[Speculations] Oathpact & Recreance

[Rhaegar'Elin he/him]

I like the theory of the skybreakers as the last order standing (even if they only got one surgebinder).

The only information i can add that in the end of WoR mraize tell shallan her brother was looking for the skybreakers. How can one look for an order that is gone unless its still alive in some form.

 

That could be a good point in support of the Skybreakers XD

 

Maube now I'm seeing too much into it, but - maybe - the Skybreakers could be the reason why Helaran tried to kill Amaram.

I mean Amaram is one of the Sons of Honor and they are trying to start a new Desolation. On the other hand, from the little we know, it seems that Skybreakers are trying to avoid a Desolation, killing "legally" those who, in some ways, promote the return of Odium.

 

So, what better choice for a Skybreaker of killing Amaram in battle? I think you break no Alethi law when killing a foe on the battlefield.

 

Well, maybe I'm seeing too much in it, but I don't think Helaran was in that battle for mere coincidence. I think he had further motives and, for now, this seems an explanation as good as others (plus, it seems to support the "Skybreakers as last Order" so I will stick to it until contrary evidence) XD

[Weltall]

It's kind of hard to be sure about Nale's Skybreakers. On one hand, he presumably knows lots of things we don't know and might believe that what he's doing really will keep a new Desolation at bay. On the other hand, everything we've been told so far says that the trigger for a new Desloation is 'one of the Heralds breaks under torture' with no input from Roshar at large needed and Nale should personally know that. And we have WoB that all the Heralds are to some degree insane so maybe he's convinced himself that what he's doing is for the greater good when really, he's just nuts.

 

I think it is likely they have always bonded with the Stormfather.

I wonder why having many more than three Radiants bonded to him was seen as seditious?

 

Could be a simple case of not wanting to put too much of a burden on the closest thing they had to a direct link to the Almighty? Or maybe there's something about the number three in the setting that predates the Vorin fascination with ten (related to the number of Shards in Greater Roshar?) or something else. Though I did interpret that quote as meaning that sometimes they might have had more than three Bondsmiths at once, just very infrequently so not sure.

 

This is a code that translates to "Hold the secret that broke the Knights Radiant. You may need it to destroy the new orders when they return."[4] The key is found in Pattern 1 of the Book of the 2nd Rotation, each letter is represented by the number corresponding to the first instance of that letter in Pattern 1, i.e. "h" is 11, "o" is 1, and "l" is 8.[5]

The secret is valuable in some way because it can be used to destoy the new radiants. So sure.. He may not need to recreate it... But the secret itself _is_ a weapon.

 

Yeah, whatever the secret is it's something that Taravangian thinks could break the new Radiants if they learned about it. How he knows what it is, is a really good question. Is there some dusty tome in his massive library that managed to escape editing at the hands of the Hierocracy? Pretty certain whatever it is can't be found in the in-universe Words of Radiance, even though it quite obviously talks around the subject in a couple of the epigraphs.

[IndigoAjah he/him]

Sounds like the reason that they all decided to break their oaths

[Yata he/him]

Because their Herald did not break the Oathpact, I believe that it was the Stonewards. They could have taken Taln not breaking the Oathpact as a sign that they should not as well. Not to mention it would fit their personality.

But the Stonewards are one of the two Orders that we directly see breaking their Oaths (together with the Windrunner) during the recreance.

Edited January 21, 2016 by Yata

[scifan he/him]

I'm confused by one aspect here... I've seen a reference to there being very few shard blades and sets of shard plate... I don't remember the actual number, but I want to say it was fewer than 100...  and then there's Dalinar's vision of the recreance which seems to suggest a number of shards that far exceeds the minimal number that seem to be available at this point.

 

Which is right? or were there a large number that have been "lost"?

[Rasarr she/her]

I'm confused by one aspect here... I've seen a reference to there being very few shard blades and sets of shard plate... I don't remember the actual number, but I want to say it was fewer than 100...  and then there's Dalinar's vision of the recreance which seems to suggest a number of shards that far exceeds the minimal number that seem to be available at this point.

 

Which is right? or were there a large number that have been "lost"?

 

I suppose they've been lost. There's a ton of things that could've happened to Shardblades in-between Recreance and year 1173. Their wearers could've been trapped in unreachable caves or chasms. The blades could've been dropped, unbonded, on the ground and be covered in crem during the next highstorm. They could've been washed by the rainds into the oceans. They could've been hidden by people who didn't have time to pass over the location of the caches. They could've been hoarded by one of Roshar's thousand and one secret societies. They could be in the collection of one of the now-crazy Heralds. 

 

Honestly, in my opinion the fact that there're so few left is suspicious, but not too suspicious. But of course I will be proven wrong and it will become the most important thing. 

[Eagle of the Forest Path he/him]

Vasher could have nicked a bunch and melted them down to make Nightblood.

 

Ok that's a bit ridiculous, but worldhoppers could have absconded with some shardblades at least.

[Oversleep]

I imagine rumors spreading among worldhoppers like a forest fire "Did you know that on Roshar these guys with Invested armors and blades just dropped them and anybody can pick them up? These Blades cut on all Three Realms "
And then was the greatest race among the worldhoppers to grab a set of Shards.