IGetLIFTed she/her Posted January 30, 2019 Posted January 30, 2019 (edited) Reposting this from my introduction post **Warning: This post contains MASSIVE spoilers for Oathbringer. Proceed either with caution, or not at all.** Hi guys! This is my first post here, and I want to talk about Dalinar. Near the end of Oathbringer, Dalinar is able to recreate Honor’s perpendicularity by joining the 3 Realms. I was wondering what the extent of these powers are. Could Dalinar travel to the Spiritual Realm? What would happen if he did? Does this require Stormlight? At the end of Oathbringer, Kaladin said that Dalinar was able to renew gemstones for his trip, which indicates that Dalinar is able to combine the Realms at any time. Can Dalinar do this because he is a Bondsmith, or is it something else entirely? We know that Bondsmiths are somewhat special among Radiants, as there can only be three, and the order was founded by Ishar, who (I think) Ash said was the only Herald that didn’t lose his mind. Dalinar seemed able to do something similar when he operated the Oathgate, despite having no Shardblade. Quote He felt something he could touch, something beyond places. The power that bounds worlds together. His power. “Wait,” the Stormfather said. “This is not right!” Dalinar ignored him, reaching beyond and pulling power through. Something bright white manifested in his hand, and he rammed it into the keyhole. The Stormfather groaned, a sound like thunder. This power is surely the same as the one Dalinar used later on to unite the Realms, but this quote makes it sound less like a Bondsmith power, as opening the Oathgate seemed to hurt the Stormfather, or at least bother him deeply. This probably wouldn’t happen had this been typical Bondsmith behavior. This raises a question: if it’s not a Bondsmith ability, then where did this power come from? Edited January 30, 2019 by IGetLIFTed
Scion of the Mists Posted January 30, 2019 Posted January 30, 2019 A couple things. First, Ishar is definitely mad, even if Nale doesn't think so. Second, Dalinar was able to operate the Oathgate by forming the Stormfather into a quasi-Shardblade, something that the Stormfather didn't want him to do. This was not related to his Realm-piercing ability. Brandon has said recently that it is a Bondsmith power that other Bondsmiths had used in the past. However, he later mentioned that he may have unintentionally been misleading about that answer. Quote Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Dalinar Ascends, right? Like, right then, there. Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] I have RAFO'd that. Whether he is Ascending or not is RAFO. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Okay, because I know he kind of mentions from that, I don't know how to say his name but the older guy who has the Diagram... Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Taravangian, yeah. Whether that deserves to be a capital "A" or not is a matter of argument. It can be disputed. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] I guess my main question would just be Dalinar's now able to pull Stormlight and give it to people now. Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] He definitely can. That is a Bondsmith power, so. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] That is a Bondsmith power, okay. Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] That is specifically a Bondsmith power. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Because my roommate was saying well, the Stormfather was surprised he could do that or was the Stormfather surprised that he was able to fuel *inaudible*. Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] He was surprised by what was happening to Dalinar as a whole. Questioner [PENDING REVIEW] Oh okay, that's what I thought because I was like, because I felt like the Stormlight, that would be a Bondsmith power. Brandon Sanderson [PENDING REVIEW] Let's say that the Stormfather and Odium were seeing something in Dalinar that, perhaps, the average person watching even who is knowledgeable about Surges would not completely understand. But he will be able to use that power and Bondsmiths in the past have used that same power. Footnote: Brandon clarified that he might have been unintentionally misleading in his answers to this question during his Stormlight 4 Update 1.Idaho Falls signing (Dec. 29, 2018)
IGetLIFTed she/her Posted January 30, 2019 Author Posted January 30, 2019 I’m still a little new to the Cosmere, but isn’t Ascension when someone becomes a Shardbearer (like someone with a Shard, not the other kind of Shardbearer with Blade/Plate)? If that’s correct, then what Shard’s power would Dalinar be holding? Honor is dead/splintered, so I don’t know if Dalinar could hold his power. When Dalinar combined the three Realms, he said “‘I am Unity.’” Unity with a capital U. Could he be referring to another Shard, or perhaps have somehow pulled together the splintered Honor into something else, or part of something else? This is the theory of a friend of mine. She also believes that maybe if all of the Bondsmiths of splintered Shards got together, they might actually be able to create a Shard from the splinters of the old ones, and that Shard would be Unity. I don’t know how likely this theory is, but I guess it’s worth consideration.
StrikerEZ he/him Posted January 30, 2019 Posted January 30, 2019 1 hour ago, IGetLIFTed said: I’m still a little new to the Cosmere, but isn’t Ascension when someone becomes a Shardbearer (like someone with a Shard, not the other kind of Shardbearer with Blade/Plate)? If that’s correct, then what Shard’s power would Dalinar be holding? Honor is dead/splintered, so I don’t know if Dalinar could hold his power. When Dalinar combined the three Realms, he said “‘I am Unity.’” Unity with a capital U. Could he be referring to another Shard, or perhaps have somehow pulled together the splintered Honor into something else, or part of something else? This is the theory of a friend of mine. She also believes that maybe if all of the Bondsmiths of splintered Shards got together, they might actually be able to create a Shard from the splinters of the old ones, and that Shard would be Unity. I don’t know how likely this theory is, but I guess it’s worth consideration. This is a really good question, and that’s what everyone has been asking since the book’s come out. We don’t really know what Odium meant when he said that Dalinar Ascended, but I don’t think he’s currently a Shard right now. As for what Unity is, I think it’s likely that Dalinar will probably combine pieces of each of the three Shards in the Rosharan system and Ascend to Unity Though I don’t think any of the other Bondsmiths bond a splintered Shard. Stormfather just has the Cognitive Shadow of Tanavast attached to him, so has at least some Connection to the remains of the Shard Honor. The Nightwatcher is a Splinter of Cultivation, but Cultivation herself has not been Splintered yet. As for the Sibling, they are (probably) not of Odium. The prevalent theory is that they are some combination of Honor and Cultivation. This is just semantics, but the name for someone who takes up a Shard is a Vessel (e.g. Ati is the Vessel of Ruin, Tanavast is the Vessel of Honor, etc.). 1
IGetLIFTed she/her Posted January 30, 2019 Author Posted January 30, 2019 14 minutes ago, StrikerEZ said: This is just semantics, but the name for someone who takes up a Shard is a Vessel (e.g. Ati is the Vessel of Ruin, Tanavast is the Vessel of Honor, etc.). Oh thanks I was sure there was a word for it but Shardbearer just came to mind
RShara she/her Posted January 30, 2019 Posted January 30, 2019 Mistborn spoilers Spoiler There seems to be temporary Ascensions, such as The Lord Ruler taking up the power of the Well, and full Ascensions such as Vin and Harmony. So the line seems to be very blurry. 2
Scion of the Mists Posted January 30, 2019 Posted January 30, 2019 1 hour ago, IGetLIFTed said: I’m still a little new to the Cosmere, but isn’t Ascension when someone becomes a Shardbearer (like someone with a Shard, not the other kind of Shardbearer with Blade/Plate)? If that’s correct, then what Shard’s power would Dalinar be holding? Honor is dead/splintered, so I don’t know if Dalinar could hold his power. When Dalinar combined the three Realms, he said “‘I am Unity.’” Unity with a capital U. Could he be referring to another Shard, or perhaps have somehow pulled together the splintered Honor into something else, or part of something else? This is the theory of a friend of mine. She also believes that maybe if all of the Bondsmiths of splintered Shards got together, they might actually be able to create a Shard from the splinters of the old ones, and that Shard would be Unity. I don’t know how likely this theory is, but I guess it’s worth consideration. Unity is not another Shard. There are only three Shards in the Rosharan system: Honor, Cultivation, Odium. If Dalinar did (partially or temporarily) Ascend, it would be as the Vessel of Honor. However, Unity could refer to the Shard of Honor under Dalinar's stewardship (the overall Shardic Intent can't change, but the Vessel's interpretation can). As for Bondsmiths of Splintered Shards, there's only one Splintered Shard on Roshar (Honor), but if anyone is going to reform a Splintered Shard, it would be a Bondsmith.
StrikerEZ he/him Posted January 30, 2019 Posted January 30, 2019 3 hours ago, Scion of the Mists said: Unity is not another Shard. There are only three Shards in the Rosharan system: Honor, Cultivation, Odium. If Dalinar did (partially or temporarily) Ascend, it would be as the Vessel of Honor. However, Unity could refer to the Shard of Honor under Dalinar's stewardship (the overall Shardic Intent can't change, but the Vessel's interpretation can). As for Bondsmiths of Splintered Shards, there's only one Splintered Shard on Roshar (Honor), but if anyone is going to reform a Splintered Shard, it would be a Bondsmith. @IGetLIFTed I would like to point out that Unity is not one of the original 16 Shards. There’s nothing that says it can’t be a Shard through some combination of Honor, Cultivation, and Odium. Or maybe just some specific pieces of Honor.
IGetLIFTed she/her Posted January 31, 2019 Author Posted January 31, 2019 So pulling power from the Spiritual Realm is a Bondsmith power, but combining the three Realms was something different, like a temporary Ascension. Pulling power from the Spiritual Realm isn’t a Surge, though. Can the Bondsmiths just do it because they’re special, then?
StrikerEZ he/him Posted January 31, 2019 Posted January 31, 2019 2 minutes ago, IGetLIFTed said: So pulling power from the Spiritual Realm is a Bondsmith power, but combining the three Realms was something different, like a temporary Ascension. Pulling power from the Spiritual Realm isn’t a Surge, though. Can the Bondsmiths just do it because they’re special, then? It probably has something to do with the combination of their two surges, or maybe it’s just their special Resonance. Honestly, who knows? We don’t have any other examples to go by, besides Dalinar, who’s already a weird case since he’s bonded to the Stormfather.
IGetLIFTed she/her Posted January 31, 2019 Author Posted January 31, 2019 (edited) 2 minutes ago, StrikerEZ said: We don’t have any other examples to go by, besides Dalinar, who’s already a weird case since he’s bonded to the Stormfather. Is he a weird case? The other two Bondsmiths would also have to be tied to powerful spren, like the Nightwatcher and whatever the third one is (the Sibling?) Maybe it’s because he’s able to manipulate whatever holds together and separates the Realms? Because he has adhesion? That would mean Windrunners could do that too, which they can’t Edited January 31, 2019 by IGetLIFTed
Kramerfarve Posted January 31, 2019 Posted January 31, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, IGetLIFTed said: Is he a weird case? Yes, because Honor died and invested the Stormfather with his cognitive shadow. This changes the Stormfather fundamentally as a spren both from what he was before and what he is in comparison to the other Bond smith spren. Edited January 31, 2019 by Kramerfarve 2
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