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Agreed. Taravangian never cared about winning the Contest. He fully intended to grab everything else, and would have but for some sneaky actions in Azir and the Shattered Plains, so he didn't care whether Dalinar won Alethkar and Herdaz, if in doing so, Dalinar proved Taravangian right. And if Dalinar lost, he would have also proven Taravangian right by letting him show Dalinar the consequences of not sacrificing the innocent for the good of the world. Forcing Dalinar to fight someone who could challenge him would not have proven Taravangian right. Dalinar could have legitimately killed someone in good conscience if they might kill him. But making him kill someone whom he knew was innocent, whose life he couldn't justify taking, was how Taravangian thought he could win.

Didn't Nicelle Sauvage find the Perpendicularity in the Southern Roughs? In the Shadows of Self, The House Record Part 3, she describes the following: That sounds like Harmony’s pool, even if they don't recognize it. The accompanying illustration (described in the italics) is appropriately sensationalistic, but reminds me of nothing so much as a singer or Fused. So war or not, I think Retribution's spies and scouts may have already reached Scadrial.

That's what is covered by the adventure, sure. However, the purpose of a campaign book (such as the Worldbook) is to give the GM enough information to create their own adventures, which means they'll need more than the information in that one adventure book. It's very common for RPG campaign books to cover more than one time period. For example, the Mistborn RPG is supposed to cover both Era 1 and Era 2. So assuming that the Stormlight RPG covers more than the few years covered in the books--which it hopefully will, as campaigns can easily stretch over a longer time period--I'm hoping they'll give us more to work with. Obviously, they can't tell us what happens during and after the second arc, but there's a ten year time period before then that would be great to adventure in.

I think a large part of Book 6 will be establishing the new status quo, with it starting to break near the end of that book. Personally, I would guess that Radiants can use Warlight, but will have difficulty getting access to it. I find that more interesting than being completely without powers outside of locked down Urithiru. But I also think that we while can guess, based on the rules Brandon's established and the things he's done in the past, we can't actually know what Brandon will do, as he likes to keep secrets and reveal things we have no way of knowing. There's a possibility that we'll find out next year, with the release of the Stormlight RPG. Depending on whether it covers the time period between books 5 and 6, it may need to answer some questions about the status quo, answers that Brandon will have to approve in order to meet his goal of keeping the RPG canon-- at least in the world-building sense, not necessarily in the game mechanics sense. And I hope it does cover that time period, as that will be one a lot of people will want to play in.

I don't know whether the vision Nohadon, as opposed to the original, historical Nohadon, is an aspect of Adonalsium. Given the theology about the One, maybe everyone is. But I personally wonder whether Odium is doing what it was always intended to do. It is unmitigated divine wrath, focused on destroying those who murdered Adonalsium. The motivations of the Vessels may matter less than the end goal.

Do the other Heralds know that Odium is now Taravangian? I know Szeth and Kaladin left before Wit figured out Rayse had been replaced, but I can't remember whether Nale and/or Ishar and/or the Wind figured it out and told them. If they do know, they may have reason to suspect Battar because of her previous connection to Taravangian. Otherwise, why would they suspect her?

The Knights of Wind and Truth epigrams by Masha-daughter-Shaliv suggest this: "I know that to this day, people are confused by how at the end, spren began arriving in the East without the need for bonds. Notum, now among the most famous of honorspren, is an example. The answer is simple, however. "As the lands began to think of them, and remember them, they needed less the bond of a single person to give them purchase in the Physical Realm. For the thoughts of an entire people bolstered them." (WaT, Chapter 127)

"Life before death, [Maya] replied. Or maybe life after death this time? I never really understood that motto anyway. Let's kick some Fused ass." (Wind and Truth, Chapter 135, p. 1235) Aside from being one of my favorite lines from the book, this also illustrates my premise, which is that each of the first five Stormlight Archive books has a theme, and it forms a ketek based on the First Ideal of the Knights Radiant. In order: Life before death. The Way of Kings. This is most apparent in Kaladin choosing to live, keeping Bridge Four alive and encouraging them to choose to live. And it ends with the revelation of a big death, the death of Honor. Strength before weakness. Words of Radiance. This is central to two plots, that of Kaladin learning what it means to protect, whose weakness he needs to shelter, and in Shallan learning to project strength in order to hide her own weakness. Journey before destination. Oathbringer. This is Dalinar's journey in Oathbringer, realizing that he is changing. That said . . . Destination becomes journey. Also Oathbringer. Dalinar's journey isn't done. Each day he is a new person, he's reached a new destination, and begins a new journey. It's not the first step, it's always the next step. There's another way this is true, but it isn't expressly stated. Only by knowing your destination, who you want to become, what you want to accomplish--a destination that can and will change as your journey progresses--do you know the direction of that next step. Weakness becomes strength. Rhythm of War. Adolin expressly states this in his words to Formless--weakness forces those who struggle against it to become stronger. They grow. Shallan experienced this, as did Kaladin, and even Navani. Their weaknesses, in themselves, in their circumstances, in their experiences and minds, gave them the strength to face their latest challenge. Death becomes life. Wind and Truth. As stated in Maya's quote above, the deadeyes went through death to a new life, a new path that is neither Radiant spren nor dead Shardblade and Shardplate. Kaladin's mortal body died so that he could become a Herald. And Dalinar accepted death as a path forward to life for his people (and most immediately, to protect Gavinor's life). I feel fairly confident that this works, but the real question about themes is whether they're intentional on the part of the author. Adolin's speech to Formless in Rhythm of War is what convinced me that it was probably intentional. I'm not quite sure of the language--it could be "before" instead of "becomes," but examples of keteks show that the words don't need to exactly match. It may not matter, as long as it's an unspoken theme, and not a new Ideal that will eventually appear in the second half.

At the moment, it appears that there are 47 in all: "Noura settled at the table, as did most of the nine Unoathed—the ten including Adolin—who had taken up Shards to save Azimir. They had Blades and Plate for others to join them, thirty-seven in total." (Assuming the 37 is in addition to the 10 they already have. They may also have additional Blades without Plate.) It's possible that others could join, probably former deadeyes and dead Plate spren, maybe limited to lost Blades and Plate, but it's also possible that whatever allowed those 47 to be summoned to the physical realm can't be replicated and others can't join.

"In contrast to those of ordinary Shardbearers—whose Blades could not be bonded and Plate could not be repaired—the armaments of the Unoathed still functioned." If the Shardblades were in Shadesmar, I'd expect that to say that their Shardblades could not be summoned. Saying that they could not be bonded I interpret as saying, at least, that they've tried it, probably with the Azish Shardblade, Blade of Memories, and were not able to bond it or dismiss it to Shadesmar, meaning it's probably stuck in the physical realm as a sword.

I should clarify that I'm not hoping she does this or arguing that she should. I'd be quite happy if she's settled down near Azimir and is communicating regularly with Adolin through Maya and the seons when arc 2 begins. I'm just saying that it is possible, given the right circumstances.

What we're told in Adolin's last POV is that non-Unoathed Shardblades can no longer be bonded. I believe that means that Shardblades that were not in Shadesmar when Retribution formed are apparently stuck in the physical realm in Blade form. I don't know what that means for Shardblades that were bonded and dismissed to Shadesmar. Are they still in Shadesmar as recovering Deadeyes? Or were they shunted out of Shadesmar to their bonded users? What does that mean for Vienta? Last time we saw her she was in Blade form in the physical realm. Is she still stuck in Blade form?

I don't expect her to do this on a whim. She was seriously considering looking for help off- world. If someone off-world could help her return to Roshar's physical realm or help in some other significant way, I could see her looking for help. Or if the Fused were seriously hunting her in Shadesmar. Whether she would bring her child with her, or leave them in the care of people she trusted (Maya, Testament, Pattern, and/or the other Lightweavers who were at Lasting Integrity when the Contest happened), might depend on how risky she thought her trip would be vs how risky it was for her child to remain in Shadesmar. The fact that time passes slower for the people left behind makes it easier to leave them for what would be, from their perspective, a relatively short time.

I personally think it likely that Radiants can use Warlight, but that they won't have easy access to it.

Maya will serve as a go-between for Adolin and Shallan, as based on what she did when she brought the deadeyes to Adolin, she can (1) let him see into Shadesmar ("The scene of the ornate hallway faded around him, and for a moment he saw through her eyes in Shadesmar."), (2) let him hear what people say in Shadesmar ("The ashspren opened her mouth and forced out a few sounds. “Wa … wa … tch…”"), (3) let people in Shadesmar see him ("One of them—an ashspren that was nearly a skeleton—pointed at his leg. His missing one, which they seemed able to recognize across realms."), and (4) let people in Shadesmar hear him ("“Watchers,” Adolin said, “at the rim.” She nodded . . .") I'm not 100% on (3) or (4), as I think he might be effectively possessing Maya, so the Deadeyes may only see and hear him because they're cognitive beings who don't perceive like humans do. Maya's probably more effective for letting Adolin interact with his wife and child than a seon, though she doesn't have as much range.

I thought he was talking more about what the Iriali believe they are, rather than about what they actually are. I always thought the Iriali religion, that they were all aspects of the One experiencing itself, probably had some merit as an explanation of what happened to Adonalsium. Though I'm not certain that it would apply only to the Iriali. It reminds me also of what the Honorspren said: "Honor is not dead so long as he lives in the hearts of men." And as Wit said in Words of Radiance: "You'll find God in the same place you're going to find salvation from this mess. Inside the hearts of men." As Wit is probably the person in the Cosmere most likely to know, I think he may have been speaking literally.

What I learned from this book is that Tanavast just wasn't that good at being Honor. He didn't respect the power, didn't try to work with it, wasn't that good at keeping his word. He probably could have gotten away with a few broken promises--living with Cultivation, for example--if he'd tried harder with the others.

I actually think you're right about that. Though I think I prefer Stormqueen rather than Stormmother, in keeping with how Kaladin described her: "In a moment, she wore something very different. A regal gown, fit for ... for a queen." One other thing I'm not sure of is whether there will be peace, truly. It may be that Retribution will order it, but we see from Rayse's negotiations with Dalinar that he wasn't sure the Fused would obey him. In the past, border skirmishes between and within countries were common, even in times of peace. I wouldn't be surprised if Azir faces border skirmishes with human and singer enemies.

I agree . . . unless Shallan plays a role in Mistborn Era 3. Kelsier warned her against leaving, as she would age faster than those left behind, but that's really only an issue if she spends decades off-world. If she instead spent, say, five years on Scadrial while less than a year passed on Roshar, she'd only catch up with Adolin in age. Anyway, if she shows up in a significant way in a non-Stormlight Cosmere novel, then that might support enough of an arc that returning could work as a payoff. Otherwise, though, I don't expect her to return until Stormlight Arc 2.

Perhaps. I don't think Venli is saying they should announce it to the world, merely that she expects it to become important. Whether that means she expects it to be used for travel, or she expects it to be fought over, or both, I don't know. Still, I don't think it will be discovered by anyone else right away. For now, I think she, and the others, will keep it a secret, and other people will find out about it in, say, ten years.

Did he? "The answer was so close. Today, Dalinar had seen true honor. As Adolin stood for Azir, and Renarin set right a terrible wrong. As Jasnah picked herself up from failure, and Shallan rose above what had been done to her. And Kaladin … "Blood of my fathers, Dalinar thought, realizing. Kaladin will preserve a piece … That’s what we need …" (WaT, Chapter 142, p. 1277) It sounds like he foresaw what Kaladin was doing. I'm not sure whether he's talking about the spren in general, the Oathpact, or perhaps a piece of Honor contained in Kaladin's new Honorspear. But he did see what Kaladin was doing, which meant he foresaw the reforged Oathpact that would protect the spren. It's the thing that decided him on his course of action.

I wouldn't say that's quite the case. He gave up Roshar in the near term, but 1) made Taravangian everyone else's problem, to give Roshar time while Taravangian’s attention was necessarily elsewhere, and 2) gambled on Honor being able to learn and grow and ultimately reject Taravangian.

Not to mention, it's been there for thousands of years, and only a handful of people have discovered it. Ba-Ado-Mishram, Ishar, and now Venli and the Five. All of them seem pretty determined to keep it a secret--I doubt more than a handful of the Listeners know, or that the chasmfiends understand what's been found there. The Fused attacking Narak didn't seem to know why Odium wanted the Shattered Plains (El didn't, and Odium didn't tell him). It obviously isn't easily found in the Cognitive Realm either, as no one there seems to know where it is. It's only been discovered in the same sense that the Dawnshard has been discovered--yes, someone has found it, that doesn't mean that any of our other protagonists know about it or can use it.

Sunlit Man spoiler:

I feel like you're leaping to a conclusion that the only reasonable way they could communicate is Elsecalling. Maybe they got Spanreeds working again, or came up with a replacement. Maybe spren are ferrying messages. Maybe the shield came down and Jasnah left Urithiru. Even if they are using Elsecalling, it wouldn't necessarily be an application that would allow Jasnah to pull someone out of Shadesmar. For pure narrative reasons, I would hate to have an event like Shallan escaping Shadesmar happen off-screen. I'm going to wager that when arc 2 starts, she's still there.