Was Odium targeting planets with 2 Shards?

[IndigoAjah]

Now this may be speculative, and is based on a sample size of only 2 and some guesses about Odium/Rayse's character... but Odium's actions and suspected actions make me believe this.

 

What we know of Odium:

 

1)he splintered Dominion and Devotion on Sel

 

2) he has splintered at least one (but not specifically one) other Shard between that and being trapped in the Roshar System

 

3) he went to, became trapped on but also killed Honor on Roshar, which also has Cultivation on planet (confirmed not to have killed/splintered her).

 

4) he knows about Sazed and implicitly then Harmony and is afraid of him

 

He may well be interfering on Scadrial but this is far from certain.

 

This is a small sample size, but he has picked out, in terms of the confirmed planets he has visited, 2 Shardworlds that specifically have 2 Shards on them. Now if his aim is to pick off the Shards one by one, then this makes little sense. There are worlds with only one Shard on them, and there is definitely less risk in attacking one Shard at a time. I suspect he has splintered 2 Shards, actually, in step 2 above. He also fears Harmony and this is most likely because Harmony is a Double-Shard, I think confirmed as the only one.

 

Odium is clearly splintered Shards to be the most powerful being in the Cosmere but I think he has a more specific fear - that someone will do what Sazed has done and hold 2 Shards, which creates the situation where he (I assume) can no longer best them in raw power in direct conflict, and where he himself might be overpowered. This is what his purpose was - to seek out Worlds where this might happen and risk the 2 Shards potentially ganging up on him but in doing so stopping them from getting the chance to take a Shard from each other or someone else managing it like Saze. Sazed is his worst nightmare, which makes me sure that he is the one interfering in Scadrial's affairs, trying to force Harmony to use more of his Investiture up, or manipulate him into being unable to reconcile the 2 Intents of his Shards and having to give one up.

 

 

I also think it's a possibility that in Mistborn modern day era, Sazed ends up splitting Harmony again as the Shards become harder to hold together and their combined Intents become harder to align into any action. And that then after either Book 5 or the whole Series of SA, Odium may get free and come straight after Scadrial.

 

Or maybe the nature of the Shards and their relationships (I suspect Leras and Ati were friends and we have had it confirmed, I think, that Cultivation and Tanavast were lovers) or the limits of their Intents (Ruin and Preservation needing each other to create) just means there were a high number of worlds with 2 Shards. 2 Shards certainly makes things more interesting.

[Landis963]

Now this may be speculative, and is based on a sample size of only 2 and some guesses about Odium/Rayse's character... but Odium's actions and suspected actions make me believe this.

 

What we know of Odium:

 

1)he splintered Dominion and Devotion on Sel

 

2) he has splintered at least one (but not specifically one) other Shard between that and being trapped in the Roshar System

 

3) he went to, became trapped on but also killed Honor on Roshar, which also has Cultivation on planet (confirmed not to have killed/splintered her).

 

4) he knows about Sazed and implicitly then Harmony and is afraid of him

 

He may well be interfering on Scadrial but this is far from certain.

 

This is a small sample size, but he has picked out, in terms of the confirmed planets he has visited, 2 Shardworlds that specifically have 2 Shards on them. Now if his aim is to pick off the Shards one by one, then this makes little sense. There are worlds with only one Shard on them, and there is definitely less risk in attacking one Shard at a time. I suspect he has splintered 2 Shards, actually, in step 2 above. He also fears Harmony and this is most likely because Harmony is a Double-Shard, I think confirmed as the only one.

 

Odium is clearly splintered Shards to be the most powerful being in the Cosmere but I think he has a more specific fear - that someone will do what Sazed has done and hold 2 Shards, which creates the situation where he (I assume) can no longer best them in raw power in direct conflict, and where he himself might be overpowered. This is what his purpose was - to seek out Worlds where this might happen and risk the 2 Shards potentially ganging up on him but in doing so stopping them from getting the chance to take a Shard from each other or someone else managing it like Saze. Sazed is his worst nightmare, which makes me sure that he is the one interfering in Scadrial's affairs, trying to force Harmony to use more of his Investiture up, or manipulate him into being unable to reconcile the 2 Intents of his Shards and having to give one up.

 

 

I also think it's a possibility that in Mistborn modern day era, Sazed ends up splitting Harmony again as the Shards become harder to hold together and their combined Intents become harder to align into any action. And that then after either Book 5 or the whole Series of SA, Odium may get free and come straight after Scadrial.

 

Or maybe the nature of the Shards and their relationships (I suspect Leras and Ati were friends and we have had it confirmed, I think, that Cultivation and Tanavast were lovers) or the limits of their Intents (Ruin and Preservation needing each other to create) just means there were a high number of worlds with 2 Shards. 2 Shards certainly makes things more interesting.

 

It may just be more the norm that planets have 2 or more Shards on them than otherwise.  Or at the very least that we will see more planets with 2+ Shards on them than otherwise (more conflict, donchaknow).  

[taveren]

probably  it was just the shards he could find that would stand in his way

[Yata]

Maybe really he wanted to remove any catastrophic enemy in the future, and He accepted the risk to attack multiple Shards (also if we have no proof of collaboration between Devotion and Dominion for example).

 

Maybe from his point of view be imprisoned on Roshar for millenia was worthy the Honor's Splinterer.

 

Without thinking about some Shards are unable to fight off an damage/hurt Odium.

Edited March 14, 2016 by Yata

[natc]

Well, he refuses to take up more shards, so he could remain as Odium. He would've had to take on the 1v2 matchups at a disadvantage eventually. Might as well do it earlier and make a show of it for intimidation factor.

[Jondesu]

Odium's mandate is hatred, right? What if he visits worlds that have two shards because he can turn them against each other using that hatred? He might have been behind the intense hatred between Shu-Korathi and Shu-Derethi in that case, and have tried to use the same tactic on Roshar, but failed to splinter them both because of Honor and Cultivations respect and relationship (Honor sacrificing himself to protect Cultivation perhaps)?

jW

Edited March 15, 2016 by Jondesu

[Yata]

Odium's mandate is hatred, right? What if he visits worlds that have two shards because he can turn them against each other using that hatred? He might have been behind the intense hatred between Shu-Korathi and Shu-Derethi in that case, and have tried to use the same tactic on Roshar, but failed to splinter them both because of Honor and Cultivations respect and relationship (Honor sacrificing himself to protect Cultivation perhaps)?

jW

We may try to ask if the other Splintered Shard was the only Shard in his/her Shardworld

[Ari]

I have a feeling that Odium was prioritising Shards that were either too opposite to him, or too similar to him for him to leave them free to act. If we look at the Shards we know he's shattered, we have Devotion, Dominion, and Honour. Devotion and Honour both seem quite opposite to his intent- Devotion brings people together through bonds of love, and to some degree in Seons, servitude. Honour brings people together by forging agreements and creating examplars for others to follow. Odium seems to operate by turning people on each other to distract them until he can bring his full power to bear, so shards that could directly oppose this strategy so neatly within their own Intent would be high up his kill priority list. He probably would have gone after Ruin soon if Harmony hadn't happened for similar reasons to Dominion, because he'd presumably want to have something left to rule/hate.

 

If we assume Jaddeth is the cognitive shadow or memory of Dominion, then Skai and Rayse would have the other kind of issue, where their goals are too similar. Odium wants to rule it all as the only remaining Shard. Dominion clearly wants to rule his own kingdom, and as far as we can tell from Elantris, his followers don't seem to think there should be any limtis to that kingdom, so he might have the exact same idea.