Aleksiel

How is Nightblood being heavier than he looks a gravity-enhancing effect? It could be a matter of density. Shardblades are lighter than some would expect, yet not all dead spren granted access to the surge of gravity.

The Voidbringers are homunculi

It depends on your interpretation on what a Skybreaker is - surgebinder bonded with a highspren or a member of Nale's group. SA3 may focus on Skybreakers, but that doesn't mean Szeth will necessarily get a spren.

I read Brandon's post on fb that he heard of this today, which doesn't do anything to reassure me or make me hopeful. May be the company just doesn't want to lose the rights to WoT, but will they actually do something? Unfortunately the article doesn't load, may be they have trouble with their site? Anyway, can I watch this pilot/trailer/whatever-it-is online or is it restricted to America only?

Don't blame Dalinar for misinterpreting the visions. Tanavast could hardly make them any more ambiguous Here's some quotes on 'unite them' Emphasis mine.Tanavast said honor will aid the receiver of the visions, but that doesn't sound like uniting what's left of Honor is the task. So far the 'unite them' includes leading, protecting and refounding the said 'them'. I do not think 'refound' could apply to making Shard Honor whole again. While OP's idea is intriguing, I don't see textual evidence for it.

There are probably fabrials for every surge and I bet Nale made sure to obtain them.

WoK/WoR spoilers

Is s/he a Cosmere PoV character?

If it's punny, then it must be either Shallan or Kaladin.

Shai? Raoden?

Shardblade?

'There's always another secret'? I don't recall any Cosmere proverbs, can you give us another hint?

Call me a God King, but I have no idea where you're going with this

Why would the Highprinces agree to this? Can you really imagine anyone, but Dalinar doing it? Sebarial won't care, he'll pay a fine; the others will get suspicious why the king wants an army. Is Elhokar implying they are not loyal? Too risky a request to make. He'll lose more than he could gain. They made some sort of agreement when Alethkar was united and I think keeping the king without a princedom and such was part of the deal. Why would they agree to re-negotiate any aspect of it? The princedoms still fight at their borders, Alethkar has been a united kingdom for just a few years, most people probably don't even think themselves king's subjects. I do not see the Highprinces agreeing and it's a dangerous request to make - he still won't have enough to make a difference, and will just end up with a bunch of angry nobles and a small unreliable force. They could totally not be Cryptics, however very few spren have trouble hiding from people. Basically only Pattern can't completely hide from plain sight, so if they aren't Cryptics, it just reinforces the theory of Elhokar seeing a spren that was attempting to bond with him; after all surgebinders do see their spren. You've written it so many times only the newest members of the forum might have missed it; I dare say it's common knowledge I'd definitely deny Brandon ever writing in bright pink sparkly letters The spren could benefit greatly from having the king of the most powerful country bonded. It'll make Alethkar a safe heaven for surgebinders; as in Nale won't be allowed to legally prosecute them and surgebinders from other countries might hear the word and go to join the king. You pointed how often Elhokar changes what he does, however he changes the means to achieve his goal, and the said goal remains the same - to be a man like his father, to be a better kind. He's very resolute to find the right way. He's also supressing all realizations of his own failures and finding comfort in lies. But that's basically all I have until the re-read. However, he's supposed to have just a tiny bit of potential anyway - enough to draw a spren, but too little to keep it.

Actually, you are giving me textual evidence that I consider to be directly in favor of my point He wants to be a man like his father, someone worthy of respect, someone others would follow. He does not merely wish to be thought a man like his father, he wants to really be one. If he's a good king, his subjects automatically benefit from it. It's true he seems too focused on himself, but what could he actually do for his people? He can't do a thing for them. He has no army, he can barely make the Highprinces pay their soulcasting taxes. At this point, worrying (at least openly) about his people is useless. Plus he basically has no people. He commands noone, but himself. He is not a true king in the meaning of having the powers we usually associate with monarchy. The Highprinces can do as they please and he better lay down, lest they tire of playing subjects. Elhokar is in a very delicate situation and worrying about the common people will lead him nowhere. It's the Highprinces and the nobility he needs to win over and only then can Elhokar dare dream to influence anything more than what's he's having for dinner. Then we disagree here. I think they were there because he was beginning to bond with one of them. How would you explain his awareness of the spren presence if not for a bond? There were Cryptics around Jasnah and Vargo too and only Shallan did see glimpses of them. He clearly states he wants to BE a man like Gavilar, not only be viewed as one. You just hate him too much I really don't think her a good mother, but that's not relevant enough, so I'll drop it. I occasionally play the devil's advocate, always makes for a good discussion. Here not so much as I really think at one point Elhokar did something to catch the attention of a Radiant spren or at least I'll be of this opinion until a more fitting explanation is provided.

Some textual evidence on this? Where did he say he cared solely on how he was seen? Selfish reasons? So Dalinar's desire to unite is not selfish? Kaladin's protection is not for his own peace of mind? Every individual has some selfish drive for even seemingly non-selfish things such as having a friend. Every person wants to be accepted, to see himself in the eyes of others the person what he wishes to be. How could he be a good king if others don't think him one? To measure how good a work he does, he needs to be perceived by others as someone doing a good job. There isn't an objective factual measure for kingship. Sure, we can make up indicators to measure, but what matters most is what the king's subjects think of him. He is only as good a king as people think he is. Same as being an artist - if nobody considers your paintings good and they don't sell, then you are not currently doing a good job. You may die and be praised for your works later on, but while you are alive, your only way outside source of measuring how good an artist you are is through people who value your art. OK, this is not the best example, but hopefully you do see where I'm going with this. There are occupations where you can measure your success only through the eyes of others. Pattern was dead when Shallan was helping her brothers, she was a former surgebinder at that point, so I don't accept this as an example. For what is worth, I did not perceive Dalinar as broken either, yet he is Bondsmith now, so why not Elhokar as well? It's not like we know what broke Jasnah or Shallan either. May be he failed whatever test the spren had for him, I do not deny that. I am interested in what qualities he expressed to attract a spren in the first place and (if possible) determining the type of spren that would take interest. even for a short while, in Elhokar. I do not argue whether he will be a Radiant. So you do agree there was a bond forming? If there was a bond forming, then he had shown enough potential to attract spren and you argue he never did, which contradicts with your acceptance of the presence of a Radiant spren. There you go again with this, I simply do not agree. He tries to find the right way to rule, the right decisions. He is not as focused on his image as you argue him to be. He is is at least as worried about his actions as he is for what his actions make him look like. Navani is not a particularly good mother. Jasnah didn't want her, Elhokar doesn't listen to her. Overall, Navani did not do a great job as a mother and her inability to connect to either of her children speaks poorly of her. This is once again more about definition of words. It was paranoid and capricious (typical WS according to in-world WoR), but he has been very persistent in his efforts (and failures) to be (seen as) a better king. As I said, I'll need a re-read before I draw additional conclusions and provide textual evidence.

It could have been him, although we can only guess, but whoever he was, he seemed paranoid. There's over 5 years between the party and the end of WoK, anything could have happened. Who knows what 'the Gift' is, a curse/boon from the Nightwatcher, something else? I think it's too soon to write off Kalak. Although I don't believe it's another Herald in Taln's place.

How do we know it's not Kalak? Also, it's debatable who Nale meant to be drooling - the new ruler or Yezrien.

Elhokar does not care solely about his appearance. He wanted Kal to teach him 'how to be a hero', he wants to be a man 'like his father was'. These are not words of someone who cares only how he's perceived. Sure, he doesn't wish to be thought weak or too soft, but he also wants to figure out how to be a better king in action as well as in words. True, however vanity itself does not disqualify anyone from Radianthood. Elhokar is not vain in the meaning of polishing his shoes every other hour; his concern with his public image is focused on the bigger aspect of it. Also, as I said in the previous paragraph, Elhokar want to be a better king not just in reputation. I am not convinced they were truly Cryptics, but I'd rather go with this one than pointlessly speculate on another type of spren we've never even seen. Basically the easiest explanation is they were Cryptics, so I'll drop any arguments against it for now, but I'll just note here I'm more about the WS spren theory. The bond must have been forming for a while before he was able to see them - think of Jasnah or Shallan's experience. I wonder how Pattern never caught of glimpse on them or may be didn't mention it? I somehow doubt one honorspren can scare away a bunch of Cryptics, they aren't enemies. And we don't know if it was a coincidence - Elhokar started sinking into wine and whining too fast in WoR. When did he stop seeing them? What did he do? Sure, he started deluding himself he'd figure out how to be a hero with Kal's help, but was it really then when the shadows go away? Or did they disappear after Szeth's visit? Odium('s spren?) was basically following him on his feet, may be a non-bonded Radiant spren got scared away or pushed back into Shadesmar? At any rate, I'm inclined to believe Elhokar saw whatever-these-spren-were because there was a bond forming. Seeing what qualities he has will probably be easier in retrospect once we know what we're looking for. And once Elhokar has enough screen time to show us more about himself. Elhokar has his deep truths he hidden behind comforting lies and I think we agree that could draw a Cryptic to him. But he also has this determination to be better than he is, to find what he's missing, which could point toward another Order - being resolute in WS trait, nobody said anything about actually succeeding Kal commented how Elhokar 'kept running', which he realized was more important than his failings. Elhokar is also trying to build a better image for himself and may be (he hasn't said it so far as I recall) wants his kingdom to be stronger and better, too. At least it's easier for me to say he has some building-related mindset than speculated he has some hidden creativity. Elhokar faking the assassination attempt on himself is more about his resolution to make others take his worries seriously than him showing creativity. I'm very interested in analyzing his character in more details, but I'll need a re-read on his scenes and Dalinar's comments, which unfortunately can't happen in the next few days.

Oh, good one! I've been wondering how could she randomly draw Yalb and the crew.

She wasn't doing much of a research on the Parshendi before they killed her father.

Jasnah makes effort for her appearance - make-up, proper clothing, doing her hair, minding her manners, acting the way she wants to be perceived - Shallan commented on it. And she was the one who told Shallan power was about perception, an illusion. Elhokar just hasn't yet understood how to create the proper illusion. So there is one LW and the second closest to LW Radiants that do care about appearance; public image is important for them, too. Also, we don't know what deeper issues might truly hide behind Elhokar's obsession with his public image. Even if we are to accept Elhokar has no redeeming qualities and is no Radiant material, there's a need for an explanation - why did he saw those spren? When the Cryptics were around Shallan, neither Jasnah nor any non-surgebinder was aware of their presence. If they wanted to merely observe him: 1. Why did they go away? (that's could be Syl and is not as important as the next one) 2. Why weren't they hiding from him? Surely Rock's awareness of spren isn't rubbing on Elhokar, else he'd have been able to see much more spren around himself, not only in the corner of his eyes or mirrors.

There a WoP to look for squires even in WoK if that'll do I can search for it.

There's no WoB that Lopen doesn't have a spren and is a squire, however: in-world WoR has it WR had squires; Dalinar saw a vision with a Radiant and men, who had no Shards who started to glow; Teft reported he saw 'several of the lads glowing' around the time Lopen inhaled the stromlight from the sphere; consciously inhaling stormlight has been done by all surgebinders so far after they were aware of their spren.