Dalinar, Shard of War

[Elder]

Listening through RoW for the second time, I’m given to wonder: are Shards coming back together?  We know that Stormlight and Voidlight mix into Warlight.  Will the Shards themselves come together?  And would peace be achieved by creating a combined Shard of War?

Dalinar, as the Bondsmith of the Stormfather, seems to have as much power as can be had that once belonged to Honor.  If the Storms merged, or perhaps if Dalinar loses the contest of Champions, but Odium goes down anyway…. Could Dalinar become War?

Part of me thinks that this might be a step backwards for Dalinar.  Part of me thinks it would be kinda lame for Brandon to do the exact same thing on Roshar as he did on Scadrial…… but maybe the Shards are coming together.  They were never meant to be separate.  Maybe Dalinar’s next big challenge is to fail in his contest and fall back into war, and claw his way into something better.

And then there’s a question of what kind of Shard War would be.  Hatred, restricted by oaths and discipline?  Battle, but organized, with rules of engagement, Codes that control violence?  Battle being handled by soldiers so that civilians are left in peace?   I don’t know…..

[Wittles he/him]

This is a genuinely good theory. I just want to add/tweak a bit. 

Honor and odium would be a good combination for a shard of war. If Dalinar were to somehow regain the shard of Honor itself,(presumably via the stormfather, as he is a large splinter of Honor; but that's just my theory) He could go head to head with Odium and defeat him in the contest of champions; thus gaining control of both Honor and Odium. 

If Dalinar were to possess these two shards, I do agree that it would be a shard of war. A blend of the hatred needed to actually fight and engage in battle, and honor that is required to let the war/battle not be without a point, as there is no point of war if there is no way to regulate who is killed and why. 

This would definitely be a very similar ending to mistborn era 1, but I think it makes sense for more people to start possessing multiple shards because it is most likely that the direction the cosmere is taking is one that will eventually lead to the return of Adonalsium. I could be totally wrong about this though.

Edited January 13, 2023 by Witless of Shinovar

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

I also think the theory is good, but I doubt that Brandon would do the same ending twice. If Dalinar becomes the Shard of War, it will have to be very different build-up and circumstances for it to work without feeling like a rehash of stuff we have already seen. 

[Tglassy]

I posted this a while back.  I stand by it. 

On 11/11/2019 at 9:39 AM, Tglassy said:

I think Odium will find a way to kill Cultivation before the end, shattering her.  Dalinar will become Unity, and he will take up the pieces of Cultivation, Uniting them with Honor (Unity) to create something more powerful than Sayzed's Harmony, because his two pieces are not diametrically opposed.  Maybe he would be called "Community".  Binding and Growth combined.

Odium is going to be facing two Shards who have collected two Shards each, and so he will be scared.  I think Series two will be Odium finally deciding that if he is to beat them, he needs to combine shards.  I'm guessing the one that makes the most sense for him to take would be Ambition, since he already shattered that one.  He just needs to take its shards.  Odium and Ambition = Destruction?  Judgement?  That will be the end of the second series.  

 

The Third Mistborn will be a cosmic crossover, so I'm thinking Sayzed and Dalinar will try to figure out a way to separate Dominion and Devotion, and each will get one.  Dalinar will get Dominion, Sazed will get Devotion.  Dalinar will have Dominion, Cultivation, and Honor/Unity, and will become Authority.  Sazed will have Preservation, Ruin and Devotion, and will become Creation. 

 

Then its up to the other Shards at that point.  They'll all likely oppose Odium, but some may actually oppose Sazed and Dalinar.  

 

And as an addendum to my original thought, in the end, at the final scene, Dalinar is mortally wounded, Sazed is dying, Odium is shattering, all the other Shards are shattered, and Kelsior will walk up and snag them all and become Adonalsium.  

 

[Wittles he/him]

That is such an awesome theory, and probably more plausible than the shard of war one. That would be so cool to see, but I would be absolutely terrified of Kelsier as Adonalsium.  

[Tglassy]

Spoiler

 

Kel is my favorite character.  I know there's this whole "He would be the villain in another story" kind of deal, and I know that he's the leader of the Ghostbloods, and they aren't exactly cuddly, but I've listened to these books half a dozen times and even the Ghostbloods don't seem like horrible people, except when they caught Lift and gave her to Raboniel.  They killed Jasnah (sort of), but she'd killed many of their members and she employes assassins left and right.  They wanted Shallan to kill what's his name the herald, but they didn't believe it would kill him, just allow easy transport so they could talk to him.  They kill when needed, but Kel in TLM seemed...not like an evil dictator wanting to terrorize the universe.  He just wants to protect his home.  He can be ruthless, but he does care about people.

He used to hate nobles, but I think he's gotten over that.  He's inclusive, protective, and builds his organization based on trust in each other.  No in fighting, no secrets.  Everyone trusts everyone, and if you wind up being wrong in trusting someone, it's better to have trusted them than not.  I like his way of leadership.  Even if he, himself, keeps a few secrets.  

I really wanted Marasi to join.  I'm getting kinda tired of the "secret organization invites one of the heroes and they heroically decline" trope.  

But in the theory I was mostly being facetious.  I do think it's possible.  But would he actually do it? Maybe.  If he saw all the shards shattering and realize dit would just keep going on like it has, in order to protect the universe and help it survive, I think he would.  

Would he be a good Adonalsium?  Would anyone?  They shattered the original for a reason.  

 

Spoiler

Of course, the theory was written before T became Odium, so that does change a few things.  Though, it actually makes it more likely that Odium would grab other Shards, as T won't have the same hangups as Rayse did.  

 

Edited January 14, 2023 by Tglassy

[bmcclure7]

On 1/13/2023 at 2:19 AM, Witless of Shinovar said:

This is a genuinely good theory. I just want to add/tweak a bit. 

Honor and odium would be a good combination for a shard of war. If Dalinar were to somehow regain the shard of Honor itself,(presumably via the stormfather, as he is a large splinter of Honor; but that's just my theory) He could go head to head with Odium and defeat him in the contest of champions; thus gaining control of both Honor and Odium. 

If Dalinar were to possess these two shards, I do agree that it would be a shard of war. A blend of the hatred needed to actually fight and engage in battle, and honor that is required to let the war/battle not be without a point, as there is no point of war if there is no way to regulate who is killed and why. 

This would definitely be a very similar ending to mistborn era 1, but I think it makes sense for more people to start possessing multiple shards because it is most likely that the direction the cosmere is taking is one that will eventually lead to the return of Adonalsium. I could be totally wrong about this though.

I don't see how the storm father could allow him to take up honor. The shard was shatter

[bmcclure7]

On 1/12/2023 at 11:01 PM, Elder said:

Listening through RoW for the second time, I’m given to wonder: are Shards coming back together?  We know that Stormlight and Voidlight mix into Warlight.  Will the Shards themselves come together?  And would peace be achieved by creating a combined Shard of War?

Dalinar, as the Bondsmith of the Stormfather, seems to have as much power as can be had that once belonged to Honor.  If the Storms merged, or perhaps if Dalinar loses the contest of Champions, but Odium goes down anyway…. Could Dalinar become War?

Part of me thinks that this might be a step backwards for Dalinar.  Part of me thinks it would be kinda lame for Brandon to do the exact same thing on Roshar as he did on Scadrial…… but maybe the Shards are coming together.  They were never meant to be separate.  Maybe Dalinar’s next big challenge is to fail in his contest and fall back into war, and claw his way into something better.

And then there’s a question of what kind of Shard War would be.  Hatred, restricted by oaths and discipline?  Battle, but organized, with rules of engagement, Codes that control violence?  Battle being handled by soldiers so that civilians are left in peace?   I don’t know…..

Dose this mean will get harmony  v war in era 4?

[Elder]

3 hours ago, bmcclure7 said:

Dose this mean will get harmony  v war in era 4?

I mean,

Spoiler

Sazed does seem to be having some issues with the Ruin side of his personality as of TLM.

 

[cometaryorbit]

I'm actually not sure the combined Shard would be War. The Light is called Warlight, but Honor's is Stormlight and Cultivation has Lifelight.

[Elder]

1 hour ago, cometaryorbit said:

I'm actually not sure the combined Shard would be War. The Light is called Warlight, but Honor's is Stormlight and Cultivation has Lifelight.

A fair point, but the name isn’t drawn just from the light, but also the Rhythm.  Those are a bit more congruent with the shards, though not universally.  I’d be interested in what you think a good alternative would be.

[Frustration he/him]

6 hours ago, cometaryorbit said:

I'm actually not sure the combined Shard would be War. The Light is called Warlight, but Honor's is Stormlight and Cultivation has Lifelight.

That's true, but Warlight was named because of the rhythm it embodied to, much like how Stormlight embodied Honor's tone.