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So, this is something that has been bugging me for a while. In the epigraphs of the Way of Kings (possibly WoR, I haven’t checked ‘cause I’m lazy) it says that Odium is the most dangerous of the 16 Shards. So, if Odium is the antagonist of the Stormlight Archive, then who will be the antagonist of the greater Cosmere plot? The answer: Odium himself. Let me explain. It has been established that Odium is raising an army to fight in a “greater war.” Whether Taravangian is continuing this plot is a matter of debate, but for the purpose of this theory, I’ll assume he is. It seems like Taravangian would want to rule the cosmere so that he could “save” it. So, I believe either KoW or SA 10 will end with Odium being freed from Roshar and going to go raise his army somewhere else during the time between SA and Era 4 Mistborn. It would be a nice ending for the SA characters, but it would leave loose ends for Era 4 to tie up. Let me know if I missed anything obvious. Or, if you have any thoughts that might help me expand on this.

I picked up my 10 year old copy of WoKs a while back and read the back summary and it is foreshadowing a redeemer and a destroyer. I'm wondering if its a red herring, a mistake, or still relevant. This has been in the back of my mind for years, hopefully you guys can help me out! The whole summary is : "I long for the days before the Last Desolation. Before the Heralds abandoned us and the Knights Radiant turned against us. When there was still magic in Roshar and honor in the hearts of men. In the end, not war but victory proved the greater test. Did our foes see that the harder they fought, the fiercer our resistance? Fire and hammer forge a sword; time and neglect rust it away. So we won the world, yet lost it. Now there are four whom we watch: the surgeon, forced to forsake healing and fight in the most brutal war of our time; the assassin, who weeps as he kills; the liar, who wear her scholar's mantle over a thief's heart; and the prince, whose eyes open to the ancient past as his thirst for battle wanes. One of them may redeem us. One of them will destroy us." Is Szeth the destroyer? But he opens the way for Dalinar before he joins the Skybreakers. Or maybe Kaladin who see's parshmen as people he should protect; or perhaps Kaladin's odious feelings against light eyes is the spark? Perhaps Shallan with her connection to a world hopping organization that fears the contest with Rayse? Or is it Dalinar that somehow releases Odium from the Rosharan System? Or perhaps this was a red herring or edited for a change of perspective. What are your thoughts?

"I'll show you, when the chips are down, these—ah—'civilised people'? They'll eat each other. See, I'm not a monster. I'm just ahead of the curve." --The Joker, The Dark Knight Sometimes the path of a human life can branch into different directions. One road leads one way, the other leads down quite another. One might lead a man down the path of a hero, while one might lead straight into the depths of villainy. At least, that's the theory of it. So on this thread, let's explore some dark paths that Brandon Sanderson's characters could have ventured down. What would have taken to turn one of our lovable protagonists into a villain? What would have to change in the present to change them from the heroes they end their books as into hardened antagonists? How much would it take to break these characters whose morality we admire so much? Remember to use spoiler tags wherever appropriate. With that said, let our dark task of hero-breaking begin.