Crucible of Shards he/him Posted January 23, 2017 Posted January 23, 2017 So I was reading through WoK again and I was struck by something I have never heard anyone discuss. So maybe it's nothing. Anyway, on Kaladin's first bridge run he is encouraged by a nameless bridgeman who, during the plateau assault, refers to Talenelat as "bearer of all agonies." The nameless bridge man dies shortly after, and Kaladin takes his padded vest and sandals. My question/thought is: how would anyone know to call the Herald of War by this title? Is it referring to his torture in Damnation, or just his role/function as a Herald? And if so, was it common knowledge that the Heralds returned to Damnation between Desolations? And if so, since the previous Desolation was the "last" one, why would anyone think that a Herald would return there? After all, aren't they all supposedly fighting to retake the Tranquiline Halls from the Voidbringers? I have a suspicion that this nameless bridgeman either knew something he shouldn't, or was someone special. If he was someone special, (like a HERALD!!!!) is he really dead? And if so, are there any unforeseen consequences due to his death? Or is this all just a meaningless tangent? 2
The One Who Connects he/him Posted January 23, 2017 Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) I cannot definitively say for certain, but I think I remember reading somewhere that he wasn't someone too special, or at the very least, not a Herald. That said, "bearer of all agonies" could easily be important. It's tough to say without knowing when that phrase came about, and whether or not it's part of Vorin teachings. If that phrase is from the Desolation times, it could be about one of two things. Taln's habit of taking impossible tasks and often dying in the process. Countless legends could have spawned about someone who endured innumerable odds time and again, especially if he took the brunt of battle after battle during the Desolation that lasted 11 years. Proving Day. It has been posited that Proving Day was when/how Honor chose the people to be his Heralds. (wild speculation) I'm imagining something akin to Hercules' Labors, and since Honor is basically "God," all manner of things could have been asked of them to prove themselves worthy.I don't know about you, but Taln is described as the type of person who would actually move a mountain if need be. His stubbornness was quite literally the stuff of legends. If the Phrase is part of Vorin teachings, then it lends a bit more credence to something along the lines of what I've said above. If it isn't part of Vorin teachings, then our nameless bridgeman appears to know something he shouldn't be able to know. Edited January 23, 2017 by The One Who Connects
Yezrien Posted January 23, 2017 Posted January 23, 2017 It's a stretch, but the anonymous bridgeman could have been having a kind of death rattle. He was about to die, and the men on bridge four were generally considered to be in a perpetual state of 'basically dead already.' Maybe the man was so downtrodden and soul-broken that Moelach could work his magic. 1
Crucible of Shards he/him Posted January 23, 2017 Author Posted January 23, 2017 30 minutes ago, The One Who Connects said: I cannot definitively say for certain, but I think I remember reading somewhere that he wasn't someone too special, or at the very least, not a Herald. That said, "bearer of all agonies" could easily be important. It's tough to say without knowing when that phrase came about, and whether or not it's part of Vorin teachings. If that phrase is from the Desolation times, it could be about one of two things. Taln's habit of taking impossible tasks and often dying in the process. Countless legends could have spawned about someone who endured innumerable odds time and again, especially if he took the brunt of battle after battle during the Desolation that lasted 11 years. Proving Day. It has been posited that Proving Day was when/how Honor chose the people to be his Heralds. (wild speculation) I'm imagining something akin to Hercules' Labors, and since Honor is basically "God," all manner of things could have been asked of them to prove themselves worthy.I don't know about you, but Taln is described as the type of person who would literally move a mountain if need be. His stubbornness was quite literally the stuff of legends. If the Phrase is part of Vorin teachings, then it lends a bit more credence to something along the lines of what I've said above. If it isn't part of Vorin teachings, then our nameless bridgeman appears to know something he shouldn't be able to know. Thanks for the thought and quick response! I like your ideas, and hadn't thought anything of Proving Day. I am still suspicious of the dead bridgeman. The death rattle idea is interesting. Have we seen it occur in someone who i not physically in the process of dying? The nameless bridgeman seemed quite lucid while saying it, as he was acknowledging that the approach to the plateau was looking particularly perilous. He also seemed far less beaten down than the other bridgemen, so I don't know if the cognitive aspect of the realmatic interactions fits in a theory of him giving a death rattle before being injured. But then again, there's a lot we don't know about how death rattle work.
The One Who Connects he/him Posted January 23, 2017 Posted January 23, 2017 Just now, Crucible of Shards said: Have we seen it occur in someone who in not physically in the process of dying? The nameless bridgeman seemed quite lucid while saying it, as he was acknowledging that the approach to the plateau was looking particularly perilous. He also seemed far less beaten down than the other bridgemen, The people in Taravangian's hospital might not be technically dying, per se. I thought they were being drained of blood, rather than properly bleeding out. Semantics, sorry.. Either way, given that Moelach is a splinter of Odium I think a measure of possession could be on the table. When people break from the influence of Nergaoul (The Thrill), they seem a bit dazed/out of it, so there may be precedent. This possession could explain the lucidity, assuming they lack the will to be unclear. As "basically already dead" bridgmen as Belzedar puts it, mental fortitude is likely at a low point no matter what. As for not thinking much of Proving Day, I only found the WoB that it's an "equivalent of Bar Mitzvah in Vorin Mythos" this morning. So no worries there.
ZenBossanova Posted January 24, 2017 Posted January 24, 2017 (edited) We should probably cross-reference this with Spoiler Tashi has no pancake I suspect that either bits of knowledge have come from the Shin, or the Heralds have occasionally let things out. Edited January 24, 2017 by ZenBossanova
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