Author Topic: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)  (Read 14546 times)

andygal

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #15 on: January 25, 2011, 11:02:43 PM »
Szeth's Blade is also sharp on both sides, where all the others we've seen were sharp on one side.

Argent

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #16 on: January 25, 2011, 11:38:44 PM »
I was led to believe that each Blade is a work of art and is individual in its design. Dalinar and Adolin - and Elhokar too - are all Alethi royals, which by definition makes them warriors as well. And warriors want big Shardblades, because when balance and weight are not issues, length/range become the most important characteristic of the weapon. Szeth, on the other hand, is an assassin - a massive Blade is less efficient than his small one.

Which makes me wonder whether the nature of the user can change his or her Blade to an extent. I don't think the Blade changes as soon as you pick it up, but maybe over time...
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Miyabi

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #17 on: January 26, 2011, 05:30:51 AM »
Which makes me wonder whether the nature of the user can change his or her Blade to an extent. I don't think the Blade changes as soon as you pick it up, but maybe over time...

I think if this is the case, we will see the effects of this through the next book on Sadeas's Blade.  We will have to watch and make special not of any description that is given for the Blade and compare it to ones of Dalinar's.
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CabbyHat

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #18 on: January 26, 2011, 06:59:26 AM »
I was led to believe that each Blade is a work of art and is individual in its design. Dalinar and Adolin - and Elhokar too - are all Alethi royals, which by definition makes them warriors as well. And warriors want big Shardblades, because when balance and weight are not issues, length/range become the most important characteristic of the weapon. Szeth, on the other hand, is an assassin - a massive Blade is less efficient than his small one.

Which makes me wonder whether the nature of the user can change his or her Blade to an extent. I don't think the Blade changes as soon as you pick it up, but maybe over time...
There could be a simpler explanation, at least for some of them. If you're going to duel someone for their shardblade, or take on a shardbearer in battle in a considered attempt to win his shards, it makes sense that you'd go for a weapon you understood or liked the look of, at least subconsciously. Some ancestor of the Kholins may have seen some big beast of a shardblade and decided it would make a fine weapon to be passed down the royal line.

As for the differences with Szeth's blade, I agree that each blade would be unique, but I really don't think it's that far-fetched to think that different orders of Radiants would have had different styles of blades tailored to their abilities. Giving a Windrunner a (relatively) small, thin, agile blade with a versatile double edge would compliment his speed and lashing ability, rather than making him deal with swinging a six-foot-long monstrosity around while trying to float weightlessly along a hallway. Shardplate may boost your strength but I'd bet it's not going to let you ignore the weight of your blade when you're performing a Lashing.
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andygal

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #19 on: January 26, 2011, 08:17:53 AM »
Shardblades don't actually weigh very much apparently, at least not nearly as much as they should given their size.

Tortellini

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #20 on: January 26, 2011, 10:11:30 AM »
When reading the books, I didn't ever get the feeling that shardblades are split into subgroups... All unique, but seemingly alike otherwise. For now, we just don't know enough to tell either way I think.

Melriken

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #21 on: January 26, 2011, 06:42:24 PM »
When I was reading the book I was a bit confused and thought Dawnshards and Honorblades might be two different names for the same thing, but I know better now.  (Person in front of me at the book signing had a question relating to them.)
What was the question and answer?

Melriken

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #22 on: January 27, 2011, 05:51:37 AM »
From one of the Chapter Epigraphs of Part 3 (specifically chapter 36) I found the following quote (this is an exert from Jasnah's Journal)

Quote
"Taking the Dawnshard, known to bind any creature voidish or mortal, he crawled up the steps crafted for Heralds, ten strides tall apiece, toward the grand temple above."
--From The Poem of Ista. I have found no modern explanation of what these "Dawnshards" are. They seem ignored by scholars, though talk of them was obviously prevalent among those recording the early mythologies.

That seems to again indicate that there are 2 kinds of Shardblades, Dawnshards and the current variety.

Also note that they are "known to bind any creature voidish or mortal" not known to kill...

Though this is hard to reconcile with the Vision Dalinar had of the Knights Radiant giving up their swords, it is possible that he saw what he expected, either because he expected it and wasn't paying attention, or because the vision pulled from his own mind to fill in some details, it is also possible that the Dawnshards were corrupted by the very act of the Knights Radiant giving them up. Or Dawnshards could be something else entirely.
« Last Edit: January 27, 2011, 06:00:35 AM by Melriken »

Argent

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #23 on: January 27, 2011, 05:58:59 AM »
I remember reading this epigraph and thinking that maybe the Shardblades have a Voidbringer bound/imprisoned inside them. I know I am clinging to my Blade-Voidbringer theory a little too much, but the burning of the victims' eyes makes me think of those hellish creatures.
Power doesn't always have to corrupt. In many ways, it can change a man for the better.

Tortellini

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #24 on: January 27, 2011, 01:38:25 PM »
What makes you think a dawnshard is a blade? Shardplate also has shard in the name. Shard seems a material/origin description....

Melriken

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #25 on: January 27, 2011, 06:57:16 PM »
What makes you think a dawnshard is a blade? Shardplate also has shard in the name. Shard seems a material/origin description....
Page 997 when the Almighty is talking about how to defeat Odium he suggests getting Odium to pick a champion then says "A champion could work well for you, bit it is not certain. And... without the Dawnshards... Well, I have done what I can."

That sounds to me like a Dawnshard is a way to defeat the champion.

Add the Epigraph to that, which also looks like a Dawnshard is a way to defeat (bind) creatures.

So the Dawnshard is offensive in nature, but it could be a sword (hammer or other weapon) or it could be more like a Soulcaster (a source of combat magic).

Melriken

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #26 on: January 27, 2011, 07:03:08 PM »
What makes you think a dawnshard is a blade? Shardplate also has shard in the name. Shard seems a material/origin description....
Also I am fairly sure that Shardblade was the first thing with 'shard' in it's name, then the plate came along and it was named Shardplate because it was able to protect from a blow by a shardblade, not because of any similarity in origin. Then (recently) Halfshards were created and they are absolutely named after Shardblades because they can block an attack from a Shardblade.

So no, I don't think 'shard' is a reference to a Material, Origin, or other similarity like that, I think it is the name used for the weapon, and then anything that can defend from the weapon. This also makes me think Dawnshards are swords, the Sword isn't a Fabrial, Shardplate and Halfshards are both Fabrials, which makes me think the swords come from The Almighty, while the rest are made by man which makes me assume the Dawnshards (which The Almighty talks about needing to return to Man) are also swords.

Edit: For some reason I originally typed Dawnblade instead of Dawnshards.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2011, 09:06:42 AM by Melriken »

Cheese Ninja

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #27 on: February 04, 2011, 01:39:02 AM »
When I was reading the book I was a bit confused and thought Dawnshards and Honorblades might be two different names for the same thing, but I know better now.  (Person in front of me at the book signing had a question relating to them.)
What was the question and answer?
Unfortunately, I don't remember his exact question and answer.  But that group ahead of me in line was pretty interesting in general.  They talked about Cryptonomicon (by Neal Stephenson, not fantasy, but still fiction) a bit, and a female in the group had the first normal copy (not an advance copy) of the 5th 4th Librarian's book that Brandon had ever seen. 

Actually the person asking the Honorblade/Dawnshard/Shardblade question had the names for the swords a bit mixed up, part of the reason I interjected with a correction and a follow up question, which I think was a bit rude on my part.  I believe my follow up question/statement was along the lines of "Oh, I had thought that Dawnshards and Honorblades were the same thing, that makes me wonder what's up with Szeth's shardblade."  Brandon's response was along the lines of a knowing "Hmmmm..." or "I wonder...", which could have just been a cryptic way of misleading me, and Szeth's shardblade might in fact be perfectly ordinary, and we just haven't been exposed to enough shardblades to make this obvious.

What makes you think a dawnshard is a blade? Shardplate also has shard in the name. Shard seems a material/origin description....

Looking at the few places in the book where Dawnshards are mentioned, there's no great reason for me to think that it's a weapon.  It's just one of those ideas I latched on with my initial incorrect assumption that it was the same as a Honorblade.  The reason I thought that was because the Honorblades seemed to be proof and part of the Heralds' binding to their individual cycles of reincarnation and suffering.
« Last Edit: February 05, 2011, 04:06:04 PM by Cheese Ninja »

andygal

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #28 on: February 07, 2011, 10:18:30 AM »
I also didn't get the impression that Dawnshards were necessarily swords, or literal physical weapons,the epigraph talks about them binding things. If you wanna take that literally they could be sets of manacles. But it's probably an object that has mystical binding powers. Possibly what was used to bind the Voidbringers into slavery as the parshmen? That's my wild theory for  the night.

cromptj

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Re: Nature of Shardblades? (Spoilers)
« Reply #29 on: February 07, 2011, 09:36:41 PM »
If the Dawnshards were not weapons, how is the "champion" supposed to challenge anyone. It would be pretty difficult to fight a duel without a weapon of some sort. Because the Almighty is the representation of honour, that would imply that there would be a duel fought as that seems honourable and that the weapon used by the Almighty's champion would be a sword as that also seems the most honourable weapon.