Difference between revisions of "Vengeance Pact"

When arriving at the Shattered Plains, the Alethi armies came upon huge beasts, called [[chasmfiend]]s that lived in the chasms between the plateaus that form the Shattered Plains. The chasmfiends had [[gemheart]]s that were actual gems and which could be infused with [[Stormlight]]. The gemhearts were among the largest gems known on Roshar and were therefore of immense value. The only way to safely get at the gemheart was to harvest it when the chasmfiend was pupating. The chasmfiends climbed on a plateau in order to do this. The Alethi and the Parshendi both tried to gain as much gemhearts as possible. That's why a race started everytime a pupating chasmfiend was spooted between the Parshendi on one side and the Highprinces on the other side to get to the plateau first. Whoever arrived first was usually attacked by the other.

 

 

The rivalry between the ten Highprinces was flared by the race for gemhearts. This changed the original purpose of the Vengeance Pact. The armies battled not for vengeance but for gemhearts. It was not until Dalinar joined forces with [[Sadeas]] that two Highprinces worked together to get a gemheart. After being named Highprince of War, Dalinar planned to change tactics and fulfill the Vengeance Pact again instead of only harvesting gemhearts. It has been noted by [[Brandon]] that over-harvesting of gemhearts may cause environmental damage.{{ref|17s|2383|post|42221|How long has it been since a chasmfiend got to finish pupating?}}