The only way the deal makes sense

[Awakened Cremling]

It was not hitting home at all why the Sleepless would have accepted the deal as they are all to aware of those shortness of human lives but then as Rysn began manifesting signed of those with heavy investiture it struck home that they knew they were dealing with an immortal. They weren't just dealing with her for the rest of a human lifetime but in effect gaining a human member of their order.

[Autobrecciation]

I think she might not be immortal specifically because the command she has is "Change". Think like how Ruin claims to push for - that without change there is no evolution, no death, everything becomes stagnant. So maybe she won't become immortal because that would be antithetical to the thing that has invested her.

I have a feeling that now that she is the Dawnshard, she will be like a Splinter. Not exactly immortal, but her cognitive shadow will likely be. I think that's why part of the deal is that she can't become invested - because she could use it to become immortal, in addition to becoming able to use the command. I don't think that limit will really work though. Just having access to this tool will change her perspective, and the longer she has it the more changed she will become (I think).

[ShardplateJoe III]

I saw somewhere else on the shard that Brandon has confirmed that Rysn has enough investiture to effectively reach the fifth heightening now, which is hinted at with her increased sensitivity to colors, tastes, pitches, etc. I wouldn't be surprised if she does become immortal because she is now heavily invested.

Edit: IIRC, she also manifested lifesense, which is a trait of the fourth heightening, which probably suggests that the abilities gained by awakeners through reaching the other heightenings are not unique to Breaths, but rather any individual invested enough will manifest these same passive abilities.

Edited November 15, 2020 by ShardplateJoe III

[ftl]

My read is that the Sleepless accepted the deal in part because they were desperate.

Rysn made a good point - that now, Akinah had become interesting. The Radiants were trying to get there. Killing this expedition would just emphasize that there was something powerful and interesting there, and they'd be back. Or that would draw the attention of Odium's forces. To the flying radiants, the permanent storm was a big bullseye. The Sleepless' current plan for keeping the Dawnshard protected was now unviable. And they had no other plan.

Until Rysn suggested one.

No, it might not be a permanent one. But it would do for now. For the duration of the Desolation. And it was better than no plan at all.

Edited November 15, 2020 by ftl

[Karger]

Assuming Rysn does her job well this buys them another half century.  This gives the sleepless that time to come up with another plan.  They could train a replacement, get her to a time dilatation area(like silverlight), manufacture their own, or even give responsibility back to the Larkin(Chiri should be mature by then).  She does not have to be immortal.

[LewsTherinTelescope]

1 hour ago, ShardplateJoe III said:

I saw somewhere else on the shard that Brandon has confirmed that Rysn has enough investiture to effectively reach the fifth heightening now

This has not been confirmed. Brandon has said he will not say what Heightening she is.

1 hour ago, ShardplateJoe III said:

IIRC, she also manifested lifesense

Nah, she didn't, as far as I can tell.

1 hour ago, ShardplateJoe III said:

which is a trait of the fourth heightenin

Perfect lifesense is a trait of the Fourth Heightening. But none of the Heightening effects are exclusive to their level, that's merely where they hit their max. Even a single Breath will increase your color perception, your pitch detection, your lifesense, your intuition with Commands, etc.

2 hours ago, ShardplateJoe III said:

which probably suggests that the abilities gained by awakeners through reaching the other heightenings are not unique to Breaths, but rather any individual invested enough will manifest these same passive abilities.

We have a WoB on this, what you said is right on the mark:

Quote

tskyeguye

From Rysn's observations in the epilogue, it seems like she has a lot of the same aspects of a Fifth Heightening/Returned at the least. Is this because her Dawnshard is particularly connected to Endowment or because the effects of a certain level of Investment result in similar effects?

Brandon Sanderson

The latter.

Skrimyt

Interesting. So are actively Surgebinding Radiants or metal-burning Allomancers just not Invested enough to gain those passive effects, or do they not experience perfect pitch/color/etc. because their Investiture is just not as tightly bound to their Spiritweb as Endowment's Breaths or a Dawnshard would be?

Brandon Sanderson

Be aware that the two groups you mention don't generally hold much Investiture themselves, at least not in large quantities over time. More in Surgebinding. Almost none in Allomancy.

But RAFO to specifics.

Dawnshard Annotations Reddit Q&A (Nov. 6, 2020)