#greatshell

[fr-familiar-bracket]

[dragons-daily]

crab :3

[ternaryflower53]

identifier: aro star wars characters

(tell me what my trademark is)

oh fuck yeah, i love that. excellent answer

[bitegore]

since im rereading harrow, augustine, mercymorn, gideon for airport/move out/improv show?

you gave me one too many names XD tell me who you want to count out

[moonlight-at-dawn]

The "Someone hire that archer" scene is full on shamelessly ripped from Genghis Khan's life, which is even more on the nose

so listen, dalinar in his blackthorn era was a terrible human being in almost every conceivable way but there is a certain je ne sais quoi about him getting shot twice by an assassin at 400 yards and his first reaction is “holy shit, that rules! do you wanna be my friend?” like WOW what a guy. almost made me forget The Atrocities for a second

[thatboreddrake]

So, do y'all remember a while back I made a post about a Stormlight AU where Kaladin becomes an Edgedancer instead of a Windrunner? So that idea was bouncing around in my head, and @catcas22 and I wanted to put down some bullet points of how this would actually change the story:

Kaladin goes off to study as a surgeon in Kharbranth before Amaram comes recruiting

Roshone drafts Tien, but Lirin elects not to send word to Kaladin, as he fears that Kaladin would quit his training and return if he knew

Kaladin gains a reputation as one of the more promising surgeons in Kharbranth

Eventually, one of his patients gets transferred to Taravingian's secret Diagram project (so they can drain their blood for a Death Rattle)

Kaladin, naturally, wants to stay with them and make sure they recover

He's told to "forget about them and move on to the next patient"

He can't accept that, so he starts digging into where the patients are being transferred to (with the help of an unusually talkative spren)

He is interrupted from his investigations by a request to help heal an important foreign dignitary from a strange form of poison

His path intersects with Jasnah and Shallan while he helps Shallan recover from Kabsal's attempted assassination

Over the course of her recovery, Kaladin confides in Jasnah his worries about Taravingian, and enlists the two of them in helping him get to the bottom of it

The three of them use Jasnah's Soulcasting to break into the underground facility

Kaladin freezes when he realizes what Taravingian has been doing and desperately starts trying to heal the people who are having their blood drawn

Kaladin swears his Second Ideal in attempting to escape Kharbranth with the captives

Kaladin, Jasnah, and Shallan depart for the Shattered Plains with as many of the captives as their ship can carry

Meanwhile, in northern Alethkar:

Tien breaks in battle and tries to run away using Lightweaving (Sanderson has confirmed that Tien was some level of Lightweaver)

Tien is captured, then sold into slavery on the Shattered Plains because Amaram decides he's too much trouble

Without Kaladin there to save him, Amaram is killed by nascent Skybreaker Helaran

Helaran gets word that the Surgebinder in Amaram's army is still at large, and heads for the Shattered Plains

Now, on the Shattered Plains:

Tien ends up in the Bridge Crews on Bridge Four (because you gotta have Bridge Four)

While returning from the greatshell hunt, Bridge Four is sent to help the Kholins return to camp

Adolin strikes up a conversation with Tien, as he reminds him of Renarin in a way

Moash arrives on the bridge crews and decides he's going to organize the crews so that they can have a chance at escaping slavery

Adolin notices that an oddly intelligent windspren with a mischievous streak has begun following him around

His conversation with Tien and the rest of Bridge Four has him realize just how bad the situation is under Sadeas for the bridgemen

While considering what to do, he discovers that Tien died on one of the bridge runs

At the urging of his windspren friend, Adolin defies Dalinar's wishes and takes up dueling again, seeking to gain a chance to challenge Sadeas for the freedom of the Bridge Crews

Dalinar is furious and strips Adolin of Plate and Blade, effectively benching him for the rest of the book

When Dalinar leaves for the Tower with Sadeas, he leaves Adolin behind

Adolin refuses to stand by and takes his personal guards to follow after Dalinar, recruiting an off-duty Bridge Four to help him get there

Moash agrees, as he figures that eluding one lighteyes would be far easier than escaping the whole army

Adolin encounters Sadeas's forces on their way back and orders a double-time march to try and save the Kholinar forces if he can

He arrives at the Tower in time to see the Kholinar forces routed and swears the Second Ideal of the Windrunners in a desperate bid to save his army and his father

Moash rethinks his plan after seeing a lighteyes leap, essentially unarmed, across a canyon to try and save his men

Bridge Four establishes an escape route, but the Kholinar forces are decimated by the Parshendi

Adolin fails to find his father, who has been captured and brought back to Narak by Eshonai

Suddenly finding himself to be highprince of Kholinar, Adolin surrenders his Shardblade, which has begun to scream whenever he touches it, in exchange for the bridge crews's freedom

And that's everything that changes for the Way of Kings! I'll go more into Words of Radiance/Oathbringer later, but that's what I have for now!

[cosmerelists]

Magazine Headlines You Would See in the Rosharan Grocery Checkout Lane

There you are, standing in line at your local Rosharan grocery store. As you wait, you can't help but see the racks of magazines. You'd never buy any, of course, but some of those article headlines on the front cover sure sound interesting...

1. Better Houses and Plants

Exclusive: Singer Secrets For Bigger Harvests Fresh & Delicious Meals from Soulcast Ingredients Tower Fashions: Straight From Urithiru

2. Populace Weekly

Lyn Exclusive Interview: "When I realized I had to leave him." A Real Fairytale Romance: Shallan Davar on Dating a Prince Yanagawn the First: Inside the Imperial Miracle

3. Male Health

[Nothing but pictures of buff men doing exercise]

4. Great Housekeeping

How to Keep Your House Spick & Span Without Parshmen 10 Plants That Can Survive the Everstorm Navani Kholin: How Women Can Have It All

5. Chic

Adolin Kholin: Paint Your Shardplate To Perfection Looking Radiant With The Knights Radiant Jasnah Kholin's Eternal Elegance

6. Good Appetite

10 Stews To Keep You Warm In the Weeping 8 Spicy Meals To Woo Your Man The Sweetest Treats That Won't Bust Your Waistline

7. Alethi Geographic

Why Greatshells Matter Shattered Norms: The Men Who Read Santhid: Monster of the Deep

8. The Conclavian

The Lost Island of Aimia: Truth & Lies Inside the Dawnchant Nohadon's Way

9. Popular Artifabrians

Fabrials that Will Change Your Life Navani Kholin: Real Genius The Future is Fabrials

10. The Rosharan Enquirer

The Alethi Queen is Dating an Alien!! SADEAS MURDER COVERUP REVEALED Cheating Adolin Exposed! "Maya Is My True Love" A House of Murder and Lies: Davar Family Secrets Revealed!

[poondragoon]

So Roshar's terrestrial ecosystem is essentially a giant, land-based tidepool, and the Highstorm is the high tide rolling in, right?

Storm rains bring crem, which not only counteracts the storm erosion but also provides the minerals that "plants" and crustaceans need to build their shells. Greatshells and singers use the Investiture in the storm to bond spren, pupate, and change forms in order to complete their lifecycles.

In other words, the entire planet is dependent on the Highstorm in order to survive, and now that the storm is dead, the entire world east of Shinovar is FUCKED, right?

I guess what I'm getting at is that Ba Ado Mishram better hurry tf up and reboot the Highstorm.

[loud-n]

What's up with Roshar's Money and Why is Sapphire so Valuable

I recently started my reread of Stormlight Archive to prepare for book 5, and coincidentally, this happened at roughly the same time the cosmere rpg started kickstarting. So, reading TWoK and the beta rules of the rpg at the same time, a few things happened to come together. For one, the rpg had this table:

I thought this was very interesting. I hadn't ever seen anything like this (though, checking coppermind, a similar chart has been available since an interview in 2018 that I wasn't aware of). It's a nice way for me to contextualize just how much money Shallan throws around at the beginning of TWoK (for example, based on remarks from Yalb in chapter 3, we know that a week's wages for a sailor is roughly one ruby mark/firemark, or 10 diamond marks/clearmarks), and while it seems like it might be simplified for gameplay purposes, it's also broadly consistent with the other sources.

So I kept reading until I got to this line:

"Emeralds were the most valuable, for they could be used by soulcasters to create food." (The Way of Kings ch. 3, pg. 72 on the trade paperback)

This line lays out explicitly that the soulcasting traits of a gem are the primary way (or at least a very significant one) that these values were assigned. This makes a lot of sense: the ability to soulcast food is the key component that allows Roshar the kind of military structures it has, and would provide an extremely valuable way to compensate for issues with harvests that might come with Roshar's 'temperamental' weather patterns.

(some major oathbringer spoilers below the cut)

I then wanted to know how this translates to the other types of gem. Many of these make a lot of sense: amethyst can be used to soulcast metal, which is important and difficult to obtain on roshar (coppermind notes that this may also be the only way to get aluminum on Roshar); ruby, smokestone, and zircon are all used as part of infrastructure for food preparation and waste management (and rubies seem especially common in the fabrials we've seen); garnet, heliodor, and topaz all provide less vital (though still useful) and less valuable materials; and diamond can be used to soulcast quartz, glass, and crystal, none of which are particularly valuable (especially given easy access to even light with stormlight and danger from highstorms making windows difficult and less valuable).

However, one gem caught my eye here.

Why is sapphire so valuable?

Sapphire's soulcasting can produce translucent gas or air, which seems a bit redundant with smokestone, a stone we know is regularly used. To my knowledge, we don't see any characters ever use soulcasting powered by a sapphire (please correct me if I'm wrong, I may be forgetting or confusing an instance with smokestone). So unless there's something we're missing or something to come, it doesn't seem like sapphire's value is because it is especially useful in soulcasting.

If this isn't the case, I can think of three possible explanations for why sapphire is worth so much:

Sapphire is less common. We know that obtaining emerald is a major part of the Rosharan economy and a significant reason for the continued occupation of the shattered plains at the start of the series. This might also be the case for sapphire: greatshells with sapphire gemhearts may be less common or more difficult to farm, making sapphire more scarce and thus more valuable.

Sapphire is especially useful in fabrials. So far, we've only seen one fabrial using sapphire that I can remember: the soul-harvesting dagger used to kill Jezrien (Oathbringer ch. 121). Even this may not be a specific trait of all sapphires, but rather due to the fact that sapphires are associated with Jezrien and the windrunners. I think it's possible and maybe even likely that sapphires are the gems used in half-shards, since none of the examples ever specify what gem is used and Taravangian states that the spren within could have graced a knight radiant (Oathbringer ch. 100) - possibly an honorspren trapped within a sapphire. This may also have been Taravangian lying, though.

The value is somehow associated with Jezrien and the Windrunners. This one seems the most far-fetched to me: at the start of the series, the knights radiant are not viewed especially fondly, and I doubt the Windrunners would have enough staying power to change the value of a gem. The idea that it may be association with Jezrien seems to me to have more merit; Jezrien seems to generally be elevated to a point beyond the other heralds.

Based on the information we have, I think that my second proposal has the highest chance of being at least partially correct. Association with Jezrien seems far-fetched, sapphire being especially scarce seems like something too far off course to get significant confirmation of in-text, and fabrials are one of the elements of the world still being developed in universe that we also don't have a lot of extra information about.

If any of this is going to be answered, I honestly think it might come through the rpg: the first wave of releases will include a world guide with canon information that might shed some light on these elements less important to the actual story, and the rules will also detail a lot of information about fabrials that could answer my questions about half-shards. Until then, though, I'm just going to have to sit here and wonder (and keep a special eye out for mentions of sapphire on my reread for anything I missed).

[truthwatcherblog]

something something the greatshells and chasmfiends are free from retribution’s influence and they, like the singers, were presumably placed on Roshar by Adonalsium before Honor and Cultivation showed up and are somewhat sentient at least more than the average animal

[fr-familiar-bracket]

[offonaherosjourney]

Stormlight Archive x Pokémon crossover (Part 11)

Rysn's Pokémon Team

Vibrava

Oddish

Torterra

Mega Sableye

Gimmighoul

Solgaleo

I picked each character's pokemon team by drawing inspiration from several things: spren, companions, personality, occupation, abilities/powers, story events, and last but not least... vibes.

This is part 11 of 12. This series is getting weekly updates so make sure to check the tag #Stormlight x Pokemon for any future updates.

The reasons why I chose these pokemon are under the Readmore. Beware spoilers!

Rysn might not have a spren, but she does have Chiri-Chiri! I went back and forth between Vibrava and Druddigon quite a lot, but I settled for Vibrava because, while less dragony looking than Druddigon, it is a dragon type, and I thought it captured better larkin's insectoid look better, as well as being more approximate to Chiri-Chiri's current size.

Oddish is there to represent Tyvnk, Rysn's potted plant. Torterra represents her visit to Relu-na, the giant greatshell that is also an island. Mega Sableye is carrying a giant ruby, and if you've read Oathbringer, you know what moment it's meant to represent. Gimmighoul is there because Rysn is a merchant.

Solgaleo is meant to represent the Dawnshard that Rysn currently holds. Hard to represent a Dawnshard, but Solgaleo's mane reminds me of the mural that held it, that plus Solgaleo's legendary status is why I chose it instead of a Solrock.

[cuneiformkey]

I am constantly thinking about that scene from where the Reshi build their communities on the backs of the gigantic Tai-na greatshells who they also worship as greatshell gods. The Reshi only go to war “when the god decides” by attacking another greatshell — and I love the solidarity with their giant turtle home.

A Reshi Prayer: Our Greatshell, who art here beneath us, Tai-na be thy name. Thy soul be one, Thy will be done, on shell as it is at sea. Give us this day our daily fish, and anyone who trespasses against Thee is gonna have to deal with us because we will fuck them up!

We should replace our current system of “war to steal resources”, and change to “let our turtles decide.”

[bitegore]

this anon got the same vibes as the devil's sacrament post. "why are you drawing robot porn" GIRL why are you LOOKING at the s*xual desire !

LMAO yeah for real. What were YOU doing at the having-sex-with-motormaster internet page anon 👀👀👀👀👀👀👀

[swagspren]

Love to reread the Greatshell hunt with Elhokar in WoK it is so family get together like adolin and renarin are hanging back and talking shit. Dalinar is reminiscing about ‘when he was elhokars age’ and elhokar misreading the room left and right and everyone is tired of it and there is a giant crab that almost kills your cousin etc

[awindandtruthliveblog]

[Wind and Truth: Chapter 60]

All the moral philosophizing and cosmere building in my mind goes away when I see "Adolin". What a refreshing sight.

Hey this first paragraph might be about numbers and words, but I'm choosing to read this as him being attracted to all women ever and also Kaladin

I'm awful with names, he can do it for me

He's literally Edgedancing. The coin says "I will remember". Nahel bond? No. But maybe something else with Maya.

Oh my god I just remembered the Azish battlefield is a dome. And they'll have Stormform in there. It's literally the Azish Thunderdome

god he's so hot such a nice person

Yooo Azimir said trans rights again. As did Brandon, noting Sarqqin as a man out of dialogue too. We already have a Radiant who Stormlight healed into the body they should be, but I wonder if we'll get someone without the physical changes that aren't everyone's experience

Wait why can't he pronounce things? He's been Connected. Do names not work?

Nobody better take Zabra's story as a fake trans thing. She was lying, clearly, to fight. She doesn't want papers. It's literally Mulan.

Four tones... Maybe greatshells just have four voices and can't sing all the rhythms of Roshar. Maybe it's Stone, Sky, Night, Day.

Yo chasmfiends warding off Stormstriders is the force of nature kind of stuff that really makes humans look small. Speaking of, they're lightningspren, right?

Siah Aimians?

Ohh shit fourth moon lore. Before the new gods. Adonalsium era stuff. Something about the not-stone at Narak caused issues, and Honor destroyed the place.

Aharietiam was at the same time? But that's far before the Recreance. So I guess Feverstone was elsewhere. But why would Honor destroy Narak then? It may be the event that shattered Honor, or related, since a broken bond is important in that.