What command should Vasher have given?

[KaladinWorldsinger]

His aim is to make sure that this powerful sword doesn't cause a lot of death. He thought destroy "evil" was a good idea, but a sword doesn't know what evil is, so what should the the command have been?

Additional constraint, if a sword is meant to cut or destroy, and the command has to include that sentiment, then what command should it be given?

For the first case, i thought maybe :"Stay here" so that all of that investiture is focused on staying put in a place. But this is an easy one i think.

For the second case:..

I have no idea.

[Trusk'our he/him]

1 hour ago, KaladinWorldsinger said:

His aim is to make sure that this powerful sword doesn't cause a lot of death. He thought destroy "evil" was a good idea, but a sword doesn't know what evil is, so what should the the command have been?

Additional constraint, if a sword is meant to cut or destroy, and the command has to include that sentiment, then what command should it be given?

For the first case, i thought maybe :"Stay here" so that all of that investiture is focused on staying put in a place. But this is an easy one i think.

For the second case:..

I have no idea.

I wonder if the Command wasn't the issue so much as an imprecise Intent. 

Commands are merely there to focus the Intent so the Investiture can more precisely carry it out.

Spoiler

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/460-shardcast-interview/#e14636

Chaos

In Dawnshard we learned that Intent and Command are two different things, whereas in Warbreaker Vasher is clearly conflating these two into just saying it's the Command. What's the difference between Intent and Command?

Brandon Sanderson

Intent encompasses more understanding. Command is specifically narrow. A lot of times, these things are gonna be conflated, because they basically can be. Like, if Vasher creates an awakened thing and says "go get me those keys." The Intent is: "I need the keys to get outta here. I want to be free." The Command is: "Go fetch keys." Those are two different things, but they are working toward the same goal. It is important in cosmere terms that the Intent is understood, even if sometimes the words that can speak 'em are clunky and smaller in scale by nature than the Intent.

Let's say the Intent of a Shard encompasses more than the word that the Shard is described by. It's a similar thing that the Intent of a Command is often vaster than the actual words spoken. And the magic can grasp the Intent, not just the Command, depending on the magic system and how good you are at it, and things like that. The words are there to focus Intent. How about that?

<redacted>

Intent in this case would entail Vasher having lots more experience, being able to more accurately outline his desires for Nightblood in his own head before even considering Awakening the blade.

That's my current concensus, at least.

[Treamayne]

2 hours ago, KaladinWorldsinger said:

His aim is to make sure that this powerful sword doesn't cause a lot of death.

What makes you think this was the goal? We have no indication that was even part of the goal, much less the primary goal. WoBs:

Spoiler

Quote

Brandon Sanderson

Anyway, a lot of important things happen here. Note that Nightblood doesn't remember being drawn. When he was created, the Breaths gave him sentience as planned. (That was a big part of the goal in making him—to prove the existence of Type Four BioChromatic entities.) However, once he is drawn, his Command takes force and he acts much more like a regular Awakened object—but one with very strange abilities and powers. During this time, his Breath is diverted to creating the powers, and his mind goes fuzzy.

Warbreaker Annotations (July 25, 2011)

Quote

Questioner

I was wondering, is Nightblood a Shardblade?

Brandon Sanderson

Nightblood is an attempt by someone who didn’t know how Shardblades were made to create a Shardblade using a different magic system.

Shadows of Self San Francisco signing (Oct. 9, 2015)

Quote

Fluffy (paraphrased)

When the Five Scholars traveled to Roshar, this happened post Recreance, so most Shardblades would have been dead, how did Nightblood gain sapience?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Shardblades weren’t the only Blades around that were active, there were Honorblades. Honorblades are self-aware, but do not manifest a spren in the Cognitive Realm.

Dragonsteel 2022 (Nov. 15, 2022)

Quote

Argent (paraphrased)

What command would you have to give to an Awakened object like Nightblood in order for it to not go insane?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

I am going to RAFO that about Nightblood, but - is Nightblood insane? It just has no concept of... It was commanded to do something it was not equipped to judge. I would not call Nightblood insane. I would say that you have commanded something with no concept of morality to make moral decisions, and that's very confusing to him.

Steelheart Chicago signing (Oct. 5, 2013)

 

So, the goal, as far as we know, is (paraphrased) "We saw these great magic swords on Roshar that were self-aware. If we can Awaken a sword to be similar we can prove that Type IV BioChromatic Entities are possible." - There is no part of that based upon what abilities the sword will have or bestow, or enhancing/mitigating the amount of damage done. 

2 hours ago, KaladinWorldsinger said:

Additional constraint, if a sword is meant to cut or destroy, and the command has to include that sentiment

Why would the Command need to include that sentiment? Per WoB - it's not about a Sword needing a Command about cutting or destroying - it's that the Cognitive Identity of being a Sword impacted how the object interpreted the Command. WoB:

Spoiler

Quote

Questioner

If Vasher and Shashara had Awakened a non-weapon in exactly the same way as Nightblood (say a shield), would the object exhibit the same properties as Nightblood?

Brandon Sanderson

So, if you said "destroy evil" to a shield... no, it wouldn't be exactly the same. The Command is the most important part of all of this, but the shape, how the weapon perceives itself, how you perceive it, is all gonna play into this. They're playing with some real dangerous stuff when they made Nightblood. And it didn't go as intended.

San Diego Comic-Con@Home 2020 (July 23, 2020)

Quote

asmodeus

If the only variable we change, during the creation of Nightblood, is to use a different Allomantically-viable metal (say, iron or bronze instead of steel), but keep everything else constant (the same Breaths, same people doing the same visualization, and whatever other factors were involved), would it have manifested different powers/capabilities?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. Most likely.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 3 (Dec. 16, 2021)

 

So, the result we see is influenced by the shape and cognitive Identity of being a Sword (how it is perceived and how it perceived itself), the fact that the sword was Steel (as opposed to some other metal), and the Command Used. Any of those "ingredients" change, and the outcome is different. But the fact the Brandon says you could Command a Shield to "Destroy Evil" implies that the Command itself is not based upon the Awakener's perception of the object being Awakened - only that the object's Identity will influence how the Command is interpreted. 

Hope that helps.

Edited November 29, 2024 by Treamayne
SPAG

[KaladinWorldsinger]

12 hours ago, Trusk&#x27;our said:

I wonder if the Command wasn't the issue so much as an imprecise Intent. 

Commands are merely there to focus the Intent so the Investiture can more precisely carry it out.

  Hide contents

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/460-shardcast-interview/#e14636

Chaos

In Dawnshard we learned that Intent and Command are two different things, whereas in Warbreaker Vasher is clearly conflating these two into just saying it's the Command. What's the difference between Intent and Command?

Brandon Sanderson

Intent encompasses more understanding. Command is specifically narrow. A lot of times, these things are gonna be conflated, because they basically can be. Like, if Vasher creates an awakened thing and says "go get me those keys." The Intent is: "I need the keys to get outta here. I want to be free." The Command is: "Go fetch keys." Those are two different things, but they are working toward the same goal. It is important in cosmere terms that the Intent is understood, even if sometimes the words that can speak 'em are clunky and smaller in scale by nature than the Intent.

Let's say the Intent of a Shard encompasses more than the word that the Shard is described by. It's a similar thing that the Intent of a Command is often vaster than the actual words spoken. And the magic can grasp the Intent, not just the Command, depending on the magic system and how good you are at it, and things like that. The words are there to focus Intent. How about that?

<redacted>

Intent in this case would entail Vasher having lots more experience, being able to more accurately outline his desires for Nightblood in his own head before even considering Awakening the blade.

That's my current concensus, at least.

So, what intent should nightblood get so that it isn't super dangerous?

12 hours ago, Treamayne said:

What makes you think this was the goal?

I don't, I just wanted to know what Vasher would do if he got a redo. This time he doesn't want many people to die

12 hours ago, Treamayne said:

the result we see is influenced by the shape and cognitive Identity of being a Sword (how it is perceived and how it perceived itself), the fact that the sword was Steel (as opposed to some other metal), and the Command Used. Any of those "ingredients" change, and the outcome is different. But the fact the Brandon says you could Command a Shield to "Destroy Evil" implies that the Command itself is not based upon the Awakener's perception of the object being Awakened - only that the object's Identity will influence how the Command is interpreted. 

Well there are many commands that could be safe if there are are no constraints. I just wanted to know if there were any safe commands that started with "destroy"

[Treamayne]

5 hours ago, KaladinWorldsinger said:

So, what intent should nightblood get so that it isn't super dangerous?

I don't, I just wanted to know what Vasher would do if he got a redo. This time he doesn't want many people to die

Well there are many commands that could be safe if there are are no constraints. I just wanted to know if there were any safe commands that started with "destroy"

I don't know about rendering any "Destroy" Command "safe" - but I would guess when we learn more about Azure's blade, you'll have your answers about a less dangerous awakened Sword.

Spoiler

Quote

Questioner

The sword with which Azure fights? Is it a lot like Nightblood, maybe?

Brandon Sanderson

It shares some features, but is different.

Orem signing (Dec. 21, 2017)

Quote

Kurkistan

What is the Command of Vivenna's sword?

Brandon Sanderson

Uhhhhh... RAFO.

Oathbringer Chicago signing (Nov. 21, 2017)

Quote

LeFlshe

At Dragonsteel this year, you confirmed that Nightblood is not a Dawnshard. However, its abilities seem to be far greater than that of Vivenna’s blade, presumably made with the same method. This disparity may be due to the person who originally Awakened the swords and leads one to believe that Nightblood, despite not being the Dawnshard, had a Dawnshard involved in its creation. Therefore, is Shashara, the person who Awakened Nightblood, a Dawnshard?

Brandon Sanderson

Excellent questions. You’ve got one faulty premise: Vivenna’s sword was intentionally designed differently to not get another Nightblood. So let’s keep that in mind. That said, I don’t know that they could make another Nightblood if they wanted to. But she definitely did not want to, and there’s a different process that they use nowadays for safer swords.

Questioner 2

Is Vivenna’s sword better or worse than Nightblood?

Brandon Sanderson

Depends on what you want from the sword. Vivenna’s sword does not automatically suck the soul and Investiture out of anything it touches, disintegrating that which it touches, which is both a plus and a minus.

YouTube Spoiler Stream 6 (Dec. 19, 2023)

 

Hope that helps

[Returned he/him]

On 11/30/2024 at 1:17 AM, KaladinWorldsinger said:

I don't, I just wanted to know what Vasher would do if he got a redo. This time he doesn't want many people to die

With the opportunity for a do-over, I don't think that Vasher would have Awakened a sword at all, at least not even close to how he approached Nightblood. We see Vasher constantly revising his understanding of the cosmere and Investiture, meaning that he can't ever be totally sure that his understanding is good enough to do something so dangerous. Nightblood is unusual in a lot of ways but one of the most important is that he is a distinct entity with his own mind and agency (to some degree) and so it is hard to imagine a Command being predictable enough to be safe in the ways that Nightblood is not.

The potential big exception to this is Vivenna's sword. It seems different from Nightblood in many ways, especially in being less obviously dangerous. Still dangerous, though-- Vivenna warns a spren about her, stating that the sword didn't yet know the spren and implying some danger associated with that. So maybe the issue is solved and we just don't know how, or maybe Awakening swords is so far just incredibly dangerous.

It's also possible that Vasher opposed the creation of Vivenna's sword. My impression of Vasher is that he deeply regrets most things he's done which relate to Nightblood and is not interested in repeating any of it, though it's far from clear that this is the case.

[KaladinWorldsinger]

1 hour ago, Returned said:

With the opportunity for a do-over, I don't think that Vasher would have Awakened a sword at all, at least not even close to how he approached Nightblood. We see Vasher constantly revising his understanding of the cosmere and Investiture, meaning that he can't ever be totally sure that his understanding is good enough to do something so dangerous. Nightblood is unusual in a lot of ways but one of the most important is that he is a distinct entity with his own mind and agency (to some degree) and so it is hard to imagine a Command being predictable enough to be safe in the ways that Nightblood is not.

The potential big exception to this is Vivenna's sword. It seems different from Nightblood in many ways, especially in being less obviously dangerous. Still dangerous, though-- Vivenna warns a spren about her, stating that the sword didn't yet know the spren and implying some danger associated with that. So maybe the issue is solved and we just don't know how, or maybe Awakening swords is so far just incredibly dangerous.

It's also possible that Vasher opposed the creation of Vivenna's sword. My impression of Vasher is that he deeply regrets most things he's done which relate to Nightblood and is not interested in repeating any of it, though it's far from clear that this is the case.

Yea ok, but I specifically wanted to know if Vasher was sent to the exact point where he originally said "destroy evil" and got that redo instead. Ofcourse if he could stop the creation of nightblood altogether he would obviously do that, but that obviously wasn't what I was interested in.

I just wanted some fun commands to put on Nightblood. Everyone in this thread is taking it waaaay too seriously 

[Returned he/him]

19 minutes ago, KaladinWorldsinger said:

I just wanted some fun commands to put on Nightblood. Everyone in this thread is taking it waaaay too seriously 

Lol, the Shard is a place that attracts people who take the books seriously, and where they take them seriously! Especially a lot of the more frequent posters.

I would avoid Commanding a sword to do anything which involves value judgements, or ideally any judgement at all. "Destory kinetic Investiture", or something similar, might be workable. It's not clear to me that an Awakened object could do anything like that though. "Oppose evil" might take some of the raw destructiveness out of the Command, but then we have two poorly-defined words which are the basis of the sword's existence. If we just want the sword to not cause damage, maybe "never cut" would work, but that seems like a cruel thing to do to a sword that you are making self-aware. Maybe "defend wielder from immediate harm"? Wordy, though, and probably not enough to prevent the sword from hurting a lot of people.

I think that creating a sword and also trying to prevent the sword from causing death is a fundamental contradiction which is going to be hard to get around. The other issue is that the unintended consequences of an imperfect Command/Intent/visualization are really hard to predict, and I don't think that I could do it any better than Vasher could, so I have zero faith that I could figure out what the Command should have been. Vivenna's sword is a tantalizing potential counter-example, but outside of that I'm not sure there is a safe or effective Command, which would track with how Endowment works. Awakening has a very monkey's paw-like element to it, and trying to issue a Command that resolves to "function as I intend" seems inherently unworkable. So anything I can think of I would also assume will fail, undermining the exercise.

[Treamayne]

1 hour ago, KaladinWorldsinger said:

I just wanted some fun commands to put on Nightblood. Everyone in this thread is taking it waaaay too seriously

Maybe because you posted to the theory boards, where we prefer Book References, WoBs, deductive and inductive reasoning about known and unknown information.

If what you really want is "Fun alternate Nightblood Commands," then may I please recommend FGRS - home of things like "Boon/Bane Game" or "Wayne Trades" - or - General Discussion, home of things like Cosmere "Ships" and "These Stupid Ranks."

Those are great boards, designed to be less serious and more fun - but asking a Theoryboard to abandon Realmatics in the name of a joke may mean we are not your intended audience. And there is nothing wrong with that. 

Maybe something like:

Spoiler

Imagine the Awakening of Nightblood, then change one component (Command, Metal, Shape, etc.) and share how you think that one change would have affected the "Awakened Being that would not become Nightblood"

Spoiler

Such as an Awakened Steel Fountain Pen Commanded to Destroy Evil would only be able to stab policians. In the neck. 

 

 

Edited December 2, 2024 by Treamayne
Example/SPAG

[KaladinWorldsinger]

32 minutes ago, Treamayne said:

Maybe because you posted to the theory boards, where we prefer Book References, WoBs, deductive and inductive reasoning about known and unknown information.

This is a discussion forum tho. I have seen less formal discussions here too. Not everything is super serious all the time here. Mine isn't even that silly. I just wanted discussion on what to fill after "Destroy". I wasn't specifically looking for jokes, I just thought that they would be inevitable. I saw a very similar old post right here.

1 hour ago, Returned said:

never cut" would work, but that seems like a cruel thing to do to a sword that you are making self-aware.

Utilitarianism, I think this is a good command to give to nightblood.

Or maybe... "Destroy Nothing" do negative commands work?

1 hour ago, Returned said:

The other issue is that the unintended consequences of an imperfect Command/Intent/visualization are really hard to predict,

Destroy yourself?

Destroy Shashra?( Limiting the command to one single person to minimize destruction)

What happens to the Breath after the command is fulfilled? Would it just return to Vasher?

 

 

 

[Treamayne]

19 minutes ago, KaladinWorldsinger said:

This is a discussion forum tho. I have seen less formal discussions here too. Not everything is super serious all the time here. Mine isn't even that silly. I just wanted discussion on what to fill after "Destroy". I wasn't specifically looking for jokes, I just thought that they would be inevitable. I saw a very similar old post right here.

Sorry for misunderstanding. 

19 minutes ago, KaladinWorldsinger said:

Destroy Shashra?( Limiting the command to one single person to minimize destruction)

What happens to the Breath after the command is fulfilled? Would it just return to Vasher?

You do realize that Vasher did not Awaken Nightblood. Sharshara did. Vasher worked with her on the project (they worked together, as they were married) but the Breath and Command came from her, not him (though they agreed on the Command). 

Warbreaker Ch 51:

Spoiler

     Shashara had always been the most talented of them, far more capable than Vasher himself, who had used tricks—like encasing bones in steel or stone—to make his creations. Shashara had been spurred on by the knowledge that she’d been shown up by Yesteel and the development of ichor-alcohol. She had studied, experimented, practiced. And she’d done it. She’d learned to forge the Breath of a thousand people into a piece of steel, Awaken it to sentience, and give it a Command. That single Command took on immense power, providing a foundation for the personality of the object Awakened.
     With Nightblood, she and Vasher had spent much time in thought, then finally chosen a simple, yet elegant, Command. “Destroy evil.” It had seemed like such a perfect, logical choice. 

 

Edited December 2, 2024 by Treamayne
Ref

[Returned he/him]

37 minutes ago, KaladinWorldsinger said:

This is a discussion forum tho.

Discussion happened, it just wasn't the discussion you'd wanted. People focused on the "Vasher" part and not the "what Command would have been better" part. I can sympathize, having been on the other side of it! In a funny way it's kind of on-topic for the thread: the specific phrasing, and how it was interpreted, went in a totally different direction than what you'd intended. Though Shashara may have gotten what she wanted from Nightblood-- she seemed to use him enough, from what (very) little we know.

I thought of another, even more inert Command: "do nothing". I'm sure that could be monkey's paw-ed too, but I'm at a loss to think of how. Which I guess is the point of that whole story...

[KaladinWorldsinger]

2 hours ago, Treamayne said:

You do realize that Vasher did not Awaken Nightblood. Sharshara did. Vasher worked with her on the project (they worked together, as they were married) but the Breath and Command came from her, not him (though they agreed on the Command). 

Jesus Christ ma dude . Fine, in this hypothetical scenario, Vasher is forced to awaken nightblood before Shashara does, but is still allowed to give another command that starts with "Destroy blank"

Is there anything else I have missed

1 hour ago, Returned said:

Command: "do nothing". I'm sure that could be monkey's paw-ed too, but I'm at a loss to

I thought of this too, but is do nothing even a command 

[alder24]

Guys, I think there is a way simpler Command that won't include any destruction or vague things like this - be a sword. From all the things that exist in Cosmere, being a sword is one single thing that a steel sword does understand and won't need to define abstract concepts. No destruction, no evil, just do the one thing you're good at and become sentient. Simple and effective. He would become a highly invested Awakened sentient entity and with the visualization that includes how Shardblades work, he would most definitely end up cutting the soul like Shardblades do. He would be way closer to Vivenna's blade than to what he ended up in reality. 

There aren't many things that a sword can do, so it's a good idea to stay among those things rather than going abstract. Doing nothing for example is just the weirdest - what does it even mean? Command is just one part of Awakening, more important is visualization, both must fit each other. How do you visualize a sword doing nothing? What does nothing even mean? This makes no sense. Being a sword is just way better. He's already doing it so he knows how to be a sword - just add extra favor with visualization and it's safely done. 

[Trusk'our he/him]

30 minutes ago, alder24 said:

Guys, I think there is a way simpler Command that won't include any destruction or vague things like this - be a sword. From all the things that exist in Cosmere, being a sword is one single thing that a steel sword does understand and won't need to define abstract concepts. No destruction, no evil, just do the one thing you're good at and become sentient. Simple and effective. He would become a highly invested Awakened sentient entity and with the visualization that includes how Shardblades work, he would most definitely end up cutting the soul like Shardblades do. He would be way closer to Vivenna's blade than to what he ended up in reality. 

There aren't many things that a sword can do, so it's a good idea to stay among those things rather than going abstract. Doing nothing for example is just the weirdest - what does it even mean? Command is just one part of Awakening, more important is visualization, both must fit each other. How do you visualize a sword doing nothing? What does nothing even mean? This makes no sense. Being a sword is just way better. He's already doing it so he knows how to be a sword - just add extra favor with visualization and it's safely done. 

I mean, the most powerful being in the Cosmere does understand its own purpose to be "a stick" after all 

But yeah, I think your reasoning has a lot of validity. Less ambiguity should mean a more tightly controlled Intent, especially given that a sword understands that concept. 

Other interesting side note: if the cognitive aspect of inanimate objects is merely a reflection of sapient beings' perception of them, would even this Command generate different effects based on where it comes from?

Say, a sword weilded by Adolin would show greater honor and posses abilities better suited for sparing, while one weilded by young Dalinar would just want to be bathed in blood and have abilities better suited for that.

This could mean even such a simple Command as this has some real leeway in interpretation.

Edited December 3, 2024 by Trusk'our

[alder24]

1 minute ago, Trusk&#x27;our said:

Other interesting side note: if the cognitive aspect of inanimate objects is merely a reflection of sapient beings' perception of them, would even this Command generate different effects based on where it comes from?

Say, a sword weilded by Adolin would show greater honor and posses abilities better suited for sparing, while one weilded by young Dalinar would just want to be bathed in blood and have abilities better suited for that.

This could mean even such a simple Command as this has some real leeway in interpretation.

That's why visualization matters. Adolin and Blackthorn would have different interpretations of what a sword is and thus different visualizations.

And rather than getting some awesome various abilities, the biggest difference would be in Nightblood's personality. Command is a foundation for type 4 personality, that means that Adolin's conception of a sword would give him a different personality than Blackthorn's one. Adolin's Nightblood probably would be more about testing your skills and honorable duels, while Blackthorn's would think more like a tool meant for killing (but still not as bloodthirsty as the real Nightblood). Some abilities might differ but I don't think the difference would be as noticeable as the difference in personalities.

 However Vasher and Shashara specifically wanted to recreate a Shardblade with Awakening, so their visualization would specifically reflect what a Shardblade is, even with the simple Command "be a sword."

He would still feed on investiture, it seems like type 4 needs to do that just like Returned (Vivenna's blade still feeds on color, which is part of a soul) so you can't avoid that, but you can avoid creating a sword that feeds on everything it touches with this type of Command. 

[Returned he/him]

I think that "be a sword" is a solid Command for this purpose, and I think that it's a good guess for what Vivenna's Command was when she created her own. I do wonder if it would have worked as intended here for Shashara though: she seems to have wanted a powerful, destructive sword and the thread's goal of limiting Nightblood's destructiveness may simply not have been what her visualization and Intent would produce. Though it would probably still have been an improvement on the actual Nightblood's behavior!

If a sword's purpose is to kill and destroy, even a well-intentioned Awakener might still run into trouble with minimizing its destructiveness with any Command. There's just too much unspecified abstraction in the intent and visualization components of Awakening for anyone to feel confident in a given Command performing exactly as planned, particularly when creating a permanent, self-aware entity.

[Leuthie]

It seems like the biggest problem is the inability for a steel sword to understand the concept of "evil". So the Command needs to remove any moral ambiguity, any need for the object to interpret. This might be possible with sufficiently clear Intent. This implies that Shashara, herself, didn't quite have a clear view of "evil". Fits the story. So someone with a clearer view of "evil" or a better capacity for imparting a clear Intent focused on evil would give the same Command and result in a safer sword. 

But I've always contended that the biggest problem with Nightblood was the Command to Destroy. How does an inanimate object, like a steel sword, destroy? Well, if you stuff it full of Investiture, it uses the only tool at its disposal: Investiture. So Nightblood sucks Investiture in order to Destroy. That's all it can do to fulfill its Command. After all, a weapon doesn't destroy things. A weapon is a tool that the wielder uses to destroy things. The danger of Nightblood was created by the Command to Destroy.

A lot of Nightblood's abilities come from the simple fact that he's stuffed full of Investiture, and Investiture develops it's own sapience over time. In fact, many of his abilities are only available when he's sheathed, when he can't destroy evil. It's the Investiture being what it is. When he's unsheathed, that sapience is pushed aside in favor of the Command until he's sheathed again. If he's not sheathed, he sucks Investiture until he has too much Investiture to suck anymore, making it impossible to follow his Command, but his sapience still doesn't return.

Also, he's such a large presence in the Cognitive Realm that he can affect the Cognitive aspects of others around him. This has nothing to do with the Command. 

 

In any case, I don't think Commands that aren't Commands ("do nothing" "stay here" "be a sword" etc) would result in anything interesting. Steel swords are already doing those things. I think we have to know what animates a Spren and choose a Command and Intent that creates that. "Be Honorable" "Protect Me" "Protect Others" "Collect Lies" "Enforce Rules" etc.

I think "Help me protect others" is a great Command. Nightblood could have used his internal Investiture to provide more Skill and Power to the wielder to better use him for protection. Or just sucked Investiture from the targets that the wielder was protecting others from. Maybe. How would a steel sword ruin that Command?

Edited December 3, 2024 by Leuthie

[Duxredux he/him]

It's hard to say what Vasher has developed since helping Shashara create Nightblood, but looking through the known Commands...

I'm not convinced that Awakening a Type 4 object leaves the object totally on its own for decision making. I mean, we see Vasher giving conditional Commands and even bestowing his fighting ability to a shirt and pair of pants that didn't even belong to him. Now there are certainly going to be consequences to curbing a sentient weapon, but I'm not sure how much more extreme they would be than the way Nightblood ended up. I might try "Cut things other than me" or "Fight for me as if you were me".

That said, I'm wondering if there needs to be some sort of Command or Visualization component that will have the sword actively draw Investiture from the target, as both Nightblood and Vivenna's sword to. Destroy might fit into that.

If "Be a sword" is a valid Command, there might be interesting side effects. In the same way that most Cosmere healing restores a person to their spiritual ideal, this might create a weapon that repairs itself and actively resists any damage to itself in order to "Be a sword". Presumably if it was made of conventional materials, it would draw on Investiture to obey its Command. Nightblood probably is nigh-indestructible because of his sheer Investiture and how he tries to destroy anything he's swung at, but not every weapon will be like that.