Can Divine Breaths be used for Awakening?

[Cheese Ninja]

If you consider that a Divine Breath allows a Returned to reach the 5th Heightening, that implies that they are worth at least 2000 normal breaths: http://coppermind.17thshard.com/wiki/Breath#Heightenings

And in the Warbreaker annotations it seems that Vasher makes sure that he holds onto his Divine Breath anytime he Awakens something (last paragraph): http://www.brandonsanderson.com/annotation/438/Warbreaker-Chapter-Fifty-Eight

Of course, it would kill a Returned if they lose their Divine Breath, and I think that regardless of whether it is transferred or not, it still needs the one breath a week to ensure its continued existence. So if a Returned acquired 24 other Divine Breaths, he's still need 25 normal Breaths a week to keep himself alive and keep the Divine Breaths from going poof. But he'd also be at the 10th Heightening, since those 25 Divine Breaths would be at minimum equal to 50,000 normal Breaths.

If Yesteel uses this tactic (and it actually works), it might partially explain how he'd be able to make more swords like Nightblood in the sequel.

[Zas678]

Hmm... I don't think that it's the Divine Breath that necessarily costs a breath a week. I think instead it's the act of tying the cognitive presence of the person who's supposed to be dead to the body that requires a breath a week.

And as for purely transferring Divine Breath? I don't know that that would happen much. I don't even know if it can happen. It seems like although we frequently equate Divine Breath with 2000 breaths, that's not entirely accurate. After all, we never see any regenerative healing happen with normal breath, while Lightsong does that exact same thing.

And I don't know if people would Return just to give their breath away. It seems like they return for a specific purpose, something they can do to change, something that makes it worth it to come back. I guess they could, if it was going to be used for something important. Never mind, ignore this point.

I do think it's possible to awaken metal with a Divine Breath. I think that this could be one of the areas of overlap between normal Awakening and a Divine Breath Awakening.

EDIT- Does Yesteel know how to make Awakened Metal? I don't remember if he does or not. It seemed he worked more with Lifeless.

[Satsuoni]

Ok, well. What we know about divine breath is, iirc , the following:

1. It is a single breath. It can't be used partially for acts that require a Breath, ie most of them.

2. It is very strong, 5th heightening .

3. It is a splinter of Endowment.

4. It heals people when given to them, but does not linger.

5. Either it, or the returned himself need to devour one breath per week.(ok, that is actually the returned, but this breath always goes last) , and the returned croaks instantly without it.

My theory is that it is unstable, and upon being transferred it decays almost instantly giving a burst of life force (?), like a tap from goldmind to the acceptor.

So I doubt it can be easily used for awakening, although not sure. Also, how do you propose convincing the returned to part with their Breaths anyway?

[Cheese Ninja]

They would force them to give it up either by torture or convincing them that transferring their Divine Breath is the right thing to do. Same way Awakeners get forced to transfer normal breaths that we saw in the very beginning of the book.

There's no indication in the novel that Yesteel knows how to make swords like Nightblood, but it's implied in the annotations that if the war wasn't prevented, Idris would have allied with Yesteel's kingdom and destroyed Hallandren using Lifeless and swords like Nightblood. http://www.brandonsanderson.com/annotation/435/Warbreaker-Chapter-Fifty-FIve I think there might even be an implication that the children of Returned are Returned themselves.

[Aethling]

I highly doubt it is possible to "transfer" the divine breath. Everything we have shows that it would be used up and dissipate instantly.

[Cheese Ninja]

I highly doubt it is possible to "transfer" the divine breath. Everything we have shows that it would be used up and dissipate instantly.

Yeah, but in the one instance we saw of it being transferred and the numerous instances that we know it was transferred the Breath was used for healing immediately. "Everything" isn't all that much in this case. If Susebron hadn't needed to be healed we would have a much better idea as to whether another Returned could hold onto extra Divine Breaths.

[ReaderAt2046]

I highly doubt it is possible to "transfer" the divine breath. Everything we have shows that it would be used up and dissipate instantly.

Especially since that was what happened when a Divine Breath was transferred between Returned.

[.S.A.M.K.M]

Breath can only be given to another freely. There is only one exception, Nightblood can take the breath from anything. What would divine breath do to Nightblood? If divine breath are splinters of a shard, could the sword be a means to wield the power of the shard?

[Cheese Ninja]

Turns out: "Yes" I didn't ask the follow up about whether Yesteel had a Returned baby mill for producing Divine Breaths or whether they could be transferred without being used, because I'm pretty sure that would have been: "Interesting theory, RAFO."