Ashspren

Or maybe like a Knight Radiant, pre-Nahel Bond. Interesting that they should be having this conversation, seeing as Shallan herself, in the loosest definition, might be considered mad- in fact, three times so. Each of Shallan's personas seems to be majorly flawed in their own way: We all know how Shallan is broken. She killed her mother. Her father treated her like she was untouchable, and she had to watch those around her tortured because of her father's rage. Brightness Radiant was modeled after Jasnah, who has her own set of problems. This is shown through the fact that she is a Radiant, and they need to have some “cracks” in order to form a Zahel bond with a spren. Veil might be the least broken out of all of Shallan’s personas. However, she does come off as a bit aloof, which might make it hard for her to make friends and acquaintances. Thinking about this lead me to a question: Many of the Cosmere characters, specifically the KR in the Stormlight Archive, are characterized majorly by flaws. Do each of Shallan’s personas have different souls? If each of her personas had a different soul in the Cognitive Realm, this could lead to some interesting possibilities. Maybe the "master persona" named Shallan could end up bonding with three different spren, making her some extra-powerful tri-spren radiant. (That's a total stretch, though.) Or, maybe because Brightness Radiant is modeled after an Elsecaller, conflict occurs between Brightness Radiant and Shallan, as Shallan is a Lightweaver. Also, I'm curious to see how Brightness Radiant and Veil appear in later Stormlight Archive books, especially because Shallan is going to try being herself more often than her other personas: Brightness Radiant and Veil might interfere with that plan... Just a theory, though. Thoughts?

Granted, but you notice that you are allergic to most ingredients needed to make Earth-chouta. Your friends all eat the chouta and love it, but you are left chouta-less and sad. I wish for the ability to meet Hoid, and take a professional insulting class from him.

I feel that Sanderson has been stressing the fact that the methods to get places and achieve goals are more important than the end result. I don’t know if it’s the same in this case, but we can agree that the methods Gavilar and Dalinar used were very different. Maybe there is a larger end goal, so bringing unity throughout Alethkar is just one part of the plan, and thus part of the “journey” to the end destination.

I definitely agree, but even Dalinar seems like a stretch. He was completely different from his brother. As we look through Oathbringer, all of Dalinar’s flashbacks including Gavilar paint them as very different people.

I still think it would be good to see Shallan having a female friend. Look at all of the female protagonists in the Cosmere: Vin, Sarene, Jasnah, Shallan, Marasi, etc. None of them have a female friend that they can rely on. I feel like Sanderson is probably going to write one in for Shallan, which I definitely hope to see in the future.

I agree. (Spoiler for Oathbringer below!)

True... and a pretty awful king...

Then why wouldn’t the Stormfather bond with Elhokar? He’s in the same posistion as Gavilar was... Thanks for clarifying— that was just something I heard somewhere.

That brings up another important point: what makes Dalinar the one who worked? And hmmm... another question— in order to form a Nahel bond, both the spren and the potential KR must be “cracked.” What is “cracked” about the Stormfather?

What happened to the Stormfather after Gavilar died? Why did he then bond with Dalinar? Was it because they were related, or was it it save him from bonding with the Sibling?...

I think Szeth will only get his normal Shardlade after Azure (Vivenna) or Zahel (Vasher) gain possession of Nightblood. It seems like Nightblood forms a strong bond with his owner. (Honestly, I wouldn’t blame Szeth if he wants to keep Nightblood forever. Nightblood is amazing. ) and thank you for the clarification about ideals and oaths!

I remember reading that, too... but I looked on the Coppermind, and it didn’t say anything about that. I’ll have to check through and see. Also, a friend of mine brought up a really good point: Was Gavilar trying to bond with the Stormfather, or maybe the Sibling or the Nightwatcher?

Are oaths basically predecessors to ideals, then? Maybe promises of them?

Sorry, I’m new to the Shard- what is a WoB? I’ve seen it used a lot, but I have no idea what it actually stands for...

Got it, thank you. When do you think Szeth will swear the third and fourth ideals?

We know that before he died, Gavilar went “mad,” and started having visions. Sound familiar? I think that Gavilar could have potentially been the Bondsmith, bonded to the Stormfather, instead of Dalinar, had he not died. So, if Gavilar was still alive, where would Dalinar fit into the entire operation? We know that there are three Bondsmiths, who bond with the Stormfather (Honor), Nightwatcher (Cultivation), and Sibling (Odium, most likely). I think that Dalinar might have been the Bondsmith for Odium, bonded to the Sibling. That would explain why he felt the Thrill so strongly. At some point, maybe after Gavilar’s death, the Stormfather started to focus his attentions on Dalinar, and overpowered the Sibling, causing the Sibling’s “slumber.” Thoughts?

To be honest... except for Bridge 4, all other friendships have ended miserably. Dalinar, Gavilar, and Sadeas... that failed...

I think now that the ideal is sworn, it’s okay. He said “as long as Dalinar agrees.” If Dalinar doesn’t agree, and Szeth doesn’t “cleanse the Shin of their false leaders,” he’s still fulfilling the ideal and listening to Dalinar. Also, do the Radiants gain more abilities as they swear more ideals? Jasnah, who might be on the 4th or 5th ideal, has Plate. Shallan does not. That brings up another point— Lightweavers and their ideals. They just have to swear truths. I’m curious to see what other truths Shallan might have... she had an interesting past. Also, just wanted to point out: Szeth has sworn 4 ideals in less time than it has taken some to swear 2 or 3... is this because of Nale being their personal trainer, or just because of Szeth himself?

Good to hear- Shadows of Self was good (well, obviously, Sanderson wrote it), but it definitely wasn’t my favorite.

I got: Bondsmith - 66% Skybreaker - 38% Elsecaller/Windrunner - 29% Interesting... my friends and I all categorize me as an Elsecaller, generally.

@Calderis That’s super interesting, thanks for the link. You would think that after 6 years of being able to experiment, she would have gone into Shadesmar... Jasnah’s smart that way, lol. I guess that gives rise to a different question: Can Jasnah elsecall to different solar systems within the Cosmere? Or just on Roshar?

Do we have an official list for what ideal each of the Knights Radiant have sworn? Also, do different powers come with each ideal sworn? I remember that Jasnah implies to Shallan that she has Plate, meanwhile Shallan does not.