Nightblood Plus Dawnshard

[ChaseBakes]

So, the person wielding a Dawnshard holds an insane quantity of Investiture as evidenced by the Heightenings they receive. And Nightblood consumes Investiture while drawn.  So what happens when a Dawnshard uses Nightblood?  Would Nightblood destroy it after a while?  Would it increase Nightblood's power?  And if it did destroy the Dawnshard what would happen to the Cosmere?  We've learned that the Dawnshards were what Adonalsium used to create the Cosmere so what would happen if one was destroyed?

[Leuthie]

The Dawnshard that is now Rysn basically "jumped" into Rysn when Rysn accepted it. I can't doubt that the Dawnshard would "jump" out (it would probably have to convinced some other object to accept it, which wouldn't be hard considering how much power it has) should Rysn be consumed by Nightblood. As soon as the Spirit Web Connection is severed, Nightblood wouldn't be able to get to the Dawnshard through the Physical "holder".

Dawnshards aren't amplifiers. They provide the knowledge required to do complex things. Since Nightblood is extremely simple minded with simple Intent and a huge amount of Investiture, a Dawnshard that "jumps" into Nightblood might actually provide a clear picture of what evil is. Combined with the huge amount of Investiture that Nightblood holds, this might actually allow Nightblood to destroy all "evil" on a planet. It could alternatively allow it to be more selective as to whom it consumes but still only allow consumption through touch. Who knows?

 

[Wandering Investor]

That is an interesting question... Nightblood cuts through all three realms, not just the physical vessel but it destroys the spiritual and cognitive aspects as well, that why he's so dangerous. I'm not sure if he'd be capable of damaging a dawnshard though, partially because we don't know what the dawnshards fully are, but also for the meta reasons of being able to break something so powerful. 

 

[ChaseBakes]

I disagree with a few things, Leuthie.  From my understanding, Dawnshards do amplify Investiture.  They were used in conjunction with Surgebinding to destroy Braize after all which is why the Sleepless forbad Rysn from bonding a spren.  They know first-hand how dangerous powering an Investiture through the Dawnshard is.  That is what provoked the question of Nightblood.  I don't think we have enough information about either to make a reasonable hypothesis but it is still interesting to consider.  I would love to ask Brandon about it but I would probably just get a massive RAFO.

[Leuthie]

Nikli says that: "The most powerful forms of Surgebinding (he means, basically, Cosmere magic)...require Intent and a Command. Demands on a level no person could ever manage alone. To make such Commands, one must have the reasoning...of a diety. And so, the Dawnshards."

The "demands" he's talking about aren't Investiture requirements. They're knowledge and reasoning demands. Lord Ruler goes through this in Mistborn. He moved Scadrial to a position in the system that required the sky to be obscured by volcanic ash because he just couldn't get the correct orbiting distance right. A couple seconds as a Shard and the whole place was a complete mess because the man didn't have the knowledge and reasoning to make the amount of power he had at his disposal to reflect his Intent. That's what a Dawnshard is. You have Investiture (power) and Intent (a goal) and you can filter that through a Dawnshard (a Command or set of Commands) to get the exact outcome you want. It's a machine that interprets your wants and applies the correct knowledge and reasoning to get it done correctly.

It's not amplifying power, it's allowing a lower reasoning person to get the results that a higher reasoning deity would get with the same power and goals. Of course, with the right goals and access to power, that might be even more dangerous than simple amplification.

If your goal is to destroy a planet and you have access to enough Investiture, you don't need a Dawnshard. If your goal is to scour a continent clean of all life without affecting the rest of the planet in any way, you probably need a Dawnshard.

The Sleepless don't want Rysn to bond a spren for 2 reasons: 1. it gives free access to raw Investiture, which would make her an amazing surgebinder from the get go no matter the Oath level or her experience level due to the knowledge provided by the Dawnshard, and (speculation) 2. Investiture attached to a Dawnshard might be much easier to see than the Dawnshard alone, making Rysn and her Dawnshard a target.

But yeah, we're probably both wrong.

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Leuthie