Cayden Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 I have thinking about why Szeth became Truthless, why he believes that the Voidbringers are real and why that would be such a terrible thing for a shin and I think that I might have found a reason for that. Shinovar is as far as we know the only area of Roshar which is teraformed to be earth-like, which makes it very likely that it is the one place on Roshar most directly linked to Cultivation. It would make sense therefore for them to see Cultivation or an aspect of Cultivation as their God. When the Knights Radiants abandoned their shards they all left, in a sense they forsook any ties to Honor and I think that they went to Shinovar because of its link to Cultivation and because it is a far more pacifistic society. They had realised that if they followed the course of Honor without a great enemy then their honor would eventually be corrupted because the only opponent left for them would be man. I think that they convinced themselves that the Voidbringers would never return and that some of them began to believe they never existed in the first place and that over the generations it became anathema to believe in Honor, because if you followed Honor then you believed in the Voidbringers and by doing that you are essentially pointing out to the rest of Shin culture that you think their ancestors abandoned humanity against its great enemy. If this is all true then it actually makes a great deal of sense how Szeth is treated. Truthless would essentially mean that he lacks the Truths that their fore-fathers founded millennia before and the reason they gave him the Blade and trained him in Surgebinding is so that he will know how the KR felt when they were forced to kill humans because they followed Honor. "He had heard that the Voidbringers could hold it in perfectly. But, then, did they even exist? His punishment declared that they didn’t. His honor demanded that they did" Szeth follows Honor to the extent that he is allowing himself to be used as a tool of slaughter just as the Knights Radients were. They are trying to make him forsake it so that they can parade around a perfect example of why they are right and so they can reinforce their peoples beliefs in their ancestors decision. I am beginning to wonder if there will be some sort of parallel between Szeth and TenSoon or whether Szeth will eventually be corrupted by Odium because he follows his course of Honor to the bitter end. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlashWrogan Posted February 17, 2013 Report Share Posted February 17, 2013 Certainly sounds plausible, though that cultural storyline sounds very similar to the Aiel from TWoT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TalenelStonesiniew Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 I don't think Szeth can be a surgebinder because Sanderson has stated that Szeth doesn't have a spren like Kaladin does. What if what Szeth can do is a inferior mimicry of real surgebinding? I'm wondering if the Nightwatcher is tied in to this.... Is the Nightwatcher near Shin lands? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windrunner Posted February 18, 2013 Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 Not particularly close. The Nightwatcher is in central Roshar, in a valley in the mountains between Emul and Greater Hexi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cayden Posted February 18, 2013 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2013 I don't think Szeth can be a surgebinder because Sanderson has stated that Szeth doesn't have a spren like Kaladin does. What if what Szeth can do is a inferior mimicry of real surgebinding? I'm wondering if the Nightwatcher is tied in to this.... Is the Nightwatcher near Shin lands? Could well be, or perhaps there is something genetic about surgebinding, but that most of the people who did it went to Shinovar. Though im pretty sure we are missing something about surgebinding. Do you have to have a spren to use it at all? or do you just need one to be able to unlock it fully? Unless people are correct and he really does hold an Honorblade, if thats the case simply being bound to one of them should be enough to empower a person.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dros Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 I think Brandon said Szeth is doing something different than Kaladin, but I don't recall the specific reference. So, I think what Talenal stated might have some merit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takeshi Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 Shinovar is as far as we know the only area of Roshar which is teraformed to be earth-like, which makes it very likely that it is the one place on Roshar most directly linked to Cultivation. I don't quite understand how you make that conclusion. I know others believe it, but I'm of an opposite opinion. I think Shinovar is actually how all of the planet Roshar originally looked. At some point after the Shards came to Roshar, the highstorms were formed, and thousands of years of highstorms changed the evolution of the planet except for Shinovar. For whatever reason, the mountains surrounding Shinovar buffet away the highstorms, protecting it. I think the Shin reverence to stone stems from some powerful ancestor (a Herald, Honor, Cultivation, or something else) not wanting them to mine away the mountains that protect them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krelian Posted February 20, 2013 Report Share Posted February 20, 2013 I think Brandon said Szeth is doing something different than Kaladin, but I don't recall the specific reference. So, I think what Talenal stated might have some merit. He confirmed at a signing that Szeth does not have a spren associated with his abilities. So, we can assume Szeth isn't in the same apparent "Radiant reborn" category as Kaladin. What I'd like answered is whether Szeth's abilities would be considered "natural" on Roshar, or whether we're looking at something akin to Hemalurgy there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lummi Posted April 3, 2013 Report Share Posted April 3, 2013 Also adding 2 theory that Cultivation is connected to Shin is that there farmes are the considered the highest class ( they grow - cultivate things ) while warriors are the lowest and are just a little bit more than slaves I mean they get trades with little gemes. ( they kill - opposite of cultivate i guess) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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