My Bondsmiths Skybreaker [Discuss]

[TruthwatcherDan he/him]

I've been thinking about how Szeth's oaths may play out in SA5; and some possible ways his narratives may come together, especially given that Szeth will be the flashback character in SA5. Here's our oaths to start as a reminder:

Quote

“I swear to follow the will of Dalinar Kholin. This is my oath. ”

—The Third Ideal of the Skybreakers, as sworn by Szeth

“I will cleanse the Shin of their false leaders, so long as Dalinar Kholin agrees. ”

—The Fourth Ideal of the Skybreakers, as sworn by Szeth

I'm interested to see if Dalinar looses the contest of champions then how does Szeth's future play out in light of his Third Ideal?

• Does he become an agent of Odium by proxy of Dalinar's will? 
• Does he break his oath to follow Dalinar consequently killing his (mysterious) Highspren?
• Does he say his Fifth Ideal, circumventing his Third Ideal?
• Or does Dalinar have the power of will to release Szeth from his Third Ideal without breaking it?

What ever happens I think we will see a conflict for Szeth brought to light as we learn his backstory, particularly with that caveat in his Fourth Ideal: "So long as Dalinar Kholin agrees"... and it's going to be GOOD READING!

Bonus theory: Imagine if Szeth-Nightblood are tricked/convinced into being (T)Odium's champion...? (T)Odium guy has so much emotional leverage over Szeth already, I can see him giving it a go... especially if Taravagian uses the advantage of no one knowing of his ascension to his advantage. Szeth has his Fifth Ideal as a nice little get out of my Third Ideal card to draw too! 

By the Almighties Tenth Name that would be a terrifying scenario for Dalinar, et., al! Nice knowing you team! 

[Olmund]

All four possibilities you included in bullets seem at least somewhat plausible.

Szeth as Odium's champion has been floated before, and my biggest issue with that theory has always been that Taravodium's goal is more subtle -- he doesn't want to win or lose; he needs Dalinar to renege on the terms of the contest so as to weaken Honor and strengthen Odium. Szeth is a bit too unstable to be a useful pawn, and making him Champion would likely end in at least one of the champions dying, unless...

Okay, now I'm rethinking things a bit. Szeth's unpredictability could actually skew things in Taravodium's favor -- he doesn't want Cultivation to catch on to what he's doing, so if he purposefully obscures his plans with an unstable champion and feeds the possible futures where Odium remains trapped while secretly setting things in motion to end his imprisonment -- i.e., he engineers Szeth to break in such a way that it ends with both champions killed or unable to fight -- a draw, of sorts, that was not written into the terms of the contest and thus frees Odium.

It's still a bit far fetched. Taravangian does take risks, though he more often chooses the least risky path. I still think something like the Child Champion theory is more likely -- where Taravodium forces Dalinar to renege and thus ends the contract with the remnants of Honor badly weakened. Then again, a move like that might be a bit too visible for Cultivation... the single future he foresaw wa likely something that Cultivation would overlook.

Huh. Interesting food for thought.

[TruthwatcherDan he/him]

3 hours ago, Olmund said:

he doesn't want to win or lose; he needs Dalinar to renege on the terms of the contest so as to weaken Honor and strengthen Odium.

You are spot on here, in Taravagian's eyes he has already achieved his purpose of saving Kharbranth and his people from destruction; win or lose the contest, they're safe. The predicament we see for Taravagian now is will he be able to balance his sanity/compassion/intelligence now that he holds the power of Odium... how his control or lack of control will influience his decisions... and how this will play into the wider Cosmere... (T)Odium is a total wildcard with the complexity of internal conflict going on there. 

With Szeth as (T)Odium's champion, the other link we need to consider is Cultivation's intent and foresight in giving away Nightblood. The history there is murky, but given she can seen the future, she may have seen it falling into Szeth's hands, with an outcome that Szeth is champion for the Team Radiant. However, if as you suggest Taravagian is playing a subtle game, he could mould Szeth into a champion for team Odium so subtly that Cultivation isn't aware until the last minute. She did set up Taravagian to become (T)Odium with unfruitful good intentions after all!

4 hours ago, Olmund said:

Child Champion theory

This terrifies me because it would make for such interesting reading... but I'm not sure if Brandon would go there from an ethical/moral writing POV; he generally seems to suggest sensitive/triggering topics rather than writing them directly into the story... Like we have seen with Jasna's/Vin's past... Surely infanticide is up there as an ethical/moral boundary. 

I'm also wondering how (T)Odium will tread with Renarin now, given anyone that he, and he interacts with him, has their future shadowed from foresight... Maybe everyone should just have a mass group hug with our boy Renarin for the final ten days and screw (T)Odium up big time!