If you would like to show off your support for Stormblessed and The Stormlight Archive at a Rithmatist or (later this year) Words of Radiance signing, we have an update on our forum thread on how you can get a Stormblessed t-shirt.

And for our aspiring writers and people just curious about what makes fantastical fiction work (or not work), you may enjoy this panel from JordanCon 2013 – Brandon, Seanan McGuire, Stuart Jaffe, Delilah S. Dawson, Alex Bledsoe, and Anthony Taylor discuss the role of religion and spirituality in a storyteller’s toolbox.

Recently, at JordonCon two major pieces of information about the book were released. First, Harriet McDougal, read a passage from the Prologue to those in attendance. Additionally, Harriet and Tor revealed an initial cover sketch for the final book of the series.

To read the passage from the prologue for yourself, please click here.

To view the cover sketch, you can click here. Unfortunately, due to the death of artist Darrell K. Sweet before a final draft was created, it doesn’t seem that this sketch will be used for the book. Even so, the depiction of Min, Elayne and Aviendha surrounding what appears to be a funeral pyre for Rand provides a suggestion as to what may be coming in “A Memory of Light”.

No Wheel of Time fan can read the excerpt and look at the image and not become excited. January 8th is still far off, but news such as this makes the wait slightly more tolerable.

Although Stormblessed is focused on the Stormlight Archive series, we want people to know about and have a chance to enjoy Brandon’s other worlds too.  The Alloy of Law, a sequel set in the Mistborn world long after The Hero of Ages, goes on sale tomorrow (11/08).  

The world has changed since the end of Hero of Ages – but not too much.  The magic – though it has evolved a bit – is very familiar.  There’s still one grand city where most of the world’s commerce, high-society politics and socializing take place.  But now we have new characters to meet.  With guns, and a dash of electricity.

Brandon has a post on Tor.com where he explains some mixed feelings about adding the guns.  Some people will probably be uncomfortable with that, feeling it takes away too much of the fantasy feel they want in a world.  But, having read several fantasy works that included guns in the last few years, I was primed.  If you find yourself raising an eyebrow at “Mistborn.. with guns?” my suggestion is, try it.  I found that it works.  If you’ve read and enjoyed many of his other books, this won’t be surprising.  The technology doesn’t take over, but merely adds a wrinkle to the tactics of fighting with allomancy and feruchemy.

The “care for setting, pacing, and character development,” in Brandon’s words from the Tor post, are what make this, just like his other works… work.

Watch for The Alloy of Law at your favorite bookstore, and grab a copy before Koloss Head-Munching Day!

*Disclosure: Tor provided us with a free advance copy of The Alloy of Law.  It may be partly pride talking, but I doubt that the courtesy of a free copy would be enough to make me or other Stormblessed recommend a book we didn’t really enjoy.

Some people saw this as a surprise and an upset, given that Brandon’s other nomination this year was alongside Robert Jordan for Towers of Midnight.  That, too, is a great book, and apparently The Wheel of Time has not received a major award so far.  It certainly should have, and as a WoT fan also, I’d be very happy to see that happen.  But if Robert Jordan only won an award, at long last, for one of the volumes he didn’t get to finish, that would seem to be less credit than he’s really due.  I hope someone will give the series as a whole a shot at recognition for its contribution to the genre.

The Way of Kings, meanwhile, is fully deserving of this win.  (Naw, we’re not biased here.  )

Before delving deeper I want to point out that this news post contains major spoilers. This is a theory post and as such it is expected that anyone reading this has finished the book and is aware of its various aspects. That being said, allow me to jump directly into my theory.

What I am proposing is a link between Spren and Shardblades. This theory received quite a bit of discussion on the forums, and for that reason I want to spotlight the concept. I would, however, like to take the concept one step further and integrate the nature of the Truthless of Shinovar. First though, the groundwork for this theory.

Towards the end of tWoK Sanderson provides a very overt hint that there is a link between spren and Shardblades. This comes by way of Syl, and her obvious dislike for the objects. To quote:

“He clapsed his hands behind him; Syl sat on his shoulder.

“Dare I trust him?” he asked softly.

“He’s a good man,” Syl said. “I’ve watched him. Despite that thing he carried.”

“That thing?”

“The Shardblade.”

“What do you care about it?”

“I don’t know,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself. “It just feels wrong to me. I hate it. I’m glad he got rid of it. Makes him a better man.”

-pg 981

Kaladin does not press further, and as such we receive no more information from Syl regarding her less than positive feelings about Shardblades. Sanderson obviously wanted to hint at a connection without delving too deeply. I suppose all of his secrets can’t be revealed in his first book.

Aside from Shardblades, Roshar sees other “magical” devices in the form of fabrials. Exactly how fabrials work is not discussed in the book directly. Fans in need of more information will never be appeased, and as such, the scribblings on the two pages from “Navani’s Notebook” located inside the book were deciphered. These pages contain information regarding two types of fabrials, but more importantly, they explain how fabrials work. A link to the deciphered pages can be found here, but please note that this page contains spoilers that are not published in the books and have instead been discovered by outside sources. Read with caution.

Please also note that the following discussion will involve information from these pages as well.

The translation reads:

The cut and type of the gem determines what kind of spren are attracted to it and can be imprisoned in it.

There must be thousands of possible combinations. Once a spren is captured and the gem infused with Stormlight thefabrial can be used in machines.

-Navani’s Notebook

The term “imprisoned” makes the whole process sound very unenjoyable for the spren involved. Aside from the obvious example of Syl and Kaladin, this indicates that spren have some magical properties that are capable of being harnessed by regular people. It is unlikely that those who use fabrials have any knowledge of these trapped spren, as it is stated many times throughout the book that Navani and those like her keep their secrets safe.

The question is, where did this notion come from? Who would have thought that forcing spren inside a device would cause it to have these properties. In Dalinar’s first vision, there is implication that fabrials have yet to be created:

“We need to get someplace safe,” he said. “Is there a cellar nearby?”

“A what?”

“Cave in the rock, man-made or natural.”

“No caves,”  the woman said, joining him at the window. “How would men make a hold in the rock?”

With a Shardblade or a Soulcaster. Or even with basic mining – though that could be difficult, as the crem would seal up coverns and highstorm rains made for an extremely potent risk of flooding.

-pg 300 – 301

The concept of creating a hole in the rock is foreign to these people, and as such its safe to assume that Soulcasters have yet to be created, or at least yet to be widely used. We learn later that when the radiants deserted humanity, their Shardblades were fought over. The time frame of tWoK indicates that there are few Shardblades. Obviously these creations were unable to be reinvented. Fabrials became the means for “magic” to happen.

My suggestion is that the creation of fabrials occurred as an attempt by those who are not radiants to recreate the powers of the radiants. Aware that the powers of the Radiants were drawn from spren, fabrial makers began trapping spren in their instruments. We also know that Jah Keved has created a type of fabrial that has the properties of Shardplate (able to stop a Shardblade).

Outside, he could hear footfalls. Szeth glanced to see men pouring into the room. The newcomers carried distinctive, diamond-shaped shields. Half-shards. Szeth had heard of the new fabrials, capable of stopping a Shardblade.

-pg 717

We know that fabrials were invented sometime after the time of the Radiants, or at the very least towards the end of their existence. We know that the people of Roshar have a major desire to recreate Shardblades. We know that the properties of Shardplate were mimicked by the creation of a fabrial. Lastly, we know that fabrials are created by imprisoning a spren.

I am therefore agreeing with the notion proposed on our forums that spren in some way sacrifice themselves, or willingly enter into a blade (a voluntary “imprisonment”), in order to create a Shardblade.

For one, this would provide a clear explanation for Syl’s dislike of Dalinar’s shardblade. If a spren were to sacrifice themselves and create a weapon to be used for good, then the modern use of Shardblades would be offensive to her. It seems that this sacrifice is irreversible, or at least not easily reversible. Spren would likely be very unwilling to be used in the ways that Shardblades are used today.

Assuming this link, I then turn my attention to our favorite Truthless, and the character that I find most intriguing, Szeth. Szeth immediately jumps out as a character that breaks the rules we think we understand. For one, his Shardblade is different then any that is in the possession of any other character:

At the tenth beat of his heart, his Shardblade dropped into his waiting hand. It formed as if condensing from mist, water beading along the metal length. His Shadeblade was long and thin, edged on both sides, smaller than most others. Szeth swept it out, carving a line int he stone floor and passing through the second guard’s neck.

-pg 25

Further, he has powers similar to those of Kaladin, yet he has no noticeable spren. This seems to contradict the comment Syl makes to Kaladin, indicating that her presence is the direct cause of his powers:

“I’m behind what is happening to you,” she said, voice soft. “I’m doing it.”

Kaladin frowned, stepping forward.

“It’s both of us,” she said. “But without me, nothing would be changing in you. I’m . . . taking something from you. And giving something in return. It’s the way it used to work, though I can’t remember how or when. I just know that it was.”

- pg 808

I’m not the first to acknowledge this quote and then ponder why Szeth’s spren is mysteriously missing. In my opinion, the fact that Szeth’s shardblade is different then others seems to be the link. For most, their Shardblade is something they found, inherited or won. Assuming the theory that a spren is contained inside a blade, then the blade they are carrying contains someone else’s spren. Szeth, however, carries a blade created by his own spren, and as such, the blade is formed in a way that best serves him. Further, I feel that the process of his spren turning into a weapon is the specific reason that Szeth is considered “Truthless.”

We know that the Shin are opposed to weapons.

“This time,” he said. “But if it warns us of bandits in the dark, it’ll repay its cost a dozen times over. Kylrm, lower your bows. You know how they feel about those things.”

-pg 433

We also know that those who pick up weapons instantly become property, and are about as low in society as a person can be.

“Wow,” Rysn said. “He brought a lot of servants.”

“Servants?” Vstim said.

“The fellows in brown.”

Her babsk smailed. “Those are his guards, child.”

“What? They look so dull.”

“Shin are a curious folk,” he said. “Here, warriors are the lowliest of men – kind of like slaves. Men trade and sell them between houses by way of little stones that signify ownership, and any man who picks up a weapon must join them and be treated the same. The fellow in the fancy robe? He’s a farmer.”

-pg 434

We know that stones signify ownership for warriors, much as Szeth’s stone does. However, Szeth’s seems to also have the property of requiring him to obey any command. We also know that Truthless is the lowest point in Shin society. From Szeth’s demeanor and actions, it seems as if he may be even lower then the average Shin who picks up a weapon.

I’d like to point to another quote that I feel has a great amount of significance:

“What did you learn?” Vstim said to her as they walked back toward the lead wagon.

“That shin are odd.”

“No,” Vstim said, though he wasn’t stern. He never seemed stern. “They are simply different, child. Odd people are those who act erratically. Thresh and his kind, they are anything but erratic. They may be a little too stable. The world is changing outside, but the Shin seem determined to remain the same. I’ve tried to offer them fabrials, but they find them worthless. Or unholy. Or too holy to use.”

“Those are rather different things, master.”

“Yes,” he said. “But with the Shin, its often hard to distinguish among them. Regardless, what did you really learn?”

-pg 436

Among the Shin, its difficult to differentiate between something that is “unholy” and something that is “too holy to use.” To the parts of Roshar that we’ve been introduced to, Shardblades are an object of great power; weapons of the Heralds, and those who fought alongside them, a group that could be considered “holy” by the commoners. I am proposing that to the Shin, a people who seem to have some ties to the Radiants, Shardblades fall into the category of “too holy to use”, and as such, by Szeth having one, he is considered “unholy.” The lowest of the low. To further this argument, Szeth’s blade could be connected to his spren. If the Shin consider the previously suggested “spren sacrifice” as a death, then Szeth could have inadvertently perpetrated the most heinous crime of all: murder (the death of his spren) to create a Shardblade (a weapon). Two no-nos in Shin society.

I’d like to acknowledge one last quote:

The plain around her was dotted with strange, striaght-trunked trees with stiff, skeletal branches full of leaes that didn’t withdraw in the wind. The entire landscape had an eerie feel to it, as if it were dead. Nothing moved. With a start, Rysn realized she couldn’t see any spren. Not a one. No windspren, no lifespren, nothing.

-pg 433

The absence of spren in Shinovar has potential to make them special creatures to the Shin, and as such, they could be holy as well. If this were the case, Szeth sacking his in return for a blade could make his act even more atrocious.

This theory leaves some questions unanswered. Why would Szeth do this, knowing the consequences? Why have more spren not bonded with people, and subsequently created more Shardblades? Do spren make Shardplate as well? Unfortunately, only Sanderson has all the answers, and it looks like we’ll be waiting until at least 2012 to have more clues. For now, all we have is speculation.

Much of this post has been discussed on the forums, and for those who have yet to register I encourage you to join our discussion. Whether you want to come to agree with me, or point out holes in my theory, the more heads we have bashing against one another, the more we can attempt to discern about mysteries such as this one.

UPDATE: For more points on this topic, sparked by questions from Moogle’s comment, please review this thread, where I take my theory a little further.

Hello from your fans at Stormblessed.com, and thank you for taking the time to answer some questions for us! And we’d also like to say, Congratulations on another NYT bestseller with Towers of Midnight! I think that is an endorsement from the Wheel of Time readership, and well-deserved, for your work on The Gathering Storm.

Q: In the blog exchange [this link shows the posts in chronological reverse order] you recently did with Brent Weeks on Bordersblog.com, the two of you talked for a few posts about how Chekhov’s Gun applies to epic fantasy. In your words, “Is it okay, in an epic fantasy, to hang a gun on the mantle, then not fire it until book ten of the series written fifteen years later. Will people wait that long? Will it even be meaningful? My general instincts as a writer so far have been to make sure those guns are there, but to obscure them – or at least downplay them.” Your novels are followed very closely by groups like TWG, and now 17^th Shard and Stormblessed, and you’re familiar with the obsessiveness of Wheel of Time fans. There are more and more people out there who spend time between book releases poking at the metaphorical walls of your work, on a hunt for those guns you’ve obscured. Does this kind of scrutiny change anything for you?

A: Yes. I don’t generally change the guns that I’m hanging, but I have begun to hang more subtle guns for those who like to dig. I like to have a variety of secrets in my books, with a variety of difficulty levels in figuring them out. If you read one of the books I’ve written, like The Way of Kings, I would hope that it will meet everyone’s needs when it comes to discovering things. For those who really want to dig, there will be some really deep secrets that you can unearth, talk about, and theorize about and eventually be proven right. There will be things that the casual reader will figure out three pages before the answer is revealed, that you will have figured out ten chapters ahead of time. I like that variety because of the old adage–it’s hard to fool everybody all the time, but hopefully I can have enough different secrets that they will each fool a few people.

Q: The art featured in The Way of Kings is very striking and has been well-received by readers. Do you have any plans to include more art in your future books – other books as well as The Stormlight Archive? Or maybe as bonus content on your website?

A: There will be more art in future Stormlight Archive books. I’m very pleased with how it turned out, and I think adding a visual aspect to novels helps create a more complete and immersive experience. You’ll notice that art has been important to one extent or another in all of my books.  Elantris had its map and the Aons; Mistborn had its maps and the Steel Alphabet. The Rithmatist, when it comes out in 2012, will have extensive magic system diagrams with every chapter.

Including a map in a fantasy book has become a bit of a cliché ever since Tolkien did it. But if you go back and look at what Tolkien actually did, the map that was in the book was an in-world artifact–it was something the characters carried around with them and used. So I’ve approached the art in my books in a similar manner. Each piece represents something that is made and used by the people in the world of the books. I think that helps give a richer feel to the world I’m creating.

One thing you probably won’t see me doing in future novels is including character art. I want to leave exactly how characters look up to the imagination of the reader. But I’m a big fan of the sequential art storytelling form as well, so you’ll likely see me do some completely graphic novels in the future.

Q: You’ve mentioned that each of the smaller glyphs on the inside cover of the The Way of Kings represents a type of magic. Can you tell us how many of these types we’ve seen so far?

A: Remember that to get an order of the Knights Radiant you take two of the small glyphs and one of the large glyphs. The large glyph represents a concept or an ideal mixed with an essence, what they call the elements of this world, with two magics attached to it. You have seen the Windrunners, which is the first, top-right glyph, mixed with the two Surges–the forces in this world–attached to it. So you’ve seen pressure and gravitation as mixed together to form a Windrunner. You have seen one of the other Surges, which is Soulcasting–Transformation–though which other Surges that mixes with to form orders of the Knights Radiant I am not specifically going to say at this time. What else have you seen? Those are the only ones that are overt. But you have seen the effects of others.

Q: The spren are a really unique part of Roshar. Do you have rules for deciding what “gets” spren (wind, flames, glory, creation, life, death) and what doesn’t? Have you introduced most of the spren types, or will we see a lot of new ones as the series goes on?

A: You will find out much more about the spren as the series goes on. There are a lot of things that get spren where the spren are not noticeable, or they only occur in very rare circumstances or in certain regions, as Axies explains. So the phrase “There’s a spren for that” that I’ve seen popping around on the internet is actually fairly accurate. There’s a spren for quite a lot of things. I don’t want to delve too deeply into this until I’ve written more in the series and you begin to understand exactly what the spren are.

Q: Can all spren imprint on someone – like Syl has with Kaladin – or is this ability special to certain types of spren? (I just got a mental picture of a flamespren taking notice of the pyromaniac noble girl from the castle market exercise in your JordanCon talk. Not sure that would end well.)

A: It is special to certain types of spren. There you go, a non-RAFO.

Q: You’ve said that Shadesmar is the cognitive relam connecting all the worlds in the cosmere, and that Hoid is very good at using Shadesmar. Should we take this to mean Shadesmar is how he travels between the worlds? Do the other worlds have different ways of accessing Shadesmar than the way(s) the people of Roshar use?

A: Yes.

Q: At the end of The Way of Kings, several key characters seem to be converging on the Shattered Plains. TWOK takes place mainly on the Plains and Kharbranth. Do you plan to spend much time in new locations in book 2?

A: Book 2 will begin with Shallan and Jasnah either very close to or arriving at the Shattered Plains.

Q: Everyone’s favorite Wheel of Time question has been answered – after Towers of Midnight, we now know who killed Asmodean. It doesn’t seem right to leave you without a WoT question, so in honor of Asmodean: What do you think would happen if Rand managed to hurl Padan Fain through the Bore into the Dark One’s prison?

A: The Dark One would spit him back out because he tastes bad.

In honor of Asmodean, I’ll say that there is a mysterious death in The Way of Kings that could use some resources devoted to it. I did not put it in there simply because of Asmodean, but as I thought about it after writing it, I said, “Oh wow, I wonder if people will pick up on that.” So there you go.

–

Thanks again to Brandon and his assistant, Peter Ahlstrom, for taking some time to talk with us before turning to A Memory of Light.  And for our readers, wherever you are and whatever holidays you celebrate, we hope you’re having a great weekend, and that the year has been a good one for you!

Greetings all,

I have been given the privilege of occasionally sparking some discussion in regards to a particular theory with a post here on the blog. The nature of these discussions will vary from post to post. Sometimes, I will provide a theory developed from my own readings. Other times, I will spotlight a theory posted by someone on our forums. Lastly, I sometimes may write a bit about a topic we only have some information on, and provide a platform for discussion and speculation to begin. Hopefully we can ignite some great debate and figure out the books before Sanderson even has a chance to write them! I’ve been very excited to make my first post, however, due to an ungodly amount of  school work and an unfortunate death in the family which pulled me home my single weekend off, I’ve been held up.

I had wanted to provide you all with a mind blowing, earth shattering theory of my own with my first post. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances presented above, this simply hasn’t been the case. I’m not happy enough with anything I’ve been working on to post it, but I don’t want to delay my first post any longer either. So, I’ve decided to focus on someone else’s theory, posted back in September, that I’ve always believed deserved more discussion. While I was initially skeptical when I read it, as time has passed, I’ve began to wonder if there is some bits of truth in the theory. At the very least, I believe it deserves more discussion.

The theory I’m referring to was posted by Rew on September 13, not long after the book was released. The original topic can be found by clicking here, and any discussion stemming from this post should take place there. I’ll bump the topic on the forums for good measure.

Below is a full excerpt of Rew’s initial post, with a few edits for better “flow” here on the blog. Please note that this DOES CONTAIN SPOILERS, as all my theories will, so read at your own risk.

——

Shin and the Radiants
All quotation page numbers are from the first edition Hardcover. This is filled with ***major spoilers*** read at your own risk, I haven’t bothered to put any in covered spoiler boxes after this first one

My basic theory is this:
1) The Shin are the descendants or inheritors of the abilities and beliefs of a major portion (at least two of the Orders) of Knights Radiant.
2) They have of course adopted and changed many of the beliefs and practices over the intervening thousands of years- this change is actually fairly demonstrable from the info in the book.

The basis for this theory is the following:

1) The Shin have more specific knowledge of the Radiants than is to be found in the East

“What would these men say if they knew that the man who emptied their chamber pot was a Shardbearer and a Surgebinder? A Windrunner, like the Radiants of old? The moment he summoned his Blade, his eyes would turn from dark green to pale—almost glowing—sapphire, a unique effect of his particular weapon.”

- Pg 178

It is plain from this quote that Szeth has an understanding of the abilities of at least some of the Radiants that almost no one in the East knows. His use of even the words “Surgebinder” and “Windrunner” prove that he has been taught and understands where the power that he holds originally was used and his obvious connection of that power to the Radiants speaks for itself. (This does not mean that everything he “knows” is the same or correct…see below.)

2) The Radiants left the Eastlands and went somewhere

“The figure turned and walked from him, joining the other Radiants as they crossed the stone plain, walking toward places unknown.”

- Pg 733

Dalinar, in his vision, saw the Radiants (the two groups represented here- Windrunners and the Order of the Stonewards) leave the Eastlands. They had to have gone somewhere, and while I think that they all probably didn’t end up at the same place (Diaspora style), I think that a large portion of them, enough to create a cultural center, found the protected valley later to be known as Shinovar. I can also make the bet that the Order of the Stonewards were the dominant majority.

3) Their cultural centers and beliefs correspond in form with what was seen in Dalinar’s visions and what is known of the Radiants.
Szeth thinks once:

There was no place for him in the Valley of Truth.

-Pg 446

This exhibits a cultural distinction in the minds of the Shin- their protected valley is the Valley of Truth. What Truth do they hold that is not to be found anywhere else? It would have to be some truth about Surgebinding presumably, knowledge which Szeth is shown to have above, or the real history of the Radiants and why they left.

Similarly, it seems that their cultural unit is marked with a hierarchy of social standing that seems to be derived from that of the Radiants.

“Every pasture needs three things,” the woman said, voice changing, as if she were quoting from memory. “flocks to grow, herdsmen to tend, and watchers at the rim. We of Alethela are those watchers—the warriors who protect and fight. We maintain the terrible arts of killing, then pass them on to others when the Desolation comes.”

-Pg 306

The shin are noted for their placing of farmers above the vocation of soldier.

“Shin are a curious folk,” he said. “Here, warriors are the lowliest of men—kind of like slaves. Men trade and sell them between houses by way of little stones that signify ownership, and any man who picks up a weapon must join them and be treated the same. The fellow in the fancy robe? He’s a farmer….They treat all famers like that, lavish them with attention and respect….[farms are] holy places, here. Foreigners aren’t allowed near fields or farming villages.”

- Pg 434

“There is no greatness in killing,” Szeth said. “You speak like a kukori. Great men create food and clothing. He who adds is to be revered. I am he who takes away. At least in the killing of men such as these I can pretend to be doing a service.”

-Pg450

This might seem out of place in the Radiant culture, but it fits in some ways to the need above. Specifically, an emphasis on honor, but also a form of pacifism that could be drawn from how and why the Radiants left the Eastlands…

We also know the name of one of their key belief structures and some of its tenets: Stone Shamanism

“Dangerous thoughts. His way of life was all that remained to him. If he questioned Stone Shamanism, would he then question his nature as Truthless? Dangerous, Dangerous. Though his murders and sins would damn him, at least his soul would be given to the stones upon his death. He would continue to exist. Punished, in agony, but not exiled to nothingness.
Better to exist in agony than to vanish entirely.”

-Pg 445

“He was required to carry the blade until his death, after which Shin Stone Shamans would recover it from whomever had killed him.”

-Pg 448

The possibility of connection between Stone Shamanism and the Order of the Stonewards is obvious and would seem to be the origin of their belief of Stone as sacred.
This suggests a highly regulated and organized society/association within Shin culture that also has control or is the source of Shin religious belief. They presumably provided him with the blade, probably trained him in Surgebinding, and can conceivably follow him wherever he ends up in the world to recover what is theirs. They must have a purpose…the only thing I can think of is retaining the strength of the barrier between Shinovar and the outside and perhaps internal control as well… “Homeland Security”? (see connected theory on the Nature of Truthless) (COPES NOTE: This thread can be found here.)

This connects to another theory of mine: that of where Szeth’s sword came from (see that thread)- basically it states that Szeth’s sword is a more modern creation fitted to his different fighting style and capabilities, rather than that of Plate and Blade, insinuating that the Shin have (or had longer than the other lands) the ability to create Shardblades.

It also seems apparent that a large part of the cultural structure is based in the following thought:

“It is better for one man to sin than for a people to be destroyed, wouldn’t you say, Szeth-son-son-Vallano?”

-Pg 976

Now, while this is a quote from Taravangian, who is not Shin, he showed himself very knowledgeable of Shin culture and beliefs:

“Easy to release, difficult to keep,” Taravangian said, speaking the words in Shin.
Szeth looked up shrply. This man spoke the Shin language and knew his peoples proverbs?

-Pg 975

I am of the opinion from the rhetorical nature of the first question that he is quoting another proverb or aphorism that is central to Shin culture and civilization. The fact that he is also quoting it knowingly to a Truthless implies that he understands that it is also a central under girder of the cultural nature of Truthless-ness within the Shin tradition. (again, see other theory on the Nature of Truthless)

This quote is also very close to this thought, from Jezrien:

“Better that one man should suffer than ten,” Jezrien whispered.

-Pg 17

Which places the thought well within the likelihood of the Radiants’ teachings, albeit somewhat changed in nature due to thousands of years of cultural adaptation and development.

4) They apparently do not believe in or know of Soulcasting (as an ability)
From the Rysn Interlude, it is apparent that the Shin either do not have the ability to Soulcast or do not use it. They trade chickens (a valuable commodity in the East) for useless Soulcast metal. I am of the opinion that they do not have the ability, mainly because, if they thought it was something too holy to use, they wouldn’t trade for it. Just as they only trade for Soulcast metal that has never been mined, because of their belief in the sanctity of stone.
This to me seems to correspond to the thought that the Shin are derived from Windrunners and Stonewards, not the Radiant Orders that practiced Soulcasting, who presumably stayed farther East.

5) They have adapted much of their culture due to their situation in Shinovar
The Shin, though, have changed many of the cultural belief systems of the Radiants. This is probably mostly due to their place in Shinovar.

In the distance rose the white peaks of the Misted Mountains, sheltering Shinovar. Those mountains caused the highstorms to break and face, making Shinovar one of the only places in all of Roshar where highstroms did not reign.

-Pg 432

This isolation would have had major effects on the people and their beliefs. Without major highstorms:
• The dirt remains
o this would make agriculture easier, adding to their honoring farmers/”they who add”
• Stone would become scarce/rare (or at least not as ubiquitous as elsewhere)
o This would contribute to the feeling of sanctity of stone, especially with one of their major magical abilities being related thereto
• Stormlight would also presumably become rare and/or precious
o Connection again to their magical abilities and the bestowal of holiness to it.

Another major aspect of their geography that might have come into play is:

With a start, Rysn realized she couldn’t see any spren. Not a one. No windspren, no lifespren, nothing.

-Pg 433

If indeed there is a dearth of spren in Shinovar, this would make their Surgebinding even more rare an ability (assuming that spren-bonding ala Kaladin is absolutely necessary, which I’m fairly certain is the case) as there would not be as many Spren to bond with, or would even necessitate leaving the valley on a quest to gain a spren…
The other possibility is that all Shin have a bond with a spren, making them all invisible to others (unless they reveal themselves).

The lack of spren would also add to the natural Shamanism and worship of nature around them. Szeth thinks about Easterners:

“they thought nothing of walking on stone or using Stormlight for everyday illumination. They ignored the spirits of things that lived around them, and they ate whatever they wanted on any day they wanted.”

-Pg 445 (bold added)

It apparently annoys him that they don’t pay attention to the spren (unless he is simply commenting on their lack of natural shamanistic belief, but I think the two are connected).

So, I think that the Shin culture (based on the information that we have now) is derived from the Radiants that Dalinar saw leave the Eastlands in vision, specifically the Order of the Stonewards and Windrunners. I think that they have retained much of that knowledge in some form, some of it changing over the years, but the core remaining largely intact, probably mostly due to isolation in Shinovar.

——

So, there you have it. I will admit, I did not initially agree with Rew’s theory. Truthfully, I still don’t think I’m fully convinced. In fact, I initially posted in the topic the following quote directly from the Prologue.

Most out here in the East thought Szeth’s kind were docile and harmless. They were generally right.

-Pg 21

To me, this quote indicates that the Shin are generally a docile, peaceful people, and not a group that is training and maintaining a sect of Warriors from 3000 years ago. Of course, the great majority of Shin could be commoners with only a few maintaining the ways of the Radiants. It is surely possible.

Further, I’d like to add now, that we learn from Rysn’s interlude that any Shin who picks up a weapon is instantly considered the lowest member of the culture, and becomes property.

“Shin are a curious folk,” he said. “Here, warriors are the lowliest of men – kind of like slaves. Men trade and sell them between houses by way of little stones that signify ownership, and any man who picks up a weapon must join them and be treated the same.”

-Pg 434

It seems as if it would be difficult to cultivate the culture of the Radiants if you were unable to pick up a weapon without becoming a slave. While the Radiants were required to serve the common man, I don’t think they were ever commanded by them. They had their own society and their own hierarchy. Maybe the Shin have adapted that for modern time, who knows.

One possibility I’d like to suggest is that when one chooses (or is chosen?) to train as a Radiant, the Stone Shamans take up their Oathstone, therefore preventing them from being traded, and allowing them to continue their training. Szeth’s situation could come from whatever it is he did to become Truthless. This would certainly get around the issue of picking up weapons, as it would be very hard to harness your skills if picking up a practice sword resulted in you becoming the equivalent of a slave.

Whether Rew is on track or not, he brings up some excellent points about the Shin. Whatever the case, there is certainly something interesting regarding Shin and Shin culture, and I would like for that to be the main topic of conversation drawn from this post. What exactly is going on in regards to these child-eyed people?

One final note, before I finish. Rew has done an excellent job with his theory, and anyone looking to create their own should try to do exactly what Rew did. The more that a theory can be based off of direct quotes, the better. I assure you that I will attempt to do the same as I develop my own theories. It is important for us all to acknowledge, however, that only one book of this ten part series has been released, and therefore we only have 1/10th of the evidence we are looking for. Some theories are going to require some assumptions, this early in the game. In my opinion, this doesn’t make the theory a bad one, as anything that provides some proof and sparks discussion is a great addition to the community.

Again, you can join the discussion on the forums by clicking here.

Now, about those Shin…

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