Oathgate mechanics

[Xabben]

The usage of an oathgate in the physical realm is pretty clear: you use a shardblade to activate the fabrial, and you move the "dial" to one of the 10 possible destinations. However... What do you do if you instead want to go to Shadesmar? Is there an 11th option in the "dial"?

 

On the other hand, in the Azimir's battle, the singers are able to transport back to shadesmar without using any shardblade (that we know of). How is this possible?

[Treamayne]

6 hours ago, Xabben said:

However... What do you do if you instead want to go to Shadesmar? Is there an 11th option in the "dial"?

How far into the books have you read? RoW Ch 21:

Spoiler

Today, Shallan did something different. At a nod from him, she summoned her Shardblade and fit it into the keyhole on the wall. Then she kept pushing, her sword melting out like a silvery puddle on the wall, the hilt flowing like liquid around her hand.

She lifted her hand upward, moving the entire locking mechanism straight up. In a flash, they were thrown into Shadesmar.

Hope that helps

[ChillPenguin]

I don’t know if this is true but it seems to me the shardblade communicates to the inkspren that the person accessing the gate has permission. The shardblade is a key. In Shadesmar, the singers can just talk to the inkspren on that side of the gate. I’m not sure how they’d go back into Shadesmar.

Also of note, Shallan going to a gate after WaT, she can’t pass even with a shardblade. The key is no longer valid. I would guess that someone on Retribution’s team could use a shardblade to work the gate. So it all comes back to intent I guess

Edited yesterday at 05:05 PM by ChillPenguin

[Frustration]

26 minutes ago, ChillPenguin said:

I don’t know if this is true but it seems to me the shardblade communicates to the inkspren that the person accessing the gate has permission. The shardblade is a key. In Shadesmar, the singers can just talk to the inkspren on that side of the gate. I’m not sure how they’d go back into Shadesmar.

Also of note, Shallan going to a gate after WaT, she can’t pass even with a shardblade. The key is no longer valid. I would guess that someone on Retribution’s team could use a shardblade to work the gate. So it all comes back to intent I guess

Shallan couldn't because she didn't have the stormlight to make the transfer