Contest Loophole in Dalinar's Favor

[Waffles]

Assuming the deal Odium made with Taravangian is still valid as Todium, couldn't Dalinar choose literally anyone from Kharbranth and force him to lose no matter what happens?

[+mdross81 he/him]

I don’t think so. I think anyone who becomes a willing champion for the contest is effectively removed from the protections of the Kharbranth deal.

[Andy92]

I don’t know if that deal is even still valid. Seems to me like murdering the person you made the deal with invalidates it lol, but Shards being bound to oaths is kind of a unique Cosmere thing so who knows. 

[RedBlue]

4 hours ago, Waffles said:

Assuming the deal Odium made with Taravangian is still valid as Todium, couldn't Dalinar choose literally anyone from Kharbranth and force him to lose no matter what happens?

That is a delightfully clever idea, and as far as I can remember the deals involved, I think it might technically work.

I don’t think it will actually happen. For starters, it would be a bit anticlimactic. And Dalinar would need to know the details of the Kharbranth deal, which I don’t think he does. Also, using the tricky solution isn’t his style.

But it is a clever idea, though 

[Weltall]

I have a feeling that the original deal between Rayse and Taravangian is null and void since the latter broke it by attacking (and killing) the former. Even if it's somehow still in effect, since Taravangian now is Odium it means he's basically made a promise to himself. I'm fairly certain he can willingly negate the agreement or alter its terms since he's now literally playing both sides, and while citing real-world law in matters Cosmere is probably not terribly useful (especially with how Intent works) it's generally understood that contracts can be amended if both parties agree. So even if Dalinar knew of the deal and tried using it against T-Odium (and doing so actually was an exploitable loophole) the new Odium could just declare an exception, agree with himself as the Vessel Formerly Known As Taravangian and close the loophole.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Weltall

[Leuthie]

The deal was between Rayse and Taravangian, not Odium and Taravangian. Shards don't make deals, their Vessels do. However, with Rayse dead, Rayse won't be taking over Roshar or anywhere else, so Rayse won't be making any decisions regarding the future of Kharbranth. The contract is moot due to one of the parties being dead and incapable of affecting their end of the agreement.

[Bejarden he/him]

No. By this logic the Contest of Champions is void too.

Which is highly unlikely 

[Weltall]

On 5/2/2021 at 10:58 AM, Leuthie said:

Shards don't make deals, their Vessels do.

Taravangian is still bound as the new Odium by the agreement that Rayse made with Dalinar, which is why he's looking for loopholes rather than simply declaring the whole thing moot.

That said, the deal that Rayse and Taravangian made is likely moot, not because Rayse is dead (contract law has provisions for successors and we know that this is true for Shard oaths because T straight-up tells us he's bound by his predecessor's agreements) but either because Taravangian broke the deal first or because Taravangian can now unilaterally alter or void it since he represents both sides of the agreement.

Edited May 4, 2021 by Weltall

[Bejarden he/him]

On this line of thinking...

why wouldn’t TOdium just alter the deal with Dalinar so that without even fighting Roshar is saved? Is caring about the Singers something he has to do

What are the Fused going to do, they obey Odium and he can punish those who disobey

[LordFlea]

What if Dalinar/Knights capture Khabranth? 

They would first have to discover Todiums identity though, but It might give KR the leverage they need to pin him down to a better contract.

This could also be what that death rattle is about - Dalinar and Todium both weighing the lives of Khabranth against victory.