#Nale Herald

[blindradiant]

I think it’s interesting that the Skybreakers are the only order of Radiant that we know all five Ideals for. It seems like most, if not all of the other orders have to discover things as they go, but the Skybreakers have it mostly worked out, with *some* room for individual choice

The First Ideal for Skybreakers is the generic “Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.” They call it the Ideal of Radiance

The Second Ideal is the Ideal of Justice. In Szeth’s words, it’s “I swear to seek justice, to let it guide me, until I find a more perfect Ideal.”

The Third Ideal is the Ideal of Law. This is the one Skybreakers have to follow until and unless they swear the Fifth Ideal. I’m not sure what happens if the thing a Skybreaker chooses as their Third Ideal fails before they swear the Fifth, but something Szeth says in RoW makes me think that they’d have to find something else to follow so their Nahel bond isn’t broken. Then again, Szeth’s interpretation might not be accurate, especially since he holds so strongly to rules/codes/Ideals he’s latched onto. Either way, the Skybreaker Third Ideal according to Szeth is “I swear to follow the will of Dalinar Kholin. This is my oath.” We see him grapple with that more in his RoW interlude

The Skybreaker Fourth Ideal is the Ideal of Crusade. This is where they pick a larger goal to attain, and they can only accomplish it if their spren is satisfied. For Szeth, the Fourth Ideal is “I will cleanse the Shin of their false leaders, so long as Dalinar Kholin agrees.”

Again, this is where Skybreakers are different than other Radiants we’ve seen so far. For example, Windrunners don’t know the gist of their Fourth Ideal until they’re forced against it, if Kaladin is a fairly accurate example. Skybreakers know the *idea* of what their Fourth Ideal will be, even if the *details* take form over time. I also think it’s super interesting that they can state what their Fourth Ideal will be in advance, even if it takes months, years, or even decades to accomplish whatever goal they set for themselves. In OB chapter 90, a Skybreaker Master says that they were at the Third Ideal for two decades before attaining the Fourth.

And the Fifth Ideal for the Skybreakers is the Ideal of Law. This is where the Skybreaker becomes law and Truth. Nale is the only example we have in modern times of a Skybreaker who has sworn that Ideal, and his situation is complicated, since he’s a Herald. Even in OB chapter 90, though, a Skybreaker master says that it’s been centuries since a member of their order reached the Fifth Ideal. I don’t know if Nale was the last, or if there have been a few since he reached the Fifth Ideal.

Szeth hasn’t sworn the Fifth Ideal as a Skybreaker. I theorize that he will swear it at some point, partially because it fits so well with a previous headcanon of mine. I also think it’d be super meaningful/impactful for Szeth to swear an Ideal that allows him to make his own decisions/enforce his own will. In OB chapter 106, Nale tells Szeth that he’s the first in a new order of Skybreakers. There has to be some kind of significance to that, but we don’t have all the pieces yet. Nale didn’t prevent Szeth from joining Dalinar and the Coalition after the Battle of Thaylen Field, and I wonder if that was intentional.

If one Radiant swears the Fifth Ideal in KoWT, it *might* be Szeth. I do want him to reach that point eventually, but I also worry that it could feel rushed in KoWT, especially since he said the first Three Ideals so quickly (he said the first two Ideals on the same day, and the Third like a month later lol)

I think I got off track from my original point. This post definitely ended up being longer than I thought it would.

Tl,dr. Skybreakers are unique as far as I can tell/remember, and the fact that their Ideals are broadly laid out ahead of time makes for some interesting possibilities. And I also included Szethposting, because of course I did

[eliseliedl]

More Stormlight Archive (The Cosmere RPG) by the amazing Petar Penev

[just-cosmere-fan]

[thekinglemingle]

LIES!

[theskyweshare]

Moash should be a shybreaker. (And not cause of justice is blind thing. His blindness should just be blindness. An injury not a punishment)

Teft was although a friend. Was an enemy combatant.

Yes he is vindictive. His greatest flaw is that he is gullible. He is loyal until he isn't.

And he seems to get betrayed by every ideal he swear.

But in the end. He didn't, as much got betrayed by people, as much as he got betrayed by the institution.

There was simply nothing he could do once the law was thrown out the window. And vengeance is just another face of justice.

So having him as a skybreaker who is devoted to an ideal and at the end becoming law itself seems a better arc. And having been on side of the vengeance he can judge better. And unlike nale, Moah isn't a machine. He wants to be but he isn't. He understands compassion and forgiveness.

He is one of my favorite characters. It would be interesting to see whom he chooses as his third ideal.

Alternatively.

He can be an awakened radiant (corrupted) As he is shunned by both human and singer. Seems like he would fit within the awakened truthwatchers. And purely cause it be funny. He hated renarin. Or hated the idea of him.

But renarin is such a sunshine boy if anyone can make moash see past his hateded its renarin.

He should not be dead. He should live and learn and grow and grow old.

Not as a cautionary tale but as a reminder that we can make better choices.

[asteroidfieldgame]

If Gavilar Had Survived a Little Longer

Gavilar: Tell Thaidakar he's too late!

Szeth: I don't know who that is

Gavilar: Restares? Sadeas?

Szeth: My masters are...

Gavilar: Don't tell me, I want to guess. Was it Nale?

Szeth: You mean Nin? No.

Gavilar: Taln is mad that I want to take his place?

Szeth: Stop guessing Heralds

Gavilar: I've got it! The stormfather! I knew he was lying!

Szeth: You're insane.

Gavilar: Elhokar or Dalinar making a play for the throne?

Szeth: No

Gavilar: Navani's really mad that I yelled at her?

Szeth: Is there anyone in your family you don't suspect of killing you? It wasn't them.

Gavilar: I don't suspect Jasnah. Was it Taravingian? He seems to be up to more than he lets on.

Szeth: Don't be silly, I would never work for him.

Gavilar: Is the king of Jah Keved so scared of our alliance with the Parshendi that he’d have me killed?

Szeth: How do you have so many enemies but still have more than you think? My masters are the Parshendi.

Gavilar: That doesn't make any sense!?

Szeth: RAFO

Gavilar: ...Take this sphere and tell my brother he must find the most important words a man can say.

Szeth: Dying requests are sacred in my culture, I will do as you ask.

Gavilar: Wait! As my dying request can you instead kill everyone else I guessed except my family members?

Szeth: ...Okay not that sacred.

[onlycosmere]

The Kickstarter goes live tomorrow!

When Brandon Sanderson began working with Brotherwise Games on the first adventure for The Stormlight Roleplaying Game, he considered how it could help him fix holes in the narrative of his bestselling fantasy series. He settled on a mystery from the first Stormlight Archive book, The Way of Kings, that will have big implications for the fifth book in the series, Wind and Truth, which will be released in December.

The Stormlight Archive is set on the planet Roshar, where 10 heroes known as Heralds spent millenia protecting humanity with the help of highly magical swords dubbed Honorblades. All of them abandoned their duties except Taln, the Herald of the Common Man. Despite Taln’s best efforts, the forces of the vengeful god Odium have returned. Taln was left maddened by his ordeal and soon after he first appears in the books, his Honorblade goes missing. Its whereabouts remain unknown.

“The adventure is answering that question,” Sanderson told Polygon. “What happened? Where did it go? What’s going on? And you get to be part of the story. We were looking for an adventure you could do that would intersect with the canon of the books in an interesting way, and allow you to fill in a hole yourself.”

The Kickstarter for the d20-based game goes live on Aug. 6 along with a beta preview of the rules and a first level adventure meant to walk players and game masters through the setting and core mechanics. The hardcover Stonewalkers Adventure, where players encounter Taln and learn what happened to his honorblade, will be released in 2025 along with the Stormlight Roleplaying Game Handbook and World Guide.

...

Players will hunt for Taln’s honorblade across Roshar, from the Shattered Plains where much of The Way of Kings is set, to the magical forest of the goddess Cultivation, where bold souls can receive both a boon and a curse. There are a mix of dungeon crawls, puzzles, chase scenes and prison breaks. As they choose how to approach the problems they face, player characters will be able to attract the attention of spren, spirit-like beings who can bond with like-minded people to bestow them with incredible abilities. Completing the mission can allow them to join the newly re-founded ancient order known as the Knights Radiant.

...

The PCs can meet major antagonists from the books, including the twisted Herald of Justice Nale and the traitorous General Meridas Amaram, and learn how the talking sword Nightblood first featured in Sanderson’s 2009 book Warbreaker wound up on Roshar. As they move through key moments from the series, like the emergence of a raging storm that brings Odium’s most powerful lieutenants back to the world, Sanderson welcomes players to reshape his narrative.

...

“There’s a lot of cultural details being filled in, but at the same time, we dig a little bit further into what each order of Radiants’ oaths, spren, and motivations are,” Sanderson said. “There’s some new stuff there that I think fans will really enjoy.”

[cosmerelists]

Cosmere Characters, what's your source?

This post is fully inspired by this one, where "Source: just a gut feeling" was tagged by @taravangians-storming-balls as "#adolin most of the time." So true.

So how would other Cosmere characters respond if you demanded their source?

Adolin: Source? Just a gut feeling!

Dalinar: Source? Visions from the Almigthy.

Lirin: Source? The Wisdom of the Heralds.

Kelsier: Source? A mysterious rumor, but one which I happen to know to be true.

Taravangian: Source? Only the smartest guy I've ever been.

Nale: Source? The laws of this land.

Yumi: Source? Well, uh, just Liyun if I'm being honest...

Yumi: ...Is that bad?

Elend: [eyes gleaming as he pulls 5 books out of his bag] You may be sorry you asked!

Navani: Source? You can consult my experiment log.

Raboniel: Yes, consult Navani's experiment log. I have it right here.

Navani: Please stop stealing my experiment log!

Marasi: Source? Well, it's a fairly long story, but I have my case notes right here.

MeLaan: Source? Me! I'm, like, thousands of years old probably.

Allrianne: Source? Please! Search your feelings, you know this to be true.

Allrianne: (Just a little Rioter joke, tee hee.)

Hoid: Source? Why, you of course! You lend your own meaning to my tales.

Jasnah: Source? As in, just one?

Jasnah: Bah, only amateurs use a single source.

Steris: And that's why I have these FIFTY sources!

Szeth: Source? The ancient wisdom of my people.

Szeth: Wait--no. The words of whoever holds my oathstone.

Szeth: Wait--no. The local laws.

Szeth: Wait--no. Whatever Dalinar says!

Szeth: Phew! Finally nailed it!

Adolin: ...

Szeth: What?

[naomi-the-red]

Pure Theory: Nale is a liar and is only at the 4th ideal. His nature as a herald lets him seem more impressive than he is, and he is aware of what a 5th ideal Skybreaker’s ideal is and supposed to behave like, being one of only a handful of people that has met one.

But he’s lying, and his Spren knows it.

At some point the Skybreakers will discover this and become divided and chaotic.

This likely represents how the Law becomes meaningless in times of strife and chaos, and is easily inverted to destroy what it was meant to protect.

[isdalinarhot]

Male heralds ranked most to least hot

1. Taln

2. Jezrein

3. Ishar

4. Kalak

5. Nale

sorry nale you are too cop but not enough leather cop

[blindradiant]

I’m wondering about the Heralds’ relationship with their associated Radiant orders. Like obviously Nale has had a lot of influence over the Skybreakers. He’s the Herald of that order, a Skybreaker himself, and the only living one who has sworn the Fifth Ideal. Modern Skybreakers are the way they are largely because of Nale’s direction and enforcement of the order’s structure and methods.

But what about the other Heralds? Have any of them been involved with the Radiants at all, or do they try to forget? Does it depend on the Herald?

I don’t know if Jezrien was aware enough to be involved with the Windrunners before Moash killed him. We know pretty much nothing about Chanah and Vedel. I wonder what they think about modern Dustbringers and Edgedancers. Same with Pailiah and the Truthwatchers. I kind of think Ash would have absolutely no interest in being associated with the Lightweavers, and would actively try to distance herself as much as human(ish)ly possible. Batah and the Elsecallers??? Kalak is another one who I think would try to avoid any reminders of the past. Taln has been locked on Braize for 4500 years, and is now in no shape to be involved with the Stonewards. And we’ve seen how Ishar treats Dalinar.

I just think there’s a lot of potential to see how Heralds who aren’t Nale might have guided their Radiants at various points over time

[wafflelovingbatgirl]

The Stormfather didn’t like Ishar; Mayalaren never liked Kelek.

I can’t wait to find out which ancient spren had beef with other Heralds. Who couldn’t stand Palilah in the far past? Which spren never invited Chanarach to dinner? Did the Nightwatcher have a grudge against Nale which was resolved when he got Nightblood from her?

[sweatersexual]

Gawx: the heralds have spoken! I am the Prime of Azimir Nale: well I didn't vote for you

[cosmererambles]

Oh and about immortal insanity

I get a lot of people saying "Well Kelsier has lived upwards 300 years at this point, he's gotta be going insane, look at the heralds."

Ok so. 1.

The heralds are THOUSANDS of years old. Not a couple of centuries. THOUSANDS.

2. They have been tortured, repeatedly, in the most brutal ways possible. They have seen so much death and destruction it has left a permanent mental scar on their cognitive and spiritual aspect, that can only be undone when someone swears and oath. And that's not even permanently.

Kelsier has not be tortured. (Much...) Kelsier is also constantly among those who are not cognitive shadows. He has done major work on Scadrial; behind the scenes yes, but major, good work. He worked with Spook, ostensibly also his family. (Spook had A LOT of kids.)

He saved the Malwish and developed the Bands of Mourning.

He founded the Ghostbloods and fostered a very tight knit crew of mutual trust and understanding.

Kelsier is probably very much aware of his own sanity. He found himself wavering while trapped in the well, after all. He probably safeguards it keenly.

Babe is safe. Babe is warm and cozy in his immortality. Don't worry about it, he will never be a Nale.

[highly-invested]

If you like taln you should read the way of kings prime, someone who is named taln and may or may nor be taln is a pov character 👀

I moashpost way too much for someone who only thought about him like 3 times while reading