Prologue, Chapters 1 & 2 (from Tor)

[Swimmingly he/him]

Here's a funny tidbit I noticed (from the Santhid chapter):

Is it just me, or does this sound a lot like "I Can Hear Spelling" Skip from Brandon's "I Hate Dragons" story?

Seriously, though, how could Shallan know that the name had lots of consonants "squished together" just from what Tozbek said? I would have just heard something like "Amidlatin" (assuming that's how it's pronounced), which doesn't look too consonant-heavy to me.

Rhyme Amyd with hammed, then pronounce latn with the tn as a single, exotic syllable?

[FeatherWriter she/her]

Here's a funny tidbit I noticed (from the Santhid chapter):

 

Tozbek smiled broadly. “I’ll take you to see some shells in the port at Amydlatn when we stop there, young miss. They have quite a collection!”

She didn’t know where that was, but from the jumble of consonants squished together, she assumed it would be on the Thaylen side.

 

Is it just me, or does this sound a lot like "I Can Hear Spelling" Skip from Brandon's "I Hate Dragons" story? 

 

Seriously, though, how could Shallan know that the name had lots of consonants "squished together" just from what Tozbek said? I would have just heard something like "Amidlatin" (assuming that's how it's pronounced), which doesn't look too consonant-heavy to me.

 

Well, if I had to guess, I'd say that it's probably pronounced a lot like it's spelled: without fake vowel sounds in between. The "tn" cluster at the end and "mydl" in the center are very un-Alethi sound clusters. Alethi and Veden both seem to use almost exclusively c-v-c or v-c-v sound clusters. In fact, Jasnah's name is the only one I can think of that really breaks the pattern with the "sn" in the middle. So I would guess that any kind of consonant clusters are going to sound odd to an Alethi or Vorin speaker.

 

Also, it's worth noting that they're sailing in between Thaylenah and the Frostlands at the time, so Shallan assuming that it's a Thaylen name of a city at which they might be stopping isn't so large of a jump. 

 

I am confounded as to why so  many people are convinced Renarin and Shallan  will get together. Was there a WoB I missed out on? Or is Feather pushing their agenda and people have taken it for fact? If we keep Shallarin afloat to much, I'm going to laugh when BS pulls a George Martin on us.

 

I am simply a very effective prosthelytizer, it seems. Also, it's worth noting that Shallarin is far from the only active ship in this fandom, it just happens to be the one that gets talked about over here the most because the other ship captains aren't 17th Sharders. Shasnah, Kalarin, and (black or red) Kadolin are all incredibly popular ships, they just happen to be talked about more on tumblr than over here.

 

Fun fact, I found the origins of the Shallarin ship a few days ago and got all nostalgic. I didn't even remember this actually, but it was a friend of mine who pitched the pairing to me, and it took me about a year to get a handle on it. (I wasn't much of a shipper at the time.)

 

And then my shipping friends have informed me that Shallan must then fall in love with Renarin, much to Adolin's dismay.

 

If I had to pick a romantic relationship to root for, it'd probably be Renarin/Shallan. I just think they'd be adorably sweet together. And of course, Adolin would be trying to win Shallan's affections the whole time, and is baffled when she chooses his brother over him. It'd be adorable.

Oh, sweet, naive Feather of almost three years ago, if you only knew how far down that little rabbit hole you would fall.

[skaa he/him]

Well, if I had to guess, I'd say that it's probably pronounced a lot like it's spelled: without fake vowel sounds in between. The "tn" cluster at the end and "mydl" in the center are very un-Alethi sound clusters. Alethi and Veden both seem to use almost exclusively c-v-c or v-c-v sound clusters.

 

Oh, I'm sure it doesn't sound like an Alethi place. But Shallan's reasoning was based specifically on what she calls the "jumble of consonants squished together." The "y" in "mydl" acts as a vowel, right? So I would guess the name basically sounds like "a-mid-la-tn" (I have no idea how "la-tn" should be pronounced other than "la-tin"... "la-ʔn" perhaps?). Anyway, it just doesn't seem like much of a "jumble of consonants" to me.

 

Edit: Hmmm... "a-mai-dla-tn" sounds a bit more "consonant squishy" towards the end, so that could work. Sorry, it sounds like I'm really bothered by this, but I'm not. I just laughed out loud when I read that line, but I'm sure there's a good explanation behind it.

Edited January 14, 2014 by skaa

[Radda she/her]

Is it just me, or does this sound a lot like "I Can Hear Spelling" Skip from Brandon's "I Hate Dragons" story?

 

Seriously, though, how could Shallan know that the name had lots of consonants "squished together" just from what Tozbek said? I would have just heard something like "Amidlatin" (assuming that's how it's pronounced), which doesn't look too consonant-heavy to me.

 

That's how I used to discern between Japanese and Korean, actually. Japanese would be a string of clear syllables and Korean would have a lot of squished consonants. Also, Shallan can speak several languages, so she must be asquainted with Thaylen words.

[Aether he/him]

One of the Parshedii musicians that is actually Eshonai (she did recognize Dalinar on the Plains, right?), etc. 

Actually, she was one of the five ambassadors. She left with another one, though, when the three eldest stayed behind to cover their escape.

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

Actually, she was one of the five ambassadors. She left with another one, though, when the three eldest stayed behind to cover their escape.

Oh, that's awesome, I don't remember reading that part. I thought none of the ambassadors escaped - only the band and the people who started leaving early. Thanks! Well that still leaves her as a POV then, especially considering she will have her own flashback book.

[Aether he/him]

That night, a desperate plan made between herself and four others. She had been part of it, despite her youth, because of her knowledge of the humans. All had voted the same. Kill the man, kill him and risk destruction. For if he had lived to do what he had told him that night, all would have been lost. The other four who had made that decision were dead now, three in battle, one by a common accident.

- From the Eshonai Interlude of the Words of Radiance

Edited January 14, 2014 by Aether

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

 

That night, a desperate plan made between herself and four others. She had been part of it, despite her youth, because of her knowledge of the humans. All had voted the same. Kill the man, kill him and risk destruction. For if he had lived to do what he had told him that night, all would have been lost. The other four who had made that decision were dead now, three in battle, one by a common accident.

- From the Eshonai Interlude of the Words of Radiance

 

Ah! I considered that more to mean that there was a planning phase to that incident, and she was one of five to have given the go-ahead. It doesn't expressly say that she was there, but it is probably a decent assumption. Still means she could have been in costume or something though - told to disguise herself so she could escape. Maybe because of her age. 

[Shardlet he/him]

There were many Parshendi there that night in the delegation.  She was one of five who made the decision. Three died in battle and one accidentally.  That means the three ambassadors Jasnah encountered in the prologue accepted the plan, but were not part of making the decision to kill Gavilar.  Unless we want to assume that giving themselves up to cover the flight of the other Parsendi constitutes battle in Eshonai's eyes.

[The Count he/him]

There were many Parshendi there that night in the delegation.  She was one of five who made the decision. Three died in battle and one accidentally.  That means the three ambassadors Jasnah encountered in the prologue accepted the plan, but were not part of making the decision to kill Gavilar.  Unless we want to assume that giving themselves up to cover the flight of the other Parsendi constitutes battle in Eshonai's eyes.

I suspect the three 'who died in battle' and the three ambassadors in the prologue are the same. Just that the novel has undergone revisions between then and now. The Eshonai chapter we have all read is from an early draft, remember.

I suspect the interlude in the final book will say '...three executed by the Alethi...' or something.

[Shardlet he/him]

That is possible.  But, I would rather not count on that being the case.

 

Edit: Did you like the pun? 

Edited January 14, 2014 by Shardlet

[The Count he/him]

That is possible.  But, I would rather not count on that being the case.

 

Edit: Did you like the pun? 

...ah...ah...ah

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

...ah...ah...ah

That was a brilliant response and I like this name way better for it.

So did we decide that it is not necessarily true that Eshonai was in the room on the day Gavilar died? Or just that she could have been anyone?

[Shardlet he/him]

I think it is safe to say that she was not in the room (unless she was invisible).  But, since the decision was made that night and she was one of the people who made the decision, then she was most certainly in the Parshendi delegation (unless the Parshendi have something on the order of spanreeds).

Edited January 14, 2014 by Shardlet

[marianmi]

Not all council member "surrendered", only the elders.

[Swimmingly he/him]

I think it is safe to say that she was not in the room (unless she was invisible). But, since the decision was made that night and she was one of the people who made the decision, then she was most certainly in the Parshendi delegation (unless the Parshendi have something on the order of spanreeds).

You mean those songs they can all tune in to no matter the physical distance? And they use to coordinate in battle? Something like that maybe?

[FeatherWriter she/her]

I get the feeling that the songs can't actually be used to communicate. You can't send anything, just listen in and sing along to yourself if you wish.

[Shardlet he/him]

Even then, over how great of a distance would such an ability carry?  Kholinar is not exactly nextdoor to the Shattered Plains area.

[Swimmingly he/him]

Even then, over how great of a distance would such an ability carry?  Kholinar is not exactly nextdoor to the Shattered Plains area.

I think that the whole thing about the songs is that distance is more or less irrelevant with them. Sort of like having a radio in your head.

[Shardlet he/him]

I am, at present, inclined to disagree.  No great evidence one way or the other, so I reserve judgement.

[hoser he/him]

Maybe it has already been done, but if not, I want to write up a wild speculation about this.  Somebody asked if the Parshendi had gemhearts and got RAFOed, IIRC. 

I think they have tiny gemhearts that are always linked to the spiritual realm by their spren.  The different songs are ideal forms that are present in the spiritual realm that they essentially tune to.  The spiritual realm is everywhere, so distance doesn't matter. 

Edited January 15, 2014 by hoser

[Kurkistan he/him]

Maybe it has already been done, but if not, I want to write up a wild speculation about this.  Somebody asked if the Parshendi had gemhearts and got RAFOed, IIRC. 

 

I can't recall that question. I know that I've been trying to get someone to ask if surgebinders have gemhearts, but I haven't gotten any takers yet.

[Shardlet he/him]

No, hoser is recalling correctly.  There was definitely a RAFO on whether Parshendi have gemhearts.

[don_karma_II he/him]

Could Jasnah recognize Szeth?

Is there anyone who couldn't recognize the assassin in white?

[Argent he/him]

Without the white? He is just another Shin then.