On the Devouring of Souls

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

When Vasher draws Nightblood, it is clearly stated that when he runs out of Breaths, the sword will kill him. However, Vasher is a Returned, and running out of breaths will always kill him - Nightblood or no Nightblood. Thus, it could easily be the case that the only reason that he will die is that Nightblood will eat his Returned Breath. If this is the case, could a normal human wield the sword without fear of death? Obviously, they would be a Drab by the end of it, but a live Drab is better than a dead Returned.

However, this possibility only raises further questions. What would happen when they ran out of breaths? It seems unlikely that Nightblood would continue to stab walls and ceilings into oblivion and evaporate the corpses of his victims, as there is a strong implication that Nightblood fuels these powers with the stolen spiritual energy of his host. Would he function as a normal sword? Also unlikely, as even while sheathed, when he is not drawing Breaths from anyone, Nightblood clearly has eldritch qualities beyond the capacity of any traditional blade. The trouble is, we never saw anyone actually wield him while he was partially sheathed - most of the time, he was wielding them - and it seems likely that such a situation would be similar to his being wielded by a Drab. Furthermore, what would happen to him psychologically? Would he regain sentience and speak as usual, or does the mere fact that he is out of his sheath - regardless of the accessibility of Breaths - preclude his full lucidity?

Then, too, there is the possibility that he would kill them. If this is the the case, how would he do so? Is he capable of consuming an person's entire spiritual aspect, and not merely their Breaths? Or would he simply force his wielder to stab themselves? If so, why would he do so, assuming, of course, that they were not evil? In fact, how would he seize control of a truly pure-hearted host at all, given that it is expressly stated that he is incapable of doing so?

Many questions, and few answers. I generally try to be more constructive when theorizing, but this question has me legitimately baffled. I turn to you, mighty forumites, in hopes that you might light my way to enlightenment.

Any ideas?

Edited January 8, 2013 by Wonko the Sane

[Aeshdan he/him]

When Vasher draws Nightblood, it is clearly stated that when he runs out of Breaths, the sword will kill him. However, Vasher is a Returned, and running out of breaths will always kill him - Nightblood or no Nightblood. Thus, it could easily be the case that the only reason that he will die is that Nightblood will eat his Returned Breath. If this is the case, could a normal human wield the sword without fear of death? Obviously, they would be a Drab by the end of it, but a live Drab is better than a dead Returned.

However, this possibility only raises further questions. What would happen when they ran out of breaths? It seems unlikely that Nightblood would continue to stab walls and ceilings into oblivion and evaporate the corpses of his victims, as there is a strong implication that Nightblood fuels these powers with the stolen spiritual energy of his host. Would he function as a normal sword? Also unlikely, as even while sheathed, when he is not drawing Breaths from anyone, Nightblood clearly has eldritch qualities beyond the capacity of any traditional blade. The trouble is, we never saw anyone actually wield him while he was partially sheathed - most of the time, he was wielding them - and it seems likely that such a situation would be similar to his being wielded by a Drab. Furthermore, what would happen to him psychologically? Would he regain sentience and speak as usual, or does the mere fact that he is out of his sheath - regardless of the accessibility of Breaths - preclude his full lucidity?

Brandon said in an annotation that Nightblood's mind goes fuzzy when he's drawn because the original Breaths (the thousand used to forge him) are redirected from making him sentient to causing him to carry out the Command. So if he could be drawn somehow but not carry out the Command, he'd still be as sane as ever.

Or would he simply force his wielder to stab themselves? If so, why would he do so, assuming, of course, that they were not evil? In fact, how would he seize control of a truly pure-hearted host at all, given that it is expressly stated that he is incapable of doing so?

I don't think a truly pure-hearted person can even draw Nightblood. Just touching it makes Vivenna so sick she can't ho

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

Vivenna is unnerved and nauseated by Nightblood, but is nonetheless able to carry him. Perhaps she herself would be unable to draw him, but I see no reason why a pure-hearted individual with considerably more willpower could not manage it. Furthermore, it would seem that Vasher is not influenced by Nightblood - at the very least, he never acknowledges an urge to draw and use him. While it is possible that this is merely because Vasher has grown so used to ignoring Nightblood's influence that he no longer thinks of it as noteworthy, we must at least entertain the possibility that Vasher, too, is considered "pure-hearted" by whatever criteria determine Nightblood's effectiveness.

[Phantom Monstrosity]

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/annotation/435/warbreaker-Chapter-Fifty-FIve

Another note here is that Nightblood can sense where Vasher is. This is because Nightblood has ingested and fed off Vasher’s Breaths in the past. When he does that, it connects him to someone. It’s also, by the way, one of the secrets as to why Vasher doesn’t get sick when holding Nightblood, even though he’s a good person. It’s not simply familiarity (though that is part of it). Nightblood has a built-in test. If he feeds off you and you survive, then you become somewhat immune to his powers.

http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1ced7z/iamstilla_novelist_named_brandon_sanderson_ama/c9fs9lp?context=3

3) Is the risk of Vasher dying from wielding Nightblood unsheathed too long because Nightblood would consume his divine Breath or does that also extend to those who are not Returned?

3) Yes, and yes, it does apply to others.

[Wonko the Sane he/him]

http://www.brandonsanderson.com/annotation/435/warbreaker-Chapter-Fifty-FIve

Another note here is that Nightblood can sense where Vasher is. This is because Nightblood has ingested and fed off Vasher’s Breaths in the past. When he does that, it connects him to someone. It’s also, by the way, one of the secrets as to why Vasher doesn’t get sick when holding Nightblood, even though he’s a good person. It’s not simply familiarity (though that is part of it). Nightblood has a built-in test. If he feeds off you and you survive, then you become somewhat immune to his powers.

In that case, the issue is resolved: Vasher is a "good person," but is able to handle the sword without being repulsed because of his prior connection to the sword. By the same token, any "good person" could acclimate themselves to Nightblood simply through repeated use.

/>/>http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1ced7z/iamstilla_novelist_named_brandon_sanderson_ama/c9fs9lp?context=3

3) Is the risk of Vasher dying from wielding Nightblood unsheathed too long because Nightblood would consume his divine Breath or does that also extend to those who are not Returned?

3) Yes, and yes, it does apply to others.

Hm. That is a very strange answer. Essentially, this means that Nightblood does, in fact, kill his wielders by consuming their divine Breath ... but he does so regardless of whether they actually have a divine Breath. Does this imply that all ordinary Nalthians have a specific portion of their Spiritual aspects that parallels the nature and function of divine Breath in Returned? Something which Nightblood can consume? Additionally, if Nightblood is capable of feeding on Spiritual energy that is not presented in the form of a Breath, what else can he devour? If, during Vin's ascension, after she had accumulated the bulk of Preservation's power, but before the disintegration of her physical form, she had drawn Nightblood, could he have consumed the raw essence of the Shard?

On an unrelated note, I really need to just devote an afternoon to marathoning my way through the Interview Database. The problem is that there is just so much there that I simply don't want to read: WoT questions, inquiries about Brandon's personal experiences, discussion about his methodologies as a writer, and so on. I sincerely apologize if that sounds rude; honestly, I find a great deal of it interesting and informative. The problem is that I simply don't have enough time to read all of it. Is there a better way of filtering those so that I only need to read information relevant to the Cosmere?

Edited July 13, 2013 by Wonko the Sane