The Black Piper - SA5 Spoilers

[boolamoo]

I was rereading the death rattles and I came across this one.

“He watches! The black piper in the night. He holds us in his palm... playing a tune that no man can hear! ”

—Observed circa Tanat 1172. Subject was Cenn, a member of Kaladin's squad in Brightlord Meridas Amaram's army.^[29] This is not a reference to Hoid.^[30]

 

I'm not sure if anybody has put the theory out there, but I think the black piper is Kaladin.

Points of support:

1. The flute Wit gave him is a very dark wood and may be labeled as black under poetic license as death rattles are known to take.

2. He was at the time holding Cenn as he was dying. 

3. According to a sample chapter of SA5 Wit tells him

Spoiler

"You'll win when you don't play music with your own breath, and when you fight without your own muscles. Play the flute, but don't. And fight, but don't."

 

I don't think the first two are particularly strong arguments, but I do think the portion about playing a tune no man can hear applies very well and that the other two just help fill out the death rattle. 

So tell me what you think? Do you agree? Disagree? If you agree, do you think this is just a normal reference to him or is it playing into the theory of him possibly picking up the Shard of Honor in the future?

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by boolamoo

[Treamayne]

29 minutes ago, boolamoo said:

 

3. According to a sample chapter of SA5 Wit tells him

  Reveal hidden contents

"You'll win when you don't play music with your own breath, and when you fight without your own muscles. Play the flute, but don't. And fight, but don't."

 

Please add [SA5 spoilers] to the thread name (edit your first post and you should be able to edit the thread title)

[boolamoo]

Thanks. First theory post. Thought I had the spoiler covered.

[Underwater_Worldhopper he/him]

Ooh, interesting. I'd always assumed this was supposed to be Dai-Gonarthis, the Unmade that's known as the Black Fisher, the Unmade who might be the one that takes people's emotions. But Kaladin as the Black Piper is interesting as well. Hmmm....

[alder24]

13 hours ago, boolamoo said:

I was rereading the death rattles and I came across this one.

“He watches! The black piper in the night. He holds us in his palm... playing a tune that no man can hear! ”

—Observed circa Tanat 1172. Subject was Cenn, a member of Kaladin's squad in Brightlord Meridas Amaram's army.^[29] This is not a reference to Hoid.^[30]

 

I'm not sure if anybody has put the theory out there, but I think the black piper is Kaladin.

Points of support:

1. The flute Wit gave him is a very dark wood and may be labeled as black under poetic license as death rattles are known to take.

2. He was at the time holding Cenn as he was dying. 

3. According to a sample chapter of SA5 Wit tells him

  Reveal hidden contents

"You'll win when you don't play music with your own breath, and when you fight without your own muscles. Play the flute, but don't. And fight, but don't."

 

I don't think the first two are particularly strong arguments, but I do think the portion about playing a tune no man can hear applies very well and that the other two just help fill out the death rattle. 

So tell me what you think? Do you agree? Disagree? If you agree, do you think this is just a normal reference to him or is it playing into the theory of him possibly picking up the Shard of Honor in the future?

 

Interesting. I see no reason why it couldn't be true, because we know only this death rattle and nothing more. Hoid is trying to encourage Kaladin to tell stories, especially in WoR ch 59 Fleet. But if that's true then what does it mean? What does it mean for Kaladin to hold them in his palm and play a tune no man can hear? And why in the night?

Speculations - a "tune no man can hear" might refer to Singer's rhythms or pure tones of Shards, he might learn just like Navani to hear them and play them to help people recover from mental illnesses, thus "holds us in his palm", cause as long as he plays them it helps them (most likely Heralds) recover for a moment. And it is happening in the night because my personal theory is that Stormfather will be deadeye as a result of the Contest of the Champions and it will cause perpetual Weeping with no Stormlight - thus the night. Kaladin playing the tune of Honor might protect people from Odium or even somehow make Stormlight on his own. It's a wild guess but still fun to theorize.

[boolamoo]

1 hour ago, alder24 said:

Speculations - a "tune no man can hear" might refer to Singer's rhythms or pure tones of Shards, he might learn just like Navani to hear them and play them to help people recover from mental illnesses, thus "holds us in his palm", cause as long as he plays them it helps them (most likely Heralds) recover for a moment. And it is happening in the night because my personal theory is that Stormfather will be deadeye as a result of the Contest of the Champions and it will cause perpetual Weeping with no Stormlight - thus the night. Kaladin playing the tune of Honor might protect people from Odium or even somehow make Stormlight on his own. It's a wild guess but still fun to theorize.

Because it says playing a tune that no man can hear, I feel like it's more in line with Wit's teaching than the tones. Because technically, humans can hear the tones if played on a tuning fork or sung and if someone were playing them, then they wouldn't be unheard.

I'm in the same boat when it comes to thinking how SA5 ends with a perpetual Weeping. (just connected to term Weeping to the death rattle about "his own tears" gonna have to go do some more research) It makes the idea of someone watching in the night a comforting thought instead of ominous. 

[Scars of Hathsin he/him]

13 hours ago, alder24 said:

Interesting. I see no reason why it couldn't be true, because we know only this death rattle and nothing more. Hoid is trying to encourage Kaladin to tell stories, especially in WoR ch 59 Fleet. But if that's true then what does it mean? What does it mean for Kaladin to hold them in his palm and play a tune no man can hear? And why in the night?

Speculations - a "tune no man can hear" might refer to Singer's rhythms or pure tones of Shards, he might learn just like Navani to hear them and play them to help people recover from mental illnesses, thus "holds us in his palm", cause as long as he plays them it helps them (most likely Heralds) recover for a moment. And it is happening in the night because my personal theory is that Stormfather will be deadeye as a result of the Contest of the Champions and it will cause perpetual Weeping with no Stormlight - thus the night. Kaladin playing the tune of Honor might protect people from Odium or even somehow make Stormlight on his own. It's a wild guess but still fun to theorize.

Maybe him playing the tune may make Stormlight, because of the Child of Tanavast thing, and because he is a Windrunner, the order closet to Honour. 

[boolamoo]

I actually think it isn't implying anything magical. It's just about him leading people along. Playing music, but not.

[ΨιτιsτηεΒέsτ Male]

Yes. I think this is very probable.

Quote

He watches!

Could this refer to hiw in SA5 Kaladin will no longer fight, but watch there battles? 

[boolamoo]

9 hours ago, ΨιτιsτηεΒέsτ said:

Could this refer to hiw in SA5 Kaladin will no longer fight, but watch there battles? 

I think it could, but I don't think it's predicting a single moment for Kaladin. I think it is about the position he reaches. That of the leader. The Watcher at the Rim.

I think it's an encouraging death rattle about Kaladin after the predicted loss/draw of the contest of champions and the coming of the Night of Sorrows.