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Ain Soph

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  1. I do hate Moash. The Cosmere will be a better place once his eyes are burning, but mostly I just pity him. It's true that he's not entirely accountable for some of his actions; Odium is working his mind, he's suffering from textbook addiction symptoms, disillusioned by systems broken beyond repair (from Alethi culture to rightful ownership of the planet itself) or suckered into a conspiracy by people smarter and smoother than he is. In many ways Moash is a victim. And he believes himself to be a victim for whom justice, reparation, and peace is impossible. Who's going to judge him rightly? The royal family who ignored Moash's grandparents to death? The parsh, who as a race spent generations as dull-minded slaves because of Moash's own world-and-god-stealing ancestors? Bridge 4, who Moash betrayed by seeking justice for his family and who cozied up to the clan that killed Moash's kin? It's all such a tangle of blame and pain and blood debt. Who can Moash turn to, but Odium and emotional oblivion? I pity him for all of this. This isn't where he thought he was headed when he threw in with Kal, and it's not like he meant to start down this path. But what really grinds my gears is that he's such a willing, selfish victim. He's had every opportunity to seek help, he's had every chance to turn things around. And he refuses to take those first steps. He refuses to try. It's always the easy way with Moash, for no reason than he chooses the easy way. And the crap he's pulled since joining Odium? There's a special level of braize for betrayers and mutineers. Anyone remember the moment in the Star Wars prequels (I know, ew) where Anakin kills the kids? Moash makes me feel like I'm watching that scene.
  2. I think it will change the way everyone sees Adolin, honestly. Some might see him in a more positive light, claiming that he proved he would do what was necessary to protect his House, others will see him in a less positive light, claiming that what he did was no better than the actions of a common criminal. Personally I take no issue with what Adolin did at all, Sadeas deserved what he got and was a clear and present danger to everybody. As for Kaladin specifically, Sadeas was a threat to Dalinar and the people Kaladin had sworn to protect so I don't think there'd be a problem with Adolin killing him. But the oaths can be a little weird sometimes too, and the way Adolin killed Sadeas may have rubbed up against Kaladin's bond in a bad way. I don't think it would, I'm just saying it's possible. Regarding the fact that the Kholins didn't prosecute Sadeas for his betrayal, like you said Dalinar was still trying to unite the Alethi and was willing to let things slide to accomplish that. Prosecuting Sadeas would have alienated his allies and split the kingdom. But by the time Adolin kills Sadeas, that's already happened; some of the Highprinces stayed behind in the war camps and Sadeas' faction was solidly set against the Kholins and their allies. So the reason Dalinar didn't persecute Sadeas in the first place was no longer a factor. And all their attempts to discredit Sadeas, like with Adolin's duel, had failed too.
  3. Sorta-kinda but not entirely. Granted, Adolin "literally" kills Sadeas in a dark corridor but I think the situations are quite different. Kaladin was talking about secret plots to assassinate a king while pretending to be an ally and loyal subject. For all of Elokhar's faults he wasn't a villain and he wasn't opposing Bridge Four or the Kholins or anything like that. He was just an idiot. Sadeas had basically just explained his evil plan to Adolin in a movie villain monologue. He explained how he was going to spin events to make things look like Dalinar was working with the Parshendi and take control of Urithuru. Sadeas straight up says "I'm not going to admit Dalinar was right, I'm going to keep coming at you people until I murder my way to the throne." Sadeas might not have been swinging a sword at Dalinar's neck that very second, but he makes it clear he's not going to stop until the Kholins are dust. I think that makes a difference. Maybe it's not much of a difference, and maybe Kaladin would still be oath-sworn to stop Adolin. But Moash was trying to kill the king out of selfishness, Adolin killed Sadeas because Sadeas was a clear and direct threat to Adolin, his family, the kingdom, and humanity.
  4. My working theory is this; We know Navani talks about how hard Jasnah was to raise; the kid was always independent and too smart for her own good, always apart from others, likely always considered strange (a prodigy perhaps, but strange). At some point in her youth (we can likely guess her age by comparing the "lunacy" comment to Adolin's age but I forget the chain of events) some male close to her or the family abuses her; someone with a reputation for honesty and honor who was deeply trusted by the Kholins. I'm guessing it may have been an ardent (setting Jasnah on the road to denouncing religion), but I'm nowhere near sure about that. This would help explain why she hates Amaram so much, because he reminds her of her attacker. Or, if they were old enough for it, he may have been her attacker himself. This traumatic event leads to her first use of Investiture and likely her first glimpse of Shadesmar. Being the highly logical child she is, she tells the proper people about it (likely her parents). And the stories about seeing another world makes the Kholins (or whoever the authority is) think that Jasnah is just a hyper smart little girl with too much imagination and too much stress. The story about her abuse gets tossed aside in the face of the fantastical tales of Shadesmar (if she imagined a pretend world, her accusations against a trusted individual are likely false too), and the conclusion is that Jasnah is losing her mind. Dalinar, when looking for "the madman" at the old war camps, ruminates on how medical theory says sunlight is bad for the mentally ill and they're kept in dark rooms. So that's where this reference from Jasnah comes from. Jasnah, before longs, starts telling the healers what they want to hear so she can leave and they declare her lunacy to have past. But her trust is broken, both by her abuser and the family who didn't believe her, her faith in the Almighty is shattered (especially if the abuser was an ardent) and her search for answers about Shadesmar would have fueled her meteoric rise among scholars.
  5. Adolin's future is one of the things I'm most curious about. I don't really need another Radiant in the Kholin household, but Sanderson is keeping Adolin awfully close to the Surges and spren and who knows what will happen when he finally revives his sword. Adolin might become a proper Radiant, or something brand new that uses the spren differently. Or maybe not. Maybe he'll just be a powerless second string player the whole time leading the normal soldiers while all his friends and family are flying around blowing up mountains. Shardbearers can't hold ground and neither can Radiants, so who better to hold it for them than Adolin? Regarding the murder of Sadeas, Adolin seems to feel guilty not because he killed a man outside of ritual/military combat but because he let Dalinar down. He tells Shallan that he feels pretty justified in his actions, but regrets that he broke the Codes. I don't think this comes anywhere close to breaking him enough for a Nahel bond. I don't think the kid is broken enough for a bond at all, honestly. We've been in his head enough to have a fairly good grasp on his character and while he has his problems, he's very well adjusted. But look at his struggle to reconcile with the changes in the world; he was one of the most influential and powerful people in Vorin culture, and now he's living in a world where people have Surges, travel to other realms, and he's been swept up in a theological war well beyond his understanding. Adolin, for the first time ever, feels small and he's trying real hard to be cool about it, but we've seen him worry about what and where his role is. And don't forget, he has no idea that Dalinar is responsible for what happened in the Rift. Adolin isn't broken, but he probably will be by the time this is all said and done. And I suspect that he'll end up fighting Odium's champion in the end, whatever happens to him. He's supposed to be one of the best duelists around right? He's likely the most qualified, as far as skill goes.
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