What would happen if you lobbed Nightblood into the Dor?

[Staenbridge]

I was taking a gander at all of the posts on the Arcanum about Nightblood, and I couldn't find anything which exactly answers this question. 

Here's the information/assumptions I started with:

• Nightblood is powerful™: perhaps the strongest non-Shardic object in the history of the Cosmere, maybe ever (though that's still basically nothing compared to an actual Shard)
• The Dor is effectively the power of two Shards all trapped within the Cognitive Realm around Sel, a bit like a 40k Warp Storm but with fewer Daemons (hopefully).
• Nightblood really likes eating Investiture.[Citation needed]
• The Dor would not pull back from Nightblood in the way that the mists would, as they seem to be very pressure-driven and totally mindless, rather than being connected to a living Shard. 

Here's my proposal: 

1. Get Nightblood to Sel with an Elsecaller who really doesn't have much to live for. This is a trivial step and left as an exercise to the reader. 
2. Transfer Nightblood to the Cognitive Realm using said suicidal Elsecaller, while the sword is unsheathed. This should actually be pretty straightforward, from what I understand about Elsecalling.
   1. I'd rather not go via a Perpendicularity here, because Brandon's suggested that they might just collapse. That's not a very reliable way of accessing the Dor. 
   2. Doing this rather than as per my initial phrasing of the question would mean that Nightblood appears in "the middle" of the Dor, rather than on the edges where any effects might not be so great. 
3. Wait a couple months.

My hypothesis is that Nightblood would happily devour all of the nearby Dominion and Devotion Investiture; the result of this slow cooking at 70°C would be Nightblood becoming significantly more powerful and tender, perhaps even to the point of being Shard-threateningly powerful. Among the Shards, Odium is torn because on the one hand, Passion, but on the other hand, dying, while peaceable folk like Autonomy just wet themselves in fear and made another dozen Avatars to try to relax, and Endowment is consumed with equal parts laughter and terror. In other news, Vasher goes back to Nalthis and kills Shashara again just on principle.

The other options are far more terrifying in my opinion: either Nightblood overloads from destroying so much evil and explodes, killing anyone nearby and losing us Sword-nimi as a character, or Nightblood Ascends and takes on the Shards of Dominion and Devotion in some capacity. Brandon hasn't committed to whether Nightblood could Ascend, but assuming it could I'd be interested to hear what you guys think its Intent would be as a combined Dominion/Devotion. Crusade; being Dominion over "evil" and Devotion to the sword's Command? 

Edited March 28, 2020 by Staenbridge

[NameIess]

7 minutes ago, Staenbridge said:

I was taking a gander at all of the posts on the Arcanum about Nightblood, and I couldn't find anything which exactly answers this question. 

Here's the information/assumptions I started with:

• Nightblood is powerful™: perhaps the strongest non-Shardic object in the history of the Cosmere, maybe ever (though that's still basically nothing compared to an actual Shard)
• The Dor is effectively the power of two Shards all trapped within the Cognitive Realm around Sel, a bit like a 40k Warp Storm but with fewer Daemons (hopefully).
• Nightblood really likes eating Investiture.[Citation needed]
• The Dor would not pull back from Nightblood in the way that the mists would, as they seem to be very pressure-driven and totally mindless, rather than being connected to a living Shard. 

Here's my proposal: 

1. Get Nightblood to Sel with an Elsecaller who really doesn't have much to live for. This is a trivial step and left as an exercise to the reader. 
2. Transfer Nightblood to the Cognitive Realm using said suicidal Elsecaller, while the sword is unsheathed. This should actually be pretty straightforward, from what I understand about Elsecalling.
   1. I'd rather not go via a Perpendicularity here, because Brandon's suggested that they might just collapse. That's not a very reliable way of accessing the Dor. 
   2. Doing this rather than as per my initial phrasing of the question would mean that Nightblood appears in "the middle" of the Dor, rather than on the edges where any effects might not be so great. 
3. Wait a couple months.

My hypothesis is that Nightblood would happily devour all of the nearby Dominion and Devotion Investiture; the result of this slow cooking at 70°C would be Nightblood becoming significantly more powerful and tender, perhaps even to the point of being Shard-threateningly powerful. Among the Shards, Odium is torn because on the one hand, Passion, but on the other hand, dying, while peaceable folk like Autonomy just wet themselves in fear and made another dozen Avatars to try to relax, and Endowment is consumed with equal parts laughter and terror. In other news, Vasher goes back to Nalthis and kills Shashara again just on principle.

The other options are far more terrifying in my opinion: either Nightblood overloads from destroying so much evil and explodes, killing anyone nearby and losing us Sword-nimi as a character, or Nightblood Ascends and takes on the Shards of Dominion and Devotion in some capacity. Brandon hasn't committed to whether Nightblood could ascend, but assuming it could I'd be interested to hear what you guys think its Intent would be as a combined Dominion/Devotion. Crusade; being Dominion over "evil" and Devotion to the sword's Command? 

This is pretty good. The only possible problem is that Nightblood might just eat the Dor around him, leaving a "null spot" were the Dor doesn't exist. I would get a team of Elsecallers, and go to the edge of the Dor, then stick him in, letting him eat until he's satisfied. I'd then repeat that as many times as needed, until either entire Dor is gone, or Nightblood eats me.

[Staenbridge]

Just now, Nameless said:

The only possible problem is that Nightblood might just eat the Dor around him, leaving a "null spot" were the Dor doesn't exist.

I have reasons to doubt this. As I said, the Dor seems to be built on pressure — that's one of the main conflicts that Raoden endures in Elantris; the Dor keeps trying to push through him to relieve the pressure. If there were a null spot, then the Dor would have a concentration/pressure/etc gradient which would push it into that area to be sucked up, kind of like a vacuum cleaner (maybe a black hole is a better comparison?).  

[Frustration]

2 minutes ago, Nameless said:

 repeat that as many times as needed, until either entire Dor is gone, or Nightblood eats me.

Considering we have a dishardaic pool of concentrated power, I don't think ol' not a Shardblade will give you much trouble.

[NameIess]

Just now, Staenbridge said:

I have reasons to doubt this. As I said, the Dor seems to be built on pressure — that's one of the main conflicts that Raoden endures in Elantris; the Dor keeps trying to push through him to relieve the pressure. If there were a null spot, then the Dor would have a concentration/pressure/etc gradient which would push it into that area to be sucked up, kind of like a vacuum cleaner (maybe a black hole is a better comparison?).  

Well, if you're wrong, you lose Nightblood, so it would be better to be safe.

Just now, Booknerd said:

Considering we have a dishardaic pool of concentrated power, I don't think ol' not a Shardblade will give you much trouble.

Unless absorbing that much investiture substantially changes him. I could totally see him turning into a black hole that screams "DESTROY EVIL" and eats anything near it.

[Frustration]

2 minutes ago, Nameless said:

Well, if you're wrong, you lose Nightblood, so it would be better to be safe.

Unless absorbing that much investiture substantially changes him. I could totally see him turning into a black hole that screams "DESTROY EVIL" and eats anything near it.

You know of all the ways to go that's not so bad.

[Staenbridge]

Just now, Nameless said:

Well, if you're wrong, you lose Nightblood, so it would be better to be safe

Actually if I'm wrong then we could just wander in and carefully sheath Nightblood while in the now-clear dead zone. 

 

1 minute ago, Nameless said:

Unless absorbing that much investiture substantially changes him. I could totally see him turning into a black hole that screams "DESTROY EVIL" and eats anything near it.

Imagine this: Kelsier's Sel equivalent dies and latches onto the Elantris perpendicularity. He goes to find the local God and give him a piece of his mind, and also soul, and instead there's just a giant sword screaming  DESTROY EVIL!  at the centre of a huge accretion disc of pure Investiture.

[NameIess]

Just now, Booknerd said:

You know of all the ways to go that's not so bad.

Having you soul ripped out while your body and mind are being converted into pure investiture wouldn't be so BAD?

[Frustration]

1 minute ago, Nameless said:

Having you soul ripped out while your body and mind are being converted into pure investiture wouldn't be so BAD?

Imagine the tombstone inscription.

Also you probably wouldn't feel anything, maybe.

[NameIess]

2 minutes ago, Staenbridge said:

Actually if I'm wrong then we could just wander in and carefully sheath Nightblood while in the now-clear dead zone. 

Or you could accidentally miss your target and be killed by plasma investiture.

1 minute ago, Booknerd said:

Also you probably wouldn't feel anything, maybe.

MAYBE?!?!?!

[Staenbridge]

Just now, Booknerd said:

Imagine the tombstone inscription.

"He died as he lived; bursting with energy."

[NameIess]

1 minute ago, Staenbridge said:

"He died as he lived; bursting with energy."

Actually, it would be:

"He death mirrored his habits; he always loved being absorbed into dangerous things."

[Staenbridge]

@Nameless @Booknerd what do you think about the Intent question, by the way? I was really struggling to come up with a good Dominion×Devotion Intent that matches Nightblood. 

[NameIess]

7 minutes ago, Staenbridge said:

@Nameless @Booknerd what do you think about the Intent question, by the way? I was really struggling to come up with a good Dominion×Devotion Intent that matches Nightblood. 

If Nightblood's intent isn't strong enough, then it could be loyalty or leadership, depending on whether or not the Shards intent is internal. If it's not ignored, then the Shard could turn into a cult leader dedicated to destroying evil.

[TrдVψLшR 0115]

That’s all the cosmere needs, more cult leaders.

[Frustration]

Just now, Staenbridge said:

@Nameless @Booknerd what do you think about the Intent question, by the way? I was really struggling to come up with a good Dominion×Devotion Intent that matches Nightblood. 

I like the Crusade Idea, I have no idea how his command would affect it. Of a human United them I would say leadership or perhapse benevolence.

 

10 minutes ago, Nameless said:

Actually, it would be:

"He death mirrored his habits; he always loved being absorbed into dangerous things."

Or potentially an Oppenheimer quote modified for the Cosmere "and now I am become death the destroyer of Sel"

[Truthless of Shinovar]

Step Two: somehow resurrect Honor, reinstate the Oathpact, give Nightblood to one of the Heralds with unlimited access to Honor’s investiture, and suddenly, there’s three shards crammed into one sword 

[+Invocation]

1 minute ago, Truthless of Shinovar said:

Step Two: somehow resurrect Honor, reinstate the Oathpact, give Nightblood to one of the Heralds with unlimited access to Honor’s investiture, and suddenly, there’s three shards crammed into one sword 

Step Three: Do the same with Cultivation.

[Frustration]

1 minute ago, Invocation said:

Step Three: Do the same with Cultivation.

Step four go to Taldan and literally just walk around until Autonomy is completely drained.

[RShara]

I'm pretty sure that Nightblood would explode into bits before he managed to absorb all of the investiture of a Shard. There's just so much that it'd overwhelm him.

[Frustration]

1 minute ago, RShara said:

I'm pretty sure that Nightblood would explode into bits before he managed to absorb all of the investiture of a Shard. There's just so much that it'd overwhelm him.

Didn't overwhelm Vin, or Kelisier, or Harmony, or Adonalsium, so what says it would Nightblood.

[Halyo_Alex]

Just now, Booknerd said:

Didn't overwhelm Vin, or Kelisier, or Harmony, or Adonalsium, so what says it would Nightblood.

Actually iirc their physical bodies do disappear when ascending, so Nightblood the sword might vanish, but Nightblood the cognitive/spiritual stuff may remain.

[Frustration]

20 minutes ago, Halyo_Alex said:

Actually iirc their physical bodies do disappear when ascending, so Nightblood the sword might vanish, but Nightblood the cognitive/spiritual stuff may remain.

Odium was able to form a physical body or at least a projection of one, and assuming that Nightblood takes multiple shards He totally could make himself Physical.

[Halyo_Alex]

Just now, Booknerd said:

Odium was able to form a physical body or at least a projection of one, and assuming that Nightblood takes multiple shards He totally could make himself Physical.

Well yeah, I'm just saying the ORIGINAL sword that we call Nightblood right now would likely vanish.

[Frustration]

10 minutes ago, Halyo_Alex said:

Well yeah, I'm just saying the ORIGINAL sword that we call Nightblood right now would likely vanish.

True sad but true.