Rybal

Wait - are you suggesting that Plate is a result of an overload of investiture/Stormlight? That would be pretty cool and would explain its existence, since Stormlight kind of flows out of everything.

But remember, the three that were talked about were during a period just after the Recreance, so it is highly unlikely that the Voidspren would be one of those. Also, though I know that he's said that Eshonai would be the third POV character and that each book would focus on one of the different orders, there is nothing to say that the two HAVE to be the same. All indications from WoR show that the Parshendi cannot bond spren in the same way that humans do. Whatever method of bonding they use completely transforms every aspect of who they are.

Sorry, I don't have my book with me so won't have exact quotes. I agree with the theories that, just as Dalinar bonded the Stormfather, someone else will bond the Nightwatcher. I do not know who the third major Spren is that will be bonded. Personally, I think that the purpose of the Bondsmiths is to encourage their respective Spren to allow those subordinate to them to bond with humans. We've seen that the Stormfather and Nightwatcher both have a certain influence over specific spren related to their corresponding Shard. Also, it was interesting to learn that the PLACEMENT of the bond was pivotal to the formation of the Surges. (Side note: I still hold to the thought that Nohadon created the rules that currently govern the Nahel bond.) Although, now that I think about it, this is making me think of two other things. First, having three Bondsmiths who each bond a splinter Spren would give additional support to the theories that Odium was not one of the Three mentioned in the WoK epigraph. Additionally, having 3 Bondsmiths would also leave 9 other Orders, which would either result in an even distribution of spren (3 each) subordinate to each of those Spren or it would mean that it would be disproportionate. Regardless, if my theory holds true, it would mean that the understanding of spren that they have in the book is flawed, since there would then be three categories, rather than two. Anyway, feel free to comment - accept, reject, modify, etc. I'm looking forward to your thoughts.

Oh, I thought it was obvious that he didn't have a live blade. Of course, I was of the opinion that the Blades of Radiants who died do not stick around the way that dead blades do. I just wasn't sure where Taravingian got the idea that Heleran may have been able to Surgebind. Yeah - I was pretty certain, even on my first read, that he had figured out that Jasnah was a Surgebinder.

Really? I'd like to see that one if you can find it. This, I could get behind and support. I'm fairly convinced that the Listeners cannot bond Spren. It was their own songs, after all. Also they probably see the Spren as traitors (Stormfather, at least, is referred to thusly) simply because they seemingly chose Humans over Listeners.

I posted something like this last week on Tor's thread. (post 348) I was initially thinking along the lines of the ability to change even one's own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. However, after talking with people at the signing a couple nights ago, I realized that Soulcasting (at least the way that we've seen Shallan use it) has a certain innate similarity to Forging in general. For instance, during one of the earlier info dumps about how Forging works, we learned that the object, whether a window, table, etc, has to accept/believe that the Forgery could be the Truth (also similar to the relationship of Truth and Lies for Lightweavers). The closer the lie was to the truth, the easier it would be to create the Forgery. Early on in Words of Radiance, we watched as Shallan unsuccessfully tried to convince a stick that it was fire. Like with Forging, changing something to something completely different becomes more challenging. However, this makes me think that the Lightweavers' form of Soulcasting may actually be different from that of the Elsecallers. Considering the relationship of Truth and Lies to the Lightweavers, I would suggest that they have to convince the objects to change and to believe that they are different. The difference is probably a result of the interaction between the Surges. It would surprise me to discover that the Elsecallers' method of Soulcasting would be so problematic, considering that it is nearly always changing things from one thing to another completely different thing. I would also suggest that the Soulcasters that we see are based on the Elsecallers' method.

Initially, I'd think that he was not, since his blade obviously didn't scream at him. However, on my reread, I noticed a particular passage in the Taravingian interlude: That last sentence would suggest that, at the very least, Taravingian believed that Heleran was a Surgebinder. We know that Heleran went to find the Skybreakers, but we still can't be certain that he had those abilities himself. Any other interpretations for this passage?

My theory points towards Cognitive. That is based on the fact that the blades are in the Cognitive Realm when they are not in the Physical. Additionally, aren't Cognitive by nature?

It isn't so much that it is different factions so much as WHICH factions. In particular, Syl's general disgust towards the Cryptics puts the spren automatically at odds with one another.

I know that Kaladin has a certain level of attraction towards Shallan. However, there is a big difference between being attracted to someone and being able to have a relationship with them. He still has his underlying prejudice which would pose problems.

Well, at least someone DID ask it. That answer, paired with the one he gave me a few hours ago, makes me REALLY think that they are not native to Roshar. Thanks for pointing to that thread.

I've mentioned the parallel over on the Tor thread (and probably here, too). I disagree, though, and think that Shallan will not end up with Kaladin. I think that Kaladin will see how beneficial the two of them are for each other and stay out of the way. If Adolin screws things up, then maybe, but I think this one can work for him. I certainly agree with the comparisons of Kaladin and Dalinar. I think those have become even more emphasized as WoR went on. One of the biggest issues that I see with Kaladin and Shallan, though, is that I think that he still has a LOOOOOOONG way to go before being able to be in a relationship with a lighteyes. He still has a deep seated mistrust and prejudice towards lighteyes in general. He even has his difficulties trusting Dalinar, despite his own desire to do so. He's improved, but he's nowhere near ready yet. It would take until the second set at least for it to be believable, and that would make them considerably older. Additionally, there's the issue of their spren. Do you REALLY think that Kaladin would end up in a relationship with someone bonded to a spren that Syl wouldn't approve of? Honorspren and Cryptics really don't get along. Even if he could get over his prejudice towards lighteyes (which is reasonably legitimate, as far as prejudice goes), Syl would have to be involved in the process.

I was actually at the DC one. Glad to be of service. A followup to that question, though would be: "Are the Heralds native to Roshar?"

Considering that the Heralds have some sort of powers that we haven't seen without their Blades, it could be possible. I was just thinking that someone needs to ask if the Heralds were from Roshar.

I was there and I managed to record the general Q&A as well as the Reading if anyone wants to get around to transcribing. Otherwise, enjoy the listen. (You may have to turn your volume down - I was in the front row right next to the speaker) General Q&A Reading

So, the question that I ended up asking (during the book signing portion - there's no way he would have answered earlier) was: Can the Heralds surgebind without their Blades and, if not, do they have the same restrictions that others would. He almost didn't answer the question (I could tell a part of him really didn't want to answer), but then said "You've been waiting such a long time." (I was one of the first ones there) His answer (slightly paraphrased, since I didn't think to record it because I didn't expect an answer): The Heralds, without their Blades, are incapable of the powers that we are familiar with. That does not mean that they don't have special powers of their own. I did, however, manage to record the general Q&A section and the Reading (which was from an unpublished work). I'll see about uploading those to the Events page.

I will be at a signing tomorrow and I'm planning on asking the following question: Are the heralds able to Surgebind without needing their Blades?

It's possible you are looking too much into it. The definition of archive is: Usually, archives. documents or records relating to the activities, business dealings, etc., of a person, family, corporation, association, community, or nation. I think it is just the story of Roshar during this particular time period. Considering how much was periodically lost during Desolations, this is just the record of what happened during this one.

I think we're looking at Voidbringers in the wrong way. So much in Roshar (particularly in Vorinism) is based on symmetry and I think that the Parshendi are just one faction of Voidbringer, similar to the way that Windrunners are one Faction of Radiant. I would equate the Unmade as relatively equal to the Heralds in this hierarchy. (So Heralds/Unmade and KR/Voidbringers) I think that we've been pushed so hard into thinking of the Parshendi as the Voidbringers that we are also missing the big picture. I'm reasonably certain that it is at least a partial misdirect.

Elkohar is not a horrible king, but neither is he a good king. At this point, he is still very new to the position and is surrounded by people that are constantly plotting for a slight elevation over one another. He trusted the wrong people and didn't follow-up to see what the results of his actions were. At least he sees that he's not a very good king and wants to improve. I'll take that any day. Also, as for Dalinar not standing up for Kaladin, there are a few potential reasons why he didn't. (1) He already investigated and found all of those witnesses that supported Amaram - regardless of their accuracy. (2) He was caught off guard by Kaladin's demand and couldn't really do anything at that moment. (3) He couldn't risk standing against the king in a very public setting. He couldn't undermine all that he had worked towards because of the action of a single individual. Oh, and the Bondsmiths seem to be the most likely division to lead the KR, since it appears that they can initiate Nahel bonds. At least, that was the impression that I got from some of the epigraphs.

1. No - she was still alive (as far as I can tell), but separated from him, presumably by the Stormfather, given her conversation with him. 2. Yes, but it wasn't the blade that Taln had at the end of WoK. 3. We don't really know for certain at this point. 4. I'm convinced that the Parshendi/Parshmen are NOT VB and are strictly hosts. Based on the epigraphs, I'm fairly certain that the Listener gods are the Voidbringers and are probably the Unmade or Odiumspren at the very least. 5. After

Syl didn't have a negative reaction to the Honorblade, though.

Lukard and Khyrindor - those would be considered spoilers. Please hide them at the very least.

Brandon has said that book 3 would be Eshonai, 4 is Szeth, 3 is Szeth, 4 is Eshonai, and 5 is Dalinar. He has also said that just because a book is a particular individual's book does not mean that they survive until that point (using Dalinar as an example). (I got Eshonai and Szeth's books mixed up) For Dalinar's memories, we know he went to the Nightwatcher, but we don't know whether the memory loss was his boon or his curse (the fact that it seems to be such an obvious curse makes me more certain that it was his boon).

Honestly, I'd use a scene from The Matrix to support the explanation that his own perception of himself is the reason his scars are still there. Remember the scene where Neo first goes into the simulator. His real self did not have hair, but his digital self did. Even though he knew it wasn't real, his subconcious still gave him a full head of hair. I think that this is similar. Those scars became deeply ingrained into his understanding of who he was. I also tend to think that, were he given the choice, he would keep them as a reminder of who he is and what he's gone through. Also, as with the Parshendi belief that one should let their target know that they are coming when they are planning an assassination, Kaladin would be perfectly OK with showing off his Shash glyph. Imagine someone coming at you with a glowing "Dangerous" coming at you.