Firiel

What makes you feel like it would be a step back for his character development? I do think that Bondsmiths are more likely to not have squires than a lot of other orders. I suspect that if they do have squires, it's perhaps just one-- kind of a mentor/mentee relationship. That doesn't seem to overlap with any sort of discrimination/division, IMO. Skybreakers seem like the kind that wouldn't have any sort of squires at all to me. From what we've seen of Nale and Szeth, that order seems to be kind of a lone ranger harbinger of justice type deal.* *Pure speculation

I mostly dislike it for the cliche factor. There are several elements to that: 1. Love triangles are obnoxious to me. They can be done terribly (Twilight) and more acceptably (Hunger Games), but ultimately, I find them tiresome. Generally, IRL, if you are in a true "love triangle," you shouldn't be with either of the people. I certainly wouldn't want to end up with someone who barely chose me over someone else... 2. MMC and FMC meet and hate each other at first but then fall in luuuuurve. No thanks. I also do genuinely like Adolin and Shallan, and I feel like if that relationship fails, I'd like the failure to be explored in the context of that relationship which is difficult to do if another person is directly responsible for its downfall. Like, them not working out because they realize that their goals and personalities are ultimately incompatible is so much more realistic than them not working out because Shallan sees that Kaladin is more dark, brooding, and intellectual than Adolin and that she wants that instead of what Adolin has to offer.

Yeah, but I don't want him to be a KR! *pouts and stomps* I would be okay with him becoming a KR eventually, but it would have to be far later into the series. Thus far, Adolin has been a somewhat static character-- his maturation is all in relation to others. He learns to understand his father. He reaches an understand/bromance with Kaladin. Adolin's realization that he is now the weaker member of his relationship with Shallan is telling and sets up a great way for him to grow in relation to himself-- having to deal with no longer being top dog. Sanderson sets it up well, and I would be disappointed if he didn't explore that arc throughout the next 2-3 books at least. And he can't become a KR until/unless he works through that. Perhaps he's Dalinar's squire and when Dalinar dies at the end of book four or five, he will break enough to become a KR. (Note that the above argument is all narrative based and not Roshar science based.) I also agree that his not feeling the Thrill is a big deal or else it wouldn't be mentioned in the detail that it is. I highly suspect it relates to some sort of Surgebinding effect, whether it means squirehood or knighthood because of Dalinar and the confirmation that Kaladin is no longer affected by the Thrill.

I re-read WoK before the WoR release. Partway through, I was like And then at the end of WoK, I find out I was right. But the fact that I had read the book, forgotten a key element, and then predicted said key element during the second read-through kinda took the wind out of my sails. Someone was a little too in love with Kaladin the first time through to pay attention to those pesky other storylines...

Well, Brandon put in that part about Adolin sensing the Thrill in Eshonai on purpose. You are right-- it could very well be to reveal something about Stormform to us. But it is just as likely that Adolin wasn't feeling the Thrill when Eshonai was. I don't think that Radiants and their squires don't feel the Thrill. I think that it was a very important part of Dalinar's story arc in WoK that he stopped feeling/was disgusted by the Thrill, and I find it interesting that in the same general time period that Dalinar officially bonds with the Stormfather and we start seeing real evidence of Windrunner squires we also see Adolin experiencing something so reminiscent of Dalinar's previous experience.

But wasn't Eshonai feeling the Thrill in that scene?

Okay, this will be a bare-bones theory. I've only read WoK twice and WoR once, I don't have either book with me, and I'm at work. Oh, and I'm also not crazy-genius-into-this like you all are (compliment!). I did a quick search but didn't see this covered. So feel free to flesh out or dismiss. I theorize that Adolin will be Dalinar's squire for several reasons: 1. I can't stomach him being a Radiant at this point. There are already too many Kholin Radiants. I also think that his story arc needs him to deal with suddenly NOT being the best, most powerful, and most desireable for the first time in his life, and it needs to deal with that fully. 2. He may have already used Stormlight. In the duel, he admits that taking on two Shardbearers is possible but difficult, and yet he ALMOST defeats four on his own before he starts losing and Renarin and Kaladin jump in. 3. If anyone were a squire to Dalinar, it would be Adolin. I think it would flow nicely from their relationship in WoK as Adolin learns to understand and respect Dalinar's views more and begins to see the strength his father has. 4. The only REAL evidence: he doesn't feel the Thrill when fighting Eshonai. The lack of the Thrill was a big part of Dalinar's arc in WoK, and I don't think it's just happenstance that Sanderson specifically mentions Adolin not feeling the Thrill. Being a squire to Dalinar would explain it. So yeah, thoughts?

Okay, just finished reading Alloy of Law, and it brought up a couple of questions about hemalurgy (which, I admit, I've never understood the details of as much as I'd like). 1. So, if Wax's earring was acting as a hemalurgic spike allowing him to hear Harmony, does that mean that the earring was used to kill an allomancer like Vin's earring was? Is there a less bloody way to create a spike that gives that connection to Harmony that doesn't give other powers, maybe? Did Wax get another power while wearing his earring? 2. About Ironeyes. Okay, so I've heard the explanation about how Marsh could be almost immortal by compounding age with atium. But you have to have allomantic AND feruchemical powers to do that. Was Marsh given feruchemical powers by hemalurgy? Does that happen elsewhere in the original trilogy? I only remember hemalurgy granting allomantic powers. Thanks for taking a look at these, guys! They kept me awake last night...

Zelda FTW! My first introduction to fantasy was also a Zelda game... Zelda: Link's Awakening on the original black and white gameboy. I think I started playing that game in kindergarten or first grade... so I was young. Then in second and third grade, Chronicles of Narnia. But what REALLY got me was reading The Hobbit in fifth grade. Then again, I believe I was writing a "fantasy novel" (entitled Good Girls, Bad Boys ) before then, so maybe Chronicles of Narnia influenced me more than I realize...

Would Vasher automatically beat all "evil" characters by simply tossing the sheathed Nightblood at them?

It's possible, but I got the idea that Elantris-slime was caused by dead microorganisms (they shone when the magic was strong, but died and turned to the slime when it wasn't) whereas the crem was a more inorganic thing, like clay dissolved into the rainwater. I find it hard to believe that two pieces of the same original shard would vary so much when shattered themselves...

That's true... and it may be completely different because Aona and Skai are shattered. I'd like to say that maybe Elantrians are more prone to being loving/compassionate, as evidenced by all the good works the people of a working Elantris did... but they were just as awful as regular society after the Reod... so it sounds like it's more a matter of circumstances than anything else. IF, however, Aona did still have some sort of consciousness/will despite being shattered, doesn't it make sense that Raoden would be "chosen" (specifically and at a certain time) for the Shaod? I mean, he seems like a pretty compassionate guy... he truly cares for others more than for himself. But again, there's nothing that solid here. True, but it doesn't really solve the problem of how they could get back... they're still stuck millions of miles away from Elantris and probably wouldn't be able to work a Shadesmar-accessing Aon any easier than a traveling one. UNLESS... the effectiveness of the spells isn't actually based on the proximity to Elantris, but rather to the corresponding area of Shadesmar... the two realms seem to mirror each other, so while there's no evidence for this, I don't think it's completely off the wall. So maybe they could manipulate either Shadesmar or themselves in such a way that they are always close to that particular part of Shadesmar. Maybe the reason it's dangerous to enter is because all the travelers have screwed with it so much in an attempt to make it possible to get back.

I think this makes a lot of sense. Taking another example from Mistborn, we know that Ruin was more effective with some people than others... the narrative itself says that people who were more "unstable" were more likely to be caught in Ruin's influence (Zane put his spike in himself, if I remember correctly). And what is instability, really, but a tendency towards ruin (of yourself or others)? It'd be interesting to know of something like this is also the case on other planets. For instance, are Elantrians chosen because of their Compassion/Love/Charity? Or what about Returned and Endowment? Hmmm...

I vote yes, only because I've decided it would be fun to pretend the Selians in WoK are looking for Hoid because they reached Roshar by that exact method and suddenly realized they had absolutely no power to get back. I can just see Hoid planting false trails for some folks he thinks are trying to hinder him when really they just need him to help them get back home. Hoid the paranoid schizophrenic.

Okay, I think I've got it. Shadesmar does equal the cognitive realm, but there are possibly other parts of Shadesmar not included in the map in TWoK. Thanks. I really need to get around to reading through the whole Brandonothology. Then I'll stop asking silly questions.

Okay, this is just a question... not a theory. But it has to do with multiple books, so I'm asking it here. It seems like so far, the references to Shadesmar on the forum speak of it as just a synonym for the cognitive realm. Is that the case? Or is Shadesmar like Roshar's version/piece of the cognitive realm and each world has its own Shadesmar-like cognitive realm counterpart that we just haven't seen yet? The reason I ask is because it seems to be indicated by what I've read here that the former is true, but the fact that Shadesmar seems to mirror the physical shape of Roshar so closely seems to indicate the latter, and I was confused.

Villanelles are tough. I had to write one for class once, and I chose a line from a Dance Dance Revolution song as my repeating line. My professor was less than impressed.

AHEM. I would like to announce that I made my husband a pair of light-up shoes for his birthday. Follow-up announcement: I am the best wife ever.

Okay, so one thing that stuck out to me while reading TWoK was the importance of symmetry both in man-made things like names and cities and in the natural rock formations of the land itself. It seemed well-explained enough that I suspect it will be important in future books. What seemed equally important to me was the contrast to symmetry seen in the description of the symbol-heads (cognition-spren?) seen by Shallan and Elohkar. Their distinguishing feature seems to be their lack of symmetry or some fundamental imbalance in the way they look. Now I suppose there could be a fairly simple, surface-level explanation that the lack of symmetry is just a way to indicate they don't come from the symmetry-obsessed Roshar (and instead are connected to Shadesmar, I presume), but it just feels like there is so much more going on here... I just can't really put a finger on any particular connection or information this would reveal. Is this crazy, or did other people get the idea that something reasonably important is going on here?

I was an English major (focused on both literature and creative writing). I loved every second of it... college was the bomb.

That's okay! It was more interesting that way! I'll hang out and learn some stuff before I start asking cosmere questions so as to avoid asking dumb ones, which I have a tendency to do.

Thanks! I've been checking out the wiki, and I'll take a look at the theories section!

Hi! I read the first two Mistborn books a couple years ago and then got distracted by college. I only just finished the trilogy and read his other stuff after I graduated last May... and I'm pretty much obsessed with Brandon's stuff now. I feel like I need to be pointed in the right direction. I know the general idea of the cosmere (and have read all of his cosmere-related books), but I'm not all that well-informed. I want to know EVERYTHING, but I figure I've got to start with the basics. Are there any cosmere overview type threads that I can visit? Thanks, all!