Woland

So, a singer Skybreaker, maybe envoyform, and [RoW spoilers] Kinda interesting!

I'll post here the relevant part of the prologue: So Gavilar had a fabrial made which could allow travel from Shadesmar? He wanted to use it to bring back Fused, while Kelek wanted to use it to get off-world?

Ok, I'm glad I'm not the only one having doubts! This makes me hopeful that we'll have most of this stuff resolved by next book. I'd say one thing that's not clear at all is the mechanics of the Everstorm and the Oathpact, what and who is binding, etc. Anyway I like this theory: Taln only broke because he noticed Odium gathering the Everstorm to exploit a loophole around the Oathpact. So maybe he was able to do it because of Tanavast death, only it took many centuries to do it. This would probably mean that the Return was due to happen anyway; Odium only had to exploit someone to do his dirty work, in this case probably the SoH. The Herald's role is still very unclear to me...

So the Voidspren were not bound on Braize by the Oathpact like the Fused? They were already free in the Cognitive Realm?

I wasn't let down, but I have a few gripes. Mainly that, while Part 2 had an awesome climax, there was no real Sandervalanche at the end. Usually I cannot put down BS's books after the 70% mark; not this time. Also, some storylines are developing very slowly compared to the rest. What's the purpose of convincing honospren if the war is supposed to end in 10 days? Renarin and Szeth are still a total mistery. What was the purpose of Dalinar's detour with Ishar? The Heralds are still basically useless. I also expected Adolin to revive Maya. Above everything else, I wanted to see more Herald powers! It's a great underutilised source of awesome. OTOH, I like Venli and the Navani/Raboniel stuff was great. We (maybe) finally shaked off most of Kal and Shallan's mental health issues. Moash got his comeuppance.

Hi guys, I'm a longtime lurker who decide to manifest in the Physical Realm. I've got a lot of doubts about the exact timeline and cause of the Return: it's not clear to me what we know in detail. I should reread all the books, but right now I don't really have the time! This is my tentative timeline: 1 - Sometime in the past (after the Recreance?): Rayse kills Tanavast (how?) 2 - Centuries before current events, Odium starts condensing part of its power creating the Everstorm in the Cognitive Realm. Could he do that because of Honor's death? 3 - a few years before Gavilar's death, Kelek supposedly starts working with Gavilar and the Sons of Honor to bring back the Desolations. They somewhat developed anti-Voidlight, probably as a failsafe to win the war and bring back the Heralds and the Radiants to their old glory. Axindweth's faction works to manually bring back Voidspren in the Physical Realm from the Cognitive, meaning they aren't captive on Braize. 4 - Around this time, other Heralds are tipped off. Ishar becomes king of Tukar, Jezrien and Nale show up with Kelek the night of Gavilar's assassination. Battah starts working with Taravangian. Szeth starts blabbing about the Return and he's exiled. Taln is free. Spren start bonding new Radiants. 5 - The Everstorm happens. Questions: a - did Taln really break? Is that why Voidspren are free in the Cognitive Realm? Why can't the Fused directly take over the listeners without the Everstorm? b - did Axindweth allegiances simply lie with the SoH? How could "another one of her kind" (I guess the Terris steward) make her flee? Or was she a Ghostblood, given that Mraize hunts who seems to be the same Terris steward? c - How did Gavilar create anti-Voidlight? d - why did Kelek work with him? He seems to only want to escape Roshar. Why go together with Nale, which is clearly against the idea of the return of the Desolations? e - Why did the spren start bonding people again? What happened to Szeth? f - Why are the Heralds not bound from the Oathpact anymore? g - What is the proximal cause of the Return? Taln's fall or Gavilar/Axindweth's plotting? h - Was Gavilar maneuvered by Odium? Care to pitch in with you best guesses?