Timewaster's Guide Archive

The person who the letter is addressed to is functionally immortal.  That doesn't mean they picked up a shard recently.  There are probably other ways to become immortal in the Cosmere.  I would actually put down money against the recipient holding a Shard.

Again yes, I had meant "the recipient needs to be someone who has recently become immortal", fifth heightening from Warbreaker grants immortality I believe (which all of the Returned have).

That said I would take the bet that the recipient does hold a shard as it is required that they be very familiar with not only the existence and power of the Shards, but also with the existence of other planes and the ability to travel to them (something that through Rayse we know the Shards can do).

What makes you think a dawnshard is a blade? Shardplate also has shard in the name. Shard seems a material/origin description....

Also I am fairly sure that Shardblade was the first thing with 'shard' in it's name, then the plate came along and it was named Shardplate because it was able to protect from a blow by a shardblade, not because of any similarity in origin. Then (recently) Halfshards were created and they are absolutely named after Shardblades because they can block an attack from a Shardblade.

So no, I don't think 'shard' is a reference to a Material, Origin, or other similarity like that, I think it is the name used for the weapon, and then anything that can defend from the weapon. This also makes me think Dawnshards are swords, the Sword isn't a Fabrial, Shardplate and Halfshards are both Fabrials, which makes me think the swords come from The Almighty, while the rest are made by man which makes me assume the Dawnshards (which The Almighty talks about needing to return to Man) are also swords.

^{Edit: For some reason I originally typed Dawnblade instead of Dawnshards.}

For the record, there is a third theory that the recipient of the letter is somebody that has never been seen in the published works.  This is my stance, for lots of reasons.  It is claimed by some that Brandon's unpublished works have some much better candidates.

Yes, I hadn't intended to state it the way I did. I had intended to say it more along the lines of "and is likely being sent to either X or Y". 

I think an argument could be made that Sazed may be the recipient of the letter given that the recipient needs to be someone who has taken up a Shard recently. And there are several shards we know nothing of, any one of which could be the recipient.

Because I wanted to gather them all in one place anyhow, and they are relevant to this discussion... I am going to post all the Epigraphs of Part 3 (Jasnah's Journal)

29 - "The ones of ash and fire, who killed like a swarm, relentless before the Heralds." --Noted in Masly, page 337. Corroborated by Coldwin and Hasavah.
30 - "They were suddenly dangerous. Like a calm day that became a tempest." --This fragment is the origin of a Thaylen proverb that was eventually reworked into a more common derivation. I believe it may reference the Voidbringers. See Ixsix's Emperor, fourth chapter.
31 - Six Years Ago
32 - "They lived high atop a place no man could reach, but all could visit. The tower city itself, crafted by the hands of no man." --Though The Song of the Last Summer is a fanciful tale of romance from the third century after the Recreance, it is likely a valid reference in this case. See page 27 of Varala's translation, and note the undertext.
33 - "They changed, even as we fought them. Like shadows they were, that can transform as the flame dances. Never underestimate them because of what you first see." - Purports to be a scrap collected from Talatin, a Radiant of the Order of Stonewards. The source --Guvlow's Incarnate-- is generally held as reliable, though this is from a copied fragment of "The Poem of the Seventh Morning." which has been lost.
34 - "I walked from Abamabar to Urithiru" --This quote from the Eighth Parable of The Way of Kings seems to contradict Varala and Sinbian, who both claim the city was inaccessible by foot. Perhaps there was a way constructed, or perhaps Nohadon was being metaphorical.
35 - "Though many wished Urithiru to be built in Alethela, it was obvious that it could not be. And so it was that we asked for it to be placed westward, in the place nearest to Honor." --Perhaps the oldest surviving original source mentioning the city, re-quoted in The Vavibrar, line 1804. What I wouldn't give for a way to translate the Dawnchant.
36 - "Taking the Dawnshard, known to bind any creature voidish or mortal, he crawled up the steps crafted for Heralds, ten strides tall apiece, toward the grand temple above." --From The Poem of Ista. I have found no modern explanation of what these "Dawnshards" are. They seem ignored by scholars, though talk of them was obviously prevalent among those recording the early mythologies.
37 - Five and a Half years Ago
38 - "Born from the darkness, they bear its taint still, marked upon their bodies much as the fire marks their souls." --I consider Gashash-son-Navammis a trustworthy source, though I'm not certain about this translation. Find the original quote in the fourteenth book of Seld and retranslate it myself, perhaps?
39 - "Within a heartbeat, Alezaro was there, crossing a distance that would have taken more then four months to travel by foot." --Another folktale, this one recorded in Among the Darkeyed, by Calinam. Page 102. Stories of instantaneous travel and the Oathgates pervade these tales.
40 - "Death upon the lips. Sound upon the air. Char upon the skin." --From "The Last Desolation" by Ambrian, line 335.
41 - Five and a Half Years ago
42 - "Like a highstorm, regular in their coming, yet always unexpected." --The word Desolation is used twice in reference to their appearances. See pages 57, 59, and 64 of Tales by Hearthlight.
43 - "They lived out in the wilds, always awaiting the Desolation--or sometimes, a foolish child who took no heed of the night's darkness." --A child's tale, yes, but this quote from Shadows Remembered seems to hint at the truth I seek. See page 82, the fourth tale.
44 - Five Years Ago
45 - "Yelig-nar, called Blightwind, was one that could speak like a man, though often his voice was accompanied by the wails of those he consumed." --The Unmade were obviously fabrications of folklore. Curiously, most were not considered individuals, but instead personifications of kinds of destruction. This quote is from Traxil, line 33, considered a primary source, though I doubt its authenticity.
46 - "Though I was due for dinner in Veden City that night, I insisted upon visiting Kholinar to speak with Tivbet. The tariffs through Urithiru were growing quite unreasonable. By then, the so-called Radiants had already begun to show their true nature." --Following the firing of the original Palanaeum, only one page of Terxim's autobiography remained, and this is the only line of any use to me.
47 - One Year Ago
48 - "They take away the light, wherever they lurk. Skin that is burned." --Cormshen, page 104.
49 - "Radiant / of birthplace / the announcer comes / to come announce / the birthplace of Radiants." --Though I am not overly fond of the ketek poetic form as a means of conveying information, this one by Allahn is often quoted in reference to Urithiru. I believe some mistook the home of the Radiants for their birthplace.
50 - "Flame and char. Skin so terrible. Eyes like pits of blackness." --A quote from the Iviad probably needs no reference notation, but this comes from line 482, should I need to locate it quickly.
51 - One Year Ago

Of particular note are 30, 33, 42, and 43.  Which seem to indicate that the Parshendi are the Voidbringers (33 being a comment on them changing, possibly explaining the "Dozens of feet tall" comment).

_{Edit: Epigraphs not Epitaphs...}

Seems like each Shard bears the name of some trait - or at least a type of action/activity.

I found this topic. Is this the most up-to-date information we have?

Because it makes it WAY easier to read I took the liberty of putting everything into an actual table, you can quote this post then copy the code and paste it wherever you want.

Italicized data is unconfirmed.

Here goes:

#	Name (host)	Shard	World	Series	Status (Living?)
1	Ati	Ruin	Scadrial	Mistborn	Dead
2	Leras	Preservation	Scadrial	Mistborn	Dead
2	Vin	Preservation	Scadrial	Mistborn	Dead
1&2	Sazed	Ruin/Preservation	Scadrial	Mistborn	Living
3	Aona	??	Sel	Elantris	Dead
4	Skai	??	Sel	Elantris	Dead
5	Rayse	Odium	Roshar	Stormlight[/i]	Living
6	Bavadin	??	??	??	??
7	??	Cultivation	Roshar	Stormlight	??
8	Elithanathile (AKA The Almighty)	Honor	Roshar	Stormlight	Dead
9	??	Endowment	Nalthis	Warbreaker	Alive
10	??	??	??	??	??
11	??	??	??	??	??
12	??	??	??	??	??
13	??	??	??	??	??
14	??	??	??	??	??
15	??	??	??	??	??
16	??	??	??	??	??

Note: I took the liberty of putting the book/series name on the world column, I also noted that The Almighty was Honor and added Vin to the list.  There are a few I would take the italics off of personally (Odium's planet for example, we know there are 3 shards on Roshar, we know that Cultivation and Honor are two of them, and that Odium is responsible for the upcoming/current Desolation on that planet... While we know he visited Sel, we know that visit was brief and can safely assume Roshar is the correct planet for him... but that is an assumption.) but as the link you posted above listed them in Italics I tended to leave them as such.

Edit: Cultivation's status should be ?? not "Status (Living?)" and Nalthis is Warbreaker, removed the ?

Sorry to be nitpicking here, but she makes a case for the Parshmen being the Voidbringers. She herself believes the Parshendi may be a clue to what's going on, and that they are a special case. Quite possibly the Parshendi may be an ally against the rising normal Parshmen - if for example they are resistant to whatever turns Parshmen into killing machines.

And your theory on why they killed Gavilar is?

The Parshendi killed the man most likely to unite Alethki and bring peace to the world so it can better fight the coming Desolation (If I had to guess I would say that Gavilar got the same visions that Dalinar is getting now), have armored Carapace (like the Rock hard skin of the Voidbringers of legend), and are doing a solid job of killing as many Alethki soldiers as they can (if you push too hard the Alethki would pull back to defensive positions and you would kill fewer of them).

Jasnah is trying to figure out how to bring the normal Parshmen to bear against the Parshendi before Odium has a chance to turn the normal Parshmen INTO Parshendi and kill everyone.

Oh, Lord. Apologies for the necropost, but there needs to be a tutorial on how to write in Alethi now. This thread is pure gold.

What do you mean? how to form the characters with a pen? Because it is English, just with a different letter set.

as posted earlier:


If you are wondering how to form the letters with a Pen, I would suggest:
the vowels start at the front, move to the top, then the bottom
The 'Left Point' letters start at the top, move down/left then down/right then up
The 'Right Point' letters start at the top, move down/right then down/left then up
The 'Diamond' letters start at the top, move down/left then down/right then jump back to the top and move down/right then down/left
And of course the 'Fancy' letters  at the top, move down/left then down/right then up

If you want to do it with a Calligraphy pen instead of a Felt Tip or Ball Point Pen you will need to alter the strokes, any time I said to go up, instead jump to the top and make a downward stroke, also you will need to alter your grip between the top and bottom halves of the 'fancy' character.  I wouldn't suggest using a Calligraphy Pen for this letter set.

Syl is repulsed by the Shardblade that Dalinar has had since he was a teenager, but we know that the Knights Radiant used Shardblades and were bound to Spren (who presumably were not repulsed).

Actually I take this back, we know that Syl is repulsed byt he Shardblade that Dalinar had, but we don't KNOW that the Knights Radiant were bound to Spren.

unless there was an Interview I haven't seen about Spren bonding then I have to believe that Spren are NOT required for Surgebinding, as Windspren are NOT wind, Deathspren are NOT death, Rotspren are NOT rot.  Windspren are attracted to wind, deathspren are attracted to death and rotspren are attracted to rot.

Honorspren thus are attracted to Honor, and Surgebinding may be of Honor (the Shard, as in The Almighty), but I see no reason for it to REQUIRE a Spren (much less a willing one), thus it can not be assumed that the Knights Radiant had a Spren bound to them.

I still find it LIKELY they did, but not REQUIRED.