Rysn?

[Ookla the Invariably Tired]

I haven't seen anyone talking about Rysn at all, but if they have, please point me there.

In the meantime, I have some thoughts and ideas to pose.

Rysn was one of the interlude characters from the beginning, part of the story since WoK. She never seemed to have much relevance, and her story, while intermingling with the rest of the characters, always had its own track. It seems clear that Brandon has (likely) big plans for her and Chiri Chiri, as a dawnshard.

IIRC, dawnshards are what were used to kill Adonalsium, but there were only four, so not all 16 vessels wielded one. I assume that Hoid held one at the time of the Shattering, as his story to Dalinar seems to imply that he held the dawnshard very early in his life. Do we know what would happen if two dawnshards were to come together, as almost happened in Rysn's interlude? Additionally, why does having radiant powers matter so much to holding a dawnshard? Hoid held numerous different powers, including allomancy and surgebinding. None of them seemed to compound one another, and he was able to use them normally, without any obvious enhancement of his abilities. 

What does all of this mean for Rysn? It seems clear she intends to keep the dawndshard and remain on Roshar, but other than that we don't know a lot. Also, what is the association between the dawnshard and the sleepless, and why do the sleepless not know about Hoid holding the dawnshard again? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[alder24]

13 hours ago, Thalydon said:

I haven't seen anyone talking about Rysn at all, but if they have, please point me there.

There are some topics about Rysn in the WaT Cosmere spoiler section. If you read other Cosmere books, you should check it out.

13 hours ago, Thalydon said:

Do we know what would happen if two dawnshards were to come together, as almost happened in Rysn's interlude?

We don't, but it seems it would have been very destructive and both current holders of Dawnshards would die in the process.

13 hours ago, Thalydon said:

Additionally, why does having radiant powers matter so much to holding a dawnshard?

For several reasons. The main one is that she would be able to utilize her Dawnshard to its full potential. With access to Surges, she could supercharge her Surgebinding and release a massive amount of power - a power that could destroy even a planet. Ashyn was destroyed by using a Dawnshard together with Surgebinding. There are also other reasons, explained in the Sunlit Man. The Sunlit Man spoilers:

Spoiler

Dawnshards can draw on any available source of investiture, that includes souls. They can use a spren as a fuel and consume it entirely. 

 

13 hours ago, Thalydon said:

Hoid held numerous different powers, including allomancy and surgebinding. None of them seemed to compound one another, and he was able to use them normally, without any obvious enhancement of his abilities. 

Hoid has much, much more experience than anyone else in Cosmere at almost everything. He held a Dawnshard for a very long time, he knows how to control it, he knows how to hide it and knows how to not use it. He knows a lot about realmatics, Intent and investiture so his control over his Invested Arts is much greater than others. Moreover, Hoids Dawnshard has a side effect that prevents its holder from hurting others, which is a little safety factor (not that reliable if you ask me).

13 hours ago, Thalydon said:

Also, what is the association between the dawnshard and the sleepless, and why do the sleepless not know about Hoid holding the dawnshard again?

Seems like Rosharan Sleepless took upon themselves the duty to protect the Change Dawnshard after its ancient guardians (Lanceryn/Larkins) went extinct. They didn't know about Hoid because they mistook Dawnshard's effects on him as after-effects of holding and giving up a Dawnshard, just like Hoid intended. We don't know if they are aware of location of all Dawnshards, nor if they are involved in their protection. 

Edited December 24, 2024 by alder24

[Ookla the Invariably Tired]

Thanks. That is interesting. I hope we see more of Rysn in the future, as she is sure to play a part: all the dawnshards will likely be influential in the coming books.

[Xaladin he/him]

I thought from Rysn’s last scene that she is going to invent spaceflight.

[Teravangian]

Did we ever learn where Rysn decided to go?