Cheese Ninja

We don't know that any of the dates in the epigraphs relate to the events of the story, it's a pretty big leap I'm making there. Some of the things described in them relate to the story fairly easily, like the ones about Taln (burdens of nine become mine) and Shalash (the vandal scratches out her eyes). I'm not trying to relate them all datewise, only the two of greatest relevance to us. There aren't many good guesses for the "but a thousand days" thing to end on, so I went with Taln's arrival. Obviously, life is still going on for most people as normal after this point, for one thing, there's plenty of death rattles recorded afterwards. The epigraph describing Kaladin's chasm leap is the clearest of any of the epigraphs, but there's no great reason for it to be spoken on the day that it happened, it just happens to work with the other stuff I mentioned. It's also odd because it's the only epigraph out of chronological order from the rest. (It's spoken the day after the epigraph from the following chapter.) On the main topic, I actually had thought Jasnah was younger than that, and am a bit surprised to learn that she's actually 37-38 Earth years. Szeth is 35 Roshar years, so 38-39 Earth years. They are pretty much the same age.

There was actually an earlier statement by Peter in response to a question of mine about the length of the year that I originally linked to, but it's in the TimeWasterGuide's archives, and thus currently down. Here's what I'm going with until we get further evidence. (That will most likely disprove some or all of it.) WoR excerpt spoilers included.

Thanks. Confirmation of a lack of information will do for now. Right now I only have a very tenuous bit of guesswork about the timeline. There's a certain appeal to having Taln's arrival be the "It is but a thousand days, and the Everstorm comes." after the first epigraph, which would be [1173-6-5-1]. 1. Hoid talks to Dalinar on the night of the feast in chapter 54, in which Dalinar decides to start doing the Bridge runs with Sadeas. Hoid goes to Kholinar either that night or the next for Taln's arrival. [1173-6-5-1] 2. Hoid comes back in 3 weeks and talks to Kaladin. During that time the Dalinar and Sadeas alliance has had a number of successes. Kaladin finds out about his Surgebinding and has a bit of a freak out. 3. Battle of the Tower is 4 weeks after that on [7-2-2]. (The date given for the epigraph detailing Kaladin's chasm leap.)

Anyone else find it interesting that the Koloss-blooded character Tarson (Miles, 2nd in Command) had allomantic abilities (Pewter) in Alloy of Steel? I wonder if all or only some of the non-human races can interbreed with the humans to produce children capable of accessing the magic systems. For reference, the non-humans we've seen are Parshendi, Aimians, Koloss, and Kandra. Kandra and Koloss started out as humans originally. I think the constructed races actually have a greater degree of Investiture in them than most humans, but not in such a manner as to allow the same use of magic as humans.

Can anyone tell me for sure if the epilogue took place chronologically after all the other events in the book? Or shortly after Hoid left the Shattered Plains for either the first (after talking to Dalinar) or second time (after talking to Kaladin)? The timeline actually seems like it could match up best if it was just after Hoid spoke to Dalinar.

Chapter 27. I guess not all of them are flattened on a side, since it only says "many". On the main topic, I think it would be impossible to know without knowing the exact size, color, cut, and clarity of the gems, which may be either fairly uniform, or highly variable. We're told the purchasing power is about 1 diamond chip for a loaf of bread.

Hmm, I'm blaming the new guy for the moment, but I can't decide if he's also responsible for the latch.

I forgot about how Rock referred to the amethyst broam as "him". That was interesting, the Navani's notebook line was "The cut and type of the gem determines what kind of spren are attracted to it and can be imprisoned in it." Rock could very well be talking about a spren inside the amethyst in the broam, or he might just be using a masculine pronoun for the broam, but I think the first is actually slightly more likely.

Let's see. Shallan's spren has started growing in mental acuity. Pattern's cool, I wouldn't say he's attracted to lies so much as the complex interweaving of truth and falsehood in the statements of others. I'm not entirely sure that the Parshmen will necessarily have to become evil if they somehow trigger a change, despite what Jasnah believes. Soulcasting is more dangerous now since Tanvast died, and Honor was Splintered, but it's not as bad as Shadesmar on Sel. And we are left with a cliffhanger. We are given an explanation of how a true Shardblade loan works. The true owner can resummon the Blade to themselves at will. This add a bit of a hiccup with my theory that Helaran was loaned the Plate and Blade by the Ghostbloods, but maybe they simply didn't have anyone among themselves who was considered the true owner, and the two came more or less entirely out of some sort of storage. Dalinar suspects himself as the one who left the message on the wall, which makes sense to me. Amaram is coming soon. Ever since the Morse code snippet Brandon gave on reddit, it seemed like Amaram and Dalinar were old friends, and this will doubtless cause some issues for Kaladin. Also, (if I'm correct) Dalinar's elder son being provisionally engaged to the little sister of the guy who tried to kill Amaram should be another interesting topic. Kaladin has money now. Syl was the only Honorspren who came. Who did Syl's face change into momentarily there? Another true face for her, or some extention of her past, now mostly forgotten experiences? What exactly is the Stormfather? Jezrien's cognitive aspect, separated from his physical body, after having tried to take up some of Honor's post-death Splinters? I really don't know. I'm assuming the "red lightning" spren Sil sees are the like the corrupted spren that animate the Thunderclast in Dalinar's vision, but I can't be sure yet. Sigzil will soon get to take measurements of Kaladin's physical enhancements, which sounds slightly dirty out of context. And my endless quest to figure out when in the Roshar year all this is happening makes no progress, outside of knowing that chapter 8 is two days after the chapter where Dalinar finds the note scratched into the wall. I'm still thinking we're in the middle of month 7.

[1173-6-5-1] (Shashahes, 1173) is 1000 days after the first epigraph. Did Brandon ever say if the epilogue happened after all the other events in Way of Kings? If it happened between other events of book, and Shashahes is in fact the day that Taln arrived, that would work best. If the epilogue happens after all the other events of Way of Kings, and its still Shashahes, I think we're too early in the year. If the 1000 days endpoint isn't a day of particular note (as in, not the day of Taln's arrival), or at least not for reasons we'd yet notice, that could work as well. Hoid tells Dalinar that he's leaving for a while in chapter 54, which is the same chapter that Dalinar decides to ally with Sadeas, and a couple (or more?) weeks afterwards Hoid leaves the Shattered Plains (again?) after talking to Kaladin in chapter 57, and that was about 3 to 4 weeks before the the end of the book. Since it's been mentioned before that Hoid can use Shadesmar to travel between places in the same world, he could have been in easily been in Kholinar the night of Taln's arrival, even if it was the near the date of either of those chapters. Possible Scenario: 1. Hoid talks to Dalinar on the night of the feast in chapter 54, Hoid goes to Kholinar either that night or the next for Taln's arrival. [1173-6-5-1] 2. Hoid comes back in 3 weeks later and talks to Kaladin. 3. Battle of the Tower is 4 weeks after that on [7-2-2]. (The date given for the epigraph detailing Kaladin's chasm leap.) 4. Dalinar gets his "62 days, Death (broken) follows" message the next week. 5. Around 1173-8-5-x would be the end of that period. 6. The "these last two months" from Navani's Journal entry on the first day of 1174 begin. (Months 9 and 10, and she rounds down the remainder of month 8.) A Major issue with this: How does Hoid hide Taln for the seven weeks leading up the end of Way of Kings? Granted, Taln is probably pretty tired and out of it, and might just be in the mood to take a several week nap, but what about the guards? Does he somehow wipe the guard's memories, or bribe them into being quiet? A weird guy showing up at your capital city's gates wielding an abnormal Shardblade and proclaiming himself one of the Heralds is the sort of news you would think would get back to the Dalinar and company on the Shattered Plains. I'm not sure if I'll be happy or sad when I have concrete numbers for these dates and don't have to guess anymore.

Judging from what we see in Dalinar's vision of the Purelake, the Division Surge allows a Dustbringer to infuse normal people with Stormlight, dividing their own Stormlight reserves among others. This has much the same strength/speed/healing benefits we see when Kaladin or Szeth absorb Stormlight, but to a lesser degree. The alternate proposed theory is that these are simply Surgebinders in training to become Knights Radiants.

Actually I think Shen will be more interesting if he grows a shell (carapace). First Navani associates the writing with the Parshendi, and then the Voidbringers? I don't have any good guesses about who wrote the message on the wall, only that it's weird that Dalinar both fell asleep for it, and didn't wake up while it was happening. Either someone teleported inside, got in through the too-small window, or it was a person that was already inside.(mind-controlled Dalinar or Renarin?) I find Szeth very unlikely. But yeah, death/broken, no one makes ambiguous writing mistakes in fiction.

Here's the relevant bit bolded. I like this news. From last March: So Hoid may not explain Investiture, but he will explain that he shouldn't be taken lightly just because he seems foolish.

We're pretty sure at this point. In Baxil's interlude, she actually gouges the eyes of a bust of herself. She is, by definition, a vandal. (One who willfully or maliciously defaces or destroys public or private property.) That's the whole reason someone asked if she was Jezrien's daughter in the first point.

Yeah, you might be right, and I might be wrong, but we can't really say for sure yet. Unless Peter or Brandon wants to give us a date for something that happened to Kaladin since he became Bridgeleader? From there we could approximate the rest fairly well. Otherwise, things are far too fuzzy.

Yeah, I was the one who mentioned the 91 days thing. I didn't actually notice that “Above silence, the illuminating storms—dying storms— illuminate the silence above.” was Tanatanev as well, so that's interesting. But I don't think the last epigraph matches up to the date at the end of Way of Kings. Only about two months pass in Way of Kings, once you exclude the first and flashback chapters, and since the epigraphs cover a period of over two years, only a few could even match up. I still think the mostly likely to match up, if any do at all, would be Kaladin's chasm leap, which was on 7-2-2. It's been not quite two weeks since the end of Way of Kings, so in that case, we haven't even reached the middle of Betab.

@shadewolf, The dates of the epigraphs in Way of Kings cover a 1129 day period, from [1171-6-5-1] to [1173-9-2-4]. 1000 days after the first epigraph (aka "but a thousand days, and the Everstorm comes") would be [1173-6-5-1] 62 days before that would be [1173-5-2-4]. My point is that it seems too early in the year to match up. It seems more likely to me that we are either near the beginning or middle of Betab (7th month). @dionysus, it's difficult to know for sure what the chapter headings means. It could be a related to Dustbringers, the Herald herself, or simply bravery or obedience. Probably not the Herald herself, since I think we would have noticed her. (I mistakenly referred to Chach as male earlier.) @Moogle, Yeah, I wonder if that Chach should have been used for chapter 4 instead of 5 then. Chapter 4 is the one with the highstorm vision, and it got double Ishar.

Brandon has remarked on the length of the year, Peter has commented on how dates work, and some examination of the dates given in the epigraphs fill in any gaps. It's on the coppermind wiki as well. Each month is named for a Herald, as is each week inside a month, and the 5 days of a week all correspond to the first 5 Heralds as well. [Month][Week][Day] So Jezrien becomes Jes, Jes =1, [Jes][es][es] Is the first day of the first week of the first month of the year, [1-1-1]

Now that there's been a bit more posted, let's update this thread. Here's a question, does the "last 2 months" period only begin after the "62 days Death (broken) follows." period? If so, I think that puts the beginning of the book in near the end of the 7th month (2 months+62 days is around 162). This is would almost fit with Kaladin's chasm leap happening the same day the death rattle was given. (7-2-2) If we assume that Navani did some rounding down for the "two months", it really does work.

Except I don't think that Shallan's spren was bound against its will. "As the last line dried, the pattern rose before her. She heard a distinct sigh from the paper, as if in relief." It wanted to come through, but I do seem some merit to the idea that it was brought in an immature state, this spiral snowflake pattern is said to have infinite complexity, so even if Shallan drew it to the best of her ability, it still has to develop the rest of the way on its own. Also, Chapter 5 had double Chach as its Headings, which marks the first time we've seem him used in the Stormlight Archive. Chach is Number=3; Gemstone=Ruby; Essence=Spark; Body Focus=The Soul; Soulcasting properties=Fire; Divine Attributes=Brave/Obedient.

"62 days death (broken) follows." So is that message from the Parshendi? The entry from Navani's journal seems to imply that. And can we please get a date for something besides an epigraph? It's only been two weeks for Kaladin since the of Words of Radiance, and no one has mentioned the coming Weeping yet, so we're still firmly in 1173. It's pretty much impossible to match up epigraph dates with in book events. The "but a thousand days, and the Everstorm comes." bit isn't helpful unless we can be entirely sure what is meant by "the Everstorm". The 62 days doesn't quite seem to match up with it, since that would put us only at 1173-5-2-4. (year-month-week-day) That's a more than half a year away from the Navani's journal entry that we're getting now. It's possible, but much farther from the end of the year than I thought, and it means the "above the final void I hang" epigraph would be referring to an event two whole months before it was given. Shallan's thoughts about (literally) drawing her spren into the Physical Realm made it sound like a fractal pattern, which was never an impression I'd gotten before when she talked about "impossible geometries." Wait a second... Are their heads snowflakes? Moash is still angry, I wonder if he's ever going to kill that person he wants to kill. And Sigzil tries his best to be scholarly. Maybe we should set him up with Jasnah.

I'm with Moogle, I've been looking forward a Hoid-delivered beatdown since at least March. Also Moogle, we will probably be able to confirmation about the Helaran thing this book, what with Amaram, Shallan, and Kaladin all being in the same place. The sample chapters only make that more likely, with the news that Shallan is engaged to Adolin, Amaram is probably going to be extra worried that Shallan is some sort of Ghostblood assassin or spy.

I'm not sure how long Kaladin is in the slave wagon for that we see at the beginning of the book, or how long he initially spends in Bridge 4 before all the Bridge member that were there when he arrived have either left the Bridge or died. But I tried to figure out the math for the days from Kaladin reconsidering his suicide at the Honor Chasm to the end of the book here. That period can't really be more than 75 or so days, which does seem astonishingly short, but I'll copy the TLDR from that thread here. Actually, I wasn't counting the period leading up to chapter 9, in which Kaladin is completely despondent and not keep tracking of time, but that period was probably somewhere well under a month. Point being, If the events that Navani are reflecting on all happen in this book, we're probably looking at a similarly short span of time. I just wish we had a concrete month/week/day for any single event in WoK. If I pretended that Kaladin's bridge leap epigraph was given at the same time that he did it (that would be [7-2-2], 193 days from the end of the year), we still have a huge period of time to cover. I've always thought that this epigraph: "26.“They come from the pit, two dead men, a heart in their hands, and I know that I have seen true glory.”—Kakashah 1173, 13 seconds pre-death. A rickshaw puller. (380) [8-6-5]." would reference an event in a later book, in which Kaladin and Renarin fall into a chasm and they come out of there with a gemheart. Although I guess it could be anyone + Kaladin, not necessarily Renarin. Ah, you need Kaladin there to keep whoever it is from actually dying by Kaladin using Windrunner abilities to slow the fall. Everyone still assumes they died though, hence the "two dead men".

I mentioned this in the other thread, but the date on the Navani's journal entries is Jeseses, the first day of the year of 1174. We can tell that the majority of Way of Kings took place in a two month span in 1173, WoR picks up directly after it, but since we don't know the exact dates in WoK, we don't really know how long we have until the end of the year. Characters in the book haven't even started mentioning the coming Weeping as the year's end approaches. As always, here are the death vision epigraphs, with the dates on them for comparison, spoiler tagged for space-saving reasons. None of those take place in 1174, even the very last one is still 91 days away.

I still can't decide who the "That creature carries my lord’s own Blade." is a reference to. Adolin and Shallan are engaged? I'm still betting on a love triangle with Renarin, but like Gamma said, I don't want to see too much of the story bogged down in it. Could Jasnah recognize Szeth? I'm not sure that she ever really got that good of a look at him. It can be tricky telling people apart that are a different race than yourself. Yay for spren explanations! It looks like the first part epigraphs will all be Navani's journal from some point in the near future. Jeseses 1174 is 1-1-1, the first day of the year. All the death vision epigraphs we got last book took place before that, and I think most of Way of Kings took place in two month span either in the middle or near the end of 1173. Since Words of Radiance seems to be taking place directly afterward, it looks like we're still firmly in 1173. Epigraphs of note: bridge leap [7-2-2] and "All is withdrawn for me. I stand against the one who saved my life. I protect the one who killed my promises. I raise my hand. The storm responds.”—Tanatanev 1173 [9-2-4]