QuantumAce

This is the direction I am leaning. Radiant powers will still exist and be available, just greatly restricted. We could see something similar to Mistborn era 2, with the elimination of Mistborn and Full Feruchemists.

This always felt like a weird bit to me because of the Harmony thing. The Shards combining didn't make a new world. I mean it did but it wasn't a result of the combining itself. it was Sazed using the powers on purpose, the remaking of the world was intentional and separate. It does not say the remaking of a world was a direct result of shards combining. It states Harmony's creation involved remaking a world, which is a strange event. I read that as major shardic changes can cause a variety of possible outcomes. It is not a stable process with predictable results. Enormous amount of investiture are being transferred and interacting with a new vessel and/or different shard. It can have destructive results when not well controlled, such as the death of Ambition. When it is controlled by someone as knowledgeable as Sazad, it can be used to create a virtual paradise.

This likely would have left him open to a) losing Honor(which he just got) and b) taken a lot more power. Urithiru is a giant shardcity made up of a bunch of manifested spren, so the new oathpact and retribution having Honor likely stopped that. As well, it is a lot of investiture(yes, Hoid/Wit is heavily invested, but probably not as much as all of Urithiru) that would likely have been a much more difficult and strenuous task. Retribution was on a sort of time crunch with all eyes being on him now. The new oathpact/spren protection may be part of it, but the Sibling and Navani also threw up that last minute protection as Retribution was working through his rampage. It locked Navani in a room full of crystal and surrounded the tower with a "dome of light as solid as the crystal".

No one is arguing the shard is only anger and hatred. Referring to Odium as the god of anger and hatred does not exclude it from having a strong relationship with other emotions. You made the argument Odium is Passion, not just Hate. That is deceptive because all other passions and emotions are influenced by the overall intent of Hate. To accurately call Odium Passion, Odium would have to demonstrate the ability to appreciate other emotions independent of Hate. Thor is widely accepted as the god of thunder, despite the fact his is also strong and has a hammer. Does his title need to be changed to "Thor, god of thunder and being strong and having a hammer"?

While not exclusive, it shows hatred, anger, and fury are the defining characteristics of the power. Everything you have posted supports the idea it is more accurate to call Odium the god of hatred, instead of passion in general. And just to clarify, calling Odium the god of hatred does not restrict him from experiencing any other emotions. He can even choose to put other emotions ahead of hatred, but that is where the intent will push him. A major theme of the Cosmere is that each shard has a specific intent, that represents only a portion of Adonalsium. They are not supposed to be balanced. Having hatred be the focus of his passion fits that theme. Giving a character limits and weaknesses does not make them worse. It introduces conflict and risk, which many people find interesting. There is still plenty of overlap between Retribution and Obsession. Its just angry obsession. What if someone has wronged you by ignoring you? The punishment would be forcing them to give you attention, not necessarily attention in the form of eye removal*. *I did not read the text as limiting Retribution to literal eye removal in all situations. If anything, eye removal would be restricted to situations where the original offense involved loss of an eye. Unless Brandon really wants to double down on Moash and Navani, I don't anticipate eye removal taking a significant portion of Retributions focus. I could be wrong, this is just my personal opinion.

To be specific, he is Odium instead of Hatred because Odium is cooler. It does not say he is Odium instead of Passion because Odium is cooler. They use the words emotion and passion, both of which can be an aspect of fury and hatred. For your statement to be correct, you would need text and WoB to specify emotion and passion for something outside of fury and hatred.

Ruin and Preservation are more direct opposites. While they may complement each other in certain situations, there is no overlap. With Dominion and Devotion I see more overlap, but also more volatility. If you try to work with both of them together, there is always a risk of something snapping and the whole thing imploding. More tension from multiple points that just two opposing forces. Just spitballing here, I wonder if the vessels trying to shape their intent to reach equilibrium could have, intentionally or unintentionally, created some sort of proto-Unity. Odium either saw this as a threat, or the process weakened the vessels enough to make them easy targets.

We have already seen plenty of characters learn about their powers and progress through their oaths. I don't feel the need for another repeat of that arc. Jasnah still has room to develop elsecalling abilities, even without the oath progression. I have a feeling we will see a greater emphasis on power limitations. How do we get the most out of these powers with the available resources. How do we adapt current technology and processes in a post highstorm environment. Brandon sat on some pretty big reveals through most of the first 5 stormlight books. I could easily see him continue teasing Jasnah's childhood illness right up through book 10 chapter 100. Maybe establish the timeframe in book 6, feature a scene from it in a book 8 Navani flashback, etc.

At first I was thinking you would want to upgrade to a hoverboard to avoid terrain limitations, but wheels allow steering independent of anchor points. You would only need anchors to build momentum, especially useful for a compounder. Once you have electric motors and batteries, Lurch-Electric hybrids would be an incredibly efficient means of transportation.

Lack of overhead anchors will always be a major limitation for iron pulling (along with lose anchors). Any majestic soring through the air requires an overhead anchor or some sort of external propulsion. Being able to mimic steel pushing or lashings in certain situations is a cool feature of iron pulling, but focusing on that will always be a losing proposition. There is still a lot of cool stuff you can do with lateral motion. Would pair well with some sort of exoskeleton or power armor. And space, I forgot about space. If you are trying to perform some emergency spaceship maintenance and your tether snaps, iron pulling would sure seem a lot cooler. Also useful for trying to chase an adversary.

Vstim said Navani was bullied into signing the contract during a time of stress and turmoil, which might give Navani grounds to claim it was signed under duress. My impression was this was a reflection of Vstim's mindset, more than an actual risk. Testing the contract with a case of his choosing allows him to establish precedent on his terms. Fen did not necessarily want to sign an agreement with Odium, but she chose to based on the opportunity to lock in favorable terms. Both are examples of finding a way to exert control in a less than ideal situation. Using the wind instead of fighting it, if you will. Fen has no problem exploiting Taravangian's desire to defeat Jasnah.

Raboniel specifies they have been unable to travel to Braize in the physical realm, but I dont think we have seen anything definitive on accessibility through alternate means. My impression is that Braize can technically support life, but we still dont know how practical it would be. I believe Brandon is being very deliberate in leaving wiggle room on the details for Braize.

So a better question might be, what advantages would TLR need to beat Taln?

Why would they stand out so much if their golden skin is only noticeable under the right light? If the Iriali are actively trying to minimize their exposure, you would have to be a crazy tabloid reporter looking for sensational stories to notice. Once the Iriali are recognized as aliens, they would not make broadsheet headlines across the basin on day one. They are used to fanciful tales from the Roughs that are obviously fiction, like Allomancer Jak and Nicki Savage. Nazh was running around for years blasting shade guns and whatnot, actually did appear in stories published in broadsheets across the basin, and still hasn't made headlines.

I think it started before WaT. At first I did see oaths as part of character growth and cathartic climaxes. The connection of oaths to ideals required to advance through radiant orders reinforces this idea. Then I did a re-read before RoW. Eventually I shifted to viewing oaths as more of transactions that unlocked the positive outcome, than part of the positive outcome itself. Swearing an oath to do something good is a positive only because of the "something good" part. It took a re-read for me to "step out of the action" enough to recognize that, before WaT really leaned into it.

She only specified golden hair, but the "fairy people" clearly indicates additional unusual characteristics. You are technically correct in that showing up in the middle of nowhere would not automatically change their physical appearance, but that is largely irrelevant. It would however, limit their exposure to the general population and keep the news out of headlines for longer. You are not correct in assuming they would automatically be recognized as aliens. The golden skin is faint enough to only be noticeable under the right light. With a good hat and a little care, its going to stand out far less than a wooden mask.

A reference to people in the rosharan subastral eating canned food is evidence directly from the text, and supports the argument there is ongoing contact between the cultures. We see several Scadrians living on Roshar and direct communication between the planets, well before the Iriali exodus. That does not prove this contact involved choutas, but it is evidence of ongoing opportunities for contact involving choutas. I think they are related, but the text makes it abundantly clear there are a number of plausible scenarios for the chouta recipe to make it to Scadrial outside of the Iriali migration. Choutas are inevitable. If the Iriali didnt bring them, it was going to happen eventually. My alternate theory is Felt was saddened by the loss of cultivations perpendicularity and time dilation at the end of WaT, and sent the recipe with detailed instructions to ensure a lasting bond between the planets. Oh, and maybe referred to as the "some sort of fairy creature?" Also, they wouldnt necessarily show up in a major city speaking an unknown language and wearing strange clothes. More likely first contact would have occurred in a more remote area, giving the Iriali a chance to get acclimated before small groups ventured into a major city. If the whole group just drops directly into a major city on day one, choutas and Irali wraps are going to get appropriated while they are herded into slums. They need time to develop a business plan for franchising. This is not their first rodeo. Theories are fun, but there is not enough evidence to make definitive statements either way.

Overall I believe Kaladin has enough of an advantage to put him in a separate tier above Wax. Random chance, I am taking Kaladin 100 times out of 100. It possible to construct a scenario where Wax is competitive, but that requires intentionally stacking external advantages for him. With enough plot armor time to prep, Wax could take anyone down. Brandon could write a pretty fun scene for them if he wanted to.

I think it is clear Dalinar's soul was allowed to move to the Beyond. Sidestepping that by saying it is only from Taravangian's perspective and Taravangian was mistaken feels cheap to me. I could be wrong, this is mostly based on my personal feelings. The collective powers of Odium and Honor state "You cannot have him, he is claimed by another". It is possible that only excludes Taravangian, but I read that as someone other than the powers as well. Cultivation seems most likely with her claim based on their previous agreement. Doesnt quite feel right to me, but less shenanigan-ish than any than of the alternatives.

Just to be clear, these are your feelings. Presenting them as facts without supporting evidence is not a valid argument. I firmly believe the text does not support the idea oaths are inherently good, and I do not believe Brandon intends us to read it that way. This thread provides examples of several people who agree. I think this is well put. A Rosharon oath is a formal commitment enforced by gods and fundamental forces of nature. It is more restrictive than a written contract because the consequences of breaking it are automatic. A promise is more dependent on personal accountability. Adolin may keep his promises as strongly as any oath, but it is his choice. Its a nice counterpoint to Szeth, who struggles with trusting himself to make the right choices.

Maybe not the best. but you have to give honorary mention to anyone who opens their first viewpoint with "I, GOD"

Vastly expanded minds, that are heavily influenced by shardic intent. In this case shardic intent the vessel does not have a firm grip on. Sounds like something smart Taravangian would be good at. Probably something Todium has the capacity for. Also something he is just as likely to overlook. Even if he does scan through possibilities, he is going to be drawn to solutions featuring quick and violent actions.

We have been shown a selected list of death rattles. I was under the impression this was not the majority. Odium might be more capable of sifting through related details for context, but I do not see much evidence he would be especially good it it. Odium is driven by passion for anger, not passion for data analytics.

When you say Moelach is successfully predicting events, you mean a select few of Moelach's references to a specific detail of an event with little to no context later appear to be correct. Not necessarily useful in any way from a strategic standpoint.

Gasp. You mean, almost like real life for most people? I have single adult friends, and yes, people are constantly trying to set them up because that just what people do. Do you know where it goes most of the time? Absolutely nowhere. People can flirt, maybe even develop a little romantic tension, and then it fades because one or both of them decided not to pursue it. Its usually wildly anticlimactic, barely topping out at briefly awkward.