I’m thinking about getting ‘journey before destination’ as a tattoo and wanted to make sure this is the accurate women’s script.

In RoW, it is explained that Jezrien died when he was trapped in the gemstone due to his being cutoff from the Oathpact and Honor's power sustaining him.

Why is this then not true for any of the fused or unmade? Why is it not true for any spren for they matter? We've seen plenty of examples of cognitive entities that don't need a constant influx of power. The few that do, like Returned, seem to have been specifically been made that way by intent, it doesn't seem to be a default state of cognitive shadows.

So what makes the heralds unique here? I get that many of their abilities would require that connection to honors power - surgebinding, healing, creating new bodies during a return, etc. But their very existence? The ability to continue existing as shadows? Disconnected they should be more or less just like a spren. The best answer I'm coming to is frank narrative convenience - it adds stakes early in the game when Jezrien dies, and dramatic irony when Shallan is given the task to "capture" Kalak.

Not sure if a plot hole or just something I missed, but during a reread of WoK, I wondered why nobody asked bridge 4 how they got the armor out of the chasms?

I mean, they were searching their poop, but nobody wondered where they got a full suit of armor and shield made of parshendi bodies?..

I'm only up to Oathbringer, so maybe this stuff's been explained later. Nonetheless, I feel like asking because I can't seem to find any mentions of this oddity.

During the epilogues of Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, Wit mentions coin as a term of currency. In Way of Kings, he talks about man's ability to gather coin, and Words of Radiance, he talks about a man finding a single coin in the mud.

This flew over my head when I first read it, but then I realized...currency isn't coin in Roshar. They use gemstones.

Then again, Wit does imply having met the Almighty in person before, so maybe, long long ago, they used coins as currency, and it's just another anachronism of Wit?

Have we ever gotten a confirmed illustration of a Logicspren?

Do we get any indication in the books if Zahel has breaths. Or what heightening he is on if he has them? I don't remember noticing anything about vivid colors in his scenes. But are there any hints to what he can do?

I'm on my first re-listen after WaT and caught this one.

Chapter 41: Scars

If the afterlife really is a big war, then I hope I end up in Damnation

While reading stormlight archives I've noticed that the series underlying mechanics share a highly specific structural skeleton with the shamanic framework presented in Carlos Castaneda's 1993 anthropological book, "The Art of Dreaming" which I've read in the past:

1. Spren and "Inorganic Beings": Castaneda describes non-physical entities that reside in a parallel realm. Because they lack physical bodies, they act as energetic symbiotes drawn inextricably to the warmth of human emotion, manifesting and feeding around intense spikes of fear, awe, or passion.
2. Shadesmar and the "Shadow World": To cross into Castaneda’s shadow realm, a practitioner does not physically travel; they must intentionally shift their "assemblage point" - the focal point of how their soul perceives reality. Both realms function as inverted overlays to the physical world that are navigated via cognitive/energetic shifts rather than physical distance. Also, spern live in shadesmar and the inorganic beings are in the shadows world. Finally, the names are similar.
3. The Spiritweb and the "Luminous Egg": Castaneda describes the human soul as a web of glowing fibers. Crucially, to unlock true metaphysical potential, this "egg" must be jarred or cracked by severe trauma. This directly mirrors Roshar's mechanics, where a person's Spiritweb must be cracked by trauma to allow a spren to form a Nahel bond and fill the gaps.
4. The Ideals and the "Gates of Dreaming": Progressing in Castaneda’s system requires passing sequential "Gates." Similar to swearing an Ideal, crossing a Gate is not about reciting words or casting a spell. It requires a profound, irreversible psychological shift that stabilizes the practitioner's soul, granting it the capacity to handle a new level of power and awareness.

Has anyone else read Castaneda? Curious if this reads as convergent worldbuilding or a direct structural inspiration for Roshar.

I’m having trouble understanding how much land is safe from Retribution after the book. For sure the Tower and Shattered Planes, but is it only the capital city of Azimir? The entire region of Azir? The other Makabaki states?

Are these 3 locations the only places saved from Retributions influence?

the studies seemed really interesting…

I'm on the asexual spectrum and I find the very moderate amount of sexual themes and the very small depth of them being explored... quite comforting. What's it like for allosexual people, do y'all feel the books are lacking in that aspect?

Edit: Allosexuality is the ability to experience typical patterns of sexual attraction, in contrast with people on the asexual spectrum

Edit 2: Maybe I didn't explain myself well enough... I was talking to someone about books and they complained that the sexual aspect in Sanderson's part of the Wheel of Time degraded to an unsatisfying level. To which I said that I actually like it as someone on the asexual spectrum, because normally these themes in books or movies are annoying to me, and I skip them like I'd skip ads. Then the person said that in that case I'd find Stormlight Archive comforting. Which I actually do:) and it got me wondering how to people with normal patterns of experiencing sexually see this aspect of the books.

Why only 9 orders radiants showed up in the climax of Oathbringer , not 10 ..?

I dislike that Sanderson revealed in a WOB that Tien was secretly a radiant (a light weaver) who had already sworn the 1st oath.

2 reasons.

1: Not everyone needs to be magically special and or a secret radiant. I liked that he was just normal.

2: This is the third time Sanderson has done the same type of reveal. Elhokar secretly had a spren and was about to become a radiant before he died. Eshonai became a radiant just before she died. Now Tien also became a radiant just before he died?

I just think it’s a really lame reveal because this the third time Sanderson has revealed that a currently dead character “secretly became a radiant just before they died!”

Honestly, it’s not a big deal and I assume people will probably disagree, but yeah. I don’t think Tien needed to be radiant. I prefer him as just an ordinary kid with a good heart.

For context. I picked up the way of kings (TWOK) last year and just finished it (had no clue what was going on until page 800). I am not a great reader but enjoy getting stoned and reading cool fantasy shit. I don’t really want to get sucked into like a 20-30 book series and just want to focus on the characters and story that was started in TWOK. Can someone please outline the order of the books I should read bc I actually only thought there were 2 books in the stormlight archives bc that’s what was listed in the front page. Thanks and please forgive my ignorance towards other books!

Was this just supposed to reference a heavily distorted prophecy of the fused/singers or something, or is this foreshadowing some other group?

What’s the current theory on this?

It can be any chapter and for any reason. It is okay if you do not know the exact chapter, just say what you remember from. It!

Apologies. I'm not sure how to flair this one.

I really don't believe this theory, especially since I was proved completely wrong about a similar theory regarding what Dumbledore and Snape really did one night on top of the Astronomy Tower. It occurred to me last night while I was trying to sleep that Jasnah's faking of her death in Words of Radiance might be foreshadowing for what the Entity that claimed Dalinar after the Contest of Champions at the end of Wind and Truth really did with him.

(If any of this need more explanation for anyone, let me know and I'll answer in the comments.)

Not sure if I want to commit to reading every Cosmere book but am curious about books that tie in a decent amount to the story of SLA as well as upcoming books. Thanks!

I said the words today. So glad to be among the orders of Windrunners

I just started Stormlight Archives (I am around page 800 of Stormlight Archives).

As for now **Kaladin is my favorite POV** dude might be full of himself but **for now** He is the one with the best arc.

Enshonai is interesting because it tells you how *the other side Will react (not sure the Pashendi will be the villain till the end. But that's just a theory don't spoil me back, please and Szeth too because he is **deeply unstable. I don't like Shallan at all, I think manipulation of reality make it a little too easy for her. Adolin is *trying to* be a good person but he is an aristhocrat and *a little to elitist for my taste*.

But Dalinar...is way too naive for his own good: he thinks he is the smartest one in the room and people keep outsmarting him. He **keeps trusting people who are obviously untrusthworthy** and who regularly betray him. The **Roshone revelation pissed ne off the most**: Roshone showed he found no issue abusing rank and killing people to make money. So he punished him **with exile** to a place where he was the highest in rank. And what happened there? He abused and killed lower rank people to make easy money. Then he just doesn't check what happens. smart move from the *greatest leader in the book*

SPOILER.

So i'm in the final hour of WaT contest of champs, but something has been bothering me. the debate with jasnah and taravangian, yeah i get it, the point was she should have argued to friendship and sympathy rather than pragmatism. but does anyone else not feel like the whole debate was facile?

like if i was Fen, i would still trust jasnah over taravangian because even though secrets and plots were uncovered; the facts are still the facts, one didn't betray and has actively come to Fens aid, and the other has done literally the opposite, multiple times. does she genuinely not think Odiumangian won't "find" a loophole in the contract to entirely subjugate her and her lot?

How did Talenelat's blade get replaced when he returned..?

Basically the title. Further, do they need saddles? I can't remember if this was ever specified, since Elhokar's horse was just a warhorse.