Rushu42

You know you're a Sanderfan when 3 of the people close to you are reading Words of Radiance at the same time, at your own recommendation.

You know you're a Sanderfan when you realize that you've convinced your entire D&D party to read at least one of Sanderson's books.

Aln, eyes fixed on the statue, heard nothing of the newcomer. She continued to scrape at the dirt with her knife, noting down measurements. She also slipped a sample of both the dirt and the dead plant matter into a pocket, for further use. Eventually she put down the knife, rubbing her hand. It was hardly making any progress - the best thing to do was likely to wait until Folorian returned with a shovel, or to fetch one herself. She frowned at the hand. It seemed likely that it was related to the deadspot, even that it had caused it, but she shied away from making such a statement without real proof. The strangest thing about the plants had been their reaction to Progression. Would the statue produce the same effects? Of course, Progression would ordinarily have no impact on a stone, but if it were Invested then there would likely be some difference to observe. She inhaled another breath of Stormlight, thinking regretfully of her depleting store, and poured it toward the statue. @Invocation @mathiau @Gears @Elend Venture

I really like this theory! I don't think that Dalinar Ascended all the way, though, or it would have been more obvious to him. It's possible that he only seized a few Splinters, thereby making it a partial Ascension (which could be the reason for the disputed nature of it). It might also have been a temporary Ascension, like (Mistborn Secret History Spoilers) Either way, I think that the idea of giving a Splintered Shard a new Intent is a really interesting one, and I would not be surprised if this was part of the SA endgame.

Ooh, an interesting take. But then why would the Deathspren need to be fought off? "That might be a good idea," Aln responded, continuing to dig around the fist with her knife. "Who knows how big this statue could be?" @Gears @Invocation @mathiau

My money's on this being Rlain, personally. He seems like he has a lot of potential, but we haven't seen a lot from him so far. Plus, it fits with the whole Parshendi focus of the book.

My status comes from a quote from Alfred the Great, one of the early English Kings. He wrote a book of laws, also known as a "Doom Book", as Doom meant law back then. The quote is "Doom very evenly! Do not doom one doom to the rich; another to the poor! Nor doom one doom to your friend; another to your foe!" I just found the wording of that to be funny, and the message is nice as well. My signature also has another Alfred the Great quote, so you can probably tell that I'm a bit of a fan. He's a cool historical figure; I'd recommend looking him up.

Aln, focused on digging, couldn't hear Folorian's question and so gave no response. She sucked in a breath as the fingers came into view. "Come look at this. It looks like part of a statue of some sort. Does anyone have a shovel?" As she said this, she bent closer to the hand, trying to see wha, if anything, it was clutching. @Invocation @mathiau @Gears

I lent Mistborn to a friend, but she warned me that she wouldn't have much time to read it, as she was very busy. She came by the next day to ask for the second one.

"A modified spren, maybe," Aln replied, "But spren are created from human perception and personification. Many on Roshar hold beliefs that some spren cause their associated pheomena - such as rotspren causing infection, for example - but it seems far more consistent if all lesser spren are simply attracted to whichever concept they are identified with. I believe I wrote a paper on it at some point. If that theory holds true, then a spren could not have created this, though one could theoretically be formed around the concept of a deadspot. But we can debate the nature of spren another time; I've found a bump." She motioned to the small mound of dirt, clearing away some of the surrounding dead plant matter. From a pocket, she extracted a tiny knife - the kind one might use to sharpen a pencil, and began to carefully scrape at the earth. @Invocation @Gears

Aln frowned thoughtfully. "A spren? Perhaps, but spren are usually associated with preexisting natural phenomena. Absorbing life energy seems plausible, though. If whatever is causing this drain is physically observable, it's likely located in the center of the circle." So saying, she reached forward and began to feel around the plants in the middle of the deadspot. @Invocation

It's pretty self contained - it has a story with a beginning and end, and a reasonably satisfying conclusion. It does end on a cliffhanger, though, and several plot threads are left unresolved.

I'm in the same boat. It will be sent via email, right?

Aln waited for a moment, but the Lightweaving behaved perfectly normally. She dismissed it and noted this down, clarifying aloud, "Illumination had no effect." She examined the edges of the circle. The plants there seemed to retain some life, though they were in the process of dying. This suggested either that the effect was gradually spreading or that it lessened in the edges - both of which suggested that the source was in the center. She looked towards the spot, but saw nothing but the tangle of brown. Aln hesitated to enter the circle with the nature of the effect still unidentified, so she once again turned to the others. "The plants on the edge aren't completely dead. Does this suggest that it's spreading?" @Gears @Invocation @mathiau

Having gained the approval of her companions, Aln inhaled stormlight and began to transfer it to the plants. The familiar storm of energy filled her, sending her thoughts racing and her heart pounding, but something immediately went wrong. A shock radiated up her arm, and her stormlight reserve vanished, leaving no discernable difference on the patch of brown. Aln gasped, rubbing at her numb fingers. "There was no obvious change to the circle, but my Investiture was expended, and my arm received a shock," she told the others. She clumsily noted this down in her book as feeling slowly returned to her had, then turned to regard the patch with newfound wariness. I've never seen an effect like that before, she thought. It somewhat resembles the effect of a Leecher, with the siphoning of my Investiture, but the shock was something new. Does this happen with all forms of Investiture, or just Progression? She leaned forward and, inhaling another small amount of stormlight, formed a Lightweaving over the patch. The image was simple, just a coating of a pleasant shade of blue on several of the plants. As she did so, she said aloud, "I'm attempting a second test with the surge of Illumination to determine if the effect extends beyond Progression." @Invocation @mathiau @Gears

Well, there goes that theory. It was a long shot anyway. Thanks for the WoB.

My personal theory is that Dalinar kinda already has. I think that his whole "I am Unity" could have been the fifth ideal - that's why the Stormfather was so surprised: because he skipped the other ones. There isn't a ton of evidence to back it up, so it's more of a headcanon, but still.

Aln nodded thoughtfully. The others made good points. The effect had likely originated with the soil, as none of the plants appeared abnormal. Of course, it was always too early to jump to conclusions. If the plants had died because of a drain of nutrients, it was possible that Progression could temporarily replace that energy and rejuvenate them. If something had targeted the plants themselves, though, the Investiture could have a different effect. "I believe that using the surge of Progression could shed some light on the nature of this blight," she said aloud. "Are there any objections to me trying it?" @mathiau @Gears

@Ashbringer

Aln walked carefully towards the garden, notebook in hand, followed by Folorian and Dr. Gears. It had taken some searching to find the spot, as the note had not specified location, but Aln had been able to narrow it down pretty quickly. She crouched, examining the patch of brown. The garden seemed well tended, so it was unlikely that it was due to a lack of care. Magical interference was far more likely. She noted down the dimensions of the spot, as well as her best guess at the type of plants involved. Then she began to inhale stormlight. If it were nothing more than a mundane disease, Progression should be able to return it to its usual state. She hesitated, though, and glanced back to the others. If this had been caused by some unknown form of Investiture, such as a Smedry talent or an Epic power, there could be consequences to blindly Surgebinding at it. So she held off, asking instead, "What do you make of this?" @mathiau @Gears

@mathiau