Order of Lightweavers
| Order of Lightweavers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| |||
| Herald | Shalash | ||
| Spren | Cryptic | ||
| Surges | Illumination & Transformation | ||
| Plate spren | Creationspren[1] | ||
| World of Origin | Roshar | ||
| Universe | Cosmere | ||
“These Lightweavers, by no coincidence, included many who pursued the arts; namely: writers, artists, musicians, painters, sculptors. Considering the order's general temperament, the tales of their strange and varied mnemonic abilities may have been embellished. ”
—Words of Radiance, chapter 21, page 10[2]
The Order of Lightweavers is an order of the Knights Radiant on Roshar.[2]
The Lightweavers are Surgebinders who use the Surges of Illumination and Transformation, commonly called Lightweaving and Soulcasting. They are associated with the garnet polestone, and form a Nahel bond with Cryptics.
Philosophy[edit]
While each order of Radiants contains a variety of personalities within it, those who join the Lightweavers generally subscribe to a philosophy of speaking truths about themselves that they must admit in order to progress as people.[3] The order finds it important to be able to separate the real from the lie and use that to move forward. Lightweavers tend to be free spirits, and many among their order see the importance of entertainment, beauty, and art in a person’s life.[4] They generally ignore traditions and laws, and achieve their goals by whatever method works best for them.[4] The order strives to make sure that the world has something to live for. They tend to attract those who are interested in art, intrigue, secrets, and espionage.[2][3]
Ideals of the Lightweavers[edit]
“Malchin was stymied, for though he was inferior to none in the arts of war, he was not suitable for the Lightweavers; he wished for his oaths to be elementary and straightforward, and yet their spren were liberal, as to our comprehension, in definitions pertaining to this matter; the process included speaking truths as an approach to a threshold of self-awareness that Malchin could never attain. ”
—Words of Radiance, chapter 12, page 12[5]
The Ideals of the Knights Radiant, also known as the Immortal Words, are a set of rules by which the Radiants live. The First Ideal is shared by all of the orders, and is used as a motto for the Knights Radiant as a whole. Each of the orders then has an additional four Ideals that are unique to that order.[6] The Ideals of the Order of Lightweavers are very different from those of the other orders. Instead of swearing oaths centered around a specific theme, Lightweavers instead speak individual truths about themselves. Some have theorized that Lightweavers' progression is tied to truth like this because their actions frequently blur the line between truth and lies and they need to learn to distinguish the two.[4] It has also been posited that their more flexible Ideals are because they are closer to Cultivation than Honor.[3]
The First Ideal[edit]
“Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination. ”
—The First Ideal of the Knights Radiant[6]
Truths Spoken[edit]
“What am I? I'm terrified. ”
—A truth as spoken by Shallan[7]
“I'm a murderer. I killed my father. ”
—A truth as spoken by Shallan[8]
Abilities[edit]
“As to the other orders that were inferior in this visiting of the far realm of spren, the Elsecallers were prodigiously benevolent, allowing others as auxiliary to their visits and interactions; though they did never relinquish their place as prime liaisons with the great ones of the spren; and the Lightweavers and Willshapers both also had an affinity to the same, though neither were true masters of that realm. ”
—Words of Radiance, chapter 6, page 2[9]
The Lightweavers use the Surges of Illumination and Transformation. Like most Knights Radiant, the Lightweavers have squires.[10]
Illumination[edit]
Illumination is used to craft illusions by weaving light, sound and various waveforms.[11] This can be used to change their appearance for disguises or other purposes, create illusions of walls and rocks to hide behind and in, and to create illusions to confuse or distract. Each Lightweaver needs some kind of focus to make Lightweaving function, such as drawings or paintings.[12] It is also implied that they may be able to create a solid illusion by combining their Illumination surge and their Soulcasting.[13][14] There are some differences in how they use the Surge compared to Truthwatchers.[15]
Transformation[edit]
Transformation can be manipulated to change an object into one of the ten essences.[11] To Soulcast, the Lightweaver shifts their perception to see into the Cognitive Realm, and communicates with the Cognitive aspect of the object they want to transform.[16] This is normally done through direct contact with an object, however, can be performed from a distance. Elsecallers are more skilled at doing this, though it is not impossible for a Lightweaver to be able to Soulcast from afar.[17] Lightweavers tend to view Soulcasting differently from Elsecallers.[15] Using this Surge, Lightweavers are able to enter the Cogntive Realm, but are unable to bring others with them, or return on their own.[18]
Resonance[edit]
Due to a combination of their two Surges, Lightweavers have new, secondary effects, known as the Resonance.[14] Lightweavers may have multiple Resonances, with a prominent one being the eidetic memory.[19][20] This includes the ability to deliberately memorize a scene, after which the Lightweaver can paint or draw that scene with remarkable accuracy.[21][22] The ability to memorize scenes and reproduce them accurately is similar to the ability of a Feruchemist to store memories in a coppermind,[23] in that both talents involve the removal of a memory from the mind and its replacement in another medium -- in the Lightweaver's case, a sketch rather than a coppermind. There is an upper limit to how many memories can be stored at once, and a Lightweaver's mind can be put under tension from holding them for too long.[24][25] Members of this order generally do not have these mnemonic abilities before bonding a Cryptic and they are not something that Cryptics are necessarily interested in when searching for a person to bond with.[26] Lightweavers can experience light and color differently and may be able to minutely alter the mood of others.[27] They also have an increased sense of direction and spatial awareness.[28][29][30]
Shardplate Abilities[edit]
Lightweavers' Shardplate is formed of creationspren.[1]
History[edit]
“Yet, were the orders not disheartened by so great a defeat, for the Lightweavers provided spiritual sustenance; they were enticed by those glorious creations to venture on a second assault. ”
—Words of Radiance, chapter 21, page 10[31]
Lightweavers can be introspective, outgoing, or anything in between, but they are generally free-spirited. Most were interested in the arts, and the order included many artists, writers, musicians, and performers.[2][3] They had a keen appreciation for the value of beauty and entertainment, and felt that it was not enough if Roshar made it through the Desolations but lost such things.[3] Perhaps as an outgrowth of that belief, the Lightweavers seem to have taken some responsibility for maintaining morale among the Knights Radiant.[31] Some of them were interested in intrigue and secrets, and often served as the spies of the Knights Radiant.[4] While their personal values were strong, they often had looser morals than the other orders. As a result of their inclination for subterfuge and more relaxed attitude, they were sometimes distrusted by others, particularly the Skybreakers.[3]
Known Lightweavers[edit]
- Shallan Davar (bonded to Testament, then Pattern)
- Hoid (bonded to Design)
- Tien (bonded to an unknown Cryptic)
- Vathah (bonded to Mosaic)[15]
- Ishnah (bonded to Motif)[15]
- Beryl (bonded to Ornament)[15]
- Stargyle (bonded to an unknown Cryptic)
- Gaz (bonded to an unknown Cryptic)
- Red (bonded to an unknown Cryptic)
- Elhokar (initiated a Nahel bond with Design, but didn't finish saying the First Ideal)[32][33]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ a b YouTube Livestream 23
— Arcanum - 2020-12-17# - ↑ a b c d Words of Radiance chapter 49 epigraph#
- ↑ a b c d e f The Ten Orders of Knights Radiant
— Arcanum - 2020-06-09# - ↑ a b c d #SayTheWords
— Arcanum - 2024-01-31# - ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 57 epigraph#
- ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 59#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 45#
- ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 70#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 53 epigraph#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 77#
- ↑ a b Words of Radiance Ars Arcanum#
- ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 98#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 120#
- ↑ a b /r/books AMA 2015
— Arcanum - 2015-08-04# - ↑ a b c d e Rhythm of War chapter 26#
- ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 39#
- ↑ Starsight Release Party
— Arcanum - 2019-11-26# - ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 22#
- ↑ Words of Radiance Chicago signing
— Arcanum - 2014-03-22# - ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 49#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 1#
- ↑ Firefight Phoenix signing
— Arcanum - 2015-01-21# - ↑ The Alloy of Law Ars Arcanum#
- ↑ Supanova 2017 - Sydney
— Arcanum - 2017-06-16# - ↑ The Way of Kings chapter 7#
- ↑ Firefight Seattle UBooks signing
— Arcanum - 2015-01-06# - ↑ The Great American Read: Other Worlds with Brandon Sanderson
— Arcanum - 2018-10-25# - ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 6#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 71#
- ↑ Rhythm of War chapter 93#
- ↑ a b Words of Radiance chapter 47 epigraph#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 84#
- ↑ Oathbringer Leeds signing
— Arcanum - 2017-12-01#