History Characters / TheStormlightArchiveHeraldsKnightsAndSpren

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

%%* BadassBeard

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

%%* ScaryBlackMan

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

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

%%* ActionGirl

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

* 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.

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.

* 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.

* DarkSecret: ''Something'' made them abandon their oaths. Whatever it is, [[spoiler:Taravingian]] thinks he can use it to break the new orders again.

* {{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.

* {{Badass}}: Despite essentially being the Herald of the priesthood, he was still a Herald. When he founded the Knights Radiant, he did so by threatening to personally destroy any Surgebinders who didn't step into line. No one seems to think this would have been difficult for him.

* TheSmartGuy: He's the one who organized the Surgebinders into the Knights Radiant, and Taln refers to Shallan as "one of Ishar's Knights" at one point (even though her patron is Shallash).

* CripplingOverspecialization: They must do what is right. Using their powers for personal reasons--like revenge--risks losing their powers.

* NotQuiteFlight: Technically they don't fly so much as fall in direction they choose.
* SaveTheVillain: If it's right, absolutely.

-->'''Syl:''' "Laws don't matter; what's ''right'' matters."

* LawfulStupid: Always following the rules means they've gotten involved in some

* CripplingOverspecialization: They protect the innocent. Anything too far beyond that--revenge, most notably--could make them lose their power.

* 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.

* NotQuiteFlight: Like the Windrunners, they fall in the direction of their choosing, including straight up.

* CoolSword: He has a Shardblade, implied to be his own Honorblade, judging by his ability to use Stormlight. [[spoiler: He also carries Nightblood, from [[Literature/{{Warbreaker}} Nalthis]], but doesn't use it himself instead opting to give it to Szeth.]]
* TheFettered: He ''literally'' can not break the law. He insists on his subordinates following it to the letter just as he does.

* ScaryBlackMan: He will randomly show up and try to kill you while never even bothering to tell you why he is doing it.

* 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.
** This is also mirrored in how they must always follow the law and cannot break it. Everything they do, they must do within the law. No matter how much they want to do something, if the law does not allow it, they can not do it.

* CoolSword: He has a Shardblade, implied to be his own Honorblade, judging by his ability to use Stormlight. [[spoiler:He also carries Nightblood, from [[Literature/{{Warbreaker}} Nalthis]], but doesn't use it himself]].

%%* ScaryBlackMan

* MasterOfIllusion: With the Surge of Light, they could produce illusions like the Lightweavers. They weren't known for using them as much, however.

* {{Seer}}: They could see the future to some extent, though how this works is unclear.

* {{Ambadassador}}: They were the diplomats to the spren for the Knights Radiant as a whole.
* 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.

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. They bond with Highspren.

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.

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.

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.

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. They bond with Liespren, also known as Cryptics.

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.

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.

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.

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. They bond with Honorspren.

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.

* 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.

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.

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.

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.

->'''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.

-----

!!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]]

[[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.