Difference between revisions of "Odium"

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Unlike many Shards, which usually stay on their own worlds, Odium moves through the [[cosmere]], causing havoc. Odium had been on [[Sel]] a short time, and the results were devastating.{{ref|b|twok|e|22}}
 
The Shard's [[intent]], Odium, means two things: the feeling of strong hatred, and that which provokes hatred from others.{{ref|17s ref|2383|post|42190|Some dictionaries list two meanings for the word "odium"}}
 
==Personality==
Over time, a person holding a Shard will be shaped to the Shard's [[intent]]. This can turn a kind person into [[Ruin|someone who just wants to destroy]]. However, Rayse--Odium's holder--was purportedly already an incredibly crafty, loathsome, and dangerous individual, even before picking up the power. A Shard's intent is mildly interpreted by its holder{{ref|17s ref|1729|text=A holder's personality, however, does get to filter the Shard's intent, so to speak.}} (for example, the idea of [[Preservation]] could be interpreted in a number of ways, and the Shard's holder helps determine this), so Odium is probably being interpreted in the darkest, most dangerous way possible. Odium is a force of pure hatred which is held by a man who can--and will--use that power to the most terrible end.
 
Odium's ultimate goal is indeed terrible: he seeks to be the most powerful being in the cosmere. To this end, he kills other Shards (namely [[Aona]], [[Skai]]{{ref|b|twok|e|22}}, and [[Tanavast]]{{ref|b|twok|c|75}}). But, instead of picking up those Shards (and becoming more and more powerful as he increases his Shard count), Rayse does not want to be unduly influenced from other Shard's intents. He feels that Odium matches him perfectly. So, he [[Splinter]]s the Shards he kills, preventing anyone taking up those Shards to challenge him.{{ref|b|twok|e|22}}
Perhaps unique to known Shards, Odium has figured out a method to kill a Shard's holder without destroying himself. Compare this to [[Preservation]], which in order to defeat [[Ruin]], had to kill herself to do so. While that may be particular to Ruin and Preservation's circumstance of being perfect opposites, there is no evidence of Shard death aside from Ruin and Preservation, and Odium's power. How Odium accomplishes this is a mystery.
 
The first theory to explain this was that Odium was inherently more powerful as a Shard, and so he can simply overpower other Shards. This is not the case, however, since all Shards initially had the same power level.{{ref|17s ref|2383|post|42116|Did all Shards start with the same power level?}} It is possible that since Odium is unlikely to invest his power in granting to sentience (as Preservation did), Odium is now slightly more powerful than his opponents, but this still does not explain how Odium easily could defeat Aona and Skai's Shards, [[Devotion]] and [[Dominion]].
 
Another explanation could be that potentially any Shard could figure out Odium's destructive methods, but lack the motivation compared to Odium's overpowering intent of hatred.
It has been suggested that Odium is the cause of the [[Thrill]], a lust for battle the [[Alethi]] sometimes feel.
 
[[Kaladin]] ''is'' "immune" to the Thrill, though he might have felt it in his earlier history.{{ref|17s ref|3934|post|62365|Q&A at Spokane Barnes & Noble}}
 
During battles, [[Dalinar]] sometimes feels disgust about fighting. This may be in relation with this.
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