Ramza1890

On 4/20/2021 at 10:38 AM, KenzoBlue said:

I think El is a good candidate and agree that he may be the most likely pick. That being said I think Ishar is my theory. Ishar has already been very corrupted by Rayse and we know he's capable of some very devious acts. Ishar like all the Heralds is going insane which leaves him in a very vulnerable mental state to be manipulated. From Odium's point of view this decision makes perfect sense. Odium knows Dalinar will be his own champion and he knows that Dalinar is very unpracticed at his abilities. Dalinar needs Ishar to teach him. If Odium could fully corrupt Ishar before Dalinar can learn from him then Dalinar has to face Ishar in battle he will be at a severe disadvantage as his counterpart has had thousands of years to master the art if being a bondsmith.

This all being said I believe a pivotal part near the start of book 5 will be a "race" of sorts by Dalinar and Odium to sway Ishar to their side. Whoever ends up with Ishar on their side may very well win the contest of champions.

I was thinking it might be a Herald as well and I think Ishar would be the obvious choice but what if, and here me out, it was Taln?

RoW heavily featured d Ishar's skill but just a passing mention about Taln's incredible prowess. Brando wanted us to see that Ishar would be more than a match for Dalinar's champion so that the reader would believe him a realistic candidate and hopefullyshift focus away from other Heralds.

Odium and Taln were alone on Braize for centuries who knows what insidious thoughts or mentalities Odium inflicted upon Taln and there were no other Heralds there to witness any collusion. What if Taln is some sleeper agent now for Odium and Odium blocked away that section of Taln's mind/memory?

So the third Bondsmith spren, the one that is slumbering, Urithiru?

Also, just checked Brandon's website and just FYI there is still no progress bar for book 4... 

I loved Adolin's realization in Shadesmar that he was king.

I HATE THAT STORMING MOASH

After reading all the preview chapters and reading the dialogue between Kaladin and the freed pashmen I believe that the parshmen that Kaladin interacted with will not march to war. They will recognize that bonding to the Odiumspren is just another form of slavery just to a different entity. I honestly hope that we get no more about those parshmen except that they said forget all this storming war, we are going to go hide in the hills until this is over.

So how does everyone think Jasnah and Kaladin will get along?

18 minutes ago, Unknowingly said:

This seems important somehow. Why would the Fused that imitate Windrunner abilities cause Syl pain? Could it be possible that the Fused are bonded with an Honor Spren that has been corrupted somehow, similar to shardblades, and that is why Syl reacts like she has? What do you all think?

Do think perhaps it's because these Fused are the Windrunner's counterpart and somehow linked to anti-WIndrunner Un-made? Pattern was a mess when Shallan "entered" Re-Shiphir because Re-Shiphir was like a terrible, bastardized Creationspren.

I think that Syl swatting the Gloryspren away from Kaladin could possibly be more than just a humorous spot. Is it possible that some Gloryspren are actually spren that could bond to Radiants? Like Syl's resemblance to a Windspren prior to her bond.

2 minutes ago, What's a Seawolf? said:

Knowing Brandon, her 7th, 8th and 9th personality will all come about quickly in the final few chapters, and we'll have 3 years of theory crafting regarding Shallan=Odium's Champion.

Only for the first chapter of book 4 to reveal a 10th and 11th.

If that were the case then I wouldn't visit this forum after I finished book 3 until they started releasing book 4 chapters.

Man, when Shallan has 9 different personalities exactly this forum is going to lose it's mind.

I believe that this might lead to Shallan creating another persona to interact with Kaladin, similar to Radiant insofar as it looks and sounds just like Shallan but performs a specific function for Shallan that she herself might not be able to handle.

This is exactly what I wanted out of this thread.

How much would you folks be willing to pay to have the book today? Personally I think $75 is my limit.

35 minutes ago, Belzedar said:

Stormlight? Are these gemlike veins a stormlight power distribution grid?

Is it me, or does Urithiru look more like a spaceship every week? With enough stormlight, could it blast off to Braize or Ashyn?

This story definitely seems meaningful, and I think @Hyarmenatan nailed it with the Shinovar connection.

But no one is talking about that scarf. It's not essential to the story, but it's featured very prominently. Either it's a metaphor for something important, or it's awakened.

Definitely a spren of Odium, but I think it's premature to assume it's an Unmade. It could be, but it could also be a generic footsoldier. There could be dozens of these things, invisible to non-radiants, spreading violence and mayhem all over the world. How many unsolved murders happen every year in a large city?

Two major persons of interest are very close to Marat: Tezim and the Nightwatcher. There's a lot in that region we don't understand.

But, glancing at the map, I can't help but notice that the Valley seems surrounded. It's got Marat, where the voidbringers are massing, to the south; it's got Azir, which is negotiating with them, to the west; and it's got the whole "gone dark" area to the east. Something's up, I think. The Nightwatcher has something the enemy wants.

 

Do you think perhaps that this is why Dalinar's memories of Evi are starting to return? Because the Nightwatcher is focused on the looming invasion and because of that Dalinar's Boon/Curses lapsed?

Did the death of the random horse hit anyone else harder than it probably should have. The way Dalinar just walked away from the creature who had died for no good reason just made me madder at Dalinar than anything else in the chapter.

I was told yesterday that important leadership would be visiting my office for most of the day today and my first thought wasn't about how I could impress them or what I would I would discuss with them, it was, "damnation it now I'm not going to be able to read the storming new chapters at work." If I get reprimanded for lack of effort before Oathbringer drops I am absolutely blaming this Tuesday trickle of Oathbringer chapters.

20 minutes ago, frozndevl said:

As has been discussed before, I don't think that the wording of the request is critical at all. The Nightwatcher seems to give people what she (he?) thinks is most appropriate, regardless of the request. I think that Navani focusing on that is a red herring.

I still believe that the wording is important. What if the memories are returning because now Dalinar, in a happy relationship with Navani, is better equipped to deal with the loss of his wife. If the boon/curse was to remove the memories that brought him intense pain then perhaps Dalinar's current incarnation now has the tools to deal with all those painful memories.

1 hour ago, Pagerunner said:

And the emphasis on stone in her manner of movement makes me think she's a cousin to something like a stonespren, the same way Syl is cousin to windspren. So, I'm holding out for a reveal that this spren is actually a Radiant spren, but returning back to the listeners instead of bonding Radiants. (Still holding a grudge over the Recreance.)

I really do like this idea. She is described as being yellow-white color of the center of a flame which is a very similar hue to amber. I think that if Brandon had stated that spren was amber colored it would have given away too much. I don't think it is a coincidence that the Shin people worship stone and that this spren, who has the potential to be a Stonewarden Spren, is described as having the same characteristics as someone from Shinovar. Perhaps the Shin started worshiping stone because the Stonewarden Spren looked so much like themselves.

I know it is a bit crackpotted and I am sure you fine folks will let me have it. (That isn't a condemnation of this board, I really do enjoy having my crackpot theories logically dissected(that wasn't sarcasm))

51 minutes ago, What's a Seawolf? said:

The Tezim=Ishar theory just went up a few points in my book.  If the connection wasn't so blatant in Dalinar's chapter, I'd be fully on board.

Likewise did the 'Dalinar asked to forget his wife' theory, and thus he is remembering Evi because he has a new wife.  (If/when he starts forgetting Navani those scenes could be brutal to read.)

The phrasing used by Dalinar in his request of the Nightwatcher is sooooo critical. That is the piece of dialogue I am looking forward to most I think.

13 minutes ago, Subvisual Haze said:

I think you're kind of missing the point of the greater conflict.  Odium is hatred.  The world has taught itself to view the conflict as one between humans and parshmen, when really that's just serving to strengthen Odium's position.  A never-ending battle and generations of ingrained hatred is exactly what Odium would want.  War, hatred, atrocities, and slavery just breed more of the same.  When Honor's vision was telling Dalinar to unite "them", he likely wasn't just referring to humanity, but all sentient life on Roshar, Parshendi included.

The only way to defeat Odium is to break the cycle of hate between humans and Parshendi.  And right now Kaladin may be the only person to grasp that his oaths to protect don't stop with the human race.  In this sense you're right, Kaladin may indeed become the betrayer of his side on the surface-level conflict, but doing so is the opposite of becoming Odium's champion.  He will be truly embodying the principles of honor and opposing the machinations of Odium, perhaps for the first time since the Recreance.

Actually, now I'm starting to become convinced that this is the true cause of the Recreance.  Ishi and the Heralds thought they saw a way to break the cycle of Desolations, and used the power of the Bondsmiths (perhaps not telling them the full details of what they were doing) to brutalize the souls of Parshendi everywhere.  Witnessing the results of their actions: the enslavement and lobotomizing of nearly the entire Parshendi race, was too morally repulsive to support and the old Radiants abandoned their orders.  The Radiants were probably remembered as traitors by humanity for just this reason, they didn't go along with the mass-enslavement of the Parshendi.

I mean I understand what Odium is, I'm just not totally sure whether Kaladin will elevate the Parshendi's mindset or allow himself to fall back into anger and hatred.

12 minutes ago, Kalinovsky said:

Specifically, hatred of someone due to their actions.

I can see the Parshmen stoking Kaladin's hatred again.

7 minutes ago, Calderis said:

That wasn't my point at all. It's not just going to be slaves and people who feel disadvantaged. 

It's all going to about choice. The things Kaladin is doing are for the right reasons. He recognizes that yes, these people are angry, but they're angry for reasons that are justified and that the humans here are wrong. What he's learning needs to be learned. 

Dalinar is operating under the idea that all of these Parshmen are Evil. How much different do you think this would be if instead of try to set up the world to kill an enemy, they were looking to the Azir and trying to negotiate and create a lasting peace? 

The more brutal the fighting is to start, the more of the Parshmen will willing throw themselves into Voidforms. What Kaladin is doing is the only way to try and prevent that. They need to be seen for the people they are, and have their Autonomy and dignity both built up and respected. 

What was your point then? Was it not that humans and parshmen are going to be on both sides of the battle? I agreed with that I just outlined what kinds of humans/parshmen might be drawn to Odium's cause and why.

I can totally understand why Kaladin is doing what he is doing with the parshmen I just worry that their situation might wear down his conviction and make him vulnerable to corruption.

One of them will end up being the betrayer and I think Kaladin's betrayal would come as the most shocking.

2 minutes ago, Starla said:

I don't think he would distinguish between Alethi/Parshman who need help. The parshmen haven't become voidbringers yet. He is helping them in the same way he helped the human bridgemen and his former fellow slaves, and their species/race does not matter. I cannot see him siding with Odium and voidbringers against the humans he has protected, including the bridgemen, his family, and the general innocent commoners of Roshar,

I think his focus will be to prevent the parshmen from becoming voidbringers, and serving as a bridge between them and humans. Untransformed parshmen could be an asset to fight alongside humans against the voidbringers. I see this dilemma as fulfilling his Windrunner oaths, not breaking them.

That is really what I hope as well. I don't want Kaladin to become Odium's champion I can just see how the story might unfold that way. I want Kaladin to fly into battle against the Voidbringers surrounded by all his Bridgemen/Parshendi squires. I mean how incredible would it be to see, in the inevitable Kaladin comes to the rescue scene in Oathbringer, a bunch of former Parshmen and Bridgemen land in a circle on the field of battle with Kaladin landing in the middle of them a few seconds later. I would have chills again.

2 minutes ago, Aon Ati said:

"...and one of them will betray us." from Way of Kings. STOP SCARING ME! I don't want Kaladin to be the bad guy!

RIGHT??? This is what I was thinking too!

5 minutes ago, kiapet said:

I highly doubt empathy for one's enemy is a trait evil enough to lead one to join Odium. And again, Kaladin has already seen the Alethi elite at their worst, and chose to stick with Dalinar because he is a just man with the intention and power to save the world. Kaladin knows that in the end, millions of innocent people would die if he sided with these Parshmen as they became Voidbringers; that's why it hurts him so much to befriend them now.

I don't think that this will happen overnight. If he travels too long with these Parshmen he might grow attached to them in a similar fashion to how he felt about Bridge Four. If he replicates the level of desire to protect them as he had with Bridge Four and they still decide to go to war with their former oppressors I think Kaladin will have a real moral dilemma on his hands.

1 minute ago, Calderis said:

Here's your problem. What makes you think "humans" are the good guys here? 

I think we're going to have members of both races on both sides of this fight. Being human doesn't mean a thing. 

I think that is an incredibly likely theory that there will be members of both races on both sides of this fight. I can see human slaves fighting for Odium because it represents a chance to turn the status quo on it's head. It represents a chance to topple the ruler ship by eye color system that gives an unfair shake to those people born with a darker shade of eye. I can see Kaladin attaching himself to those ideals. Right now I think he is still far more like a  disgruntled slave than a proper Alethi.