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Hi, just made the account for this question. So we know that surges might have been responsible for destroying Braze( from the words of Odium so specifics and truth are not yet certain) Because of this , or because people jut couldn't be trusted with such power, or combination of these reasons Ishar decided to place some requirements(checks) on the bonds/surges, i don't remember the exect quote but i think there was talk of killing this proto-Radiants if they didn't agree to this check(or mayebe spren, depends which side of the bond had to agree, maybe both). So my main question is, how do this "checks" work. Do we have any information? Was it magic based? Like are the Spren physically unable to bond without those checks now? or is it more like they were unwilling to bond without those check fearing some divine asswhooping, wich after centuries devolved into spren believing they can't do it any other way? I think its safe to assume that this proto-Radiants didnt need to say oaths. So how did the spren bond people? Because i assume spren types didnt change, like Honorspren are still Honorspren so they would have wanted Honorable person to bond. And most important, if it was magic based, it was done by Ishar= Bondsmithpower, so can Dalinar remove these constraints(if he is the correct type of bondthmith out of three(but he is supperBondsmith now anyway so mootpoint)? or by anyone holding Ishars blade. P.S. we know that 3 bondsmith(s) don't have identical powers, but there are 10 Honorblades, meaning one for Ishar, so does ishars blade grant different/weaker/stronger bondsmith powers?

There's been a lot of debate, especially since Edgedancer, as to whether Ishar is lying or just plain nuts. If he's some sort of double agent, I've got nothin'. But if he's just crazy, then I have a theory on what his particular flavor of Heraldic madness is. Ishar seems to have been the Heralds' ideas man. One of his attributes is Guiding. He was the one who theorized that the Oathpact would still hold if only Taln was Damnation, which as far as we can tell seems to have been correct. Nale still goes to him for advice, and trusts his interpretations of events even when those interpretations sound pretty out there. Ishar's madness, I believe, is that he has become convinced he is infallible. He knows that he is brilliant, and his theories are logical and elegant. But when his theories are contradicted by facts- whether because his thought processes are getting more erratic, or just because he's bound to get something wrong eventually- he can't back down and say, "Nope, back to the drawing board." No matter how compelling the evidence is that he made a mistake- even when there's red-eyed Parshendi throwing lightening outside his window- there must be some other explanation than "My hypothesis was wrong."

What follows is my current theory on how the 10 Heralds became the 10 fool's through the coarse of the Desolations. I will update this post as it evolves. I will try to provide links to all WOB. Quotes will come from the kindle versions of the books via cut and paste. I will list book, chapter, and location number. Bold will be my emphasis. Italics will be possible contradictory evidence. Number 18 here From Reddit Fantasy Bookclub Q&A with Brandon Sanderson Feb 28th, 2011 We will start with this quote which shows us all Heralds were in WOK. First, the Desolations occurred when the Heralds were sent back to Roshar after one of them broke under the torture of Odium. Second, each Herald is associated with a primary and secondary Divine Attribute. (Possibly primary from Honor, Secondary from Cultivation?) Third, the torture does not happen in the physical realm. It occurs in either the cognitive, or more likely the spiritual realm. Fourth, when Odium breaks a Herald, he is literally breaking part of that Heralds spiritual connection to the Divine Attribute. Fifth, Odium's goal was to break all the Heralds and bring about the the Everstorm, allowing him to shatter Honor and Cultivation. Sixth, breaking the Divine Attributes shifted them towards something more compatible with Odium and less compatible with Honor. This resulted in the attributes associated with the 10 Fool's. Number 19 in this WOB, says each is uniquely insane. NOTE: One of the biggliest issues with this theory is not knowing the 10 Fools attributes. Two Fools are named. Two have attributes. Cabine - He acts like a child although he is an adult. TWOK chapter 37, page 593, location 10668 Eshu - He speaks of things he does not understand in front of those who do. WOR chapter 71, page 593, location 16877 One issue I have here is that the 2 Heralds I would link these two too are both female. Paliah and Battar. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1) We have a WOB on this. Not a confirmation, but along those lines. 2) Herald. Primary Divine Attribute. Secondary Divine Attribute. Jezrien. Protecting. Leading Nale. Just. Confident Chanarach. Brave. Obedient Vedel. Loving. Healing Paliah. Learned. Giving Shalash. Creative. Honest Battar. Wise. Careful Kalak. Resolute. Builder Talenel. Dependable. Resourceful Ishar. Pious. Guiding 3) Since Odium was attempting to break the Heralds focus on their Divine Attribute, the torture most likely took place in the spiritual realm. The spren would probably know something if it took place in the cognitive realm. One thing pointing to the cognitive realm though is the fact that Taln appeared covered in condensation much like a shardblade. 4) By breaking the Herald, Odium shifted their Primary attribute to closer align with his shard and align less with Honors. This usually resulted in an almost inversion of the attribute. SPECIFICALLY I THINK ONLY THE PRIMARY ATTRIBUTE WAS BROKEN/TWISTED. Below I will show what I think the attribute shifted to after the Devine attribute. Herald. Primary Divine Attribute. Secondary Divine Attribute. Jezrien. Protecting. (Submission) Leading Nale. Just. (Arbitrary)(Judgement) Confident Chanarach. Brave. Obedient Vedel. Loving. Healing Paliah. Learned. Giving Shalash. Creative. (Destructive) Honest Battar. Wise. Careful Kalak. Resolute. (Weak-willed) Builder Talenel. Dependable. (Erratic) Resourceful Ishar. Pious. (Traitorous) Guiding These are based off of what we have seen or heard in the books so far. These are not perfect words, but the 17th shard manymind will probably come up with better. There are some subtle indications that only 9 of the 10 fool's have a strong history or mythology. Here is one concerning Lyft and pancakes. I think I subconsciously connected Lyft's silly quest to eat all 10 Pancakes with the 10 fool's. Research could not find a direct correlation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Jezrien gives up on protecting humanity personally, submits to the Will of the group, and sacrifices Talenel to uphold the entire oathpact. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nale shifts from Just- working within the accepted standards of right and wrong to Arbitrary- following the rule of law without regards to morality.....he goes straight lawful evil. From Edgedancer Chapter 9, page 596 Arcanum Unbound, location 8565 Judgement not Justice. From Edgedancer Chapter 9, page 596 Arcanum Unbound, location 8565 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Shalash is pretty clear with her running around destroying art, and significantly art that depicts her and other heralds. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kalak is in no way resolute when Jezrien meets him. He is in fact very weak willed, confessing that he cannot go back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Talenel (if it really is him) comes back a broken man, highly erratic and unable to perform his duties as the Herald of War. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ishar formed the Knights Radiant originally, he led the Bondsmiths. He was also the one who promulgated the traitorous idea that 1 Herald could support the Oathpact. From Edgedancer: And And ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5) We know there were not literally 99 desolation. I suspect there were 9. One each time Odium broke a Herald. Then the next time that Herald would not be tortured as hard so that about her would break first. Nine also being the number of Odium I believe would work well with this. After the Oathpact was discarded, Odium let humanity rewrite Roshar's history and religion in preparation for the Final Desolation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6) The corruption of the 9 Heralds weakened Honor, but the Knights Radiant provided some support, until the Day of Requience when they abandoned all their oaths. Honor shattered shortly after. I have to go back and find some more quotes and WOB to fully support some of this, but I will edit them in as I find them.

Darkness/Nale refers to Ishar in Edgedancer a great deal. It really makes me question what he's been doing and who he's really aligned with. Emphasis mine Seems to me like Ishar has instructed Nale and the Skybreakers to kill all other surgebinders. Worse, it wasn't a one time thing, He's been instructing Darkness all along and is a desolation denier even now.

Abject speculation: Ishar = Vashar. The “Nahel” bond comes from “Zahel.” One cannot ignore the similarities between Vashar and the original Bondsmith Ishar: "But as for [ishar], his was the part most important at their inception; he readily understood the implications of Surges being granted to men, and caused organization to be thrust upon them; as having too great power, he let it be known that he would destroy each and every one, unless they agreed to be bound by precepts and laws." - WoR Chapter 42 Epigraph Ishar is the “Oathbringer” referred to in the "in-world" book SLA3 is named for. Dalinar is clearly the focus of that novel, but I suspect we will learn a lot about Ishar through "Oathbringer." Now, of all the people on Roshar, who knows more than Vasher about bonding investiture? Who is the most likely person to figure out “the nature of each bond’s placement” (WoR Chapter 35 Epigraph)? I believe this statement refers to the place on each Knight Radiant’s SpiritWeb to which the RadiantSpren must attach for a Knight to access his or her surges. And what inventor/holder of Nightblood would have the means of “destroy[ing] each and every one, unless they agreed to be bound by precepts and laws”? I believe this statement refers to the spren who imitated the Honorblades, rather than the Knights who may have wanted access to the surges. It is the spren who require implementation of the oaths, not the Knights themselves. Before Ishar's enforced agreement on the spren, the spren were "non-discriminating" as to whom they chose to bond with (other than the honorspren). Hence, the Alkavish troubles. Add to that the striking similarity between ”Nahel” and “Zahel.” Nobody else we’ve met in the novels has a similarly-structured name. It’s not even Vorin-sounding (no symmetry). It’s as if Zahel simply decided to turn the “N” 90º into a “Z.” As I said, abject speculation. But interesting…