KiManiak

I could see Elhokar’s death as a potentially good plot point, that could also get things moving. We were recently informed that Elhokar has a son, which was an important plot point that Brandon very subtly placed in there. Elhokar’s assassination would (if the inheritance model follows the familiar model) result in his son becoming king, with a regent most likely acting for him until he reaches Elhokar’s son reaches his majority. So the next logical question would be: Who would be regent, in that scenario? I wouldn’t easily accept FollowYourMuse’s assertion that the regency would automatically go to Dalinar; that’s too simple and easy. Other possible regency scenarios: -Would it fall to the Queen, who we’ve heard very little about (and who Jasnah clearly does not trust)? Where do her loyalties lie? If she’s the daughter of another Highprince, she could essentially have the Kholin’s position of power and authority be replaced by a different Highprince’s. -Has Elhokar placed documentation in place for the regency to fall to his Uncle? Or maybe even someone else, like Sadeas? -Is there a different regent selection process that Brandon would introduce; like having the Highprinces collectively appoint a regent? Given the current political situation (Dalinar acting as Prince of War and attempting to bring all of the Alethi Princedoms to work together) Elhokar’s assassination could be a pretty interesting plot development to occur in WoR. Maybe there could even be a nice fake out; where Szeth is defeated before he has the chance to kill Dalinar, only to have someone kill Ehokar in the turmoil. Anyway, I think Elhokar's death could cause all type of interesting thins to happen, plot-wise.

I had similar thoughts as Mysty. It sounds like playful joking between friends. It seems to me that Syl and Kaladin are the closest pairing to fit this type of banter. A darkhorse pairing could be Jasnah chiding Shallan, and Shallan playfully responding with some of her signature wit. That could potentially be some rather funny dialogue.

Sure:

Aminar, Word of Peter & Brandon has Orders 10 (unknown) & 1 (Windrunners) share the Pressure Surge. Orders 1 (Windrunners) & 2 (Skybreakers) share the Gravity Surge. So Skybreakers have Gravity and Division (which works out quite well with the Order's name). Unless I misunderstood your post?

I like the "there was something inside that wall of destruction" line. My first reaction is to think this glimpse is similar to glimpse 2. Someone who is not accustomed to being out in the open when a Highstorm hits is seeing one approach full force. As to who it could be? No idea. Maybe Glimpse 2 was from Jasnah's point of view (martial references) and Glimpse 3 is of a similar (or the same) event from Shallan's point of view (use of "illumination")?

Here you go, question #1. Cris34b did a pretty good job of paraphrasing.

FingerstyleFunk - Thanks for linking to the post. Devo - I like the idea of your first post. Unfortunately, as the link has shown, we did have a discussion similar to this about a week or so ago. Unless we're ready to start doubting Word of Brandon (and Peter), we know the Surge names (Gravity, Atmospheric Pressure) and we know that the Full Lashing uses Pressure. There's a number of folks on 17th Shard more gifted in Physics than I, that have provided a lot of evidence to support how Pressure can bind an object (Plus, WoB). Still, upvote for having similar ideas!

Brutal image, but I think it's safe to guess that Sadeas does not carry Gavilar's Blade. When he was almost killed by the Parshendi (until -sigh- Dalinar came along and saved his treacherous buttocks), he didn't materialize a Shardblade. And he would have had to see the Parshendi coming enough to have had 10 heartbeats (rather fast paced, given the situation, I would think) to summon it. If ever there was a time for him to call for his ace in the hole, that would have been it, in my opinion. I think Gavilar's blade (and Plate) is still the property of the crown and is either in storage, or in use back at the Capital.

Well, Szeth has used the element of surprise in almost all of his assassination attempts so far (as far as we know, anyway). Even the attack on the Vedan king was of him bursting through the guards into the feast room and catching the participants by surprise, which strongly implies he snuck into the palace/compound before killing all of the folks at the feast, as he was commanded: For maximum effect, Szeth couldn’t let them know he was coming, and he appears to have caught the diners unaware. I see it far easier for Szeth to use his Lashings to sneak into the Kholin camp, than for him to attack Dalinar during a plateau assault. Let’s think logistics. 1. He’d have to know when Dalinar was scheduled to attend an assault. 2. He’d either need to a. guess where the plateau assault would be beforehand (in order to place himself in a position where he could strike); b. find separate transportation to get to the site without being noticed by either the Alethi or the Parshendi; or c. travel with the Alethi armies 3. If he traveled with the Alethi armies, he would likely need to infiltrate that army by fulfilling some role of the army. a. However, it’s highly likely that every unaccounted for Shin traveling in the eastern part of Roshar is being highly scrutinized by now, so it’s unlikely that Szeth would be given any position that gets him close to a high prince during battle. b. If he joined the army, he’s likely to be placed close to the actual fighting and Dalinar is staying away from the actual fighting. 4. It’s highly unlikely that he would be with the Parshendi’s force when Dalinar’s army (with Dalinar in attendance) would do a plateau assault. And if he was, he would go noticed right away. Chances are high, the focus of the assault would shift to defeating him. I find it highly unlikely that Szeth survives the concentrated attack of the armies of 2 High princes when they see the actual assassin of their former king. However, if Szeth were to try to infiltrate the camp and kill Dalinar that way, it would allow for a lot more stealth and factors that Szeth can control. The factors that Szeth couldn’t account for would decrease in this scenario. That’s why I think it more likely Szeth attempts to strike while Dalinar is in camp, and probably in his rooms. (You do make a good point about the cover art, though. I wonder if that is just artistic license, or maybe Kaladin takes the fight with Szeth outside?)

I plan to start at Chapter 7, skip the other Chapters that have already been released, finish the story, and then reread again straight through, this time starting from the Prologue. I’ll check out the endpages (end paper?) and the like, but I don’t plan to read the Ars Arcanum until I’m finished with the book. As Word of Peter has shown, Tor has released the final versions of each of those Chapters, so I’m not worried about missing anything. And I’ve probably read each of the early releases at least 4-5 times each by now...

I think Adolin using his Shardplate and Blade could indeed be somewhat difficult for Szeth to deal with. Here’s the thing, though: Why does anyone think Adolin would have his Plate on when Szeth attacks? (Not trying to pick on you, Moist_von_Lipwig, this is just one of the more recent quotes that reflect this opinion) Adolin doesn’t lounge with his Plate on. He only tends to have it on when leaving the camp (plateau run or hunting with the king) or when he’s preparing to duel someone. Szeth was told to kill Dalinar quickly (before he unites the highprinces) and brutally, but that doesn’t mean that Szeth runs in there before assessing the situation. The assassination could be brutal and still be contained to Dalinar’s camp, so it’s highly unlikely that Szeth attacks Dalinar during a chasm run (which Dalinar doesn’t really attend that much anymore anyway). If Szeth attacks while Dalinar is in camp, then unless it’s during the time when Adolin is dueling, then I find it highly unlikely that Adolin would have his Shardplate on. I agree that even without the Shardplate, Adolin would rush to his father’s defense (along with Kaladin and his guardsmen, and probably Renarin with/without his new Shardblade and mysterious spren). But it appears an expectation is held that Adolin will be able to fight Szeth as a full Shardbearer, and I don’t think we should take that as a given. It will likely be Kaladin and his guards, Adolin and Renarin (if either/both are around) and any of our other characters who may be near the Kholin compound when Szeth strikes. But even factoring all of that, Szeth with a Shardblade vs. Adolin with just a Shardblade? Advantage Szeth, (likely by a lot).

I was looking forward to the signing for WoR as I've only been to the AMoL signing at Borderlands last year. And then when the dates came out, I got bummed. That is the week that I'm out of town on business and I get a double whammy: I'm traveling when WoR is released (fortunately, I'm doing the ebook thing); and I'll be on the other side of the country when the book tour hits near home. Hope you have a great time, bartbug!

Word of Brandon is Word of Brandon. So be it; Full Lashings use Pressure. Thanks for the reference. Cool. I appreciate the information, explanation and visualization!

I like this; I hadn’t considered the potential suction-like aspect of the egg example referenced above when considering the Atmospheric Pressure Surge’s role in a Full Lashing. It is something to consider. I freely admit my grasp of physics is not exceptionally strong (I only studied it in high school and that was decades ago) so I won’t be able to argue too much of the scientific specifics. But I will try to argue with just a layperson’s reasoning. The problem I have with the egg example is that there is some form of air/atmosphere that is pulling/sucking the egg into the bottle. The egg isn’t sticking to anything after it goes through the bottle, correct? This suction argument seems like a decent possibility and I admit my grasp of suction alone isn't all that strong (ba dum bum). I guess my response to this would be that according to Rock the spren appeared to be pulling the stone against the wall, not necessarily removing air from the wall. But would Rock even be able to comprehend and recognize if the spren were pulling the air out, as opposed to pulling the stone towards the wall? This is a weak counterargument; I fully admit that. I don't have anything stronger at this time. Upvote to you. Yeah, I definitely remembered that post when you did it. I see you edited this post since I initially read it, so I haven't had the opportunity to review the posts you linked. I'll check them out. The hand example is an interesting one. I tried it a few times, and my palms did stick together somewhat when I tried to pull them apart. Assuming this is purely the work of pressure and not that of friction or some other agent (like the sweat/epithelial cells facilitating the sticky feeling), then that’s an interesting example of pressure. Could this type of pressure be strong enough to resist a rather strong application of force attempting to separate the two objects? Similar to a big Horneater like Rock placing all of his dead weight against it? And it not budge at all? Full Lashing be a Basic Lashing to a specific point of the wall, and not a general direction? That’s an interesting possibility as well. If it were a Basic Lashing to a specific point, lashed several times over, I could see that potentially working. I don’t know; it seems like it would be easier for the Full Lashing to work if it were a function of the Gravity Surge than if it were one of the Pressure Surge. That, along with the evidence of the spren pulling the stone towards the rock, and the fact that the other 2 Lashes are clearly demonstrations of the Gravity Surge lead me to theorize that the Full Lashing is more likely to be due to Gravity then Pressure. But I do admit that I no longer think it is as rock solid as I did when I wrote this a little bit ago. Edit To Add: Yeah, I can see after skimming some of those posts Aether linked to, that "sticking my big fat toe" into this arena would probably require a far greater understanding of physics/pressure/friction/"microscopic supercells of vacuum" (and other terms that I'm only vaguely familiar with) than I currently have. But if others still have more to say about this matter, I welcome the discussion.

I don't think this has been mentioned on the forums yet, so here we go: As shown in the Ars Arcanum near the end of the Way of Kings, the 3 Lashes (Basic, Full and Reverse) for Windrunners are described as: 1. Basic – Revoke object’s spiritual gravitational link to the planet below and temporarily link it to a different object or direction. Believed to use Gravity Surge. 2. Full – Infuse objects with Stormlight, which would bind objects together as one. Believed to use Atmospheric Pressure Surge. 3. Reverse – Infuse objects with Stormlight, give mental command and create a gravitational pull to the objects. Believed to use Gravity Surge. The narrator of the Ars Arcanum (who I’m leaning more towards being Jasnah, but that's probably another post) expresses that this is based off of research of various sources, but makes it clear that in no way do they feel their information is 100% accurate. Up until now, it has been logical to assume that when Kaladin binds rocks or objects to walls, he is indeed using a Full Lashing, with the Atmospheric Pressure Surge facilitating the actual bonding. However, the information given to us in Chapter 12 of Words of Radiance may have provided the reader with evidence that refutes that assumption, and the conclusions of the Ars Arcanum itself. After Kaladin has inhaled stormlight from the diamond chip, infused the stone and stuck it to the wall, Rock notices spren interacting with the bonded stone: The word choice is noteworthy. Pull against the wall, not push. It’s fair to say that the effect of Pressure is to push down on things, whereas the effect of Gravity is to pull on things. What could this mean? Well, it could be explained at least a few ways: 1. Rock misspoke and meant “push” instead of “pull.” 2. Kaladin was using a Basic/Reverse Lashing and changed the gravitational pull on the stone. 3. Kaladin was using a Full Lashing, but Full Lashings are a function of the Gravity Surge and not the Pressure Surge. Taking them in order: (1) is possible, but Kaladin also looked and saw the spren interacting with the stone and did not correct Rock’s assessment. Since Sigzil is testing and studying Kaladin’s abilities, it would be logical to assume that Kaladin would want the data Sigzil is using to be as accurate as possible. I would therefore submit that Rock was speaking accurately. (2) is also possible, but switching the pull of Gravity from one direction (the floor) to another (the wall) does not mean that the other rules of Gravity are ignored. A strong application of force should move the object along the wall, while still having the object be oriented towards that direction. In other words, the stone should slide up or down the wall, just like it would slide along the floor if you were to push it with your foot. Yet Rock hangs onto it (or at least, he did the first time) and the stone doesn’t budge. I would therefore submit that the spiritual gravitational link of the stone wasn’t shifted to the wall, the stone was bonded to the wall. I think (3) is most likely. The stone doesn’t move; it is bonded to the wall. The spren are pulling the stone against the wall, and exert a strong enough pull that someone the size of Rock is unable to have the stone budge. The pull of the Gravity Surge, in this case, is significantly stronger than normal and acts to bond an object to another object; the Pressure Surge is not active in this case. If this is correct, then the 3 Lashes don’t use the Pressure Surge at all, yet we know that Windrunners use both Gravity and Pressure Surges. Therefore, the 3 Lashes can’t be a complete list of all of the Windrunners’ abilities; there are likely at least 3 more that probably use the Pressure Surge in some form or fashion. (I would not be surprised if the Force Push ability is one of them) I welcome thoughts, criticism, etc.

Quick wishlist: Updated Order & Surge Chart (with labels of all surges/orders!) Updated backcover Chart (with actual name of what the heck the Chart is; no more guessing that it's Voidbinding!) Updated Ars Arcanum Expanded list of Lashings for Windrunners List of "Lashings" (or whatever they're called) for Lightweavers New excerpts from Shallan's sketchbook A Q&A session with Brandon where he promises not to RAFO any Stormlight Archive question

Interesting theory. There is still a strong debate that Kalak’s Order/Order 8 are the Bondsmiths, and I do lean favorably towards the Bondsmiths creating/building/developing items that utilize the Surges (it makes sense that they would build/adapt items as “Smith” implies that action). I could see Bondsmiths being involved in the creation and/or modification of Shardplate, Blade and Fabrials. So if Order 8 is indeed the Bondsmiths, I think your theory may have even more potential support. I especially like the part of the theory that deals with the Division surge. There’s been limited speculation about the connection between Orders that are on opposite sides of the chart, so I’m intrigued by any speculation that tries to explore those connections, however loosely. I'd be interested to see if part/all of this hold up after Words of Radiance. Upvote to you!

Hah! Upvote for the corny Se7en reference. That phrase still cracks me up. I loved that movie, until the last 10 minutes or so...

My thoughts. Wow, this ended up being pretty long: Chapter 10 · New Chapter icon; nice! Is this supposed to represent Pattern? Or something else? · Wow, this does not start off simply. I like that Brandon grabs us right away and has us wondering, “What happened? Who’s blood? Did something bad happen to Shallan, or did she do something bad? Did her father assault her? More? At eleven years old?” · Okay, there are corpses in the room. Weird that that fact makes me initially feel better for/regarding Shallan, before knowing the details. It’s sad, but I’m relieved that the story is going in this direction as opposed to other…potentially darker ones. · Shallan’s mother (and others, I guess) are dead and Shallan thinks she’s the monster that did this? And her father’s strongbox is glowing as if something shining is inside? A reasonable guess would be that the Shardblade is somehow in there, but why would it be in there? If not the Blade, then what? So many new questions! Chapter 12 · Cool, the epigraphs are back. I’m really wondering if the ones in the previous releases (Chapters 8 and 9?) had some spoilery info on them) · Rock hanging onto a rock! Haha! Nice bit there Sanderson! · Sigzil continues to demonstrate that he is rather educated. Looking to set a baseline for the tests before exploring the full possibilities. He’s a man who’s using (and is rather knowledgeable about) the “unmasculine arts.” I’m eager to learn a lot more about his backstory as well. · Rock can see spren holding the stone onto the wall? Before Kaladin even saw them? What exactly is Rock? I hope we find out a lot more about “alaii’ku” before WoR is complete. · Hah! Sigzil is asking questions about Stormlight, infused-gems and the like that the readers have been asking for years. Another tip of the cap from Sanderson to his readers, perhaps? · Wow. What an intelligent way to use the bonding powers of a Full Lashing in battle. I still believe that there have to be more uses, more than just 3 Lashings. · Hmm. Is it noteworthy that Kaladin chose to have his bare feet touch the stone underneath him? Szeth alludes to the fact that the Shin view Stone as sacred, almost holy. Is there a strong connection between Surgebinders and stone? Or am I over analyzing one innocent passage? · Interesting. So Kaladin’s own Stormlight doesn’t bind him to the floor while it simultaneously binds Rock? What if Kaladin willed to be bound to something? Brandon is rather big on intent being an important part of his different systems. (Love that Rock justifies swinging a log at Kaladin’s head by declaring it as a “small tree…and very hard head.”) · Kaladin can reclaim his stormlight that he infuses into objects?!? Did we know this already from Szeth’s experiences in WoK? · Kaladin finally sees Amaram. A good question is: does Amaram even remember Kaladin? If so, what will Amaram do when he sees Kaladin guarding Dalinar? Interlude 1 · Eshonai Interlude gives us yet another new Chapter icon. I really like this one; nice bit with the silhouette. And the double Shallash header. Interesting… · I don’t think much of the text here is new. Allusions to the battle from Chapter 8 or 9. A few other initial details, maybe. · More expansion on Venli and her experiences, I think. Cool bits of background to help flesh these characters out even more. · Here we go. Stormform. Ancient powers. Honorblade reference! Verification that Honorblades grant surgebinding powers? Did they learn this from Szeth and his Blade, maybe? · Stormform sounds pretty interesting. Control a highstorm or even summon one? The possibilities… · Venli seems to be fulfilling the role of “temptress” here, in offering Eshonai some likely tainted/poisonous fruit… · Dullform to spy on the humans. Strong hinting (if not outright confirmation) that they are mimicking ordinary parshmen to spy. · Oh, and it seems as those Eshonai is about to take a bite of the forbidden apple. That always ends well… Chapter 14 · Another new Chapter icon. This is great; 3 new ones! Also, double Kalak header. · Epigraphs are Parshendi song lyrics for Part 2 of the book? This could be rather informative. · Looks like Adolin is prepping for a duel. Dalinar’s plan to win the Shardblades is working? Already? · Huh. Adolin had only inherited the Plate, but not the Blade. I don’t think we paid attention to that distinction in WoK, did we? Dalinar mentions the inheritance, but maybe he just mentioned the Plate at the time; will have to double-check. · So, is the new Chapter icon solely dedicated to Adolin, or to dueling in general (it does look like a Shardbearer fighting, after all)? Also, is the double Kalak header related to the resolve that will be shown in this Chapter, or is this a hint to Adolin’s potential surgebinding leanings? · I like the glimpse of Adolin prepping for the duel. It continues to humanize him. It’s easy for some to dislike him when looking at how he interacts with Kaladin or how he goes through women, but hopefully this look into his thoughts and a view of his vulnerability will have those same folks view him with a little more sympathy and understanding. · Curious as to why Adolin patted his pocket before dismissing his blade. Just an unconscious gesture, or is there more to that action? · I think the fact that there are 10 stances and the 4 that we’ve been told about (Windstance, Stonestance, Flamestance, Smokestance) seems to be adding support to the theory that each stance is aligned with each of the Orders of the Knights Radiant. I wonder what Transformation stance looks like? · Pailiah? A new way of hearing the Herald of the 5th Order’s name. Palah or Pailiah; I wonder which is correct? · So Adolin knows of the causal betrothal; good. But the ship and Jasnah/Shallan haven’t been heard from in over a week? I’m really wishing we had Chapter seven… · Battah! 2 versions of 2 separate Heralds’ names in just a few paragraphs. Order 7’s Herald. So, we have both Battar and Battah. Nice job of providing us with information without it being a blatant infodump. My thanks to Sanderson. · Hah! Love, love, love that Renarin knows Adolin’s routine. And checks in on him about it. Great representation of a close fraternal relationship. Also, clarification of what’s in Adolin’s pocket. Their mother’s chain; a great, realistic, touch. I think Sanderson is doing a great job in making these characters real and likeable. · I like that Adolin admits to Renarin that he doesn’t like Kaladin, and why (even though he may not be fully truthful about why that is to Renarin). And Adolin’s kinda right in his perceptiveness in this case; Kaladin is holding something back. · “A set (emphasis mine) of the King’s Plate!” Darn near confirmation that the King has multiple sets! I still maintain that Elhokar’s Shardplate/Blade aren’t even the same ones that Gavilar had, plus we know that Dalinar won a set and gave them to the King. How many does the King actually have? · More info about the stances, this time alluding even to customization related to length of Shardblade. Did the different orders have different types of Shardblades? · Wow. That was a pure butt-kicking. A beatdown. Brutal and effective. · So you don’t just have to stick the Blade into the ground to sever the bond; the jewel in the pommel does play a role? And you can destroy the gemstone after? This could lead to some possible theories… · Renarin gets his Blade. And the grimace when he received it is quite noteworthy, knowing that he has a spren that only he can see… · I love Navani’s comments at the end. Rather interesting perception of the situation, and how best to exploit it. She is definitely someone you want on your side.

Regarding Renarin being challenged to a duel: Another possible deterrent could be that the challenged (Renarin) could select a champion (a role which Adolin would be glad to fill against anyone who dares to challenge his brother, I'm sure) to fight for them. Given that possibility, all challenging Renarin would do is work in favor of Dalinar's plan. Plus, you'd get a pissed off and (likely more highly motivated) Adolin dueling you, as opposed to the normal cocky Adolin that you'd have to fight.

If you're asking about the quote itself, then it can be found on the back cover of the Way of Kings or on Brandon's website. Scroll down til you get to the "From The Back Cover" section, and it's the 5th paragraph.

Just had a thought. What if the "lighteyed feast" that Dalinar and his sons are attending is one being given to welcome Brightlord Amaram to the Shattered Plains? The letter from Amaram led to a feast being held in his honor, hosted by Dalinar or the King. I could definitely see that giving Kaladin pause in informing Dalinar about his abilities.

Another set of thoughts and first impressions when reading the new sections: Chapter 6 Shallan’s memory – I believe taps into the Illumination surge. Illumination is different then “Light” (what we initially thought the surge was) because it also means to make clear, to help unveil that what was hidden. Pattern likes good lies, true lies. Deals with some of the speculation that Cryptics like secrets or things that are true, but hidden. They like to discover that which is hidden; it pleases this particular Cryptic to do so. Ties more into the “Illumination” theme. “Light makes shadow. Truth makes lies.” I can see why this surge could have been called “Light” but Brandon instead decided “Illumination.” Light could be a little too specific (or “focused” if you want to go with the pun), but “Illuminate” definitely has more of a broader meaning. Shallan is doing a lot of recording of Pattern (notes and drawings). Apparently, measuring/defining this spren does not lock him into a certain shape or dimension, in contrast to the ardents experiments in Way of Kings. More proof that not all spren are so equally controlled. Jasnah knows and confirms the second ability; she already knew it would deal with light? Confirmation of “Illumination” as the name of the surge, by Jasnah who definitely appears to know a lot (relatively speaking, of course) about the different Radiant orders, as we suspected. Hah! I like that Jasnah is rather deceptive in her word choice. Urithuru may not be in the Shattered Plains, but “the path to it may be.” Very Aes Sedai-like. Words of Radiance is still the title of a book within its own book, just like the Way of Kings! Nice. (I don’t know if others already knew that Brandon was going to continue to do that in each of his Stormlight Archive novels even after deciding not to use "The Book of Endless Pages," but it was news to me!) And of course, the book is about the Lightweavers. Chapter 8 Nice, more information about the lending of Shardblades. This addresses a bit of speculation. Aladar doesn’t seem like an idiot or a fool, just a man trying to protect his own interests. Will Dalinar be able to win him over with reason? Will Dalinar’s display of battlefield awareness and tactical genius win Alardar’s respect? Or will the lack of trust amongst all Highprinces continue to be a problem? Even Dalinar thinks he wrote the words on the wall? This helps to support those with that theory. The letter – I bet the question should be, “Who here does not think the letter is from Amaram?” Chapter 9 Kaladin still goes into the chasms? Will this be for his secret training? Ah, probably not since they brought the new recruits down here with them. Syl mentions spren like red lightning? Interesting. Similar to the spren in Dalinar’s flashback vision? Thank goodness! This is a book where the main characters ask realistic, intelligent questions about unknown events! Thank you Kaladin (and Brandon) for asking Syl if there are more of you! Syl’s unconscious (yet apparently not quite conscious) knowledge of Cryptics (and their association with lies). Nice. Syl remembers her time in the Cognitive realm? Maybe she hasn’t been in the physical realm for centuries. Maybe the theory that has her as a discarded spren from the Day of Recreance has just been disproven. Syl actually answers Kaladin’s questions about more proto-Radiants! Thanks again Brandon, for not having the stereotypical “drawn out mystery” of whether Syl is aware of other proto-Radiants and other spren’s efforts. Syl is the only honorspren who came? They were forbidden? I’m loving the fleshing out of these details, which answer some questions but then leave us with so many more. I also like Syl’s encouraging of Kaladin to trust Dalinar. And Syl’s belief in Kaladin being a hero. I have faith that Kaladin may share his Surgebinding abilities with Dalinar before the latter half of the book. (Another “Thank You” to Brandon for not doing the stereotypical thing and drawing Kaladin’s confession out until near the end of the book.) Syl knows about the Stormfather? Nice tease there, Sanderson! :-) Edit for some grammar

Jasnah and Ivory - I'd really like to find out more about the early days in their "relationship." Ivory (apparently) was able to make himself visible to Jasnah both outside of Shadesmar and in Shadesmar before they (apparently) bonded. Pure, wild speculation, but maybe Jasnah was able to establish the bonding process while in one of her early trips to Shadesmar? Maybe she was even able to "physically" take him out of Shadesmar with her when she departed, and so Ivory's transference to the Physical realm wasn't as traumatic as puppyspren/Crytten/whatever?

A good question; why assume that this isn’t a natural occurrence after all? I think because this information is so new –and we know so little, and this is Brandon who writes so many twists and turns that you can get all kinds of dizzy – that it’s easy to speculate based on the limited information that we have. I think each of the spren we’ve seen can be described as “special,” since we don’t know the traditional standard practice set for a surgebinder to bond with their spren. To be fair, we’ve only seen 2 spren in the early stages of the bonding process: Kaladin’s and Shallan’s. Lift had Wyndle for quite a while (2 years, I think), Ym had his spren for who knows how long, and we didn’t actually see Shallan bond Ivory (I think, unless the events in the Prologue were the bonding process. In which case, wow, that's a weird process). So we really only have Syl and “puppy-spren” to go by. The difference between those two is that Syl and Kaladin have their interaction develop naturally; Kaladin doesn’t appear to actively do anything to bring Syl to him in the Physical Realm. Shallan appears (qualifier is necessary as we don’t actually know the “natural” process) to force “puppy-spren” into the Physical realm, and even notes that she doesn’t quite draw him perfectly. So, the natural… let’s call it “progression” of Syl vs. the forced “progression” of puppy-spren. That’s what makes Shallan’s efforts seem questionable, to me at least. Having said all of that, I freely acknowledge that the reader knows so little of the process that I would not be floored if we find out later that Shallan did exactly what that spren needed. But on first read (partial read that it is), it is logical to theorize that Shallan’s methods led to the spren’s current developmental state. (On a separate note, I may not be as productive at work today as I could be; I wonder what's to blame? )