Unmade
“The Unmade are a deviation, a flair, a conundrum that may not be worth your time. You cannot help but think of them. They are fascinating. Many are mindless. Like the spren of human emotions, only much more nasty. I do believe a few can think, however.”
—From the Diagram, Book of the 2nd Desk Drawer: paragraph 14[1]
The Unmade are a mysterious group on Roshar. They are Splinters of Odium, and Taravangian has referred to one of their number as an "ancient, evil spren."[2] While they are traditionally depicted as personifications of destruction, they are also shown as individuals.[3] The only confirmed member of this group is Yelig-nar, or Blightwind. He was referenced in one of Dalinar's visions, when he met with Nohadon. Yelig-nar had broken into Nohadon's chancery and slaughtered all Nohadon's wordsmen. Hessi's Mythica is a book writen about them, and it is a recent book beliving that the Unmade are still active on Roshar.
The Unmade
Below are a few of the known unmade, and their properties if known.
Nergaoul
Believed by Hessi to be the cause of the Thrill. He seems to be attracted to war, for Dalinar thinks that the Thrill moved from the Shattered Plains to Jah Khaved during the Vedan Civil War.
Re-Shephir
The Unmade that inhabited Urithiru when the first visited it. Shallan frightened it away because the Unmade was afraid of Lightweavers. She is also called the Midnight Mother. She has similer powers to the Lightweavers, but her creations aren't as convincing. She can imitate others and is the cause of the double murders. She desires to understand humans but never has been able to.
Sja-Anat
Also called the Taker of Secrets. She corrupts the spren she touches. And is what that changed the form of the Spren in Kholinar. She corrupted the Oathgate so that it wouldn't send Shallan and the others back to Urithiru. It seems to be trying to get Shallan to trust her. She says that she is trying to not kill the ones who traveled to Shadesmar because of her corrupting of the Oathgates. She later tells Shallan that Odium is searching for them and they should watch out. Wheter she is sincere or trying to trick them, is undetermined.
Ashertmarn
Shallan says Mythica has little to say about him. He apparently leads people to indulge themselves, likely the cause of the Cult of Moments. The Unmade has bonded with the Queen who claims that she can control him. She was the Unmade surrounding the Oathgate and fled, probably intentionaly, when Shallan touched it. He is probably the cause of the main voice that kept taking to Shallan when she was close to the Cult of Unmade.
Speculation
Other entities speculated to be Unmade include Sja-anat, Nergaoul, Moelach, Dai-gonarthis, and Re-Shephir.
It is likely that there have been several more Unmade referenced that have not been specifically described as such. Re-Shephir,[4] the Midnight Mother, and Dai-gonarthis,[5] the Black Fisher, seem likely candidates. They have hyphenated names in the same style as Yelig-nar's, along with a title like his. All three of these beings are also described as having to do with "consuming". There is another potential member as well, "the black piper in the night," seen by Cenn in a Death Rattle.[6] The phrase "black piper" is reminiscent of both Re-Shephir and Dai-gonarthis, who were also referenced in death visions. Sja-anat [7] is another possible Unmade.
One possibility that has been raised is that the Unmade are the opposites of the Heralds, servants of Odium as the Heralds served Honor.
By symmetry with the Surgebinding diagram, the powers of the Voidbinding diagram appear also to be associated with faces, which have been theorized to be the Unmade. This would suggest that the Unmade are connected to the individual voidbinding powers.
The names of most of the speculated Unmade, besides Yelig-nar, are similar to those of demons/false gods in the Christian tradition. Nergaoul is similar to Nergal, a Babylonian war god, and Moelach is similar to Moloch, a Carthaginian god to whom children were supposedly sacrificed. Re-Shephir is similar to Resheph, a Caananite god of darkness and pestilence. Dai-gonarthis is similar to the Phoenician god Dagon, who has historically been interpreted as a god of fish and the sea. Sja-anat is similar to Satan. Yelig-nar could possibly be related to yaldabaoth, a demiurge of a second century christian splinter group, the Gnostics
It has been speculated that there is some connection between the names of the Unmade and their powers. Nergaoul causes the Thrill, and is similar to a war god. Moelach prompts Taravangian to kill the weak, and is similar to Moloch, to whom children were sacrificed. Re-Shephir is called the "Midnight Mother" and might have created the shadow-creatures known as Midnight Essences, which would be appropriate for a deity of darkness. Dai-gonarthis bears the title "Black Fisher," which is appropriate for a sea-god. Sja-anat corrupts spren.