darkanimereal1

Well, plate also would need to be quite a bit harder since the KR weren't fighting each other, but rather giant beasts of rock and whatever the listeners turn into as Voidbringers. Also, the fact that the helm got hit so many times seems to imply that stormlight is a far more efficient "battery" for plate than gems are.

These thoughts line up most with what I was thinking. I really don't think that trapping spren in fabrial is a good thing. It just seems very... brutal, I guess? Even if these are spren that can't think, I've pointed out in another thread that even spren that can't think now have the potential to develop sentience (Pattern, for instance, says that he couldn't think back during the time of the KR, but he can now). Trapping spren just does not feel like the right thing to do. I was kind of tripping up by the fact that the Oathgate is itself a fabrial, and I started to wonder if I had the wrong idea. However, it seems like the fabrial is run more by the person using stormlight than a trapped spren. Because of this, I'm on board the idea that fabrial worked differently before the Recreance. I'm guessing that, just like people added gems to the shardblades so that they could bond them, people also added gems to the plate to run them. I really like this idea. This may also explain why the Heralds didn't have shardplate. Honorblades do not allow you to retain stormlight efficiently. Maybe they just weren't able to because it would take too much stormlight.

I'm not sure, although I think there's a pretty good chance that could be the case. I have to say, that was one of my favorite parts of this book: watching Shallan interact with and inspire so many people. She didn't always succeed (such as with Tvlakv or whatever his name was), but it was awesome to see her grow so much as a character and be able to inspire those around her. We saw that in Kaladin pretty much from page one of TWoK, but it was great to get to see that same growth in Shallan from a young girl making really dumb, ill-informed decisions (stealing from Jasnah, cough cough) to actually taking on a leadership role and looking out for those around her. Super awesome.

Interesting thought. I'm not sure if I agree with the bolded section. I could see it going either way. It could just be that Navani isn't going around making a bunch of soulcasters since they are a religious "untouchable" item. She only makes them when asked for one specifically by an ardent for use only by ardents. However, I also think that the material they're made from may come into play. This thought is somewhat tenuous, since it could be the combination of the alignment of the device in addition to the power from the gems that makes the entire fabrial work as a whole. But part of me wants to believe that the material plays an important role. My first thought was, "Oh! What about the material that the Oathgate is made of!?" However, that material couldn't be hurt by a shardblade. Technically, no one has tried hurting the material with a normal sword, but if a shardblade can't hurt it then I suspect a normal sword wouldn't be able to any damage either. Since we know that soulcasters can be damaged by normal swords (again, Lin Davar's), this seems to rule out whatever that material was. Plus, if it was the special material, I doubt that Navani would have the technical expertise to fix soulcasters, which isn't true based on what she told Jasnah.

I'm on the fence. I really like this idea, although I'm not quite sure if I'm behind it 100% yet. One reason that I really love it, however, is because it could align with this epitaph: So we know that Hoid apparently still believes that Rayse exists as an individual person rather than just a force of hatred. And the author of the letter seems to be implying that Hoid is attempting something that will upset the balance of equilibrium that Tanavast achieved by containing Rayse. Based on those two things, it almost makes me wonder if Hoid is going to attempt to persuade/rationalize with Rayse. Which sounds like a crazy chull move, if you ask me. However, Hoid did also tell Dalinar that they have two different goals that do not quite align. Obviously Dalinar doesn't know the full picture, but the end that he's working toward is to stop the desolations and protect mankind, which would mean somehow stopping Odium's influence on Roshar. If Hoid is hoping to reason with Rayse (or at least persuade him), then that could explain the discrepancy. That being said, Hoid does not strike me as the kind of person who would hope to reason with someone to achieve an end... >> Just saying.

What I want to know is if the larkin are part of the greatshell's "soul." Rysn's babsk makes a comment that she was saved by the soul of the island itself, which is how she wound up surviving the fall. I'm not sure if this makes any sense or would be at all accurate, but the picture that comes to mind is of a bunch of larkin swarming out to break her fall, and one of them decided to stay with her. On a different, but related topic, someone in a different thread had thrown out the possibility that a larkin may be able to drain Nightblood. I think it would be really interesting to learn if larkin only draw stormlight, or if they draw all investiture.

However, based on the evidence from WoR, only "living" shardblades are able to change shape, such as becoming a shard spear. In order to have a living shardblade, you need to have a bond with a living spren and be in the process of becoming a Knight Radiant. All of the other shardblades are "dead" blades (such as the ones held by the Alethi lighteyes). Because of this, even if it were possible for a KR's spren to become a soulcaster (which I highly doubt, since there are only two orders of soulcasters--see Jasnah and Shallan--and both of those do not require the use of a physical object, but instead going to Shadesmar), the soulcasters that the Ardents are using would be "dead" soulcasters. I really don't think your theory makes much sense based on what we've learned so far. That being said, it is all really interesting. There's so much that happened in this book that I had forgotten about this wonderful little bit

Okay, so quick question. I know that the Dayton book store requires you to buy the book from them--I don't have a problem with that. But in one of Brandon's blog announcements about the tour he made a comment that you can bring other books that you already own to get signed in addition. Is that still correct? Still not sure if I'm going, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Bwa ha ha. For this, upvote.

Wait, wait. Isn't this what Kaladin describes when he's thinking back to being strung up in the Highstorm and he describes Syl standing before him, trying to shield him from the storm?

And, actually, just a few threads down is a very similar discussion (I only just noticed...): http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/6819-the-origin-of-shardplate/

Uh, I don't really like this idea. First off, you just said: "No screaming, no spren." What I'm guessing you mean is that if there isn't any screaming, then it's because they're "lesser spren" who can't think. What you're implying by this, however, is that if a spren can't think, it's okay to trap it in an object. Perhaps that's okay. I mean, we know that fabrials are made with such spren. But my gut reaction is that there is something very wrong with this logic. They're still spren, and I believe that we've seen that they're capable of thinking (Pattern, for instance, didn't used to be able to think during the time of the KR, but that has since changed). At first I was going to compare it to saying that it's fine to kill animals, but I think it's more than that. It's like saying it's fine to kill a six month old because they can't yet talk. I'm not sure what I think shardplate is yet. But I really don't think it's another spren of any kind.

I agree that there's a pretty big chance that we won't see his parents right away, because... There definitely is more to Hesina than meets the eye. I almost forgot about this, but I think it is highly possible that Lirin and Hesina left town and finally went to Hesina's parents. Either that, or Konn's guess: Either way, I don't think it's going to be a happy-happy reunion, at least not at first. How many years have passed? Four? More than that? Put yourself in Lirin and Hesina's shoes: to have both of your only children taken away in one day (because of your own actions, no less, since Lirin taking the money is what started this whole thing), and having them sent off to the army would be devastating enough. Then, perhaps a year later, to get a letter from one son explaining that the other is dead, and that the first son will never return home again? Lirin was already close to breaking even before the boys left. I can only imagine that he is now a broken man. (Although, in that case it would make it highly likely that there's now room for a spren to move in...) Hesina, on the other hand, I can see keeping hope (much like Shallan, actually). I'm going to guess that she's struggling to help Lirin get through his issues at this point.

I don't really view this as something to be afraid of. Adolin has a lot of growing up to do. It was obvious in TWoK, and although he's made progress, it's obvious in WoR as well. I was pleasantly surprised by how well Adolin and Shallan got along in this book--it was definitely enjoyable to read. But from the very beginning of WoR, Adolin likes the idea of not having to choose his girlfriend. Although he doesn’t let it show, he’s rather disappointed that so many of his relationships haven’t worked out. But I think the problem with all of Adolin’s previous relationships was that he was with the girls for the wrong reasons (or, at least, wrong reasons for a long term relationship). Even though Adolin quickly grows to like Shallan, I think he is still in this relationship for the wrong reasons. Deep down, I think he just wants for it to be over so he doesn’t have to worry about failing relationships any more. Even the way he words it to Kaladin kind of bugs me, cute though it is: “I really want to keep this one.” I don’t know, the way he phrases it kind of lumps Shallan in with all the others. It shows that he cares more about her than his other girlfriends, perhaps. But she’s still just “one” of them. When Adolin finds a relationship and a girl that he wants to be with--not to make life easier, not because he’s afraid of failing, not because it’s what he’s supposed to do--then I will ship Adolin. And if that girl winds up being Shallan, then awesome. But I really won’t support Adolin in any relationship until he finds someone that he cares about so much that he will only pay attention to her. And so far, even Shallan can’t do that. Beyond that, I think Shallan will realize that her relationship with Adolin is not working before he does. In the end, they both are in it for the wrong reasons. Yes, they like each other and they’re attracted to one another--they even admire one another. But I don’t think that’s enough to build a strong, healthy relationship off of. My thoughts are that Shallan will break it off. It’ll probably hurt Adolin immensely--once again, he’ll fail in a relationship. But I think that he’ll come out the other side having actually learned a lot about both himself and the nature of dating in general. Just like Shallan had to face the truth of her situation head on, I think this will be the kick in the butt Adolin will need to face the truth of his relationships head on. Don’t get me wrong, his relationship with Shallan is a step forward from his previous ones. But I think it’s just a part of his character development as a whole.

Ditto

Yes, yes, and yes. Fantastically well said.

I live about three hours out, and it's on a week day (meaning I'd have to leave work early and make up the time over several other days). I really, really, REALLY want to go, however none of my siblings can come (they're younger and it's a school night with a three hour ride back afterward). It sounds like one of my friend's may be able to come. If that's the case, I plan on going. However, right now it's pretty iffy if she'll decide to go or not. I don't want to go by myself only because I'd have to spend six hours in the car after working all day (three hours each way). However, on top of the amazing chance just to get to meet Brandon, I really want to ask some questions based on all the great theories/wild ideas that have been flying around about WoR. I guess I'm really just curious to see if any of the 17th sharders will be making their way over Update: Now that the event has happened, I'm going to put all of the hints and questions/answers in the OP so that they're easier to keep track of. I took a series of videos of the entire event (up until he started signing), and I have a video (hopefully will just grab the audio--the video is of my feet) of the second set of questions luke.spence and I asked him. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get all of those up, but I'm working on it. Also, I wasn't sure if I should put everyone else's responses in here, so if you would like me to add yours to the list with your username, just let me know! General Q&A: (These are a few of the ones I thought hadn't been covered yet, or that were particularly amusing/gave good info.) Q: I was wondering if any of the characters from interludes will end up with their own books. A: Yes, they will. Lift, specifically, is one of the characters in the back five. I think she might be the only one who has had a view point so far. That’s, um, no … There are others. So, yes, interlude characters will end up with their own books later on. Right now they’re side characters. Q: (This was my question. I basically asked how long he thinks it will take him to write future Stormlight books, since TWoK took 6 months to write and WoR took 18 months to write.) A: My anticipation is that Stormlight should take about 12 months to write. It went in six months the first time because I had written the book already once. And so being able to start over from scratch, I had done it all once, so it was really like, even though I really wrote every word new, it was like doing a second draft. Words of Radiance took so long because I had to lurch out of the Wheel of Time mindset. I hadn’t written this book before, I had written the other one, and I was so steeped in the Wheel of Time doing two books that it took a lot more to pull me out. And I would start on it and would end up getting distracted by some other project like one of the novellas or I’d start on it and then I’d go back and do a revision on Steelheart and then I’d start on it. Eventually I managed to start on it and stay in it, but it took that extra six months of spinning my heels before I really dug into the book. And so, I would say that I’m hoping 12 months. I might be able to do them faster, maybe nine months. I don’t know. They are big complicated books to write, and you can’t really do these on the speed that you can do other things. It doesn’t scale. If I can write a novella that’s 20k words and I can write that oftentimes in a week, that doesn’t mean that when I’m working on Words of Radiance I can do twenty thousand words a week, because it’s just a lot harder to get everything connected. The longer you go, the longer it winds up taking per word. A few fun tidbits: Brandon assumes that eventually they’ll make a collective art book of all of the Stormlight art. In addition, in the picture of Adolin, the double underlined sigh was “his addition.” Lol Also, this may already have been known, but for sure each of the ten books will be named after in-world books. Because of this, “Stormlight Archive” is a play on words (literally an archive of books). Q: Are we going to be seeing more Wit in the Stormlight Archive? A: Depends on if you mean the character or actual wittiness. I’m never sure if I’m actually witty or not—you’ll have to judge. But the character never knows when to leave well enough alone and will be muddling things for quite a long time. Q: (This is CorwinofAmber's, I think) So one of the things I really like about this is that in the Ars Arcanum and the blurb on the back of the dust jacket, they’re not just Brandon Sanderson explaining the magic system, or Brandon Sanderson summarizing the book for casual perusing, they’re written in world by characters in the world, and I was wondering if you could tell us or give us a hint as to who wrote the dust jacket. A: I can tell you it’s not the same person as who’s writing the Ars Arcanum, and neither of those are Hoid. How about that? That gives you something. I had to fight to get in world text on the back cover. I personally really don’t like summary blurbs. Those summary blurbs are either bland or they spoil too much, and they really get on my nerves. They’re marketing copy, not author copy. And so I fought and I fought and I fought. I won with Elantris, getting the prologue on the back of the hard cover, but then they didn’t do that for the paperback. But for the hardcovers of these I won, so I’m glad you appreciate that—I intend to keep doing that. But yes, they’re being written in world by a group of people on Roshar. One on One Questions: From me and luke.spence: [Note, I was so dumb and didn’t record the exact answers for these first two, so this is paraphrasing.] Me: So, the Purelake in Shadesmar is mountainous. Does this in any way have to do with the fact that the Purelake is so shallow? Brandon: No. I haven’t yet discussed the nature of the relationship between Shadesmar and the Physical world. Me: So, when Dalinar has his vision in what he assumes in the Purelake, he sees an obsidian fortress. Is that fortress in any way related to the fact that the Purelake in Shadesmar is mountainous? Brandon: No. Someone in line before us: Please don’t tell me you’re going to do a love triangle between Adolin, Kaladin, and Shallan. Brandon: [he phrased this very carefully] I’m not a fan of the traditional love triangle. However, I am fond of conflict in relationships. [Alright, these are from my recording, so word for word.] Me: The weepings--Shallan and Kaladin react very differently to them. Brandon: They do. M: It just seems to me that the Weepings feel very close to Cultivation. Brandon: The primary thing you’re noticing -- and I’m not going to say there’s not any magical influence -- but the primary thing you’re noticing is that Kaladin has season defective disorder and Shallan likes the rain. That’s the primary thing you’re noticing. I like the rain--my wife hates it. My wife gets depressed when it rains and I love when it rains. Me: Did Taravangian go to see the Nightwatcher before or after Gavilar’s assassination? Brandon: Um, oh man. I’m going to have to look at my timeline. I believe it’s before, but I can’t guarantee I’m right, because these things are all happening around the same time. Me: Because he says that Gavilar confided in him the night of. Brandon: Ooooh, you’re right. Nope, it’s after. It is after. You can send that question to Peter so we can confirm it. There might be something I’m forgetting about Taravangian. Luke.spence: What caused a Desolation to end? Was it just the defeat of Odium’s forces? Because the Desolations start when the Heralds break under torture. Brandon: Because the Heralds can no longer be in existence. There is a certain period of time that they can be there, and after that, if they’re there, they will start a new one. So the Heralds do need to leave for a Desolation to end Me: Oh. So they’ve got a time limit. Brandon: They do. Otherwise the Desolation will start again. What they discovered is not all of them have to. As long as one remains, the Desolation will not start again. Luke: So, by the nine leaving, did that actually break the Oathpact for them? Did it change the cycle of Desolations? Brandon: They have not completely broken the Oathpact, despite what they may think. Luke: How much stormlight equals one breath? Do you have an actual ratio? Brandon: I have a ratio. It’s not on me. Me: Okay, that’s a Peter question again. Brandon: Yeah, well, I may not answer it even then. Luke: Are the Heralds actually aware that Taln is back? Brandon: Are the Heralds aware that Taln is back? Uh, you’re implying that this person actually is Taln. [The smile on Brandon’s face at this moment was the best, most excruciatingly awful smile ever. And we thought Peter was a tease.] Which is not guaranteed. It’s not guaranteed. However, the return of the Voidbringers does indeed indicate to them, in their mind, that he would have returned. Me: So they assume because the Voidbringers are returning-- Brandon: Because the Voidbringers are returning, would be a clue to them that Taln has returned. I also happened to overhear a few questions that were interesting. In particular, one woman in front of me said, "I really hope you're not going to do a love triangle between Kaladin, Adolin, and Shallan." Brandon's response (which he worded quite carefully) was, "I'm not a fan of the traditional love triangle. However, I am fond of conflict in relationships." And he left it at that xD For the other one, I didn't quite overhear what the question was, but I did hear Brandon's answer (paraphrased): "An invested object resists any attempt to put additional investment into it. Just like you can't pull metal that's inside a person's body. When the shardplate cracks, the streams of stormlight that you're seeing are actually the plate doing what it's supposed to: healing itself." [This is, I assume, as opposed to "leaking" or losing stormlight.] "So, theoretically, you could maybe pull a tiny fraction of that stormlight out, but you can't just stick your hand up to the outside of the plate and retrieve it. However, if you have the plate open with the gem exposed and you were to touch the gem, then you could pull the stormlight from it." Luke's Questions: (Hopefully luke.spence won't mind me sharing, since these were shared in the "My Signing Questions" thread.) Q: 2b. You mentioned that human can’t bond Honorblades, but Nalan tells Szeth that his bond with his Honorblade has been broken. Can you clear this up? A: Humans CAN bond Honorblades. There's a crucial difference between Honorblades and Shardblades. When you drop an Honorblade, it does not disappear, even if it has been bonded. A Shardblade will disappear when dropped. Q: Which map holds the Easter Egg? A: The main map of Roshar. Q: From which book? A: Either book, it's the main one that will go in each copy. It's VERY hard and it won't change a whole lot. Q: Does it have anything to do with the compass? A: Not the compass. Q: 13. How many parties were there to the original Oathpact? A: 11. The Heralds and Honor. They thought that by walking away from their oaths, that it would break the Oathpact. They're going to find out that it's not quite as broken as they had previously thought (meaning the Heralds).

Ditto. I had the exact same idea--that they trapped spren in the blades--I had a feeling when Syl said she didn't like them. Personally, I guessed that Shallan/Kaladin would be a thing as soon as they both had the exact same thoughts about horses (that they were too smart and should be more docile, like chulls, instead). I also guessed that Shin/Rlain was a traitor as soon as I read Navani's epitaph about the Parshendi having spies. However, I had completely reconciled myself to Jasnah's death. I was not at all expecting her to be back.

I don't think will be very helpful in figuring out anything more, but what if this "secret" is one of the things that the Vorin church attempted to hide following the Hierocracy? Or, perhaps, maybe it had something to do with the Hierocracy even happening. This could also highly depend on how big of a gap there was between the Recreance and the Hierocracy.

Actually, I think it has less to do with the slavery and more to do with why he became a slave. He because a slave because he was unable to protect people. We know that this, more than anything, is what kills Kaladin. He constantly beats himself up over it (Shallan makes a comment about it and he agrees, noting his father used to say the same thing--however, it's just a part of him that he can't change). Actually, I think I just made my point in the parentheses (by accident). The fact that Kaladin holds himself ultimately responsible for the deaths of everyone he should have been able to protect is a part of him that can't change. The scars are a symbol of that, and until he is able to either 1) change that part of himself or 2) finally come to terms that he can only do the best that he is able, I think he'll be stuck with the scars. Actually, this sounds more to me like something Shallan would do. Shallan hides from her past, while Kaladin constantly brutalizes/tortures himself with his own past. I don't think repressing his past would heal him--he needs to come to terms with it. I agree with this idea. Everyone in Bridge 4 seems to think that Bridge 4 was their salvation. Kaladin never understands this. Even as his men are getting tattooed and as Hobber is explaining that he was freed not from Bridge 4, but by it, Kaladin is squirming inside. I think that, more than anything, is why the tattoos didn't take. Kaladin does not believe that he was freed by Bridge 4, and so it's not a part of him.

As far as Adolin is concerned, I don't think his blade is having that effect on him either. We see his interest in the Thrill draining throughout the book despite the fact that he has been using his blade more. By the end, he has no interest in it whatsoever, although he notices that Eshonai is experiencing the Thrill, which is interesting (although it makes sense if the Thrill is caused by one of the Unmade). The only action that maybe would back this up is Adolin's murder of Sadeas in the end--it came out of no where. But I think that had to do with stress and Sadeas constantly provoking him more than anything else.

First off, there are a crazy amount of the voidspren in the Everstorm, correct? They've been around already (Syl sees them, and I think Kaladin mentions seeing them during the highstorm in the chasm scene), but they are in wide abundance during the Everstorm. Second, the Eshonai screaming, as CrystalBodies pointed out, reminds me a lot of (Mistborn spoiler) Seeing as this line comes so late, Syl could be referring to helping Kaladin kill men on the battle field. The beginning of TWoK comes to mind. The first time we see Kaladin wielding a spear, Syl is zipping around him (this is from the young boy's perspective). Kaladin was definitely killing people at that point, and Syl was definitely there.

I suppose that's a possibility. He does describe his worst days as particularly awful. But he may come across some sort of key understanding on that day, even if he's incoherent.

This is probably a stretch, but is it possible that her mother was part of an organization similar to Teft's parents? Maybe she recognized what Shallan was becoming. In order to "break" her so that she'd continue to grow into a Radiant, maybe she threatened to kill her. We know that the Enivisioners were willing to kill people in order to produce that "break." It's quite possible that her mother attacking her is what broke Shallan. But in her fear she murdered her mother. Also, it's unclear who killed the man (since he had bleeding wounds). Her father may have been the one to kill him.

Personally, I think that would be awesome and amazingly profound. I now hope that this is the case.