Child of Hodor

That's true, Shin have "Soil Privilege". I think a lot of their culture and values are shaped by being cut off from the highstorms by the misted mountains. They are cutoff from Honor's influence and seem to be mostly under Cultivation's influence. Farmers (people who grow or cultivate life) are the best type of person and soldiers are just the worst thing ever. As Kaladin's oaths show, Honor clearly values soldiers to defend the defenseless and to stand up for what it is right. Although, they are very honorable in their trade dealings as shown in WoK Rysn interlude 4. Maybe not honorable, but dishonest in the opposite way one would expect a merchant to be dishonest.

I hadn't thought about that. That's a great point, the Stone Shaman would be one of the few groups that know Talenel is the only herald that didn't abandon the oathpact. One other thematic connection to stone for Odium is that the Listeners are able to bond with his spren, which are red, and their skin is always described as black or white and "marbled" with red. Marble being a type of stone. Another instance of Odium's spren bonding with something with characteristics of stone. Listeners aren't made of stone (as far as we know ), but it's interesting that there is another reference to Odium's forces and stone.

We know from the second letter in Words of Radiance that Odium is trapped in the system he currently inhabits (Roshar). My theory is that Odium has invested in Roshar, specifically in the stone surface itself. The Shin stone shamans believe the stones are holy and should not be walked on. I think this is a perversion of an ancient truth: you don't walk on stone when the spren of your enemy can turn the stone underneath you into a giant rock monster (ThunderClast). Szeth notes that the stone shamans say it is OK to walk on the stone at Urithiru in the I-10 WoR interlude. Jasnah states that some stories claim Urithiru is protected from Voidbringers. My conclusion is that it is OK to walk on Urithiru stone because Voidspren can't bond with it and turn it into monsters. Chapter 6, Jasnah: I-10, Szeth (in Urithiru): Another reason I think Odium is invested in the stone is that certain spren associated with negative emotions like Angerspren, Painspren and Anticipationspren (associated with battle) all have red or orange colors and come out of the ground and stay connected to the ground. Unlike more positive spren like joy or glory spren that float around in the air (like honorspren). All these spren associated with pain, anger and battle are sprouting from Odium's investiture in the stone. From Coppermind Spren Entry: “ Vamah was watching them stand there, and his expression was as thunderous as a highstorm, angerspren boiling up from the ground around him like small pools of bubbling blood.” — The Way of Kings: Chapter Fifteen[35] “ Painspren swarmed the ground, like small orange hands or bits of sinew, reaching up from the ground amid the blood of the fallen.” — The Way of Kings: Chapter Forty-Seven[59] Anticipationspren: “ A few anticipationspren—like red streamers, growing from the ground and whipping in the wind—began to sprout from the rock and wave among the soldiers.” — The Way of Kings: Chapter Six[14] A common type of spren that appear around people looking forward to something. They appear as red streamers that grow out from the ground and blow in the wind. They often appear around soldiers directly before a battle.[14] Finally, when Tanavast appears to Dalinar in chapter 75 of WoK, Tanavast shows a dark stormwall approach and destroy all of the ground around Dalinar and Tanavast. Tanavast says "this is what he wants". Odium needs to free up his investiture in the stone surface of Roshar in order to leave the system fully powered up. http://www.tor.com/2014/05/15/the-way-of-kings-reread-chapters-74-and-75/

I think the Parshendi/Parshmen are Odium's attempt to create human life on Damnation, the Shinovar are Cultivation's attempt on Roshar and the Alethi are descended from the people that Honor created on his world the Tranquiline Halls. The shardbearers seem to be members of a human civilization that became gods and set out amongst the Cosmere. In BS's books the shards we know of seem to have attempted to create intelligent lifeforms that closely resemble humans. There are usually small differences due to the Shards having to alter the lifeforms so that they can survive the unique environment on whatever world the Shard settled on. The three Shards in TWoK each had their own world and I think they all took a crack at recreating humanity and the Shinovar, Parshendi and Alethi (along with other people of the Silver Kingdoms) are the result. The Shinovar culture seems to fit with Cultivation i.e. nuturing and growing things. They revere farmers and disdain soldiers and anyone with a weapon. They also live in an area that blocks the High Storms and the High Storms carry Stormlight which is closely associated with Honor. So I think the Shin are Cultivation's creation. The Parshendi are remnnants of Odium's invading force from previous desolations. Whether they are the Voidbringers or not might be beside the point. I think the Void in Voidbringer refers to the Chasms. I think the Parshendi or other forces under Odium's influence create armies of Thunderclasts out of stone and by bringing the stones to life these giant voids are created in the land. It's also possible that Odium is the true Voidbringer and the name has been applied to his creations.(Elantris spoilers): Jasnah can't see the full picture because she does not understand the importance of Honor and Odium. The Parshendi may be relatively harmless without Odium's direct influence.