Cusicesh the Protector

[Wisdom]

In the Second Interlude we see Axies the Collector record information about a giant spren called Cusicesh the Protector(whose name is annoyingly hard to remember).

They called it by name, Cusicesh, the Protector. Some worshipped it as a god. Most simply accepted it as part of the city. It was unique. One of the few types of spren he knew of that seemed to have only a single member.

But what kind of spren is it? Axies wrote, fascinated. It has formed a face, looking eastward. Directly towards the Origin. That face is shifting, bewilderingly quick. Different human faces appear on the end of its stumplike neck, one after another in blurred succession.

A short while after that...

Axies felt drained, as if something had been leeched from him. That was reported to be a common reaction. Was he imagining it because it was expected? Or was it real?

This made me think, what if he isn't the only member of his spren-type? Somewhere in WoK (I can't remember where) Syl says that all spren are part of the same thing (or words to that effect). What if all the members of Cusicesh's spren-type are in fact making up "Cusicesh"? They've just merged into one super-spren and this is what makes him so large. They could also be the origin of the different faces Axies sees, Syl after all has her own facial features.

What does Axies feel afterwards then? In my opinion, spren need energy to maintain sentience - this could even be the origin of the nahel bond. This seems to be the case with Syl at least, Kaladin provides the energy for her to remain sentient and in return she provides access to the abilities of a Knight Radiant. Acting honorably allows the bond to form and remain, vowing the Ideals of a Knight Radiant widen the bind and allow more energy to pass each way. Maybe Cusicesh is draining people of energy to try and maintain the sentience of the collective mind. Since we don't know what type of spren he is we don't know what characteristics to look for, but "common" doesn't imply universality - not everyone who sees Cusicesh feel drained. Maybe it's curiosity? Since they aren't committed to the trait he can't drain much, and there are so many spren he can barely maintain sentience at all.

As to why he's looking at the Origin, it depends on what exactly the Origin is. I toyed with the idea that it was Honor's power - similar to the Well of Ascension for Preservation - but then why wouldn't Odium Splinter Honor considering he showed no compunction about doing so with Aona and Skai? Maybe it's the place where Odium killed Honor - I don't know.

I know this is all speculation, I just wanted to get my ideas out there before I burst .

EDIT: I found the quote I was looking for . On page 808, Syl says: "I'm... taking something from you. and giving something in return.". this supports my view on the nahel bond I think.

Edited January 5, 2012 by Wisdom

[Windrunner]

The only idea that I had about Cusicesh is that he is possibly an oceanspren, since all oceans are still pretty much the same body of water. I doesn't explain the faces or the looking toward the ocean. Maybe it's the last major chunk of Honor's Shard.

[v Sim CO]

"Directly toward the Origin. That face is shifting, bewilderingly quick. Different human faces appear on the end of its stumplike neck, one after another in blurred succession." pg.442 Hardcover

My own random musing about the faces was; that the faces that appear are the people on Roshar who died in the previous day... random with no evidence but yeah. But I definitely think that the faces are human... if its random spren that are human like seems possible, but those seem to be uncommon.

"The display lasted a full ten minutes" - Can this number change... if it can't there seems to be a re-occurrence of the number 10 in the book a lot.

I like the super spren theory, which would explain how its a unique spren, and how its so large... but in another interlude seemed to suggest that the size of the spren is dynamic, but if the size is bounded, that would explain how this one is so large.

[Triasmus]

OOOO. Could something magical happen if it drained some of Kaladin's energy? He's in the protection Order and the Spren is named "the protector".

[Arcanist Lupus]

As to why he's looking at the Origin, it depends on what exactly the Origin is. I toyed with the idea that it was Honor's power - similar to the Well of Ascension for Preservation - but then why wouldn't Odium Splinter Honor considering he showed no compunction about doing so with Aona and Skai? Maybe it's the place where Odium killed Honor - I don't know.

I'm pretty sure it's not Honor's "Shardpool" because one of the epigraphs said:

“Though many wished Urithiru to be built in Alethela, it was obvious that it could not be. And so it was that we asked for it to be placed westward, in the place nearest to Honor.”

I think that the "place nearest to Honor" is Honor's Shardpool.

Also, Aona had a shardpool even though he (she?) was Shattered.

Edited January 5, 2012 by Sir Read-a-Lot

[Wisdom]

"Though many wished Urithiru to be built in Alathela, it was obvious that it could not be. And so it was that we asked for it be placed westward, in the place nearest to Honor"

While the phrase is powerful evidence, the fact that this is written is not proof that Honor is in the west, only that they percieve Honor to be in the west. The place where Urithiru is might be where the Heralds recieved their powers from Honor/Almighty, or where they were revealed to mankind, or even simply a really high place if they think he's in the sky. It is not necessarily physically close to Honor.

Also, is it true that all Shards have a physical location for their power? The only ones I know of are Aona's (I haven't actually read Elantris, but its on the way) "Lake"(?) and the Well of Ascension. Aona is dead and Leras had used his power to trap Ruin. If Shardpools are not standard (Endowment doesn't have one we know of) and only form under special circumstances (i.e. death) then Honor did not necessarily have one when Urithiru is built. Since it seems the KR control it (from another epigraph) and BS has stated (I think) that Honor is alive at the time of the Oathpact's betrayal and the prologue clearly shows KR as existing then, I think it can fairly safely be assumed that Urithiru existed before (unless it's built afterwards and/or the KR take control afterwards). If both of the above statements are true then they would not build Urithiru on or near Honor's shardpool as it wouldn't exist. Not to mention the fact that knowledge of a God's power in such a form would surely raise questions considering the way he was apparently worshipped.

Honor's Shardpool most probably exists, but I don't think it's where Urithiru is (unless the reason it can't be found is because his death was there and it wiped it off the map, but I think people would have noticed that)

I really have to learn to stop sabotaging my own theories .

[Turos]

Cusicesh is obviously the god spren of all mermaid-vampires

Silly kids... Hemalurgy is for rabbits!

[Arcanist Lupus]

Also, is it true that all Shards have a physical location for their power? The only ones I know of are Aona's (I haven't actually read Elantris, but its on the way) "Lake"(?) and the Well of Ascension. Aona is dead and Leras had used his power to trap Ruin.

The Pits of Hasthin were Ruin's "shardpool", and the Tears of Edgli (flowers that only grow in valley jungle of Hallandren and are particularly potent for making dyes are somehow connected to Endowment, making them a possible "shardpool" as well.

These aren't "pools" per se, but they are physical outlets for the shard's power.

[Windrunner]

I'm pretty sure I heard Chaos mention somewhere, that Ruin's pool, the black lake Alendi saw, is actually somewhere underneath the Pits of Hathsin. Probably difficult to access though, I can't imagine the Lord Ruler would make it easy to find a source of power that rivals his own.

[name_here]

I wonder if the name The Protector is more accurate than assumed. It might shield the city against the highstorms, hence why it's looking towards Origin.

Certainly, a successful port city would need some shielding against the highstorms, Kharabeth is protected by an entire mountain.

[fiveAM]

It could be the spren Cusicesh (I agree it IS annoyingly hard to remember) or sprens that make up Cisicesh, is being influenced by a Splinter/ is a Splinter?

[Odium's_Shard]

That would imply that ALL spren are Splinters, and I thought Brandon said that this wasn't true. Maybe that, or Cusicesh isn't even a spren? This is probably important, else it wouldn't be included in an interlude (either that or the Aimian is important, or maybe both).

[Turos]

I always just assumed the non-Szeth interlude stories to be a story-independent route for Brandon to explain a few things about the magic and world.

[Odium's_Shard]

Or, as one comes to expect from Brandon, foreshadowing. The spren are going to be more important than Rishar thinks, hell, even we think! And I have posted on soo many threads rambling on about how spren are linked to Surgebinding, Soulcasting etc. Out of the box, they might be linked to Odium?

[Turos]

Out of the box, they might be linked to Odium?

Interesting. But that reminds me of when Kaladin asks Syl about Odium and she freaks out. I think at least some spren are anti-Odium and not related to 'him' at all.

EDIT: My guess is that spren are Cultivation's creations somehow. Like others have mentioned, cultivation can require damage to something in order for it to grow. Good/bad, positive/negative.

EDIT (again): Which makes sense according to your Venn diagram, a neutral like effect, not so much gaining as purging out one for the other.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Turos

[Odium's_Shard]

Perhaps, if you look at that Venn Diagram I did that said spren could relate specifically to Odium, Honor and Cultivation, it might be possible to have spren of all possible combinable dispositions, ie Honor, Odium, Odium+Cultivation, etc

[Turos]

If that's true that they could be related to each and combinations, that would indicate that spren are not pieces of a shard, as Odium is still at large.

[Odium's_Shard]

Shards can Split themselves without being shattered. See Preservation: Splice himself into all of humanity, trap Ruin in a prison (aka WoA) and create the mists themselves with the ability to Snap people. Never Shattered.

(well, he was probably tired)

[Turos]

Another good point.

[Odium's_Shard]

I hope to keep making them.

[aoysgelt]

Has anyone considered that pehaps Cusicesh the Protector is actually a Voidbringer, or some kind of cousin related to the Voidbringers?  Cusicesh the Protector seems to suck energy from people (perhaps thereby acquiring faces), all the while looking to the Origin - to the destructive highstorms, and I have a suspicion that the highstorms are not caused by good things.  Weren't there legends about the voidbringers stealing people's souls?

 

A side note: Cusicesh the Protector can be anticipated, and similarly so can the highstorms, with a certain degree of accuracy.  The Desolations, were also described as "regular in their coming, yet always unexpected".  

[darkanimereal1]

Has anyone considered that pehaps Cusicesh the Protector is actually a Voidbringer, or some kind of cousin related to the Voidbringers?  Cusicesh the Protector seems to suck energy from people (perhaps thereby acquiring faces), all the while looking to the Origin - to the destructive highstorms, and I have a suspicion that the highstorms are not caused by good things.  Weren't there legends about the voidbringers stealing people's souls?

 

A side note: Cusicesh the Protector can be anticipated, and similarly so can the highstorms, with a certain degree of accuracy.  The Desolations, were also described as "regular in their coming, yet always unexpected".  

 

An interesting idea, although I find it somewhat doubtful based on Word of Brandon: 

B: But the spren you are running into are all (something) ofeither Honor or Cultivation, or some mixture between them. And you can usually tell the ones that are more Honor, and the ones that are more Cultivation.

 

This quote doesn't say that spren can't be of Odium, but Brandon does say that the spren we've seen (which is how I interpret "running into") so far are not of Odium. 

 

Of course, Axies could be wrong, and Cusicesh could actually be something other than a spren. But the fact that it is appears every day at the same time seems to indicate that it is a spren that is bound by some written definition. 

[Dros]

Honor's Shardpool most probably exists, but I don't think it's where Urithiru is (unless the reason it can't be found is because his death was there and it wiped it off the map, but I think people would have noticed that)

 

 

Using the word "nearest" though has me thinking that it isn't a shardpool. Because if you wanted to be close to Honor, and knew he was a shardpool, wouldn't you ask that Urithiru be built around Honor? or, if it was underground, over Honor? or if in the sky, under Honor?, etc. etc. It makes me believe Honor didn't physically manifest at that time in the physical realm.