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-->|Third ''Oathbringer'' Letter
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==The Sixth Letter==
{{for|Rhythm_of_War/Epigraphs#The Letter|a list of the excerpts in each chapter's epigraph}}
The sixth letter is also written by [[Sazed]], the vessel of [[Harmony]], again evident in his writing patterns and mention of his relative youth.
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|Dear Wanderer,<br />
I did receive your latest communication. Please forgive formality on my part, as we have not met in person. I feel new to this role, despite my years of holding it. You will admit to my relative youth, I think. I have been fascinated to discover how much you’ve accomplished on Scadrial without me noticing your presence. How is it that you hide from Shards so well?<br/>
I have reached out to the others as you requested, and have received a variety of responses. Much as you indicate, there is a division among the other Shards I would not have anticipated. Endowment at least responded to my overtures, though I have not been able to locate Invention again following our initial contact. Whimsy was not terribly useful, and Mercy worries me. I do think that Valor is reasonable, and suggest you approach her again. It has been too long, in her estimation, since your last conversation. The deaths of both Devotion and Dominion trouble me greatly, as I had not realized this immense power we had was something that could be broken in such a way. On my world, the power always gathered and sought a new Vessel.<br/>
That said, the most worrying thing I have discovered in this was the wound upon the Spirtitual Realm where Ambition, Mercy, and Odium clashed - and Ambition was destroyed. The effects on the planet Threnody have been….disturbing. Other Shards I cannot identify, and are hidden to me. I fear that their influence encroaches upon my world, yet I am locked into a strange inability because of the opposed powers I hold.<br/>
I have begun searching for a pathway out of this conundrum by seeking the ideal person to act on my behalf. Someone who embodies both Preservation and Ruin. A....sword, you might say, who can both protect and kill. But this does not get to the core of your letter. I have encouraged those who would speak to me to heed your warnings, but all seem content to ignore Odium for the time being. In their opinion, he is no threat as long as he remains confined in the Rosharan system.<br/>
I do not share their attitude. If you can, as you supposed, maintain Odium’s prison for now, it would give us necessary time to plan. This is a threat beyond the capacity of one Shard to face. Unfortunately, as proven by my own situation, the combination of Shards is not always a path to greater power. We must assume that Odium has realized this, and is seeking a singular, terrible goal: the destruction - and somehow Splintering or otherwise making impotent - of all the Shards other than him. To combine powers would change and distort who Odium is. So instead of absorbing others, he destroys them. Since we are all essentially infinite, he needs no more power. Destroying and Splintering the other Shards would leave Odium as the sole god, unchanged and uncorrupted by other influences.<br/>
You say that the power itself must be treated as separate in our minds from the Vessel who controls it. I find this difficult to do on an intrinsic level, as although I am neither Ruin nor Preservation, they make up me.<br/> Regardless, I will try to do as you request. However, you seem more afraid of the Vessel. I warn you that this is a flaw in your understanding. You have not felt what I have. You have not known what I have. You rejected that chance - and wisely, I think. However, though you think not as a mortal, you are their kin. The power of Odium’s Shard is more dangerous than the mind behind it. Particularly since any Investiture seems to gain a will of its own when not controlled.<br/>
My instincts say that the power of Odium is not being controlled well. The Vessel will be adapted to the power’s will. And after this long, if Odium is still seeking to destroy, then it is because of the power. Of course, I admit this is a small quibble. A difference of semantics more than anything. In truth, it would be a combination of a Vessel’s craftiness and the power’s Intent that we should fear most.<br/>
Regardless, please make yourself known to me when you travel to my lands. It is distressing that you think you need to move in the shadows.<!--
-->|The Sixth Letter
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