How does Denth not die after giving up his breaths?
Returned will die the moment they run out of breath to harvest. Once a week their body needs a breath in order to survive. Each Returned has one single superpowered breath. Imagine it as one breath that propels them up through the Heightenings, but it is only a single breath. It’s what we speak of in Shard world terminology as a Splinter. And when the seventh day comes, if a Returned does not have another breath for his body to consume to keep him alive, his body will actually eat his divine breath and kill him. So they don’t die immediately after they get rid of the breath, they’re sort of put into a state of limbo where if they don’t find more breath by the time that their feast day comes, then they will die. (Vasher did not give his Returned breath to Denth, just a number of normal breaths.)
How unique are individual Breaths? Would collecting 100 Breaths from criminals and scumbags affect your personality in any way? Or collecting 100 Breaths from generous, charitable people?
I intended them to not be terribly individual. Breaths do bring some things along with them, but for the most part I wanted them to be a step removed from that.
In Vahr’s case, did collecting Breath from other rebel-minded people strengthen his determination and resolve?
It would have had an influence on him, but you would need the numbers of Breaths that he had for any effect to manifest. It’s basically a non-issue in the current book, but it could be an issue in some of the things that will happen in the next book.
When you cut/break an object that has been awakened, does the object die or do the pieces keep trying to carry out the command. Either way, can the breaths be recovered from it?
The object does not die, and will try to continue it’s purpose. The level of damage will determine just how well it can continue. The Breaths are recoverable. (Though there could be some loss of Breaths, depending on how the item is destroyed.) There’s a scene near the end where Vasher Awakens some clothing, then it gets cut down and he recovers the Breath.