Dalinar Kholin - Blog Posts

a small helping of TWoK memes

more like an adoption if you ask me 🤨 Dalinar tried to be sneaky with it fr

More scenes for stormlight archives future books.

A mysterious cloaked figure is walking through the tower.

A war meeting is going on. Wit is his usual asshole self. He then suddenly perks up and starts to pour two drinks.

Pattern starts to buzz nervously.

Everyone pauses as the shadow of the figure stretches into the room.

Everyone is quiet. Dalinar stretches to his full height as the stormfather rumbles ominously.

The figure speaks. "We need to talk bondsmith. Things have changed"

"Who are you?" Dalinar asks. "Thadikar. Leader of the ghostbloods"

Immediately shallan and jasnah become alert. Summoning their shardplate and attacks but thadakar either dodges or simply can't be hurt.

He calls for his subjects and suddenly one soldier comes forward and its mariaze. Then hoid gives thadakar the drink and takes a sip of his.

Kelsier tells them that they must work together and everyone is doubtful.

Explains his deal with gavilar and tells them what a monster he was.

Until he pulls out devices that has the conversations of that night recorded.

They are about to listen to one when Navani stops them and tells them that maybe they should just hear him out.

In the next stormlight archive book I want scenes of kaladin with his grandparents. His grandfather hating larin and being fully supportive of kaladin as a soldier and giving dalinar a much needed reality check. Pulling everyone down from his high towers. Just causing unhinged chaos throughout and syl just vibing.

Ima use em

some SLA characters as onion headlines in no particular order

Kaladin:

Lunamor:

Raboniel:

Teft:

Dalinar:

The Lopen:

Shallan:

Adolin:

Ehlokar:

Jasnah:

Teravangian:

Sadeas:

Moash:

Shout out to ELISTA for being the most relatable character, after shalan.

Wind and Truth theory fact. Gavinor did not grow to hate Dalinar for the atrocities he had committed, but rather as a natural consequence of having to watch your grand-uncle tell your dad that he's banging your grandmother 10000 times back-to-back.

Wind and Truth Spoilers (Maybe)

Yeah so I’m like… 90% sure Taravangian!Odium is going to elect like- some total innocent as his champion. I don’t remember he or Dalinar imposing any like… restrictions on who could be chosen as a champion. So like… while there’s a chance it’s a powerful Fused, I think a more surefire bet would be something akin to a Singer child. A sickly, frail Singer child. A blind sickly Singer child with no parents. Taravangian listened to Dalinar rant about “journey matching the destination” so many times. It’s uh! Yeah. I’m worried for our man.

You. Cannot. Have. My. Pain.

When you look at Dalinar as a man, in his entirety, he is the perfect Bondsmith. His Honor and Passion mediated by Growth and Understanding. Were Odium not the enemy, Dalinar could have - probably would have - been able to be sponsored by all three gods of Roshar????

Seriously, looking at the Oathbringer flashbacks, this man must have had Odium kicking his feet. He charmed Cultivation and well- literally is chosen by Honor.

Oh Dalinar you didn’t, did you. Please tell me you didn’t.

Oathbringer Stormlight Spoilers

I really like how the chapter headers sort of trick you into thinking the book is by Jasnah, before you start learning more and more about Dalinar.

It’s fantastic how much I hate young Dalinar while loving old Dalinar

Yes Dalinar. YES. Beat the shit out of your nephew!!!! Yes yes yes and then tell him you’re fucking his mom!!!! I love him so much you guys.

“Why don’t you use my bridges?” Says Sadius. “Why don’t you strand yourself on a plateau with my men serving as the only means of escape?” Says Sadius. “Why don’t you hand me the knife while removing the armor from your back?” Says Sadius

This upcoming betrayal weighs on me. But it does highlight something interesting. Brandon Sanderson does an excellent job of introducing concepts, then having them pay off in the other narratives. (See: Shallan’s “lesson” on human morality followed immediately by the Kaladin flashback where he realizes bravery does not always mean fighting) This chunk of narrative - the betrayal of Dalinar - brings to mind the words of Kaladin earlier in the book when someone mentions how a betrayer amongst the Bridgemen could utterly ruin them all. He says they simply cannot worry about it, for if they did, nothing would get done… and he’s right. Dalinar’s trust is his downfall, but it causes change. Dalinar, in making the choice to trust Sadius, has allowed the world and the war to shift in a way that would not be possible otherwise.

It’s a bit fascinating

Been re-reading the Way of Kings recently and… it’s a truly fascinating series of “almost”s. Shallan almost gets away with her theft. Kaladin almost saves the people be chooses to protect. On a re-read these grow even more obvious. It’s almost like reading the Odyssey with just how damn close they get to their goals over and over again.

Also I think I’m gonna start live-blogging my Stormlight re-read

I just finished all of the Stormlight archive(except edgedancer and waiting for WAT) and I am obsessed! I do wish we got more info about the Nightwatcher as even the small glimpse of her we get are pure gold. She reminds me of the feyfolk from Ireland, Scotland, and whales in the best most unhinged way. I do however hope a couple things I want to happen with her.

A little context: I head cannon the three bondsmith Spren as storm father is the eldest brother and a brooding teenager 15 or 16, the Nightwatcher is like an insane 12 year old(think of a older lilo mixed with Matilda), and the sibling is the baby of the family who is like 6 or 7

Her bondsmith should be a singer.

If it’s someone we know than Vai, I know she’s young but I feel like together her and the night watcher could be schoolyard besties as in my head cannon they would be functional the same age, with Kaladin describing Vai as 7 in oathbringer it’s safe to assume with the singers faster aging she would be around 10 post time skip.

Also it could provide some character moments for kaladin and Vai, with her being an orphan and separated from everyone she knew Vai could blame kaladin for leaving and inadvertently causing her to be left alone, should ultimately come to terms with the fact that kaladin probably would have been killed by the fused and that he was not responsible for the way the fused punished Vai’s people, it could end with her forgiving him in some small way and perhaps swearing an ideal because of it.

Kaladin would also have to atone for his part, it could also tie into Kaladin’s therapy arch by helping Vai with her grief and perhaps helping her find a new family with the listeners or even becoming her new family.

and it connects to the themes of the cycle of revenge and Vai and kaladin would go through an arch of breaking the beginnings of a cycle of revenge in order to prepare for the bigger cycles that are connected to the conflict.

Another compelling option is someone we don’t know, maybe a family member of a known singer or listener like if Rlain had a sibling or one of Venli’s new listeners. A Iriali or Riran singer might be fun

I am also cautious about how the other two bondsmith surges work

as the surge Adhesion is only of Honor and the nightwatcher is of cultivation, the Nightwatcher could have a cultivation only version or substitute surge with it perhaps focusing on physical bonds, but I don’t know how that would work

And this is just a personal preference the stone theme we see from our only bondsmith just feels wrong

Overall the Nightwatcher’s bondsmith should help them avoid making a new oath pact. As reforging the oath pact just perpetuates the cycle of abuse and revenge that causes this war. And the books are ultimately about breaking that cycle and growing beyond them. A singer would make perfect sense for the Nightwatcher in this regard.

Small side tangent would be Vai’s mother being found/introduced, it also could be cool if she became a wind runner and her story could show how the elites of society pit the lower classes against each other and how the common human are not the singer’s enemies but those who enslaved and abused them (in this example the rich lighteyes). Also she could be extremely protective over Vai(the reason she wouldn’t be a will shaper) and perhaps her third or fourth ideal is about her balancing her job of protecting while avoiding controlling the people she wants to protect. Something like “I will strive to protect without force or control” or “I will protect all who need it, even if some have hurt me”. I will add more in another post