The Knights Radiant Official Webpage

Honorspren

Honorspren are Splinters of Honor. Bonding with one makes someone a Knight Radiant of the Order of Windrunners.

Appearance

In the Physical Realm, honorspren look like windspren. They can change their appearance, including forms like fire or clouds, although they always glow (but not illuminate), and are typically white-blue. This being said, they generally seem to prefer a humanoid form. Usually, it's very small -- only about a handspan tall -- but if need be, a honorspren can make themselves as tall as a regular person.

The more powerful their bond becomes, the stronger their variety, details, and hues of the form can be. This includes being able to change their clothes to different colors, such as green or red.

In the Cognitive Realm, honorspren are blue-white and as large as humans. They appear to be wearing clothes, but the clothes are part of their essence and cannot be changed without Stormlight. Their clothing tend to range from military uniforms to flowing robes. Their clothing style tends to correlate with their personal beliefs. Some honorspren buy physical clothes to wear instead. Their hair, skin, and clothing all feel roughly the same as a human would.

Honorspren may also buy real weapons to use. They cannot vanish, or shape-shift.

Abilities

Honorspren have the ability to sense an upcoming highstorm days before it arrives. This is likely related to their origins as Stormfather's children. They also have strong internal clocks.

In the Physical Realm, they can use Adhesion to stick small, light objects together, and give pinches of energy or move small objects. They can also shape-shift while in there, and choose who can and cannot see and hear them, although they cannot hide from their bonded Surgebinder. Due to their ability to change size, honorspren can squeeze through small spaces, such as shutters or keyholes.

Among the honorspren, the bond is considered extremely intimate, as it involves the mixing of souls. Honorspren are always able to sense where their Surgebinder is, even if they are not awake. They can also hear them over loud noises, such as rushing wind. With a powerful enough bond, honorspren and their Surgebinder are able to sense each others emotions, as well as communicate with their minds. Honorspren can also gain memories of their Surgebinder from before their bond via their connection to the winds and its connection to Honor.

History

During the Heraldic Epochs, honorspren were created by Honor. At some point, inspired by the Heralds and their Honorblades, the honorspren, along with nine other types of sapient spren, began forming Nahel bonds with humans, giving rise to the Order of Windrunners. Back then, they had a reputation for being discerning in their choice of who to bond with, more so than many other spren.

As his death approached, Honor passed the responsibility of creating honorspren to the Stormfather. The great spren made a few of them, including Sylphrena, yet soon the Recreance arrived and the vast majority of honorspren became deadeyes. Syl was the only survivor among the Stormfather's children, as she was slumbering at the time. Her fate wasn't known, though, and Stormfather didn't create any new honorspren for centuries. Eventually, he made ten. Those ten created more honorspren, with their children creating more and so on.

Eventually, the honorspren grew into a large nation once more. Sometime in the recent past, they tried to conquer all of Shadesmar -- a failed attempt that left them with poor reputation among other sapient spren. As a result, these days the honorspren keep to themselves, and it's dangerous for them to travel Shadesmar alone.

Culture

Honorspren are generally warlike and oath-bound, with a strong military tradition. While fairly isolationist, they are willing to let other spren live alongside them, though it seems a non-honorspren cannot attain a high rank in their society. They believe themselves to be oathbound to follow Honor's path and serve what they think to be his interests. However, they are also highly respectful of the Bondsmiths, and the Stormfather Bondsmith in particular. The latter is likely due to many of them seeing the Stormfather as their parent or progenitor.

Honorspren follow morality instead of a system of laws, and are stubborn in upholding their particular interpretation of it. It is difficult to change their mind with logic, as they focus on what they feel more than what they think. Obedience, hierarchy, and order are highly valued in their society, and they're willing to put up bounties for their rebellious kinsmen. This being said, honorspren pride themselves on not being as uptight as the highspren, and can be flexible when necessary.

Of all spren, honorspren are noted to have the most human mannerisms. They sometimes engage in grand hunts, tracking down and slaying other creatures of Shadesmar, like gloomspren.

Highspren

Highspren are a type of sapient spren capable of forming a Nahel bond. Bonding with one makes someone a Knight Radiant of the Order of Skybreakers. Unlike the other kinds of sapient spren, highspren did not stop bonding with Skybreakers after the Recreance.

Appearance

In the Physical Realm, they take the form of black slits in the air, which can pull open to reveal stars shining within. When they move, reality seems to bend around them. They are also capable of choosing who can hear and see them, and can even hide from their bonded Surgebinder.

In the Cognitive Realm, highspren appear as human-shaped voids through which stars can be seen. Their bodies in Shadesmar are still solid and can be touched as normal. While humans can only recognize them by silhouette, they appear capable of recognizing each other without difficulty. When they move, the starfields seen through their bodies do not appear to move with them.

Abilities

Highspren are one of the types of spren capable of forming a Nahel bond, making a person a Surgebinder with the powers of Gravitation and Division. However, unlike other Radiant spren, highspren do not form a Bond until the prospective Skybreaker swears at least the Second Ideal.

Highspren seem to have some kind of empathic connection to their Surgebinders that other spren lack, as they can let the Radiant know their feelings without speaking, even when not in Shardblade form. With a powerful enough bond, highspren and their Surgebinder are able to sense each others emotions, as well as communicate with their minds.

History

The history of highspren is largely unknown at this point in time.

Culture

Highspren espouse order and law, focusing on obedience and following legal codes. They are infamous among the other spren for being strict and inflexible, with honorspren in particular disliking them.

They seem to highly respect Nale, the Skybreaker Herald, and will only bond the people he presents them with. Several of them accompany the Skybreaker training excursions to observe and assess the hopefuls, with each highspren waiting for one who would impress them, though it's possible that the ultimate decision of whether or not to bond a person is formed by the entire group. Once the bond is formed, they seem to have a largely commanding role in it, as it is up to them whether or not a Skybreaker is considered to have successfully accomplished the Ideal of Crusade.Highspren are much more distant towards their bonded Knights compared to most Nahel spren.

Ashspren

Ashspren are a subset of spren that exist on Roshar. They are capable of forming a Nahel bond, granting people the abilities of the Order of Dustbringers.

Appearance

In the Physical Realm, ashspren appear as cracks that appear to grow on surfaces or branch through the air. When they move they seem to burn through the inside of objects in treelike patterns.

In the Cognitive Realm, ashspren take the form of humanoids with ashen-white skin. When the skin stretches, it's blown away, revealing white bones beneath before quickly growing back.

Abilities

In the Physical Realm they can be unseen and unheard when they wish to be, making them excellent spies.

History

The history of ashspren is largely unknown at this point in time.

Culture

Ashspren like to break things around them to see what's inside. Hundreds of them have died during the Recreance, and unlike many others, it seems that ashspren never forgave humanity. They remain hostile towards them, blaming people's organized worship of Honor for their kinsmen's many deaths. They seem uninterested in reforming the Knights Radiant, although it's uncertain how prevalent this outlook is. Some, like Spark, seem willing to bond with people or cooperate with Odium's forces, while others dislike and avoid the Voidbringers.

Ashspren seem to sail Shadesmar a lot, although lately, they avoid Cultivation's Perpendicularity due to the Voidbringer presence there. They can be found in fairly large numbers in the spren city of Celebrant, though they speak their own, separate language. Like many other spren, they dislike honorspren, although unlike many others, they seem to have no problems with Cryptics.

Cultivationspren

Cultivationspren are a type of sapient spren on Roshar. They are capable of forming a Nahel bond, granting people the powers of the Edgedancers.

Appearance

In the Physical Realm, cultivationspren take the form of a vine that grows rapidly. This vine appears to be speckled with smooth flecks of quartz, but it does not glow with Stormlight. They can form the appearance of a face by curling vines around one another. After a time, the vine trail they leave behind solidifies, becoming like crystal before crumbling into dust.

In the Cognitive Realm, cultivationspren are, like other sapient spren, humanoid. They appear to be composed mostly of vines, and their faces look as though they are composed of green string. Their hands, eyes, and teeth are made of crystal, though their hands are still as flexible as flesh.

They all wear clothing, which doesn't seem to necessarily be part of their essence -- one female cultivationspren was spotted wearing a vorin havah.

A deadeye cultivationspren looks similar to a living one, albeit dried out. Rather than vines, their bodies look as though made of ashen brown cords thin as hair, giving the appearance of rough cloth or a cluster of brown vines. They also have long nails.

Abilities

Out of all spren, cultivationspren are the best at manifesting souls from beads in Shadesmar. For this reason, they often work creating gardens for other spren. Rather than plants, cultivationspren gardeners create elaborate structures out of objects such as chairs.

In the Physical Realm, cultivationspren are invisible and unheard to all but their Surgebinder when they wish to be, although the remnants of their vines disintegrating can be seen.

History

While the origins of the cultivationspren are unknown, it's possible that they were created by Cultivation herself. Back in the Heraldic Epochs, cultivationspren began forming Nahel bonds with humans, creating the Order of Edgedancers. When the Recreance came, they were decimated, with anyone who would know how the Bond works turned deadeye. Over the millenia, their society recovered somewhat, albeit they never created grand cities or a nation.

Culture

Fittingly, cultivationspren seem to worship Cultivation more so than Honor, swearing by her name and calling her Mother. They are skittery and often fearful, seeking to avoid bringing danger upon themselves. When push comes to shove, however, they can be relied on regardless of how dangerous a situation is.

Unlike other sapient spren, cultivationspren don't have their own nation or settlements in the Cognitive Realm. Rather, they live alongside other spren in cities where various types intermingle, like Celebrant. Nonetheless, they have their own government, a council known as the Ring, which in the present day is responsible for choosing which of their kind should bond who.

Mistspren

Mistspren are a subset of spren that exist on Roshar. They are capable of forming a Nahel bond, granting people the abilities of the Order of Truthwatchers. They are closer to Cultivation than to Honor.

Appearance

In the Physical Realm, mistspren resemble the shimmer light makes on a surface when it is reflected through a crystal. When they stay still, light grows upwards from them in the shape of plants, which retreat when they start moving.

In the Cognitive Realm, mistspren have bodies made out of fog, and a porcelain mask on their face. Their clothes are not part of their essence, but interact with their body as though it was solid. Their masks twinkle when they catch the light, and almost appear to be made of translucent crystal. The mask's expression does not change, and the lips do not move when the mistspren speaks. Though they generally are humanoid, mistspren are capable of taking on other forms, unlike most sapient spren. Mistspren voices seem to have a tinkling or chiming quality.

Abilities

In Shadesmar, mistspren can change their form into non-humanoid shapes. It's unknown how much control over their form they have in the Physical, although the corrupted spren, at least, can hide themselves inside the bodies of their bonded Surgebinder.

History

We do not have any information on the history of mistspren.

Culture

Mistspren in general are curious; the idea of seeing something through a new perspective, or finding out how other creatures think, seems interesting to them.

They seem highly empathetic and supportive of their Radiants. They aren't opposed to bonding Singers, though it's unknown how prevalent this attitude is among them.

In the Cognitive Realm, many mistspren work aboard honorspren ships as regular crewmembers. They are noted as doing all the work aboard the ships, but do not seem to be particularly despondent about it. Despite being able to assume many different shapes, they generally prefer using a humanoid one. There seems to be two prevalent naming schemes among them - descriptive, like Dreaming-though-Awake, and seemingly meaningless, like Glys and Tumi.

Cryptics

Cryptics are a race of sapient spren that dwell primarily in the Cognitive Realm of Roshar. They are sometimes referred to as liespren, but prefer to be called Cryptics. They are capable of forming a Nahel bond, granting people the abilities of the Order of Lightweavers.

Cryptics are the personification of the underlying mathematical truths that govern Roshar and the cosmere. They are also one of the spren capable of forming Nahel bond, granting the abilities of the Order of Lightweavers.

Appearance

In the Physical Realm, Cryptics manifest as complex fractal patterns that are constantly shifting, slightly raised off a surface or object. On occasion, they can also manifest as a floating three-dimensional mass of twisting lines. Their voice has a buzzing quality, and they vibrate when they speak. They also tend to hum a lot.

In the Cognitive Realm, Cryptics take the form of tall, willowy figures in too-stiff robes that hang off them as if made from glass rather than fabric. Above their collars, where a human's head and face would be, they have a floating symbol full of impossible angles and geometries. Different individuals have slightly different head patterns. These patterns are constantly changing at varying speeds, seemingly never repeating, though individual patterns will always maintain the same general "feel". The way a pattern changes reflects the Cryptic's mood, such as speeding up for confusion, and slowing down for shame. Despite not having any apparent means to do so, they are capable of hearing, seeing and speaking as well as any other spren. Their hands appear boney and as if chiseled from black obsidian or white marble.

Trying to analyze their patterns is known to drive people to insanity due to the way they warp space and time around themselves.

Abilities

Cryptics have prodigious translation abilities, and seem capable of understanding any language, human or spren, with enough exposure. They are also adept codebreakers, a talent stemming from their in-depth understanding of mathematical patterns. Using vibrations, they can also perfectly mimic voices and sounds. Cryptics are not able to inherently tell if something is a lie.

While in the Physical Realm, they can affect it in minor ways, allowing them to pick locks. Unlike other types of sapient spren, like honorspren or ashspren, Cryptics seem unable to turn invisible, meaning they have to hide in their environment to remain unnoticed.

Unlike most Nahel bonds, a Cryptic bond is progressed by uttering deep, personal truths about oneself by the bond holder, with the more powerful, impactful truths deepening the bond further. The Cryptics' particular affinity for truths extends further than that, as they are able to sense when a person is lying.

History

It's unknown whether the Cryptics were created deliberately by a Shard, or if they arose naturally from Roshar's loose Investiture. At some point in the past, there were some very intelligent, dangerous Cryptics, which resulted in the creation of many negative stereotypes about Cryptics. During the Recreance, the vast majority of the older Cryptics died, leaving none alive to remember how the Nahel bond worked.

Cryptics were one of the first spren groups to begin bonding humans again in anticipation of the True Desolation.

Culture

Cryptics are not very common in Shadesmar, with the vast majority of their population living in a single unnamed city, one that enjoys some renown. Unlike the honorspren, Cryptics do not have any inclination to conquer more territory, so other types of sapient spren do not war with them. Although they have a fearful reputation among other types of spren, they themselves are content with listening and learning.

Nonetheless, many other spren find Cryptics weird and discomforting due to their fascination with lies and their mathematical approach to everything. They are also known for their fondness for planning, as well as being largely passive and inactive. Once they put their mind to something, however, they commit to it. They seem to have a significant influence on the Shadesmar politics, as when they began to bond humans again, others, like cultivationspren, swiftly followed suit.

They are known for enjoying lies and irony, gathering around and humming among themselves wherever a falsehood is uttered, although they don't like being called "liespren". Despite this fascination with falsehoods, Cryptics themselves are bad at lying in general. They are exceedingly honest, and it seems as though only through bonding with a human can they learn to use less straightforward ways of communication, such as sarcasm and humor. They seem to prefer keeping together in groups rather than going off on their own.

Cryptics have their own language, which consists of fast clicking sounds.

Cryptics consider themselves to be more of Cultivation than Honor.

Inkspren

Inkspren are a race of sapient spren that dwell primarily in the Cognitive Realm of Roshar. They are capable of forming a Nahel bond, providing those bonded with the abilities of the Order of Elsecallers.

Inkspren tend to be attracted to those who are logical and willing to think through their decisions, as opposed to acting on instinct. They can form Nahel bonds, giving people the powers of the Order of Elsecallers.

Appearance

In the Physical Realm, inkspren look exactly like their cognitive form, but are able to change their size.

In the Cognitive Realm, inkspren are humanoid, and their form does not change. They have angular features, more reminiscent of an unfinished statue than a real person. They are entirely black, as if made of shadows, and have marble-like skin with a prismatic quality as though it has been coated in a thin layer of oil. Their skin shimmers and gleams in a variety of colors depending on how the light hits it.

They wear stiff, fashionable clothing that matches their shade and texture; the clothing is part of their essence. They sometimes carry weapons like swords, which may or may not be sheathed, and sometimes hang in the air besides them. They have armor as part of their form, similar to carapace.

Abilities

Unlike other sapient spren, inkspren cannot shape-shift or make themselves invisible to humans while in the Physical Realm; they are, however, capable of drastically changing their size. They can become as large as a person and as small as a speck of dust, letting them move about unseen if they so wish. They are also capable of blending into shadows.

History

The history of inkspren is largely unknown at this point in time.

Culture

Inkspren have a particular way of speaking, using "be" instead of phrases like "be here" or "exist" -- for example, "a spren is" rather than "there's a spren here", or "a traitor is" instead of "a traitor exists". They prefer simple, limited body language.

They dislike humans for their irrational and changing nature, and admire those among them who are willing to be cautious, logical and unemotional. Their society as a whole is hostile to the idea of reforming the Knights Radiant, believing that death is the only option for a bonded spren. It's implied they'd be willing to kill a bonded human to "rescue" their kinsmen from such a fate, even if the inkspren entered the bond willingly.

It's uncertain if inkspren have their own nation in Shadesmar, although they are very common in cities like Celebrant.

Lightspren

Reachers, also known as lightspren, are a subset of sapient spren on Roshar. Bonding with them makes a person a Surgebinder of the Order of Willshapers.

Appearance

In the Physical Realm, lightspren appear as a ball of light, small enough to hide in a palm of a hand. When they move, they trail around a glowing streak, making them look like a comet. The light can grow stronger or fainter, seemingly depending on the spren's mood. Lightspren seem to be a little more tangible than their kinsmen when in the Physical Realm -- wind pushes them, they are warm, and feel somewhat like silk to touch. They can communicate through pulsing to the rhythms of Roshar, which produces bursts of light, as well as audible vibrations. For a singer, those vibrations appear to carry more meaning than simple mood, including more abstract concepts like familial relations and high numbers.

In the Cognitive Realm, lightspren appear human and can have features similar to different Rosharan populations, though they have metallic bronze skin, making them look like living statues. They have bronze metal eyes with holes where the pupils would be. Their hair is similarly metallic bronze; the lightspren pin them into buns and ponytails. Unlike honorspren or Cryptics, lightspren don't seem to have clothes as part of their essence; instead, they wear human-like clothing of earthy, tan colors, with numerous buttoned pockets. They seem to prefer going barefoot. While most lightspren adopt a human form, they can take other forms.

Lightspren are not known for being overly talkative to others.

Abilities

In the Physical Realm, lightspren seem able to move very quickly, as well as hover and fly, although they cannot become invisible. They are capable of overpowering lesser voidspren, and can live inside the gemheart of a singer. They can also pulse to Odium's rhythms, though doing so appears to cause some pain.

Notably, they are the first sapient spren to be shown capable of forming a Nahel bond with a singer rather than a human. While the bond does seem to afford them a higher level of intelligence as it does with other spren, lightspren appear incapable of communication; however, it's uncertain whether this is a consequence of bonding a singer, or if a lightspren bonded to a human would also be mute. Despite this, they are able to communicate with their singer via pulses and Rhythms and are able to read their Knights thoughts. Lightspren are able to mute the rhythms of their Surgebinder.

History

When the Recreance came, they, like other sapient spren, lost a tremendous number of their kinsmen, including many family members. By the Era of Solitude, they managed to rebuild their society, becoming well-known guides and traders.

Culture

Lightspren are adept sailors and explorers, journeying across the Sea of Souls in ships pulled by teams of mandras. Because of this, they often serve as guides for newcomers, and trade extensively with various spren cities and settlements. They usually don't carry weapons other than knives, although their ships are equipped with large harpoons, likely to defend them from hostile lesser spren.

It's unknown if lightspren have settlements of their own, although they are very common in Celebrant. There, they live and work, selling goods -- including off-world imports like Nalthian paintings -- or exchanging money. Celebrant docks also seem to be crewed mainly by lightspren , who assist in docking the ships and unharnessing mandras.

While lightspren can be both male and female, they don't seem to practice any sort of division between genders -- both can be seen performing the same jobs, wearing the same clothes, and reading.

The Recreance has left the lightspren with a deep-seated mistrust in humans and their oaths, as they seem to believe that it's inevitable for human oaths to be broken. Nonetheless, they seem intent on being helpful, easily trading with humans and providing them with means of survival. They're also willing to provide advice free of charge.

Peakspren

Peakspren are a subset of spren that exist on Roshar. They are capable of forming a Nahel bond, granting people the abilities of the Order of Stonewards.

Appearance

In the Physical Realm, peakspren take forms that appear to be made of stone. They can hide inside real rocks if they wish; when they want to reappear, they emerge as if breaking their form out of the rock.

In the Cognitive Realm, peakspren inhabit humanoid bodies formed of stone. The population of peakspren is quite varied as to the type of stone, which seems to include every variety found on Roshar. When they touch or rub parts of their body together, it sounds like stone grating together; they also move heavily, and their voices sound rather like grinding rock. The skin of peakspren is etched with cracks that emanate molten light and sometimes seem to form shapes akin to a glyph or symbol. Despite the molten quality to the fissures' appearance, their skin is only warm to the touch. Peakspren wear human clothing and tend to be bald, with their heads sporting more cracks than the rest of their bodies.

Abilities

Peakspren themselves seem to have no special abilities beyond those inherent to all spren living in Shadesmar.

History

The history of inkspren is largely unknown at this point in time.

Culture

Peakspren share some culture, speech patterns, and mannerisms with the Unkalaki. They have different tribes or nations in Shadesmar, such as the Kasiden peakspren that originate in the east. There is a rivalry between these groups just as tends to arise between humans.

Peakspren also differ in personal opinions and attitudes towards issues, rather than being one homogeneous group.

The Three Greater Spren

Unlike the other Orders of Knight Radiants, the Bondsmith spren are comprised of the three Greater spren of Roshar. Each Greater spren is a Splinter of the Shard who made it. The Greater spren are the Stormfather, the Sibling, and the Nightwatcher. The Stormfather is a Splinter of Honor, the Nightwatcher is a Splinter of Cultivation, and the Sibling is a Splinter of both Honor and Cultivation.

Stormfather

The Stormfather is a powerful and unique spren on Roshar responsible for the highstorms. He is one of the three Bondsmith spren, and is currently bonded to Dalinar Kholin.

Appearance

The vast majority of the time, the Stormfather is simply a disembodied presence in the skies, or an overpowering voice within the highstorm itself. On the occasions that he does show himself, he takes the form of an enormous, imperious face made out of the clouds, that seems to stretch from horizon to horizon into infinity.

He is extremely prideful and haughty, convinced of his own power and righteousness. He does not care for humanity, only serving them and sending visions because he was bid to do so by Honor. He is particularly focused on oaths and keeping them, and does not take kindly to those who would break them. His sense of justice does not mean he demands that men follow what is right, however; to him, a genocide is not an evil deed if it was done as punishment for breaking an oath.

He's often incapable of understanding human emotions and thoughts, and finds their unstable nature untrustworthy. Over time, when bonded to a human, he begins to gain a sense of empathy and understanding of people. He also begins to gain a sense of morality, understanding the harm his actions have brought to people. This does not mean he grows much more kind or gentle, though, as he still believed that the storms are his domain and his alone, and is fine with killing those who would dare to challenge him on that, like sailors on the open sea.

Abilities

The Stormfather is a spren, making him naturally immortal and intangible. Unlike most other spren, he is mostly present in the Physical Realm rather than Shadesmar, and thus cannot see inside of it, even though his highstorms affect it. He is one of the most powerful spren on Roshar, with an immense amount of Investiture, although he is much more restricted than them in what he can do with it. He considers himself to be a memory men created for the Almighty, now that the god himself is gone.

The Stormfather commands the highstorms, the powerful hurricanes that scour Roshar at regular intervals. While he ordinarily sticks to his schedule, he can summon them to a particular location if need be. The highstorms also grant him the ability to summon Stormlight, although he cannot do so outside of a highstorm.

While he rides the storms, and can perceive everything within them, his consciousness is not restricted to them -- he is capable of speaking to Dalinar from great distances, and unlike other Radiant spren, he does not need to remain close to him. This being said, he does not have absolute control over everything that happens within his storms.

Within a highstorm, the Stormfather is capable of communicating with people, appearing as an enormous face and speaking in a thunderous voice. Doing so slows down time greatly.

History

The Stormfather is likely to be one of the oldest entities in the cosmere, as the highstorms he commands predate even the Shattering of Adonalsium. During the early millennia of his existence, he was not particularly cognizant or self-aware, but rather simply the uncaring storm. Even back then, however, he was capable of bonding with humans.

Shortly before the Recreance, Honor altered the Stormfather in a frantic preparation for his own death. Among other changes, he gave him the capacity to create honorspren, as well as bestowed him with a set of visions to be sent to a person who would benefit from them, in the event of a new Desolation. Back then, the Stormfather had only childlike intelligence, although it grew over time. When the Recreance came, grieving for the lost honorspren -- which he believed included Sylphrena -- he refused to make new ones for centuries. Eventually, he created ten, who would then create children of their own, until the honorspren became a nation again.

Culture

The Vorin religion often identifies the Stormfather with the Almighty, as well as one or more of the Heralds. In Alethkar, it's commonly believed that Jezrien and the Stormfather are the same entity. In Natanatan, the same is said about Kalak. A common punishment for some criminals in Vorin countries is being strung up in a highstorm, to be "judged by the Stormfather", which typically equals a death sentence.

The word "stormfather" is a common curse, similar to other variations of the word "storm".

The listeners believe him to be a traitor to their kind, who protected humans instead of them. They still respect him, though, believing that he would kill anyone who doesn't, leading to a mix of awe and fear in their society.

Nightwatcher

The Nightwatcher is a powerful spren on Roshar. She is a Splinter of Cultivation and grants boons and curses to mortals through the Old Magic. She is one of the three potential Bondsmith spren.

The Nightwatcher would bless those who sought her out with one blessing of her choosing. In exchange for this blessing, she also bestows a single curse, although this curse very rarely has any obvious relation to the blessing that was gained. Because of the Nightwatcher's ethereal nature and ties to a single location, the Valley, she is considered by many to be a powerful spren.

She does not always appear to those seeking her, having a tendency to avoid groups and likely foreigners. Supposedly, the best time of day to visit the Nightwatcher is right after the sun sets.

Appearance

The Nightwatcher manifests in the Physical Realm as a dark green mist shaped vaguely like a person. Described as crawling on the ground with too-long arms reaching out and pulling her along as she floats above the ground. She appears to leave a trail of her essence behind her, like a river of twisting vapor curling through the trees. The only part of her that has any detail is her smooth distinctly feminine face with silken black eyes. She seems to be able to create extra limbs like smaller hands to interact with people. Cultivation made the Nightwatcher in such a way that she is not shaped by people's perception or belief of her, unlike most spren. This is why she behaves less human.

Abilities

The Nightwatcher is one of the three great Bondsmith spren.

The Nightwatcher claims to have the ability to grant almost any physical request one might ask of her, though just because she can does not mean she will give what is asked for. She claims to be able to give many things such as renown, wealth, skill, the ability to swing a sword and never tire, beauty, followers, and glory, as well as physical possessions such as spheres, gemstones, Shardblades and Plate, or even a unique and highly Invested item. The Nightwatcher does have trouble with extremely nebulous requests relating to human emotion. The Nightwatcher is also capable of changing a person's species.

Anyone is allowed to seek a single boon from the Nightwatcher. To do this, the supplicant must first travel to the Valley in the west, where the Nightwatcher resides. After finding the Nightwatcher, the supplicant may request a boon. There are no clear restrictions on what the Nightwatcher has the power to grant--like most things regarding the Old Magic, the few known facts are surrounded by a web of myths and legends. The precise phrasing of the request does not appear to make a difference, however, since the Nightwatcher bestows a boon that she feels the supplicant deserves. In most cases, the continued pain of the curse appears to outweigh the blessing of the boon, even if the supplicant receives the boon they desired.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not possible to avoid the curse by carefully phrasing a request--or even to predict the curse that the Nightwatcher will bestow. Interestingly, it does not appear that balance is carefully maintained through an individual blessing and curse--often, highly visible curses are the result of relatively minor boons. The curses can be quite thorough, however--in one case, a man lost all feeling in both of his hands until the day he died. Whether these curses follow some cosmic justice, or are merely the result of a capricious spren, is unknown.

The curse, as well as the boon, is permanent. Through history many visitors have tried to get rid of their curse, but there are no known cases of success.

History

Called "child" by Cultivation, it is likely that the Nightwatcher was created by Cultivation for a specific purpose from a different spren much like the Stormfather was by Honor. The Nightwatcher is implied to be one of three spren on Roshar that are shadows of a god.

The Nightwatcher was deliberately created by Cultivation to be un-Connected to humans and is unaffected by the way they think about her. This was done so she could grow more organically.

Culture

There is not much known about the culture of the Nightwatcher.

Sibling

The Sibling is a notable spren on Roshar. They are of the same power level as the Stormfather and the Nightwatcher, and is the third spren historically associated with the Order of Bondsmiths. The Sibling manifests physically as many fabrials within the tower of Urithiru and has control over them, with the crystal pillar being the heart. They are currently bonded to Navani Kholin.

Appearance

The Sibling is known to have been alive for at least four and a half millennia and is functionally immortal. The Sibling does not view themself as having a gender and finds the notion that spren do ridiculous. Despite living thousands of years, they remain somewhat naïve. Oathgate spren follow the orders of the Sibling and refer to the Sibling as a parent.

Abilities

The Sibling is capable of producing their own Investiture known as Towerlight, a mixture of Lifelight and Stormlight, which they use to power the fabrials in Urithiru. They need to be able to harmonize the rhythms of Honor and Cultivation in order to produce Towerlight.

Navani is able to assist the Sibling in once again making Towerlight in large enough quantities to fully restore the functioning of Urithiru.

In order to bond with the Sibling, a person must be touching their crystal pillar. The Sibling knows how to end the Nahel bond, and has done so in the past. While the Nightwatcher and the Stormfather are known to be connected to Cultivation and Honor respectively, the Sibling is the child of both Honor and Cultivation, created specifically to oppose Odium. The Stormfather considers all three of them to be "siblings", and the fact that they are the only three spren that can bond with Bondsmiths indicates that they share some characteristics.

The Sibling is essentially the Tower of Urithiru and controls the many fabrials within. They are capable of manifesting in the Physical Realm as both metal and as Polestones. The Sibling can also fully power and control every fabrial that makes up the tower. The temperature becomes warmer since heating fabrials become more potent, for example. The Sibling is able to see everything within the tower. Their Bondsmith is also able to do so, as well as comprehend the mechanisms of Urithiru and speak through the veins of garnet in the tower as the Sibling does.

The red garnet vein within the wall strata serves as means of communication. It can light up and, upon being touched, the Sibling will be able to mentally speak with a person or spren, although this can be eavesdropped through unknown methods. This also allows people to communicate with each other if they are both touching the garnet vein. The Sibling can also talk to people in weak mental state. The line of garnet will give off a small amount of light when the Sibling wants it to. This can be moved within the garnet veins to guide people. The Sibling can open, close or lock the fabrial doors in Urithiru. They are even able to key them to certain people.

The tower is very bright and due to the highly Invested nature of the tower, it glows brightly in the Cognitive Realm, making it hard for people to see specific spren while there. Its highly Invested nature also makes it near impossible for the detection of kinetic Investiture.

History

The Sibling was capable of forming a Nahel bond. There could never be more than three Bondsmiths; there were long periods where only one existed, which might have referred to the Sibling's Bondsmith, as they were vital for Urithiru to properly function. They were very particular with their bond, often spending years evaluating Bondsmith squires.

The Sibling was the key to certain magical aspects of the tower city of Urithiru that served as the base of the Knights Radiant. Notably, the Sibling's presence was linked to the climate of the city, allowing the temperature to stay unnaturally warm given Urithiru's elevation. This allowed the Radiants to cultivate crops in the city to sustain the large population there. At some point, the Sibling began to withdraw from the tower. The Sibling's withdrawal caused some—but not all— of the city's magical systems to fail; it soon became uninhabitable, and the Radiants were forced to abandon the city. It is not clear why the Sibling disengaged with mankind; an Elsecaller who left notes in the gem archive argued that the spren's disappearance was neither intentional nor a result of internal strife among the Knights Radiant.

After the Sibling's departure, they were not hiding but rather "slumbering" in the millennia following the abandonment of Urithiru and the Recreance. The Stormfather has generally been reticent to discuss the Sibling with Dalinar because they were somehow harmed by mankind in the past.

Culture

There is not much known about the culture of the Sibling.