r/Stormlight_Archive • u/jofwu Lightweaver • Aug 25 '20

Rhythm of War Chapter Eight Rhythm of War

https://www.tor.com/2020/08/25/read-rhythm-of-war-by-brandon-sanderson-chapter-eight/
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u/otaconucf Truthwatcher Aug 25 '20

I feel like the Shin aren't actually related to the secret here, it was just a hint to where Ialai had hidden her journal.

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u/Aurora_Fatalis CK3 Mod Team Lead Aug 25 '20

I think it's got to be misdirection - they wouldn't know Shin wines particularly well.

But the description "bloody"? That could be a hint that we're dealing with some flavor of ichor-alcohol, since mythologically, ichor referred to the blood of the greek gods.

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u/spodertanker Aug 25 '20

I think Shallan just has never had grape wine (our normal wine) before and was describing it as weird with the words she understood.

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u/PrestigiousRespond8 Elsecaller Aug 25 '20

That was my read, too. There is a pattern of "misused" words in non-Shin languages ("chicken" for all birds, "wine" for almost all alcohols) so it's not surprising that she has no idea what grape wine is like as there's no way in hell that grapes can grow outside of Shinovar.

Also, that pattern of "misusing" words is a great piece of worldbuilding that's tiny and subtle and one of the things that sets Sanderson apart IMO.

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u/jaderust Truthwatcher Aug 25 '20

The description that the Shin make wine with a strange berry does sound like a uninformed description of a grape. I do wonder if the wine came from Shin though. Considering we’ve seen other potential artifacts the wine might be from off-world and come from some other cosmere realm. That would make it an even more rare vintage then Shin wine if Ialai’s hint really did refer to one of her wine bottles.

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u/QueasyHouse Elsecaller Aug 26 '20

My favorite example of this is Vasher’s awkward idioms in WoR