[OB] Windrunner ideal in Warbreaker

[Pezhistory]

On 1/31/2018 at 7:32 PM, Pezhistory said:

Protect a man. Live with the destruction he creates.”

 

On 7/1/2018 at 10:50 PM, DarkFalz said:

I am very sure the 4th ideal is that there is no black and white when it comes to justice but rather that everyone has their own personal justice and to find true justice you have to consider everyone involved, not just your own side.

 

I still think this ties with accepting that actions have consequences, that choosing to protect means understanding that there is sacrifice/destruction/"unprotecting" elsewhere.   BUT, inaction is not a choice.  Inaction is what cost the king his life.  He must take action, accepting the consequences.   

 

Where Szeth is using Dalinar as his guide for the law(similar to Amos in the Expanse), Kaladin might need to chose whose version of justice to accept.  But before getting there he needs to accepted was essentially Newton's Law:  For every action....

[Quantus]

A lot of folks thing the Windrunner's 4th is "I will accept that I cannot save everyone"  but I really dont think that is quite right, it catches some but misses other parts.  I feel like "I will Stand Aside when I must" is more what things were building to, it's less about the situational specifics and more simply accepting that sometimes the Radiant simply cannot actively DO anything at all.  The 2nd ad 3rd are about who and where the Radiant should ACT, but the 4th is about when they must not, which is philosophically often harder.  This also sort of makes sense that it's the ideal that turns Windspren into inert, unmoving metal: the first three Ideals are about when and where you SHOULD act, while the 4th is about when you need to restrain those natural tendencies. 

 

It's the crux Serenity Prayer, in other words: Know when to Act vs when to Accept.