Unite Them

[HurinThalion]

Just wondering, 

if spren are all little (in some cases slightly bigger) pieces of Honor, could the command "Unite Them" apply to recreating Honor out of, say, a few of the bigger spren? It wouldn't be the first time Dalinar misinterpreted the visions. Also, the Parshendi had Gavilar assassinated because what he was doing would bring the Parshendi gods (Odium (I think)) back. If Honor was recreated, Odium would almost certainly come back to Roshar. Perhaps Gavilar understood the message better?

 

Please don't hesitate to tear this theory apart if I'm wrong. Or if it's already been thought of.

[blad3mast3r]

That..... is AMAZING!  

 

Great thery! Upvote!

 

(i officially espouse this)

[dvoraen]

While I think there's a grain of truth in this, I do think Honor's vision really meant the Radiants and humanity.  They wouldn't be able to hold out during the Desolation if they were fractured and not putting up a united front against the enemy.

 

That said, "Act with honor, and honor will aid you," most likely had a double meaning as far as advice.  I do think that Honor will be un-Splintered as a result of the storyline, however.

[AndrewStirlingMacDonald]

Also, the Night Watcher is called a spren at some point, but we know that it is a manifestation of Cultivation, not of Honor.  Still I really like where this theory is going, it leads to some interesting avenues of speculation.

Edited February 6, 2015 by AndrewStirlingMacDonald

[natc]

Also, the Night Watcher is called a spren at some point, but we know that it is a manifestation of Cultivation, not of Honor. Still I really like where this theory is going, it leads to some interesting avenues of speculation.

IIRC most of the spren were not pure Honor in the first place.

On the subject of reviving the shard of Honor though. If we really do end up seeing the shards unsplintered I wonder how many "ascensions" (for lack of a better non-Mistborn term) we will witness until the end of this whole Cosmere saga?

Edited February 6, 2015 by natc

[Shlee]

Yes, the spren are a mix of Honor and Cultivation, and there were also Adonalsium spren in existence.

 

 

ZAS

Nohadon mentioned that "All the spren aren’t as discerning as honorspren."

BRANDON SANDERSON

So there has been dissension among them about who gets to call themselves honorspren, if that makes sense, and there is some disagreement among scholars about which ones are really, you know "This is what defines an honorspren".

But the spren you are running into are all (something) of either Honor or Cultivation, or some mixture between them. And you can usually tell the ones that are more Honor, and the ones that are more Cultivation. That should be able to be (something).

 

 

 

 

BRANDON SANDERSON

They are not, because they have not attained self-awareness. But, the Seons are self-aware. So, any piece, for instance there were some spren on Roshar before Honor and Cultivation got there. Those were already Splinters of Adonalsium where he had left power which attained sentience on its own. So, it can be intentional is what I am saying, does that make sense? You have seen other splinters.

 

 

 

 

And there were obviously spren when both Honor and Cultivation were both still intact, otherwise we wouldn't have had the Radiants. We do know however, that there are more spren now than there were Pre-Recreance.

 

 

“Not just one people,” Pattern said, solemn. “Many. Spren with minds were less plentiful then, and the majorities of several spren peoples were all bonded. There were very few survivors. The one you call Stormfather lived. Some others. The rest, thousands of us, were killed when the event happened. You call it the Recreance.” - WoR Chapter 75

 

Which is interesting - would it be better to have fewer spren/intact Honor, or more spren with minds (and therefore the potential for more windrunners/other orders) and shattered Honor?  Perhaps Honor is a power that is more limited when subjected to a single shardholder's interpretation, as opposed to the interpretation of multiple Knights bonded to honorspren? I'm leaning towards having more Knights....assuming we don't get a second Recreance. 

[Green Hoodie Mistborn]

I'm not sure how I feel about this idea. 

 

I like the idea of Dalinar taking up Honor's shard, but at the same time, I don't want Brandon to "cheapen" the story-line/effect of having Sazed take up Ruin/Preservation from the Mistborn books. It would make me feel like the Cosmere was just a big D&D campaign where each player's favorite character from different adventures/smaller campaigns got to ascend at the end as their big send off. 

 

I would much rather see the humans of Roshar manage to figure out a different and more difficult way to beat Odium. Seems like a 5 or 10 book arc (depending on which one Odium is finally defeated in) is more deserving of something more than, "I assembled Honor, now I'm as powerful as Odium...". Maybe that is what Brandon ultimately has planned, and I'm sure that it will be well written and there would be struggle even in that plot arc, but it would feel weaker to me since he has already completed a series in that way. 

[Aleksiel]

Don't blame Dalinar for misinterpreting the visions. Tanavast could hardly make them any more ambiguous 

 

Here's some quotes on 'unite them'

 

 

“Someone must lead them.”

“I will do it,” Dalinar said. The words just came out.

“Someone must unite them.”

“I will do it.”

“Someone must protect them.”

 

 

You must unite them, the strange, booming words had told him. You must prepare. Build of your people a fortress of strength and peace, a wall to resist the winds. Cease squabbling and unite. The Everstorm comes.

 

 

“I wish I could help you,” Taffa said, looking at Dalinar but ignoring his questions. “You have to

unite them.”

“As you’ve said before! But I need help. The things the knight said about Alethkar. Are they

true? Can we really be that way again?”

“To speak of what might be is forbidden,” the voice said. “To speak of what was depends on perspective. But I will try to help.”

“Then give me more than vague answers!”

Taffa regarded him, somber. Somehow, by starlight alone, he could make out her brown eyes. There was something deep, something daunting, hiding behind them.

“At least tell me this,” Dalinar said, grasping for a specific question to ask. “I have trusted Highprince Sadeas, but my son—Adolin—thinks I am a fool to do so. Should I continue to trust Sadeas?”

“Yes,” the being said. “This is important. Do not let strife consume you. Be strong. Act with

honor, and honor will aid you.”

 

Emphasis mine.Tanavast said honor will aid the receiver of the visions, but that doesn't sound like uniting what's left of Honor is the task.

 

 

You will need to refound them. This is your task. Unite them. Create a fortress that can weather the storm. Vex Odium, convince him that he can lose, and appoint a champion. He will take that chance instead of risking defeat again, as he has suffered so often. This is the best advice I can give you.”

 

So far the 'unite them' includes leading, protecting and refounding the said 'them'. I do not think 'refound' could apply to making Shard Honor whole again. While OP's idea is intriguing, I don't see textual evidence for it.

Edited February 7, 2015 by Aleksiel

[kari-no-sugata]

Agreed Aleksiel.

 

Dalinar interprets "them" as being the Alethi Highprinces but I suspect it means "the people of Roshar"