Why The Everstorm Doesn't Renew Spheres

[Trusk'our he/him]

I was wondering, why doesn't the Everstorm fill spheres with Voidlight as a Highstorm does with Stormlight? 

Even though there is a LOT of Investiture in a Everstorm (which we know is present because of the fact that Singers can change forms in it), my guess as to why is doesn't renew spheres with Voidlight is due solely to Odium's Intent. Odium is inherently selfish, wishing to hold on to as much power as possible, relinquishing only the bare minimum to his Fused and Regals when they need it.

Spoilers for Mistborn era 1.

Spoiler

General Reddit 2013 (March 14, 2013)

Autarchk

If I can ask a question, I just read the Mistborn trilogy and, were Preservation and Ruin two different shards or a single one with their power split somehow? If they were two shards, does that mean a single person can hold more than one, since Harmony apparently holds both now?

Brandon Sanderson

They were two shards.

Yes, one entity can hold more than one. Remember that holding a shard changes you, over time. Rayse knows this, and prefers to leave behind destroyed rivals as opposed to taking their power and potentially being overwhelmed by it.

Nepene

I have a question, if you are willing. Would Ruin be more compatible with Rayse, would he pick up that shard had he visited Scadrial and shattered him? All the shards we have seen that he has shattered seem rather different in intent than him- Honor, Cultivation, Love, Dominion. But Ruin seems more in line with Odium. Rayse has ruined the days of quite a few people.

Brandon Sanderson

Technically, Ruin would be most compatible with Cultivation. Ruin's 'theme' so to speak is that all things must age and pass. An embodiment of entropy. That power, separated from the whole and being held by a person who did not have the willpower to resist its transformation of him, led to something very dangerous. But it was not evil. None of the sixteen technically are, though you may have read that Hoid has specific beef with Rayse. Whether you think of Odium as evil depends upon how much you agree with Hoid's particular view.

That said, Ruin would have been one of the 'safer' of the sixteen for Rayse to take, if he'd been about that. Odium is by its nature selfish, however, and the combination of it and Rayse makes for an entity that fears an additional power would destroy it and make it into something else.

If this is common knowledge and I just totally missed it somehow, I do sincerely apologize.

[Quantus he/him]

Of the known lights, only Stormlight flows into Gems without additional steps/effort.  Voidlight needs to be channeled directly from Odium or BAM, but doesnt flow through the Everstorm despite it having some properties of a Perpendicularity.  Lifelife is present and visible in the Valley, but none of the pilgrims that went to the Nightwatcher ever came back with sphere's filled with an unusual Light.  

All that to say I think the Highstorm and Stormlight natively flowing into gems (both of which predate the Shattering) are the unique case rather than the rule.  

Edited February 6, 2023 by Quantus

[Letryx13]

Odium's just a narcissist. He wants to be worshipped by everyone.  It makes sense that he wouldn't give power to anyone unless they praised and worshipped him.

[Rg2045]

Three theories,

one, maybe odium withholds voidlight from his enemies, something honor might have done in the past, 

two, odium gives voidlight to his Allies, because the highstorm is basically a constantly moving perpendicularly, and it’s a byproduct of refilling gems instead of intentional. 
 
three, the gems are “resonating honors tone” because they have trace amounts of stormlight left in it, and are not accepting odiums tone. 
 

i think 1 or 2 might be why, but I can definitely see 3 being the realmatic reason

 

[Trusk'our he/him]

44 minutes ago, Rg2045 said:

Three theories,

one, maybe odium withholds voidlight from his enemies, something honor might have done in the past, 

two, odium gives voidlight to his Allies, because the highstorm is basically a constantly moving perpendicularly, and it’s a byproduct of refilling gems instead of intentional. 
 
three, the gems are “resonating honors tone” because they have trace amounts of stormlight left in it, and are not accepting odiums tone. 
 

i think 1 or 2 might be why, but I can definitely see 3 being the realmatic reason

 

I like number three in particular, as it make the most sense to me. Odium wouldn't have as big a presence on Roshar (Realmatically speaking) as Honor or Cultivation, since Rayse wanted to be free to roam the Cosmere to destroy other Shards and therefore didn't Invest himself into Roshar as the others did.

[alder24]

Doesn't Highstorm give light because of Stormfather's presence in it? There is no such entity within Everstorm as far as we know.

But what I think is the case is that Odium's selfish nature wants to be praised, and Fused and Regals have to tune to Rhythm of Prayer (Venli was avoiding it). He wants to remind everyone who's in charge. I wouldn't say it's about controlling power, as he didn't deny the power or didn't strike Leshwi and others that opposed him - he accepted their Passions.

 

4 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

I like number three in particular, as it make the most sense to me. Odium wouldn't have as big a presence on Roshar (Realmatically speaking) as Honor or Cultivation, since Rayse wanted to be free to roam the Cosmere to destroy other Shards and therefore didn't Invest himself into Roshar as the others did.

Stormlight evaporates from gems, so no trace amounts could be held there for long.

It used to be the case, but isn't anymore. Odium is now as invested in the Roshar system as others, his Rhythms are present on Roshar and are necessary part of the system.

[Rg2045]

1 minute ago, alder24 said:

Doesn't Highstorm give light because of Stormfather's presence in it? There is no such entity within Everstorm as far as we know.

But what I think is the case is that Odium's selfish nature wants to be praised, and Fused and Regals have to tune to Rhythm of Prayer (Venli was avoiding it). He wants to remind everyone who's in charge. I wouldn't say it's about controlling power, as he didn't deny the power or didn't strike Leshwi and others that opposed him - he accepted their Passions.

 

Stormlight evaporates from gems, so no trace amounts could be held there for long.

It used to be the case, but isn't anymore. Odium is now as invested in the Roshar system as others, his Rhythms are present on Roshar and are necessary part of the system.

Highstorm give stormlight because of the connection to the spiritual realm. Stormfather is a spren. A strong spren but still a spren. 
 
rhythm of prayer is one possible way to get voidlight but everstorms is now the new prime way of getting them. 
 

my theory on trace amounts is liken to medicine, how it’s mostly water and small parts of other poisonous things that reduce our symptoms, but most of the medication itself doesn’t have the parts that help us, (I don’t know much of this I remember reading two articles about this(it’s called water memory unproven but also not disproven)) also it’s the cosmer so a bit more realmatic wiggle room. 

after 7,000 years odium is tired of being locked away.

 

[lacrossedeamon]

Could the wavelength of the light be the reason? I was thinking that maybe it’s too big to normally infuse the gems but that once it is in that’s why it lasts so much longer. But voidlight it like ultraviolet so theoretically it should be smaller wavelength. The fact that is last longer inside gems though points to a permeability issue though either inside or outside the gems.