Child of Hodor

That's where I'm at. The entity is both the Spren that existed previously and the cognitive shadow of Tanavast. SA5 Prologue: He's the ghost of the guy that gave the order and the spren that received the order. There's that moment in the SA 5 prologue where Gavilar looks into Stormfather's eyes and see Roshar from space. A view that the Spren would not have since it rides the storms it's never been in space (that we know of ). This was more of a God's eye view similar to the scene where Dalinar sees Odium and Dalinar's standing on a tiny Roshar looking into space at Odium. I think Tanavast's only interactions with Dalinar (aside from the visions) is to occasionally pipe up and say "Unite Them" to him.

I just don't see Lirin as anything more than a foil / mirror for Kaladin. Where Kaladin gets his stick-in-the-mudness. He seems too minor of a character to become a god. I could see him becoming a radiant, maybe. What order? Whatever the worst one is. I can't stand him so I don't want to see him continue show up in other novels as a shard vessel.

He’s in part the Spren that existed before Honor died but he is also part cognitive shadow of the human that held Honor. The Spren part might not lie but the ghost part can. in the prologue he says “When I decided to seek a person to bond” and Gavilar calls him on it “I thought were ordered to” and stormfather basically says it’s complicated. He’s both the Spren who received the order and the ghost of the guy that gave the order.

Terrible idea for the 5th ideal and the title. Kaladin: I am Wind! Shallan: That’s right, Kaladin. And I, I am Truth!!

Yeah, I'm expecting a secret third thing to happen with the climax of this book. I expect more shards to be involved in the back half as well. At least Valor. When Taravangian ascends we get this weird paragraph on the definition of Bravery which sounds a lot like a shard description. Did Valor give Taravangian a stealthy nudge here? I'm not sure why this paragraph is in the book other than to hint at Valor's involvement. Not sure what to make of it, but a planet that has constant wars would attract a shard of valor I would think.

I suppose I was thinking of him relative to Kaladin and Shallan and how he is able to consistently be there for them when they are having a hard time. Now that I think about it he did murder a guy and recently learned his dad accidently burned his mom to death while intentionally burning an entire city and he really hasn't dealt with either thing emotionally. Given all that I think you are correct well-adjusted is not the right thing to say about him

In addition to having a deadeye blade he’s also well-adjusted psychologicly. Szeth, Kaladin, Shallan, Dalinar, Renarin, Lift, Teft have, uh, some difficulties that seem to be a part of what attracts radiant Spren.

Odium wins the contest, tries to get out of the deal by using his leverage over Fused Dalinar. But he's now Fused/Herald/Honor Dalinar who has modified the Oathpact to apply to Odium. Dalinar and Taravangian stuck on Braize together debating philosophy endlessly or until the back half. Alternatively, Odium is split in two and Dalinar/Honor and Cultivation Ascend to a piece of it. Really shakes things up for the back half. We don't know a partial Shard ascension is possible, but we don't know that it isn't. I think Shinovar gets destroyed towards the end. Szeth will be looking down on it crying as the ocean rushes in and it will fulfill this death rattle:

I agree. Him finding a reason to want to live is more what his arc is about. Giving him death like he often wants would not be as big a sacrifice in a way. Having to live is the bigger challenge for him. It would be really cruel if Syl died and Kaladin did not.

That’s why I said “along the lines of” it’s a synonym of Wisdom which the WoB I linked to said is thiiiiiis close to the last shard name. Also this WoB says Prudence sounds an awful lot like a Shard. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/398/#e13231

I looked at all the major times she summons a blade and there is nothing obvious. Chana's blade has a huge hole in the center, but nothing like that is described although sometimes it's simply described a "silvery" shardblade which is all of them. Yeah I was thinking about the heartbeat thing. When she kills Tyn in WoR Ch. 34 she thinks to herself she doesn't need 10 heartbeats, but then thinks she needs more time. The blade she draws is described as silvery which is not helpful. She could simply be thinking of how Testament used to not need a heartbeat count but now does. In the chasm in Ch. 72 it's pretty clearly Pattern, it has a pattern on it that glows in the dark both Shallan and Kaladin remark on it. Kaladin touches it and it doesn't scream like a dead eyed blade. Nothing about a big hole in the center. When she activates the Oathgate in Ch. 86 she calls pattern by name right before the blade appears. It's probably him. In OB and RoW she is almost always undercover or in Shadesmar where the spren blades can't be summoned and she never summons a third blade. Adolin teaches her some of the sword forms early in OB but we don't get much of a description of her blade there. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if she had the honorblade. Even some her "Truths" are lies like the big reveal that she killed her mother has Shallan talking to Pattern as if he was the blade there. Is her name even Shallan? Can't trust her.

Probably, triple wield!! It might be worth looking back at every time she’s summoned a blade and compare it to the blade Gavilar was examining in the prologue.

There is only one unnamed Shard and evidence is mounting that it is something along the lines of Wisdom or Prudence or a similar concept. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/535/#e16590 The Shards we've encountered in the books get a flowery description of their intent "it was a perfect musical note held forever" "it was the most intimate embrace of lovers" etc. That got me thinking how Prudence / Wisdom might be a little lame in a funny way and that it would be fun to riff on what the unmet shards like Whimsy's flowery descriptions are. Prudence: I am the knowledge gleaned from the mistakes of others, I am the meditating hermit on the mountain top, I am looking both ways before crossing the street, I am waiting an hour after eating before getting in the pool! Whimsy: I am commitment to the bit ... until I don't feel like it anymore, I am every shout of "YOLO" ever uttered, I am the sock that catches the wind, I am the flower that waters you, I am so EXTRA!! Invention: I am the curiosity of every scholar, I am the urge to tinker just a little more, I am boredom with the same old thing, I am always in the garage working you know this is my "me" time how am I supposed to get any work done with these constant interruptions I am on the verge a breakthrough here I can feel it. No that's not a colander on my head it's a special device!!! Btw in my head these are all read by Don Pardo the longtime SNL opening credits guy https://youtu.be/_6YXwShVi04?si=m7-GEQeFD2PeiEnf

So is it Dragonsteel Nexus Convention or Dragonsteel Nexus? I think he's saying it's the latter, but it is still a convention named Dragonsteel Nexus. If they didn't like Dragonsteel Convention I don't think they solved anything with this. It's still the name of the company and then a name for a place where things/people meet. They just made it slightly unclear the nature of the thing by taking out Convention and putting in Nexus. Whatever.

*Arcade game announcer voice* TRRRIPPLE SHARD!!! Or what if Odium gets torn apart and both Honor and Cultivation merge with a piece? Dalinar is highly connected to Odium and Cultivation took a piece of Dalinar so she has some Connection to Odium. Ascending to a part of a splintered Shard may or may not be a thing that can happen. It would really shake things up for the back half.

Great chart! This gets really tough with Shards like Whimsy. An endowment is already a gift, I think Honor + Endowment needs to be something else. Like Inheritance where property is passed down based on a code of laws and a will. Sounds like a boring Shard . Mercy + Ruin = Nihilism. End all suffering in the Cosmere by killing everyone. Odium + Virtuosity = Art Criticism. Giving the Cosmere 2 thumbs down.

Yeah, you're right. He doesn't say when he got it back, but when Nin-son-god shows it off to Szeth in OB ch. 108 Szeth thinks that "once long ago it had been 9. Then this one had vanished" Doesn't give a time frame but "long ago it had been 9" makes it sound like it was before Szeth was born the last time they had all 9.

Before Szeth was kicked out there were 8 honorblades left. In WoR Taravangian interlude Tarvangian tries to explain away Kaladin's surgebinding by saying another Honorblade vanished. Szeth says "One of the other 7?". I assumed it was Nale's missing, I'll have to check the text though. If it is Chana's missing that makes my theory more plausible. Otherwise she had to go get her blade back after Szeth was made Truthless, but before the prologue. I'm not sure how long a timeframe that is.

You're right it doesn't make sense as presented. What if Chana's blade dropped when she died and that was the sword and what Shallan thought of as her mom's soul? That could still fit with events as we understand them. When Szeth was made Truthless all 9 blades were in Shinovar, 8 when he left, but he's already Truthless at this point Chana could have gotten her blade. As to any inconsistencies in Shallan's flashbacks / memories, well Shallan lies all the time, especially to herself.

It feels like an error in the text then. Stormfather is surprised Dalinar can renew spheres, questions it and then the next thing he says is this never happened in the past. So either Brandon didn't realize how this text would read or he changed his mind. We can handwave it as Stormfather is weird and we know from Wind and Truth prologue ... Back to the original topic, did they use the Spiritual Realm like it's the Room of Requirement in Hogwarts? Shallan will have to think really hard about what she needs and open the way to the Spiritual realm (either by herself somehow or with help) and the right gemstone will be there?

Here are my current thoughts on it. I feel stronger about what the unknown Dawnshards are than what Shard fits with them. Make things, break things, modify existing things and (in the darkness) bind them. tWoK epigraphs gave us a Dawnshard that can bind all things. Dawnshard novella gave us CHANGE. Semi-Canon Dragon Steel Prime spoilers Why Mercy in the Destroy category? Mercy kill and speaking to Mercy creeped Harmony out.

I won’t pull the full quote but in tWoK ch. 54 he asks Dalinar basically “hey if you tear a man apart and put him back together would he still be the same man?” Which points toward putting Ado back together. I don’t think he wants to become Ado. He seems more selfless than that in his weird way. He was offered a Shard and turned it down. He doesn’t seem to want to be god.

Dalinar loses the Contest ... BUT he repairs Honor enough to Ascend and Ishar has helped him become part a of the Oathpact as a Herald. Ishar mentioned he could help Dalinar modify the Oathpact in RoW. The Fused were trapped by the Oathpact despite not being a party to it. It was only Honor and the Heralds that made the pact. What if Honor WAS a Herald and he essentially made a pact with himself to trap both Honor and Odium on Braize?!?!?! We already have a Shard making a promise to its own vessel (Odium to Taravangian, although pre-Ascension). If Dalinar loses he becomes a Fused so he'd be Herald/Fused/Vessel. Dalinar goes to Braize as a fused (assume the Everstorm has been removed from Roshar) and is like "I'm a Fused, but I'm also a Herald, oops! I, a Fused, am stuck here so long as I, a Herald, am here. What a shame! Oh and I modified the Oathpact to apply to you since I am also now Honor. As cognitive shadows trapped cognitive shadows now Shard traps Shard. Take a seat Taravangian we are going to be here a while." The end state is Dalinar and Taravangian stuck together debating with each other endlessly. A call back to their last meeting in RoW where Dalinar says he hopes one day the two of them will sit together and talk again like they used to. I think other Shards will come to the system in the back 5 and it won't just be Odium vs. Honor/Cultivation.

I've long thought this is the motivation for the Shattering ... or the stated reason, some just wanted power as Khriss says in Secret History. https://coppermind.net/wiki/Shattering As for Avatars I wonder if the "gods" that made the different species of humanoids are Avatars.

As someone who usually finds Hoid annoying if he's in a book too much I have to say this is the most I've enjoyed Hoid, ever, outside of some Hoid+Design stuff but that's mostly about how the delightful Design plays off him. His personality is basically the same. Same types of jokes, same jabs at a Sadeas-esque noble. Same running off to do other stuff. Same telling downtrodden heroes stories to influence them. I just find him much more engaging. It's nice to see him not know things and be afraid more. He's usually incredibly smug giving cryptic, know-it-all answers to questions. It's sort of nice to already know the basics of the magic system going in "Oh this is Division. This is Lightweaving" otherwise I would be much more bored or frustrated with the "learn the magic system" sections. They aren't done as well as they would be later. LOL. I forgot about B-Money.