afeastforgeorge

Several times in Warbreaker, we see Denth and Tonk Fah display surprising abilities through Vivenna's POV. Denth moves fast--"inhumanly so," according to one of the slum lords he confronts--while Tonk Fah is super strong. The explanation we're given for Denth is that he's super fast because he's a Returned (or proto-Returned), and the explanation for Tonk Fah is that he's just a strong guy. However, I have a different theory. First, I don't believe those answers fully explain what we see happen in the book (see explanation below). Second, I believe that there are several clues that seem to hint toward a different answer in a very understated, Sanderson-esque way: That one or both of these characters is using feruchemy (or possibly allomancy) to store and enhance traits: speed, in Denth's case, and strength, in Tonk's case. (I've tried to find other examples of this theory here and on Reddit and so far have not, but TBH the search functions on both sites are quite bad so if this is an existing theory please excuse the repost!) Here's the evidence: DENTH: Denth is known for being "inhumanly" fast. Several times, we see him display this ability while fighting, though only in brief flashes. The best example is in the confrontation between him and a slum lord who's meeting with Vivenna. Here's how she describes the confrontation:"There were flashes--reflections of sunlight, and bodies moving too fast for Vivenna's shocked mind to follow. Then the motion stopped. Grable remained in his chair. Denth stood poised, his dueling blade sticking through the neck of one of the bodyguards. The bodyguard looked surprised, his hand still on his sword. Vivenna hadn't even seen Denth draw his weapon. Now, we know that Denth is not just an average guy. He is one of the five scholars and, like Vashar, some sort of Returned. However, I don't believe that explains the degree of speed he displays in this situation at all. Denth moves so quickly that Vivenna, even with the enhanced perception from her Breath, sees only "flashes of color"--essentially a blur--when he moves. That implies that he's not just a little bit fast, but in fact too fast for the human eye to see. Vivenna blames it on her "shocked mind," but that explanation doesn't make sense--because everyone else in the room is shocked too. The guard who was stabbed looks "surprised" and hasn't even had time to draw his sword. Grable hasn't had time to stand up. It's almost as if time stopped for a second for everyone else but him. The only other case we've seen in the Cosmere of this kind of speed is through feruchemy (the inquisitors do it a few times in Hero of Ages) or bendalloy allomancy (which happens a few times in the Wax and Wayne books). And there's on evidence that one gains super speed simply by being a Returned. If that were the case, then Lightsong or Susebron could have used them during the final battle scene to gain the element of surprise. But they did not seem to have such an advantage, or anything more than slightly greater strength and speed through their "ideal" bodies. Of course one problem with this theory is that Denth doesn't seem to have used allomancy or feruchemy on Vashar. However, I believe that could easily be explained by the fact that a) he was sort of toying with Vashar at the end there and he simply could have been out of stored speed or out of bendalloy at those moments, and chosen to fight normally. (Note that Viv does NOT have the same problem of seeing Denth's movements as a blur when he fights Vashar. They're both fast, but not so fast they can't be seen.) TONK FAH: We don't know that much about Tonk Fah, but we do know the following things: He is kind of a sociopath who can't help but kill things, including his pet animals. He seems constantly compelled to kill and destroy, unable to avoid it. Sort of like someone might act if they had, oh I don't know, been corrupted by Ruin via a hemallurgic spike? He seems like a simple overweight sidekick until he's in a fight, when he seems to transform into a muscular and dangerous fellow. Here's Vivenna's account of that happening:Tonk Fah cracked his knuckles. Vivenna glanced at him, suddenly noticing that Tonk Fah seemed more...dangerous. The idle, overweight man who liked to nap had vanished. In his place was a thug with sleeves rolled up, showing off muscles that bulged impressively. ... Then later: "Aw, did you have to let him go so fast?" Tonk Fah said, sitting down on the floor, looking morose. Whatever he'd done to look dangerous was gone, evaporating faster than water on metal in the sun. And he loves to sleep, even a surprising amount. Just moments after the scene above where his body changes, he starts sleeping mid-conversation: "She frowned, glancing at Denth. Tonk Fah, amazingly, was already snoring softly." Sounds a lot like the Steel Inquisitors, who are known for having to rest a lot for feruchemical storage purposes. Unlike Denth, Tonk Fah is NOT a Returned or one of the five scholars, so unlike Denth, his physical transformation and abilities cannot be explained in that way. HOW IT COULD HAVE HAPPENED: While we can't prove this theory is true by any means, I do think it's at least plausible. So how could these two have become allomancers or feruchemists? Simple. Denth, or both of them, could have been to Scadrial. We already know it's plausible for a Returned like Denth, and one of the scholars like Denth, to be a world-hopper--because we **STORMLIGHT SPOILER** see Vasher appear as Zahel in Words of Radiance. It's completely plausible, then, that Denth could also be a world hopper. And we know it's possible for people to gain allomantic or feruchemical abilities. We see it a bunch of times in the Mistborn books, most commonly through the use of hemallurgic spikes. Moreover, Denth is an expert on investiture as one of the five scholars. Thus, it's entirely plausible for him to know, or learn, how feruchemy, allomancy or hemallurgy works and use it to his own benefit. In fact, based on what they did during the manywar, I would argue that Denth (and the other scholars like Arsteel) would likely WANT to do this, since they seemed highly motivated to create and use the most powerful forms of investiture possible (and also, as scholars, out of a simple desire to understand). And as I said before, if they DID have hemallurgic spikes that would explain certain personality traits of both characters. For Tonk Fah, who's not the brightest tool in the shed and was already probably a little crazy, it would explain how he become a complete sociopath who loves killing (kind of how Zane's mental instability made it easier for Ruin's influence to change him). It would explain why he kills innocent animals all the time, as opposed to the explanation being that he's simply a brutish sociopath. And for Denth, it could partly explain how he went from being a good guy (back when he was buddies with Vashar as a scholar) to a bad guy now. Yes, his sister's death is obviously a big part of that, but Ruin's influence could add to it and explain why he says things about not being a good person any more. Lastly, since we do not have any POV chapters from these characters, we would not hear Ruin's voice in their heads or anything. SUMMARY The abilities these characters display are completely consistent with what we've seen from allomantic or feruchemical powers. They are not displayed by any other character on Nalthis through the use of breaths, including the Returned. The characters had the means, motive and opportunity to acquire such powers. And hemallurgy would explain some of their personality traits. Thoughts? Reactions? Am I completely crazy for thinking this? Thanks!