Karger

I honestly think that the shard will just be an old program lying around defunct servers in the wasteland left after humans kill themselves off. Either that or human data transfer will be done in a wildly different manner.

You are of course entitled to think what you want. However both Shallan and Kaladin have made very real progress. The fact that they are both in danger of and worried about regression is a very realistic part of life. In the end what happens is up to Brandon and I think we should wait until RoW is actually published before making a decision.

It is perfect. I am of the same opinion but I hope someone else can make a decent argument for another side given the same info. Only Venli seems to have known about Ulim prior to the desolation.

It would have to be parts as duplicates exists according to one of the WoBs.

Mayalaran can barley speak her name during a perpendicularity but you think the sibling can send a letter without one?

There is a WoB.

Maybe but I highly doubt that he was trying to bond the thing and even if he managed to locate or even imprison one we have no evidence it was actually in one of the spheres. Also Aesudan could easily have been talking about another voidspren type(we know at least one, Ulim, was on Roshar). I personally ascribe his statements to Navani to ordinary megalomania(a disease that most "great men" suffer from) regardless of other theories. This is actually a very good example of what I don't want to include in my list of things we actually know. Sure the pieces easily could fall together this way. It would make total sense if they did but we don't have anything resembling proof that they do. I actually missed a relevant WoB that I just found. Gavilar gave the same thing to both Szeth and Eshonai. Unless he had two unmade in handheld spheres(which I very much doubt) they cannot have been unmade.

Considering Mink claims to have had a wife and child, is not working on anything so important to the overall fate of the war, and identifies as a he I am going to say no(although I admit that a kandra who identifies as female could easily take male form is she wanted to).

I do agree to some extent however I think it does illustrate why the henchmen is usually killed off/switches sides before the dark lord is taken down.

Dawnshard is longer then expected but it really should be here in like a week. Kind of crazy to think about.

I don't think people travel the CR by accident(most of the time). My point was that Roshar is very clearly accessible. I also think that leaving roshar would be a pain(speaking literally as you are moving to a higher gravity lower oxygen environment). I mean sure he was clearly interested but I would not hit her up for details on actual plans. and the stormfather is technically an ancient spren. I think your doing more of a stretch then me here.

I don't think we can take anything she says at face value. Remember she called those possessed guards her radiants. He was clearly interested in(from Eshonai's viewpoint even counting on) the onset of a desolation. Of course he would servery the enemy forces ahead of time. Think about how much an up to date report on the fused's moral and capabilities would be worth politically when they showed up. He also may have wanted something from them. We really don't know. Either way we are going strait to theoryland. If she knew about the stormfather. We are giving an obviously imbecilic person a lot of credibility if we take what she says as truth. The way I see it Aesudan was a useful idiot that got caught up in Gavilar's plans was awed by their scope, told that she was important to them, and picked up a few pieces of information. She then used this to generate what she thought was an accurate picture of what Gavilar was doing, patted herself on the back, and then attempted to in his absence follow through on what she thought was his plan. "Have never been described" is different from "it would be wrong to describe." Mraize is a Roshar native and has in fact worldhopped. Also I must point out that nearly ever person you quoted was seen on Roshar. Interesting but one of the WoBs I referenced confirms that what was in the sphere itself was not particularly significant in terms of the Davar household.

I am sorry if I came on to strong. I was just trying to get a point across. Regardless of their ethical viewpoint I do not see anyone let along someone as conniving as Gavilar let an unmade loose without good reason. We don't know/have reason to believe that Gavilar was working for Odium.

Because he did not want to? The unmade probably did not factor into his plans. The ability to find, talk to, and potentially bond with an unmade were probably not appealing to him. A number of clues indicate he has some breath. Additionally the Heralds both know and he is talking to them(no way they do not know), the GB's know and he is aware of them, we know Resteres knows(Mraize says they were confidants). Heck even Amaram had budding cosmere awareness according to WoBs. They are not super unfriendly. Mraize and co just don't want to deal with them. Travel to and from Roshar is pretty common. Plenty of people manage it. There is even trade.

Not argument and will not resume just wondering as I actually had the same thought to some degree.

Many scholars who did not know a desolation was coming and that the unmade were real. Gavilar could understand both. Gavilar is aware of how to get to the CR. If he pinpointed their physical location he could easily send a group of people to the other side. I count Thunderclasts as spren. I do think that what is in the sphere is somewhat similar. To use the video game logic that keeps pooping up in my mind. Warform singers are easy to mow down even with limited experience but you have to level up a bit before you can take any of the standard fused or regal. More important/powerful fused serve as min bosses along with thunderclasts. We know from Venli that the singer hierarchy includes other weird high level beings at a similar level to thunderclasts. Perhaps this is a smaller type of spren that operates more based on magic then on strength?

Not really. Platinum is also an excellent conductor but we don't use it to make wires and silver is superior to copper but we still use copper instead. There is a cost benefit analysis. A great example is manufacturing. We still often use human labor rather then machines even though machines make better products most of the time.

That is not admittedly what she might mean but she is also a certified idiot who I doubt Gavilar confided in much. Think through the rest of the statement. Why on earth would Gavilar want to bond an unmade? He was already bonded to the stormfather! Also finding an unmade is not exactly hard on Roshar. Anyone who has read Hessi's mythica can find the thrill, and moalach just using a few informants and some mathematical modeling.

I think the point is that you need a gemstone of sufficient size to contain a spren the size of an unmade. It does make sense(to me at least) that a larger gemstone would also be better because you could avoid "compression." This is speculative anyway Why are also a bit unsure of the mechanics involved with Yalig-nar. Odium calls it a "housing" not a prison(like the kings drop) so I would say he could escape. Also if all of the Yalig-nar was in there he must be pretty small by unmade standards. This would fit with his MO though. One single concentration of great power. Appealing to the arrogance of an individual idiot. Possibly? I suppose the transport or trapping process could have just required a perfect gem but I really don't see how. We have no indication that they work any way but what we are told.

Given his attitude toward violence and war in general I do not think he would continue to fight unless he thought it served a purpose. I do wonder what that purpose was.

Maybe. But not impossible

OK. Well we were left at a cliffhanger so back to Shallan might make sense.

I am not although I suppose that is also a possibility. Why would he show off a collection of ordinary spren? Sentient rather then sapient. A lot of what you say makes sense but not all of it can be proved. I will try and include Aesudan's comments and your smokestone point is also relevant. However I do not find your meta point compelling. The significance of the sphere does not need to be what is in them but rather how and why Gavilar made them in the first place. I just checked Aesudan's comment and well could just as easily be the stormfather. It does not have to be an unmade.

Then why the extra security sphere? It is super valuable and rare but its use here only makes sense if you find what you have either valuable or dangerous.

STORMS STORMS STORMS STORMS STORMS STORMS! I cannot believe we all missed this(at least no one I have seen proposed this). I do not think the Mink is evil. I do not think he is unethical. However I do think he would not be the first patriot to cut a deal betraying two nations he does not like. Taravangian has largely been made. Who would suspect the Mink? Playing larger empires against each other must be a science in Herdaz by now. No way that nation has survived without doing so several times.