Oltux72

It was my impression that Kaladin/Syl landed on a rock that is physically located higher than Szeth, so he is looking up. Her skirt, being copied from a uniform intended for fighting in, has to be fairly short and wide.

This may seem an odd question, as the chart is clear and Szeth outright says that he is capable of using it. But that does not rule out that there is a good reason they don't use it. So my question: Have we ever seen a Skybreaker use Division, even in a situation where logically speaking they should have used it? Nale does all his killings with a Shardblade. He does not use Division to fight Lift. Why? Is that a part of the price they paid for going on? Did they have to give up the use of one of their Surges?

The first two books took place before the war began (save for the very end). They could show a rich, developed world. The whole point of the books since Oathbringer is that Roshar is being destroyed. The characters have been through a horrible war. They have to change. If most of the people you know are either slaves or dead, you do not care about elaborately covering safe hands or putting the correct dyes into your wines. The first two books being based on being a prelude to a war required a break of tone within the series. A prelude cannot last forever.

Yet Melishi unquestionably led during the False Desolation. It is boring only if it fails. What if Wind and Truth ends with The Sibling unmade? Then why bother with the ships? Why not just teleport them right to the oath gate? Odium made an effort to conquer the perpendicularity and put forces into Shadesmar as early as Oathbringer. Why, if he never intended to use his conquest? This assault looks like something planned years ago.

Under that assumption it becomes very hard to see why the Singers are splitting their forces. The point of doing three attacks at once is making the Radiants split their forces. Without oath gates they could not move them to Thaylenah or the Shattered plains anyway.

Or Odium used it as a weapon. For all we know one of the Shards he splintered had a second vessel before their demise.

Is that just me or did they just disregard the possibility that the Skybreakers will attack Urithiru?

As far as we know in that case the decision may devolve to Cultivation or dssolve altogether, ao this is not an approach without risk.

Hoid really has no interest in fighting the Ghostbloods aiding humans against Singers (he danced with the latter) cooperating with Cultivation I think he genuinely likes Shallan, but a confrontation with the Ghostbloods while also fighting Odium cannot be a good idea in his view.

This is based on the silent assumption that Taravangian will actually use the loophole. Merely attacking the location of oath gates is not against the spirit of the agreement. It openly states that both sides have ten final days to improve their positions. The mere existance of the loophole forces the Radiants to commit their forces to the defenses as if two whole kingdoms depended on it.

How do you explain The Last Metal this way? How is Odium shattered? Two Shards who knew what they were doing didn't manage that. Something must happen that makes it extremely dangerous to go there.

Basically they are both facing the waterbird dilemma. Neither is likely to survive a victory unscathed. They then would have to face the allies of the Shard they defeated and they'd be in a state that means that they'd most likely lose catastrophically.

You are raising a point. We are assuming that Hoid failed to recognize that a Seon could be a double agent. Did he? Let me remind you of his prime interest: He wants Odium trapped. Let me also remind you of Kelsier's prime interest: Scadrial has to be protected. Hence Odium better be trapped. You connect the dots.

That raises an issue. What is the transit time between Scadrial and Urithiru? I would say months. Hoid knows that. How can they assume that the Ghostbloods are getting support they have requested due to recent events?

No. I am sorry, but that is not the case. It is in Cultivation's interest to have Odium splintered. Defeating him in the contest does not do that. On the contrary, it would leave her alone with him and give him a good reason for being angry at her for aiding Dalinar.

Kelsier wants Odium bound to Roshar. As far as who runs things on Roshar we may assume that he has sympathies for the Parshendi side. The similarity between the Parshmen and the Skaa is very hard to overlook. The best way to hide a loophole is to let your enemy think that they've already found it. You are making the implicit assumption that Cultivation wants Dalinar to win. If that were the case why has she schemed a more capable man into holding Odium?

Now, it looks like Dalinar is about to leave Urithiru. That has consequences. He cannot be sure that he'll be back at all, let alone back in time. He must make a contingency for that case. There must be a replacement champion. In fact probably a chain of replacements, just in case. Furthermore they learn that Odium has changed vessel. Does that in their mind invalidate what they know about the contest? Do they know have to plan for the case that the contest will be a conventioal battle and Odium will send it the bearer of Yelig-nar? I would say, yes, they must take that possibility into account. That pretty much rules out sending in anybody but a Surgebinder. On the gripping hand they have also learned that curing Ishar is useless militarily speaking. Hence Dalinar's options are calling back Szeth calling back Kaladin Jasnah that fourth ideal Stoneward Would Adolin be an option?

A more republican setup need not mean democracy. More something like a setup with only Radiants of the higher oaths getting representation. But not monarchy either.

Brandon Sanderson likes to invert things. So this book may be written by the other side. Hence: El?

Thinking about this a bit while wearing my general staff hat, as Wayne would put it, that drives me to a conclusion. If you cannot defend then don't try. What else do you do? The enemy does not know that you know that they are coming. They are on ships. Ships are vulnerable to fire. That leads to a conclusion. Dalinar won't defend. He will attack. The best way looks to me to send all Windrunners against one fleet and destroy it before it arrives.

What we have seen so far in the preview chapters is quite compatible with Shadesmar becoming a war zone. Wars tend to produce refugees.

Well, then the obvious question. Why does Odium bother with the whole Desolation thing? Why does he agree to a contest? If the Everstorm could do that, why wouldn't Odium just wait until the effect is realized and then leave?

Indeed. We would need to assume that the Ghostbloods, having Connector Ferrings, are very good at manipulating bonds. Squiring seems to be the default with the Nahel bond. Sixth of the Dusk could do a similar thing with Sak. Well, Aesudan could make squires, so they basically can if they really wish to. Doesn't the training scene at the Purelake show that their squires work like everybody else's? Felt is consistently described as a small man. Alethi would likely be monstrousy tall on Scadrial. It may very well work for Radiants. The Ghostbloods, however, have no reason to enable Skybreakers to leave or to tell anybody outside the Ghostbloods how this works. But they do have a very good reason to get Surgebinders outside Roshar in their service.

That won't do. Wielding the Honorblade (we would have to assume that you can get squires) does not require oaths. Nor can they be Heavenly Ones in human bodies for the same reason. Nor can you explain this by somebody performing hemalurgy on a Heavenly One. They are showing the ability and the oaths. Hence they have some other arcane ability and happen to be legalistic by coincidence, or they are bound to a Highspren and have sworn at least the second oath. At the risk of repeating myself: The only way I can see to satisfy that condition without exporting Skybreakers is that you bond the Highspren on Scadrial by Scadrians. That, to be honest, is almost the only sane assumption anyway. One freakishly tall person (by Scadrian standards) with exotic looks is credible. But not a whole group is not.

I'd say that the agreement said something like "I will not tresspass onto another Shard's territory." Going somewhere together is not tresspassing. Her end goal is probably to survive in order to cultivate. As far as she sees it the other Shards want her to sacrifice herself to stop Odium. Honor, being honorable, agreed to do the honorable thing. Honor, however, is splintered. Cultivation simply has no interest in binding Odium to Roshar. It is suicidial. She does not like him, but if the other Shards want Odium neutralized, well, then they better fight him and his allies. She will watch and cultivate the remains. Rayse was not ready to leave Roshar behind in an undestroyed state. That is why he had to be eliminated. And, yes, that is what Kelsier would do.