Diomedes

I guess they go over to Odium by bastardizing their own faith in service of Odium much like the Sons of "Honor". Jasnah the Heretic is Queen, Dalinar (likewise a heretic) is commanding the Raiants with "false" spren as the SoH call them. I guess Restares is an Ardent high up in the church who will lead the majority of the faith to Odium.

I love that you guys quote pop culture for something being a common tactic . That being said I think that would be a bit too cheezy. There should be a trial for Moash considering he murdered Elokhar. Regicide should be punishable by death. A court martial scene were all the members of Bridge Four accuse Moash would be awsome. Maybe Odium wants to weeken Dalinars and Jasnahs position by having Moash revealing secrets in this public kingkiller trial.

Yes, he can, should have thought about that

He can move his jaw though that should be enough. Gotta second that.

I am sure Syl would quickly find a form to pull out the knife, a rope attached to the knife and to Kaladin`s mouth should do the trick.

Kaladin could pull out the knife himself, if the Fused left it there. The Fused would be deprived of his knife.

Yes you are correct, I misred that. Kal did fight half a dozen or so of them at once in OB though. yes, we`ll see. There was also that theory going around that those Windspren helping Kal would form his Shardplate.

The wind "helping" Kaladin is down to the Windspren, who are closely connected to Honor. We have seen this a couple of times. There isn`t necessariliy something special with Kaladin going on here. The more interesting question, why is Kaladin so strong, he can take out several Fused without surges? Remember these guys are ancient beeings who fought for hundreds of years. I think this is due to Stormlight derived from Honor simply beeing stronger than Voidlight which is a corruption of some sorts of Honor`s power.

Is it just me or did Brandon step up his game yet again? These chapters are so so well written and dense! I got the feeling this is gonna be his best book yet. Shallan does not seem do do well, bleeding from one persona to the next does not seem healthy. Kaladin has also not gotten any better. Lirin will see be impressed by Dalinar soon enough, just as Dalinar was.

Heretic Queen Jasnah dealing with the Vorin church Learning more about the Shin Seeing Adolin deal with the Sadeas murder and his anger management issues Learning about Plate The KR hitting rock bottom and still managing to pull through somehow (or not) TBH this book is gonna be a tragedy... I like reading those

There is some secret hidden in Urithiru we don`t know about but Odium does.

What about Urithiru in the picture? It could have been important for that migration. Perhaps it was created to facilitate the migration of millions of humans. It could be used as resting place and place to feed all those on the road between Shinovar and Ashyn. It should have taken a couple of weeks if not months before all the people are dispersed in Shinovar.

That`s my suspicion. Next book is going to feature the Alethi going over to Odium in large numbers. They have large experienced armies, a martial culture, lots of blades, everything Odium needs. This is somehow part of his plan.

We don`t know that. She does not kill a single soldier of Adolin`s crew. Her purpose seems to be to induce fear not fighting per se. Besides the attack on Urithiru was never meant to take the city. It was a diversion to draw troops and attention away from Thaylen. Keep in mind that most of the Alethi armies are stationed there. Dozens if not hundreds of shardbearers. Odium and the Ghostbloods are not omniscient. They are not aware of everything and they do make mistakes. Not really. She is still married to Adolin and almost would have been Queen of Alethkar if Adolin had accepted the crown. She is in a position of confidence to Jasnah, Dalinar, Kaladin Adolin. Likewise, they are not omnipotent. They can`t kill Jasnah, who operates agents of her own and who has powers of a KR unlike them. Besides you are referring to Kabsal? He is not exactly a skilled agent. He is some desperate guy they tasked with killing Jasnah. Just some cannon fodder they are willing to throw away. They are also keen on keeping a low profile. Torching a big library is a huge risk.

Shallan chased her off. Nothing detrimental to Odium`s cause happened or could ever have happened. This worked very well convincing Shallan and us that they are not on the side of Odium. Besides maybe they wanted Re-Sephir somewhere else. Because she is blackmailed with her familiy? Because she undergoes a significant change of character in the next book under the influence of the Ghostbloods? I could imagine so many reasons. Besides she does not need to kill her. Being an asset in the vicinity of Jasnah is enough. He said in a way that made it very possibly a forshadowing of future events ominously in the very last Shallan chapter of WoR. Could be nothing of course, but I doubt it. We do not know that much about Ash at this point what role she is going to play in the upcoming events. The heralds seem to have abandoned their original purpose. Nale is the best example for this. They wanted to know what kind of knowledge Jasnah had up to that point. Besides they wanted to make sure nobody else was having access to that knowledge. According to my theory have been controlling knowledge on Roshar for the last millenia. This fits rather well in that pattern.

Well, Odium noticed Sja-Anat wanted to change sides and ordered the Ghostbloods to bring her back. That would indeed spoil my theory, if they indeed knew. I am going to reread that passage. This could also come down to a communication error between Odium and the Ghostbloods for instance Jasnah has some double agent inside the Ghostbloods who gave Odium false info or whatever else. I am not yet persuaded to let go of my theory yet! @Karger Did they truly help Shallan at the expense of Odium? Seems like they want to recruit Shallan and draw her to Odium`s side as a Radiant and as someone very close to Jasnah who could actually kill her. Pattern said multiple times she would kill him.

I am farely confident I discovered the purpose of the Ghostbloods: They are Odium`s secret service a bit like the Kandra are the agents of Harmony. Let`s recap what we know about them They hate Jasnah and want to assassinate her by any means possible They are very powerful ( when Shallan shows off the Ghostblood insignia that lady was scared to death; they can seriously threaten Jasnah Kholin who is operating a network of assassins herself, but they are not powerful enough to silence her) They are worldhoppers They do not care about individual lives even in regards to their own agents ( Kabsals rather desperate attempt to kill Jasnah) They are very good at what they are doing (they keep a low profile and are able to maintain it, even though they are infamous in certain circles; they skillfully draw Shallan in to their ranks) They are interested in politics (they recruited Shallan`s father to gain influence in Jah Keved) They have a higher purpose (Mraize says so) They have a tatoo showing three diamonds overlapping each other A gigantic diamond is at the center of the voidbinding chart presumably signifying Odium, The three diamonds mean Odium`s domination over the other shards on Roshar Odium was trapped on Braize for the past four millenia. It is not possible for him personally to go to Roshar. He has a very high interest in influencing events on Roshar and setting the stage for the final Desolation. Ulim, the voidspren who was influencing Venli found a way to Roshar. If he managed to do it, people can hop on and hoff from Braize to Roshar especially if they happen to have millenia of expertise doing it and are operating in Odium`s interest. That`s where the Ghostbloods come in. They were recruited way back in ancient times to advance Odium`s interest in the entire cosmere. When the Knights Radiants ruled Roshar, they fled to other planets and built up support for Odium there. When the Recreance happened they immdiately came back to Roshar. They have been influencing events since then. Most importantly they keep Odium informed on what is going on on Roshar and give the Unmade instructions where to go and what to do. The Unmade are responsible for influencing events on a macro scale, inflating wars etc. The Ghostbloods are responsible for micro management: assassinating certain individuals, spilling secrets etc. They have been very careful to distort and control how history is being written. That is what got them on track with Jasnah. She was hunting down information and pulling threads together that the Ghostbloods where not able to destroy over millenia. Odium did not want people to know that the Singers used to be the Voidbringers. Likewise they have been keeping the location of Urithiru a secret. I imagine across the millenia somebody would have discovered a gigantic tower in a mountain range in the middle of Roshar. They have been silencing these people and influencing the closest villages. The same goes for the Listeners on the Shattered Plains who do not live that far away from Alethkar. Odium has a plan and he has been working on it for millenia carefully setting everything up for the perfect storm.

Can`t help but think that those invasions had some higher supernatural purpose that is going to be important in the next books. That one-off does not really break the pattern.

I noticed you can chart the nations of Roshar on a spectrum from warlike to peaceful from East to West. In the East you have the Alethi, clearly the best warriors of Roshar, Jah Keved is decent in matters of war. The Azir are bureaucratic and do not tend to fight that much. The Shin are the pacifists of Roshar. This can`t be a coincidence. Is there already a theory on this? Or did I miss something while reading? Edit: The Alethi are influenced more than any others by the Thrill, which would explain their warlike nature. This can`t explain the entire pattern however.

This book is going to be the darkest Brandon has written to date. It`s gonna be a tragedy. Shallan kills Pattern ( He said multiple times, she would kill him) and changes sides to Odium. The book starts with Adolin and Shallan having a baby. As the Alethi armies are reconquering Alethkar, they will commit multiple atrocities (this was forshadowed by Dalinar`s flashback chapters). This will cause a rift in their coalition between Dalinar and the rest of the Alethi. The old houses around Sadeas will betray Queen Jasnah and change sides to Odium. The Ardents will play a decisive role persuading them to betray the heretic Queen. On the upside a lot of Listeners will change over to Team Honor led by Rlain and Venli. Adolin sides with Shallan and the other Alethi. He will resurrect Maya, but his oaths will be bound to Odium like Szeths oaths are bound to Dalinar. RoW will be Adolin`s book. It will tragically describe his path towards Odium.

Yes you are: Racism implies the inferiority and superiority of one group over another. That superioriy is perceived to be bound to inherited qualities, that are unique to each group i.e. light eyes (etc.?). As it stands Alethi society is built on racism, which Adolin expresses here. As for Kal... He`s got some major issues with lighteyes in WoR, which led to him breaking his oaths. To some degree that was understandable given how he suffered under the system. However, I remember reading WoR being appalled at his hatred.

I like your theory. Kaladin`s name means he, who is born to eternity. Kalad means eternity, in being born unto. That would support your theory.

Dalinar has been loving Navani for decades, Kadash seemed like a good friend of his. Besides he does almost go over to Odium in Thaylen City. Kaladin has all of Bridge 4 deeply caring about him Teft, Rock, Sigzil, Skar and Lopen especially. And I believe lots of people in this forum are infatuated with Adolin and refuse to see the horrific side of his character. Yes, I believe Shallan in her hyperemotional state barely keeping it together and flirting with the Ghostbloods is likewise at risk. Pattern firmly believes she will kill him. But that`s for another topic. Edit: Venli will get flashback chapters next book. We will see wether she has always been terrible from the beginning. My guess is her developement will become more relatable.

That is what the text says. Adolin literally "snapped". It was not some kind rational decision or anything else. He has major issues containing his anger/ the Thrill. He almost kills Sadeas in a scene in WoR, when he was teasing him. Also this scene, where he gets carried away by the Thrill, brutally and recklessly (Adolin`s assessment not mine) batters down his opponent. Likewise, he mauls Kaladin wearing plate at the training grounds, which could have killed Kaladin according to Zahel, even though Kaladin had saved his life at the Tower! Because he is hurt in his pride as a Lighteye: This is a fine worldview, if you happen to be the one being put in charge by the Almighty. He doesn`t have "relationship problems". He is socially isolated having no friends and wrecking numerous close emotional bondings. There was no noblewoman that wasn`t adhering to that standard until Shallan came around? Among all the young people in the camps there was nobody that deserved to be his friend? I have a hard time believing that. liklier explanation is, that he is unable to form lasting human connection of any kind. That is a major warning sign. Pretty much this. Here is the best explanation I found by @bxcnch: "I always thought of Odium as uncontrolled emotion, not just hatred. A lot of the protagonists hate something, like Kaladin hates opression, Adolin hated Sadeas, Dalinar hates himself, et cetera, and while the character development - and thereby, their "career" as Surgebinders - has so far often involved overcoming this hatred, I don't really feel like that hatred has made them more susceptible to Odium. If Odium really was only divine hatred, then I think the story would play out a lot more like Star Wars, with characters needing to restrain themselves to avoid corruption. I think the overarching (moralic) conflict is less about "hatred vs. love", but more about "ideals vs. irresponsibility". The "good god" is called Honor, quite possibly the most vague concept of all the shards. What exactly honour means is a highly disputed topic with different answers depending on culture, time period and personal philosophy. In SA, judging from the magic system, honour seems to be defined as "making decisions based on higher values and ideals instead of one's own emotions". That is exactly what seperates the good guys from the bad guys in SA. Kaladin chooses to protect instead of taking revenge, Szeth puts the law over his own sympathy, et cetera. Meanwhile, Amaram warps and re-interpretes his ideals whenever they contradict his pseudo-messianic self-image and Moash just abandons all ideals in favor of "none of this is my fault anyway". The big step that would have made Dalinar a slave of Odium would have been saying "This isn't my fault". The entire war is a conflict between Honor (responsibility, facing the consequences, choosing to serve higher ideals instead of momentary desires - in short: acting like one's ideal self) against Odium (irresponsibility, doing things because you want to, acting out of emotions like greed, revenge, hatred or spite instead of higher values, not accepting that it's your fault etc.). In other words: The "good guys" are following values, the "bad guys" are acting out of emotion."

yes directly taking up the shard would, but having Knights Radiants around that are sworn by oath to his will does not. That way he can make use of that investiture without having his intent corrupted.