ConfusedCow Posted October 9, 2018 Posted October 9, 2018 Does Pattern have a secret from Shallan? Cryptics have a reputation for lies and manipulation. They are known to watch carefully, to scheme and to plot. The only other known cryptic inserted him/herself near a person of power and then drove them towards paranoia and madness. Perhaps this is a deliberate tactic of cryptics to make their potential knight radiants easier to manipulate or deceive. I think the cryptics wanted to infiltrate the ghostbloods. They started cultivating a spy in a family known to be allied with the ghostbloods. Shallan happily drawing with her family wasn't helpful. So they exposed her powers. Perhaps they manipulated her mother or the skybreaker acoloyte into attacking her. Then Pattern manifests 'to save' Shallan. Shallan is isolated, driven to learn spying and killing, to usurp her father's role with the ghostbloods. Perhaps Pattern even deliberately breaks the soulcaster and plants the idea for Shallan to go to Jasnah so the cyptics can spy on her too. Pattern murdered Shallan's mother and in way her father too. There is reasonable evidence for this theory. Jasnah thinks the cryptics are capable of manipulating Shallan of bringing Shallan and her together. We are told again and again to be wary of cryptics. They like lies. Shallan in her heart seems to know this truth too. She hates Pattern for killing her parents, but like all her other secrets of her past she doesn't seem capable of looking at it straight on. Pattern has always encouraged and been excited by Shallan's infiltration of the Ghostbloods. Pattern's mission seems to be going well. Shallan is at the heart of important secrets and because of her youth and innocence everyone seems to trust her. Pattern is also certain that Shallan will one day kill him, he calls it a pattern. I'd call it a guilty conscience. Perhaps this is Shallan's final truth about herself. She is not to blame for her mother's death, free, able to love and be herself again. Maybe she will redeem Pattern, he will change and see what horrible things he did and she'll forgive him. Maybe she'll break her vows and give Pattern the death he's been waiting for. I'd love to hear any evidence or thoughts, for or against 5
Calderis he/him Posted October 9, 2018 Posted October 9, 2018 Lin didn't become involved with the Ghostbloods until well after Shallan's mother died. Their house was heavily in debt and he was being forced into deals he didn't want to make, as seen in the middlefest interlude, before the Ghostbloods stepped in to "help" him with funds and plans. I don't think Pattern was involved here. 2
Sadspren she/her Posted October 12, 2018 Posted October 12, 2018 I really don’t want to believe this because I love pattern but this is really plausible : (
kaellok he/him Posted October 12, 2018 Posted October 12, 2018 On 10/9/2018 at 1:25 AM, ConfusedCow said: Pattern murdered Shallan's mother and in way her father too. She hates Pattern for killing her parents, but like all her other secrets of her past she doesn't seem capable of looking at it straight on. Pattern is also certain that Shallan will one day kill him, he calls it a pattern. I'd call it a guilty conscience. Perhaps this is Shallan's final truth about herself. She is not to blame for her mother's death, free, able to love and be herself again. Removed all the parts that I'm not interested in discussing. Sorry! I always feel a bit bad when I do that. So, I fundamentally disagree with the first two sentences. Shallan hates Pattern because her bond with him is what made her mother go crazy, and caused Shallan to kill her; Shallan also hates Pattern because he made her remember; Shallan just wants to forget, and pretend everything is fine, and she can't do that while dwelling about how she killed her parents. Third statement is actually prompting me to have a thought about the Recreance. Since Pattern says that the humans will kill the spren that bonded them (presumably referencing the Recreance), it is something that has happened before. Oathbreaker already hinted that the Recreance wasn't something that happened at a specific time and place, but instead something that was gradual. It's possible that Radiants abandoning their Oaths was something that happened from time to time, and the Recreance was notable mostly how widespread the effect was, combined with Urithuru shutting down. Regardless, I don't think that this is evidence of a guilty conscience from Pattern. Fourth statement: I actually do believe, and hope, for this to be one of Shallan's truths.
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