Jasnah the Elsecaller

[Philomath she/her]

I loved getting all of the new information about the Radiant orders. One of the things that was most exciting was starting to understand the focus of the oaths first each order. I think the most surprising one for me was the Elsecallers. I think it was generally assumed they would be a scholarly focused order. Especially since that is one of Jasnah’s most dominant traits. Jasnah has always been interesting to me and I know there have been some great threads discussing her character. This new info about Elsecallers takes her to a whole new level for me. I think understanding that Elsecallers are focused on reaching their full potential makes Jasnah’s motivations much deeper. Her scholarship isn’t just in the interest of knowledge, it is about helping herself be her best self. How can one improve if one doesn’t know enough? The more you learn and understand, the better you can be. For yourself and for others. 

I think it also explains why she is willing to go to extreme measures to reach her goals. She wants to protect those she loves. So in order to do that to her full potential and the best of her abilities, she hires spies and assassins to watch and take out threats. She wants to stop the desolation. So she considers finding and killing the heralds as a better alternative to genocide of all Listeners/Singers. 

I think this might also lead to a fear of failure. Doesn’t mean they can’t grow to accept failure, but people who strive to be their best selves seem to struggle with that idea. This is evidenced in Jasnah and Shallan’s conversation when Jasnah first returned to Urithiru. She is incredibly competent, but she was still bothered by how much she missed while in Shadesmar and she did not like feeling like her work was for nothing and that she was “left behind” in a sense. 

I like Jasnah. I can’t wait to see more from her perspective and see her character growth. And this new info on Elsecallers makes her even more intriguing to me.

[Honorless he/him]

the Elsecaller info took everyone by surprise 

[earthexile]

What I found really fun about the Elsecaller ethic is that it aligns so closely with the nominal tenets of Vorinism. Vorins are supposed to pick a thing and strive to be the best at it, so they can be their best selves when it's time to do their part in a supernatural war against evil. It's kind of funny, and typical of Sanderson, that the great Atheist would find herself living out the mythology her people keep trying to get her to accept.

[PiedPiper she/her]

Does anyone have speculation as to what oath Jasnah might be up to?

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

2 minutes ago, PiedPeterPiper said:

Does anyone have speculation as to what oath Jasnah might be up to?

Some people thinks she has Plate, which would mean oath 4, presumably. I doubt that, and I also hope that isn’t the case. Jasnah is overpowered as it is compared to the others. So my guess/hope would be 3.

[DqwertyC]

1 hour ago, Toaster Retribution said:

Some people thinks she has Plate, which would mean oath 4, presumably. I doubt that, and I also hope that isn’t the case. Jasnah is overpowered as it is compared to the others. So my guess/hope would be 3.

Conversely, if she's only on the third oath and already overpowered compared to other 3rd oath radiants, that would lead to more disparity in the long run. It would make sense if she's overpowered because she's made more oaths, and once everyone catches up to her in oaths they'll also close the gap on power.

[Toaster Retribution he/him]

1 hour ago, DqwertyC said:

Conversely, if she's only on the third oath and already overpowered compared to other 3rd oath radiants, that would lead to more disparity in the long run. It would make sense if she's overpowered because she's made more oaths, and once everyone catches up to her in oaths they'll also close the gap on power.

Good point! Still my issue remains. Just the fact that she is ahead of everyone else adds to her ”I am the best at everything” feel.