The Truthwatcher Ideal

[Erklitt]

On my current reread, among other things I am paying special attention to Renarin's development. And I have a theory what topic the Truthwatchers' ideals may be about. Different levels would have different wordings of course, but I would phrase the main topic as:

"I will attempt a worthy task even if it seems impossible or will likely lead to my death"

Several reasons for this:

 

1. It fits Renarin's behavior

Actually many sharders have complained that Renarin tries to help even when he seems to have no chance of doing so. They say he is really a hindrance because he ties other resources / fighters that have to protect him. (Though in the case of the duel, I think he actually did some good by tying up one of the opponents for a while.)

 

2. Analogy to Lightweavers' 'ideal'

Lightweavers speak truths to keep them 'real' in the middle of all their illusions; they need the self-awareness.

WoR Ch.57 (Epigraph about Lightweavers)

Quote

Malchin was stymied, for though he was inferior to none in the arts of war, he was not suitable for the Lightweavers; he wished for his oaths to be elementary and straightforward, and yet their spren were liberal, as to our comprehension, in definitions pertaining to this matter; the process included speaking truths as an approach to a threshold of self-awareness that Malchin could never attain.

If Renarin's visions are really part of his Truthwatching - and I think they are - then seeing dark possible futures (like his final vision in WoR: "We will all die") can paralyze the seer by making him hopeless. He needs the strength of mind not to succumb to that. (Yes, during the vision he is paralyzed. That does not mean he cannot work to prevent that dark future after the vision is over.)

So, in both cases, the ideal has something to do with counterbalancing the side effects of the surgebindings.

 

3. Chronology of events

To be more concise, l’ll temporarily subscribe to the methods of the assuredness movement: In what follows I’ll state my theory as fact. That just makes for shorter sentences.

The following scene likely drew Glys to Renarin. (Just like Kaladin protecting young spearmen attracted Syl.)

WoK Ch. 13 Ten Heartbeats

Quote

“Father!”
Dalinar turned to see Renarin – dressed in a stiff blue Kholin uniform, with a long coat buttoning to the neck – riding across the rocky ground. “Father, are you well? Can I help?”
“Fool boy!” Dalinar said, pointing. “Go!”
“But-“
“You’re unarmored and unarmed!” Dalinar bellowed. “Get back before you get yourself killed!”
Renarin pulled his roan horse to a halt.
“GO!”
Renarin galloped away.

 

When first bonding his blade, he didn’t yet hear screams, but as a proto-Radiant he still didn’t feel right about it, just like Dalinar when he had bonded the madman’s Blade.

WoR Ch. 14 Ironstance

Quote

[Adolin] handed Salinor’s Shardblade toward Renarin. “A present.”
“Adolin, are you sure? I mean, I’m not exactly the best with the Plate I already have.”
“Might as well have the full set,” Adolin said. “Take it.”
Renarin seemed hesitant.
“Take it,” Adolin said again.
Reluctantly, Renarin did so. He grimaced as he took it.

So, he grimaced when first touching it, but during the bonding he trained with Zahel (including jumping down buildings – all that happened during the bonding so he must have held the Blade! Never had realized that before.) He relaxedly talked fabrials with Kaladin, maybe even took rides with Adolin and laughed with Amaram. (It’s not quite clear whether the bonding was finished before that ride.) With all due respect for Renarin, I cannot see him hearing those screams all that time.

Though the completion of the bond isn’t explicitly mentioned until later, it must have happened before Adolin’s plateau run to help Jakamav: Teft tells Adolin about Renarin summoning his blade:

WoR Ch. 26 The Feather

Quote

“Hey,” Adolin said. “Ready to head back?”
Renarin nodded.
“What happened?” Adolin asked.
Renarin continued staring to the ground. Finally, one of the bridgeman guards – a compact man with silvering hair – nodded his head to the side. Adolin walked with him a short distance away.
“A group of shellheads tried to seize one of the bridges, Brightlord,” the bridgeman said softly. “Brightlord Renarin insisted on going to help. Sir, we tried to dissuade him. Then, when he got near and summoned his Blade, he just kind of … stood there. We got him away, sir, but he’s been sitting on that rock ever since.”

No way he experiences the same in that moment as during the whole bonding week. Now Renarin freezes. Now he hears the screams. Between bonding his Blade and this plateau run Renarin has made a step in his Surgebinding: he swore his second oath.

"I will attempt a worthy task even if it seems impossible or will likely lead to my death"

His trying to do something about that attacked bridge is him trying to be true to that oath. Same later with the duel. Of course, the latter also fits with what he did on the hunt, driven by the love for his family. The oath is not the whole reason, but it's part of it. The oath fits the character - as was to be expected.

[On a side note: did anyone notice his quick grasp of Shardblade commands? The bonding was completed just a few days ago and after Szeth’s visit Renarin’s Shardblade lies ‘discarded at his feet like a piece of refuse’!]

Edited July 9, 2016 by Erklitt

[Doc12 he/him]

Seems a bit wordy, and not a little fatalistic. I would suggest something along the same lines such as 

"I will face the future with courage, so long as it is right"

Anyway I think your theory holds water, and you gave a really clear analysis of Renarin's bonding week that I kinda missed in the book, so it was helpful! I suspect you nailed the when and where of Renarin's second oath. Hope Brandon clarifies this in book 3 haha.

Have an upvote!

[maxal she/her]

32 minutes ago, Doctor12 said:

Seems a bit wordy, and not a little fatalistic. I would suggest something along the same lines such as 

"I will face the future with courage, so long as it is right"

Anyway I think your theory holds water, and you gave a really clear analysis of Renarin's bonding week that I kinda missed in the book, so it was helpful! I suspect you nailed the when and where of Renarin's second oath. Hope Brandon clarifies this in book 3 haha.

Have an upvote!

What does courage have to do with the Truthwatchers ideals? So far, the ideals have all reflected the attributes of each order which implies the Truthwatchers first ideal probably has something to do with being "learned". 

This ideal seems more appropriate for orders such as Dustbringers who's first ideal is bravery, not secretive Truthwatchers. I doubt facing death is something sprens would demand out of Truthwatchers. For me, it doesn't fit. I think something more in the lines of:

"I will seek knowledge wherever it is available" 

is more appropriate.

Renarin displaying courage during the 4 on 1 duel illustrates more a non-selfish personality and a desire to help others for the right reasons more than an ideal of his order: all Radiants, so far, have been wanting to make their world a better place through their ideals. So far, Renarin's downfall has been his complete inability to share his knowledge with others: jumping in the arena may have been a weak attempt at doing so.Being courageous is just not an attribute members of his order are required to possess. 

[Doc12 he/him]

5 minutes ago, maxal said:

What does courage have to do with the Truthwatchers ideals? So far, the ideals have all reflected the attributes of each order which implies the Truthwatchers first ideal probably has something to do with being "learned". 

This ideal seems more appropriate for orders such as Dustbringers who's first ideal is bravery, not secretive Truthwatchers. I doubt facing death is something sprens would demand out of Truthwatchers. For me, it doesn't fit. I think something more in the lines of:

"I will seek knowledge wherever it is available" 

is more appropriate.

Renarin displaying courage during the 4 on 1 duel illustrates more a non-selfish personality and a desire to help others for the right reasons more than an ideal of his order: all Radiants, so far, have been wanting to make their world a better place through their ideals. So far, Renarin's downfall has been his complete inability to share his knowledge with others: jumping in the arena may have been a weak attempt at doing so.Being courageous is just not an attribute members of his order are required to possess. 

Rephrasing Erklit's original post, the theorized ideal was I will attempt a worthy task even if it seems impossible or will likely lead to my death.

when you face an impossible task, something fearful, and yet do it anyway, isn't that courage? Isn't the only time a man can be brave is when he's uncertain or scared?

Note that I'm not saying this is the Truthwatcher ideal, what I was doing was rephrasing the intent of the OP. Perhaps it us true that courage would more likely be the Dustbringer ideal, (good catch on that) Still, it's a pretty good theory.

[Doc12 he/him]

There's a theory i read that the radiant oaths are divided into the two attributes of the herald. Thus kal's next two oaths are about leading, seeing as his second and third ideals are about protecting.

Thinking of that, and seeing as Paliah's attributes are learned and giving, perhaps the ideal is something about sharing knowledge. Second and third oaths about learning, and fourth and fifth about sharing, maybe?

[thegatorgirl00 she/her]

I agree with @maxal that the oath is more likely along the lines of "I will seek knowledge wherever it can be found". 

I also think that the "so long as it is right" part doesn't fit the Truthwatchers. We haven't seen much of them, but we have seen the Edgedancers and Lightweavers, the orders most similar to Truthwatchers. Edgedancers are about helping the outcasts of society. Lift was completely fine breaking into a palace. Shallan was fine joining a secret society that has assassins, and her lies are what initially attracted the Cryptics. Neither order seems to care about doing the right thing the way Windrunners are, so I would be surprised if the Truthwatchers did. 

[Argel he/him]

On the other hand, I have a hard time imaging Truthwatchers performing hemalurigc experiments (basically, killing lots of test subjects to see what happens). I expect them to have some form of ethics.

Shallan may regret joining the Ghostbloods, though we know so little about them it's hard to say. They definitely seem like more of an an ends-justify-the-means organization, so anti-hero at best.  Not sure if anyone can top Taravangian on the ends-justify-the-means front.... Though Roshar is a pretty brutal place, so we should expect lots of shades of gray.

[Erklitt]

@Argel You were just a tad quicker than me  here's what I just finished typing in my editor:

That theory about the oaths having to correspond with the herald's attributes already has at least one exception: "I will unite instead of divide" has nothing to do with being 'pious' and has at best a loose relation to 'guiding'. Working to divide people would be just as much a kind of 'guiding'.

All the oaths we've seen so far had an ethical implication, and all the heralds' attributes can be considered as virtues. Therefore, I do not believe the 'Learned' part of Paliah is about pure knowledge (we've seen with Taravangian that knowledge can lead a man to do evil) but rather something like 'knowing the right thing to do' or 'having the necessary knowledge to help with the problems facing humanity' - then sharing that knowledge, which is the 'giving' part.

I think (like many others I believe) that Renarin's glimpses of the possible future have something to do with extrapolating from a deep knowledge of the present, seeing beyond the physical realm. In this sense, his 'seeing the truth' makes him 'learned' in the Paliah sense. And the oath I postulated has to do with him not being overcome by that truth.