Child of Hodor

Theory: Hoid is gathering up magic from all the Shards for some purpose. Odium is of the Shards. He will cut a deal with Rayse to get some of Odium’s magic. Hoid’s Mission He was in Elantris to try and become an Elantrian. He was on Scadrial to get a bead of Lerasium. He was on Roshar to become a Radiant which he has as of OB. There is one more Shard in this system whose magic he needs. Hoid will go to Braize Brandon said “has Hoid been to Braize” is one of the biggest RAFOs https://wob.coppermind.net/events/221/#e6196 In WoK Ch 57 Hoid tells Kaladin his purpose in Roshar was to “chase an old acquaintance, but I spend most of my time hiding from him instead” In WoR Ch. 67 he tells Dalinar he’s willing to “watch this world crumble and burn to get what I need.” He doesn’t want Odium to win, which is why he’s sending all those letters. But he is going to help Odium out in exchange for voidbinding powers to add to his collection. i predict the book 4 epilogue is Hoid on Braize talking to Rayse.

On the different eyes of humans: Many of the Heralds have epicanthal folds for instance Jezrien, Ash, Taln and Nale. No one in modern day looking at them remarks on them having “Shin eyes”. Dalinar remarks on Jezrien looking almost Alethi in OB Ch 42. The only thing he found weird about Jezrien’s eyes is that they were dark. Since the Heralds were born on Ashyn, except maybe Ash, some had epicanthal folds were on Ashyn. Maybe everyone but the pale big eyed people left or maybe people like Jezrien started the desolation and many expanded out. Some that looked like that stayed behind, but the pale big eyed people were like “this is your fault” and wiped out /exiled the ones that looked different. It would fit with their “banish the truthless to go kill”. They punish people by making them leave Shinovar and do a solo-desolation.

I think Szeth will be working at /running the prison. Given he’s a Skybreaker Law & Order is their thing. Szeth also had very strong feelings on how a prison should be run in Oathbringer.

I think it's 2). Odium's number in the Rosharan system is 9. 9 Unmade, 9 Heralds quit, there are 9 orders of Fused. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/173/#e8598 10 is the magic number in all Roshar planets except Braize, where Odium is stuck. 10 would be the number on Ashyn, although the way people access it is different. WoB: https://wob.coppermind.net/events/33/#e2745 I really want to know how the Heralds were made and why they added Taln. Did they come to him with 9 and Honor demanded a 10th, so Taln was chosen because he and Shallash were close (plus he's a great fighter?). Did someone get swapped out? Very interesting that the last minute addition was the one that didn't quit. Guess I'll find out in 2034 or so.

The order of Shard arrival on Roshar and the relationship to humans arriving. Odium is stuck on Braize Odium's binding is separate from the Oathpact.

Which two powers they get is as @Pathfinder said a natural pairing. I think the reason Knight's Radiant get two is because they are accessing the magic through two shards Honor & Cultivation. The Fused only seem to have one power each because they are accessing it through 1 shard, Odium. All KR Spren are a mix of both Honor and Cultivation's investiture. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/253/#e6454 Fused aren't gaining access through a spren, but through the investiture that modified them into Cognitive Shadows.(Odium's investiture). https://wob.coppermind.net/events/362/#e11156 Now none of this is necessarily applicable to other Cosmere settings, but it seems to be the way magic on Roshar works.

Now that’s a dragon.

I think the God Beyond is Brandon’s way of preserving some mystery to “where did the Universe come from?” Adonalsium created the Cosmere, but where did he come from and who made stuff outside of this one star cluster? Maybe this god beyond, maybe not.

The exact nature of his bonds are not known. He is bound by the powers of Honor and Cultivation according to the Stormfather in OB CH. 38 and the holder of Honor's power (or it's remnants) has the ability to release Odium, according to Odium in OB Ch. 57. On Braize We have a WoB that says he is trapped on Braize and it's where the Heralds and Fused would go when they died during the Desolations. This is because of the Oathpact made between Honor and The Heralds ( OB Ch. 38). The Stormfather says it is inspired by how Honor and Cultivation bound Odium, but they are two separate bindings. It's never stated that actual spren of Odium, like Ulim or the red stormspren, are bound along with The Fused, but it seems like they were. Ulim says "I am the one who escaped" to Venli in OB I-3. In the text, usually in the letters to Hoid from Frost and non-Rosharan Shards, he is referred to as not being able to leave the system that he's in. They don't refer to him being trapped on Braize specifically, but again Brandon said that he is stuck on Braize at a signing. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/172/#e8560 Everstorm "He won't remain bound by this, the enemy. He'll find a way around it you know he will." Kalak WoK Prelude. I don't think Odium could manifest directly on Roshar before the Everstorm was brought over at the end of WoR. He does it all the time in OB, but only when the Everstorm is directly over someone. Venli was instructed to leave her windows open during the storm and Mr. T had to open the window before Odium could appear to him. The Everstorm also is now where the Fused go when they die instead of back to Braize. Odium has found his way around the Oathpact. What Does Winning Look Like? We don't know what his win condition is, absent Dalinar letting him go. Will killing Cultivation do it? If so why would Honor alone agreeing to release him be enough? At this point he's been in the system for so many thousands of years he would be heavily invested in the system. The more investiture that's in Roshar's physical and cognitive realms, the less he has to wield against other Shards outside of Roshar. Even if he was released from what originally bound him in the system, he would likely need to destroy existing life on Roshar to free up that investiture. Honor's final Vision that shows the surface of Roshar being obliterated might be extremely literal. Odium's Army On Roshar Odium has a few sets of forces that can act on his behalf on the planet Roshar: The Unmade - ancient spren who remain on Roshar in between Desolations. They don't go back to Braize and get stuck. Brandon has said that usually this is how Odium has influenced people on Roshar, through the Unmade. In Oathbringer Odium says he has been speaking to Dalinar even longer than he has been speaking to Amaram and he means "speaking" through the Thrill they are influenced by in combat. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/107/#e1375 Golden Spren - Odium loves white-gold, some of his Spren like the one Kaladin talks to when he is with the Singers early in OB, appear as white-gold humanoids with Shin eyes (when Odium appears he has Shin eyes). When Odium directly uses his investiture it is often are often white-gold. The white-gold dagger used on Jezrien, the white gold power streaming behind him when he summons the Thrill to Thaylen Field. The molten gold realm Mr. T and Odium talk in at the end of OB. His human manifestation wears white and gold. His Singer manifestation when Venli looks at him at Thaylen Field has marbeled gold and white skin. The Void - He loves gold, but I'd argue his shard color is black/violet or "stygian blue" which is an impossible color. Voidlight that the Fused use to do magic is this color. The flame at the core of his being that Dalinar sees in this color and when he looks into the human forms eyes he sees this color inside. Notice on the chart halfway down this page that you can see stygian blue if you stare at bright yellow for a while then look at black. White-Gold is the fatigue template for his true power. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impossible_color Passion - As KR makes a progression of oaths to access magic through Honor & Cultivation, Odium's forces seem to have to give their pain, passion, strong emotions to him in order to access magic through Odium. He isn't Passion, he takes it from others. The Fused - Cognitive Shadows of ancient Singers killed by humans in the humans conquest of Roshar. They are able to possess the bodies of living Singers and some can possess stone creating Thunderclasts. This constant bonding of new bodies or "bodies" has torn up their cognitive aspects, causing insanity in some. Red/Black Spren - Odium likes to conserve his investiture. He co-opts existing spren and they appear red, like the storm spren. The Unmade we've seen are all either red or black. Black investiture often means a bunch of different investiture mixed together, sometimes called corrupted.

This is a good theory. I think the 10 Oathgates mostly are in the 10 Dawncities. Feverstone keep is important for some reason though, could be an Oathgate there. Brandon later clarified that the WoB was unintentionally misleading, but I think the part you are referencing is correct. I don't think any Bondsmith pre-honor's death could create/summon a perpendicularity that recharged all the nearby spheres. I agree that a Bondsmith could do what Dalinar did to activate the Oathgate when he was freaking out late in OB, by pulling something (part of the Stormfather?) from another realm and jamming it into the Oathgate as a substitute for a sword. Didn't they try it (a group of radiants directed by Navani) and it didn't work? No bondsmiths tried it though. Something along this line. Urithiru was constructed specifically to be paired with the Sibling. The Sibling's withdrawal directly led to the KR abandoning Urithiru, it was too hard to maintain without the Sibling. Honor adopted the Stormfather, Cultivation adopted the Nightmother, the Sibling may be a combo of the two Shards and a Sibling to both. The Knights Radiant 's spren are all of Cultivation and/or Honor, Urithiru was built for the Knight's Radiant, it makes thematic sense that the Sibling who is a mix of both is the bondsmith spren that makes the KR's tower function. Overcharge WoB and correction spoilered for length.:

That's true. In WoR prologue Kalak is arguing with Nale in the hallway when Jasnah walks by. Kalak says "That creature carries my lord's own blade" speaking of Szeth's having Jezrien's honor blade. Implying he was some sort of royalty. When describing how Taln was not supposed to be Herald he says "THE ONE WHO WAS NOT MEANT TO JOIN THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE ONE WHO WAS NOT A KING, SCHOLAR OR GENERAL." OB Ch. 38 Jezrien is also known as the Herald of Kings. https://coppermind.net/wiki/Jezrien#Herald_of_Kings

Horneater Peaks so I can cure my airsickness.

The pillars remind me of the pillar in this Oathgate mural. The bottom right it looks like snakes or something slithering around the pillar. FWIW this in-world mural seems to depict humans fleeing the fiery ruin of Ashyn with the flames coming out of the portal on the right. https://coppermind.net/wiki/Oathgate

Forgot that, good point!

Weird to see a Herald in plate.

Dalinar becomes the shield protecting Roshar (Roshar is the circle behind the shield). Also, he uses part of Urithiru as a rocket ship. The tower isn't broken, part of it is lifting off. Szeth is watching Shinovar be destroyed. Notice the grass behind him like they have in Shinovar. THESE ARE THE DAWNSHARDS, OBVIOUSLY!!!!!

That was my impression. He used his resources magical and mundane to insinuate himself into the Sadeas house guards. I don’t know why they let him walk around with a bird while on duty, but Sadeas’ troops are notoriously undisciplined in general. Don’t follow the codes or even their dress code very closely.

@Karger He does RAFO it, but it does closely touch on "How was Adonalsium shattered?" People often ask the two together. You're right though we don't know enough. As the WOB I linked to above said the surges allow people to access / manipulate 10 fundamental forces.

In Oathbringer chapter 109 Dalinar and Venli are in one of Honor's Visions when Odium breaks in and trashes it. He does it in a very specific way, by separating each component part. Dalinar frees Venli from the Vision, but is consumed by Odium's golden light and feels like he's being split apart. So ... 1) Is this a form of Divison being used? Division, like all the surges is a fundamental force in the Cosmere that people can manipulate (if invested in the right way). Odium is certainly invested. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/13/#e5020 2) Is this how Odium splinters shards? Brandon has says his method is distantly related to how the 16 did it. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/100/#e3456 Odium is not looking to splinter shards in a special way he just wants them torn up and not able to be picked up by anyone. Shredding it with this Division-esque power seems simple enough. 3) Is this what happens to the Heralds? I know the Fused are said to be the ones that hunt and capture the Heralds on Braize, but the Heralds that have thought about the torture think of their flesh being torn and being burned. Here Odium tears people apart and in other cognitive realm encounters he burns Venli and Dalinar. Maybe he's forbidden from doing real damage to teh Heralds by some pact with H&C, Mistborn SH spoilers Stormfather mentions in OB CH. 38 that the Heralds would hide on Braize to delay being caught and tortured. I assume from the Fused. You'd think Odium would help though since it seems like he is "in residence" on Braize. To the extent that location has any meaning to a Shard. Wouldn't he be like "guys they're over there"? Shards aren't omniscient, but Khriss's description of the planet makes it sound like there is not a lot going on there aside from some cognitive shadows (heralds and fused). Should be easy for a Shard to detect activity if they wanted to. 4) Is Odium naturally great at Division? Is this why Rayse wanted it, because it would make tearing up his rivals easier? Dividing is a big part of his MO. Both with people and Elantris spoilers:

Yeah, I skip Kaladin's now. They were the weakest part of tWoK for me. Shallan's in WoR are better, I don't know why since they are both about a young person's awful adolescence. Her's don't drag as much for me. I skip some of Dalinar's as well, the two or three flashbacks leading up to Evi's death and her death.

He did clarify that when he originally responded "yes" to there being a force opposing Adonalsium he could have meant a group of people, like the 16 vessels pre-ascension. Doesn't rule out a predecessor being or the force actually being a supernatural force, but it seems like he was trying to steer our theorizing away from that.

This video has probably been posted on here before. It was made in 2016 and has near 200K views. I had not seen it until Youtube recommended it to me a few minutes ago and I wanted to share it because I think it's neat. It's a CGI video of the scene in Way of Kings where Dalinar and Sadeas rescue Elhokar from the chasmfiend. A lot of great little touches, like the stormlight leaking from Dalinar's plate.

I like this! I don't know that Cultivation fits obedient. I think Devotion fits the combination of Loving and Obedient better. Devotion also fits where you have it though, as do the rest you put in. Maybe Learned / Creative for Cultivation. Ingenuity or similar may be Shard name, so that would take care of that attribute. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/123/#e3299 Honest / Wise for the Wisdom / Prudence Shard. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/398/#e13231 @skaa Thank you for your post. It is really well put together and this is fun to think about.

A lot of reasonable answers, but I kind of want it to be a place we haven't seen. Ambition makes sense. Odium and Ambition fought IN SPAAAACE (sorry) near Threnody, but the fight ended elsewhere. In this WoB last year he talks about Ambition not being splintered, but there being a reason it hasn't been picked up by someone new. https://wob.coppermind.net/events/390/#e12701 Might not be related, but could be. Maybe it's in the same system as another Shard and Odium was beat up from the fight, so he didn't stick around to splinter Ambition because he would be vulnerable to attack from this other Shard. After Odium left, the Vessel for this other Shard either didn't want to or wasn't able to pick up Ambition. (HE HAS BEEN HURT BEFORE AND THOSE SCARS DO NOT HEAL.) - Stormfather in OB Ch. 16) Well ACTUALLY, Stormfather ... scars come from wounds that healed, perhaps imperfectly. Maybe some Cosmere physical therapy can break up that scar tissue get Odium's joints moving right again.

I would think the bold and dangerous operation is seizing Urithiru. Odium asked Taravangian what the Alethi know "about this tower" at the end of OB. If they take the Oathgates' central hub they cut the coalition forces off from each other. (Until our heroes discover something new about Urithiru or the Oathgates that lets them get around that in Part 5 ). Of course, they could attack Urithiru by opening an abandoned Oathgate, like the one in Aimia. In OB, Odium orders a Thunderclast to break the Oathgate in Thaylen City. He says they can repair it later if they need to. Even if Aimia's Oathgate it may be repairable.