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Odium’s champion discussion


Szeth_Pancakes

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This is a place to discuss any and all theories about who Odium’s champion for the contest of champions with Dalinar will be. To get you started, here are my thoughts on the topic. (This might run a little long, so I’ll put it in a spoiler box):

Spoiler

The obvious choices

Szeth: This might be an appealing candidate for Odium. He has a lot of issues, including hearing voices in his head, so Odium might be able to disguise his true identity from Szeth and manipulate him into becoming his champion. However, if Szeth found out who he was, and what Shard he was in possession of, it wouldn’t go down well for Odium.

Fused: I’m putting all the Fused in one section, because two out of the three Fused we got to know over the course of RoW are now dead, and the third (Leshwi) would probably be one of the least likely people to become Odium’s champion. El is an interesting option - from Part Five of RoW, I got the impression that we would be seeing a lot more of him in KoW. Also, in the Part Five epigraphs, he says that he “looks forward to serving” the “newest Odium.” This sounds a lot like he is going to become Odium’s champion, or, at least, some kind of important figure in Odium’s inner circle. Also, some of the Nine might be downright excited to serve Odium as his champion.

Not-so-obvious choices

Gavinor: The “Child Champion” theory seems to be fairly popular on the Shard. Before I knew about this theory, I assumed Gavinor would have a character arc in the second plot arc of Stormlight revolving around him trying to get revenge for his father’s death. And I still think that is the most likely option. The Child Champion theory is interesting, but I don’t think it will come to pass. I have a lot of reasons, but it really all boils down to it being extremely anticlimactic. The fans (or, at least me) are going to expect something little bit more dramatic than Dalinar being like “oH nO iT’s A cHiLd” then committing suicide. 

Shallan: This is my personal favorite theory. It stems from three different pieces of evidence. Firstly, Brandon might be looking to come at the readers in a completely different direction they were expecting to be hit from. While the readers are expecting Szeth, El, or Gavinor, Brandon will be like, haha no, it’s actually Shallan, and everyone will be like wait, what? (Yes I know this isn’t conclusive evidence - I’m getting to the more specific stuff soon.) Secondly, it makes sense for Shallan’s character arc. She may be able to handle herself without Veil or Radiant right now, but in the future, she might not be. In a moment of desperation, she might be pressured by Odium using the old “I will take away your pain” tactic, and swear herself to Odium in exchange for this. And thirdly, Shallan has nothing to do in KoW. Going with Dalinar to find Ishar might be an option, but she really wouldn’t have anything to do on that journey. Plus, as she’s still in Shadesmar, this may not even be an option.

Ok, so those are my thoughts. In summary, I think it will either be Shallan or El. I’m hoping it’s Shallan, but I think El is the more likely option. Let me know what you think down below! No opinion is a bad opinion. (Unless it has to do with politics. Then every opinion is a bad opinion.)

 

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I think El is a good candidate and agree that he may be the most likely pick. That being said I think Ishar is my theory. Ishar has already been very corrupted by Rayse and we know he's capable of some very devious acts. Ishar like all the Heralds is going insane which leaves him in a very vulnerable mental state to be manipulated. From Odium's point of view this decision makes perfect sense. Odium knows Dalinar will be his own champion and he knows that Dalinar is very unpracticed at his abilities. Dalinar needs Ishar to teach him. If Odium could fully corrupt Ishar before Dalinar can learn from him then Dalinar has to face Ishar in battle he will be at a severe disadvantage as his counterpart has had thousands of years to master the art if being a bondsmith.

This all being said I believe a pivotal part near the start of book 5 will be a "race" of sorts by Dalinar and Odium to sway Ishar to their side. Whoever ends up with Ishar on their side may very well win the contest of champions.

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3 hours ago, KenzoBlue said:

I think El is a good candidate and agree that he may be the most likely pick. That being said I think Ishar is my theory. Ishar has already been very corrupted by Rayse and we know he's capable of some very devious acts. Ishar like all the Heralds is going insane which leaves him in a very vulnerable mental state to be manipulated. From Odium's point of view this decision makes perfect sense. Odium knows Dalinar will be his own champion and he knows that Dalinar is very unpracticed at his abilities. Dalinar needs Ishar to teach him. If Odium could fully corrupt Ishar before Dalinar can learn from him then Dalinar has to face Ishar in battle he will be at a severe disadvantage as his counterpart has had thousands of years to master the art if being a bondsmith.

This all being said I believe a pivotal part near the start of book 5 will be a "race" of sorts by Dalinar and Odium to sway Ishar to their side. Whoever ends up with Ishar on their side may very well win the contest of champions.

Ooh! That's a good idea. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Ishar - all his appearances so far have indicated that he is completely mad, like the rest of the Heralds. However, Ash insists that he is sane. Why? Is there anything "sane" about manifesting and dissecting spren? We'll just have to wait and see.

 

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18 minutes ago, Willshaper-Kalak said:

And how crazy would it be if Adolin swore oaths and fought Dalinar. Sacrifice his son, or save Roshar?

Maybe Odium would tell Adolin that he would fully restore Maya if Adolin swore to become his champion. Odium could also play off of Adolin’s tension with his father.

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I would have thought it would be someone close to Dalinar, if it was still Rayse. But it's not. It's Taravangian. 

I don't know who it would be, but I think it would be someone that would cause Dalinar to break his oaths. Someone that could politically or culturally tear Roshar apart if killed.

Maybe the leader of another group of Radiants? A beloved politician or public figure? 

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1 hour ago, Szeth_Pancakes said:

Ooh! That's a good idea. There is a lot of mystery surrounding Ishar - all his appearances so far have indicated that he is completely mad, like the rest of the Heralds. However, Ash insists that he is sane. Why? Is there anything "sane" about manifesting and dissecting spren? We'll just have to wait and see.

 

We saw a sliver of sane Ishar. I think he got 1 line out to Dalinar that sounded sane. Since Ash insists he's sane could he perhaps be purposefully acting insane for some greater purpose than we know? Maybe he's trying to convince Odium he is insane so Odium will visit him. Then when Odium visits him he reveals that he's completely sane and uses his unbound bondsmith powers to against Odium. Maybe a bit farfetched but doesn't sound totally impossible.

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I don't see it with Adolin. He has too much awareness and too much brightness to be swayed so easily to "Fight my father in a duel to the death and become champion of the guy who's been trying to play puppet master in my family since before I was born."

He doesn't have the motivation or dark tendencies (Don't tell me about Sadeas guys Adolin has nearly the lowest body count of any PoV character to date) so I don't see it. Even if it was to save another's life, I can't see Adolin ever being chummy with Ofium.

Shallan on the other hand...

I'm not sure if I see it after her RoW arc where she came to the conclusion that she's not a horrible and evil person. If that hadn't happened I'd be more likely to buy in, but idk, maybe it'll be a Sanderson classic "Rip your heart out by destroying a character in the middle of their redemption arc" moment. It's viable, I think.

I think El or another singer is a very serious candidate. He seemed to be introduced *specifically* to be menacing and and powerful and scary. There's also the whole "Gavilar for OdChamp" theory that I haven't totally ruled out. So yea, imo it'd be Shallan, Gavilar, or El, with a possible "Rando Singer" caveat.

There's also been ideas floated around that Odium might convince a Herald to do it...

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I think there's a couple of champion pairings that would make thematic sense.

I actually don't think that Dalinar is going to be his own champion, I think it makes more sense for Dalinar to remain a foil to Taravangian (or, you know, vice versa). Dalinar's battles are a lot more spiritual in nature, I think. But if I'm wrong, the best pairing against Dalinar would be Ishar.

But I think the most likely scenario is Szeth vs. Nale. I feel like something will happen that will force Dalinar to delegate his role as champion to someone else (maybe he fully ascends), and Szeth is probably their best fighter other than Kaladin. It's Szeth's book, and his contrasts in convictions with Nale make them a good match. I also think that Taravangian isn't done manipulating Szeth. Imagine if Todium forced Dalinar in to a situation where he would need to appoint someone else, and he choses Szeth. Then, just before the fight Odium reveals himself to be Taravangian, the man who manipulated and tormented Szeth. That would probably throw him off a lot. 

Kaladin and Moash obviouly need to have their showdown, but I don't think it will be in the roles of champions. I have no idea where Moash's story goes in book five but he needs a resultion with Kaladin. But I think these two as champions is pretty unlikely. 

Adolin is also probably out as either champion, he'll presumably be off with Shallan involved with BAM. Renarin might be interesting though. I feel like the final battle has to be more than just stabby-stabby until someone is dead, so having Renarin as either champion might be cool. But I doubt he would be Odiums champion, a lot of stuff would have ro happen to make that work.

El is really interesting, and I hope he gets a lot more development, but that last battle should pack an emotional punch, and I dont think we know him well enough for that to really be the case. 

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20 hours ago, Willshaper-Kalak said:

My guess is someone close to Dalinar. TOdium wants to mess with Dalinar's head during the battle as much as possible. And how crazy would it be if Adolin swore oaths and fought Dalinar. Sacrifice his son, or save Roshar?

I think Adolin is too much of a good guy for this to happen.  I don't think he has that type of betrayal in him, no matter how mad he is at his dad.

Renarin, though, is a possibility that has been kicking around in my head.  Why?  No idea.  I can't make it make sense.  We really don't know everything that is going on in his head, though, and his (way too small) role in RoW leaves me with so many questions.  What if he foresaw a future that made him think that being Todium's champion was necessary, in ways that no one else would understand?  

I don't think if that's the most likely (probably El is the most likely), and I think my favorite guess is Ishar, but, the Renarin idea intrigues me.

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On 4/19/2021 at 8:24 PM, Szeth_Pancakes said:

And thirdly, Shallan has nothing to do in KoW.

Ba-Ado-Mishram? The Ghostbloods? Testament? She has plenty to do.

20 hours ago, Ciridae said:

But I think the most likely scenario is Szeth vs. Nale. I feel like something will happen that will force Dalinar to delegate his role as champion to someone else (maybe he fully ascends), and Szeth is probably their best fighter other than Kaladin. It's Szeth's book, and his contrasts in convictions with Nale make them a good match.

This is what I'm hoping for, though unfortunately Szeth's stability appears to have collapsed drastically in RoW from how it was in OB, so where previously, I would not even have considered Szeth for Odium, with Szeth's instability and Szeth's old manipulator in the Odium spot....

But I do hope for Szeth for Dalinar's champion, hopefully wielding as many Honorblades as he can get his hands on since he's trained with all ten Surges and they're now heading to Shinovar. Imagine Szeth with all ten orders (nine Honorblades plus his highspren) fighting against Nale with Yelig-nar..... this would be hands-down the most epic and terrifying fight we've seen. A fight between two people with all ten Surges who (unlike Amaram) actually know how to use them to great effect....

And of course has the benefit of the ideological battle for the Skybreakers. If Szeth swears his Fifth to become his own law, we could have a good ol' letter of the law vs spirit of the law fight.

 

Though, on the other hand, I sort of hope it's someone else, because I semi-like the idea of Dalinar's champion losing and Dalinar becoming a Fused, and Szeth, refusing to be taken advantage of by Taravangian ever. again., even indirectly through Dalinar, swearing his Fifth Ideal and becoming independent, and maybe (though this might not fit for thematic reasons so I'm torn on it) killing Dalinar permanently with Nightblood because the Blackthorn serving Odium completely and even more powerfully is a horrifying thought.

20 hours ago, Ciridae said:

Kaladin and Moash obviouly need to have their showdown, but I don't think it will be in the roles of champions. I have no idea where Moash's story goes in book five but he needs a resultion with Kaladin. But I think these two as champions is pretty unlikely. 

Honestly I have no idea what would even work well as an ending for Moash now.

  • Kaladin swore his Fourth already, which was where a lot of people expected Moash to die, but that didn't happen and it'd feel belated now
  • He pretty firmly rejected the concept of redemption at the end of RoW
  • He's already had his "realizing how pathetic he is" moment, so his facade has already been broken for the reader and it's going to be harder to push him as a major threat
    • Additionally, this would make killing him now weird, because it'd feel like a "putting the pitiful wretch out of his misery" thing, and that is antithetical to the themes of The Stormlight Archive.
  • The idea I've seen suggested of offering him up to Gavinor to entice him over just feels like such an anticlimactic and wasted end

So I agree, I have no idea where he's going, but the champion contest feels like the wrong way.

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A potential anti-argument to the idea of Renarin being Od's Champion:

--His presence blocks Odium's future sight.

Even if Renarin was willing, I wouldn't want to send in someone that I absolutely could not predict or trust, who would actively interfere with my ability to control the situation just by existing in the same place. If I were Od, I'd be finding a way to get Renarin far away from Urithiru.

An idea for Moash:

I like the analysis of Moash's character currently having nowhere to go. I think a likely course for this character could be disappearing from the scene for a book or two (a la "Journey of Self-Discovery") so that he can crop up again in the Back Half and play a more major role. I don't know if he can be totally ruled out for the CoC, but I agree that it shouldn't be likely.

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42 minutes ago, LewsTherinTelescope said:

This is what I'm hoping for, though unfortunately Szeth's stability appears to have collapsed drastically in RoW from how it was in OB, so where previously, I would not even have considered Szeth for Odium, with Szeth's instability and Szeth's old manipulator in the Odium spot....

But I do hope for Szeth for Dalinar's champion, hopefully wielding as many Honorblades as he can get his hands on since he's trained with all ten Surges and they're now heading to Shinovar. Imagine Szeth with all ten orders (nine Honorblades plus his highspren) fighting against Nale with Yelig-nar..... this would be hands-down the most epic and terrifying fight we've seen. A fight between two people with all ten Surges who (unlike Amaram) actually know how to use them to great effect....

And of course has the benefit of the ideological battle for the Skybreakers. If Szeth swears his Fifth to become his own law, we could have a good ol' letter of the law vs spirit of the law fight.

three things

Do we have any evidence for Szeth actually being insane?

Yes I want that duel

Why does everyone think letter/spirit of law are mutually exclusive

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10 minutes ago, Frustration said:

Do we have any evidence for Szeth actually being insane?

"Insane" isn't quite the word I'd use, as to me that comes more with connotations of not being able to distinguish reality, which isn't what he suffers from. "Unstable", however, definitely describes him, as we see with Ishar and Taravangian. (It's understandable, I'm by no means saying it's illogical or comes out of nowhere, but he can be pushed over the edge and go extreme very easily.)

12 minutes ago, Frustration said:

Why does everyone think letter/spirit of law are mutually exclusive

When taken to the absolute extreme like Radiants seem to tend to do...

And the letter and spirit of the law do conflict at points, though they definitely don't always conflict. And they're very different philosophies to approaching the law when distilled down.

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1 hour ago, LewsTherinTelescope said:

And of course has the benefit of the ideological battle for the Skybreakers. If Szeth swears his Fifth to become his own law, we could have a good ol' letter of the law vs spirit of the law fight.

Where is the ideological difference in a battle though? Nale fought for the Singers because they owned the land. Now with Odium, who is the commander of the Singers, having decided that the fate of the land should hinge on a battle, the Singers are no longer the clear owners of the land. It seems to me that with this agreement the reason Nale and his sworn people fought at all has vanished.

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1 hour ago, LewsTherinTelescope said:

But I do hope for Szeth for Dalinar's champion, hopefully wielding as many Honorblades as he can get his hands on since he's trained with all ten Surges and they're now heading to Shinovar. Imagine Szeth with all ten orders (nine Honorblades plus his highspren) fighting against Nale with Yelig-nar..... this would be hands-down the most epic and terrifying fight we've seen. A fight between two people with all ten Surges who (unlike Amaram) actually know how to use them to great effect....

..........

Though, on the other hand, I sort of hope it's someone else, because I semi-like the idea of Dalinar's champion losing and Dalinar becoming a Fused, and Szeth, refusing to be taken advantage of by Taravangian ever. again., even indirectly through Dalinar, swearing his Fifth Ideal and becoming independent, and maybe (though this might not fit for thematic reasons so I'm torn on it) killing Dalinar permanently with Nightblood because the Blackthorn serving Odium completely and even more powerfully is a horrifying thought.

Ooooh.  That kind of full-on fight sounds like the kind of thing that could destroy this planet like the last one.  Are we sure that the back half of SA takes place actually ON Roshar?

 

I'm 100% behind the idea of Dalinar losing this battle.  But I don't want him to be put out of his misery.  It would be the absolute darkest, most brilliant place for his character to go from this point.  Horrifying, yes, but WOW that would be a juicy plot point, especially as he would start popping up on other planets.

 

1 hour ago, The Technovore said:

A potential anti-argument to the idea of Renarin being Od's Champion:

--His presence blocks Odium's future sight.

Even if Renarin was willing, I wouldn't want to send in someone that I absolutely could not predict or trust, who would actively interfere with my ability to control the situation just by existing in the same place. If I were Od, I'd be finding a way to get Renarin far away from Urithiru.

An idea for Moash:

I like the analysis of Moash's character currently having nowhere to go. I think a likely course for this character could be disappearing from the scene for a book or two (a la "Journey of Self-Discovery") so that he can crop up again in the Back Half and play a more major role. I don't know if he can be totally ruled out for the CoC, but I agree that it shouldn't be likely.

That's a really good point about Renarin.  If Rayse were still Odium, I'd say no chance he'd take the risk.  But with Todium?  He's smart enough to out-smart himself, so it *might* be something he would be willing to try, if he thought he was clever enough to pull it off.  
I mean, I think the likelihood is very low.  Still an idea that won't get out of my head, though.  It could be awesome.

 

I kind of don't want Moash to do any more Self-Discovery.  I want him to fully embrace the darkness and become the Actual Worst Person Ever, even moreso than he is now.  I'm just loving the idea of No-Eyes Moash becoming Todium's unquestioning henchman and always popping up where he is least wanted, just to ruin everything.

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30 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

Where is the ideological difference in a battle though?

It's symbolism between the two specific characters, not a contrast in the sides of the war. Nale at this current point is heavily focused on the letter of the law, while Szeth's highspren seems to be pushing him more towards the spirit with the Fourth and Fifth. If Szeth swears his Ideals and then they fight, they would be the only two Fifth Ideal Skybreakers, each personifying one of the philosophies due to their Ideals.

4 minutes ago, Harrycrapper said:

I think it would be weird if Szeth swore the 4th and 5th Ideal in the same book, but I guess there's precedent with him swearing the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in OB. 

It's weird with this specific scenario, because Szeth's Fourth is to complete a task. And I think carrying out that task will by default involve a lot of the journey to the meaning of the Fifth Ideal. So the Fifth Ideal might actually come more easily from the Fourth we'd expect. I think that Nale's teachings have made it far harder to reach the Fifth than would ordinarily actually be the case. (It's not an easy journey either way, but imo, it's more the last stretch of the track or the last leap, with the hardest part being working through the other Ideals to the point you can understand and swear the Fifth, rather than the Fifth itself. Journey before destination, after all.)

8 minutes ago, vonnegut said:

But I don't want him to be put out of his misery. 

Like I said, I'm torn on it. I think it would make a good scene, but would waste a lot of potential, and unless it was done very well would conflict thematically with the rest of the books. So I'd agree that I probably don't actually want it, cool scene or no.

1 hour ago, The Technovore said:

I like the analysis of Moash's character currently having nowhere to go. I think a likely course for this character could be disappearing from the scene for a book or two (a la "Journey of Self-Discovery") so that he can crop up again in the Back Half and play a more major role. I don't know if he can be totally ruled out for the CoC, but I agree that it shouldn't be likely.

I've kind of liked the idea of him having a "redemption" in that he leaves Odium and, while not necessarily joining the cast, he ends up trying to atone for his mistakes and live and do good on his own, and that back half we get a kind of cycle of vengeance theme with him and Gavinor, because it feels like a theme Brandon would explore (and he probably has the chops to pull it off if he really tried). But the end of RoW seems to point away from that to me, unfortunately.

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34 minutes ago, LewsTherinTelescope said:

It's weird with this specific scenario, because Szeth's Fourth is to complete a task. And I think carrying out that task will by default involve a lot of the journey to the meaning of the Fifth Ideal. So the Fifth Ideal might actually come more easily from the Fourth we'd expect. I think that Nale's teachings have made it far harder to reach the Fifth than would ordinarily actually be the case. (It's not an easy journey either way, but imo, it's more the last stretch of the track or the last leap, with the hardest part being working through the other Ideals to the point you can understand and swear the Fifth, rather than the Fifth itself. Journey before destination, after all.)

Yea the Skybreakers in general seem like the weird ones where it seems like external factors determine if they're ready/able to swear the next oath instead of all the orders where we have PoV characters struggle internally to reach their next Ideal. 

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9 minutes ago, Harrycrapper said:

Yea the Skybreakers in general seem like the weird ones where it seems like external factors determine if they're ready/able to swear the next oath instead of all the orders where we have PoV characters struggle internally to reach their next Ideal. 

Eh, I don't really agree. It's just that Szeth started out a perfect candidate for Ideals 1-3 so he didn't have much struggling for them xD

I think from another PoV who is not so intensely inline with the idea, it'd be more challenging. You've got to pick and hold to a specific code and that can be difficult to always do.

I think the Fourth Ideal, meanwhile, will then challenge the Third. By carrying out the mission, the Skybreaker will realize that justice is a lot more complex and nuanced than they may previously have thought, and in many cases will question their code more and wonder about it's flaws, and so by the time they finish the mission, they've been set on a much more introspective course.

Now that they've finished the Fourth, they're ready for the next step. It might not be quick, but carrying out the mission has led them to search for a deeper meaning to "justice" than just the words of a code, which they will think about and explore for a while. This journey culminates in them finally able to understand the concept, and be confident in their own idea of justice and swear the Fifth Ideal and become their own law.

However, Nale, by discouraging this questioning, has essentially stalled the Skybreakers at the Fourth.

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I like many of the theories presented. The idea that Nale might be the champion seems possible, but I agree that Nale is Szeth's foil. I see Szeth going through Shinovar discovering the basis of their laws that caused him to be declared truthless. I see him scouring the laws of all the lands in his quest. Once he has scoured the Laws of Roshar starting in Shinovar he then will be 4th Ideal and will work his way through the Skybreakers to understand how their individual Ideals lead to the Law and Justice until he confronts Nale and finally becomes the fifth Ideal. He will embody at that point the flexibility of the Law which contains Justice tempered by mercy seeking to include the victims in his final judgments in contrast to Nale's rigid adherance to the letter of the law in each dominance.

Moash in his utterly broken state might be the ultimate champion capable due to his broken nature to contain near limitless passion to destroy Dalinar. He might become the thrill on steroids and will be defeated by Dalinar connecting him to all his past deeds making him accountable, and the final blow will be Kaladin forgiving him at which point he will be consumed by the invested power of being Odiums champion and die spectacularly. By which point Dalinar will be Honor having assended and discovering Teravangian is Odium he will ally himself with Odium and Cultivation to confront a greater threat to the cosmere and might even form an alliance with Harmony as well.

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If I may say so, the theories I am seeing here, lack an element of motivation. Why would anybody willingly face the Blackthorn or the Assassin in White or Stormblessed in living Plate? Yes, it would be nice to see X, fighting, but why does X suddenly feel suicidal? Even if you let them host Yelig-nar, who would fit the bill and not know what happened to Amaram and Aesudan?

People don't generally throw their lives away because they are evil.

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6 hours ago, Oltux72 said:

If I may say so, the theories I am seeing here, lack an element of motivation. Why would anybody willingly face the Blackthorn or the Assassin in White or Stormblessed in living Plate? Yes, it would be nice to see X, fighting, but why does X suddenly feel suicidal? Even if you let them host Yelig-nar, who would fit the bill and not know what happened to Amaram and Aesudan?

People don't generally throw their lives away because they are evil.

I think this reinforces my point that El is the most likely candidate to become Odium's champion. In the Part Five epigraphs in RoW, we see that El is "looking forward to serving" Odium, and "looking forward to ruling the humans." My theory is that this means Odium made a deal with El - that he would become Odium's champion, and if he won, which he seems to think is likely, he would get to rule over Roshar, or at least the portions of it still occupied by humans.

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On 4/20/2021 at 2:03 PM, Willshaper-Kalak said:

My guess is someone close to Dalinar. TOdium wants to mess with Dalinar's head during the battle as much as possible. And how crazy would it be if Adolin swore oaths and fought Dalinar. Sacrifice his son, or save Roshar?

Warm...

On 4/20/2021 at 2:31 PM, Random Bystander said:

I don't know who it would be, but I think it would be someone that would cause Dalinar to break his oaths. Someone that could politically or culturally tear Roshar apart if killed.

Maybe the leader of another group of Radiants? A beloved politician or public figure? 

Getting warmer...

On 4/20/2021 at 3:16 PM, The Technovore said:

There's also the whole "Gavilar for OdChamp" theory that I haven't totally ruled out. So yea, imo it'd be Shallan, Gavilar, or El

There it is.

The obvious choice is Gavilar.  You want Dalinar to be conflicted about fighting Odium's Champion?  How about his brother, whom he idolized and swore to defend... and whose widow he's now married to?

We've got literally 4 entire books threaded with foreshadowing, pointing to Gavilar's return.  Rationale here:  

 

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On 4/20/2021 at 10:38 AM, KenzoBlue said:

I think El is a good candidate and agree that he may be the most likely pick. That being said I think Ishar is my theory. Ishar has already been very corrupted by Rayse and we know he's capable of some very devious acts. Ishar like all the Heralds is going insane which leaves him in a very vulnerable mental state to be manipulated. From Odium's point of view this decision makes perfect sense. Odium knows Dalinar will be his own champion and he knows that Dalinar is very unpracticed at his abilities. Dalinar needs Ishar to teach him. If Odium could fully corrupt Ishar before Dalinar can learn from him then Dalinar has to face Ishar in battle he will be at a severe disadvantage as his counterpart has had thousands of years to master the art if being a bondsmith.

This all being said I believe a pivotal part near the start of book 5 will be a "race" of sorts by Dalinar and Odium to sway Ishar to their side. Whoever ends up with Ishar on their side may very well win the contest of champions.

I was thinking it might be a Herald as well and I think Ishar would be the obvious choice but what if, and here me out, it was Taln?

RoW heavily featured d Ishar's skill but just a passing mention about Taln's incredible prowess. Brando wanted us to see that Ishar would be more than a match for Dalinar's champion so that the reader would believe him a realistic candidate and hopefullyshift focus away from other Heralds.

Odium and Taln were alone on Braize for centuries who knows what insidious thoughts or mentalities Odium inflicted upon Taln and there were no other Heralds there to witness any collusion. What if Taln is some sleeper agent now for Odium and Odium blocked away that section of Taln's mind/memory?

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