[OB] The Unmade are Heralds

[Angsos]

Midavis, the honorblades gives heralds their powers and welcome to the shard

[Slimy_Slider]

I do like this theory, I feel like it would make sense with some of the things the Heralds have said (Thinking particuarly of what Jezrien said about being ripped apart).

I also agree that there is a 10th Unmade now; The Everstorm. The Stormfather describes it as "A new thing, but old of design." If we assume it parallels to Taln, this would make sense as it was something that was theoretically possible for a long time but only happened recently. If you look at the design of the Everstorm, it does show some signs of being an 'inverse Taln".

 

Talenat was the glue that kept civilisation together for millennia. There is even something along those lines in one of the epigraphs. He was the bearer of agonies, the patron of the stonewards. So is it a coincidence that after he finally breaks, we get the Everstorm. A storm which goes the opposite way to the highstorms, upending thousands of years of traditional countermeasures, awakening the Parsh and throwing nations into chaos around the continent. The whole thing is just a little too perfectly opposite for me to think it's unrelated.

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

I doubt the Everstorm is an Unmade. I think its more likely that there is a new Unmade with a suitably wierd name inside it, causing the storm. 

[Angsos]

My guess is whatever the parshendi did, fused with tne new Unmade and now they're indistinguishable. Clearly, there's something inside because it does too many weird things, like stopping, for there not to be a controlling influence.

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

15 minutes ago, Angsos said:

My guess is whatever the parshendi did, fused with tne new Unmade and now they're indistinguishable.

Can you make this clearer? Do you mean that a bunch Parshendi and Mr New Unmade merged together? 

[Angsos]

sorry yes, that's what I meant

[WhiteEmporer]

One of my theories has been that the unmade were 9 of 10 primordial spren that predated the shattering, 9 of which Odium corrupted with his own investiture (as Sja-Anat says,"we were made, then we were unmade"); and then the tenth became the sibling when the Bondsmiths formed.

So I'm not sure I can get 100% behind the herald theory just because I don't want to abandon my equally speculative one  But I find it both intriguing and plausible, and it's not one I'd thought of before.

In the end, if we in the Shard come up with enough speculative theories, chances are one of them will be right, and then we can all say "TOLD YOU SO!" together.

[Scion of the Mists]

16 hours ago, WhiteEmporer said:

One of my theories has been that the unmade were 9 of 10 primordial spren that predated the shattering, 9 of which Odium corrupted with his own investiture (as Sja-Anat says,"we were made, then we were unmade"); and then the tenth became the sibling when the Bondsmiths formed.

Wouldn't the Nightwatcher and the Stormfather also be included in the "primordial spren"?

[WhiteEmporer]

On 2/28/2019 at 9:46 AM, Scion of the Mists said:

Wouldn't the Nightwatcher and the Stormfather also be included in the "primordial spren"?

Ehhh...its not a perfect theory. 

 

Edit: Actually, my current theory has them being the spren of the 10 essences. The sibling is the spren of the Rosharan continent. The Stormfather and Nightwatcher would simply be spren of other things.

I've actually formed a theory that would fit with @Bort's theory somewhat.
 

Quote

So, revised theory.

1. the 10 essences go beyond Vorin theology and are an essential part of Roshar, either by Adonalsium's design, or through the perception of the planet's original inhabitants (likely singers). Being thought of for untold millenia, they developed spren associated with them. These are the "10 massive spren" from my original theory. 

2. As per my orignal theory, 9 of these were corrupted by Odium. The tenth? Not sure, but I have an idea or two. We'll get to that.

3. .The sibling is the spren of Roshar. The continent, also being percieved and thought of for eons, would develop a prescence in the cognitive realm. In this way the Bondsmith spren are perfectly balanced: one for Honor (Stormfather), one for Cultivation (Nightwatcher), and one representing Roshar itself.

4. The heralds bonded the spren of the 10 essences. Not so sure about this one, but it's inspired by a theory posted by @Bort (link below). You should check it out; it's fascinating.

He theorizes that the unmade are a result of the heralds breaking on Braize. This thread shows a lot of parallels between certain unmade and certain heralds. But what if instead, they are spren that were bonded to the heralds? This would be the source of their power, and the process that the spren would later imitate. It would explain the parallels between heralds and unmade in @Bort's theory. It would also explain why there are only nine unmade. Taln never broke the Oathpact, and so his spren is still his (he's just too crazy to use it). Perhaps the trauma of the broken oaths on these spren is what allowed Odium to infect and "unmake" them.

Biggest problem I see with item #4 is that this would make the honorblades something like dead shardblades, but more vast. How could Nale wield his? Why don't they scream? How do the unmade move around if their blade is summoned? So it might not quite work. But there might be something to it.

My main theory (#1-3) seems pretty free from problems. I'm sure my fellow Sharders can think of some, though 

 

Edited March 2, 2019 by WhiteEmporer

[Yolenlightweaver]

I have been trying to go through everything but I haven't seen anyone make mention to a preliminary idea that the Unmade are based on the Heralds. There are 9 shadows that Dalinar saw with Odium's champion and I assumed the shadows correspond to an unmade which would mean the 10th could be an as of yet unmade Unmade using what was broken from Taln over the 4500 years. That would make sense why the Bondsmith was the only one that did not as of yet have a corresponding Unmade as said in WoB.

[RShara she/her]

2 hours ago, Yolenlightweaver said:

I have been trying to go through everything but I haven't seen anyone make mention to a preliminary idea that the Unmade are based on the Heralds. There are 9 shadows that Dalinar saw with Odium's champion and I assumed the shadows correspond to an unmade which would mean the 10th could be an as of yet unmade Unmade using what was broken from Taln over the 4500 years. That would make sense why the Bondsmith was the only one that did not as of yet have a corresponding Unmade as said in WoB.

Taln was a Stoneward, not a Bondsmith. Also, 9 seems to be the number associated with Odium's doings, so having ten would be very weird for him.

[Karger he/him]

33 minutes ago, RShara said:

Taln was a Stoneward, not a Bondsmith. Also, 9 seems to be the number associated with Odium's doings, so having ten would be very weird for him.

Agreed.  Odium has had 9 Unmade for some time now.  Also Shallash does not associate Taln's breaking with the creation of the everstrom even when thinking about both of them in the same chapter.