[OB] The Shattered Plains

[+Extesian he/him]

A simple one guys. Something shattered the shattered plains.

Quote

They blame our people for the loss of that land. The city that once covered it did range the eastern strand. The power made known in the tomes of our clan, our gods were not who shattered these plains. 

Song of Wars, 55th stanza

If not the Listeners, then who? How?

Quote

But in the days leading to the Recreance, Honor was dying. When that generation of knights learned the truth, Honor did not support them. He raved, speaking of the Dawnshards, ancient weapons used to destroy the Tranquiline Halls. Honor . . . promised that Surgebinders would do the same to Roshar.

Stormfather, Oathbringer

Quote

“I wish I could do more,” repeated the figure in gold. “You might be able to get him to choose a champion. He is bound by some rules. All of us are. A champion could work well for you, but it is not certain. And … without the Dawnshards … Well, I have done what I can. It is a terrible, terrible thing to leave you alone.”

Honor, Way of Kings

Now the dawnshards are an obsession for many of us. I'm not proposing to know what they are. And I have no idea how to fit in the idea of them being a 'weapon' with the quote that they bind any creature voidish or mortal. Or the WoB that one dawnshard is different to the others. And i have no idea if the timing works. 

But i am proposing that perhaps one was used to shatter the plains, possibly due to the Parsh seizing it, and that destruction combined with Honor's raving was what caused the Recreance and that one of the things they did was to destroy or in some way rid themselves of the Dawnshards to avoid destroying another world. 

Over to you team.

(And apologies again if someone had proposed this, I can't keep up with the forums right now)

Edited December 1, 2017 by Ookla the Indivergable

[RShara she/her]

Some of the gems in Urithiru talk about it as well.  It seems likely that a Dustbringer or something like that shattered them.

[Calderis he/him]

I don't know what to make of that Stormfather quote. The ranting and raving Honor who spoke of the Dawnshards doesn't mesh in my mind with the Tanavast who crafted Dalinar's visions. 

The visions had to be made before Honor splintered. A CS shouldn't be capable of that creation. But in that setting, Tanavast laments their loss, and speaks coherently if cryptic all. 

Perhaps the single different Dawnshard is the weapon that shattered the plains. I don't know... 

This section of the book is honestly the hardest part for me to reconcile. Honor's death as described does not match the version of Tanavast we saw. I feel like there's more buried here

[Mulk he/him]

15 minutes ago, Ookla, the Incalculable said:

I don't know what to make of that Stormfather quote. The ranting and raving Honor who spoke of the Dawnshards doesn't mesh in my mind with the Tanavast who crafted Dalinar's visions. 

The visions had to be made before Honor splintered. A CS shouldn't be capable of that creation. But in that setting, Tanavast laments their loss, and speaks coherently if cryptic all. 

Perhaps the single different Dawnshard is the weapon that shattered the plains. I don't know... 

This section of the book is honestly the hardest part for me to reconcile. Honor's death as described does not match the version of Tanavast we saw. I feel like there's more buried here

The only thing I can come up with is that sometimes, a person who is dying and suffering from illness will have some lucidity right before death.  So, perhaps he was going crazy as Odium brought him near death and had a brief respite from the pain/attack/whatever and was able to do this. Or (just occurred to me) perhaps Cultivation attended him and helped him pull together right before he died.  I don't know. It is an odd thing, though.

[Walin he/him]

I'm thinking that maybe one of the Dawnshards broke, or even got destroyed, and released a massive load of energy. Seeing the other theory/WOB that gemstones are made from Investiture, I think that if it can "bind any creature voidish or mortal" (much like the King's Drop) it probably has a big amount of Investiture.

Perhaps it was an intentional thing by Honor during the Last Desolation to wipe out a large number of Voidbringers, seeing as the Heralds were getting weaker and the Voidbringers needed to be struck hard?

Actually, I think any number of highly Invested people could have done it. But for now, I'm set on the theory that one or more Dawnshards got fractured or destroyed.