Sand Master Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 I apologize if this has already been answered somewhere else. I searched and couldn't find any answers. In both Way of Kings and Words of Radiance, Shallan deliberately uses the ten heartbeats of summoning a Shardblade when summoning Pattern. However, we know this is not necessary when the Knight's spren is alive, as Pattern obviously is. I feel like there's some significance to why she makes it the full ten heartbeats. Maybe in her mind summoning Pattern immediately would be the same as admitting to herself that everything she tries to avoid thinking about in her childhood actually happened. That doesn't seem quite right to me though, so if anyone knows why, or has any thoughts on it, I would appreciate the input. 3
Dhavaer Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 Maybe in her mind summoning Pattern immediately would be the same as admitting to herself that everything she tries to avoid thinking about in her childhood actually happened. That's pretty much it. Shallan's psyche is about 50% repression and denial. If she admits to herself that her shardblade isn't ordinary, she can't keep herself from thinking about why. 1
Elithanathile he/him Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 Pretty much what you said there. Shallan met some serious opposition as a child towards her being a proto-radiant, or something that happened, that put her into some kind of shock, and so she put up a form of mental block. She is starting to break through it in WoR, but it still inhibits her. Her even admitting to herself that she has a shardblade is a major step for her anyway, but admitting that her shardblade has something to do with pattern/her past, is just too far a stretch for her to make at this point, so she deliberately stalls the summoning, even when it's a life or death situation.
king of nowhere Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) she uses ten heartbeats simply because she has hidden to herself the nature of her blade. she went her whole life trying to deny or hide her past, and not acknowledging her blade was one oof the things she did related to it. you may notice she also is reluctant to think about it, or to use a blade when it would help her. although she doesn't need ten heartbeats. she summons the sword faster when the con-woman tries to kill her. EDIT: doublee ninja Edited June 4, 2015 by king of nowhere
Guest Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 OUTIS In Shallan, in the beginning and middle of the book it's 10 heartbeats, and in the end of the book it's none...? BRANDON SANDERSON The 10 heartbeats is required to revive a dead shardblade OUTIS But he wasn't dead the whole time. BRANDON SANDERSON He wasn't. But perception--all magic systems in the Cosmere are based on perception-what you think you can do. For instance, Kaladin can't get healed because he sees himself as having a wounded forehead with the scars and that can't vanish because his perception is in the way. TAGS shallan, shardblades, pattern, perception, 49 INTERVIEW: Mar 21st, 2014
The Honey Badger he/him Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 I also believe the reason that she uses the ten heartbeats is because she believed that it would need ten heartbeats to summon. In Sanderson's magic systems, you belief of what is going to happen is very important in dictating what happens. Wor Spoilers For example, the reason why Lopen's arm grows back, is because he believes that it belongs there still. And the reason Kaladin's scars don't is because he has accepted them, and belives that they belong there Argh.. scratch that I'll end there, you totally ninga'd me 1
natc Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) Szeth has ten heartbeats before his summons too no? Which he doesn't need, since a honorblade logically can't be revived if it was never killed (if that's even possible). Edited June 4, 2015 by natc 1
DreamEternal Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 Yes, but it is also not truly alive, so it may also need to sync with the wielder hearthbeat to be summoned.
gbazz4 he/him Posted June 4, 2015 Posted June 4, 2015 OUTIS In Shallan, in the beginning and middle of the book it's 10 heartbeats, and in the end of the book it's none...? BRANDON SANDERSON The 10 heartbeats is required to revive a dead shardblade OUTIS But he wasn't dead the whole time. BRANDON SANDERSON He wasn't. But perception--all magic systems in the Cosmere are based on perception-what you think you can do. For instance, Kaladin can't get healed because he sees himself as having a wounded forehead with the scars and that can't vanish because his perception is in the way. TAGS shallan, shardblades, pattern, perception, 49 INTERVIEW: Mar 21st, 2014 This information is helpful because i too wondered why Shallan took 10 heartbeats to summon her shardblade. I wasn't really thinking of how her perception matters, so everyone's points make sense especially in the context of the WOB mentioned in the interview.
Odium's_Shard Posted June 7, 2015 Posted June 7, 2015 Is perception of what a Shardblade/real weapon should look like also what stops Szeth from tranforming his Honorblade, or are Honorblades (whilst not technically dead) not quite alive enough for that function? We have no evidence that any of the Heralds were able to transform them, and I seem to recall in the opening sequence all of them were left as blades when the Heralds abandoned their pact (unless the Honorblades revert to that form when relinquished). Because even when the dead Shardblades are used, many of them have details and features that relate to their previous owner before the blade was killed, and these are not lost from the blade being 'dead'.
Moogle Posted June 7, 2015 Posted June 7, 2015 Is perception of what a Shardblade/real weapon should look like also what stops Szeth from tranforming his Honorblade, or are Honorblades (whilst not technically dead) not quite alive enough for that function? We have a few WoBs mentioning that the reason spren become sword-shaped on death is because they were patterned on the Honorblades. It's not confirmed, but I strongly suspect that the Honorblades are fixed in one form due to those WoBs. I suspect it's mostly due to spren being, as the AAA puts it, "transformative Cognitive entities". Being Cognitive seems to be generally associated with shapeshifting in the cosmere, and Honorblades aren't quite Cognitive in that sense to my knowledge.
Guest Posted June 7, 2015 Posted June 7, 2015 Is perception of what a Shardblade/real weapon should look like also what stops Szeth from tranforming his Honorblade, or are Honorblades (whilst not technically dead) not quite alive enough for that function? We have no evidence that any of the Heralds were able to transform them, and I seem to recall in the opening sequence all of them were left as blades when the Heralds abandoned their pact (unless the Honorblades revert to that form when relinquished). Because even when the dead Shardblades are used, many of them have details and features that relate to their previous owner before the blade was killed, and these are not lost from the blade being 'dead'. As we currently understand it, Honorblades were built by Honor (Tanavast) so there's no reason to expect them to transform/be alive/have a consciousness. Personally, I suspect that they're solidified Investiture "forged" into a sword, so the Honorblades would be a Rosharan parallel to Atium or Lerasium.
Sand Master Posted June 9, 2015 Author Posted June 9, 2015 Thanks you guys. Wasn't sure but you confirmed what I thought it might be. Love all the other ideas and discussion too.
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