[OB] Where have they been?

[Stark he/him]

Hello all - for a while now a number of people have speculated that the Iriali, on their long trail in pursuit of the knowledge of the one, are a society of Worldhoppers that periodically change worlds so that they may truly experience all of the One, Adonalsium.

 

So where have they been?  I am currently on my second, much slower and more observant read through of Oathbringer, and am only in part 2, and I already have some ideas for where the Iriali have been.  I base all of this on things they have said.  Sadly, we do not have many sources.  Ym through the Words of Radiance Interlude, and Evi through Dalinar's flashbacks, when she appears and has conversation.  They do not provide much, but here is what I have found, most of which is from the same chapter in Oathbringer.

 

Chapter 36: Hero

 

In this chapter we see Evi at what is likely her happiest, pregnant with Adolin, living with Dalinar.  I picked up on four things she said that link to some other stuff in the Cosmere, emphasis mine:

{Temporary edit: I am at work, so I can't really flip through the book to get exact page numbers and quotes.  I intend to come back and fix the format of this later this evening}

1)

Quote

"At least you got to it quickly. Today we will not need to scrub the walls, and the life will be as white as a sun in the night!"

Evi's native idioms didn't always translate well into Alethi.

-Oathbringer pg 371

White like the sun at night.  She uses this idiom with Dalinar when he stops the fireplace from ash coating their walls.  Worth noting that she phrases it as 'a sun,' not 'the sun.' Seems to indicate that the Iriali have been to Nalthis for a period of time before Roshar, given the colour based idiom that is also prevalent with our two Nalthians.

2)

Quote

"It's like you only live when you can fight," she continued.  "When you can kill. Like a blackness from old stories.  You live only by taking lives from others."

-Oathbringer pg 372

Like the blackness of old stories - When describing Dalinar's mood.  While this could refer to the Desolations, I feel that this refers more to a single crushing darkness in a history that would leave all bleak.  This feels like a reference to the old legends of the Deepness on Scadrial, which was often depicted as a formless blackness in art.

3)

Quote

"This is why you brood so often, husband," Evi said. "It isn't healthy to have a stone curdling in your stomach, still wet with moss."

"I... What?"

-Oathbringer pg 373

A stone still wet with moss.  When describing Dalinar's thoughts on the nature of spren.  I can't currently tie it to any one planet, but moss sticking to rocks does not seem likely native to Roshar. A Highstorm would strip that right off.  This to me would hint at less hostile, more temperate climates not found outside of Shinovar, which is not where the Iriali live.

4)

Quote

"If you wish to meet the One in person, you must travel to the Valley," she said. "There you can speak with the One, or to his avatar, and be granted-"

"The Old Magic," Dalinar  hissed, opening his eyes. "The Nightwatcher.

-Oathbringer pg 373

Nightwatcher, avatar of the One.  This to me is not necessarily a reference to another planet, but it does line up with the second letter in the epigraphs of part two, where the shard describes the formation of a new avatar that is being bred to distrust Hoid.  The comparison seems to link both the idea that intentional splinters/slivers of a certain power level could be considered avatars, and that the Iriali have been to that shard's planet on their long trail to pick up that terminology.

 

Once again, I apologize for the format.  I will be coming back to this later, today hopefully, to clean this up - add proper quotes with some context and page numbers.

 

But this is what I have spotted so far.  I do not recall much from Ym's interlude that would hint as to which shardworlds the Iriali had been to before, or even how the entire society manages to worldhop, or what their criteria for moving on is.  There are a small handfull of other chapters where Evi has actual lines to deliver, but I have not gotten there yet.  

 

Has anyone noticed any other hints as to previous stops on the Long Trail?  Does anyone dispute the examples I have given here, or have alternate interpretations of them?

Edited December 13, 2017 by Stark
proper quotes

[aemetha he/him]

5 minutes ago, Stark said:

White like the sun at night.

This could also refer to Taldain, dayside and nightside.

[Stark he/him]

5 minutes ago, aemetha said:

This could also refer to Taldain, dayside and nightside.

Nice catch.  Both Nalthians do use "Like white on black" as their idiom for something obvious.  I latched on to the use of colour, as we have seen Rosharans focus more on gemstones for colour references, and I think Nalthis does fit better, but Taldain could also be an option.

[aemetha he/him]

Yeah, I think the importance of the sun on Taldain is pretty equivalent to the importance of colour on Nalthis. The sun on Taldain is literally the source of investiture there.

[Rainier]

This is great, but you left out something that I thought would certainly be included if you're already speculating that the Iriali have some connection to Nalthis.

The golden (not blonde) Iriali hair is related to the Royal Locks.

Why else would they have golden hair? Why else would that hair be mentioned time and again, as breeding true or not? If there's any connection between the Iriali and Nalthis based on idioms and language, then there's a connection between the golden hair and the Royal Locks.

[StormingTexan he/him]

2 minutes ago, Rainier said:

This is great, but you left out something that I thought would certainly be included if you're already speculating that the Iriali have some connection to Nalthis.

The golden (not blonde) Iriali hair is related to the Royal Locks.

Why else would they have golden hair? Why else would that hair be mentioned time and again, as breeding true or not? If there's any connection between the Iriali and Nalthis based on idioms and language, then there's a connection between the golden hair and the Royal Locks.

I think this is mostly mentioned to show the contrast between Alethi and Iriali. As in it is as significant as Shallan's hair being red because she is Veden, Yellow is only one of the colors of royal locks. Now they very well could be from Nalthis I just do think there is a connection to the royal locks. 

[Rainier]

Just now, StormingTexan said:

Yellow is only one of the colors of royal locks.

Not yellow, gold. As in metallic and shiny. It's special hair, somehow, and the only other special hair we've seen is from Nalthis when you're the descendant of one of the Returned. 

Given the connections between Iri and Nalthis, I think the special hair is significant.

[StormingTexan he/him]

2 minutes ago, Rainier said:

Not yellow, gold. As in metallic and shiny. It's special hair, somehow, and the only other special hair we've seen is from Nalthis when you're the descendant of one of the Returned. 

Given the connections between Iri and Nalthis, I think the special hair is significant.

 Llarimar's daughter is described with golden hair as well. I agree with you though that this is a good indication of Nalthis possible even decedents of returned. I

 

Quote

 

Such great, horrible chaos. The sea in a storm at night. He felt useless, his heart thumping with fright as he watched the young woman get swept into the churning 

current. He saw flashes of her golden hair twisting in the water.

Sanderson, Brandon. Warbreaker (p. 542). Tom Doherty Associates. Kindle Edition. 

 

 

[RShara she/her]

I have a theory that the Iriali and the Alethi both have Nalthis Returned blood.  There's also this thread that has great research, quotes and WoB behind it.

 

[Stark he/him]

3 hours ago, RShara said:

I have a theory that the Iriali and the Alethi both have Nalthis Returned blood.  There's also this thread that has great research, quotes and WoB behind it.

Well darn.  I had done a quick search for this topic before starting a new thread.  Knowing that Roshar is the fourth planet, my bets are Nalthis, Scadrial and the planet of the author of the second Oathbringer letter, the one who speaks of avatars.    I think in this very short chapter, Evi gave us the biggest glimpse yet of the previous stops on the path.

 

Thanks for the info!  And I finally cleaned up my quotes.

[RShara she/her]

3 minutes ago, Stark said:

Well darn.  I had done a quick search for this topic before starting a new thread.  Knowing that Roshar is the fourth planet, my bets are Nalthis, Scadrial and the planet of the author of the second Oathbringer letter, the one who speaks of avatars.    I think in this very short chapter, Evi gave us the biggest glimpse yet of the previous stops on the path.

 

Thanks for the info!  And I finally cleaned up my quotes.

No worries.  It was pretty hard to find.  I was actually referencing it for my theory's purposes, so I happened to have it saved.  Otherwise, it didn't actually come up in search results that I could see

[Stark he/him]

3 minutes ago, RShara said:

I was actually referencing it for my theory's purposes, so I happened to have it saved. 

That makes a ton of sense as to why it did not show in my search, but you could pull it in seconds.  Now I am super curious about your theory.  Looking forward to reading it!