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{{culture
|related= [[Moelach]]
|world= Roshar
|universe=[[Cosmere]]
|books= [[The Stormlight Archive]]
|books=[[The Stormlight Archive]]
}}{{spoilers|book=sa3}}{{update|book=sa3}}
'''Death Rattles''' are a phenomenon related to the [[Unmade]] [[Moelach]].{{qa ref|1111|8}} His presence causes some dying individuals to experience precognitive events in the form of cryptic utterances, in the final moments of life.{{epigraph ref|sa2|82}} The emergence of the Death Rattles appears to coincide with the expedition of King [[Gavilar Kholin]] of [[Alethkar]] where the [[Parshendi]] were first encountered. {{qa ref|948|3}}
 
In an effort to supplement the [[Diagram]]{{book ref|sa2|i|14}}, King [[Taravangian]] of [[Kharbranth]] keeps a record of Death Rattles taken from selected hospital patients (the terminally ill, the lowly, and the forgotten) who are slowly and intentionally bled to death solely for this purpose{{book ref|sa1|71}} by the king's [[Silent Gatherer]]s.{{book ref|sa1|endnote}}
 
== Known Death Rattles ==
{{quote
| You've killed me. Bastards, you've killed me! While the sun is still hot, I die!
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1171|3|7|5}}, 10 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a darkeyed soldier thirty-one years of age. Sample is considered questionable.{{epigraph ref|sa1|1}}}}
 
{{quote
| The love of men is a frigid thing, a mountain stream only three steps from the ice. We are his. Oh Stormfather... we are his. It is but a thousand days, and the Everstorm comes.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1171|6|5|1}}, 31 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a darkeyed pregnant woman of middle years. The child did not survive.{{epigraph ref|sa1|prologue}}
}}
{{update|sa4}}
 
It is estimated this came exactly 1229 days before the advent of the Everstorm.{{cite}} It is possible that these Rattles are less than fully accurate, or that whoever gave this death rattle valued poetry over technically accurate detail or, given the specific phrasing, that this was perhaps a foreshadowing to a time 229 days in the future when someone else would prophecy that it would be 1000 days until the Everstorm.
 
{{quote
|Many cultures speak of the so-called Death Rattles that sometimes overtake people as they die. Tradition ascribes them to the almighty, but I find too many of them to be seemingly prophetic. This will be my most contentious assertion I am sure but I think these are the effects of Moelach persisting in our current times. Proof is easy to provide: the effect is regionalized, and tends to move across Roshar. This is the roving of the Unmade.
| Ten orders. We were loved, once. Why have you forsaken us, Almighty! Shard of my soul, where have you gone?
|Hessi's Mythica, page 170{{epigraph ref|sa3|103}}
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1171|8|86|2}}, 5 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a lighteyed woman in her third decade.{{epigraph ref|sa1|2}}
}}
'''Death Rattles''' are a phenomenon related to the [[Unmade]] [[Moelach]].{{wob ref|2840}} His presence causes some dying individuals to experience precognitive events in the form of cryptic utterances, in the final moments of life.{{epigraph ref|sa2|82}} This effect occurs only in the area around Moelach, who tends to move around [[Roshar]]. Death Rattles were apparently moderately common in [[Shinovar]] at some time between {{Rosharan date|1138}} and {{Rosharan date|1166}}, as [[Szeth]] recounts the phenomenon.{{book ref|sa4|16}}{{book ref|sa1|i|3}} The emergence of the Death Rattles in the East appears to coincide with the expedition of King [[Gavilar Kholin]] of [[Alethkar]] where the [[Parshendi]] were first encountered in {{Rosharan date|1166}}.{{wob ref|4693}}{{book ref|sa1|71}}{{book ref|sa4|45}} Later, during {{Rosharan date|1174}}, Moelach and the Rattles moved to the [[Horneater Peaks]].{{book ref|sa3|107}}
 
== Uses ==
The "ten orders" could be a reference to the [[Knights Radiant]], and their belief that the Almighty had abandoned them could have led to the [[Day of Recreance]].
King [[Taravangian]] of [[Kharbranth]] keeps a record of Death Rattles taken from selected hospital patients (the terminally ill, the lowly, and the forgotten) who are slowly and intentionally bled to death solely for this purpose{{book ref|sa1|71}} by the king's [[Silent Gatherer]]s.{{book ref|sa1|endnote}} He does so in order to supplement the [[Diagram (literature)|Diagram]],{{book ref|sa2|i|14}} despite the Diagram itself calling Death Rattles and Moelach a distraction.{{epigraph ref|sa2|82}} The Diagram is aware of the possibility that Moelach, as Unmade servant of [[Odium]] may be feeding them bad information, but they believe the benefits of future sight outweigh the risks. They think the knowledge of what subjects the information contains is useful whether the information is correct or not.{{wob ref|8572}}
 
== Notable Death Rattles ==
{{quote
{{for|Death Rattle/list|a list of all known Death Rattles}}
| A man stood on a cliffside and watched his homeland fall into dust. The waters surged beneath, so far beneath. And he heard a child crying. They were his own tears.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1171|9|1|4}}, 30 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a cobbler of some renown.{{epigraph ref|sa1|3}}
}}
 
{{quote
| I'm dying, aren't I? Healer, why do you take my blood? Who is that beside you, with his head of lines? I can see a distant sun, dark and cold, shining in a black sky.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1172|1|2|3}}, 11 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a Reshi chull trainer. Sample is of particular note.{{epigraph ref|sa1|4}}
}}
 
{{theory}}
This rattle appears to reference [[Shadesmar]], based on the description of the sun and sky, and a [[Cryptic]].
 
{{quote
|The love of men is a frigid thing, a mountain stream only three steps from the ice. We are his. Oh Stormfather... we are his. It is but a thousand days, and the Everstorm comes.
| I have seen the end, and have heard it named. The Night of Sorrows, the True Desolation. The Everstorm.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|11721171|26|15|1}}, 1531 seconds pre-before death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a darkeyed youthpregnant woman of unknownmiddle years. The child did not originsurvive.{{epigraph ref|sa1|5prologue}}
}}
:::This rattle came exactly 1227 days before the advent of the Everstorm.{{ref|text=This rattle was collected on {{Rosharan numeric date|1171|6|5|1}}{{epigraph ref|sa1|prologue}} and the Everstorm arrived on {{Rosharan numeric date|1173|10|10|3}}{{book ref|sa2|50}}{{book ref|sa2|81}}}} It is possible that these rattles are less than fully accurate, or that whoever gave this death rattle valued poetry over technically accurate detail or, given the specific phrasing, that this was perhaps a foreshadowing to a time 227 days in the future when someone else would prophesy that it would be 1000 days until the Everstorm.
 
{{quote
| I'm cold. Mother, I'm cold. Mother? Why can I still hear the rain? Will it stop?
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1172|4|10|1}}, 32 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a lighteyed female child, approximately six years old.{{epigraph ref|sa1|6}}
}}
 
{{quote
| They are aflame. They burn. They bring the darkness when they come, and so all you can see is that their skin is aflame. Burn, burn, burn...
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1172|5|10|4}}, 21 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a baker's apprentice.{{epigraph ref|sa1|7}}
}}
 
{{quote
|I'm dying, aren't I? Healer, why do you take my blood? Who is that beside you, with his head of lines? I can see a distant sun, dark and cold, shining in a black sky.
| Victory! We stand atop the mount! We scatter them before us! Their homes become our dens, their lands are now our farms! And they shall burn, as we once did, in a place that is hollow and forlorn.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1172|10|61|2|3}}, 1811 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a lighteyed spinster of the eighth dahn.{{epigraph ref|sa1|84}}
}}
:::The description of the sun and sky, as well as the appearance of a [[Cryptic]], indicate the speaker here was viewing [[Shadesmar]]. The subject also apparently retained some consciousness while dying, evidenced by them asking the Silent Gatherers "Healer, why do you take my blood?" In light of those conditions, the speaker may not have actually been affected by Moelach.
 
This may refer to humans conquering Roshar and exiling the Dawnsingers to [[Braize]]. It may also refer to the Dawnsingers conquering [[Kholinar]].
 
{{quote
|I have seen the end, and have heard it named. The Night of Sorrows, the True Desolation. The Everstorm.
| Ten people, with Shardblades alight, standing before a wall of black and white and red.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|11731172|2|1|3|41}}, 1215 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject anwas ardenta memberdarkeyed youth of the the Silent Gatherers, overheard during his lastunknown momentsorigin.{{epigraph ref|sa1|95}}
}}
 
{{quote
| Three of sixteen ruled, but now the Broken One reigns.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|3|2|2}}, 84 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a cutpurse with the wasting sickness, of partial Iriali descent.{{epigraph ref|sa1|11}}
}}
 
This rattle apparently refers to the sixteen [[Shard]]s of [[Adonalsium]], three of which ([[Honor]], [[Cultivation]], and [[Odium]]) are invested in Roshar.
 
{{quote
|Three of sixteen ruled, but now the Broken One reigns.
| I'm standing over the body of a brother. I'm weeping. Is that his blood or mine? What have we done?
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|43|2|42}}, 10784 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was ana cutpurse with the wasting sickness, out-of-work Vedenpartial Iriali sailordescent.{{epigraph ref|sa1|5211}}
}}
:::Most likely refers to Honor, Cultivation, and Odium--three [[Shards]] out of sixteen total. It is unclear what "Broken One" means, however.
 
{{quote
| He must pick it up, the fallen title! The tower, the crown, and the spear!
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|4|5|3}}, 8 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a prostitute of unknown background.{{epigraph ref|sa1|53}}
}}
 
{{quote
| The burdens of nine become mine. Why must I carry the madness of them all? Oh, Almighty, release me.
| Observed on {{Rosharan date|1173|5|1|1}}, collected secondhand and later reported to the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a wealthy lighteyes.{{epigraph ref|sa1|54}}
}}
:::This rattle appears to be from the perspective of the [[Herald]] [[Talenel]], the only Herald to return to [[Braize]] at the end of the [[Last Desolation]].
 
This rattle appears to be from the perspective of the [[Herald]] [[Talenel]], the only Herald to be return, through death, to wherever the Heralds went to be tortured between [[Desolation]]s at the end of the [[Last Desolation]].
 
{{quote
| A woman sits and scratches out her own eyes. Daughter of kings and winds, the vandal.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|5|4|2}}, 73 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a beggar of some renown, known for his elegant songs.{{epigraph ref|sa1|55}}
}}
:::This rattle likely refers to the Herald [[Shalash]], the daughter of the Herald [[Jezrien]], Herald of Kings and patron of the [[Order of Windrunners]].{{book ref|sa3|122}} Shalash has defaced depictions of herself by scratching her face out of paintings or by destroying statues depicting her.
 
This rattle is believed to refer to the Herald [[Shalash]], the daughter of the Herald [[Jezrien]], Herald of Kings and patron of the [[Order of Windrunners]].{{qa ref|1034|26}} Shalash is also [[Baxil]]'s mistress who destroys art, including depictions of a specific Herald, believed to be those of Shalash herself.
 
{{quote
|Re-Shephir, the Midnight Mother, giving birth to abominations with her essence so dark, so terrible, so consuming. She is here! She watches me die!
| Light grows so distant. The storm never stops. I am broken, and all around me have died. I weep for the end of all things. He has won. Oh, he has beaten us.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|56|87|4}}, 168 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a Thaylendarkeyed dock-worker in his forties, father of sailorthree.{{epigraph ref|sa1|5658}}
}}
:::This rattle refers to the Unmade [[Re-Shephir]] and her [[Midnight Essence]].
 
{{quote
| I hold the suckling child in my hands, a knife at his throat, and know that all who live wish me to let the blade slip. Spill its blood upon the ground, over my hands, and with it gain us further breath to draw.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|6|2|2}}, 23 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a darkeyed youth of sixteen years. Sample is of particular note.{{epigraph ref|sa1|57}}
}}
 
{{quote
| Re-Shephir, the Midnight Mother, giving birth to abominations with her essence so dark, so terrible, so consuming. She is here! She watches me die!
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|6|7|4}}, 8 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a darkeyed dock-worker in his forties, father of three.{{epigraph ref|sa1|58}}
}}
 
{{quote
|Above the final void I hang, friends behind, friends before. The feast I must drink clings to their faces, and the words I must speak spark in my mind. The old oaths will be spoken anew.
| The death is my life, the strength becomes my weakness, the journey has ended.
| ObservedCollected on {{Rosharan date|1173|7|2|12}}, 9545 seconds pre-death, collected secondhand and later reported to theby the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a scholarlighteyed child of somefive minor renownyears. SampleDiction improved remarkably when consideredgiving questionablesample.{{epigraph ref|sa1|6059}}
}}
:::This rattle appears to be from the perspective of Kaladin during the [[Battle of the Tower]], moments before he swears the [[Knights Radiant/Immortal Words#Ideals of the Windrunners|Second Ideal of the Windrunners]]. The "final void" is a chasm over which he is jumping. The "friends behind, friends before" are the members of Bridge Four behind him and the army of [[Dalinar Kholin]] trapped by Parshendi before him. The "feast I must drink" is Stormlight stored in the gemstones knotted into the malen Parshendi's beards. The "words I must speak" is the Second Ideal. The "old oaths" are the [[Immortal Words]].
 
This rattle appears to reference the [[Immortal Words#The First Ideal|First Ideal]] of the [[Knights Radiant]]: Life before Death. Strength before Weakness. Journey before Destination.
 
{{quote
|In the storm I awaken, falling, spinning, grieving.
| Above the final void I hang, friends behind, friends before. The feast I must drink clings to their faces, and the words I must speak spark in my mind. The old oaths will be spoken anew.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|78|2|24}}, 4513 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a lighteyed child of five years. Diction improved remarkably when givingcity sampleguardsman.{{epigraph ref|sa1|5961}}
}}
:::This rattle likely refer to Kaladin swearing the [[Knights Radiant/Immortal Words#Ideals of the Windrunners|Fourth Ideal of the Windrunners]] while falling in the [[highstorm]] towards the end of [[Raboniel]]'s occupation of [[Urithiru]]. The events of this Death Rattle had not occurred as of the [[Battle of Thaylen Field]].{{wob ref|11616}}
 
This rattle appears to be from the perspective of Kaladin during the [[Battle of the Tower]], moments before he swears the [[Immortal Words#Ideals of the Windrunners|Second Ideal of the Windrunners]]. The "final void" is a chasm over which he is jumping. The "friends behind, friends before" are the members of Bridge Four behind him and the army of [[Dalinar Kholin]] trapped by Parshendi before him. The "feast I must drink" is Stormlight stored in the gemstones knotted into the malen Parshendi's beards. The "words I must speak" is the Second Ideal. The "old oaths" are the [[Immortal Words]].
 
{{quote
|I wish to sleep. I know now why you do what you do, and I hate you for it. I will not speak of the truths I see.
| In the storm I awaken, falling, spinning, grieving.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|8|26|45}}, 13142 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a cityShin sailor, left behind by his crew, reportedly for bringing them ill luck. Sample largely guardsmanuseless.{{epigraph ref|sa1|6163}}
}}
:::It appears this subject is aware that the Silent Gatherers are killing people in order to obtain their death rattles and refuses to share his visions.
 
{{quote
| The darkness becomes a palace. Let it rule! Let it rule!
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|8|4|5}}, 22 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a darkeyed Selay man of unknown profession.{{epigraph ref|sa1|62}}
}}
 
{{quote
|They Icome wishfrom tothe sleep.pit, Itwo knowdead nowmen, whya youheart doin whattheir you dohands, and I hateknow you for it.that I willhave notseen speak of the truths Itrue seeglory.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|8|6|5}}, 14213 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a Shin sailor, left behind by his crew, reportedly for bringing them ill luck. Sample largelyrickshaw uselesspuller.{{epigraph ref|sa1|6364}}
}}
:::This rattle appears to refer to Kaladin and [[Shallan Davar|Shallan]] returning to the warcamps at the [[Shattered Plains]] following their fall into the chasms. The "pit" is a reference to the chasms and the "two dead men" are Kaladin and Shallan, presumed to be dead after the fall. The "heart" is an emerald [[gemheart]] they harvested from a [[chasmfiend]] they encountered and killed on their return journey.
 
{{quote
| They come from the pit, two dead men, a heart in their hands, and I know that I have seen true glory.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|8|6|5}}, 13 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a rickshaw puller.{{epigraph ref|sa1|64}}
}}
 
This rattle appears to refer to Kaladin and [[Shallan Davar]] returning to the Warcamps at the [[Shattered Plains]] following an ill-fated expedition. The "pit" is a reference to the chasms. the "two dead men" are Kaladin and Shallan, presumed to be dead after falling into a chasm. The "heart" is an emerald [[gemheart]] they harvested from a [[chasmfiend]] they encountered and killed on their return journey.
 
{{quote
| I see them. They are the rocks. They are the vengeful spirits. Eyes of red.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|8|8|1}}, 8 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a darkeyed young woman of fifteen who was reportedly mentally unstable since childhood.{{epigraph ref|sa1|65}}
}}
:::This rattle refers to the awakening of [[Thunderclast]]s.{{book ref|sa3|115}}
 
This rattle refers to the awakening of [[Thunderclast]]s.{{book ref|sa3|115}}
 
{{quote
|They named it the Final Desolation, but they lied. Our gods lied. Oh, how they lied. The Everstorm comes. I hear its whispers, see its stormwall, know its heart.
| That chanting, that singing, those rasping voices.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|89|92|31}}, 168 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was aan middle-agedAzish potteritinerant whoworker. reported seeing strange dreams during highstorms during theSample previousof twoparticular yearsnote.{{epigraph ref|sa1|6668}}
}}
:::When all Heralds, except Taln, broke the Oathpact after Aharietiam they lied and told humanity that the Voidbringers finally were defeated.
 
Possibly referencing the events at the end of Words of Radiance, and the summoning of the [[Everstorm]].
 
{{quote
|All is withdrawn for me. I stand against the one who saved my life. I protect the one who killed my promises. I raise my hand. The storm responds.
| Let me no longer hurt! Let me no longer weep! Dai-gonarthis! The Black Fisher holds my sorrow and consumes it!
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|9|12|34}}, 2818 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a darkeyed femalemother streetof four in her sixty-second juggleryear.{{epigraph ref|sa1|6769}}
}}
 
The Silent Gatherers have noted a similarity between this death rattle and one they denote as "sample 1172-89".
 
{{quote
| They named it the Final Desolation, but they lied. Our gods lied. Oh, how they lied. The Everstorm comes. I hear its whispers, see its stormwall, know its heart.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|9|2|1}}, 8 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was an Azish itinerant worker. Sample of particular note.{{epigraph ref|sa1|68}}
}}
 
{{quote
| All is withdrawn for me. I stand against the one who saved my life. I protect the one who killed my promises. I raise my hand. The storm responds.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|9|2|4}}, 18 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was a darkeyed mother of four in her sixty-second year.{{epigraph ref|sa1|69}}
}}
 
Refers to Kaladin saving the king from Moash during the storm.
 
{{quote
| Above silence, the illuminating storms—dying storms—illuminate the silence above.
| Collected on {{Rosharan date|1173|9|2|4}}, 18 seconds pre-death, by the Silent Gatherers. Subject was an illiterate Herdazian.{{book ref|sa1|endnote}}
}}
 
{{quote
| He watches! The Black piper in the night. He holds us in his palm... playing a tune that no man can hear!
| Observed circa {{Rosharan date|1172|}}. Subject was [[Cenn]], a member of [[Kaladin]]'s squad in Brightlord [[Meridas Amaram]]'s army.{{book ref|sa1|47}}
}}
 
{{quote
| They break the land itself! They want it, but in their rage they will destroy it. Like the jealous man burns his rich things rather than let them be taken by his enemies! They come!
| Observed circa {{Rosharan date|1173|missing-date=y}}. Subject was [[Gadol]], a member of [[Bridge Four]].{{book ref|sa1|17}}
}}
 
Refers to the soul of the Fused, destroying the whole world in order to destroy the humankind.{{book ref|sa3|38}}
 
{{quote
| And all the world was shattered! The rocks trembled with their steps, and the stones reached toward the heavens. We die! We die!
| Observed circa {{Rosharan date|1173|missing-date=y}}. Subject was [[Maps]], a member of [[Bridge Four]].{{book ref|sa1|57}}
}}
 
This could reference the clash of the [[Everstorm]] with the irregular [[Highstorm]] during the [[Battle of Narak]], which completely broke some plateaus and tossed the boulders high into the air.
 
{{quote
| The day was ours, but they took it. Stormfather! You cannot have it. The day is ours. They come, rasping, and the lights fail. Oh, Stormfather!
| Collected circa {{Rosharan date|1173|9|missing-date=y}} by Taravangian. Subject was a young boy.{{book ref|sa1|71}}
}}
 
{{quote
| So the night will reign, for the choice of honor is life...
| Observed circa {{Rosharan date|1173|10|missing-date=y}} by Taravangian. Subject was King [[Valam]] of [[Jah Keved]].{{book ref|sa2|i|14}}
}}
:::This rattle appears to refer to Kaladin saving [[Elhokar]] from [[Moash]], an event during which Kaladin swears the [[Knights Radiant/Immortal Words#Ideals of the Windrunners|Third Ideal of the Windrunners]]. "The one who killed my promises" likely refers to the fact that Elhokar, through a string of related events, was responsible for Kaladin being unable to keep is promise to protect Tien in battle. "I raise my hand. The storm responds." refers to the fact that Kaladin's words are accepted and Syl returns to him as a Shardblade.
 
== Notes ==
<references />
 
{{qa ref|1111|8|Death rattles move around|date= Mar 18th, 2014}}
{{qa ref|948|3|Question on Death Rattles|date= Feb 12th, 2013}}
{{qa ref|1034|26|Shalash is Jezrien's daughter|date= Sep 24th, 2013}}
 
</references>
{{partial}}
{{stormlight}}
[[es:Susurro de muerte]]
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