Cheese Ninja

A timeline for events during the Way of Kings? I'm pretty sure Kaladin is on the Shattered Plains for less than two months, and closer to a month and a half (75 days), but confirmation would be nice. Also, the date from an event in the book. All we've got is "circa 1173" and the epigraph dates.

Also, while that might be a limitation for Cosmere magical self-healing, healing guided by another doesn't seem to have the limitation. Susebron lived almost all of his life without his tongue, but a Divine Breath was able to not just restore his tongue, but also gave him the complete ability to speak as well, bypassing the whole "learning to talk" thing.

I'm the same as you, I knew she was going to jump from his prenotes way back at the beginning, but I didn't really expect her to take serious damage, despite the laws of physics. How many books do you think it will be until Surgebinding has returned to modern-day Roshar to the degree that someone random Radiant uses Regrowth to heal her? I'm betting it won't be at least until the 5th book. Unless she's going to be our window to how the Nightwatcher boon/curse works, but I expect that will be a Dalinar flashback instead.

Even though Kaladin thinks of it as "willing the Stormlight" into the objects, he's actually using a Full Lashing. So it's not actually the same thing. I'm not sure why he can't put the Stormlight back into a sphere if he doesn't need it, it's possible that there's a change in form as soon as he absorbs it, that no longer allows it to go back into its original container (a gem).

Eh, I don't think Dalinar is going to die that quickly or easily. I do think that at the moment, Szeth would win in a fight between him and Kaladin, mostly due to Szeth's much greater experience with the Lashings (especially the Basic Lashing, I agree with Windrunner that it's the most versatile), but I do think Kaladin is a bit more powerful. The Shardblade is another significant factor. If Szeth didn't use the Shardblade, just his kammar, it would probably be pretty close. (Kammar is the Shin Aikido-type martial art, Szeth uses it with Lashings to great effect.) I think Szeth trained in that quite a bit prior to even becoming a Truthless.

I also wondered about that disparity. Brandon has said in Q&As that something different is going on with Szeth, he doesn't actually have a spren. So I imagine it's just that his powers are more limited than a normal Windrunner's powers.

No need to apologize, we get things wrong all the time, half the usefulness of this forum is people pointing out when we're wrong. The voice of the Cryptic was described as "cold whisper", and the voice of the goblet as "warm": I think the reason Jasnah called her an idiot girl for entering Shadesmar with one dim sphere is that the amount of control they have in Shadesmar is linked to the amount of Stormlight they have there. Once Shallan used her Stormlight to (accidentally) Soulcast the goblet, the ocean towed her under. Later when Shallan enters Shadesmar in front of Jasnah she started drowning almost immediately and something even tugged her leg. The reddit question: Are we sure that the symbols we see in the book artwork (BS posted them on his site.) are glyphs? It seems like the mention of "the ten fundamental glyphs" in the book are probably the same as the ones used to represent the Orders on the drawing of the Orders and the Surges. (Elhokar's Shardblade, Sunraiser has the ten glyphs etched on the sides.) Those would have been my favorite choices for the Cryptic's heads, if we hadn't been told otherwise. But are the smaller symbols used to represent the Surges considered to be glyphs, and what about the 20 symbols on the similar illustration with the woman along the border instead of the Heralds?

Actually, the first time she saw them was when she did Taravangian's drawing. The second time was when she started running from them. Pretty sure it was the cryptic talking to her before she entered Shadesmar, (C:What are you? S: I'm afraid.) and the goblet only started talking to after she entered Shadesmar. (I can change if you want, I've been this way for a very long time.) It looks like it's only the entrance to Shadesmar that requires the truth, the Soulcasting requires a supply of Stormlight to convince an object's cognitive aspect to change its physical form. I just double checked, I don't have the wording perfect, but that's pretty much how it happened. I wonder if the Cryptics are a group existence, where the Nahel bond connects them to her as a whole, or if there was only one individual in that group that she became bound to. If they are a group, then perhaps each one is associated with a different essence. So there would be 10 of them, and she would have to strengthen bonds with each of them in order to be able to Soulcast into all the various Essences, with greater complexity requiring a stronger Nahel bond. It's complete supposition, but it sounds fun.

What calculations would change if any of those were diffferent? It's possible that time passes differently between one Cosmere planet and another, because of the effects of time dilation (This is true in our own universe as well, faster moving and higher gravity areas experience time at a slower rate, but I'm not sure if there is an appreciable difference in habitable zones.), but it is also likely that for simplicity's sake, time passes at the same rate for each of them. Nitpicking here, rotation would be the length of the day. A Roshar day is 4/5 of an Earth day. The time it takes for a planet to make a full revolution around its star is the length of its year. (For us at least, Roshar 500 day year length might be caused artificial means, Weepings are too consistent to be entirely natural.) (Roshar year ≈ 1.1 Earth years)

I don't think everyone would agree with me, but I think that once a Shard Invests themself in something, they no longer have control over it and it can be freely used against them. It's not like Preservation could stop people from using Allomancy and Feruchemy if they were working at cross purposes to him. I think this can be exploited under certain circumstances, the first thing that comes to mind is Nicrosil Investiture Compounding, but that's probably too inefficient to be used on the scale of directly affecting a Shard by leeching away at the amount of Investiture available to them at a given moment. It might not even be a thing. But I still think if there was a way to scale it up, it would involve using multiple types of Investiture from various Shards. Which makes Hoid my favorite candidate, since he seems to be collecting stuff. Since Odium doesn't like to Invest, it not only gives him more available Investiture, it also ensures that Invested Odium can't be used against him.

Two new videos were put up of the Interlude writing. No one has jumped yet, but even with 0.7 Earth gravity, shouldn't a few hundred feet drop into water still be fatal? It looks like the record on Earth for an extremely skilled diver is about 170 feet, with fatalties at heights considerably lower than that for unskilled/unlucky people.

The problem with "xx years ago" is always going to be people rounding up and down a few months worth of time. When the majority of the book takes place in a 2 month span, this makes it really difficult to get a useful timeframe from those statements. I'm sorry my post was confusing, it's partially the nature of the book, but partially my fault as well. To simplify the main points: 1. It's tempting to think of the different PoV scenes as happening consectutively or simultaneously, but there are instances where this is definitely not the case. 1a. This happens most often at the beginning of one of the "Parts", since a character that hasn't had any PoVs yet will need to catch up to the rest. (examples: From the end of Part 1 'Chapter 9' to the end of Part 2 'Chapter 27', only a week passes for Kaladin. On the other hand, a few weeks pass for Dalinar. Dalinar and Adolin don't have any PoV chapters in Part 3, only a week passes for them between parts 2 and 4. For Kaladin, Part 3 covers at least 4 weeks, and possibly as many as six or seven. I wouldn't go any higher than that.) 2. It easy to overlook the actual amount of time that has passed for Dalinar, since he has a vision every highstorm, but we only see four of them, and the others aren't described. There is at least one highstorm a week, so Dalinar has had at least 10 visions over the course of his PoV chapters. 3. At the most, 2 months (100 days) have passed for Kaladin between his arrival on the Shattered Plains and the end of the book. At a minimum, I'd say a month and a half. (75 days) For Dalinar, I would guess it's between 55-90 days from his first PoV to the end of the book. Yeah, I hope Szeth is on the same boat as Jasnah and Shallan, it seems like too good an opportunity for interactions to pass up.

I'm all for Sigzil becoming a Lightweaver. Being Hoid's (an original Yolen Lightweaver) apprentice has to count for something. Attracting a Nahel spren seems to be a combination of the right attitude, great skill, and luck.

You're reading it fine, FireArcadia just doesn't like it. I also think that the 3 types we've seen are: 1. Honorblades 2. Szeth's Blade 3. Typical Radiant Blade There may be even more types as well. BS's words leave that option open. On a side note, I don't think Dawnshards are Blades. At the very least, not one of the Blades we've seen.

Subtle, nicely done. It seems to be a balancing act between how people behave in the real world, and how you would enjoy reading about characters behaving in a fantasy world. I feel like Abercrombrie's and Martin's characters behave the most like real people, but that's not always the sort of story I want to read. On the other hand, if a character is a perfect Mary Sue or Gary Stu, they come across as flat and uninteresting. I think Brandon's characters are good, the main characters tend to noble idealists, but they have enough flaws to be still be engaging, and the side characters run the gamut from scum to heroes. Now I'll actually read that blog post... Pretty good, he wrote much the same as I expected, and I agree on most of Abercrombrie's major points, with the exception being that I'm not completely tired of traditional fantasy at this point. There was actually a reddit discussion of usage of profanity in fantasy a while ago that inspired me to actually read Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora. A few people considered "Nice bird, cremhole." to be the funniest bit of dialogue they'd ever come across in fantasy, and I'm inclined to agree. It's all about proper usage.

I imagine both the Heralds were pushed to the second quintet because their flashbacks would give away too much if we saw them early on. It would be even worse for Hoid, since he is possibly the best informed character in the Cosmere. A character can be written in an enigmatic way; Vasher's chapters in Warbreaker, for instance, but it's also very limiting. Also, the first few chapters of the now-scrapped Hoid origin book Liar of Partinel can be found online, but there's no telling how much of that is still going to be applicable when the book is rewritten. A single copy of Dragonsteel can apparently be found in the BYU library system, but the same issue applies where we can't be sure how much is still applicable. At least a few people on here have read it, but it seems they aren't allowed to discuss it on the forums here. BS continues to improve as a writer, so I really look forward to seeing those books in their final forms. Also, does anyone if the other Herald flashback character is yet-to-be-decided or yet-to-be-revealed? I think Shalash, Jezrien, and Ishar (if I'm right about him) would be the obvious choices. The other six don't seem as significant.

It seems like Hoid was using a Dysian Aimian's ability to be taken apart and put back together as a simile for Adonalsium and the Shards: Since Axies is a Siah Aimian, he probably can't do that. He can heal bruises at will, but the ease and rate of larger wounds is probably heavily dependent on severity: He does seem to have a lifespan extending into centuries, though. I think at some point, Brandon is going to have to explain to us about the lanceryn (now extinct Aimian greatshells), the Scouring of Aimia, the Aimian races, and the Curse of the Kind. The Curse of the Kind might simply be discrimation against Aimians for being different from humans, but the capitalization makes me think it's something special.

He just put up the sixth video of the writing, and Axies has yet to make his appearance. Is anyone else uncertain about the scale of the Tai-Na (Reshi greatshells)? I'm not sure if they're a few hundred feet across or considerably larger. "After climbing for what seemed like forever without seeing a soul, they finally heard voices." Thousands of feet? A mile? @Green Fire, the high storms proably aren't that bad that far north and west. They're probably similar in strength to highstorms when they reach the Purelake, but I imagine the deeper water makes things a bit more dangerous.

Options: 1. I'm completely wrong. There will be no fight between an Awakener and a Shardbearer. Or if there is one, the Awakener won't be Hoid. 2. I'm slightly wrong, any Breaths Hoid has are either in normal objects on him or hidden away in his base. 3a. Despite being a 'Nightblood-type' sword, it either doesn't have its own Biochroma, or it's not as strong as Nightblood's Biochroma, so it's a lot harder to notice. It might not even be sentient. Over the centuries that Nightblood has been 'alive', its sentience has grown slightly, and it's possible that is true of its power as well. 3b. Hoid uses Lightweaving to make the sword appear normal. I'm not sure if that's actually possible, but it seems like Lightweaving should have some illusion abilities from its name alone. Even if it's a Nightblood-type sword, there's no way to be sure if would look or behave exactly the same as Nightblood. It's more likely that it would be at least a bit different. The sword isn't even described as being sheathed until Kaladin sees him with it. It may have been a different sword, one solely for appearances.

I actually linked that same spreadsheet two posts ago. I'm not concerned about ancient Roshar history, I just want to know how many weeks and months have passed for all of the main characters in Way of Kings.

I don't remember a particular scene where he regrets not taking the shards for himself either. Mostly he just seemed angry at Amaram and Lighteyes in general after that. The dead guy being Helaran Davar is a theory I'm extraordinarily fond, partially because I started it, and partially because it fits well. There are some disagreements with others about the vagueness of the timeline. Amaram eventually found out who it was BS Q&A I would have taken the shards, that degree of lethality and protection would be pretty useful on the battlefield, and if you ever got tired of fighting and felt like going AWOL, no one would be able to stop you.

Can anyone help me figure out the passage of time in Way of Kings? It feels like only a month or two for Kaladin, a few months for Shallan, and just a few weeks for Dalinar... I think it might help to keep track of some of the highstorms we see. 1st highstorm. Kaladin in the Slave Wagon. Kaladin joins Bridge 4. 2nd highstorm. Chapters 9 and 11. There's some new crew added to Bridge 4, then Syl leaves, there's a bridge run that isn't described in detail, the other survivor from his first day dies during the bridge run, and then later that day a highstorm, Kaladin despairs, goes to commit suicide, Syl stops him without realizing it. Kaladin finds new resolve. End of Part One. There was a highstorm the night before Dalinar, Adolin, and Elhokar's chasmfiend hunt. So it seems like the Adolin/Dalinar and Kaladin chapters of 12-17 all take place on the next day, but it's possible that Kaladin's chapters sometime before the others, the day after some other highstorm. Chapter 18 is some time in the next week. Adolin says Dalinar has visions every highstorm. 3. There's another highstorm in chapter 18. And in 19 Dalinar say that it's his 12th vision and that it's been going on for a few months. Either he didn't initially have them every highstorm, or despite highstorms being described as 'happening every few days', it's actually slightly less often than that. Chapter 21 actually takes place the day after chapter 17, so might 18-19 actually happen after 21. (Kaladin)(20 was a flashback.) Chapter 22 is 2 days after 18 and 19. (Dalinar and Adolin) 23 is the same day as 21, it's when Kaladin starts gathering knobweed reeds. 26 Dalinar and Adolin capture the gemheart from a pupating chasmfiend. 27 is 2-3 days after 23, Kaladin sells the harvested knobweed sap for a skymark. I think it may be three, since the implication is that they had spent two more full days doing stuff, and that this is the next day.28 is shortly after 26, Dalinar refers to the events of 22 as 'the other day'. He also refers to the chasmfiend hunt with Elhokar as "a few weeks back". Jasnah refers to Shallan has her new ward. Dalinar decides to tell Adolin of his decision to step down the next morning. 30 is Kaladin, he's united the bridge crew. 32 is when Lopen joins and the failed Side Carry. 34 is Kaladin strung up for the highstorm, probably either the same or next day from 32. In chapter 40 Kaladin is told it's been 10 days and 2 bridge runs since the highstorm. 43 seems to be the next day. 46 is another highstorm. Kaladin rides the storm. Shen joins Bridge 4. That tells us the day of the week that a lot of chapters took place on, but not necessarily the week or the month. Also, Adolin gives Kaladin an emerald chip.49 is another Kaladin chapter, but not sure how long has passed. 52 We finally see Dalinar again. Only a week has passed since chapter 28. There's a highstorm tonight. (Feverstone Keep)53 Kaladin chapter, Dunny dies. 54 Dalinar sees Wit at the Feast, Wit (Hoid) says he'll be leaving for a while. Dalinar proposes that he and Sadeas ally. 55 One week since Dunny died. Kaladin sees Dalinar join Sadeas's troops in battle during a bridge run. Same day, they forage in the chasm. Chapter 46 is described as "weeks ago". They start shooting arrows into the bottom of bridges with bags of high value spheres attached to them.56 Dalinar saves Sadeas in battle. 57 At least a week or two since 55. The only times they could collect those spheres would be during bridge runs, and those happen anywhere from once a day to once a week. Probably the same day as Dalinar's chapter 56, but don't know if we can be sure. Kaladin notices that he can use Stormlight, and has another crisis of faith. He meets Hoid. On a side note: Ties into Hoid's monologue in the epilogue. I'm not sure what Hoid has been doing for the past few weeks, if he's been on the Shattered Plains the whole time while no longer working as the King's Wit.58 I think maybe we don't see all of Dalinar's visions: This is referring to chapter 18.60 is Dalinar's vision of Nohadon. 61 is a few hours later. 62 is when Kaladin starts wearing the Parshendi carapace to act as a decoy. Dalinar saves Bridge 4 from some Parshendi archers after the initial assault. 63 63-73 are all on the day of the Battle at the Tower.I'm still not entirely sure about Dalinar, but it looks like Kaladin spent at the very most, 2 months on the Shattered Plains. If new Bridgemen are only added on Chachel, that means there was either 15 or 20 days between chapters 9 (Kid that reminds him of Tien joins and immediately dies) and 32 (Lopen joins), and another 15 days between 32 and 46 (Shen joins). Then another few weeks between 46 and 55, then maybe another week or two before 61, and then 10 days between 62 and 63. So it's probably actually closer to a Roshar month and a half.

It's not that unrealistic a bit of speculation, and I do mean the epilogue, not the prologue. Spoiler tagging for space reasons. Pay extra attention to the third Q&A.

http://twg.17thshard.com/index.php?topic=7910.msg172869#msg172869 Peter's comment. It's extra relevant, since it was given during a debate over what Order Jasnah most likely belonged to. On a side note: Is anyone else looking forward to the Epilogue of Book 2? From Brandon's comments, I'm guessing someone pulls a Shardblade on Hoid (Or some 17th Sharder from Nalthis), and gets really confused when they find they can't cut his 'normal' sword (Actually a Nightblood-type blade) and/or clothing (Awakened). I'm wondering if Hoid will give them an explanation of Investiture, or just beat them up. I hope it's Sadeas, he already dislikes Hoid, and deserves to be taken down a few more pegs. Keep in mind, this is mostly speculation.

Also, Sunmaker was the Alethi leader who overthrew the Heirocracy. While it is possible, it is probably not the name of an Order.