u/Rigistroni

I see the argument a lot that Venli does not "deserve" to be a knight radiant. Regardless of how you may feel about the character, this statement kind of drives me crazy. If Venli doesn't deserve it, neither does Dalinar.

Venli is, very obviously, an extremely flawed person to put it mildly. Even though she was being manipulated both verbally and magically, her envy is still responsible for the ultimate downfall of her people and giving Odium a huge advantage in the war. That does not absolve her of responsibility even if it helps explain her behavior. Dalinar is much the same, despite being magically compelled by the thrill he still did horrible things, killed a lot of innocent people. The content of their character's sins is not actually that different, it's just the audience perception. And I think there are two main reasons why

First, Dalinar had to change very gradually, but we don't see all of it happen right away. When we first meet him he's already in the process of becoming a better person and wanting to do the right thing, the first impression is very different. When we first meet Venli she's about to make the biggest mistake of her entire life and get thousands killed. The actual severity isnt that different, but Venli is shown in a much different light during her introduction. Venli is going through the same process she's just not as far along in it, she even says in W&T that what she's done is not redemption, but it is a start.

The second is a bit more complex I think. At the end of Oathbringer when we see Venli swear the first ideal something I thought was a forgone conclusion was that she would eventually side with the other Knights in the fight against Odium. I'm sure many of you thought the same, but to that I say, why would she? Even if Odium finished the job and even if they did start the war, the Alethi had been relentlessly killing her people for over half a decade. With the knowledge of what they did to the singers in the past why would her first instinct be to trust them? With the exception of Shinovar the entire word is made of slave empires using her people for their benefit. I think reestablishing the listeners is a much more reasonable goal for her to have. Will the listeners eventually side with the coalition? Maybe, but I can see why they want to retain their autonomy so badly. Since the desolations began, Singers haven't had a nation of their own where they aren't subjugated by Odium or subjugated by humans. Expecting any listener to defect directly to the humans is a big ask, even Rlain expresses reservations about it.

Venli is, at the end of the day, a bad person learning to be better. Just like Dalinar

The term Shard or Shards can mean, off the top of my head

A shardblade

Plural shardblades are often called shards

A set of shardplate

A set of shardplate and a shardblade

Shards made from currently radiant spren which can be basically anything (even gave us a rafo on a shardgun)

While this is dropped later on the term shardblade is used to refer to the honnorblades

Arguably Nightblood

A primordial force used by God to create the universe

A piece of said god which may or may not include the person holding it at the time

While I didn't get tripped up on this too much, after reading Dawnshard I had to look up the difference between a Dawnshard and a shard of Adonalasium and I at first thought Nightblood was a weird kind of spren and that's who Szeth had a bond with. It's a bit much

I know this book is a bit divisive, but I personally loved it and I don't think it's of substantially worse quality than the rest of the stormlight archive. This is why

This book made Szeth one of my favorite characters, he was always well written but I think finally understanding Shinovar and it's culture really cemented him as my third favorite behind Kaladin and Dalinar. I can tell Sanderson did a lot of research on mental health care for this book because a lot of Szeth's struggles and things Kaladin tries to help him are very real things that I have struggled with and been taught in my own therapy. The "warrior thoughts" advice is something I was actually taught (albeit phrased differently) and use regularly in my day to day life. I think this is a great story for Kaladin too, now that he's made peace with his own demons he's going to help others do the same, it's a great way to extend his oathes about protection beyond just fighting. The wandersail scene with Nale was a particular standout in this book

My biggest concern going into this book was that with the contest of champions being the ultimate end point that nothing before it would feel important, I'm glad to say I was wrong. The fighting in the shattered plains and Azir felt appropriately desperate and given that Adolin's plotline seems to be the most consistently well received in this book I don't think I'm alone in liking this as much as I did.

I really loved the contest of champions itself. I like that Taravangian set it up basically as a test of character, trying to prove you can't be a good leader and a good person at the same time. That's basically what Dalinar's entire conflict was about so I really think this was a perfect setup for his final challenge. I went into this book basically expecting him to just lose so I think that the fact he managed to find a third option and prove Taravangian wrong by making the best choice for Roshar without sacrificing an innocent life to win the contest really allowed the character to go out on a high note while wrapping the series themes about leadership in a nice little bow. It's some peak Dalinar content honestly

I have my problems with it here and there, but I could say that for all of them. Wind and Truth is a great book and I can't wait to see what's next for the stormlight archive. In particular I really hope we see more of Rlain and Venli, this series NEEDS more singer main characters.

... probably will never get his leg back

Pretty much as soon as he loses it the idea of an edgedancer healing him is mentioned, but after the contest of champions that's pretty much out of the question isn't it? Even if there was an edgedancer in Azmir there's no stormlight anymore and even if they had reserves the priority would likely be life threatening injuries. And unless Adolin somehow obtains the magical powers of The Lopen tm ten years is a long time, he'll probably eventually see himself as a one legged man. While Urithiru is close to Azmir, it doesn't directly border it and there is hostile territory between them in the form of emul (at least if I'm reading this map correctly there is) so he can't go there to be healed with tower light.

I think this is a great direction to take his story in, Adolin is currently somewhat of an underdog despite his privileged upbringing and I think a disability that directly impacts his ability to do the one thing he perceives himself to be good at, fighting, is a great way to challenge the character. I know he has his shardplate prosthetic but I'm sure Brandon can come up with some in universe drawbacks for that to have. Maybe keeping balance is a lot harder for him without the feeling and manuverability of a real leg. I'm not sure how important Adolin is ultimately going to be in the second arc, but I think however brief his appearances are some time should be dedicated to exploring this. We already had some disability rep with Rysn, it'd be nice to expand that into characters with more relevance to the story

Sorry if this seems obvious I just think it's neat

I know the signed versions of the leatherbounds were limited run, but are the unsigned ones? Im pretty sure they aren't since TWoK leatherbound isn't labeled as sold out half a decade after the initial release, but I just want to make sure.

What the title says. I don't really care for the generic auto generated thieves guild quests and would kinda rather just play through the ones that are actually part of the story, but I really want to be able to bribe away my bounty before I do the dark brotherhood questline. So if I just complete the main thieves guild questline do I unlock that or do I have to play the radiant quests?

Hi all. I do not have autism (afaik), but my girlfriend does. We've been together for about a year now and I love her very much. I'm not sure if this is the right place to be asking this question but I'd like to know your opinions on if there's anything I can do to be a better partner to her in this regard.

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She's going through a pretty tough time right now, home life is stressful, her relationship with her best friend is in a rough patch to put it mildly, she's been trying to secure an autism therapist for months, she's dealing with debilitating chronic pain and it's the busiest time of the year for her at work. We're semi long distance, we only get to see each other once or twice a week and she's described our time together as a reprieve from everything else going on and that I act as a safe space (I certainly try to). So whenever I have to go it's really hard for her especially since she has trouble sleeping and I can't feasibly spend the night. I always try and remind her we'll see each other soon, that this is the most distance we'll ever have to have, that I'll call her when I get home and throughout the week and she has some keepsakes to remind her of me but more often than not she's in tears when it's time to go and barely holding them back when I try to leave.

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Again, I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but you guys had some great advice when I asked about helping her through meltdowns earlier on in our relationship. Thanks for reading this and if you take the time to respond I'd really appreciate it, I love her a lot and it breaks my heart to leave her like this every time.

Edit: thank you to everyone who has and will comment, even if I don't reply to them all I'm reading each and every one

Nale was not of the fifth ideal. Hear me out.

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When Szeth swears the fifth oath he says "I make my own choices" whereas Nale admits that none of what he does is what he personally wants to do. He says that he wants the humans to win, but that the singers have a legal right to Roshar. The core of his philosophy and those of his Skybreakers are that you cannot trust yourself and your own judgement, the opposite of making your own choices. Nale by his own admission doesn't make any choice that is his own. Now, I know that the specifics of an oath vary from person to person. Teft for instance adds "even if the one I hate most is myself" to his third ideal, "I make my own choices" could've been something personal to Szeth not necessarily something every skybreaker says, after all being able to make choices is pivotal to Szeth's character arc. Which is why I don't necessarily think the way it is is bad by any means, it's just something that occurs to me.

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If Nale was "stuck" on the fourth ideal for thousands of years, it would help hammer home the idea that he's wrong and that his legalist interpretation of the skybreakers is fundamentally flawed. Szeth then transcends what Nale was capable of when he becomes the first skybreaker since the recreance to reach the fifth ideal. I think it would be a neat addition to that storyline

Note, this is just my opinion and I have very little exposure to what the popular takes in the fanbase are. I'd love to hear where you agree or disagree with me and why because I love this series and I love talking about it. Note as well that this is coming from someone who has only read stormlight, not anything else in the cosmere.

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5. Eshonai

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I'm just gonna say it, this chapter should've gone to Venli imo. Oathbringer is the book that pivoted to Venli over Eshonai as a focus character and because of that this chapter kinda feels like a holdover. And for the first Parshendi perspective on the assassination it tells us very little we don't already know by this point. And I love Venli's chapter on this night in RoW. A lot of really juicy information and some great insight into who she was and why she made the mistakes she ultimately does. Maybe lifting that chapter straight from RoW would be revealing a bit too much, but reworked slightly I think it would've been a much stronger start to Oathbringer. From what I've gathered Venli isn't necessarily the most popular character, but I really enjoyed her personally and I think starting OB with her instead of her at this point dead sister would've been a better move.

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4. Szeth

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This is one of the most iconic chapters in the series for a reason. "Szeth-son-son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king." What a great hook and a great introduction to Szeth, who would become one of my favorite characters. Its only so low for one reason, the exposition is a bit thick in my opinion. Explaining Windrunner abilities and the mechanics of stormlight so in depth so early is a bit much to front load and we already have a more natural way to explain this information: Kaladin discovering his abilities. Not to mention that because of Kaladin's story in the way of kings, all this gets explained again anyhow. With less emphasis on exposition this would be much higher

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3. Gavilar

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The big reveal, we learn some really interesting stuff in this chapter and seeing the way Gavilar thought about Navani was interesting to me. Learning Gavilar was in contact with the stormfather was something I really didn't see coming and it makes sense with everything we learn about him that his fascination with The Way of Kings was self centered. I think his character really works despite (or perhaps because of) how little we see him. Only at number 3 because after the reveal, all the intrigue is gone. Which isnt a criticism that's what a reveal is supposed to do, it's just why this is where it is on the list.

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2. Jasnah

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This would be waaaaay lower but I love how it comes back in Wind and Truth. Jasnah's debate with Taravangian is one of my favorite scenes from that book and him bringing up her plan to assassinate aseuden was a huge oh shit moment to me. I had honestly written that off as an excuse for the red herring in the first line that kinda makes it sound like Jasnah had Gavilar killed, so seeing it come back like that three books later was a huge shock to me. Alethi politics had fallen so far out of relevance that it completely passed me by that that would ever come up again. Brilliant

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1. Navani

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I love how this chapter teases so much information. Navani being so close to Gavilar yet not knowing everything he's up to makes for a perfect way to elaborate on Gavilar and Navani as characters as well as reveal some of what he was doing while still keeping that core mystery. It gets extra points for being directly relevant to a lot of core plot elements in the book it's preceding, I love how it ties in with Navani's experiments later in the book. Rhythm of War really is Navani's time to shine, so who better to start it with than her?

Sorry if this seems obvious, but I think its cool so I'm gonna talk about it regardless.

When Dalinar first has his visions and heats tanavast say "unite them" he assumes it means the Alethi high princes. As we later learn tanavast was referring to the knights radiant and humans on Roshar as a whole, the scope of "unite them" gradually expands as Dalinar continues on his character arc.

Which is why I think it's cool that at the end of W&T "unite them" has expanded beyond the scope of what Dalinar or Tanavast ever thought it would. Because Dalinar's Gambit is uniting the shards, for the first time in god knows how long. By giving them a common enemy and forcing them to stand against Retribution. Who knows, maybe the stormlight archive will even end with Adonalasium becoming whole again, literally uniting them once more.