Theory: B-A-M as Odium's champion

[+Oltux72 he/him]

As @coolsnow7 has pointed out, a draw would be boring. But how about Odium making the Radiants forfeit? That is the basic idea of the child champion theories. Those have the drawback that there is no good reason a child would want to fight and consent to be Odium's champion. Furthermore Dalinar is a soldier to the core. He would do his duty. You should not use personal consequences as your lever on him. The man expects to die in the contest. It has to be the impact on his people. Taravangian understands him.

Ba-Ado-Mishram doesn't lack motivation to fight for the Singers. The Radiants themselves, at least Shallan personally, are planning to free her. Let's suppose Odium helps her and they free her in time. Odium promptly names her champion and the Heralds reveal what killing her would mean.

Now Cultivation steps in and brokers the deal Rayse would not make. Odium is set free under the condition that he leave Roshar unharmed for now.

Edited October 8, 2024 by Oltux72
shoutout failed

[LewsTherinTelescope]

Would she be willing? In the prologue we learn she tried to overthrow Odium and become a god in her own right.

[+Oltux72 he/him]

4 hours ago, LewsTherinTelescope said:

Would she be willing? In the prologue we learn she tried to overthrow Odium and become a god in her own right.

She failed in that attempt. I would assume that she has learned from the result.

Her victory would secure the Singers a homeland. She has very good reasons to fight.

[LewsTherinTelescope]

40 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

She failed in that attempt. I would assume that she has learned from the result.

The history of the war is that of Cognitive entities continually not learning their lessons, to be fair.

41 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

Her victory would secure the Singers a homeland. She has very good reasons to fight.

It would, but the framing we get of her isn't that she was just selflessly fighting for them, it's that she made herself into a deity (and endangered all of Roshar in the process somehow). The listeners count her among those gods whose control they escaped as solidly as they count the Fused.