Timewaster's Guide Archive

(sorry if this has been mentioned before)

My question is, how sure are we that "Voidbringers" are the "bad guys"?  For reference, I do think Parshmen/Parshendi are Voidbringers.

In Kalak's chapter Voidbringers are never specifically mentioned, aside from the different colors of blood, but that doesn't say which side they fought on.

All of Jasnah's Voidbringer quotes that actually describe them do not actually mention fighting against them.

For example "The ones of ash and fire, who killed like a swarm, relentless before the Heralds" does not actually say they fought against the Heralds.  It could be they led the charge again the real enemy clearing a way for the Heralds.

The common people of Roshar think the "good guys" fought against "Voidbringers" in the desolations, but those same people also don't know anything about thunderclasts, etc which were present during desolations so facts could have gotten messed up since the last time people really knew what "Voidbringers" were.

Dalinar's visions don't actually have "Voidbringers" either.  In fact, he was specifically told the Radiants were not fighting Voidbringers in one of his visions.

There is also a spot where someone said shardblades were made to fight Voidbringers, but I also think they were wrong about that.  Parshendi/parshmen can be killed by normal means so there is no need for shardblades specifically.  However, they are needed to get gem hearts out of chasmfiends and they presumably are needed to kill thunderclasts, etc.  I think shardblades were created to fight something much stronger than parshmen/parshendi.

I also think parshmen being so docile is directly related to their not having their song.  I also think a dawnshard, or part of one (possibly the thing Gavilier had that he gave to Szeth), is keeping their song from them.

I also don’t think the parshendi are as hivelike as people assume.  They all sing the same song, but it’s almost like the song is emotion based.  For example, the dying parshendi all switch to the dying song, but the nearby fighting parshendi still sing the war song or whatever.  They also switched to the angry song when they fought Kaladin wearing the bones of dead parshendi.  In essence, I think they have a war song, an angry war song, a dying song, etc and whatever situation they are in dictates the song they sing.  They also likely communicate in some way with the song, but the song itself is tied to their emotions.