JohnnyKaizen

We don't know a lot about the ecosystems of the oceans on Roshar. We do know there is marine life. If there's as much or more coral as there is on earth, why would the presence of sand be surprising? All it takes is for something akin to parrot fish to produce sand. It would shift around from the highstorms, but it would still collect over the millennia on and near the coasts. Also, the highstorms don't act like hurricanes. They're straight line winds that blow from east to west. It's logical to assume that the ocean level raises ahead each high storm as the force of it pushes across the ocean, before it makes landfall. While those waters would retreat and drag sand with it, it wouldn't drag the whole beach away, nor would beaches really be exposed to the winds as the water would be covering it before the highstorm winds arrive.

I'd also like to point out that based on stories told throughout the SA, I assume that the moons are (to some degree) invested, and may contribute to the tides more than their size would otherwise indicate. Braize and Ashyn are also nearby (relatively) and almost certainly invested (Odium is linked to Braize, and while Odium specifically tried to not invest himself in Ashyn, there is magic there, probably from Adonalsium but wherever it's from, It's invested) and could also have an effect on the tides. Is there another system in the Cosmere (that we know of) with multiple planets that all have direct connections to Investiture, because I'm drawing a blank atm? Either way, I feel like the question isn't "why does Roshar have tides," but more like "Why doesn't Roshar have tidal waves?"

Ok yeah, that makes more sense in context. And the "they've forgiven us" line from Leshwi does certainly imply a whole book's worth of info. So I think we're on the same page.

Is there not a glaring inaccuracy to the Song of Secrets, in that we know the Dawnsingers used a surge to shape Roshar? At least, when Venli is using her powers and communing with the stone of Urithiru, it recognizes her by ancestry and power, does it not? Wouldn't that imply that something is either being lied about (by omission possibly) in the Song of Secrets? I recognize that they were able to sing and shape Stone, but at least from the way the stone interacted with Venli, it feels like it's a spliting of hairs as to how/why the spren "sided" with humans vs them surgebinding. The Dawnsingers still used at least one surge? Also, there was interbreeding between humans and singers at the time, which makes me think that the interaction with the spren had to be more nuanced than simply ditching the Singer race. It may be as cut and dry as presented in the song, but that feels wrong to me. Honestly the entire transition of humanity from Odium to Honor/Cultivation and the Singers from H/C to O...makes very little sense to me. The argument that the Singers weren't as emotional as the humans so the spren ditched them, except that the "less" emotional race then joined with the god of emotion? Like I said, I may be totally off base here, but I had felt that just about everything from that time, whether from humans or Singers, was questionable?

I fell like we probably need to know why Adonalsium was shattered in the first place, in order to speculate what Hoid's goal(s) are? He didn't want a shard after the act was done, but he was present for the shattering, and possibly/probably assisted in that act. Is he acting on plans he's had since before that, or has he changed his mind on things since then?

I don't think there are enough pharmaceuticals in the Cosmere for Kaladin to smile that much.

I'm pretty sure this has been heavily hinted at since the prelude of WoK. Wok Prelude:

You know, there could be a counterpoint to this theme in RoW, with Raboniel and her daughter. She made a choice that she felt was merciful. It's an antithesis to the decisions of Kaladin and Dalinar in the first three novels. I also feel that Kaladin, Dalinar, and possibly even Navani would seriously struggle with being in Raboniel's position. Navani (who is literally one of the most intelligent people in the Cosmere) didn't even consider what Roboniel did, as a possibility beforehand. She was caught entirely off guard. I could be wrong, but it would be very Brandon-like (to me) to give this example, almost like a ketek, in theme with the first 3 books. And I'm assuming we'll get the culmination of this theme in book 5.

So you're saying Kaladin would be a terrible Lightweaver until literal miracles occur to get him to be Honest with himself?

You make valid and logical arguments here, and for the most part I am in agreement with you. I am however sticking to my issues with time dilation, only because Brandon is still almost entirely tight lipped about it. I am highly in doubt that BAM's imprisonment had a direct connection to Sel, for the reasons you point out. Unless there is some critical info we are missing, it would be strange that her imprisonment caused an earthquake on Sel. Technically however, the events of Elantris could have happened thousands of years before SA, and yet you've got some contemporaries of those events worldhopping into the Cosmere's future (as demonstrated with Kaise's involement). So yeah, there could be thousands of years and minutes between certain events regarding Sel and the rest of the Cosmere. In fact, there are. There has to be with what Brandon has said about time manipulation. I just keep coming back to, you can't make any predictions about what happened on Sel, and when, until we get a canonized timeline. As to BAM's imprisonment happening at some point during the False Desolation and sometime after that the Recreance occurred, there is a good bit of wiggle room. Did the Radiants capture her and then go, "Welp, things are too dangerous, better break our oaths and shut this down" immediately? Narratively, it seems to me that with the fused gone, BAM captured, and 99.9% of Singers in slave form, that something more than what we currently know happened to cause the Knights and the spren to initiate the Recreance? I get the explanation we're given in RoW, but with the war seeminly won, and the oathpact holding..what was the rush? Was it days? Weeks? Years? I know it was "close" but we've been told time and again that the timelines from the Recreance on back, are in serious doubt. As to your assertion that Brandon would have RAFO'd the question if it was correct..I'm not convinced on that point. He is generally pretty up front with Q&A, but he has also withheld RAFOs many times in the past, until a questioner doggedly pursues a detail, at which point it's RAFO'd. I mean, how many times has he said something along the lines of "You're really not gonna let me off the hook with this one...RAFO" Even with the WoB, which does seem cut and dry, it could turn into a very different discussion if more specific questions were asked. I am personally not convinced that the WoB confirms a whole lot based on the limited questioning. I have been proven correct before about Brandon's sneakiness, and I've been 100% wrong as well. I personally feel that I'd rather say something along the lines of, "This seems to be certain (baring future WoB and/or books) that this is/is not the case" vs outright stating, "This definitely isn't the way it happened." That's a difference in personal preference though, and not really worth arguing about. Another approach that's pretty common is, "I'm gonna stick to my theory forever, come what may." Also not worth arguing about

If they were to figure out a way to direct/limit/control the mutations..you could have a custom built body and the powers to go with it.

That's fair, but initially it seemed like Brandon had some sneaky sneaks plans for the bending of timelines around dilation of massive investiture that has sort of become more of a headache, based on things he's said. No matter how much of that is in the master plan or not, there is still clearly some shenanigans around time (Natural lifespans vs immortality, when did two events on different planets happen in relation to each other, etc) going on, and we really don't know until that's canonized. You could even argue that the WoB you shared, is being purposely misleading with the amount of time dilation that would be required having Dev/Dom trapped in the CR of Sel. I doubt that he actually was doing that (but the argument could be made, is what I'm saying), but having the near equivalent of a black hole on your planet most certainly makes nailing down anything that we've seen happen on Sel to a specific date, extremely difficult. Best we have at the moment about Sel events as relates to Scadrial and Roshar, is Kaise's lifespan (if it's a totally natural one, that is).

It's been a few days, and this change has made a world of difference. Thank you again to everyone involved!

That's a very interesting thought, and one that gives me a lot to think about. My only issue (if it can really be called that) is the, almost certainly, extreme time dilation happening on Sel. Without Brandon nailing that down, we currently don't really have any way to call out specifics in a timeline between Sel and any other planet in the Cosmere.

If Kaladin took up Honor, I am quite certain that within moments, he would become aware of all that Taravangian has done, both as a human and as a vessel. If I know kaladin, the next thing he would do, would be to eliminate Todium with extreme prejudice. At that point, he'd most likely give up the Shard of Honor, because Kaladin can't really accept anything, and he'd want to give both Shards to someone else because that's sort of his go-to move. Probably Dalinar, but yeah.

Thank you, I greatly appreciate it!

Possible, I rarely access via mobile as I'm at my desktop most of the day. But yes, it's a daily problem for me as well.

Fair. My favorites list has shuffled and reshuffled so many times. Most of that is based on how difficult it is for me to read them at that point. Shallan used to be one of my most despised characters, and now she's way up there. Kaladin has been first and last and a lot in between.

I have a request. Would it be possible to move the Shardcast tab one spot over between Gallery and Coppermind? I ask because I come here mostly to read the forums. I do listen to the shardcasts from time to time, but on a daily basis when I'm trying to click on the the subtabs, or the Forums tab, I'll catch the Shardcast tab with my cursor and the dropdown for it covers the sub tabs, and it's a little thing that happens so often if feels like a big thing. I realize this is a specific ask, and it's probably because it hurts me brain when it happens. I may be the only one who this happens to and if so, feel free to ignore me. I was hoping I'm not the only person this happens to? Either way, thanks.

You gotta take the good with the bad. Kaladin has had some fantastic victories, both personal and communal, but he also has a lot of flaws. If there are themes present in the narrative (which there are, as @QuantumAce pretty succinctly points out), it's because Sanderson is taking Kaladin and Dalinar to similar places. Kaladin is who he is. Accept all of characters, not just the parts you like most. Or don't. It's your imaginary world, as is everyone's. No two people see the Cosmere, and its characters, in exactly the same way. However, it's a bit of a downer to read someone else's thoughts and respond with essentially, "Boo for all of your thoughts and opinions!"

So WHY does Lerasium draw the magic, so to speak, out of godmetals and grant access to those magics. If it's an act of preserving those magics (into a person), what does that say about the nature of godmetals. That feels significant to me. The OP is not far off from true, as long as Lerasium is involved. Also, wouldn't granting access to other shard's magic systems be the "what happens when you burn Lerasium" question that Brandon RAFO'd? Another question I have is what happens to Atium when it's alloyed with Lerasium and burnt. At one point, I would have thought you cannot allow them as their Intents are diametrically opposed, but if you can blend stormlight and voidlight, I am sure you can allow Atium and Lerasium. Would you be able to suck out other's allomancy? Any magic system? I dunno, just spitballing here.

Cool to find out that Ashyn was named Heavyn until the humans burned it to a crisp.

Rand (who has finally gotten his crap together at the very end of TWoT series) probably could poof Taln out of existence. The Rand of...Oooo the first 9-10 books...Nah. My money would still be on Taln. But yeah, a balanced Rand that we see in MoL would be most closely compared to a Shard Vessel in the Cosmere...especially if he has access to angreals or sa'angreals. That Rand would give Shards a run for their money I would assume. And if not, basically every other character in the Cosmere. The OP was about Kaladin, a superhuman level fighter. As far as they go, minus Godlike power, Taln is gonna crush all competitors. Edit: @Argenti Umm I quoted you and somehow made that go away before I hit the button. So, oops.

Im just going to say, all of this is moot until Talenelat’Elin, Herald of the Almighty, Stonesinew, Patron of the Order of Stonewards, Herald of Soldiers and War has fought for real “on screen.” Because he'll smoke everyone mentioned in this thread. I look forward to his awakening.