WoK Epigraphs reanalysis (WoR spoilers)

[name_here]

I went through the epigraphs on the coppermind and commented on them in light of the new information in Words Of Radiance. Note that preview post is on the fritz, so the formatting might be messed up.

 

Death rattles

 

We now know the source of these is Moelach, an Unmade with prophetic abilities. However, Moelach probably isn't the perspective speaking in most cases

 

“The love of men is a frigid thing, a mountain stream only three steps from the ice. We are his. Oh Stormfather…we are his. It is but a thousand days, and the Everstorm comes.”

 

Collected on the first day of the week Palah of the month Shash of the year 1171, thirty-one seconds before death. Subject was a darkeyed pregnant woman of middle years. The child did not survive.

 

This quote occurred over 1500 days prior to the Everstorm.

 

“You’ve killed me. Bastards, you’ve killed me! While the sun is still hot, I die!”

 

Collected on the fifth day of the week Chach of the month Betab of the year 1171, ten seconds before death. Subject was a darkeyed soldier thirty-one years of age. Sample is considered questionable.

 

Could mean anything, lots of people die in hot sunlight.

 

“Ten orders. We were loved, once. Why have you forsaken us, Almighty! Shard of my soul, where have you gone?”

 

Collected on the second day of Kakash, year 1171, five seconds before death. Subject was a lighteyed woman in her third decade.

 

Orders have been refounded at present date but are not exactly loved.

 

“A man stood on a cliffside and watched his homeland fall into dust. The waters surged beneath, so far beneath. And he heard a child crying. They were his own tears.”

 

Collected on the 4th of Tanates, year 1171, thirty seconds before death. Subject was a cobbler of some renown.

 

There's liable to be a lot of this going around because the Everstorm is proceeding in the wrong direction and is enormously destructive when intersecting a Highstorm.

 

“I’m dying, aren’t I? Healer, why do you take my blood? Who is that beside you, with his head of lines? I can see a distant sun, dark and cold, shining in a black sky.”

 

Collected on the 3rd of Jesnan, 1172, 11 seconds pre-death. Subject was a Reshi chull trainer. Sample is of particular note.

 

May not have been an actual death quote but someone seeing a Cryptic about. Or Moelach looks a lot like a Cryptic.

 

“I have seen the end, and have heard it named. The Night of Sorrows, the True Desolation. The Everstorm.”

 

Collected on the 1st of Nanes, 1172, 15 seconds pre-death. Subject was a darkeyed youth of unknown origin.

 

Ayup, we have an Everstorm alright.

 

“I’m cold. Mother, I’m cold. Mother? Why can I still hear the rain? Will it stop?”

 

Collected on Vevishes, 1172, 32 seconds pre-death. Subject was a lighteyed female child, approximately six years old.

 

It occurs to me that this one sounds like something a female six year old child might say. Possibly death quotes are sent to similar-ish people. However, this quote also seems to predate Shallan killing her father during heavy rain.

 

“They are aflame. They burn. They bring the darkness when they come, and so all you can see is that their skin is aflame. Burn, burn, burn….”

 

Collected on Palahishev, 1172, 21 seconds pre-death. Subject was a baker’s apprentice.

 

Likely a reference to a non-stormform result of bonding with voidspren. Flameform or smokeform.

 

“Victory! We stand atop the mount! We scatter them before us! Their homes become our dens, their lands are now our farms! And they shall burn, as we once did, in a place that is hollow and forlorn.”

 

Collected on Ishashan, 1172, 18 seconds pre-death. Subject was a lighteyed spinster of the eighth dahn.

 

Could be from the winning side of any upcoming battles, but by phrasing is plausibly Parshendi and/or Voidbringer.

 

“Ten people, with Shardblades alight, standing before a wall of black and white and red.”

 

Collected: Jesachev, 1173, 12 seconds pre-death. Subject: one of our own ardents, overheard during his last moments.

 

Because the death rattles appear to be prophetic, this is likely not a reference to earlier battles, and implies we'll be getting more radiants. We now know Dalinar isn't going to be getting a Shardblade, but he might be able to get a Honorblade to give us one representative from each order.

 

“Three of sixteen ruled, but now the Broken One reigns.”

 

Collected: Chachanan, 1173, 84 seconds pre-death. Subject: a cutpurse with the wasting sickness, of partial Iriali descent.

 

Clear reference to the local shards.

 

Gadol spit up blood, coughing. “They break the land itself!” he hissed, eyes wild. “They want it, but in their rage they will destroy it. Like the jealous man burns his rich things rather than let them be taken by his enemies! They come!”

 

In-text, uncollected.

 

Sounds like a fairly good description of how the Parshendi thought and behaved.

 

Cenn stopped wheezing. He convulsed once, eyes still open. "He watches!" the boy hissed. "The Black piper in the night. He holds us in his palm... playing a tune that no man can hear!"

 

Day when Kaladin killed Shallan's brother.

 

It is interesting to note that Kaladin had not met Hoid as of this point.

 

“I’m standing over the body of a brother. I’m weeping. Is that his blood or mine? What have we done?”

 

Dated Vevanev, 1173, 107 seconds pre-death. Subject: an out-of-work Veden sailor.

 

Shallan may go for the familicidal hat trick.

 

“He must pick it up, the fallen title! The tower, the crown, and the spear!”

 

Dated Vevahach, 1173, 8 seconds pre-death. Subject: a prostitute. Back ground unknown.

 

Kaladin's rescue of Elhokar through his arrival in Urithiru may fufill this, but I still think it's got to do with the House Kholin symbol somehow.

 

“The burdens of nine become mine. Why must I carry the madness of them all? Oh, Almighty, release me.”

 

Dated Palaheses, 1173, unknown seconds pre-death. Subject: a wealthy lighteyes. Sample collected secondhand.

 

Sounds like Taln speaking, but there may also be ten Unmade with Moelach complaining about the others.

 

“A woman sits and scratches out her own eyes. Daughter of kings and winds, the vandal.”

 

Dated Palahevan, 1173, 73 seconds pre-death. Subject: a beggar of some renown, known for his elegant songs.

 

Shalash.

 

“Light grows so distant. The storm never stops. I am broken, and all around me have died. I weep for the end of all things. He has won. Oh, he has beaten us.”

 

Dated Palahakev, 1173, 16 seconds pre-death. Subject: a Thaylen sailor.

 

Could be future events or could be one of the soldiers on Roion's plateau.

 

“I hold the suckling child in my hands, a knife at his throat, and know that all who live wish me to let the blade slip. Spill its blood upon the ground, over my hands, and with it gain us further breath to draw.”

 

Dated Shashanan, 1173, 23 seconds pre-death. Subject: a darkeyed youth of sixteen years. Sample is of particular note.

 

Parshendi child, probably.

 

“And all the world was shattered!” Maps yelled, back arching, eyes wide, flecks of red spittle on his cheeks. “The rocks trembled with their steps, and the stones reached toward the heavens. We die! We die!”

 

Maps, a member of Bridge Four.

 

Probably an upcoming battle involving Thunderclasts.

 

“Re-Shephir, the Midnight Mother, giving birth to abominations with her essence so dark, so terrible, so consuming. She is here! She watches me die!”

 

Dated Shashabev, 1173, 8 seconds pre-death. Subject: a darkeyed dock-worker in his forties, father of three.

 

Sounds like an Unmade to me. We'll be seeing some more Midnight Essence.

 

“Above the final void I hang, friends behind, friends before. The feast I must drink clings to their faces, and the words I must speak spark in my mind. The old oaths will be spoken anew.”

 

Dated Betabanan, 1173, 45 seconds pre-death. Subject: a lighteyed child of five years. Diction improved remarkably when giving sample.

 

Rescue of Dalinar still seems most plausible.

 

“The death is my life, the strength becomes my weakness, the journey has ended.”

 

Dated Betabanes, 1173, 95 seconds pre-death. Subject: a scholar of some minor renown. Sample collected secondhand. Considered questionable.

 

Someone breaking their Radiant oaths, I think. Or it might be Eshonai's sister, who was a scholar and responsible for the return of the Voidbringers, or Eshonai herself.

 

“In the storm I awaken, falling, spinning, grieving.”

 

Dated Kakanev, 1173, 13 seconds pre-death. Subject was a city guardsman.

 

Syl? She would have been restored after the Everstorm and unscheduled Highstorm started up.

 

“The darkness becomes a palace. Let it rule! Let it rule!”

 

Kakevah 1173, 22 seconds pre-death. A darkeyed Selay man of unknown profession.

 

Ominous yet vague. No specific event maps to this yet that I can think of.

 

“I wish to sleep. I know now why you do what you do, and I hate you for it. I will not speak of the truths I see.”

 

Kakashah 1173, 142 seconds pre-death. A Shin sailor, left behind by his crew, reportedly for bringing them ill luck. Sample largely useless.

 

Early enough this might be the sailor himself speaking, or possibly Moelach is getting angry about the secret hospital.

 

“They come from the pit, two dead men, a heart in their hands, and I know that I have seen true glory.”

 

Kakashah 1173, 13 seconds pre-death. A rickshaw puller.

 

Shallan would have something very cutting to say about how he must be blind to think she was a man.

 

“I see them. They are the rocks. They are the vengeful spirits. Eyes of red.”

 

Kakakes 1173, 8 seconds pre-death. A darkeyed young woman of fifteen. Subject was reportedly mentally unstable since childhood.

 

Stormform.

 

“That chanting, that singing, those rasping voices.”

 

Kaktach 1173, 16 seconds pre-death. A middle-aged potter. Reported seeing strange dreams during highstorms during the last two years.

 

Stormform. Also, as we have a bit more precision on dates and a better idea of Highstorm frequency, I think it likely the subject died before Dalinar began receiving visions.

 

“Let me no longer hurt! Let me no longer weep! Dai-gonarthis! The Black Fisher holds my sorrow and consumes it!”

 

Tanatesach 1173, 28 seconds pre-death. A darkeyed female street juggler. Note similarity to sample 1172-89.

 

Another Unmade reference. Sounds vaguely like the Thrill, but we have a different name associated with that. However, nothing says the Unmade have one name each.

 

“They named it the Final Desolation, but they lied. Our gods lied. Oh, how they lied. The Everstorm comes. I hear its whispers, see its stormwall, know its heart.”

 

Tanatanes 1173, 8 seconds pre-death. An Azish itinerant worker. Sample of particular note.

 

Another Everstorm reference. May also be talking about voidspren whispering.

 

“All is withdrawn for me. I stand against the one who saved my life. I protect the one who killed my promises. I raise my hand. The storm responds.”

 

Tanatanev 1173, 18 seconds pre-death. A darkeyed mother of four in her sixty-second year.

 

Kaladin protecting Elhokar from Moash and Syl heroically rushing to his rescue.

 

“The day was ours, but they took it,” the boy cried. “Stormfather! You cannot have it. The day is ours. They come, rasping, and the lights fail. Oh, Stormfather!”

 

A boy in Taravangian's secret hospital.

 

Another vague Voidbringer reference. Interesting how so many of them mention them taking the light; maybe one of the other forms makes a habit of draining stormlight from the area when they attack, or maybe it's allegorical for them conjuring storms.

 

“Above silence, the illuminating storms—dying storms— illuminate the silence above.”

 

An illiterate Herdazian.

 

Refers to Highstorm-Everstorm intersections in some manner, possibly the first instance

 

We don't seem to have any particular new insight on the letter aside from the new letter.

 

The Notebook

 

“The ones of ash and fire, who killed like a swarm, relentless before the Heralds.”

 

Noted in Masly, page 337. Corroborated by Coldwin and Hasavah.

 

Still probably a voidbringer reference, possibly to the form mentioned in the death quote above

 

“They were suddenly dangerous. Like a calm day that became a tempest.”

 

This fragment is the origin of a Thaylen proverb that was eventually reworked into a more common derivation. I believe it may reference the Voidbringers. See Ixsix’s Emperor, fourth chapter.

 

Jasnah appears to have correctly interpreted this as referring to the Parshmen-Voidbringer transition

 

“They lived high atop a place no man could reach, but all could visit. The tower city itself, crafted by the hands of no man.”

 

Though The Song of the Last Summer is a fanciful tale of romance from the third century after the Recreance, it is likely a valid reference in this case. See page 27 of Varala’s translation, and note the undertext.

 

Perfectly accurate physical description of KR HQ. This also implies the Shards or spren built it or that it was soulcast.

 

“They changed, even as we fought them. Like shadows they were, that can transform as the flame dances. Never underestimate them because of what you first see."

 

Purports to be a scrap collected from Talatin, a Radiant of the Order of Stonewards. The source—Guvlow’s Incarnate—is generally held as reliable, though this is from a copied fragment of “The Poem of the Seventh Morning,” which has been lost.

 

Yup, Voidbringers can change shape for sure. This also implies they can do so even during battle, though possibly only under specific conditions or with an Unmade present on the field to aid them.

 

“I walked from Abamabar to Urithiru.”

 

This quote from the Eighth Parable of The Way of Kings seems to contradict Varala and Sinbian, who both claim the city was inaccessible by foot. Perhaps there was a way constructed, or perhaps Nohadon was being metaphorical.

 

Inaccessible by foot, but you can walk to the city with an Oathgate and travel via that.

 

“Though many wished Urithiru to be built in Alethela, it was obvious that it could not be. And so it was that we asked for it to be placed westward, in the place nearest to Honor.”

 

Perhaps the oldest surviving original source mentioning the city, requoted in The Vavibrar, line 1804. What I wouldn’t give for a way to translate the Dawnchant.

 

Appears to be located in the Shinovar mountains. Once the Everstorm reaches it, we'll get confirmation on that. Which is funny, because the storm paths seem to indicate the west is closest to Odium. Also, Jasnah gets her wish.

 

“Taking the Dawnshard, known to bind any creature voidish or mortal, he crawled up the steps crafted for Heralds, ten strides tall apiece, toward the grand temple above.”

 

From The Poem of Ista. I have found no modern explanation of what these “Dawnshards” are. They seem ignored by scholars, though talk of them was obviously prevalent among those recording the early mythologies.

 

Not much new info on this one.

 

“Born from the darkness, they bear its taint still, marked upon their bodies much as the fire marks their souls.”

 

I consider Gashashson-Navammis a trustworthy source, though I’m not certain about this translation. Find the original quote in the fourteenth book of Seld and retranslate it myself, perhaps?

 

Likely yet another physical description of one or more Voidbringer types.

 

“Within a heartbeat, Alezarv was there, crossing a distance that would have taken more than four months to travel by foot.”

 

Another folktale, this one recorded in Among the Darkeyed, by Calinam. Page 102. Stories of instantaneous travel and the Oathgates pervade these tales.

 

Guess what Shallan found!

 

“Death upon the lips. Sound upon the air. Char upon the skin.”

 

From “The Last Desolation” by Ambrian, line 335.

 

Dead ringer for fighting stormform. There's certainly char on their target's skin.

 

“Like a highstorm, regular in their coming, yet always unexpected.”

 

The word Desolation is used twice in reference to their appearances. See pages 57, 59, and 64 of Tales by Hearthlight.

 

Probably a reference to the pattern of Desolations before the creation of the Everstorm.

 

“They lived out in the wilds, always awaiting the Desolation—or sometimes, a foolish child who took no heed of the night’s darkness.”

 

A child’s tale, yes, but this quote from Shadows Remembered seems to hint at the truth I seek. See page 82, the fourth tale.

 

May reference Parshmen or voidspren or both.

 

“Yelig-nar, called Blightwind, was one that could speak like a man, though often his voice was accompanied by the wails of those he consumed.”

 

The Unmade were obviously fabrications of folklore. Curiously, most were not considered individuals, but instead personifications of kinds of destruction. This quote is from Traxil, line 33, considered a primary source, though I doubt its authenticity.

 

Apparently the Unmade are quite real. Also, Blightwind sounds like plague, and one has struck the Purelake.

 

“Though I was due for dinner in Veden City that night, I insisted upon visiting Kholinar to speak with Tivbet. The tariffs through Urithiru were growing quite unreasonable. By then, the so-called Radiants had already begun to show their true nature.”

 

Following the firing of the original Palanaeum, only one page of Terxim’s autobiography remained, and this is the only line of any use to me.

 

Oathgates eat stormlight in large quantities. No wonder the Radiants charged a lot to use them. Also, this is probably a reference to whatever happened that kicked off the Recreance.

 

“They take away the light, wherever they lurk. Skin that is burned.”

 

Cormshen, page 104.

 

Again, Voidbringers, possibly also the burning inflicted by stormform lightning bolts.

 

“Radiant / of birthplace / the announcer comes / to come announce / the birthplace of Radiants.”

 

Though I am not overly fond of the ketek poetic form as a means of conveying information, this one by Allahn is often quoted in reference to Urithiru. I believe some mistook the home of the Radiants for their birthplace.

 

This is historical and probably not prophetic.Shallan doesn't seem to fit the descriptor, although arguably Renarin does.

 

“Flame and char. Skin so terrible. Eyes like pits of blackness.”

 

A quote from the Iviad probably needs no reference notation, but this comes from line 482, should I need to locate it quickly.

 

Oddly, stormform has red eyes. Either this is another form or it's talking about Voidbringer corpses left behind by Radiants.

[Andrew C]

Of note regarding the "while the sun remains hot, I die" one:

 

The sun in Shadesmar does not follow the same rules as Roshar's sun, and it is mentioned as being just above the horizon there. Presumably the sun is setting there, and this is a rare event.

[Andrew C]

“He must pick it up, the fallen title! The tower, the crown, and the spear!”

 

- This is fulfilled. Kaladin has taken the "fallen title" of Knight Radiant, reached the Tower, saved the crown, and taken his spear (his living Shardblade is a spear much of the time).

 

 

 

“Above silence, the illuminating storms—dying storms— illuminate the silence above.”

 

- The 'silence above' is no doubt a reference to Tavanast's death.

 

 

 

“The death is my life, the strength becomes my weakness, the journey has ended.”

 

- I have no doubt that this is a perversion of the Radiant oaths given by people who support Odium.

[name_here]

Of note regarding the "while the sun remains hot, I die" one:

 

The sun in Shadesmar does not follow the same rules as Roshar's sun, and it is mentioned as being just above the horizon there. Presumably the sun is setting there, and this is a rare event.

 

Shadesmar has a cold sun, so that's not it.

[Argent]

 

Of note regarding the "while the sun remains hot, I die" one:

 

The sun in Shadesmar does not follow the same rules as Roshar's sun, and it is mentioned as being just above the horizon there. Presumably the sun is setting there, and this is a rare event.

We don't know any of this. First, Shadesmar might not even have a sun - it could be some other source of light our characters interpret as a sun. Second, we don't know whether it's hot or cold, because none of the visitors talk about temperature in Cognitive Realm. And finally we don't know whether it's setting, rising, or stationary near the horizon.

[Argent]

Souther thing occurs to me. Two things actually.

First, the Black Piper. If I am correct in assuming the Unmade are the listeners' gods, and the Black Piper is one of them, then "the tune no man can hear" could very well be one of the new Rhythms. The Death Rattle also says that "he holds us in his palm," which would refer to the forceful control the Unmade have over the Parshendi.

Second, the ketek spoken by the illiterate Herdazian could refer to the revelation that the Almighty is dead. "Above the Silence" is still a mystery to me, but the "illuminating storms - dying storms" could be the highstorms that bring light, illuminate the gemstones and spheres; those storms bring the knowledge ("illuminate") that there is nobody up in the heavens to listen to mortal prayers ("the silence above").

[Spark]

“The death is my life, the strength becomes my weakness, the journey has ended.”

 

Dated Betabanes, 1173, 95 seconds pre-death. Subject: a scholar of some minor renown. Sample collected secondhand. Considered questionable.

 

 

Hm... to me that sounded like Kaladin's last words/thoughts. Alas, in a post-Syl, majorly-screweded-up and world-about-to-end sort of death situation.

[Argent]

It could be any Radiant's though. This sounds a bit poetic, and Kaladin doesn't strike me as one to worry about the literary quality of his last words.

[Odium's_Shard]

 

“The death is my life, the strength becomes my weakness, the journey has ended.”

 

Dated Betabanes, 1173, 95 seconds pre-death. Subject: a scholar of some minor renown. Sample collected secondhand. Considered questionable.

 

Perhaps in a more scary way this might relate to the disestablishment of the Radiant's in the future (another Recreance could occur).

[Patrick Star]

“They named it the Final Desolation, but they lied. Our gods lied. Oh, how they lied. The Everstorm comes. I hear its whispers, see its stormwall, know its heart.”

 

I think that this is foreshadowing for the next book in the series.  I just don't want to take every everstorm death rattle at face value.

 

I think that when it says that having it be named the "Final Desolation" was a lie, it meant that it quite literally wasn't a desolation.

 

This is the first time in quite literally forever that humans have brought about a "Desolation" instead of Odium.  I think that since Odium did not have a direct role in starting it, he is under no obligation to release Taln or to necessarily stop it (hence the everstorm).

 

In short, my opinion is that this epigraph is about how humans created the everstorm.

[Spark]

It could be any Radiant's though. This sounds a bit poetic, and Kaladin doesn't strike me as one to worry about the literary quality of his last words.

 

You're right, of course. It could be any radiant. I was just thinking of Kaladin because we've so prominently heard him giving the oath. I have to disagree with the poetic part though. Or at least with the "word" part of my own comment. Because:

 

“All is withdrawn for me. I stand against the one who saved my life. I protect the one who killed my promises. I raise my hand. The storm responds.”

 

Tanatanev 1173, 18 seconds pre-death. A darkeyed mother of four in her sixty-second year.

 

 

I think we agree that this refers to Kaladin protecting Elo. Since we know he didn't say that out loud, we know that death rattles are thoughts put into words via the medium rather than words repeated. As for the poetry part - this actually also sounds a bit too poetic for Kaladin.

 

 

Perhaps in a more scary way this might relate to the disestablishment of the Radiant's in the future (another Recreance could occur).

 

 

I'll go out on a limp and say it "will definitely" occur. And I like that thought - the thought on the quote referring to that, not the Recreance itself.

[Odium's_Shard]

“They named it the Final Desolation, but they lied. Our gods lied. Oh, how they lied. The Everstorm comes. I hear its whispers, see its stormwall, know its heart.”

 

I think that this is foreshadowing for the next book in the series.  I just don't want to take every everstorm death rattle at face value.

 

I think that when it says that having it be named the "Final Desolation" was a lie, it meant that it quite literally wasn't a desolation.

 

This is the first time in quite literally forever that humans have brought about a "Desolation" instead of Odium.  I think that since Odium did not have a direct role in starting it, he is under no obligation to release Taln or to necessarily stop it (hence the everstorm).

 

In short, my opinion is that this epigraph is about how humans created the everstorm.

 

I was under the impression that since the Parshendi are known to have previously been the Voidbringers, then they had always caused the Desolations in a similar fashion to this (if this is yet the Desolation and not just an Everstorm).

[name_here]

“They named it the Final Desolation, but they lied. Our gods lied. Oh, how they lied. The Everstorm comes. I hear its whispers, see its stormwall, know its heart.”

 

I think that this is foreshadowing for the next book in the series.  I just don't want to take every everstorm death rattle at face value.

 

I think that when it says that having it be named the "Final Desolation" was a lie, it meant that it quite literally wasn't a desolation.

 

This is the first time in quite literally forever that humans have brought about a "Desolation" instead of Odium.  I think that since Odium did not have a direct role in starting it, he is under no obligation to release Taln or to necessarily stop it (hence the everstorm).

 

In short, my opinion is that this epigraph is about how humans created the everstorm.

 

The "Final Desolation" was the one in the prologue. So it can only be a lie if, in fact, there is a Desolation in the future, presumably the one containing the Everstorm.

Edited March 29, 2014 by name_here

[cem]

“I hold the suckling child in my hands, a knife at his throat, and know that all who live wish me to let the blade slip. Spill its blood upon the ground, over my hands, and with it gain us further breath to draw.”

Dated Shashanan, 1173, 23 seconds pre-death. Subject: a darkeyed youth of sixteen years. Sample is of particular note.

I think this refers to a potential parshmen genocide. They're about as defenseless as babies, so the suckling child is actually a metaphor. I'm not sure who would get to decide on something like this, maybe Dalinar, or how they would go about accomplishing it though.

[Odium's_Shard]

Perhaps in a more scary way this might relate to the disestablishment of the Radiant's in the future (another Recreance could occur).

 

In fact the decoded Pattern 15 at Chapter 84 of WoR contains this juicy snippet:

 

Hold the secret that broke the Knights Radiant. You may need it to destroy the new Orders when they return.

 

Looks like this could relate to Taravangian breaking the KR when they return.

[Zenith]

I was under the impression that since the Parshendi are known to have previously been the Voidbringers, then they had always caused the Desolations in a similar fashion to this (if this is yet the Desolation and not just an Everstorm).

Don't forget that

Eshonai's sister doesn't change behavior with changing forms to stormform

so it's very possible that Odium was directly involved with how this Desolation was caused.

[Spark]

“I hold the suckling child in my hands, a knife at his throat, and know that all who live wish me to let the blade slip. Spill its blood upon the ground, over my hands, and with it gain us further breath to draw.”

Dated Shashanan, 1173, 23 seconds pre-death. Subject: a darkeyed youth of sixteen years. Sample is of particular note.

 

 

In fact the decoded Pattern 15 at Chapter 84 of WoR contains this juicy snippet:

 

Hold the secret that broke the Knights Radiant. You may need it to destroy the new Orders when they return.

 

Looks like this could relate to Taravangian breaking the KR when they return.

 

Well.. since we're already on that, if you guys have a look/listen at the DC signing, Brandon uses a very specific wording when talking about Gavilar's "black stone":

 

"It holds a secret..."

 

 

Just saying.