Can Cultivation Kill?

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

I recently had a brain wave, Preservation was unable to destroy anything due to his Shards Intent, could the same be for Cultivation?

Could the reason for Cultivation to take such indirect actions for vengeance against Odium and also not simply having his Shard Splintered once Rayse died be because she is only able to Cultivate?

Could she be only able to prune, not kill?

[Dunkum he/him]

Cultivation, in the sense of farming for instance, generally requires killing off pests and weeds, and may in fact involve killing off entire native ecosystems to make room for your preferred ones.  I suspect that once she has chosen someone/thing to cultivate that she would be capable of killing threats to that thing. what's more, over generations, "cultivation" could mean killing off poorer performing crops in order to benefit the ones that have more potential. so I think she is capable of killing in certain circumstances, but it may be more difficult if the thing that needs to be removed is also something with potential for cultivation (however she defines that), in which case her intent might drive her to preserve it for growth.  that is mostly speculation though

[JustQuestin2004 he/him]

So chances are she wouldn't be able to kill under some or even most circumstances.

Also we just don't know jack about her. Aside from the basics.

[HSuperLee]

I think its probably fairly easy for Cultivation to kill. She just has to have a justification for it. But that justification can be a slim as, "You have the potential to hinder my plans to prosper" and then she is completely free to kill.

[Dunkum he/him]

50 minutes ago, HSuperLee said:

I think its probably fairly easy for Cultivation to kill. She just has to have a justification for it. But that justification can be a slim as, "You have the potential to hinder my plans to prosper" and then she is completely free to kill.

yea, I said "in certain circumstances" in my post above, but I do want to clarify that I meant something like this. the circumstances may have to line up, but I don't expect that it is rare, just not guaranteed.

[Quantus he/him]

Odium cannot, specifically, and all evidence suggests that's due to whatever was done to trap him in the Rosharan System.  It's very likely that all three were similarly bound against directly harming the mortals.  

 

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RandyD

Can a Shard just smite someone? Like, "Boom, you're dead," and they die?

Brandon Sanderson

So, Shards can do this, depending on where they are. For instance, Odium can't, but Endowment could.

Skyward Seattle signing (Nov. 10, 2018)