Confused Posted August 30, 2024 Posted August 30, 2024 (edited) The release of WaT’s cover art includes the quote, “Honor is not dead...so long as he lives in the hearts of men!” This echoes an earlier WoR quote. On that book's last page, Wit says to Jasnah, “You’ll find God in the same place you’re going to find salvation from this mess…Inside the hearts of men.” In March 2014, one of my very first Forum posts predicted that Wit’s statement constituted SLA’s theme. I felt the Shattering unbalanced Investiture because it distributed power into 16 minds instead of a unifying Adonalsium. The epigraph to WoR, Chapter 71, from the Second Letter states this thought well: “[Rayse] bears the weight of God’s own divine hatred, separated from the virtues that gave it context. [Emphasis added.]” Quote [T]he importance of balance. Not necessarily of “harmony,” which assumes perfect equilibrium, but of balance, offsetting characteristics that temper the edges of each. The shattering of Adonalsium upset the balance of the Cosmere by giving primacy to specific aspects of Godhood: Honor, Hatred, Growth, Ruin, Preservation, etc. Maybe it’s the imbalance of each Shard holder that causes them to lose their humanity, since each Shardic Intent operates within them unopposed. I think Wit’s statement to Jasnah means that to defeat Odium, men’s hearts must return to honor – doing what’s right and not only what’s legal. That doesn’t mean that people won’t hate, but that hate cannot be allowed to dominate them – balance is necessary. Sadeas and Nalan appear to be character devices to illustrate what happens when imbalance captures the heart. Adolin may end up showing us balance despite his lapse. Like many of my theories, the rest of this post is...questionable. (And please forgive my self-important intellectualisms at the beginning.) But it’s nice to find a rare time when I nailed it (“Naled” it?), even if it took more than 10 years to prove. Now if only I can find confirmation of my Comprehensive Magic Theory ideas! All the best! C. Edited September 1, 2024 by Confused 3
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