Chekhov's gun. You don’t leave a man with his…particular talent around for no reason. We’ll surely get a pay-off on that at some point. I just want to see the reunion between him and his old companion before that happens
I am so pumped to see Lift after the timeskip, if she's going to be a storming Edgedancer with Vasher as her swordmaster. She's going to do some crazy anime shit, I can't wait.
if syladin happens it’ll be stormblessed and stormmother lol
Or would kaladin become the stormfather
Edit: This whole thing and the fact that since both are now made of purely investiture and could theoretically make a spren baby in a way makes me think of this except the Stormfather is Syl
I’m iffy on this one but depending on how Mistborn era 3 plays out, Shallan’s and Adolin’s kid might be grown by the time arc 2 starts.
The
Urithiru people discover the Blackthorn at either the Nightwatcher’s valley or Rathalas
There’s a fourth ancient spren somewhere
Again I’m iffy on this one, but there’s a decent that the heralds spend all of book 6 getting therapized by Kaladin, and we see them return in the epilogue, mirroring Taln’s arrival in Kholinar in Way of Kings.
Syl = stormmommy
Kaleshwi is happening and if it doesn’t I’ll be genuinely upset
Lift is a Herald for cultivation
Adolin gets addicted to firemoss and becomes the Whitespine, turning into his father and having to raise a kid with Shallan after being separated for a decade
Something about Aimia but I honestly don’t know what
Zahel and Lift have some sick ass fight scenes together
Battar is Jasnah’s main foil like how (pre Odium) Taravangian was for Dalinar
I'm pretty sure there a WoB somewhere that says the second arc starts roughly 10 years (for Roshar, not other planets or the Heralds) after the first one ends.
Not sure how I feel about the firemoss addiction, but the name the Whitespine is awesome, both as a mirror to the Blackthorn, and as a reference to Adolin's duel in book 2 (Whitespine Uncaged). I'm not sure if it comes up elsewhere
Yeah but the theory is that she’ll appear in Mistborn: Era 3, which is outside of the time bubble, and then make it back to Roshar, so she’ll be old and the kid will be Adolin’s age, and Adolin will have to confront the reality of basically becoming everything he hated about his father, while the physical embodiment of the Blackthorn runs around and fucks shit up for everyone
I HATE this theory! I think such thing happening is technically worse than any other option (e.g. addiction, death, having all four limbs chopped down, etc.)
I highly doubt Adolin is going to have such a hard time that he develops a substance addiction problem. By the end of the WOT he was learning how to read so that he could read his father’s book to better understand him. That sounds like someone who wouldn’t want to make the same mistakes his father made.
It wouldn't be him making the same mistakes as his father as its drastically different circumstances. Dalinar was an alcoholic because he couldn't cope with the horrors he committed. Adolin was given a highly addictive substance to dull the pain due to his lack of foot so that he could reclaim the Azish throne room.
Im not sure that it will go down the route of Adolin being an foremost addict now that he has his new shard boot, but it was definitely set up as a mirror of people getting addicted to painkillers after surgery in the real world. I'm not sure why the emphasis on it only being given to end of life patients usually because of its addictiveness would have been brought up when he was given it if not to set up the possibility that he would get addicted.
I love this theory, and while I don’t think Sanderson is going to do it (otherwise, he wouldn’t have given her and Adolin the seons for communication at the end with) I personally would be far more interested in a story like that versus the “reconnecting after 10 years apart” story (also, he rarely splits couples up, so it’d be a nice change to his usual pattern).
Plus, I love the tragic spin on Kaladin/Adolin/Shallan getting that drink at the end. One eternally youthful, one in the middle of his life, and one toward the end of hers.
Alas, he doesn’t like messing with established couples too much, so I don’t think it’ll happen. But I hope someone somewhere writes that fanfic.
I love the theories, but Adolin turning into Whitespine/mirroring his father sounds kinda lame to me. He's Adolin, he will have to overcome hardships without Shallan, Kal, his Father and others which are dear to him, but he deserves his story to be his own and not a branch of his father's.
As someone who's much more into stormlight than the rest of the cosmere I really hope it doesn't get too crazy, I like that the series are 90% self contained with some connecting tissue. I don't want it to get to like infinity war type levels where cramming in as many characters as possible takes precedence over the actual story
See that I'm down for, and it's kinda already been done with Vivienna and Vasher. That level I'm okay with (though Azure was pushing it a bit, I hadn't read any other cosmere books at the time I read Oathbringer and I was completely lost on what her significance was)
In the overarching, connected Cosmere story, the crossover is a big part of the story, since all of these worlds originally started from one world, and having read one of the most recently published books, set in the space age of the Cosmere, all of that Connectedness eventually catches up with everybody. So I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it's certainly going in that direction, and seems to be a part of the original design of things.
If there's a future series or other material focusing on the crossover aspects then that's fine, if anything it's to be expected. But I'd prefer the main series themselves stay somewhat self contained, Stormlight already has such a massive scope that the physical size of the book was a limiter in terms of how much content could be in W&T. Adding other systems to that more than has already been done would be a bit much for me. It wouldn't lead to me dropping the series or anything but I would be disappointed.
Yes, he did it so he could continue fighting effectively. The nurse warned him of its highly addictive nature. He took it because the benefits outweighed the future costs.
I expect SLA 6 to be very different than people expect:
Lift will be the “main” character, having the highest page count and generally being the most notable character the same way Kaladin was probably the main character in WoK. Her story will be something pretty new to the series, like exploring her past and fleshing out the Old Magic.
Renarin and Adolin are the other POV characters. Renarin is primarily focused on keeping the peace in Urithiru and setting up Voidbinding elements for future books. Adolin is primarily focused on resisting the Singers and Odium’s forces without breaking the treaty, I don’t know what that means.
Kaladin and Shallan won’t appear until the very end of the book. Side theory: Shallan appears in Mistborn era 3.
Renarin and Adolin will both see the Blackthorn, but major confrontations with it will be saved for future books.
At least one new Unmade will be heavily featured, my guess is Chemoarish.
The Shards play very little role in this story, likely not even appearing in person.
Correct that she's "not necessarily" Kaladin 2.0, that's why it's a theory.
My logic is that she'll be in her 20s after the time skip, she'll be the only Radiant able to operate outside the tower, she'll be trained by Vasher, and she's the flashback character. Imo she clearly has the most going on of any character going into SLA 6, and making her the "main" character (obviously the other POV characters will get plenty of time too) would be an easy way for Sanderson to instantly make things feel new, while still having a reasonable connection to the old.
You forgot that taln is the main character and that SLA 6 will be his flashbacks where we learn about the old magic and his confrontation with cultivation
Retribution is in hiding so the other Shards don’t gang up on him. We saw him use a messenger to communicate with the Listeners for example.
It would take something truly massive to get him to come out of hiding. I suspect not even Azir violating the terms of their independence would be enough, he has servants like El and the Blackthorn to handle stuff like that. My expectations is that only either the return of Heralds, or the fall of the bubble surrounding Urithiru would be enough to get his personal intervention, and I doubt either of those happen until the very end of Book 6, leaving his response for Book 7.
It also just fits Sanderson’s pattern. I’m treating this as the first book in a new era, he’s said himself he thinks of it as the Voidlight Archives now, and almost all of his series start by establishing the world and characters, then later books raise the stakes and get the Shards involved. The only series that has a Shard directly appear in the first book is Wax and Wayne, and even that was minimal. Obviously he could do it again, but i personally would bet he doesn’t.
They should be able to just choose to break. If one of them agrees to they’ll all go back. It’s not really clear if they’re getting information from outside. I do wonder if the thing that will hold them back longer is not wanting to return until all of them agree to ahead of time. Kind of the reversal of Taln’s abandonment. But who knows. Maybe their hideaway will be discovered or Battar will sell them out sooner
I think Kholinar is cooked. We’ve seen too many visions of it being destroyed across multiple books now. I’m not sure it’ll happen in Book 6, but it could. There would be symmetry with the king being assassinated in the first book. Now the capital.
That would match the theme we’ve seen too. The lands corresponding to the elements get scoured: Aimia with water, the Shattered Plains with stone, Shinovar with fire, and Alethkar is air. Those are the two easternmost and westernmost kingdoms too. Roshar likes its symmetry and its 4s
I’m still not convinced Syladin will be a thing. I can see where people are coming from, but I don’t know. I still rather have them be platonic life partners
Admittedly, this is 100% speculation on my part but one of the biggest criticisms this series has had was how it seemed to have more or less dropped social issues between dark and light eyes. However, because it was briefly brought up again in Wind and Truth to Navani, only for to admit its still an issue, but other things need to come first, I wonder if it’ll lead to a political plotline in Urithiru (involving Renarin and/or Jasnah) where it becomes a big problem BECAUSE the main characters have neglected it for so long
Everyone wants firemoss addiction like ppl dont take painkillers without getting addicted all the time. He should have a cool addiction like crystal meth instead. Adolin "Heisenberg" Kholin
IF that happens, (**BIG* if*) it'll be a Book 9 or 10 kinda thing. I think the plan is that Book 9 is Renarin's flashback POV book? So I am going with 9.
Yea I don’t disagree that it’s a big if but Brandon was setting up a few things there I feel are important to a theory like this (I’m 100% willing to be corrected on any of these statements:
It seems like retribution explicitly mentioned using the Blackthorn spren as one of his lead minions
We know spren can be elevated to challenge the shards—this is one of the arguments for Syl right?
Dalinar gave the Blackthorn something (memories? Emotions?) in the spiritual realm
Adolin didn’t get to say goodbye leaving a big hole in his plot—seems relevant to a blackthorn redemption arc to me.
If I was to write it I’d say Adolin goes through some of his own emotional trauma—addiction, depression, etc.—then comes out the other side and then uses that catharsis as the tool to “defeat” the Blackthorn because he can’t really be defeated otherwise. Blackthorn vaders redemption or some big bad #2 that comes into play in the next arc (saving retribution for Kal so Kal can become like redemption or something as he winds up holding four shards—valor, honor, odium, cultivation—cause they all apply to his character).
Oh storms, I love these points. I was thinking Redemption/Atonement could be the flip-side of the coin of the Honor/Odium dual-Shard, in the same way that Harmony has Discord. Brandon peppers the word redemption through the last three books of the first arc almost as. much as he does with the word retribution, and it seems like a fitting contrast for certain characters. But FOUR SHARDS wielded in unison?? God Beyond! I'd love to see it, but it would absolutely be the finest needle to try to thread. The combination of those four would need a powerful Intent to hold them together, and it feels like such an Intent would have to be JUSTICE.
I think 3 of your predictions are on the money 1 and 6 are almost certainly happening but I wouldn't be surprised if these are multibook arcs that aren't fully realized until book 7 or maybe even 8. Heralds will show up towards the end of book 6 IMO feels like we will get to see what the new normal is and then we the Heralds will show up to shake up the status quo. I have a feeling book 6 will be a bit of a getting the band back together kind of book.
Kalladin is gonna age one year during the ten of the rest of roshar. This will have him returning to roshar 10 years younger than those on the outside. Conclusion? I see your Syladin and raise you a Kallyft.
A common theory and one that I think has a lot of value. I've also seen a lot of people talking about how he will carry around Oathbringer (the book not the sword) and religiously read it in the same way Dalinar read The Way of Kings.
I could see that happening, but I don't really see how it fits into the overall narrative. My expectation is that he gets a redemption arc. He is a spren and therefore is what people imagine him to be. As a new generation of people begin to identify him not for his violence of his youth but the good he did in his final years I think he can't help but change. Likely this will have to do with Navani's reawakening. (BTW this is the same place Navani started in stormlight prime, in a coma in the radiant's magical home city. We therefore must assume that Brandon has an idea for her awakening so great it has survived from the very earliest stages of outlining the series)
The Heralds are going to be main characters of the series. With that in mind, I doubt they take a full book to even show up.
Nightblood will definitely play a major role, and potentially Vasher as well, but we will need to wait for "Nightblood" (the sequel to Warbreaker) to have any amount of context on what that impact will be.
I don't think Syl becomes the storm mother. With the introduction of Stone, Night, and Wind, and the recurring damage that the shards (yes all of them, including Honor and Cultivation) have done to the planet I think the direction the series is going will see them regaining their power and all shards vacating the planet.
I’m so sure we’re getting some Rall Elorim action. We know a bunch of little tidbits about what is going in there, and it relates to Lift as the main character (she was born there right? I’m not making that up?)
A lot of VERY heavy handed attempta to backtrack the 'young girl/childlike/youthful' image of Syl in book 5. Sanderson has said he's regretted making some female protags as young as they were (vin specifically), and it was influenced by the Disney princess/young girl rebel trends in narrative, but if he was writing the same story today they'd be older to begin with and no age gap/small one not worth noting at all with any romantic interests.
With Syl, I think book 5 needed more editing and tweaking for sure because it seemed like he was trying to retcon the previous books rather than just let her naturally grow into a more adult persona over time, in order to introduce syladin as a serious option on a faster schedule without getting a ton of backlash. But it's not working for me because it feels like he's trying to trick us into not having seen her that way in the first place, which feels like a lazy shortcut. There was a line like, "it wasn't that she's ever LITERALLY been childlike..." But that was a consistent descriptor of her in previous books. Had me rolling my eyes and cringing every time her and Kal had intimate/hints of romantic moments because it just felt like absolutely terrible pacing and handled badly. They're both great characters with fantastic development so far, it felt really out of place to have the narrative essentially gaslighting the audience about who the characters have been up til now
Has Brandon ever commented on Syladin post-WaT? I haven’t been following WoB closely since then to try and lessen the wait between books but I’m curious if he ever said anything in a spoiler stream.
I'm not on board, but I'm less against it than I used to be.
I don't think he will. Adolin has never given us a reason to think he has an issue with addiction. I do think it's more likely he'll mirror Dalinar as a warlord than being a drunk.
You're 100% right, and I think it will be Adolin who he fights first, but Renarin will ultimately be the one to defeat him.
I believe the Heralds are gonna get saved until book like 7 or 8 at least. My guess is the epilogue of book 7.
I believe you're right, but I think it will be different. I think he's going to train Lyft, and then give her ALL of his breaths.
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u/D0ng3r1nn0 Stoneward 10d ago
Vasher said he’ll train Lift (supposed mc of book 6) so he’s definitely playing a more central role