Windrunner416 Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 Hey, first time posting here, so if this is a dumb question then I apologize, but why did the desolation start when Chana broke after Shallan killed her? If the weight of the Oathpact was put onto Taln, then why did Chana return to Braize, and then why was she able to begin the desolation by breaking? My guess here is that her return to Braize was likely what started the desolation, not her breaking. The Oathpact v2 (as opposed to the original or post WaT) was made specifically so that only one could hold it (as the only other viable numbers were 4,10,16 if I remember correctly). Her returning may have restructured the Oathpact into an unstable two-member arrangement that quickly collapsed. 1
Ookla she/her Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 I think it's because the Oathpact wasn't fully broken/dissolved and placed onto Taln (There's a WoB [Word of Brandon] about it somewhere; someone more knowledgeable help), so when Chana went back to Braize it still applied to her. Or something. Side note, for the people who know, how the heck do you look up/find WoBs?
Aredor Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 1 hour ago, Ookla said: Side note, for the people who know, how the heck do you look up/find WoBs? Having too much time on my hands does help... But seriously, if you go to http://wob.coppermind.net it's got every recorded wob in there. 1 hour ago, Ookla said: someone more knowledgeable help Here you go Spoiler Questioner With the Heralds we know that there's only one left... one Herald that's still bound to the Oathpact-- Brandon Sanderson OK, only one Herald was about, was abandoned-- You'll find out the mechanics of that in the next book. Questioner So are we going to see more of Taln... Brandon Sanderson You will see more of-- the Oathpact is not completely broken, the others are still bound to the Oathpact. Questioner Even though they kind of sort of said they were abandoning it? Brandon Sanderson Yes, so there's still connection there, so you'll find out more about all of this and how it works. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/127/#e5186 1
Knuti Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 So when Chana broke, she returned voluntarily to Roshar. Taln was evicted at the same moment, an event, that was recorded in WoK by Hoid. The Fused were freed too, but only returned after the Parshendi created the Everstorm. 1
Treamayne Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 1 hour ago, Ookla said: I think it's because the Oathpact wasn't fully broken/dissolved and placed onto Taln (There's a WoB [Word of Brandon] about it somewhere; someone more knowledgeable help), so when Chana went back to Braize it still applied to her. Or something. Side note, for the people who know, how the heck do you look up/find WoBs? The Sharder FAQ has an entire section on using the Arcanum to search for WoBs. 2 hours ago, Windrunner416 said: If the weight of the Oathpact was put onto Taln, The weight of the Oathpact was put on "the heralds that returned to Braize" - which, until Chana's death, was only Taln. WoB: Spoiler luke.spence (paraphrased) What caused a Desolation to end? Was it just the defeat of Odium's forces? Because the Desolations start when the Heralds break under torture. Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Because the Heralds can no longer be in existence. There is a certain period of time that they can be there, and after that, if they're there, they will start a new one. So the Heralds do need to leave for a Desolation to end darkanimereal1 (paraphrased) Oh. So they've got a time limit. Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) They do. Otherwise the Desolation will start again. What they discovered is not all of them have to. As long as one remains, the Desolation will not start again. luke.spence (paraphrased) So, by the nine leaving, did that actually break the Oathpact for them? Did it change the cycle of Desolations? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) They have not completely broken the Oathpact, despite what they may think. Words of Radiance Dayton signing (March 19, 2014) Any herald on Braize that bends their oath to allow a Return will start a desolation. For 4000+ years it was Taln and he did not break. Chana did. Quickly. 4
Knuti Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 11 minutes ago, Treamayne said: The Sharder FAQ has an entire section on using the Arcanum to search for WoBs. The weight of the Oathpact was put on "the heralds that returned to Braize" - which, until Chana's death, was only Taln. WoB: Reveal hidden contents luke.spence (paraphrased) What caused a Desolation to end? Was it just the defeat of Odium's forces? Because the Desolations start when the Heralds break under torture. Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) Because the Heralds can no longer be in existence. There is a certain period of time that they can be there, and after that, if they're there, they will start a new one. So the Heralds do need to leave for a Desolation to end darkanimereal1 (paraphrased) Oh. So they've got a time limit. Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) They do. Otherwise the Desolation will start again. What they discovered is not all of them have to. As long as one remains, the Desolation will not start again. luke.spence (paraphrased) So, by the nine leaving, did that actually break the Oathpact for them? Did it change the cycle of Desolations? Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased) They have not completely broken the Oathpact, despite what they may think. Words of Radiance Dayton signing (March 19, 2014) Any herald on Braize that bends their oath to allow a Return will start a desolation. For 4000+ years it was Taln and he did not break. Chana did. Quickly. I think quickly is relative. It is 6 years in between and we do not know how much time of that under torture. 1
Treamayne Posted January 29, 2025 Posted January 29, 2025 2 minutes ago, Knuti said: I think quickly is relative. Absolutely relative to Taln's 4000+ years. 1
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