Vessels and the Three Realms

[Chinkoln he/him]

When Kelsier picked up Preservation, he was unable to fully control its power because Ruin was holding him in check, but also because he had his Connection to the physical realm severed when he died. When Taravangian killed Rayse and took up Odium, why did he have full access to the Shards power? Szeth had just killed his body with Nightblood, which severed his Connection. He was in the same boat as Kelsier, but he got full power?

Theories, support, discussion, or criticism are all welcome.

[Leuthie]

The process was from Taravangian's point of view, and happened much quicker than it took to read. I don't think Taravangian's soul was actually taken from his body before it Connected to the Odium Shard. From Taravangian's point of view, he was never pulled to the Beyond, never had to ignore that pull and make use of Investiture to stay in the Cognitive Realm. While his body was dead, he was still Connected to it, could still, for example, be saved by a Radiant healing.

His Cognitive and Spiritual aspects were close enough to Odium to extend the death process, even if the whole event had lasted long enough to pull T's soul away under normal circumstances.

In short, Kelsier was long dead, his soul only kept from the Beyond by power he picked up while trapped in the Well, when he picked up Preservation. Taravangian's soul was still Connected to his body, held in place by Odium's power and the short amount of time that the body had actually died.

[Proletariat]

I'd have to re-read it, but it's possible that this was also part of the point in that Cultivation was not only changing Odium's vessel to someone who was more equipped to handle the power, but maybe even that him being a dead vessel restricts the Shard overall so he's less of a personal threat. We don't really see Taravangian do a whole lot with the power after his ascension to have a good idea of how much of the power he has in contrast to someone like Cultivation.

[Kyn]

Additionally, Kelsier just wasn’t the a good fit for Preservation. Preservation had said that Kelsier had very little Connection to him, and a lot to Ruin. Kelsier kept trying to use Preservation’s powers in ways that were against its nature, keeping these attempts from being effective. In contrast, Vin used Preservation’s power deftly both because of her Connection and because of her nature and the way she tried to use that power for protection rather than destruction.

Taravangian, on the other hand, was an excellent fit for Odium. He was having one of his high-emotion, low-intelligence days, making him ripe for passion. He was raging about having just been slain, filling him with hatred. Even if we can’t be sure of Taravangian’s status in regards to the three realms, or how long dead he was, we can be sure he was a better fit for his Shard in that moment than Kelsier could ever have been for Preservation.