Rushu42

Aln flinched away from the woman's touch, but at his words stiffened and nodded mutely. Teleport? Said the voice in the back of her head. Is that Elsecalling, silimatics, or something else? She ignored it. Those voices were dangerous.

I'm flattered

John's backhand slammed her into the wall. The wall burst as he raised his claws, and bullets exploded around her, grazing her ribs, striking her shoulder, and tearing her coat to shreds. The Stormlight she held quickly healed her wounds, but it didn't stop the flashes of pain. She cried out, voice inaudible over the sound of bullets, as a tall man in amberite armor threw her across the room and out of the newly created doorway. She struggled shakily to her feet as the man turned back to her. His voice was familiar, and through her shock she vaguely realized that he was Lord Arkos, the Ghostblood leader that had joined her guild. "I... No, I'm fine. Thank you," Aln answered. She tried not to look at the insect corpses that littered the room behind them, or the fabrial that lay discarded. "I'm sure you have just saved my life."

This is what I'm wondering. I think that as this point Dalinar's claims have been effectively proven. The devotaries will have to accept that the Desolation has returned, and that Dalinar's visions were real. This undermines a lot of what they've been claiming over the past few centuries. Combine this with Dalinar's perpendicularity, and we might be looking at devotaries that abruptly change positions and begin revering Dalinar as some sort of a holy figure. Perhaps the devotaries will split over this issue, with some claiming that Dalinar is chosen by the Almighty or something, and others saying that he's still a heretic, and perhaps even in league with the Voidbringers. Doubtless this whole situation would make him very uncomfortable. Of course, it's just a theory.

Well, how do Shards create anything? Sure, the Nightwatcher is just a Splinter, but I'd assume that she has enough power to be able to grant these wishes. Perhaps it is similar to Soulcasting, but I see no need for her to rely on other forms of magic.

It is a great series. I remember being very frustrated in the middle of it, but by the end I was wishing for 5 more books. It's true, though, that it does all blur together. If you asked me what happened at the end of the 5th book, I'd have no idea. I don't even know if I could name the titles in order.

@Ark1002, could you perhaps reply to this before the Era ends? I want to wrap up this plotline. Thanks.

I love this. "It's only a scratch!"

If life is a video game, then we have to revise our definition of video game. The set definition of reality, by the way, is just what we're all experiencing right now. It can't be not that.

Rust and Ruin.

Oh, man, there are so many to choose from. I think the one that consistently hits me, though, would have to be Tien. Everything about him and his death. He just had do much potential, as a budding Lightweaver, and some petty border squabble between lighteyes took that away from him. Plus, Kaladin really needs hook. Watching Kaladin trying to cope with his brother's death just breaks my heart. Sazed searching for Tindwyl's corpse, too... That was a rough moment. As was the whole situation with Taln. And Lightsong's death. And Evi. And Syl's near demise. And Gawx, before he came back. And Wax's near death, with Wayne's reaction. (I just realised that Sanderson loves to do fake-out deaths. Huh.) And Wayne's backstory, with the way he visits the children. And Eshonai's transformation, then death. Honestly, I could go on.

I'm going to jump in here (awesome plot, by the way) and say that Songbearer should either play Tarachin as a way to get to know the other gods, or develop his religion. If we can only pick one, I'd be more inclined towards developing the religion, as that seems to fit more with his character as I've seen it, but really either sounds useful. [X] Develop Religion And, if possible, [X] Play Tarachin with Other Returned

Aln began to scream as the pain hit her. It overwhelmed everything. She couldn't think; she could barely even breathe. Through the haze of agony a voice somehow penetrated. Aln, her spren said urgently, It's a fabrial. It's powered by Stormlight. It took her a moment to realize the significance of this. Then she began to struggle, focusing on the device in his hand as her body jerked uncontrollably. She laboriously managed to take a deep breath, and watched as if in slow motion as the light left the gemstone.

@RayOfSunshine

My thoughts on this next chapter: (apologies if any of this has already been said; I don't have time to read the entire thread) I would say that the latest chapter is better than the first two. Once we're focused on something other than the unnamed protagonist, the action really picks up. At this point, I'm frankly a lot more interested in the story of the King and his nephew than that of this troubled veteran and his magic glasses. That part gives me serious King Arthur vibes. However, this could pose a problem for your story. If your main character isn't easy to sympathise with, or even understand, it's going to make it a lot harder to keep people interested in your story. The PoV still confuses me. Several times you make it seem as if we're understanding things from the man's perspective, but most of the rest of the time we get a sense of the whole scene. Try to commit to one of these, please. I think the main problem with your story is that it's really hard to follow. The excessive descriptions make it very difficult to sperate the metaphors from reality. I don't know whether this is intentional or not, but please note that it makes it really hard to know what's actually going on. It makes sense for the protagonist to not know what's going on, especially in his apparently fragile mental state, but unless this is from his perspective, the readers should have a better idea. You have done a better job with it this chapter, but it still feels like you're trying to do two things at once. Are you showing us life from inside the mind of this broken man, or are you telling a fantasy mystery? If this criticism was too harsh, I'm sorry, but you did ask for my opinion.

It's possible that by "a little a bit" Sanderson meant that we might see him in the background throughout several books, but that he probably won't get another POV chapter. I don't think that it necessarily means that he'll have some brief but important scene. I mean, all your points about him being around a lot would still apply to the other books, but we still only see him once. He's a background character that only shows up a little bit.

Aln stumbled backward as he began to transform, her eyes growing wide with terror. She knocked over a mannequin in her frantic retreat as his words materialized in the air. "Nothing I do to you matters, not to the other, not to anyone." Wait, said a small part of her mind. Who's the other? But it was soon crushed under the rising wave of panic that overwhelmed all other thoughts. Aln! cried her spren, and she reflexively sucked in Stormlight. As she began to glow, the abomination pressed a strange fabrial to her arm, and all she could do was stand the, paralyzed with fear, eyes closed. @RayOfSunshine

Thanks! Also, could Aln be added to the character list? She was approved a while ago, but somehow never made it on. Her character sheet is on my About Me page. I would copy it for you, but it doesn't work very well on my phone. Thanks.

I'd like to submit another character to use in Zinc's Era 4 plot, if that's okay. Name: Sarah Bridgewater Physical Characteristics: She's fairly tall, at 5'8", and pretty fit. Investiture: She's a Cadmium Misting Skills: She's reasonably intelligent, with a very good sense of direction. She's skilled at fighting with a staff or a spear, although she has no formal training. She has a knack for drawing maps, and has an excellent memory. Equipment: She carries a pack containing a bedroll, an electric flashlight, a couple days' worth of food, a change of clothes, a small book of hand-drawn maps, and a sheathed knife. She also carries a wooden staff with a metal tip, which she sharpens occasionally. Weakness: She gets impatient and annoyed easily, and has a hard time committing to one course of action. She's also allergic to nuts, and she needs glasses, although she tries to deny it. Family: She's an only child, and has two very supporting parents who remain on Scadrial. She was engaged at one point, but broke it off. Home Planet: Scadrial, Era 2 Backstory: Sarah's father ran a small shipping company on Elendel, and tried to get her to work there, but she was always more interested in where the shipments were going than managing finances. Seeing this, her dad let her ride along with one of their trains, where she worked as a sort of supervisor and impromptu bodyguard. She Snapped a couple months into the process, which made her much more useful; however, she still got the sense that the other workers were only really putting up with her because she was the daughter of their boss. Eventually she left and joined an expedition to map some unexplored territory to the North. The expedition encountered harsh weather and decided to turn back, but she refused to give up and pushed onward. She has no idea how it happened, but she eventually stumbled into the Alleyverse, where she set about finding work. Guild: None currently (She'll probably join the ACE as soon as that plot starts) Psyche: Sane Personality: She's rather impulsive and quite reckless, and has a tendency to go charging off into the unknown. She's strongly motivated by curiosity and a sense of adventure, and dislikes being tied down in one situation. She's generally quite cheerful and friendly, and tries to make friends wherever she goes. Appearance: Tall, with tanned skin and long black hair tied into a ponytail. She wears thick boots and several layers of clothing, which can be removed to adjust for temperature. Fighting style: She'll use Cadmium speed bubbles to position herself close to her enemies, and then incapacitate them with her staff.

"To... the leveled city?" Aln asked, furrowing her brow. "Where my library will stand amid piles of rubble? I'm sorry, I simply don't see the necessity of destroying all that infrastructure. Surely it will only create more problems later."

She carefully accepted the glass with a "Thanks" and took a sip. (I'm assuming it's water. If it's not, feel free to cut this off with her noticing whatever it actually is.) Her quiet spren whispered into her mind, Try to be careful. We don't know how long the battle will last. And assuming that the Alleyverse wins, who knows how long we'll be trapped in this bunker with that guy? Aln agreed silently. Do you think I should select an outfit? Her spren hesitated. Maybe. He doesn't seem very impatient yet, but he's clearly shown himself to be unpredictable. You can try stretching out the conversation a bit. Aln took a deep breath, and asked, "How long do you expect I shall be kept down here? What's going to happen after the battle?"

Interesting thought. Personally, I think that Roshar's fascination with the number 10 is far more of a cultural thing, which is heavily based in Vorinism. And we know that (Mistborn spoilers) Your idea makes some sense as a classification of Shards' power, but I don't think that the number which you've assigned would necessarily be reflected in world. I might be missing something, but some of these numbers feel a little bit arbitrary. For example, why is Odium at 9? Did you just decide that? And why does he subtract 1 from their power? What does that mean? Otherwise, interesting Shard classification. I appreciate the time and effort you put into it.

Does everyone think in basically the same way? How would we ever know if they didn't? Relatedly, would the ability to read minds actually be desirable? Would you be able to stop reading minds? Also, why do we say "reading minds" and not "listening to thoughts"? Usually it's equated to hearing, not seeing.