Ethrien

I'm fairly certain the Emuli are one of the races that worship the Heralds as outright gods, not just vessels of the Almighty. It's highly likely that the phrase in question is just a generic prayer to their head god, and much as Christians don't expect God to be standing by ready to cosign their testimony when they swear to 'tell nothing but the truth, so help me god', they don't need Jezrien to be standing there to praise him for his choice in a new Prime. The line referring to Yaezir is all one sentence, separate from any reference to the new Prime. The use of 'Kadasix' in Basil's interlude, and Darkness in the Lift chapter all very well establish the 'Kadasix' = 'Herald' idea. Steelhunt Quotes Oh also assuming the information on this page is accurate (I can't access the TWG archives to check) Y and J are interchangeable in the Alethi Script meaning Yaezir = Jezrien is a closer phonetic match than first appears.

Argent has probably hit the Soulcasting part on the head. If he wanted to make a hole in the wall he really only had five choices; blood and oil if he doesn't care about being soaked in blood or oil; fire which in close confines could be a risky choice (can Soulcasters be burned by their own fire?), and air or smoke. We've also seen Jasnah use the stone to smoke conversion, ruining a hallway of fine art/carpets, so presumably there is something 'wrong' with the stone-to-air conversions. Air being less dense than both smoke and stone might have created a powerful enough shock-wave to knock him off his feet, completely ruining his dramatic exit.

They don't tell lies, however if some tenant of Stone Shamanism refutes the notion of Surgebinders, or Heralds or something else that Szeth proves simply by existing, then he would be living proof that Stone Shamanism is in some regards false. And therefore to allow the continuation of Stone Shamanism, the brand of 'truthless' marks his very existence a lie.

That's almost definitely they way its meant to be taken, however whats interesting is that it's a Shin sailor. For everyone else the epigraph is an almost involuntary thing, why/how this Shin is able to objectively decided to not speak is of interest as well as the connections between 'truths' and 'truthless'. The Shin refuses to speak the 'truths' he sees, which truths? Well given the nature of the epigraphs, its almost certainly something relating to the Final Desolation, and therefore a truth about Vorinism. Its not much but you could take it as a small look into Stone Shamanism. Szeth is 'truthless' which seems a fancy way of saying liar. If a truth of Stone Shamanism was that the Desolations and by extension the Vorin gods, the Radiants and the Voidbringers are false, then Szeth as a Surgebinder is an affront to that truth and his entire existence deemed a lie. We say his kind doesn't exist therefore he doesn't exist, therefore he is 'truthless'.

Shardlet not quite sure what you mean. Their troop size was estimated at 30000, with armies of about 10000 being sent of plateau runs. The Alethi estimates allow for a second army, the surprise is the change in tactics in bringing a second army, mimicking the Alethi. Dalinar is more surprised that they haven't been doing this from the start, the Parshendi are not limited by bridges like the Alethi, they could easily bring in and maneuver the larger force and have crushed the individual highprinces from the get go. I think its possible they have been avoiding this to discourage the individual highprinces from joining forces. From the Parshendi point of view, if their enemies don't want to work with each other that's wonderful; they're not going to mess that up by bringing in two armies to slaughter one highprince and give the remaining 9 warcamps a reason to work together. name_here Thanks for reminding me about the distribution of gemhearts, if only 1/10 is actually a emerald then the Parshendi would need to compete for every single one in order to have any chance of making 2 gemhearts in a month. I don't quite agree with you on the actual numbers of their civilian population though. This is a society capable of physically transforming any member into an Soldier. There is no reason for them not to keep the vast bulk of their population in Warform, other than the few truly incapable of fighting. There is evidence of this throughout Eshonai's interlude, they have a hall of art where they are trying to attract Creation Spren, it is staffed almost entirely by soldiers despite the fact they are the worst at art. When Eshonai refelects on the advantages of the different forms, Thin form is given as being the best at art however "Few could be spared for that form" If their civilian population really outnumberd the soldiers to such a degree it shouldn't be an issue finding a few dozen people willing to try painting instead of farming. Most likely the majority of the population sits in Warform and helps in domestic work when they're not needed for fighting, with only a few dedicated workers that could be on rotation, similar to a shore leave system.

I imagine that the power of gemstones in relation to their size, increases exponentially. So a single large gemheart is worth far more than individual gemhearts of equal mass. As such if you were to cut into the gem heart with a Shardblade you would simply be throwing your money away. Which might explain why the Parshendi and Alethi do use hammers to get the heart out, when a blade would be so much quicker.

Hmm I certainly like the sound of it, but as people have said it'll be difficult to organize the timing between shipping delays and readers that don't want to wait. Since I'm in Australia I'll probably be waiting at least 2 weeks if I order an American Edition. Maybe instead we could set up a series of separate forum posts for discussing the book up to a designated chapter/part i.e. one topic for everything before the first set of interludes, one for everything before the second etc. It gives everyone an area to discuss information and opinions from other people while avoiding spoilers on future sections.

So on a recent reread of WoK's a small part stood out to me. So we know from the Eshonai interlude that the Parshendi are indeed using Gemhearts for food, as well as farming Rockbuds. So the Parshendi need the gemhearts to eat, this particularly strikes me as odd. The war on the Shattered plains has been going for six years at this point. In the book it states that the larger the gem the less likely it was to shatter when used for Soulcasting; the enormous gemhearts are described by Dalinar as offering near limitless potential. If the breaking of gems were the result of trying to Soulcast overly large items, and could be prevented by being reserved in what you attempt to Soulcast, then at this point the Parshendi would have six years of gemhearts and essentially unlimited stormlight. Therefore lets assume the breaking of a gem is a foregone conclusion, something that occurs randomly or as a result of cumulative damage from use. A single gemheart is still enough for a highprince to pay and feed his troops for months and since the primary value for gems (outside being an unforgeable currency) is Soulcasting it seems unlikely that a gemheart would sell for more than what the buyer could get back through Soulcasting. Sadeas and Dalinar each committed over 7000 troops to the battle at the Tower, since this was just what they could muster at short notice it stands to reason each has at least 10000 troops total. If we assume that Sadeas upper estimate of 30000 Parshendi troops is accurate and given that not many Parshendi are spared warform then that leaves us with about 40000 mouths to feed. This means the Parshendi would only need around two or three gemhearts each month in order to feed their entire population. Towards the end of the book (ch59) Teft makes the comment that "with Sadeas and Kholin working together, runs happen nearly every day." With 5 days to a Roshar week and 10 weeks to a month, thats 50 days overall, if a run happens only every second day that is still 25 gemhearts a month. In summary 1 Gemheart = At least 2 Months of food and wages for a single army 1 Army = 10000+Troops Parshendi = 4 Armies worth (30000 Troops plus unknown but small number of Civilians) Gemhearts/month the Parshendi need = 2 - 3 Total Gemhearts/month = >25 (Almost one a day * 50 Days to a Roshar Month From this the Parshendi would only need to win less than 1/8th of the possible gemhearts each month. Yet Eshonai's interlude makes it seem they need each gemheart to continue to eat. We know that Great Shells do indeed pupate past the Tower and that these all go the the Parshendi, as they can get them out before the Alethi arrive (ch65). Yet the Parshendi never seem to hold back, they arrive first to the majority of platforms and still assault the Alethi when they arrive second. While this makes sense in terms of denying the Alethi armies resources, you would expect an army in the Parshendi's situation to be more reserved in their use of troops and it still fails to explain Eshonai's comment on needing the gemhearts to eat. Possible Explanations: 1. Gemhearts sell for more than they Soulcast. If gemhearts are worth more when broken down into currency (unlikely) or when made into fabrials (possible) then the whole argument falls apart. 2. The Parshendi lose 90% of the battles they fight with the Alethi. Hmm yeah no, I think we can just keep moving. 3. The Parshendi number far greater than the Alethi's estimates. This seems a likely solution, we know they Alethi are surprised, when the Parshendi start to bring multiple forces to the field. By using smaller armies that are more closely matched to an individual highprince's army, the Parshendi have been trying to avoid pressuring the highprinces into working together. 4. The Parshendi are Soulcasting from Air. While checking to see if this had been mentioned before I came across a post claiming Air was harder to Soulcast than other substances. The Alethi can probably quarry nearby stone or even dirt to make their food; living in the middle of the Shattered Plains Soulcasting the dirt would reduce the Parshendi's living area. If Air is indeed harder to Soulcast, and the Parshendi are Soulcasting from it, this could be reducing their gems efficiency. 5. The Parshendi are selling their gemhearts. They don't actually have Soulcasters but are instead trading away the gemhearts to someone beyond the Shattered Plains. I don't think this is actually probable for a number of reasons but its still my favorite theory. 6. They need the gemhearts for something else as well as food.

Hmm I guess it depends on how you chose to interpret 'Guiding', a guide leads you through and around danger however he isn't your master and has no say over your actions but that you allow him. Dalinar at the end of the first book isn't really conforming with this definition for guide, his taking the reigns and giving orders. However a guide also isn't going to let his charges wander off into danger, you are right it's not just about leading by example; forcing the correct path, the safe path, could very well fit into the scope of a guide. I can't help but see guide as more of a supportive attribute, an adviser not a leader and not a "general and a warlord" as Dalinar proclaims himself. Though put it all together and it does fit very well with his personal oath to never take command or try for the throne, a guide to his nephew at least regardless of his role to the rest.

I like the idea of conflict with their KR attributes however I don't think Pious/Guiding fits Dalinar. Kaladin is a good leader, and was trained to protect/heal people from a young age. Those attributes are his without fault, his conflict came when he started to doubt himself and his ability to lead/protect. Shallan issues with telling the truth are also mostly a recent thing from my impression, a forced secrecy as a result of the magnitude of her secrets. Even her tendency for quick quips could be taken as part of her honest nature, she absolutely must speak her mind even when it might get her in trouble. We don't know that much about Lift yet however that line "I tried to be like you"; to me implies a similar story. She tried to be like him, to be uncaring, to forget her past. However she couldn't because that's not her. Dalinar whilst having conflict with Pious/Guiding throughout the first book doesn't really fall into the same hole as Kaladin and Co. for the simple fact that his not good at these things. It says somewhere in the book (didn't have time to find it sorry) that he never viewed himself as particularly close to god, nor has he shown himself to be good at guiding men to follow his example. Don't get me wrong he certainly tries to be more pious and to guide others down the right path (The Codes) throughout the first book however he doesn't really have much success with this. Yes his soldiers and indeed some of those in other war-camps look up to him as the perfect image of Light-eyed Nobility; however his soldiers follow him and his example because that's their lord's orders. The other highprinces however, are all entirely indifferent to his leading by example, taking it for weakness. Indeed his revelation at the end of the book takes him completely away from his attempts at piety and guiding, he makes it quite clear that he no longer cares for the slowly guiding others to what is right. His attempts at Piety/Guiding throughout the first book were his conflict in my opinion, and now that his past them we might be able to see true nature. My picks for his order from Herald attributes are: 1. Just/Confident (Skybreakers) 2. Dependable/Resourceful (Stonewardens) 3. Resolute/Builder (??) Confidence, Dependability and Resolute are similar attributes, that could all be applied to Kholin and his internal conflict in the last book. The visions were making him doubt himself, ruining his self-confidence, his and others perception of whether he was dependable and his resolution to the war effort and his position as head of house Kholin. Of the other three we have plenty examples throughout the book of his commitment to justice; in his distaste for Sadeas's use of bridgemen, his desire for true justice against the Parshendi not just wanton slaughter in retaliation for actions they don't understand, and his big finale with Sadeas over a painted justice glyph (maybe a bit heavy handed there). Resourceful, he takes care to preserve his forces, putting shardbearers at the front and using Chull bridges to minimize loses and is willing to use all that is made available to him: attempts at constructing lighter maned bridges for the approach, and his treatment of Kaladin. Builder, well he 'built' a country with his brother and his good at training armies however that might be stretching the definition of builder, there is a reason its third pick.

The herald at the end of WoK didn't die. Remember from the prologue Herald’s blades act the opposite of Shardblades. They disappear when their owners die. Still it’s another point to consider the Herald himself, what is Hoid planning on doing with him and how does Stone Shamanism treat the Herald’s and Knight Radiants in their theology. I can’t help but feel the important aspect of this fight is not whether Szeth’s ability to kill exceeds Kaladin’s ability to defend but how he reacts when faced with a Herald or Surgebinder (or four depending on whose present) with a Nahel bonded Spren. From one of his interludes we know he kind of considers the spren holy, atleast going so far as to mention them alongside walking on stone, and stormlight. On the 'Who dies before their book?' front, Kaladin has another book right? I can see Brandon not wanting to start the series with two books from a single flashback character in a row. Just saying, might be the sort of situation where the flashbacks have to come after the death

I'm a Sanderson Fan first; however I picked Sanderson up because of hearing that he was finishing The Wheel of Time even though I hadn't started reading the Wheel of Time myself.