Ten Deaths part of the in world magic sytem

[Roamer]

So I was listening to the chapter where Dalinar fights the creatures known as Midnight Essence alongside the two Knights Radiant, and a half-baked theory started forming in my head.

 

I first perked up when I heard the Knight refer to "the ten deaths" when presumably discussing the thrill with Dalinar.  We know there are 10 essences, so there was my first tiny connection between the deaths and the essences.  Add to that the fact that the creatures in the chapter are referred to as midnight ESSENCE and the correlation becomes stronger.  Finally when I realized the creatures were bleeding smoke when injured (one of the 10 essences) I became convinced there was something extremely interesting going on here.

 

So my half baked theory is that these 10 deaths are created by a surge or some other form of magic we haven't been introduced to and that they are created by humans, not by odium or the nightwatcher.  In the chapter one of the knights specifically mentions that the identity and motive of the person who released the essence is unknown.  This seems to be a clear indicator to me that it was a human that released the essence.  The Knights don't act surprised to see it and note it is a harbinger of a desolation, but they don't ascribe the release of midnight essence to a higher power or natural phenomenon either.

 

So my question would be, do we know yet of a surge that may be able to manipulate the 10 essences in such a fashion?  Because I think it would be beyond awesome if one of the soulcasting orders could create creatures from the 10 essences to fight in battle.  Am I crazy, or would anyone else like to see that?

 

Edit:  Ok so smoke isn't one of the 10 essences according to the SA wikk, but I still like the idea.

Edited September 12, 2013 by Roamer

[Morsk]

I hope I'm wrong because I absolutely hate this. But I got the idea that Midnight Essence was summoned by someone having "bad thoughts", or being a little mean or just nonconformist, and that somehow this lets Odium's monsters into the world or gives them form. So the KRs would be a morality police that save people from themselves, in addition to fighting monsters. "This is what happens when you wear fashionable clothing / listen to pop music / don't kiss your mother goodnight / etc. People DIE!"

So say an overworked mother snaps, and tells one of her children that parenthood ruined her life. Midnight Essence come and eat half the village! Or a kid trades his lunch for candy. People die! And so on, for every petty cruelty or laziness humans do. The 10 most archetypical ways people are horrible would be the 10 deaths.

I really hate this idea but I can't think of anything that fits better yet. Hopefully in WoR...

[king of nowhere]

I hope I'm wrong because I absolutely hate this. But I got the idea that Midnight Essence was summoned by someone having "bad thoughts", or being a little mean or just nonconformist, and that somehow this lets Odium's monsters into the world or gives them form. So the KRs would be a morality police that save people from themselves, in addition to fighting monsters. "This is what happens when you wear fashionable clothing / listen to pop music / don't kiss your mother goodnight / etc. People DIE!"

So say an overworked mother snaps, and tells one of her children that parenthood ruined her life. Midnight Essence come and eat half the village! Or a kid trades his lunch for candy. People die! And so on, for every petty cruelty or laziness humans do. The 10 most archetypical ways people are horrible would be the 10 deaths.

I really hate this idea but I can't think of anything that fits better yet. Hopefully in WoR...

If that was the case, I'd quit reading sanderson right now. Iìm pretty sure it won't be the case.

[Morsk]

It would be clever of Odium to make people blame each other for all his monsters and Desolations, which is why it worries me. It's not out of character or a bad strategy for Odium to follow. I'd just hate reading it.

For example, send more Midnight Essence whenever someone talks about the future. Now everyone has to follow an obnoxious rule and gossip about which of their neighbors broke it. Odium would love this.

[Gloom]

"Voidbringers? These? No, this was Midnight Essence, though who released it is still a mystery."

 

This quote doesn't exactly encourage me to think it is a random result of bad thoughts or behavior. This quote leads me to believe that the Midnight Essence was released intentionally by an individual or group.

[Vortaan]

Ten Essences, ten Orders... I have to wonder if the Ten Deaths aren't tied to the nahel bond in some fashion. A KR somehow breaks the bond in a fashion that causes the spren to splinter into evil smoke filled monsters of doom... Eh, maybe not.

[Gloom]

Ten Essences, Ten Heralds, and Ten Fools. If each of the Heralds is tied to an essence, then each of the Fools may be as well. If men can attain investiture by following the ideals of the Heralds, then perhaps men can also attain investiture of a sort through the Fools. If so, perhaps this grants them the ability to summon the Midnight Essence.

[hoser]

The ten deaths include Midnight Essence, and, IIRC thunderclasts.  They really seem like Odium's counterpart to the ten orders of Radiants in a way.  They even fight each other.  It does seem like the deaths don't require the same ongoing level of investiture.

[Moogle]

/>Ten Essences, ten Orders... I have to wonder if the Ten Deaths aren't tied to the nahel bond in some fashion. A KR somehow breaks the bond in a fashion that causes the spren to splinter into evil smoke filled monsters of doom... Eh, maybe not.

Well, if I had to guess, I'd say that Midnight Essence is Smoke's (Essence 2) evil form. It's possible that it's a mutated order-2-spren. Smokespren? I'd love to see the Death made of air. It's probably a freaky bird of some kind.

[Roamer]

Well, if I had to guess, I'd say that Midnight Essence is Smoke's (Essence 2) evil form. It's possible that it's a mutated order-2-spren. Smokespren? I'd love to see the Death made of air. It's probably a freaky bird of some kind.

 

I hope it's something along these lines.  I really want to see the good guys end up with this kind of living essence.

[Morsk]

I just remembered this. It's at the start of Chapter 58.

"ReShephir, the Midnight Mother, giving birth to abominations with her essence so dark, so terrible, so consuming. She is here! She watches me die!"

-- Dated Shashabev, 1173, 8 seconds pre-death. Subject: a darkeyed dock-worker in his forties, father of three.

So she could be the source of these monsters, and the other Unmade would have their own. The only other we've seen named is Yelig-nar who might be associated with a dark version of Wind, since he's called Blightwind.

[Vortaan]

Hm... if the Unmade are equivalent to the Ten Fools, do you think there is a form of nahel bond for things that aren't human? And this kind of twisted bond is what creates Essences? 

[Moogle]

I just remembered this. It's at the start of Chapter 58.So she could be the source of these monsters, and the other Unmade would have their own. The only other we've seen named is Yelig-nar who might be associated with a dark version of Wind, since he's called Blightwind.

 

I agree with both, Yelig-nar would be the Zephyr Unmade and the Midnight Mother is the Smoke Unmade.

 

Also, I suppose that thunderclasts are the Deaths associated with Stone/Order 9?

 

Also, I suspect there is no equivalent Nahel bond for Odium. Szeth seems to be gaining his powers from Odium just fine through pure hatred and loathing. Or, well, all we really know is that Szeth has no spren and can Surgebind. I assume he's Odium's champion or something.