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Rayse

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Rayse
Odium captrosko.jpg
by Matthew Johnson
Died 1175, killed by Taravangian using Nightblood[1]
Abilities Shard of Odium
Titles Odium, King of gods,[2] God[3]
Aliases Nun Raylisi[4], Rasan[5]
Homeworld Yolen
Universe Cosmere
First Appeared Oathbringer
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“I know pain. I am the only god who does. The only one who cares. ”

—Rayse[6]

Rayse was the first Vessel of the Shard Odium.[7] After Ascending, he went on a series of killings of various Shards in an attempt to become the sole god of the cosmere.[8] He was bound to the Rosharan System for around seven-thousand-seven-hundred standard years.[9][10] He died at some point during Vev 1175, slain by Taravangian with Nightblood.[1]

Appearance and Personality[edit]

by Ralf Melevo

Appearance[edit]

For more images, see /Gallery.

While Odium’s true essence is too powerful to be seen, Rayse generally presents himself as an old man with a wide, furrowed face and bone-white hair sweeping back from his head, and thick mustaches with a hint of black in them blended into a short white beard. His skin and eyes look Shin, that is to say, he has pale skin and lacks epicanthic folds,[11] and he wears a golden crown in his powdery hair.[3]

To the singers, on the other hand, he appears as an ancient singer with gold and white marbled skin.[12] He carries a golden sceptre in both of these forms.

When Dalinar claims to have seen Odium, Rayse shows him an enormous, all-encompassing white-and-red flame emanating human emotion, chiefly hatred and anger.[13]

Personality[edit]

“Rayse... was among the most loathsome, crafty, and dangerous individuals I had ever met. ”

Mortal[edit]

Prior to Ascension, Rayse was already thought of as cunning, ambitious, and very dangerous.[14] He was driven to kill Adonalsium to achieve his goals and desires, though his exact motivation for partaking in the Shattering is currently unclear.[15]

His personality was such to lead him to pick up the Shard of Odium, indicating that his personality was aligned with hatred and strong emotions. He wished to become the type of person he came to be after holding the Shard.[16][17]

by taratjah

Vessel[edit]

He picked his Shard very deliberately, believing that it matches him perfectly, and desires nothing less than to be the sole god of the cosmere.[17][8][16] To this end, he seeks to destroy any other Shard, primarily those capable of rivaling or threatening him.[8] To protect himself from a counterattack by other Shards, he picks the targets that he can claim have broken the rules that all the Vessels had previously agreed on.[18] This being said, he's not opposed to cooperating with his fellow Vessels if it suits him.[19]

He can be extremely cunning. He will often present himself as grandfatherly and friendly, a helping hand rather than a wicked overlord. He will carry this facade for a long time, even if whoever's talking to him is keenly aware of his real nature. He will praise his interlocutor effusively, attempting to present himself as a reasonable ally.[13][12][20] It is through this that he manipulates people into serving him or playing into his greater plans, such as when he manipulated Ishar into experimenting with Surges, leading to the destruction of Ashyn and the human exodus to Roshar.[20][21][22] On the other hand, when things do not go his way, the facade drops, and he's quick to reassert a position of dominance, growing callous and threatening.[23][24][25] If it turns out the situation is beyond his ability to control, he'll flee to regroup and try another day.[21]

While careful and subtle, Rayse is also an arrogant man. He can be lonely with nobody to share his accomplishments and likes to show off and enjoys being worshipped.[26][27] This can be seen when he pulls people into a vision, presenting himself as a powerful, dominating figure while this is not really necessary. Furthermore, he hates being questioned, leading to a struggle between his mind and the Shard he holds, for Odium craves questions and arguments.[28]

In addition, he strongly believes that Odium is the Shard of Passion, not hatred.[29][citation needed] He sees passion and emotions as a very important aspect of the lives of men, seeing them as what defines a person.[13] He sees beauty in passion, and greatly respects those that led their passions consume them unrestrained. He even encourages this, inspiring them to give in to all of their strongest emotions. He also respects straightforwardness and honesty in one's emotions.[13][12][26] His respect for such things is enough that he would willingly barter with people he considers passionate enough, despite his megalomania.[23] He even respects the Knights Radiant for their honesty and willingness to do what they thought was best, despite their resistance against him.[13] This respect for honesty is a common thread in his interactions with others, as he also respects Taravangian's honesty.[26] As a lover of such things, he looks down upon those who restrain themselves and don't act on their feelings, as they are contrary to his ideology of emotional openness and indulgence.[26]

He is willing to grant people liberty from an oppressive master if it means that they would come to serve him, such as when he granted mind and freedom to slaveform singers, so that they could assist him and his Fused in their fight to claim Roshar and free him from the Rosharan system.[citation needed] He, however, is not a kind master to these peoples, using them as vessels to be possessed by his Fused.[30] He also strictly punishes people refusing to follow him, and as mentioned previously, is angered by his orders or actions being questioned by those he deems inferior.[28][20] However, he acknowledges that resistance is in-line with his Intent as he interprets it, thus he would not unilaterally destroy those that betray or oppose him, and he respects one acting on their own agency. Leading to a complex mixture of feelings on the matter of resistance, which he himself hates, but feels is necessarily to fall in line with his self-perceived Intent.[20][31] Despite all of this, he considers himself to have given his followers exactly what they wished for, the chance to die in war, in glory, in blood, and to find joy in that destruction.[26]

by Felix Abel Klaer

“I DO NOT THINK THAT IS TRUE, VYRE, THOUGH I UNDERSTAND WHY YOU THINK IT SO. I FEEL YOUR PASSIONS, AS THEY ARE MINE. I UNDERSTAND YOU.”

—Odium speaking to Vyre[32]

Following from his beliefs regarding passion and emotions, he believes a world without such things as not being worth living in.[13] He also believes himself the only Vessel to truly understand pain and emotion, and the only one to truly care about mankind. He attempts to comfort people through insuring them that he understands them and their feelings, and that he truly cares about them.[6][32] He wants to take away the pain of sapient beings, to take away their guilt for their actions. To allow them to fully indulge in their emotions and passions without having to feel the weight of pain or guilt.[20][21] He offers to take away the pain as one of his primary methods of getting people to turn to him, as he preys on their pain, guilt, and insecurities.[citation needed] Despite his claims to love mankind, he considers the lives of humans and singers of inherently lesser value than his own, and looks down upon them.[25] He does, however, see his singers as more valuable soldiers than mankind, and is willing to use the blood of mankind to preserve and strengthen them.[26]

He is a man deeply driven by hatred and contempt, despite his kindly facade,[13][33] and is prone to bouts of anger.[23][24][25]

While willing to compliment people for their accomplishments, such as complimenting Taravangian for the creation of the Diagram, he often tries to immediately upstage said accomplishments and make them into nothing; this is likely motivated by his own megalomania and belief in the inferiority of mortals.[23][26][25] He ultimately considers even that which he compliments to be nothing compared to his own ability and being.[26]

Furthermore, he is a traitorous individual, as he is willing to double-cross those that he works with, such as Autonomy, if it means achieving his goals.[34] He also betrays his followers, as previously mentioned, seducing them with promises of new forms, only to allow them to be possessed by Fused.[30] However, he holds to his Oaths, as he is incapable of breaking them.[35] It is due to this that he refrains from making Oaths unless he feels he has no other choice, or if he believes that he gets the better end of the deal.[citation needed]

His greatest desire is to escape the Rosharan system from which he is bound, so that he could continue his series of Splinterings around the cosmere, so that he could achieve his telos of becoming its sole ruler.[17][8][25] He is willing to do whatever he can, or take however long is required, in order to achieve this goal. Spending around seven-thousand years in his endeavors.[9][10] He is also willing to kill those he respects and feels don't deserve to die, if it means furthering his goals; be it escaping from Roshar, or becoming the sole god.[13] However, upon being forced into a corner by Dalinar Kholin, he agreed to give up his wish for freedom, deigning to accept sole leadership over Roshar, so long as he had the freedom to send his soldiers across the cosmere in a greater war for control. Thus he was willing to give up his freedom, but not his lust for power and control. He was infuriated by his wishes not being granted in the Oath, but ultimately accepted as he felt he had no other choice.[25]

If it means achieving his goals, he would attempt something even if he doesn't fully understand how to.[36][37] Such as when he Splintered Devotion and Dominion, yet, not understanding what to do with the Investiture afterwards, pushed it into the Cognitive Realm, fundamentally effecting Sel in the process.[38][citation needed]

He presents himself as a regal king, donning a golden crown and staff, reflective of his desires and how he views himself.[3] He even uses his regal staff when presenting himself to the Singers, likely as a display of authority.[12]

“No. No, we killed you. WE KILLED YOU !”

—Odium upon seeing Honor's Perpendicularity[21]

As a Vessel of a Shard of Adonalsium, and a deeply arrogant man, Rayse fears very little. But one thing he does fear is Szeth and Nightblood, for Nightblood is one of the only things that could truly kill him.[26][1] He also came to fear Dalinar when he opened the Perpendicularity.[21] He also fears Harmony, both due to his power and the concept he represents.[39][40][41] Lastly, he fears the concept of losing himself, particularly by taking up other Shards and having his mind and self warped by them, thus he attempts to Splinter Shards rather than absorbing them into himself.[42][16][43]

When truly terrified, such as upon Dalinar opening the Perpendicularity, he tends to completely lose his composure and begin screaming violently.[21] Ordering his followers to dispatch of the threat in a panic, even if they likely couldn't stop it.[21]

Abilities[edit]

Rayse is a Vessel of a Shard, with all the abilities this entails, including the power to create a magic system by Investing into a world, and is functionally immortal.

Apart from the magic systems his Shard fuels, Rayse is capable of perceiving the future. How good he is at it is uncertain; while his abilities exceed that of Honor or Taravangian's Diagram, he still has blind spots, mostly pertaining to other seers, and he can be wrong.[23][21] He's also able to corrupt and subvert the Investiture of others, and force a connection to himself, though the latter requires a proper mental state in the recipient.[44][12]

Unlike Ati, Rayse is unable to use Odium to alter text documents.[45] This is because unlike Scadrial, which was created partly with Ruin's own power, Roshar was not suffused with Odium's Investiture.[46]

Rayse knows how to kill and splinter other Shards without getting killed or splintered himself. It is unclear whether Odium has some unique skill or attribute enhancing his ability to do this or whether all Shards are capable of these actions, given the right motivation.

Rayse is capable of removing the negative emotions, such as pain and guilt, of his followers, so long as they are Connected to him. When the Connection is held, any negative emotions are drained out of an individual when the feelings arise, leaving them feeling nothing. This can be temporarily undone by disrupting the Connection between him and a given follower.[32]

History[edit]

Rayse had once been a human from the planet Yolen.[47][48] He participated in the Shattering of Adonalsium along with fifteen other people, and chose the Shard of Odium for himself.[15][17] Afterwards, much like the other Shards, he departed the planet. While his Shard was interpreted as Odium from the very beginning, it's uncertain if the series of killings he would subsequently go on was his plan from the start.[49]

For the subsequent events, see Odium#History.

Relationships[edit]

Autonomy[edit]

He was working with Autonomy to an unclear extent. Had he not been captured in the Rosharan system, he would have double-crossed them, attacking and trying to Splinter them.[34]

by Wanda Sonnemann
Dalinar facing off with Rayse

Dalinar[edit]

“Don't blame yourself. I made you kill her, Dalinar. I caused all of this. Do you remember? ”

—Rayse to Dalinar[20]

Rayse has been grooming Dalinar to be his champion from a young age. During the war of Alethi unification, Odium provided him with the Thrill, and he claims to be the influence behind Dalinar's most gruesome atrocities, including the burning of the Rift. His goal is to make Dalinar feel such overwhelming guilt that he would give Rayse his pain, willingly joining his cause.[20] When Cultivation wiped Dalinar's memories, Rayse's plan became to return them all to Dalinar at once, for the greatest possible impact.[50]

By the time of the True Desolation, Rayse is confident in his ability to pull Dalinar over to his side when the time comes. He puts on a warm and caring facade, acting as though he's Dalinar's friend while at the same time underscoring just how thoroughly his Dalinar is.[13][6] Likewise, at the Battle of Thaylen Field he's similarly friendly as he offers Dalinar an out from his overwhelming feelings of guilt, even as Dalinar attempts to deny him.[20]

What Rayse doesn't expect is that Cultivation has arranged for Dalinar to recover his memories beforehand, giving him time to work through them and greatly dulling the impact Rayse's sudden influx of memories has on Dalinar.[20] This allows Dalinar to reject Rayse's offer. Rayse is first stunned, and then terrified as Dalinar not only defies him, but progresses on the path of a Bondsmith and summons Honor's Perpendicularity. He flees, fearing that if they met face to face again, Dalinar could push him into a contest in which Rayse's victory wouldn't be certain.[21][23]

Harmony[edit]

While he has not met Harmony, he greatly fears him, both due to the power he holds and the concept he represents, that of two Shards coming together and finding harmony.[39][40][41]

Harmony, on the other hand, considers Odium a great threat, even while bound to the Rosharan System.[51][52] He, at the behest of Hoid, sought after all the Vessels he could to try and find someone to help deal with Odium, to no avail.[53][54][55]

Hoid[edit]

“Cephandrius. Ever the rat. No matter where I go, there he is, scratching in the wall. Burrowing into my strongholds. He could have been a god, yet he insists on living in the dirt. ”

—Rayse on Hoid[25]

Rayse and Hoid were friends, once.[56] However, at some point the relationship between the two of them soured significantly, leaving Hoid with a deep grudge that would last for thousands of years.[57] Hoid seems to have a long history of conspiring and working against Rayse, and they bear deep hatred towards each other.[25] Presently, Rayse is one of the few people in the cosmere Hoid is terrified of, and though he initially came to Roshar chasing after Rayse, he now wants to avoid him as best as he can.[58][59][60] Moreover, he's attempting to muster support among other Shards, as well as Frost, to help deal with Odium. His efforts have not yielded much success.[61][53][54][55]

Rayse seems to be aware of Hoid's presence on Roshar; at the very least, he knows that Hoid will attempt to stop him. However, he doesn't consider this to be a significant problem, believing that he can outsmart him.[62] This does not mean he ignores him, as Hoid ponders while sneaking around in an occupied Kholinar that if Rayse knew where he was, Rayse would not hesitate to level the city.[63]

Taravangian[edit]

“ So honest, this version of you... I much prefer it, yes. There is a straightforwardness to your Passion. ”

— Rayse to Taravangian[26]

He respects the straightforwardness of Taravangian's passion, and was willing to barter with him over the lives of the people of Roshar, ultimately coming to a deal to spare the people of Kharbranth.[26] Despite this, he ultimately considers Taravangian to be nothing, and openly admonishes him when he isn't complimenting him.[26][expand]

Taravangian himself hates Rayse, enough so that he was led to murder the Vessel.[1][expand]

Tanavast[edit]

“Tell me you've never found yourself in conflict with someone you respect. Tell me you’ve never killed a man because you had to, even if—in a better world—he shouldn’t deserve it? ”

—Rayse on killing Tanavast[13]

The relation between Rayse and Tanavast is difficult to determine, moreso for the fact that Rayse is the only source of information on it. On one hand, Rayse claims to sincerely respect him as a person, and claims that in a better world, Tanavast needn't have died. On the other hand, he also claims that Tanavast was heartless, caring for bonds and oaths more than the people behind them.[13] Tanavast's opinion of Rayse is unknown, but he was clearly wary, as he deliberately constructed their confrontation in a way that would allow him to bind Rayse to Braize.[64]

Trivia[edit]

Notes[edit]

Preceded by
None 		Vessel of
Odium
Succeeded by
Taravangian
  1. ↑ a b c d Rhythm of War chapter 113#
  2. ↑ Oathbringer prologue#
  3. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 56#
  4. ↑ Stuttgart signing
    — Arcanum - 2019-05-17#
  5. ↑ Alethi Glyphs: Second Page
  6. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 109#
  7. ↑ Oslo signing, 2011
    — Arcanum - 2011-05-30#
  8. ↑ a b c d The Lost Metal chapter 20#
  9. ↑ a b Rhythm of War chapter 14#
  10. ↑ a b Rhythm of War chapter 76#
  11. ↑ /r/fantasy AMA 2013
    — Arcanum - 2013-04-15#
  12. ↑ a b c d e Oathbringer chapter 115#
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Oathbringer chapter 57#
  14. ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 18 epigraph#
  15. ↑ a b Mistborn: Secret History part 3 chapter 2#
  16. ↑ a b c Alloy of Law 17th Shard Q&A
    — Arcanum - 2011-11-05#
  17. ↑ a b c d Words of Radiance chapter 71 epigraph#
  18. ↑ Oathbringer Houston signing
    — Arcanum - 2017-11-18#
  19. ↑ Shadows of Self San Francisco signing
    — Arcanum - 2015-10-09#
  20. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Oathbringer chapter 118#
  21. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Oathbringer chapter 119#
  22. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 111#
  23. ↑ a b c d e f Oathbringer chapter 122#
  24. ↑ a b Oathbringer interlude I-11#
  25. ↑ a b c d e f g h Rhythm of War chapter 112#
  26. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Rhythm of War interlude I-6#
  27. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 99#
  28. ↑ a b Rhythm of War interlude I-2#
  29. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 31#
  30. ↑ a b Oathbringer interlude I-6#
  31. ↑ YouTube Spoiler Stream 4
    — Arcanum - 2022-06-16#
  32. ↑ a b c Rhythm of War interlude I-4#
  33. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 32#
  34. ↑ a b Mini-Con 2021
    — Arcanum - 2021-11-22#
  35. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 16#
  36. ↑ JordanCon 2018
    — Arcanum - 2018-04-22#
  37. ↑ JordanCon 2018
    — Arcanum - 2018-04-20#
  38. ↑ Arcanum Unbounded Hoboken signing
    — Arcanum - 2016-12-03#
  39. ↑ a b General Reddit 2016
    — Arcanum - 2016-09-02#
  40. ↑ a b Waygate Foundation Write-a-thon
    — Arcanum - 2014-01-17#
  41. ↑ a b San Diego Comic-Con@Home 2020
    — Arcanum - 2020-07-23#
  42. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 34 epigraph#
  43. ↑ /r/Stormlight_Archive
    — Arcanum - 2013-03-14#
  44. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 84#
  45. ↑ OdysseyCon 2016
    — Arcanum - 2016-04-08#
  46. ↑ Shadows of Self London UK signing
    — Arcanum - 2015-10-19#
  47. ↑ Kraków signing
    — Arcanum - 2017-03-21#
  48. ↑ Words of Radiance Philadelphia signing
    — Arcanum - 2014-03-21#
  49. ↑ JordanCon 2018
    — Arcanum - 2018-04-20#
  50. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 121#
  51. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 30 epigraph#
  52. ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 31 epigraph#
  53. ↑ a b Rhythm of War chapter 22 epigraph#
  54. ↑ a b Rhythm of War chapter 24 epigraph#
  55. ↑ a b Rhythm of War chapter 25 epigraph#
  56. ↑ General Signed Books 2014
    — Arcanum - 2014-02-15#
  57. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 23 epigraph#
  58. ↑ Words of Radiance Omaha signing
    — Arcanum - 2014-03-13#
  59. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 57#
  60. ↑ Skyward Chicago signing
    — Arcanum - 2018-11-16#
  61. ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 28 epigraph#
  62. ↑ BookCon 2018
    — Arcanum - 2018-06-01#
  63. ↑ Oathbringer epilogue#
  64. ↑ Oathbringer San Diego signing
    — Arcanum - 2017-11-14#
  65. ↑ YouTube Livestream 7
    — Arcanum - 2020-05-07#
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