3rd Bondsmith maybe? Possibly?

[Kered he/him]

So, my overall thoughts on the Nightwatcher Bondsmith are kind of conflicted. On one hand I have an instinct that says that the 3rd Bondsmith will fall under the Brandon category of "Some things are different with the Radiants this time around and new stuff is happening" and the path to a 3rd Bondsmith will be different than than how it happened with previous generations. On the other hand it's entirely possible that there might not even be a 3rd Bondsmith, the Nightwatcher remaining unbonded and "protected" by Cultivation. I think this is unlikely, strictly from a storytelling perspective. It would make for a great read, having Cultivation finally get somewhat insulated into the Knights Radiant through her daughter. 
 

But with all that being a idea popped in my head on a possible 3rd Bondsmith if there path ends up being the "traditional" bath. Most of it is a gut feeling/one loose shared quality. I think the Mink would make a great Nightwatcher Bondsmith candidate. The Nightwatcher can be, very mildly lol, be described as quirky. Same can be said for the Mink. It's small piece to build a full theory on, I admit. But I think it would be a super interesting storyline. Along with a few others, the Mink really popped for me in this book and I was instantly a fan. The possible banter of the Mink trying to teach the Nightwatcher his unusual quirks as legitimate human culture that everyone follows would be tier 1. 

I guess there's also a possible argument can be made that with the Mink trying to unite Herdaz to resist the Fused it's somewhat of justification of a quality a Bondsmith should have but I personally think we haven't seen enough of the Mink to know if he has the required traits to be a Bondsmith based off what we've read. 
 

Attempt at a well reasoned theory #1,364,083. 

[joesleepsalot he/him]

Man.... I haven't seen this one touched yet, but i also don't live on this website lol.

If I recall correctly, Bondsmith candidates historically have been (predominantly):

Rlain, Navani, Taravangian

All three are now off the table.

I don't think Brandon would make a rando into a bondsmith... seems too "out there".

The bondsmith presumably has to be someone of some notoriety.

Let the critiques commence, my prediction is yet another Kholin: Adolin. Maya aside, we don't really know what that bond entails or if it eliminates a current spren bond... even if she's half revived. "I will unite instead of divide" ..... the entire trial scene in ROW and presumably the humans and honor spren in book 5?? Uniting all spren and stripping the ash spren of their gripes about human betrayal, possibly turning the skybreakers as well? I think Adolin and Maya just singlehandedly united the Shadesmar scene by exposing the truth.

What about Dalinar possibly dying? Who would take his bond?

I'm sure there's another character out there who will snatch up the nightwatcher but I hope it's not a fused or something. It could always be someone like Sebarial lol.

In the event Dalinar sies, I think we have a candidate for a triple-hatted bondsmith and/or shardholder: Kaladin. His eyes were glowing red after Teft and hes the son of tanavast, no clue on how he's connected to cultivation yet but i'm sure there's something. After all, who was Tanavast into??? Despite a WOB saying Lirin and Hesina are his biological parents, it may be that they physically had him but his soul was injected into that body via an honor/cultivation love scene or something.

All this to say: Kaladin is gonna be the eventual bondsmith or shardholder for all three, but the 25 meter target, in my opinion, is Adolin.

 

[Honorless he/him]

1 hour ago, joesleepsalot said:

Man.... I haven't seen this one touched yet, but i also don't live on this website lol.

If I recall correctly, Bondsmith candidates historically have been (predominantly):

Rlain, Navani, Taravangian

All three are now off the table.

I don't think Brandon would make a rando into a bondsmith... seems too "out there".

The bondsmith presumably has to be someone of some notoriety.

Let the critiques commence, my prediction is yet another Kholin: Adolin. Maya aside, we don't really know what that bond entails or if it eliminates a current spren bond... even if she's half revived. "I will unite instead of divide" ..... the entire trial scene in ROW and presumably the humans and honor spren in book 5?? Uniting all spren and stripping the ash spren of their gripes about human betrayal, possibly turning the skybreakers as well? I think Adolin and Maya just singlehandedly united the Shadesmar scene by exposing the truth.

What about Dalinar possibly dying? Who would take his bond?

I'm sure there's another character out there who will snatch up the nightwatcher but I hope it's not a fused or something. It could always be someone like Sebarial lol.

In the event Dalinar sies, I think we have a candidate for a triple-hatted bondsmith and/or shardholder: Kaladin. His eyes were glowing red after Teft and hes the son of tanavast, no clue on how he's connected to cultivation yet but i'm sure there's something. After all, who was Tanavast into??? Despite a WOB saying Lirin and Hesina are his biological parents, it may be that they physically had him but his soul was injected into that body via an honor/cultivation love scene or something.

All this to say: Kaladin is gonna be the eventual bondsmith or shardholder for all three, but the 25 meter target, in my opinion, is Adolin.

Hmm the Ashspren and Highspren have not yet been addressed, only Honorspren and Inkspren, the latter are now even more adamant against Nahel Bond and Surgebinding but former were convinced.

The Son of Tanavast, riding the Highstorm, "Stormblessed" thing... I have no idea, he seems to have a Connection with Tanavast's Cognitive Shadow.

Okay, third Bondsmith, with the speed that everything's happening in, it might happen in the very next book (which was originally planned to be the Bondsmith book, while Oathbringer was supposed to be the Skybreaker book). I actually like the suggestion of Adolin better than the Mink (sorry OP), he's uniting humans and spren, so. As for the Kaladin red-yellow eyes thing, Odium has Invested and integrated with Roshar, there's plenty of other characters who are interacting with multiple Lights / Investitures: Renarin & Rlain: whose spren were originally closer to Cultivation than Honor, and have now been Corrupted by Sja-Anat with Odium's Investiture. Venli can use Voidlight to fuel Surgebinding. I think whatever happened with Kaladin was a natural effect of this, plus Odium trying to Connect with him.

[Karger he/him]

I personally expect the NW to be the most "laid back", for lack of a better word, of the three godspren.  Unlike the Sibling, who takes ivory tower a bit too literally, and the Stormfather who wants to act as the storm(good for him?) I think the NW just wants to learn about people and find clever fixes.  Lift would honestly be a great candidate for her bondsmith although she is already a radiant.  Anyway I don't we will know much about Cultivation or related for a while.  We have not even cracked voidbinding yet and apparently she has her own magic system on top of that.

Edited December 9, 2020 by Karger

[Lightdancer]

21 hours ago, joesleepsalot said:

It could always be someone like Sebarial lol.

That... huh.

Anyways, I like the Mink theory. Part of me wants to hijack the thread to talk about Kaladin, but I'm not going to. I think Mink-Nightwatcher would be hilarious.

[Dreamwa1ker she/her]

My brain went to Thude now that we see he has somehow tamed the chasmfiends. Probably not enough evidence yet though.

[Shuffel]

Rock is my vote~!

[StanLemon]

2 hours ago, Shuffel said:

Rock is my vote~!

I would love to see Rock become a Bondsmith. It would be appropriate too if he has a character arc about uniting his people.

[+Oltux72 he/him]

On 9.12.2020 at 6:35 AM, joesleepsalot said:

I'm sure there's another character out there who will snatch up the nightwatcher but I hope it's not a fused or something. It could always be someone like Sebarial lol.

Well, if you are going for maximum political reach and the principle of maximum surprise, it should be somebody with outside connections, true outside connections:

Galladon, Baon or Felt.
Or Brandon goes into crazy-land and Thaidakar becomes a Bondsmith.

[Shuffel]

1 hour ago, StanLemon said:

I would love to see Rock become a Bondsmith. It would be appropriate too if he has a character arc about uniting his people.

Agreed, everything he does screams Bondsmith.

[GroundPetrel]

1 hour ago, Oltux72 said:

Well, if you are going for maximum political reach and the principle of maximum surprise, it should be somebody with outside connections, true outside connections:

Galladon, Baon or Felt.
Or Brandon goes into crazy-land and Thaidakar becomes a Bondsmith.

Kelsier the Bondsmith is completely insane, but just insane enough to work as a crack fic.  

[OmniBident she/her]

People have been theorizing some non-Rosharans, so I'll throw my favorite of those into the mix.

We have a WoB stating that highly invested beings like returned can become radiants with some effort, and given the "radiants are different this time and new stuff is happening" I propose Zahel/Vasher. He has some purpose and we've seen cultivation and endowment meddling together with the whole Taravangian/Nightblood buisness. Plus, the swordmaster-scholar seems to fit in my mind with what the Nightwatcher and cultivation stand for. If the bond is with a non-Rosharan I would place my money on the Nalthian. 

[Elegy he/him]

59 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

Well, if you are going for maximum political reach and the principle of maximum surprise, it should be somebody with outside connections, true outside connections:

Galladon, Baon or Felt.
Or Brandon goes into crazy-land and Thaidakar becomes a Bondsmith.

Felt mentions in Oathbringer that the Nightwatcher doesn't like "foreigners" like him, so it would probably be very hard to convince her. I"m not saying it's impossible, but it wouldn't be happening for a long time, I think.

---

I'm also siding with the Rock theory. Although it has a few inconveniences, at least if it's going to happen in/until the next book. For one, I don't believe it would happen in his novella, since Brandon tends to keep novella spoilers out of the next main book, and hiding a new Bondsmith in book 5 would be very, very difficult I think. And then still, for Rock to become a Bondsmith in book 5, it would be hard to get him there and give him that place in the story without spoiling the stuff that happened in the novella. It's certainly possible to work around that, but it demands some trickery.

[Nymeros]

Nah, Gawx will be the third. It is known.

[Blackwarder]

“I can and will!” Lirin shouted, standing up. “Because I will take responsibility for what I’ve done! I will work within whatever confines I must in order to protect people! I have taken oaths not to harm!”

Excerpt From
Rhythm of War
Brandon Sanderson
https://books.apple.com/us/book/rhythm-of-war/id1489970175
This material may be protected by copyright.

I’m putting my money on Lirin.

 

[GameOfGroans]

Ishar is already a Bondsmith, no? Stands to reason he might be already bonded with something from much earlier. So maybe only 2 more were needed.

[Dreamwa1ker she/her]

4 hours ago, GameOfGroans said:

Ishar is already a Bondsmith, no? Stands to reason he might be already bonded with something from much earlier. So maybe only 2 more were needed.

It's a little unclear- he is an unchained/unbonded Bondsmith. No oaths, no spren - his only oath was the Oathpact which he abandoned.

The only Herald who also joined their Radiant order was Nale, and he has two blades - an Honorblade and Shardblade. Even though Nale has seriously twisted his oaths around, he still has to operate within them - therefore I find Ishar much scarier (he also seems more Cosmere-aware and expert on Realmatics - double scary)

[Xerun]

I think the fact that Cultivation (maybe Nightwatcher) accepts the Oaths of the Listeners, makes me think it has to be a Listener that bonds the Nightwatcher. 
 

My initial feeling was Rlain, but I could see Jaxim, Thude as potentials. But my current biggest theory is Leshwi, although I’m fifty fifty on that as if her Honorspren returns then she’d be better suited that way. 

[LuckyJim]

32 minutes ago, Xerun said:

I think the fact that Cultivation (maybe Nightwatcher) accepts the Oaths of the Listeners, makes me think it has to be a Listener that bonds the Nightwatcher. 
 

My initial feeling was Rlain, but I could see Jaxim, Thude as potentials. But my current biggest theory is Leshwi, although I’m fifty fifty on that as if her Honorspren returns then she’d be better suited that way. 

Jaxlim bonded a lightspren at the end of Rhythm of War, becoming a Willshaper and healing her mind. Thude is a good possibility, I'm not sure about Leshwi, since being a Fused might complicate the process.

[SwordNimiForPresident the sword/that sword]

I don't feel like there are any characters that have had enough PoV time to become something as important as a Bondsmith. Brandon would have to cram a whole lot into the next book to make it feel right, otherwise we have a demigod level character that we know next to nothing about. And that feels wrong.

Maybe a character we haven't met yet could bond the Nightwatcher in the second half or during the gap. That would feel more natural that cramming one into the last book of this half.

[Shob the Voidbringer]

i really want Dabbid to be a bondsmith, if only to heal his mind. but if he became a radiant in general then that would be fine.

[Leuthie]

Ever since we got the see the Nightwatcher first hand, I've thought it was either a rehabilitated Unmade, or a rehabilitated deadeye. There was one Bondsmith during the time of BAM being imprisoned. What if there was one Bondsmith during the Recreance. What if the Nightwatcher was deadeyed and Cultivation has spent the last 1000 years training her dead child, using the Curse-Boon trick to both give the Nightwatcher some socialization experience and to torment humans for hurting her daughter?

I do hope we don't have to wait till the back 5 to learn about the Nightwatcher, what she represents and why she sits in a spot with her mom and hands out free rides and candy.

[GroundPetrel]

34 minutes ago, Ookla the Squid said:

i really want Dabbid to be a bondsmith, if only to heal his mind. but if he became a radiant in general then that would be fine.

I'm here for Dabbid the Windrunner myself but I'm just a fan of the Windrunners in general.  

[ArchangelCaesar]

On 12/11/2020 at 9:16 PM, LuckyJim said:

I'm not sure about Leshwi, since being a Fused might complicate the process.

The Cognitive Shadow part of the Fused won't complicate this, but I would instead put this under the same category as the Returned. They are also Cognitive Shadows that Brandon has said (mentioned above somewhere) could become Radiants (but would be difficult).
My question is: is it easier for a Herald (as an Cognitive shadow made with Honor's Investiture) to become a Radiant than a Cognitive Shadow from another Investiture (such as Thaidakar, Vasher, or Leshwi).

[Koloss17 She/They]

15 hours ago, Ookla the Squid said:

i really want Dabbid to be a bondsmith, if only to heal his mind. but if he became a radiant in general then that would be fine.

You gotta be careful with that right there. Dabbid has a mental disorder. Some might say that that is not something to be ‘fixed’. Now, if you are talking about stormlight healing, that is based off of spiritual identity. I think it’s safe to say that Dabbid wants what he sees as his stupidity gone.