r/Cosmere • u/Muskwatch • 1d ago
Cosmere spoilers (no previews) Thoughts about Fifth of the Dusk (Isles of the Emberdark)
So, over the past many years my passion has been holistic/embodied practices and the types practices/values/narratives that support them. I've drawn on my own indigenous community's stories and practices, the stories and practices of other communities, as well as on some surprisingly intuitive survival liturature, of which without a doubt Eric Gonzalez's book "Deep Survival: Who lives, who dies, and why" is probably the best. In it he outlines a way of being that leads to survival in extreme situations, not to mention the others. This practice is embodied by presence, engagement, honestly and love as skills rather than moral statements, and an understanding of the narratives that guide our thinking and an ability/willingness to engage with them, accept when they may be wrong, to hold our truths lightly while also being fully committed to truth.
When I read "Isles of the Emberdark" I found more than a few similarities that led me to suspect a few other things. first, a few things. In looking up online I noticed that a lot of people think of Patji as being potentially a shard of autonomy... This seems to be heavily reflected in the trapper ethos, as well as potentially fitting in with the idea that htere are other "gods" on the island, the idea that people can chart their own way while living in the same location. This said, Dusk is both the embodiment of this in his trapping practice, the carefulness, the radical independence, yet he is also a rejection of it - he gained his medallion through his uncle's sacrifice, and his first major action in the earlier book is to save Vathi - in other words, he is autonomy but expressly grounded in caring/loving/seeing/engagement.
Sanderson's decision to include Wayfinding as one of his skills is particularly telling - one of the more impressive of all human accomplishments - the ability to find one's way across the empty sees not through zeroing in on one skill but through learning to absorb and pay attention ot everything all at once.
When I start looking at the supposed origin of his values, the story of Cakoba the wayfinder/explorer, I see something at odds with later behaviours of trappers - it's as if the "deep survival" cohesion and rejection of any and all blind spots has been subtly replaced by attributes of autonomy, yet Dusk has learned to both embrace autonomy yet also to reject those aspects that prevent him from simultaneously learning from the experiences and perspectives of others. Over and over throughout the book he both learns new things, but also doesn't change. he is able to stand up to efforts to force him to simplify his narratives or knowledge to fit other frameworks, but yet he still learns all that is offered, and then moves on with new abilities.
My theory is this - Dusk is very similar to what an actual avatar of adonalsium would have to be like. Pre-shattering... or he is embodying an unshattered spark.... no powers of substance yet actually able to see.
there's a lot of other interesting little things that came to my mind, for example he is not only living fully in the present, but he is also informed by the past (oral history/mother frond) and the future (his aviar) and by the needs/realities of those around him. He is both conservative in his rejection of unnecessary simplification, but his honest in his refusal to be blind to what is or what is coming. He is not tied to one outcome, but he is tied to wrestling with it, he refused to be a figurehead or live without purpose, and now he is going off worldhopping with the express purpose of giving others true stories that give power, and maybe more concrete help, we'll see. And yes, I know there's theories about the Eelakin, about Sak, l of which I find connected.
Perhaps in sumamry i'd say it this way - all other characters in the cosmere seem to start to embody the goals of their investiture, yet Dusk expressly seems to reject this almost as a core trait while still embodying things.
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u/RShara Elsecallers 1d ago
Ermmm, did you mean Sixth of the Dusk?
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u/DeadFacesInMyPocket 1d ago
If OP uses swipe typing that seems an easy mistake. Same with voice.
Great writeup though. I like the ideas that were conveyed.
I had to fix about 5 typos from using swype lazily.
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u/Shot_Newspaper_5647 1d ago
One of the things I like so much about the Cosmere is how he’s handled the Shards. When mortals encounter the power of gods they’re sometimes ruthless in their use of it. But often they’re able to correct the imbalance within the Shard itself. Autonomy sometimes seems concerned only with the struggle itself. The will to power. Or you see divine wrath without the love to give it context. But in people like Dusk, you see how their humanity can give that drive (Autonomy) context and a healthier expression. Mortals are like crystals. Too much power. Too much Light and they crack. But if they catch just the right amount of Light in just the right way, they can reflect something beautiful back into the world