How much did Lin Davar know?

[+Oltux72]

It seems to me that we are overlooking a factor that a Rosharan aristocrat would immediately notice. The Blade Shallan materialized had no gemstone. Now, an ordinary Rosharan might not have noticed. But the Davars were aristocrats. They were therefore dreaming about getting a Blade. It is quite unlikely that any aristocratic boy would not be taught the basics of bonding a Shardblade and that would include that you need a gemstone affixed.

Lin must have known that something was very, very odd about his daughter. But would he have asked his ardents to read him books about the Lost Radiants? I think not. So where did he go? To the Ghostbloods?

[+Bzhydack]

First of all concerns is how on Roshar a little Girl obtains a STORMING RELIC WORTH FORTUNE.

There is also another thing. Most known Shardblades are, well, known. By Name. Documented. Have pictures, story. Not just gemstone, Shallan's Shardblade was odd when we consider its size for example (of course was smaller than thypical Shardblades).

So yes, Lin of course was suspicius, but is possible Ghostbloods contacted them first. His wife, Shallan's mother, probably was associated with Skybreakers, so possible than Ghostbloods keep an eye on him and all his family.

[+Oltux72]

On 9.7.2021 at 2:28 AM, Bzhydack said:

First of all concerns is how on Roshar a little Girl obtains a STORMING RELIC WORTH FORTUNE.

There is also another thing. Most known Shardblades are, well, known. By Name. Documented. Have pictures, story. Not just gemstone, Shallan's Shardblade was odd when we consider its size for example (of course was smaller than thypical Shardblades).

Yes. But we have to ask a basic question. Why did he never asked Shallan to give the Blade to him? Why did he not make up a history of an intruder killing his wife with a Blade and he himself killing that intruder subsequently? Nobody would blame a man for failing to defend his wife against a Shardbearer. If you have two corpses, it will always be an option to say that one of them was the attacker.

On 9.7.2021 at 2:28 AM, Bzhydack said:

So yes, Lin of course was suspicius, but is possible Ghostbloods contacted them first. His wife, Shallan's mother, probably was associated with Skybreakers, so possible than Ghostbloods keep an eye on him and all his family.

But what did they offer? Why did he never make an attempt to secure the Blade for himself?

[+Bzhydack]

4 hours ago, Oltux72 said:

Yes. But we have to ask a basic question. Why did he never asked Shallan to give the Blade to him? Why did he not make up a history of an intruder killing his wife with a Blade and he himself killing that intruder subsequently? Nobody would blame a man for failing to defend his wife against a Shardbearer. If you have two corpses, it will always be an option to say that one of them was the attacker.

Why he never asked Shallan? I dont know, maybe he was afraid, maybe he was ashamed he wasnt strong enough to stop wife earlier? Who knows.

But why he dont make up history about murderer? - this is rather easy. If he would make up history when he kills Shardbearer, this mean he gains Shardblade. This mean his social status rises, and he would need to expose himself - simply need to show Shardblade as proof, and then all would see this is NOT an ordinary Shardblade. Also if there is intruder in hous, murderer, so what he was doing there?

But maybe he would indeed make better history - like this was a thief, his wife catch him, so he attacked and killed lady Davar, when Lord was somewhere else. Probably it was possible to conseal usage of Shardblade (like smash corpse head with something)

5 hours ago, Oltux72 said:

But what did they offer? Why did he never make an attempt to secure the Blade for himself?

Maybe shut down any investigation? Death of high dahn lighteyed woman is suspicious, and Davar Family of course had enemies.

[Bejarden]

1 hour ago, Bzhydack said:

Why he never asked Shallan? I dont know, maybe he was afraid, maybe he was ashamed he wasnt strong enough to stop wife earlier? Who knows.

 

It’s possible he did ask Shallan, she just doesn’t remember or it isn’t recorded in the flashbacks.

[+robardin]

This is something I've wondered about, as well. Especially since Shallan summoned a Blade as a dagger to kill her mother, small enough to be locked away into a strongbox, whereas all the "deadspren" Blades are locked in the "factory default" mode of a sword that would be abnormally large for an adult male wielder.

How would a little girl get and bond a Shardknife?

Meanwhile, Shallan has a memory of her mother arguing with her father, saying "she's one of them!" before coming at her with a knife. Which absent any explanation, implies her mother expected Lin to understand why and to already be on board with what she and the other man with her had come to do - apparently, to kill Shallan for being a Surgebinder - except that he couldn't bear to follow through with his own daughter, though her mother evidently was.

And this is a big hole in her back story, for me, as well as from what Mraize told her in that letter from Oathbringer - something has never added up here.

If Heleran later fell in with the Skybreakers, and the motive for Shallan's mother and the other man was to kill her for bonding a spren as part of Nale's mandate, that would mean the Skybreakers already knew about Shallan... and then let her live for another 10+ years?

Or, if they only knew there was "a" Surgebinder in the house - who could Lin pass it off as having been? It'd have to be his wife or the other guy, the only two who'd died that day? But that wouldn't make sense if they were also Skybreakers who'd just come to get rid of the Surgebinder!

But what if Lin, his wife, and this man were all in the same group before, one we know about, a secretive group that would know about the indicators of Surgebinding, yet were not Skybreakers...

The Envisagers.

What if Shallan's mother was coming at her with a knife, not to kill her but with a similar motive as Teft's mother seeking self-harm, to "bring out the magic", to trigger Shallan to do something in reaction, the way Teft suddenly threw a punch at Kaladin after realizing he could draw in Stormlight after being hung out in the highstorm? To prove to Lin that Shallan was a Surgebinder, but not expecting a Shardblade?

And then Lin Davar had to cover it all up... And perhaps even hiding from Shallan that she'd ever been a Surgebinder, for her own protection?

Maybe he had never wanted to get Shallan involved with the Envisagers, based on whatever their plan would have been as the Next Step after rediscovering a Surgebinder. And he worked to make Shallan forget the Blade incident and her spren bond.

Edited August 22, 2021 by robardin

[HoidsVoid]

On 8/20/2021 at 7:28 AM, robardin said:

 

What if Shallan's mother was coming at her with a knife, not to kill her but with a similar motive as Teft's mother seeking self-harm, to "bring out the magic", to trigger Shallan to do something in reaction, the way Teft suddenly threw a punch at Kaladin after realizing he could draw in Stormlight after being hung out in the highstorm? To prove to Lin that Shallan was a Surgebinder, but not expecting a Shardblade?

 

I like this. It adds another layer of Shallans "oh god what have I done" past and works well with her fathers descent into madness.