agrabes

Hard to say at this point. The Syl interlude is probably in the first set based on what we know about the story so far and what is going on during that interlude. So the Fused attack could be early Part 2. Or, I could be totally wrong. I definitely think there's a chance of that. Leshwi's just the older, wiser, but more beaten down version of Venli. I think their ultimate goal is the same - achieve an honorable freedom for the singers. Leshwi's probably seen people get killed for having ideas like Venli's over the years.

Awesome chapter. Learned a bit about how the desolations actually end - which makes a lot of sense. I think we're seeing more and more hints that Leshwi genuinely does like Kaladin. I don't think she has a secret plan to kill him. She says she just wants to enslave him, basically, but I think even that is not exactly what she wants. My prediction based on this chapter: Venli/Leshwi will capture our man Mr. Stormblessed in an early book assault on Urithiru. The Fused will win and capture Urithiru, and the rest of the book will be spent in the battle/plans to retake it.

I feel like you are infusing your own perspective onto things. If it's obvious to you, you seem to feel it must be obvious to the characters. I disagree. I'm starting from the assumption (which may be my own bias creeping in) that the Rosharans will assume by default that people are -not- from other worlds. This makes sense based on my memory of what has occurred in the books. For example, Kaladin knows that Azure is strange, but he assume she's from a far away place with strange magic - not another planet. She puts everything she does in Rosharan terms - calls her weapon a shardblade, even though it isn't. She even says she's from another land, not another world or another planet. I can't think of a single native Rosharan character who ever considered the idea that there could be other worlds that are inhabited by people, prior to being told in OB that humans came to Roshar from Ashyn. Even that is most likely understood in a religious context - the Vorin religion teaches that humans were expelled from the Tranquilline Halls so most of the characters would view it as more of a transfer from one spiritual plane of existence to another. I can't think of a single instance of any native Rosharan POV character speculating that another character is likely to be from another world or considering the possibility that people from other worlds may be among them. I'll probably start a reread in October so maybe I'll pick up on a few things I missed in the past, but as of now I don't remember any instances native Rosharans thinking about other words. But at the end of the day, it's just personal taste. I don't like the way this (may) be going down in RoW. It's (imo) one of the few flaws in Sanderson's writing. He builds up the big concepts and secrets like worldhoppers external to the actual main books through things like epigraphs, easter eggs, and fan interactions until they are old news to fans. Then when it's time for the characters to actually learn about those things in world he doesn't make it a big deal. Massive ideas and concepts are just accepted by the characters with a shrug and then everyone moves on. He even did this in the WoT books he wrote. For some people (and I think probably Sanderson himself) the fact that the characters now know this information and can use it for cool battles and schemes is the payoff. I think a lot of the reason Sanderson does this is to keep the plot moving along, rather than spending time on reactions of characters learning things. There's nothing wrong with liking things that way. It's just not what I personally prefer. It will probably bug me for a while, but I'll get over it.

I don't think that the hints that have appeared so far in released, published material detract from the SA story arc. However, I believe that Ch. 13 is moving the story in a direction that would detract. The Shallan/Mraize scene seems to be setting up Shallan having significant involvement in RoW or SA5 with cross-cosmere trading. If it turns out this was just a hint from Mraize and he will clam up and shut Shallan out from here, then I'm fine with it. It doesn't seem like that's the way it's going. But, maybe that's a result of reading one chapter at a time and overanalyzing. Your general description of what you'd like to see is generally what I would like to see. Hints throughout the cosmere novels, until at some point it's revealed as part of the main plot of one of the series. I could see this happening in Mistborn Era 3. Then open the next series with the wider cosmere no longer being a mystery.

I agree with you about what Sanderson has said in the past. That said, in this scene Mraize tells Shallan that people can travel to other worlds and strongly implies that he wants her to help him do it. Mraize is telling Shallan that he wants her to participate in a cross-cosmere Investure smuggling operation. This technically doesn't violate Sanderson's statement that you wouldn't need to have read Warbreaker or Mistborn to understand the plot of RoW, because the Ghostblood Investure smuggling is not related to the plots of Mistborn or other cosmere books. I think the line is different for every fan. For me, this conversation with Mraize crosses the line of my own preferences. Doesn't mean I won't read the book (or that I may be entirely wrong about what was going on in this conversation), but I just don't like the direction things seem to be going.

Basically everything you've written is from the perspective of a fan/reader who is really into digging out cosmere secrets. And from that perspective, you're right. If you're a hardcore fan who's into this stuff, none of this is particularly new or massive. If you're a fan who really wants to see the characters discover this stuff for themselves, it's disappointing when it just pops up without in world introduction. You're writing about what is new information for us as readers and fans - I'm writing about what is new information for in world characters. We've had hints the Ghostbloods are cosmere aware for two books. However, no other characters (aside from special ones like Hoid or the Shards, etc) are aware of that. Only readers. So, when Mraize started talking about stuff like travelling to other worlds, this should have been a MASSIVE revelation to Shallan. She should have reacted strongly to it, or recalled how she had strongly reacted when first learning of it. Maybe she would play along outwardly to keep a strong face in front of Mraize, but internally being confused or questioning. Instead, it was played out with her just being like "oh yeah, i knew about all this stuff in principle, but i want to know the secrets of how it actually works." None of the main Rosharan characters know that anyone else is from another world. Not Zahel/Vasher and not Azure/Vivenna. Not even Wit/Hoid. I don't think you could say that the Warbreaker characters are making no effort to hide themselves. They are making effort to hide their true nature from the Rosharan characters. Sanderson is not making a particular effort to hide their origins from us, the readers. That is a key difference. The ideas dropped are indeed massive, relative to the knowledge of the Knights Radiant. The Knights Radiant only know that humans did not originate on Roshar as of the end of OB. They would believe at that time that it took Shard level power to travel between worlds, since they know Odium helped them come to Roshar. The Allomancy/Fabrial connection is completely unknown to the characters. Navani's artifabrians have no knowledge of Allomancy. It has not been built up at all that in world characters (again aside from special ones) would have this kind of knowledge. It's sort of new for readers, but honestly a pretty obvious connection. Sanderson has obviously created some "laws of magical physics" or whatever you want to call them for the Cosmere. It makes complete sense that the different magic systems work based on similar concepts. So it's cool to see it written in the epigraphs that metal works in a similar way in fabrials as it does in Allomancy/Hemalurgy, but this is a conclusion only a fan could draw, not an in world character. You're just a different type of fan from me. For you, it seems to be exciting to figure out mysteries and connections between the various books. For me, that's interesting, but a distant second place to seeing the characters themselves gradually learning new information and solving mysteries.

Well, much as Chapter 12 went in a direction I really liked, Chapter 13 went in a direction I really disliked. *shrug* I guess it makes sense, reading Shallan POVs just makes me feel very uneasy since about midway through Oathbringer. For me, it's a matter of keeping it in context though - have to remember that the book is clearly setting up that the characters who know and love Shallan understand she's in a deeply unhealthy place right now, even if she isn't willing to fully admit it to herself. So right now, we are seeing her continued downward spiral, even if she isn't willing to admit it to herself and therefore her chapters read like everything is mostly OK and the danger is no greater than it's been before. From the outside, we as readers and even other characters understand it's bad and still getting worse. Though this is probably an unpopular opinion, I really disliked the fact that the conversation between Shallan and Mraize casually dropped massive cosmere ideas and concepts and seems to indicate that RoW will introduce an integrated cosmere fully into a mainstream novel for the first time with very minimal buildup for such a major concept. I've gone on about this in other threads so I won't repeat myself here. Just disappointed in what seems to be the direction the story is taking based on the Shallan/Mraize scene.

Just to confirm from a third party, there is no reference on his linked site to Critical Reviews in Toxicology. It seems the publisher Taylor & Francis publishes multiple journals including both the one referenced by Rainier and the one reference by you. A small number apparently have had controversial content, but there don't seem to be any claims of bad science made against the referenced Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. *edit* Not to be the thread police here or anything (and this isn't really directed in particular at you Karger), but can we avoid another nasty argument about Shallan's condition? People have really strong feelings about this stuff, which I get. But, I don't think it's worthwhile for us to have another debate about whether having a mental disorder is a strength or weakness. Or if people do want to keep discussing it, take it to one of the several threads dedicated to the issue so the rest of us can take a break from it. For my part, Chapter 12 went a long way toward making me feel better about reading a Shallan with split personalities. Getting the opportunity to see Adolin's honest opinion about Shallan, and even Shallan's own opinion (through the Radiant personality) helped to provide context for how the book and characters will approach the issue. I still don't particularly like it and don't really agree with the majority opinion here about Shallan's condition. But it's not worth the time or the stress to argue about it. I think Chapter 12 convinced me that Sanderson will write it in a way that will be satisfying to me, even if it's not what I wanted to start out with.

Ah - this makes a ton of sense, thanks! Could be that the Shallan persona is still in denial, but Radiant may have had a similar talk to Adolin on the DL. I could definitely see something like that being the case. I generally use Shallan (without quotes) to refer to the whole person, and "Shallan" to refer to the persona, but that definitely is not like a universal fandom naming convention so that's what tripped me up.

She doesn't tell him about Formless specifically. But she shares her fears that other half-formed personalities are lurking under the surface and waiting to pounce in a moment of weakness, which seems to be something she is hiding from Adolin. At least, that's how I read it in Chapter 9. I do think it's hopeful - that some portions of herself are ready and able to start dealing with this. I think you're right that she's got to get all of "herself" in agreement to take the next step toward being healthy. I honestly think part of that is to finally face up to her last Truth, which she is desperately trying to forget or isolate from her day to day awareness.

First of all, loved the chapter. I'd been waiting for a chapter to see how Kaladin, Shallan, and Adolin all interacted together. I wasn't sure how it would be. It seemed like there was a chance of some tension between Adolin and Kaladin, but reading this chapter, I'm glad there wasn't. This is a pure Sanderson way of handling the potential conflict and he made it feel right. This chapter definitely raised my opinion of Adolin quite a bit. Sanderson did a great job of showing that Adolin does understand what's going on and is very concerned about it, but is still trying to put on a good face for Shallan's sake. I find it really interesting too that Shallan would not tell Adolin about Formless, but does immediately tell Kaladin about it. It's interesting to me that she chooses certain things to tell Adolin and no one else, while other things she keeps from him. It was also really interesting to see Radiant take some initiative. My opinion - Radiant is the part of Shallan that knows sometimes she needs someone to tell it like it is. If she comes to Adolin with this type of problem, he's the type to be super supportive and nice, but not offer advice or opinion. But Kaladin is the type to say, "Oh, that is hurting you? Well don't do that!" That kind of thing can be helpful for people sometimes - to have someone external to you validate your belief that something is off. Just the ability to openly talk with someone and say "Something is wrong!" can be really helpful. With Adolin, I think they both feel pressure to say to each other that things are OK, because they both desperately want them to be. Only problem is, Kaladin's still too jealous of her ability to put her pain aside temporarily to understand what's really wrong. So he won't say what she needs him to say. I think this may be a set up for future plot. I'm not sure it will necessarily be Adolin's death, or that it would be a Kaladin/Shallan romance. I think with all these hints of how Kaladin still envies what Shallan does despite Adolin and Shallan/Radiant herself telling Kaladin that it is really bad for her, it is setting up a moment where Kaladin finally realizes that what Shallan does is not healthy and is making her worse. I think he will realize that at that moment in time, as bad as things are for Kaladin himself, Shallan is in a much worse situation. He will snap out of his depression and they will have a frank conversation and provide kind of a pressure relief valve for each other. Kaladin directly saying to her "You've got a messed up situation. It's messed up, but you are strong enough to fix it." Shallan directly saying "Hey you idiot, take it from me that dodging your problems doesn't work. It made me develop a mental disorder. Just forgive yourself already!" I think this happens as part of a friendship, where they finally realize that it's ok to be emotionally close to each other as platonic friends. For whatever reason, Shallan and Kaladin seem to be able to open up to each other in ways they can't open up to other people and I think acknowledging that and allowing themselves to do it will be good for them. I'm not saying that in a shipping way, just that I think the books are showing us that Shallan and Kaladin have a certain special connection that is distinct from the romantic connection that Shallan and Adolin have.

I like the idea of Jasnah/Taravangian as Group 3. Forced to work together as monarchs of Rosharan nations in the coalition, Jasnah trying her best to figure out what Taravangian is really up to. But it's also still hard to say. Taravangian's had at least a decent number of POVs in the last few books but never made "the list" before. So I'm somewhat skeptical he would count as one of the 10 characters in Sanderson's outline. I'd be more inclined to say that Group 3 is Jasnah/Dalinar with a dose of Taravangian mixed in as an "unlisted" character but still the same plotline as you are suggesting. Who knows though, I don't think that Navani's made the list before either and we know for sure she's on it this time and plays a fairly prominent role. Another possibility that could be interesting is Dalinar as the POV "throughline" character, removing him from the list as he wouldn't be part of one of the Groups. This would make sense since we know Dalinar takes a bit of a step back this book. We see him back in Urithiru, watching the flock and get his emotions as he struggles with becoming the leader of the Knights Radiant and all that entails. We already have a hint of this in the Syl Interlude. This would free up a Jasnah/Taravangian Group 3.

I guess I could do better with using more precise language. The Rosharan characters don't know that worlds exist other than those introduced within Rosharan myth and legend. They know about Braize and Ashyn because that is part of their history. They don't know about Scadrial, Nalthis, etc. They believe the only way to travel to other worlds is through the Vorin religion, being a good person will send you to fight for the Tranquiline Halls in the afterlife. Jasnah and others who don't follow the Vorin religion probably don't believe it's possible to travel to other worlds except with the help of a Shard. The references from Navani's Prologue and Ialai's brief conversation with Shallan were vague. They also aren't clear - they don't state directly that there are other planets. Ialai's comment that Gavilar saw "entire worlds" would most likely be taken figuratively by Shallan. Whatever method it was that Gavilar was using to transport things off Roshar was very imperfect. This would be the maximum extent of his and Ialai's knowledge. It feels like a teaser for fans. Shallan will definitely be exploring the ideas and hints left behind by Ialai, but I don't think she will learn everything. The Ghostbloods will actively hide this secret from Shallan and they have gotten the better of her at every opportunity thus far. I would compare it to the mystery of the Voidbringers. It was introduced in WoK - who and what are the voidbringers? Jasnah was doing a lot of research and had some ideas of what she thought they were, but she didn't know for sure. By the time of late WoR, Shallan had become convinced she was right and then at the end of WoR we saw it play out. If we follow a similar arc for this mystery, then we would expect that it might be solved in SA5. The idea of travelling between worlds is a major mystery. I don't think it can be introduced and resolved within a single book. I also think it's a real possibility that Shallan never is able to fully solve the Ghostblood mystery in the Front 5. My personal prediction is that as SA5 draws to a close, the Ghostbloods step out of the shadows and reveal themselves as worldhoppers who are looking to seize power on Roshar for themselves. The main heroes have to ignore them to focus on their battle with Odium and the Fused. They save the planet, but there are consequences, setting up the Ghostbloods as the major villain of the back 5 and leading our heroes on a chase across the cosmere to find them. Our heroes are indeed outmatched through no fault of their own. I'm reading the story of Kaladin, Shallan, and Dalinar. I want to see how they grow and adapt and eventually learn to defeat the ultimate evil. I don't think they've acquired their Radiant skills easily. All three of the major heroes have struggled and suffered greatly to develop their skills. None of the three have mastered much more than half their abilities yet. They've got a lot of room to grow. Heck, we've seen both Kaladin and Shallan regress significantly in the last book. I don't want to see the story of how everything they did was mostly unimportant and how Vasher and Vivenna arrived to save the day. This is the story of Roshar, the story of Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar and their friends and allies. It shouldn't be one upped by the story of Nalthis and Vasher, Vivenna, and Nightblood. They got their own story, which was great, but let's leave it be. Nightblood is different because he originates from another story which I dislike due to the idea of one-upmanship and because fan theories about him/it are extremely annoying. If Nightblood were original to Roshar, I would still find its concept annoying, but would probably tolerate it. I agree, but I don't believe it will be revealed to the characters in RoW. Travelling to Shadesmar does not mean Shallan will travel to other worlds. Shallan and Jasnah have both done it by the end of OB and neither have ventured to other worlds. I don't think the mission to the Honor Spren in Shadesmar will lead to a trip to another world. I think it might lead to Shallan picking up on the idea that the Ghostbloods may be from another world.

I guess I'm saying multiple worlds being in contact as an actual plot element. There are vague hints that clued in fans can pick up on currently. But those are not part of the plot of the story. If you only read Stormlight, you wouldn't know that there are references to other Cosmere books currently. None of the Rosharan characters, including Jasnah, know that other worlds exist or that it is possible for them to travel to other worlds. I hope that it stays that way for the front 5. Maybe there will be a "post credits" reveal that there are dangers from other worlds that provide the hook for why the story isn't finished going into the back 5, but I think/hope that the front 5 will remain a tight story confined to Roshar. I expect that in the back 5 is when there will be actual plot in Stormlight related to traveling to (or from) other worlds. Rather than minor easter eggs with no plot relevance as it has been up through the currently release RoW chapters, in the back 5 you may start to see outsiders openly travel to Roshar. Maybe if they are still around, Vasher and/or Azure will reveal their true origins. Maybe the Ghostbloods will be revealed as worldhoppers. Maybe Jasnah will go on a mission to another Shardworld to get some kind of relic. It will still be on the fringes of the story, which will still be centered around Roshar. But, it will be openly explored. I agree with the general premise - it's cool if Rosharan characters branch out and find the way to contact other worlds at some point. It's also cool if we find out at some point that an evil organization of worldhoppers is a major antagonist. The only thing that isn't cool is if our favorite Rosharan heroes are proved incompetent and have to have their bacon saved by a prominent worldhopper from another series.

Hmm interesting. Based on the fact that he contradicts himself a bit, it's most likely that he hasn't set his plans in stone yet. Maybe SA back 5 do start to introduce the concept of multiple worlds being in contact, but it still plays only a small role. Then, Mistborn 4 is finally the fully integrated Cosmere. This is the kind of thing that will probably change over time as he finishes more of the books.

This is not true. He's maintained for a long time that he has intentionally set up the Cosmere so that you don't have to follow and know tons of details about all his series to understand any one series. He does want it to be possible for someone to read only Stormlight or only Mistborn, etc. At some point, the stories of the individual planets will converge, but this is not set to happen in the 10 Stormlight Archive books. He is starting to drop more open hints for readers that there is more to the world but the vast majority of characters themselves don't know it yet. Sanderson has said things similar to the below on multiple occasions. This sentence alone gives me shivers. I can't wait for all of it. And I hope that everything comes together as you plan and hope. Brandon Sanderson I'm always hesitant to make Avengers comparisons, as the cosmere endgame is less about individuals coming together (though there will be some of that) and more about the clash between philosophies and cultures. But who knows? That is several decades away. Right now, I just need to keep working on Stormlight Four. General Reddit 2019 (Dec. 10, 2019) Odium is aware of Nightblood and what he is though Odium's knowledge is only hinted at in the books and confirmed by WoB, not directly stated. So far as we know no one else on Roshar other than Vasher and Azure (and probably Cultivation) are aware of Nightblood's true nature. I will grant that vaporizing a Thunderclast does give a hint that Nightblood's powers may be greater than a regular shardblade. But, for all other enemies the effects are similar to a shardblade - pretty much one hit kill, with more drawbacks - stormlight drain. As of right now, the Radiants don't really know Nightblood's true power or nature. They can guess, but they don't know. I do think Azure is chasing Vasher, but if she catches him, she will be meeting with him. I could see Szeth giving Nightblood away. I don't think Szeth particularly likes Nightblood, he nearly died the one time he used him. I don't think that Sanderson has said that the back half of Stormlight is going to start bringing Cosmere characters together. In fact, I think he's said the opposite, see above WoB. Cosmere characters won't come together until the very final cosmere series, Mistborn Era 4. Aluminum is a weak counter to Nightblood. Superior swordsmanship could defeat someone with a shield or armor made of aluminum. Aluminum is a weak metal - so physical force could penetrate it relatively easily. And you may not have been following it, but there is a huge amount of fan speculation (and recorded questions from fans to Sanderson about this topic) that Nightblood could indeed one hit KO anything in the Cosmere including Odium. I think in terms of what Sanderson actually intends, I don't think Nightblood will be used as a delete Odium weapon. I think Sanderson is trying to drop hints that Nightblood does have some limitations and he can't fully absorb the power of a being like Odium. But tons of fans disagree. I don't know that it's intended to dovetail into SA. As I understand it, Sanderson thought that Vasher was a cool character when he wrote him for WoK Prime and decided it would be fun to write a backstory about him which became Warbreaker. So Vasher isn't an Easter Egg exactly since he was always part of the SA story (though the fact that he's from another planet is), but Azure and Nightblood are.

No, I don't think it's lame to remove Nightblood from the story of Stormlight Archive. 1) If you are a reader of Stormlight Archive only, you do not know or have reason to suspect that Nightblood is any more powerful than a normal shardblade. Different, but not more powerful. So, as a reader of SA, you do not know that Nightblood is hyper powerful. 2) Nightblood has never been promised to be some kind of amazing, war winning weapon for Stormlight Archive. Nale gave the sword to Szeth because he didn't trust himself or the other Skybreakers to keep it anymore. He felt Szeth was a good enough person to choose not to use it. Having Azure take the sword would be a good wrap up of the Warbreaker Easter Egg plot. Vasher and Azure can meet again on their own adventure to recover Nightblood. They complete their mission and say their farewells. Maybe Azure leaves with the sword and Vasher stays. The Warbreaker characters stick to their own Warbreaker plot, which only briefly interacts with the Stormlight Archive plot. This would feel right and natural. The series is filled with extremely powerful characters, but those powers are always relative to their situation. Odium is extremely powerful and indeed could have killed Dalinar on page 1 of WoK. But he didn't, because Odium is playing a different game. Odium is essentially an evil god. He should be overwhelmingly powerful. But through good writing, Sanderson has put in place good reasons why Odium doesn't just kill Dalinar. Contrast that with Nightblood - in theory (especially if you believe certain fans) Nightblood can kill all enemies no matter how powerful with a single cut. Put Nightblood in the hands of a Windrunner or Skybreaker trained in swordfighting and you could eliminate all powerful enemies in one single mission. Sure, you would have to sacrifice one Radiant to do it. But the cost is much lower than the reward. Right now, the story reason why they don't do this is because they don't know Nightblood's capabilities. Which is also fine. If Nightblood is used like a worse version of a shardblade throughout the Stormlight Archive then I have no problem with it (aside from the annoying sense of humor it has). It could be a great irony - only after the final battle they learn how powerful the sword was. But if Nightblood suddenly becomes the solution to every problem, that is crappy storytelling.

Awesome chapter. Thoughts: I was right that Venli wants to create a third faction - opposed to both humans and Odium. Woo, at least one idea I had was right! Lezian the Pursuer - This must be the teleporting Fused that Kaladin killed. Sounds like this guy is going to hold a grudge, it will probably come up again. Really interesting that some spren have decided to choose to bond with Singers instead of humans. Makes total sense. Seeing that reaction, I wonder if Venli could persuade Nale to join her faction? I think he would join it, if he knew about it. He doesn't want to support Odium, only the Singers.

Diving into some past interviews, I see Sanderson did write Warbreaker as a way to explore the Vasher character he wrote for WoK Prime. I feel like things have changed a lot from then. Vasher's role in the published Stormlight Archive is different from what it was in WoK Prime. And having the Warbreaker characters too heavily involved in SA still violates what Sanderson has said in a lot of other interviews - that this isn't all about an Avengers Assemble moment where everyone from all the stories somehow get together. It's telling a story of how the various worlds of the cosmere eventually contact each other and how each world progresses along the way. I feel like for it to feel satisfying, if the people of Roshar are going to discover things like Worldhopping, it has to be their own discovery. Having Vasher or Azure waltzing in and telling them about it just takes away their agency as characters. Using Nightblood is not necessarily an instant win, but it has the capability of being one. Yes, he is dangerous to the wielder. But he is much more dangerous to the enemy. And if (like some fans speculate) even a shard like Odium could be killed with one cut from Nightblade, it's just much too powerful. There is no limit that can be placed on the sword that can make the power seem reasonable. I don't think that Vasher, Azure, or Nightblood will play major roles in SA4 or SA5. They'll continue to be minor, supporting characters. I have a feeling they will all leave Roshar without getting majorly involved. Azure already made it clear that's her plan, so has Vasher. Maybe in the back 5, but even then I don't think so. I think the most likely thing to happen is that Azure will find Nightblood and take him away, possibly while Szeth is in prison. Szeth will then use his own actual shardblade once he's released.

I do think Dalinar as king of Urithiru is a problem. I expect we might see this play out in RoW. I think the Bondsmiths are intended to be more like a ruling Triumvirate. When we do get another Bondsmith, I think we'll see Dalinar modify his title as "king" of Urithiru.

Several reasons: Story Based Reasons: 1) Szeth is still the Assasin in White, the most notorious and dangerous criminal on Roshar. No one likes him and no one trusts him. Think of our major characters. Kaladin - Fought and semi-killed Szeth, protecting his commanding officer. Would be very slow to trust the man who tried to kill the one Lighteyes he truly respects. Shallan - Doesn't really seem inclined to care much about Szeth and unlikely to have any reason to want to work with him. Probably knew about the Assassin in White who was responsible for sparking a terrible civil war in her homeland. I doubt she has much love for him. Dalinar - Was nearly killed by Szeth on multiple occasions. Szeth did kill his brother. Because he wants to Unite people and because Szeth has pledged his loyalty directly, he seems willing to give him a chance. But he has other pressures on him that are more important than trying to rehabilitate the image of a mass murderer who is not overly powerful or important to his fighting force. 2) Even if there is a close group of Radiants who have gotten to know Szeth in the last year and do trust him, the vast majority of political leaders are going to be even more prone to distrust him. This is probably why Dalinar put him in jail - Szeth was going around assassinating specifically people in power. Even if Dalinar himself has absolutely no doubts in Szeth (seems unlikely), all the other rulers will be adamantly opposed to Szeth being given any trust. Allowing Szeth to go free could break the alliance of nations. 3) No one (other than possibly Zahel/Vasher) knows that Nightblood can kill the Fused permanently. 4) There is no possible way for anyone on Team Radiant, including Szeth, to figure out that Nightblood can kill the Fused permanently. Meta Reasons: 1) Using Nightblood, a character/object that originated in another series, as a key factor in the ability to win in Stormlight Archive just seems really lame. None of the Knights Radiant can win their own battles? They need people to come in from the outside? Super lame. 2) Though he's always willing to humor his fans and talk about what if scenarios, I know Sanderson understands that all these ideas about how Nightblood could defeat all possible enemies in all situations are not practical for the story. If Nightblood could always defeat all possible enemies, what's the point of the story? Why have Mistborn, Stormlight Archive, or other future series if the solution to every problem is to have Nightblood come in and destroy all evil? Just call it the Nightblood series, have one book where Hoid wields Nightblood and defeats all enemies, destroying all Shards, and ending by dying to Nightblood himself. 3) In general, I believe that Sanderson has said the Warbreaker characters are intended to be more like Easter Eggs, not playing key roles in the overall plot. Personal Reasons: 1) Fan speculation about Nightblood has pretty much made me hate him/it. Please let him drop into a black hole so we don't have to hear about how every possible problem can be solved and all possible enemies (or friends) could be easily defeated by Nightblood.

Yes, I think that's important to point out and part of why I think it's much easier to have a character with depression vs. other kinds of mental illnesses. With depression, while it's always there, if it's well managed you can have long periods of "good" times where the depression is not as much in the foreground. Doesn't mean it's gone, just that you're able to handle it. I'm not sure this is the case with other mental health issues, though I'm not expert. I think we've seen Kaladin doing well with his depression in WoR and early OB, but we've seen him on a downward slope now since early-mid OB. It's time for him to turn it around and I think we will see that happen in RoW.

Thanks - yeah it's funny how memory can play tricks on you. In my memory, that 5th group 1 slot seemed to be 50/50 whether or not it would get POVs, but reading the WoB it seems much more to be saying the character will probably not get a regular chapter POV. You're right that what we've heard of Szeth does seem like he probably is that last Group 1 spot. Much as I don't want it to be true. It still could be someone else - such as Renarin or the Herdazian general for example. I feel like that general will be an important character in this book based on his introduction so early. It's possible Szeth could take a role like Navani has in most past books - still important but primarily only seen through other characters' eyes. But, yeah it does seem suspiciously like it will be Szeth with what we've heard.

These two things are not contradictory. Forgiving yourself for failing to protect is the same thing as not protecting. It's giving yourself permission to not protect everyone. So, it is the same as "not wanting to protect" in the eyes of someone like Kaladin who has this need to protect everyone all the time. I think the most likely thing is that swearing the fourth oath will at least make the struggle of want to protect/can't protect/shouldn't protect bearable for Kaladin. I think Kaladin will truly try to come to terms with the idea that he may never swear the 4th oath, and when he finally accepts that he can be OK with a different kind of life away from battle and not pressuring himself to grow, then he will finally actually achieve growth and be able to swear the 4th Oath. Anyway, it's an interesting idea. I could see Kaladin becoming a bit of a background character for a short time, but at most he would have to come back by mid RoW. Having a character that major just disappear without a trace would completely screw up the dynamics of how Sanderson is telling the story. I could see him vanishing between the front 5 and back 5, only to appear again at the last minute. But I can't see him vanishing in RoW, only to reappear in SA10.

Thanks I must not have caught that part. Well, I'll just downgrade it to - I don't want Szeth to be in Group 1 - then haha. I mean, the statement there does line up with what I'd expect - Szeth still should have some relevance in the story and appear in several chapters as one of the 5 flashback characters. I think this is the book he has to get in the good graces of the rest of Team Radiant. He could be Group 1, or theoretically Group 2 (sent to Shadesmar to stay out of the public eye) though that seems extremely unlikely. But, my hope/assumption is that he'll be teaming up with the Group 3 characters working on a secondary plot or providing some knowledge on the Skybreakers or Shin from his place in prison, eventually earning his way back out. Is there anything that says the minor Group 1 character's POV will definitely only be in an interlude? Last I'd seen, it was that they would have only one or possibly even no POVs and they may appear only in an interlude. There could easily be an update I missed though. I think it's going to be hard to pin down that minor Group 1 character until we actually read the book because there do tend to be characters who randomly get one or two POVs throughout the books but do not appear in the outlines that Sanderson sends out.