Arcanist Lupus

There is one piece of evidence. From the back cover of the hardcover: This indicates very strongly to me that the current owners of Shardblades are not "Shardwielding". Also, I don't think we know enough about Szeth's banishment to make judgement with it. It could be because of his Surgebinding (pseudoSurgebinding?), but it could equally be because of his Shardblade (there might be a distinction between normal weapons and Shardblades in his culture). The only major hint I know of is the line "He had heard that the Voidbringers could hold it in perfectly. But, then, did they even exist? His punishment declared that they didn't. His honor demanded that they did." What that means, I don't know. I can see an argument that Szeth's powers fall under Honor/Cultivation, as he seems to be very motivated by honor. If this is true, and my interference theory is correct (a very big if) that would Shardwielding in pure Odium, which would bring up a lot of odd questions about Honorblades.

Don't forget that we don't know where Szeth is getting his powers. We know it's not from the same source that Kaladin gets his, making me think that he is using a magic system similar to Hemalurgy in that it "steals" magic from the other systems. (Note that this doesn't make it "evil" like Hemalurgy was, that was because it was of Ruin). Neither the Old Magic or Voidbinding (which the ardent referred to as some sort of divinatory magic) seem to act in a way that would give Szeth his powers. Ardent's quote about Voidbinding (pg 285): Also, Szeth's inability to use Shardplate and his magic reminds me of Allomancy and Hemalurgy. I've always felt that the reason that metals could (mostly) not be pulled or pushed from inside the body was due to some sort of Hemalurgic masking effect of the person's blood. This strikes me as something similar. Note that this reinforces the evidence that Szeth's abilities come from a different magic system than Kaladin's, as we know that the Knights Radiant used Shardplate. Perhaps Shardplate that is being wielded "properly" wouldn't interfere, but somehow I don't think so. Also, remember that the influence of the Shards isn't seen in how the magic is used, only in how it functions at a basic level. Here are my thoughts on which magics go where: Surgebinding - Honor. Shardweilding - Honor/Odium (there are Honorblades, but there are no building tools, only swords and armor) Szeth's Magic - Cultivation (as opposite of Shardweilding. Also, Shinovar is probably Cultivation's "home base") Voidbinding - Cultivation/Odium (trys to see the future. Also, explains the ardent's hatred of it, being anti-Honor). Old Magic - All Three (it's related to Voidbinding, and it feels like there are elements of Honor in it as well (better requests get better rewards), and elements of Odium (hateful punishments), and Cultivation (indirect rewards)). So the last two magics unrevealed would be Honor/Cultivation and Odium (which are coincidentally enough, opposites).

Yay!

Actually, I think you guys are right. Stormlight isn't the focus. I don't think it's the fuel either though, because I don't think we've ever seen it consumed. It leaks away, but isn't consumed. It acts more like Breath than anything else. (and Breath was neither fuel nor focus).

Idea! Stormlight is the focus, but there are multiple different types of stormlight (Maybe they're different wavelengths). Perhaps different gems have different abilities to store different types of stormlight, which is why some work better than others for different purposes. So, for example, when Kaladin pulls all the arrows towards him, maybe he's only using "red" stormlight, and when he sticks things together, he's using "blue" stormlight. He can't tell the difference, though, because he doesn't have a prism.

I wanted a place where we could list the little things that have been bugging us, that we think are important, but don't know enough about to create full theories about. Just a list of things to remember. This can include anything from quotes to observations, to a little bit of analysis. The List: (black is textual, blue is speculation/theories, green is opinion) The Hieroarchy. Hasn't been mentioned much, but I think there's more here than meets the eye. Quotes (hidden for space)Cultivation was better at seeing the future than Honor or Odium. A connection? The Voidbringers and Voidbinding are not necessarily connected, despite having similar names. Axies the Collector had a shadow that went the wrong way. Is this magic-related, and if so, why? Perhaps Stormlight isn't the only type of light with magical qualities... Post your own details, and I'll add them to the list. Note: Feel free to discuss any theories related to the list (or any text you want added to the list), but if I don't feel they are directly related to the text, I won't add them to the list.

I found the quote about Nohadon and the Knights Radiant! (actually, I stole it from somebody else on the forums, but...) The part I've bolded seems to me to lead directly to the creation of the Knights Radiant.

This is perhaps the most genius thing I've heard all day. (I'm not sure why I think so, I just do.) Death related things we've seen so far in WoK: Parshmen/Parshendi don't touch their dead. Also, they have customs regarding assassination. when some people die, they say strange things. the Heralds could apparently come back from the dead. I don't think it's a stretch to say that these all are related.

She seems a little old for the part. Isn't she like twice Vin's age?

Fortunately, the first few chapters of Liar are available to the general public.An observation: The Letter, no matter how many hints it contains about the greater cosmere, is directly connected to WoK and the Stormlight Archive, and is meant to be (at least partially) accessible to people who haven't read all the books. To me, this means two things: 1. the author's "quest" is directly connected with Roshar and the Last Desolation. 2. The "war" the author refers to is the Last Desolation. The war is referred to as "our war here". "here" presumably means Roshar. "war" means conflict, battles, and lots of people dying. "our" means the author, and presumably Rayse, and... who else? Also, I suspect that the author is not being entirely metaphorical when he (she?*) says that "the very pillars of the sky will shake with the results of our war here." What does this mean. * technically, the author could be female, but I subscribe to the theory that the author is Hoid. The author must meet the following conditions: is on Roshar, is being chased, and has some ability to communicate with Shards. Hoid fits all of these criteria, and the thought of there being more than one seems beyond all probability.

"Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination."

I can't wait!

I like your theory, but it has one flaw: Shallan is too curious by nature. Let me explain. If Shallan created the shardblade when she killed her father, she would be doing something that she didn't know was possible. From what I know of Shallan, I think I can say that if Shallan was faced by something that she had thought was impossible, she would think about it, and try to learn about it. But she doesn't, throughout the course of WoK. Therefore, I think that the shardblade's presence was unexpected, but not earth shattering.

As far as romance goes: The relationship (romantic or otherwise) between Kaladin and Shallan will be just too much fun to watch. Between Kaladin's hatred of lighteyes, his previous almost-girlfriend, and Shallan's last almost-boyfriend, this is going to be very interesting. I think Shallan far more likely to have a romance with Renarin than Adolin. First off, he seems more her type. Secondly, Adolin currently has a girl, and she's been mentioned just enough that I think she's going to be a major player later on. That being said, a love triangle between Adolin, Shallan and Kaladin could be very interesting. On the other hand, this is Brandon we're talking about. It would be just like him to bring several young men and women together, and have them all end up single.

I got Mistborn for a family trip, and ended up buying WoA half way through, after I finished Mistborn (and all the other books I brought).

So the archivist translated some documents, but not others? Sounds like a lazy archivist to me.

One thing that's been bugging me, if that's the Alethi script, then what's all this English doing on in-world documents? It seems odd to me that some of the documents are "translated" into English, while others are not. One possible explanation is that Navani's notebook isn't actually in Alethi, but in some code she uses to keep her fabrial secrets safe. Thoughts?

My thoughts: 1. The creature from the picture is not an accurate representation of a thunderclast. It's not in any way skeletal, and it has claws, not hands. It could possibly be an inaccurate representation of a thunderclast. 2. I support the chasmfiend-pupating theory, although I'm not convinced they pupate into thunderclasts. see #3. 3. I think that the picture is a picture of a pupated chasmfiend. It may be a thunderclast, in which case (as I said before) it is an inaccurate representation, probably created by someone who hadn't seen a thunderclast, but who knew that they were the pupae of chasmfiends, so drew a chasmfiendish monster. 4. There were hints that the Parshendi regard the chasmfiends as gods. This doesn't mean they worship them (think of Ruin), just that they think they are gods (or slivers/parts of god). If they thought that chasmfiend-pupae were part of their enemy god, then they would try to hunt down and kill them before they can transform. 5. I'm in favor of the idea that the Parshendi are on the side of Honor (seeing as they fight honorably), which supports the idea that they are opponents to the chasmfiends-pupae, which (especially if they are thunderclasts) very likely creatures of Odium. My theory is that they've hunted the chasmfiends for a long time, but recently the rate of pupating has escalated, due to the approaching Desolation, so the Parshendi "enlisted" the help of the Alethi in hunting the chasmfiends. 6. Assuming that the chasmfiend-pupae are intelligent, the relationship between them and the chasmfiends reminds me very strongly of the relationship between mistwraiths and kandra. Take a non-sentient animal, add magic, and produce a sentient person.

Thanks for the clarification. To summarize: Aona, Skai, Ati, Leras, and Tanavast are dead. Aona and Skai's Shards have definitely been splintered. Ati and Leras's Shards have definitely not been splintered. The condition of Tanavast's shard is unknown.

Or it would have turned out like The Series of Unfortunate Events movie... *shudders*

2 suggestions for the original post. 1) include a link to the wiki page on Shards. 2) mention in your list of shards which ones have died by WoK. (ie Aona, Skai, Honor, Ruin, & Preservation)

What fish are these?

I think Mistborn is tailor made for being turned into a Lego game. It wouldn't be as awesome as a "real" game, but it would be hilarious and fun, and it would work really well.

It would be among my greatest pleasures to participate in this attempt by way of fortune to acquire these desirable items.

Your "I Hate Dragons" link died when TWG went down. The original, all dialogue version can still be found here on Brandon's site, but I don't know of any other place to get the extended version.