steeleyes

Before I forget and in order to get out ahead of any objections that splinters are supposed to follow shardic intent much closer than the Heralds appear to I have the following quote: I should also note that when I was talking about spren in my previous post I was think of the types of sentient spren that we're currently aware of. Also I should point out that I don't think the actual location of damnation is all that important (at least it isn't to me) I was just looking for a good foundation for an argument that the Heralds have/are splinters. If that's where their power stems from (and not from their blades, the oathpact, or some sort of bond to spren) then I think a much better case can be made for Darkness being Nalan (I haven't seen an adequate explanation for his use of stormlight). Then again maybe Darkness isn't Nalan or maybe the Herald's power comes from something else. It's still a bit early to tell.

We know that people can have splinters inside of them. This has been confirmed by the Divine Breath (splinters of Endowment) that exist inside the Returned from Warbreaker. Given that we know the Heralds aren't slivers and we're just shy of confirmation that the Heralds are still alive and walking around today and therefore immortal it makes the most sense that Heralds have a splinter in them. This would grant them immortality as well as a fair amount of power with regards to the magic system while still preserving their ability to make their own choices (though arguably they might be influenced by the intent of the splinter they hold). Now looking at spren we have confirmation that they are splinters (what they're splinters of is up for debate but doesn't really matter the point is that they're splinters). It has been made clear that the spren exist primarily at least in the cognitive realm and likely in the spiritual realm as well. This can likely be attributed to the fact that splinters exist primarily in the spiritual and cognitive realms. I think it's an easy assumption to make that just as one can compare the Returned from Warbreaker and the Seons from Elantris one can also compare the spren and the Heralds. While the Returned never apparently traveled between the realms it has been shown to be possible by Shallan and Jasnah that those on Roshar can at least go to the cognitive realm. Following all this logic I don't think it's too far of a leap to think that the Herald's torture exists in the spiritual or cognitive realms and that when they die they automatically return there and when they don't die they're supposed to return to that realm themselves. However, like I said before that's just speculation and and intuitive leap. http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=979#68 For where splinters primarily exist edit: I'd have quoted the http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/4222-spoiler-new-purelake-reading-info/ again but I agree that it's too vague to make a clear and concise argument with.

WoB is here: http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=622#93 For the Heralds aren't slivers thing. We know that Honorspren are splinters: and we know that the Divine Breath that the Returned hold is a splinter of Endowment and that Aons inside of Seons are splinters of Devotion. The intent of the shard seems to influence how their splinter manifests (Endowment's splinters endow the dead with new life and Devotion's splinters are completely devoted automatons). So it makes sense that honor which binds would have splinters that manifest in terms of binding a human and a spren. As for the Heralds and how they fit into things one of the recent readings apparently suggested that the spren surprised Honor and that they had formed in a similar way that he had formed the Heralds. This lends credence to the idea that the heralds were something like spren. They spent the vast majority of there time in the cognitive or spiritual realms being tortured but were (like spren) able to manifest themselves on the physical plane. Although I think it's more likely that Honor and Cultivation handpicked 10 humans and then shoved splinters (spren) into them like the Divine Breath. Thereby permanently granting the powers and abilities that they got and making them immortal like the Returned. Of course that's just speculation and intuition. edit: the Honor created the Heralds topic is here: http://www.17thshard.com/forum/topic/4222-spoiler-new-purelake-reading-info/

http://coppermind.net/wiki/Unmade kind of supports the idea if one agrees with the speculation that the Unmade are the opposites to the Heralds.

Regarding the OP’s idea based off of the wiki page for Rosharan characters there are over 328 characters in TWoK. Even removing all the characters that have died or likely are dead as well as almost all the character’s associated with the normal townsfolk in Kaladin’s hometown of Hearthstone and characters that didn’t receive any description at all (those characters whose names were used once or twice when a command was given or as the butt of a joke but never received any more attention). I also tried not to include the philosophers and scholars that were quoted in Jasnah’s research even though they technically count as being mentioned and therefor are potential heralds. This brought the list down to around 90 names: http://coppermind.net/w/index.php?title=Category:Rosharan&pageuntil=Mord%0AMord#mw-pages Random characters that meet the basic requirements: Amaram Roshone (Citylord of Hearthstone and cousin of Amaram) Yalb (Sailor on Tozbek’s ship) Tvlakv (Slaver that sold Kaladin to Sadeas) Tozbek (Captain of the ship that took Shallan to Kharbranth) Axies the Collector Axies the Collector’s beggar Alakavish (Surgebinder that started war before Nohadon’s desolation) Nohadon Karm (Nohadon’s advisor) Lirin (Kaladin’s father) Hesina (Kaladin’s mother) Alaxia (wife of the head steward of Roshone) Artmyrn (Book shop owner chapter 8) Ashlv (wife of Tozbek) Avarak Matal (ran bridge crews after other brightlord was executed) Hashal (wife of Avarak) Durk (Kaladin’s mentor with the spear chapter 43, 46, 49) Elthal (Dalinar officer that survived the battle of the tower) Gare (squadleader in Amaram’s army) Habsant (ardent chapter 33) Hallaw (lighteyes defending Sadeas princedom chapter 47) Havrom (Officer for Dalinar chapter 28) Istow (brightlady in charge of duels chapter 58) Ixil (ardent chapter 42) Jakamav (brightlord chapter 58) Kalami (brightlady historian chapter 26) Kalana (brightlady engineer chapter 28) Kylrm (head guard for Vstim interlude I-4) Lalai (one of Elhokar’s clerks chapter 28) Laresh (soldier for Sadeas chapter 9) Litima (Dalinar’s senior scribe chapter 26, 28) Matain (Alethi stormwarden chapter 45) Moratel (Lesser officer for Dalinar chapter 26) Nacomb Gaval (lighteyed soldier for Dalinar chapter 68) Niter (head of the cobalt guard chapter 28) Resi (brightlord that dueled Adolin chapter 58) Tukks (mentor to Kaladin chapter 27, 32) Random characters that stood out to me: Vstim (Merchant that employs Rysn as his apprentice) Geranid (Ardent studying spren) Ashir (Ardent that is a chemist and cook who helps Geranid in her research) Joshor (head of Taravangian’s Silent Gatherers endnote) Gaz Thaidakar (name associated with the ghostbloods prologue, chapter 51) Maib (purelaker interlude I-1) Kadash (ardent / former soldier who discusses Dalinar’s sanity in chapter 18) Restares (mentioned by Gavilar as a potential hirer of Szeth / advisor to Amaram) Au-Nak (Natan man visiting Hatham chapter 54) Elthebar (stormwarden in Dalinar’s camp chapter 18, 60) Gavarah (scholarly woman who proposed the “theory of 3 realms” chapter 29) Longshadow (famous artifabrian mention in chapter 60) Mungam (ardent running a hospital chapter 48) Tezim (god-priest mentioned in chapter 54) Varas (assistant chief of collection in Palanaeum chapter 29) Dalinar’s Officers: Bashin Ashelem Havarah Ilamar Moratel Perethom Tarilar Teleb Navani (not an officer exactly and not a likely candidate but we don’t know all that much about her so I decided to include her here) Highprinces: Sadeas Ruthar Roion Sebarial Thanadal Vamah Hatham Bethab Aladar Bridge 4: Bisig Dabbid Drehy Hobber Leyten Lopen Moash Natam Peet Rock Sigzil Skar Teft Torfin Yake This is just meant to be a base list to work from so feel free to add or pick out any characters from it. Especially since I’m sure there are names that I missed or names that should have been removed. Sorry about the odd chapters I only started including chapters in the descriptions about half way through and I’m just a shade too lazy to go back and add chapter numbers to all the characters. edit: it should also be noted that current theories for Nalan revolve around a character that wasn't giving a name and just got a passing description. Characters like those aren't included in this list but obviously have the potential to be heralds as well.

While reading the Kalak theory I was reminded of the crazy beggar that Axies the Collector encountered during his interlude. He'd built a town out of rotting vegetables and was playing god over it I think. I'll have to go back and check the passage but I think he'd be a much more amusing fit for Kalak simply because he was firm in his delusions (a perversion of resolute) and still building things even if it was out of trash and easily destroyed (perversion of builder). Of course I have absolutely no proof for that idea it just made me chuckle. While I like the idea I have wondered if Darkness isn't Nalan and is instead a voidbringer or something else. This is just because I have a little bit of difficulty reconciling Darkness with Nalan considering certain abilities and items used by darkness in the Lift interlude. When the heralds broke the oathpact I sort of assumed they broke all their bonds so even if Nalan picked up the items at a much later date it just strikes me as odd for him to essentially return in terms of power and influence to where he was at the time of the oathpact. Sorry for the vagueness I don't want to explicitly spoil things for those that haven't read the full interlude.

If we take Jasnah's theory about the Parshendi/Parshmen as correct than Szeth's blade could be shorter because it belonged to an order that fought against smaller enemies like the Parshendi/Parshmen. It seems likely to me that after making the oathpact and learning how to summon the original honor blades the Heralds either taught their orders how to summon a close approximation of an honor blade or taught them how to craft shardblades and shardplate and these are more like fabrials than actual honor blades. Whether or not all of these were made by the Knight's Radiant or if one type of shardblade was made by Voidbringers is up for debate. However, I don't think it's a coincidence that we have 3 types of shardblades and 3 shards on the same planet. As for why spren don't like shard blades this makes sense if they're fabrials since fabrials use spren captured in gemstones to perform their tasks (might also hint at how they could kill spren after all it would be spren vs spren).

I'm somewhat new to these forums and despite my best efforts to only post new and unique ideas some of these may have already been covered. Here are some of my theories and speculations: - The Parshendi are similar to the kandra from Scadrial in that they have been elevated closer to humanity through their bond with spren and the Parshmen are similar to the mistwraiths. Similarly the Parshendi are aware of the existence of the shards and their place in the universe. - The Parshendi killed Gavilar in order to prevent honor from being restored. This is because Gavilar was a candidate for honor’s shard and by restoring honor odium would be drawn back to Roshar to start the true desolation faster. - Only specific bloodlines can take up shards which is why Vin (despite not having the same intent as the shard she had an abnormal amount of preservation’s influence in her bloodline which is why she was such a strong allomancer compared to others of her time) took up preservation after Leras and therefore Dalinar is the next likely candidate for honor (hence the visions). - Chasmfiends are used by Odium like Koloss/inquisitors were used by Ruin. The Parshendi recognize this and they moved to the shattered plains in order to take out as many chasmfiends as possible in the lead up to the true desolation. - Despite having given up their honor blades the heralds still work against Odium in various ways and fulfill a role similar to Vasher from Warbreaker. An option for this is that somehow Jezrien started the highstorms as a way to combat Odium or perhaps to hide Roshar’s denizens from Odium’s eyes although the highstorms could be the equivalent to the mist from Scadrial. - The Nightwatcher/Cultivation (theories have been proposed that this is cultivation and I agree with them) is hanging out around honor’s shard pool and using that power plus her own to create these apparently random “Old Magics” that don’t follow the standard rules of the world (since Cultivation and Honor created the world together it takes their combined power to make major alterations to it like Harmony on Scadrial). The blurb for WoR suggests that the Parshendi risk bringing back the voidbringers intentionally (or perhaps I just read it that way) which somewhat undermines my idea that they’re trying to combat Odium and know who he is. Also a case could probably be made that Kaladin is more likely to inherit the shard of honor than Dalinar. Though I like the idea of Kaladin becoming a herald and a leader or dying rather than taking up the mantle of a shard. Then there’s the problem that it might just generally be foolish to base theories and predictions off past books as BS may decide to go in a completely different direction or reverse the stereotypes of previous books like he did with Warbreaker and Elantris. Anyway feel free to agree with, poke holes in, or otherwise discuss the above theories and let me know what you think.