Gloom

I tend to agree with this. I believe that Sylphrena kept an eye on bridge four pretty well after the talk in the chasm. It's certainly possible that someone from bridge four killed Gaz when Sylphrena wasn't watching, but I find it unlikely since no one even knew that Sylphrena would be watching them. It's certainly possible. There are over 1000 bridgemen left alive who choose to stay. There was something along the lines of forty bridge crews if I recall correctly. Each bridge crew could hold up to around forty men, but most were understaffed. There is no way that one man was the bridge sergeant for that many crews. This would put Gaz in charge of more men than a Captain. I would suspect that Gaz was one of eight bridge sergeants, so he wouldn't necessarily be instantly be recognizable to a new crew if made a bridgeman, bridgemen were a pretty self absorbed lot. I'm not saying it's likely that Gaz is going to turn up in a bridge crew. I'd think that if Gaz was made a bridgeman and survived the battle for the tower, he'd cut and run once Dalinar made the offer. I don't think he'd have any interest in serving under the lordling, Kaladin.

I'm in favor of Szeth having free will to do as he pleases. That being said, culture is a huge influence on how people act and react to different situations. Religion is also another huge influence on behavior. In Szeths case, both his culture and his religion require him to behave in a certain manner. For someone to break with cultural beliefs or religious beliefs is a tough thing to do. For someone to break with both cultural and religious beliefs, even when they recognize that those beliefs require them to do things they believe are wrong, is an extremely hard thing for a person to do. Szeth wouldn't know who he was without his culture and religion. His society is very close knit. They have few dealings with outsiders, and most of those dealings appear to be in controlled settings. Then we have outside forces to contend with. Szeths Shardblade is not ordinary even amongst Shardblades. Taravangian recognizes this. We have no idea if his blade is capable of influencing his behavior or not. Then we have Odium. I believe that Odium can influence a persons behavior when they feel hatred. If a person feels hatred often enough, then I believe that Odium would gain an even greater degree of influence over that person. Szeth is full of self loathing. He feels it constantly. So while I believe that Szeth is ultimately the keeper of his own destiny, and responsible for the actions he performs, I can't hate him for it. He is a victim of his own society and a pawn of the gods.

A Knight Radiant without Shards is doomed in my opinion. Fighting Thunderclasts without Shards would be very similar to fighting a Shardbearer without Shards, except you probably can't take it down with a dagger to the eye. To kill a Thunderclast without a Shardblade appears to require blunt instruments such as hammers. This, along with the fact that Tanavast instructed Dalinar to restore the Radiants and the Shards they once bore leads me to believe that Kaladin will bear Shards in the future. That being said, it was an interesting theory.

She should be more careful, one little push and.... Anyways, great job on the artwork.

This is a good point. Not only did Davids father not cancel out Steelhearts secondary powers, he didn't cancel his primary powers either, except for the singular instance when Davids father fired his gun. Davids father was present while SH was pummeled by a barrage of bullets. Those bullets, fired by the people around him who were afraid, had no effect on SH. Only the bullet fired by Davids father penetrated SHs defenses.

Still waiting to hear your theories on Death Point.

Limelight only has one weakness. 5th graders. Just being exposed to a fifth grader renders him powerless. A fifth grader with a water pistol is absolutely lethal to Limelight. This is why he gave up teaching.

I theorized a while back that Vorinism was likely established by the Heralds, or at least based on the teachings of the Heralds a very long time ago. I also theorized that the Sunmaker could very well have been a Herald, or been guided by a Herald. All religions change over time to some degree, and if those changes were not deemed acceptable by certain undying beings, they could oppose those changes. If those undying beings were also going insane, they may have felt the need to oppose those changes regardless of whether they would have been beneficial or not. I don't necessarily buy into the idea that Odium has felt his intervention has ever been a necessity in creating discord amongst humanity. We do that well enough on our own.

Actually, since all Shardblades are distinctive and somewhat unique, I think an Honorblade would be pretty well camouflaged.

I know I've said this before somewhere. Just because Taravangians stated purpose is to unite humanity doesn't mean that his methods are going to be effective. Historically assassinating people has not led to stability. Assassinating half the worlds rulers is almost certain to result in chaos unless things are handled very very carefully. I don't see that kind of care being taken. Taravangian gave Szeth a list and loosed him on the world like a velociraptor at a preschool. This isn't a promising start.

It's fascinating that Peter got an upvote for posting a single word, but I believe that he was referring to the OP and possibly the speculation that followed. Of course, this tells us nothing. Peter could think this is fascinating because it is so far out there it reeks of alien conspiracy theories, or it could be fascinating because it is so close to the mark. I'm pretty certain he isn't going to tell us which one it is though, because that would take all the fun out of it.

I don't know if I agree that Amaram is a decent guy who had a moment of weakness, but I do understand the situation was more complex than people are giving it credit for. Amaram offered Kaladin the Shards as was proper and Kaladin refused them. I believe that Amaram was at a loss and sought the council of Restares. Restares advised Amaram on the course of action he should follow. Amaram was still conflicted about following that course and offered Kaladin another chance to claim the Shards. When Kaladin refused once more, and then tried to have them given to one of his men, it helped Amaram internally justify using the methods suggested by Restares. This doesn't exonerate Amaram, but in context, I wouldn't say he was evil, just another human who, at the suggestion of another, put his own selfish desires above what he knew was right. On the other hand, if Kaladin continued to serve under Amaram as a Shardbearer and became a Radiant, I'm fairly certain that due to Kaladins honor code, Sadeas would have had him killed eventually. I don't believe that Amarams actions since taking the Shards have any bearing at all in regards to the first ideal. His actions in claiming the Shards were counter to the first ideal irregardless of actions that may have occurred as a result of taking the Shards. Why he did what he did may have some impact, but it is fairly clear that he chose to take a path that was not honorable in accordance with The Way of Kings or the first ideal of the Knights Radiant. Your personal opinion on the value of those ideals is not relevant when comparing actions against a written established honor code as the first ideal, and The Way of Kings establishes. I can be annoyed at someone and still respect their capabilities. Regardless of how Adolin feels about Kaladin on a personal level, Adolin isn't a fool. He also knows for a fact that this very same darkeyed captain saved his life and the lives of his men from certain death.

So what evidence do we have that Szeth carries an Honorblade? The quote above, obviously. The fact that Szeths eyes only change when he summons his blade as seen below. The fact that Szeths eyes change to a completely different color than his natural color, and that this color is the Windrunners color. The fact that Szeth can surgebind without spren. The fact that Szeths blade is unique in several ways. It is smaller than a normal Shardblade, and has the unique effect noted in the quote above. I may have missed a few, feel free to add to the list. I'm aware that other theories have been put forth on why these things happen.

I would think this thread should be moved due to the sheer number of WOR references in it, but given the opening post, I'd also think the OP should has a place in this folder. All that aside....

According to TWOKs, Parshendi rot when they die.

I've got a feeling that Dawnshards came into existence as a direct result of the shattering of Adonalsium. I don't believe that they are a direct part of the Rosharan magic system, but rather artifacts that were left behind on Roshar and could be literally anywhere. This may be something that Hoid can help with, as Honor being dead and all, would have no knowledge of Hoids involvement. I believe this may be so because they appear to have the power to force certain behaviors directly upon a Shard.

Thanks! I should have read down a few more questions - that answer is as clear as it gets. At least I'm not the only one trying to figure out where Szeth's powers come from. Personally, I think he's one of the most interesting character's Brandon has come up with. His characterization is screaming for redemption. ;-) D Dilburt, if you respond to a quote inside of the quote it makes it difficult to locate your comment in relation to the original quote. It would be more readable if you would type your response to the quote under the quote as I did here.

I'm not sure we read the same interlude. From what I read Wyndle is certainly closely aligned with Cultivation, but I don't see any evidence that he has direct contact, or even that the Ring, has direct contact with her. Wyndle can feel it, his instincts, his fibrous little gut tells him so, not Cultivation. If Wyndle was in communication with Cultivation prior to being sent to Lift, it stands to reason that he would been fertilized with the information about what Cultivation had done to Lift. This is not the case. Instead, Wyndle has been transplanted into a hostile environment with a bondmate that is completely different than what he had expected both in personality and capability.

We don't know that Shallan sees, or can draw, all spren which are hidden. We know Rock probably can see them, but not Shallan. Shallan drew cryptics in her pictures, but those cryptics may have been reaching out to her. It should be pointed out that this was a new thing for Shallan, she freaked out when it started happening, but her ability with art was something she took for granted. I don't think Taravangian was significant. I believe that the cryptics would have shown themselves to Shallan regardless, her drawing of the cryptic in Taravangians picture was a matter of convenience and opportunity for the cryptics. I believe the truths they were seeking were the truths that Shallan held, not those of Taravangian.

The Alethi were the defenders, they stood guard over Roshar. Why the Alethi? well, I can theorize... If westward is the place closest to Honor, then eastward towards the Origin would by definition be the place farthest from Honor. If this is true, then it may be that desolations, while wide spread and fast moving, originate in the east. This, in conjunction with the power of the highstorms over Nantanatan may be why it is one of the least populated countries in the world. If desolations start in the east, then you would want an eastward country to protect the rest of Roshar, but not the eastern most country. You don't want to risk having a desolation suddenly appear in the midst of your command center if you can help it. So Alethkar is in the east, but westward enough that warning could reach the Alethi ahead of the desolation.

This could work, but you need to work within your limitations. Instead of swords or spears which can be easily parried, dagger blades would be a viable alternative. Since reach isn't an issue, the wand could be held close to the body to conserve energy. Half of the work of employing a weapon is that you are trying to take advantage of your reach, with a wand you could eliminate that need to some degree. If the distance the weapons were from the body could be varied, you could theoretically create a weapon that could thrust a dozen knife points into a target and retract with the speed of a finger sliding the length of the wand. Create a range of say between two and twenty feet, and you have a very nasty thrusting weapon that could be turned in any direction.

If I recall correctly, any Shardbearer can be challenged. Rock ended up in Sadeas camp as a result of his darkeyed lord challenging Sadeas for his plate. The Shardbearer isn't required to accept the challenge, but there is nothing to prevent the challenge from being issued. If Kaladin challenged Amaram by stating that Amaram stole Kaladins Shards, a case could be made where Amaram would feel honorbound to defend his right to carry them. There are no living witnesses to Amarams capturing the Shards, and while I suspect Amaram could produce witnesses if required, having a darkeyed captain in Dalinars camp impune his honor could result in a loss of face for Amaram should he refuse.

We know Shallan can draw spren, but we don't know that she always draws them. The spren she's drawn thus far have been luck spren, which I believe are visible to all, and cryptics, which may have been trying to be noticed by her.

I don't think so. Competence and excellence are two different things. Knowing how to use a sword that is different from the type you usually use in a competent manner is quite possible, but expecting to use a strange weapon with equal proficiency as one you were trained with is a completely different animal. As for the assumption that two handers weren't the sole province of big, muscle-bound thugs.... Taln is, thus far, the only Herald that has been described in such a manner.

It may count as magic, but it doesn't count as a magical racial trait. To say that if something can be replicated means it counts is strange to me because it was done through what I believe was direct shardic intervention. As far as I'm concerned, a Shard can accomplish almost anything. Your argument that if it can be done once it counts means that everything and anything could be considered a racial 'magic' on Roshar.