Wonko the Sane

Honorblade, not Dawnshard. We don't yet know what the Dawnshards are, but the are not the Heralds' swords. Brandon has explicitly referred to thes swords as Honorblades.

If Soulcasting is the third archetype, it is highly likely that it is tied to Cultivation, Such that each Shard on Roshar has a system of magic, divided into schools based on the Surges. However, if this is the case, then our entire definition of Surgebinding (Stormlight energy channeled by a union with a spren) is meaningless, as Soulcasting behaves the same way.

Do you have a quote for this? I think it is generally understood that the Storms span the entirety of Roshar. And yes, they do destroy everything, on a regular basis. The entire continent of Roshar, save for Shinovar, is a barren, rocky wasteland. Every single aspect of the world is a direct result of the Storms. The only living things that survive are those whose main evolutionary focus is to withstand these Storms. What more destruction do you want? And it should be obvious that Shinovar is protected from the Storms by the only major mountain range on the continent; a mountain range, I might add, that completely encompasses the border of Shinovar.

Or, if it is a crater, the cracks nearer the middle would obviously be thicker, with or without erosion.

Remember that we don't know for certain that the large glyphs are the Orders. They could be the types of sentient spren, or something totally unknown. I seem to recall Brandon saying that an Order is formed when you take one of the larger glyphs AND both adjacent smaller glyphs. Note that this does not deny the possibility that they represent the Orders, it merely introduces the possibility that they do not.

I most definitely agree that every sentient being holds a tiny Splinter of the Shard that created them. I gather from other posts that it is agreed upon that Shards exist in the Spiritual Realm. Brandon has always said that it is a person's Spiritual DNA that allows them to use a particular magic system. All of this being the case, it would make sense that this Spiritual DNA is simply a Splinter. They could even all be unique, like real DNA: after all, the Shards are pieces of Adonalsium, but they are worlds apart. As to the concept that these Splinters create sentience, I am more conflicted. To me, it has always seemed that without a host, the Shards themselves lack sentience. Thus, wouldn't it be the people giving sentience to the Shards, and not the other way around?

Assuming that the parshmen used to be the Parshendi, which seems the most reasonable assumption for the time being, I would have to agree with Jasnah in the idea that the Parshendi were originally the servants of Odium, the Voidbringers, as it were, and that the parshmen are Parshendi who have been twisted into servitude by their removal from the Parshendi hive mind. Given that the Parshendi were already doing their very best to kill the Rosharians, what would be Odium's reason for twisting them into something else? I mentioned in my thread, Radiant Machines, that I have some memory of a brief mention that the Soulcasters were different from other fabrials in that they were all artifacts from ancient times, and no modern artifabrian knew the method of producing one. does someone have a quote for me?

It's important to note that while most of the servant class parshmen were black and red, a few were white and red, and among the Parshendi, the distribution is far more even between these two. Could this have some significance?

Still the time frame is about right for the current reign of peace to have begun when Odium/Rayse left Roshar. Additionally, a few hundred years could easily be brief to a Shard, so we have to consider that.

I disagree because I see no need for protection at all, much less for Cultivation to be said protector. In addition to those points made by others here, the theory I currently subscribe to is that it was during this period that Odium/Rayse left the planet on his excursion to Sel. Thus, there would obviously be a sudden decrease in the offensive. Would everyone please stop comparing the Honorblades and Shardblades to the Dawnshards? There is absolutely no evidence to support the claim that the Dawnshards are even weapons at all, and a quick skim of this very topic will find dozens of points to the contrary. I had not yet considered the dichotomy of Odium/Rayse's actions, but it is indeed bewildering. It has been stated outright numerous times that he has decided to take a more subtle aproach to his conquest of Roshar. Why, then, the sudden cataclysm of the True Desolation?

No matter what your stance on this point (I personally disagree), This is quite remarkable? Why is Odium's power to cause dissension centered only on the East? I agree that Shinovar, being a culture excessively obsessed with agriculture, as well as the only place on Roshar capable of conventional farming, is the prime candidate for the seat of power of a godess whose very name is Cultivation. With respect to every alternative, the existence of some vague hints toward other options does not deny the overpowering connection here. If you read the post on highstorms, my madcap theory is that Honor/Tanavast's body is actually pulling the highstorms into it.

Didn't Brandon specifically say that Odium/Rayse did not cause the Reod, and that it was just an ordinary earthquake? I remember reading that somewhere. The Honorblades were the ten swords of the Heralds. So far as we know, nine of them are still stuck in a circle in the ground somewhere on Roshar, and the tenth is laying on the ground at the gates of Kholinar. I would assume that Honor/Tanavast would know where they are, but he never even mentions them to Dalinar. However, he seems to believe that the Dawnshards could turn the tide of the war. Thus, it would seem that the Honorblades are trivial things when compared with Dawnshards. Have we had any confirmation at all tht the Dawnshards are even weapons, much less swords? I can't remember anything. This seems like a small enough question to ask Brandon without getting RAFO'd. No one has commented on the existence of at least two other things that start with Dawn: Dawnsingers, which were some sort of peaceful messenger from Honor/Tanavast, and Dawncant, which was a/the language spoken during Roshar's early history. I also believe I remember some mention of Dawncities, though for the life of me, I can't recall where or in what context.

I suppose if its a world we haven't seen, it makes sense that we haven't seen any instances of travel between the two. Or, if we have, that we haven't recognised them. I still hold that Sel and Roshar might be relatively close together. However, I have realized that since Scadrial has apparently developed interplanetary travel by the time Way of Kings occurred, and Elantris comes before Mistborn, Sel has had the time to create even more capable spacecraft. however, as Odium/Rayse visited before the events of Elantris, he couldn't have used said spacecraft to return to Roshar. Does anyone remember some info as to how old the Plains are? A few characters have commented on the kingdom that used to be there, so their formation has not been completely lost to time. This is one of the only time frames I am missing, and if it fits in with the rest, I, for one, will be wholly convinced.

I believe that this is now threadjacking the threadjacker of a threadjacker, but I believe that in a coming Scadrial storyline, which takes place before the events of WoK, Scadrial will have grown technologically advanced to the point of interplanetary travel. Elantris comes before Mistborn, so they have had even more time to develop spacecraft. Thus, travel through the Physical Realm is not as ridiculous as it might seem. For cataclysmic events on Sel, didn't Rayse visit and actually Splinter the Shards there. That has to have some sort of impact. Of course, this doesn't negate your theory, as he could have just flung the locals off-planet. I have a hunch, though, that Odium/Rayse travels through the Physical Realm, but I'm not going to threadjack myself in the same post, so if you want to discuss that, see my thread "On the Nature of the Shattered Plains."

Actually, if Scadrial gets spaceships, they can travel around and slowly learn about the cosmere. there will still be a "who are they," but it won't be a problem because the characters would be just as confused as the readers.

It has been observed far too many times that there is some elusive symmetry to the Shattered Plains for their formation to be irrelevant. Their location used to be occupied by a large Kingdom. Now it is a broken wasteland. Something cataclysmic obviously happened. I am trying to guess what. I am almost positive that it was some kind of Extraterrestrial impact. On a side note, do you suppose that Roshar and Sel could be somewhat close together? If I am right, This is the second instance of travel between the two planets, and there is evidence that both occured through the Physical Realm. I seem to remember an interview in which Brandon said that Roshar was in the same solar system as another of his worlds could it be Sel?

Actually, This is a potential explanation in itself, and I can't believe I missed it. Maybe the storms don't go any farther than Shinovar. I never said he wasn't dead. Tanavast is almost certainly dead. Because it was Odium/Rayse that killed him, there's a good chance that Honor was Splintered. Now, a lot of people are guessing that the spren are in fact the Splinters of Honor. We have seen that windspren seem to follow the storms west, and that Syl desperately wanted to. This solidifies the fact the multiple kinds of spren are drawn west by the storms. We also have a quote saying that Honor was in the west at the time of the building of Urithiru. Whether he is still there is up for debate, but let's assume for now that he is, albeit dead. If this is the case, it would seem that the spren are being drawn to his body. If these spren really are pieces of Honor, that means that they are regrouping at their original body. If one takes all of this for granted, it is pretty concievable that the reason for their gathering is that they are coming together again, reforming the Shard. Think of it like this: instead of the storms being pushed out by the east, they are being pulled in by the west. It has little grounds, but the mere fact that Honor is dead does not disprove it. In fact, if Honor was not dead, this would make no sense at all!

Many people assume that the Dawnshards were the blades of the Heralds. However, there were also references to Honorblades, which could just as well be said blades. In fact, in the goodreads Q&A, Brandon specifically called these swords Honorblades. This being the case, what do you suppose the Dawnshards are? Honor certainly seems to believe that they are essential. It is interesting to note that Dawn- is used as a prefix in several other places, such as in Dawnsingers and Dawncant.

How, exactly, do you suppose they calculate the storms? perhaps based on certain factors involved in the last storm? You guys haven't commented on my crackpot "Honor is reforming" idea! And I'd still like if we could figure out where the Sun rises.

Yeah, there's gonna be spoilers. Duh. First and foremost, I've seen a lot of people say that the Tower is the plateau at the center of the Plains. This is incorrect. Kaladin saw while riding the storm that the center is occupied by the plateau on which the Parshendi live, and they don't live on the Tower. This also demonstrates that the Prime Map covers less than half of the Plains, which makes sense, because even with its aid, Dalinar was unable to determine the underlying pattern. Anyway, the numerous references to some symmetry to the plains have drawn my attention. Based on Kaladin's observations, it would seem as though they were formed by some sort of massive impact. Now, I am going to propose a radical theory: what if said impact was caused by Odium/Rayse's return to Roshar? It would seem that the gap been the Last Desolation and the True Desolation has been longer than the usual lapse between desolations. Could this be because Odium/Rayse has been gone, off making mischief on Sel? If this is the case, the time frame would be right for the Shattered Plains to have been formed by his re-arrival on the planet. In addition, the Parshendi, disputed servants of Odium/Rayse, reside at the very center of the impact. This theory has little definite evidence, but more and more I am coming to believe it is correct. Your thoughts?

I certainly agree that the Thrill is caused by Odium-Rayse's influence on Roshar. It has been stated many times that he has realized that it is far more effective for him to incite humans to fight among themselves rather than directly assault them. This falls perfectly in line with the concept of the Thrill. In addition, two of the characters most attuned to Honor, Dalinar and Kaladin, are the only men to have shaken it off. Szeth, who is a full Radiant (sort of), never seems to feel it at all. This makes sense as, in Dalinar's vision, the Radiant seems to claim that she can teach him to resist the Thrill.

What's truly interesting is that, apart from a small hint by Hoid, the evidence is fairly strong that the storms travel only East to West. If that is true, where do they go after they hit the western point of the globe? I have two potential explanations. The more reasonable one is that they travel still further, so that in reality there is a small number of storms that circle the globe, hitting Roshar over and over again. Alternatively, and somewhat more far-fetched, they could be absorbed by Honor's body. We have evidence that Honor is in the West, and windspren, potentially pieces of the Shard, follow the storms in that direction. Syl, too, felt an urge to follow them, so it's not just one kind of spren. Could Honor be somehow reforming? On another note, the ketek in the endnote has a lot of, albeit cryptic, information on the storms. Most intriguingly, it describes them as dying. This meshes with my first theory, as storms that exist for that long must eventually falter. Lastly, while on the topic of planets, can someone find me a quote as to which directions the sun rises and sets in? I have a hunch that the axis of rotation will make a lot of difference in the way we look at things.

Spoilers will ensue. The voice in the highstorm tells Kaladin that men no longer ride the storms. This strongly implies that they used to. Food for thought.

To counter my own idea, though, most of the other quotes seem like visions of the past, along with one that seems to describe Kaladin's climax scene.

Well, what do we really know about Shadesmar? Apart from knowing that Hoid uses it to planet-hop, most of it comes from the back of the book, Shallan's brief visits, and some mentions in the Geranid chapter. That's not a lot to go by. On a side note, I feel that some of the dying see Shadesmar: the chapter 4 epigraph describes a "distant sun, dark and cold, shining in a black sky." this is strikingly similar to the description of Shadesmar given in Shallan's visits.