Observer

Ivory was capable of carrying a sword, so I'd guess that he just uses his whole body to make a black blade of misery, probably potent enough to damage a spren. Also, and I have to emphasize this: Jasnah was scared to death of the Desolations coming and not having been able to stop it, so I highly doubt she took any intentional detours beyond the strictly necessary ones, which I can see talking to the Highspren as.

So far it seems that Sazed has reached a "zen state" with his Shards, and with the ball rolling that way, I doubt it'll change directions. If anything he'll just find himself totally unable to act without first venting off a chunk of one Shard, something he is already doing. Really I'm just glad that he's taking the chance to study the Cosmere, and that he's so crazy powerful that nobody seems to want to hurt little Scadrial.

So....somebody had a plan to beat the Voidbringers, it involved Bondsmiths the workings of the Heralds themselves. Oathpact anybody?

In terms of what we've seen Hoid do and what we've seen Mraize/The Ghostbloods do, as well as the Seventeenth Shard's desire to just let Odium respawn-murder the whole Roshar system, I'd say he's as close to benevolent as we've seen.

Dalinar goes to the battles on the plains, but only rarely, and always at the back as a tactician. This would be face-to-face parley with a Shardbearer, and also possibly Szeth on the way as well for all they know. Not sure about you, but with what they know of the Parshendi's messed up ways, it doesn't seem implausible for them to just Shardblade Dalinar and run. Even if they gave him Plate and Blade there, it's still an enemy Shardbearer with an unknown number of soldiers, motivation, and again, possibly an invincible assassin. It's not a foolproof plan, hence leaving Kaladin back with him in a more defensible position, but I can see why they don't want to risk their leader out there in the unknown. EDIT: And yes, I'm pretty sure Syl would have noticed something very very wrong with Eshonai if they'd met, and I think Eshonai might have been able to see Syl as well. From a Doylist perspective, something I'd rather avoid, it seems like it would have tipped them off that something was wrong. Again though, I can see why they wouldn't want to risk their most valuable on something like this.

If we knew more about Adonalsium, it would help. Hoid talks to Dalinar about how, if you take a thing apart and piece it back together, it likely won't be the same as it once was. This makes the most sense if Adonalsium wasn't all that bad, and Hoid is against the reassembly. He himself sits outside of the spectrums of any planet's morality, hence the world burning comment. On each Shardworld, the Shards tend to influence the idea of "good". On Scadrial, surviving, Kelsier's mandate, is the goal, in line with Preservation. However, the things we were okay with Elend doing would be "evil" on Roshar, because Honor sits there. Hoid is totally outside any of those Shardworld's influences, and whatever it is he wants, he's telling Dalinar that is doesn't line up with the Rosharian goals, and he'll gladly kill them all if that's what it takes, because one measly planet isn't worth the whole Cosmere (Honestly this is an odd contrast, seeing as he's opposed to letting Rayse run free in there). I doubt he's the main antagonist. Yes, he may be a problem, and obstacle. At the end of the day however, he seems to be easily the most benevolent of any of the worldhoppers, though his goals are obviously questionable enough to warrant everybody chasing him down.

I can't help but wonder if Taln's bond to his blade was reset when he landed on Roshar. I mean, Odium has been shredding him for a loooooooong time, and I don't find it completely inconceivable that the transition/torture would break the 'bond', or that they wouldn't even appear with it in hand. Also, if Hoid didn't switch the blades, who did? Was it the guard? Honestly I think somebody should ask Brandon if Hoid ever interacted with the cleaver blade, or if he was the one to put it there. In the event it isn't true, I can see Nazh snagging the blade the moment Hoid was gone and swapping it out for another one.

Looks like I've been beaten to the punch, once again :\ Am I the only one interested in the way Bondsmiths had sole authority over Herald-related things? Or the way the author sees the Dustbringers as similar to the Voidbringers? From what we see in WoK, they seem to do a lot of blowing stuff up.

I think we have WoB that Ranette is lesbian, but I'm not sure if it applies to Steris at all. I don't trust myself to say anything more on the subject, so I'll leave it to the others.

I feel like I should be offering some audio refutation but....I can't see anything through the tears of joy. That was fractally perfect. It just- I don't- . While I'm busy crying at my desk, I'll leave the suggestion of bamboo warriors left to act and fight as me. - Collected on the twenty-seventh of March, 4:30. Subject's eyes were smoking and shriveled, surrounded by water vapor.

I'm making this thread out of pure and total selflessness, for the good of all, and certainly not because I'm tried of fishing for quotes. Posted here will be all the Words of Radiance epigraphs in chronological order, instead of the scrambled mess shown in the book. From here, we can hopefully get a better feel for the book and possibly gain a better understanding of what the heck it's saying. Postscript: Huh, it looks like page number refers to how far into the chapter it is rather than actual position in the book. That's....kind of annoying. Chapter 2, page 8: "But as for Ishi'Elin, his was the part most important at their inception; he readily understood the implications of Surges being granted to men, and caused organization to be thrust upon them; as having too great power, he let it be known that he would destroy each and every one, unless they agreed to be bound by precepts and laws." Chapter 5, page 17: "And thus were the disturbances in the Revv toparchy quieted, when, upon their ceasing to prosecute their civil dissensions, Nalan'Elin betook himself to finally accept the Skybreakers who had named him their master, when initially he had spurned their advances and, in his own interests, refused to countenance that which he deemed a pursuit of vanity and annoyance; this was the last of the Heralds to admit to such patronage." Chapter 6, page 2: "As to the other orders that were inferior in this visiting of the far realm of spren, the Elsecallers were prodigiously benevolent, allowing others as auxiliary to their visits and interactions; though they did never relinquish their place as prime liaisons with the great ones of the spren; and the Lightweavers and Willshapers both also had an affinity to the same, though neither were the true masters of that realm." Chapter 7, page 1: "And now, if there was an uncut gem among the Radiants, it was the Willshapers, for though enterprising, they were erratic, and Invia wrote of them, “capricious, frustrating, unreliable,” as taking it for granted that others would agree; this may have been an intolerant view, as often Invia expressed, for this order was said to be most varied, inconsistent in temperament save for a general love of adventure, novelty, or oddity." Chapter 8, page 6: "They also, when they had settled their rulings in the nature of each bond's placement, called the name of it the Nahel Bond, with regard to its effect upon the souls of those caught in its grip; in this description, each was related to the bonds that drive Roshar itself, ten Surges, named in turn and two for each order; in this light, it can be seen that each order would be necessity share one Surge with each of its neighbors." Chapter 11, page 6: "Now, as the Truthwatchers were esoteric in nature, their order being formed entirely of those who never spoke or wrote of what they did, in this lies frustration for those who would see their exceeding secrecy from the outside; they were not naturally inclined to explanation; and in the case of Corberon’s disagreements, their silence was not a sign of an exceeding abundance of disdain, but rather an exceeding abundance of tact." Chapter 12, page 12: "Malchin was stymied, for though he was inferior to none in the arts of war, he was not suitable for the Lightweavers; he wished for his oaths to be elementary and straightforward, and yet their spren were liberal, as to our comprehension, in definitions pertaining to this matter; the process included speaking truths as an approach to a threshold of self-awareness that Malchin could never attain." Chapter 13, page 1: "Now, as each order was thus matched to the nature and temperament of the Herald it named patron, there was none more archetypal of this than the Stonewards, who followed after Talenelat'Elin, Stonesinew, Herald of War: they thought it a point of virtue to exemplify resolve, strength, and dependability. Alas, they took less care for imprudent practice of their stubbornness, even in the face of proven error." Chapter 16, page 14: "But as for the Bondsmiths, they had members only three, which number was not uncommon for them; nor did they seek to increase this by great bounds, for during the times of Madasa, only one of their order was in continual accompaniment of Urithuru and its thrones. Their spren was understood to be specific, and to persuade them to grow to the magnitude of the other orders was seen as seditious." Chapter 17, page 11: "And when they were spoken of by the common folk, the Releasers claimed to be misjudged because of the dreadful nature of their power; and when they dealt with others, always were they firm in their claim that other epithets, notably “Dustbringers,” often heard in the common speech, were unacceptable substitutions, in particular for their similarity to the word “Voidbringers.” They did also exercise anger in great prejudice regarding it, though to many who speak, there was little difference between these two assemblies." Chapter 20, page 12: "When Simol was informed of the arrival of the Edgedancers, a concealed consternation and terror, as is common in such cases, fell upon him; although they were not the most demanding of orders, their graceful, limber movements hid a deadliness that was, by this time, quite renowned; also, they were the most articulate and refined of the Radiants." Chapter 21, page 10: "Yet, were the orders not disheartened by so great a defeat, for the Lightweavers provided spiritual sustenance; they were enticed by those glorious creations to venture on a second assault." ((and also:)) "These Lightweavers, by no coincidence, included many who pursued the arts; namely: writers, artists, musicians, painters, sculptors. Considering the order’s general temperament, the tales of their strange and varied mnemonic abilities may have been embellished." Chapter 28, page 3: "There came also sixteen of the order of Windrunners, and with them a considerable number of squires, and finding in that place the Skybreakers dividing the innocent from the guilty, there ensued a great debate." ((and also:)) "The considerable abilities of the Skybreakers for making such amounted to an almost divine skill, for which no specific Surge or spren grants capacity, but however the order came to such an aptitude, the fact of it was real and acknowledged even by their rivals." Chapter 30, page 18: "So Melishi retired to his tent, and resolved to destroy the Voidbringers upon the next day, but that night did present a different stratagem, related to the unique abilities of the Bondsmiths; and being hurried, he could make no specific account of his process; it was related to the very nature of the Herald and their divine duties, an attribute the Bondsmiths alone could address." Chapter 32, page 17: "In short, if any presume Kazilah to be innocent, you must look at the facts and deny them in their entirety; to say that the Radiants were destitute of integrity for this execution of one their own, one who had obviously fraternized with the unwholesome elements, indicates the most slothful of reasoning; for the enemy’s baleful influence demanded vigilance on all occasions, of war and of peace." Chapter 35, page 9: "Twenty–three cohorts followed behind, that came from the contributions of the King of Makabakam, for though the bond between man and spren was at times inexplicable, the ability for bonded spren to manifest in our world rather than their own grew stronger through the course of the oaths given." Chapter 38, page 6: "Now, as the Windrunners were thus engaged, arose the event which has hitherto been referenced: namely, that discovery of some wicked thing of eminence, though whether it be some rogueries among the Radiants’ adherents or of some external origin, Avena would not suggest." ((and also:)) "That they responded immediately and with great consternation is undeniable, as these were primary among those who would forswear and abandon their oaths. The term Recreance was not then applied, but has since become a popular title by which this event is named." Chapter 38, page 20: "This act of great villainy went beyond the impudence which had hitherto been ascribed to the orders; as the fighting was particularly intense at the time, many attributed this act to a sense of inherent betrayal; and after they withdrew, about two thousand made assault upon them, destroying much of the membership; but this was only nine of the ten, as one said they would not abandon their arms and flee, but instead entertained great subterfuge at the expense of the other nine." I'll save the bulk my own speculations for later, since this post is already larger than I would like it to be. So, what do you think? Chapter 38 gives some interesting insight into what happened during the Recreance, chapter 30 talks about the spren of the Bondsmiths, and abilities they have regarding the Heralds, and chapter 17 makes a Dust-Voidbringer connection that I personally find very interesting. So again: What do all of you think?

Check RShara's post about 2 above you. She's basically got this quote nailed down to the floor, squirming and wriggling but mostly defeated and I'm not sure where I'm going with this.

I doubt Jasnah would have gone anywhere near Braize as things stand. It's just too stupid a move for her to take all on her lonesome and feeling like she has an important mission. Plus, we already know of a number of ways burns can be caused. Heck, using Stormlight creates frost, I wouldn't be surprised if highspren could cause some scorching. Totally agreeing with how they'd act near a binder, by the way. Odds are it wasn't her they were after though. My guess is that they wanted Ivory for breaking the laws, something Jasnah wouldn't allow.

I've just noticed this worldhopper Nazh. He's an odd one, flitting about, sneaking in and retrieving things that he shouldn't be taking. Obviously powerful and working for somebody even more so...

I would upvote you twice if I could, that is a brilliant catch! Killed promise, saved life? That's basically a dead ringer, and I mean it in the least punny way possible. EDIT: Welcome to the Oldbloods, by the way. Leave your guard patch at the door.

The perfect end of days scenario. I bet nobody has thought of it before. Dangit, beaten to the punch. You know what? I'd like to keep around a full Mistborn, so I could make Koloss-zombie minions under duralumin-control. Nothing could touch me then. 'Cept of course said Mistborn, who I need to keep controlled with friendship and threats of telefratricide.

Hahaha, but Kings Tester is the exact words used to describe Vargo's men. Also, I'm a Ghostblood now at 428.

Huh, yeah. You'd basically have already-animate and protected minions fresh and ready. It's like, the drive-thru of necromancy.

I assume that zombies count as being alive, since they're still thinking and still animate. Willing to bet sufficiently powerful Regrowth could go a long way if enough cognitive power was used. I suggest we heal the zombies only halfway, leaving them dead enough to blend in and ignore pain, but sentient enough to work with us. We can even donate to them our excess.....stuff....so as to keep them happy. Symbiosis with zombies everybody, welcome to the new world.

Except when they're Highprinces. I somehow went from renowned artifabrian, making Shardtanks and such, to barely surviving suicide by string and rock. Where did my life go so wrong?

What if, now that all ten Heralds are on Roshar and nine of them have given up, he technically isn't one anymore? The Oathpact is no longer in play, and I can't help but wonder if the fragile strings allowing it to hold up with just one guy haven't completely broken, forever. I guess what I'm saying is that they're no longer the champions of Honor, and Taln may not really be a Herald anymore.

I understand, Jasnah-ght as much as I'd like to. I Syl don't know if doing this Kandra thing and never breaking is right. Still, this thread has been Delightful, and the puns are going Swimmingly, as I've Observed. I Quiver at the thought of having to give it all up, so if you don't mind me being Ko-bold, I suggest that we stop pounding the same lait for risk the Po-ridge going to Bricks faster than this flattery. Instead, we should fill the Voidus we've been leaving in more eloquently punny sentences.

I doubt there's anything in the Cosmere that Odium can't grab the Spiritual Aspect of and run through a shredder. Shards just happen to be unkillable through every other means. I assume it means that he wouldn't waste time breaking Hoid's body, since he can heal that. He'd just cut to the chase and rip up his Spiritual to cause a permadeath.

I've always seen it as a Lighteyes thing, since a last name is speeeeecial. Dalinar gets called by his first name because the king's already stolen that one, and because nobody actually likes him or something like that.

I think the latest WoB is saying that the blurbs and the AA aren't the same. It's hard to tell without a direct quote, but I'm guessing it's all compiled by various people like Nazh, and then finalized by the same person. This person has definately been alive since Yolen, and has lived through all of the books, ruling out Jasnah and basically every other main character candidate other than possibly Vasher. I have no idea when White Sand takes place, so I can't give an opinion on it being Khriss, but it could also be Nazh, even if he does seem like the kind of person who wouldn't want to write the AA. I won't rule out a Shard either, since they tend to study the Cosmere as well. My money is on the head of the Seventeenth, whoever they may be. They pencil Hoid in as "A mystery yet to be solved", oddly enough, a fact I find curious. Whatever, I'm rambling. I'll stop.