Voidbinding

Voidbinding
by Isaac Stewart
Related to	Odium
Prerequisites	unknown
Type	unknown
World of Origin	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere

Voidbinding is a manifestation of Investiture on Roshar of which little is known. It is connected to Odium and his Unmade, and predicting the future is said to be of it. Khriss's writings in the Ars Arcanum states that there are ten levels of Voidbinding and that it is cousin to the Old Magic.

Prerequisites

Not much is known about how one becomes a Voidbinder under normal circumstances. It has been said that Voidbinding usually, though not always, originates with the Unmade.

A possible example of a method is by bonding with a corrupted Nahel spren. Renarin Kholin's ability to see the future has been connected to Voidbinding, and it is likely he gained it through his bond to the corrupted spren Glys. How much Renarin's abilities relate to Voidbinding is currently unclear.

Mythology

One of the most common powers associated with Voidbinding is prophecy and foresight. According to the ardents, even the Heralds denounced its use. Whether or not this is true or a myth is yet to be seen, although Jasnah believes this to be true. Regardless, in Vorin nations, any type of prediction is considered to be taboo. The ardents worried that Dalinar's visions were connected to Voidbinding, although since the visions come from Honor, that was an unfounded concern.

The Vorin reluctance to guess the future led to the rise of games like breakneck, that don't require directly guessing the future. Many Vorins are distrustful of stormwardens, since they predict when highstorms are going to occur.

Abilities

Very little is known about the abilities of Voidbinding. While the Ars Arcanum says that there are ten levels to Voidbinding and refers to "Voidbindings", it is unknown what this means.

The only ability currently confirmed to be related to Voidbinding is Renarin's ability to see the future. Though it is not known precisely how they are related, the Voidbinding chart was referenced as part of the confirmation.

While details on the ability are sparse, Renarin's future sight is shown to be imperfect, as the events he foresaw during the Battle of Thaylen Field did not come to pass. It seems to also in some way be fueled by Stormlight.

This page or section deals with theories or speculation.

Please read carefully and note that this is not necessarily canonical.

Voidish Surges

There are glyphs on the Voidbinding chart that share position with and are variations of the Surge glyphs on the Surgebinding chart. Instead of the axial symmetry of the Surge glyphs, the glyphs on the Voidbinding chart exhibit rotational symmetry. It may be that these glyphs represent either alternatives to, or variant expressions of, the Surges in Surgebinding.

A prominent example is Renarin Kholin's visions of the future. It is possible that these visions are a "Voidish" expression of the Surge of Illumination.

Fused

The abilities demonstrated by the Fused have so far been typical of Surgebinding, but it may be that their powers may be related to, or be a manifestation of, Voidbinding, or "Voidish Surges". It is currently unknown what system the abilities they have demonstrated fall under, and they might even belong to a yet unnamed system. If the observed abilities are not Voidbinding, it is possible the Fused might still have access to the system.

Regal

Nightform, one of the Regal forms of power, was said to allow for foreseeing the future. This suggests a possible relation to Voidbinding, and may have implications about the other forms of power.

Other

The sphere Szeth takes from Gavilar in the prologue may be related to Voidbinding. It may contain Voidlight, a Voidspren (Regal?), or even an Unmade.

Known and Likely Voidbinders

For more information, see :Category: Voidbinders.

• Renarin Kholin (bonded to Glys)

Notes

This article is still missing information. Please help The Coppermind by expanding it.