Titan Arum Posted February 23, 2017 Report Share Posted February 23, 2017 A friend of mine recently ordered a personalized copy of Warbreaker from Brandon's site with the following question: Quote Could a typical Awakener give Breaths to Nigthblood? Could it use those Breaths to Awaken? Simply, yes, an Awakener can give Breaths to Nightblood, but Nightblood cannot use those Breaths to Awaken. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nashan’Elin Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Spoiler 5 hours ago, Titan Arum said: A friend of mine recently ordered a personalized copy of Warbreaker from Brandon's site with the following question: Simply, yes, an Awakener can give Breaths to Nightblood, but Nightblood cannot use those Breaths to Awaken. On one hand, I'd be more surprised if Nightblood could Awaken. On the other hand, it's odd that Type I BioChromatic Entities (Returned) can Awaken, while a Type IV (Nightblood) can't. Since Returned are Splinters in a human body, does that then mean that Nightblood does not contain a Splinter, or maybe that there is some component in the human body, Spiritually, that is required to Awaken? Something that a Returned has, but Nightblood doesn't. Hmm... Anyways, awesome WoB. Kudos to your friend for the question, and upvotes to you for posting it! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoolofwhool Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 8 minutes ago, Nashan'Elin said: Reveal hidden contents On one hand, I'd be more surprised if Nightblood could Awaken. On the other hand, it's odd that Type I BioChromatic Entities (Returned) can Awaken, while a Type IV (Nightblood) can't. Since Returned are Splinters in a human body, does that then mean that Nightblood does not contain a Splinter, or maybe that there is some component in the human body, Spiritually, that is required to Awaken? Something that a Returned has, but Nightblood doesn't. Hmm... Anyways, awesome WoB. Kudos to your friend for the question, and upvotes to you for posting it! The reason why Returned can awaken is probably because they're based from human bodies. Since the spiritwebs of the original host is preserved when they're a cognitive shadow I think, it makes sense that they would still be able to awaken, since the necessary sDNA is still in the Returned. On the other hand, since Nightblood doesn't have the requisite sDNA since it was made from a non-human base, there's no reason it would possesses the power to awaken unless it is somehow added. On the other hand though, anything which gains breath can awaken, so what is preventing Nightblood? I doubt it's something unique to just humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jofwu Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 9 hours ago, Spoolofwhool said: On the other hand though, anything which gains breath can awaken, so what is preventing Nightblood? I doubt it's something unique to just humans. I asked this on Reddit, and my favorite answer was that perhaps Nightblood is simply unable to use commands. He's not mature or developed enough cognitively to properly visualize commands. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoolofwhool Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 6 minutes ago, jofwu said: I asked this on Reddit, and my favorite answer was that perhaps Nightblood is simply unable to use commands. He's not mature or developed enough cognitively to properly visualize commands. Yeah, that makes the most sense. Also, I wonder if Nightblood would consume any Breaths held when drawn. I imagine it would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunder_93 Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 Probably it's even simpler. Nightblood can't actually talk. He talks "over the mind". So, how is he even supposed to say a command and awake something? And to give a Mental Command, Nightblood would need to be at Tenth Hightening, and even then it's supposed to be really hard, and a lot of practice necessary (which he actually can't, as he can't talk to awake). So, probably you don't even have to overthink why he (or she? well who knows) can't awake anything. It's basically the same problem that Susebron had. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bcknight2 Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 1 hour ago, Thunder_93 said: Probably it's even simpler. Nightblood can't actually talk. He talks "over the mind". So, how is he even supposed to say a command and awake something? And to give a Mental Command, Nightblood would need to be at Tenth Hightening, and even then it's supposed to be really hard, and a lot of practice necessary (which he actually can't, as he can't talk to awake). So, probably you don't even have to overthink why he (or she? well who knows) can't awake anything. It's basically the same problem that Susebron had. +1, I agree... but I wonder if Nightblood's "mental voice" would still gain the advantage of perfect pitch with the 2nd heightening... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoolofwhool Posted February 24, 2017 Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Thunder_93 said: Probably it's even simpler. Nightblood can't actually talk. He talks "over the mind". So, how is he even supposed to say a command and awake something? And to give a Mental Command, Nightblood would need to be at Tenth Hightening, and even then it's supposed to be really hard, and a lot of practice necessary (which he actually can't, as he can't talk to awake). So, probably you don't even have to overthink why he (or she? well who knows) can't awake anything. It's basically the same problem that Susebron had. You broke your own argument down. If Nightblood could awaken with mental commands then it can awaken with its breath, just like how Susebron could awaken with his breaths at the Tenth heightening without speaking, but was unable to because he lacked the know-how. The answer seems to be directly stating that Nightblood is unable to awaken, even if you took the time to teach it, and you can teach someone to awaken even if they can only use mental commands, as that's how the previous God Kings based on their breath. Therefore, it doesn't seem to be overthinking on our parts; there has to be some deeper meaning as to why Nightblood can't even awaken. Also, I'm hesitant to certainly say that actual physical vocalization is necessary for awakening. Edited February 24, 2017 by Spoolofwhool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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