Crylorenzo

I think bad would be the wrong word, but I do agree that it is likely Destroy, if that is one, because the other ones have more to do with creation as a whole.

I don't think it's Hoid, but thanks for the reference. But I do think this is further evidence for one of the Dawnshards being "Unite" or "Bind" as Bliev said. I do wonder if Ishar had this power for a time as the Binder of Worlds.

Just a reminder, I'm almost positive that these are IN WORLD religious depictions of the Heralds, NOT what they are actually like. They are idealized and therefore given more perfect depictions than the drawings Wit gave to Jasnah for instance (which we haven't seen and likely won't until we get to Books 6-10 if we get them at all outside of the books (I'm positive we'll get actual depictions of them in book eventually, but again, not this time around). Brandon, honestly, for whatever direction he gave the artists, has accurately shown how otherwise normal people become idealized as they are worshipped.

Could the shattered plains be a result of Bondsmith+Dustbringer? Once that place was called Stormseat - perhaps a Bondsmith with a Connection there brought Dustbringer powered storm of some sort?

Both points duly noted and updated the original post accordingly. Thanks for the quotes Blightsong! And KSub, agreed that it's more about sound than music itself (though music itself has some importance at least on Roshar (Ryshadium, Pure notes). As for Cosmere-wide, agreed that it probably has more to do with frequencies.

Thanks for sharing! Very useful here!

All this definitely feels reminiscent of the Preservation congruence of right people in the right time conflux. Definitely Cultivation, the question is how?

Agreed - there are still so many unanswered questions and I feel like this gets somewhat to the root of it. I'm hoping that Dawnshard will get more into this as Brandon has said that it has some juicy tidbits for the Cosmere. Also, interesting to note that I will add above is that Dawnchant is a combination of light (Dawn) and music (chant) - good eye!

I like that idea, especially because we know that intent plays such a large role in cosmere abilities. Another thing from what you quoted that stood out to me is how Zahel comments on how he can sense them and justifies it by stating how they have come alive. We know from Warbreaker that drab and Lifeless can be harder to sense. Isn't the same true for deadeyes? I seem to remember Maya surprising a character or too in Oathbringer by suddenly being near or behind them without them sensing it. Does this mean that that the power/life has been stripped from them as well?

I, and I'm sure many others, have long suspected that music plays a larger role on Roshar than is explicitly said and that is is/will be one of the big reveals of a book that will suddenly help us understand what is going on a lot better. What better book for a such a reveal than one called "Rhythm of War" and feel like we just got in Chapter 15 some extra information so I felt like I would compile the definitive knowledge we have as well as the areas of speculation. Please help me add to these lists, both what we know and what you suspect. This can include Cosmere speculations, since I will be doing the same. Update: As has been pointed out, most of these have more to do with Sounds than Music. What We Know About Music and When It's Been Important in SA We have heard from the Listeners before about the music of Roshar which the humans are unable to hear. This ability to listen to the Rhythms allows Listeners to change form with a spren in their Gemheart during a storm. (Music and Stormlight?) Update: We know that the leaders of the Fused encased in stone were sing a song that Venli could tell was powerful. From Ch.15 we learn that the correct combination of light and music can attract spren to grow plants. Ryshadium attract musicspren even when there is no music playing. The Everstorm was created by chanting. Hoid's Flute (Music) is important and he can with it help/make a listener see the story he is telling (Light). Lightweaver's Ability affects both Light and Sound, (based on wavelength and frequency physics, I believe) Navani hears a pure note when Dalinar opens up the perpendicularity. Syl in her Interlude talks about the musicality of the storm, if I remember correctly. Update: Other spren, even deadeyes can hum to the Rhythms (we've seen Maya do this). There are probably many more and I will update this as I remember them or as others post things. Update: We also know that pure notes can be heard with Radiant Soulcasting. And chanting is used by ardents to do Soulcasting. In both cases there is the sense of harmonizing with other sounds. What We Might Speculate About Where/When Music Is Important in SA Roshar's landscape is an exact variation of a Julia set. I've often assumed this to be due to Rhythm of the planet creating such a mathematical formation. I believe this to be pre-Shardic and part of Adonalsium's design. Cymatics has been established early on as a possible explanation for why certain cities look the way they do. I've wondered about this being due to Dustbringers who I speculate based off of Malata burn things using frequency, potentially on a large scale when banded together. Another new potential explanation is that the Fused organically grow such shapes with Progression and they come out Cymatically due to the natural Rhythms of Roshar. This may also explain other patterns such as the Shattered Plains. Update: Could also be from chanting/music in general. We see in the Parshendi in general how the marbled pattern of their skin is unique for everyone and we've learned in RoW how the Fused maintain their pattern regardless of their body. Due to the prevalence of Light and Sound in Lightweaver, I've wondered if some or all of the other Radiant power can be explained by musical reasoning. For instance, as I mentioned, Dustbringers burning/disintegrating using frequencies and vibrations of resonances etc. Are Truthwatchers able to "listen" to the music of the spiritual realm or bring others into "harmony" with their perfect selves? Renarin can definitely do things with light and create a light illusion of a perfect self in the case of Moash. Do Edgewatchers "increase the tempo" of objects they are growing? Some of this sounds good to me as I write it and other parts sound like a stretch even to me, but I'd love input on this idea. Update: A suggestion that because sound creates microchanges in air pressure that that could account for Adhesion. Abrasion is in some ways the silencing of vibrations/sound. The "frequency" of Highstorms is currently not fully predictable, but what if it were with the right understanding of Roshar's Rhythms and their interactions? Is the Everstorm counter interference? Is the Origin the source of the music/Rhythms? Update: With all the new Fabrial insights we're getting, the metals, again, can be like tuning forks set to particular Rhythms. The cages need set patterns that could also influence the vibrations. Additionally, Logicspren can output certain frequencies it seems. Other spren in fabrials could account for the light/color connection. Additionally, we know that Honor supplies Stormlight - could Cultivation have more to do with Rhythm? We see how the combination of stormlight and music is so helpful in growing food, but only when combined. As an aside, could it be that Urithiru's Heart needs music/sound to help revive the Sibling? Does Kaladin's battle prowess have anything to do with hearing the Rhythms of battle? Or could his battle ability upgrade to hear this to then fight alongside someone as a war pair? The new Strength before Weakness t-shirt has me wondering about Kaladin and Venli and them being a war pair would be incredible. Now that I think of this, I want to see it so bad. Again, I'm sure I'm forgetting/missing things and I will update as people add ideas Light and Music In The Cosmere I don't remember any instance of music being magically relevant on Scadrial though I now wonder if the justification for metals always being Investiture relevant might have to do with them being Spiritual tuning forks of a sort. Update: Seekers hear pulses and it has been confirmed that they could hear the Rhythms of Roshar. In Warbreaker, sound and color are very important. We know that Awakening is used with sound commands up until the 10th heightening. We also know that people with lots of Breaths distort light around them to bring out the richness of colors. Finally, we know that color is important in Awakening, though we don't know exactly why it is necessary. Also, the Iridescent Tones in the religion based around the Returned in Hallandren - I always assumed both words to reference colors, but now I wonder about tones being a reference to music/sound. We also see certain painters being Invested enough to access the Spiritual realm in their painting and use of colors We know that Lightweaving is similar to Yolish Lightweaving, which I assume is pre-Shattering and from Adonalsium's original magic which I increasing feel is based on wavelength/frequency/music/arts? In White Sand, could Sand ribbons have any relation to frequency? Also, we see here that there is some color importance between invested sand and non-invested sand. Similar to how there are 3 realms, could it be that there is physical wavelength/frequency, cognitive wavelength frequency, and spiritual wavelength/frequency Update: We know Dawnchant to be a pre-shardic language on Roshar. Note its name: Dawn (light) chant (music). Coincidence? I think not! Again, I would love to add to this list of possibilities. tl;dr I see light and sound/music to a be fundamental magic system to both Roshar and perhaps the Cosmere as a whole with echoes all the way back to Adonalseum and I am trying to compile where we see it definitively and where it might be only hinted at. Thanks for reading and hopefully I get enough replies to further flesh out this theory. If someone else has already discussed this, I'm happy to be pointed that way as well.

Another thought as I've been pondering classifications - [The Emperor's Soul Spoiler] Is there any classification for people without a soul or investiture? A Type 0 if you will - a good shell for power?

"He gestured with his chin toward Syl, flying down beneath them as a ribbon of light. 'She’s what I now call a Type One Invested entity. I decided that had to be the proper way to refer to them. Power that came alive on its own.' --- So we know that Spren are Type I. Many people are of course abuzz with a discussion about the different Types now and how they connect across the cosmere. One question I have is how deadeyes fit into this classification (if at all). I have the feeling that this exposition is NOT just here so that we cosmere lore fans can have more to talk about, but because this knowledge is going to be essential in both fixing Maya and later on Urithiru. We now know that the Sibling is a deadeye and people have long suspected that it is connected to Urithiru. Now that we know about these classifications, how will this information come back to be useful in the narrative? I believe that as we understand these classifications better it will help us have better insight into how to fix or change certain Types. For instance, are Lifeless a form of Type II Entity that has been broken (or is incomplete in some way) similar to a deadeye for Type I? Is Nightblood a broken form of a Shardblade, but that somehow twists its power (instead of cutting the soul, it unravels the soul?) I believe we have seen another Type I Invested Entity become broken and then be fixed. Perhaps I am late to the discussion here, but I believe that we have in Seons in Elantris - For instance Ien, Raoden's seon - is a Type I entity. And once the Reod took Raoden he was broken (is there a Nahel bond here too and does that create a new entity? Where do Elantrians, Mistborns, and Mistings fit here?). Ien seemed to often try to seek out Raoden or be near him if I remember correctly. Deadeyes always try to find their blade. Ien was fixed when Elantris and the connection to the Dor was restored. Is there a connection to the power that needs to be restored with Deadeyes? What is the parallel here?

Another thought is where do deadeyes fit into this list.

Thanks for killing the theory! I'd forgotten about that quote. Like I said, it was a wild thought that morning that I thought of without referencing any WoB.

Brandon has said that the German covers are the ones that he has the least control over (and so are the least likely to actually portray scenes from the book), but assuming that this is from the book it looks like either a siege on Urithiru (very likely as this is likely a time when they'll finally discover the secrets of the Sibling and activate it or something like that) or Lasting Integrity, which may well come under fire either from the Parshendi or from the Ghostbloods? Either way, looks like a cool cover.

So a wild thought occurred to me this morning which is probably wrong, but I figured I'd throw it out there. Could Restares be Tanavast himself? We've always assumed that since Honor is dead that Tanavast is dead with him, but what if he found a way to divest himself of the Shard (and the Shard was killed), but not the Shardbearer? We know that it is possible for people to take up a Shard and give it up again if their natures are too much against it, could Tanavast have done something to change his nature to be dishonorable - to be opposite of the traits he used to espouse similar to how the Heralds seem now to be the opposite of what they once stood for? Restares seems to be the head of the group called "Sons of Honor", which could be more true than we realize. He would be a recognizable figure for Shallan (not physically, but in the struggle with Odium) for when she reaches Lasting Integrity. Speaking of Lasting Integrity, who else would be sheltered there but the old vessel of Tanavast himself, now broken and changed from what he once was. Now, obviously, if Tanavast were still around, wouldn't his Cosmere knowledge be better than what the Sons of Honor have? Only if breaking from the Shard left his memories intact, which it may not of. Ati we know had something of a memory when he appeared briefly before Sazed and Kelsier, but I feel like that was different than what I'm proposing. Anyway, this theory probably has no legs to stand on, but if you see any more evidence for or against, I'd love to hear it. Just a crazy idea I had this morning.

Hmm... If Shallan's Lightweaving abilities are tied to her Shallan personality and not tied to the Veil personality, does that mean that Veil and/or Radiant could each develop a different Nahel bond with different abilities? Not going to lie, that would actually be really cool to have 3 Radiants + in one.

That makes sense - I wonder then if this has to do with real DID things that he has heard/read about. I wonder if this change in perception affecting how they view the world is what happens to some people with DID.

From Chapter 13 we read "When she became Veil, the colors in the room… muted. The colors didn’t change, but her perception shifted. Shallan would have described those strata lines as rust colored, but to Veil they were just red." The color difference here should make anyone who has read Warbreaker thing of BioChromatic breath and it made me wonder what is going on. I heard someone else mention that maybe there is something going on like maybe she's a Returned. I wonder now if something like what happened with Susebron where someone gave her breaths, but maybe not enough to make a strong difference (not 50 enough for the first heightening(I know Susebron has a lot more - the connection I'm seeing is that if this happened, it likely happened while Shallan was very young). Could someone have breathes for so long and not notice it? If not these reasons, why do you think this detail is here? And why does it change when she becomes Veil? I came here less with answers and more to start a discussion I'm curious about. Thoughts?

I agree with this. The character is believable if we consider what happened in Oathbringer. While he had a triumphant fight bringing down Amaram and talking about being the spear that wouldn't break etc, immediately prior to this he had his 2nd breakdown of the book (1st when Elhokar dies, 2nd when he can't swear the 4th ideal). It's natural for characters to slide backwards a bit offscreen between books (because life as usual can lead to complacency). If you've read The Prydain Chronicles you can see how the main character there grows each book in significant ways and then slides back part way at the beginning of the next book only to surpass what he had learned in the first book by the end of the 2nd and so forth. I think we see the same thing happening with each of our main characters. And were all the chapters given to us at once this would be bad because we'd all by done with the book already (let's be honest) and we'd see his growth already and hopefully be satisfied. I wish we still got 2 chapters each week, but even then it's hard to see Kaladin so down and then think of him as down for a whole week while waiting for the next chapter only for the progress to be non-existant yet or minimal at best. But we'll get there and it'll be awesome.

Another thought I just had is that although Edgedancer may not initially be his best fit, it may fit his upcoming journey - we don't know where he's going storywise but we know he has some things to learn and ways in which he can grow.

Kaladin in his discussions with Syl also gets at this - it is the interpretation of the oaths that make the bond - they aren't rigid. He is listening to certain forgotten things (Maya) and remembering some who are ignored (Bridgemen and people of lower status who are normally ignored by those of higher status). Is Edgedancer his MAIN order best fit, probably not, but then again, if it were, there wouldn't be much of a journey would there?

Brandon does a lot of planning - I just assumed that that it was on his schedule to sit down and finish canonizing them, but I hope we do find out! It would be super exciting!

While I'm not sure if it will happen in this book or at all, there are bits of it that would make it satisfying 1. There is precedent/foreshadowing(if it happens) They were attracted to each other when younger. They have had repeat interactions where there is still A relationship (right now bad and lacking communication, but conflict is a fine place to start). As others have mentioned, both Lirin and Syl like her. Kaladin may say it "was never going to happen" but it's not an abnormal situation where two people who hate each other end up together 2. Laral has attributes for Kaladin similar to what Adolin has for Shallan Temperamentally they are actually similar - strong willed, stubborn, leaders, making the best of their situation, witty (and probably more) Laral has the potential to really understand Kaladin at a deeper level and recognize the true him. Laral has the potential to help Kaladin in the places where he needs to improve - understanding lighteyes and knowing he can't save everyone. Now, will it happen, who knows? I think Sanderson treats his characters pretty accurately according to themselves, so the relationship we get I think will be earned.

When I saw the livestream, I'll be honest and say I took his words to mean that he, Brandon Sanderson, will have finished canonizing within Dragonsteel and his own planning the remaining Shards, not that they were in RoW (though I will be happily surprised if I am wrong and they are there - I don't remember his specific words right now). I imagine if they are in RoW that they are mentioned in Hoid Letters or in his monologue at the end - if I remember correctly Hoid's monologue at the end is a scene that Brandon Sanderson has been wanting to write since the very beginning and is a big thing. As for you chart, I love the idea of using the Internal/External Push Pull method with 4 categories. Under change you have Preservation mentioned twice. Otherwise, I like your ideas!