Theory: Laral will be a Knight Radiant

[Glaring at the Survivor he/him]

Yup. Laral will be a Knight.

Reasons:

her name is palindromic*

her dad died and she became engaged to a tyrant

Kaladin's probably going to fall for her*

And... yeah, thats it. But I'm almost certain.

* Not quite relevant. More, uh, jokinglyish-things.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Stroniax

[Lightsworn Panda he/him]

 

 

her name is palindromic

Ookkaayy... 

[A Joe in the Bush]

Kaladin backwards is nidalak. His name isn't Palindromic, Does this mean he can't be a knight Radiant?

 

I don't think a Palindromic name is a sign of Radiantness. It's more of a Holy Construct. Ketek, is palindromic, and it's a holy Poem written as a Palindrome.

 

Her dad died yes, but this would have to have broken her. She seemed saddened in the book, but not truly broken in the way Kaladin and Shallan were.

 

And if Kaladin does fall for her, I don't think that will matter in her becoming a Radiant.

Edited May 1, 2014 by The Only Joe

[Kobold King he/him]

And if Kaladin does fall for her, I don't think that will matter in her becoming a Radiant.

 

It could matter from a narrative perspective.

 

WoR:

Personally, I wouldn't rule anybody out. Maybe Laral will be a Radiant. Maybe she'll be Kaladin's squire. Maybe Kaladin will be her squire.

 

Maybe Tien will return from the dead as a possessed voidspren who will haunt the Kholin family from inside Renarin's box. Just sayin'.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Kobold King

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

Not to dismiss the theory or put down your preferences, but.....


BARF. This would be one of those moments in the story that I would regret seeing on the paper. Partly because you know there will end up being an additional love triangle/ conflict of the heart caused over it, but mostly because that would almost be pushing the Radiants ratio into the "most of the characters we meet are Radiants" territory. We practically have the entirety of the Kholin family on the list, and I would just hate for a group that is supposed to be so based on character to be so limited to a small network of people. 

In reality I know how possible it is. Spren are supposed to start choosing many many many more Radiants right before a Desolation, so it would make sense that more and more people would be. And her character is definitely going to be significant in some way soon. After she went with Roshone, I fully expected her to cause loads of problems in the extended story (assuming everyone didn't get what they had coming to them by the end of WoK). 

...  You're right though. Totally possible. What Order do you think she would represent though, based on what we've seen of her?

[Glaring at the Survivor he/him]

That I don't know. When I read TWoK, I brushed her off as unimportant.

Kaladin backwards is nidalak. His name isn't Palindromic, Does this mean he can't be a knight Radiant?

 

I don't think a Palindromic name is a sign of Radiantness. It's more of a Holy Construct. Ketek, is palindromic, and it's a holy Poem written as a Palindrome.

 

Her dad died yes, but this would have to have broken her. She seemed saddened in the book, but not truly broken in the way Kaladin and Shallan were.

 

And if Kaladin does fall for her, I don't think that will matter in her becoming a Radiant.

"Kalad" - near-palindromic (since apparently perfectly palindromic breaks some religious rules or something) - with "in" at the end to add to the non-palindromicy.

Its not...

She was "becoming ladylike", so she probably wasn't supposed to grieve in public... She was probably hiding it? Maybe Roshone has done something to her? Or Kaladin leaving (she had a bigger crush than she was willing to admit?)? I'm guessing something, though. Maybe something we didn't see?

Unrelated: Kalad backwards is Dalak. Sounds a lot like Dalek doesn't it?

[A Joe in the Bush]

Nidalak Actually sounds like a Cool Mini-boss Name. Beware! Nidalak the Devourer!

[DSC01 he/him]

Laral's perfectly symmetrical name, as we learn from Saedeas's POV, is something of a minor scandal, presuming too much holiness in its symmetry. In Laral's case, we're probably seeing bumpkin lighteyes giving their daughter an overly grand name, not realizing the faux pas. But that's also significant, in that young Kaladin saw her as just that grand. If he meets up with her again, I think it will be a life lesson sorta moment, where he realizes that he saw her as more than she was.

[Lightsworn Panda he/him]

Maybe Tien will return from the dead as a possessed voidspren who will haunt the Kholin family from inside Renarin's box. Just sayin'.

(Shiver)

[Aleksiel]

Plot twist - Laral became a Lightweaver and posed as Tarah to be with Kaladin, but he dumped her yet again. Poor Laral.

[Bloodfalcon he/him]

Plot twist - Laral became a Lightweaver and posed as Tarah to be with Kaladin, but he dumped her yet again. Poor Laral.

Wow, that actually sounds pretty interesting. But Kaladin didn't dump her the first time, did he? It seemed like neither made a real move until she went off with Roshone.

[Aleksiel]

Wow, that actually sounds pretty interesting. But Kaladin didn't dump her the first time, did he? It seemed like neither made a real move until she went off with Roshone.

 

 Unless we consider going after Tien and leaving her with Roshone, but I admit I over-exaggerated the 'dumped her again' part to make it sound better.

[Numb]

I do get the feeling she might resent him for not saving her. When they were younger she kept pushing him to go to war so he could become a lighteyes. Actually as I read that maybe he'll come back with some killer pickup line to make her knees jelly.

[Kobold King he/him]

I do get the feeling she might resent him for not saving her. When they were younger she kept pushing him to go to war so he could become a lighteyes. Actually as I read that maybe he'll come back with some killer pickup line to make her knees jelly.

 

What man needs a pickup line when he can glow and fly?

 

EDIT: Storming SA board. WoR spoilers above.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Kobold King

[maxal she/her]

Kaladin backwards is nidalak. His name isn't Palindromic, Does this mean he can't be a knight Radiant?

 

I don't think a Palindromic name is a sign of Radiantness. It's more of a Holy Construct. Ketek, is palindromic, and it's a holy Poem written as a Palindrome.

 

Her dad died yes, but this would have to have broken her. She seemed saddened in the book, but not truly broken in the way Kaladin and Shallan were.

 

And if Kaladin does fall for her, I don't think that will matter in her becoming a Radiant.

 

I have so much issues right now with this need to be broken to be a Radiant... Kaladin was broken. It was a sad story. Shallan was broken. another sad story, but after hearing these two, I find any other character's story to be insignificant. Even Dalinar, I never pictured him as broken: tired of the war, disgusted by his past, yes, but broken, really broken? Not broken like Kal or Shallan, I just don't see it. It could be I am wrong, but right now, it is my perception. Ditto for Renarin who is not broken, really. He has a disease that prevented him from becoming a warrior. Big deal! He still had a family who wholeheartedly supported him, loved him and encouraged him to pursue a career following his strengths which he stubbornly refused. Apart from Sadeas, nobody ever tried to diminish him because of his sickness and yet he is sooooooo broken he got a spren.... *sight* I just can't see it. Many kids are born with disabilities and most of them are not broken. In fact, it is quite the other way around: they are real little fighters trying to make the best with what they've got so sorry, I just don't buy the Renarin's story.

 

Therefore, is Laral turns out being a Radiant, that would be a horrible plot twist for me. Why Laral? There is just no reason apart from her being a character in the book. Besides, I trully believe we need to see one member per order before they start to expend. It would be a real show killer to have an extra Lightweaver (for example) and no Stoneward (for example).

[DSC01 he/him]

I don't think it's ever said that it's a necessity. I think people are getting that idea from when Kaladin says something to Syl about being unable to fulfill his role as a Radiant because he's just a broken a man, and she says that's all any of them ever were. I think she was commenting on the human condition, not asserting that brokenness is a prerequisite to being a KR.

[Aleksiel]

I have so much issues right now with this need to be broken to be a Radiant... Kaladin was broken. It was a sad story. Shallan was broken. another sad story, but after hearing these two, I find any other character's story to be insignificant. Even Dalinar, I never pictured him as broken: tired of the war, disgusted by his past, yes, but broken, really broken? Not broken like Kal or Shallan, I just don't see it. It could be I am wrong, but right now, it is my perception. Ditto for Renarin who is not broken, really. He has a disease that prevented him from becoming a warrior. Big deal! He still had a family who wholeheartedly supported him, loved him and encouraged him to pursue a career following his strengths which he stubbornly refused. Apart from Sadeas, nobody ever tried to diminish him because of his sickness and yet he is sooooooo broken he got a spren.... *sight* I just can't see it. Many kids are born with disabilities and most of them are not broken. In fact, it is quite the other way around: they are real little fighters trying to make the best with what they've got so sorry, I just don't buy the Renarin's story.

 

Therefore, is Laral turns out being a Radiant, that would be a horrible plot twist for me. Why Laral? There is just no reason apart from her being a character in the book. Besides, I trully believe we need to see one member per order before they start to expend. It would be a real show killer to have an extra Lightweaver (for example) and no Stoneward (for example).

 

Just because there are people who has suffered greatly doesn't mean everyone else's suffering is insignificant. Your own pain doesn't go away when you think of someone who had it worse, does it? 

 

There is a character I believe had it worse than Kaladin

Lift. Think of the horrors of her childhood, all alone on the streets, never knowing when will be the next time she would be able to eat; having no one to comfort her or help her, witnessing so much death and desperation' always scared, running and homeless.

She had it worse, at least Kaladin had something it the beginning. But that doesn't make Kal's story any less of a tragedy. 

 

Laral was raised with no mother and I doubt anyone was really her friend. She was the daughter of the city lord and must have felt detached from almost every other child. We saw how they treated Kal, no reason to believe Laral had anyone beside him.

 

Then her father died and she was forced to be whatever the new city lord wanted her to be. Forced to marry and obey a repulsive violent old man, when she was so young. Her story is heart-breaking  in a different way than Kal or Shallan's, but nonetheless painful  and imo tragic. Laral never had brothers like Shallan to give her strength and reason to fight back. What hope was there for her? She had nobody to go for help, no ways out. Nowhere to go. A young lighteyed girl can't just pack a bag and run away. She would have just been dragged back.

 

All this is enough to break anyone's soul. Whether or not she is a (proto-)Radiant will depend on how she chose to react to what happened to her after Kaladin left. I saw no foreshadowing in his past to point in the direction of Laral being a potential KR, but I wasn't really paying attention to her for such clues. I won't be surprised if she's a surgebinder now and I won't be surprised if she isn't. I just hope she won't be portrayed as a victim who never stood up for herself and those abused by Roshone. 

[maxal she/her]

Just because there are people who has suffered greatly doesn't mean everyone else's suffering is insignificant. Your own pain doesn't go away when you think of someone who had it worse, does it? 

 

There is a character I believe had it worse than Kaladin

Lift. Think of the horrors of her childhood, all alone on the streets, never knowing when will be the next time she would be able to eat; having no one to comfort her or help her, witnessing so much death and desperation' always scared, running and homeless.

She had it worse, at least Kaladin had something it the beginning. But that doesn't make Kal's story any less of a tragedy. 

 

Laral was raised with no mother and I doubt anyone was really her friend. She was the daughter of the city lord and must have felt detached from almost every other child. We saw how they treated Kal, no reason to believe Laral had anyone beside him.

 

Then her father died and she was forced to be whatever the new city lord wanted her to be. Forced to marry and obey a repulsive violent old man, when she was so young. Her story is heart-breaking  in a different way than Kal or Shallan's, but nonetheless painful  and imo tragic. Laral never had brothers like Shallan to give her strength and reason to fight back. What hope was there for her? She had nobody to go for help, no ways out. Nowhere to go. A young lighteyed girl can't just pack a bag and run away. She would have just been dragged back.

 

All this is enough to break anyone's soul. Whether or not she is a (proto-)Radiant will depend on how she chose to react to what happened to her after Kaladin left. I saw no foreshadowing in his past to point in the direction of Laral being a potential KR, but I wasn't really paying attention to her for such clues. I won't be surprised if she's a surgebinder now and I won't be surprised if she isn't. I just hope she won't be portrayed as a victim who never stood up for herself and those abused by Roshone. 

 

I agree about Lift. I have never questioned her becoming a KR either.

It's just I feel Sanderson put the bar so high first with Kal and then with Shallan

I felt robbed when Dalinar and Renarin turned out being KR.

 

I could say the same about Jasnah, but we haven't see her that much.

 

Each person has its hardness, I agree, but Kaladin's path to Radianhood was so hard, so difficult, so tedious even after WoK, I keep on feeling any other story is lesser. After WoR, it felt that some characters just had to be a little out-of-normal or say just a few words and BANG, KR. I was unsatisfied by this.

[Aleksiel]

I agree about Lift. I have never questioned her becoming a KR either.

It's just I feel Sanderson put the bar so high first with Kal and then with Shallan

I felt robbed when Dalinar and Renarin turned out being KR.

 

I could say the same about Jasnah, but we haven't see her that much.

 

Each person has its hardness, I agree, but Kaladin's path to Radianhood was so hard, so difficult, so tedious even after WoK, I keep on feeling any other story is lesser. After WoR, it felt that some characters just had to be a little out-of-normal or say just a few words and BANG, KR. I was unsatisfied by this.

 

Dalinar has suffered silently for six years torn by the guilt of being too drunk to help hos brother, especially considering how Gavilar asked him to follow the Codes on that particular night. It's a huge burden. More passive than Kaladin's suffering, I agree. Not that spectacular either.

 

Renarin has suffered silently from being isolated and unaccepted by society; even Dalinar treats him as someone who would do best if steps back as an ardent and not really take his place as his son. Being in a golden cage all your life must be painful.

 

Jasnah blames herself for Gavilar's death and we're yet to know what made her so cold and distant towards others. She's so far the character with the fewest friendships. Not enough facts to draw any conclusions, though.

 

I think your dissatisfaction comes from the fact we haven't been with either of the other Radiants through their sufferings and brokenness. They have all felt different kinds of pain. We know the most about Kal and we were with him on his oath of becoming Radiant, so it's natural to feel for him the most. 

 

Also, from a meta-text perspective making Renarin a surgebinder was the only way to give him some equal ground with Adolin for one and justify making Renarin a major future character.However, it did feel kind of cheap for Dalinar to just go out there and throw some Oaths at the Stormfather. It wasn't satisfying for me either.

[maxal she/her]

Dalinar has suffered silently for six years torn by the guilt of being too drunk to help hos brother, especially considering how Gavilar asked him to follow the Codes on that particular night. It's a huge burden. More passive than Kaladin's suffering, I agree. Not that spectacular either.

 

Renarin has suffered silently from being isolated and unaccepted by society; even Dalinar treats him as someone who would do best if steps back as an ardent and not really take his place as his son. Being in a golden cage all your life must be painful.

 

Jasnah blames herself for Gavilar's death and we're yet to know what made her so cold and distant towards others. She's so far the character with the fewest friendships. Not enough facts to draw any conclusions, though.

 

I think your dissatisfaction comes from the fact we haven't been with either of the other Radiants through their sufferings and brokenness. They have all felt different kinds of pain. We know the most about Kal and we were with him on his oath of becoming Radiant, so it's natural to feel for him the most. 

 

Also, from a meta-text perspective making Renarin a surgebinder was the only way to give him some equal ground with Adolin for one and justify making Renarin a major future character.However, it did feel kind of cheap for Dalinar to just go out there and throw some Oaths at the Stormfather. It wasn't satisfying for me either.

 

I am happy you feel the same I do about Dalinar's oaths. I feel just the same. Not that I disagree he's had hardships, but it feels so easy for him when compare to Kaladin who had to be bleeding near death on the verge of collapsing for it to happen. For this perspective, you can easily imagine how much worse I feel about Renarin. I was mentioning in another post I felt literally robbed by these two, especially him.

 

For my point-of-vue, Shallan had to develop this amazing drawing capacity to attract a spren; Kal had to become a protector of people against all odds which he learned the hard way; Dalinar had to massacre thousand of people and Renarin... had to born with a silly lillte disease that is not that terrible on the scale of one to ten. I mean, he could have been physically or mentally impaired. He has a disability, true, but he never tried to make anything out of it. Look at Lopen! The guy is one armed, he gets send running bridges and yet he was smiling the whole time! He just never gave up and try to make the best out of the worst situations. If WoR had ended with Lopen being the fourth KR, I would have been more satisfied, because I feel the guy has accomplished something. Renarin has accomplished nothing but brooding over the fact he cannot be a warrior. Sight.

 

I also do not understand why Renarin had to become a major character. I was happy with him, Elhokar and Navani being in the background. Not every character has to be major. Although I agree it was Sanderson way of upgrading him to Adolin's level with the purpose to destroy their nice brotherly relationship and bring down Adolin. No matter how it is played out, it was heavily hinted.

 

Overall, we could blame Sanderson for my dissatisfaction. He put so much emphasis on Kal every other character appears dimmed.

[Aleksiel]

I am happy you feel the same I do about Dalinar's oaths. I feel just the same. Not that I disagree he's had hardships, but it feels so easy for him when compare to Kaladin who had to be bleeding near death on the verge of collapsing for it to happen. For this perspective, you can easily imagine how much worse I feel about Renarin. I was mentioning in another post I felt literally robbed by these two, especially him.

 

For my point-of-vue, Shallan had to develop this amazing drawing capacity to attract a spren; Kal had to become a protector of people against all odds which he learned the hard way; Dalinar had to massacre thousand of people and Renarin... had to born with a silly lillte disease that is not that terrible on the scale of one to ten. I mean, he could have been physically or mentally impaired. He has a disability, true, but he never tried to make anything out of it. Look at Lopen! The guy is one armed, he gets send running bridges and yet he was smiling the whole time! He just never gave up and try to make the best out of the worst situations. If WoR had ended with Lopen being the fourth KR, I would have been more satisfied, because I feel the guy has accomplished something. Renarin has accomplished nothing but brooding over the fact he cannot be a warrior. Sight.

 

I also do not understand why Renarin had to become a major character. I was happy with him, Elhokar and Navani being in the background. Not every character has to be major. Although I agree it was Sanderson way of upgrading him to Adolin's level with the purpose to destroy their nice brotherly relationship and bring down Adolin. No matter how it is played out, it was heavily hinted.

 

Overall, we could blame Sanderson for my dissatisfaction. He put so much emphasis on Kal every other character appears dimmed.

 

There's some heavy foreshadowing something is off with Renarin's sickness. It's likely Dalinar asked the Nightwatcher to save his little son. So, at first Renarain was an important tool for Dalinar's development. Once Brandon had him in the Kholin family, there wasn't much else to do with him other than make him a Radiant. We have a king, two renowned swordsmen and two brilliant scholars. Leaving out Renarin as the strange child would have been more dissatisfying for me, making me wonder why was he there at all. Would have been pointless to make Renarin an ardent, because he'd be just another scholar like Jasnah and Navani. He's not suitable for battle like Adolin considering his sickness;nor is he charismatic enough to a leader like Dalinar. The way I see it, Renarin had to be a Radiant or be written out. Being in a golden cage is enough to break anyone imo, so I'm glad he turned out to a Radiant.

 

Dalinar... Kaladin's oaths were in really powerful moments. Shallan's truths didn't impress me much, honestly. I was really dissatisfied she confessed the truth of her mother's death in Urithiru and not in the chasms with Kaladin. I expected Dalinar to have some saving-the-day moment with his Words. But he doesn't seem like the battle oriented type and his oath really didn't have much to do with the Parshendi battle, so I suppose it's understandable it did't happen then.

 

Overall, I agree with you. Brandon put so much effort into Kal and now his path outshines too much everyone else's so far. 

[maxal she/her]

There's some heavy foreshadowing something is off with Renarin's sickness. It's likely Dalinar asked the Nightwatcher to save his little son. So, at first Renarain was an important tool for Dalinar's development. Once Brandon had him in the Kholin family, there wasn't much else to do with him other than make him a Radiant. We have a king, two renowned swordsmen and two brilliant scholars. Leaving out Renarin as the strange child would have been more dissatisfying for me, making me wonder why was he there at all. Would have been pointless to make Renarin an ardent, because he'd be just another scholar like Jasnah and Navani. He's not suitable for battle like Adolin considering his sickness;nor is he charismatic enough to a leader like Dalinar. The way I see it, Renarin had to be a Radiant or be written out. Being in a golden cage is enough to break anyone imo, so I'm glad he turned out to a Radiant.

 

Dalinar... Kaladin's oaths were in really powerful moments. Shallan's truths didn't impress me much, honestly. I was really dissatisfied she confessed the truth of her mother's death in Urithiru and not in the chasms with Kaladin. I expected Dalinar to have some saving-the-day moment with his Words. But he doesn't seem like the battle oriented type and his oath really didn't have much to do with the Parshendi battle, so I suppose it's understandable it did't happen then.

 

Overall, I agree with you. Brandon put so much effort into Kal and now his path outshines too much everyone else's so far. 

 

I do not mind him becoming a Radiant, I mind how it happened. I mind he had to accomplish next to nothing to be one. All other characters have such great development (even if I was dissatisfied with Dalinar's oath, truth is the guy is still awesome), such great accomplishments they had to perform BEFORE making it to KR, I just cannot sake out the feeling I have about Renarin. It seemed he just draw the lucky number to be a Radiant, ie being born with a disease. I felt he became KR by circumstances more than my merit and I feel you need to be deserving to be a KR. I fail to see how having a golden cage makes him such a great candidate. Imo, we could argue Adolin had the same cage as he was forbidden to wear fashionable clothes and get drunk with his friends , when he still had some. Now how dissatisfying would that have been?

 

This is why I am strongly against Elhokar being KR, because I feel he is not deserving and this is also why I am strongly routing for Adolin to be one because I feel he deserves it.

 

Shallan's truth were OK. It was a sad story. I could feel it. It was not as powerful as Kaladin and I agree with you her last truth came out a bit flat, but overall I am quite happy with her being KR. Even if I have some misgiving about her from time to time, I am happy she is a KR and I wholeheartedly support her in that role.

[Gabriele she/her]

We don't yet know the full extent of Dalinar's brokeness. As far as I know the second book was for some time planned as his flashback book and that might have told us more. Now it's Shallan's, but in the story arc Dalinar still had to become a Radiant, that's why the perception may be off.

[Aleksiel]

I do not mind him becoming a Radiant, I mind how it happened. I mind he had to accomplish next to nothing to be one. All other characters have such great development (even if I was dissatisfied with Dalinar's oath, truth is the guy is still awesome), such great accomplishments they had to perform BEFORE making it to KR, I just cannot sake out the feeling I have about Renarin. It seemed he just draw the lucky number to be a Radiant, ie being born with a disease. I felt he became KR by circumstances more than my merit and I feel you need to be deserving to be a KR. I fail to see how having a golden cage makes him such a great candidate. Imo, we could argue Adolin had the same cage as he was forbidden to wear fashionable clothes and get drunk with his friends , when he still had some. Now how dissatisfying would that have been?

 

This is why I am strongly against Elhokar being KR, because I feel he is not deserving and this is also why I am strongly routing for Adolin to be one because I feel he deserves it.

 

Shallan's truth were OK. It was a sad story. I could feel it. It was not as powerful as Kaladin and I agree with you her last truth came out a bit flat, but overall I am quite happy with her being KR. Even if I have some misgiving about her from time to time, I am happy she is a KR and I wholeheartedly support her in that role.

 

Oh, I'm ok with her being a Radiant, just meant to illustrate the difference between her development as one compared to Kaladin's. 

 

I get you are mostly joking about Adolin being broken by not wearing fancy clothes, but I think you should give Renarin more credit. Think how much he struggles on daily basis. People think he's creepy and don't want to be around him. His own father never trusts him with anything and tries to push him aside as an ardent. He probably didn't have friends. He wasn't able to join most children's games because of his sickness. He lives in a society in which fighting is the most valuable thing, yet he was refused the right to train until WoR. 

 

Imagine having people always whisper behind your back, no one believing in you, being pushed aside as an outcast... It's lonely and painful. Rearin grew up without a mother and frankly his father hasn't been particularly helpful or comforting. Renarin has been in Adolin's shadow most of his life, allowed to be in most places as his brother, not because he was personally invited. Dalinar doesn't seek his opinion on any meeting. He allows Ren to be there just because it would be too rude to deny him the right to be present.

 

Renarin didn't have the hardest of lives, that doesn't mean he had an easy one. Due to the nature of his Order I suppose it will be a long time before we see what he has accomplished to become a Radiant. Plenty of things come to my mind and none of them is as flashy as Kaladin's victories, but to be fair Kaladin didn't achieve much before his bond either and neither did Shallan.

 

Edit: 

Kaladin started bonding with Syl around the time he began protecting young boys on the battelefield (Syl's earliest memories with him), so his combat skills are to a degree due to the bond. Think how pathetic he describes himself to be with the spear in WOR when Syl is dead. All his flashy accomplishments come after the bond began forming. We have no pre-bond Shallan scenes for now. Sha has likely always drew, however there's no ground to claim she was this good of an artist pre-bond. Nahel-bond obviously gives passives powers along with the surges. All in all, neither Kal nor Shallan did anything impressive pre-bond as far as I'm concerned, so I see no need for Ren to have done something big pre-bond either. Dalinar is the only one who had achieved much and proved himself before bonding.

Edited May 3, 2014 by Aleksiel

[Numb]

I just hope Laral isn't too badly off if/when we see her. Her story is too heartbreaking to end badly for me. Even Vin's story was less so since she finally found love and a family.