Usuario:Windrunner/Oathgate

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“ Within a heartbeat, Alezarv was there, crossing a distance that would have taken more than four months to travel by foot. ”

— Another folktale, this one recorded in Among the Darkeyed, by Calinam. Page 102. Stories of instantaneous travel and the Oathgates pervade these tales.

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The Oathgates are structures on Roshar that allow people to instantaneously teleport from one location to another.

These fabrials manipulate the Surge of Transportation. There are hints that the Oathgates were responsible for the near-instantaneous travel possible during the Heraldic Epochs and were one of the only ways to reach Urithiru. They could only be activated by living Shardblades, as wielded by the Knights Radiant. Transportation of more than one person through the gates required use of more Stormlight than what is provided by the ten gemstone lanterns within.

History

Creation and the Heraldic Epochs

The origin of the Oathgates is unknown, although they may have been constructed during the Silver Kingdoms epoch as they link the capitals of those ancient nations. Linking far flung cities with one another and Urithiru, use of the Oathgates was administered by members of the Knights Radiant, whose Blades served as the keys that allowed for their operation. Much trade and travel was done via the Oathgates, with the goods traded tariffed by the Radiants. The gates were also likely capable of transporting people and goods between the Physical Realm and Shadesmar.

Closing of the Oathgates

As time went on, tariffs became increasingly steep, a source of ire for those taxed by the Radiants. During Aharietiam, the city of Stormseat was destroyed by the Voidbringers and that Oathgate was forgotten, although the mechanism remained intact. Later, just before Honor died, he spoke to the spren of the Oathgates, ordering them to stop allowing for Realmatic transition and only permitting Transportation between locations in the Physical Realm. As the Sibling retreated from mankind and the city of Urithiru began to fail, the Radiants closed and locked the active Oathgates and abandoned the city.

Rediscovery

After the Oathgates were closed, the purpose of the structures was forgotten. In Kholinar it was incorporated into a religious structure,{{book ref sa3|83}} in Thaylen City it was turned into a sculpture garden. The Azimir Oathgate became a monument the core of the city's Grand Market and a building was constructed around it. During the scouring of Aimia, the Oathgate in Akinah was destroyed permanently. In her research into the city of Urithiru, Jasnah Kholin made an investigation into the Oathgates, hoping they could potentially allow her to find the city. In the course of her research, she successfully identified the locations of most of the Oathgates, and may have even made an attempt to activate the Kholinar Oathgate, to no avail.

Following in her master's footsteps, Shallan Davar successfully located the Stormseat Oathgate during the Battle of Narak. She managed to activate it, transferring the Alethi forces safely to Urithiru. This Oathgate was used to ferry people from the warcamps on the Shattered Plains to Urithiru. The Oathgates became central to Dalinar Kholin's plan to unite Roshar against the Voidbringers, intending to begin his defense by protecting the cities with Oathgates. After reaching out via spanreed, many kingdoms were hesitant to open portals to their capitals to the warlike Alethi, but Taravangian of Jah Keved was the first to agree, ordering his Radiant Malata to activate the Oathgate. The Thaylens were the next to agree to allow Dalinar to open their Oathgate, Kaladin and Shallan flew with a highstorm to Thaylen City to open the way. The Azish soon followed afterwards, allowing access to Azimir after initially denying the portal was functional.

With the start of the True Desolation, Odium managed to compel the Unmade Sja-anat to corrupt the Oathgate spren in Kholinar. When King Elhokar's party attempted to activate the Oathgate to bring in an Alethi army to retake the city, they were instead transported to Shadesmar. They traveled through the Cognitive Realm to the Oathgate in Thaylen City, but were ultimately unsuccessful at convincing the guardian spren to allow them to transit. During the Battle of Thaylen Field, Voidbringers attacked Urithiru via the Kholinar Oathgate, while simultaneously siezing control of the Thaylen City Gate. After Teft lead the Althi to defeat the Voidbringers in Urithiru, he brought Althi reinforcements through the gate to Thaylen City to turn the tide of the battle.

Culture

When the Gates once were active, they were seen as a symbol of the Vorin Right of Travel, a reflection of a declaration by the Heralds that all borders should be open. The Oathgates were viewed as a source of pride and therefore they were constructed in full view in each capital city.

Once the Oathgates were closed, they became the subject of myths and legends. Tales such as those collected in Among the Darkeyed are filled with mentions of traveling instantaneously and Oathgates. It is said that only one of the Knights Radiant are capable of opening the pathway, in fact it is seen as their duty. In Thaylenah, stories speak of the one most Passionate who could open the portal of worlds again. Children dream of being the person who discovers how to open the Oathgates again.

Structure

Physical Realm

The Oathgates are located on a round platform in Roshar's most ancient cities. There is an Oathgate control building in the center of the platform. Once the fabrial is activated by a Radiant, either the entire platform, or just the control building can be transported to the destination. The activation of the Oathgate swaps the structure on one side with the structure on the other.

Due to the ancient nature of the Oathgate, their purpose has been forgotten. Many of the Oathgate platforms are covered in buildings, or are thought to be ceremonial structures.

Shadesmar

In Shadesmar the Oathgates take a different sort of appearance. The structure appears as a white circular marble platform the same size and rough location as the Oathgate control room. Two enormous spren guard the Oathgate, taking the form of thirty foot tall stretched-out people, colored iridescent black and a multicolored hue. When the

These guardian spren are aware and vocal, able to look at and speak with visitors and those who seek passage to the Physical Realm.

During the Battle of Kholinar Shallan Davar attempted to activate the Kholinar Oathgate to transport survivors back to Urithiru. Prior to the activation she saw a reflection of the Unmade Sja-anat warning her that the Oathgate was corrupted. When Shallan activated the Oathgate she and her party were transported into Shadesmar and landed on the Oathgate platform.

After the party traveled through Shadesmar to the Oathgate at Thaylen City Shallan was unable to activate the Oathgate and the guardian spren could not be convinced to allow her to.

Operation

Each Oathgate is ultimately powered by Stormlight. The minimum amount required to start the device is lighting the eleven lamps within the Oathgate with Stormlight. To operate the gate, a Shardblade is inserted within the gates keyhole and the wall rotates to the desired destination before the Blade is turned. This means that typically only Radiants who have reached a point in their oaths where they may manifest a Shardblade can operate an Oathgate. The exception are the Honorblades, which are also capable of operating an Oathgate. Interestingly, Bondsmith Dalinar Kholin manages to activate an Oathgate by summoning a column of bright white light, although this seems highly unusual and little is understood about this.

When an Oathgate is activated,

Each Oathgate has may be locked to prevent its usage, meaning that if either or both paired Oathgates are locked no one may use the Oathgate. Another mechanism controlled by a dial allows each Oathgate to transport either the entire circular platform of the Oathgate, or just the control room for smaller parties. Moving just the control room also is costs less in Stormlight. When an Oathgate is activated, it swaps locations with the paired gate, swapping the surface of one gate with the other, rather than just the people and things standing on the platform. It does not take significantly more Stormlight to swap two groups of people using an Oathgate than it does for one group to use it alone.

Location of Oathgates

There are ten Oathgate platforms outside the plain at Urithiru. Each Oathgate transports to a location in each of the ten ancient Silver Kingdoms.

Aimia

The Oathgate in Aimia was located in its capital city of Akinah. It is believed to have been permanently destroyed during the Scouring of Aimia.

Alethla

The Alethela Oathgate is located in its capital city of Kholinar. By the Era of Solitude, the Oathgate is within Alethkar and is attached to Kholinar Palace by a bridge. The Oathgate platform is covered in building structures. The spren in the Oathgate were corrupted and instead of transporting to Urithiru, it transported to Shadesmar.

The interior of the Kholinar Oathgate's floor is covered with a tile mosaic of animals native to Ashyn, such as lions and whales

Iri

The Iri Oathgate is located in its capital city of Rall Elorim. This Oathgate has been captured by the forces of Odium and is not currently active.

Makabakam

The Makabakam Oathgate is located in its capital city of Azimir. By the Era of Solitude, the Oathgate is located within the kingdom of Azir. It is believed to be a memorial of some kind, and a bronze dome has been constructed over it in the center of the Grand Market and housed under a bronze dome.

Natanatan

The Natanatan Oathgate is located in its capital city of Stormseat. By the time of the Era of Solitude, the city had been destroyed, leaving the city as a plateau near the center of the Shattered Plains. The interior of the Oathgate is covered in.... The city of New Natanan claims rights to the Oathgate and want the Alethi to turn control of it over to them immediately.

Rishir

The Rishir Oathgate is located in its capital city of Kurth. Rira is located in an unknown location. Jasnah Kholin believes the Oathgate was in the City of Kurth.

Sela Tales

The Oathgate in Babatharnam is located in its capital city of Panatham.

Shin Kak Nish

There is believed to be an Oathgate in an unknown location in Shinovar.

Thalath

The Thalath Oathgate is located in the kingdoms capital of Thaylen City. In the Era of Solitude, the Oathgate is located in Thaylenah. The Oathgate is located at the top of the hill city and connected by a path to the Royal Ward. The patterns of the mosaic on the floor of the Oathgate are in the form of glyphs in the Dawnchant.

The Oathgate platform in Thaylen City was turned into a sculpture garden after the Oathgates were locked, although it was heavily damaged upon advent of the Everstorm.

Valhav

The Jah Keved Oathgate is located in the city of Vedenar.

After it was locked, the Vedenar Oathgate's platform was converted into a garden, but that was cleared away once the gate was reactivated.

Notes

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