Gloom

I think Kaladin is at least another book away from a situation where he can even contemplate a relationship, and even then, I don't think he will be looking for a light eyed woman. Nor do I think that any amount of pressure placed upon him by future peers or authority figures will be enough to convince him to marry someone unless it is what he personally wants to do. I could be wrong since his parents basically did their best to groom him as a suitable match for a brightlady, but I have serious doubts that he has any interest in pursuing such a relationship, or any romantic relationship at all, at this time.

Yes, I can imagine that in the battle scene where Brandon kills Renarin in some book at some time he will type "(sorry Featherwriter)" right after it.

Does that mean you can't see this spoiler either?

This is where Rock got mad at Lopen and through him off a cliff. He is just about to hit the apex of his flight. The next line is Lopen screaming in terror.

I think you may be judging Pattern a little harshly. We don't know that he hasn't improved dramatically cognitively by this point. He is interpreting a sphere. This may be the first time he is doing this as Pattern, in which case he may be proud to have accomplished the task, or it may be that because of what he was interpreting, a mundane and simple stick, that caused his phrasing to sound simple as a result. Lucky for Syl she was the fist spren we met, so we forgave her period of simpleness because we had nothing to judge it against. Had Wyndle been around in TWoKs, people would have been critical of Sylphrenas seeming simplicity as well. I have a feeling that eventually we will look back fondly on the time that Pattern acted like a puppy rather than devious little lie spren that he is.

Hmmm, yes, I see your point. Sadeas is very subtle though. Perhaps he wouldn't charge Amaram with keeping an eye on Dalinar, so much as mildly suggest it would be a good idea. The point I was trying to make is that if Sadeas gives Amaram permission and a reason for continuing his relationship with Dalinar, it eliminates any tension between Sadeas and Amaram that could potentially harm Sadeas position. This being exactly what Amaram himself wants, it would be expedient and politically astute of Amaaram to at least pay lip service to Sadeas plan regardless of whether or not he intended to follow through or not. It also gives Sadeas the ability to save face in front of any of his peers who question Amarams affiliations.

Eh..No, I don't believe that Gaz was killed by Darkness. Yes, the chapter title is suggestive, and had Nalan been one of the heralds in in the chapter heading, I would say "Yeah, definitely, right on." but he isn't, it's two other heralds, the male one I believe is Taln.

We can assume, either correctly or incorrectly, that the Midnight Essence is one of the ten deaths. Thunderclasts are likely another of the ten deaths. As Thunderclasts are almost certainly not Parsh in origin, and Midnight Essence is released from somewhere, we could definitely see these or other deaths in the near future. We still aren't certain who the Voidbringers are yet, but we can assume that if Taln is free, so are the Ten Fools.

A sovereign lord has to be careful when dealing with a proven and influencial noble of Amarams stature. Just because he may technically have the authority to strip Amaram of his lands, titles, and wealth, doesn't mean he could actually get away with it. Amaram has popularity, powerful friends, and an army of his own. He may even have the favor of the King, and he definately has a set of Shards. Trying to strip Amaram of his lands, titles, or wealth would almost certainly result in Amaram claiming either independence for his lands and proclaiming himself High Prince, or defection of his person and his lands into the territory of another High Prince. Either of these would result in a war that Sadeas is unable to prosecute without leaving the Shattered Plains. At the least this would make him appear a fool. At worst, Amaram would leave the Shattered Plains, return to Sadeas lands, claim them in their entirety for himself and depose Sadeas. There is plenty of precedent for this in our world. Barons defying their Dukes, Dukes defying their Kings, and even Barons defying their Kings. It all depends on the relative strength of the sovereign lord to that of the vassel lord. In a land like Alethkar, this is even more so because Sadeas can't count on Elhokar to have the political power to force any of the other High Princes to provide him with aid. Sadeas is many things, but he isn't a fool. It seems more likely that Sadeas would work with what he has. That he would overlook Amarams friendship with Dalinar and instead charge Amaram with becoming Dalinars confidant so he can head off any plots by Dalinar against Sadeas. This would eliminate Amarams need to defy his liege and make may possibly result in garnering information about his potential enemy that Sadeas didn't already have.

I agree. It seems very in character for Kaladin to stew over Amaram rather than confront him directly. Kaladin doesn't want to trust any lighteyes, this gives him something to hold against Dalinar. I can hear the internal dialog now "How am I supposed to trust a man who has Amaram for a friend?" This allows Kaladin to continue to hold Dalinar in suspicion and delay his own big reveal that he promised to Syl.

It is commonly believed that the Parsh have existed for more than 4500 years. Slave form may lack for ambition and drive, but it appears to be quite versatile otherwise. The Parshmen make excellent slaves. Why is this? Because they are versatile. Parshmen can be taught to care for manuscripts and books in the Palaeneum, they can be taught to farm, they left to care for human children, they can carry bridges, and much more. They are not stupid. If they can do all of these varied and often complex tasks with limited supervision, then I find it hard to believe that they would be completely incapable of reproduction when ordered to do so. I do feel that they may be far less fertile in slave form than they are in mate form. This, along with the general lack of desire to see their race flourish, could result in a stagnation of their numbers while maintaining a viable population. Edit: Spelling

Okay, That is just too freaking funny. I never thought I would see the day when an Xbauks and a Shintendo conversed with each other about TWoKs.

I agree with Duskshard. Sounds like the Heralds are coming out of the woodwork. Probably Chach. I'm pretty sure we'll start seeing quite a bit of the Heralds from here on out.

My thoughts on this are, Kaladin is a Windrunner. He is thus far the only Windrunner and will almost certainly be the first full new Knight Radiant of any Order. The Windrunners were to my thinking the pre-emininent Order of Knights Radiant as they were the Order of Jezrien the Storm Father, King of the Heralds. I'm kind of partial to the idea that the ten kings of the Silver Kingdoms were also the head of an Order of Knights Radiant, at least initially. If this is the case, then should Kaladin and Shallan enter the Tower and reach Urithiru, he can recover the Crown and the Spear. I get why people assume that Dalinar will be the leader of the Knights Radiant, I just think it's wrong. I'm completely sold on the idea that while Dalinar may re-found the Orders, Kaladin will quickly end up in control of the burgeoning Radiants because he will be the only one capable of defending them, and defending himself against them.

Go very early, bribe a bookstore employee to tape a recording device with a long battery life under Brandons desk and enjoy the signing. After the signing, collect the device. Once you finish reading the WoR play back the questions and answers of all the other people who attended. Don't tell anyone I told you to do this.

It didn't work that way for surgebinders in the past, and I think that Szeths personal experiences can be set aside if he is actually in possession of an Honorblade and not a surgebinder. I don't recall Kalak or Jezrien wearing any type of armor in the prelude to the Stormlight Archive. Edit: Ninja'd

Dalinar gave his Shardblade to his worst enemy for the sake of his honor. He didn't have to do this. No one else would have even considered making that offer.

The way I see it is Adolin doesn't like Kaladin because he thinks Kaladin doesn't know his place. I'm not saying that Adolin is conscious of this, but rather that it is an ingrained bias that he is barely aware of and still has to overcome. Darkeyes should be mindful and show respect to their lighteyed betters. I actually do think that Brandon is setting them up for a duel. One of the ways this could come about is an argument over who should lead the soon to be reformed Knights Radiant. Now, if this duel happened, the question would be whether or not Kaladin wears Plate for it, and if he does, can he activate it. If Kaladin activated Shardplate in front of Dalinar, his place as leader of the Knights Radiant would be assured.

Well, I would hypothesize that kings kept larkins pre-recreance to defend themselves against, well, Szeth or rather rogue Surgebinders. They may have also been effective against lesser viodish creatures like midnight essence. Post-Recreance, kings may have kept larkins specifically to protect themselves from any remaining Surgebinders. Over time (4500 years) the real reason was forgotten, but kings continued to keep larkins around because they were somewhat rare coming only from one part of the world. After the scourge, finding live larkins became much more difficult, so someone decided that a dead larkin on the mantle would be good enough. That's my guess anyways.

It's also likely that Amaram was one of Gavilars supporters from back in the day. If this wasn't the case it is less likely that Dalinar would know him well. The reality is that Amaram is, or at least acts, a lot like Dalinar, but Amaram has a streak of ruthless pragmatism that allows him to justify pretty much anything to himself when the stakes are high enough while Dalinar will abide by his code of honor regardless of the personal cost to himself.

Taravangian has been aware of the coming desolation for quite some time. Dalinar has been sure of it for something less than a month. I think that you could cut him a bit of slack on not having a grand scheme to take over the world in that time period. In his defense, a united Alethkar would be quite formidable and may be capable of conscripting the aid of the surrounding nations by dint of overwhelming force. This may not get him everything he needs, but it could be enough to throw up a bulwark against the Everstorm until additional aid can be brought to bear.

I believe that this may be the reason for Darknesses actions, but I don't believe that the Everstorm is just another desolation. I believe that there was a reason that Odium expended the power necessary to kill Honor. I believe that there is a reason that Odium has waited so very long between desolation's. In short, I believe that Odium has found a loop hole and that humanity will need every surgebinder they can get their little hands on, every fabrial that can be created, and every pointy stick they can sharpen.

Oh, I know your only half serious and half playing devils advocate. If I thought you were really serious about your everything you said in these two threads, I would certainly do my best to avoid running into you in a well lit shopping mall, let alone a dark alley. I understand where your coming from and I can see your point to an extent. It is important to be able to step back and look at the big picture rather than getting caught up in events. My primary issue with Taravangian is that he has no boundaries at all. He takes the most direct route possible to get his results even when taking a slightly longer path could potentially be more beneficial to him. He is too willing to sacrifice others to attain his own ends. It is his flaw. I don't know if this is born from his visit to the Nightwatcher, or whether he was always flawed in this way, but the flaw exists and is extremely debilitating to his big picture.

So finding the person he based Earless Jaks off of should be fairly easy right?

If the Oath Pact had been shattered, Taln would have been spit out or killed long ago. The fact that Taln appeared at the very cusp of the impending Everstorm is proof enough that the Oathpact still has some power. And this is why I find your stubborn defense of Taravangian so frustrating.