Ba-Ado-Fisherman

I don't the Spiritual Realm is even possible to visualize, as it's everything and everyone and everywhere all at once.

I 100% agree. Brandon has already shown that there is an inherent problem with gods that are bound by a single Intent, and that's why I personally think that Adonalsium will be reformed at some point. I guess my issue isn't with Brandon's writing or with his storytelling, but more a problem with the Cosmere that simply has to exist. Shards need to have weaknesses in order for our protagonists to stand a chance. I'd just like to see a little more competence from our villains. Rayse in RoW really put a sour taste in my mouth.

I agree that Shards need to be brought down a bit in order for the story to even work, but I just feel that constant victories by mortals against gods leads to a feeling that Shards aren't all that powerful, even though Brandon has definitely shown that they are. I guess what I really want to see is an "evil" Shard have a victory of some sort. Maybe even seeing a flashback of some sort where Odium and Honor clashed, or Odium and Mercy and Ambition clashing. I'd love to see an antagonistic Shard show the extent of their power and their ability to destroy things on a cosmic scale, because so far, Odium has been portrayed as pathetically weak minded and incompetent. Although I'm sure you're right about Taravangian changing that, which is why I'm so very excited for Stromlight 5. Probably the most excited I've ever been for a book before, even more so than the WoT finale.

I recently finished reading everything in the Cosmere. I put off Mistborn Era 2 for a while. After reading RoW, I was disappointed by the death of Rayse. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Taravangian as the new Odium, and I'm very excited--and very terrified--to see where this will go. The problem I have is with the utterly pathetic role of Rayse throughout the whole book. He failed in epic proportion with turning Dalinar in OB and failed to turn Kaladin after. His forces captured Urithiru and were defeated by basically a single Radiant and Navani. Then, he entered into a pathetic deal with Dalinar.. This literal god of infinite power has been constantly outmaneuvered and defeated by a few mortals with some Surgebinding abilites. And this led me to a new realization that encompasses the entire Cosmere. Shards don't really come across as all that powerful. They all seem incompetent, and they all seem to be unable to actually do anything. Now, I know that they really are powerful beyond comprehension, and I know that Shards have shaped the Cosmere for thousands of years, but it just feels lackluster to always see Shards being defeated by a few humans that somehow outsmart a god. It seems lackluster to always see Shards unable to act for one reason or another. Honor is dead. Odium is trapped on Braize. Cultivation doesn't ever come out of the shadows. Harmony can't act because of his nature. Ruin and Preservation couldn't really do anything because they opposed each other. Autonomy is doing stuff, but we haven't seen much. Whimsy, Mercy, Valor, Invention, Ambition, Devotion and Dominion have been absent for the most part. There are 16 gods in the Cosmere, but we haven't seen them do much that really demonstrates their power over mortals, and I would really like to see something like that. This could all be fixed in Stormlight 5. I want to see Taravangian escape Braize, and I want to see him destroy. I want to be terrified by a Shard for once, and I want to see our human protagonists actually find themselves in a realistic situation where there is nothing they can do to stop a god from doing what they want.

Cultivation's entire plan was to prune T so that he could find himself in a position to take up Odium. His boon/curse was given to him in order for his genius to create the Diagram, and for his intense compassion to mold him for the Shard. So, is it not reasonable to assume that the entire point of the Diagram was to set off a series of events that would eventually lead to Taravangian and Rayse being in the same location, at the same time, along with Nightblood, as well as on one of his most compassionate days? If Cultivation essentially created the Diagram herself, which I think is pretty evident given what happened, then of course the entire point would be for him to Ascend. Taravangian didn't know that becoming king of Everything meant becoming a god, but that's what happened isn't it? I guess what I'm trying to say is that the Diagram holds no credibility if what actually happens isn't what the Diagram predicted would happen. The genius in the Diagram isn't the goal of the plan, but the extensive and complex path that it laid out in order for that plan to be executed. Yes, it doesn't seem genius to come up with the idea to become god in order to save the world, but Taravangian didn't even realize that was the plan all along.

The KR didn't form for a while after the Desolations began, I think, so I've always thought the Unmade were Spren of Roshar itself that Odium corrupted. These Spren could have been Bondsmith Spren, but I don't think the KR existed before their corruption.

We will never see a large scale, high budget anime production for the Cosmere. It's too high of an investment with a pretty small target audience. Stormlight Archive alone could be as big as Game of Thrones. I personally would love to see an animated series, especially for Stormlight. I think it would lend itself nicely to Roshar, but I just don't think it's realistic to assume any producer with enough money to actually make that series would take that much of a financial risk.

I think we aren't going to get much Renarin simply because his internal voice alone would reveal a ton of information that isn't ready to be shared yet. Renarin is surely going to be one of the more important characters going forward, but I don't see us getting too many viewpoint chapters from him until the second arc.

Considering that Taln was HAPPY to learn that the other 9 betrayed him to torture for 4,500 years which gave humans time to evolve, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that he would have the conviction to never break. It's also quite obvious that the Everstrom circumvented the Oathpact entirely in the first place, meaning that Taln didn't have to break for the Fused to return to Roshar. It would be AWFULLY convenient for Taln to break and be sent back immediately before the Everstorm arrived. He lasted for 4,500 years... What could Odium possibly do to him after that long that would finally break him? This, along with the Everstorm and Taln's eerily specific physical description in the epilogue of WoK all point to him not breaking. And that doesn't make him perfect. He's still a man with flaws, but I do think his undying loyalty to mankind and his refusal to allow the Fused to escape Braize are critical to Brandon's characterization for him.

If saving Roshar meant destroying a part of it, I think the Sleepless definitely would. But I do agree that the theory is shaky.

I feel like if that were the case, Stormfather or the Sibling would have mentioned it, and there would be other clues or something pointing to it. That seems like a very significant detail that would be difficult to forget over the ages.

Yes, by the end of the series, I think that will be apparent.

My thoughts exactly

1. Cultivation had her husband killed by Rayse, so I'm sure that revenge was part of it. 2. Rayse was also trying to kill her. Taravangian might very well try to kill her too, but she probably wanted to be able to show herself without Rayse going ballistic. 3. I've been thinking about that line, "bear this power with honor". Now, this is probably a long shot, but could the word "honor" be a double-meaning? Does Cultivation want Taravangian to somehow acquire the Shard of Honor as well?

I always thought that Honor would just open his perpendicularity to bring the Heralds back to Roshar himself.

I would say that instead, the Fused found a way to circumvent the Oathpact which is what allowed Taln to return to Roshar. I don't think that there is any precedent to lock them away on Braize though. For that the happen, I think Dalinar would have to form a new Oathpact of some sort.

Taln is one of the most intriguing characters in the SA imo. The idea of a man who sacrificed everything, and more, for humanity. A man who was apparently never supposed to be a Herald, and who never broke. At the end of WoK, Taln returns, supposedly from Damnation, after 'allegedly' finally breaking after 4500 years of torture. I don't think that happened. I think Taln, even after 4500 years of constant and unending pain, never gave in. “His hair was long and matted, his clothing nothing more than a ragged, sacklike length of cloth wrapping his waist. He stood with head bowed, wet, ratty hair hanging down over his face and mixing with a beard that had bits of wood and leaves stuck in it.” “His muscles glistened, wet as if he’d just swum a great distance.” Something doesn't seem right about this description. I don't believe that in a normal Return that Heralds would appear on Roshar as wet, and with bits of wood and grass on them. Brandon writes that it looks like he had swam a great distance. I think that Taln, while on Braize, discovered that another Desolation was coming without the Oathpact being involved, and so he found a way to escape using a perpendicularity within the Purelake, then swam to where we see him at the end of WoK. The only part I'm not sure about yet is what caused Taln to have enough time while sane to do so. What could've triggered a time of clarity for Taln to do this? Whatever happened exactly, I'm sure we'll find out at some point, maybe in Taln's book. I just really love the idea of Taln NEVER breaking. I think it's part of Brandon's characterization for him, and even after 4500 years, I think the idea of him finally giving in would go against his character.

This seems so plausible that I almost think you have some insider information...

Taln is one of the most intriguing characters in the SA imo. The idea of a man who sacrificed everything, and more, for humanity. A man who was apparently never supposed to be a Herald, and who never broke. At the end of WoK, Taln returns, supposedly from Damnation, after 'allegedly' finally breaking after 4500 years of torture. I don't think that happened. I think Taln, even after 4500 years of constant and unending pain, never gave in. “His hair was long and matted, his clothing nothing more than a ragged, sacklike length of cloth wrapping his waist. He stood with head bowed, wet, ratty hair hanging down over his face and mixing with a beard that had bits of wood and leaves stuck in it.” “His muscles glistened, wet as if he’d just swum a great distance.” Something doesn't seem right about this description. I don't believe that in a normal Return that Heralds would appear on Roshar as wet, and with bits of wood and grass on them. Brandon writes that it looks like he had swam a great distance. I think that Taln, while on Braize, discovered that another Desolation was coming without the Oathpact being involved, and so he found a way to escape using a perpendicularity within the Purelake, then swam to where we see him at the end of WoK. The only part I'm not sure about yet is what caused Taln to have enough time while sane to do so. What could've triggered a time of clarity for Taln to do this? Whatever happened exactly, I'm sure we'll find out at some point, maybe in Taln's book. I just really love the idea of Taln NEVER breaking. I think it's part of Brandon's characterization for him, and even after 4500 years, I think the idea of him finally giving in would go against his character.

Since reading RoW, I’ve wholeheartedly believed that Dalinar will become the primary pawn in Odium’s coming war against the Cosmere. Dalinar is one of Brandon’s oldest characters, along with Hoid. He is also one of his favorites. Dalinar is deep and nuanced, and incredibly interesting to read. I think ending the first arc of Stormlight with Dalinar becoming an immortal Fused would be a fantastic way to break for a few years before book 6. The heroes could still win, with Odium leaving Roshar entirely to attack somewhere else in the Cosmere, but the cost is losing Dalinar. The second arc of Stormlight could largely surround our heroes doing whatever they can to stop Odium, with the help of other worlds, and the conflict between them and Dalinar would be amazing. Dalinar would also provide for a very nice conduit for us to see what exactly Odium is doing at any given moment. He would be like a major villain viewpoint character, but not really since we all love Dalinar. I’ve never really like the whole-Dalinar becoming Honor-idea, because it just seems so predictable. I know a lot of people think that will happen in book 5, but I think that if it does happen, it won’t be until book 10 or maybe 9.

I don't buy into this idea. Infinity plus infinity is still infinity, but there are different levels of infinity. More importantly, combining Shards might expand the abilities of the vessel. Sazed completely altered Scadrial on almost every level after Ascending. Rayse didn't want to take up other Shards because he didn't want their Intent to change his perception of his goals, not because they wouldn't make him more powerful. I'm pretty certain that the right combination of Shards would yield incredible results. Ambition + Odium + Ruin for example sounds pretty gnarly.

Can't Dalinar essentially stop the flow of time and work within that void? He stops Kaladin in midair and then proceeds to forge a Connection and show him a vision. Honestly, I don't think that Radiants are necessarily stronger than other forms of magic in the Cosmere, but Bondsmiths (particularly Dalinar) in the absence of Honor seem to have almost literally taken up the power of Honor itself. Dalinar seems to be almost on the power level of a Shard.

I'm willing to bet that a Bondsmith could easily render any magic user powerless by tampering with their Connections.

You can't just brush off what Ishar did as impressive, it was straight-up OP. He nearly stole the Stormfather away from Dalinar at will. Ishar formed the Oathpact and trapped Odium on Roshar. He can manipulate Connections at will and form new ones. This has to be the most powerful ability of any non-Shard that we'e seen in the Cosmere so far.

So what's up with you and Ookla the Unnameable? I didn't even realize you were two different people!