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[OB] The Army of the Dead (Warbreaker Spoilers)


Fifth of Daybreak

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Quote

The sight of his brother, lying dead on the slab. “Spirit, mind, and body,” the wizened ardent said, her voice echoing in the stone catacomb. “Death is the separation of the three. The body remains in our realm, to be reused. The spirit rejoins the pool of divine essence that gave it birth. And the mind … the mind goes to the Tranquiline Halls to find its reward.”

OB 105 Spirit Mind and Body

So we now officially have two people on Roshar with the ability to Awaken. We also have human death rites that soulcast human forms into stone, and multiple WoB that this would allow those statues to be awakened (pity I didn't get to ask in person, they got much more nuanced info.)

With this context in mind, and in the company of the bolded selection from Gavilar's funeral, what do you guys think the chances are of seeing a Rosharan army of the dead in the future?

Warbreaker Spoilers:

Spoiler

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/69-shadows-of-self-release-party/#e6138

Questioner

So the lighteyes that get Soulcast into stone, can they be Awakened?

Brandon Sanderson

*pause* So… Yes, but their soul is gone. When they get Soulcast into stone it is only the corpse, so yes they could.

Questioner

Would it be a lifeless or a-- Would it be like Awakening something inorganic or would them once being alive help?

Brandon Sanderson

The fact that they were once alive will help. There's a Spiritual Connection that still exists on the Spiritual Realm and that is going to help. But you're not going to get the person back. The fact that it is the exact form of a person is going to be really helpful. It would be a lot easier to Awaken that than it would be to Awaken other stone.

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/148-torcom-the-way-of-kings-re-read-interview/#e2781

EMTrevor (That's me :D)

Would an Awakener be able to awaken a corpse that was soulcast into stone more easily because it used to be living, thereby being able to create lifeless similar to Kalad's Phantoms without having bones in the framework?

Brandon Sanderson

Yes. That would definitely work.

 

Edited by Fifth of Daybreak
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Woah... that could be one way to interpret the "war to reclaim the Tranquiline Halls" couldn't it? The dead who are soulcast being brought back to life to fight the voidbringers... That sounds almost prophetic in this light.

Edited by KidWayne
Grammar
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There's only one problem I see with the original post here...

There are at least three awakeners on Roshar, and a distinct possibility of a fourth.

Spoiler

Vasher, Vivienna, Hoid and possibly Yesteel.

 

Edited by aemetha
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3 minutes ago, RShara said:

How many have been Soulcast into stone?  Is it a significant number?

It is usual for wealthy lighteyes to have their bodies soulcast after death then placed in Mausoleum. It seems to be a longstanding thing because Shallan thinks about her father having to be burned rather than soulcast to join his ancestors in the family catacomb. That (to me) implies there are at least a few generations in most family catacombs of the highborn light-eyes. Lin Davar is 3rd dahn so at least the top 3 tiers of society have been doing it for a while. It may not be loads in comparison with the full population but it is likely to be a significant number.

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1 minute ago, RShara said:

Then that would work out pretty nicely.

Here's a more specific quote for you from that chapter. 

Quote

The ardents pushed him back into an alcove, where he joined the lines of other monarchs—most of them highprinces of the Kholin princedom. 

If we assume this is either just Alethkar royalty or the Kholin family line, we already have 'lines of monarchs.'

I wonder if the Sunmaker is in there? Bonus points for me if Dalinar equips a lifeless Sunmaker with Oathbringer.

26 minutes ago, aemetha said:

There's only one problem I see with the original post here...

There are at least three awakeners on Roshar, and a distinct possibility of a fourth.

  Reveal hidden contents

Vasher, Vivienna, Hoid and possibly Yesteel.

 

Can you expand on the possibility of the fourth?

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It's never been accounted for where Yesteel is outside of rumour. Vasher was pursuing them all though. We assume he is on Roshar for the easy investiture, but he could as easily be there chasing someone else with much to gain from easy investiture. Hard to say with Nightblood still yet to be written.

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Yeah, I just don't discount the possibility. As far as I'm concerned nobody in the cosmere is dead unless they die on screen, their spren is witnessed departing, their eyes are burned out, their corpse is autopsied to check for hidden allomantic reserves, the corpse is then reassembled and awakened as a lifeless, and someone travels to the cognitive realm and witnesses the soul departing. It's possible I am exercising an overabundance of prudence though.

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