Bigmikey357

We got so much lore in the latest volume that things are still clicking in my head even a week after reading. One thing that really floors me when I think about it is the new information we got on Chaos' favorite Unmade. So it turns out that her capture screwed up Roshar in general, not just the Singers and their minds. It prompts me to ask a few questions based upon the new discovery. No answers yet, not even theories at this point, but do feel free to speculate with me. So what were the Unmade before their corruption? They were spren obviously, still are in fact. But what was their ecological niche before Odium came along? Whatever they were before, Bo's role must have been particularly important if her severed connection to Roshar both broke the minds of Singers and produced deadeyes for the first time ever. I'm sure they all served important roles but Bo's imprisonment seemed to have much more dire consequences than bottling up Nergaoul has. Sja-Anat speaks of the Sibling as her cousin. The Sibling would have become an Unmade had Rabonial succeeded in her corruption. From these 2 statements we know how Unmade came to be in the state they find themselves in and that the Unmade are least is on par power-wise with thbother Godspren. So the question kinda lies in the Bondsmith numbers restrictions. They can bond only 3, any more would be seen as seditious. Does that mean what I think it means? Is a Bondsmith capable of forming a bond with an Unmade in a way that gives powers like a KR? I have an opinion on this topic at least. I believe that Unmade existed as Unmade before Ishar formed the Knights Radiant and he left them outside of the Bondsmith order. At the time of the organization's formation there were only three uncorrupted Godspren left (SF, NW, SIB) and those were the only ones allowed to grant the same powers he had. But bonds to Unmade are still possible and still grant powers in a limited sort of way. I think Dalinar's scarred body still having full range of motion when it's not supposed to makes more sense in that context. Now if the marble drops and Ms Mishram is freed would that restore all the Deadeyes at once? Would it fix Roshar's afterlife issues or would she need to be remade first? Would she immediately begin handing out forms of power like candy on Halloween? Could anyone convince her to switch sides like Sja-Anat and if so would we be able to add a 4th Bondsmith? Have at it boys and girls.

We find out in RoW that metal is important Cosmere-wide, not just on Scadrial. And the crazy thing is that the more we learn, the more we see that GodMetals are no different, just hyper versions of what we find in the Allomancy chart. We've gotten 4 original GodMetals in the text so far plus Harmonium (ettmetal). Each one maps to an ability granted by either Allomancy or Feruchemy. Atium - Futuresight - HyperElectrum Lerasium - Grants Connection - Harmonium - Manipulates Identity - HyperDuraluminum Tanavastium - Severs Connection- HyperAluminum Raisium - Transfers Investiture- HyperNicrosil Edglium - Stores Memories - HyperCopper Trellium- Hides Investiture - Note that this list is both incomplete and likely wrong as cannonnical uses of these GodMetals likely aren't being put to their full potential. Further complicating matters is that Shardic Intent seems at first glance to be disconnected from what the metal actually does, instead being assigned an ability at random. Further investigation is needed, but since we now know 14 of the 16 Shardic Intents I think we're getting closer to the ultimate unified theory. If anyone else wants to weigh in feel free. You certainly couldn't do any worse.

I thought the title thing was Lezian's title being given to Kaladin.

I have a theory, short and to the point. Edgli is the Shard we see that stayed faithful to the agreement the 16 made at the Shattering. Her magic system therefore most closely adheres to what a Dawnshard does. Edgli also seems oddly confident about any future confrontation that may arise with Odium. Conclusion, Edgli has one of the Dawnshards and used it to create Nalthis and its magic system. And that is likely what the anomaly is in the Nalthian system.

So gold to take a hit, steel to make one unhittable.

Aren't all Kaladin's relationships with women start off antagonistic? He was annoyed by Syl, he argued vociferously with both Shallan and Jasnah, he insults Lyn, and him and Laral have baggage. I guess Tarah is the only girl he had a relationship with that didn't involve an initial wrong foot move, though with Kaladin we cannot be sure. For all we know he stepped on her foot on his way to bribe another squad leader and she threw a rock at his head in retaliation.

You would think that if his Oath was accepted then Brandon would have included some indication like he has with everyone on screen who has spoken an Oath. Where are their spren? Add that to the WoB that Skar isn't quite where Lopen is at the end of OB and that leads me to conclude that Skar is still a Windrunner squire. We have been told that squireship in one Order does not preclude one from Radiance in another. So he could become a Stoneward. Or he could become a Windrunner. Or he could just continue to be a squire. We don't yet know the path, we can only follow and see where it leads.

If what people are saying is true, if Drehy spoke the words then no he hasn't. But even if Skar spoke the words it doesn't mean that they were accepted. Lopen was speaking the words for days and he went unbonded still. The bond is a contract and if both sides don't agree it isn't binding. Is Skar worthy? I don't think any readers would deny his worthiness. But it's up to the spren to decide in the Windrunner order.

Yeah that WoB could have been deliberate misdirection. He's close to but not quite up to Lopen's level because Lopen has been bonded and Skar has not. So what spren has he been in contact with? We know the Honorspren have been observing but we also know the Cognitive world is looking at B4. Three confirmed Honorspren bonds, one of them the famous Ancient Daughter, one Truthwatcher bond, a renegade Listener, multiple squires and a boatload of honorable activities taking place. Radiance pops up where there are Radiants about.

From what I have seen, and in light of the WOB that Shallan's story was always meant to have some DID elements in it, I believe that we have never really met the 'real' Shallan. The girl who sailed to Khalbaranth looking for a soul(caster)to steal was merely her first crafted personality. To deal with her issues in her home she only really needed the one. Now that she faces world ending threats and insidious organizations her base Shallan persona was unequipped to deal with, she created a couple more. She's Cosmere Steven Leeds. I feel like her limiting her load sharing personas to 3 and being able to switch between them without strain or conflict is indeed a step in the right direction. That equilibrium is not enough to push her to her final Truth but it's enough to keep her from backsliding out of the truths she's already spoken. And to me, the fact that she's even able to pose the question to herself is to me a sign of progress. Remember she had to be forced to get her latest Truth. Pattern won't be able to make her say her next one. I assume that she's actually going to overcome this at some point. Do we have a theory on what that'll look like? Will we get total reintegration? Will she still be 3 ladies in one, each with a shadow Shallan director? Will she soulcast a body for each of her personas leaving her free to go draw beggars and barmaids on the Purelake? I look forward to seeing the results.

I got 2 impressions from reading this chapter. One, if Syl is accurate in her Bondsmith description, and we have been given no reason to believe she is wrong, then Ishar was and is incredibly OP. Two, whatever Shard or Shards granted Ishar such a wide range of power was incredibly reckless. I mean it grants a human the power to direct Gods. Power creep in the worse way. But if the Shards in system didn't grant these powers, could he perhaps have tapped into something left over from Adonalasium?

It has been said in legends that the Voidbringers of old could hold Stormlight perfectly. We know humans were the OG Voidbringers, what if that's a 5 Oath benefit? We have clues that live plate can be summoned and dismissed like the blades. If plate does indeed require Stormlight then summon when needed and preserve Stormlight. Risky but potentially necessary in a prolonged fight. We know it's possible for a Radiant to regulate Stormlight intake. In a Stormlight conservation move they may only partially heal an injury to put more power into their surgebinding. Or they may take in small sips of Stormlight IOT conceal their burn. I believe playing keep away and hide and seek is the only viable strategy for a Mistborn facing a Radiant. But with each Oath spoken that task gets harder by a great degree. And while I think the Mistborn can outlast a Radiant it's gonna be a close run thing, closer and closer as the Radiant reaches the pinnacle of their power.

The higher the Oath, the more efficient the Stormlight usage.

That is also a fair point. But that's why I brought up the point of the margin of error. If Vin is fighting, she beats anyone, I don't care who it is. She's a murder machine, and if you gave her the full suite of 16 metals + Atium + guns I'd give her even odds to settle for Odium, much less a mere Radiant. Kaladin got some tricks but nothing like Vin. However, what you're much more likely to get regarding the power scaling would be Shan v Teft. Now based on my criteria for winning strategies, is someone like Ms. Elarial capable of perfection? I don't think she is. Is someone like Teft capable of pressing their advantage in a competent enough fashion to defeat a Mistborn? Mostly, though the environment will matter to a much greater degree than they would against the very best. The way I see it, taking the skills of the combatants into consideration, if the fighters are equally skilled in their respective magic systems, Radiant beats Mistborn. If the Radiant is better skilled, Radiant wins. If the Mistborn is supremely skilled and the Radiant is average, it's a toss up. The Mistborn can only win consistently if they are much better than the Radiant. This is with plate of course. Anyone with just a blade facing a Mistborn is likely to have a really bad day.

First, I'm not claiming that Radiants are invincible. They can be killed, specifically when caught unaware or have run out of Stormlight. What I am saying is that none of the weapons a Mistborn would typically employ would have any effect on a Radiant with Plate on. The Mistborn can't effect the metals they're wearing because they're made of solid Investiture. Coins either bounce off or push the Mistborn back. And glass knives? Please. Now if you give them guns it's a different story, but either one gets guns or they get Atium. Narratively the 2 don't exist together, though there is no other reason for them not to coexist. Second, we spent Era 1 Mistborn watching Vin, arguably the greatest and most skilled Mistborn to ever live. She is atypical. Many More Mistborn will be at Elerial's skill level than would be at Vin's. So it's fair to use her as a benchmark instead of Vin. Look, Vin killed a Fullborn. Do you believe that any Mistborn could have accomplished this? Talk about overestimating. Third, Mistborn mobility is great but not insurmountable given the Surges. Some surges can match or surpass that mobility. Windrunner/ Skybreaker can outmaneuver them, especially in an open plain while Edgedancer can more easily dodge than many opponents a Mistborn would face. Note that the Atium advantage is greatly reduced airborne, especially if they're far away from their anchors. Other surges can negate that mobility. The Soulcast orders could transform their coins or their metal even at a distance. The cohesion Orders could move their anchors and throw them off balance, or even stick them to the ground. See Amaram vs Kaladin in OB. Now if one were to give Mistborn both guns and Atium without adding new abilities to the Radiants then their success rate would rise up to more than one time in fifty. The odds get even better with plentiful, difficult to move anchors, say a city block with skyscrapers. There are strategies that allow for a Mistborn to win a head to head contest with a Radiant. But the thing about these strategies is that they take time and multiple damage to accomplish, during which time said Mistborn must be perfect. The Radiant has a much wider margin for error. And often the most dangerous place in the universe is within Shardblade range of a Radiant in plate. We can agree to disagree if you think a pewter burn can tank a Shardplate punch and keep moving. Shardblade cuts are unblockable with anything a Mistborn may carry. All that means is that all it takes is one hit, one mistake for the Radiant to render the Mistborn dead or incapacitate him while nothing in the Mistborn arsenal can duplicate this.

Even a glancing blow with Plate can break bones. But anyway, Atium is a huge advantage to the Mistborn, it's just not an instant win against a Stormlight user, especially one with Plate. Even the best case scenario won't kill the Radiant outright, more work would have to be done. And Atium runs out fast. It's going to be quite difficult to hit that kill shot even once. If you have to make that perfect, one-in-a-million strike multiple times your probability of success is greatly reduced. We're probably talking Vin vs. maybe Shallan as 5 Oath Radiant as far as combat effective level for that Mistborn to consistently beat the Radiant. But truth is, most Mistborn are going to be at something like Shan Elarial's level of competency and someone like her is not beating the worst Radiant out there.

Hard to dodge when there's only one place to attack. Atium ain't gonna show a winning path unless the Radiant has no Stormlight.

Also a double pewter Twinborn or a double pewter spiked Inquisitor should be added to the list. No problem with your order of strength so far. Though I will note that in the case of Stormlight, a 2 Oath Kaladin cracked Shardplate with a running drop kick. That should factor in to the strength analysis.

Debilitating, yes. Instant? For someone full of Stormlight? Not so much. A coin to the eyeslit has a super low probability of connecting. The Mistborn has a much better chance with the dagger. But the dagger puts one in range of that stupidity long Shardblade. The Mistborn must therefore deliver their knife blow and move out of range before said Shardblade delivers a strike or a flailing limb connects. This is the scenario I'm thinking of. The fight has been going on for awhile with the Mistborn playing keep away and the Radiant burning though Stormlight in pursuit. The Mistborn taps Atium to move in close and attempt the stab. He gets in close and manages to stick the knife in, but the Radiant is sweeping that huge blade around. Is the Mistborn fast enough to dodge the blow? He has nothing that can block it so he must dodge. At this point there are a few things that could happen. One, the Radiant misses completely, in which case all is good. Even if the Radiant isn't dead they'll use up a great amount of Stormlight in healing a normally fatal wound. They'd still have their blade but their plate must be dismissed, opening up all sorts of potential weak points. Two, the Radiant misses with the blade strike but hits with an arm or leg. The Mistborn may or may not be able to follow up on their successful attack then. Even a glancing hit with Plate is strong enough to break bones. And while Pewter may allow them to keep going it's going to be hard to attack if the Mistborn took a hit that broke an arm or a couple ribs. Three, the Radiant manages to hit with that Shardblade which becomes disastrous to the Mistborn wherever they're hit. At best the thing kills a limb. Worse case, a spine or headshot and instant death. Meanwhile the Radiant has time and no pressure to pull out the dagger and heal the damage. All 3 scenarios assume that Atium shows a path to victory anyway. The problem is, one point of vulnerability limits attack avenues. The Radiant only has one point to defend, the Mistborn only has one place they can succeed. The Mistborn by contrast must defend their entire body and isn't necessarily safe distance wise depending on which order of Radiant he's fighting. If the guy gets hit with anything it could be fatal, whether punch or blade or surge. Thugs can only take so much damage. As someone on here succinctly put it, a Mistborn is a glass cannon. A Radiant is a mobile battle tank.

Here's the thing. First, there is no way a Radiant in armor is going to neglect protecting their most glaring vulnerability when faced with any enemy, much less such an obviously supernatural one, at least not by accident. Second, a Radiant in armor holding Stormlight isn't automatically dead with that knife thrust. Were I Radiant, I might even take that hit just to lure my opponent into Shardblade range. Third, how much do these opponents know about each other beforehand? If they are aware of each other's powers they'll fight differently than if they fight blind. I say that to say that in terms of surprises the Mistborn has much more to worry about than any Radiant if they're going in ignorant. But if they know each other's abilities whose to say that Atium Shadow would even show a victory condition? You might just get that perfect shot as a Mistborn but not from distance. You have to get into Shardblade range to do anything like real damage to an armored opponent.

To be fair, a Fullborn beats any non-Shard in the Cosmere that isn't Elantrian and in the center of his or her power. A Fullborn with Atium beats everything barring Shards, full stop. Compounding makes them beyond ridiculous, to the point where we must ask how big an army would you need to take one out.

Dustbringers according to Brandon are used like artillery for the KR. Arty means distance. I wouldn't discount Elsecallers so easily. Jasnah proves one can Soulcast at range and nothing a Mistborn can throw is breaking through a Soulcast stone wall. Willshapers and Stonewards can negate a Mistborn's mobility by turning the ground into quicksand. Even a Lightweaver/ Truthwatcher is going to be a problem for the Mistborn. If the guy has his tin on the Radiant can overwhelm his senses with an impromptu light and/or sound show. Chromium leeching isn't instantaneous. And if it takes longer than a second to drain that Radiant the Mistborn is dead. Despite their power and versatility Mistborn are rather low in Investiture per WOB. The problem any Mistborn will have versus a Radiant is that in any head to head the Mistborn must be perfect. They fight an opponent that has at least 2 'I Win' buttons not including surges. If that Radiant connects with Shardblade or a plate enhanced punch, kick whatever the least thing that happens is something broken or rendered useless. A pewterarm may be able to shrug off a broken arm or leg but all the pewter in the world wouldn't stop a Shardblade deadening a limb. Death soon follows. Not to mention the Radiant has auto heal, meaning that even with Atium there are very few one shot kills a Mistborn can perform against that Radiant. The Mistborn must be perfect to overcome their disadvantages and outlast their opponents Stormlight. The only reliable way for a Mistborn to kill a Radiant is when their guard is down. You let that Radiant armor up and get his fuel source and you die. And even that is going to be damnnation difficult if the guy's spren is watching.

The thing is, it isn't what us as readers knew at the time, but what the story participants knew. Given Dalinar's status in the story there's a good chance that he could have offered terms and made them stick. There's also a good chance that Eshonai could have been a good bridge between her people and the Alethi. We know this but the stakes were high. Desperate people have hair triggers and neither could have been certain that either party would be the one to provide the spark. Now I will admit that Venli had an ulterior motive in that she wanted to be the one who saved her people and gain the power as her just reward. That would have inclined her to disbelieve in the efficacy of a cease fire. She may have also felt that based off the way they treated her distant relatives that what the Alethi would have proposed would have been worse than extinction. Venli was by no means an unbiased party. Yet and still, 6 years of constant, no quarter warfare does not engender much in the way of trust. There are things I can fault Venli for but her decision, given what she knew at the time,isn't something I would give total blame.

There are issues with Parshendi surrender. The big problem is the Sadeas initiative. To any Parshendi point of view, surrender is the same thing as extinction. Then there's the issue of trust. Dalinar might have been able to make an agreement stick but there's a good chance he would not have. Remember the last time they met on terms they lost a king. The Alethi cannot be sure they would honor their word and thus take the opportunity to slaughter them all when they supposedly have their guard down, turn about for the king they lost. There can be no agreement nor even assurance of safety where there is no trust. The issue is that the Five at the time of the assassination knew that their actions could likely spell the extinction of the Listeners. They were willing to pay that ultimate price to keep Odium from returning, to keep the Fused from returning. But it's easy to have that principled approach in the abstract sense. It's much harder when that extinction level event is imminent and you believe you have the means to stop it right at your fingertips. In that case the songs of your ancestors may not hold much of a candle when weighed against your current circumstances. Venli had the means, the will, and the hunger for recognition to act in a way she thought would both save her people and have her be seen as her people's savior. Both things were important to her. She was a villain, but one with quite understandable motivation.

I think less scorched earth, more infiltration and conversion. See Venli and Rlain, use Renarin and his moving blindspot. Some Listeners will come to the Honor side because they won't want to be a host to the Fused. Some will choose Honor for the promise of power, or the possibility of becoming Nesua Kadal, something denied them previously. Odium's forces aren't as monolithic as they seem from the outside and Dalinar has a dream pipeline to their biggest propaganda agent. There are ways to win that don't turn Roshar into another Ashyn.