[OB] Shardblades, Intent, and Mayalaran

[valgerth]

Shardblades aren't dead, and Alodin definitely will bring Maya "back to life". I think this will be part of the key that will allow all the shardblades/spren to be healed over time. I'll explain my theory, I apologize if the order of explanation is erratic, I'm doing this on my phone so editing is a nightmare,

 

Let's start with the first part of my proof, which comes as a direct quote from Syl.

"So they're all spren," he said. "Shardblades." Syl grew solemn. "Dead spren," Kaladin added. "Dead," Syl agreed. "Then they live again a little when someone summons them, syncing a heartbeat to their essence." "How can something be 'a little' alive?" "We're spren," Syl said. "We're forces. You can't kill us completely. Just ... sort of." "That's perfectly clear." "It's perfectly clear to us," Syl said. "You're the strange ones. Break a rock, and it's still there. Break a spren, and she's still there. Sort of. Break a person, and something leaves. Something changes. What's left is just meat. You're weird."' She comes out and says that you can't really fully kill a spren.   Now lets look at the 2 times we deal with the potential and post severing of a Nahel Bond directly. The first time we encounter that is with Syl in Words of Radiance. As Kaladin starts to forsake his bond (thought partly unintentionally) Syl starts to lose her consciousness and starts to become much more like the windspren she is similar to. This is the inverse what gradually happens with her as she gains her connection with Kaladin in the first book. But when we see Mayalaran for the first time, we see her basically as a catatonic person with her eyes scratched out.   Now we have known for many books, that intent is very important in the cosmere, especially in many of the magic systems. For example in Awakening the mental component is huge.   When the Day of Recreance happens, we watch the Knights Radiant put there spren into their sword forms(drawing them fully into this realm) , and then sever their connections all at once. Basically you now have a field of currently mindless spren stuck at least temporarily in their swords form. Then a large group of people who only see these as weapons walk up, take them and start fighting. And then continue to do that for next several thousand years. They just continue to fight and fight with their shardblades. Sometimes they name these majestic weapons of death, and continue to see them. Along the way someone researching knows they used to be able to disappear and come back, and adds a gem to help make a connection that allows that to happen, making these weapons even better. Each person thinks in some way or another, "Let me summon my shardblade." Alodin is a little different. He talks to his shardblade on occasion, part of his ritual. but he still thinks of it as a shardblade. Now lets look at the viewpoints of every Knight Radiant summoning their shardblades whose POV we get. Kaladin "He rested the Sylblade on his shoulder..." Shallan "Patternblade formed in her arms". Jashah "Ivory formed and sliced through the fused's... " Renarin "...so he used Glys to cut a hole in the roof." Each KR thinks of their spren as their partner spren, in the form of a sword, and not as a sword. Each person with a "dead" shardblade thinks of their sword as a sword. As such, this view and intent is what keeps these spren robbed of their minds. Because when the connection is severed by death, those spren don't die, as shown by Syl's first KR dying which just caused her to lose awareness for a time. And we can see the more and more as Alodin thinks of Maya as a fully conscious being, and speaks to her expecting a response, she becomes more and more aware, as shown by the beginning communication back, and his ability to summon her in 7 heartbeats when he was about to die without her. The key is, when Alodin begins to think of Maya fully as Mayalaran first and "Mayablade" second, she will become fully alive again and bond with him to some degree, only needing to hear some degree of oath from him at that point, or possibly just being released to go do as she pleases.

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

Actually, Adolin already saw Mayablade as a partner. He thanks her for her help. He doesn’t name the Blade because it has its own. Never knowing otherwise he considered his blade to be an individual and a friend. His biggest mistake was assuming the Blade a ‘he.’

When he sees her is Shadesmar he is initially freaked out. And then he starts worrying about her, watching out for her. He doesn’t want her locked up. It’s an easy transition because, on some level, he has ALWAYS viewed her as a person.

So what has really changed? I think Adolin’s unconscious view is now more accurate in two regards. First: he now sees his Blade for the Spren she is. Second: He now views her as female. In addition their connection is strengthened and Maya can ‘see’ Adolin caring for her despite not being able to summon her.

They also travel through a Perpendicularity and I think this may have helped some as well, as I suspect her Deadeye form traveled through, merging her severed aspects on some level. But this wouldn’t have worked without a prior existing connection which started the process. (I think the process is easier to start in Shadesmar.) 

Adolin does think of her as Maya now, not a Blade. I am VERY curious to see how this developes... Three more years to go...

[dvoraen]

I'm honestly wondering if Adolin is going to end up circumventing the system of oaths entirely.  Mayalaran is "bound" to someone else (their Identity) with respect to the oaths, but it's very clear that Adolin is getting through to her regardless of this fact.

[valgerth]

1 hour ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

Actually, Adolin already saw Mayablade as a partner. He thanks her for her help. He doesn’t name the Blade because it has its own. Never knowing otherwise he considered his blade to be an individual and a friend. His biggest mistake was assuming the Blade a ‘he.’

When he sees her is Shadesmar he is initially freaked out. And then he starts worrying about her, watching out for her. He doesn’t want her locked up. It’s an easy transition because, on some level, he has ALWAYS viewed her as a person.

So what has really changed? I think Adolin’s unconscious view is now more accurate in two regards. First: he now sees his Blade for the Spren she is. Second: He now views her as female. In addition their connection is strengthened and Maya can ‘see’ Adolin caring for her despite not being able to summon her.

They also travel through a Perpendicularity and I think this may have helped some as well, as I suspect her Deadeye form traveled through, merging her severed aspects on some level. But this wouldn’t have worked without a prior existing connection which started the process. (I think the process is easier to start in Shadesmar.) 

Adolin does think of her as Maya now, not a Blade. I am VERY curious to see how this developes... Three more years to go...

He definitely sees her as more than a basic sword, which seems to be what' helping to awaken her. I don't think he still fully sees her separate from her weaponself. I think a huge part is he still sees her as dead. Until he stops believing that, she will be.

[Zlaude]

For sure Adolin will bond Maya. I would say he already has done so especially since he has spent so much time with her in Shadesmar and because he now has some fantastic examples of Knights Radiant to help him figure things out - and the 7 seconds which is a HUGE rule breakage.

Next, he still does not hear a scream at least in the physical realm.

Another one -  Adolin's blade throw: "All right, Maya, " Adolin said. "We've practiced this."
Adolin says We've. Lots of intent in that word. 

Finally and the most important, Mayalaran jumps in to protect Adolin after he has been stabbed. Not 'Sort of dead'. Maya is in full mother bear protection mode.