Shardblades are dangerous

[Frustration]

Well no duh Frustration, what tipped you off?

No, I'm not just talking about their ability to cut through anything. Nor is this a theory.

Someone made giant foam swords to see how good they would be in combat, and they basically trivialized everything their opponent tried to do.

https://youtu.be/xg7Edq0LYb8

Watching this video, and seeing just how powerful the reach of the sword is I think someone with a shardblade might be able to win against someone using Nightblood, though their blade will doubtlessly have several large nicks in it.

[alder24]

8 minutes ago, Frustration said:

Well no duh Frustration, what tipped you off?

No, I'm not just talking about their ability to cut through anything. Nor is this a theory.

Someone made giant foam swords to see how good they would be in combat, and they basically trivialized everything their opponent tried to do.

https://youtu.be/xg7Edq0LYb8

Watching this video, and seeing just how powerful the reach of the sword is I think someone with a shardblade might be able to win against someone using Nightblood, though their blade will doubtlessly have several large nicks in it.

Good ol' Shadiversity.

Yes, reach is one of the most important characteristics of any weapon. The greater the reach, the more dangerous it becomes, as your opponent has to walk inside of your weapon's reach to be able to strike himself. That's why spears are so good. Or Zweihänder, which is like a Shardblade (up to 2.1 meters long).

Unless your opponent has a Cheeseplate  

Spoiler

[deleted]

Given Brandon's answer to a block of Cheese stopping a shardblade, how does the last clap work?

Brandon Sanderson

So, I'll admit, I've been considering the cheese question since it was asked.

I'm not sure if it has to be cheese. But any object that is sufficiently thick but also sufficiently pliable that it's going to press down on the blade while it's cutting IS going to create drag on the blade.

The Blade does, by necessity of my understanding of the relevant physics, need to be able to vaporize a tiny bit of matter into Investiture while cutting, in order to create space for the Blade to continue to slide through. This is related to why it doesn't cut things with souls.

At the same time, I'm not convinced that this is relevant to the actual question being asked. I think that I have to relent that, with a sufficiently large block of cheese and a Shardbearer trying to cut lengthwise through it, the drag produced on the flat of the blade is going to tire the Shardbearer. Making cheese legitimately more difficult to cut through than stone or metal. And a big enough block of cheese might stop the slice straight up, because the weight placed on the blade will be pretty heavy.

That said, the top replies to this thread are pretty relevant, and are correctly explaining the mechanics of the situation. There is this little "shield of vaporization" around a Blade while it cuts, so a thinner Blade (like Szeth's Honorblade) might not have this drawback at all. It depends on how far back the shield of vaporization extends, and how thick the blade is.

My current instinct says that wider blades would be stopped by this, and so those of you planning to make ten-foot-thick walls of cheese to stop an invading Shardbearer can continue in your...endeavors.

Remember, kids, keep your Shardblade thin for actual combat (for multiple reasons.) Only make the big showy forms when you're trying to look intimidating. (With a nod to the fact that a thick blade does tend to be better for getting through Shardplate, giving you more mass to hit with. Choose Adolin's Blade for Shardplate Duels. Szeth/Jezrien's Honorblade for cheese.)

General Reddit 2022 (March 19, 2022)

 

[therunner he/him]

Huh, that is much more of an advantage then I imagined.
...
So Since spears are better for a fight then swords, Shardspears are even better then Shardblades. Sylspear for the win

[Trusk'our he/him]

1 hour ago, Frustration said:

Watching this video, and seeing just how powerful the reach of the sword is I think someone with a shardblade might be able to win against someone using Nightblood, though their blade will doubtlessly have several large nicks in it.

I was under the impression that Nightblood was oversized as well since it was originally made for a Returned's proportions. Plus, Nightblood creates a mini explosion of power when it strikes a Shardblade, which would bring another factor into play.

I honestly think it would be really funny to see an Indiana Jones themed scene play out someday in the Cosmere where someone is wielding Nightblood and tries to kill someone else with it, and then their opponent just pulls out a pistol and shoots them.

Big Shardblade swords beat little swords because of reach, but guns beat big Shardblades because they have even greater reach.

[Frustration]

2 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

I was under the impression that Nightblood was oversized as well since it was originally made for a Returned's proportions. Plus, Nightblood creates a mini explosion of power when it strikes a Shardblade, which would bring another factor into play.

It might be bigger than a regular sword, but given it's unusual weight, and the fact that it can be drawn from a sheath it can't be anywhere near the seven feet that shardblades are.

[Trusk'our he/him]

5 minutes ago, Frustration said:

It might be bigger than a regular sword, but given it's unusual weight, and the fact that it can be drawn from a sheath it can't be anywhere near the seven feet that shardblades are.

Fair point.

I wonder how effective a Radiant Sprenblade would be at countering Nightblood since they feel pain? I would venture to guess that it wouldn't be pretty, even if they managed to deflect Nightblood once or twice.

[Quantus he/him]

1 hour ago, Frustration said:

It might be bigger than a regular sword, but given it's unusual weight, and the fact that it can be drawn from a sheath it can't be anywhere near the seven feet that shardblades are.

Not that this changes much, but the are described in WoK as generally being close to or at 6 feet, not seven as a standard.  But they also do say more than once that the oversize lengths were historically meant to counter Thundercasts, and with shapeshifting weapons they'd only need those when Thundercasts were on the field.  Most of the fighting styles that use the giant blades for other situations likely evolved later with Deadeye blades. 

 

Fwiw, There are no primary sources referenced, but the Coppermind says "Based on Vasher and Vivenna's statements, Nightblood could be around fifty-three all the way to sixty inches (135 cm - 152 cm) long overall, with a blade length somewhere between forty-three to forty-six inches."  And it's worth noting that while Nightblood was made by a Returned, the Scholars we've met all go around looking normal sized (and would have needed blend in on Roshar) so they might have been aiming for some middle ground size that is practical for a normal size without being ludicrously undersized in the hands of a Returned.    

[Frustration]

4 minutes ago, Quantus said:

Not that this changes much, but the are described in WoK as generally being close to or at 6 feet, not seven as a standard.  But they also do say more than once that the oversize lengths were historically meant to counter Thundercasts, and with shapeshifting weapons they'd only need those when Thundercasts were on the field.  Most of the fighting styles that use the giant blades for other situations likely evolved later with Deadeye blades. 

 

Fwiw, There are no primary sources referenced, but the Coppermind says "Based on Vasher and Vivenna's statements, Nightblood could be around fifty-three all the way to sixty inches (135 cm - 152 cm) long overall, with a blade length somewhere between forty-three to forty-six inches."  And it's worth noting that while Nightblood was made by a Returned, the Scholars we've met all go around looking normal sized (and would have needed blend in on Roshar) so they might have been aiming for some middle ground size that is practical for a normal size without being ludicrously undersized in the hands of a Returned.    

They are described as being as long as a man is tall, Rosharans are taller than we are with Kaladin being 7 earth feet tall,

Spoiler

Questioner

In the Arcanum Unbounded, it says that a Rosharan foot is longer than cosmere standard. How does that compare to an Earth foot?

Brandon Sanderson

Longer. Kaladin is almost seven feet tall, by our measurements. We've got a height comparison, Shallan is about six feet tall. She thinks she's short. Compared to us, she'd be on the taller end. That's why if you notice people from around the cosmere that show up, they're often mentioned as short. Not Hoid, who's able to use magical means to change how he's perceived, but someone like Felt, and stuff like that.

FanX 2021 (Sept. 16, 2021)

So they would be six Rosharan feet, but seven earth feet.

[Quantus he/him]

17 minutes ago, Frustration said:

They are described as being as long as a man is tall, Rosharans are taller than we are with Kaladin being 7 earth feet tall,

  Hide contents

Questioner

In the Arcanum Unbounded, it says that a Rosharan foot is longer than cosmere standard. How does that compare to an Earth foot?

Brandon Sanderson

Longer. Kaladin is almost seven feet tall, by our measurements. We've got a height comparison, Shallan is about six feet tall. She thinks she's short. Compared to us, she'd be on the taller end. That's why if you notice people from around the cosmere that show up, they're often mentioned as short. Not Hoid, who's able to use magical means to change how he's perceived, but someone like Felt, and stuff like that.

FanX 2021 (Sept. 16, 2021)

So they would be six Rosharan feet, but seven earth feet.

Oh, damn, right:  Rosharan Foot =/= Earth Foot.  

Side note:  "Not Hoid, who's able to use magical means to change how he's perceived," So does this mean he's messing with Perception to look taller to Rosharans but not actually engaging shapeshifting Returned-Style?

[Frustration]

1 minute ago, Quantus said:

Side note:  "Not Hoid, who's able to use magical means to change how he's perceived," So does this mean he's messing with Perception to look taller to Rosharans but not actually engaging shapeshifting Returned-Style?

Maybe?

Some Yolish lightweaving thing or something?

I honestly have no idea.

[Duxredux he/him]

I think it could go either way, though it's a closer fight than first glance.

Dead or living Blade? If it's dead, then if it gets knocked out of their hands, it needs to be resummoned, and Nightblood hits a lot harder than most would expect. If it's a Radiant Blade, I'm willing to bet that not every spren will be able to withstand getting hit by Nightblood and not get scared or lose resolve - particularly if they're not used to pain. It's terrifying to face an unleashed Nightblood.

That said, Radiants can flicker their Blades, so that's a serious advantage and capitalizes on the longer reach. For that matter, it's hard to fight calmly and cleanly when Nightblood is roaring in your head.

[Trusk'our he/him]

2 hours ago, Duxredux said:

That said, Radiants can flicker their Blades, so that's a serious advantage and capitalizes on the longer reach. For that matter, it's hard to fight calmly and cleanly when Nightblood is roaring in your head.

They turn into mist when they do that. I think that if you tried skepping your Shardblad on Nightblood the mist would be instantly consumed, killing the Spren, since the Spren no longer is maintaining the solid form that protects it (if you need evidence of it being metal mattering, just compare what happened to Rayse vs Ishar's Honorblade, even though I'm fairly certain a Vessel of Adonalsium holds more total Investiture than a Shardblade).

So, bad idea probably.

2 hours ago, Duxredux said:

Dead or living Blade? If it's dead, then if it gets knocked out of their hands, it needs to be resummoned, and Nightblood hits a lot harder than most would expect. If it's a Radiant Blade, I'm willing to bet that not every spren will be able to withstand getting hit by Nightblood and not get scared or lose resolve - particularly if they're not used to pain. It's terrifying to face an unleashed Nightblood.

I think that you have a point on the living Spren; they'd likely be terrified of Nightblood after one hit, which would seriously compromise their Radiant's ability to counter it.

[Duxredux he/him]

1 hour ago, Trusk'our said:

They turn into mist when they do that. I think that if you tried skepping your Shardblad on Nightblood the mist would be instantly consumed, killing the Spren, since the Spren no longer is maintaining the solid form that protects it (if you need evidence of it being metal mattering, just compare what happened to Rayse vs Ishar's Honorblade, even though I'm fairly certain a Vessel of Adonalsium holds more total Investiture than a Shardblade).

So, bad idea probably.

Very good point. This might make fighting Nightblood with a dead Shardblade very risky if it means Nightblood will just absorb it if it gets knocked out of the Shardbearer's hands (though if the Shardbearer is disarmed at all, they're probably dead regardless). It's probably just as well that Honorblades aren't automatically dismissed when dropped, or Roshar might be down one Honorblade.

[HSuperLee]

On 4/26/2023 at 7:29 PM, Trusk'our said:

They turn into mist when they do that. I think that if you tried skepping your Shardblad on Nightblood the mist would be instantly consumed, killing the Spren, since the Spren no longer is maintaining the solid form that protects it (if you need evidence of it being metal mattering, just compare what happened to Rayse vs Ishar's Honorblade, even though I'm fairly certain a Vessel of Adonalsium holds more total Investiture than a Shardblade).

So, bad idea probably.

I think that you have a point on the living Spren; they'd likely be terrified of Nightblood after one hit, which would seriously compromise their Radiant's ability to counter it.

 

23 hours ago, Duxredux said:

Very good point. This might make fighting Nightblood with a dead Shardblade very risky if it means Nightblood will just absorb it if it gets knocked out of the Shardbearer's hands (though if the Shardbearer is disarmed at all, they're probably dead regardless). It's probably just as well that Honorblades aren't automatically dismissed when dropped, or Roshar might be down one Honorblade.

I'm not sure Nightblood's stomach is big enough to hold a whole Shardblade at once, but I also am aware that I'm mostly alone in thinking Nightblood's capacity is a lot smaller than most people seem to assume. That said, I have no doubt that Nightblood can hurt and even kill a spren, I'm just not sure Nightblood could do it instantly. It think it would take several strikes. All that said, I agree that fighting Nightblood with a shardblade is not a great idea, but its probably a better idea than trying to fight Nightblood with most non-ballistic weapons.

[Argenti he/him]

26 minutes ago, HSuperLee said:

I'm not sure Nightblood's stomach is big enough to hold a whole Shardblade at once, but I also am aware that I'm mostly alone in thinking Nightblood's capacity is a lot smaller than most people seem to assume. That said, I have no doubt that Nightblood can hurt and even kill a spren, I'm just not sure Nightblood could do it instantly. It think it would take several strikes. 

Huh? How many blows did it take to kill Rayse, the vessel of Odium? He can collapse perpendicularites! He most definitely can eat an entire spren in one blow!

[HSuperLee]

4 minutes ago, Argenti said:

Huh? How many blows did it take to kill Rayse, the vessel of Odium? He can collapse perpendicularites! He most definitely can eat an entire spren in one blow!

Yeah, but Nightblood also couldn't destroy an Honorblade. I realize that Honorblades and shardblades are very different things, but my conclusion from Nightblood nicking an Honorblade yet killing Rayse is that Vessels themselves are substantially less invested than we'd initially presume. As for collapsing a perpendicularity, that, I admit, is quite the feat, but I think its complicated. Nightblood stole investiture faster than the perpendicularity could maintain the portal, which is not the same as draining the total output of the perpendicularity. This is where I hold to the fact that I'm not sure about whether or not Nightblood could eat a shardblade in one move. It wouldn't surprise me if Nightblood could and it wouldn't surprise me if Nightblood couldn't.

[Trusk'our he/him]

16 minutes ago, HSuperLee said:

Yeah, but Nightblood also couldn't destroy an Honorblade. I realize that Honorblades and shardblades are very different things, but my conclusion from Nightblood nicking an Honorblade yet killing Rayse is that Vessels themselves are substantially less invested than we'd initially presume. As for collapsing a perpendicularity, that, I admit, is quite the feat, but I think its complicated. Nightblood stole investiture faster than the perpendicularity could maintain the portal, which is not the same as draining the total output of the perpendicularity. This is where I hold to the fact that I'm not sure about whether or not Nightblood could eat a shardblade in one move. It wouldn't surprise me if Nightblood could and it wouldn't surprise me if Nightblood couldn't.

There is probably more going on with Nightblood, Shardblades, and the rate at which Investiture is consumed by the hungering sword, but my personal thought on the reason Nightblood didn't do more to Ishar's blade than put a nick in it was because the sword was in physical form; it wasn't very "vulnerable" in it's solid state, whereas Rayse was primarily spiritual in nature.

[Frustration]

8 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

There is probably more going on with Nightblood, Shardblades, and the rate at which Investiture is consumed by the hungering sword, but my personal thought on the reason Nightblood didn't do more to Ishar's blade than put a nick in it was because the sword was in physical form; it wasn't very "vulnerable" in it's solid state, whereas Rayse was primarily spiritual in nature.

Raise was also vulnerable because he was fighting the shard, though I don't know how much of an effect that had.

[Trusk'our he/him]

4 minutes ago, Frustration said:

Raise was also vulnerable because he was fighting the shard, though I don't know how much of an effect that had.

True. Taravangian I commented on that more than once, if I'm correct.

[Duxredux he/him]

35 minutes ago, HSuperLee said:

Yeah, but Nightblood also couldn't destroy an Honorblade. I realize that Honorblades and shardblades are very different things, but my conclusion from Nightblood nicking an Honorblade yet killing Rayse is that Vessels themselves are substantially less invested than we'd initially presume. As for collapsing a perpendicularity, that, I admit, is quite the feat, but I think its complicated. Nightblood stole investiture faster than the perpendicularity could maintain the portal, which is not the same as draining the total output of the perpendicularity. This is where I hold to the fact that I'm not sure about whether or not Nightblood could eat a shardblade in one move. It wouldn't surprise me if Nightblood could and it wouldn't surprise me if Nightblood couldn't.

The thing is I don't think it's just Nightblood consuming Investiture that is dangerous, it's also the black smoke that he puts out. At the very start of the Battle of Thaylen City, Szeth cuts a Thunderclast in half and the whole thing burns up, not just where it was cut. The soldiers that Vasher annihilated were destroyed with just a nick and he was vaporizing entire walls. Anything resisting Nightblood needs to not only avoid being consumed directly, but also... whatever that is, that corrupted Investiture that pours off. I assume a solid object will resist a highly caustic vapor far better then a gas or fluid just by nature of the relative contact area.

As for collapsing a Perpendicularity, I assume it's the same principle as to why Aons aren't great at fueling Nightblood. Nightblood consumes the structure that opens a conduit to the Investiture, and I assume Investiture is needed to open a Perpendicularity.

Quote

Questioner

Could an Elantrian just write an Aon above Nightblood and then use it forever?

Brandon Sanderson

Use it forever? No. 

Questioner

Forever is pushing it.

Brandon Sanderson

No, no, I mean, Nightblood would destroy an Aon pretty quickly. It would pull power through it--

Questioner

It would be like trying to put too much power through a small--

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, it would just rip it up to shreds. You'd get a little use out of it. He would eat the very structure of it, if that makes any sense.

Oathbringer Leeds signing (Dec. 1, 2017)

Edit: when I started, the one I was quoting was the most recent post.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Duxredux
late to the party

[NameIess]

Nightblood’s black smoke is just excess Investiture, I doubt it has any particularly damaging properties. He tries to eat anything he touches by converting it into investiture, which is why the thunderclast got entirely destroyed and soldiers died to a nick. With the walls, I guess there’s a range limit or some form of perception-based control over his eating, otherwise he would’ve destroyed the whole building.

[Argenti he/him]

12 hours ago, Nameless* said:

Nightblood’s black smoke is just excess Investiture, I doubt it has any particularly damaging properties. He tries to eat anything he touches by converting it into investiture, which is why the thunderclast got entirely destroyed and soldiers died to a nick. With the walls, I guess there’s a range limit or some form of perception-based control over his eating, otherwise he would’ve destroyed the whole building.

Hence why nightblood won't eat Roshar for example 

 

[alder24]

15 hours ago, HSuperLee said:

I'm not sure Nightblood's stomach is big enough to hold a whole Shardblade at once, but I also am aware that I'm mostly alone in thinking Nightblood's capacity is a lot smaller than most people seem to assume. That said, I have no doubt that Nightblood can hurt and even kill a spren, I'm just not sure Nightblood could do it instantly. It think it would take several strikes. All that said, I agree that fighting Nightblood with a shardblade is not a great idea, but its probably a better idea than trying to fight Nightblood with most non-ballistic weapons.

13 hours ago, HSuperLee said:

Yeah, but Nightblood also couldn't destroy an Honorblade. I realize that Honorblades and shardblades are very different things, but my conclusion from Nightblood nicking an Honorblade yet killing Rayse is that Vessels themselves are substantially less invested than we'd initially presume. As for collapsing a perpendicularity, that, I admit, is quite the feat, but I think its complicated. Nightblood stole investiture faster than the perpendicularity could maintain the portal, which is not the same as draining the total output of the perpendicularity. This is where I hold to the fact that I'm not sure about whether or not Nightblood could eat a shardblade in one move. It wouldn't surprise me if Nightblood could and it wouldn't surprise me if Nightblood couldn't.

There is a problem with comparing Nightblood hitting Honorblade, and predicting what would it do when clashing with a Shardblade - Nightblood was already full after collapsing perpendicularity, and more or less enter a state of "food coma" (or was very close to it):

Spoiler

lucagreene18

If Szeth were to have drawn Nightblood immediately after he had consumed Rayse, would he still have drained Szeth's Stormlight? As it said he seemed like he had eaten as much as he could.

Brandon Sanderson

At that point, Nightblood had entered into essentially a food coma... Well, no, the food coma one came when he was drawing from the perpendicularity. I don't think he was in food coma mode at that point. I think that he could still have drawn more at that point, I'd have to go look at exactly what I wrote, if I'd put him into food coma mode or not. It is possible.

This is one of the things I wanted to answer with the book. A lot of people have been theorizing, could Nightblood eat an entire Shard? And indeed, Nightblood could not eat an entire Shard. That is not within his capability. In fact, one of the reasons that he leaks Investiture is: he's too stuffed full of it. There is more Investiture in the sword Nightblood than it can actually hold, it's supersaturated. And it leaks Investiture (that it's done some weird things to). But it is constantly hungry for more and constantly leaks it, but it definitely can get full for a time, and it could not eat an entire Shard.

I did see questions about that from people floating around, and it's something I'd been meaning to get to eventually. Nightblood is definitely relevant to things that are happening in the Cosmere, but it is not as simple as grabbing the sword, sticking it into a Shard, and defeating the Shard, unfortunately. Though, as you see in this book, there are reasons for a Shard to still be afraid of Nightblood. It didn't destroy Odium, but Rayse still really had a bad time.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 1 (Dec. 17, 2020)

 

Spoiler

Questioner

Nightblood has more Investiture than any other being, right?

Brandon Sanderson

Not every other being, but definitely one of the most highly Invested individuals that we have seen.

Questioner

So Nightblood, he was used to wound Odium. Is Odium now weaker than he was before?

Brandon Sanderson

Not in a relevant way. Technically, yes. Not in a relevant way. The amount taken, compared to how much there is, is pretty small. And a whole bunch of what happened there was focused on the Vessel, not on Odium itself.

Questioner

Could Nightblood consume Odium?

Brandon Sanderson

Nightblood would get full before consuming even the smallest fraction amount of Odium. As you saw, Nightblood kind of got full in that instance. Actually, it was with the perpendicularity, it would be similar to that. So for those who are wondering, no, you can't stab Nightblood into the planet and absorb the planet. Nightblood is really dangerous, as we've seen, but we're not talking "absorb planets" dangerous.

Dragonsteel Mini-Con 2021 (Nov. 22, 2021)

 

Spoiler

Questioner

Is Nightblood more or less susceptible to damage and/or death when he's satiated on Investiture?

Brandon Sanderson

Satiated, he's much less dangerous. More susceptible, I would say by technicality, yes. When he's full, it's gonna be harder for him to pull in things, so all sorts of things could happen. So yes. But it's not that he's weaker, it's not like the metal is easier to break or bend, it's more that he's not as likely to suck your soul.

Questioner

So he behaves more like a regular sword.

Brandon Sanderson

Yeah, a little bit more. Still, for human levels of Investiture, still really dangerous to touch him. He's satiated, but if he's at 100%, and the amount of you he could eat represents 0.001%, the moment a little of that wears off, you're gone. So still would not be picking him up in most cases, just out of that, "Oh! He got a little hungry again!" But in terms of larger, grand scale Shard stuff, much safer to handle.

Dragonsteel Mini-Con 2021 (Nov. 22, 2021)

Note here, Brandon might be mistaken about Nightblood entering food coma after collapsing perpendicularity (no Szeth pov, but Dalinar noted that Stormlight is still being pulled into Nightblood very fast from Szeth), because Nightblood got full after killing Rayse, RoW ch 113:

Quote

The figure that contained Odium’s power—the person who controlled it—evaporated, taken by the sword. That alone was so much Investiture that Taravangian felt the sword grow dull in his fingers. Full, lethargic. As when a hot brand was shoved into a barrel of water, there was an initial hiss—but this power was too vast for the sword to drink.

 

But there is also a second problem with that - solid investiture, such as god metals forming a Shardblade, is the most rigid form of investiture. Both liquid and gasses are fluids, and can be "sucked in" like fluids, while solid god metals won't do that. But even spren and Shardblades have less investiture than Nightblood.

Spoiler

Questioner

How would you compare the Investiture in Nightblood to the Investiture in one of the spren turned into a--

Brandon Sanderson

Sword? They have less Investiture than Nightblood.

Shadows of Self release party (Oct. 5, 2015)

What I think would happen, Shardblade would resist Nightblood, getting chipped off in process like Honorblade, but eventually it would shatter into pieces, like a Shardplate's segment after being hit enough times by a Shardblade. Unlike a Shardplate, spren would get severely wounded in process, maybe even become a deadeye. 

But that's only because they're in a solid form. If spren turns into mist, his normal cognitive form, right in front of Nightblood, it wouldn't be able to pass through Nightblood in CR (as Nightblood is present there as a dark smoke, and cuts in all 3 realms), and would be sucked into the Nightblood almost fully - because it is no longer in its most rigid form, and can't resist him that well.

[cometaryorbit]

The Rayse thing is interesting. Arguably the idea that he's vulnerable by fighting the Shard means that Rayse's actual self is "exposed" because it's insufficiently merged with Odium (kind of like when Kelsier as Preservation tries to attack Ruin, he has to pull back or the collision would rip Preservation off his soul). If "exposed", the actual Vessel might have been closer to a Sliver than a Shard.

Still, a Vessel has to have a massively expanded mind/soul. I think Nightblood would eat a normal Radiant Spren in non-Shardblade form but chip a Radiant Shardblade (I do think the metallic form makes a difference, probably for the same reason that a Radiant Shardblade would resist anti-Light better than the same spren in normal form).

Nightblood might have trouble with one of the Bondsmith Spren, though.

[HSuperLee]

I just need to point out there are two separate conversations going on here. How big is Nightblood's stomach and how big is Nightblood's mouth. Is Nightblood's stomach big enough to hold an entire shardblade? I'd be in disbelief if it wasn't. Is Nightblood's mouth big enough to swallow a shardblade whole? I'd be surprised if it was, but I'm open to the possibility. That is all I am saying. And I'm not trying to undersell Nightblood, I'm trying to hype up shardblades. I think shardblades are one of the most Invested things we've seen in the Cosmere. As far as I understand it, they're basically godmetals. Kaladin described Syl in shardplate form as being like an already full cup, that is my point. Other than exceptions like Nightblood, who seems to be undergoing some of the ballooning experienced by vessels, I think shardblades represent something close to the limit of Investiture able to put into physical materials. In other words, shardblades are dangerous.