Spren of Kindness

I think Moash's blindness has something to do with the Honorblade, there's a thread somewhere. And yes, the visions were on Braize, but I don't know what's going on with anything else.

I finished Rhythm of War, so I'm probably not going to read anything for a couple days. I might pick up Five Kingdoms: Sky Raiders.

Where should we post Rhythm of War fanart? Obviously not in the Gallery.

I'm one of those people who sees someone who is very much a minor character and hopes they get more page time, and Dabbid was one of those. And I'd be lying if I didn't cheer inside when we found out he was healing.

Will I ever use that phrase in my day-to-day life? Probably not. Do I think it was the perfect thing to say? Absolutely.

I think that this is my favorite possible Fifth I've seen so far.

Well, that’s the end of part five, and the end of Rhythm of War. That was… incredible. Kaladin has sworn the Fourth Ideal, and it looks like a lot of people’s theories were right - it’s about accepting that sometimes you can’t save everyone. That was one of the most emotional scenes I have read in quite some time. It was incredibly powerful, incredibly moving, and I had to go for a run when I finished because my emotions were everywhere. (I got about a hundred yards because I am not in shape. And the vision with Tien? Broke my heart in the best of ways. The song Brother by Kodaline fits this very well, I think.) And Teft… I cried. It was heartbreaking, and painful, but at least he was at peace when he dies, and I can take comfort in that. When Kaladin loses it, though… that was possibly the most cinematic moment in the entire book for me. And it looks like Kaladin is going to continue his path towards helping people who need a mental health system. Shadesmar - we didn’t get much there, but what we got was amazing. Shallan has a seon now?! The Cosmere connections grow by the page. And it looks like Shallan technically has two spren. We’ll see where that goes - but dual Shardblade wielding, y’all. Speaking of Cosmere connections, that’s an Aviar Lift has? Adonalsium help us all… Next, the major plot twists at the end: Taravangian is Odium now? I can’t decide if that’s an ‘oh no’ or an ‘oh storms no’. The contest is in ten days? Well then. I guess we know what time frame the next book will be. It’ll probably pick up right after ROW ended. Navani is the Sibling’s Bondsmith, which - yay! Her first ideal was… awesome. I don’t particularly like calling people names, but wow, did that phrasing work. Speaking of Moash… I guess I should probably talk about him. I try to stay out of the Moash discussion most of the time, but well. Suicide baiting is unforgiveable in my eyes, and I’m going to be rather mad at him for quite some time. I wasn’t expecting him to go blind, though. I feel like he’s being set up to show up in like, one scene in the second arc, where he’s in jail, blind, and facing the consequences for his actions. Some of the Listeners made it out! With help from a chasmfiend! I cannot wait to see more of that. And finally, because there’s not really a better way to explain how I’m feeling, here are the notes I took on Part Five. (Possible Mistborn spoilers. Also, these aren’t very coherent, nor are they very clear in places.) Overall, I enjoyed Rhythm of War a lot! I'm a reader who doesn't tend to really critique a book, I either enjoy it, have very few feelings, or dislike it, and I very much enjoyed this book.

I feel like ultimately, Part Four is about finding your voice. We saw it with Maya, with Dabbid, and in a way, Venli. That scene at the end, where Raboniel kills her daughter… was incredibly sad, and made awful, tragic sense. She’s at peace, in the only way left to her. I wonder if we’ll see that again, with other Fused. I suspect that’s how the Pursuer is going out. Wit is back at it again with his storytelling wisdom, and I love that part! To quote my notes on that part, ‘trick him into self-love!’ I’d love to see that as a separate story, kind of like the way Sanderson has talked about making The Girl Who Looked Up it’s own story. I think that this might be my favorite Wit story yet, it's the kind of story that really resonates with me. And this: “I am an artist,” Wit said. “I should thank you not to demean me by insisting my art must be trying to accomplish something.” is incredibly relatable. I don’t really have anything to say about Kaladin in this part - he did spend quite a bit of time unconscious after all. But again, Wit’s story was amazing. I hope they find Syl soon… On to the last section: Shadesmar. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but I was right - Shallan was the cause of the deadeye. I wonder if we’ll see more about that later. And chapter 93 was incredible. I assume Veil’s gone? She’s integrated into Shallan? That makes the name ‘The Three’ defunct, since Formless wasn’t really an alter, it seems, and now there’s just two. And Maya. Oh my goodness. I loved that part. It was so powerful! That’s about all I can say on it. Put the next thing in a spoiler just in case. On to Part Five and the Sanderlanche! I'm absolutely terrified!

What should I do if my ribs ache?

Episode Four:

This is for schoolwork. WTWTTSW you lose a part of your skeleton?

It was interesting seeing Kaladin as essentially normal in this part. He doesn’t have his Lashings, so watching him have to figure out how to work without the Surges he’s grown used to was very fun. Those nightmares are getting worrying - I hope those don’t continue. I love that Syl and Kaladin got to have a discussion about how to help each other, that feels like it’s a step in a very good direction. And I find myself liking Dabbid’s character even more. I nearly cheered when he spoke - it felt so triumphant. Overall, I really enjoyed Kaladin’s chapters, I tend to really like the ‘sneaking around the occupied base’ storyline. And the fact that’s he’s doing all this while battling very nasty nightmare visions and depression is inspiring, though I do not have problems with either of those. Navani’s sections were fun to read. I still didn’t get much about the Sibling, but we’ve two parts to go, and there was so much information! Particularly Lifelight - I have a feeling a lot of theories got confirmed with that reveal. I do wonder, since Odium and Honor have storms, could Cultivation have one? Or no? The teaser about Thaidakar was mean. But, on the topic of Jasnah, I am slightly more terrified of her, and a lot more terrified of Wit, after the Ruthar scene. Those two make a very scary team. I can’t deny that I enjoyed the scene though. Venli’s chapters were okay. Still not my favorite, but I loved the scene where the stone spoke to her. I wonder if that’s how the Dawncities came into being, the ones with cymatic patterns? Based on the interludes after part two, I wonder if Taravangian is going to survive the book.

Okay, finished part two. And. Uh. Wow. First off, I didn't realize we knew Pattern was the spy. I missed that. But now, after reading the posts here, I've got to admit, it makes sense. If Shallan bonded a Cryptic very young, somehow broke her oaths, and then Pattern came as a spy/replacement? That lines up with the deadeye that was found. Edit: I went back and reread that part, and oh. Oh wow. That's... um. Dang. Well then. Well, things are definitely happening. Adolin’s got himself on trial, Shallan/Veil/Radiant are fighting against a new personality, Urithiru is being occupied, and Kaladin both started an attempt to fix Alethkar’s mental health system and argued with Lirin as the occupation was ongoing, which made me very sad, but they did get some of the dirty laundry out. I have a feeling Adolin’s avoiding thinking about what Dalinar did, which… that’s not going to end up well. I feel like I learnt a lot more about Kaladin in this part, especially during his argument with Lirin. Kaladin’s use of the word slave throughout that was very insightful, and I have a feeling that Lirin maybe doesn’t fully understand or grasp what Kaladin has been through. Also, Lirin, you aren't going to help your son or your relationship with him by calling him a monster. That is... *screams quietly* Also, the epigraphs. The epigraphs. Oh man. I get what there's already a Shardcast on them.

Oh no, you've found me out! (We all knew that, I think.)

That makes sense. Thanks!

Can I have a meme?

Martin eyes the fox suspiciously. He hates this part. Mind games aren't something he's good at anymore - he lost that somewhere in the nightmare. He presses two fingers against his pulse and forces himself to breath steadily.

I thought so, but I was sleep-addled and couldn't remember science class. I'm mostly confused because Radiants are breaking the laws of physics and so I have to sort through what I know and figure out what applies, what doesn't, and how those changes affect things.

This morning, I woke up, and my first thought was : 'Wait, if Lift can remove friction, what happens if she Slicks, then drops, a ball?' There's no friction - just gravity, and lower gravity at that. Is it unbalanced force if there's just one force? What happens to the ball? Does it have terminal velocity? Does it just keep accelerating until it hits the ground? What is even going on there? Does someone who knows more about physics know what's going on in this situation?

When you have to inform your friends that once ROW comes, all bets are off and loaned books will be pushed aside.

I'd like to know the answer to this as well. 'The Three' was used a few times in Chapter Seven, but I'm unsure as to whether or not that is the name of their system. I finished Part One, so I wrote out my thoughts on it. It's a bit long, but it's much more organized than the notes I took along the way. I’m interested to see where Shallan/Veil/Radiant’s story goes - it looks like there might be some more Ghostblood stuff happening there. And I am curious to find out just what is happening with their memories. I like that we’re getting more of Navani’s perspective. She’s a very interesting character, and it’s enjoyable seeing Roshar from her perspective, especially since we tend to get more science-type stuff from her. It looks like there’s tension between Adolin, Renarin, and Dalinar, with good reason. That’ll be interesting to see play out. Speaking of Adolin, I’m so glad he’s back. He’s a supportive ray of sunshine and I love him for it. I’d like it if we get something from his POV at some point, clearly a lot has changed, and I’d like to know his thoughts on becoming a highprince, Dalinar’s book, and everything that’s happened. And Kaladin. I honestly don’t know how to feel about what’s happening with him. It looks like he’s using Stormlight as a kind of antidepressant, which… doesn’t seem like a long term solution. I’m glad he’s taking a break from the battlefield - no one should have to be in continuous warfare. But at the same time, I’m concerned that continuing his training as a surgeon is going to backfire on him in some way. I think it’s highly likely that the tension between him and Lirin is going to come to a head at some point. It was a relatively short section, but I’m glad the scene where Kaladin, Adolin and Veil go out for drinks was in there. And again, supportive Adolin! Now, someone in-book recognize him for the amazing person he is! Venli… I’m not quite sure what's happening there yet. She’s organized some kind of resistance? And if I read correctly, it seems that spren have contacted the Fused - maybe the honorspren? That’s going to be interesting. I'm enjoying her perspective more than I thought I would originally. And now I have to save the rest of the book until tomorrow, because otherwise, I am going to Ruin my functionality in school.

Welcome to the Shard! Who's your favorite Stormlight character so far?