@mochegoche commissioned the Kholins (and their significant others) with a mirror image of their spren. Honestly I had such a blast with this piece, especially drawing out characters I haven’t done before. Thank you so much for the commission!
The problem with rereading Stormlight Archive at the same time I’m rewatching Leverage is I’m spending all my free time daydreaming about crossovers I will never ever do anything with.
So far I have an order of Radiant picked for everyone except Hardison, and I’m very very convinced we should let Kaladin do crime.
I’ve thought about this too!
Sophie = Lightweaver: This one is pretty obvious, the spren are attracted to lies and the oaths as based on telling truths about yourself. This follows Sophies growth through the original series pretty perfectly.
Nate = Lightweaver: Even when he was an insurance investigator, he often conned the people committing insurance fraud. Also, I think his own progression through the original series could be described as admitting truths about himself. Best example is the end of season 2 when he admits he’s a thief. I don’t think he is a bondsmith because that order is about uniting people and, more importantly, the methods you use have to be honorable. I see this as the opposite of Nate.
Eliot = Dustbringer/Releaser: Its about knowledge of how things work, destruction, and self control. While there are a lot of parallels between Eliot and Kaladin, even at the end of the series I don’t think honour is big part of Eliot’s character, I think a lot of people conflate his loyalty with honour. Also protecting those he hates even if it is right and accepting that he can’t protect everyone don’t really fit Eliot.
Parker = Edgedancer: The parallels between her and Lift are perfect. And the order is about remembering and advocating for ordinary people, which is one of the main ways Parker grows throughout the original series.
Hardison = Elsecaller: I think the ideals of self-improvement and the greater good really suit him. He is constantly learning new skills and wanting to improve those that he has. Like in the Gold Job when he expresses again that he wants to learn more about masterminding and gives out evaluation forms. Also I think his leaving in L:R fits with this ideal.
YES I LOVE THIS
I couldn’t think of a good one for Hardison mostly because we don’t know enough about all the orders and I couldn’t think of one that translated super well to tech but Elsecaller and soulcasting fit perfectly!
I lean towards Windrunner for Eliot because he’s such a protector at heart. I do think he’s got a code of honor he’s grown into, and I imagine his third ideal being similar to Teft’s, rather than a parallel to Kaladin. We’ve seen enough variety in honorspren and know the ideals are different enough that I think his journey fits. He’s turned from fighting for profit to fighting to protect his team and protecting people who have been hurt/can’t protect themselves. He’s conflicted about hurting people he thinks are on the “right” side of things (but seriously let Eliot punch cops, come on). He sticks to his no guns/disarming and disabling only until there’s no way to protect people without it. I’m not entirely sure but I think the fourth ideal could be about accepting/forgiving failure (which in Kaladin’s case would be failing to protect people, and in Eliot’s case could be failing himself.) Im not at all opposed to the idea of Dustbringer, but we only really know one of them and her character doesn’t seem a match at all for Eliot. But again, spren are individuals and we don’t know much about what the ancient Dustbringers might have done. We do know their ideals are about self-mastery though, and that fits Eliot for sure. We also they were strategists and viewed with caution by fellow Radiants, which also works.
I was hesitant about Nate as a Bondsmith for those reasons. I thought it could be a fit since he was the one who united the team, leads them, saw what they could do, and built them together. Also, the Bondsmith spren are all So different, it’s possible seeing him bonded to the Nightwatcher (since Cultivation has absolutely been shown to use questionable methods) would get rid of some of the “honorable methods” requirements. (Since the Sibling is a mix between Honor and Cultivation I imagine their Radiant will have to be a mix between them as well). I considered Skybreaker because of his history with the law. Like Szeth we see him devoted to lawfulness, and have it betray him. Since the later ideals require them to become their own law, I could see him fitting that. He’s the arbiter for what they do for a job. But you’re right, the truth speaking for the Lightweavers also fits his journey through the series perfectly. Plus he’s a hell of a grifter when it comes to it.
Don’t mind me I’m just delighted to have found someone thinking about these things too I’m so excited to read this
The Stormlight Archive - Choice and Common Ground in Rhythm of War
I would say that these are the two themes that are most central to the narrative and character development in Rhythm of War.
Choice is central in several respects. It is at the heart of Venli’s arc, as she gradually - prompted by Timbre - moves towards choosing to act against the forces of Odium at last to reveal herself as a Radiant, as well as to confess her past choices to Rlain. Her position as the first new Willshaper, the Radiant order primarily focused on choice and freedom, further emphasizes this.
But even more importantly, Rhythm of War is about the need to allow people the dignity of their choices, including the choice to risk or sacrifice their life, without treating them as objects or victims. We see this most vividly in Maya’s declaration of WE CHOSE! at Adolin’s trial, when the Honorspren are endeavouring to exploit her by presenting her as a victim of the Knights Radiant, and deny her agency by using her to make a statement that is the opposite of her real feelings.
We see it Kaladin’s vision of Tien, where he learned that his brother made the choice to go with his companions to their death in order to support them. We see it in Teft, who chose to stay with Kaladin as emotional support, and who later chose to fight, and died because of it. To regard other people’s deaths as a personal failure, as Kaladin does, is to deny that they have any part in their deaths, that they might decide something is worth fighting and dying for and would not regard their own deaths as a defeat, and it’s a crucial element in the realization that enables Kaladin to say the Fourth Ideal. Lirin, like his son, has difficulty with this: when he sees that Kaladin is inspiring people in Urithiru to resist, he sees in it terms of Kaladin is going to get these people hurt or killed, and can’t see past that until he follows Hesina’s advice to listen to them and to understand why Kaladin’s actions inspire them to choose to hazard their own safety.
The second major theme is about finding common ground between people with great differences in their goals and convictions. We see it with Navani and Raboniel, who are opposite sides of the war but share a fascination with Roshar and a delight in learning more about it, as well as the gruef of a mother for her children and who - despite Raboniel’s numerous and severe betrayals - find genuine mutual respect and understanding. We see it also with Navani and the Sibling, and this theme is why Navani is the right person to bond the Sibling - because her story (with the core metaphor of oil and water) is about bringing together people who have strong and real differences. Likewise, the humans and Leshwi’s Fused find common ground in defending the unconsious Radiants, after reminders throughout the book of the mutual respect that Kaladin and Leshwi ferl for each others. And finally, the theme of common ground is crucial to the arc between Kaladin and Lirin, where they are at last able to find recociliation in the understand that, yes, they do have deeply differing moral perspectives on violence, but that doesn’t prevent them from loving each other or being able to respect each other’s convictions and ways of protecting.
Aaah superb analysis as always! I would add to your first point about choice and freedom Eshonai’s epilogue, where she fights the Voidspren who had somewhat taken control of her, gets her agency back, and dies as herself. And not only that, when her death comes she chooses to accept her end and goes peacefully, looking forward to what the Beyond held for her. And for a book about choice and freedom and reconciliation, that ending for her, both as a character and fitting the themes of the book, was beautiful and poetic for me.
it’s very cool how in-depth the physics of the magic systems of the Cosmere are! it’d be cooler if i understood all of it
[ID: the “explaining to my mom” meme. The first panel, where the person is explaining something to their mom, reads: “Brandon Sanderson, explaining why a quarter Lashing makes a Windrunner weightless as opposed to a half Lashing which doesn’t make the Windrunner weightless but in fact starts to pull them in the direction of the Lashing”. The second panel, where the mom is staring at the explainer with a flat, vaguely confused expression, reads: “me, reading Rhythm of War for plot and character development”. end ID]
[ID: a reply from @badwolf109 that reads: “Maybe I’m misremembering, I thought a quarter lashing puts you at half your normal weight (¾ down + ¼ up) and a half lashing makes you weightless (½ down + ½ up)”. end ID]
I thought that as well, and then I read the aforementioned section in Rhythm of War that scrambled my brain on the subject and I can’t remember anymore
[ID: a reply from @zeug-not-zoog that reads: “@hoidthevoid what section? I’m rpetty sure that the first response in correct, and coppermind agrees, do you have page or at least chapter numbers?” end ID.]
nope! this is 100% based off of my vague memory of one paragraph that I read once and very fast. I think it might’ve been in part 1. I don’t doubt or mind that I’m probably wrong, the paragraph in question was likely supposed to elaborate on existing mechanics and instead sent my brain into the frying pan and scrambled it
hello, my fellow non-cis people. how are we feeling about the kinda-sorta representation in RoW (the Sibling and Leshwi)? personally, I feel that it was a very “intro to writing trans people” take–Leshwi is literallya female spirit in a male body, and the Sibling is an otherworldly being that doesn’t define themselves by human genders, and both are not human (as tends to be the case for many non-cis characters)–but not awful, especially since Brandon kinda tries to be slow and delicate about his representation.
still disappointed in myself for not realizing the similarities between hearing the rhythms of metals while burning bronze and the listener/singer Rhythms until RoW practically hit me in the face with it
Say what you like about Adolin Kholin, but when he realised Shallan was stressed out by him saying he’d protect her, the first thing he did was make sure Navani didn’t use similar language about her.
color me a fool but i did NOT realize kaladin gave rlain the name shen cause of ‘parshendi’ until rlain said it like……..talk about microaggressions. bridge four may be lovely but rlain is the strongest bitch on roshar for not drowning them all in their stew his first week
rhythm of war bingo: who had 1) adolin does a real haul video about his sword collection and 2) he reveals he once infodumped about swords for hours on a first date
it’s very cool how in-depth the physics of the magic systems of the Cosmere are! it’d be cooler if i understood all of it
[ID: the “explaining to my mom” meme. The first panel, where the person is explaining something to their mom, reads: “Brandon Sanderson, explaining why a quarter Lashing makes a Windrunner weightless as opposed to a half Lashing which doesn’t make the Windrunner weightless but in fact starts to pull them in the direction of the Lashing”. The second panel, where the mom is staring at the explainer with a flat, vaguely confused expression, reads: “me, reading Rhythm of War for plot and character development”. end ID]
[ID: a reply from @badwolf109 that reads: “Maybe I’m misremembering, I thought a quarter lashing puts you at half your normal weight (¾ down + ¼ up) and a half lashing makes you weightless (½ down + ½ up)”. end ID]
I thought that as well, and then I read the aforementioned section in Rhythm of War that scrambled my brain on the subject and I can’t remember anymore
