An Oathstone binds a Shin to whomever holds it and commits him/her to its holder's wishes.[1]
Appearance[]
Szeth's Oathstone is a sphere-sized chunk of rock with a few quartz crystals set into it and a rusty vein on one side.[2]
History[]
In the Shin culture, those who add are to be revered; great people create food and clothing.[1]. Those who take away - those who kill - are considered the lowliest of Shin; they are traded and sold between houses, like slaves.[3]
| “ | Men trade and sell them between houses by way of little stones that signify ownership, and any man who picks up a weapon must join them and be treated the same.[3] | ” |
Some believe these stones to be Oathstones. Whether these are in fact the same, Szeth's Oathstone - which was held by Taravangian, honor-bound him to do anything that the holder of it required of him, save that he could not follow an order to kill himself or be ordered to give up his Blade.[2][1]
Some dispute that these are actually Oathstones because ordinary soldiers cannot be sold to an outsider, though this, according to Thresh, is to be a result of Szeth being named Truthless.[3]
Present Day[]
Szeth tells Nightblood that his Oathstone had no magic. That he obeyed because of honor, and he sometimes obeyed evil or petty men. But that he now seeks a higher ideal.[4]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Way of Kings, Inter6.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Way of Kings, Inter3.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 The Way of Kings, Inter4.
- ↑ Oathbringer, 92. Water Warm As Blood
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