Confused

Hi, all! I’m writing a longer post about Roshar’s old gods when I just had this inspiration and had to share: The Knights of Wind and Truth are Bondsmiths! (Apologies if the muse visited someone else first...) Kal becomes Wind’s Bondsmith and Szeth becomes Night’s Bondsmith, holding Nightblood! I don’t know what their powers will be. Maybe you guys can fill that in. Regards! C. Edit: For the record, I think Roshar is alive. Living Roshar manifests as Stone - continental growth; Wind - erosion; and Night (spren?) - change? If a Rosharan listens carefully, they'll hear Roshar's tones and rhythms. IMO, Roshar's "music" enables a "singer" (Bondsmith?) to use the gods to make magic.

Maybe Honor and not Cultivation is the Shard that hides, as the OP theorizes. Over time Brandon creates uncertainty about Tanavast's death. Here are the relevant WoBs, earliest to last. Is Tanavast the character Brandon changes?

This is the best statement to counter my theory that the real purpose of the 3 attacks is to empty the Tower, kill or capture Navani, and deprive the Sibling of the ability to make Towerlight to weaken Dalinar. But the post acknowledges a potential flaw: Bondsmiths are Radiants. Would Navani wander away from the Tower because she feels safe with the battles elsewhere? How far might she go? Would she risk the temporary loss of Towerlight to test the Sibling's limits? She's not the type to rely solely on Dalinar's word. Would some Skybreakers, or other Odium minions, wait for that possibility? Might they set up a diversion to induce her to leave the Tower? I raise this issue because IMO winning the battles is less important to Odium than winning Dalinar's soul to lead the "Greater War." Odium himself will remain bound to the Rosharan system in any event, regardless of how much land he controls. What is mere land to a Shard? But Taravangian cannot bear the cosmere's pain. He wishes to become the One God to stop feeling that pain; hence, he needs to conquer the cosmere, at least in his own mind. If the real goal is to win the contest and "draft" Dalinar to lead his army, depriving Dalinar of both Stormlight and Towerlight during the contest seems a good way to go. I still believe this approach makes the most strategic sense for Odium. Rosharan land battles are irrelevant to this purpose. My two cents.

I first raised this issue as part of a long post on another thread. No one commented on the idea (I hope because I buried it). I think it’s interesting enough to amplify and present in a separate post. Hoid’s Dawnshard has “an Intent that is diametrically opposed to violence and harm” [Coppermind on Hoid’s Dawnshard, citing TSM Chapter 21]. Taravangian cannot tolerate feeling the cosmere’s misery and wants to make himself the One God to stop it. If Taravangian can find this Dawnshard, could he or his proxy use it to conquer the cosmere? Suppose the Dawnshard can have planet-wide effect like the one on Ashyn did. Taravangian or his proxy could use the Dawnshard to pacify native populations. Rather than violent planet conquest, the Dawnshard could render the planet’s population incapable of imposing violence on others. The planet’s people would be forced to surrender. They’d all be turned into a sapient form of Parshmen, intelligent but incapable of resisting their conquerors. The end of war and violence is one way to cure the cosmere and its people of misery. Deny people only some choice - the ability to oppose Odium by violent means. I speculate Taravangian sends his Fused to the Shattered Plains because he thinks that’s where the Dawnshard is. Sigzil and his Radiants head there for battle. I predict that Hoid will recover the Dawnshard before Taravangian’s forces find it and give the Dawnshard to Sigzil. That sets up the TSM narrative. Or not...

I think all three battles are distractions. IMO, @Oltux72 had it right: Urithiru is the target. That is where the contest of champions will be held. No harm can come to either champion in advance. That doesn’t stop either side from preparing the battlefield. Assume for the moment I’m correct that the champions are Dalinar and a much expanded, living Everstorm. Taravangian intends the Everstorm arrive over Urithiru at the appointed hour. (Will the Stormfather also be there then?) I believe the Everstorm will try to blanket Dalinar in its Investiture and block him from creating a perpendicularity and summon Stormlight. That may or may not work. But it’s a sensible tactic for Taravangian to try. I’m sure he also has a back-up plan. I think a Skybreaker raid against Urithiru makes tactical sense to support the coming contest. Getting in will be easy. The Sibling can’t stop them, and Urithiru will be emptied of defenders. I believe their mission is to kill Navani and deprive the Sibling of its Bondsmith. (Does Singer law or Radiant law govern? Skybreakers make Radiant law. Is this "murder" during wartime?) Killing Navani stops Towerlight creation. Towerlight could serve as Dalinar’s back-up Investiture. If Taravangian’s plan is to starve Dalinar of Investiture, he would make this move. Narratively, Navani’s death frees Dalinar to Ascend and spurs him to do so. The three battles also are important, each for different reasons. Azir and its related states control most of western Roshar; Thaylenah controls the seas; and, I believe, the Shattered Plains hides a Dawnshard. Based on TSM, maybe that’s Hoid’s Dawnshard before Sigzil acquires it? That Dawnshard has “an Intent that is diametrically opposed to violence and harm” [Coppermind on Hoid’s Dawnshard, citing TSM Chapter 21]. Taravangian hates to feel the cosmere’s misery and wants to make himself the One God to stop it. Can he use the Dawnshard to pacify native populations rather than conquer them? Render those populations incapable of imposing violence on others? Used by a Shard, could a Dawnshard do that? Just some thoughts and questions you folks inspire. All the best, C.

I’m writing this mostly in Brandon’s narrative order. Some of the stuff lower down might engage you more than earlier comments. I marked those sections with red typeface. Chapter 19 1. Szeth has always had OCD. But this is reaching Howie Mandel levels: This passage shows how uncomfortable Szeth is with making decisions. Yet he is on the path to becoming “the Law.” How will that happen? Right or wrong, judges are never indecisive. “Journey before destination” indeed. 2. I get it now... At last I know the source of all that purple prose flowing so profusely from me! 3. Dandelions... Ugh. Szeth may like dandelions, but after spending all summer weed-whacking them and other vegetation for fire season, not so “beautiful.” Tough to cut and regrows quickly. Retracting weeds seems a much better idea to me... Come the fire, weeds hide and won’t burn! 4. Hottie Syl? That’s really short, and apparently the leggings are longer than the skirt! What is going on with that spren! 5. Szeth’s highspren is a jerk. What? Since when are logic and the law without emotion? A famous judge once said breakfast frequently determines rulings – how content is a judge when he rules. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. wrote, “The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience.” (He was also the guy who said the First Amendment does not protect someone shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater.) Szeth is an emotional person: “After so many, many years, his booted feet fell not on blasphemous stone.” Despite all that’s happened to him, he still cares and feels deeply. That (to me) is an interesting character feature. I suppose feeling deeply is an adjunct to his OCD. 6. Szeth is ALSO a jerk. Where does this come from? Szeth hardly talks, and he says this? Szeth has no understanding of people. He should not be making decisions that affect others yet. Better to rely on Dalinar. OTOH, Szeth has callously murdered scores - hundreds? - of people who didn't deserve to die. His life as a Truthless consists of PTSD, guilt, regret, and the constant reminder of the Voices. Szeth more than anyone might consider Kaladin weak for rejecting killing. I suspect this exchange foreshadows Kal’s therapeutic treatment of Szeth. A courageous person sometimes needs to back down. Maybe Kal teaches that to Szeth. At minimum, Szeth needs to learn that just because something may be true doesn’t mean you should use that truth to hurt someone. Even Syl realizes this: Chapter 20: 1. Relationship between Sibling and Stormfather. Why? Is Tanavast’s cognitive shadow angry at having been killed? Or maybe Ishar has influenced him? It does suggest an Odium influence; but other than the SF’s weirdness, there’s not been much evidence of that, Stormfaker arguments notwithstanding. Beyond that, the statement about their sibling is kind of cute. The Sibling misses their brother! 2. Taravangian’s Mistake? Wit says of the Vessel change, I think this statement foreshadows a Taravangian mistake later in the book. I believe the contest of champions will pit the Stormfather against Taravangian’s champion, the Everstorm. The Everstorm by that time will be a living entity, if it hasn’t always been. Taravangian’s mistake, IMO, is that the Everstorm moves counter-cyclically to the highstorm. It will destroy Kharbranth. I’ve written that this will distract Taravangian from the battle and enable Dalinar to defeat him. I believe WoK Chapter 2, “The City of Bells,” and its Epigraph foreshadows this. 3. Cultivation’s Impact? Cultivation must have some involvement in this change, advertently or otherwise. Brandon here expresses the main conclusion from Thomas Kuhn’s seminal work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. (FWIW, that book coins the phrase "paradigm shift.”) Kuhn argues radical changes are rare and come from breaking the limiting assumptions made by earlier folk. Einstein’s departure from Newtonian Mechanics is an example, since unlike Newton Einstein theorized time is variable and not a constant. Once a new paradigm is in place, scientists then look for further proofs and to make incremental advances in the new understanding. 4. Bad Pun...or Foreshadowing? Ouch! Further crack the Shattered Plains? A bad pun? Sure. But I think this may foreshadow the destruction of the Shattered Plains during the fight there: Further evidence: Dalinar sends the “Stormwall” to the Shattered Plains to help Sigzil and his Radiants. 5. Is Yanagawn descended from Nohadon? Yanagawn sure has come a long way in a short time. From a barely competent thief to one of Roshar’s leaders? Noura lets Yanagawn speak now on his own. It seems to me that Yanagawn is certainly infected with the spirit of Nohadon if he’s not related. And the Epigraphs in this Part are about Nohadon. Just saying... 6. Will Dalinar use Stormlight to send Singer transport ships back to Shadesmar? If ships can materialize into Shadesmar with enough Stormlight, can Dalinar open his perpendicularity to “materialize” the troop transports bearing down on Thaylenah into Shadesmar? That would be a neat solution, perhaps delaying them past the 10 days? 7. Adolin!? Well, we now know Adolin doesn’t accompany Shallan to the Spiritual Realm. I agree with those folks who think Adolin dies. Is he resurrected as a cognitive shadow, a Fused, something else, or not at all? Especially if he dies, I think we’ll discover Adolin, Jr. already occupies Shallan’s belly... That’s all, Folks! C. P.S. – Oops! I forgot to mention @Oltux72’s excellent catch about the Skybreakers. I also neglected my weekly limerick summary! I do believe the Skybreakers will try to enter Urithiru. With the Coalition’s troops all gone, this is too sweet an opportunity to overlook. But I don’t believe they want to occupy the Tower. My best guess is they’ll try to kidnap/kill Navani. They may succeed based on this logic: If Dalinar Ascends, can he continue his marriage with Navani? He waited so long to win her. At minimum, Shard-human love seems...odd. It reminds me of Zeus knocking up all those Greek maidens. Leda and the Swan? Jupiter and Io? The following Spoiler quotes W.B. Yeats’ sonnet, “Leda and the Swan,” and shows Renaissance artist Correggio’s “Jupiter and Io.” The poem is graphic, and the painting has nudity in it. Don’t look if you offend easily. I probably shouldn’t follow Nobel Laureate Yeats with a stupid limerick. Whatever... Kal goes with Szeth on their field trip. Szeth thinks that Kal is a real drip. The leaders all plan To defend Roshar’s land. Will the Plains undergo still one more rip?

Well, @listerfeend, I do think Kaladin will be the Knight of Wind. And if the Fleet story is true, he (and I believe Syl) will jointly Ascend in spren form when they hold back the storm in Shinovar. Something rises to fly the winds forever. If that's not Kaladin and Syl, and that's not Ascension as the Knight of Wind, I'd like to hear your interpretation. Perhaps you feel "avatar" is not the right word, as it implies a god's immanent presence in the world. But it might be, since Kal and Syl will probably choose to stay in the PR. I don't see Syl returning to Shadesmar after all the trouble she had reaching the PR. And Kal would probably want to stay and watch over those he protects. Would he even feel the Wind in Shadesmar? My 2 cents anyway. On to the next chapters! C. P.S. - Edit to add this clarification. I'm lower-casing the word "avatar" to mean its normal meaning of the manifestation of a deity on earth in bodily form. Not the Brandon Sanderson definition of "Avatar" - Autonomy's progeny - nor the Neal Stephenson definition (from Snow Crash) of a video game player's icon. I do not propose that Kal/Syl become the Wind. As @alder24 says, the Wind is already its own person with its own mind. But I do believe Kal will become immortal - Ascend - as the Knight of Wind.

This is a fascinating theory. I agree the Dawnsingers formed the Dawncities but IMO without the participation of spren. I think Dawnsingers created the cities using the same techniques Venli used with stone in RoW: I interpret this passage as meaning “new things” – manipulating stone through spren – come from “old things" – direct reliance on the tones of Roshar to manipulate stone. In this case, Voidlight provides the pure tone to awaken and manipulate the stone. The stone tells Venli, Timbre did not participate in this magic, as it used Voidlight, not Stormlight. Timbre is not enlightened. I think the stone directly performs magic through the tones of Roshar, which are "ancient as the core of Roshar." No spren of Stone is involved. IMO, the Elia Stele’s old gods of Stone and Wind are alive themselves. No spren represents these old gods. Why should the Elia Stele reference “spren, stone, and wind” if Stone and Wind are also spren? What makes “spren” a separate god from Stone and Wind? If you want more info about my views on this, I wrote a post entitled “Roshar’s Revenge: The Rise of Spren, Stone, and Wind.” Thanks for the read. C.

We know the titles of Parts One through Five of each SLA book form a ketek. I think the plot itself may form a “ketek” – a reflection back to the beginning. Foreshadowing is one of Brandon's foremost tools. Let’s look at the first five chapters of WoK and see if we can predict WaT’s ending. I’ll start with Chapter 5 and work backwards. Chapter 5: “Heretic” - Epigraph: “I have seen the end, and have heard it named. The Night of Sorrows, the True Desolation. The Everstorm.” WoK: Taravangian’s granddaughter is trapped behind a large boulder. Jasnah uses her Soulcasting abilities to transform the boulder into smoke. She pretends her Soulcaster effects the transformation. WaT Prediction: The full, much larger Everstorm arrives. I think Shallan returns to the Physical Realm with BAM, who is still in her gem. Jasnah transforms the gem to smoke, freeing BAM. Chapter 4: “The Shattered Plains” - Epigraph: “I’m dying, aren’t I? Healer, why do you take my blood? Who is that beside you, with his head of lines? I can see a distant sun, dark and cold, shining in a black sky.” WoK: Slavers deliver Kal to the Plains where he sees the Alethi army for the first time. A highstorm passes through and brings life to the Plains. Kaladin develops his relationship with Syl and muses about the wind and windspren. WaT Prediction: Highstorm and Everstorm meet in battle. The Shattered Plains completely shatter. The chaos causes the Physical Realm to temporarily merge with Shadesmar. Kaladin arrives from Shinovar to take part. Chapter 3: “City of Bells” - Epigraph: “A man stood on a cliffside and watched his homeland fall into dust. The waters surged beneath, so far beneath. And he heard a child crying. They were his own tears.” WoK: Shallan arrives in Kharbranth and immediately seeks Jasnah at the Palanaeum. She learns that Kharbranth is very old and protected from highstorms. WaT Prediction: Highstorm-Everstorm battle threatens to destroy Kharbranth. Taravangian pauses his Shard Fight with Dalinar to protect Kharbranth. That weakens him enough for Dalinar to prevail. Chapter 2: “Honor is Dead” - Epigraph: “Ten orders. We were loved, once. Why have you forsaken us, Almighty! Shard of my soul, where have you gone?” WoK: Kal is now a slave who claims Honor died when Amaram enslaved him. Syl appears to show him otherwise. WaT Prediction: Dalinar Ascends as Unity, having taken Odium from Taravangian. I think Dalinar previously Ascends as Honor to fight Taravangian. Honor is now “dead” because the Shard combines with Odium. (This is metaphoric – even combined, Shards retain their Intent, as Ruin and Preservation do while held by Harmony.) Chapter 1: “Stormblessed” – Epigraph: “You’ve killed me. Bastards, you’ve killed me! While the sun is still hot, I die!” WoK: The Wind already blesses Kal: “For a moment, Cenn thought he could see something surrounding the squadleader. A warping of the air, like the wind itself become visible.” WaT Prediction: This is the Fleet story. Kal dies and Ascends as the Knight of Wind, the Wind's avatar. The End. * * * * * What do you think? All the best! C.

Change of subject... Rayse became ROd. Taravangian became TOd. I think Gavinor should assume the Odium Shard and became GOd.

Ouch. I do say Honor + Odium = War. I really don't mean that literally; though I do make it sound that way. I don’t think we can know what the combined Intent of a Unity Shard might be. I just mean Dalinar IMO will hold both Shards and lead Rosharans to try and unify the cosmere. That role suits him. I analyze Shard Intents differently from most people. For one thing, Brandon has still not defined what a Shard Intent is. I look at the Shard’s “primal force” and ask why Brandon chose the corresponding name. Thus, to me, Ruin is the “Entropy Shard,” Preservation is the “Stasis Shard,” and Honor is the “Bonding Shard.” I speculate Odium is the “Emotions Shard” because his Investiture manipulates both emotional Connections and the Connections that constitute the conscience. What would be the Intent of a Shard that bonds people, manipulates emotion, and produces Warlight? Here’s Navani’s description of Warlight: Metaphorically, this describes human history: intermittent war punctuating peace. Individually, each Light appears as follows: This sounds like Dalinar. He’s orderly and organized. He prepares his armies and considers available tactics. But when violence is needed, he’s a chaotic killer with a murderous logic to his actions. He’s already chosen his Shard name. “I am Unity.” I think the name signifies the unification in a single Vessel of Honor and Odium. It also signifies to me that Dalinar will bond the two aspects of Odium’s Divided nature. I think he’ll have to if he wants to hold these Shards simultaneously. But...I can also see Dalinar holding Odium as is. Dalinar’s incredible will may find a way to deal with Odium’s contradictions. A few more months to find out... Dalinar faces a choice. If he Ascends as Honor and defeats Odium, what should he do with the Shard? Will Taravangian survive as its Vessel? That wouldn’t accomplish much; he’d continue to connive. Besides, Szeth may also want a say in Taravangian’s fate once he realizes he hasn’t killed Taravangian. If Taravangian’s gone, who would Dalinar trust to hold the Shard? He’s never been a sharing kind of guy. When he takes up Odium and, like Taravangian, feels the cosmere suffer from warlords like himself, will he just do nothing? Dal will try to “unite without a fight, find a peaceful solution to conflict, step away from combat, not indulge in war.” But human history tells us there’s never a “War to End War,” just the “Next War.” As Navani notes, Warlight looks like “brilliant raging storms, then...still—peaceful and quiet—between.” That will be Dalinar, making peace whenever he can through the stately, orderly organization of Honor; knowing the chaotic logic of Odium is often inevitable. Here’s what Raboniel tells Navani about Roshar: IMO, this is the main reason Cultivation acts behind-the-scenes of everything on Roshar. The Growth Shard can’t abide such stagnation. Roshar will now grow as it should, not devolve. Honor and Odium suppress Roshar with their Desolations. They cut off interactions between Honor/Cultivation’s spren and voidspren, as the latter are often isolated on Braize. Spren are the personification of ideas. If you also separate the Singer and human populations, the lack of cultural exchanges itself limits spren growth. Sja-anat “enlightens” spren by introducing Odium into their Spiritweb. Roshar’s tones now include the Rhythm of War. If Stormlight + Voidlight = Warlight, and Stormlight + Lifelight = Towerlight, what does Lifelight + Voidlight =? I think Roshar will grow just fine without Honor and Odium always hanging around. IMO, Cultivation uses “reverse psychology” on Taravangian. There’s a song in the musical play The Fantasticks that includes the lines, “Why did the kids put beans in their ears...They did it ‘cause we said ‘No.’” Taravangian is a relative child compared with Cultivation. Having been inside his head, she knows what he's likely to do when opposed. I think she wants him to challenge an Ascended Dalinar, as Taravangian has so often challenged him before. Their debates foreshadow this fight. I disagree. Odium wouldn’t be the most dangerous Shard if he could control himself. Separating emotions from logic is not a prescription for control; rather, the opposite. That’s what blind rage is. Rayse was the “Broken One” for several reasons; this schism between emotions and logic is one. Odium under Taravangian is the “Divided One.” Their similar nicknames can’t be coincidental. Taravangian’s boon/curse didn’t separate emotions from logic. He fluctuated between intelligence and compassion in varying degrees each day. Some days he had average capacities of both. I might have overstated Cultivation’s projected cosmere changes. But letting Dalinar loose in the cosmere will definitely transform things. I still feel that’s her ultimate plan. Thanks for the comments! C.

First, my weekly limerick, this time a prediction: Shallan and her spies visit Narak, Find BAM and, with Dal’s help, bring her back. Dal then Ascends. With TOd he contends. And unites those two powers in his Shard pack. A few more points: On Roshar, it’s apparently appropriate to have intimate relations the night before a War Council. Poor Yanagawn. His crown is so heavy, he could use a lift... A long while ago I predicted he would become the post-war King of Roshar. I stand by that. What growth! Who is Colot on Dalinar’s guard who doesn’t want to bond a spren? Has this been discussed before? My guess is he’s an off-worlder who doesn’t want to be bound to Roshar. Maybe even Vasher? Is Colot a pun on “color”? Yeah, the Stormfather acts weird. He usually does. I’ll leave that discussion to others.

Summary I think Cultivation grooms Dalinar from his earliest days to assume both Honor and Odium. He will be the perfect War Shard. War breeds the “creative destruction” Cultivation as the Growth Shard craves. She wants to see the cosmere evolve. I also believe Cultivation wants Roshar to return to its pre-Shattering state. To restore the world of “spren, stone, and wind,” she must first rid Roshar of its troublesome Shards Honor and Odium. Cultivation’s Actions Cultivation has plans within plans within plans. She manipulates Taravangian and Dalinar. Shards must keep their mutual promises or face retribution. Why doesn’t Cultivation seek retribution against Odium? She says she hides from him; but Rayse seems more fearful of her. When Odium kills Tanavast, Cultivation could lend Tanavast her strength as a second Shard. She doesn’t. I believe she agrees with Odium to kill Tanavast. Tanavast is no longer the person she loves. Her long-term plan requires this sacrifice. Cultivation knows she has to replace the unstable Rayse. Like she prunes Dalinar to prepare him for Thaylen City, Cultivation prunes Taravangian to take Rayse’s place. I believe she engineers Szeth’s possession of Nightblood at that critical moment. IIRC, possession went from Vasher to the Nightwatcher to Nale to Szeth. Now Cultivation tells Dalinar he must “unite them” and assume the Honor Shard if he wants to defeat Odium. He must seek the Spiritual Realm and discover Roshar’s past. (Why knowledge of the past should prepare him to become Honor, I don’t know; but it’s Brandon’s narrative.) Who and what Dalinar must unite to become Honor remains unclear. Indeed, why is it necessary to “unite” anything to become Honor? Honor’s core remains intact in the Spiritual Realm. Shard Fight! I believe Cultivation pushes Taravangian to Splinter Honor. She pushes Dalinar to Ascend. They will meet in the Spiritual Realm. Cultivation wants them to fight. Two old friends “debating” one last time. In this fight, I think Cultivation puts her money on the warlord. I predict Dalinar finds victory by healing Odium – uniting/bonding the Divided One’s metaphoric left brain and right brain – his inability to simultaneously think and feel: Healing Odium unites “God’s own divine hatred” with “the virtues that give it context.” Maybe the rush of conscience at the moment of extreme rage will shock Taravangian the way Vasher shocks Denth before killing him. I think the Dalinar-Cultivation colloquy foreshadows this. Cultivation juxtaposes the meaning of “unite them” with a question about what frightens Odium. Dalinar recalls the “I am Unity” moment. What most frightens Odium is the possibility Dalinar might Ascend to hold the Honor Shard. Dalinar’s Bondsmith power in Honor’s absence already allows him to make a perpendicularity at will. Dalinar stands as Odium’s equal and stares down a god. He’s a man of powerful will and Intent, even if he doesn’t yet know most of the Commands that implement his power. But why does “Unity” frighten Odium? Is it just another name for Honor’s bonding power, a new metaphor to express Honor’s Intent differently? Why does Cultivation ask about the meaning of “unite them” first? Unity seems like a separate issue that leads into her question about Odium’s fear. I do not believe “unite them” means unite Honor’s power because Cultivation says its “core” still sits intact in the Spiritual Realm. I suggest, therefore, she tells Dalinar to unite Odium’s feelings and intellect. This will weaken him, diminish the intensity of his rage. Odium fears weakness. He fears Unity. Conclusion I think Cultivation wants Dalinar to become the War Shard and destroy the cosmere to re-create it. That means the Honor and Odium Shards will leave Roshar. Their departure, IMO, opens up Roshar for the old gods of spren, stone, and wind. Kaladin/Fleet will run his race and rise as the Wind’s avatar. Rock will rise as Stone’s Knight. And Spren, well, that’s where it all begins, isn’t it? Regards! C.

@Alder24 has convinced me that Odium wants to “void-ify” Roshar rather than destroy it. Turn everyone and everything into his army of soldiers, spies, and other agents. I thought Odium would destroy Roshar and empty it of his Investiture to increase his power relative to other Shards. I still think Rayse might have gone down that path and prepared for Shard-to-Shard combat. But Taravangian is a much craftier and more manipulative Vessel. He would use his void-people to undermine the other Shards in a more subtle way than Rayse might have. You ask why would Odium have chosen Desolation? It takes a long time to accumulate that much Investiture. Maybe a Desolation might have succeeded in winning him Roshar sooner. Maybe he wanted human civilization to founder, keeping them from learning about the greater cosmere. Maybe he wanted the Heralds to lose their minds. Unclear, but good question!

I was so excited to get my thoughts out I was unclear. You raise excellent questions and apt WoBs. The point about Odium’s Roshar residence I intended to address but didn’t. I’ll adapt my speculations to other of your points. Thanks! Odium’s Investiture For all the reasons you cite, Odium is more Invested in Roshar than anywhere. But I’m unaware of a Rosharan perpendicularity for him. I don’t believe Odium has a perpendicularity on Braize either. Odium was on Ashyn, settled or not. He taught Ishar how to Surgebind, which led to Ashyn’s destruction. He accompanied the human migration to Roshar, and the Singers called him the human god. As you say, Odium’s Investiture permeates the system. He’d have to leave some part of himself behind were he to leave the system. But does he have to? Can he destroy Roshar and keep himself mostly intact when he leaves? Enter the Everstorm. I believe the WoR Everstorm is a smaller part of the whole. Odium moved the storm bit by bit into Roshar’s subastral, where it grew over “centuries.” I do NOT believe that smaller storm’s Investiture is enough to free Odium. That leads me to think Odium has an alternative plan for freedom. I speculate he’s been accumulating a much larger cache of Investiture to create an even larger Everstorm. With no perpendicularity on any Rosharan planet, it takes him millennia, not centuries, to build this storm. He wouldn’t put that cache on Roshar or Braize because Honor, Cultivation or the Heralds would have noticed it. The only remaining place to grow the Everstorm would be on Ashyn. I suspect this accumulated Investiture is now alive and angry at its long imprisonment. Now we learn Roshar’s tones led humans through the Cognitive Realm from Ashyn to Roshar. Listeners sang the smaller Everstorm from Braize to Roshar. My question: Why can’t all Singers sing the full Everstorm from Ashyn to Roshar? I suspect ROdium silenced Wind to keep the larger Everstorm a secret. TOdium may not have initially known about it and inadvertently allowed Wind to speak to Kaladin. Now (according to the Chapter 3 Epigraph) Wind has again “vanished.” Wind does not fear the smaller Everstorm like she apparently fears what is to come. All of which makes me think there is a much larger Everstorm somewhere waiting in the Rosharan system to destroy Roshar completely. Odium would then be free to collect his Rosharan Investiture and travel elsewhere in the cosmere. Odium’s Oath There’s been a lot of speculation that the Shards’ oaths permit them to reside jointly on a planet but not to take action against one another. Oath breaking exposes a Shard to retribution from the others. This has prevented Odium from acting against Cultivation. It’s also evidence that Cultivation helped Odium kill Honor. Otherwise, Odium would already fear a Cultivation counterstroke. If Odium can kill Cultivation, however, he will have broken his oath but need not immediately worry about the consequences. The Shard Letters show other Shards have some concerns about Odium but are not overly or imminently fearful. Only Harmony seems interested. Bottom line: I don’t think the oaths will keep Odium in the Rosharan system. But who knows... Thanks again!

Too soon for me to think through all the stuff raised by this selection. I'll leave my weekly limerick summary, then go cogitate a bit more. The one thing I will say is that physical love does NOT end when you turn 70!!! In case you were wondering... Our heroes are wakeful, can’t sleep. Three cities attacked in one leap! With love in the air, So many are bare. Soon they will die and we’ll weep. All the best! C.

In my other thread today, @LewsTherinTelescope said this: That’s the answer to a question I’ve been asking myself for 10 years! What binds Odium to the Rosharan system, and why must he destroy Roshar in order to free himself? Answer: The Everstorm! I think Honor bound Odium by causing his Investiture to accumulate in Ashyn's subastral - an open perpendicularity without an outlet. Whether Honor intended it or not, some Odious Investiture migrated to Roshar (the planet) with humans. That’s the part the Oathpact seals away on Braize. I suspect most of Odium's Investiture remains stuck in Ashyn’s subastral, growing ever larger over time, raging at its imprisonment. The Everstorm! Now Wit tells us how humans came to Roshar: Listeners’ Stormform called a small part of Odium’s Investiture to manifest as the original Everstorm. Singers Roshar-wide can now summon all of Odium’s accumulated Investiture from Ashyn. When it manifests in the Physical Realm, the Everstorm will completely remake Roshar. Odium at last will be free. This is what Wind and Wit fear.

Not much new stuff to talk about right now. I’ll throw out a few open topics for your comments and reactions. Enjoy! Ghostbloods and Kalak I think Kalak will join the Ghostbloods. His most sincere self-truth is his desire to survive: I think Kalak and the Ghostbloods will accompany Shallan and Adolin on their mission to the Spiritual Realm to recover BAM. Kalak knows the Spiritual Realm “site” where she’s hidden. If Kalak goes, Felt will too. I think Ala, Mraize, and Iyatil will join them. Kelsier will follow their journey through Ala. Is Ala a Fjorden Spy? Seons come from Sel, and we know the Fjordell use them. Wulfden the Fourth, current Wyrn of Fjorden, communicated by seon with Hrathen in Elantris. What if Wulfden sent Ala to spy on the Ghostbloods? Ala doesn’t show many scruples or much loyalty – the perfect Ghostblood...it seems. The Fjordell want to dominate Sel. Why not expand Derethi domination to the greater cosmere? Capturing BAM might serve Fjorden’s interest. Ala could tell Wyrn where in the Physical Realm the Ghostblood expedition will return to. The Fjordell could be waiting for them, ready to take BAM off their hands. How Will Shallan’s Ability to “Define” Reality Work in the Spiritual Realm? What’s the current consensus about Shallan’s declaration? It’s not an ideal; that’s the “I’m terrified” bit just before this statement. My guess is Shallan’s statement capsulizes the artist’s credo. Few artists paint with perfect verisimilitude. They interpret. What happens when Shallan decides what the reality of the Spiritual Realm ought to be? Can a Radiant use their powers in the Spiritual Realm? If so, could the Spiritual Realm distort their powers? I expect we’ll find out. Spren, Stone, and Wind I believe the Eila Stele’s Spren, Stone, and Wind are Roshar’s native gods. Many Forum folk think there is a spren of Stone and a separate spren of Wind. I do not. Stone speaks directly to Venli, and Wind speaks directly to Kaladin. No spren represent and speak on behalf of these gods in these scenes. Why have Spren as a separate god if spren are the also the gods of Stone and Wind? I suspect the Unmade – spren personifying the Surges? – are (or were) “Spren.” I think the Venli-Stone scene shows that Stone reacts directly to the tones of Roshar. Dawnsingers, IMO, used the harmonic tones of Cultivation and Honor to animate Stone. Venli’s Stone says Odium is now part of Roshar, and Venli can harmonize his tone with Cultivation’s. I’m unclear how Wind talks to Kaladin. It’s not through Syl, windspren, or the Stormfather. Syl doesn’t even hear Wind. Kaladin asks her, Strong evidence, I think, that Roshar is a living planet. Wit tells Kal to listen to the rhythm of Roshar that comes from its native gods: Whether as whispers on the wind or Rosharan Rhythms whose frequencies sound like words, Wind speaks to Kaladin directly. Why, then, was Wind silent until Odium changed Vessels? Wind’s Fear Kaladin thinks Wind fears the 10 days of battle before the contest of champions. What can be worse than the carnage Kaladin envisions? Worse for whom? Humans and Singers, or Wind itself? Worse for the cosmere if Odium launches his “greater war”? An Everstorm magnitudes more powerful than previous ones, designed to destroy the Stormfather, Honor’s Cognitive shadow, and Wind? This latter is my best guess. Your thoughts? Kaladin’s Ascension I’m confident Kaladin ascends, and the Fleet story describes how. The open question is what he ascends as. Wind, Wind’s Knight, Honor? Wind itself is a possibility. Wind has “vanished”: A long thread questions who wrote the Knights of Wind and Truth. This Epigraph sounds like it was written by the first of many people who added to the book. Maybe it was a journal or diary kept by each Knight of Wind. This particular Epigraph seems like it was written by Kaladin, Syl, or someone else the Wind spoke to. Regardless, if Wind has “vanished,” and remains “vanished,” perhaps a vacancy exists for Kaladin to fill. This fits the Fleet story. Kal ascending as the original Knight of Wind also makes sense and also fits Fleet. Will Kal ascend to Honor? With two other Shards around, and all the spren worrying how dangerous Surgebinding is without Honor, a mind to guide that Shard seems like a good idea. Kaladin is as likely as anyone to fill that role, for all the reasons Wit says. But I doubt Kal will become Honor in this book. That ascension doesn’t fit the Fleet story. I can see Kal possibly becoming Honor in Books 6-10. If other Shards or people decide to invade Roshar, Kal’s ascension to Honor may then be the planet’s only defense. Overall, I lean towards Wind. But who knows. Thanks for the read! C.

The I-2 Shard debate sketches the conundrum of human existence – how best do we organize ourselves to flourish with minimal suffering? The debate offers Brandon’s take on the ancient dialectic between Freedom and Order, the ideological poles that drive social systems. This post looks at the Shard debate in the context of Cultivation’s and Odium’s Intents. Cultivation Cultivation prefers to build systems. “We steer. We do not dominate.” A Shard can spare a child from death, but the child will die anyway unless the Shard changes the circumstance that causes the death. Systems prevent circumstance from reaching such exigency. The Growth Shard wants to cultivate society, allowing it to grow freely except for some pruning here and there. Systems establish guardrails and constraints to maintain and enforce Freedom. System-less anarchy is not Freedom...unless you’re a fan of the Purge movie franchise. Cultivation by its nature takes the long view. She is patient. As a dragon Vessel, Koravellium Avast is used to immortality even before her ascension. Pre- and post-Shattering, she’s seen all sorts of human systems rise and fall. I suspect her patience and long view is why she chose the Cultivation Shard. Her nature matches the Shard’s. Cultivation’s Intent ensures a higher tolerance for human suffering than Odium’s. If the system doesn’t work, she knows people may be hurt. Cultivation will prune the system to make it work better, but people may hurt more in the interim. Cultivation believes in “creative destruction.” Brandon says she’s like Ruin in her willingness to destroy. Death feeds Growth. Transformation. Which brings us to Odium... Odium Who wants One Shard to Rule Them All. Him. Odium suffers a complete disjunction between emotions and intellect. That’s the recipe for autism and depression. I have to wonder why such a Shard exists. What Adonalsium power requires him to sever his mind from his feelings? The consequence is that Odium can’t regulate his feelings. It’s why his emotions tend towards the extremes: rage, lust, and hatred. Odium eschews systems. This might be a feature of the Shard itself, since both Rayse and Taravangian want to rule the cosmere. Taravangian once was content to save his little piece of Roshar, the city of Kharbranth. Now he just wants to stop feeling the cosmere’s pain and suffering: Odium talks about saving people from misery, but I believe he doesn’t want to feel their pain personally. IMO, the Odium Shard is inherently selfish. Emotions like rage and hatred drive others away, as he drove away Cultivation. There’s an element of narcissism in Odium, the belief he can solve the problems others won’t or can’t: Fascism is born in the belief only you are the savior. Of course, to save those born in Kharbranth Taravangian was more than willing to sacrifice all other Rosharan humans. If he rules as the One God, what will he do to the cosmere to avoid feeling human “agony”? Kill them all? Conclusion I think the debate between the two Shards reflects their Intents. Patient, long-seeing Cultivation manages her mortal charges through systems. She believes in Freedom of choice, subject always to improving the system to prevent problems. Selfish, narcissistic Odium just wants to rule by himself. Unprotected by his logical side, Odium has no defense against the cosmere’s unceasing barrage of pain. He will impose his Order on the cosmere just to shut off the pain. The Shard Debate could not have gone any other way, as I suspect Cultivation already knew.

@Sasukerinnegan, your OP is well-written – Reasoned and Passionate. But I fear you place too much responsibility on the Vessels and not enough on Adonalsium. He created the cosmere as is. That includes suffering. The Shards simply inherited his work. Suffering acts as a spur to progress. If people are happy and content, with their needs satisfied, they’re unlikely to grow, as an individual or as a culture. The racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious divisions in a society offer fertile ground for suffering. Just sprinkle a little ambition here and there, and someone will try to benefit from those divisions. Many will suffer for that person’s ambition. One could easily argue only absolute uniformity – full clones of the creator – could end suffering. Create a total absence of differences – no “Others” – and you rid society of most suffering. The Shards can’t do more to eliminate suffering, at least not easily. Each Shard is only 1/16 of Adonalsium’s full power. They lack his cosmere omniscience, omnipotence, and omnipresence. To change their planet might be possible, but they’d have to keep their planet isolated and blissfully ignorant. And even then any differences among the planet’s people will cause some to suffer. To change the cosmere to eliminate suffering would require all 16 Shards to agree on a solution and to take joint action to achieve that solution. That will not and cannot happen. Even if the existing Vessels agree, some Shards are Splintered with no mind to guide them. Odium’s solution is to restore the One God. Kill the other Vessels and (maybe) absorb their Shards’ and the Splintered Shards’ Investiture. As a matter of pure Investiture, I suppose that might work. As a matter of Intent, maybe not. By the time TOdium completes his mission, he will be only Odium no matter how hard he tries. (Ati anyone)? Will he be able to Connect to other Shards when their Intents are so diverse? Unclear. And if he rules as the Odium Shard, his powers will be limited by his Intent and perhaps unable to accomplish what he wants. But if all that works, what do the Shards acting jointly or a new One God do? They can manage the cosmere, numb people to suffering, reduce pain around the edges as TOdium wants. But the problem remains. To totally eliminate pain, the Shards/One God would have to remake the cosmere from scratch. Maybe eliminate people and/or emotions altogether or create a bland, static uniformity among them. Pleasantly boring and unchanging. Hence, the Cultivation vs. Odium debate. So be a bit kinder to the Shards. They have enough problems managing their piece of the cosmere and guarding their backs. Remaking humanity isn’t on their radar. Only Odium feels human pain so intensely. The others DON’T view it as their responsibility to change a fundamental cosmere feature Adonalsium created. Maybe they just like change more than Odium does.

I wrote about this subject in the middle of a post on the Interludes thread. I’m sure nobody noticed, so I’ll repeat the gist of that message here. I’ve long argued Odium is the Shard of Broken Connections. I view Interlude 2 as more evidence. Odium is the Broken One, the Divided One, because of the COMPLETE SEPARATION OF HIS RIGHT BRAIN FROM HIS LEFT: “Odium was a person divided. One side thinking, the other feeling.” I believe this is a feature of the Shard itself, not a result of Cultivation’s boon/curse. This “broken Connection” between the two brain hemispheres causes the problem. While not fully true, the left side generally associates with logical, analytical, and intellectual traits, and the right side generally associates with emotional and creative traits. Odium cannot access both at the same time. Instead, he must switch back and forth. He controls this switch; it’s not arbitrary, like the boon/curse was: “The logical side of him asserted control, shoving down the side that simply wanted to rage.” I believe Odium’s broken Connection causes him trouble with self-regulation. Logic and passion can never temper one another at the same time. Like a sailing boat, Odium must tack between these conflicting winds and never point straight toward his goal. This requires a strong and steady hand on the rudder. Rayse couldn’t navigate this boat. Hoid thinks Rayse was a fool, presumably the kind who can’t control his emotions. Rayse's left brain couldn’t hold his right brain in check: Under Rayse, Odium was “Broken,” uncontrolled. Taravangian is not such a fool as Rayse. I agree with @CognitiveShadow that Cultivation’s boon/curse prepared Taravangian to hold the Odium Shard. As some note, there is a strong element of Vessel-Shard conflict here. The Shard has not fully imposed its compulsions on the Vessel; Taravangian remains Taravangian. But I think the division between the brain hemispheres is built into the Shard and causes logic and passion’s mutual exclusivity. And (sigh) I continue to believe Odium manipulates emotions by breaking/restoring both the Connections that directly affect emotions (right side of brain) and the Connections that constitute one’s culturally imposed conscience (left side of brain). To repeat my earlier post, turning off the conscience while turning on rage can be pretty effective in war. An army of berserkers...

You folks bring up so many interesting ideas. I learn as much from you as the reading. I’ll try to organize my thoughts into sections as I spin this stuff into a recognizable tapestry. So much to say, so little attention span to say it in... First, my weekly limerick summary of the new chapters: Poor Kalak discovers too late The Ghostbloods have just sealed his fate. Two Shards then converse, Though one is perverse - TOd's need for control will not sate. Free Will Brandon continues to highlight this major theme in these chapters. Examples: · Ala the seon lies. Kalak says, “He, more than any, should have realized the potential for spren to turn against you.” Uncoerced betrayal is an act of free will. (I wonder what spren first betrayed him and how?) This sub-theme of Investiture acting with free will continues the scenes of Gavilar’s shock that the Stormfather could lie and the Oathgate spren’s enlightenment. FWIW, I believe Brandon thinks Honor can be the antithesis of freedom: · Free will is the subject of Cultivation and Odium’s debate. More on that later... · The Ghostbloods are an undisciplined bunch who individually act with free will, often with their own interests in mind. Iyatil and Mraize seem to view assassination as a legitimate means of succession. Betrayal is part of their culture. How can anyone be sure who Ala reports to? Maybe to Felt, maybe to Kelsier, maybe to Fjorden’s Wyrn on Sel, sent to scout other planets to dominate through Shu-Dereth. · Even damaged Kalak shows free will, and I confidently predict he will join the Ghostbloods. He sounds like Kelsier’s alter ego: Will Kalak now join Shallan and Adolin’s expedition to the Spiritual Realm? Will Felt, Iyatil, and Mraize accompany them? Ooooh... Let’s hope Fortune guides our young marrieds. Taravangian’s Odium To ongoing ridicule, I’ve argued for almost 10 years that Odium is the Shard of Broken Connections. Thank you, Brandon, for giving me some more evidence. Odium is the Broken One, the Divided One, because of the COMPLETE SEPARATION OF HIS RIGHT BRAIN FROM HIS LEFT: “Odium was a person divided. One side thinking, the other feeling.” This “broken Connection” is the problem, not Cultivation’s boon/curse. In humans, bands of nerves and fiber connect the right and left sides of the brain. While not fully true, the left side associates with logical, analytical, and intellectual traits, and the right side associates with emotional and creative traits. Odium cannot access both at the same time. Instead, he must switch back and forth. He controls this switch; it’s not arbitrary, like the boon/curse was: “The logical side of him asserted control, shoving down the side that simply wanted to rage.” This broken Connection means Odium has trouble with self-regulation. Logic and passion can never temper one another at the same time. Like a sailing boat, Odium must tack between these conflicting winds and never point straight toward his goal. This requires a strong and steady hand on the rudder. Rayse was unequal to the task. Hoid thinks Rayse was a fool, presumably the kind who can’t control his emotions. Taravangian is not such a fool. I agree with @CognitiveShadow’s explanation of the boon/curse and how it shaped Taravangian to hold the Odium Shard: Hide your eyes if you’re tired of this, but I continue to believe Odium manipulates emotions by breaking/restoring both the Connections that directly affect emotions (right side of brain) and the Connections that constitute one’s culturally imposed conscience (left side of brain). Turning off the conscience while turning on rage can be pretty effective in war. An army of berserkers... Odium and Cultivation’s Conversation My vote for the best Interlude ever! A conversation between Shards! I love it! The Life Shard, purveyor of a putative Garden of Eden, trying to teach her younger, hyper-emotional colleague not to bite the apple! “Fully Given” At minimum, I think “fully given” means a person has exclusively accepted Odium’s Investiture. Because this is a promise made to Honor (and Cultivation), I suspect the person must accept Odium voluntarily. But IMO that’s less significant than the exclusivity. Here’s why. WaT’s cover highlights the phrase, “Honor is not dead...so long as he lives in the hearts of men!” This echoes an earlier WoR quote. On that book's last page, Wit says to Jasnah, “You’ll find God in the same place you’re going to find salvation from this mess…Inside the hearts of men.” Well...if Honor lives in the hearts of men, men can never be “fully given” to Odium. Men (“people” – just using Brandon’s word) at some point may be faced with the choice of whether to join Odium’s plan of cosmere conquest. But Odium can’t take any direct action against them if they refuse. Hmmm... Presumably that calculus applies to any who refuse to enlist with Odium. Listeners, Leshwi and her supporters, Sja-anat and the enlightened spren, certainly Radiants. What happens when Odium looks off-world for human supporters Invested by their resident Shards? Must they become Fused for him to control them? I think the “fully given” statement so early in the book, when compared with the repeated and prominent “Honor lives” quote, must have plot significance. “Outside Attack” Odium cannot break the “fully given” promise: What is an “outside attack”? Must the attack come only from another Shard? Nightblood destroyed Rayse but can’t destroy/consume a full Shard. But can Nightblood cause Shard One enough damage for Shard Two to finish Shard One? Can a series of magic users combine their powers and add to Nightblood’s damage (without exposing themselves to Nightblood)? Will future powerful machines be able to do this? Roshar’s native gods? Can you imagine Autonomy’s avatars swarming another Shard like piranhas, tearing chunks away? Shard Philosophy, Politics, and Theology This topic deserves its own thread, especially during the U.S. political season. Brandon seems to use Taravangian as his political philosophy weathervane. First his conversations with Dalinar. Now this one. They both end the same way: Taravangian follows his own path. He was willing to destroy Roshar just to save Kharbranth. What will he do to purge the cosmere of its pain and suffering? The Shard dialectic might be epitomized as “Influence vs. Control.” Cultivation favors free will. She will nudge here and there, prune this one or that one (as she did with Dalinar’s memories and Lift’s digestive system), but we have not seen her take unilateral direct, decisive action. To conquer the cosmere, Todium might be willing to act without limits except as bound by his Shardic promises. He wouldn’t care that his control would curtail mortal creativity as long as he reduces the cosmere’s pain. Cultivation fears culture and society would languish without the spurs of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Conquest, War, Famine, and Death. She wants to manage suffering, not eliminate it. Ishar He assumed the pain of the other Heralds? Who does that sound like? I can already hear Kal’s therapy session with Ishar, straight out of Good Will Hunting: “It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t your fault.” Say it six more times... Responses to Random Comments Aren’t we all? Logic is for after-the-fact rationalization and planning. Consensus may say Wind is “an old spren,” but I think Wind is one of Roshar’s native gods, the Eila Stele’s “spren, stone, and wind.” Stone and Wind speak directly to mortals without the intermediation of a spren. Unless Syl dies, and I don’t think she will, Kal is already bonded. If Kal becomes the Knight of Wind, will Rock become the Knight of Stone? * * * * * If nothing new occurs to me, until next week’s reading. All the best! C.

This theory continues to evolve. I posted an earlier version in the Chapter 12-13 thread. @Alder24 inspired this version when he reminded me of the Venli-Stone RoW scene. If you like this theory, please award him with the same reputation points that you award me (if any). These are just my musings and speculations, regardless of how affirmatively I express myself. Please remember that as you read. Summary Roshar is a living planet, and Cultivation is its natural Shard. The Eila Stele’s Spren, Stone, and Wind are Roshar’s native gods. Honor’s and Odium’s heavy Investiture has changed and almost silenced the native gods. Cultivation conceives and implements a plan to rid Roshar of Honor’s and Odium’s outsized influence. The Fleet story culminates her plan – a contest between the old gods and new, Wind vs. Storm – peace vs. conflict. Kal’s victory, as Fleet, marks his ascension. Spren, Stone, and Wind I think the Eila Stele names Roshar’s three pre-Shattering native gods: “spren, stone, and wind.” Wind has contacted Kal, asking for his help. Stone has talked to Venli, reveling in freedom after long stasis. Sja-anat enlightens Spren, giving them personal choice. It sounds like Roshar itself stirs and wants to shrug off Honor’s and Odium’s yoke. Brandon says Roshar’s special. I believe Roshar is a living, self-conscious planet. I think the planet manifests its consciousness through Spren, Stone, and Wind, each a separate being. I think Stone and Wind have achieved consciousness in their own name, not through the intermediation of a spren that represents them. Wind speaks directly to Kal, not through the Stormfather or any windspren. Stone speaks directly to Venli. Dawnsingers probably manipulated Stone without Spren, relying instead on Roshar’s tones like Venli does. Is “Spren” a single entity or all spren collectively? Stone and Wind seem universal; Stone is the ground – don’t walk on it! – while Wind blows everywhere. If you have the ability to talk to them, Stone and Wind appear alive and conscious everywhere. Stone might even have a hive mind, since they all talk at once. Spren also exist everywhere on Roshar, but each appears as an individually sentient or sapient entity. BAM and Sja-anat both influence spren. BAM somehow powers native “form” changes. Spren are central to changing forms. BAM’s imprisonment has disrupted Roshar itself and spren transformation. After Shallan frees BAM, we’ll know more about BAM’s role with spren. Sja-anat “enlightens” spren made from Honor’s and Cultivation’s Investiture to give them free choice. She apparently infuses enlightened spren with Odium’s Investiture. “Freedomlight” Cultivation’s Role If Roshar is a living planet, it makes sense the Oathgate spren want freedom from Honor and Odium but not Cultivation. Even before the Shattering, Cultivation’s power seems indispensable to Roshar. IMO, her power is “Transformation,” the interconvertibility of Investiture, matter, and energy – how Lift obtains her Investiture. Venli notes Cultivation has long guided her people: If we assume Spren, Stone, and Wind do predate the Shattering, we have to conclude Adonalsium substantially Invested the living planet using his Cultivation power. Roshar must have a lot of Cultivation’s assigned Investiture. Post-Shattering, Honor and Cultivation move to Roshar. My guess is Cultivation chooses a planet with large amounts of her assigned Investiture. Honor follows. Ashlyn humans later bring Odium. Honor and Odium heavily Invest Roshar. Honor’s Stormfather became the planet’s most powerful spren. Highstorms subsume Wind and dominate the ecosystem. Odium unmakes the Unmade into his creatures. Whatever Honor and Cultivation do to trap Odium in the Rosharan system also requires major Investiture commitments. As Stone tells Venli, With Shards ascendant, Spren, Stone, and Wind dwindle. Now at the end of all things, truly the Final Desolation, Roshar’s original gods appear ready to reclaim their primacy. Cultivation’s Goal In 2018, I wrote a post entitled “Cultivation’s Long-Term Plan,” much of which I now disown. Here’s the gist: "Cultivation is the Growth Shard. Roshar has stopped growing. The Growth Shard feels compelled to change that." IMO, Cultivation abhors stagnation. The Desolations are like laundry – wash, rinse, dry...Repeat. Like laundry, civilization thins and suffers. As the personification of thought, spren civilizations suffer too. Cultivation chooses Roshar as her home. She knows the native gods in their original state; some are part of her assigned Investiture. I suspect Cultivation doesn’t interfere with the native gods. Honor, though, imposes rules and strictures on the native gods consistent with his Intent. Wind bows to the fierce Stormfather. The Eila Stele claims Odium brings death and destruction to Roshar. I think Cultivation acted to change Roshar’s vector. She might have assisted in Tanavast’s death and helped shepherd his fading mind into the Stormfather. She definitely “pruned” Dalinar’s memories to enable him to survive and grow. I believe Cultivation made Lift “awesome.” She might have granted Taravangian’s boon/curse, helped him create the Diagram, and brought about Rayse’s death and Taravangian’s ascension. Regardless of how the Contest of Champions resolves, I suspect many combatants will join forces to pursue cosmere conquest. Odium will lead them and leave Roshar. I predict those who remain will live in harmony with Roshar’s native gods and a changed ecosystem. Koravellium Avast will “retire” as Cultivation’s Vessel, and Lift will succeed her. Lift will heal the planet...and never be hungry again. Fleet is Wind’s Champion Just as Shards choose their Champions, I believe the old Rosharan gods do as well. That is the context for the Fleet story, the battle of Wind vs. Storm. Fleet (Kal) is Wind’s Champion, and the Stormfather is Honor’s Champion. Perhaps more than the Honor-Odium contest, Fleet’s race will determine the future of Roshar. I replace “Fleet” with “Kal.” Kal’s body dies before the finish line, but his will holds the Storm at bay. Kal and Syl’s shared consciousness – their conjoined soul – rises to race to victory. I believe this is the moment of Kal’s ascension. Roshar’s native gods rule once more. Conclusion Kal and Syl ascend. To what? A topic for another day. Thanks for reading my latest speculations. All the best! C.

That was...uneventful. Boring even. Reminds me of the title of the Raymond Chandler novel made by Robert Altman into a film noir classic, The Long Goodbye. (Sorry, Laran.) Kal’s fully healed, inside and out, and keeps his Bridge Four tattoo. Nice to know. Chapter 13 even ends with a flight into the sunset, with the bonded lovers holding hands. How sweet! And Shardpuppies! Ohhhh!!! But there is some grist for the theory-crafting mill. Here’s my latest speculations and questions: Sja-anat’s Plan To me, Sja-anat’s influence is by far the most intriguing aspect of this release. She wants the Oathgate spren to have “freedom” from both Honor’s and Odium’s influence. “We become something else. Not Odium. Not Honor. Free.” As others point out, the spren don’t mention Cultivation. This seems of a piece with a developing theme: the attempt by Roshar’s sapient Investiture to rid themselves of at least Honor and Odium. Adonalsium affirmatively designed Roshar as a unique creation. We don’t know exactly what he did or why, but I favor the idea that Roshar is a living planet with its own mind. I speculate Roshar evolved large sapient spren that included the precursors to at least some of the Unmade, the Stormfather, the Nightwatcher, and possibly others. I think this is why the Wind wants Kal’s help, to gain her freedom. Honor and Cultivation came to Roshar together post-Shattering. I think Honor Invested some of the pre-Shattering spren to make them his own. Perhaps the Stormfather subsumes the Wind or maybe the Singer Rider of Storms (if different). Then Odium came and Invested the Unmade. From the spren’s perspective, the Shards changed and enslaved them, then made them take sides and fight in the Shard-Wars. Now Roshar’s sapient spren want their freedom. Brandon always emphasizes the importance of choice. It will be interesting to see how this develops. I think part of the spren rebellion will involve... Kal and Szeth as the Wind’s Champions The Chapter 13 epigraph identifies Kal and Szeth as the Wind’s Champions. This phrasing suggests Kal and Szeth stand on equal footing with Dalinar and Odium’s Champions. What will this mean? Possibilities: Since Kal is unlikely to attend the Battle of Shard Champions, he and Szeth must act after that battle ends. Consensus thinks Todium will rely on a loophole to defeat Dalinar, perhaps involving Gavinor. What is the Wind’s interest in that outcome? If the Wind’s Champions defeat the Shard’s Champion, what happens? The Shards have to leave Roshar? Odium wants to leave anyway. Maybe he takes all his Investiture with him on the way out and binds himself never to return? (After millennia as a captive, why would he?) What of mindless Honor? If Kal is the Wind’s Champion, I don’t see him ascending to Honor. But someone will have to; otherwise Honor’s Investiture may become sentient on its own with uncertain consequences. If not Kal, then who? Suggestions anyone? Kal and Shallan’s Promised Meeting I agree with those who say Kal’s promised meeting with Shallan will happen. Honor is the Shard of promises, and Fortune favors Shallan. It’s doubly inevitable. I love to imagine this meeting. Kal waits at a table in Silverlight. With Shard-Wars raging everywhere, Silverlight becomes the cosmere’s Casablanca, neutral territory stuffed with refugees. In walks Shallan by herself. (She may still be with Adolin – I’m not going down the “my brother’s dead” rabbit hole – but Shallan meets Kal alone). He looks up, pleased. “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” Or maybe the better image is from the end of Batman Returns. Alfred shows up at a Paris restaurant finally to discover Bruce Wayne with a woman – Batman and Catwoman dining together. They raise their glasses in mutual salute. So...who plays Alfred? Who thinks of Kal as his son? Dalinar? Wit? Unfinished Business Two questions that have been discussed to death but still unsolved. First, why do people think Chana is Shallan’s mother? I get the resemblance and all, but what are the theories that permit a dead person to give birth to multiple children? Yeah, Chana’s a Cognitive Shadow, but she’s still dead. Did someone other than her husband spike her uterus? (Ba-Dum.) Second, I’ve read different explanations for the Stormfather slipping from italicized font speech to small caps font speech. Why isn’t the simplest the best? The Stormfather as spren talks in italics, and Honor’s Cognitive Shadow talks in small caps like all the other Shards do? I haven’t reviewed all the instances of SF talk to see if this works. Does Honor’s CG say something uncharacteristic of the Shard? This Week’s Limerick Finally, my limerick summary of these chapters: Kal says “Goodbye” to Bridge Four. My guess is he’ll see them no more. “Freedom,” say ‘Gate spren, “From Shards and from all men.” Kal hugs(!) as he exits the door.

I have long believed the original Vessels killed Adonalsium with some sort of Cognitive “bomb” – a device to kill Adonalsium’s mind but leave his Investiture available to be Shattered and allocated among the Vessels. Perhaps made from aluminum? Unclear. Regardless, I think the “explosion” left its mark on the Cognitive Realm, which at the time was Adonalsium’s brain, so to speak. On earth, volcanic eruptions of heated magma that suddenly cools create obsidian. The sudden cooling makes the rock glass-like. I think killing Adonalsium did this to the Cognitive Realm, turning its walls and floor into obsidian. Each subastral manifests its planet’s perceptions and forms – beads, mist, etc. (Plasma?) But IIRC the walls and floor of each subastral and the places between subastrals are obsidian. FWIW.