[OB] In-World Oathbringer

[FollowYourMuse]

Looking at possible authors. Who could have killed someone who loved them, made me think maybe the author is Zahal/Vasher. 

He would be considered a heritic by Vorin beliefs, and possibly other beleifs also.

He is a scholar, but not a poet.

He has died and returned. Has seen Shadesmar, and possibly beyond. 

He has killed someone that loved him.

 

 

 

 

[Leyrann]

One more thing I realized - most likely the book is named after the Shardblade. We do not know when the book is written, but if it is written by a character from the series itself (Jasnah, Dalinar, etc) then it is safe to assume that it has yet to be written; right now, however, the Shardblade is lost - Adolin threw it away and as far as we know, no one has seen it since.

So is it an older book (which I actually don't think, as I feel like we would know about the book then before getting prefaces, which was, IIRC, the case with WoK and WoR), or will Oathbringer be found? And if it is found, then who gets it? And what other consequences will there be? Will the one that gets Oathbringer end up being the writer of the book?

(of course, if Dalinar is the writer, then we can have a modern writer without needing Oathbringer to be found, but if it's anyone else, I think it is safe to assume the above)

[Scriptorian]

Has anyone put forth the theory that the book is written by Oathbringer itself? Meaning, the (newly revived?) spren who died and whose corpse we now refer to as the shardblade Oathbringer?

Highly implausible, yes. But this is Sanderson. 

Edited October 29, 2017 by Scriptorian

[hoser]

I think it's Dalinar.  I quote the section below because it covers most of my thinking better than I think I could say it.

 

On 10/26/2017 at 5:58 AM, jofwu said:

Based on what we know now, the author is:

• a widely known Vorin heretic 
• old enough to refer to their "youth"
• writing a book called Oathbringer
• had a near-death experience which let him/her glimpse Shadesmar and which others are aware of

I think it's got to be somebody at least loosely connected to Oathbringer the Shardblade. It's a notable, famous name. You don't write a book with that title unless you intend to for your audience to make a connection there and unless you have the connection for people to say, "Oh, yeah it makes sense for this person to write a book with that title." Especially given the book is so blatantly controversial in nature. "Oathbringer by Shallan Davar? Who is this girl and why is she writing a book with that name?" Nah... The only exception I can see to this is if it's the Sunmaker and the book name isn't directly based on the Blade.

I don't think it's Adolin or Renarin because they're too young to refer to their youths as a thing from the past. I don't think it's Jasnah because of this line: "I have no doubt that you are smarter than I am." I also tend to think the writing isn't quite as eloquent as Jasnah would make it. I can see an argument for Evi, but it's not very strong. Her heresy was not particularly outspoken or surprising, from what we've seen. I can only see two great options: Dalinar and the Sunmaker. Navani might also work, but I don't see anything compelling to suggest her.

The most peculiar part is the one about the near-death experience. 

I really don't see any character who fits this. I believe some argue that it's Jasnah because of this, but that doesn't fit at all. That wasn't a near-death experience. That was Stormlight healing and Elsecalling. And the bit about "some who saw further" just doesn't make any sense. At the same time, I don't see any other characters who fit this. Szeth is the only one, and he doesn't fit for several other reasons explained above.

So I think we're either reading something from the Sunmaker (whose past will be revealed and become relevant soon) or something from Dalinar (or Navani?) that comes a bit later. Biggest problem with Sunmaker is we can't see how his story would connect at this point. Biggest problem with Dalinar (& Navani) is that I'l be a little surprised if Brandon does ANOTHER "resurrection". Plus, with the Desolations returning, how the heck is there time to write a book?

Conceivably, the near-death experience either happened when he rescued/killed Evi or has yet to come.   Perhaps when Mr. T attempts to assassinate him. 

Quote

I can’t remember how she died. That one gets to me, because there are parts of that day I know I should remember. Something about a city in rebellion against my brother, and my wife being taken hostage?”

That… and a long march alone, accompanied only by hatred and the Thrill. He remembered those emotions vividly. He’d brought vengeance to those who had taken his wife from him.

Maybe he kills Evi, perhaps under the influence of the Thrill, and so fulfills the epigraph about killing someone who loved him.

The other reason to write the book is to explain how he has changed so that he can "Unite them."  His projection trick with the Stormfather may do some good, but it might not be enough.  Perhaps he will write the book to demonstrate that he is no longer the Blackthorn and that he can be trusted. 

Edited November 3, 2017 by hoser

[Subvisual Haze]

Perhaps Taravangian wrote it.  One of his first lines with Dalinar in Oathbringer is remembering that even in his youth he did not believe the Desolations to be truly gone.  This aligns well with the remark about the book brewing in him since his youth.

Quote

Taravangian again looked out into the wide central column, lit from the sheer glass window to the east. “Ah, how I wish this day hadn’t come.”

“You sound as if you anticipated it, Your Majesty,” Dalinar said.

Taravangian laughed softly. “Don’t you? Anticipate sorrow, I mean? Sadness… loss…”

“I try not to hasten my expectations in either direction,” Dalinar said. “The soldier’s way. Deal with today’s problems, then sleep and deal with tomorrow’s problems tomorrow.”

Taravangian nodded. “I remember, as a child, listening to an ardent pray to the Almighty on my behalf as glyphwards burned nearby. I remember thinking… surely the sorrows can’t be past us. Surely the evils didn’t actually end. If they had, wouldn’t we be back in the Tranquiline Halls even now?” He looked toward Dalinar, and surprisingly there were tears in his pale grey eyes. “I do not think you and I are destined for such a glorious place. Men of blood and sorrow don’t get an ending like that, Dalinar Kholin.”

The main problem being that this writing displays intelligence as well as remorse/empathy, which as of yet are opposing properties in his curse.  It could be that the vague magics of Urithiru itself (or some Bondsmith interaction from Dalinar) can slowly degrade curses/boons from the Nightwatcher.  Just as Dalinar is slowly recovering his memories, Taravangian may experience a day of both high intelligence and empathy and choose to write a book as a confession on the monstrous things he has done as well as revealing to the world the lies they have been told about Desolations/Heralds/Radiants/Honor.

[Marethyu316]

20 hours ago, hoser said:

Conceivably, the near-death experience either happened when he rescued/killed Evi or has yet to come.   Perhaps when Mr. T attempts to assassinate him. 

This is where my mind went when I read "Certainly, some who saw further than I did thought I had fallen." That seemed to strike me as a possible reference to Mr. T's knowledge via the Diagram. Plus, he's already tried to kill Dalinar once, and Dalinar certainly seems to be pursuing the course which the Diagram said would require his elimination...it would be interesting if the whole point of the Diagram suggesting attempting to assassinate him was to lead to the experience that he has in Shadesmar, rather than to actually kill him. Taravangian doesn't know the "why" behind most of the things on the Diagram anymore, if he even did on that day. 

Edited November 4, 2017 by Marethyu316

[Darkness]

On ‎10‎/‎28‎/‎2017 at 11:38 PM, Leyrann said:

One more thing I realized - most likely the book is named after the Shardblade. We do not know when the book is written, but if it is written by a character from the series itself (Jasnah, Dalinar, etc) then it is safe to assume that it has yet to be written; right now, however, the Shardblade is lost - Adolin threw it away and as far as we know, no one has seen it since.

So is it an older book (which I actually don't think, as I feel like we would know about the book then before getting prefaces, which was, IIRC, the case with WoK and WoR), or will Oathbringer be found? And if it is found, then who gets it? And what other consequences will there be? Will the one that gets Oathbringer end up being the writer of the book?

(of course, if Dalinar is the writer, then we can have a modern writer without needing Oathbringer to be found, but if it's anyone else, I think it is safe to assume the above)

That's one problem solved
Oathbringer given to Amaram. Maybe HE'S the author! lol

[Govir]

On 11/2/2017 at 11:14 PM, hoser said:

I think it's Dalinar

I was about to agree with you, except for @Darkness's post about it being Amaram. Even though it was meant as a joke, it's a good point. If Dalinar is the Author, then he hasn't written it yet.* If he writes it later, then why is it called Oathbringer, when Amaram has Oathbringer now.

 

*There's a small chance Dalinar has already written it, and has forgotten (because it somehow relates to Evi). This is doubtful though, so I'm leaning towards not Dalinar at this point. Which probably means Sunmaker, the previous owner of Oathbringer.

[Asrael]

32 minutes ago, Govir said:

 If he writes it later, then why is it called Oathbringer, when Amaram has Oathbringer now.

Because Oathbringer was a part of his life for over 20 years, the way he got it was among his many despicable action, and probably the motivation behind the events that lead to his wife's death. I think it's a perfect name for an autobiography by Dalinar. Not to mention the way he somewhat literally "brings Oaths" to the world as the leader of the new Knight Radiants, bonded to a spren of oaths.

(More on the sword itself) Here's what we know:

• Dalinar did something he was ashamed of when he acquired Oathbringer
• The city, Rathalas is where Kadash left the ardentia at a later point, so we know something went down there and it wasn't him getting Oathbringer, but seems to be as a direct result of that day
• We suspect that event is where and when his wife died, and we are very suspicious that Dalinar is the one who killed her
• If that is the day his wife died, it was that event that drove him to the nightwatcher to take it all away
• The revelation of all of those lost memories is what causes Dalinar to confront who he was and who he is trying to become (we can glean this a little more explicitly from recent reviews)

All of this to me screams that Dalinar is definitely the author, and Oathbringer is a dang good name

[CaptainRyan]

Long-shot option that will make me look amazing if it is correct. The author of Oathbringer is none other than... Pai! (The ardent who denounced the Queen of Alethkar)

1. She was executed but, thanks to the proto-Radiant bond she was forming due to her actions, she survived.
2. The execution was a near thing and let her see into Shadesmar... and Beyond!
3. She was so zealous an ardent because she was actually deeply conflicted about her faith... all the way back to her childhood perhaps?
4. Her actions sparked the riots that led to many deaths.
5. Not sure how someone who loved her was killed but something something tenuous theory.

[Xavien]

Surprised I haven't seen Melishi mentioned as the author unless I missed it. Based on the theory that he bound the Listener gods and helped turn them into slaves then Oathbringer is about the enslavement of the Parshendi and the secret cause of the Recreance.  That would certainly make regular people hate him/consider him a heretic and many other Radiants may have found him to be a monster.  The murders could be those of the spren bound to the Radiants as well as the 'person who loved him dearly'.  The line about Kazilah could also fit since the crime was potentially empathizing with the enslaved Parshendi and there was debate about the punishment of execution.

 

 

[ScavellTane]

Did anybody consider Lirin?

[kraefzke]

First of all, I'd like to propose Stick as the Author.

On a more serious note, I'll admit that, at first, I wasn't very happy about the idea that the author is a "contempory" SA character. However, very strong arguments can be made for either Dalinar or Jasnah, who in my opinion tie for most likely candidates. As for the post-Recreance Radiant I used to prefer: While the only-women-are-literate would not rule this out (since we know that was established relatively shortly after the Recreance), the word "Ardent" somehow does. If I remember correctly, the early Vorin church did not call them "Ardents" but simply "priests" until after the Hierocracy was finished, though that might be me getting my timeline mixed up.

So, back to Jasnah and Dalinar: skimming through the comments on this thread a possibility came to my mind, that I have not yet seen elsewhere. How about this little theory:
Our heroes somehow manage to kill Rayse but are unable to splinter the shard Odium. Dalinar picks it up in an act of nobility (that could easily be seen as a crime by many) to go play with some other shards and get himself a good splintering, while there is still enough Dalinar left in Odium to do so. Maybe off to Harmony who not only has the raw power, being made of two shards, but also the capability to ruin Odium in order to preserve the rest of the cosmere. We know (from Harmony) that you can write a book on the go while ascending and being iliterate is probably no big deal once you pick up a large chunk of Adonalsium. The one he killed who loved him might refer to Evi or anyone he has yet to kill, including Navani, Jasnah, Elhokar, Adolin, the Stormfather an various others.

Also: It's probably Jasnah anyway.

[17th Splinter]

On 10/28/2017 at 5:09 AM, FollowYourMuse said:

Looking at possible authors. Who could have killed someone who loved them, made me think maybe the author is Zahal/Vasher. 

He would be considered a heritic by Vorin beliefs, and possibly other beleifs also.

He is a scholar, but not a poet.

He has died and returned. Has seen Shadesmar, and possibly beyond. 

He has killed someone that loved him.

 

I really like this. We know that Warbreaker was written for the Stormlight Archive, and I think Brandon has hinted that Zahel/Vasher will be more important in Oathbringer. Seems very plausible

[VirtuousTraveller]

Maybe I missed this in reading through everyone else's comments here, but what about an opponent of the Sunmaker during the War of Loss as a possible author?  Perhaps this is one of the ardents who had visions that no one believed, afterwhich the Sunmaker proclaimed that the Vorin church had been lying and he essentially destroyed it.

I've long thought that something strange happened with the Sunmaker, based on what we know.  The church reported having visions of the Almighty (which we know can happen based on Dalinar's visions), the Sunmaker steps in and questions the ardents about these visions (which the Stormfather just revealed can be shared with other people and not just a Bondsmith), but then randomly he decides that "they're lying?"

I smell some void up in this.  My bet is that in-world Oathbringer was written by someone connected to this story arc (Sunmaker vs Hierocracy) - "The War of Loss").

(Random thought - it's tnteresting that the Vorin church, formerly in power, was reduced to slave property.  Perhaps a parallel to what happened with the parshmen?)

Edited November 8, 2017 by VirtuousTraveller