The Poem of Ista, The Way of Kings chapter 36 epigraph

[+Crossen]

“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. ”

 

Do you guys think that this is referring to Hoid since Brandon stated on Reddit that Hoid once was a Dawnshard?

[+Bliev]

Not to my mind. I think based on Brandon's responses that Hoid had one whose command was about "life" or "pacifism" or "care" (hence his inability to eat meat [something that was once alive] or cause harm to a living being)--maybe "LIVE". I think the one Rysn has is pretty clearly "CHANGE". And I think that one seems more like "UNITE" or "BOND" (maybe what Dalinar is hearing in the distance in some of those visions?). But I think some others who are more clever than I have some pretty good guesses as to what the four Dawnshard Commands might be on some other threads!

[Crylorenzo]

I don't think it's Hoid, but thanks for the reference. But I do think this is further evidence for one of the Dawnshards being "Unite" or "Bind" as Bliev said. I do wonder if Ishar had this power for a time as the Binder of Worlds.

[ggscv]

18 hours ago, Crylorenzo said:

I don't think it's Hoid, but thanks for the reference. But I do think this is further evidence for one of the Dawnshards being "Unite" or "Bind" as Bliev said. I do wonder if Ishar had this power for a time as the Binder of Worlds.

Nice theory! After reading the Coppermind article on Ishar, it seems likely to me that Ishar was a Dawnshard holder. In my mind the quote is referring to Ishar ascending the steps (possibly of Urithiru or what would become Urithiru) crafted for Heralds, while holding the Dawnshard, to create the Oathpact which would bind Odium. Check out some of these quotes from the article:

Quote

Unlike other Heralds, Ishar is sometimes described as having powers even before he became known as a Herald, although whether this means he had them before becoming a Herald is uncertain. His particular powerset was seemingly tied to the cosmere-wide phenomenon of Connection. He is often described as the founder of the Oathpact

https://coppermind.net/wiki/Ishar

Ishar had powers before becoming a Herald - perhaps that was Honor bestowing the Dawnshard upon Ishar? 

Quote

“Before he was Herald of Luck, they called him Binder of Gods. ”

—The Stormfather

Oathbringer chapter 64

I feel like it would take something as powerful as a Dawnshard to bind a Shard (especially a Shard as wily as Odium) to a system. It fits in with why Odium fears Dalinar so much and why he was talking about Intent when referring to Dalinar releasing Odium from his bonds by accident. It also supports the theory that Dalinar is a holder of a Dawnshard, likely bearing the same Dawnshard that Ishar held.

[LewsTherinTelescope]

31 minutes ago, ggscv said:

to create the Oathpact which would bind Odium

The Oathpact is not what keeps Odium bound.

Quote

Questioner

So Odium is trapped on a planet near Roshar. Now that Talenelat is no longer being bound wherever he's at, does that mean that Odium's imminence is--

Brandon Sanderson

Taln still is keeping to the Oathpact. So there is that. But [Odium's] being bound is greater than the Oathpact.

Shadows of Self Lansing signing (Oct. 13, 2015)

 

34 minutes ago, ggscv said:

It fits in with why Odium fears Dalinar so much and why he was talking about Intent when referring to Dalinar releasing Odium from his bonds by accident. It also supports the theory that Dalinar is a holder of a Dawnshard, likely bearing the same Dawnshard that Ishar held.

I find it to be more likely that that is due to Dalinar being bonded to the SF, who is both the largest chunk of Honor's power and merged with the CS of Tanavast.

35 minutes ago, ggscv said:

Ishar had powers before becoming a Herald

While I do find this likely, it's important to note that that's not fact. That could just mean "before Vorinism gave him the title Herald of Luck", not necessarily "before he was a Herald".

[Mulk]

If Dalinar has access to a Dawnshard right now, it would have to be because it's somehow included with the Stormfather or because Cultivation gave it to him on his visit.  I don't really buy that either of those are likely - at the current time I don't, anyway.  I don't think Cultivation would have given it up to someone likely to become a tool of Odium, and I rather think the Stormfather would have said something by this point if he had it.

I think if Ishar had the Dawnshard (which I'm willing to say was a possibility), he brought it with him from Ashyn, and had it prior to being subject to Honor as his Herald if that makes sense.  But how do you divest yourself of it?  And why, given his position, would he have done so? And there's a part of me that just wonders, because you have to think Odium knows a Dawnshard is on Roshar.  Maybe he's not pursuing it because he wants to avoid the possibility of having his Intent corrupted by the Dawnshard, but you'd figure he has a plan for trying to ensure it doesn't get brought to light and used by an opponent against him, right?  I don't even know that he'd trust the Fused with this knowledge, as it might give said Fused the ability to enact a change he doesn't want.

Or, I guess, with Honor dead and Aimia apparently destroyed he's avoiding bringing attention to it in any way so that no one accidentally discovers it?  It makes sense that no one east of Aimia has any memory of this stuff, it's been thousands of years apparently since the Dawnshard was placed there and hundreds at least since the Sleepless took over guardianship.   I don't think we've seen anything relevant to Dawnshards in the Diagram thus far, though that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.  Hm.

[CaptainRyan]

2 hours ago, beewall said:

The Oathpact is not what keeps Odium bound.

Quote

Questioner

So Odium is trapped on a planet near Roshar. Now that Talenelat is no longer being bound wherever he's at, does that mean that Odium's imminence is--

Brandon Sanderson

Taln still is keeping to the Oathpact. So there is that. But [Odium's] being bound is greater than the Oathpact.

Shadows of Self Lansing signing (Oct. 13, 2015)

 

I could see Brandon's statement being interpreted as "The Oathpact is not the only thing keeping Odium bound and is, in fact, a lesser part of what keeps Odium bound."

I.e. The Oathpact plays a part in binding Odium, but it is possible that a Dawnshard was involved and, thus, the Dawnshard is the "greater" reason Odium is bound to the Rosharan system.

[Crylorenzo]

I seem to remember somewhere a WoB that indicates that Cultivation is the one more responsible, at least now, for Odium's containment. I believe Hoid or someone refers to her as "Slammer" or something else that implies that she is the jailor.

Aside from that, I agree that Ishar likely held a Dawnshard. I'm not convinced that Dalinar YET holds a Dawnshard, though I would not be surprised if that is where this were going.