About that Taravangian ending

[+Player22]

I don't think I've seen it brought up anywhere that I can remember and a quick search turned up bupkis, but when a person picks up a shard they're usually granted a boost of power. Did I miss something in the book that hinted at what Taravangian's boost was used for? Futuresight to try to win the contest maybe?

[mathiau]

I don't remember people gaining a boost to a specific power, but Taravangian is definitely using his Shard power to decrease his bane.

[Harkain]

From memory, radiants get boosts when they say additional oaths but I haven't heard anything about boosts from obtaining a shard. 

Tho if there is something that's a really interesting connection between radiants and shard bearers.

[+Player22]

I must have taken the wrong lesson from Mistborn, I thought the whole fixing the planet thing was the temporary power boost.

[Weltall]

1 hour ago, jtc1985 said:

I must have taken the wrong lesson from Mistborn, I thought the whole fixing the planet thing was the temporary power boost.

No, that was just Sazed doing a lot of things in short order. You might be getting your wires crossed with how Rashek had a lot of power but only a short time to use it due to the nature of the Well of Ascension, but that's not how the Shards normally work.

Edited April 12, 2021 by Weltall

[mathiau]

25 minutes ago, jtc1985 said:

I must have taken the wrong lesson from Mistborn, I thought the whole fixing the planet thing was the temporary power boost.

On Scadrial Preservation made a wheel specifically made to temporarily give the power of a Shard to someone, which is what Rashek used. When Vin or Sazed held the power they could modify the planet however they want at any point as long as it didn't go against their Shard's intent. (which means Sazed currently can't do much)

3 hours ago, Harkain said:

From memory, radiants get boosts when they say additional oaths but I haven't heard anything about boosts from obtaining a shard. 

Tho if there is something that's a really interesting connection between radiants and shard bearers.

Not all Radiants do, only Boundsmiths, Windrunners and maybe Stonewards

[IAmTheStick]

5 hours ago, mathiau said:

Not all Radiants do, only Boundsmiths, Windrunners and maybe Stonewards

You beat me to it

[Bejarden]

14 hours ago, mathiau said:

I don't remember people gaining a boost to a specific power, but Taravangian is definitely using his Shard power to decrease his bane.

Where is this.

wasn’t that scene just him refusing the pull of the Intent

[mathiau]

7 hours ago, Bejardin1250 said:

Where is this.

wasn’t that scene just him refusing the pull of the Intent

He managed to have a normal conversation with Cultivation on his dumbest day

[Morningtide]

Oh! I didn't notice that! Good point. I wonder if Taravangian is consciously using the shard to decrease his bane, or if it is naturally decreasing both his boon and bane, returning him to normal intelligence and compassion. If he is using the shard to decrease the bane, the Cosmere is going to have to deal with a super-smart Odium... not good

[Bejarden]

Another option is that he just doesn’t have the bane or boon anymore.

[Squoop]

First of all, fist post

I haven’t seen anyone talking about how Cultivation plays into all of this! 

Cultivation showed herself to Todium, she TRUSTS, him, and the thought of her getting stabbed in the back is terrifying! The ending with him ‘fooling’ Wit (or atleast outmaneuvering him), established him as someone very capable; so how will he use her to his advantage?

What even are his goals??? What does he have to gain by not revealing himself to Wit? Why not just reveal who he is to Dalinar and consensually end the contest (if that’s even something he can do)? 

My own crackpot theory is that his shard is already making subtlety influencing him, making him more irrational, but I don’t know enough about shards to know how that even works.

 

[Bejarden]

25 minutes ago, Squoop said:

Cultivation showed herself to Todium, she TRUSTS, him, and the thought of her getting stabbed in the back is terrifying!

 

We don’t know that she trusts him at all, just that she forged him. 

27 minutes ago, Squoop said:

What does he have to gain by not revealing himself to Wit?

Wit knows Rayses style. A new player would mix up the game and give a potential loophole in the contract.

 

28 minutes ago, Squoop said:

Why not just reveal who he is to Dalinar and consensually end the contest (if that’s even something he can do)? 

I don’t think he can. A shards word is binding. There will be a contest whether Taravangian wants it or not.

 

28 minutes ago, Squoop said:

My own crackpot theory is that his shard is already making subtlety influencing him, making him more irrational, but I don’t know enough about shards to know how that even works.

We do see this in the book. ( at least that’s my reading of it) when he wants to burn and destroy. 
And he fights back on the urges, but he can only do that for so long until he gives in and becomes fully Odium.

Welcome to the Shard

[Bigmikey357]

It's not that new Vessels get a power boost upon obtaining a Shard, it’s that they are able to act outside the Intent of the Shard with a great degree of freedom, a freedom that decreases the longer the Vessel holds the Shard. Vessels who have held their power for a number of years can really only act in ways that are in line with the power, or at least cannot act outside the parameters set by the power without either a good deal of pain or an opening in their soul vulnerable to attack by another Shard.

[Lunu’anaki]

1 hour ago, Bigmikey357 said:

It's not that new Vessels get a power boost upon obtaining a Shard, it’s that they are able to act outside the Intent of the Shard with a great degree of freedom, a freedom that decreases the longer the Vessel holds the Shard. Vessels who have held their power for a number of years can really only act in ways that are in line with the power, or at least cannot act outside the parameters set by the power without either a good deal of pain or an opening in their soul vulnerable to attack by another Shard.

This.

It's a really important distinction and I think it's going to play into how Todium acts in book 5. From everything we've seen, the shift from practically ignoring intent to being constrained by it happens at an almost exponential rate, I wouldnt be surprised (if book 5 takes place over a longer period of time than 10 days) if Todium's big flaw is his lack of awareness that he will become more constrained by the power's intent as things progress.

[Ba-Ado-Fisherman]

9 hours ago, Bigmikey357 said:

It's not that new Vessels get a power boost upon obtaining a Shard, it’s that they are able to act outside the Intent of the Shard with a great degree of freedom, a freedom that decreases the longer the Vessel holds the Shard. Vessels who have held their power for a number of years can really only act in ways that are in line with the power, or at least cannot act outside the parameters set by the power without either a good deal of pain or an opening in their soul vulnerable to attack by another Shard.

Nailed it right on the head.