Difference between revisions of "Shardblade"

As the [[Nahel bond]] with the original Radiant seems to have been severed, a new bond has to be formed in order for a Blade to be summoned and dismissed. When a new owner touches a Shardblade for the first time, the gemstone on the pommel flashes.{{book ref|sa1|51}}{{book ref|sa2|66}} The person who wishes to bond with the Blade must keep in close quarters to it for five days before the bond is set.{{book ref|sa2|5}} At that point they can summon and dismiss it. The spren inside the Blades are not completely dead, just mostly.{{book ref|sa2|87}} As they are a little alive, they can sync a heartbeat to their [[Ten Essences|essence]]. It takes ten heartbeats for a dead spren to be revived and summoned as a Shardblade. Once a person is bonded to a dead Shardblade, their eyes do lighten if they are not already lighteyes.{{book ref|sa2|68}} Since the gemstone on the pommel is the basis for the bond between a Blade and its owner, if the gemstone is removed or damaged, its owner will be unable to summon or dismiss the Blade until the gemstone is replaced.{{wob ref|date=2017-02-10|1844|/r/fantasy AMA 2017}}

 

 

{{sidequote|It just feels wrong to me. I hate it. I’m glad he got rid of it. Makes him a better man.|Syl on Dalinar giving up Oathbringer{{book ref|sa1|73}}|right|300px;}}

Sprens of dead shardblades manifest as sprens "where the eyes had been scraped off"{{book ref|sa3|89}} in Shadesmar, named "[[Deadeye]]s" by other spren.{{book ref|sa3|101}}

 

 

== History ==

The Radiants continued on, independently of the Heralds for several hundred years at least, until the [[Day of Recreance]], when the Radiants abandoned their Shards for unknown reasons.{{book ref|sa1|52}} When the Radiants laid down their Shards at the Recreance, they broke their bonds with their spren by betraying their oaths, killing them and trapping their bodies within the Shardblades they left behind,{{book ref|sa2|87}} leaving the spren in a state of eternal agony.{{qa ref|1107|2|Is it possible then to reawaken a shard blade if that blade is wielded by someone who speaks the oaths of a Knights Radiant?|date=8 March 2014}} Initially, when the Radiants abandoned their Shardblades, the Blades remained fantastically sharp, but could no longer be bound to a person or summoned.{{book ref|sa1|67}} This betrayal of the Nahel spren broke their trust with humankind.{{book ref|sa2|3}} They refused to bond with men anymore and returned to Shadesmar.{{book ref|sa1|17}} At some point during the [[Era of Solitude]], the [[Herald]] [[Nale]] retrieved his own Honorblade for reasons unknown.{{qa ref|1178|1|He's using his original Honorblade.|date=29 November 2016}}

 

 

It is uncertain if or when any new Radiants crafted Shardblades during this time period. It seems unlikely, as the Nahel spren had all retreated to their homeland of [[Shadesmar]].{{book ref|sa1|17}} There may have been a few dissident spren, similar to [[Sylphrena]]{{book ref|sa2|32}} or [[Ivory]]{{book ref|sa2|3}} but if there were any, they were few and far between. It is likely that any few Radiants arising during this time were killed by Nale, as he had been working for centuries to prevent the return of the Radiants.{{au ref|edgedancer}}

| [[Adolin Kholin]] on being a Shardbearer{{book ref|sa2|49}}

}}

 

Stories of heroes wielding Shardblades were pervasive among the peoples of Roshar, particularly the Vorin darkeyed.{{book ref|sa1|16}} Young children play at having Shardblades, and dream of growing up to join the army and win one for themselves. Young lighteyed children often have wooden toy swords, carved to look like Shardblades.{{book ref|sa2|89}} Some young men carry fine daggers carved in the likeness of Shardblades.{{book ref|sa2|39}} In rural towns, the tales of [[Lanacin|Lanacin the Surefooted]], [[Evod Markmaker]], and [[Raninor|Raninor of the Fields]], legendary and revered darkeyes who won Shardblades,{{book ref|sa2|44}} inspired men to go off to war in hopes of winning a Shardblade, and thus riches and fame for themselves and their loved ones.{{book ref|sa1|16}} However, a darkeyes winning a Shardblade is so incredibly uncommon that it has not happened in over a lifetime.{{book ref|sa2|68}}

Due to their awesome power, Shardbearers fighting together often have to be careful that they do not inadvertently hurt one another or their own men.{{book ref|sa1|56}} Fighting in tandem with Shards is a skill all its own, keeping close enough to support one another but just far enough away to avoid interfering in the other's fight.{{book ref|sa1|67}} While the skill is uncommonly practiced, two Shardbearers supporting one another in combat can achieve incredible success.{{book ref|sa2|26}} Many times a Shardbearer will wade into enemy lines, bolstered by an honor guard fighting a few steps behind them.{{book ref|sa1|56}} The honor guard does not spend time defending the Shardbearer directly, but rather stays nearby to support the Shardbearer, so if his Plate is severely damaged or he is seriously injured, the Shardbearer can retreat to safety and not risk their life or their Shards.{{book ref|sa1|28}} Bolder Shardbearers will leave this honor guard behind and will attack enemies alone, either on foot or horseback.{{book ref|sa1|26}} Such a move is a tactical risk, as an isolated Shardbearer is at his most vulnerable and the loss of a Shardbearer in combat may prove disastrous for their own forces.{{book ref|sa1|56}}

 

 

The Shardblade is such a powerful weapon that its versatility is often only limited by the creativity of its bearer. For instance, Adolin Kholin used his Shardblade stuck into the side of a plateau as a platform to stand on while clearing a space for him to stand on top of the plateau.{{book ref|sa2|26}} In another instance, Dalinar cuts section of rock away, allowing it to fall on his opponents below him.{{book ref|sa1|68}} He also will cut the stone underneath the feet of his opponents to make them lose their footing. An experienced Shardbearer can find a multitude of ways to use a Blade to his advantage in battle beyond the tactics in which they are typically trained.

One common vulnerability a Shardbearer has is their own arrogance. In fact, oftentimes Shardbearers allow their combat skills to dull or never bother becoming terribly skilled in the first place, as they become used to being near-invincible and fantastically stronger than any of their opponents.{{book ref|sa1|i|9}} This can be the undoing of a Shardbearer who faces a more practiced opponent or a Surgebinder. One specific move to counter a Shardblade that makes use of this weakness is called a lastclap.{{book ref|sa2|44}} Oftentimes Shardbearers do not swing at their full strength as they typically do not need to do so when fighting in large battles, as they have a Blade that can cut through any material.{{book ref|sa1|58}} This means that when they are swinging downward at an enemy with an overhead blow, the person they are swinging at can sometimes catch the Blade between their palms.{{book ref|sa2|32}} Some see this as a dumb move, only useful as a last resort, because it relies fully on an enemy's lack of care.{{book ref|sa2|44}}

 

 

=== Combat in the Shattered Plains ===

 

=== Interactions with other Investitures ===

 

Forgery could be used to gain a Shardblade, with some restrictions.{{qa ref|1099|3| Now rewriting-- yes, that would be a lot easier than just rewriting herself so that she had a Shardblade.|date=5 January 2015}} The Investiture is not powerful enough to temporarily create a new Shardblade, and if it somehow could it would be terribly inefficient.{{qa ref|1152|50|Any kind of Investiture to make a Shardblade?|date=17 February 2016}} Instead, if a person had once held a Shardblade and gave it up, a Forger could rewrite their past to make it that they had never given up the Blade, and they would then be able to summon that same Shardblade.{{qa ref|1099|3| Now rewriting-- yes, that would be a lot easier than just rewriting herself so that she had a Shardblade.|date=5 January 2015}} This would have the effect of tricking a Blade into believing that it is bound to two people at once and could be summoned by both of them. It is theoretically possible for the [[seon]]s and [[skaze]] of Sel to take the form of a Shardblade, but something would need to pull them more fully into the Physical Realm, like the Nahel bond does for the spren.{{qa ref|1108|7|Could a Seon, or a Skaze, could they turn into a, some sort of Shardblade on their own planet?|date=13 March 2014}}