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Shard's Ability to Read "Hearts of Men"


Bopushaq

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Something that really peeved me from the end of RoW was when Cultivation and Taravangian were talking, and Taravangian realizes that Cultivation's plan was a big risk as she could not know how Taravangian would react/change as a person: 

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“But this isn’t nearly as … certain as I imagined it. It shows you things that can happen, but not the hearts of those who act. How did you dare try something like this? How did you know I’d be up to the challenge?” “I didn’t,” she said. “I couldn’t. You were heading this direction—all I could do was hope that if you succeeded, my gift would work. That I had changed you into someone who could bear this power with honor.”

So assuming that Cultivation isn't lying here (I'm pretty sure she would have a lot better future sight than Odium), this raises into question some other details of her plans. When Dalinar visits the Nightwatcher, she offers him Nightblood as a boon, so I think it's safe to assume that Cultivation had it and then somehow it got to Nale. For Nale to give it to Szeth and then he subsequently kill Taravangian, Cultivation would have to realize that Kaladin would return to his Oaths (seeing the hearts of men) to then kill Szeth, then Szeth would be taken by Nale (maybe this was part of a deal she made when giving Nightblood to him), and then Szeth would eventually have to kill Taravangian. I think Szeth killing Taravangian can be somewhat forseen given their history, but this is still like so many details that would have to come together, and if any of the people changed in a way that Cultivation didn't expect, then her plan would not work. 

So my questions, then, are: is Cultivation just lying to not alert Taravangian that she has a backup plan in case he doesn't turn out the way she wants him to, or something else? Is there something I missed here? What is the point for Cultivation setting up Taravagian as Rayse's successor? She says she led him to take the power with honor, but then wouldn't Dalinar have been a better option as she knew he would literally bear the power as a man of Honor? Seeing how crazy some Shards' plans have been, this plan seems too luck-based for Cultivation, but I'm not too sure where my issue is exactly.

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1.  Cultivation had her husband killed by Rayse, so I'm sure that revenge was part of it.

2.  Rayse was also trying to kill her.  Taravangian might very well try to kill her too, but she probably wanted to be able to show herself without Rayse going ballistic.

3.  I've been thinking about that line, "bear this power with honor".  Now, this is probably a long shot, but could the word "honor" be a double-meaning?  Does Cultivation want Taravangian to somehow acquire the Shard of Honor as well?

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I'm not sure if Kaladin's decisions were even necessarily part of her plan. Maybe she just wanted Szeth to get Nightblood as soon as he realized that he didn't have to obey the stone. Since she can't read the hearts of men, she probably couldn't foresee how hard it would be for him to accept that, and that he would go on even after meeting an actual Radiant and being proven wrong. Maybe she didn't know he'd have to die once before he could move on and fulfill his purpose. I don't think she saw everything the exact same way it happened. Maybe the plan played out in more of a round-about way.

Edited by Elegy
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A lot of people on this forum seem to assume that Cultivation has some big grand plan to defeat Odium like Preservation did to defeat Ruin.  I think this is a mistake.  Cultivation seems to me to be a god of many plans and many options, and in that case they could never truly put their eggs in any one basket.  We have only so far seen her act through people who she's touched had to come to her and make a request, giving her a framework she has to work within.  Her Intent seems very hands-off to me.

That said, I definitely believe she has goals.  Things she wants to see happen, but isn't tied to the results.  Taravangian as Odium was not a gambit, it was a lottery ticket paying off.


Examples:

  • Dalinar.  She had no specific plan with Dalinar, no thought that by doing what she did that she'd be pulling a fast one on Odium.  She made Dalinar better able to be the man he wanted to be, for better or worse.  But there was a small chance she could mess with Odium, so she took it.
  • Taravangian.  Again, I don't think she planned or manipulated the situation to maneuver Taravangian into becoming Odium.  She saw that should Rayse die (and he was in fact dying even before Taravangian was born), that the Power would need a new vessel, and here was this dude who was pretty well connected to Odium asking for the capacity to do something about it.  Sure, why not have a(nother) horse in that race?
  • Nightblood.  It was not "oh I need this vessel-killing sword in this place at this time", it was "ooh what happens to the timelines if I can get this shardeater out there"
  • Lift.  Not really sure, but I have some wild book 5 speculation that might explain what the heck Cultivation did with Lift and why.
Edited by eissturm
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