Odium's Champion

[Colateralwar]

I think it is clear that at some point there is going to be an epic fight between the champion of odium and someone else (probably Kaladin or Dalinar, I think). While this fight probably will not happen in Words of Radiance, I just wanted to throw in my two cents for a possible candidate.

 

Moash.

 

Reasons? none really. I just get this feeling that Mr. Sanderson is setting up the friendship between Kaladin and Moash to end in tragedy, possibly with one having to kill the other. My sense of drama compels me to take this to the maximum and declare Moash to be Odium's champion.

 

Who do you think will be the champion? I find it highly doubtful that Mr. Sanderson would suggest this and not use it at some point (though it doesn't have to be for the conclusion of the series). 

[Maresia]

i would say Taravangian, i dont like the potential his mind could have (if he's on a good day). But he will be the champion just for 1 day, the day of the last desolation, the day his mind would be fully awakened, and fully immortal. And then , when all is lost, and the new RK are all dead, he will start drooling, cause his IQ will lower to 1.

 

The end. (????????

 

Jokes aside, i dont really know. xD 

[IllNsickly]

As soon as i read the title, I thought Moash.. good call.

[DocHoliday]

Eshonai with a Void-Spren. Marsh with Hemalurgy. 'Nuff said.

[Cayden]

"There are four whom we watch. The first is the surgeon, forced to put aside healing to become a soldier in the most brutal war of our time. The second is the assassin, a murderer who weeps as he kills. The third is the liar, a young woman who wears a scholar’s mantle over the heart of a thief. The last is the highprince, a warlord whose eyes have opened to the past as his thirst for battle wanes.

The world can change. Surgebinding and Shardwielding can return; the magics of ancient days can become ours again. These four people are key.

One of them may redeem us.

And one of them will destroy us."

 

Judging by that, Odiums Champion will be Szeth, Dalinar, Shallan or Kaladin. Now there are strong cases for Szeth or Shallan. Szeth being that he will do what he finds distasteful for his own honor. (if the honorable thing to do would be to be Odiums champion rather than the world dying outright he would do it, but that said I think any of them would.)

Shallan has a history of falsehood and murder as well, but she seems to obvious to me as well.

I think it will be Kaladin or Dalinar. Most likely Kaladin because I think Odium already has his hooks set in regarding his hatred of lighteyes, but that might not be much different than a certain ear-ring that Vin wore.

[Elbereth]

Kaladin or Dalinar are the obvious choices. Dalinar has been having visions from Honor. Kaladin...Can't you just see him becoming commander of the army, but choosing to go and duel the champion himself because of his honor?

If the champion is superpowerful, it might be a team of new Radiants (Kaladin, Shallan, Jasnah, etc.). Taln is a possibility. If someone ever becomes a Herald or takes Talenel's place, they would be a good candidate too. It might well be someone we haven't met yet.

Less likely, but more interesting possibilities: Szeth. That would be very interesting, especially if he's doing it only because he's obeying one of the good guys and not of his own free will. Wit. It might be a good match, as Wit actually has been using magic for a while. Adolin, Renarin, Elhokar, Navani, and Teft are unlikely unless they also become Radiants.

Personally, I think Jasnah would make an awesome champion. Either that or Kaladin.

EDIT: Ninja'd!

EDIT 2: I just realized I totally read this wrong. I was thinking of Honor's champion, not Odium's. Oops.

Edited January 11, 2014 by Limelleth

[Colateralwar]

Between Kaladin and Dalinar, I think that Dalinar is more likely. For two main reasons:

 

One: Kaladin is just too obvious a choice, same thing with Szeth, and while I think it could still be very possible it seems less likely to me.(Though I am still not sure if the figure Kaladin spoke to in the storm was Jezrien or Odium. While it would make sense that it might be Jezrien, he is the storm father, the fact that the final desolation is also linked to The Everstom gives Odium a tie to the storms as well. It could be either, could be neither, but it would seriously affect my opinion of the path Kaladin would take if I knew which one it was.)

 

Two:I still find it very strange that Dalinar is only now receiving these visions, even though Honor has been dead for a very long time now. I think it more likely that The Radiants have a very important role to play in the Final Desolation (as in, they could actually help it along rather than stop it) and Odium is manipulating people like Dalinar in order to bring them back. This would be a very nice twist, since it works on both character and plot levels.

[Cortez]

I doubt that Odium's champion is going to be Shallan or Szeth. Despite their actions both characters are acting out of a sense of duty and honour. Szeth follows the rules of being Truthless to the letter despite being tempted to abandon them. Shallan is currently acting out of duty to her family and we don't know enough about her backstory to determine why she killed her father etc.

[HydrogenAlpha]

I gotta go with Shallan on this one. In the Shallan Reading she's in the middle of some bloody corpses ( including her mother ) while her father tells her to forget everything and hugs her, but she says monsters shoud'nt be held in love or something along those lines.
There a lots of possibilities:
1) Her father killed those people + mother and by monster she's refering to him
2) Her father killed those people, because the killed his wife in during a break-in or smt

3) Shallan can somehow go berserk when someone she loves is in danger and killed those people because they hurt her mother ( if you keep this in mind, that explains how she killed her father who probably had a shardblade when he hurt her brothers ). Because she killed them she thinks of herself as a monster.
 

Quote 1:

"Father stepped over the body of a woman in white. Little blood there. It was the other men doing most of the bleeding.

Mother lay face down so Shallan couldn't see the eyes, the horrible eyes."

 

Quote 2:

"Pretend it never happened," her father whispered, he wiped something wet from her cheek, his thumb came back red. "I'll protect you."

 

 

Quote 3:

" No... no... This affection wasn't right. A monster should not be held in love, a monster who killed, who murdered. "

 

PS: Here's the link : http://tinyurl.com/kwlloo6

[Cortez]

I'm pretty sure Shallan is referring to herself as the monster as she states at the beginning of the excerpt that she's to blame. One of the most interesting things in this scene is that it sounds like her mother may have been killed with a shardblade;

 

 

Mother lay face down so Shallan couldn't see the eyes, the horrible eyes.

 

Which leads to the question of who used the Shardblade. One of the assassins? her father? or possibly even Shallan herself? (The last sentence by Brandon refers to Shallan using the phrase ten heartbeats which may be a hint that Shallan already had the shardblade in this scene.)

 

A question that I have about this scene is how old is Shallan in the flashback? Much of the language and tone as well as comments like the monster in the safe sound like she is quite young yet the comment that her father was singing her to sleep as  he'd done when she was a child suggests that she is older, possibly close to her current age.

[Cromptj]

I could see Szeth becoming good and then betraying the others by becoming Odium's champion. Kaladin, Dalinar, and Shallan seem too naturally good to become Odium's champion. I have not seen enough of Eshonai to have an opiion.

[Strife]

 

"The world can change. Surgebinding and Shardwielding can return; the magics of ancient days can become ours again. These four people are key.

One of them may redeem us.

And one of them will destroy us."

Personally I don't think the word Destroy on the back cover has to mean that one of these four will become one of Odium's champion, there are plenty of ways to destroy.

 

WoT Spoiler

A good example of this, not one of Brandons but still, is in WoT that the Car'a'carn will destroy the Aiel. Link

Edited January 12, 2014 by Strife

[+eveorjoy]

I think one of the original four focal characters from TWoKs will be Odium's champion, especially because one of them is going to destroy Roshar.

 

I'm holding my opinion on whether or not it could be Shallan until I read her back story. Signs are suggesting she is quite messed up, but that does not mean she is the destroyer.

 

I didn't think it would be Kaladin until I thought over his storm dreams. Who's power is in the Highstorms will determine whose champion he is. He has a lot of hate in his heart. Through the Highstorms Odium could be setting him up as his champion.

 

Szeth is also a very likely possibility. Hate is building up in him the more he must kill. Still, redemption could be possible for him. Something will happened with him in WoR that will turn the narrative toward Shinovar and his back story setting up his book, book 3. It could be his death or it could be something else. Maybe he will break his honor, fall to his hate, and begin the path to become Odium's champion.

 

Dalinar is the only one that I don't believe could be the destroyer. I think if he discovered he was Odium's champion he would take steps to prevent himself from filling that roll.

[Moogle]

Dalinar is the only one that I don't believe could be the destroyer. I think if he discovered he was Odium's champion he would take steps to prevent himself from filling that roll.

 

Dalinar's war efforts are forcing the Parshendi into dire straits, to the point where they are willing to use stormform (ominous) just to survive. This apparently leads to death and destruction if Navani is anything to go by. I think he's feasible as an option for Odium's unwitting champion, though I'd honestly put Szeth or Taravangian more into that role. They're a bit obvious as choices for it, but the most surprising thing Brandon could do is pick the obvious choice.

 

Odium's tricky. At first I was tempted to think Dalinar's feelings of disgust at killing were him coming free of Odium's influence, but I'm no longer so sure. The Thrill is not really something that smacks of hate or loathing, while disgust does. Loathing is well within Odium's purview, particularly if Szeth is anything to go by. The only person free of Odium's influence in the main four is Shallan, really.

Edited January 12, 2014 by Moogle

[+eveorjoy]

Dalinar's war efforts are forcing the Parshendi into dire straits, to the point where they are willing to use stormform (ominous) just to survive. This apparently leads to death and destruction if Navani is anything to go by. I think he's feasible as an option for Odium's unwitting champion, though I'd honestly put Szeth or Taravangian more into that role. They're a bit obvious as choices for it, but the most surprising thing Brandon could do is pick the obvious choice.

 

Odium's tricky. At first I was tempted to think Dalinar's feelings of disgust at killing were him coming free of Odium's influence, but I'm no longer so sure. The Thrill is not really something that smacks of hate or loathing, while disgust does. Loathing is well within Odium's purview, particularly if Szeth is anything to go by. The only person free of Odium's influence in the main four is Shallan, really.

 

Dalinar's current political actions will bring death and destruction to one small portion of Roshar. However, as things play out if Dalinar sees what he is doing will destroy all of Roshar I think he would abdicate. Adolin as the paperwork he needs to take over. Further Dalinar is trying to bring a quick end to the war to preserve life. I think once he get the High Princes under control, if he can, it is quite possible he will sue for peace.

 

We don't know that Shallan is free of Odium's influence. She did at least commit patricide. Who knows what other horrors lay in her past. But we will know more about both characters after WoR.

[marianmi]

* As long as Kaladin has Syl beside him, it's improbable he will become a tool of Odium, or be influenced by Odium much.

 

* Dalinar is starting to reject the Thrill, something that probably comes from Odium (Kaladin does not feel the Thrill as well). So I would say that, unless the visions come from Odium-desguised-as-Honor (improbable), Dalinar will not be influenced by Odium much. Plus, Syl is around him a lot, with Kaladin guarding him.

 

This leaves us with Shallan, Jasnah, Szeth.

* Jasnah is dangerous because she's a scientist - she can be what Mierin was in The Wheel of Time.

* Shallan - she is a "more important" character than Jasnah, she has her own book. And she's pretty dark, I am afraid to find out she killed both her mom and dad with a shardblade. Talking about broken souls, hers might be no. 1 across the nation.

* Szeth - he's the obvious choice, but at the end, he's just a very efficient killer. He's on the line, so at some point he will either meet his match and die, or finally get over that stone.

 

Finally, let's not forget about Gaz Anyone willing to bet Gaz will be the one to become Odium's champion?