Cosmé

Mecha Vin?

I wonder if T’s days of God-level genius are truly random. The normal pattern is random, and follows a logarithmic pattern if I recall correctly, but can Cultivation “take control,” make him particularly smart for one day, and possibly feed him ideas a la Ruin? T’s “smart day” in Oathbringer where he changes course and reinterprets the diagram could be an example of Cultivation triggering a different stage of the plan. Mug she’s good enough at seeing the future, she could have even pre-determined the days that T would experience genius. “It will follow a random pattern, but we need God level genius in a couple years, hen we need no special genius until a few months after I expect the everstorm to return. Then we need one day of genius so that he can re-evaluate things...” With that in mind, could Cultivation give T another genius day to make a new diagram?

It’s possible that we’ll see the Virgin church try something. The main obstacles to them seeking power are their bad reputation since the Hierocracy, and the fact that Ardents are owned by their lords, and probably have much stronger ties to them than the central church. They also don’t have any military power. The society is very conservative but there is no history of church control over the state since the Hierocracy. Jasnah is and always has been an atheist, but that doesn’t seem to have been a major problem for her politically. A problem yes, but not a serious one. She’s still spoken of, even in Way of Kings, as one of the most powerful women in Roshar. On the subject of coups, this is basically exactly what Sadeas was attempting. Didn’t turn out well for him though... One person we know who is trying a coup is our friend Mr T. I wonder if we will see him find religion soon.

The Dictator’s handbook is a good book. Under the “rules for rulers” proposed in the book, Kaladin would not be a good candidate to lead the radiants. Currently, the Knights Radiant and Alethkar are one in the same, as the Alethi center of power is also in Urithiru, and most of the Radiants currently gathered are loyal to the Alethi ruling house. To rule, Kaladin, or any other successor, would need to take control of the keys to power, who are the Alethi generals, high princes, high lords, and ardents. Kaladin, while technically a light eyes while using the Syl blade, is still socially a darkeyes. He also has forged no political relationships with the keys to power. He would replace hem, and they know it. The Alethi armies could destroy the bridge men, and as Dalinar reminds us, Shard Bearers can’t hold ground. Jasnah would be a much better candidate to seize power, because she has legitimacy, connections, and political savvy. The Highprinces probably trust her more than Dalinar. Of course, she’s already number 2 in the Alethi/Urithiru power structure, and I don’t think she wants the power. Remember, while these rules apply very well to real politics, they don’t apply in a fictional world unless the author wants them to.

Well, Cultivation said in her conversation with Dalinar that she was unsure that he would be able to resist Odium’s pull, and she was nearly right. He almost became Odium’s champion. It makes sense from Cultivation’s standpoint. She doesn’t want to be defeated and splintered, and she probably distrusts the Radiants, who are using powers from another world that could be of Odium (surgebinding). Mr T is a pragmatist. The ends justify the means, and he’s willing to accept terrible ends. We’ll see whether he keeps to that mindset or is able to accept a less evil one. Szeth also tried to kill Dalinar, albeit for honorable reasons, and on T’s orders of course.

According to The Letter, Odium is the "most frightening and terrible of all of the Shards." It would be difficult to combo it with another shard without danger. Honor + Divine Hatred = "Everyone who does anything remotely dishonorable must die" Cultivation + Divine Hatred = "You will grow and improve, or else." etc. Preservation supported The Lord Ruler. Seemingly good shards can do terrible things that go along with their intent. What if Odium were splintered?

Good point. Shards represent their intent, rather than good or evil. Even Honor is not strictly "good," which may have caused tension between the dying Honor and the soon to dissolve Knights Radiant, before the Recreance. Is Surgebinding strictly of Honor? Are the Knights Radiant strictly of Honor? Surgebinding destroyed the old human world before humans even met Honor, presumedly. So, do Radiants have to be aligned to Honor? Could Mr T bind the Nightwatcher, while serving Cultivation, and still be a Knight Radiant? Renarin is bound to a lower-level Odium spren. The Fused seem to use Surgebinding, without any connection to Honor or Cultivation, rather Odium. Perhaps the third bindable Bondsmith spren is an Odium Godspren. The 1-3 Bondsmiths could each represent very different ideas, and the intent of different Shards. Yep. Dalinar's success must have been very improbable. Perhaps the Radiants would have fallen if Dalinar wasn't able to "Ascend," which is a factor that no one, including Odium, was able to Forsee. We know from Mistborn that shards cannot see into the future, but they do have a Godlike ability to see an endless tree of possibilities. They can pass that on to magic users via surgebindings on Roshar or (Mistborn era 1)

Good points! The theory that T is an important part of Cultivation’s plan would provide a good basis for a bond between him and the Nightwatcher, should he become a Radiant. I agree that the Diagram is probably of Cultivation. We know from Roshar lore that viewing the future is “of Odium,” and we know from Mistborn that all shards are very good at viewing the future. T’s “super power” could actually be as linked to viewing the future as it is to intelligence. The purpose of intelligence itself is arguably to allow a creature to predict and avoid undesirable outcomes. T does have major obstiacles to becoming Radiant though, as you point out. The first is that he’s currently serving Odium. Venli served Odium too though, until right before speaking the oaths. His “ends justify the means” attitude is strongly anti-Radiant, because of its contradiction with Journey before Destination, but this could be the center of his personal struggle in transitioning to a poorly motivated pragmatist to, potentially, a Radiant. T has two possible paths ahead of him. One is to become good, which could make him a Radiant, and one is to become evil, which would probably culminate in his demise eventually, because Dalinar has to unite Ja Kaved and Karbranth. We’ll see which path he ends up taking I guess. If he did take the straight and narrow, he could be in a good position to help lead the coalition as an equal. Edit: @Jonathon That is a possibility. Also note that T would need to redeem himself to become Radiant, which makes Dalinar’s ideal perfect for him.

True. I need to re-listen to Part 5 again, since I listened to the Oathbringer audiobook. I don't remember a few of the specifics on the Odium-MrT meeting, but I remember that T was in a very weak position, having lost his Diagram, which is something he would like to get out of if he gets the chance. His original goals aligned with "for the greater good of Roshar," which should align his interests more with Dalinar than with Odium, long-term. Keep in mind that everyone seems to have done the bidding of Odium at some point. Dalinar of course. But anyone who causes war or harbors deep hate in serving the God of Hate in the end. Kaladin's hatred of lighteyes. Mistborn spoiler (era one trilogy): Edit: Venli served Odium until very shortly before becoming Radiant.

Theory: Taravangian is going to bond the Nightwatcher, becoming a Bondsmith Both Taravangian and Dalinar want to unite Roshar in the common goal of protecting civilization against the oncoming desolation. Right now, the two are at odds because they have very different plans. But both have the goal of uniting Roshar, which will put them at odds until there is some resolution. Either one of them is defeated, or they both unify together. The second ideal of the Bondsmiths is Mr T is already following this path. He wants to become "King of everything." The third ideal, as spoken by Dalinar, is Mr T has a lot to take responsibility for. For Dalinar and Taravangian to form a true alliance, Taravangian is going to have to change his methods, and probably make up for trying to undermine and assassinate Dalinar previously. Why would he bond the Nightwatcher? He is one of the few non-radiants we know who visited her. It's also possible that he would bond the third, unrevealed 'Godspren,' but Nightwatcher seems most likely, if this theory is correct. Notes: I think we will see three bondsmiths before the series is over. I don't think Brandon would have made a point of three bonds being possible unless we get a chance to see all three, and the unique connection between the 'Godspren' and their radiant. In particular, we will probably see a Bondsmith bonding with the third, unrevealed, 'Godspren', since secrecy about its identity is a notable plot point. It may take a few books for Taravangian to transition from 'bad guy' to 'good guy.' I think we can expect it though. We've seen several antagonists turn good. The assassin in white, Venli, the Parshendi, even Gaz. It would be very interesting to see Mr T reconcile his current "Ends justify the means" philosophy with Life before Death and, in particular, Journey before Destination.