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The True Villain


Dragon13

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Hello, Seventeenth Shard!  I am here today to propose a theory (my first) that I have not been able to find explored anywhere on the site.  I pray that you bear with me, as it is fairly long-winded, with extensive citations...  Any Q&A citations can be found in the compilations elswhere in the forums.  The shorthand I have used for the in-text notes are designed for any who wish to cross-reference in any format - I have included book and chapter (for those on e-book) as well as page numbers for both hardocver and mass-market paperback versions.

 

I welcome your thoughts and feedback, and look forward to many further discussions within these hallowed halls.

 

Theory

 

The true villain of the Cosmere is known as the Void, and Odium is yet another in the line of “villains” that has been subverted from his original purpose/intent.

 

Supporting Points

  1. Spren categorization
    1. Spren exist that are known splinters of Honor (eg. Syl), and they refer to themselves as honorspren.
      1. Citation:  “I am honorspren.  Spirit of oaths.  Of promises.  And of nobility.” (WoK, Ch. 67 / HC page 913 / MMP page 1139)
    2. Spren exist that are known to be of Cultivation (eg. Wyndle), but have not explicitly identified themselves as cultivationspren.
    3. Spren exist that are known as Voidspren, based both on recorded in-world knowledge and on the recognition of other spren.
      1. Citation:  The various Voidspren, with their unseen lord – whose name changes depending on which culture we’re speaking of – evoke an enemy or antagonist. (WoR, Ch. 3 / HC page 71)
      2. Citation:  “I am not a Voidspren,” Pattern said. (WoR, Ch. 81 / HC page 981)
      3. Citation:  “Mmmm,” Pattern said softly.  “They are raising a storm.”  “The Voidspren?” Shallan whispered.  “The bonded ones.  They craft a storm.” (WoR, Ch. 81 / HC page 982)
    4. The existence of Voidspren has not been denied by WoB.
      1. Citation:  Q:  Can anyone other than a Parshendi bond a voidspren? Like, can a human bond a voidspren?  A:  That is theoretically possible but humans are not good at bonding spren in the same way.
    5. WoB indicates that spren exist that are of Odium (as well as Honor and Cultivation).
      1. Citation:  Q:  So I'm just gonna run with that right now. Is Surgebinding in general a melding of Honor and Odium ala Feruchemy being in some senses being not directly of Ruin or Preservation?  A:  Honor and Cultivation is what you mean? Um, there are spren of all three shards.  And those spren can work within the bounds of the magic that has already been set up on Roshar.

 

            Key takeaway:  Spren of Odium would be known as Odiumspren, not Voidspren – the                                         Voidbringers and creators of the Everstorm are really agents of the Void.

 

2A) The Shattering of Adonalsium

  1. Adonalsium was shattered intentionally.
    1. Citation:  Sir Read-a-Lot (Added to the Database) Q:  Was Adonalsium shattered intentionally, and if so, was the intention malevolent?  A:  Yes, and RAFO
  2. Adonalsium may have shattered itself deliberately.
    1. Citation:  Q:  Did Adonalsium deliberately shatter itself?  A:  Hmmm, good question! RAFO!
  3. The resulting Shards could have been a different set of intents.
    1. Citation:  Q:  If Adonalsium shattered with intent, would he always shatter to the same shards?  A:  It is plausible that he could have gone a different way.  Q:  So it could've been different Shards?  A:  Yes, that's plausible.
  4. Hoid was present at the shattering of Adonalsium (per WoB) – regrettably, I cannot find the exact reference at the moment.

 

Key takeaway:  Adonalsium was shattered intentionally as a response to an opposing force – the Void – and Hoid was involved.  The extent of his involvement will be explored in…

 

2B) The Letters and What They Reveal

  1. As has been documented elsewhere in the forums, the letters in the epigraphs of The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance were written between Hoid and a dragon (with Hoid writing the initial letter).
  2. Excerpts from the initial letter:
    1. Ati was once a kind and generous man, and you saw what became of him.  Rayse, on the other hand, was among the most loathsome, crafty, and dangerous individuals I had ever met. (WoK, Ch. 18 / HC page 275 / MMP page 331)
    2. He holds the most frightening of and terrible of all of the Shards.  Ponder on that for a time, you old reptile, and tell me if your insistence on nonintervention holds firm.  Because I assure you, Rayse will not be similarly inhibited. (WoK, Ch. 19 / HC page 295 / MMP page 358)
    3.  In case you have turned a blind eye to that disaster, know that Aona and Skai are both dead, and that which they held has been Splintered.  Presumably to prevent anyone from rising up to challenge Rayse. (WoK, Ch. 22 / HC page 323 / MMP page 395)
    4. You have accused me of arrogance in my quest.  You have accused me of perpetuating my grudge against Rayse and Bavadin.  Both accusations are true. (WoK, Ch. 23 / HC page 337 / MMP page 413)
  3. Excerpts from the response letter:
    1. Is not the destruction we have wrought enough?  The worlds you now tread bear the touch and design of Adonalsium.  Our interference so far has brought nothing but pain. (WoR, Ch. 66 / HC page 777)
    2. Yes, I agree with everything you have said about Rayse, including the severe danger he presents. (WoR, Ch. 67 / HC page 785)
    3. Rayse is captive.  He cannot leave the system he now inhabits.  His destructive potential is, therefore, inhibited. (WoR, Ch. 69 / HC page 817)
    4. Whether this was Tanavast’s design or not, millennia have passed without Rayse taking the life of another of the sixteen.  While I mourn for the great suffering Rayse has caused, I do not believe we could hope for a better outcome than this. (WoR, Ch. 70 / HC page 828)
    5. He bears the weight of God’s own divine hatred, separated from the virtues that gave it context.  He is what we made him to be, old friend.  And that is what he, unfortunately, wished to become. (WoR, Ch. 71 / HC page 840)

 

Key takeaway:  Both Hoid and the dragon that he is in correspondence with were present at the shattering, and had some input in the creation of the resulting Shards.  The elements pointing to this conclusion are both found in the response letter – excerpts i. and v..

Bonus takeaway:  I believe that the dragon is in fact a Shardholder, as Hoid would most likely be trying to recruit other eminently powerful entities in order to counter the actions of Odium.

 

  1. Why Odium is not the real villain
    1. Odium was created as the Shard of “divine hatred”, per the response letter (see quotation above).
    2. The intents of the Shards were determined as a response to a need (to counter the Void) (see WoB above).
    3. Odium / Rayse has Splintered three other Shards:
      1. Those held by Aona and Skai (see excerpt iii. of the initial letter above)
      2. Honor
        1. Citation:  “I am the sliver of Him that remains.  I saw His corpse, saw Him die when Odium murdered Him.  And I… I fled.  To continue as I always have.  The piece of God left in this world, the winds that men must feel.” (WoR, Ch. 82 / HC page 991)
    4. Odium has suffered defeat frequently.
      1. Citation:  “Vex Odium, convince him that he can lose, and appoint a champion.  He will take that chance instead of risking defeat again, as he has suffered so often.” (WoR, Ch. 4 / HC page 76)
    5. Odium (Rayse) is currently held captive (see excerpt iii. of the response letter above).
    6. Hoid is afraid of Odium, but there are “many things” that he is scared of.
      1. Citation:  Q:  Is there anything Hoid was scared of? And if so, is it still around, and...  A:  There are many things that Hoid is scared of. He is really scared of Odium, but there are others.
    7. We have been led to believe certain individuals are the villains in each of Sanderson’s works, and are continually surprised.

World    - Expected Villain        - True Villain

Sel           Hrathen                       Dilaf

Scadrial   Lord Ruler                   Ruin

Nalthis     Susebron IV                 Denth / Bluefingers

Roshar    Odium / Voidbringers   ??? - The Void - ???

                         

Key takeaway:  If we know that Odium has been victorious every time he has gone up against another Shard, what defeats has he suffered “so often”?  If this were referring to the Desolations, I feel he would be more likely to refer to it as being fought to an impasse, or a stalemate (due to the recurring nature of the conflicts) as opposed to a decisive defeat.  This points to Odium contending with a more powerful force than any of the existing Shards – the Void.  This would also indicate that his original purpose was to be the strong arm of the cosmere against its enemy, but over the millennia he has grown corrupted in his intent and turned upon the other Shards, possibly with the belief that his own power could grow if they were destroyed.  Aside from the powerful Shards, Hoid would be terrified of whatever force was acting in opposition to Adonalsium.

 

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So, Adolnasium and Void are the two opposing major powers in the Cosmere? Maybe. I can see that working. However, Kaladin says in WoR that voidspren are what Syl saw when she said "Odium is coming." That would mean that voidspren do come from Odium and not from The Void. That would be way awesome, though! I would love to see if that were true.

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I love your methodology and your format, and I hope that theories are formatted in a similar way going forward. I certainly intend to give it a try going forward.

 

I see a number of assumptions and interpretations in your takeaway that I do not happen to agree with, and I dispute your conclusion. However, it was incredibly well-presented! Prolly the best presentation of a theory I have ever seen on these forums.

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I think I am mostly with @Outis in this one - very well presented theory, but there is at least one fundamental point I disagree with. Let me address this in a similarly organized fashion:

  1. "Spren exist that are known splinters of Honor (eg. Syl), and they refer to themselves as honorspren."
    "Spren exist that are known to be of Cultivation (eg. Wyndle), but have not explicitly identified themselves as cultivationspren."
     "Spren of Odium would be known as Odiumspren, not Voidspren"

    The predicates are absolutely true, but I don't think this is enough to make the logical connection in the conclusion. As you pointed out, there is at least one spren of Cultivation who doesn't identify himself as cultivationspren. At best, in this case, you have 50% chance of being correct on this account. In fact, considering how full of exceptions the rules regarding the spren are, these days I am very hesitant to draw definitive conclusions.
  2. We (pretty much) know that one of the ways to divide the magic systems on Roshar is to split them into Surgebinding, Voidbinding, and something-else-which-we-suspect-is-the-Old-Magic. The Voidbringers (who probably Voidbind) are the Desolations are very closely related, and every bit of lore we have points to the Desolations being instruments of Odium - therefore the Voidbringers are very likely his as well, thus establishing a relationship between Odium and the concept of the Void. 
  3. "Adonalsium was shattered intentionally as a response to an opposing force – the Void..."
    Already you are assuming "the Void" exists. For all we know, this opposing force could be something called Muislanoda, and be completely independent of and unrelated to that Void you talk about in your first big point. 
    I find this particular conclusion the least based on evidence - the existence of a malevolent force opposing Adonalsium does not mean this force is called "the Void," and if that was its name, assuming this Void is the same as the Rosharan Void is... well, not founded in reality.
  4. "Both Hoid and the dragon that he is in correspondence with were present at the shattering, and had some input in the creation of the resulting Shards"
    "I believe that the dragon is in fact a Shardholder, as Hoid would most likely be trying to recruit other eminently powerful entities in order to counter the actions of Odium"
    Maybe - probably, - but what does that have to do with anything you've mentioned before?

All this being said, though, I do like the idea of Odium being the minor villain of The Stormlight Archive. Considering how much he has done on the universal scale, and how early we are in the Cosmere Saga (totally ™), I doubt "minor" will be a word we could apply to him, but still I like it.

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I, too, was very impressed by the format. New standard for theory presentation for sure. Argent basically said anything worth saying in regards to constructive criticism (definitely more than my currently inexperienced mind would have thought to point out). I like the theory, I guess we'll see where it winds up.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A wonderful first theory! Congratulations!

 

That being said, there is some other relevant information: (I don't have time to find references now, but I can find them later if you want.)

 

 

 

  1. Spren categorization
    1. Spren exist that are known splinters of Honor (eg. Syl), and they refer to themselves as honorspren.
      1. Citation:  “I am honorspren.  Spirit of oaths.  Of promises.  And of nobility.” (WoK, Ch. 67 / HC page 913 / MMP page 1139)
    2. Spren exist that are known to be of Cultivation (eg. Wyndle), but have not explicitly identified themselves as cultivationspren.
    3. Spren exist that are known as Voidspren, based both on recorded in-world knowledge and on the recognition of other spren.
      1. Citation:  The various Voidspren, with their unseen lord – whose name changes depending on which culture we’re speaking of – evoke an enemy or antagonist. (WoR, Ch. 3 / HC page 71)
      2. Citation:  “I am not a Voidspren,” Pattern said. (WoR, Ch. 81 / HC page 981)
      3. Citation:  “Mmmm,” Pattern said softly.  “They are raising a storm.”  “The Voidspren?” Shallan whispered.  “The bonded ones.  They craft a storm.” (WoR, Ch. 81 / HC page 982)
    4. The existence of Voidspren has not been denied by WoB.
      1. Citation:  Q:  Can anyone other than a Parshendi bond a voidspren? Like, can a human bond a voidspren?  A:  That is theoretically possible but humans are not good at bonding spren in the same way.
    5. WoB indicates that spren exist that are of Odium (as well as Honor and Cultivation).
      1. Citation:  Q:  So I'm just gonna run with that right now. Is Surgebinding in general a melding of Honor and Odium ala Feruchemy being in some senses being not directly of Ruin or Preservation?  A:  Honor and Cultivation is what you mean? Um, there are spren of all three shards.  And those spren can work within the bounds of the magic that has already been set up on Roshar.

 

            Key takeaway:  Spren of Odium would be known as Odiumspren, not Voidspren – the                                         Voidbringers and creators of the Everstorm are really agents of the Void.

 

 

A few spren are of Honor, a few are of Cultivation. Most are part of each. Some (we don't know which) are Splinters of Adonalsium Itself. Then, of course, there are the Voidspren; however, the evidence presented in the novels and WOBs (some of which was listed above) is overwhelming enough that they are of Odium that I would personally require conclusive evidence to believe the contrary.

 

 

 

 

2A) The Shattering of Adonalsium

  1. Adonalsium was shattered intentionally.
    1. Citation:  Sir Read-a-Lot (Added to the Database) Q:  Was Adonalsium shattered intentionally, and if so, was the intention malevolent?  A:  Yes, and RAFO
  2. Adonalsium may have shattered itself deliberately.
    1. Citation:  Q:  Did Adonalsium deliberately shatter itself?  A:  Hmmm, good question! RAFO!
  3. The resulting Shards could have been a different set of intents.
    1. Citation:  Q:  If Adonalsium shattered with intent, would he always shatter to the same shards?  A:  It is plausible that he could have gone a different way.  Q:  So it could've been different Shards?  A:  Yes, that's plausible.
  4. Hoid was present at the shattering of Adonalsium (per WoB) – regrettably, I cannot find the exact reference at the moment.

 

Key takeaway:  Adonalsium was shattered intentionally as a response to an opposing force – the Void – and Hoid was involved.  The extent of his involvement will be explored in…

 

There was (or is) an opposing something (I don't recall the exact word and hesitate to place connotations Mr. Sanderson did not intend) to Adonalsium. However, we don't know if this is another pseudodeific mostly-all-powerful being, a religious or political faction, or a single individual. We also don't know if Adonalsium was Shattered in response to this Something.

 

 

 

 

2B) The Letters and What They Reveal

  1. As has been documented elsewhere in the forums, the letters in the epigraphs of The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance were written between Hoid and a dragon (with Hoid writing the initial letter).
  2. Excerpts from the initial letter:
    1. Ati was once a kind and generous man, and you saw what became of him.  Rayse, on the other hand, was among the most loathsome, crafty, and dangerous individuals I had ever met. (WoK, Ch. 18 / HC page 275 / MMP page 331)
    2. He holds the most frightening of and terrible of all of the Shards.  Ponder on that for a time, you old reptile, and tell me if your insistence on nonintervention holds firm.  Because I assure you, Rayse will not be similarly inhibited. (WoK, Ch. 19 / HC page 295 / MMP page 358)
    3.  In case you have turned a blind eye to that disaster, know that Aona and Skai are both dead, and that which they held has been Splintered.  Presumably to prevent anyone from rising up to challenge Rayse. (WoK, Ch. 22 / HC page 323 / MMP page 395)
    4. You have accused me of arrogance in my quest.  You have accused me of perpetuating my grudge against Rayse and Bavadin.  Both accusations are true. (WoK, Ch. 23 / HC page 337 / MMP page 413)
  3. Excerpts from the response letter:
    1. Is not the destruction we have wrought enough?  The worlds you now tread bear the touch and design of Adonalsium.  Our interference so far has brought nothing but pain. (WoR, Ch. 66 / HC page 777)
    2. Yes, I agree with everything you have said about Rayse, including the severe danger he presents. (WoR, Ch. 67 / HC page 785)
    3. Rayse is captive.  He cannot leave the system he now inhabits.  His destructive potential is, therefore, inhibited. (WoR, Ch. 69 / HC page 817)
    4. Whether this was Tanavast’s design or not, millennia have passed without Rayse taking the life of another of the sixteen.  While I mourn for the great suffering Rayse has caused, I do not believe we could hope for a better outcome than this. (WoR, Ch. 70 / HC page 828)
    5. He bears the weight of God’s own divine hatred, separated from the virtues that gave it context.  He is what we made him to be, old friend.  And that is what he, unfortunately, wished to become. (WoR, Ch. 71 / HC page 840)

 

Key takeaway:  Both Hoid and the dragon that he is in correspondence with were present at the shattering, and had some input in the creation of the resulting Shards.  The elements pointing to this conclusion are both found in the response letter – excerpts i. and v..

Bonus takeaway:  I believe that the dragon is in fact a Shardholder, as Hoid would most likely be trying to recruit other eminently powerful entities in order to counter the actions of Odium.

 

 

Hoid is not a Shardholder, neither is the dragon/Recipient. The WOB on this is pretty straightforward. However, good work; to my knowledge, this was the general consensus before it was disproved.

 

 

  1. Why Odium is not the real villain
    1. Odium was created as the Shard of “divine hatred”, per the response letter (see quotation above).
    2. The intents of the Shards were determined as a response to a need (to counter the Void) (see WoB above).
    3. Odium / Rayse has Splintered three other Shards:
      1. Those held by Aona and Skai (see excerpt iii. of the initial letter above)
      2. Honor
        1. Citation:  “I am the sliver of Him that remains.  I saw His corpse, saw Him die when Odium murdered Him.  And I… I fled.  To continue as I always have.  The piece of God left in this world, the winds that men must feel.” (WoR, Ch. 82 / HC page 991)
    4. Odium has suffered defeat frequently.
      1. Citation:  “Vex Odium, convince him that he can lose, and appoint a champion.  He will take that chance instead of risking defeat again, as he has suffered so often.” (WoR, Ch. 4 / HC page 76)
    5. Odium (Rayse) is currently held captive (see excerpt iii. of the response letter above).
    6. Hoid is afraid of Odium, but there are “many things” that he is scared of.
      1. Citation:  Q:  Is there anything Hoid was scared of? And if so, is it still around, and...  A:  There are many things that Hoid is scared of. He is really scared of Odium, but there are others.
    7. We have been led to believe certain individuals are the villains in each of Sanderson’s works, and are continually surprised.

World    - Expected Villain        - True Villain

Sel           Hrathen                       Dilaf

Scadrial   Lord Ruler                   Ruin

Nalthis     Susebron IV                 Denth / Bluefingers

Roshar    Odium / Voidbringers   ??? - The Void - ???

                         

Key takeaway:  If we know that Odium has been victorious every time he has gone up against another Shard, what defeats has he suffered “so often”?  If this were referring to the Desolations, I feel he would be more likely to refer to it as being fought to an impasse, or a stalemate (due to the recurring nature of the conflicts) as opposed to a decisive defeat.  This points to Odium contending with a more powerful force than any of the existing Shards – the Void.  This would also indicate that his original purpose was to be the strong arm of the cosmere against its enemy, but over the millennia he has grown corrupted in his intent and turned upon the other Shards, possibly with the belief that his own power could grow if they were destroyed.  Aside from the powerful Shards, Hoid would be terrified of whatever force was acting in opposition to Adonalsium.

 

 

 

I personally believe Odium is the unexpected villain. Remember, aside from us Cosmere-aware Sharders, few know of Odium's existence besides the use of the word in The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. They don't know even of his reference in the Letter; Rayse is mentioned there by name, not Shard. All we have "seen" are the Voidbringers with foreshadowing of possible Unmade to come.

 

 

Well, there's my two cents, take it as you will.


 

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I personally believe Odium is the unexpected villain. Remember, aside from us Cosmere-aware Sharders, few know of Odium's existence besides the use of the word in The Way of Kings and Words of Radiance. They don't know even of his reference in the Letter; Rayse is mentioned there by name, not Shard. All we have "seen" are the Voidbringers with foreshadowing of possible Unmade to come.

 

Considering that Frost (the dragon recipient of Hoid's letter from The Way of Kings) refers to "God's own divine hatred" when referring to the burden they (whoever they are) placed upon Reyse. This suggests, very strongly, that they are aware he ended up with the Shard Odium*.

 

* Shard of Odium? The Odium Shard? The wording feels weird...

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A few spren are of Honor, a few are of Cultivation. Most are part of each. Some (we don't know which) are Splinters of Adonalsium Itself. 

 

I think you meant a few spren are splinters of Honor Itself which in turn would make them a splinter of a splinter (Shard) of Adonalsium?

 

My bigger point I'd like to address is the difference between an Honor Spren and Spren of Honor.  I'll do my best to format it in this threads preferred format.

 

  1. All Spren are "of Honor" or "of Cultivation" or "of Odium" or some combination.
    1. Some Spren are actually splinters of Honor, I believe the Stormfather to be a very large splinter of Honor.
      1. Being a splinter of Honor and being "of Honor" are not the same thing.  Being "of Honor" means Honor created you or had a hand in creating you alongside cultivation.
      2. Syl is an Honor spren.  Which in her case has a double meaning. Syl is both
        1. An Honor spren in the sense that she is attracted to Honor in humans and
        2. A small splinter of Honor. 
  2. When OP refers to:

     

     

    1. Spren categorization
      1. Spren exist that are known splinters of Honor (eg. Syl), and they refer to themselves as honorspren.
        1. Citation:  “I am honorspren.  Spirit of oaths.  Of promises.  And of nobility.” (WoK, Ch. 67 / HC page 913 / MMP page 1139)

    I think he is mistaken in saying that all splinters of Honor refer to themselves as Honorspren.  Syl is an Honor Spren.  She is the embodiment of the human ideal of Honor.  She is attracted to Kaladin because he acts honorably.  When he doesn't she goes away and almost dies.

    1. She is "of Honor" but that's not what makes her Honor spren.

    2. There are a number of other Spren out there, I'd argue Pattern, who are at least partially "of Honor" that are not Honor Spren.

 

My Last Point 

 

This point was retracted after seeing a link to another WoB I had never read before.

 

 

Anyway TL;DR Version

 

  1. There is a difference between being an Honor Spren like Syl and being "of Honor" or even a Splinter of Honor.
Edited by Mimiddle04
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There are some spren which are of Adonalsium himself/itself, from when he/it came to Roshar pre-Shattering. There's WoB on this, but where it is... I'll look.

 

Here it is! 

 

 

 

A:  I call all intelligent species people.   If someone takes up the power and lets go of it, it has the effect much like a balloon that's been stretched and then the air is let out.  I call that a Sliver; based off of TLR calling himself the Sliver of Infinity.  TLR is someone who held the power and then released it.  And so, current Slivers are TLR, Kelsier, and there may be others around who at one point held the power and let go of it.  A Splinter is a term used by certain people in the cosmere for power of Adonalsium which has no person caring for it, no...no person holding it, which has attained self-awareness.
Q:  So is that like the mists and the Well?  Are they...
A:  They are not, because they have not attained self-awareness.  But, the Seons are self-aware.  So, any piece. For instance there were some spren on Roshar before Honor and Cultivation got there.  Those were already splinters of Adonalsium where he had left power which attained sentience on its own.  So, it can be intentional is what I am saying, does that make sense?  You have seen other Splinters.
Edited by Curiosity
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