Gavilar's Words and Heraldic Oaths (SA5 Prologue)

[Reckoner89]

Like many people, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about the SA5 prologue since it was released. I have a lot of thoughts about it, but one that I want to focus on is the words that Gavilar says as potential oaths. 

The words Gavilar tries that the "Stormfather" dismisses are:

"I swear this oath: to serve Honor and the land of Roshar as its Herald. Better than these did.”

“If I should die, then I would do so having lived my life right. It is not the destination that matters, but how one arrives there."

And then we get this moment:

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Opposition, sometimes, is needed, the Stormfather said. You will need someone to fight, should you take the position I am offering you.

“Give it to me,” Gavilar said. “Now. I need it.”

The Stormfather turned a shimmering head his direction. That was almost them.

“What, those?” Gavilar said. “Those were almost the words? A demand?”

So close. And so far.

This immediately struck me as odd. If Gavilar is interacting with the Stormfather, his oaths should be similar to Dalinar's. 

I am assuming that Gavilar is already aware of the First Oath, as this seems to be reasonably common knowledge during the modern era. So we should be comparing these words to the Second Oath of the Bondsmiths. Dalinar’s second oath is “I will unite instead of divide. I will bring men together.”

In what way is “Give it to me. Now. I need it” almost this? The answer of course is that it isn’t, not at all. But Gavilar does not think he is becoming a Bondsmith, or even a Radiant. He thinks he is becoming a Herald. Is he right? I think he might be. 

We do not know the mechanism by which the Heralds became Heralds, but given this was a pact with Honor, the swearing of some form of oath is almost certainly part of it. What Dalinar does is swear to behave in a particular way, and that appears to be the same for most Radiants. The words that Gavilar is “close” with however, is a demand to take a particular position. 

Given what is required of the Heralds, an honourable being like Tanavast would only give this position to those who went into it willingly. It is not honourable to assign to someone eons of torment and torture without their informed consent. Proving Day appears to be a pivotal moment for the Heralds. Perhaps they were given a taste of what they were in for, and then asked if they were willing to take up that burden. The words they swear are not a commitment to behave in a particular way, but an affirmation that they are willing to take on the burden of being a Herald, and a request to take the powers that come with it. This would be much closer to the words Gavilar says. 

It's a small moment, but I think potentially gives us a big hint about the difference between becoming a Radiant and becoming a Herald. 

The other important aspect of this is that when Gavilar reveals that he would just give up each time he died and return, the "Stormfather" very quickly breaks with him and leaves him to die. The being strongly implies he has the power to prevent his death. The fact that Gavilar was "close" to becoming a Herald means he can't be allowed to live. This selfish man cannot be allowed to take up the mantle of being a Herald, it would quickly release the Fused. 

That's important to note, as there is a lot of speculation about if this "Stormfather" is in fact someone else. If this line of reasoning holds, we can be confident that this being is not under the influence of Odium or his forces. Odium would jump at the chance to have Gavilar become part of the Oathpact.  

[Ranmaru]

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The words they swear are not a commitment to behave in a particular way, but an affirmation that they are willing to take on the burden of being a Herald

I was getting this as well. In any way, it seems to me that the "oaths" (if you can even call them that) for the Heralds are a completely different thing than what we've seen with the Radiants so far. It's not something you can work up to, more like a contract you sign.

And of course, you also have to mean it, and really mean it, which is why the Stormfather said that randomly trying words wouldn't work. I guess in Gavilar's case he was missing the point of what a Herald even is supposed to be, which is why it didn't work for him. So even if he was willing and was (in his opinion) ready, it didn't work. So close. And so far.

[Wandering Shade]

To me that reads as the first time Gavilar said words with actual Intent behind them, rather than just speaking platitudes. We know that you have to actually mean the words you say otherwise they won't get accepted (see Venli in RoW) and while Gavilar was saying words that could be Bondsmith oaths, he never fully meant any of them. As the Stormfather (or faker depending on what you believe) says "Guessing will not bring you to the Words, Gavilar." He has to mean it, otherwise it doesn't count.

So while his demand wasn't the right words, it was the first time he said something with Intent. Also, Gavilar's Words would be different from Dalinar's and would probably have to do with conquering more than Dalinar's more peaceful "uniting"