VirtuousTraveller Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 Quote From The Letter (TWoK): "Rayse will not be similarly inhibited. One need only look at the aftermath of his brief visit to Sel to see proof of what I say. In case you have turned a blind eye to that disaster, know that Aona and Skai are both dead, and that which they held has been Splintered." I've suggested before that Devotion and Dominion were originally combined into the shard Unity by their owners Aona and Skai, creating the Dor (check out my theory here). In my reread of TWoK, I believe I've found another piece of evidence that supports this idea. In The Letter, the quote above says that "that which they held has been Splintered," which sounds like it could refer to a singular thing (i.e. the shard Unity). I realize that the singular thing could mean many things (i.e. the power of their shards), but why would Odium go to a planet where two shards could theoretically overpower him? Perhaps he targeted the planet because their Unity shard was so powerful (and a sign of what combined shardic power could be) and he felt that he needed to deal with it before any more power could be combined with other shards (hence why he's so afraid of Harmony). Perhaps this means that Odium is the doom coming to Scadrial, as he wants to deal with Harmony quickly before Sazed becomes more cosmere-aware. We know that he has plans to deal with Harmony - maybe he hopes that by splintering these combined shards before they can make cosmere-wide plans to address Odium's power, he can remain the most powerful force in existence. Quote QUESTION What time period do they all fit in, do they all fit in time- at the same time? BRANDON SANDERSON No, like for instance, Way of Kings and Alloy of Law are pretty close to one another but Elantris is fairly far before them. So far I’ve written them chronologically basically, except I’ve skipped certain stories, like there’s a series called White Sand which is in the middle there somewhere which will actually be a jump back in time when I end up doing it and some things like that. And Dragonsteel is like way at the beginning which I’ll eventually do but I’ve done them chronologically so far If Odium is released at the halfway point of The Stormlight Archive, it seems that Mistborn era 2 (or 1.5 however you call it) is right in that same time period.
The Ninja Yodeler he/him Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 Wasnt it suggested that Odium may have had a hand in splintering Aona and Skai? Them combining Shards(although I dont know how they'd both hold the power of a single shard) would add to the theory that Odium wasnt acting alone on Sel. I do like the idea that they may have combined, and thats why Odium splintered them. And it would fit into him attacking Scadrial with the help of another shard to overpower Harmony.
VirtuousTraveller Posted November 2, 2016 Author Posted November 2, 2016 1 minute ago, The Ninja Yodeler said: Wasnt it suggested that Odium may have had a hand in splintering Aona and Skai? Them combining Shards(although I dont know how they'd both hold the power of a single shard) would add to the theory that Odium wasnt acting alone on Sel. I do like the idea that they may have combined, and thats why Odium splintered them. And it would fit into him attacking Scadrial with the help of another shard to overpower Harmony. The Letter confirms that Rayse/Odium splintered "that which they (Aona and Skai) held" on Sel. Quote QUESTION So Ruin and Preservation combine. When Odium slays the Shardbearers, why doesn’t he absorb the enemy Shards? BRANDON SANDERSON Because that would actually change the way he views the world. The Shard would actually start to influence him, and could actually ruin who he views himself as being. So instead of combining them all, his goal is to destroy them all and be the only one left at his power level. QUESTION So by his nature, he can't combine? BRANDON SANDERSON I mean he could, but it would change his nature. So he won't. I think the combined power of Devotion/Dominion into the more powerful Unity shard was what drew Odium's attention to Sel in the first place. He wants to be the most powerful being in the cosmere, so he had to destroy this power so it couldn't challenge his strength. Plus, the intent of Unity would be a brewing force of opposition to his plans to destroy all the other shards by shattering them even further via splintering.
Spoolofwhool Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 The theory that Dominion and Devotion were merged together is interesting. However, I don't think that line from the letter indicates anything either way. "That which they held" can be interpreted either way, as each individual holding a different item or all the individuals holding a single item together. To strongly interpret it as good evidence that there was a single shard veers towards confirmation bias. Also, regarding the initial theory, it seems good, although my only question is how two people held a single combined shard. Don't answer it, I'll post it in the original thread. 1
VirtuousTraveller Posted November 2, 2016 Author Posted November 2, 2016 11 minutes ago, Spoolofwhool said: I don't think that line from the letter indicates anything either way. "That which they held" can be interpreted either way, as each individual holding a different item or all the individuals holding a single item together. To strongly interpret it as good evidence that there was a single shard veers towards confirmation bias. Correct, which is why I think it's an interesting piece of complementary evidence to my initial theory. This universe is so gigantic that we're all going to look back one day and smile on our predictions once we all know the truth! Upvote for reading my original theory on this! =)
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