Adolin using corrupted investiture?

[Nitpicking]

So Adolin's (and the other Unoathed's) Plate glows orange-red.

Corrupted Investiture? If not, whose Investiture has the color orange-red?

[TheoreticalMagic]

Instead of the presence of red implying active corruption, maybe it could've been orange-red because what Adolin and the dead-eyes did started burning out the corruption of Honor's Investiture that happened when the Knights all broke their oaths at the Recreance in ADDITION to Bo-Ado-Mishram....who had just seized some of Odium's power from his Shardpool...being imprisoned and that having major ripple effects throughout Roshar, due to how Invested in it both Honor and Odium were.

By reclaiming - or making anew - Honor based bonds via a wholly new kind of pact that didn't require spoken oaths but rather just an unspoken understanding between Adolin and the dead-eyes, a mutual promise to always together try and do what they believed was in the SPIRIT of Honor....maybe that sort of reignited what was left of the old broken bonds the dead-eyes had, that were holding them back. And the red signified the corruption and rot of what all those broken oaths had become over the millennia, perverting the original spirit of the bonds when spren first began pairing with Surgebinders.....and this new approach to working together that was based in common goals and mutual trust rather than adherence to strict and all too easily broken rules basically turned whatever was left and usable from the original bonds into kindling that fueled the forging of these newer, stronger bonds?

I'm not sure of the mechanics exactly, but I don't think there's anything insidious about the presence of red when the Unoathed first appeared.....that narrative did a lot of build-up to earn a sense of triumph from that moment. Too much so for me to believe it was a red herring and there's some secret trap yet to come, with the red being a warning of some kind. As of now, I'm viewing it as a cleansing of what didn't work and replacing it with something new and sturdier. Plus, I just don't think it had anything to do with the Investiture of an as yet unrevealed Shard (and I say this as someone who does believe that Reason might be hiding on Roshar). This was a huge climactic moment that built off of several books' storylines. It just doesn't work in my mind for it to turn out after the fact that surprise, it was another Shard's Investiture all along, someone that there was genuinely no real possibility of suspecting had a hand in that, without the requisite buildup.

This however, even if I have the mechanics/logistics of it wrong, could build nicely off of what was already laid in place and as of now I'm looking it as kinda thematically saying even as Dalinar was reflecting on the negative side of Honor and all that the harm that can come from it, his son was leading the charge in proving that there is still value in Honor, with the strongest expressions of it coming from simple acts and values rather than anything performative. Especially since all of that came about directly from Adolin reflecting on his and his father's conflicting views on vows vs promises, perceived Honor versus Honorable behavior, etc.

[Asininity]

It could be original color of his Shardplate - Stoneward/Dustbringer?

I have a pet theory that Autonomy is preventing Shards from naturally reforming, by making splinters autonomous.

Quote

- Autonomy is ultimately an Intent about individualism, self-actualization, and creative self-expression.
- She seeks those who are capable of surviving on their own and defying the odds.
- She pushes her followers to prove themselves, and she rewards those who are bold.
- She respects big plans and big accomplishments.
- Due to her Intent, she rewards even those that go against her, if they are successful.

Say one thing for Adolin Kholin, say he's on Autonomy's radar.
Autonomy investing splinters and letting them act outside of rules established by Honor/Cultivaton/Odium could give off the red hue.
So if I had to bet on another Shard being involved it would be her

[Dofurion]

There are at least 2 conjectures.

1. Another shard is taking hold on Roshar (Possibly it is Valor) and the Unoathed's are their approach to the Cultivation equation, the color they are manifesting would be the color of said shard. 
   Cons: The glow of Notum's shardplate continues to shine blue.
2. That is a particular case of Adolin and Yanagawn's shardplate, this can occur if Adolin's armor is composed of Flamespren's or Bindspren's. The Stoneward's shardplates are orange and the Dustbringer's are red.
   Note: The most likely reason for this is that it is a Dustbringer shardplate, mainly due to the multiple references to flames in this book.

   Quote

   Then, in the dark throne room, a flickering orange-red light like a fire’s flame started to glow from the joints of his armor and from the front of his helm.

   Quote

   Sir! the voices cried. In that instant—as Adolin was flung toward his death—a burst of light, like sparks thrown by a hammer on steel, exploded from Abidi and became a swarm of embers. Which flashed to surround Adolin.

   Quote

   Adolin Kholin—in Shardplate painted blue, shining between the joints with a flaming orange glow—strode out of the throne room.

   It should also be noted that Adolin's shardplate has already been related to a Dustbringer shardplate during Dalinar's visions.

   Quote

   “We’re approaching another group of soldiers who stand in the water, holding spears wardingly in all directions. There are perhaps a dozen of them; I’m in the company of another dozen. And… yes, there’s someone in the middle of them. Shardbearer. Glowing armor.”
   Not just a Shardbearer. Radiant. A knight in resplendent Shardplate that glowed with a deep red at the joints and in certain markings. Armor did that in the shadowdays. This vision was taking place before the Recreance. 
   Like all Shardplate, the armor was distinctive. With that skirt of chain links, those smooth joints, the vambraces that extended back just so… Storms, that looked like Adolin’s armor, though this armor pulled in more at the waist. Female? Dalinar couldn’t tell for certain, as the faceplate was down.

   Although I personally tend to think that it is a Stoneward armor given the behavior of the sprens that compose it. Mainly because of the "Sir" part.
   Note: The shardplates are the color of the order from which they originate, not of the spren that make it up, the Creationspren are silver but the Lightwaver's armor is scarlet and the Bindspren's are blue but the Stoneward's shardplate is orange.

[MagicMaggot]

28 minutes ago, Dofurion said:

Although I personally tend to think that it is a Stoneward armor given the behavior of the sprens that compose it. Mainly because of the "Sir" part.

Well, even Adolin's Cultivationspren is a military type, and with historical Dustbringers being all about self-mastery I don't think the "Sir!" is much of a hint here. The "swarm of embers" as flamespren seems more convincing to me, now that we know the spren of each armor.

 

[Ewery1]

5 hours ago, Dofurion said:

There are at least 2 conjectures.

1. Another shard is taking hold on Roshar (Possibly it is Valor) and the Unoathed's are their approach to the Cultivation equation, the color they are manifesting would be the color of said shard. 
   Cons: The glow of Notum's shardplate continues to shine blue.
2. That is a particular case of Adolin and Yanagawn's shardplate, this can occur if Adolin's armor is composed of Flamespren's or Bindspren's. The Stoneward's shardplates are orange and the Dustbringer's are red.
   Note: The most likely reason for this is that it is a Dustbringer shardplate, mainly due to the multiple references to flames in this book.

   It should also be noted that Adolin's shardplate has already been related to a Dustbringer shardplate during Dalinar's visions.

   Although I personally tend to think that it is a Stoneward armor given the behavior of the sprens that compose it. Mainly because of the "Sir" part.
   Note: The shardplates are the color of the order from which they originate, not of the spren that make it up, the Creationspren are silver but the Lightwaver's armor is scarlet and the Bindspren's are blue but the Stoneward's shardplate is orange.

Also, if a Shard like Valor is intervening, using Investiture of Cultivation & Honor, that would be corruption, therefore red. Corruption isn’t *bad* or *good*, it’s something like an alteration of intent or another force highjacking power. So this could work - maybe the Shard’s color is orange and the red comes from the corruption.

[SirNoSell]

On 1/11/2025 at 6:08 PM, Dofurion said:

mainly due to the multiple references to flames in this book.

I actually think this has more to do with the body focus and soul casting properties of the Dustbringers but I don't know who to connect it to make sense.