll add an asterisk of sorts to this. It might not happen by the end of book 5, but I think both of those events will happen by the end of the series for sure.

This would be very interesting. I'd be really curious to see how books 4 and 5 play out if this happens. I would guess that conquering Alethkar is somewhere on the Diagram (Isn't Taravangian's goal to eventually conquer the world to save it? Or at least that a potential goal of his?)