Ripheus23 Posted July 31, 2018 Posted July 31, 2018 So I was thinking about how the Archives are to be split into two 5-book arcs, how Taravangian is developing (Odium's champion), and how Sanderson seems possibly inspired by the Final Fantasy games. (I don't have the time or the immediate memory to explain this impression; just trust me ) So, in Final Fantasy 6 we have a crazy evil wizard transform into the final villain. This occurs halfway through the game, when the world is drastically reconfigured. So, what if in SA5, Rayse-Odium dies? And Taravangian takes up the Shard of hatred/revenge? Or, maybe the plot of 6-10 will be someone trying to pick up that Shard, and Taravangian will turn out to be the one who does?
Calderis he/him Posted July 31, 2018 Posted July 31, 2018 That would require him to not unknowingly be Cultivation's champion.... 3
Ripheus23 Posted July 31, 2018 Author Posted July 31, 2018 I hadn't even thought of that question (about Cultivation having a champion at all). 1
Weltall Posted July 31, 2018 Posted July 31, 2018 Since we're talking Brandon Sanderson and game parallels, I sometimes feel like he's got some sort of freaky Spiritual Realm connection to Toshihiro Kondo (the president of Nihon Falcom) since they're both responsible for a franchise that handles worldbuilding in very similar ways, have a fanbase that loves to do really intricate theorizing and they're both utter trolls when it comes to knowing just what to say to get the fans to drive themselves crazy. xD Not that I'd suggest any actual connection for a couple obvious reasons, but it's fun to look at the parallels sometimes. 33 minutes ago, Ripheus23 said: So I was thinking about how the Archives are to be split into two 5-book arcs, how Taravangian is developing (Odium's champion), and how Sanderson seems possibly inspired by the Final Fantasy games. Just for reference, Brandon has indeed confirmed that he's a huge fan of the series, FFX in particular. Though perhaps less so than Scott Lynch who named his protagonist after FFVI's Locke. xD Anyhow, Brandon has stated that Odium will survive the first half of the series but left open whether Rayse would survive. Which could be nothing more than 'let me say something provocative and watch them theorize the hell out of it', Brandon being Brandon. But if anything did happen to force Odium to change hands to someone far less experienced, I'd honestly be more paranoid about what might happen with Cultivation if she stops having a serious check on her influence. It might not be nearly as apocalyptic as what Rayse clearly intends to do if he wins but things could get really interesting really quickly.
Calderis he/him Posted July 31, 2018 Posted July 31, 2018 @Weltall I honestly have a vision of Rayse dying and Cultivation basically saying, "all things must be Cultivated, and I have been stagnant for far too long" Picking up Odium and becoming the most terrifying force in the Cosmere. 2
recneps he/him Posted August 1, 2018 Posted August 1, 2018 I don't think Cultivation would take steps to Cultivate herself, seeing as how Shardic Intents aren't self-directed(thus Ruin isn't suicidal, Preservation isn't the Survival Shard, Odium respects himself as what makes Humans human, etc..), but I can easily see her taking up Odium.
ScavellTane Posted August 1, 2018 Posted August 1, 2018 Quote It would be interesting to see where she would go with it. Cultivate-Odium or Cultivate-Passion.
Calderis he/him Posted August 1, 2018 Posted August 1, 2018 1 hour ago, recneps said: I don't think Cultivation would take steps to Cultivate herself, seeing as how Shardic Intents aren't self-directed(thus Ruin isn't suicidal, Preservation isn't the Survival Shard, Odium respects himself as what makes Humans human, etc..), but I can easily see her taking up Odium. I don't think it would be a matter of the intent. Just a choice.
Toaster Retribution he/him Posted August 1, 2018 Posted August 1, 2018 I don’t think Mr T would take up Odium. He never does things for his own private gain. He would only pick up Odium if he honestly thought that he needed it to save Roshar, and unless Cultivation is bad, I don’t see that happening.
Ripheus23 Posted August 2, 2018 Author Posted August 2, 2018 On 8/1/2018 at 1:30 AM, Toaster Retribution said: I don’t think Mr T would take up Odium. He never does things for his own private gain. He would only pick up Odium if he honestly thought that he needed it to save Roshar, and unless Cultivation is bad, I don’t see that happening. I feel like part of the Archive is a philosophical analysis of how people acquire moral knowledge. At least, the intellectual relationship between Kaladin and Sylphrena, and various other things to this effect in OB, indicate this. Like, how really do people know right from wrong? There's the simple kind of question, "Is it objective or subjective, absolute or relative?" but I think Sanderson is wise enough to appreciate that, like everything else, morality is a little of all those things. So, anyway, I feel like he will pursue this theme more and more, and use Taravangian as the representative of what happens when moral theorizing goes terribly, terribly awry (or, Sanderson has already been using Taravangian to showcase the deficits in a naive utilitarian/nationalistic outlook, for instance). I could see Taravangian being duped (maybe even by a dying Rayse?) into taking the Shard of Odium for some supposed "greater good," but also out of envy: he's so hung up on how smart he was on Diagram-day, and then Rayse is all like, "Hey, look at how much smarter I am!" at the end of OB, so...
Kramerfarve Posted August 2, 2018 Posted August 2, 2018 9 minutes ago, Ripheus23 said: I could see Taravangian being duped (maybe even by a dying Rayse?) into taking the Shard of Odium for some supposed "greater good," but also out of envy: he's so hung up on how smart he was on Diagram-day, and then Rayse is all like, "Hey, look at how much smarter I am!" at the end of OB, so... Or maybe even hatred towards Cultivation because he feels that he wasn’t given the capacity he wanted to save everyone after seeing Odium’s show of power.
StrikerEZ he/him Posted August 2, 2018 Posted August 2, 2018 27 minutes ago, Kramerfarve said: Or maybe even hatred towards Cultivation because he feels that he wasn’t given the capacity he wanted to save everyone after seeing Odium’s show of power. I could totally see something like this happening. Quote "Cultivation, you lied to me!" Taravangian screamed to the sky. "You were supposed to give me the capacity to save Roshar, but look what's happened!" He stood before the body of Odium, his arms reaching towards the power leaking from the corpse. A broken land burned behind him. His hands touched the power, and Taravangian Ascended. His body evaporated as the Shard's power flowed into him. His mind expanded, and he saw everything, felt everything. "You see," Cultivation said to him. He could not tell where it was coming from, but he could hear it. "I did." Taravangian would've screamed if Cultivation hadn't Splintered him first. This is very poorly written, but you get the idea. 1
Recommended Posts