Gloom

There may be a finite number of spren at any one time, but we don't know enough about them to determine what laws govern them. Fire attracts Flamespren. If spren were spontaneously created, then all spren could exist anywhere. Some spren are limited to geographic areas. If this were the case, then they would respond the same way no matter where a person went. They don't, Alespren are a great example of that since they only appear in Iri and even then infrequently. Furthermore, if Brandons publisher put out The Complete Spren Catalogue. http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/04/way-of-kings-spren-catalogue These are some interesting questions. Spren can be bound to objects. Surgebinders bind spren with their abilities temporarily. Soulcasters may be able to do so in a more permanent way. Outside of this, I really don't know. But is you're really looking to solve a mystery, there is always Cusicesh the Protector. This little spren is a true oddity. EDIT: "Luckspren" cluster around skyeels, and Chasmfiendspren float out of dead Chasmfiends. Luckspren are not actually in the text, rather the illustration prior to chapter three. The first would indicate that animals can attract spren, and the later may be an indication that spren can bond with some animal life.

I won't say this argument doesn't hold any weight. It could very well be a factor. On the other hand, there were times towards the end of TWoKs that I got the impression that Dalinar was already in the early stages of becoming a surge binder. Nothing specific, just an impression. It's easy to assume he would become a Wind Runner because of how honorable he is, but their were ten orders, and we've barely seen two. From a writers standpoint, making Dalinar a Wind Runner could threaten to overshadow Kaladin whom many assume will be in charge of the Wind Runners. Making Dalinar a surgebinder from a different order would make more sense. It would give a new order some exposure with an already established character. His visions could be related to his order or not.

oh well, it wasn't my theory. I was just trying to help it along. Maybe Natans will come back and offer further insight.

I acknowledge that the gem inside a broam is substantially larger than that inside a chip. It is the gem inside each denomination of (for lack of a better word) coin that changes in size. I stand by my assertion that it wouldn't be cost effective to cut any gem that is going to be used as coin except in the crudest fashion. Gem cutting is expensive. Cutting the gem will cost a substantial portion of the broam and would cost more than the other denominations. Think carats instead. Technically, anything up to a 4 carat diamond could fit inside a broam. I find it doubtful that it would be that large though. Possibly one carat, likely less. The value of a gem is relative to what could be done with it in most cases. I tend to think that if a gem is big enough to be worked, especially in the case of emeralds, it wouldn't get turned into coinage.

Maybe, maybe not. I don't believe Jasnah has used her "fabrial" around any ardents, granted that's speculation on my part. Ardents are very secretive about their fabrials. It's possible that Taravangian has seen soulcasting at work, but he didn't have any soulcasters available to him, and may not have said anything anyway if he suspected something was off. The soulcasting done in the palace seemed to take longer than that done in the city. This could have been intentional, or as most of us assumed, it could have been due to the mass of the object being soulcast. I'll admit, I have no evidence and am likely wrong on that aspect of my theory. I will add this though So it seems likely that the Parshendi are limited on what can be soulcast with their fabrials, if that is indeed what they have.

Yup, I'm definitely making some leaps. We don't really know enough about stormwardens to make any real arguments. I'm just trying to establish that it's feasible that being a stormwarden is a good cover for a spy or conspirator. Seeing one on the road isn't unheard of, and they are common in the great houses. A stormwarden doesn't take a vow of poverty, so they can enjoy the fruits of their misdeeds without raising undue suspicion.

If the reeds are linked, and added and reduced gravity are applied equally to both spanreeds it would theoretically cause the receiving reed to duplicate the actions of the transmitting reed. The theory needs some work, but I believe it has some merit. Lift one reed and reduce the amount of gravity on the corresponding reed, push down on it and increase the gravity on the receiving reed. It isn't perfect, but seems plausible.

Okay, the gemstones on Jasnas fabrial were each bigger than a broam. Shallans had to have been of comparable size and they were each worth ten or twenty broams. A broam is encased in glass. A broam is worth 1000 chips, and a mark is worth 5 chips. Kaladins father had a goblet with 100 diamond broams in it. So a broam is likely smaller than a marble. Difficult, but your right. It wouldn't be impossible. Of course, each of these gems is only worth a chip, and it's hours of work to cut, polish and sand each one. Now marks on the other hand...nope, wouldn't waste the time cutting them either. Cutting a broam may be possible, but once again, were looking at a cost in labor. Gem cutters always get paid well. Okay, we don't know that some types of gemstones are better at holding Stormlight than others. I misremembered why emeralds were more valuable. It would hard for a gemstone to be smaller than anything other than perhaps the gem in a broam. For perspective, in the fifteenth century, the average coin weighed less than a paper clip. .77 grams. A dime weighs 2 grams. Consider the hassle of carrying around a bag filled with 100 marbles everywhere you go. Chips have to be as small as feasible. Marks would likely be larger than chips, and broams larger than marks. Most of the size difference would be in the glass, not the gemstone. The average glass marble weighs 18.5 grams. Gems are lighter than glass, but the glass would always be a factor. Consider how comfortable it is to carry around 10 dollars worth of quarters at 5.5 grams each, and that is just 40 quarters. I wasn't clear here. What I was trying to say is that because an uncut gemstone is larger than the gem fragment in money, that it would hold more Stormlight. See above. Granted, assumptions are being made.

I think, that if their was a flaw in TwoK's, it was that each of the primary characters had a single plot each, and those plot took 1000 pages to reach their climax. Any subplots that were completed didn't really pack enough punch to give the reader a sense of satisfaction. This is an anomaly for Sanderson, because his Mistborn books were filled with subplots that culminated in minor accomplishments that were satisfying. I still hold TWoK's in high regard, because ultimately, those single plot lines, while they dragged more than a little reached very satisfying conclusions, and because I'm a fan of deep worlds and complex magic systems.

This sounds feasible to me. I'm not certain this part works for me. I'm not sure you can split a spren. It seems more likely that two gravity spren were linked, possibly after being trapped in a gemstone that was split, or possibly just in two similar gemstones. Yes, he could have been a truly gifted alchemist. It's almost a shame he decided to become a writer instead.

A chip, a broam, these things are money. They are slivers of gemstones suspended in glass. Are they poor containers for Stormlight? Sure they are. Are they gemstones? No they aren't. Dalinar doesn't have broams inside his Shardplate, he has gemstones. Cut gemstones. Cut gemstones are better containers for Stormlight than chips or broams. So when we are looking at actual longevity of a gemstones ability to hold Stormlight, we really have only a fraction of the information we need. So what do we know? A cut gemstone holds Stormlight better than an uncut gemstone. A large uncut gemstone holds more Stormlight than a smaller one. Some types of gemstones are better at holding Stormlight than others. Chips and broams are slivers of gemstone suspended in glass. What can we infer? An uncut gemstone can hold more Stormlight than a chip or broam. A sliver of gemstone is for all intents an uncut gemstone. A gem will hold Stormlight longer than a chip or a broam.

The Parshendi appear to be limited in their abilities by the forms they wear. From my limited understanding, if you know the form, you get the abilities that form grants. Some may be more skilled in a form than others, but they all have some skill. If one of the forms allowed soulcasting, they would be using that ability in battle rather than allow Shardbearers kill hundreds of them. Jasnah proved that soulcasting can be used as an effective weapon. Fabrials I know less about, but I'm assuming they are more limited than soulcasting. At the very least they require more time to achieve results and are too valuable to risk in battle if you can't soulcast. I'd definitely lean more in the direction of fabrials than I would towards soulcasting. Parshmen eat food, so I'm assuming Parshendi eat food as well. I'm also assuming that Great Shells taste like crap.

I'm guessing that they rediscover how to grow Shards. It could even be something as simple as Syl remembering how to grow Shards. There are various theories about why she doesn't like Shards, but then she doesn't like killing either, and she encouraged Kaladin to attack the Parshendi to save Dalinar. My theory is that it is a combination of soul casting and surge binding, or It's cultivation based, and spren based. If a Shard is an eternal prison for spren trapped within, then this would explain why Syl hates them. That being said, Windrunners used Shards in the past. There were around a thousand Knights Radiant at their height. Possibly more possibly less, but we also know that Shards existed in the bronze age. Kaladin will end up with a Shard, because Shards are the only weapon type that will be effective against Thunderclasts and Voidbringers. So I'm thinking either Kaladin learns the sword, or he grows a Shardspear.

The only evidence I have to corroborate my theory is that when a Shardplate is broken, it is regrown through Stormlight. This leads me to believe that cultivation plays a substantial role in the Shards.

Okay, Stormwardens are not ardents, nor are they owned. They do often take positions within noble houses, but they are also free to come and go to some extent. Galivar had stormwardens, Dalimar has stormwardens, etc. The stormwardens of a high prince are likely allowed to travel to different holds amongst the princedom without supervision, meaning they could go where ever they pleased within reason because everyone has need of their ability to predict the highstorms.

Okay, I'll grant that if Amaram knows about the Ghostbloods, he probably has a spanreed. But this Stormwarden is placed high enough that Amaram speaks freely with him about both the ghostbloods and Thaidakar. He is also privy to Amarams betrayal of Kaladin. He is trusted as a confidant, not a sworn man. He is involved in international politics, and the affairs of the princes. He may not be Restares, but he isn't a common Stormwarden either. It is even possible that Restares, if it was Restares, was in the camp specifically to witness the Shardbearers attack. A Stormwarden makes a perfect spy because they are welcome everywhere, so a high ranking Stormwarden wouldn't necessarily be on the Shattered Plains. From what I gather about Restares, he is deeply involved in the shadowy underworld of politics. Posing as a stormwarden is an excellent way to travel without drawing attention.

When Kaladin was branded, Restares was the stormwarden that actually did the branding. Or that is my take on it anyway. If this isn't the case, I don't see how Amaram would have had time to consult with Restares about the best way to handle the Shardblade that Kaladin took from the Vedan.

I haven't looked extensively through this forum to understand the Odium Shard vs Honor Shard theory, but I don't recall any evidence from the book of Void Knights, so unless someone produces evidence to the contrary, I'm going to assume that all Shards are of similar manufacture. I can see the usage of the Shards as a valid argument, and believe that it may have been a contributing factor as to why the Knights Radiant gave theirs up.

This makes me wonder. People have speculated about the outcome of Kaladin meeting Amaram again, and what may occur. I'm wondering what will happen when Kaladin meets Restares again. If Restares is who people believe he is....yes, a very interesting meeting.

I think it is more complicated than that. Before going to the Shattered Plains, Dalinar was unworthy of Honorspren. He has changed significantly, but most of that change was fairly recent. The Shards may have kept spren away, or perhaps he just hasn't noticed that he has been chosen by an Honorspren. It took Kaladin months before his Honorspren became significantly different from other spren and started communicating with him. There are moments during Dalinars fight scenes that you have to question if it is just the Thrill, or if he is inadvertently surgebinding like Kaladin did. Then their is the possibility that Honorspren are localized to Alethekar. We know Alespren are localized, and there are a few other spren that are only seen in certain regions. There are even singular fixed spren like the fountain. If Honorspren don't travel over the Shattered Plains, Dalinar may not attract Honorspren until returning to his princedom. If it is the Shards that prevent Dalinar from becoming a surgebinder, then how is it that every Knight Radiant wore Shards? Yes, we know that the Knights Radiant gave up their shards, but for all we know, they gave up surgebinding at the same time. At the very least, no new surgebinders replaced them. Knowing Sandersons style, it isn't any one of these things, but a combination of things at play that have kept Dalinar from becoming a surgebinder.

Of course, the best argument I've found against this being true is the following quote from the opening of chapter 30. If this were to be interpreted with what we currently know, it could mean that the Parshendi are a new or rather reoccurring development, and that after a desolation, Parshmen were the norm. Only during times leading to a desolation would the Parshmen begin recovering forms, or perhaps that is only when those who remember the forms make contact with human society. Okay, enough off topic speculation. I'm of the opinion that Alethelar was the primary focus of the warrior class for the silver kingdoms because that is where a majority of the bonding spren existed. This made it more likely that someone from Alethelar would encounter a bonding spren than someone from outside of Alethelar. We know that spren can be territorial from the Alespren. This leads to additional speculation about spren of course. Are all spren of the same type the same? If we can relate spren to the animal kingdom, or even better, the insect kingdom, then the answer would be no. Ants in one region of the world are different and may even fill different ecological niches than ants in another region, but they are still ants. Some insects exist only in certain regions, while other can be found nearly everywhere. Spren, may behave in a similar manner.

Granted, were Kal to accept the shards, he wouldn't have ended up a bridgeman, but I personally feel he would have lost the attention of Syl as well. So Kaladin would be a Shardbearer, but he may never have become a Windrunner. Why do I think he would have lost Syl? Several reasons actually. She doesn't like Shards, Kal would have made a decision that would have compromised his honor by accepting those Shards in his own eyes, and people would have no longer looked at him as special, they would have just saw him as another Shardbearer. It was the way people looked at him that drew SIl. Kal would have still been honorable, but it would have been more along the lines of the Alethi code of honor, which isn't the same thing.

I'm pretty sure you are mixing up Honorspren and Gloryspren. I think Honorspren were mentioned all of two times in the entire novel.

We know from what Sil said to Kaladin that she was attracted to him by the way his men felt about him. I think Honorspren, like all other spren, are drawn by circumstances. Honorspren are unlikely to be drawn to an honorable scholar because a scholar is unlikely to engender the same kinds of emotions in his peers. This being said, I think it's possible, but more of an exception than a rule. In the event this happened, I feel it would still be likely they would be drawn to their respective orders, but would take support positions rather than act as front line fighters. Honestly though, even the weakest surgebinder is still more dangerous than a healthy human who isn't one. EDIT: Spelling

For some reason I have a feeling that Shardblades and Shardplate are grown, making them of cultivation. Specifically that each blade and set of plate was grown for a particular Knight Radiant. I know this is a really half-baked theory, but for some reason it just feels right to me. I like your idea as well, I just think that if it was accurate, she would have stopped at wrong. Hate is a very strong word. But then again, I just put forth that wacky theory above, so I'm obviously not thinking straight. I'd welcome you to the forums as well, but I'm so new I'm still trying to find the bathroom.