Ardjet Posted October 4, 2016 Report Share Posted October 4, 2016 I came across this(pictured) in Words of Radiance. The coloured rocks and the circle made me think: was Zahel playing Tarachin? Or some form of it? I remember Tarachin being played on a field, not a circle, with coloured weighted balls. Though the field and balls were also sized for a Returned. Still, the similarities stood out to me. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gallifreyan Jedi Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 Nice catch. Tarachin: Travel edition. I agree with this interperetation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djarskublar he/him Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 I had already seen this and just assumed it was something lots of people had seen. I took it as evidence that it really was Vasher. I guess it wasn't as commonly caught as I thought. Good job on catching it yourself. I usually suck at that. I didn't even notice it was NB in WoR until a second read through... *facepalm* I was just like... huh that's a weird sharblade, I don't care though cuz SZETH! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eki Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 4 minutes ago, Djarskublar said: I had already seen this and just assumed it was something lots of people had seen. I took it as evidence that it really was Vasher. I guess it wasn't as commonly caught as I thought. Good job on catching it yourself. I usually suck at that. I didn't even notice it was NB in WoR until a second read through... *facepalm* I was just like... huh that's a weird sharblade, I don't care though cuz SZETH! First time through, I had no idea it was Vasher (didn't know about the Cosmere), but second time through, I did notice he used colored stones, which made sense. I never connected it to that particular game though. I'm surprised he doesn't hate it, actually. Maybe he's being nostalgic. I did notice Nightblood though! That bombshell was my first introduction to the Cosmere (even if, for quite a while, I thought it was just this one thing Brandon had thrown in from another book...). I'm actually glad I didn't know about the Cosmere, because the surprise of Nightblood popping up there was absolutely fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Djarskublar he/him Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 WoR was generally just... incredible. NB showing up is easily the best bombshell ever dropped in any medium I have seen. Only a little foreshadowing if you were paying really close attention and noticed Vasher, but it will probably be extremely relevant to future plot. On top of that, it is the most interesting setup for the apocalypse I have read. People saw it coming and have dealt with it before, that isn't common, and what makes it even more rare and interesting is that there is a real chance they won't successfully deal with it. Plus, Brandon's worldbuilding for Stormlight is easily his best, and that is saying something. The characterization, while arguably not the absolute best, is still excellent. Then the disadvantaged duel was really, REALLY cool. Adolin was a boss, and Kaladin jump kicked a guy in Plate hard enough to crack it... lolz for dayz. This is truly epic fantasy, in every wonderful sense of the word. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardjet Posted October 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 Thanks, all. I only caught this on my third re-read of the books. I love that there are always things to notice on a re-read. It's not at all like re-reading other authors, who have what they have and that's it. Sanderson books, like Kelsier is fond of saying, always have another secret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argel he/him Posted October 5, 2016 Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 I also caught Nightblood right away. I may have had to look up the details, but I knew it was a Cosmere reference right off the bat. I missed Zahel till I read about him here and of course had a facepalm moment. I didn't catch the game at all though, so good job and thanks for bringing it up. Agree that it's more confirmation that Zahel is Vasher (though at this point we have WoBs on that). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardjet Posted October 5, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2016 Nightblood was a big slap in the face, especially with the "Would you like to destroy some evil today?" Zahel took a bit longer, but once you realize Nightblood is there, the 'Zahel' clues get a bit more obvious. I can't wait to see more of Nightblood, and especially if(when) Vasher and Nightblood reunite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argel he/him Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 Yeah, if Nightblood had been referenced half-way through, Zahel would have been much, much more obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magestar he/him Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 I didn't even catch Zahel at all. I mean, I guessed he was a world hopper, but I didn't get that he was Vasher until the Shard. Nightblood was so obvious though, so awesome, best bombshell ever, Szeth has Nightblood now, it's so cool, I can't wait for SA 3- Yeah, that was one of my favorite scenes. I fangirl over it every time. I did catch the Tarachin thing (that's what made me think Zahel was a Worldhopper at all), but, now that I know he's Vasher, all the other clues seem so obvious. Hindsight 20/20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardjet Posted October 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 It's also funny how upset he gets if people mess with the stones. Unlike Lightsong, he must actually understand the rules. Unfortunately I don't expect he'll explain them to anyone on Roshar, thus giving the readers a set of rules. Too bad. It'd be fun to try and get a Tarachin game going. A mix of Shot Put and Lawn Bowling, perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSC01 he/him Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 Keep in mind, what Zahel is playing might be the "real" way to play Tarachin, and the version that the Returned play is an enlarged version that is meant to emphasize their supposed divinity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goody153 Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 I found the game Zahel played as out of place too but i didn't realize that it was a pocketsized version of the game they played at Endowments world. Though that scene immediately connected to me when i learned Zahel is Vasher lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ardjet Posted October 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 40 minutes ago, DSC01 said: Keep in mind, what Zahel is playing might be the "real" way to play Tarachin, and the version that the Returned play is an enlarged version that is meant to emphasize their supposed divinity. That's true. It could be more related to the classic Marbles rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrakeMarshall he/him Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 Once you reach the realization that Zahel is Vasher, there are a lot of interesting details you get from a re-read. This is definitely one of them. Another one was how Zahel always seemed to notice people even when he wasn't looking at them. He knew when someone was at his door before they made themselves known. He also knew without looking when Skar was messing with his Tarachin set. I think it is fair to say that this awareness is from the heightenings. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The One Who Connects he/him Posted October 6, 2016 Report Share Posted October 6, 2016 1 hour ago, Drake Marshall said: I think it is fair to say that this awareness is from the heightenings. I agree, but an interesting thought to consider about using those: Warbreaker Spoilers (somewhat) Spoiler Perfect Life Sense is 4th Heightening, which he can surpass if he stops suppressing his Divine Breath, but his BioChromatic Aura would likely show if he stands around people too long. Vivienna (Siri?) could notice an effect on grass around the feet of someone with only the 1st Heightening. They knew what to look for of course, but Returned have a bit more.. obvious aura. I agree that he has Breath, maybe as much as Hoid does. Given that he was one of the 5 Scholars, and that he has a minimum of 300+ years living as a Returned, I can see him being able to better read what he sees (hears?) from a non-perfect Life Sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jondesu he/him Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 On 10/6/2016 at 6:11 PM, The One Who Connects said: I agree, but an interesting thought to consider about using those: Warbreaker Spoilers (somewhat) Hide contents Perfect Life Sense is 4th Heightening, which he can surpass if he stops suppressing his Divine Breath, but his BioChromatic Aura would likely show if he stands around people too long. Vivienna (Siri?) could notice an effect on grass around the feet of someone with only the 1st Heightening. They knew what to look for of course, but Returned have a bit more.. obvious aura. I agree that he has Breath, maybe as much as Hoid does. Given that he was one of the 5 Scholars, and that he has a minimum of 300+ years living as a Returned, I can see him being able to better read what he sees (hears?) from a non-perfect Life Sense. We're in the Cosmere Theories forum, btw, I don't think we need to use spoilers for a book like Warbreaker that's been out for a long time. I don't think we know that suppressing the Divine Breath's effects also takes away the benefits, like life sense. Granted, I think the intro with Vasher would indicate that may be the case, but it was all focused on how he didn't have enough breaths to just awaken anything he wanted, rather than dealing with those nuances. I think it's entirely possible he would still have the Perfect Life Sense even with his Divine Breath suppressed, and even if not, he probably has enough Breath for a good non-perfect Life Sense like you said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The One Who Connects he/him Posted October 14, 2016 Report Share Posted October 14, 2016 25 minutes ago, Jondesu said: We're in the Cosmere Theories forum, btw, I don't think we need to use spoilers for a book like Warbreaker that's been out for a long time. I somehow missed that this was in Theories, thought it was in Stormlight Archives sub-forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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