WoK: Shalan - near end of book **SPOILERS**

[Munin]

I think that's a genius deduction.  It would make a lot of sense, especially considering she unknowingly changed it to blood, though that could have just been coincidence.

Sorry, bit confused here. What deduction are you referring to?

[Miyabi]

The one Ashaman made about her belonging to the Knights Radiant 6th Order.

[Cheese Ninja]

I can't help but think that a number of characters will end up as Knights Radiant equivalents, Jasnah as well.

Jasnah held up a hand. “These are a type of spren, Shallan. They are related to what you do.” She tapped the desk softly. “Two orders of the Knights Radiant possessed inherent Soulcasting ability; it was based on their powers that the original fabrials were designed, I believe. I had assumed that you… But no, that obviously wouldn’t make sense. I see now.”
“What?”
“I will explain as I train you,” Jasnah said, handing back the sheet. “You will need a greater foundation before you can grasp it. Suffice it to say that each Radiant’s abilities were tied to the spren.”

So, as far as orders with inherent Soulcasting abilities: 6th order and which ever one Jasnah would go in, I'm liking 2nd order for Jasnah.

2 Nan; Smokestone (gem); vapor (essence); exhalation (body focus); opaque gas, fog, smoke (soulcasting properties); Learned/Giving (primary/2nd divine attributes)


As far as the argument for shardblade being used in cutting the Soulcaster apart, it's notable that it was "sheared" through, and not merely broken, as it would be by the force of ordinary weapon.

[SnagglezMaw]

We know she killed her father, and we know she has a Shardblade, but that doesn't mean that her father had the Blade.

Ten heartbeats, to bring forth the fruit of her sin, the proceeds of her most horrific act.

Yes, she got it after killing someone, but it doesn't explicitly say (or hint at, really) her father. I think more things happened that night than we know, as we only get a few lines and hints throughout the book.

Edit:
Also, I seemed to have missed how we know that the drawing Shallan did of the dead guy was her father. Could someone explain to me or get me a quote from the book, please?

[Cheese Ninja]

It does become a bit simpler if we consider that possibility of multiple people dying that night, one killed through ordinary means who had a shardblade, and the father killed by the shardblade at Shallan's hands.  If the shardblade wasn't originally in the ownership of their family and it came from the outside, that might be why they can't just sell it to pay off their family debts without attracting way too much of the wrong kind of attention.  Shallan herself doesn't need to have killed multiple people though, if her father was about to claim the shardblade and then she killed her father with it, the "most horrific act" quote still works.

Word put the quote of the drawing on page 2:

Shallan froze, realizing for the first time what she’d been drawing. Not another scene from the alleyway, but a lavish room with a thick, ornamented rug and swords on the walls. A long dining table, set with a half-eaten meal.
And a dead man in fine clothing, lying face-first on the floor, blood pooling around him. -ch39, pg 641

As you've pointed out, it never states explicitly that this was her father.  We've just been assuming that.

[Ogge]

Perhaps her "missing" brother had a soulblade?

[SnagglezMaw]

Here's the problem I have with the "most horrific act" quote: Her reaction to someone else killing people (Jasnah Soulcasting the thugs) was a huge internal conflict. Now if she, herself, had done any killing (even excluding her father) I still think she would consider that an extremely horrific act on her part.

[Salkara]

The Soulcaster looked identical to the one she and her brothers had found in the inside pocket of her father’s coat. -Page 95

Looking at this quote again, it sounds a lot like her brothers and she were looting the corpse of her father. I'm fairly certain that Nan Balat either would've wanted the Shardblade for his own or would've wanted to sell it. So, it's my belief that Shallan's brothers don't know she has the blade.

Seriously, I have more questions about the murder of Shallan's father than any other incident mentioned in the book.

[happyman]

The Soulcaster looked identical to the one she and her brothers had found in the inside pocket of her father’s coat. -Page 95

Looking at this quote again, it sounds a lot like her brothers and she were looting the corpse of her father. I'm fairly certain that Nan Balat either would've wanted the Shardblade for his own or would've wanted to sell it. So, it's my belief that Shallan's brothers don't know she has the blade.

Seriously, I have more questions about the murder of Shallan's father than any other incident mentioned in the book.

We just don't know enough.

I still consider "Shallan kills father, blade falls from air, Shallan claims blade" as by far the most likely scenario.  Most of the comments here have been "Don't know" and "Can't rule out" sorts, not actual logical reasons, and most involve extra actors that we have no evidence for whatsoever.  Finding the Soulcaster would be something that could happen at a later time, or even day, depending on when they decide to search the body.  A Shardblade, on the other hand, falls out of the air in front of you.  The span between the bearer's death and the blade being reclaimed is probably usually quite small because of this, and given any scenario whatsoever with Shallan, I cannot see why this would be an exception.

[Salkara]

Perhaps they took the Soulcaster from him while he was still alive. In a rage, he summoned the Shardblade and tried to get it back, accidently cutting the Soulcaster in the process. Shallan, fearing for her brother's life, kills her father. Really, I'm just trying to come up with scenarios that have Shallan ending up with the Shardblade and with the Soulcaster being cut by it.

[Cheese Ninja]

Perhaps her "missing" brother had a soulblade?

The man who had a shardplate and shardblade that Kaladin killed was Veden, the same as Shallan, and that happened a nearly year ago, Nan Helaran vanish "over a year ago" and their father had proclaimed him dead...

I'm pretty sure Helaran wasn't there that night, but he could have come back that night, Nan Balat clearly believes he is dead, but Shallan doesn't mention it beyond her father's comment. 

Right now I think Shallan killed her father with shardblade slash across the chest that cut through the soulcaster.  Which still doesn't tell us where the shardblade came from, why they can't sell it to pay off their debts, or whether that body that was she was drawing that was bleeding was their father or someone else(it would take a 2nd blow after death to draw blood with a shardblade), why Nan Balat had a horribly broken leg and was otherwise bruised, or why she killed her father.  Besides her father generally being a jerk.

Yeah, we haven't gotten a lot to work with so far.

[Salkara]

it would take a 2nd blow after death to draw blood with a shardblade

That's perfect. If she was using it for the first time, she wouldn't be accustomed to it's Golden Gun effect, so she'd probably have swung multiple times out of pure ignorance/hysteria. Now the only question would be how she got it. Maybe her father was beating up on Nan Balat and willed it to stay in plain sight to frighten the boy. So far, he sounds like the arrogant type who would do that.

[rjl]

Just starting my first re-read, and I've noticed another quote about the shardblade and her Father's death on page 131:

"As always thinking of her father made her feel ill, and the pain started to constrict her chest. She raised her freehand to her head, suddenly overwhelmed by the weight of House Davar's situation, her part in it, and the secret she now carried, hidden ten heartbeats away."

[rjl]

Perhaps her "missing" brother had a soulblade?

The man who had a shardplate and shardblade that Kaladin killed was Veden, the same as Shallan, and that happened a nearly year ago, Nan Helaran vanish "over a year ago" and their father had proclaimed him dead...

On page 701 Amaram speaking of the shardbearer being in that enemy force says "the ghost bloods grow more bold", the ghostbloods is the group that sent Kabsal to kill Jasnah, and that Shallan thinks her father was involved in, due to the symbol worn by the men who wanted the soulcaster back.

So, Cheese Ninja, you may have just spotted a good link. It could well be that Kaladin killed Shallan's brother.

[Cheese Ninja]

Also, Nan Helaran was implied to be more aware/closer to her father's plans than the rest of the siblings.

The full quote I referenced that immediately preceded the one you just gave:

There was that matter of the strange collection of maps they’d found in his study. What did they mean? He’d rarely spoken of his plans to his children. Even her father’s advisors knew very little. Helaran—her eldest brother—had known more, but he had vanished over a year ago, and her father had proclaimed him dead.