History Characters / TheStormlightArchive

* CoolSword: The Honorblades, which are similar to Shardblades, but not quite the same, granting Surgebinding powers associated with the Order of Radiants that the Herald led. [[spoiler:Talenel'Elin is the only one known to still have one.]]
* FallenHero: Implied in ''Way of Kings'' and ''Words of Radiance'' that [[spoiler:while the Heralds are still apparently alive and on Roshar (minus Talenel), they have all gone insane to varying degrees. Nale has taken his obsession with law to the logical extreme, Jezrien spends his time as a drooling idiot and possibly a drunkard, Kalak has become whiny and scared towards paranoid levels, and Shalash is running around destroying sculptures and paintings of herself. And they're getting worse.]]

* BadassInCharge[=/=]TheLeader: Of the Heralds.

* LeParkour: Implied, from the fact that she's associated with the Order of Edgedancers, who manipulate Friction and [[HealingHands Growth]].

%%[[folder:Aladar]]
%%!Highprince Aladar

%%A Highprince and one of Sadeas biggest supporters.
%%----
%%[[/folder]]

-----

!!Others from Alethkar

[[folder:Laral]]
!Laral

->''"Don't you want to become a lighteyes? Win a Shardblade?"''

The daughter of the brightlord of Kaladin's home village of Hearthstone. Their parents were setting up she and Kaladin to wed, but that plan derailed when her father died.

* OldManMarryingAChild: After [[spoiler:Roshone's son died]], she became betrothed to Roshone. Age-wise, it was perfectly legal (though the fact that Roshone was technically her guardian at the time might have made it tricky), but the fact remains that he was a good twenty or more years older than her.
* {{Tomboy}}: When she was younger, she spent most of her time playing with Kaladin and Tien. As she grew older, her maids stopped letting her do that sort of thing.
* TookALevelInJerkass: When Roshone and his son moved into town, she was cut off from Kaladin, and forced to become cold to him to fit in.

[[folder:Kaladin's Brother]]
!Tien

->''"Kaladin, look at this rock. It changes colors when you look at it from different sides."''

Kaladin's little brother, an insufferably cheerful boy who is small and spindly for his age.

* CynicismCatalyst: His death is one of the most important events in Kaladin's backstory, along with the manipulations leading up to it.
* HiddenDepths: Despite being treated as little more than a silly fool who can make Kaladin smile, he proves to be a very good carpenter, producing artful statuettes. Unfortunately, the carpenter doesn't see the use in such frivolous things.
* ThePollyanna: He spends nearly every single one of his scenes bouncing up and down like a loon, and is the only one who can shake Kaladin out of his chronic depression. The only time he seems genuinely unhappy about something is when [[spoiler:Amaram recruits him for the army. He cries tears of joy when Kaladin joins up as well to protect him]].

[[folder:Kaladin's Father]]
!Lirin

->''"That's like trying to stop a storm by blowing harder. Ridiculous. You can't protect by killing."''

Kaladin's father, the surgeon of the small town of Hearthstone. He is a deeply generous man who refused to charge for his services, subsisting on donations from grateful townsfolk. After he failed to save the elderly Brightlord Wistiow, Brightlord Roshone moved in, and everything changed.

* ActualPacifist: He refuses to kill, even by inaction, under any circumstances.
* DarkSecret: [[spoiler:He is accused of forging documents from Wistiow willing his family a large gift of spheres for Kaladin's education. Turns out he really did do it, though he is insistent that if Wistiow had been lucid in his last hours, he would have done so willingly]].
* EducationMama: Of a sort. He is insistent on training Kaladin to be a surgeon and sending him to Karbranth when he comes of age. Kaladin would rather be a soldier, but he learns well regardless.
* HonorBeforeReason: There are several times where he could have killed Roshone, or even just let him die, but he always refuses. He also refuses to ask for payment for healing or move his family to a more prosperous city, despite knowing it would be far easier on him.

[[folder:Kaladin's Mother]]
!Hesina

->''"You burn a glyphward out in front of your house, and it will turn away evil. It's easy. Your father won't give someone a ward to heal them. He'll insist that they stay in bed, drinking water, taking some foul medicine, and washing their wound each day. It's hard. They'd rather leave it all to fate."''

Kaladin's mother, a well-off darkeyed woman who was wooed by a surgeon and followed him to a lonely town in the middle of nowhere. She is intelligent and refined in all things, and never complains about her lot, but Lirin secretly feels guilty for what he has put her through.

* DeadpanSnarker: She has a clever tongue in her head, though not as much as many of the other snarkers in the book. She's very good at twisting Kaladin's words around to teach him a lesson, and the few times he snarks at people, he always credits her.
* NeverLearnedToRead: Specifically averted; Hesina is noted to be the only woman in town who can read. And, of course, none of the men are allowed to.
* NoodleIncident: Whatever exactly happened between Lirin and her parents that led to her leaving the city and rarely speaking of them.
-->'''Hesina:''' ''[to Kaladin]'' Don't let your father's words unnerve you. He always gets pessimistic at times like this.\\
'''Lirin:''' I do not.\\
'''Hesina:''' ''[DisapprovingLook]''\\
'''Lirin:''' Name one other time.\\
'''Hesina:''' Meeting my parents.\\
''[beat]''\\
'''Lirin:''' Stormwinds, let's hope this doesn't go ''half'' as poorly as that.
* ProperLady: She comes off as a perfectly refined Alethi darkeyed woman, who ended up in a remote corner of the country but retained her courtly manner.

[[folder:Roshone]]
!Brightlord Roshone

->''"I do not like your little town. I do not like being treated like an '''exile'''. I do not like living so far from anything--everything--important. And most of all, I do not like darkeyes who think themselves above their stations."''

The citylord of Hearthstone, who took over when Brightlord Wistiow died. It's obvious from the beginning that he was exiled for some political offense in the city, and he blames the town, especially Lirin, for his suffering.

* FantasticRacism: Like most Alethi lighteyes, he finds darkeyes to be little better than slaves, and is annoyed whenever they won't just give him everything he wants without arguing. [[spoiler:The reason he ended up in Hearthstone was because he asked Elhokar to help him get rid of some bothersome elderly darkeyed silversmiths he was competing with. When they made an issue of it, they were thrown in jail pending an inquest, where they died in short order. Dalinar exiled Roshone to a distant corner of the country "where he could do no harm."]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: He wants the spheres Brightlord Wistiow gifted to Kaladin's family. There doesn't seem to be anything he actually wants them ''for''--he just wants them because he doesn't want anyone else to have them. This is also what led to him getting banished to Hearthstone in the first place. [[spoiler:He screwed over Moash's grandparents because he was having trouble competing with them legally]].
* NeverMyFault:
** He blames Lirin for his presence in Hearthstone, due to the surgeon failing to save the previous Brightlord. Nevermind the fact that the more direct cause was [[spoiler:Roshone asking his friend the crown prince to screw over an innocent pair of competitors]].
** [[spoiler:When his son is killed in a hunting accident, he blames Lirin for failing to save him--despite the fact that the hunt was Roshone's idea in the first place, and Lirin could have easily have killed him on the surgery table]].
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: [[spoiler:He competed with Moash's grandparents and got Elhokar to practically have them killed, was exiled by Dalinar, and made Kaladin's childhood hell]].
* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: [[spoiler:When a shop belonging to an elderly darkeyed couple was giving him trouble, he had Elhokar screw them over. Dalinar stepped in as soon as he could, but the couple had already died in prison, waiting for the inquest. Dalinar then banished him as far from his connections as he could, in the hopes of keeping him from doing any more harm]].

[[folder:Gaz]]
!Gaz
->''"Every storming day, we'd get up and fight on those plateaus. And we wouldn't make any progress. Who cared if we made progress? It was the gemhearts the highprinces were after. And there we were, locked into virtual slavery by our military oaths."''

The commander of Sadeas' bridgecrews who disappears halfway through ''The Way of Kings''.

* CharacterDevelopment: He becomes less of an asshole over the course of ''The Way of Kings''. By ''Words of Radiance'' he's actually a pretty decent person again.
* DangerousDeserter: One of a group of deserters that goes after Shallan's caravan in ''Words of Radiance''. [[spoiler:Subverted shortly afterward, when Shallan pretty much talks him and the other deserters into turning back around and being proper soldiers who protecting others.]]
* {{Jerkass}}:
** Though less so as he stays with Bridge Four long enough.
** His one point-of-view chapter indicates that he has as much contempt for himself -- if not more -- than for the bridgemen under his watch.
** It turns out that, once removed from the pointless fighting on the Shattered Plains and given something worth fighting for, Gaz becomes a surprisingly nice guy.
* TheNeidermeyer: Kaladin quickly picks up on this, though it's not entirely unjustified, seeing as bridge crews aren't meant to amount to much anyway, and are expected to die early.
* TheNicknamer: Calls Kaladin "Lordling", but only to be an asshole.
* PetTheDog: A portrait Shallan drew of him in a regal light (absolutely opposite of how he imagines himself) reduces Gaz to tears.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: When the Alethi remove him from his role as bridgecrew taskmaster, he deserts outright due to his disgust at how the Highprinces use their soldiers for their own greed. The fact that the hunt was on for scapegoats and that Gaz had a truly staggering number of creditors after his hide didn't exactly make the decision difficult, either.

[[folder:Amaram]]
!Brightlord Meridas Amaram
->''"This '''is''' for my men. You can't begin to understand the weights I carry, spearman."''

The lord Kaladin formerly served under.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: One of the most well-respected of brightlords, and one of the few Alethi brightlords who Dalinar truly respects. Adolin, slightly more GenreSavvy than his father, correctly notes that Amaram's sterling record sounds entirely too much like a man who spends a lot of energy on keeping up appearances.
* CoolSword: His Shardblade, [[spoiler:which he stole from Kaladin.]]
* DarkSecret: [[spoiler:He never earned his Shardblade. He stole it from Kaladin and sold him to slavery on a false charge.]]
* FantasticRacism: At first he was surprised that a Herald might have dark skin and self-consciously chides himself for assuming they'd all look like Alethi. He's convinced that the Herald's dark eyes must be some sort of disguise though: so in other words he can overcome his FantasticRacism but is still blinded by his Fantastic ''Classism''.
%%* FauxAffablyEvil
* IDidWhatIHadToDo: Insists that [[spoiler:stealing Kaladin's Shardblade]] was necessary for the fate of the world, as he can utilize it far more effectively. Eventually, he comes to regret his actions. [[spoiler:That is, he regrets enslaving Kaladin rather than killing him]].
* ItsAllAboutMe: Kaladin thinks this is his attitude. [[spoiler:He's shocked to learn Amaram is actually a WellIntentionedExtremist who genuinely believes his actions serve the greater good]].
* LoopholeAbuse: Like all good Alethi men, he can't read, but he understands the simplified glyphs used in their place. Amaram has taken to stringing them together in sentences (rather than just singly and in pairs), creating a crude pictograph language.
* OhCrap: His reaction when he realizes [[spoiler:Dalinar knows what he did with Kaladin]].
* NiceToTheWaiter: At least, when nothing important is at stake. Shallan after [[spoiler: disguising herself as one of his servants]], is surprised to learn that he knows his servant's name, that she has the night off, and her current relationship status.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: [[spoiler:Subverted. Kaladin thought he was this for a long time, but when Kaladin refuses the Shardblade he won, he promptly has his spear team killed and Kaladin himself MadeASlave so he can have the Shardblade himself.]]
* TooGoodToBeTrue: Adolin's opinion about his reputation.

[[folder:Cenn]]
!Cenn
->"''I'm going to die, aren't I?"''

A new boy in Kaladin's squad.

* DecoyProtagonist: Dies in the introductory chapter for Kaladin, though this isn't made apparent until the end of Part 3 of the first book.
* KilledOffForReal: Although resurrection is possible in ''The Stormlight Archive'', Cenn is struck down by a Shardbearer and doesn't come back.
%%* NewMeat
* RedShirt: He exists only to die, and the worst part is he ''knows'' it. Even though we don't actually see him die until halfway through the book, his death is still blatantly obvious.
* ShoutOut: Brandon has stated that he may have unconsciously named him after [[ScrewPolitenessImASenior Cenn Buie]] from ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime''.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: Killed off at the end of the first chapter of ''Literature/TheWayOfKings'', before anyone really got to know him.

[[folder:Niter]]
!Captain Niter

The captain of the Cobalt Guard.

%%* BadassBeard
* BusCrash: Stops appearing partway through ''The Way of Kings''. The next time he's mentioned is a fair bit into ''Words of Radiance'', when Zahel tells Kaladin that he died during the second tower assault.
* TheLeader: Of the Cobalt Guard.
* RedHerring: He fits the description of Jezrien, the Herald King, almost word for word. Turns out to just be a coincidence.

[[folder:Danlan]]
!Danlan Morakotha
->''"Dalinar holds himself back. He knows he should take the throne, but hesitates out of love for his dead brother. The other highprinces interpret this as weakness."''

A spanreed operator working for the Kholins. Comes to visit from another warcamp and starts dating Adolin. They stay together for an unusually long time, but then end up breaking up in between ''The Way of Kings'' and ''Words of Radiance''.

* HiddenDepths: Aside from a brief slip-up in her airhead act, she doesn't seem to be anything special in ''The Way of Kings''. Then in ''Words of Radiance'', [[spoiler:it's revealed that she's trying to kill King Elhokar.]]
* TheMole: She's secretly working for [[spoiler:Taravangian, aiding his Diagram plot by trying to kill Elhokar.]]
* ObfuscatingStupidity: Tries to act like an airhead, even though she actually isn't.
* RomanticFalseLead: Teased as potentially being the true perfect girl for Adolin, but [[RunningGag as usual]], they break up.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: She's a fairly minor character, but [[spoiler:the information she collects and sends to Taravangian is what causes him to send Szeth to kill Dalinar.]]

-----

!!Bridge Four

[[folder:Bridge Four]]
Kaladin's bridge crew, he was assigned to this group by Gaz in order to get him killed. It takes a while, but this backfires. Hard.

%%* BadassCrew: Eventually.
%%* BlueIsHeroic
* HiddenDepths: All of them have their secrets that only come out when they get close together. They don't think they want to give them up otherwise, seeing as it's all they have left.
%%* PraetorianGuard
* TrueCompanions: Due to Kaladin simply treating them as actual people.
* TookALevelInBadass:
** From the highest mortality rate among [[WeHaveReserves bridge crews]] to [[spoiler:Dalinar Kholin's PraetorianGuard]] by the end of ''The Way of Kings''.
** And again in ''Words of Radiance'' when [[spoiler:their association with Kaladin lets them use stormlight]].

[[folder:Kaladin]]
!Kaladin
->See the "Main Characters" section
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Teft]]
!Teft

->''"I ain't grouchy, I just have a low threshold for stupidity."''

An old slave who insists there is nothing special about him.

* BadassGrandpa: A former spearman of some sort.
* CrazyPrepared: He teaches the bridgemen to [[spoiler:keep large sapphires on their person to smash in case Kaladin needs a sudden infusion of Stormlight]]. He continues this practice in the final chapters of ''Words of Radiance'', despite the fact that Kaladin is back in the warcamps, weeks away.
* {{Cult}}: A former member of one who awaited the return of the Knights Radiant. It's only when he saw [[spoiler:Kaladin inhale Stormlight]] that he believed, though.
* DamnYouMuscleMemory: Despite his insistence that his past isn't important, he obeys instantly when Kaladin gives him an order filled with military jargon.
* ItsAllMyFault: Blames himself for the death of the Envisagers, even though they were already doing a fine job of killing themselves.
* SergeantRock: He won't speak of it, but he clearly has experience as a sergeant, breaking down recruits and building them up as soldiers. For the bridgemen, he can skip the "breaking down" step, since there's not much lower they can go.

[[folder:Rock]]
!Rock (Numuhukumakiaki'aialunamor)
->''"Airsick lowlanders."''

A member of Bridge Four. He was originally Sadeas' chef, but he developed a dislike for the man and varnished all his food with Chull Dung. ''All of it.''

* ActualPacifist: Though he's willing to shoot a bow at a length of wood, he's not willing to hurt anyone. Though he is willing to use a substantially sized log against Kaladin during practice.
* AffectionateNickname: He refers to Shallan as "cousin," a nod to her Horneater blood.
* BadassPacifist: He's a shockingly good brawler considering that he refuses to fight for real. [[spoiler:WordOfGod is that he wasn't always a second son, implying that he used to be a fourth son (the warrior), but two of his brothers died and his role was reassigned]].
* CookingDuel[=/=]DrinkingContest: When Dunny insults him, he tries to challenge Dunny to an ''alil'tiki'i'' duel. This is apparently the traditional form of dueling on the Peaks, and involves seeing who can still sing intelligibly after drinking the most mugs of beer. As an added bonus, soon everyone is so drunk that they'll probably forget why they were fighting in the first place!
* CultureClash: With the Alethkar.
* ExtremeOmnivore: The nickname "Horneater" that his people have earned is not an embellishment. Rock has difficulty finding Unkalaki alcohol in the low lands, with most tavern owners worried that it'd melt through the cups.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Downplayed example. His people's language sounds Hawaiian and they live on volcanoes.
* GentleGiant: He's very strong, and could be a good fighter. However, he's still an ActualPacifist.
* IAteWhat: Gets sent to the bridge crews after his first attempt to serve Sadeas a meal. [[CrowningMomentOfFunny Turns out chull dung has a rather more distinctive taste than he realized, though it didn't help that he used an ''impressive'' amount.]]
* SeeTheInvisible: He can see Syl all the time, unlike most of Bridge Four, who only see her sometimes.
* TheBigGuy: Near seven feet, he's the tallest member of Bridge four. Kaladin is only a few inches shorter, but can't nearly match Rock's muscular bulk.
* TeamChef: For Bridge Four. Rock's stew is one of the first things that starts to bring Bridge Four together.
* TheUnpronounceable: His real name (see above), which is why everyone calls him "Rock", since it's the name of a kind of rock where he comes from.

[[folder:Lopen]]
!The Lopen
->''"You'll be wanting me, gancho!"''

A cheerful one-armed Herdazian bridgeman, who begged to join Bridge Four for the simple reason that Kaladin was the only one picking bridgemen, so whoever got picked must be special.

* AnArmAndALeg: Completely useless as a bridgeman due to his injury. He makes a pretty good waterboy, though.
* {{Determinator}}: Downplayed example, but from the moment he found out about Kaladin's powers, he was [[spoiler:constantly trying to breathe in Stormlight]]. By the end of ''Literature/WordsOfRadiance'', [[spoiler:it finally worked, and his arm started to regrow]].
* TheLoad: He was ''intended'' as this by Gaz. Kaladin has him carry the water instead, and his insufferably cheerful demeanor helped keep Bridge Four's morale up.
* MassivelyNumberedSiblings: Cousins rather than siblings, but the same idea. In the second book, it seems like every night he's brought a new cousin to join Bridge Four, and in his viewpoint chapter he casually mentions about a dozen of them standing guard at his mother's house.
* NWordPrivileges: Lopen apparently has Roshar's biggest collection of one-armed Herdazian jokes. [[spoiler: He'll have to start coming up with some two-armed Herdazian jokes, though.]]
* TheNicknamer: Has some shades of this.
* ThePollyanna: Doesn't seem to have a problem losing an arm or being a slave.
* SpellMyNameWithAThe: Some of his cousins call him The Lopen because he's the only Lopen they know. When he finally gets a passage told from his point of view, it turns out that ''he'' thinks of himself as "The Lopen" too.

[[folder:Shen]]
!Shen/[[spoiler:Rlain]]
->''"Am I Bridge Four?"''

A Parshman bridgeman given by Gaz as one of his last.

* BizarreHumanBiology: As a [[spoiler:Parshendi, he can assume a number of different forms depending on what is needed for the given task.]]
* DefectorFromDecadence: [[spoiler:After seeing what has become of [[ReluctantWarrior Eshonai]] as [[BrainwashedAndCrazy a storm form]], Rlain rejoins Bridge Four and teaches the Alethi how to fight storm form Parshendi.]]
* DespairEventHorizon: Kaladin's IShallTauntYou seems to have been his.
* ExtremeDoormat: Even more than other Parshmen.
* HiddenDepths: He's actually [[spoiler:a Parshendi who has assumed dullform (which looks more or less like a parshman) to spy on the human camps. Eventually reveals his true name (Rlain) and shifts to warform after his people become Voidbringers.]]
* TheQuietOne: As expected from a Parshman. [[spoiler:Less so once he returns as a Warform Parshendi and rejoins Bridge Four.]]

[[folder:Sigzil]]
!Sigzil
->''"I am not a foolish jester or storyteller. I do not 'give tales.' I spread knowledge of cultures, peoples, thoughts, and dreams. I bring peace through understanding. It is the holy charge my order received from the Heralds themselves."''

An Azish Worldsinger.

* TheApprentice: Formerly, to [[spoiler:Hoid]].
* BerserkButton: He is a [[InsistentTerminology Worldsinger.]] Not a storyteller. There's a difference, which he will expound greatly upon.
* MrExposition: Of a sort. He's a Worldsinger, meaning he can give information on a wide variety of cultures. He doesn't like to brag about it, however.
%%* ShorterMeansSmarter
%%* TheStoic

[[folder:Moash]]
!Moash
->''"I'd join them in a heartbeat. If I were in charge, things would change. The lighteyes would work the mines and the fields. They would run bridges and die by Parshendi arrows."''

One of the bridgemen on Bridge Four. He was formerly a jerk to Kaladin, but he warms up to him.

* TheAce: Though not to the same extent as Kaladin, Moash excels at every new task set to Bridge 4.
* CoolSword: In ''Words of Radiance'', [[spoiler:Kaladin gives him a set of Plate and Blade, making him a full Shardbearer.]]
* EvilCounterpart: [[spoiler: He and Kaladin initially start out obsessed by revenge, but Kaladin pulls out in time. [[FaceHeelTurn Moash doesn't]].]]
* NotInThisForYourRevolution: He may talk big, but its clear that [[spoiler:he only joins the Diagram to take revenge against Elhokar.]]
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler:Is horrified when he realizes what his desire for revenge let him to do, and also at the realization that he's too far in and needs to keep going.]]
* {{Revenge}}: He tells Kaladin that his motivation is revenge against the Lighteyes. In ''Words of Radiance'', it turns out that he wants revenge against [[spoiler:Elhokar, who unintentionally killed his grandparents.]]
* TheRival: To Kaladin, initially.
%%* TookALevelInKindness
* UnwittingPawn: In his quest to get revenge on [[spoiler:Elhokar]], he is recruited by a band of patriots working to stabilize Alethkar. [[spoiler:They are actually followers of Taravangian's Diagram, and while they claim they just want to kill Elhokar to put Dalinar on the throne, they're actually trying to kill both of them to destabilize the region so Taravangian can take over]].

-----

!!Frostlands

[[folder:Taravangian]]
!King Taravangian
->''"Sometimes, you must tear down a structure to build a new one with stronger walls. And we are going to need strong walls in the coming years. Very, very strong walls."''

The king of the small city-state, Kharbranth. He is thought somewhat dull by his peers. However, he is well-liked due to funding hospitals throughout the city for those who can't afford medical care.

* TheChessmaster:
** Taravangian is much smarter than he appears, as shown by the multiple levels of backup plans and the specificity of his [[spoiler:orders to Szeth. It is also implied that he has other pawns in the waiting.]]
** Later, it's revealed that he's working off of an immeasurably complex set of documents referred to as the Diagram; [[spoiler:a massive set of writings, scribblings, sketches, and rantings that he produced while locked in his chambers on a day when his Old Magic-warped intelligence reached an unprecedented peak. The Diagram contains spot-on predictions for events all over the world and is practically a one-stop book of prophecy, but is so complex as to be virtually impossible to interpret.]]
* ConLang: In-universe. During his most brilliant moment, he invented an entirely new language because all existing ones were too imprecise.
* DumbIsGood: Despite seeming stupid, he is unusually kind and compassionate for a king. [[spoiler:He notes that his compassion and his intelligence seem to be inversely linked, so that he's kinder on his stupider days. He notes that this isn't the case for most people.]]
* IAmAMonster: [[spoiler:Szeth calls him one, and he doesn't object to it at all. His viewpoint chapter indicates that he really does agree.]]
-->'''Taravangian:''' Yes, but I am the monster who will save this world.
* NeverLearnedToRead: Averted; in his interlude, he casually mentions that he learned the womens' script years ago.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: ZigzaggedTrope. Most of the other lighteyes in Kharbranth consider Taravangian somewhat slow and unskilled at politics. [[spoiler:In reality, he is at the head of a large conspiracy which has resulted in the deaths of many nameless citizens just to harvest information, and the killings of several very important foreign dignitaries.]] However, according to WordOfGod, he used the Old Magic at some point, with his IQ changing at random each day, making this either played straight or averted depending on when people see him.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Willing to go any lengths to save the world. Thus far, he's released Szeth to go on an incredible killing spree, reduced the nation of Jah Kaved to burned-out anarchy, and countless other crimes.]]
-->'''The Diagram:''' Q: For what essential must we strive? A: The essential of preservation, to shelter a seed of humanity through the coming storm. Q: What cost must we bear? A: The cost is irrelevant. Mankind must survive. Our burden is that of the species, and all other considerations are but dust by comparison.

[[folder:Stick]]
!A Stick
-> ''"I am a stick."''

A stick found in the Frostlands. With Pattern translating Shallan tries to convince it to become fire.

* ADayInTheLimelight: Has his own "deleted" interlude. It can be found [[http://brandonsanderson.com/words-of-radiance-deleted-interlude-stick/ here]]. Predictably, it was released on AprilFoolsDay.
* {{Determinator}}: The stickiest of sticks and will not be persuaded otherwise.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: It's a stick.
* NoSell: He does not want to become fire, he is a stick.

[[folder:Vathah]]
!Vathah
->''"Brightlords have failed us in the past."''

Leader of a large group of deserters. He runs afoul of Shallan, and while he dislikes her immensely, she manages to convince all of his men to follow her. He considers all the deserters (including himself) cutthroat scum.

* TheCynic: He makes constant comments about how the deserters Shallan recruited are going to turn on her eventually, and doesn't believe for a second that she can grant them clemency for their crimes.
* DefrostingIceKing: He starts out convinced that Shallan is an ignorant and naive lighteyes who got lucky in convincing the deserters to fight for her. Once he finds out she has a Shardblade [[spoiler:when she kills Tyn with it]], he warms up to her, apparently deciding that she's more like him than she pretends.
* IfIWantedYouDead: Becomes much more trusting and subservient towards of Shallan when he realizes how many times she didn't kill him with her shardblade for threatening or berating her.

!!Heralds of the Almighty
[[folder:Heralds]]
The ten Heralds were warriors of the Almighty, chosen to aid mankind during the Desolations. However, they abandoned their duties after many times having to return to Damnation, shattering the Oathpact.
----
* AGodIAmNot: Though some are worshiped as them.
* CoolSword: The Honorblades, which are similar to Shardblades, but not quite the same, granting Surgebinding powers associated with the Order of Radiants that the Herald led. [[spoiler:Talenel'Elin is the only one known to still have one.]]
* FallenHero: Implied in ''Way of Kings'' and ''Words of Radiance'' that [[spoiler:while the Heralds are still apparently alive and on Roshar (minus Talenel), they have all gone insane to varying degrees. Nale has taken his obsession with law to the logical extreme, Jezrien spends his time as a drooling idiot and possibly a drunkard, Kalak has become whiny and scared towards paranoid levels, and Shalash is running around destroying sculptures and paintings of herself. And they're getting worse.]]
* TheOathbreaker: Everyone except Talenel'Elin, since he was dead at the time of the breaking. WordofGod says that the Oathpact may not be as dissolved as the Heralds would have liked to think when they tried to abandon it.

[[folder:Jezrien]]
!Jezrien (Vorin: Jezerezeh, Herald of Kings)
->''"It has been decided. The Oathpact ends now."''

The Herald King, also known as the Stormfather, though the two are actually separate entities. Appears in the Prelude to tell Kalak that it is time for the Oathpact to end. He is also the father of Shalash.

He is associated with the Windrunner Order of the Knights Radiant. His divine attributes are Protecting and Leading.

%%* BadassBeard
* BadassInCharge[=/=]TheLeader: Of the Heralds.
* FallenHero: By the time of ''Words of Radiance'', [[spoiler:Nale]] says he'll lead humanity... if he ever stops drooling.
* IHaveManyNames: Or rather, gained several names after the last Desolation. These include Jezerezeh'Elin and Stormfather.
* LikeAGodToMe: He's worshipped as the "Stormfather" in Alethkar, who leads the highstorms, and, along with other Heralds, as a god in other parts of the world. However, see AGodIAmNot.

[[folder:Nale]]
!Nale ("Darkness") (Vorin: Nalan, Herald of Justice)
->''"Justice does not expire."''

Also known as Nin to the Shin.

A Herald who seeks justice above all other things. During modern times, he has become a constable and is hunting down and killing Surgebinders that have committed crimes, no matter how minor the offence.

He is associated with the Skybreaker Order of the Knights Radiant. His divine attributes are Just and Confident.

* AppliedPhlebotinum: Carries around a variety of extremely powerful tools. These range from a fabrial that can bring someone back after they are killed by a Shardblade, to a captive Larkin he uses to drain stormlight from Radiant prisoners.
* BadassBeard: According to his statues, though it's not clear if they got it right.
* ByTheBookCop:
** By the time of the story, he's taken this to the extreme. He believes the only true thing in the world is laws, including the laws of mortal men. Therefore, despite marching all over the planet hunting down surgebinders, he is always very careful to make sure that they have committed some crime that makes executing them legal. It might be a harsher punishment than they'd normally receive, but it is definitely legal. [[spoiler:He takes Szeth under his wing after the latter finds out he never should have been made Truthless. Yes, Szeth's masters made a mistake, but Szeth obeyed their laws, and Nale holds that ideal very highly]].
** Somewhere between a KnightTemplar or an InspectorJavert, given that he'll freely execute both a kindly old man for a forty-year-old AccidentalMurder and a [[WouldHurtAChild thirteen-year-old thief who only steals food]].
* IHaveManyNames: His name is Nale, but he's also called Nalan by Vorinism, Nin by the Shin, and Darkness by Lift.
* InSeriesNickname: Lift gives him the nickname Darkness because she doesn't know his real name.
%%* ScaryBlackMan
* TheStoic: He shows no emotion. Ever. The closest is when one of his men kills an unarmed hostage; Nale insists that the man remain behind and receive whatever punishment the local law deems necessary.

[[folder:Chanarach]]
!Chanarach ("Chana")

A Herald with little known about her at this time. Mentioned in a story from Hoid to have raced Fleet and lost.

She is associated with the Releaser/Dustbringer Order of the Knights Radiant. Her divine attributes are Brave and Obedient.

* InSeriesNickname: She has the nickname Chana.
* NoNameGiven: In ''The Way of Kings'', we don't learn her name. However, subverted when we do learn it in ''Words of Radiance''.
* SuperSpeed: Implied to have some power that makes her fast, because Hoid speaks of Fleet beating her in a race as a serious accomplishment.

[[folder:Vedel]]
!Vedel (Vorin: Vedeledev)

One of the Heralds. Mentioned by "Taln" to be a healer who could help the sick and train the surgeons.

She is associated with the Edgedancer Order of the Knights Radiant. Her divine attributes are Loving and Healing.

%%* ActionGirl
* HealingHands: Implied, considering the way healing works here.
* LeParkour: Implied, from the fact that she's associated with the Order of Edgedancers, who manipulate Friction and [[HealingHands Growth]].

[[folder:Paliah]]
!Paliah ("Pali")

A Herald said to be able to see the future.

She is associated with the Truthwatcher Order of the Knights Radiant. Her divine attributes are Learned and Giving.

* InSeriesNickname: She is called "Pali" by some of the other Heralds.
* NoNameGiven: Her name isn't revealed in ''The Way of Kings''. Subverted when it is revealed in ''Words of Radiance''.

[[folder:Shalash]]
!Shalash ("Ash") (Vorin: Shallash, Herald of Beauty)
->''"A woman sits and scratches out her own eyes. Daughter of kings and winds, the vandal."''
-->--'''Death Rattle'''

The daughter of Jezrien, the Herald king. She appears in ''The Way of Kings'', destroying priceless works of art, especially those related to her. According to Nale, she has been "getting worse", although it isn't clear what he means by this.

She is associated with the Lightweaver Order of the Knights Radiant. Her divine attributes are Creative and Honest.

%%* ActionGirl
* AlchemyIsMagic: Associated with an Order of the Knights Radiant that specializes in [[MasterOfIllusion Lightweaving]] and Soulcasting.
* AxCrazy: Av tells Baxil not to bother her if he values his limbs.
* TheCameo: Brandon revealed that she appears in ''The Way of Kings'', in response to being asked if she was The Mistress.
* HouseOfBrokenMirrors: Goes around destroying every portrait, sculpture, or other representation of herself she can find.
* InSeriesNickname: Called Ash by the other Heralds.
* MasterOfIllusion: Associated with the Order of Lightweavers, who use this and [[AlchemyIsMagic Soulcasting]].
* NoNameGiven: The name of the "Mistress" isn't revealed during her appearance in ''The Way of Kings''. She was only confirmed as Shalash (after much fan speculation) by WordOfGod.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Baxil and Av don't seem to actually know her real name, and only refer to her as "The Mistress". The Heralds, in turn, exclusively refer to her as "Ash."
* SanitySlippage: Implied; in the prologue of ''Words of Radiance'', Jasnah runs into Nale and another Herald (possibly Kalak) talking about how "Ash" is "getting worse."

[[folder:Battar]]
!Battar (Vorin: Battab)

A Herald with relatively little known about her at this time.

She is associated with the Elsecaller Order of the Radiants. Her divine attributes are Wise and Careful.

%%* ActionGirl
* WomenAreWiser: Apparently, though we don't know for sure if that's accurate.

[[folder:Kalak]]
!Kalak (Vorin: Kelek)
->''"Forgive us."''

The point of view character in the prelude to ''The Stormlight Archive''. He was the last Herald to make it out of the Final Desolation, and missed out on the other Heralds deciding to abandon the Oathpact. He feels great regret when he leaves his Blade and abandons the Oathpact as well.

He is associated with the Willshaper Order of the Knights Radiant. His divine attributes are Resolute and Builder.

* IntroOnlyPointOfView: The prelude of ''The Way of Kings'' is from his point of view, but he doesn't show up for the rest of the book.
* TheParanoiac: His flavor of SanitySlippage.
-->'''Kalak:''' I'm worried about Ash.\\
'''Nale:''' You're worried about everything.\\
'''Kalak:''' She's getting worse. We weren't supposed to get worse. Am I getting worse? I think I feel worse.

[[folder:Talenel]]
!Talenel'Elin ("Taln") (Vorin: Talenelat, Herald of War)
->''"Who am I? I am Talenel'Elin, Herald of the Almighty. The Desolation has come. Oh god... it has come. And I have failed."''

The only Herald to die in the Final Desolation. While the other Heralds abandoned the Oathpact, he was forced to stay true to it by being tortured in Damnation.

A man claiming to be Talenel appears at the end of ''The Way of Kings'', proclaiming that he has failed and that another Desolation is coming. %%The "claiming to be Talenel" part is important, because Brandon has refused to confirm that the Modern Taln is the actual Taln.

He is associated with the Stoneward Order of the Knights Radiant. His divine attributes are Dependable and Resourceful.

* BackFromTheDead: He shows up alive again in the epilogue, arriving before Hoid and proclaiming that he has "failed", most likely referring to [[spoiler:the death of the Almighty.]]
* {{Badass}}: He snaps out of his MadnessMantra twice: Once when Shallan performs some Lightweaving in from of him, and once when someone tries to kill [[spoiler:Amaram]] in front of him. In the latter case, he casually grabs a few poisoned darts out of the air so fast that the target couldn't even see him move.
* ChekhovsGunman: In the Prelude to ''The Stormlight Archive'', it's mentioned that he's the only Herald that didn't break the Oathpact. At the end of ''The Way of Kings'', someone claiming to be him shows up to declare that another Desolation is coming.
* TheDeterminator: Stated to be one of his defining traits. It's implied that his willpower is what's been keeping the Desolations back for the past four millennia.
* DisneyDeath: He seems to die again in the epilogue, but his Honorblade doesn't vanish. In the next book, he's found [[BedlamHouse in an insane asylum]], since nobody believes he is actually Taln.
* HarbingerOfImpendingDoom: Shows up at the end of ''The Way of Kings'' to declare that another Desolation is coming.
* HeroicSacrifice: He often wins seemingly hopeless fights, but at the cost of his own life.
* HeroicVow: He is the only Herald still bound by the Oathpact.
* IHaveManyNames: Taln (by his fellow Heralds), Talenelat (in modern Alethkar), and Stonesinew.
* LeeroyJenkins: Has a habit of charging into impossible battles. However, he also [[HeroicSacrifice has a tendency to win them]] [[ResurrectiveImmortality at the cost of his life.]]
* LeftForDead: In the prologue for Book 1. A variant, since he actually WAS dead. Sort of. All the Heralds are bound into a cycle of reincarnation, spending the time between Desolations being tortured in [[PhysicalHell Damnation]]. In the last Desolation, only he died. The other Heralds were supposed to join him, but instead betrayed him and abandoned their oaths.

[[folder:Ishar]]
!Ishar (Vorin: Ishi, Herald of Luck)

A Herald who was said to have helped found the Knights Radiant.

He is associated with the Bondsmith Order of the Knights Radiant. His divine attributes are Pious and Guiding.

* BaldOfAwesome: According to his statues, he has no hair. He's also badass enough to fight in the Desolations. However, it's not clear if the statues got it right.

-----

!!Beings of Magic

[[folder:Syl]]
!Sylphrena ("Syl")
->'''Syl:''' Kaladin. Do you know the Words?\\
'''Kaladin:''' All I wanted to do was protect them.\\
'''Syl:''' That's why I've come. The Words, Kaladin.

A mysterious spren who follows Kaladin throughout his enslavement. Usually taking on the appearance of a young woman she attempts to encourage Kaladin and keep him from giving up hope.

* AnthropomorphicPersonification: All spren appear to be this to some degree. Though initially believed to be a simple windspren by Kaladin [[spoiler:Syl is in fact an Honorspren; spirit of oaths, promises and nobility. She even notes by implication that spren are attracted to whatever it is they are named for, rather than that they cause it.]]
* BondCreatures[=/=]{{Familiar}}: Shares a bond with Kaladin through which she gains greater sentience and he gains [[spoiler:[[GravityMaster surgebinding]] abilities]]. If the bond is severed, as Kaladin can choose for her to do if he asks, both boons are lost.
* EmpathicWeapon: Becomes this at the end of Words of Radiance.
* EquippableAlly: [[spoiler:Can turn into [[MorphWeapon a Shardblade, or any other weapon Kaladin needs]]]].
* AGodIAm: PlayedForLaughs. Rock insists that she is a god, and mentions that he'll build a shrine for her eventually. She loves this idea, and also likes to play with Rock by landing on his shoulder and laughing as he awkwardly tries to bow to her.
-->'''Syl:''' But I ''[[SincerityMode am]]'' a god, Kaladin. Just a [[PiecesOfGod very very tiny piece of one]].
* GoodAngelBadAngel: Performs the role of Good Angel for Kaladin. He doesn't really have a bad angel to balance it out, though, unless you count his crippling issues with what appears to be depression.
* InSeriesNickname: Her name is Sylphrena, but she has the nickname Syl.
* InvisibleToNormals: Is usually only visible to those she allows to see her, but some people, such as Rock, are born with the ability to see her.
* InvisibleJerkass: May have a [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold heart of gold]] but she does enjoy playing pranks, usually only appearing afterwards to laugh at her victim.
* MysticalWaif: Of the six inch high variety in one of her more common forms.
* NonHumanSidekick: Serves as one to Kaladin, and to a lesser extent to the entirety of Bridge Four.
* PiecesOfGod: As a spren related to consciousness rather than nature, she's a Splinter of Honor, who is in turn a Shard of Adonalsium.
* ShapeShifter: Can seemingly take any form but usually chooses to appear as a young woman about a handspan tall.
* SpiritAdvisor: Serves as this to Kaladin, after a fashion. She's the reason for him learning the Immortal Words of the Order of Windrunners, after all.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Like most spren, she can transform of her own free will.
* WhamLine:
** In ''Way of Kings.''"I am [[spoiler:Honorspren]]".
** And again in ''Words of Radiance.'' "Oh, that's right. [[spoiler:You probably want me to be a spear, don't you]]?"

[[folder:The Nightwatcher]]
!The Nightwatcher

A mysterious being living on Roshar. To those who visit her for the Old Magic, she gives you a boon which she thinks you deserve, as well as a curse to balance it.

* TheGhost: Although referenced often, she is never seen.
* JackassGenie: Though she at least seems to only give the curse and boon to those who explicitly seek it out, and is clear on the rules. She's also less of a JackassGenie to those without selfish intentions. For example, someone who wanted to save his family from poverty and starvation got supplies, at the cost of [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment seeing upside down for the rest of his life]]: he considered it worth it.
* EquivalentExchange: her gifts and curses seem to be in proportion, though the exact rules haven't been established.

[[folder:Pattern]]
!Pattern
->''"So fascinating. You are all so '''fascinating'''."''

A "Cryptic" spren that grants Shallan her Soulcasting and Surgebinding powers. While in the physical world, he appears as a pattern of impossible, constantly-shifting lines that moves from surface to surface. In Shadesmar, he takes on the form of a humanoid being wearing a stiff cloak with a head shaped like an infinitely-complex (possibly fractal) geometric symbol.

* AlienGeometries: His Physical Realm form is a living, constantly shifting fractal. Shallan specifically notes that any time she tries to draw him she can't do it justice because his surface is infinitely detailed.
* BadLiar: Despite the fact that he loves lies, he's ''really'' bad at making them up himself.
* CatchPhrase: "It is a pattern".
* CunningLinguist: He can puzzle out most ancient languages to a degree, since all languages are patterns, and newer languages are based on older ones.
* DarkSecret: He ''is'' Shallan's. [[spoiler:He came to her as a child, and she began to grow into her surgebinding abilities. When Shallan's mother realized her daughter was becoming a Radiant, she tried to kill her, and Shallan used Pattern as a Shardblade to kill her]].
* EquippableAlly: The first of the new wave of [[spoiler:spren (chronologically) to assume Shard form.]]
* HumansThroughAlienEyes: He understands a lot of complex concepts easily, but has difficulty with rather simple ones, like eating.
* MasterOfUnlocking: A lock is just a pattern, after all, and he is so very good with patterns.
* PiecesOfGod: As a spren related to consciousness rather than nature, he's a Splinter of Honor, who is in turn a Shard of Adonalsium.
* SpiritAdvisor: Serves as something like this for Shallan, although she spends more time teaching him how humans think. For Pattern, anything that is not the literal truth is a lie, and he has great fun growing to understand concepts like metaphor and sarcasm.
* VerbalTic: "Mmm..."
* YouAreNumberSix: Apparently he has a real name, but it consists of lots of numbers and is hard to say.

[[folder:Stormfather]]
!The Stormfather
->''"IT HAPPENED AS IT ONCE DID. MEN CANNOT BE TRUSTED, CHILD OF TANAVAST."''

The entity that sends the Highstorms. He is loud, quick to anger, and very, very dangerous, but he cares deeply for his children and wants to serve the wishes of his father, Honor. He is often conflated with Jezrien, the Herald King.

* BondCreature: [[spoiler:Dalinar bonds to him at the end of ''Words of Radiance'']], much to his annoyance. He insists that he won't [[spoiler:turn into a sword, however.]]
* TheChooserOfTheOne: [[spoiler:The Almighty left him with the visions to give to whoever he deemed worthy. Dalinar is the most recent, but there were others before him, including Gavilar. Kaladin has a highstorm vision at one point, but it might not have been from the same package, and Szeth implies he was made Truthless because of visions as well]].
* HairTriggerTemper: He gets angry a ''lot''. Threaten his children? He's furious. Dare to try and survive one of his storms? He's furious. Talk to him? He's furious.
-->'''Eshonai:''' Though the spren had betrayed her people, they still respected the Stormfather. He would kill anyone who did not respect him.
* KillEmAll: When [[spoiler:the Parshendi summon the Everstorm]], an act which will surely kill off the Alethi armies and all their camp followers, the Stormfather responds by... sending a Highstorm early, which has an even higher chance of killing off the Alethi armies and all their camp followers. Some of the things Syl says imply that sending Highstorms is [[TheAllSolvingHammer his answer to everything]].
* MagicAIsMagicA: Through the highstorms, he is the source of magic in Roshar, but he can't control what people do with it once they have it. [[spoiler:He seems genuinely regretful when Eshonai accidentally gets herself possessed by a Voidbringer spren, but tells her he can't stop it]].
* OverprotectiveDad: He is the father of the Honorspren, and refuses to let any of them bond with humans, as he is terrified that they will be killed again. However, if they successfully make the bond, he can't stop them.
* PiecesOfGod: As a spren related to consciousness rather than nature, he's a Splinter of Honor, who is in turn a Shard of Adonalsium. Some of his statements imply that the Stormfather may be one of the largest remaining pieces of Honor; he's certainly one of the most powerful spren in Roshar.

[[folder:Wyndle]]
!Wyndle
->''"Have you realized, that while you '''claim''' to be a master thief, '''I''' do all of the work in this relationship?"''

Lift's spren, who appears as vines growing on the ground, invisible to most. He is a scholar and gardener, constantly upset with Lift's antics.

* BeleagueredAssistant: Lift insists that he's a Voidbringer she trapped, and now he has to do what she says. He's not.
-->'''Wyndle:''' ''I'' wanted to pick a distinguished Iriali matron. A grandmother, an accomplished gardener. But no, the Ring said we should choose you. "She has visited the Old Magic," they said. "Our mother has blessed her," they said. "She will be young, and we can mold her," they said. Well, ''they'' don't have to put up with--\\
'''Lift:''' Shut it, Voidbringer.
* {{Irony}}: Spren lose their memories when they cross over to the Physical Realm. Due to his people's precautions, he kept the majority of his memories, and is therefore able to explain to Lift exactly how their bond works, the reason he came back in the first place, and what can be done to stop the coming Desolation--all questions the other Surgebinders have been asking their spren constantly. Unfortunately, he's bonded to Lift.
-->"I can't affect the Physical Realm except in minor ways," Wyndle said. "This means that you will need to use Investiture to--"\\
Lift yawned.\\
"Use Investiture to--"\\
She yawned ''wider''. Starvin' Voidbringers never could catch a hint.
* NatureLover: He was apparently a respected gardener in the Cognitive Realm, though he grew crystals rather than plants.

!!Ghostbloods

[[folder:Thaidakar]]
!Thaidakar

The leader of the Ghostbloods. A shadowy figure who wants the secrets of Roshar for himself.
----
* TheGhost: Despite being an important character, he hasn't been seen yet.
* TheLeader: Leads the Ghostbloods.
* NotMeThisTime: Gavilar assumes that he's the one who sent Szeth after him. Szeth has never heard of the man; if Thaidakar sent an assassin, Szeth got there first.

[[folder:Kabsal]]
!Kabsal
->''"You still appear conflicted. What must I do to put you at ease? Shall I step up onto this desk here and do a jig?"''

A member of the Ardentia. He believes in Vorinism, and has made it his mission to convert notorious heretic Jasnah Kholin to its teachings. Along the way, he becomes friends with Shallan Davar. He is actually a Ghostblood.

%%* AffablyEvil
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler:He is killed by his own poisoned bread.]]
* TheMole: Revealed to be one of the Ghostbloods, tasked to [[spoiler:assassinate Jasnah Kholin]].
* OddFriendship: With Shallan Davar.
* SinisterMinister: Of a sort. He's not malicious to anyone but Jasnah as far as is known, [[spoiler:but he did try to kill her.]]

[[folder:Mraize]]
!Mraize
->''"I hired the hunter I felt best for the task, and I understood the risks."''

One of the Ghostbloods who Shallan meets in the Alethi warcamps.

* TheApprentice: Shallan is surprised to find that he is Iyatil's apprentice, rather than the other way around.
* DimensionalTraveler: Implied; he wonders if someone is human, and notes that "he's certainly not of the local species." Most people from Roshar don't use the word human regularly, and definitely don't know there are more on other planets.
* KnifeNut: He's very fond of throwing sharp things in Shallan's direction to judge her reactions.
* MysteriousBacker: Shallan has no idea what his end goals are. She initially assumes he's doing something evil, but the fact that [[spoiler:he only had Jasnah assassinated because she had done the same to a number of his men]] casts his actions in a different light.
* PetTheDog:
** He coos over Shallan's drawings like a proud father, and compliments her on completing a task without him even noticing she had attempted it.
--->'''Mraize:''' It is not often that I am proven a fool. Well done.
** At the end of ''Words of Radiance'', he [[spoiler:tells Shallan he will bring her family to the Shattered Plains and Urithiru. Not as hostages or in exchange for anything, but as a gift in recognition of Shallan's accomplishments]].
* SecretTestOfCharacter: When he accepts Shallan as a provisional member, he idly notes that while Ghostbloods are not allowed to kill each other, killing provisional members is another story. Shallan takes the hint, and is careful to dodge the assassins that try to follow her.
* SeenItAll: Iyatil mentions that he is ''very'' hard to surprise, as he has apparently seen much in his lifetime.

[[folder:Iyatil]]
!Iyatil
->''"I have many times asked myself, why those of you here go about so brazenly with features exposed to all who would see them. My mask reserves my self. Besides, it gives me the ability to adapt."''

A Ghostblood woman who Shallan initially mistakes for a boy, both for her figure and the fact that she wears a mask.

* CoolMask: Her mask is made of some kind of orange carapace, possibly Parshendi. She threatens to kill the ardents who try to remove it.
* TheMentor: She's actually Mraize's master, not the other way around. He specifically refers to her as his ''babsk'', the Thaylen word for this.
* MadnessMantra: She fakes one when pretending to be Shallan's crazy sister.
* ThisIsGonnaSuck: When she realizes that Shallan's plan to [[WeNeedADistraction sneak into the Ardentia]] is to pretend that Iyatil is her crazy sister. To her credit, she plays along like a champ.

[[folder:Lin Davar]]
!Lin Davar
->''"Everywhere I step, I find only corners. Slowly, they trap me."''

Shallan's abusive father. Revealed posthumously to be a member of the Ghostbloods.

* AbusiveParents: He beat all of his sons and treated them horribly.
* DomesticAbuser: Sort of. [[spoiler:After Shallan killed her mother, he pretended that he had been the killer to protect her. But the stress of this caused him to become genuinely abusive to his second wife, Malise Gevelmar, who he later murdered.]]
* NoNameGiven: Shallan refers to him often in ''The Way of Kings'', but we didn't find out his name in that book. However, we eventually learned it in ''Words of Radiance''.
* PosthumousCharacter: Dead before the story begins, but still gets some character development in Shallan's flashbacks.

-----

!!Other Characters

[[folder:Thinker]]
!Demoux

A man searching for Hoid alongside Blunt (Baon) and Grump (Galladon). He's Demoux from ''Mistborn'', and he is now a part of the Worldhopping organization known as the Seventeenth Shard.

* TheCameo: He is Demoux from ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy''.
* DimensionalTraveler: He somehow managed to arrive from Scadrial.
* ScarsAreForever: He still has the scar he received 300 years ago in ''The Hero of Ages''.

[[folder:Grump]]
!Galladon

A man searching for Hoid alongside Thinker (Demoux) and Blunt (Baon). He's Galladon from ''Elantris'', and he has joined up with the worldhopping organization known as the Seventeenth Shard.

* TheCameo: He is Galladon from ''Literature/{{Elantris}}''.
* DimensionalTraveler: He somehow managed to arrive from Sel.
* GratuitousForeignLanguage: Aside from his occasional lines similar to those from his book of origin in Alethi, he also says a sentence that is noticeable as Duladen.
* YouDontLookLikeYou: His appearance is very different from [[AmazingTechnicolorPopulation that which]] [[BaldOfAwesome he had]] in the end of ''Literature/{{Elantris}}'', which takes place chronologically prior in the Cosmere books. However, this could be due to [[MasterOfIllusion Aon Shao or Lightweaving]].

[[folder:Blunt]]
!Baon

A man searching for Hoid alongside Grump (Galladon) and Thinker (Demoux). He is Baon, a character from the unreleased Cosmere book ''White Sand'', and he has joined the worldhopping organization known as the Seventeenth Shard. He's also an archer.

* TheCameo: He is a character from ''White Sand'', one of Brandon's unreleased works.
* TheDitz: Appears to be a bit of one when he tells the others that he wants to use a magic fish to find Hoid. [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight Then again, the fish of the purelake do show every sign of being magical]].
* EarlyBirdCameo: He appears here before his official debut in ''White Sand''.

[[folder:Zahel]]
!Zahel/[[spoiler:Vasher]]
->''"Kid, two people live in this room. The first is a grouchy swordsman who has a soft spot for kids who are in over their heads. He comes out by day. The other is a very, '''very''' grouchy swordsman who finds everything and everyone utterly contemptible. He comes out when some fool wakes him at a horrid hour of the night. I suggest you ask the first man and not the second. All right?"''

A swordsman who instructed Adolin and Renarin in swordsmanship.

* CynicalMentor: As per usual, he's not a nice person, but he does help.
* DimensionalTraveler: [[spoiler:He is actually [[Literature/{{Warbreaker}} Vasher]], who somehow traveled from Nalthis to Roshar.]]
* MasterSwordsman: Teaches the Kholin brothers swordsmanship.
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: As a [[spoiler: Returned, he's been around for a very, very long time, even before he traveled from Nalthis to Roshar.]]

[[folder:Rysn and Vstim]]
!Rysn and Vstim

A young Thaylen merchant apprentice and her [[{{Mentor}} Babsk]].

%%* TheApprentice: Rysn.
* BondCreatures: Rysn accidentally bonds with a hugely valuable creature called a Larkin by [[ItMakesSenseInContext falling off a cliff.]] It looks sort of like a cute winged crayfish. While we don't know the full significance of this, another character uses a captive Larkin to drain the stormlight from Lift.
* GoneHorriblyRight: [[spoiler:Vstim pretends to be sick so that Rysn has to take the lead in negotiating, but she believes that he's dying and goes to desperate lengths to fulfill what she sees as his last wishes.]]
%%* {{Mentor}}: Vstim.
* ToBeAMaster: Rysn aims to be a master trader like her Babsk Vstim.

[[folder:Axies]]
!Axies the Collector

A Siah Aimian seeking to learn the secrets of the spren.

* AnimatedTattoo: He marks his body with his notes, and can change their color in order to see them. This is useful, seeing as he is a scientist and is regularly robbed blind.
* CosmicPlaything: He appears to be literally cursed with horrible luck, and is regularly beaten thrown in jail or robbed blind. He never seems to take it hard though, mostly because he [[BewareTheNiceONes is implied never to be in real danger.]]
* ForScience: He has dedicated his (apparently very long) life to learning the secrets of all spren. He considers going on a bender in a bad part of town to determine if intoxication spren exist to be perfectly reasonable. They do, by the way.
* GottaCatchEmAll: His attitude concerning the spren. Or rather Gotta Catalogue 'Em All.
* ImpossibleShadowPuppets: His shadow goes towards the light, rather than away.
* IronButtMonkey: As mentioned, he is literally cursed with bad luck. The results range from being stripped naked beaten and robbed to [[NoodleIncident somehow offending people enough to be hung upside down from a rope to eventually be fed to a greatshell]]. He's entirely unfazed by all this.
* MuggingTheMonster: According to Vstim's reaction to seeing an Aimian, people are constantly doing this and just don't realize it because he's too nice to fight back. Apparently escaping from being thoroughly tied up, upside down, ready to be fed to a greatshell shouldn't actually be a problem for him.

[[folder:Lift]]
!Lift
->''"You're my pet Voidbringer, and no lies are going to change that. I got you captured. No stealing souls, now. We ain't here for souls. Just a little thievery, the type what never hurt nobody."''

A thirteen-year-old thief and Radiant, specifically an Edgedancer.

* AwesomenessAsAForce: She refers to her abilities as "becoming awesome".
* BondCreature: Her spren, Wyndle, though she refers to him as a Voidbringer because it annoys him.
* GreenThumb: One aspect of her powers of Growth.
* HealingHands: The other aspect, known as Regrowth.
* IncorruptiblePurePureness: In her own words, she's so storming pure she [[SophisticatedAsHell practically belches rainbows.]] In truth she actually is, returning to heal a companion at the cost of being caught by someone trying to kill her.
* LittleMissBadass: She's a scrappy little thing, who nearly manages to escape from [[spoiler:Nale]] before being hit with an attack of conscience.
* ObfuscatingStupidity: She's a lot smarter than she lets on, though she's still a child and uninterested in the technical details of magic. For instance, she insists [[BeleagueredAssistant Windle]] is a voidbringer not because she actually thinks he is but rather because it annoys him.
* ParadoxPerson: Appears this way to most other people, as, due to a boon from the Nightwatcher, she exists partly in the Cognitive Realm, so she can touch spren [[spoiler:outside of their Shard forms]], and metabolize food directly into Stormlight. It should be noted that Wyndle--who knows far more about the Nightwatcher and her boons than the audience--has ''no idea'' what Lift could possibly have asked for to receive such a gift.
* WizardNeedsFoodBadly: Due a boon from the Nightwatcher, she can process her food into Stormlight rather than breathing it in. It does mean that excessive use of her powers risks malnutrition, however.

-----

!!Historical Characters

[[folder:Nohadon]]
!Nohadon/Bajerden
->''"I walked from Abamabar to Urithiru."''

A legendary king that wrote the book "The Way of Kings", which formed the basis of the Ideals of the Knights Radiant. He is known for uniting the Silver Kingdoms in ancient times. Although a great king, the current Vorin culture dismisses his teachings, and his book was nearly banned.

In one of his visions, Dalinar meets a young king who he believes to be Nohadon. In the aftermath of a Desolation, this young man is distraught, and is worried about how willing spren are to bond with bad people who stir up chaos. He tells Dalinar that he will unite Roshar by force.

* TheGoodKing: He was renowned as one of the greatest kings ever, due to his humility, wisdom, and honor.
* KingIncognito: On his famous walk from Abamabar to Urithiru, he didn't mention his being the king to anyone, so he was unrecognized.
* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Sort of. "Nohadon", the name he's most well known by on Roshar is actually his holy name. As well, Bajerden, the other name he's known by, may not even have been his real name.
* ShroudedInMyth: There are a lot of legends about Nohadon, and some people don't even think he even existed.

[[folder:The Sunmaker]]
!"The Sunmaker"

The last man to unite the Alethi highprinces, which he did when he was only seventeen years old.

* TheConqueror: He conquered all of Alethkar in the past.
* NoNameGiven: His real name has yet to be revealed in the series.
* YoungAndInCharge: Was the leader of Alethkar when he was only seventeen.

!!The Knights Radiant

[[folder:Knights as a whole]]
!The Knights Radiant/The Lost Radiants
->''"Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination."''

Ten groups of Surgebinders that fought alongside the Heralds in the Desolations. Wielding Shardblades and wearing Shardplate, they helped protect mankind from the Voidbringers. However, long ago they all simultaneously abandoned their oaths and left mankind to their fate, in an event that would become known as the Recreance. In modern times, the Radiants are thought of as villains and cursed at by people everywhere.

* BrokenAce: All of them, though few know that these days.
* TheChosenMany: Every single individual Knight was chosen by an individual spren, but there were still more than enough to form ten distinct knightly Orders.
* CoolSword: All of them had Shardblades, [[spoiler:which were their spren.]]
* CripplingOverspecialization: Every individual Order had its own role, and stepping too far outside that role could cause them to lose their powers. In ''Words of Radiance'', Kaladin wants to punish Amaram (and to a lesser extent Sadeas), but Syl repeatedly points out that Windrunners protect the innocent--punishing the guilty is a job for a Skybreaker. Unfortunately, there aren't any Skybreakers around, so Kaladin keeps trying to find ways to justify striking back, both to himself and to Syl.
* HistoricalVillainUpgrade: In-universe. Although they did betray their Oaths, the current Vorin cultures claim that they betrayed and tried to destroy mankind.
* TheOathbreaker: They all abandoned their Oaths, [[spoiler:which had the side effect of killing their spren.]]
* OddNameOut: Every order is named "Noun Verber" except the Releasers. However, they also had the nickname "Dustbringers," which fits the pattern. They just hated that name due to its similarity to "Voidbringers."

[[folder:The Order of Windrunners]]
!!Windrunners, followers of Jezrien

->''"I will protect those who cannot protect themselves."''

Wielders of the Surges of Adhesion and Gravitation and followers of Jezrien, the Herald of Kings. The Windrunners were known for their nobility, their leadership, and their ability to soar through the air, which is the source of their name.

* CripplingOverspecialization: They protect the innocent. Anything too far beyond that--revenge, most notably--could make them lose their power.
* GravityMaster: They typically used this ability to affect their own gravity and effect flight, but they could also use it offensively by changing someone else's gravity.
* NotQuiteFlight: Technically speaking, they don't fly, they fall in whatever direction they choose.
* SaveTheVillain: Their Third Ideal: "I will protect even those that I hate, if it is right." It doesn't go quite as far as saving actual villains; the point is that just because a Windrunner personally dislikes someone doesn't mean that person deserves to die--or even deserves ''not'' to be saved.
* WeHelpTheHelpless: Their Second Ideal: "I will protect those who cannot protect themselves."
* WhatKindOfLamePowerIsHeartAnyway: The Surge of Adhesion lets them... stick things together. Kind of underwhelming. It's implied there's more to it, though, and the Assassin In White makes good use of it by [[HeartIsAnAwesomePower gluing groups of enemies to the floor and sealing doors shut.]]

[[folder:The Order of Skybreakers]]
!!Skybreakers, followers of Nale

->''"I will put the law before all else."''

Wielders of the Surges of Gravitation and Division and followers of Nale, the Herald of Justice. The Skybreakers were the police of the Radiants, known for their ability to separate the innocent from the guilty, despite not actually having any special powers in that area.

* ByTheBookCop: Their primary creed. They ''will'' obey the law, period.
* CripplingOverspecialization: They were the police, the ones who punished the guilty. This caused some friction with the Windrunners, who just wanted to protect people--including criminals.
* GravityMaster: Since they share the Surge of Gravitation with the Windrunners, this is implied.
* NotQuiteFlight: Like the Windrunners, they fall in the direction of their choosing, including straight up.

[[folder:The Order of Releasers]]
!!Releasers, followers of Chanarach

Wielders of the Surges of Division and Abrasion and followers of Chanarach. They were also known as the Dustbringers, but they disliked that term due to the similarity to Voidbringers. They were known for being very dangerous on a personal level.

* BerserkButton: They really didn't like the name Dustbringers, which didn't help their reputation for being dangerous.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Their exact powers are unknown, but they were the ones who did the most damage in the Last Desolation. Implied to be PlayingWithFire or similar.
-->'''Kalak:''' Smoke curled from the occasional patches of growth or heaps of burning corpses. Even some sections of rock smoldered. The Dustbringers had done their work well.

[[folder:The Order of Edgedancers]]
!!Edgedancers, followers of Vedel

->''"I will remember those who have been forgotten."''

Wielders of the Surges of Abrasion and Progression and followers of Vedel. They were known for being the most elegant and refined of the Radiants, but at times focused on unimportant things.

* GreenThumb: The Surge of Progression lets them affect growth, such as by turning seeds into vines in seconds.
* HealingHands: A more advanced use of Progression lets them heal damage. They can even bring back the dead [[NotQuiteDead if they get there in time]].

[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Order of Truthwatchers]]
!!Truthwatchers, followers of Paliah

Wielders of the Surges of Progression and Illumination and followers of Paliah. They seem to be the only Order with the ability to see the future, a powerful but dangerous gift.

* GreenThumb: With the Surge of Progression, they can manipulate plants in the same way as Edgedancers.
* HealingHands: Like Edgedancers, they can heal wounds if skilled enough.
* {{Seer}}: They could see the future to some extent, though how this works is unclear.

[[folder:The Order of Lightweavers]]
!!Lightweavers, followers of Shalash

->''"Lightweavers make no oaths beyond the first. You must speak truths."''
-->-- '''Pattern'''

Wielders of the Surges of Illumination and Transformation and followers of Shalash, Herald of Beauty. Lightweavers tended to be artists and other creative types, and acted as the moral center of the Radiants, using their powers to inspire their fellows.

* AlchemyIsMagic: Their access to the Surge of Transformation allows them to Soulcast, turning one thing into another. Some are easier than others; blood is one of the Ten Essences, for example, so transforming anything into blood is very easy even if the Soulcaster has limited biological understanding.
* BelievingTheirOwnLies: This is how the greatest works of the Lightweaver function. To spin a lie, and then invite those around you to step into the lie and make it truth.
* TheHeart: They used their illusions to provide "spiritual sustenance" to the other Orders, boosting their morale and keeping them fighting. We see something similar, on a smaller scale, when Shallan turns the deserters.
* MasterOfIllusion: Lightweaving, despite its name, covers not just illusory light but sound as well--and possibly the ability to manipulate the other senses.
* MinoredInAsskicking: They were one of the non-combat Orders, but had Blades and Plate regardless.
* PhotographicMemory: Shallan has this, and a few lines from the in-universe ''Words of Radiance'' book implies this was standard for Lightweavers.

[[folder:The Order of Elsecallers]]
!!Elsecallers, followers of Battar

Wielders of the Surges of Transformation and Transportation and followers of Battar. Due to the fact that both of their Surges involved contact with the Cognitive Realm, Elsecallers were known for having a great affinity with spren in general.

* AlchemyIsMagic: They were some of the original Soulcasters, along with the Lightweavers. They seem to have been better known for it.
* TeleportersAndTransporters: Using the Surge of Transportation, they can move bodily to Shadesmar, and then arrive elsewhere in the Physical Realm.

[[folder:The Order of Willshapers]]
!!Willshapers, followers of Kalak

Wielders of the Surges of Transportation and Cohesion and followers of Kalak. They were known for being capricious and adventurous, and were often thought of as unreliable.

* BoldExplorer: They were known for being adventurers and explorers, enjoying seeing strange new things.
* TeleportersAndTransporters: Like the Elsecallers, they could teleport directly into Shadesmar, but they were not known for this ability in the same way.

[[folder:The Order of Stonewards]]
!!Stonewards, followers of Talenel

Wielders of the Surges of Cohesion and Tension and followers of Talenel, Herald of War. They were known for being strong, resolved, and utterly dependable.

* {{Determinator}}: ''The'' determinators. They were the Order best known for mirroring their Herald, and their Herald is the one who survived being tortured for ''four thousand years''. Unfortunately, this also made them pretty stubborn.

[[folder:The Order of Bondsmiths]]
!!Bondsmiths, followers of Ishar

->''"I will unite instead of divide. I will bring men together."''

Wielders of the Surges of Tension and Adhesion and followers of Ishar, Herald of Luck. The Bondsmiths had a much lower member rate than the rest of the Orders; three Knights wasn't a particularly small number for them.

* OddlySmallOrganization: Again, ''three'' Knights was an ordinary number for them, when most of the Orders had hundreds. They could have more, but didn't go to any great recruiting drives. Probably has something to do with [[spoiler:their spren being "godspren" like the Stormfather]].

!!Races and Peoples of Roshar
[[folder:Humans in general]]
!Humans

Humans on Roshar are significantly more diverse than other worlds.

* FantasticCasteSystem: Many different cultures have different caste systems. People in the five Vorin kingdoms are divided into Lighteyes and Darkeyes, on the Peaks people are divided by birth order, in Barbathnum power is given based on your age, etc.
* MulticoloredHair: A person’s hair color is so defined by their origin that people of mixed race have proportionately different colors in their hair.
* PeopleOfHairColor: It is easy to tell where a person comes from by the color of their hair.
** Alethkar: Black.
** Jah Keved: Red.
** Iri: Metallic golden-blonde.
* PlanetOfHats: During the days of the Silver Kingdoms, each kingdom had its own role. Only one, Alethela (which became Alethkar) has been revealed: They were the warriors, the watchers.

[[folder:Aimians]]
!The People of Aimia

A "cursed" race known for being somewhat jovial despite the hate they receive from everyone else. Also have minor shapeshifting powers.

* {{Curse}}: Mention is made of the "Curse of Kind," but no details on what this is.
* HumanoidAliens: Per WordOfGod, they're not human. They also consist of two distinct species.
* HumanShifting: Are able to alter their physiology at will, changing both their appearance and the functionality of their organs, as well as taking away headaches at a thought.
* FantasticRacism: Persecuted by other races under the belief that they are voidbringers due to their odd biology/shadows.
* ImpossibleShadowPuppets: Their shadows bend toward light instead of away from it.

[[folder:Alethi]]
!The People of Alethkar

A warrior race, and the ethnicity most of the viewpoint characters belong to. They are ruled by ten Highprinces, who were recently united (in theory) by a king.

* BloodKnight: When in battle Alethi (or at least Lighteyes) feel a battle lust known as the Thrill. [[spoiler:This is actually caused by a very powerful Voidspren]].
* NeverLearnedToRead: Alethkar is a Vorin kingdom, meaning that men are not allowed to read true letters. Glyphs are an exception, but those are designed to be recognizable even to someone who has never encountered them before, so everyone insists they don't count. More complicated glyphs require training to read, but most men don't learn them.
* OurNudityIsDifferent: Like all Vorin kingdoms, their women pin up their left hand as a safehand, and seeing it unclothed is considered the same as seeing a woman topless.
* ThePaladin: What they used to be during the days of the Silver Kingdoms, before eventually disintegrating into the BloodKnight.
* ProudWarriorRace: Alethi venerate the pursuit of war over all other Callings in life. Soldiers and duelists are their heroes; scholars are either ardents or women, and most Alethi men are either mostly or totally illiterate. Back in the days of the Silver Kingdoms, the Alethi were specifically designated as the nation of warriors, the ones who protected the other nine kingdoms from the Voidbringers.
* TheStoic: Alethi, as a race, are known for being very reserved at all times. Public displays of any form are frowned upon, from affection to demanding duels for insults. It's to the point that in the second book, Dalinar can't do anything to Sadeas despite [[spoiler:Sadeas very explicitly trying to get Dalinar's entire army killed in the previous one]].

[[folder:Azish]]
!The People of Azir

Short and brown-skinned people from west-central Roshar. They are known for their paperwork. ''Lots'' of paperwork.

* ObstructiveBureaucrat: They require proper forms for absolutely everything, from electing their new leader to transporting and punishing prisoners to recquisitioning snacks.
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure:
** When Nale pulls out a form giving him the authority to execute Lift, the leaders of the country are very disturbed that he's going to kill her for ''petty theft''.
** Those same leaders refuse to start a civil war when their leader is assassinated, citing "too much paperwork."
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Their leader, the Prime Aqasix, is said to belong to the entire nation, so anyone can enter a lottery in order to watch him sleep or go about his day to day business.
-->'''Lift:''' Sounds creepy.\\
'''Gawx:''' A little.

[[folder:Herdazians]]
!The People of Herdaz

A boastful people with crystalline, slate-colored fingernails. They are close to the Reshi Isles, and claim several of them.

* {{Asexuality}}: Due to their Parshendi blood, they have a higher chance of being asexual than other races.
* BeneathNotice: Lopen claims that Alethi can't tell Herdazians apart. Herdazian slaves and soldiers often swap places to give themselves chances to take vacations. This is of course stupidly illegal, but none of the Alethi notice.
* SpaceJews: They lack any stereotypical Jewish physical traits and aren't known for any association with money, but they're a downtrodden and ignored people who often live in their own slums in foreign countries. The clincher, however, is their mothers: Friendly, loving, overbearing women who take no nonsense from anyone and use guilt to make their children do as they say. They also have their own unique slang.
* UnevenHybrid: They have Parshendi blood, but not as much as the Horneaters. If some Herdazians have the same ability to see spren, Lopen doesn't mention it.

[[folder:Iri]]
!The People of Iri

A chaste people with metallic gold hair, the Iri hail from the warmer north-west corner of Roshar.

* OurNudityIsDifferent: Iri is a warm nation, so they often walk around in little more than wraps. But they still have very strict clothing laws, and actual nudity will quickly result in imprisonment.
* PeopleOfHairColor: Their metallic gold hair is famous, and a lock is often seen as good luck.
* PiecesOfGod: Old Iri religion (which has fallen out of favor) claims that all people are fragments of one divine whole, a perfect creature who knew everything but had experienced nothing. So the One split himself in order to have ignorance and experience, and all will eventually return to One in the end.

[[folder:Parshmen/Parshendi]]
!Parshmen/Parshendi/Listeners/[[spoiler:Voidbringers]]

The Parshmen are a slave race of marble-black skinned humanoids who have no will of their own and will follow any orders given. The Parshendi, on the other hand, are a ProudWarriorRace who live in eastern Roshar and who are at war with the Alethi after murdering their king. The Parshendi call themselves "listeners".

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:The Parshendi do not truly want to fight, for the most part, just wanting to prevent their gods from returning. As shown by Eshonai when she changes to [[BrainwashedAndCrazy storm]][[PsychoElectro form]], every time she attunes to the Rhythm of Peace, the Voidbringer she has become can hear her true self screaming, and the stronger the true self becomes, the more frequently the screaming is heard. By implication, this happens to almost ''all'' of the stormform Parshendi]].
* AntiVillain: The Parshendi turned out to have a ''very good'' reason to assassinate Gavilar. [[spoiler: He was going to bring back the Parshendi "gods" which would turn them into Voidbringers again]].
* BerserkButton: ''Don't'' disturb Parshendi bodies. They ''will'' go absolutely berserk if anyone desecrates Parshendi corpses.
* BizarreAlienBiology: They can actively adjust to different "forms" based on need, with the most common being the extremely strong, naturally armored "war form". However, they may appear human, but are not, as they call the Alethi humans, as separate from themselves. They also have bones that are bright red, which makes it... ''distinctive'' when someone disturbs Parshendi bodies.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler:It is highly implied that the Voidbringers are Parshendi who have become this, influenced by Odium in a "form of power" such as stormform.]]
* DefectorFromDecadence: The Parshendi/Listeners on the Shattered Plains are actually [[spoiler: a group known as the "Last Legion" who deliberately travelled to the far east of Roshar to escape their "gods." In the process they lost all knowledge of most of their hundreds of possible forms, reverting to dullform and mateform exclusively. The fact that Gavilar was planning something that would bring back the Parshendi's gods was terrible enough that they acted to immediately assassinate him before he could set his plan into motion.]]
* DevilInPlainSight: [[spoiler:All of Jasnah's research points to the Parshmen/Parshendi being the mythical [[EldritchAbomination Voidbringers]]. ''Words of Radiance'' confirms this, but adds that not all Parshendi ''want'' to be Voidbringers. The closest comparison would be [[Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy Marsh as a Steel Inquisitor under the control of Ruin]].]]
* GodzillaThreshold: The main reason why the Parshendi even consider [[spoiler: stormform]] is because it would be better than the inevitable extinction of their entire people at the hands of the Alethi.
* HiveMind: Parshendi always sing in unison even when out of hearing range of one another. All their thoughts/emotions follow different songs that they tune themselves into. The difference between Parshmen and Parshendi is that Parshmen cannot sense the songs and so cannot tune their thoughts.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Parshendi shift slightly in temperament depending on form. Dullform are extremely stupid, mateform are playful and sexual, workform are non-confrontational to a fault, and [[spoiler:stormform is flat-out DemonicPossession]]. Nimbleform and warform have minimal mental changes, but warforms still enjoy obeying orders from their lawful superiors.
* NonMammalianMammaries: Females have breasts, despite being... something other than mammals, though they are understated unless they're in mateform.
* ProudWarriorRace: The Parshendi have elements of this, even when they aren't warriors. Special note goes to when they dress Szeth in white to assassinate Gavilar.
-->White clothing for a killer was a tradition among the Parshendi. Although Szeth had not asked, his masters had explained why.\\
White to be bold. White to not blend into the night. White to give warning.\\
For if you were going to assassinate a man, he was entitled to see you coming.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: [[spoiler:The Forms of Power cause red eyes, which the Parshendi deem as signs of the Voidbringers, since they actually ''are'' them. Caused because Forms of Power involve possession by Voidpren, who are a hateful fiery red.]]
* SlaveRace: The Parshmen, who are apparently unable to live without being told what to do. Parshendi call this "slave form". The Parshendi also have a "dull form," which looks very similar to a Parshman. Dullform Parshendi are very slow of thought but still maintain their individuality and capacity for independence, so many of them have managed to pass as Parshmen to spy on the Alethi [[spoiler:such as Rlain, a.k.a. "Shen", of Bridge Four]].

[[folder:Purelakers]]
!The People of the Purelake

A calm and slow people from the Purelake, the waist-deep lake at the center of the continent. The Purelakers have their own religion, and consider outsiders to be odd and hurried.

* EntitledToHaveYou: A very calm and friendly version of this trope (just like everything else the Purelakers do). Purelaker courtship involves doing favors for someone until they are so far in your debt they have no choice but to marry you to make up for it. If they don't want to marry you, they need to do favors in return to keep the scales balanced.

[[folder:Reshi]]
!The People of the Reshi Isles

Residents of the living islands on the northern edge of the continent, the Reshi are a carefree people who appreciate boldness in all things. They are not, however, uneducated savages. Many Reshi are immigrants from other nations, and they bring knowledge with them. The Reshi also send students to study across the continent.

* SheIsTheKing: The leader of an island is always called the king, regardless of gender. The Reshi find the confusion this produces in outsiders hilarious.
* {{Troll}}: The Reshi have a habit of screwing with outsiders. For example, they refuse to speak of the true nature of their islands so that newcomers will be surprised, and they jump from higher heights when outsiders are around.
* UnsportsmanlikeGloating: They believe strongly in boldness. This means boasting and bragging are important parts of a trade negotiation, but not the only ones.

[[folder:Shin]]
!The People of Shinovar

A strange people from beyond the western mountains, where highstorms barely reach. Their land is more similar to Earth ecology than the rest of the continent, and they believe that bare stone is sacred and should not be trod upon.

* DarkSecret: [[spoiler:The Shin are the custodians of the nine Honorblades left by the Heralds when they broke the Oathpact]].
* PerfectPacifistPeople: A dark version. They maintain their pacifism by enslaving anyone in their society who takes up arms.
* ProudMerchantRace: Inverted. The Shin are an extremely ''humble'' merchant race, no word on how proud they are of this fact though.
* ReluctantWarrior: Fighting is thought to be an extremely lowly position, as opposed to in Alethkar.
* ThouShaltNotKill: Shin are pacifists. As noted under ReluctantWarrior, fighting is thought to be a very lowly profession, on par with slavery.

[[folder:Thaylen]]
!The People of Thaylenah

A merchant people from the island nation of Thaylenah. They practice Alethi Vorinism, and are known for their long eyebrows.

* TheApprentice[=/=]{{Mentor}}: Their standard way of training new merchants is to have someone apprentice to a Trade Master. The apprentice is legally the property of their ''babsk'' for the duration of their apprenticeship, acting as sort of a combination of child and slave.
* MagicFeather: Thaylen religion, based around "the Passions," involves carved charms representing an emotion such as bravery. The charms are not magical and the Thaylens do not think that they are; the intent is for the charm to remind you to keep the emotion in mind when you need it.
* NeverLearnedToRead: The Thaylen are ''technically'' a Vorin nation, but they have their own spin on the religion, and often ignore the ban on men reading. They do try and keep it quiet around the Alethi and the Veden, though.
* ProudMerchantRace: They are the best-known merchants on Roshar, and even on the Shattered Plains, a good chunk of the shopkeeps are Thaylen. Aspiring merchants enter into apprenticeships with Trade Masters in order to learn their skills.
* UnusualEyebrows: Thaylen eyebrows are so long that they are tucked behind their ears.

[[folder:Unkalaki]]
!The People of the Horneater Peaks (Horneaters)

Mountain-dwellers who believe that the order of your birth should determine your place in life. They also like loud, drunken singing.

* {{Asexuality}}: Due to their Parshendi blood, they have a higher chance of being asexual than other races.
* CookingDuel[=/=]DrinkingContest: The traditional form of dueling on the Peaks is to see who can still sing intelligibly after drinking the most mugs of beer. Hopefully, by the time the duel gets well underway everyone's so drunk they've forgotten what it was they were fighting about in the first place.
* ExtremeOmnivore: They actually DO eat horns and shells. And lowlanders barely consider their ale drinkable.
* ForeignQueasine: Horneaters are so called because they eat the horns and shells of the things they catch, Unkalaki have very strong teeth. A common gibe is to accuse them of putting rocks in their food too.
* UnevenHybrid: They have some Parshendi ancestry, which allows them to see some spren that aren't otherwise visible.

[[folder:Veden]]
!The People of Jah Keved

A neighboring country to Alethkar, and another Vorin kingdom. They do not share the same military tradition as the Alethi, but they are their staunchest rivals, and hold nearly as many Shards.

* BoisterousBruiser: The Veden are known for being passionate and proud--or at least more passionate than the reserved Alethi.
* NeverLearnedToRead: As a Vorin kingdom like the Alethi, they believe this very strongly. Shallan always feels uncomfortable around Thaylen men just because she's worried they ''might'' be able to read.
* OurNudityIsDifferent: Like all Vorin kingdoms, their women pin up their left hand as a safehand.
-->'''Tyn:''' It's just a hand, Shallan. Storms, you Vorins are so prim. That hand looks ''exactly'' like your other hand.
* YouAreInCommandNow: Highprince Valam ends up as king due to being the last survivor of the succession war. [[spoiler:As he's dying from his wounds, he realizes that Taravingian plans to take over after his death, and decides to simplify matters by naming Taravingian his heir, and then having his bastard son kill him to spare him weeks of pain]].

* LeftForDead: In the prologue for Book 1. A variant, since he actually WAS dead. Sort of. All the Heralds are bound into a cycle of reincarnation, spending the time between Desolations being tortured in [[PhysicalHell Damnation]]. In the last desolation, only he died. The other Heralds were supposed to join him, but instead betrayed him and abandoned their oaths.

* SpaceJews: They lack any stereotypical Jewish physical traits and aren't known for any association with money, but they're a downtrodden and ignored people who often live in their own slums in foreign countries. The clincher, however, is their mothers: Friendly, loving, overbearing, women who take no nonsense from anyone and use guilt to make their children do as they say.

* LeftForDead: In the prologue for Book 1, the other Heralds left him to die and be tortured in Damnation.

** On a darker note, for years she convinced herself that [[spoiler:her father killed her mother, having repressed the memory that Shallan killed her in self-defense]].

* SergeantRock: He won't speak of it, but he clearly has experience as a sergeant, breaking down recruits and building them up as soldiers. For the bridgemen, he can skip the "breaking down" step, since there's not much lower her can go.

* ParadoxPerson: Appears this way to most other people, as, due to a boon from the Nightwatcher, she can touch spren [[spoiler:outside of their Shard forms]], and as such uses Wyndle as various tools that others could not. It should be noted that Wyndle--who knows far more about the Nightwatcher and her boons than the audience--has ''no idea'' what Lift could possibly have asked for to receive such a gift.

* ParadoxPerson: Appears this way to most other people, as, due to a boon from the Nightwatcher, she can touch spren [[spoiler:outside of their Shard forms]], and as such uses Wyndle as various tools that others could not.

The only Highprince to never go hunting for gemhearts.

* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: She seems to be a vain and foolish woman who surrounds herself with sycophants. She is at one point compared, in great detail, to the Ten Fools (figures from relegious scripture). We don't get to read the comparison, but we have been told what the traits of two of the fools are: [[KnowNothingKnowItAll Eshu, who speaks of things he does not understand in front of those who do]]. and [[ManChild Cabin, who behaves like a child even though he was an adult]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: He insults everyone yet, he is one of the few good Highprinces, and seems genuinely upset when [[spoiler:Roion, his favorite insult bait, dies.]] His mistress implies he has taken in highborn ladies in distress before too.

[[folder:Kaladin's Father]]
!Lirin

->''"That's like trying to stop a storm by blowing harder. Ridiculous. You can't protect by killing."''

Kaladin's father, the surgeon of the small town of Hearthstone. He is a deeply generous man who refused to charge for his services, subsisting on donations from grateful townsfolk. After he failed to save the elderly Brightlord Wistiow, Brightlord Roshone moved in, and everything changed.

* ActualPacifist: He refuses to kill, even by inaction, under any circumstances.
* DarkSecret: [[spoiler:He is accused of forging documents from Wistiow willing his family a large gift of spheres for Kaladin's education. Turns out he really did do it, though he is insistent that if Wistiow had been lucid in his last hours, he would have done so willingly]].
* EducationMama: Of a sort. He is insistent on training Kaladin to be a surgeon and sending him to Karbranth when he comes of age. Kaladin would rather be a soldier, but he learns well regardless.
* HonorBeforeReason: There are several times where he could have killed Roshone, or even just let him die, but he always refuses. He also refuses to ask for payment for healing or move his family to a more prosperous city, despite knowing it would be far easier on him.

[[folder:Kaladin's Mother]]
!Hesina

->''"You burn a glyphward out in front of your house, and it will turn away evil. It's easy. Your father won't give someone a ward to heal them. He'll insist that they stay in bed, drinking water, taking some foul medicine, and washing their wound each day. It's hard. They'd rather leave it all to fate."''

Kaladin's mother, a well-off darkeyed woman who was wooed by a surgeon and followed him to a lonely town in the middle of nowhere. She is intelligent and refined in all things, and never complains about her lot, but Lirin secretly feels guilty for what he has put her through.

A mysterious Spren who follows Kaladin throughout his enslavement. Usually taking on the appearance of a young woman she attempts to encourage Kaladin and keep him from giving up hope.

A Siah Aimian seeking to learn the secrets of the Spren.

* GottaCatchEmAll: His attitude concerning the Spren. Or rather Gotta Catalogue 'Em All.

* CoolSword: All of them had Shardblades, [[spoiler:which were their Spren.]]

* TheOathbreaker: They all abandoned their Oaths, [[spoiler:which had the side effect of killing their Spren.]]

* FrontLineGeneral: Leads from the very front of his army in Shardplate to minimize his armies loses. [[spoiler: Takes a more behind the lines position after giving his Shardplate to Renarin]].

* CoolSword[=/=]{{BFS}}: His Shardblade. [[spoiler:He gives it up to Sadeas, and then takes the one brought by Talenel]]. He eventually [[spoiler:casts this one aside as well to bond with the Stormfather, who tells him he refuses to become one for him]].
* TheDreaded: As the Blackthorn, Dalinar was ''feared''.

* ImDyingPleaseTakeMyMacGuffin: Passes off a mysterious orb to Szeth as he dies.
* LastRequest: He makes two to Szeth who obliges him in both.
* PosthumousCharacter: He dies in the prologue of the first book.