Contest of Champions theories: Taravangian’s loophole, DalinOdium, and more

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

What are you all’s theories for the contest of champions? I’ll start with mine:

First, Taravangian’s loophole: I’ve heard a lot of people say that Taravangian will find a way to force a draw or delay the contest, but I think this would be too anticlimactic for the end of arc 1. Instead, I think Taravangian’s loophole lies in the fine print: although the agreement states that the contest must be to the death, it never states that it must be a physical fight. First, I think Taravangian will choose himself as his own champion. While Rayse probably wouldn’t have, Taravangian will see Dalinar’s move to choose himself as champion as an invitation to do so as well (Dalinar’s first mistake). Second, Taravangian will simply choose a type of contest that he knows he can beat Dalinar in; likely some battle of will.

And Taravangian will win; but not all hope will be lost. Think: what separates Taravangian from Rayse, besides brutal intelligence? That’s right, mercy. Everything Taravangian has done, it is to protect the lives of as many people as he can. Now, as Odium, Taravangian seeks to protect all the peoples of the  Cosmere by bringing them under his rule. I think that, somehow, in his final moments, Dalinar will show Taravangian the horrors that await him should he go down that path. Horrors Dalinar is well acquainted with, for he experienced similar ones in his conquest of Alethkar. Taravangian, in shock, will see truth in Dalinar’s words. And in a final act of mercy, of protection, Taravangian will see that Dalinar is more worthy of wielding the Shard of Passion. Taravangian will let go of the shard, in an act that kills him, and Dalinar will take it.

Hear me out: first, I don’t believe that Odium is truly the shard of hate; all shards have a specific intent, that is kept in balance by the other shards. Ruin wants to ruin, Preservation wants to preserve, Cultivation wants to cultivate growth, Honor wants to cultivate honor, and Odium… Odium wants to cultivate passion. Why passion? Because it perfectly balances out Honor. Think about it: Honor is all about following a strict code, while passion is all about spontaneity, emotion. Often, this emotion has been wielded for harm, but it doesn’t have to be; after all, who better to wield the shard of rage, of hate, of impulse, than the man who has conquered his own? Of course, that is not to say that the Shard’s intent won’t corrupt Dalinar; that is an issue for the back half of the series, which I predict will see the Shards of Honor, Odium, and Cultivation all united under one person.

Wild Cards:

Szeth son-Neturo, the Assassin in White, Truthless of Shinovar, will have a big role to play in these events. Not only will it be his flashback book, but it will also probably see him swear his fifth ideal. The fifth ideal of the skybreakers, becoming the law, is all about breaking free of bonds and trusting one’s own judgement, something Szeth has always struggled with. And to who is Szeth’s strongest bond to right now? That’s right: Dalinar Kholin, the man I believe will take up Odium. The only reason I see for Szeth to need to swear the fifth ideal is to make a controversial judgement, one Dalinar would not approve of, but that Szeth believes is necessary.

Cultivation is another major wildcard; I don’t think she expects Taravangian to relinquish the power, and will definitely have something to say about this outcome.

So, there’s all my theories, longer than expected. What are yours?

[Returned he/him]

I have two major predictions regarding the contest, which have not changed over the last few years:

• It won't be avoided or resolved via any loophole (doing so would undermine some things Rayse specifically said about adhering to the spirit of his agreements, which fundamentally precludes the concept of loopholes; additionally, I think that it would be hard to satisfyingly resolve thousands of pages of buildup with what would essentially be an asterisk). That's not to say that the contest will happen exactly  as advertised, a fight to the death between the two chosen champions, which leads me to my other prediction.
• The contest won't be what was promised when Dalinar and Rayse discussed it, in the sense that the conflict on Roshar will change its shape and course in ways that make the contest far less relevant and winning would be a lot less meaningful than imagined. That is, I don't think that the contest will be as meaningful as Dalinar and company hope. The goals and methods Taravangian has will make the contest less decisive about the future than it might have been before the conclusion of RoW. It will be a big deal and will matter, of course, but its salience won't be the same as a single, epic battle for all the marbles. I think this primarily for narrative reasons: it's predictable and has been explicitly telegraphed for far too long to just happen and tie everything up, and could only be an anticlimax at this point. Contrast with the end of Wheel of Time, in which the nature of the conflict between Rand and the Dark One ended up being different than suggested through the first ~11 books or so, and the final battle was not simply a sword fight (no matter how epic).

I have to say that no matter what happens I am excited. It's years of waiting leading to this moment and I don't think that Sanderson will let us down no matter how things play out-- even if it is just a big one-on-one fight in the end I expect it will not disappoint, despite my current feeling that such a fight would be lackluster. Stormlight has been big and well planned, and even an accurate and well-reasoned prediction of its conclusion on the forums could never capture how those predictions would play out on the page.

Edited November 25, 2024 by Returned

[Use the Falchion]

My theories are mostly the same as they've been for years at this point: 

Dalinar will be Honor's Champion, because he still struggles with giving up command. Odium's Champion will be Gavinor, in an attempt to get Dalinar to renege on the Contest. Dalinar will swear either his Fourth or Fifth Ideal during the Contest and Ascend. However, his Ideal will be about Uniting people even with his death, and so he'll die. Before he dies, he'll use Connection to take on the role of Odium's Champion and pass on the role of Honor's Champion to someone else. (Nowadays I consider this person to most likely be a temporarily or even permanently sane Taln.) Honor's new champion will kill Dalinar in a mercy-kill, giving the victory to Team Honor.

HOWEVER, since Odium didn't choose Dalinar as his Champion, there's enough wiggle-room for Odium to strike back and escape. This strike will either lead to the sinking of Shinovar or Kharbranth, the latter of which in turn would weaken Odium even farther. Either way, Odium escapes, and his actions may lead to the death of the Stormfather, which in turn would create a long-lasting weeping period with no Stormlight, also known as The Night of Sorrows.