ElMonoEstupendo

Not Stephen Leeds. Not Hoid. Not MeLaan. Not OreSeur. Not TenSoon. This character has several identities. This character is said to have unnatural powers.

This character has several identities.

Not Lezian. This character hates a hero. This character helps the antagonists.

Sigzil!

Nice one, that was tough. This character hates a hero.

That's actually a really good point. Jezrien outright says they didn't know whether Kalak survived, and Kalak doesn't know whether they did, and all of them would have had their Honorblades (including Ishar) at the time, so examining the Connections presumably wouldn't help. Which means 8 of them made the decision at Aharietiam without knowing whether Kalak was on Braize or not. Which seems nuts. Gambling on Taln not breaking seems like a good choice, but as far as they knew the Fused could be back in a few short years. I don't see a way of reconciling that...

That's right. Taravangian. One of his Diagram epigraphs is that super-long number.

Adien.

Miklin! Now that I've dug out Shadows of Self, he's mentioned a surprising number of times. Nice one!

The inkspren shopkeeper in Nameless? I'm not sure they had hair, though...

Incorrect! It was Exton, the clerk from The Rithmatist. Turn is up for grabs again!

Not Adolin. Not Edwarn. Not Theron. Not Shasta. Not Maya. Not Paige. Not Spensa. This character has unusual abilities. This character uses these abilities very, very rarely. This character does their best to get on with their job. This character was arrested for a heinous crime. This character dresses smartly, which was evidence against them. Bonus Clue: This character draws a line, draws attention, and saves a main character.

Not Edwarn. Not Theron. Not Shasta. Not Maya. Not Paige. Not Spensa. This character has unusual abilities. This character uses these abilities very, very rarely. This character does their best to get on with their job. This character was arrested for a heinous crime. This character dresses smartly, which was evidence against them.

Not Theron. Not Shasta. Not Maya. Not Paige. Not Spensa. This character has unusual abilities. This character uses these abilities very, very rarely. This character does their best to get on with their job. This character was arrested for a heinous crime.

This is my favourite Desolation theory: Chanarach is Shallan's mother and the Herald who died during the Prologue but: She didn't break, and neither did Taln, nor any other Herald. This is based mostly on the fact that the True Desolation isn't going down like the others. Ulim's plan with the Everstorm did precisely what was intended, is sufficient on its own to cause this Desolation, and most importantly didn't require a Herald to die and break. They use the Everstorm to circumvent the Oathpact. The Everstorm had been building for "centuries" in the Cognitive Realm. On top of that, Nale outright says that a Connection to Braize would be necessary to open a bridge there. What's on Braize that has a Connection to something on Roshar? Well, Taln is connected to the other Heralds, and Ash particularly. I think that's the connection that allowed the Everstorm to leak out in the first place. Maybe all 4,500 years, maybe after something messed with the Oathpact after Ba-Ado-Mishram, maybe just recently. So what did Chanarach dying change? She's the only Herald we know of to have a non-Herald family. I think her connection to the Davars blew the bridge to Braize wide open, allowing Ulim to accelerate his plans and bring more voidspren through. Furthermore, I think the Connection is more than just a deep familial bond - I would guess some magical shenanigans to help stave off the madness, which might explain why all the Davar family are so thoroughly messed up.

Not Paige. Not Spensa. This character has unusual abilities. This character uses these abilities very, very rarely. This character does their best to get on with their job.

Not Spensa. This character has unusual abilities. This character uses these abilities very, very rarely.

So, the hypothetical scenario is one where Tanavast's ghost has more agency after merging with the Stormfather (if merge they did!) than we have been lead to believe. What we've seen so far from Stormfather is very Spren of the Storm and not very Ghost of a Dead God. The supposition here is that this is deliberate, the two are perhaps somewhat independent, and the "merge" is a cover story. In this scenario, Tanavast is maintaining the illusion that he is dead-dead, meaningfully gone for good. Everybody who knows anything about what went down is convinced of it. Perhaps as some overarching plan, perhaps as some desperate workaround after he's killed, perhaps by mistake. It doesn't matter - the point is he wants to remain undercover. If his growing madness was due to a conflict between the Shard and the Vessel, then physically dying and losing the Shard might have helped him gain some lucidity back. In fact, if he was tearing himself apart this way, we would absolutely expect Tanavast's ghost, no longer holding Honor, to act at least somewhat against its Intent, otherwise wherefrom the conflict? When he's talking to Gavilar, the status quo is very different than when he's talking to Dalinar. The Oathpact is still holding back the Fused, but leaking the Everstorm. One presumes his goal at this point would be to reinforce the Oathpact by, for example, making a new Herald. This explains why he is so concerned about Gavilar's intention to just give in immediately. When he's talking to Dalinar, one of the Heralds has already died. He knows it's a matter of time before a Desolation starts anew, new Herald or not. I have a separate theory about how it became inevitable even without any Herald breaking, but that's another thing. So his goal is now to make the world ready to fight a Desolation - new Radiants, stymy Odium, all that stuff. But telling the truth to Dalinar risks letting the world know that he's been hiding for two millennia, and possibly ruining his plan (if he has one). I imagine he was furious to be bound by Dalinar, but got backed into a corner. Tanavast's ghost having some agency left would explain why Dalinar can do more things than the Stormfather lets on is possible. It would explain Rayse's utter shock when Dalinar does the Big Clap.

I think it's important to avoid attributing more positive traits to Honor than are indicated in the text. Honor is the Shard of Oaths, not the Shard of Always Telling the Truth and Being Good To People. I think it's entirely feasible that Tanavast and his adherents can lie and deceive outside the bounds of a strict agreement.

Rust! Not who I was thinking of, but it seems obvious now. I'm shaky on Reckoners. Time for a reread! This character has unusual abilities.

Mmm, Ghenna, the scribe in Yeddaw.

I've been scratching my head for days over this. It's not that Epic that had potato-based powers is it?

Ironically, it was his will (via the treaty) that allowed Nale to legally arrange his death.

I flip-flop between StormFaker and StormLier. I really really like the idea that there's a whole lot more to the Stormfather than we've seen, that he's been deliberately recalcitrant and reluctant with Dalinar, and is manipulative to the level of the other Shards. Let's not forget that he's both the Cognitive Shadow of Tanavast and the spren of the storms. There are so many times where he's being straight-up wrong about what is possible, and leans heavily into just being the Storm when we know he's not. Also! He did not expect to be bonded by Dalinar. Words of Radiance Dalinar being a Bondsmith was not what he expected to happen, at least if the above isn't an act. It seemed at the time he was angling just for the Knights Radiant to be refounded, but perhaps there was more. On a separate note, I don't think Chanarach has to have broken-broken in order to bring the True Desolation, if she is indeed Shallan's mother. A few points: The Everstorm is what circumvented the Oathpact, and it started accumulating in the CR "centuries" before. Nale hints that Ulim could only have made it across if there was a Connection or bridge to Braize (the Everstorm). Shallan remembers her mother as "brave", which is Chana's divine attribute. But the Heralds are supposed to have gone nuts and to some extent subverted their natures. Chana's family is strongly connected to her. The Heralds don't seem to have had families otherwise. I speculate that this both: Allowed her to stave off the madness by sharing the burden. Like a Prof-style gifting. All the Davar children are slightly nuts. Blew the Braize connection wide open when she returned there, allowing the Everstorm to grow faster and further and more and more voidspren to make it across. I'd guess then that the initial connection that allows the Everstorm to initially slowly build is between Ash and Taln, or perhaps just all the Heralds. One good reason why they are all supposed to return together.

Constable Reddi.