Crucible of Shards

Yes, but I believe she says that since blood is one of the essences, the skill required is much lower.

My conclusion is that the Ghostbloods want a monopoly on the trade of Investiture. They want to decide who get it and for how much. Power+profit.

I think there has been to much character development for T favoring him holding Odium for good. Also, Brandon has already killed one vessel, so I don’t think he’s kill Odium’s vessel two books in a row. Shardic hot potato is not a good narrative decision in my opinion. In addition, I really don’t think that Vyre would want it. He is far too interested in being devoid of negative emotion To be interested in becoming the personification of passion. T is also a far more terrifying prospect of a vessel, and I think The Epigraphs from the letter heavily point to someone like T being the most dangerous kind of person to hold a shard. He’s also not going to fall for the same trick that got him where he is now, so we’d need a new way to kill him. Possible, but I doubt it will happen in the next book.

Venli’s story is about seeking freedom and power, realizing she was manipulated all along, and then being thrown into a situation where she is confronted with The lies and false promises she trusted in. Then, in RoW, she has to decide if she will allow herself to continue being swept along in the tide of Odium’s purposes while wallowing in guilt, or use what little power she has and put herself at risk for the sake of freedom. It’s not my favorite character progression, but I think I can appreciate it.

It’s probably important that when Moash stabbed Jezrien and the gemstone began to glow softly, Ash IMMEDIATELY knew that something was wrong. And she didn’t just faint, she knew WHY she was fainting. The Connection was severed at that point.

Starsight:

Depending on how rapidly the spren can alter their shape in order to induce movement, yeah, I can see that being quite effective. I’m curious about how much blowback it would generate.

I think there’s a good chance that it is a shard and that it is the balance for Mercy.

I just hope that two Bondsmiths can together create an Investiture/Surge feedback loop.

Am I the only one who though Jasnah was sending Wit to fetch ALL TEN Heralds like it was no big deal? At least until he came back? Just, “Ok, I’ll go do that your majesty.”

It was interesting to me that Navani used the word “wrongness” to describe the sphere, and Shallan also uses the same word when describing the tower before she expunged Re-Shephir. Possible connection?

I think the simplest understanding of the apparent inconsistency is that Casher has greatly expanded his understanding of Realmatics, and as a consequence he has added to and restructured his entire system. Just as real life science evolved from viewing cells as blobs of living material to understanding DNA, organelles, and cellular membranes, so has this scholar’s understanding of the underlying principles of Investiture evolved.

Or it could be a kandra

You do bring up some good points about native spren and the Fused having to divide their forces as well. At this point we don’t know numbers on either side of the conflict. However, their reincarnation gives them a unique advantage in taking risks. It will be less costly for them in the long run to take the long shot. When they reincarnate they come back at full power capabilities. The Radiants have to retrain, and Bondsmiths in particular are hard to replace. If the can also take out command staff, it could be devastating.

I agree that it would become pretty standard. That’s one of the advantages of springing an ambush. It has strategic and tactical consequences for the remainder of the Desolation. Not only would they have to commit a Lightweaver to keep an eye on the CR, but if Dalinar ever wants to use his perpendicularity with relative safety, he will ALSO have to commit forces to guard the perpendicularity from the CR side as well. It’s a division of forces that the Radiants may or may not be able to afford. Either way, it reduces the amount of troops they can field at once. Unless, of course, Dalinar stops using his perpendicularity in order to deny the Fused an entry point to the command staff.

I think it’s less complicated than you’re making it out to be. As far as we know, the Fused are still the major power in the CR, so they can go where they want. Dalinar has also acted predictably up to this point, so I don’t think the timing is a problem either. All the Fused need is to engage Dalinar’s forces and have a strike force waiting nearby in the CR. Unless things have changed, the only Elsecaller they have is Jasnah, and she’s not likely to be at a battle personally. Lightweavers are also not likely to be involved in a battle; that’s not their forte. The main advantage is the element of surprise, and I think they have it unless the Stormfather gives a heads up. From what the sample chapters have shown, Dalinar’s only nearby protection in the engagement is Rock’s daughter. She may have shards, but Brandon has not let us know how skilled she is with them, and we don’t have any evidence that she is a Radiant either. In my opinion, Dalinar is far too lax with his personal defense.

Oh, I don’t disagree at all that they can take Dalinar down without the perpendicularity. The point I’m trying to make is that the ambush I’m proposing could completely blindside the Radiants, and even if it is unsuccessful, it would force them to change their rules of engagement, as I listed above.

I’m not claiming to know the how. I just see an opportunity, and if some of the new fabrial tech we have been promised would allow the Fused to take out Dalinar quickly and easily, I can’t see them not taking advantage of the perpendicularity loophole. If the Fused have the means to permanently remove Jezrien from play, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to see this tactic having a chance. Besides, in the sample chapters it says that the Fused have previously tried an assault on Dalinar when they have the numbers. They see taking him down as a legit possibility. the sample chapters also say that keeping the perpendicularity open takes effort and puts a strain on Dalinar. By now they should be able to guesstimate about how long he can maintain it comfortably. They just need to pop out and disrupt him or wait til he’s had enough and pop out while he’s exhausted, but before he closes it down.

White Sand:

They can reincarnate so I see it as: 1. A way to potentially get close to a Bondsmith for assassination while he is distracted. 2. A way to deny the Radiants their source of temporary unlimited Stormlight. The second ambush would have much worse odds than the first, but even if the the first was a total bust, it would result in the Radiants having to commit forces to Shadesmar in order to prevent further ambushes. That, or Dalinar just doesn’t open up perpendicularities anymore.

I completely agree. The problem for the Fused, however, is that it takes Dalinar’s concentration to keep it open, so I assume he can close it quickly if he wants or if he is distracted by an unexpected attack. Even if the attack was successful, though, it could give the Fused an unexpected edge.

Is anyone else just waiting for Odium to send a strike force through Dalinar’s perpendicularly like how Kaladin and company popped out in Oathbringer? When he opened it in the sample chapters, I was just waiting for an ambush of Fused to jump out. I fully expect it to happen at some point, unless the Stormfather is able to give warning of enemies waiting in Shadesmar. Either way, I think it’s going to happen, even if it takes Dalinar being forced into a corner. Thoughts?

Seventh Son:

I don’t think the Radiants have to necessarily gain anything new beyond Stormlight efficiency/effectiveness because that’s all they get for the second oath. And they can even use surges before swearing an oath if they are a squire first. If they gain anything new, we don’t have any solid evidence as of yet.