Reread, Just noticed this

[Galavantes]

“This is for my men,” Amaram said. He took the Shardblade from the cloth, holding it in his hand. The gemstone at its pommel let out a flash of white light. “You can’t begin to understand the weights I carry, spearman.” Amaram’s voice lost some of its calm tone of reason. He sounded defensive. “I can’t worry about the lives of a few darkeyed spearmen when thousands of people may be saved by my decision.”

 

Brandon Sanderson (2010-08-31T04:00:00+00:00). The Way of Kings (Kindle Locations 12695-12698). Macmillan. Kindle Edition. 

 

Seems like the very moment Amaram takes up that blade his personality changed a bit. Suddenly his control starts to slip. I don't think this is anything huge, but I think Brandon put this here to show us that the blades are in fact affecting their wielders.

[Azul he/him]

I always got from that that while Amaram may have let others convince him it was the right thing to do 'for the greater good'  deep down he knows he is being a bastard and is conflicted by it.

[makromag he/him]

^ Exactly. I always assumed that he had his doubts before even starting this whole mess, but hearing them spoken by someone else cracked his shell

 

[...] you're supposed to be better than the others!

 

I think this hit too close to his own thoughts for him to stay calm.

On a related note, I truly believe Amaram is trying to do good, but he is straying too far from the right path for this to end well. If he is willing to turn the man who saved him into a slave and kill all his friends for his goals, what would he be unwilling to do?

[Galavantes]

^ Exactly. I always assumed that he had his doubts before even starting this whole mess, but hearing them spoken by someone else cracked his shell

 

 

 

I think this hit too close to his own thoughts for him to stay calm.

On a related note, I truly believe Amaram is trying to do good, but he is straying too far from the right path for this to end well. If he is willing to turn the man who saved him into a slave and kill all his friends for his goals, what would he be unwilling to do?

No I totally agree with this, and it's entirely possible that's all that was being conveyed here. But we know Brandon is a careful writer, and it strikes me that there was a personality slip the very instant he picked up that blade. I think these were emotions he was already feeling, perhaps the blade just nudges people a bit.

[Leuthie]

I just noticed that the gemstone at its pommel let out a white light when he picked it up. Don't remember a description of a shardblade that included a gemstone, nor any flash of light.

So shardblades [bold] are[/bold] powered by trapped spren.

[Windrunner he/him]

I see the flash of light as being a sign that it had been bound to a new holder. While I see spren being trapped in Shardblades as a distinct possibility, I do not understand how you drew that conclusion from the flash of light. Would you mind walking me through your thought process?

[Leuthie]

I guess there's the possibility that something else could be trapped in that gem, but he only things we know of that are stored in gems are Stormlight and Spren. Stormlight gets used up and has to be replenished. Since shardblades don't pull Stormlight from around them during use, there is something besides Stormlight in that gem. So I conclude that a spren is powering each shardblade.

I just don't remember seeing a gem in the description of shardblades before. The flash only tells me that the gem is doing something. In any case, I guess there's nothing to see here.

[Shardbearer he/him]

Good catch. It would also explain why Syl doesn't like shardblaes. I do think there's something to this, even if it isn't captured spren.

[Senor Feesh]

I agree with Windy in that the flash probably signifies the blade becoming attached to Amaram. However, I do find the logic of blades containing trapped spren to have merit.

In fact, this may even be what facilitates the bond between weilder and blade, some kind or forced bond with the spren. That's probably not a new idea, but I don't remember seeing it before.

Edited May 24, 2013 by Senor Feesh

[Meg]

Unfortunately we didn't get a description what happened when Sadeas took Dalinar's Blade, that would have been helpful. Neither we now what happened, when Shallan took her Blade the first time. 

 

I just thought about whether Shardplates would flash too, if put on the first time by a new owner. First I thought, it must do so, too. But now I think, it might have done long ago with the Knights Radiant, but it doesn't work that way "nowadays". 

 

I think that this "flash of light" is the sign/manifestation of Amaram's (in this case) new won ability to summon and dismiss the Shardblade. 

 

 

[Isomere]

"Protecting ten innocents is not worth killing one. In the end, all men die. How you lived will be far more important to the Almighty than what you accomplished.” from chapter 59.

 

Quote showing that Amaram is clearly not following the Intent of the Almighty when he makes this choice. He does seem conflicted, and I think he really was trying to be the leader Kaladin saw in him. 

[Binnut he/him]

That quote also makes me wonder about the actions of Kaladin. Are they honourable? He kills a lot of parshendi to protect dalinar and his army. Innocents? I think not! They are here for revenge and have killed a lot of Parshendi. True, they are better than most Alethi, but still.

[Looter he/him]

That quote also makes me wonder about the actions of Kaladin. Are they honourable? He kills a lot of parshendi to protect dalinar and his army. Innocents? I think not! They are here for revenge and have killed a lot of Parshendi. True, they are better than most Alethi, but still.

That is twisting things a bit. Killing in itself is not the issue. Both sides are soldiers and soldiers fight one another and kill one another.

But if you go to a family of eleven and you know there is a group killing families of eleven out there and you decide that killing grandpa saves the other ten you are not better then the evil group you were saving them from. Lives have a value and a soldier fighting another soldier for his friends, leaders, and ideals has an honor that both side of the fight risk their lives for to earn.

[Binnut he/him]

My thinking was due to "protecting ten innocents is not worth killing one" but of course, I am not sure that parshendi is classified as innocents...

[Leuthie]

No one on a battlefield is an innocent

[Phantom Monstrosity]

No one on a battlefield is an innocent

Medics?

[Shardbearer he/him]

It might also have to do the cognitive perception of innocence.

[Arondell]

That quote also makes me wonder about the actions of Kaladin. Are they honourable? He kills a lot of parshendi to protect dalinar and his army. Innocents? I think not! They are here for revenge and have killed a lot of Parshendi. True, they are better than most Alethi, but still.

 

This sounds much like what Kaladin is thinking about after the battle just before he has his meeting with Dalinar.

[Looter he/him]

My thinking was due to "protecting ten innocents is not worth killing one" but of course, I am not sure that parshendi is classified as innocents...

I can see your point and it is a good one, so yes it really is the word "Innocents" that is at play there.  Honor can be gained or lost not only on your actions but on how, and why you act.

 

So, two stories here for you to choose to decide which is the more noteable and honorable after having taken out the actual actions.

 

1.  A man was named Hero after killing a thousand men and turning war around.

2.  A man stayed with the rearguard and died last among them.

 

Which has more honor?

 

The expanded stories are:

1.  A man snuck into the enemies supplies and poisoned the water killing a thousand men and changing the war overnight.

2.  A man stayed with the rearguard in a pass fighting man after man non stop for hours killing dozens if not hundreds before falling allowing his army to regroup to make a stand that would win the war.

 

Context and intent are everything.  Kaladin did not attack the parshendi to enslave them and was content to leave but for the fact they were killing surrounded men wholesale and he could not leave men to die without giving them a chance to win their freedom and lives.  Kaladin did not have the pretext to kill parshendi because some of them had committed a crime some number of years ago.  He risked his life and the lives of his men to give other men the chance to fight free of a certian death.  That has honor. 

 

The parshendi view of things is not fully known but throughout the book they did seem to fight in ways that seemed honorable as well.  I think both sides could be mistaken adversaries fighting a terrible war that only benifits the crows.  I will also say that in general Dalinars men acted with much more honor than Sadeas' men did.  So I am also sure the Parshendi have done several notably honorable things from their point of view when fighting Sadeas' and his thugs.