theory Possibility of Human Fused

[LuckyJim]

So after Rhythm of War, we know that there is a possibility of humans becoming Fused, as this is one of the conditions Rayse sets for Dalinar if he loses the contest of champions. Now that Taravangian is the new Odium, however, I do not think Dalinar will be the only human Fused. In El's musings in part 5, it seems pretty clear that he is excited by the possibility of humans gaining access to voidbinding. I don't think there's any way to interpret his epigraphs aside from a new army of Fused being created from humans.

Quote

"I had my title and my rhythms stripped from me for daring insist they should not be killed, but should instead be reconditioned. Repurposed."

"And I will march proudly at the head of a human legion."

"They should not be discarded, but helped to their potential. Their final Passions."

While Rayse never elevated any other Fused, I think Taravangian would find the idea much more appealing. Most of the singer Fused are either drooling messes, tired of the war and want it to end, or idiots like Leizan. If he wants power, it makes much more sense to elevate a new batch of Fused. El certainly seems to think that he would be open to the idea. Right now, humans have plenty of passions that could be used to bring them over. Anger at the singers, at having their lands taken, at the changing social landscape. It could make for some powerful changes to the series, depending on which humans become Fused.

Also, this is just a side theory, but I don't think the human Fused will have access to the surge of Progression. Without carapace, it would be difficult to create a human version of the "Magnified Ones", moreover, it's possible that Progression is the surge of Cultivation. Instead, the human Fused might get a new brand, one with access to Odium's personal surge.

Edited December 11, 2020 by LuckyJim
Post was unfinished, I accidentally posted it prematurely.

[+Oltux72 he/him]

37 minutes ago, LuckyJim said:

While Rayse never elevated any other Fused, I think Taravangian would find the idea much more appealing. Most of the singer Fused are either drooling messes, tired of the war and want it to end, or idiots like Leizan. If he wants power, it makes much more sense to elevate a new batch of Fused. El certainly seems to think that he would be open to the idea. Right now, humans have plenty of passions that could be used to bring them over. Anger at the singers, at having their lands taken, at the changing social landscape. It could make for some powerful changes to the series, depending on which humans become Fused.

What is the advantage of Fused over true Voidbinders or even Regals? Going by pure abilities the Fused are inferior in most aspects. Only one Surge and neither Plate or Blade. Why would Taravangian seek to prolong this condition? They are so supremely useful to the Singers because they are ex-slaves. There is no Everstorm on other worlds. On other worlds the Fused won't be tactically speaking unkillable.

Surely he could recruit people. But he already has them in form of the Veden and Iri armies.

[knightedbishop he/him]

The human version of the Fused are already out there: the Heralds and the Returned. Mr T at least knows about the Heralds. It’s clear not all invested cognitive shadows returning to the Physical realm are created equal: the Fused have to take over an already living body. The Returned get stapled back to their own bodies. The Heralds seemed to be able to manifest a body. Mr T could tinker to do some variant of these options, if he wanted to. 

I wonder if Kelsier has already discovered these options and has come back to the Physical realm at the time the Stormlight Archives are taking place, or if he’s still searching for a way. 

[Serack he/him]

I'm going to argue semantics a bit.  "Fused" is just the Rosharan term for Zahel's "Type Two Invested entity dead man walking" that was invested by Odium to prosecute his war on Roshar.  Zahel lists a few other examples of the phenomenon to Kaladin in chapter 15, and I strongly believe there is an example of another in The Bands of Mourning.

Spoiler

The Set's "Trellish" "Faceless Immortals" like the one that blew itself and Suit up at the end of the book

It seems that Parshendi gem hearts are a mechanism that facilitates Fused being "nailed back into" a parshendi body, but otherwise, there isn't anything special them that we haven't seen in humans already.  

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

On 12/11/2020 at 1:35 PM, knightedbishop said:

The human version of the Fused are already out there: the Heralds and the Returned. Mr T at least knows about the Heralds. It’s clear not all invested cognitive shadows returning to the Physical realm are created equal: the Fused have to take over an already living body. The Returned get stapled back to their own bodies. The Heralds seemed to be able to manifest a body. Mr T could tinker to do some variant of these options, if he wanted to. 

I wonder if Kelsier has already discovered these options and has come back to the Physical realm at the time the Stormlight Archives are taking place, or if he’s still searching for a way. 

Kelsier’s been back for 300 years. He used Hemalurgy to do it, somehow.

[Serack he/him]

13 hours ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

Kelsier’s been back for 300 years. He used Hemalurgy to do it, somehow.

Heck, it’s widely believed that he is an important off screen player known by another name in SA, with very good evidence backing the theory.

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

1 hour ago, Serack said:

Heck, it’s widely believed that he is an important off screen player known by another name in SA, with very good evidence backing the theory.

You mean ‘there is absolutely no other character who we know that it could possibly be,” right? Because seriously, it’s not like the clues given can be said to point to ANYONE else.

[Serack he/him]

29 minutes ago, Kingsdaughter613 said:

You mean ‘there is absolutely no other character who we know that it could possibly be,” right? Because seriously, it’s not like the clues given can be said to point to ANYONE else.

*shrug* People get invested in their pet counter theories in fandoms.  It's all theory until canonized, and I don't mind couching things until then.

[Kingsdaughter613 she/her]

2 minutes ago, Serack said:

*shrug* People get invested in their pet counter theories in fandoms.  It's all theory until canonized, and I don't mind couching things until then.

True, but as close to being admitted to as this was, I’d say ‘highly probable.’ It’s a bit stronger than ‘widely believed.’

As an aside, it amuses me how many times our Mistborn conman has managed to show up in these threads. He’d be very pleased. “Hey, look! I got mentioned a handful of times across the books, but I get brought up more often than characters with several hundred times the page count!”