Retribution's Empire

[Qianweilian He/him]

What happens in Retribution's empire he now controls? Will the Fused still rule, or will they fight? With Taravangian let the humans and singers make a government? Will they ever see the sun again, or is Roshar now just a planet of constant storms? What terms did Fen negotiate?

[StanLemon]

Based on negotiations, I'm assuming that some countries will remain human controlled. Also with Iri being abandoned, that can effectively become another Singer capital as well.

[RedBlue]

The fact that different countries made different bargains with Odium suggests to me that they will be governed differently. Governments that negotiated with Odium will continue to rule, but as subordinates who take orders from Retribution. Countries that were conquered will have Retribution’s agents — presumably Fused — installed as a new government.

I think countries that negotiated protections for their citizens will become centres of industry, to support the war machine, while everywhere else will focus on raising and training armies. A small problem Retribution has is that he has nobody to attack for ‘training’ purposes. To build up his armies’ experience, he may have to find or invent an enemy so that he can prosecute a low-stakes campaign against it.

And I think the storm is permanent in areas that belong to him. There’s a reason it’s called the ‘Night of Sorrows.’ Retribution will want a constant, oppressive reminder of his dominance so he can wear people down psychologically. It’s the same with making them ask him for Light — it’s psychological warfare against his own people, making sure they feel dependent on him.

[Shuffel]

1 minute ago, RedBlue said:

The fact that different countries made different bargains with Odium suggests to me that they will be governed differently. Governments that negotiated with Odium will continue to rule, but as subordinates who take orders from Retribution. Countries that were conquered will have Retribution’s agents — presumably Fused — installed as a new government.

I think countries that negotiated protections for their citizens will become centres of industry, to support the war machine, while everywhere else will focus on raising and training armies. A small problem Retribution has is that he has nobody to attack for ‘training’ purposes. To build up his armies’ experience, he may have to find or invent an enemy so that he can prosecute a low-stakes campaign against it.

And I think the storm is permanent in areas that belong to him. There’s a reason it’s called the ‘Night of Sorrows.’ Retribution will want a constant, oppressive reminder of his dominance so he can wear people down psychologically. It’s the same with making them ask him for Light — it’s psychological warfare against his own people, making sure they feel dependent on him.

Dalinar talks about the first steps of training Retributions army. He said they would do isolated attacks on other planets to train their troops.