Theory: Bondsmith's Spren

[dionysus]

So Dalinar bonded the Stormfather. Quite awesome of him. But more importantly is the following quote.

 

"But as for the Bondsmiths, they had members only three, which number was not uncommon for them; nor did they seek to increase this by great bounds....Their spren was understood to be specific, and to persuade them to grow to the magnitude of other orders was seen as seditions. Words of Radiance, Chapter 16, page 14."

 

I propose that a bondsmith must bond with a spren that has authority in the spren world, like the Stormfather's authority over Honorspren. So the limitation to only a few bondsmiths is a result of their only being a few spren that are splinters of that magnitude. So since the Stormfather is already taken, for a new bondsmith to arise he/she would have to bond with someone like the Nightwatcher, or that spren in the Axies interlude.

 

As to why it would be seditious to have many Bondsmiths, I propose that each Bondsmith was related to a specific type of spren: Honorspren, Cultivationspren, or ?Adonalsiumspren". The bondsmith would then have some influence over the formation of bonds, through the authority of their spren, and thus influence on who became a radiant. Syl had to defy the Stormfather after all. To have two Honor Bondsmiths would create division. Evidence of the ability for Spren to be "forced" against their choosing comes from Lift's interlude and how the Ring gave him to Lift.

Edited March 11, 2014 by dionysus

[Asperity]

I don't think Cultivation/otherShardname-spren would be a thing but I do totally agree that the spren would have to be fairly significant.

 

I only say that because while I know honorspren are a thing, I assume it's that way because honor is an actual trait/virtue/whateverhaveyou and is different from Honor itself.

[Argent]

Let's use this thread for consistency - it's similar enough, if not (almost) the same.