Isaiah Zayth

I… I voted wrong. I clicked before I read the rules.

It’s definitely the Heralds. My bad, lions.

2 hours ago, MagicMaggot said:

Not sure I like the "city in the spiritual realm " precedent much, though. But I guess we'll see how that plays out when we actually explore life there. 

I think Taravangian will try to reduce the impact this secret has on him by setting up his family and people in the physical realm. He'll need to develop a whole mythology that explains why they would need to leave Karbranth, but given the strange way time works in the spiritual realm, it's possible.

It seems like he has direct control over how much time passes given what happened to Gavinor, so perhaps he allows multiple generations to live our their days in the SR while only a year or so passes in the PR. He could foster seeds for why they would need to leave and foster totally different names/terms for any history that would tie them to Karbranth, then move them to another world (potentially one that he conquers). That would make it much harder to reveal his secret.

Then again... the only people who can get to the SR are Bondsmiths, right? So right now, there isn't anyone on Roshar able to get to the SR. Navani is in a coma and Ishar is off chilling with Kaladin learning how to be sane again.

I liked the decision and it was an excellent way to install a weakness for Taravangian that will very likely be exploited in the back half of the series.

It’s also interesting to consider that Jasnah has a very good case for retribution against Taravangian for exposing her as a hypocrite in the Fen debate and then showing himself as a complete hypocrite by saving his family.

It’s very possible the power of Retribution would agree with Jasnah if she exposes Taravangian’s secret, thereby causing the power to resist something Taravangian wants to do at a key point in the future. 

19 hours ago, Storyspren said:

El is Kelsier.

Am I out of the loop on something? I thought Thaidakar was confirmed to be Kelsier.

From the way Shallan was talking to Kelsier at the end of the book, it feels like he wouldn't want to get sucked into the time dilatation on Roshar. He estimated it would last 80 years and that's way too long for Kelsier to be out of the loop.

9 hours ago, wormotif said:

Corrupted spren is a fair point, and/or I agree that 5th Oath Skybreaker (or just exploiting his ancient status as king, as you cleverly note) could be compatible with his behavior in the present. But attracting a highspren seems to require a willingness to follow the rules, at least for a time - i.e., trust the judgement of others over your own. Everything we've seen of El suggests that that's anathema to his personal creed and always has been.

Is it possible that at some point in the past El was involved with creating one of the other “factions” of Skybreakers that Nale mentions?

Chapter 52 epigraph also mentions them:

Perhaps the quest that Szeth undertakes to find the dissenting Skybreakers will someone involve El.

In general, I do agree that he leans more towards Dustbringer with his sense of complete emotional control, but… is it possible he could be bonded to both a Highspren (possibly corrupted) and an Ashspren?

Honestly, someone like Syl. Caring, honest, understanding, not a pushover, and someone who doesn't let Kaladin get inside his own head.

I'm OK with Brandon waiting for a book or two before introducing a love interest for Kaladin. I love Syl and Kaladin's relationship and I don't want someone to interrupt it right now.

10 minutes ago, Rainier said:

Exactly this. Anything that doesn't start with 'Destroy' is a good start. Like, 'Cut when drawn' is better than 'Destroy Evil.'

Although given how Vasher says that more complicated ideas are harder to fix in your mind, you might not have much choice.

Speculation on the sword's command is great, though. I really hope we get to see Nightblood (the Warbreaker sequel) before the next Stormlight book, although realistically it's more likely to precede Szeth's book (book 5), as he is its current bearer.

"Cut when drawn" is certainly better than "Destroy evil", but it sure would make scabbarding the sword difficult. 

33 minutes ago, fail420 said:

I just had to sign up to the forums to get this out.

I just absolutely loath Shallan, every time I see her name in the book I just want to skip the whole chapter.

I kind of liked her when I started reading the series but the more we progress  through the story, the more I find she's just a badly written character.

I feel like a beta nerdy virgin would imagine women are just like her. It disgusts me and that comes in extreme contrast to all the other characters and the rest of the story that I love so much.

I don't want to hint to any spoilers, but when she starts imagining she's another person and drawing that rust on her pad... Eck, the cringe, I barely could finish reading the sentence, it physically hurts me to read these parts.

Anyone else feeling like that?

1

Just out of curiosity, are you male or female? Please don't answer if you don't want to! 

When I was in my mid-teens, still a virgin (and very much a nerd), I actually thought most girls were like Jasnah - super smart, seemingly self-obsessed, and way out of my league. I was relatively smart in middle school and high school, which meant I took classes with students 1-2 grades above my own. I have a strong feeling that my Jasnah-colored glasses came about as a result of being around students so much older than me. (I'm male, btw).

When I got to college, I met my first Shallan - someone who initially comes off as very quiet and demure, but who ends up being suuuuper sarcastic and smart when you get to know her. We ended up dating for a while and though it didn't work out, we are both still friends today. 

I say all this for a reason: Jasnah is the one who annoys me in Oathbringer. Shallan is actually one of my favorite characters and I love reading her PoVs. Clearly, my history has a huge influence on this, which is why I asked after your gender. I've found that most girls I know dislike Shallan, while a lot of the guys think she's cute.

On 11/19/2017 at 6:26 AM, Stromblessed said:

Yeah, that fight was anticlimactic. Surgebinders could heal from most wounds that would have otherwise been fatal ( Shallan gets shot in the forehead ffs). So why does  someone bonded with Yelignar, one of the Unmade have such an obvious weak spot that he got rekt by 2 arrows ?(albeit really big ones)

Probably the same reason Elokhar died: he was killed before the bonding process was complete. If that's not the explanation, then it could always be because he wasn't holding enough Voidlight to heal from Shardbow arrow strikes. I think that's the Rosharian equivalent of getting hit with a .50 cal.

On 11/25/2017 at 5:53 AM, FuzzyWordsmith said:

So, uh, that particular WoB made me think of something. (Link is here for the full one: https://wob.coppermind.net/events/36-arcanum-unbounded-chicago-signing/#e1555)

The way Brandon responded, and the we. I have had this nagging feeling for a while, but this seems to solidify it. Did Cultivation help Rayse kill Tanavast? Because we know Tanavast was growing increasingly erratic near the end. We know that Rayse was already bound for a while before Tanavast was killed. We know Cultivation is willing to "prune" things not conducive to growth. I think it might be possible that because she thought Tanavast was doing more harm than good, she helped Rayse kill him. That would make him saying "We killed you" make a lot more sense if referring to Honor.

Perhaps this is the secret that prompted the Recreance?

We know there was infighting amongst the Knights Radiant before the Recreance. Perhaps knowledge that: 1) humans were the true Voidbringers, 2) Honor was going crazy, and 3) Surgebinding was powerful enough to destroy a whole planet caused Cultivation to seek a pact with the Knights in which they would abandon their Oaths, she would allow/help Odium remove Honor, and the Skybreakers would be tasked with preventing the Knights from returning.

Seems far-fetched, but... hey, most theories are, especially directly after a new Stormlight book.

The moment Szeth considered swearing his 3rd Ideal to Dalinar, I got a huge smile on my face. When he plunged from the sky awash with light and bisected the thunderclast with Nightblood I pumped my fists in the air and whooped aloud. The mental image of Dalinar Kholin standing strong in front of a vast horde of Fused with Kaladin and Szeth by his side immediately invaded my mind and hasn't left since.

Storms, I can't wait to see what the three of them can do together.

Also: it will be fun to see Kal and Szeth argue over who is better at protecting Dalinar.

On 11/7/2017 at 1:36 PM, The Invested Beard said:

Even better, Jasnah and Shallan conspire to do away with Mraize.

Even better, Mraize and Chicken join forces to ship Jasnah and Shallan, driving both Adolin and Kaladin to despair and allowing Stick to become an actual thorn in Odium's side.

And thus, my poll was destroyed, falling to the earth like a Windrunner forsaken by the sky.

With that WoB I think it’s pretty safe to assume Jasnah arrived alone and the people with her are just family and friends.  I’m still holding on to the idea that she picked up some people along the way - hoping they’ll be squires or potential Radiants - but I’m thinking the chances are low. 

1 hour ago, Salkara said:

Mraize seems like the type of character who would have a backup plan for Jasnah's reappearance. I think it's possible he may try to come to an agreement with her. I expect Jasnah to have grown after her recent experiences, so maybe she'd be open to an accommodation with Mraize.

One of the reasons I'm excited for Jasnah's arrival is that she seemed to know more about the Ghostbloods than we did, and I'm hoping she'll share some of it this time.

Do we have any reason to believe Mraize has offered Jasnah a position amongst the Ghostbloods in the past? Jasnah has used assassins against members opposing her family, which means she wouldn't be against the Ghostbloods because of their methods, but because of their message. This indicates she may have interacted with someone high up in the organization (perhaps even Mraize himself) and turned them down when they offered her the position.

As an aside, Shallan is affiliated with the Ghostbloods out of the need for information, but I don't think she would have taken such a position if she knew Jasnah was still alive. If Jasnah and Shallan had arrived at the Shattered Plains together, I believe they would have sought out Mraize and his people to eradicate them, not join them. If Shallan associates closely with Jasnah (which she probably will), I think Shallan loses her position overnight if Jasnah ends up being hostile to the Ghostbloods. It's a very convoluted situation that has a lot of potential outcomes, very few of them positive.

48 minutes ago, ZenBossanova said:

I like to imagine Jasnah walking into the throne room of some monarch, not speak a word, activate the oathgate, and walk out the door to Urithiru. All while the monarch and his retinue go from asking why she is here, to asking what just happened. 

I have decided I also like imagining this.

24 minutes ago, Govir said:

Mraize doesn't "have" Shallan's brothers. Although he implies he can reach them. He tells Shallan that he won't do anything with them, that they are a gift to her. This is from WoR, although I don't have the exact quote. It's at the end, when she meets him in Urithiru during exploration.

15 minutes ago, gbazz4 said:

I may be off, but i thought in the in the Oathbringer chapter where Shallan talks to Mraize he implies he has them by saying something like his people have rescued them. 

He tells her that his people are in contact with her brothers and they are currently taking her brothers to Urithiru. But my question is this: do you guys actually trust a man like him?

I don’t for one minute expect him to treat Shallan fairly if she starts getting in his way. Don’t forget that the Davars still owe the Ghostbloods a soul caster and (potentially) a shard blade (if Shallan’s eldest brother did indeed “borrow” that blade from the Ghostbloods and they want to extract the price from those still alive). Even if Shallan has worked towards paying that debt down, Mraize is a man with a chicken.

Never trust a man with a chicken.

14 minutes ago, Toaster Retribution said:

I want to see Mraize's face when learning of Jasnah's return though. 

 

I'll second that. Wonder if Mraize will ask/manipulate/threaten Shallan to spy on Jasnah. After all, he claims to have Shallan's brothers and there's nothing about Mraize that strikes me as honorable. 

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

Crappy cliffhanger?

That would, quite literally, be the greatest cliffhanger in the history of cliffhangers.

To the point where I'd bounce around to every bookstore within hundreds of miles until I found someone willing to give me the book early.

 

In terms of plot development, yes. In terms of taking away from the fact that Jasnah is back... I think it would be a little over the top.

Also, I read that sentence like Chris from Parks and Rec.

Quote

Possibly including her mother, step father, brother, and her other step brother too. 

Great point. This is probably the most likely situation, but a guy can dream.

11 minutes ago, Pagerunner said:

The first interludes appear at the end of Part 1, which is where we just got to. So, it might not be the first interlude after Chapter 32, but it will be in that batch.

Right! But the fact they are making a decision on which interlude to share makes me suspicious they're picking something less important to the main plot. Just a hunch.

The fact that Sanderson didn't include any details about the group that arrived with Jasnah makes sense. For one, Shallan wouldn't care about anyone else but Jasnah, so from her POV it makes sense she wouldn't notice specifics amongst the others. It also makes for a crappy cliffhanger if the sentence reads, "At the head of the group of two squires, the Queen of Alethkar, Vivenna, the King's Wit, a girl who was clearly awesome, and a couple of random kandra, was Jasnah Kholin."

That being said, I have a feeling that at least one important person has joined Jasnah on her trip to Urithiru. I have a feeling that the group with her will end up being some of her Squires. Post a thought in the comments if you agree or disagree!

Awesome news! I assume this means the interlude won't be chronological with the previews we've already seen.

Will be interesting to see if we get Kramer or Reading first! Love both of them, so I don't really care.

7 hours ago, Marethyu316 said:

I'd argue that it isn't entirely clear that Naln isn't broken, too. I think there's pretty good evidence that none of the Heralds currently have "full control of their morality and minds", unless you're talking about during the prelude.

Edgedancer spoiler

  Hide contents

Lift hugging him and then something visibly changing in him suggests to me that there is more going on than we thought.

 

 

Before that interaction with Lift, Naln built up a river's worth of guilt he continually shoved down by telling himself the "ends justify the means". As soon as Lift opens his eyes to the Everstorm, the dam breaks and all that guilt floods in. So while I would agree that Naln is currently broken, I don't think he was broken before that crucial meeting with Lift.

3 minutes ago, WhiteLeeopard said:

Maybe Nalan or Szeth. As I have zero intention of ever forgiving Amaram or T even if they save Roshar and single handedly defeat Odium.

1 minute ago, Necessary Eagle said:

Szeth?

I find it interesting that Szeth didn't even cross my mind. I wonder if it's because I see him more as a victim than a villain? Clearly, he's done evil things, but he's also broken. Naln, Taravangian, and Amaram had full control of their morality and minds when they made their choices. It's a weak argument, but I still hold by Szeth being a victim of men more brutal than him.

Quote

"And we see old villains in new lights, and wonder if we can ever really forgive them."

That's got to be either Amaram or Naln, maybe both. Thoughts?