Oathgates can...?

[Xabben]

Can you use an Oathgate to go directly from city A to city B without passing through Urithiru? I have read in multiple threads that this is not possible, but I haven't been able to find the concrete passage where this is mentioned in the books...

[Returned he/him]

I think so. The mechanism is like a rotary: you insert the Shardblade into the slot, rotate it to the destination you want (shifting the whole thing up to travel to = your current Oathgate in Shadesmar), and when you remove the Blade the Oathgate engages and you are transported to the corresponding place.

Quote

Now the mechanism's operation became clear to her. Shallan threw her weight against the sword, pushing it before her like the spoke on a mill. The inner wall of the building was like a ring in a tube--it could rotate, while the outer wall remained in place. [...] Adolin threw his weight against the sword with her, and together they pushed it around the circle until they were above the picture of Urithiru, half the circumference from Natanatan where she'd begun. She pulled her Blade free.

The ten lamps faded like closing eyes. (Words of Radiance, page 1,037).

 

[Xabben]

53 minutes ago, Returned said:

I think so. The mechanism is like a rotary: you insert the Shardblade into the slot, rotate it to the destination you want (shifting the whole thing up to travel to = your current Oathgate in Shadesmar), and when you remove the Blade the Oathgate engages and you are transported to the corresponding place.

 

But, I think that somewhere in oathbringer, they mention that they currently only know how to move to urithiru and back...

 

Anyway, if the oathgates can transport people without passing through Urithiru during the events of Wind and Truth, why didn't the singers use the oathgates in Azimir and the Shattered Plains to transport troops directly from the oathgate in Kholinar?

Edited Saturday at 05:57 PM by Xabben

[NameIess]

4 minutes ago, Xabben said:

But, I think that somewhere in oathbringer, they mention that they currently only know how to move to urithiru and back...

 

Anyway, if the oathgates can transport people without passing through Urithiru during the events of Wind and Truth, why didn't the singers use the oathgates in Azimir and the Shattered Plains to transport troops directly from the oathgate in Kholinar?

If it was possible, then it’s also likely possible to lock the oathgates to transport specifically from other oathgates. But I don’t think we see it happen on-screen, so perhaps it isn’t possible.

[Xabben]

8 minutes ago, NameIess said:

If it was possible, then it’s also likely possible to lock the oathgates to transport specifically from other oathgates. But I don’t think we see it happen on-screen, so perhaps it isn’t possible.

That is my exact concern: does this direct transportation without passing through urithiru ever happen in the books? I would say that the answer is no.

[The White Drake]

 

Spoiler

CaptainRyan (paraphrased)

Are city Oathgates only capable of teleporting to Uruthiru or can they send people to any of the other Oathgates? E.g. Can you travel directly from the Oathgate in Stormseat to the Oathgate in Kholinar?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

For now, they are only to Uruthiru.

 

Spoiler

PrncRny (paraphrased)

Can any Oathgate go to any of the 11 locations?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

As far as [the people who discovered Urithiru] are aware, the gates can only go to Urithiru.

 

These were given before Rhythm of War, so the 'for now' and 'as far as they are aware' parts may be relevant.

Edited Saturday at 08:32 PM by The White Drake