manugutito

So far the consensus seems to be Endowment-Autonomy-Harmony, but I'm not really big on the first two. I can see Autonomy (the "alone" and "need not suffer the interference" parts). On Endowment, however, I am not sure at all. Simple elimination? I am not trying to suggest anything else, I just don't know the pro-Endowment arguments, other than "it is a Shard we know" and a process of elimination.

I argued that posibility before in a previous answer to Hiadin Haloun: I don't know if there is a fifth Splintered Shard, however.

I think it would destroy them completely, according to this WoB:

The lighthouse owner is a good argument. However, I suspect that anyone without an epicanthic fold will look Shin to Alethi people. Also, since Elantris is post-Splintering of Devotion and Dominion, with (I guess) Odium having already left the Selish system, the timing gets a bit confusing. Not all of Sel's humans leave for Roshar? If Sel is not destroyed (there are people living there after Odium left), why do they say Roshar's humans destroyed their old world?

They had to get their Surges from somewhere if they were to use them destroy their old planet, I guess. We only know of three Shards that give access to Surges, although that doesn't mean there can't (couldn't) be others. I think we only know of four Shards killed by Odium, however (Ambition, Devotion, Dominion and Honor). Sel is not destroyed, so that one is discarded (or maybe Elantris happens before SA?). Or maybe Roshar's humans come from Threnody's Fallen World? (Although this is a destroyed continent, not a planet, but again, I can't recall if Shadows... comes before SA or after).

Hoid has Breath for sure. Remember WoR's scene where he and Kaladin talk in the chasms, and Hoid claims that playing the flute is easier "with perfect pitch"? That means Second Heightening minimum IIRC.

I see your points. The colour is a point in favour of the blade being of Odium (be it a splinter or anything else). Also the thing about the eyes burning and the bonds (I read something somewhere about the eyes being the Focus of the Connection between Realms? I don't remember much). However, out of optimism I believe that the Oathpact is not totally out of the game as long as a Herald can go back to Damnation, since it worked with Taln alone. However, this raises a question for me. We saw that the Oathpact worked in the last Desolation, when only Taln fulfilled his duty. This makes me wonder when (in a Desolation's timeline) does the Oathpact start working. Since it isn't when all Heralds are back in Braize (be it killed or voluntarily), when is it? Do all Fused need to be killed? (this is a problem now because of the Everstorm). That would have been a good way of ending, keeping our fear of Odium's power high. Dalinar having enough power to scare away Odium so soon in the series seems premature. I'm sure it won't look premature at the end of the series because Brandon has increasingly amazing things planned, but I feel it is worth discussing

The last talk between Nale and Szeth made me think that his giving Nightblood to Szeth was intentional. I could be wrong, however. Anyway, Moash's dagger seems suspicious (see below). It seems I did not pay enough attention that scene! The relevant passages say: The "dark smoke" part seem intentional, maybe the knife is Awakened like Nightblood? In which case, I guess Jezrien is done for good... But then I cannot really explain the "glowing" part. We know Nightblood can be powered with Stormlight instead of Breath, so if the sapphire was glowing strongly at first and then the glow weakened, this would be my first option. I think this is not 100% incompatible with the text, but I think it would be mentioned if the sapphire was initially bright. We also have a comment on the dagger's lightness (do we know if Invested metal is consistently lighter? I think so) and colour (I feel it is important, since it is mentioned in both passages). The comment on the dagger's sheath also feels relevant to me, because Azure's sword's sheath is also referred to frequently so that the reader notices it is no regular Shardblade. This also points to the Awakened theory, save for the fact that there is no mention to Moash experiencing side effects because of having the dagger without sheath. Also, how the hell did Odium get his hands on an Awakened dagger? Another consideration would be what you propose - the glow is a sign of Jezrien being trapped in the sapphire. But then I don't get the purpose of all those remarks (dark smoke, sheath, colour). What do you think? Lots of things to consider I guess .

I am inclined to believe this. We know (Sel) that when a Shard is Splintered its power is not lost. Maybe what is lost is the Intent of the Shard, so if someone (Dalinar) were to pick up a big chunk of it, he/she could imprint a new Intent to it (Unity in this case). I also don't believe he is a full Shard. So I guess what I'm saying is I am all in for Theory 2 .

Hey all, After reading OB and understanding the Oathpact's purpose and the importance of the Everstorm (now we understand what Jasnah meant at the end of WoR, don't we?), I have thought of something I want to share. As we know, in the current Desolation the Fused can return in the next Everstorm after been killed, as opposed to all previous Desolations (except for the first one, because you know, roles reversed and all that). Given that the Fused are formidable opponents even to the Radiants (at least the 3rd Level Radiants, the ones we have so far), this is a big difference. But maybe there is a solution for this! Since it is known that when the blade (Nightblood) inflicts a wound, it vaporizes and destroys on all three realms, Cognitive, Physical, and Spiritual, maybe it can be used to destroy Fused for good. This is (I think) good for everyone, since we have seen that not all re-Connected parshmen are really into fighting, the Fused being the ones that really hate humans. Since possessed listeners are already dead, killing Fused with Nightblood is not killing listeners. This may be a big step towards ending the listener-vs-humans conflict, so they can present a unified front against Odium. I'm sorry if this has been brought up elsewhere! Edit: formatting

Hi all, I've been following the forums for some time now, and after finishing OB I could not resist joining the discussions so... here I am! Aaaand *runs to the OB spoiler board to post*