Oltux72

It seems to me that we are overlooking a factor that a Rosharan aristocrat would immediately notice. The Blade Shallan materialized had no gemstone. Now, an ordinary Rosharan might not have noticed. But the Davars were aristocrats. They were therefore dreaming about getting a Blade. It is quite unlikely that any aristocratic boy would not be taught the basics of bonding a Shardblade and that would include that you need a gemstone affixed. Lin must have known that something was very, very odd about his daughter. But would he have asked his ardents to read him books about the Lost Radiants? I think not. So where did he go? To the Ghostbloods?

OK, somebody has to say it. We do not. The man took the blame for killing his wife. He did so, because it was the only way to keep his daughter alive. He kept the Blade that would have been his salvation hidden all those years. And he could presumably have taken it. The Testament-Blade had no gemstone. Yes, he ruled his estates tyrannically, but what were his options? His reputation was permanently shot. He was operating at an economic disadvantage. He did not behave in a manner acceptable to modern liberal sensibilities, but he was a Veden aristocrat, not a modern liberal. Seeking advantageous marriages for his children was one of the few options left to him. What were his options? Telling his sons that their sister killed their mother with an inexplicable Shardblade? That would have worked really well.

I am sorry, but this is a question that needs to be asked. Jasnah is a very ruthless women and anything but a coward. If she sees a tool that is too good not to be used, she will use it, even if it is her own body. So why would she do that? She cannot trust Hoid. Do you remember their initial encounter? She needs leverage. Allomancy. Jasnah spent a long time in Shadesmar. She would have read any book she got her hands on. And the spren will have books on other worlds and their Arcane Arts. Alethkar is a monarchy. Royal children are a diplomatic asset.

Shallan and Adolin are aristocrats. Aethkar operates on the principle of inherited rule. They know their duties.

He died for his people. He saved the Southerners. How much more can you want? And he is a ruthless killer. And he is loyal to a fault. And he is a thief and a con-man. Ehm. Has it ever occured to you to ask why Dalinar never offered Odium an agreement that would set him free in exchnge for leving Roshar alone? Hoid does not need to become a puppet master. He already is.

You might rebind them to the oathpact, but you could not keep them on Braize. So there is no point in doing this to anybody not volunteering for the job. In fact, it would be outright dangerous. You do not want to give a new herald a reason to switch sides.

True, but I doubt that this is without an earthly paralell. It seems to me that we let the presence of a savior like figure create a first expression that obscures deeper paralells. I think the correct earthly equivalent to the words of founding would not be the Bible or Qoran, but the Ramayana.

I must deny that. What can be scarier than knowing that your world is ending and a higher power you cannot change is causing it?

That I doubt Shallan is from Roshar. She can tell blonde from golden hair. We already have something from Nalthis Golden is not a natural color. That screams Iriali. Yolen. Khrissalla mentions the Fainlife in her essays.

Well, it has a lot of gemhearts to be found by mining. The problem with assuming a wholesale creation of the world, is that then you can say nothing about its geology. Leras and Ati created Scadrial with fossils. We know that because they have coal mines.

The words are not his words. Yes, he wrote them, but they are just a dump of his copperminds, so they are not his own. And most of the rest is again a factual account. Harmony says that Kelsier and Vin did some things. But he did not write that they did well, or that people should do certain things. Plus, to a Survivorist, Harmony is of lesser importance.

This is going down an alley we know very little about. For all we know they drew lots about the order of picking and Hoid was left with only the loathsome stuff. I doubt it really makes sense to speculate a lot on this without at least some information on the reasoning behind the Shattering. Yes. But that is not a theory to explain Hoid. If it were it would be in the wrong section. It is a theory about a specific issue. Well, no. That is a basic misunderstanding, as if Hoid were merely reacting to an unforseen catastrophe. That cannot be. He prepared this intervention for years. For instance, one does not just walk up to the king of Alethkar and declares oneself his new Wit. Hoid has been preparing for this, possibly for centuries.

AFAIK we do not know which Shard he would have gtten. However, the more important question to me seems to be why he declined. And what this means for his chances to form an alliance.

What makes you think that Mercy was on Ambition's side?

But in which way? And what limits them? Yes. Mraize is easy to explain. But what about the Ones Above? Surely you do not colonize a planet for novelty value.

Now, before you point at the Words of the Founding and answer in the affirmative, please think this through. Are those books truly holy as opposed to merely true? I would argue that they are not, or only to a very small extent. In most aspects they are historical records, which happen to be written by a deity. Hence if Vin is reported to have said something, for example, we are left with a question. Was she right? Are her words worth heeding? How do Survivorists deal with that?

Yes, but he was head of house Venture. The power of that position allowed him what few others could get away with.

Indeed. I guess that is as close to consensus as we are going to get on this forum. Chris Pine? It has to be someone who could lead you onto a highway to hell by charme alone. Hence I'd reject Ian McGregor. Why stop at the voice? Ben Kingsley. Does she give the Eath Mother vibes to you? I mean cultivation is basically Gaia if we go for the closest equivalent in earthly pantheons. Torres can do a godess, but seem does not look like that godess to me. She'd make an excellent Queen Fen. For Cultivation either Salma Hayek or if indeed Gal Gadot. Too warm for a lack of a better word. Jasnah needs to be somebody would dispassionately argue for wiping out a city for the greater good. The problem here is dispassionately. Out of a hunch: Rani Mukherji

They were treated worse than slaves. Even the comparison with a military draft does not hold water. Alethi men can be drafted into the armies, but not bridge crews. Alethi slaves are not to be killed without cause, while an assignment to a bridge crew is a death sentence in effect.

I think it is time to discuss this on a high level. So let us begin with what we know for sure He seeks to form an alliance of Shards He aids those fighting against Odium on Roshar He seeks to keep Odium in the Rosharan system It looks to me like his strategy is to use the greater power base of having multiple Shards working together as his main tool. Hence he will seek to enter an arms race that Odium cannot win. Time is working for Hoid and his coalition but against Odium. I think this is the core conclusion we need to draw. Now, if you disagree with this I am afraid the rest of this post is moot. I would love to hear your reasons, though. What operational goals does he derive from this? Hoid needs to draw out the war on Roshar and he has one paramount operational goal: Odium must be kept magically bound to the Rosharan system Nothing else matters (derivating into Song territory) compared to that. I believe you can see that in the way he wrote the agreement about a duell of champions. Yes, Odium can send out armies. But that would work in Hoid's favor. The rest of the Cosmere could not ignore the threat, but the armies would be ordinary Singers and Regals fighting in an extremely unfamiliar environment with a primitive technological base. They would be defeated. That determines Hoid's secondary goal. He wants war in the Cosmere. For some reason I am already hearing sounds of indignation from his fans. But think it through. You do not win with troops and generals who have never seen war or coutries not used to producing weapons. Hoid is deeply convinced that Odium will need to be defeated. He needs armes, no matter the cost. And now it is getting ugly. What do you do if you really need to fight in such a way that you buy the bulk of your forces time? You select a sacrificial force to set up a delaying action. It seems to me that the current war on Roshar is exactly that in Hoid's eyes. He does not seek a victory of his coalition. He wants Odium to be occupied for as long as possible. The fate of the Rosharan peoples will be irrelevant, if it comes to that choice and Hoid is expecting that case to come up. Tactically I think that was the reason he met with whom he believed to be Rayse. He wanted to enrage his enemy to cloud his strategic thinking.

Exactly. That is not an open question. Hence it is of lesser interest. Where did she join the Ghostbloods? It was my impressions that she personally does not come from Roshar, but did join on Roshar.

There are animals using Arcane Arts on the Pantheon islands. So they must be Invested, mustn't they? Hence what happens to them if they die? Is the environment of the perpendicularity in the CR full of animal and plant Shades? Is that the true reason the planet is suicide to travel to?

That leaves a question, though. What happens to dead Elantrians? They are highly Invested after all.

I have been too brief. Ashyn is still a devastated place. There are good reasons people would like to leave it. Yet at the same time it has, I cannot find another word for it, tourist attractions Khrissalla wrote about. Hence, where are the Ashynite travellers? Going through Shadesmar you meet an Elantrian, but where are the Ashynites?

Nale Ishar Hoid Thaidakar Malata OK, the last two are wild guesses. But I think, but this is wild speculation I can give no rational defense for, that Book5 will open with the duell and in due course there will be a way to save Roshar but at the cost of setting Odium free and Hoid will prevent it, leading to Jasnah making a serious attempt on Hoid's life.