[OB] Odium’s Captivity – or Why There Are No Hatespren on Roshar

[Confused]

Why Odium needs to kill all humans to leave Greater Roshar has bugged me since I joined the Shard in 2014. This is my third or fourth attempt to answer that question.

Theory

Honor has bound Odium’s Investiture into the “hearts of men.” Odium must destroy Roshar’s human population to free himself from Greater Roshar and recapture his trapped Investiture.

Analysis

1. I begin with @ROSHtaFARian2.0's interesting post about Ashyn and its bacteria-based magic. ROSHtaFARian2.0 concludes that magic comes from Honor and Cultivation, but others in that thread rightly (IMO) point out Odium was the god who came with humans to Roshar. This also fits the WoB that Odium came to Roshar after Honor and Cultivation.

2. A bacteria-based magic system comports with my theory of Odium’s magic. IMO, Odium breaks bonds to power his magic. Bacteria breaks down the human body. I think Odium Invested Ashyn’s bacteria to grant magic to Ashyn humans.

3. As ROSHtaFARian2.0 says, bacteria-based magic wouldn’t work on Roshar. Humans came there without magic. But they did come with Odium-Invested bacteria infecting their bodies.

4. I think Honor bound Odium’s Investiture to humans at some point, perhaps immediately on their arrival? Maybe he integrated the Invested bacteria into their bodies? Unclear.

5. This may explain why there are no Honor/Cultivation “Hatespren.” Human emotions spawn all kinds of spren, but we never see Hatespren, only Voidspren that personify Singer emotions. This seems odd to me. Perhaps human hate is internalized into Odium’s Investiture? That bit of Odium Investiture may also explain why Roshar’s humans are incorrigibly fractious.

[MPHRD]

Interesting theory, but then why was Odium willing to make the deal to spare Kharbranth for Taravangian? Is Odium lying or does it not need to be all humans?

[SpeakoftheDeval]

I don't think it ever says that odium needs to kill any amount of humans to leave- he just has to end the oathpact and is letting the fused follow their goal of exterminating humanity because it makes them good minions that he can use to defeat the heralds/honours representative and get them to free him. His trapped investiture he could reclaim at any point really by divesting the fused and the unmade, the problem is that even if he does that the oathpact stops him from leaving