Author Topic: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)  (Read 14552 times)

CabbyHat

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #45 on: May 24, 2011, 08:57:32 AM »
My impression was just that "dawn" was a term characters in the present day used to refer to really ancient things they didn't understand very well. I don't really have anything concrete to back that up, however, and I can't remember if any more reliable sources (death quotes, highstorm visions, etc.) ever used the term.
Just an idle comment. My comments are often idle. I can never get them to do any solid work.

Tortellini

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #46 on: May 24, 2011, 12:34:55 PM »
No, look at the quote I posted - Jasnah is citing an ancient source where the word is used. She herself, in the present term, is unfamiliar with the word, enough to put it in quotes. So the term was used in the past and is in fact not being used any more.

CabbyHat

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #47 on: May 24, 2011, 11:38:51 PM »
Oh, okay, sorry, I missed that.
Just an idle comment. My comments are often idle. I can never get them to do any solid work.

kloud213

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #48 on: May 31, 2011, 01:20:48 AM »
In Dalinar's last vision Honor says "....Speak again the ancient oaths and return the shards they once bore." "The Knights Radiant must rise again."

Could speaking the oaths of the radiants tailor both plate and blade to each knight? Could these be the dawnblades? When the Radiants gave up their shards in the vision, could the light leaking out, take away it's purity? Maybe this is why Syl felt revolted.

Since each order has the primary oath and then three separate oaths for their specific order, Could the first refine your stormlight ability. Like with Kaladin on the tower and the explosion of light after speaking the second oath. Then following that logic the next oath could give the knight either plate or blade.

And if this makes any sense could kaladin end up with a shard spear?

Cheese Ninja

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #49 on: June 01, 2011, 04:15:13 AM »
There's been no mention of anything called a "dawnblade"  You're getting Honorblades and Dawnshards mixed up...

I'm a bit partial to the idea of further oaths binding individual Shardblades and Shardplate to the Knight Radiant.  You'd still need a Blade beforehand, but the oath would set its size and shape to whatever the Knight was most comfortable with.  Which could mean a Shardspear, but let's be honest here, this is all rampant speculation.  There's got to be some manner in which a full Knight Radiant can use Stormlight while in Plate, and this idea and a description of Glyphs on Plate are all we have to work with so far.

I think the Shardblades we see in the present day are the same thing as the Shardblades in Dalinar's vision.  It's just that they've been focal points of conflict, greed, and death since that time, which is why Syl finds them disturbing.  Maybe even all the souls they've cut through have an effect on the blades themselves.  I'm looking forward to finding out where all the other Blades and Plate from back then have ended up/been hidden.  That'll probably be one of the books major climatic Reveals.

Tortellini

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #50 on: June 01, 2011, 11:08:52 AM »
I have trouble imagining how a shardspear should work - wouldn't it get stuck all the time?

Shardblades are efficient because they cut trough anything - the tip of a spear could work similarly, but the shaft would get stuck all the time (blades can get stuck if twisted the wrong way if I recall correctly from the novel). Also, shard weapons are basically weapons of mass destruction because of their slicing power. Stabbing may work, but it's vastly less efficient when facing many opponents. Slicing large groups with a spear is not good, because if one guy gets a little closer, you hit him with the shaft, that doesn't slice and the spear is blocked.

Of course, you could say it's a spear with a short grip and a very long tip, but then really, it's a sword  ;)

I think it will be much more interesting to see the impact of half-shards on shard combat - current shardplates are basically 2-handed swords in their use pattern, and that combat style is very disadvantaged when facing a sword-and-shield opponent. There are actually many strategies that could mess up the current type of shard combat, and I predict that we will see quite a few new approaches not just based on surgebinding powers but also on intellectual progress.