Volunteering at Dragonsteel 2023

(Guest post by K. David Murdock)

When someone asked me what the Dragonsteel convention was, I answered—honestly—that it was a convention celebrating the release of Brandon Sanderson’s latest novel. However, that was just the dictionary definition. It was that, and so much more.

The first I heard of this Sanderson themed convention was in 2022, with the release of The Lost Metal, the final installation in the Mistborn Era Two series. My friend, who lives in Idaho, had bought extra tickets which she no longer needed, and offered to sell one to me, which encouraged me to come along.

I dressed up as Wax for the release party, and I explored all the convention had to offer. There were authors, exhibits, merchants, panels, Q&A’s, signings, games, and more. I had such a wonderful time that at the end of Dragonsteel 2022 I took the opportunity to get involved as a volunteer for this year’s convention.

Dragonsteel 2023 launched at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City from November 20th to the 21st, 2023, marking the official release of Defiant, the final book in the Skyward series. The official release happened on Monday night, but there was plenty at the convention to keep even the most casual fan of Sanderson’s works engaged. There were panels on writing, art, publication, videogames, and several on Sanderson’s works and the Cosmere he created. The panels included authors, publishers, artists, literary agents, members of Sanderson’s team, podcasters, and even the big man himself. Christopher Paolini (who I met in passing and got to shake his hand) held a book signing for Murtagh, and a few other authors held signings as well.

But for those not content to sit quietly in a florescent-lit room listening to other people talk about Sanderson, there were plenty of other activities. There was an entire room dedicated to crafts, ranging from Doomslug terrariums, to Mistborn metalminds and metal vials, to handmade flight journals, to Soulcasters. “Worldhopper” meetups were organized for fans to get together to discuss the Cosmere and the stories they loved. Cosplay meetups and photoshoots were scheduled as well.

And games. Games galore. The convention game was an immersive hunt across the convention center, part scavenger hunt, part escape room style puzzle solving, themed on Defiant and the Skyward series. There were many other games almost every hour that fans could participate in. D&D one shots, TTRPGs of Mistborn and Stormlight, Witlash (Hoid meets “Quiplash”), rounds of MTG including draft and Commander, KeyForge (is that still a thing?), and Blood on the Clocktower.

In addition to all this, there was a giant hall full of exhibitors, ranging from authors and publishers and booksellers, to artists, content creators, game designers, and merchandise of all varieties (but primarily bookish and nerdy). Dice, jewelry, embroidery, leatherwork, foam Shardblades, a dueling arena with said foam Shardblades, custom coins, a VR room, fights performed by the Salt Lake City Crusaders, custom lightsabers—listing every exhibit would take up this entire post. There was even a “Hoid’s Museum,” showcasing collectibles from across the Cosmere that Hoid (presumably) had collected—and the line was so long I never got the chance to explore it!

I had a particularly fun time talking to all the authors (being an author myself) and bought more books than I probably should have. I procrastinated writing this post by reading The Paper Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg. Holmberg, a Utah native, published this extremely well written debut novel almost a decade ago. There is much I could say about it like its unique genre (a cozy fantasy with elements of horror and romance, with a Studio Ghibli feel) or its clever magic system, or how I passed on it a year ago only to snatch it up eagerly last week, but I will content myself with this: it is one of the best novels I have read this year, and one of my new favorites. If you like origami, forbidden magic, Howl’s Moving Castle, turn of the century London, adorable but understated romance, or any combination of the above, I highly encourage you to check out The Paper Magician.

If I had one complaint about this event, it would be that there was too much cool stuff. The Dragonsteel store was vast and full of so much epic merchandise I couldn’t decide on what to get (I eventually settled on a Tress teacup, available on the Dragonsteel merch website while supplies last, #notsponsored). So many panels and games and other events overlapped that I had to be very choosy about what I did. There just wasn’t enough time to do all things I wanted to do. That may, however, be slightly mitigated next year…

The event culminated with Brandon Sanderson getting up on stage before thousands of his fans. He spoke on liminality, and the passage from one season of life into the next. Change can be scary, and hard (isn’t that the understatement of the year?). The Cosmere is on the cusp of great change, with the ending of Mistborn Era Two last year and the end of Stormlight Era One next year. Things are about to shake up, big time.

Dragonsteel itself is changing. Sanderson is bringing more people onto his team, and commissioning authors to help him get stories out that he does not have time for, including Janci Patterson taking the reigns of the next Skyward installation, and Dan Wells taking on an entirely new Cosmere novel. Sanderson also announced a new headquarters for Dragonsteel, “somewhere” in Utah County, where the official offices, bookstore, warehouse, event rooms, etc. will be housed; it will reduce the number of visitors that go to his not-so-secret lair and personal house, as well as be the base of operations for future conventions. Fans are already calling it “Sanderland.” He announced the launch of the leatherbound Words of Radiance, coming soon on BackerKit. And he announced, to the joy of many, that Dragonsteel 2024 will be held on a weekend next year, and span three days instead of two, presumably to accommodate the huge celebration that will surround the release of Stormlight 5.

Dragonsteel 2023 is in the books. The Year of Sanderson is almost at its end. All Secret Projects have been released (have you read them all yet?). I look forward to what the future holds, yet I am also enjoying the anticipation of not knowing what is coming next. After all, Journey Before Destination.

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K. David Murdock is a Utah native who spends his time writing stories, daydreaming stories, reading stories, telling stories, and occasionally eating. His first publication, “The Tower on the Shore,” a short fantasy horror story, will release on November 30th, 2023, in UVU’s speculative fiction magazine, Warp and Weave. You can follow his writing updates and inane ramblings on Instagram @kdavidmurdock.

Once's Missed Opportunity: A Christmas Episode

My wife recently finished rewatching Once Upon a Time (we use it as a background show while doing chores and such). I have various opinions about the series—possibly some unpopular ones—about characters, story arcs, relationships, etc. but that’s a topic for another blog post. Today I want to talk about the biggest missed opportunity I took note of during this recent viewing. Why the heck didn’t Once Upon a Time have a Christmas episode?

My first thought was maybe the producers  were trying to evade religion or potentially controversial topics… even though they had no problem alluding to the Last Supper in the Season 6 finale. And there was David the shepherd boy who became king. But even religion aside, Christmas has become such a cultural thing and it’s been secularized for years. They could have avoided the Nativity scene altogether and just gone with the mythology of Santa. 

Even just with Santa Claus, there are so many different Santa stories they could pull from. ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, The Santa Clause, etc. to name a couple. But even if you leave Santa aside for a second, there are countless Christmas classics and specials they could have  pulled from, like Charlie Brown trees or the Grinch. Heck, we already had a Victorian era England in Wonderland and the Jekyll/Hyde story, so why not do an adaptation of A Christmas Carol?

This hypothetical Christmas episode didn’t even need to be Christmas focused exactly either. They had episodes taking place on Halloween and Valentine's Day that had little to do with those holidays. There could have easily been an episode taking place on Christmas (maybe during the Frozen arc would have been appropriate) with references to North Pole magic, Christmas spirits, or Santa Claus without making it a major focus of the episode. Heck, leave the supernatural aside; with all the time jumps and everything, we had at least two or three holiday seasons we skipped over. Why couldn’t we have stopped on one of them? They were filming in Canada in the fall/winter anyway. 

Above all else, if Christmas movies and Christmas specials have taught me anything, all the “Christmas magic" basically plays into Once's themes of family, true love, etc. If “true love” is the most powerful magic of all, Christmas magic would be the most powerful version of “true love” magic. I can just imagine Emma snuggling up with Henry in front of a fire after a Christmas fairytale incident, showing us the importance of being together as a family, even in the midst of holiday chaos. 

I don’t know if a holiday episode even crossed the minds of the Once Upon a Time writers. And there’s a reason they’re TV writers and I’m not, so I’m not here to say I could have done better. But I think this could have been really cool. That being said, even without Once, Disney Plus has plenty of content for the holiday season. And now that Thanksgiving is over, it’s culturally acceptable to watch Christmas movies and listen to Christmas music (I’ve already been doing both for a month), so let’s enjoy the Christmas season, drawing close to our loved ones and away from our wish lists. 

Plots part 1/3: And then . . .

 

Recently, I watched a video on YouTube from the creatures of South Park, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, giving helpful advice about developing good plots. I personally don’t like South Park, but I thought their advice sounded good and I supported it, but then I realized that there are surprising exceptions where a movie breaks this rule and still does very well in the box office. In this post I will go over their advice and give examples of how true and false their advice is.

In the video, Matt Stone and Trey Parker plot advice is “take the beats of the outline and if the words ‘and then . . .’ belong between those beats . . . you got you something pretty boring. What should happen between every beat that you’ve written down is either the world therefore or but.” 

So basically if you are describing a movie and use the words “and then this happens and then this . . .” that should be a pretty boring movie. Here are two examples of movies that follow "and then" advice, both did well in the box office, but one disappointed me more than the other.

Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker 51% / 86% Rotten Tomatoes (*Spoilers*)

In the movie Klyo Ren has a Sith wayfinder and then find Palpatine alive and then Palpatine shows a massive amount of star destroyers and then tells Klyo to kill Rey. Rey is looking for a Sith wayfinder and goes to Pasaana and then find Lando and then finds a Sith dagger and then Kylo finds her. And then Rey and most of the gang escape and travel to Kijmi to reboot C-3PO’s so he can tell them the location of a wayfinder. And then on a moon in the Endor system Rey realizes the dagger is a map and then she confronts Kylo. And then Kylo is redeemed because his mother died. And then Rey and the gang face Palpatine and then she finds out she is a Palpatine and then he is defeated and then she decides that she is a Skywalker.

I could have kept talking about the plot and kept adding more “and then” statements, but I believe this makes my point clear; that the sequel trilogy has the wrong beats and to me was disappointing.

I personally am tired of Star Wars, and this validated my explanations on why the movie failed and then I recently watched another movie, and I enjoyed it a lot, but like Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker if I took the beats of the movie the narrative follows the “and then” outline. So the question is why is this movie better?

The Super Mario Bros. Movie 59% / 95% Rotten Tomatoes (*Spoilers*)

At the beginning of the movie, Mario and Luigi started a plumbing business that is struggling and then the city got flooded and they try to fix the plumbing problem to gain cliental and then they are sucked into a warp from a pip separating the two brothers. Mario ends up in the Mushroom Kingdom and wants to find his brother and then finds toad and then meets Princess Peach and then trains to rescue his brother and help save the mushroom kingdom. And then goes to Jungle Kingdom and then Mario faces Donkey Kong and wins and then the Jungle kingdom allies with the mushroom kingdom. And then they use go karts to head back to the Mushroom Kingdom and then Bowser’s army ambushes them on Rainbow Road and peach is taken away. And then a wedding happens and Mario crashes it to save Luigi and Peach. And then they go back to Brooklyn and Mario and Lugi face Bowser and win.   

Again, I could have added more plot points increasing the number of “and then” statements to this summary. But the point that I am making is that both movies have the same style of beats. Some of you may like Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker over The Super Mario Bros. Movie. While others like me like the latter more. The reason I like the latter more is because it was supposed to be a fun adventure with light plot points and that is exactly what I got from watching it. I expected the sequel Star Wars trilogy to be more complex having consequences that play into the plot, but that never happened.

When I listened to these creators talking about plot, I agreed with them 100% until I found an exception to their reasoning. I believe that story telling generally does better when there are “but and therefore” in the beats of the summary. However, there are miracles of when plots with “and then” perform well. 

In the next part I will discuss a way of how these movies could have been different if the format supported but and therefore. The final part I will go over one movie that executes this well.

Grateful for Nostalgic Video Games

My late days at work used to mean that I had extra family play time before going to the clinic late. Now that my wife is teaching again (and taking our girls to childcare before school), I ended up with some me-time each week that I'm not used to. In true dad fashion, it's nice to get some chores and to-dos completed without my three-year-old running around "helping" me clean. The goal is to get as much cleaned as I can before allowing myself an hour of video game time. And boy that gaming time has been refreshing for me.

With two little girls at home, I rarely take out my gaming consoles. It's also the same reason I've yet to buy myself a Nintendo Switch (that and money.....). And without that state-of-the-art gaming system, I'm limited to just my nostalgic games--I'm very okay with this as it turns out.

I started out by playing Spyro the Dragon originally for PlayStation (now available as a remastered trilogy). Never played this one growing up, but I’d played the last game in the trilogy, Year of the Dragon. So it’s been a nice mix of a nostalgia (since the games are so similar) and a new game. It’s been in my video game collection for years, so why haven’t I played it? I don’t have an answer, but I’m glad I pulled it out at last. 

Once I’ve finished the game, I’ll definitely have some commentary. In the meantime, it’s been amazing how this video game nostalgia has helped my mental health on certain days. I remember day I felt depressed and low while I should have enjoyed my me-time. Pulling out the old PlayStation and popping in my game, I felt my mood rise. Even though I hadn’t played this particular game, the feeling is there. There’s something calming about playing a familiar game. I’ve heard it said about rewatching TV shows but I think applies here too—we know what to expect so it’s calming. But there’s also joy of feeling like a child again. I can picture the basement where my brothers and I first played Year of the Dragon. And with life as hectic and heavy as it is, I’m grateful for something light that can bring me that joy again for a moment. 

LDS Geeks Podcast #6: Loki Season 2

I had the chance to sit down and record with Rob about where in time and space Loki Season 2 took us. Check out the most recent episode of the podcast to listen in on our thoughts, what we liked, and where the series fell short.

--Spencer

The Doctor's Doppelgängers

Next week begins the start of Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials. This won't be the first time the Doctor encounters/wears a familiar face. In fact it almost seems like it's a recurring theme, the Doctor encountering his doppelgängers (or being his own doppelgänger in this case). Sometimes before he wears the face and sometimes after. Sometimes at the same time. So with the Fourteenth Doctor coming up (and with "Enemy of the World" in my recent memories) let's take a look at these twinners.

First Doctor - Abbot of Amboise (The Massacre)

Though the episode doesn't still exist in its entirety, "The Massacre" features the Doctor encountering (sort of) his lookalike in the 16th Century. The Doctor never appears on screen with the Abbot, so I suppose the Doctor could have been the Abbot the whole time (instead of just pretending to be him). But all the same, Steven couldn't tell for sure through the four episodes whether he was truly interacting with the Doctor or the Abbot. Frustrating I'm sure. That couldn't have helped with that outburst at the end, before he stormed out of the TARDIS. (Side note: If we're including the fact that David Bradley played the Doctor in "Twice Upon a Time" and "The Power of the Doctor", the First Doctor also had a double in "Dinosaurs on a Spaceship")

Second Doctor - Ramón Salamander (The Enemy of the World)

Upon arriving in Australia 2018 (yet another future story now set in the past), what are the odds that the Doctor would encounter a Hispanic warlord version of himself? Naturally the dictatorship's enemies had to use the Doctor to infiltrate the bad guys' European home. But the Doctor being the Doctor had to make sure he was on the right side before agreeing to overthrow a regime. And enter the Doctor's superb acting skills, utilized multiple times in his second incarnation, to fool nearly all of Salamander's people. Long story short, good guys win and Salamander forgot to close the TARDIS doors before taking off.... so into the vortex he goes. Spin-off media took his story in another direction after that, but as TJ and I have said on the podcast, that goes into the pseudo-canon (pick-and-choose-canon) realm.

Fourth Doctor - The Curator (The Day of the Doctor)

As if it wasn't enough to have all thirteen Doctor's appear AND save Gallifrey, we were hit with another surprise as the legendary Tom Baker returned to Doctor Who. The Fourth Doctor is still the longest running Doctor, so to see him return as the Curator was/is a big deal for fans. Though not technically confirmed in the 50th Anniversary special, it was heavily hinted that the Curator is a future incarnation of the Doctor. Regardless, his face was recognizable by the Eleventh Doctor. The spin-off media expands on the Curator, but as previously noted, that's only sort-of canon.

Sixth Doctor - Maxil (Arc of Infinity)

Before appearing as the flamboyantly obnoxious Sixth Doctor, Collin Baker appeared as the Time Lord Maxil in "Arc of Infinity". Imagine with all the faces you could regenerate into and you turn into another Time Lord. I guess that's just the luck of the draw... except that sometimes the face isn't random (see the two examples below).

Tenth Doctor - Fourteenth Doctor (60th Anniversary Specials)

How do you become your own doppelgänger? By being the most popular Doctor of the modern era. We know next to nothing about the Fourteenth Doctor, except that for some reason he looks like the Tenth. From the trailers (Spoiler warning) we can kind of tell that the Fourteenth Doctor is going to wrap up some of his unfinished business from his time with Donna. What does that mean for them? Who knows? And how does the Toymaker play into things?

Twelfth Doctor - Lobus Caecilius (Fire of Pompeii)

We were told this Doctor double would be addressed during the tenure of the Twelfth Doctor. I don't know what I expected (maybe revisiting Roman times?) but I was underwhelmed at the explanation of why the Doctor looked like Caecilius. Maybe I wanted them to address Donna again? I don't know, but we're getting Donna again anyway. Also, though I never watched Torchwood, Peter Capaldi also appeared on the Doctor Who spin-off as John Frobisher and I kind of hoped they'd tie him into the Twelfth Doctor as well. Oh well.

And now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be here twiddling my thumbs, continuing along my Second Doctor rewatch, while I wait for the return of the Doctor and Donna. Happy 60th anniversary, Whovians!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone: A Magical Reading Experience

(Guest post by David T)

I wouldn’t consider myself a Harry Potter fan. Yes, I have seen all 8 movies. I can name the main heroes and villains. I have my favorite student and professor (Hermione Granger and Albus Dumbledore). I’ve taken the “Hogwarts House Sorting Quiz” twice (I was in Ravenclaw, but now I’m in Hufflepuff). I even own some of the early Lego sets and more recent blind bag minifigures. But the main reason I don’t consider myself a fan is the fact that I am one of those rare people who haven’t read J.K. Rowling’s works (except one) that all the above are based on.  

Even though I served my mission in England at the turn of the millennium, I was unaware of Harry Potter and the fictional “Wizarding World” until 2001 when it seemed many people around me here in the U.S. were gripped with the phenomenon. When people learned I didn’t know who Harry Potter was and hadn’t read the novels, they enthusiastically encouraged (it felt more like pressured) me to do so. These Potter fans excitedly anticipated “The Sorcerer’s Stone” on the big screen. I briefly investigated what everyone was raving about when I cracked open a copy of the first book, but quickly lost interest. As Potter fever raged around me, I resisted. I couldn’t understand why it appealed to family members, friends, and coworkers. To me, it was a fad (which I tend to be suspicious of), and I was determined to buck the trend.  

Now, fast forward 22 years (and unbeknownst to me it’s also the 25th anniversary of The Sorcerer’s Stone’s book release in the U.S.), and I’m looking for a new audiobook to listen to. I’d recently retaken the sorting quiz on Wizarding World, and being more interested in Rowling’s works as a result, I decided I’d give the first novel a try. I knew that there were British and American versions of the books. Wanting to enjoy the words and slang of the U.K., I chose to listen to The Philosopher’s Stone.  

Before I began the audiobook, I’d watched The Sorcerer’s Stone multiple times over the years. As a result, I believed I knew enough of the Potter universe that I didn’t need to read the story. However, as I listened to it, I discovered a richer tale than the film portrayed. In fact, I would tell my sister and friends how much I enjoyed the details and nuances. It was these specific things that created a magical experience for me with the novel.  

For cinematic storytelling purposes, I understand why certain details in the book were left out of the film. However, it is these details that fleshed out Harry Potter’s world for me. For example, I finally understood how Quidditch is played, and learned that killing unicorns and drinking their blood is a grave offense to the soul. One of my favorite details was the introduction of some of the minor characters through the house sorting. While it takes longer to find out which houses the Sorting Hat will send the major characters to, hearing the names of Lavender Brown, Millicent Bulstrode, Parvati Patil, etc., made their characters more recognizable when mentioned later.  

These details made the characters and their situations more nuanced. I found Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s friendship more believable as it gradually developed over multiple chapters. Draco Malfoy and Harry’s initial meeting at “Madam Malkin’s Robes” was amusing because they were unaware of who the other was. One of the nuanced moments that I enjoyed was the challenges the characters faced to retrieve the Philosopher’s Stone. Even though I knew from the movie what many of the obstacles were, it was interesting to learn the connection between Hagrid and the Hogwarts professors and the unique barriers that each put in place that Ron, Hermione, and Harry would end up encountering.  

The combination of detail and nuance created a magical experience with The Philosopher’s Stone. Although I was aware at the outset who the villain was, I enjoyed the unfolding process of how it turned out to be Professor Quirrell. I felt for Harry when he saw his deceased relatives in the “Mirror of Erised.” But the most magical moment in the novel for me was Christmas Day at Hogwarts. As I listened to this chapter in September, it felt like Christmas to me. I enjoyed learning about the different presents Harry received. My heart was warmed by Fred and George’s excitement at Harry receiving a knitted “Weasley jumper” from their mother. And I felt the true Spirit of the season as the twins and Ron included Harry in their holiday festivities. I LOVED this part SO MUCH that I had to listen to it AGAIN before I could move on!  

Now that I’ve listened to The Philosopher’s Stone, I still can’t say that I’m a Harry Potter fan. I’m not sure what’s preventing me from becoming one. However, I will say that I’m more endeared to the franchise than I was before. Because of the details, nuances, and the magical experience with the first novel, I will continue listening to the books (I’m currently on The Prisoner of Azkaban at the time of writing this post). And who knows, once I’ve listened to all seven books, maybe I will be a fan.

Knights of Wind and Truth Predictions

 

I have just finished reading The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson and I liked how lore heavy this novel was. I knew I was going to write a post about this book, but as I set the book aside, I only thought about what will happen in Stormlight 5. So, unlike my other posts where I reviewed the novel and praised it, this post will be different. In this post I will go over my predictions on what will happen in Stormlight archives book 5. Most likely I will be wrong with my predictions, but I would like to know your thoughts. Also, who else is excited to read the best fight scene that Brandon Sanderson has ever written?

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Warning this post will have spoilers on The Sunlit Man and Stormlight Archives

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Illustrated by Ernanda Souza, Nabetse Zitro, and Kudriaken

Before we get into the predictions let us set the ground works with what we already know. In the Sunlit Man the main protagonist, Nomad, also known as Sigzil, Hoid's apprentice and Kaladin’s friend in Stormlight Archive. In Stormlight Archive Sigzil had an unnamed Honorspen, however in this book his spren, Auxiliary is a Highspren. Nomad mentioned in the book that he has was a knight in two orders: Windrunners from his Honorspren and Skybreakers from Auxiliary, his Highspren. 

Illustrated by Ernanda Souza, Nabetse Zitro, and Kudriaken

 

After the events of Knights of Wind and Truth (Stormlight 5) nomad must have become a Skybreaker. After that Hoid gave him a Dawnshard, giving him the ability to skip to other worlds, and not be able to physically harm others. Which sucks, because since he has a Dawnshard a group called Night Brigade has been after him wanting it. He eventually gives up the Dawnshard to someone else and broke his oaths, almost killing Auxiliary for reasons unknown. Even without the Dawnshard he still was being chased by the Night Brigade and therefore goes on the run for a very long time with his only companion being his nearly dead spren Auxiliary.

Now with the stage set, let's discuss what I predict might happen in Knights of Wind and Truth. From Rhythm of War, we know that book 5 will take place shortly after the events of book 4 since they have a short amount of time before the contest of champions. Since Kaladin chose to retire from fighting and help soldiers with PTSD, I believe that he will not be the champion for Dalinar. However, we know from Sunlit Man that something happens to Kaladin. Nomad talks about him in past tense and when he sees Hoid for the first time he thought he was hallucinating believing he was seeing Kaladin. So, something happened to him, but what. 

Mayalaran illustrated by Nozomi Matsuoka

 

Before I go into my predictions, I wanted to give you one more interpretation I made while reading the book. Nomad feels sorry for breaking his oath with Auxiliary nearly killing his second spren, but he never mentions feeling guilty about his Honorspren, his first spren. So, I believe that his spren never died or Nomad never broke his oaths with it. So, why did he get a new spren and what happened to his honorspren? 

Illustrated by u/Voidlantadd

 

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Knights of Wind and Truth Prediction

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I believe that after the contests of champions and at the end of the book Kaladin will become Honor/Odium, like Sazed becoming Harmony. We already know that Taravangian stabs Odium to take his power and place. No one has taken Honors place, but Honor has already died, so his power is temporary gone. For Kaladin to become Honor and bring “balance” to the Cosmere the honorspren will sacrifice their investiture to become the shard of Honor. That is why Nomad doesn't have any guilt pertaining to his honorspren. His Honorspren left Nomad to save his friend and leader Kaladin. After Kaladin becomes Honor and Odium looses during the contest of champions, Odium will give his power to Kaladin and he will become a different deity. But the question remains why will Kaladin become Honor?

Illustrated by Antti

I believe that Kaladin will start to die and, to prevent his death completely, he will become Honor. Like I stated earlier I don't believe that Kaladin will be in the contest of champions. I believe that will be Szeth since this book will focus on his backstory and it would be a good for his personal arc if he becomes Dalinars chosen fighter. So how will Kaladin die? I think Kaladin will sacrifice himself to protect someone he cares about: probably Dalinar, Adolin, or Szeth before the contest. Kaladin has shown to put the needs of others before his own and I feel like his character would be willing to sacrifice himself to save another. However, as foreshadowed by Moash "Kaladin can't be Killed" and will become the next Honor. and merge with Odium to become something greater.

There are countless other possibilities that could happen in Stormlight Archives book 5. What do you think will happen?