RedBlue Posted December 5, 2022 Report Share Posted December 5, 2022 We see that Harmony is being followed around by a sometimes-visible, sometimes-not shadowy ‘other self’ that mirrors him. The ‘other self’ is called Discord. Quote “Autonomy likes you,” Telsin said. “She called you a masterpiece. I disagreed, but here you are, and I find myself persuaded. Harmony knows he’s growing impotent, that Discord is near, and so he created you. A sword. Who can act when he cannot.” - The Lost Metal, chapter 66 Quote A figure walked along the edge of the skyscraper’s top toward Kelsier. Harmony wasn’t accompanied by his dark double, the shadowy version that sometimes appeared these days. A representation of his other self. - The Lost Metal, Kelsier’s epilogue Quote chasmfriend's friend (Paraphrased) My friend asked for Brandon to write something about Harmony in her Alloy of Law. Brandon Sanderson There's another name Harmony could go by if he weren't able to control the conflict between his halves… *to Zas* Have you guys figured that one out yet? Oh, I'm not going to say anything. You have it on recording… I was pretty sneaky with that one so I don't know if you have it or not. Holiday signing (Dec. 12, 2015) Quote Shallan's Ward While Sazed holds Preservation and Ruin, could his intent change from Harmony to Discord? Brandon Sanderson It is possible Skyward Seattle signing (Nov. 10, 2018) So, putting the pieces together, a clear picture emerges of what’s going on here: Harmony is struggling to reconcile the differences between Ruin and Preservation. Sazed wants to remain Harmony, and maintain a kind of equilibrium to protect Scadrial. But he’s losing ground, and he’s getting closer and closer to becoming a different version of his Shard: Discord. This would mean dealing with the conflict between Ruin and Preservation differently (not ‘controlling’ it in the same way). The Intent of Sazed’s Shard would change from Harmony to Discord. That’s what we know, or can reasonably infer, so far. Here’s my weird speculation: what if Discord is actually not a bad thing? The imagery we have for Discord is shadowy and ominous, but what if that’s misleading? Dark doesn’t mean evil. Discord hasn’t shown up yet, so the only reason we have to feel concerned is that Sazed is fighting against it - and much as Sazed is a great guy, his judgement is not the greatest right now. On the other hand, Harmony has given us plenty of reason to feel concerned. He lies and withholds information when he shouldn’t. The whole Lessie incident was very troubling. He very nearly failed to protect Scadrial from Autonomy, and doesn’t seem able to understand what went wrong or how to fix it. He worries (with good reason) that his way of handling the Catacendre was not good for the development of Scadrian society, but again, he doesn’t seem able to course-correct. Most of Harmony’s flaws stem from a difficulty in taking action. He’s being pulled in two directions, so instead of acting decisively, he dithers, delegates and exerts subtle influence. Instead of making necessary changes, he desperately clings to the status quo. This doesn’t look like something Sazed can improve or work on - it’s inherent to the Intent of the Shard. That’s just how Harmony is. Which is a problem, given the threats facing Scadrial. What if Discord is what Scadrial needs? What if, instead of maintaining the equilibrium, there were a better way to resolve the conflict between Ruin and Preservation? One that uses the conflict as a driving force, maybe, so that the Shard can still take action while avoiding the worst excesses of Ruin and Preservation. Discord could be much more suited to lead Scadrial into the cosmere’s space age than Harmony. And if Discord causes some discord on Scadrial? I think people, and society, can handle discord. Thoughts? Am I totally wrong about Harmony and Discord? Or have I cracked the code? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AquaRegia Posted December 6, 2022 Report Share Posted December 6, 2022 It would be a very Brandon thing if Discord turned out to be "better" for Scadrial than Harmony. It's also very Brandon for one person's friendly god to be another's dire existential threat. Presumably, on Taldain, Autonomy (or her aspects/avatars) is regarded by the natives as beneficent. And, on Roshar, Spoiler Odium, currently the Big Bad from most humans' perspectives, is the Good Guy for most of the Singers. Discord is much easier to spin as an adversary for someone than Harmony is. I think Sazed is moving in the direction of becoming, like other Shard Vessels we've seen, a sympathetic person with relatable motives who nevertheless is compelled by circumstances and/or Shardic Intent to be a credible threat in the Cosmere. "Better" for Scadrial? Possibly, in some ways. More fun to read about? Definitely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CognitiveShadow Posted December 7, 2022 Report Share Posted December 7, 2022 I shared more details in another thread, but my prediction about discord is that Harmony will change so that he can save Scadrial from outside forces. But as Discord, he will need to destroy (ruin) in some way in an equal measure to what he does to protect (preserve). So he will enact preservation over the Scadrians, and will use Ruin against his enemies (autonomy, odium). Thus, his name will be discord and they will love him for it. However, longer term it will be a bad problem because after defeating his enemies he will have continue to destroy and preserve in equal measures (likely large instances. So Kelsier is going to step up and stop Discord, probably with a dawnshard or something. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drunkenbotanist Posted December 10, 2022 Report Share Posted December 10, 2022 On 12/6/2022 at 8:45 AM, Ookla of axi said: It would be a very Brandon thing if Discord turned out to be "better" for Scadrial than Harmony. It's also very Brandon for one person's friendly god to be another's dire existential threat. Presumably, on Taldain, Autonomy (or her aspects/avatars) is regarded by the natives as beneficent. And, on Roshar, Hide contents Odium, currently the Big Bad from most humans' perspectives, is the Good Guy for most of the Singers. Discord is much easier to spin as an adversary for someone than Harmony is. I think Sazed is moving in the direction of becoming, like other Shard Vessels we've seen, a sympathetic person with relatable motives who nevertheless is compelled by circumstances and/or Shardic Intent to be a credible threat in the Cosmere. "Better" for Scadrial? Possibly, in some ways. More fun to read about? Definitely. Seems hard to believe that Harmony is beneficial to the South Scadrians because he remade the world to no longer fit their physiology 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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