[OB] Corrupted spren

[Windseeker]

Maybe I've missed this somewhere because I literally spent a week reading Oathbringer from dawn till dusk, but I haven't caught a mention of what the corruption of Sja-Anat actually does to the spren. They still seem to be attracted by the same emotions as the regular spren and can be used as means of contact between Sja-Anat and the people her spren touch(Though I'm not sure if this works only in Shadesmar, where the spren have full bodies, or also in the physical realm). However, 'corrupted' is a bit of a heavy word, so I'm just wondering if the alterations to the spren involve something more than just a change in design.

Edited November 30, 2017 by Windseeker

[A Dopey Spren]

I'm curious about this as well. I just remembered that in Oathbringer:

Spoiler

Don't forget how the Oathgate guardians were corrupted and their purpose altered. Instead of transporting people to Urithuru, they were transported to Shadesmar. They also looked different to the Thaylen Guardians. 

So it seems that Sja-Anat not only corrupts the design of the spren, but maybe the way they operate?

 

[knightedbishop]

First off, all this is pure speculation on my part. 

Corrupt spren become connected to Odium. This may mean he can direct them. The oathgate sprens’ corruption supports this idea. He was able to countermand their command to lock passage between the cognitive and physical realms. Maybe he can gain some level of awareness of a corrupted spren’s environment. Influence and awareness may have been his intent, but it seems clear from Glys that the corruption isn’t operating that way, at least not in Glys’s specific case. With Glys/Renarin it seems Odium has been made blind.

Odium may be able to exert influence through corrupted spren. Stoke or cool emotions to forward his aims, a la emotional allomancy.

Edited November 30, 2017 by knightedbishop

[Head Crabs]

You're right that we didnt get a ton of insight into how these corrupted spren are different from the typical varieties aside from a fun makeover and becoming sja-anat cell phones. 

 

If Sja-Anat really is attempting to assist the Radiants these days then it could mean more access to shadesmar, instant voice communication, and adaptations of surgebinding that wouldnt have been present in the ancient orders of KR. 

 

Considering how much Brandon was trying to blurr the lines between "good" and "evil" meaning that there really arent clear lines at all, i'd like to see an unmade actively participate in the KR efforts. 

[Goatborn]

It might shackle the higher order spren. When Shallan was trying to open the Oathgate in Kholinar, she had a brief conversation with a spren who said they'd try to help her, or at least not hurt her too much. 

I'd assume that this was the corrupted gate spren, trying to limit the influence of the corruption over normal function. We also know that you can chat with gatespren and they have some kind of personality - the Thaylen gatespren in Shadesmar seemed remorseful that they couldn't go against orders. 

Shallan's orders at the end of the book raise the possibility that she was speaking with Sja-Anat directly, but I think this is less likely. In this context, Sja would be trying to help without drawing attention, not fighting Odium's control. 

[A Dopey Spren]

@Goatborn From what I understood, Shallan was speaking directly to Sja-anat. Last page of Chapter 85 - "Grieve Later" there is a conversation between Sja-Anat and Shallan:

Spoiler

I will show you, Sja-anat said. I will try. My promise is not strong, for I cannot know. But I will try.

"Try what?" Shallan asked.

Try not to kill you.

This shows the discussion between Shallan and Sja-anat, rather than the Oathgate's spren. There are other incidents of them both speaking to each other in earlier chapters.

 

Edited December 1, 2017 by A Dopey Spren

[Goatborn]

1 minute ago, A Dopey Spren said:

@Goatborn

  Hide contents

This shows the discussion between Shaman and Sja-anat, rather than the Oathgate's spren. There are other incidents of them both speaking to each other in earlier chapters.

 

My bad! I thought the spren went unnamed throughout the exchange. 

[A Dopey Spren]

Just now, Goatborn said:

My bad! I thought the spren went unnamed throughout the exchange. 

I understand! A lot is happening at once in these chapters (as they tend to be with Sanderson!) Later on when arriving in Shadesmar, the guardians are described and one is obviously corrupted from the description. But that is more or less all that is spoken about regarding the Kholinar gate spren.

[+Bliev]

I don’t think the corruption gives Odium control in a traditional sense, like (mistborn era 1 spoiler):

Spoiler

hemalurgy with Ruin

 or something. I think it may indeed affect their intent. Because it doesn’t seem that Odium knows about Sja-Anat’s convo with Shallan or that she didn’t kill them when they went through the gate (until later, and it’s implied that he’s “understanding” because she hadn’t corrupted such high spren before and they didn’t know what would happen really). So the unmade def have independent intent to some degree. But this mystery is definitely been on my mind—why does it matter what the lesser spren look like? Like you said—did not seem to affect their function. But Glys’s function seems to shift after he’s been corrupted. Need more info! Wish we didn’t have to wait 3 years. :-(