Bloodfalcon

I mean in WoK the Heralds were around but weren't really main characters.

Mistorn is also being split up into different parts. Each part jumps to a new age with advances in technology and new characters. We know the SA series is being broken into 10 books which are split into 2 , 5-book parts. I would love it if the second group of 5 books was set in a future age, but alligned with wherever the Mistborn series is, and kept many of the same main characters. Dalinar has 62 days at the start of book 2 before the Everstorm. Forgive me, but I don't think you are going to write 9 books that take place over that period of time. I could see it being possible to write 4 action packed books, though I could see it being doable in the first few. Either way, I think this is totally doable if the POV characters we have now step up and replace the Heralds in a new or restored Oathpact. At the end of this 5 book series, after they have won, our main characters are either immortal on earth OR they suffer for thousands of years until the next book (good metaphor for how we will feel waiting for the next series). It could mean lots of cool things, like flashback chapters that give us clues about wherever Heralds are sent for that time between lives. No doubt that would include another torture sequence, but it could turn up some cool details on different realms or worlds. Anyone looking forward to other long term plans?

Yes, youarerite. But that Elhokar point might be purposefully there so that we recall that he is extremely paranoid and, in all likelihood, hasn't talked to many other people. Maybe he visited the Nightwatcher and he has to be stupid on all the days Mr. T. is smart

I agree, but there has been talk of a Surge that might allow communication. She could have been talking to other Radiant groups. Doubt it, but still possible.

Have you ever fed a baby its food? Involuntary actions are really confusing... and embarrassing.

I thought the same thing about drawing. She is either going to have to release it somehow and draw it better, or it is going to learn like Syl did. Honestly I hope they learn about the recording thing and Shallan realizes she has to erase.... ANYWAY, great chapters. I don't want to do a big post about them, but the pace of this book is already delightful; I mean we get right into it. Great to see Orders.... what, 1,6,7, and 9 (?) will all be in the same place? I bet Order 2 is on his way, and I pray we get loads of Order 4 at some point. Geez, Dalinar's job isn't so tough. That's like half done hahaha.

OOOOOK. shouldn't have eaten lunch. Love you AG. It is displaced love, but it is so real.

Oh that's right. I just remember the new person coming in out of nowhere. Forgot the Sadeas thing. But that's why we reread! Well, if I were Gaz and I was discovering magic powers, I'd get out of there too. Especially if I was in a position like Kaladin notes, that has no opportunity for advancement or anything like that. Still possible, and I must say, I rather prefer the version where Gaz is just bitter and mean, but not so much a villain.

That was a brilliant response and I like this name way better for it. So did we decide that it is not necessarily true that Eshonai was in the room on the day Gavilar died? Or just that she could have been anyone?

Not insane, but scary

So glad I found this post before making my own thread. I just listened to a part where Gaz is uncovering a tarp in a highstorm to get his spheres. Kaladin chalks it up as Gaz storing them for safe keeping, but I decided it was Gaz replenishing the Stormlight in his personal stash. It would also make sense that Gaz would not be afraid of being in a highstorm if he was able to utilize Stormlight to heal himself. I'm making up my mind that I think Gaz is going to be one of the 10 fools or whatever group shows themselves to be the evil Surgebinders. Lamaril went missing and Gaz went missing. Gaz gets too much screen time to be dead in my opinion, so I think that he killed Lamaril and fled the Shattered Plains. If he is also seeing shadows move, perhaps he is able to access Shadesmar and traveled that way. WOR material: I think those are enough hints that Brandon can cite later on and not feel bad for leaving people with such an abrupt end to the character.

I'm really hoping Shallan has a moment where she needs the information and recalls one of her vivid memories with that in the background or something. Of course.... by then Jasnah might be able to Shadesmar-travel them to the doors with no problem. I think it is relevant that she noticed them, though.

Either of two scenarios make me happy: - Kaladin lets it go after going on a rage that is quelled by Syl, resulting in him saying another Ideal. - Amaram makes another stupid move, pressured or not by whatever group, and tries to harm Dalinar. Kaladin defends Dalinar, as he is meant to, and gets to enjoy it while also proving himself to Dalinar further and showing of his Windrunner powers. Bonus third option: - Brandon Sanderson is way more creative than I am, and finds a solution too clever for me to guess. One of these solutions is more likely than the others...

I'm loving my audiobook reread. I think I catch more while driving than I do reading the words. And we need all the details we can get to support our "whacky theories"

Lol.

Okay. Honestly, I have been on these forums for quite a while now and have not seen this reference, so excuse my tone if I am wrongly claiming to finding it, but I stumbled upon what I think to be these charts described in the book. "The servant led Shallan to a pair of grand steel doors. The servant bowed and Shallan dismissed her with a nod. Shallan couldn’t help but admire the beauty of the doors; their exterior was carved in an intricate geometric pattern with circles and lines and glyphs. It was some kind of chart, half on each door." I mean, right? If I had to describe the charts in a quick sentence, that would be spot on. That is in the doors to the Palanaeum. I'm not saying these are the originals, but I think it is definitely the chart. Not sure why it would be there - one could form a dozen theories on the Palanaeum's former uses or the founder's involvement with the KR. Maybe the Palanaeum was once a HQ for the KR. I don't recall any Karbaranth history right now, but if anyone has an idea, this seems like a small lead. Edit: Alas, I did some more searching for direct quotes and found this thread that mentions it, though there is almost 0 discussion.

Ah! I considered that more to mean that there was a planning phase to that incident, and she was one of five to have given the go-ahead. It doesn't expressly say that she was there, but it is probably a decent assumption. Still means she could have been in costume or something though - told to disguise herself so she could escape. Maybe because of her age.

Oh, that's awesome, I don't remember reading that part. I thought none of the ambassadors escaped - only the band and the people who started leaving early. Thanks! Well that still leaves her as a POV then, especially considering she will have her own flashback book.

I expected Gavilar to be one, and the last one at that. a very very telling POV that goes over what he knows about the night. I expect a pretty large twist on our understanding. Elhokar would be a great one too, considering we believe him to be talking to two Heralds. Brandon is also fine doing 1-time POV's, so it could be ANY of the interesting characters in the room. Any of the Heralds, Navani in a different room, Jasnah's spy, one of the Parshedii musicians that is actually Eshonai (she did recognize Dalinar on the Plains, right?), etc.

That's a really neat idea. Point though: Reading the sequence every time got very tedious. So I know that it was written quite a few times. I'm sure it was tedious, but that is also why I think there is a purpose to it. I should have mentioned that I would find it very believable if Brandon were to write in that starting the summoning process over and over again was nearly second nature to any of the KR that often went into battle. If you can start it over and over again, it might become a sort of muscle memory habit to continually be triggering that summon. I like my idea better, so I hope that isn't the answer, obviously, but I wouldn't be disappointed.

Hah! Good to know! Maybe I'll order two!

Thanks hoser! It really means the same thing in terms of this thread though. There is really no reason the safe hand in whatever window would narrow the possibilities for any reason. It could be a Vorin interpretation that covers up the hand out of tradition rather than accuracy. I still think it is Cultivation - it always seemed like the safe hand factor of it was unimportant, which I suppose was the cause of that theory in the first place.

In the thread that OP posted in the initial post, I explained that that was the theory I was going with. It is an image of Cultivation, and the safe hand tradition, whether or not that was it's purpose for Cultivation, comes from that image. Apparently those two images are on stained glass windows somewhere, but it has been my belief that that was a clue - not an origin. I don't think they were originally stained glass windows unless they are in the Tranquiline Halls or something like that. Either way I think it was meant to hint that the Vorin religion is based on those charts and many of the traditions have come from drawings and that sort of thing. Pretty sure you aren't looking at Jasnah or Shallan.

No wall can hold Hoid or a spren....

There is also talk from a spren of Cultivation giving up on humans / losing interest. If she was in control of spren, which there is good evidence for, then perhaps she is the cause of that problem. Almighty is typically referring to Honor, but if it is a spren speaking, perhaps Cultivation is their Almighty.