#herald Nale

[wyndlerunner]

There’s something so tender about the thought that an entire region of Roshar was named because of the love Nale had for his uncle, his last living relative

[ahhfear]

Nale and Kaladin arguing was one of my favorite parts of Wind and Truth i’m not going to lie

[ID copied in alt text: a drawing of Nale, Kaladin, Syl, and Szeth. Nale is in the foreground with a neutral expression saying “I’m done with this conversation.” Kaladin is seething in the background, syl is looking at nale with a look of concern for his mental stability. szeth is watching kaladin with nightblood on his back.]

[blindradiant]

Does anyone else ship Nale/Szeth, or am I alone over here?

I know it’s an unusual ship, but just read their interactions in Words of Radiance and Oathbringer. There is no heterosexual explanation for some of those lines

[mirisogni]

Nale's Therapy.

[spacetimeaccordionfolder]

Does Kaladin know Kalak is Restares. When Kalak mentions or someone else mentions Kalak has used the name Restares with the Sons of Honor does Kaladin connect the dots to more than "oh Amaram was in that group" or does he remember that Amaram specifically said that Restares had the right idea before having the stormwarden brand Kaladin. Does Kalak remember telling Amaram to brand some guy to keep the shard blade. Does Kaladin remember that Restares was mentioned right before his remaining four men were killed. how does that conversation go. Does that conversation happen or does Kaladin just not mention it to anyone but Syl.

[eliseliedl]

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

[vins-paranoia]

[thekinglemingle]

LIES!

[kingjasnah]

What I've always wondered is why don't the Heralds immediately kill themselves and go back to Braize to lock up the Fused once a Desolation starts and in that way preventing the Fused from reaching Roshar?

something that really came through for me in wind and truth was how flawed the original idea of the oathpact was and how much more desperate and last minute of a plan it ended up being. and how much it hinged on the original heralds just really not knowing what they were getting themselves into. but I think the biggest reason for this is that they simply could not have handled it. as bad as the desolations were i do not think they could have handled the mental load of "i am going to be tortured indefinitely forever" instead of "i am going to be tortured but that's okay because when we break we get an opportunity to help humanity win a war" you know. like taln held out for so many centuries but the reveal this book that chana died and then broke again (restarting the desolations) after like. only a decade? slightly less? like the torture was really really bad

[purple-egg-yolk]

Not sure what chapter specifically for spoilers but I’m on chapter 76 so pre that. Below the cut as usual

Szeths spren is such a snitch. Bro was confronted with character development opportunities and said, “Nope+ L+ I’m telling dad.”

And now we get the absolute worst chaperone for his crusade. Thanks spren. Love you bestie.

[catcas22]

If that Stormlight movie ever sees the light of day, they really should get him to play Nale.

[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

[itsaboon]

I can just imagine Kaladin in his heraldic therapy sessions when it comes out that no, Taln didn't and probably wouldn't've broken, but because Chana had a child, and then that child killed her, she accidentally started the Final Desolation or whatever we're calling it.

oh yeah, and then it's revealed that Nale actually sent a skybreaker to kill an up-and-coming radiant of the Sadeas princedom on advice from Ishar, who turns out not to be Amaram, who, by the way, knew Taln had Returned, but actually Kaladin, who then KILLS the Skybreaker, who also just so happens to be (maybe??) Chana's child, and then becomes a Herald. (oh yeah, and the fucking THERAPIST THEY'RE TALKING TO!)

I was kind of expecting this before shallan met her mother

[curlytale]

The post WaT herald therapy sessions are going to be so wild from Kaladin's POV.

Like first we have Chana, who is going to end up sobbing admitting that she selfishly tried to kill her daughter and set her up as replacement for herself. Then Kaladin is going to learn that said daughter is Shallan. HIS Shallan.

Then he's gonna be helping out Battar and she's gonna mention spiking some guy for Odium and it's gonna turn out to be Moash, who Kaladin last saw when he murdered Teft.

Then while talking to Nale they are gonna circle back to the Davar family and talk about Helaran being sent to kill Amaram to THEN have Kalak jump in and mention that he told Amaram to enslave the soldier who killed Helaran so Amaram could take the shards. Said soldier being KALADIN HIMSELF.

Like, our boy is going to discover that a bunch of his life's messes are due to the meddling of his new immortal coworkers.

[escargay28]

Incredibly funny that every single time Kaladin Stormblessed is presumed dead and/or defeated he just comes back more immortal and more un-defeated…

Anyways, which Herald do we think is going to fall in love with him? My vote is on Nale