[OB] Recreance: A Possible Account of Events

[Salkara Silent Gatherer]

Like many here have stated, I initially found the reason for the Recreance to be a bit anticlimactic. I, like many here have also stated, quickly came to the conclusion that there's more to this than we were told. So what could be the "more" that we don't know? I have a couple ideas.

My first idea is that Melishi and his strike team destroyed Stormseat when they captured Ba-Ado-Mishram. This is predicated on the theory that Melishi's capture of Ba-Ado-Mishram is what placed most of the parsh population into permanent slaveform. In Eshonai's interludes, she notes that Narak is where they were separated from their gods. As we know that Narak is the ruins of Stormseat, it's not difficult to conclude Melishi and his strike team were responsible for the Shattered Plains.

Perhaps the survivors from the strike team tried to hide their responsibility for the destruction and blamed the parsh and/or the Unmade. Chapter 38 of the in-world Words of Radiance does indicate that some "discovery" led to the Recreance. In any case, at a time when the Radiants were divided because Honor was saying surgebinders would destroy Roshar, Melishi destroyed an entire city (and it's inhabitants).

Would that be enough to cause all members of 9 out of 10 orders to break their oaths? I doubt it, and this leads to my second idea: The Recreance was motivated not by agreement among all but rather a decision to act by some. I believe a Radiant civil war of sorts occurred. The WoR epigraphs do speak of an "act of great villainy" which many attributed to a "sense of inherent betrayal" and fighting which "destroy[ed] much of the membership."

Eventually, I assume that around 300 Windrunners and Stonewards remained (and the Skybreakers in hiding). Perhaps they were on the side which wanted to break all bonds, or perhaps they were appalled by the in-fighting. Either way, they believed that humans couldn't be trusted with surgebinding. After tying up some loose ends, I believe they traveled to Feverstone Keep and killed their spren, as we see in one of Dalinar's visions.

Thoughts?

[DiamondMind Cobalt Guard]

There is some merit in this, but first I'm going to focus on your problematic proofs.

9 minutes ago, Salkara said:

My first idea is that Melishi and his strike team destroyed Stormseat when they captured Ba-Ado-Mishram. This is predicated on the theory that Melishi's capture of Ba-Ado-Mishram is what placed most of the parsh population into permanent slaveform.

I'm going to quote all of the relevant Words of Radiance excerpts:

Quote

Chapter 30[edit]

“So Melishi retired to his tent, and resolved to destroy the Voidbringers upon the next day, but that night did present a different stratagem, related to the unique abilities of the Bondsmiths; and being hurried, he could make no specific account of his process; it was related to the very nature of the Heralds and their divine duties, an attribute the Bondsmiths alone could address. ”

—Chapter 30, page 18^[17]

Chapter 32[edit]

“In short, if any presume Kazilah to be innocent, you must look at the facts and deny them in their entirety; to say that the Radiants were destitute of integrity for this execution of one their own, one who had obviously fraternized with the unwholesome elements, indicates the most slothful of reasoning; for the enemy's baleful influence demanded vigilance on all occasions, of war and of peace. ”

—Chapter 32, page 17^[18]

Chapter 35[edit]

“Twenty–three cohorts followed behind, that came from the contributions of the King of Makabakam, for though the bond between man and spren was at times inexplicable, the ability for bonded spren to manifest in our world rather than their own grew stronger through the course of the oaths given. ”

—Chapter 35, page 9^[19]

Chapter 38[edit]

“Now, as the Windrunners were thus engaged, arose the event which has hitherto been referenced: namely, that discovery of some wicked thing of eminence, though whether it be some rogueries among the Radiants' adherents or of some external origin, Avena would not suggest. ”

—Chapter 38, page 6^[20]

“That they responded immediately and with great consternation is undeniable, as these were primary among those who would forswear and abandon their oaths. The term Recreance was not then applied, but has since become a popular title by which this event is named. ”

—Chapter 38, page 6^[21]

“This act of great villainy went beyond the impudence which had hitherto been ascribed to the orders; as the fighting was particularly intense at the time, many attributed this act to a sense of inherent betrayal; and after they withdrew, about two thousand made assault upon them, destroying much of the membership; but this was only nine of the ten, as one said they would not abandon their arms and flee, but instead entertained great subterfuge at the expense of the other nine. ”

—Chapter 38, page 20^[22]

The biggest problem I see, and this is an inconsistency problem, is that assuming the book goes in at least somewhat chronological order, we have these events:

1.  Melishi the Bondsmith was going to destroy the Voidbringers the next day. That night, he presented something different. We have no idea what it was or how long it took, but this new strategy was hurried so presumably not very long.
2. There are then 8 chapters, of which the Radiants are definitely still active, before the Recreance. 
3. Chapter 32 implies that they were at peace at the time, and 38 at war. So there was a start and stop to the fighting. Incidentally, it's very possible that chapter 32 was referring to corruption by Sja-anat and perhaps she wanted to defect even then... 
4. The Recreance began when the "wicked thing of evidence was discovered," of which we think was revealed in Oathbringer, that the humans were originally the invaders because they destroyed the last world, and that Honor was ranting that they would destroy this one with Surgebinding. 
5. "They," probably the Windrunners and Stonewards, "reacted immediately," but probably not by betraying their oaths, as that would come later.
6. The KR performed an "act of great villainy" which was also beyond previous impudence. It's likely this is abandoning the Shards at Feverstone Keep and probably elsewhere. We also know that there was fighting at the time with the "parsh."
7. "two thousand made assault upon them, destroying much of the membership" This phrase implies that the KR were most or all gathered in one place after abandoning their Oaths and Shards, and that an army attacked them. It's unknown if these were singers or human, but probably human.
8. The last order entertained subterfuge, somehow, which led to harm to the other nine. (As I can't imagine them the Skybreakers being subtle, I still wonder if it was a different order to refuse and the Skybreakers were refounded later.)

This doesn't quite line up with what you propose. So if the Melishi is #1 ended the voidbringers, how was there still fighting? Radiants would destroy singers without access to voidlight of forms of power, and there wouldn't be any fighting at all if he stripped them of Identity. Maybe he did it on a small scale? It's entirely unclear.

It's very possible that the wicked thing of evidence is destruction of Narak instead of finding out about the past. But the listeners/Parshendi is not evidence of that, as they were unaffected by whatever changed the rest of the singers because they were already in dullform. They chose to separate from their gods deliberately, not by what the Radiants did or did not do.

[Fifth of Daybreak Most Ancient]

1 hour ago, Salkara said:

My first idea is that Melishi and his strike team destroyed Stormseat when they captured Ba-Ado-Mishram. This is predicated on the theory that Melishi's capture of Ba-Ado-Mishram is what placed most of the parsh population into permanent slaveform. In Eshonai's interludes, she notes that Narak is where they were separated from their gods. As we know that Narak is the ruins of Stormseat, it's not difficult to conclude Melishi and his strike team were responsible for the Shattered Plains.

The history from the song Eshonai's mother sings seems to indicate Stormseat was destroyed before the Last Legion was sent there. I ran into this problem when I posted a similar theory right before Oathbringer released.

Quote

“Long are the days since we knew the dark home,”Mother sang softly to one of the Rhythms of Remembrance. “The Last Legion, that was our name then. Warriors who had been set to fight in the farthest plains, this place that had once been a nation and was now rubble. Dead was the freedom of most people. The forms, unknown, were forced upon us. Forms of power, yes, but also forms of obedience. The gods commanded, and we did obey, always. Always.”

“Except for that day,”Eshonai said along with her mother, in rhythm.

“The day of the storm when the Last Legion fled,”Mother continued in song. “Difficult was the path chosen. Warriors, touched by the gods, our only choice to seek dullness of mind. A crippling that brought freedom.”

WoR I-4 Last Legion

 

[RShara Unmade]

1 hour ago, Ookla the Obtuse said:

The history from the song Eshonai's mother sings seems to indicate Stormseat was destroyed before the Last Legion was sent there. I ran into this problem when I posted a similar theory right before Oathbringer released.

 

That reminds me of the epigraph of chapter 26:
 

Quote

They blame our people

For the loss of that land.

The city that once covered it

Did range the eastern strand.

The power made known in the tomes of our clan

Our gods were not who shattered these plains.

—From the Listener Song of Wars, 55th stanza

 

So even if it wasn't the Last Legion that destroyed it, it sounds like it was still related to the Radiants and humans.

 

Also, Eshonai says that they gave up their forms and became "dull" voluntarily, in order to get away from Odium and the Unmade.

Edited November 29, 2017 by RShara

[echaozh Noble]

I think the listener's' gods were the Fused. They were trying to not be possessed by the Fused.

[emailanimal Artifabrian]

To my mind,  The Last Legion (i.e., the ancestors of the Listeners/Parshendi) escaped before Melishi did the Bondsmith voodoo that turned other singers into slaveform.

3 hours ago, DiamondMind said:

The last order entertained subterfuge, somehow, which led to harm to the other nine. (As I can't imagine them the Skybreakers being subtle, I still wonder if it was a different order to refuse and the Skybreakers were refounded later.)

 

I read the previous lines about destroying 2000 (ex)Knights Radiant as an attack by a human force - perhaps the very ones we see in Feverstone Keep taking up the dead blades.

As to the "missing" order, I am pretty certain these were Skybreakers. I understand the problem with subterfuge as a defining term for them (Willshapers and Edgedancers and probably better at subterfuge) but based on what I  know about the Skybreakers, they do seem more likely than other orders to go against the rest - their Oaths are about following external, rather than internal Ideals, and the Secret That Broke The Knights Radiant (tm) may have had less sway with them. They could also consider the other orders as essentially lawbreakers, and therefore would not have a problem betraying them to the attackers.

[echaozh Noble]

23 minutes ago, emailanimal said:

To my mind,  The Last Legion (i.e., the ancestors of the Listeners/Parshendi) escaped before Melishi did the Bondsmith voodoo that turned other singers into slaveform.

 

I read the previous lines about destroying 2000 (ex)Knights Radiant as an attack by a human force - perhaps the very ones we see in Feverstone Keep taking up the dead blades.

As to the "missing" order, I am pretty certain these were Skybreakers. I understand the problem with subterfuge as a defining term for them (Willshapers and Edgedancers and probably better at subterfuge) but based on what I  know about the Skybreakers, they do seem more likely than other orders to go against the rest - their Oaths are about following external, rather than internal Ideals, and the Secret That Broke The Knights Radiant (tm) may have had less sway with them. They could also consider the other orders as essentially lawbreakers, and therefore would not have a problem betraying them to the attackers.

Well, the Skybreakes did try to fit in with local lawkeepers, they dress like them, and they tried not to fly in front of them, right until Nale told them the Desolation had actually begun again.

[RShara Unmade]

1 hour ago, echaozh said:

I think the listener's' gods were the Fused. They were trying to not be possessed by the Fused.

The songs specifically talk about the Unmade, and the different forms that are granted by their gods, so I don't think the gods are the Fused.