bartbug Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 This is a theory that I believe is almost certainly true: Nightblood is an Honorblade (or the same class of weapon. Not one of the Heralds' weapons). It's essentially an Honorblade, only with different powers and restrictions. But it follows the same scheme. At the San Francisco signing, I asked Brandon if Nightblood would function as a Shardblade on Roshar. He said that Nightblood wouldn't just function like one, but that it was one. And, coupled with Nightblood's nasty habit of consuming Investiture when in use, and how it needs a variable precondition before use (in this case, it judges purity of heart), and how it is "Orders of Magnitude more powerful than a Shardblade", Nightblood is an Honorblade. Honorblades consume Investiture, which is why Kaladin is more efficient than Szeth. Syl says, With this sword, someone can do what you can, but without the ... checks a spren requires. This sword gave the assassin power to use Lashings, but it also fed upon his Stormlight. A person who uses this will need far, far more Light than you will. Dangerous amounts of it. Also, Honorblades (I think) must be given for use. I remember a quote for that, but I can't find it. Sorry. Finally, Honorblades have numerous quotes stating how they are more powerful than Shardblades. So, there you have it! Nightblood is in the same class of weapon as the Honorblades! Poke holes in this theory, if you dare! 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asperity Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 Can spoilers in the thread title stop being a thing? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartbug Posted March 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 That's not a spoiler. It's a theory. Now, if I passed that off as fact, or said that Nightblood is a Shardblade (which still really isn't a spoiler, considering how we only have the word of one man who's sanity and reliability is in question), then yes, it would be a spoiler. Unless you're talking about how I'm warning there will be spoilers inside of the post. Then, don't read the top part. Doesn't matter. (I still disagree, but I definitely see what you're saying). 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Releaser Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 (edited) Finally, Honorblades have numerous quotes stating how they are more powerful than Shardblades. That didn't seem to be the case when Kaladin opened up a can of whoop-chull on Szeth. Kaladin's blade did amazing against an Honorblade, and Szeth couldn't hold as much Stormlight as Kaladin because the Honorblade was eating it all. Edited March 9, 2014 by Releaser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argent Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 I will have to agree with Kythis on this one - I see how it could be viewed as spoiler-free, but it's all a sensitive matter right now, and it could easily be seen as a spoiler. Could you change it something like "The Nature of Nightblood (WoR Spoilers)." Words of Radiance Spoilers We pretty much know that Nightblood is on Roshar right now. With a title like this you are almost revealing this to people who are not done with the book - or, in the best case scenario, you are saying "I think Nightblood and the Honorblades are similar, but you'll have to read WoR to find out why." Which indirectly says that WoR has some information about Nightblood. It's a tricky line to walk, but it's better to be extra cautious and use a vague title. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asperity Posted March 9, 2014 Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 Right. I've seen entirely too many Nightblood-related threads lately that I can safely assume it probably shows up at the end of WoR and that a certain somebody in WoR is probably a certain somebody from another book so I'm a bit aggravated that I know all of this without ever even opening a single thread with spoilers. That's all. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartbug Posted March 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2014 I get what you're saying. If you would tell me how to change the title, than I will. @Releaser: If you gave a normal man a Shardblade, then he would have a magical, super light sword that cuts through inanimate objects like butter and cuts through souls. If you gave that man an Honorblade, than he would have the powers of a Radiant, depending on which Blade he received, as well as the same ability to slice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonelymagician Posted March 10, 2014 Report Share Posted March 10, 2014 That didn't seem to be the case when Kaladin opened up a can of whoop-chull on Szeth. Kaladin's blade did amazing against an Honorblade, and Szeth couldn't hold as much Stormlight as Kaladin because the Honorblade was eating it all. Just because something (nightblood, and possibly an honorblade) is orders of magnitudes more powerful than something else, doesn't necessarily mean that it will just cut through a shardblade. Power can be manifest in different ways. The fact that honorblades grant surges makes them much more powerful than shardblades, which do not grant powers, and are just dead spren being temporarily revived. Except for kaladin's shardblade, which I feel is on a different level than regular shardblades, what with it still being alive and what not. I think it's at least plausible that nightblood and honorblades are very similar, both in their creation, and power level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Stormblessed Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 I figure if you haven't read the newest book of Brandon's and you come to a forum and sub thread like this you deserve to have things spoiled. Anyways, If you think about the level of power Kaladin is at by the end of WOR (which is not even close to the height of his power) and how an honorblade (which anyone can use essentially) gives Szeth similar power I would define that as orders of magnitude greater than a "shardblade." Having said that I don't think Kaladin's blade (aka Syl) is a shardblade or an honorblade, but a spren bound to her master. I think a Radiant or the equivalent are something else. I am curious of the purpose of the honorblades if the Radiants could do what Kaladin now can. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikanium Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 (edited) I figure if you haven't read the newest book of Brandon's and you come to a forum and sub thread like this you deserve to have things spoiled. Anyways, If you think about the level of power Kaladin is at by the end of WOR (which is not even close to the height of his power) and how an honorblade (which anyone can use essentially) gives Szeth similar power I would define that as orders of magnitude greater than a "shardblade." Having said that I don't think Kaladin's blade (aka Syl) is a shardblade or an honorblade, but a spren bound to her master. I think a Radiant or the equivalent are something else. I am curious of the purpose of the honorblades if the Radiants could do what Kaladin now can. If I remember correctly, the honorblades were given by The Almighty to The Heralds. Kaladin is bonded to a Spren who chose him. Different situations. In none of the flashbacks of WoK, did we see anything like we saw Kaladin and Syl working together as a team. So I agree with Carlos. I also avoided this forum like the plague until I was finished with the book, so I agree with the assessment of if your reading these forums before your done with the book your just asking to be spoiled. Edited March 11, 2014 by Mikanium 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agentatium Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Seriously, if you have the book why would you go on the forum? I pointedly ignored the forums until i had finished. Support what's-his-name!!!! Bartbug or whatever. Great theory guy. Seriously 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Stormblessed Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 If I remember correctly, the honorblades were given by The Almighty to The Heralds. Kaladin is bonded to a Spren who chose him. Different situations. In none of the flashbacks of WoK, did we see anything like we saw Kaladin and Syl working together as a team. So I agree with Carlos. I also avoided this forum like the plague until I was finished with the book, so I agree with the assessment of if your reading these forums before your done with the book your just asking to be spoiled. I think you are right in regards to the Almighty giving the honorblades. My follow up thought then is, did the original Radiants have the power/ bond that Kaladin has with Syl at any point? Meaning before or after they became "Radiants" or received the honorblades did they also have the bond of a spren and master? Or where they just "Radiants" because of the honorblades? Sort of a side note: when Dalinar had some of his original dreams during the highstorms (in WOK) during one of them (when he fought the crazy monsters with a fire poker) he said that the Shardplate the Radiant had was glowing differently than current shardplate. Do any of you know anything more about that? Or even remember that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veil Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 I think you are right in regards to the Almighty giving the honorblades. My follow up thought then is, did the original Radiants have the power/ bond that Kaladin has with Syl at any point? Meaning before or after they became "Radiants" or received the honorblades did they also have the bond of a spren and master? Or where they just "Radiants" because of the honorblades? Sort of a side note: when Dalinar had some of his original dreams during the highstorms (in WOK) during one of them (when he fought the crazy monsters with a fire poker) he said that the Shardplate the Radiant had was glowing differently than current shardplate. Do any of you know anything more about that? Or even remember that? I think you're confusing the Radiants with the Heralds. Heralds have Honorblades (which give them Surgebinding) but no spren. Knights Radiant have spren (which give them Surgebinding and Shardblades). As for your second question, I do remember that, but I don't know any specifics. It's probably similar to the difference between the Shardblades when the Old Radiants weilded them and those same Blades in modern times, but as far as I'm aware we aren't sure what, exactly, makes the Plate work (i.e. if it's something to do with the spren bond or what.) I expect we'll find out more in later books. (If only because Navani--and numerous other scholars--are fascinated by Shards.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomeness Summoned Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Sort of a side note: when Dalinar had some of his original dreams during the highstorms (in WOK) during one of them (when he fought the crazy monsters with a fire poker) he said that the Shardplate the Radiant had was glowing differently than current shardplate. Do any of you know anything more about that? Or even remember that? There are a few theories about that. It could be that the KR shardplate was fueled by their own stormlight rather than being drawn from an infused gemstone like modern shardplate is powered. Drawing stormlight directly from the KR might cause the artistry on the plate to glow. The other possibility is that the glow happens when the KR reaches a certain bond level with their spren. The actual reason for the difference between modern plate and the plate from the visions probably won't be revealed until the next book though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartbug Posted March 12, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Uh, why do I have downvotes for two of my above statements? I've conceded to your argument and was nothing but respectful about it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retsam Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Maybe this could just be moved to the WoR subforum to avoid spoiling people with the title? I don't think there's any other way to avoid spoiling with a title that connects WoR and Nightblood... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PorridgeBrick Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Not really. Just looking at the title, you could easily suppose it was based on something we learned Realmatically from WoR, or even an analogy like how people are comparing Shard-cut limbs to Awakening color drain. I think people here are going a little paranoid about spoilers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Awesomeness Summoned Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Especially since it's not really a big spoiler to begin with, per se. Sure, nightblood was an "oh shiznit!" moment but it's not like knowing about it beforehand effects the story at all. If you hadn't read Warbreaker and weren't cosmere aware, it would just be a strange shardblade that shows up in the epilogue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Aletus Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 As for the topic of this post, Vasher and the five scholars, but I think specifically the chick I can't remember the name of, created nightblood IIRC. They invested the sword with Breath (freaky amounts of it) and gave it a Command. Nightblood is a shardblade, in the sense that it is an invested weapon. Sylblade is a shardblade, as it is essentially her, sharp - and she is a fragment of the almighty, and is thus, investiture, with consciousness. Very much the same way that Nightblood is. For nightblood to be an honorblade, IMHO, he would have to have been one of the original 10 blades, also - for all the similarities - he is much different as well. Can't be summoned or dismissed, can't be loaned effectively to the average person (he tends to make them do bad things) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asperity Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Uh, why do I have downvotes for two of my above statements? I've conceded to your argument and was nothing but respectful about it. It's the internet; people love passive aggression. I wouldn't put any significance into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stalagmite Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Especially since it's not really a big spoiler to begin with, per se. Sure, nightblood was an "oh shiznit!" moment but it's not like knowing about it beforehand effects the story at all. If you hadn't read Warbreaker and weren't cosmere aware, it would just be a strange shardblade that shows up in the epilogue. Before I came onto the forums I thought that the blade may have been Odium's version of an honorblade, with black stormlight coming off. But the "Do you want to destroy some evil" thing convinces me now that I know that Vashar is on Roshar. At first I though that it was one of the void-spren trying to corrupt Szeth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Era Posted March 19, 2014 Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Right. I've seen entirely too many Nightblood-related threads lately that I can safely assume it probably shows up at the end of WoR and that a certain somebody in WoR is probably a certain somebody from another book so I'm a bit aggravated that I know all of this without ever even opening a single thread with spoilers. That's all. Stay off the forums then until you have finished the book! What the hell do you expect. So many threads about nightblood is a spoiler in itself, should people start just making threads with the word spoiler as the title now 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartbug Posted March 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2014 Also: Clarification on the original theory: I'm not saying that Nightblood is one of the ten Honorblades given to the Heralds, but rather that he is the same class of weapon as an Honorblade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acecool Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 That didn't seem to be the case when Kaladin opened up a can of whoop-chull on Szeth. Kaladin's blade did amazing against an Honorblade, and Szeth couldn't hold as much Stormlight as Kaladin because the Honorblade was eating it all. I think more powerful in terms that an honorblade bestows extra powers on a normal person while a shardblade does not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mararg Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 I'm inclined to agree with bartbug on this, but not for the reasons argued. Nightblood is a sword with some serious investiture, the same kind of serious that an honorblade would have. So, even if Nightblood isn't technically one, he's on the same level, and would probably be seen as one on Roshar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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