A Thrilling Threnodite Theory

[ArchangelCaesar]

I just posted this to my Youtube channel, but I figured I'd type this up fully here, maybe additionally clarify some of the points
TL;DR at the bottom

The central question of this theory: Where did the Thrill originally come from, was it truly of Odium in the very beginning?

My theory is that Nergaoul was actually a splinter of Ambition to start with and Odium Unmade the Thrill into what it is today on Roshar.

The Thrill is  characterized as a red mist, so

The Threnody system

So we know that Odium mortally sliced and diced Ambition while in the Threnody system (and also Mercy was there doing who knows what). Chunks of Ambition rained down, and something arose from the ashes: The Evil.

The Evil was described by Nazh as "a creeping darkness, a terrible force that consumed the entirety of the continent, feasting upon the souls of men." Khriss also states that she does "not know how much of this is metaphoric, and how much literal." I think this was mostly metaphorical. Being a Splinter of Ambition, I think the Evil entered the hearts of men and inflamed their ambitious desires to the utmost, similarly to what the Thrill does with battle rage or Ashtermarn with gluttony. This "devoured their souls" by inciting them to pursue their greatest ambitions to the loss of all else. Thus, the continent was consumed by madness and those strangely unaffected fled to the smaller, shade-filled continent.

Then, I think Odium came back. He had just dispatched Ambition and was inspecting the scene of the crime just to double check there aren't any powerful splinters that could rise up and gather up Ambition's power again. And on Threnody, he finds a new toy.

Odium corrupts the Thrill, through the process of Unmaking and this fundamentally changes the nature of the Thrill into something similar, but different.

Now, the main objection that I see to this theory:

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/100/#e1672

Quote

WeiryWriter

Are the Unmade Splinters of Odium?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. Good guess.

/r/books AMA 2015 (March 12, 2015)

How does this fit with the theory? Well, primarily, I think this could tell us about the nature of Unmaking. This form of corruption has to fundamentally change the nature of the Splinter such that it is either A: a Splinter of both Shards, or B: A Splinter completely of Odium through a process of substitution, where Odium's investiture replaces Ambition's, but still retaining the vague shape of what the thing is.

I think the first is the most likely, but I have been unable to find if this question has been asked before about the nature of Unmaking.

 

TL;DR The Thrill was originally a splinter of Ambition called the Evil, Odium saw a new toy, Unmade it into a Splinter of Odium, and then tossed it onto Roshar for it to go buck wild.

[offer]

Do we know when the evil happened?

I always thought that it attacked just a short time (few centuries at most) before SA, which means that it happened a lot after the desolations.

[Stormtide_Leviathan]

Red investiture is corrupted, so it's clearly corrupted from something. This seems potentially plausible

[ArchangelCaesar]

4 hours ago, offer said:

Do we know when the evil happened?

I always thought that it attacked just a short time (few centuries at most) before SA, which means that it happened a lot after the desolations.

I'm not entirely sure. I think the easiest way we could ascertain some of this is through dating Khriss's notes.

Also, do we know that the Thrill was around during the Desolations?

[Stormtide_Leviathan]

25 minutes ago, ArchangelCaesar said:

Also, do we know that the Thrill was around during the Desolations?

Yeah.

Quote

Nergaoul was known for driving forces into battle rage, lending them great ferocity. Curiously, he did this to both sides of a conflict, Voidbringer and human. This seems common in the less self-aware spren.

- Hessi's Mythica, page 121

I am convinced that Nergaoul is still active on Roshar, The accounts of the Alethi "Thrill" of battle align too well with ancient records--including the visions of red mist and dying creatures.

- Hessi's Mythica, page 140

 

[offer]

9 hours ago, ArchangelCaesar said:

I'm not entirely sure. I think the easiest way we could ascertain some of this is through dating Khriss's notes.

Also, do we know that the Thrill was around during the Desolations?

I found a WoB that says it happened affter warbreaker.

Quote

Questioner

Can you put the Cosmere books into [chronological] order?

Brandon Sanderson

Here is the order that I have publicly confirmed. There are obviously other books and stories fitting in there. For those, you’ll just need to RAFO.

• Elantris
• The Emperor’s Soul
• First Mistborn trilogy (The Final Empire)
• Warbreaker
• Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell
• The Stormlight Archive
• Wax and Wayne Era Mistborn (Alloy of Law)
• Sixth of the Dusk
• Future Mistborn trilogy

Miscellaneous 2016 (July 15, 2016)

 

That means the evil happened thousands of years after the last desolation.

[ArchangelCaesar]

On 9/6/2022 at 6:04 AM, offer said:

That means the evil happened thousands of years after the last desolation.

Not necessarily. that means the story took place thousands of years after the last Desolation, but the timeline of the rise of the Evil is more fuzzy. It is true that it has been a century since mankind abandoned the continent however, so that might throw a wrench in there.