[OB] Theory: the Voidbringers were....

[11thorderknight]

...the Knights Radiant themselves.

Evidence:

1. Jasnah's research, which led her to conclude that the parshmen were Voidbringers, was both correct and incomplete - they have capacity to undergo the transformation into various Voidforms, but do not necessarily have to. And in fact, we're now finding out that most of them are "regular people". It's even highly foreshadowed that one of them, Eshonai, is likely to become a Radiant herself.

2. The very first mention of the Voidbringers, in Szeth's POV prologue to WoK, references how briefly he can hold Stormlight, then states "it was said the Voidbringers could hold it in perfectly".

3. With each additional Oath, we see Radiants become more and more efficient in their use of Stormlight. Shallan, who is currently the farthest in her progression, is able to maintain a complex illusion for hours using "just a smidgen". The Radiants in Dalinar's flashbacks never leaked Stormlight. 

4. Nale believes that surgebinders have the capacity to bring about the return of Desolations.

5. Some secret exists that caused nearly every Radiant to participate in a mass suicide/sprenocide when they discovered it. That secret still exists, and Taravangian believes that it would cause the new Radiants to act in much the same way as the old ones did. 

My conclusion: Nale is at least partly right; there is a direct link between surgebinders and Desolations, which the Radiants did not understand even during the height of their civilization. When this was discovered, they not only felt guilty, but betrayed by their spren, which caused them to participate in the Recreance. 

[Jace21 he/him]

I like the idea that the radiants were part of the problem. And a lot of information about voidbringers and radiants could have been confused by the hierocracy and their prejudice againsf radiants.

Having said that, Nale also said that the Parshendi are voidbringers, or at least heavily implied it. I know he is insane but that doesnt seem like something he would get wrong.

[hypatia she/her]

Perhaps this WoB (Leipzig, Book Fair) is able to connect and expand the possibility:

Qu.:

Odium has something like the meaning of God's divine wrath.How is wrath on its own able to cause such terrible destruction?

He primaraly attacked dishardic worlds (Sel, Roshar). Could he have sawed discord between Shards there to an extent of fighting against each other?

A.:

That's a good theory. That he got them fighting each other.

I won't tell you wether it happened or not, but it is a good theory. 

It's fully within his capacity. That's the sort of thing he does.

 

Influencing only one race on Roshar wouldn't cause discord/hatred. And there is the fact that the Radiants were seen as traitors to the humans.

Honor on the human side and Cultivation on the side of the Listener?

 

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

42 minutes ago, hypatia said:

Honor on the human side and Cultivation on the side of the Listener?

This idea has two problems. One is that Honor and Cultivation were lovers. I have a hard time seeing them starting to hate eachother.

The other problem is the idea that Radiants are part Honor and part Cultivation. Lift, for example, is clearly more on the Cultivation-side of things, while Kaladin is of Honor. If Cultivation and Honor fought eachother, I feel like some orders, like the Edgedancers, would fight others, like the Windrunners.

[hypatia she/her]

@Toaster Retribution

Yes, they were lovers, but they were also under the attack of someone with hatred as his weapon.

The Radiant Orders were a mixture of Honor and Cultivation, but wasn't the system purely from Honor?

And it seems like there was a time when the two Shards were working peaceful with one another - as there was a time of peace with humans and Listeners.

We have not one, but two stabilized hybrid races - this should only be possible without war.

But this could all change when Odium was doing "the sort of thing he does".

Really - I want informations about Cultivation and the religions aside of Vorinism.

[Calderis he/him]

2 hours ago, hypatia said:

The Radiant Orders were a mixture of Honor and Cultivation, but wasn't the system purely from Honor?

No. The surges are a part of Roshar's magic itself. The Honorblades were created directly by Honor to manipulate the surges, and the Spren mimicked what the Honorblades are. 

So the surges themselves... Of Adonalsium? The Honorblades are of Honor, and the Nahel bond is both Honor and Cultivation.