Ewery1 Posted December 5, 2024 Posted December 5, 2024 3 hours ago, AquaRegia said: I think we know what "the loophole" is now, as of Chapter 18: Hide contents “Because,” Wit whispered, “if he takes the capitals, he gets the kingdoms. In their entirety.” “The general idea is this: In Dalinar’s negotiations, he argued for the return of Alethkar and Herdaz. Entire kingdoms. Then he agreed to Odium’s request: Odium can try for entire kingdoms with his attacks. By Alethi law, this means that he has to capture their seat of power. So…” “So he throws everything he has at Azimir,” Yanagawn whispered. “Because if he can take it, he claims the kingdom. That’s what you’re saying?” “Unfortunately, yes,” Wit said. “He promised me,” Dalinar whispered, “that there would be no taking advantage of loopholes. That he would hold to the spirit of the contest. You had to dig through the Alethi legal code for hours to find this. It sounds a lot like a loophole to me.” “Odium is exploiting a loophole in your agreement. Rayse wouldn’t do that. Rayse couldn’t do that. So…” He looked around the room, meeting their eyes. “So we are not facing Rayse. My old enemy must be dead, and someone else has taken up the Shard of Odium. I should have seen it the moment he started acting so oddly, but now I’ve confirmed it by sensing the rhythms of Roshar. My friends, we are facing an enemy we do not know and cannot anticipate. And whoever it is, they’re a genius—one who has devised a ploy to conquer all of Roshar in ten days.” We still don't know what form the Contest will take, but the "loophole" seems clear - three attacks at three capitol cities, and, if successful, by Alethi law, three entire kingdoms belong to Odium. This is a loophole in the agreement but not in the contest. There’s definitely another secret here.
AquaRegia he/him Posted December 5, 2024 Posted December 5, 2024 19 minutes ago, Ewery1 said: This is a loophole in the agreement but not in the contest. There’s definitely another secret here. I'm not sure why you feel there needs to be ANOTHER loophole. Is there textual evidence a "Contest-specific" loophole? Seems to me that this can fulfill Odium's goal of being satisfied with the outcome no matter which champion wins.
Ewery1 Posted December 5, 2024 Posted December 5, 2024 5 minutes ago, AquaRegia said: I'm not sure why you feel there needs to be ANOTHER loophole. Is there textual evidence a "Contest-specific" loophole? Seems to me that this can fulfill Odium's goal of being satisfied with the outcome no matter which champion wins. Personally doubt that Odium will be satisfied till he is free of Roshar. I would very surprised if there wasn’t more we are missing but I could be wrong! 3
aetherbound he/him Posted December 5, 2024 Posted December 5, 2024 Crazy theory, but what if TOdium chooses a herald as his champion, and killing the herald somehow breaks the last remnants of the oathpact? For this to work, Taln would probably be best, but I could see him using Ishar or someone else. He has the goal to be satisfied no matter who wins the contest. Either way, he's satisfied with the outcome. Even crazier, what if he somehow convinces the Stormfather to be his champion?
+robardin he/him Posted December 5, 2024 Posted December 5, 2024 7 minutes ago, Ookla the Recursive Ookla said: Crazy theory, but what if TOdium chooses a herald as his champion, and killing the herald somehow breaks the last remnants of the oathpact? For this to work, Taln would probably be best, but I could see him using Ishar or someone else. He has the goal to be satisfied no matter who wins the contest. Either way, he's satisfied with the outcome. Even crazier, what if he somehow convinces the Stormfather to be his champion? But he can't just "choose" a Champion, willy-nilly. That champion has to accede to being Odium's Champion. Otherwise Dalinar would still be his Champion, or else his second choice, Kaladin. I guess at this point Nalan would count as a Herald who's acceded to being on Team Odium and thus would be subject to being named Champion, though. Which then raises the question of what qualifies as "death" as a condition of defeat in the "contest to the death": "killing" him on Roshar and sending him to Braize? Or is the Oathpact so broken now that he'd just die a normal death now? Or would some anti-Stormlight dagger be necessary to "kill him like it counts"?
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