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Theory: Shards in the North


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In Chapter 16, Jost tells Kaladin and Laral that his father once killed a Shardbearer.

The Way of Kings, Page 253:

"All right, fine," Jost said. "But we ain't talking of that. We're talking of Shardbearers. You go to war, you can win a Shardblade and become a lighteyes. My fah, see, he should have been given that Shardblade. But the man who was with him, he took it while my fah was knocked out. Told the officer that he'd been the one to kill the Shardbearer, so he got the Blade, and my fah-"

Of course, Laral and Kaladin point out that Jost's father fought in the north, where there weren't any Shardbearers. This leads to the fight between Kaladin and Jost.

However, what if there really was a Shardbearer in the north, one who happened to be there for some unknown reason? We know from Kaladin that no army ever sent one of their Shardbearers to the north, but I think someone mentions that about a third (or is it two thirds?) of the Shardblades that the people of Roshar had are unaccounted for. Maybe one of the missing Shardblades was used by someone up north? What would a Shardbearer be looking for up north? Perhaps there's something of great importance there, like Urithuru, the Honorblades, or the Ghostblood Hideout. If there is, Jost's father screwed up by killing him.

As well, since there was never an official report on the northern Shardblade, the officer was either killed by the man who took the Shardblade, or someone who would hide the existence of the Blade (a Herald?). Also, the man who got the Shardblade would have had to not report getting it, so he probably had a hidden motive. What if he was a member of the Ghostbloods, and he was collecting Shardblades for some reason?

It's a lot of thought for a story that probably isn't true, but I think we should all remember

Dilaf's wife

from Elantris.

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Ah, but plate vs blade means the plate wins, so it's actually easier long term.

If you're talking someone with just Plate vs. someone with just a Blade, I imagine Blade wins, actually. The Plate wearer wouldn't have a weapon that can he can defend himself with, so he's almost immediately reduced to trying hand-to-hand. If the Blade wielder is any kind of agile, I can see it going to Blade. However, a bit off topic, so that's all I'll say about that

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Plate > Blade

Plate guy is stronger, faster, tougher. Blade guy may be more agile but Plate's speed would balance that. Then its just about deflecting Shardblade/knocking it out of bearer's hands and splitting him in half with gauntleted hands.

About Honor being in west... Well of Ascension was in north too.

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Well of Ascension doesn't count, considering the obscurity of everything we know about its old positioning. But still, I suppose it isn't too much of a stretch to call the origin a shardpool. Wonder if the final desolation always comes when somebody picks up Odium's pool and uses it to accidentlly wreck the world...

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I doubt that would happen in that way: reading the Alcatraz annotations, Brandon states that he hates doing anything that's been done before; it seems likely to me that the final desolation would come in a different manner, mainly because of the way it was done in another book.

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You are correct. Shardpool is a non-canon term we use to refer to pools like the Well of Ascension, which held power from Preservation. There has been two other (well kind of) Shardpools we've seen in the cosmere books, the Pool in Elantris. It's a commonly held belief that that Shardpool belongs to Devotion. The other one(s) we've seen belonged to Ruin. They are the crystals where atium forms, which Brandon refers to as mini-wells.

Also, welcome to 17th Shard!

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