Philomath

We only have a sample size of one but there is also one dustbringer spren. An ash spren. Who seems to have bonded Malata because they liked “breaking things” and almost seems like they want revenge for the recreance.

I’ve had a theory similar to this. That Dalinar has ascended to only a piece of Honor and that others may be able to ascend to other splintered pieces as well. I don’t know if there is a WoB proving this wrong, but if Adonalsium was able to shatter into different shards with varied intents, then maybe Honor could do the same when he splintered. My theory is this would correlate with “Honors purposes” that are occasionally mentioned. Dalinar has ascended to Unity which in my opinion is a piece of Honor, not a reinterpretation of it. My only disagreement would be that each person would necessarily pair with a Knight Radiant order. It could go either way for me. I also like it because it avoids being too similar to endings in other series we enjoy from Brandon.

These are nearly my exact thoughts on this. Everyone knew Sadeas deserved death for what he did to the Kholin army at the tower. Dalinar’s arc in WoR consisted of two goals, figure out the countdown, and find a way to get justice from Sadeas. They nearly accomplished it with Adolin’s duels and if Adolin had had the chance to duel Sadeas and had killed him, no one would have blinked an eye. Storms, almost no one blinked an eye when they found him dead in Urithiru. Before Oathbringer was released I thought Adolin’s consequences would be different, but I was not disappointed with how the book played out and I have seen further analyses here that have further solidified my opinion of being fine with how things turned out. But to those who disagree that is fine too.

So I couldn’t find if this has been brought up before. (And 119 pages to look through is just too much) So at the end of TFE after Vin has killed the Lord Ruler, she is trying to decide if she should go see Elend. She decides to leave but then remembers how Reen didn’t betray her. And then she hears in Reen’s voice, “Go back.” And as we learn in later books, most often when she hears Reen’s voice, it is actually Ruin. So... is this Ruin speaking to her? And if so, why would Ruin want her to go back to Elend?

So I’m in the Kholinar part of my Oathbringer re-read and I was just wondering if Veil was just Veil and not Shallan, do you think Kaladin would like her? Would they actually be a good couple?

Lirin does seem to embody all of the Windrunner ideals we have seen (and have suspicions about). And Kaladin’s whole life has been a struggle deciding whether to be a surgeon or a soldier. Maybe Lirin will end up being a Windrunner or perhaps one of Kaladin’s squires, but can be there to show how people can still interpret similar ideals in different ways. But like someone above said, it may just be a way to set Kaladin on the right path from the get go.

But think of all the good stuff they are missing out on. I think Dalinar’s arc in OB alone makes this series worth it regardless of the ending. Not to mention all of the other fantastic parts. So while there may be frustration in wondering if you’ll live to see the end, there will also be so much joy in the journey for having started. Life before Death after all.

It really does make a lot of sense. It is a really good theory and does feel really right for the story.

This is actually something I feel very strongly about. It really was just the perfect storm of events that led to a horrible tragedy. And not just Evi’s death, but all of it. Though Dalinar technically directly killed Evi, it isn’t like he was trying to do that. Man, I can’t even adequately put how I feel about this into words. I keep typing and erasing. Basically, I think this is one of the most beautifully tragic stories I have ever read. And it is made even more perfect by where it led Dalinar in the future, ultimately coming to Dalinar’s actions at the end of Oathbringer which were absolutely magnificent. (If you can’t tell, Dalinar might be my favorite character ever.)

I really enjoyed @Argent‘s ideas about what may have caused a first desolation so quickly. That was really fascinating. I was just wondering if we knew the people from Ashyn were the first people to come to Roshar? Don’t we know that humans on Roshar have come from different places at different times?

This is awesome. I actually love decorating cakes and cookies and a few of my future ideas are me totally being a Sanderfan and having the design being inspired by his books and the artwork. When I do them, I’ll for sure post them in the Fan Art section.

If he did, then there was a huge gap between the first one and the others because he went to the Nightwatcher before going to the Shattered Plains after Gavilar’s death which is 5-6 years before WoK. And in WoK I thought they mentioned he had had 12 or so visions total over the past few months. (This being said, I am doing an SA re-read and am at the beginning of OB so there may be a flashback I don’t remember.

Without Cultivation’s influence, would Dalinar really have been in a place to start receiving Tanavast’s visions or bond the Stormfather at all? I’m not so sure. All the same, he would be a terrifying champion. But I agree with what the other’s have said. Whatever current Taravangian thinks the Diagram is, it is so much more.

Okay I have a few. When your 5 year old puts an orange and some strawberries on his plate and says “I’m eating two types of berries, Mom.” I didn’t know my kid was Rosharan. (Picking oddly specific words to describe a broad variety of things) When you recommended Sanderson to a friend and she says she started Mistborn and has read the prologue and loved it so you continue to gush about how great it all is and how the first book is awesome but as a trilogy it is phenomenal. And then give yourself chills just thinking about the ending. (Then she went on to say she is a little nervous because she gets crazy attached to characters and still isn’t over Fred Weasley and already loves Kelsier and you think oh these books will crush you but in the best possible way.) When you are watching Jimmy Fallon with your husband and he points out that Jimmy Fallon has his own Wit.

Agreed here. I was never opposed to the assault theory nor do I think it is a topic that should be avoided if it fits the story and character. But the fact that Jasnah views it as something wrong with her head does make external influences and events seem less likely. Do we know how old Jasnah was at the time of her “lunacy?” My best guess is around 10. I know Jasnah is like crazy intelligent and basically always has been, but I still think just being unusually intelligent would be a weird thing to call someone a lunatic for. Especially a child.

All those endings are so good it is hard to choose. But ultimately, like most, I am torn between OB and WoK. I definitely want to see art of Dalinar facing down Odium armed only with a book, but that book is the most precious thing in the world to him. And “I am Unity” is epic. I agree that after that the ending of OB gets a little hectic, but it is fun to see all the different types of Radiants doing their thing. Like others have said, Bridge 4 going back to save Dalinar and co. in WoK, Kaladin going all Radiant, Dalinar giving up his shardblade. So awesome. And actually, while the battle of Narak is cool, my favorite part of the WoR ending is actually Kaladin swearing his 3rd ideal and saving Elhokar. Such a satisfying moment.

There is just one thing I want to clarify about this. Mormons while we have our quirks, are typically not opposed to fantasy, vampires, witches, and the like. Brandon would most definitely not be under fire for writing well written characters with a variety of religious beliefs and differing levels of faith and questioning. In fact, he teaches at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (full name for the Mormon or LDS church) owned university and his books are sold and promoted there. As an active member myself, I can say that his approach to religion and truly questioning and seeking answers about God and religion is one of my favorite aspects of Brandon’s books. Dalinar and Sazed are 2 of my favorite characters. And Legion: Skin Deep spoilers I am sorry for experiences you have had and am fine with whatever decisions and choices you have made. I hope this comes across as respectful because I really am trying to be. I just wanted to clear up that I don’t think Brandon has had any personal religious problems because he is a phenomenal author.

On how spren feel about fabrials. I think it would depend on the type of spren captured in the fabrial. Near the beginning of Oathbringer, Syl tells Kaladin about her “aunt” who likes to hunt gloomspren like the Alethi hunt chasamfiends. To me that implies that at least some of the more sapient spren consider lesser spren to be like animals. And might not care about them in that way.

I am so glad you linked this thread. I thoroughly enjoyed every bit of that. Particularly the Dr Seuss and Book of Mormon ones. Just great.

For me it is current Dalinar. I really do just love him. I love how he really just sticks to what he believes is right, even when it is difficult. And I agree with Adolin as well. Just genuinely good person. (Thank you Evi for both of them.) And I think I may have to throw in Sazed because I love learning and he could teach me everything.

I’d say Jasnah’s morals are questionable enough at times to get her in trouble with him. Her philosophy lesson with Shallan in Kharbranth for example may not have been completely legal. And we don’t have enough information on how she worked with assassins to know if she’s never done anything questionably against the law. Nor do we know how Nale always seems to get absolute authority to execute justice. Something about that seems weird to me. I guess my point was that if Nale really suspected Jasnah, she would be under a lot of Skybreaker surveillance and he would pull whatever strings necessary to mete “Justice”

You could be correct. I assumed he meant the Parshendi because they were talking about them just before he gave it to Szeth. But listening again, it is rather vague and could mean someone different.

These are the 2 thoughts I had regarding them as well. Trying to decide if the Parshendi were a threat is what I lean to most, though, perhaps they had heard rumors about what Gavilar and the Sons of Honor were up to. I think the last thing they’d want was people actively trying to get them back. I’m not sure about Nale hunting Jasnah though. I don’t think she’d be alive come the time of the books if that was the case.

So I’m starting Stormlight again, but I decided to start by listening to all the prologues together to get a better sense of what was going on chronologically. So in doing that I noticed a few things and have a few questions. So I’ll summarize how I feel the timeline goes then ask my questions. The earliest thing we see in the evening is Eshonai helping the Listeners with drums then wandering off to explore. She accidentally stumbles across Gavilar meeting with others of the Sons of Honor (one being Amaram). Gavilar sends everyone out, tells Eshonai he plans to bring back her Gods and gives her a mysterious black sphere. Eshonai leaves and tells the Five what Gavilar said and they plan to kill him. After this, Gavilar shows up at the feast (or may have been at it previous to his meeting, I’m actually not sure about that part) Sometime in the middle of the feast, Jasnah leaves to meet with Liss the assassin. On her way out she notes Sadeas still there. She runs into her father talking to Amaram. She remarks that she didn’t notice her father leave the feast. After a short conversation, she continues on her way, has her first experience in Shadesmar, and meets Ivory. She is late but finally shows up to meet with Liss where she hires her to spy on Aesudan instead of killing her right away. After meeting with Liss she leaves, overhears the 2 “visiting dignitaries” (aka heralds) notes their odd conversation, then hears chaos break out. She follows the trail of destruction and witnesses Szeth’s final lashings on the balcony that result in her fathers death. Gavilar gives Szeth another black sphere and tells him to make sure the Parshendi don’t get it along with his last words to his brother. Meanwhile, before Szeth started killing people and after Jasnah left the feast, Sadeas gets to the Kings rooms and must have been meeting with Gavilar, thus making him available to pose as the decoy king. So now my observations and questions. Navani is not mentioned at all. Szeth wonders about where Elhokar and Jasnah are and makes note of Dalinar, but makes no mention of Navani. Jasnah’s POV doesn’t give us anything either. I know there is a recent WoB that the next prologue will probably be Navani, but what could she have been up to? Whay was Sadeas up to? Gavilar seems to have been having sketchy meetings all night, so what was he doing with Sadeas? Why are Nale and Kalak posing as dignitaries? Did they meet Elhokar on purpose or were they there for other reasons? I’ve already seen discussions on the black spheres (no need to get into that mess here) and speculation on who the unknown Sons of Honor were. And last question (as a joke): Where was Hoid for all of this? Alright. Any answers, thoughts, or things I’m missing? Edit to add one more question. What if Gavilar meant “brother” not as Dalinar, but as someone from the Sons of Honor? They have a cult like “brotherhood” feel.

Hey! I was wondering if you would use one of my characters I sent in. That was fun to listen to. (And it is pronounced like regular Taylor, just spelled weird. Guess it was an appropriate podcast to be on. Oh... and I’m a girl... but no worries.) As for book pronunciations I have found myself defaulting to how things are said in the audiobooks. (Except Elantris because Sarene = Serene for me, not the silly Aonic pronunciation. Aons are weird.) I used to not like listening to audiobooks but since having kids, it is one of the only ways I can “read” now days.