Aleksiel

Kaladin mistrusts Dalinar even before Amaram. And Kaladin has friends in bridge four who did terrible things as well, just think about Teft. Kaladin knows Dalinar is so far his best hope for a better life, he won't jeopardize it because of Amaram. Or it would be like letting Amaram destroy his life all over again. edit: spelling

I think you are on the right track. Here's a legend Navani told: I think there's a connection here. In the prelude Jezrien said: In Rysn interlude was said that all Shin soldiers have oathstones and that's the way they are traded, may be imitating in a way the Heralds. Szeth most likely has Jezrien's Honorblade, so why not his oathstone assuming the Heralds had ones as the legend implies?

Well, I can't find the original quote now, but the Almighty said he was surprised to see KR. There were already surgebinders with nahel bond (according to Nohadon), but no KR yet. The Almighty also said that what spren did to KR imitated what he did with the Heralds. Perhaps the surprise to the Almighty wasn't that common men were capable of surges then, but that he didn't expect to see the Shards - Shardplates and Shardblades as spren's equivalent of Honorblades.

But the Almighty said he was surprised when the KR, not the surgebinders, appeared. Why would he be surprised if a surgebinder upgrades so to speak? Unless by 'spren duplicating what he did with the Heralds' refers to the Shards, not the abilities to surgebind.

Yeah, I know what you meant, I was just joking

This sounds so dirty I immediately followed the 'I will jump to ridiculous conclusions based on a single sentence' ideal

I just noticed this in a Kaladin's chapter: So there's a voice speaking to Kaladin as well and it's not Syl. Any theories, the Almighty/Herald/Cultivation trying to get in touch with potential Radiants?

Something else I've missed before. Teft to Kaladin: So is the Knights Radiant's (at least) first ideal is inspired by 'The Way of Kings' by Nohadon?. Dalinar told Sadeas a story from the book that implied the journey to be far more important than the destination. But I thought KR already existed in Nohadon's time, he is the one who mentioned the nahel bond to Dalinar. Though it got me thinking that 'the most important word a man can say' may refer to the Ideals of the Radiants.

True. I'm basing my reasoning on Kaladin's and Shallan's sprens behavior, so there isn't enough information to make a reliable conclusion.

My point was that honorspren and Cryprics are two very different types of spren (there's even some sort of conflict between them). Thus, they are unlikely to express themselves in a similar manner. So my speculation is that wind/honorspren (and those similar to them) won't whisper to people.

But Syl didn't know the words, she liked them when she heard them, but didn't remember them. For a spren to be aware of the first ideal, it must have been getting mature for quite some time and that's no possible without a bond as far as Syl said. And it was a one time thing, nowhere else are windspren going around Dalinar like that. We know that Renarin sees a spren nobody else does, perhaps they have a bond and that's part of the reason Renarin runned on the plato when his father and the king were in danger? Renarin wasn't just reckless, but knew he could help - Dalinar feels a sudden wave of strength (if I recall correctly), may be his son interfered with a surge? And his spren was whispering to Dalinar? After all, he was surprised to find Renarin and Navani in Sadeas's camp, may be Renarin's spren joined Dalinar's army for a while and returned before Kaladin interfered? I'm gonna stop with my crazy speculations now! This could explain where she went when was absent, though why not tell Kaladin anything, even when he was hesitating to help Dalinar? She could have used it to prove she knew for certain Dalinar was honorable. Syl says she's a cousin to windspren, probably there are other spren with similar appearance that search for someone to bond with, though . But whispering into someone's head is more of a Cryptic thing and they are nothing like windspren.

I agree, Sadeas did commit betrayal. I simply showed a different perspective, a reason why Amaram is further from redemption. I've just reread the chapter of Amaram's betrayal and I wonder - if Kaladin had said he changed his mind and wanted the Shards, would Amaram gave them? If yes, then why did he refuse them to Kaladin's men? Amaram says: so I'd say no, he would have denied Kaladin the Shards as well. After all, he didn't even ask Kaladin if he wanted them back. Amaram asks Kaladin why he went back and why he rejected the Shards. Amaram insolently tells Kaladin Perhaps if Amaram didn't like Kaladin's reasons, he would have murdered him as well.

I've used the Herald's name for the orders that aren't named yet. So, here's my idea for the first ideal (except the two we already know, of course): Skybreakers - I will bring justice to those who've been wronged. Pailiah - I will restore the knowledge that has been forgotten. Dustbringers - I will be brave for the sake of others. Lightweavers - I will recreate what has been lost. Elsecallers - I will bring wisdom to those who seek it. Kalak - I will make decisions others can't. Stonewards - I will support those who can't help themselves. Ishar - I will bring hope/faith to those who have lost it. Edit: added 'faith' in the last ideal

Something Lirin says to Kaladin: Kaladin could have still ended in Dalinar's army, though the circumstances would have been so different And something weird: Isn't amber associated with Stonewards? Since Kaladin is a Windrunner, shouldn't his eyes glow bright blue instead?

It looks really good If you can only correct Ishar's secondary attribute to guiding, not giving?

I think your second point is a very good one. As to the first, here's what the Almighty says to Dalinar in the vision he fought alongside KR: I think it refers to uniting the KR, but does that mean the Almighty isn't aware the Knights Radiant are no more?

But if they could hear their dead, why wouldn't they want to move the bodies? Wouldn't that help them hear better?

Technically, Sadeas didn't kill his own men. Dalinar said in WoK that the Highprinces with their soldiers are more like ten armies fighting together rather than one big force. So, in a way Sadeas thinks of Dalinar and his soldiers as them (the only way a soldier can think according to Kaladin) and Sadeas easily abandoned them. To Sadeas what he did was a maneuver against an enemy. While Amaram slaughtered his own subordinates who defended him and pulled some 'I'm a merciful God, be a slave'-speech, when he destroyed Kaladin's life.

Well, most bad guys have some 'greater good' that they are aiming at and use it to justify all the horrible things they do. People overall are great at justifying their actions no matter how bad. Doesn't change the fact that their deeds were terrible and wrong. So to me, Amaram is still guilty for what he did. Which to me shows that Sadeas was the one who really believed he was doing the right thing. Doing the wrong thing when you know it's wrong, now that's worse. Is Amaram beyond redemption? No. But I think it will be much harder for him to be redeemed than for Sadeas, because Amaram knowingly wronged Kaladin and his man. Sadeas needs to realize his mistake (not strong enough word, I know) and change his views, but Amaram needs to change as a person much more.

I am not too excited about Shallan's flashbacks, but as long as she doesn't try to be witty, I'm ok with that. Though she has said she always talked back the first thing that came to her mind, so I hope Brandon has come up with some nice comebacks on Shallan's part, but that would make her funnier in the past than she was in WoK...

I think it means that Taln is late to stop the Desolation, though Heralds never stopped Desolations, they just fought in them, so may be I'm wrong. There could be more to what Wit said and not just a way to get to the cool 'timeliness' sentence. I agree that Brandon never said that man was Taln, but he didn't deny it either. Plus, he RAFO-ed a question asking if all Heralds are from Roshar. If I find the source, I'll add it. Edit: http://www.theoryland.com/intvmain.php?i=977 Hoid was a Herald or knew someone from another world who was and that's why he knew Taln and where to find him? So Shallash was said to appear (guess that sort of confirms she is Baxill's mistress), Brandon hints that Jezrien appears as well (http://s70.photobucket.com/user/Terez27/media/WOKtitlepage.jpg.html; which kind of supports the 'Have you seen me'-was-said-by-Jezrien theory, though Brandon wrote 'Where is Jezrien', not 'Did you see Jezrien', but I might be overthinking this). So It's possible that another Herald was there as well. But the man Kal saved just didn't feel that strange to me (he wasn't talking nonsense or doing weird things, though carrying a bridge is weird, I admit).

We don't know that was him. What makes you think it was Szeth?

Well, I imagine anyone who spend thousands of years in Damnation will be at least confused afterwards. If that was Taln, how did he become a bridgeman? I don't think anyone would be able to force him to carry a bridge around, the dude has Honorblade and centuries of experience with it. And even if he somehow ended up in Bridge 7 and was saved by Kaladin, how and why did he get to wherever Hoid found him? So far I have assumed Taln just appeared in the Herald's spawning point and Hoid simply knew where that was. I disagree with your point that he could have died on the plains and respawned where we met him in the epilogue - first, the Heralds spend the entire time between Desolations in Damnation, like they have just one life per Desolation and when they die, they don't return during the same Desolation. So if he dies now, he won't come back. Second, it's not like he kept to himself his identity. He literally burst there and declared who and what he was. So had that man been Taln, he would have told Kaladin who he was.

Oh, I definitely want to read first how Kaladin reacts to Amaram - finishing the chapter or even reading the next Kaladin's chapter if necessary. Then I'll go back from the start and read everything in the order it's supposed to be read.

What you wrote got me thinking about how KR's shards lost their glow and that sprens were betrayed by them in way yet unknown. If you can add more, please do so.