[Theory] Mercy killed Ambition

[Turtle373 he/him]

So I was rereading the epigraphs and there are two in Harmony's letter that grabbed my attention. 

Quote

"Whimsy was not terribly useful, and Mercy worries me. I do think that Valor is reasonable, and suggest you approach her again. It has been too long, in her estimation, since your last conversation."

When I saw this I was kinda confused, why would Mercy worry anyone? It seems like a pretty benign intent. I thought maybe the vessel holding Mercy was becoming unstable, but then I read this next epigraph

Quote

"That said, the most worrying thing I discovered in this was the wound upon the Spiritual Realm where Ambition, Mercy, and Odium clashed—and Ambition was destroyed. The effects on the planet Threnody have been … disturbing."

And in the Arcanum unbounded Threnody essay it says that Odium and Ambition clashed near Threnody and Ambition was wounded, but the splintering took place elsewhere.

So here's the theory. Odium attacked Ambition and wounded them, but didn't manage to kill/splinter them. Odium left to recuperate or something, and Mercy finished Ambition off because they believed it was the merciful thing to do. I tried to come up with a different reason Mercy would be involved in the conflict and I can't think of any other good reasons. Especially taking the first epigraph in account.

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

2 hours ago, Turtle373 said:

So I was rereading the epigraphs and there are two in Harmony's letter that grabbed my attention. 

When I saw this I was kinda confused, why would Mercy worry anyone? It seems like a pretty benign intent. I thought maybe the vessel holding Mercy was becoming unstable, but then I read this next epigraph

And in the Arcanum unbounded Threnody essay it says that Odium and Ambition clashed near Threnody and Ambition was wounded, but the splintering took place elsewhere.

So here's the theory. Odium attacked Ambition and wounded them, but didn't manage to kill/splinter them. Odium left to recuperate or something, and Mercy finished Ambition off because they believed it was the merciful thing to do. I tried to come up with a different reason Mercy would be involved in the conflict and I can't think of any other good reasons. Especially taking the first epigraph in account.

Mercy: Life is so hard... Everyone will be better off dead! (Goes off to euthanize the Cosmere...)

[Necessary Eagle she/her]

On 11/20/2020 at 1:51 AM, Kingsdaughter613 said:

Mercy: Life is so hard... Everyone will be better off dead! (Goes off to euthanize the Cosmere...)

Moash: *ends up as Champion of Mercy, to everyone's confusion*

[+Oltux72 he/him]

On 20.11.2020 at 5:14 AM, Turtle373 said:

So I was rereading the epigraphs and there are two in Harmony's letter that grabbed my attention. 

When I saw this I was kinda confused, why would Mercy worry anyone? It seems like a pretty benign intent. I thought maybe the vessel holding Mercy was becoming unstable, but then I read this next epigraph

Ambition and Mercy clash in their Intent. So do Mercy versus Dominion and Mercy versus Honor. If you are ambitious you pursue your goals ruthlessly and mercilessly. Domination is not really merciful. A part of Honor is justice (see the Skybreakers) and keeping your word and allegiance even if that means brutality (remember Rathalas and the Stormfather). Mercy and Cultivation also have a problem with each other. If you don't grow, Cultivation will pluck you out. Not really merciful.

Seeing Mercy as basically good is a very peculiar view point of some cultures.

[Algafix]

On 20/11/2020 at 5:14 AM, Turtle373 said:

So here's the theory. Odium attacked Ambition and wounded them, but didn't manage to kill/splinter them. Odium left to recuperate or something, and Mercy finished Ambition off because they believed it was the merciful thing to do. I tried to come up with a different reason Mercy would be involved in the conflict and I can't think of any other good reasons. Especially taking the first epigraph in account.

I really like all the theories about Mercy, only with his/her name in 2 sentences, amazing.

But my favorite theory is that Ambition had the killing blow over Odium and Mercy asked not to kill him, and then Odium killed Ambition and forgave Mercy's live.

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

30 minutes ago, Oltux72 said:

Ambition and Mercy clash in their Intent. So do Mercy versus Dominion and Mercy versus Honor. If you are ambitious you pursue your goals ruthlessly and mercilessly. Domination is not really merciful. A part of Honor is justice (see the Skybreakers) and keeping your word and allegiance even if that means brutality (remember Rathalas and the Stormfather). Mercy and Cultivation also have a problem with each other. If you don't grow, Cultivation will pluck you out. Not really merciful.

Seeing Mercy as basically good is a very peculiar view point of some cultures.

Dominion can be very honorable. It depends on your culture.

[Turtle373 he/him]

1 hour ago, Oltux72 said:

Ambition and Mercy clash in their Intent. So do Mercy versus Dominion and Mercy versus Honor. If you are ambitious you pursue your goals ruthlessly and mercilessly. Domination is not really merciful. A part of Honor is justice (see the Skybreakers) and keeping your word and allegiance even if that means brutality (remember Rathalas and the Stormfather). Mercy and Cultivation also have a problem with each other. If you don't grow, Cultivation will pluck you out. Not really merciful.

Seeing Mercy as basically good is a very peculiar view point of some cultures.

Mercy might clash with some of the other intents but I don't think Mercy would attack those intents. Preservation and Ruin are basically complete opposites, and yet Preservation's intent made it very difficult for Leras to be violent. 

1 hour ago, Algafix said:

I really like all the theories about Mercy, only with his/her name in 2 sentences, amazing.

But my favorite theory is that Ambition had the killing blow over Odium and Mercy asked not to kill him, and then Odium killed Ambition and forgave Mercy's live.

My only problem with that theory is that Ambition does not seem like they would stop doing something because someone asked them. Someone who is ambitious is ruthless and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. Now it depends on how the vessel views the intent but I think it would be very difficult for Ambition to not take advantage of an opportunity like that.

[teknopathetic he/him]

When I think of Mercy, I think of Mercy Kill. Maybe Mercy is the God of smothering people with pillows in the night? 

 

We know Ambition died elsewhere, so maybe Mercy followed her and then injected anti-ambition eventually when things got too grim 

Edited November 23, 2020 by teknopathetic

[Subvisual Haze]

"This is a...MERCY!" - the vessel of Mercy killing Ambition while wearing black and listening to My Chemical Romance

[Sprendiferous]

5 hours ago, Oltux72 said:

Ambition and Mercy clash in their Intent. So do Mercy versus Dominion and Mercy versus Honor. If you are ambitious you pursue your goals ruthlessly and mercilessly. Domination is not really merciful. A part of Honor is justice (see the Skybreakers) and keeping your word and allegiance even if that means brutality (remember Rathalas and the Stormfather). Mercy and Cultivation also have a problem with each other. If you don't grow, Cultivation will pluck you out. Not really merciful.

Seeing Mercy as basically good is a very peculiar view point of some cultures.

Dominion is not the same as domination. Dominion is simply is simply rulership, or sovereignty over something. Not benign or malevolent.