Age when Nahel Bond is Formed

[Zinnny]

Is there any relation between the age of the person and when they first bond.  Kaladin bonds Syl at 19-20ish, but Shallan first started bonding Pattern as a young child.  Lift Bonds Wyndle at 13ish (10 for the 3rd time).  Does it have any relation to Spren based on Cultivation vs Spren based on Honor?

This came from the idea that Tien was in the very early stages of becoming a Lightweaver (rocks, the horse carving).  If there is a relationship at which certain orders can bond their spren and the age of the person, maybe that's seen then?

[Pagerunner he/him]

What attracts a spren is action. The only two orders we've thus far seen have more than one member are the Skybreakers and the Truthwatchers. We don't know enough about our Skybreakers yet, but Ym, Stump, and Renarin have all attracted a Truthwatcher spren, and they are all different ages. (And Wyndle almost bonded Ym instead of Lift, so there is another example of age not being important.) Tien may very well have been an incipient Lightweaver (or maybe a Willshaper), but his age will not be a factor in that.

[+hwiles]

I believe age could be a huge factor for some of the orders, and much less of a factor for others.

I'd imagine that new Bondsmiths are typically selected after they are well into adulthood, as this order seems to prioritize a certain maturity, honor, social position, and sense of duty that is rare in children, teens, and young adults.  I'm not saying a 5 year-old couldn't ever become a bondsmith if they truly exhibited the characteristics, just that it would be extremely rare (bordering on impossible) for such a child to exist and be in a position where a spren would choose to bond with them over candidates who are, for example, already in respected positions of military/civil leadership.  I think there's a certain practicality and pragmatism in how most spren choose who to bond, exhibited by how many Kholins have been scouted for Radianthood; they're in positions of power in society, they all know each other, and they're fairly loyal to one another.  This gives them an advantage right off the bat for attracting a spren compared to darkeyed farmers in unnamed villages, who would probably have to be tremendously more valiant and honorable to have comparable odds of attracting a spren's attention.

Shallan's family's connections to the Ghostbloods may have influenced why she was chosen to begin with; as to why she was chosen at such a young age, I suspect that the cryptics either wanted time to cultivate her, or she was simply the most appealing candidate with the ties and position they wanted for their agent (most of her family is sorta nuts, so it would've been slim pickings).

I suspect that most of the orders would normally exhibit some level of gender, nationality, socioeconomic, and age based discriminatory behaviors in their selection of new candidates because of their natural biases, at least until the orders were well-established and populated, at which point the spren could put more emphasis on finding candidates of strong moral fiber and the right personality who can be trained/cultivated, and less emphasis on finding candidates who are already in positions of power and already possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to make a competent Radiant.  Basically, there would probably be huge hiring biases immediately before/after a desolation, and (at least before the Recreance) the orders would gradually become more diverse as time went on.

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

The three characters (Gavilar/Dalinar/unnamed death rattle victim) who have had the highstorm visions were all older adults, so age/experience might have something on the Bindsmitg side. I bet it is order to order though. 

[Frostlander]

I know we've seen more potential KR's on the Cultivation "side" of the chart, but those orders may be more open to a variety of ages. The Ring chose Lift in part because they felt they could mold her. Shallan was also young, but basically, they represent all ages. I don't think we've seen any from the Honor side (not that we've seen many) who were younger than "young adult." Perhaps there's more flexibility on the Cultivation half of the chart.

Taking this perhaps too far, it's possible that the closer you get to the top, the more important it is that the potential KR's be of an age at which they can consent to enter into a bond. (This last part is likely just part of the bond, void, and consensual bonding kick I'm on right now... ) 

[Aminar]

I doubt age is a factor. Maturity/experience/personality/brokenness all apply, and those are all influenced by age, so there's likely a level of bell curve where less very young people are chosen, but age isn't the important part of why that would happen. 

[Aon Ene]

Will someone please clear this up for me? I was under the impression that Syl had been watching Kaladin since he was a child, and Kal had some form of windrunning abilities for a long time. 

Spoiler

Ex. The fight in front of Laral in WoK, Kaladin's fight with Szeth at the end of WoR when he says the winds have been his since he was a child.

 

[Calderis he/him]

4 minutes ago, Aon Ene said:

Will someone please clear this up for me? I was under the impression that Syl had been watching Kaladin since he was a child, and Kal had some form of windrunning abilities for a long time. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Ex. The fight in front of Laral in WoK, Kaladin's fight with Szeth at the end of WoR when he says the winds have been his since he was a child.

 

While I do understand the confusion, Syl herself tells Kaladin his desire to protect the small and young men in Amaram's army is what drew her to him. 

She wasn't with him before that. 

[Aon Ene]

7 minutes ago, Calderis said:

While I do understand the confusion, Syl herself tells Kaladin his desire to protect the small and young men in Amaram's army is what drew her to him. 

She wasn't with him before that. 

Oh, ok. Thanks!

[Aminar]

2 hours ago, Aon Ene said:

Will someone please clear this up for me? I was under the impression that Syl had been watching Kaladin since he was a child, and Kal had some form of windrunning abilities for a long time. 

  Reveal hidden contents

Ex. The fight in front of Laral in WoK, Kaladin's fight with Szeth at the end of WoR when he says the winds have been his since he was a child.

 

I do think this is significant though. Maybe a suggestion of his bondability and what order his personality would work for. Maybe it suggests some level of ability to interact with Spren similar to what Rock has. 

[Starla]

Perhaps cryptics are drawn to younger children because they are more imaginative and open-minded, whereas adults are more realistic and focused on what they see right in front of them. It seems like Shallan's vivid imagination (i.e. lies) is what drew Pattern to her as a child.

The spren of the other orders we've seen seem more focused on actions, and age is irrelevant.