Order of Truthwatchers

Order of Truthwatchers
Herald	Paliah
Spren	Unknown
Surges	Progression & Illumination
Plate spren	Unknown
World of Origin	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere

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The Order of Truthwatchers was an order of the Knights Radiant on Roshar.

The Truthwatchers were Surgebinders who used the two Surges of Illumination and Progression. Like all known Orders, they used a Nahel bond.

Historical

The Truthwatchers were silent and secretive most of the time.

They were also considered esoteric.

Known Truthwatchers

Renarin Kholin has claimed to be a Truthwatcher.

Ym is believed to have been a Truthwatcher (based on his temperament along with his ability to use Progression), though this is unconfirmed.

Ideals of the Truthwatchers

The Ideals of the Knights Radiant, also known as the Immortal Words, are a set of rules by which the Knights Radiant lived. The First Ideal, identical for all orders of the Knights Radiant, is used as their motto. Each order of the Knights Radiant had an additional four ideals that were unique to each order.

The First Ideal

“Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.”

—The First Ideal of the Knights Radiant

Powers

The Truthwatchers use the Surges of Progression and Illumination.

Progression was used by Ym to heal a small boy's foot of an infection, and by Lift (an Edgedancer) to revive and heal Gawx after his throat was slit. Lift also used it to cause seeds to grow suddenly into plants. It is described in the Ars Arcanum at the end of Words of Radiance as "The Surge of Growth and Healing, or Regrowth".

Illumination is used by Shallan Davar (a Lightweaver) to craft illusions by weaving light, sound and various waveforms. She uses this to disguise herself (often as Veil, though sometimes as others), make herself appear cleaner, older and more attractive, to create illusions of walls and rocks to hide behind and in, and to create an illusion of herself (getting the Ghostblood's orders and as a distraction for the chasmfiend).

Renarin Kholin saw the Everstorm coming even though he had no line of sight on it, and said that he could see the future, although he incorrectly predicted the death of himself and those around him. He also later stated that Truthwatchers are unique because "they see".

Quotes

“Now, as the Truthwatchers were esoteric in nature, their order being formed entirely of those who never spoke or wrote of what they did, in this lies frustration for those who would see their exceeding secrecy from the outside; they were not naturally inclined to explanation; and in the case of Corberon's disagreements, their silence was not a sign of exceeding abundance of disdain, but rather an exceeding abundance of tact.”

—Words of Radiance, chapter 11, page 6