TiaOmi

Shallan is healing, she is coming to terms with the different sides of her personality and getting over the traumas of her childhood, and you would rather have her splintered and broken?

I think he definitely saw the death of Taravangian and I think he glimpsed more. I don't know if he knows Taravangian ascended, I think he knows more, but maybe doesn't know what he knows - his visions are not linear, they are fragmented and sometimes symbolical. He may realise what happened later. Hopefully not too late.

I read this bit as Odium reading in Wit's mind how he expected their meeting to go, and them playing his part in the replay to meet Wit's expectations.

I think this is the best place to be - utterly confused, baffled and perplexed. Wit would appreciate it. I first believed Wit was bested, and despaired because Odium deleted his memory so he'll never know it. Now I believe he was bested, but that Odium left enough evidence so that he'll figure it out. Either way, I'm not happy how the book ended. If I wanted to be left with the feeling of desperation after reading a fantasy book, I'd still be reading Martin.

Both the island gods of the Reshi and the senthid...santid... the big swimming bugs are intelligent, it's not that far fetched to assume the chasemfiends are too.

I like both of these, I think it's the logical step, sort of like a father protecting his kids - he protects, then he has to learn he can't protect them from everything, then he should teach them or let them protect themselves. Yes, and I also think Kaladin would be more satisfied by an Ideal that would let him be actively included, so something like "I will teach others/everyone who asks me/ to protect themselves" This would also fit with the large numbers of squires that Windrunners have, the idea that they want to share their knowledge and empower others.

How can it end in a tie when it's to the death? They both kill each other at the exact second?

Permission to board the Kaladin+Leshwi ship I think that would be awesome. I don’t see a relationship for Kaladin as a necessary addition to the story, but if he was to have one, Leshwi would be my first pick. They respect each other they share the same passion for flying, they have similar morality, they could work as a couple. What are we calling this? Kaleshwi? Leladin? Kashwi? Ledin? Also, with Leshwi being a splinter of Odium taking over a body of a Singer, if she had a child, whose genes would mix? We know they can influence the skin patterns when they change bodies, are they also somehow rewriting DNA as well?

I remember reading something about the three moons of Roshar being significant in some way - blue for Honor, green for Cultivation, and purple for... not Odium. Odium is red-gold, not purple. We did see some violet-purple colour here and there, maybe whoever the Shard is with this colour is also someone who was involved on Roshar, and left?

This is an interesting point. As Cultivation, she could see Odium as a necessary force that should not be confined to one planet, only with another Vessel driving it.

I think Ruin got the end of the curve where he's only capable of destruction, and other shards can destroy, but don't have his... single-mindedness and complete dedication, so to speak. I think she's capable of destroying to create. She's Cultivation - if you're cultivating cabbages and some snails are eating them, you'd absolutely get rid of the snails. I think her goal is in what RayseOdium said once, and I'm misquoting heavily here: "Cultivation would keep you changing forever." I think she's looking for a way out of the cycle of destruction, one that's going to leave her free to return to messing with her chosen planet(s) - changing them or evolving them or something similar. I can see how the Odium "I'll use Roshar as my base to launch the war on the Universe forever" version 1.0 is less desirable for her that the Odium "I'll save everyone" version 2.0.

And showing them his feet

I think we'll have a new villain. I keep thinking how there's always another layer to Brandon's stories, and a sort of slight of hand to position an unexpected new antagonist. Now at this moment Odium (regardless of Vessel) is the Big Bad, but I can't stop thinking, is this too obvious? So I believe we'll see a new villain arise, and I hope it will be as shocking and amazing as in all Brandon's books.

I think the Unmade didn't originate with Odium. My personal pet theory after reading ROW is that the Unmade where already present on Roshar, connected or grew out of the nine surges, before Honor and Cultivation appeared at all. I think before Odium unmade them to serve him, they were Investiture that "was left lying around" and grew consciousness according to the dawnsingers view of Roshar, unaligned with any Shard or its Intent. With the appereance of Odium and the switch of allegiance, where the dawnsingers sided with Odium, their spren were unmade by him, basically recreating them as splinters and making them his from that moment on. So for example, if BAM was the Connection of Roshar, unmade by Odium, disturbing this basic surge to imprison her could have consequences for all, not just the singers (especially with Honor gone). It could possibly influence all connection of Roshar, and explain why the bond between Knight and spren causes events like deadeyes from that moment on, something they did not expect.

I think he knows. We know that people on Roshar generally do not trust anyone with visions of the future, and that Renarin himself often does not trust his visions. So, I'm not sure if Odium shows him a vision he's going to trust it immediately. I know, me too at first, but then I was, hm, that a strange way of putting it in words... So I don't know if I am on the right path with this, but it's fun to speculate! But yes, it can totaly refer to enlightement, since that's how Sja-Anat sees it.

I think you misunderstand, I'm not saying he's is evil. So I don't believe you can say - oh, maybe he didn't know or approve of what his GB minios are doing to the Heralds, he's a good guy, he wouldn't do it, it's all Mraize. I think he'd totaly be ok with murdering a bunch of people if he was sure that they deserved it and it advances his goal. Ah man, you are all really big Kelsier fans, yes? Yes, you're right - a lot of other character are the same, none of them are black and white, that is why we love Snaderson's writing. I'm commenting about him not being "the force of good" because I see a lot of comments in diverse places how Kelsier being behind the GB could be a good thing, and good for Roshar. I don't agree with that. I think it will be exciting, but not necessarily a good thing from the SA point of view. I see more doom and defeat combined. Doomfeat? Yes, Rayse wanted to win - however, he wanted to use the humans for his war against all others and not just anihilate them completely. he had other goals where the humans would serve him. Tod wants to "save everyone". That makes me personally extremely uncomfortable and in light of what happened in the Epilogue leaves me with a sense of doom - save how? save why? from whom? and, who does he consider "everyone" to be? only his people? all of Roshar? all of humanity? He's already Odium, so he can stop the war, no? Wouldn't that save everyone? This is a man who created hospitals so he can murder people in cold blood for the greater good. Somehow I don't think his definition of "save everyone" is going to be to our liking.

I don't hate Lirin in the same way I hate Moash - it's a very well written character, if sometimes over the top, and the whole betrayel on his part when Kal killed to protect Teft is despicable, but he's not evil. He's just... not a good father. I find Lirin to be the miror of my parents, who were not understanding of me taking a different path in life to the one they took, who also wanted and pushed for me to take their path and do more, do something they didn't achieve. They also did it out of love, beliveing their way to be the best way. They also wanted to protect me. But it left me feeling pressured to become something I'm not, it left a feeling that I'm somehow lacking and wrong in everything I do. Man, no wonder I identify with Kaladin so much...

What I find interesting is that the last intelligent spren she turned said something like "Thank you Mother, for my eyes" (too lazy to search actual quote). So if we take "for my eyes" literally to mean "Thank you for restoring eyes back because I was a deadeye", they Sja-Anat could play a greater role in restoring the deadeyes.

I think Tod is very appropriate, since in German it means - Death. My ultimate hope is that Hoid foresaw the possibility of Odium meddling with him, and used this. If Renarin knew that Odium has a new Vessel and told Jasnah and Wit, they could have played something like this - go meet Odium, make him believe that we don't know anything, have him search the memories for a champion, plant false memories. Al least I hope.

Exactly what I'm thinking - we got to see too little of Cultivation in the first books, we don't know her ultimate goals. What we did see is that she's not agaist doing drastic moves, like changing Lift or Dalinar. Maybe this is exactly what she wanted, and even though Taravangian is sure she wanted something else than what she got in him, I don't know that he's right. Something I've always found a bit strage is the coupling of Cultivation and Honor - it's not two Intents that I would put together as a pair (not that I'd see Cultivation and Odium as a perfect pair, unless you're growing something terrible, like cancer). Maybe Cultiation is open to working with any "tool", be that Honor or Odium, as long as she fulfills her Intent of Cultivation - whatever that may mean on the phisical plain.

This is the reason why ROW was such a downer of a book for me - we got some nice lore and a few resolutions, but now with the Rayse-Taravangium switsch we have DOOM with capital letters hanging over our heroes, and it just gives me a really bad feeling. I left this book not as I left OB - knowing there are struggels ahead, but certain we can overcome; no, ROW left me more with feeling - oh great, so Tod is going to be free and everyone is doomed to die or do his bidding. Because if he can trick Hoid, a person who's been surviving and conspiring agaist Odium for ages, then what chance does anybody have? Especially Dalinar, whom he outmanoeuvred at every turn. I think a lot of us see Kelsier as the good guy of Mistborn - a saviour, the survivour, the hero of the downtrotten. I'll just wrap this in Spoilers, for anyone who didn't read Mistborn. Throughout the books we have this theme of Taravangian being frustrated he cannot be compassionate and brilliant at the same time. Now he can be both. I also think this time the power found an appropriate Vessel.