Order of Dustbringers
| Order of Dustbringers | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| |||
| Herald | Chanarach | ||
| Spren | Ashspren | ||
| Surges | Division & Abrasion | ||
| Plate spren | Unknown | ||
| World of Origin | Roshar | ||
| Universe | Cosmere | ||
“Smoke curled from the occasional patches of growth or heaps of burning corpses. Even some sections of rock smoldered. The Dustbringers had done their work well. ”
The Order of Dustbringers is an order of Knights Radiant on Roshar.[2]
The Dustbringers are Surgebinders who use the Surges of Division and Abrasion, and they are associated with the ruby polestone. They formed Nahel bonds with ashspren.[3]
Ideals of the Dustbringers
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 have an additional four Ideals that are unique to that order.[4] The Ideals of the Order of Dustbringers all focus on responsibility and controlling one's power. The oaths also control access to Surgebinding to a greater degree for Dustbringers than for members of other orders; Dustbringers do not gain access to their more destructive abilities until higher Ideals have been sworn.[5]
The First Ideal
“Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination. ”
—The First Ideal of the Knights Radiant[4]
Abilities
The Dustbringers use the Surges of Division and Abrasion.
Abrasion allows the user to be completely free of friction, allowing them to move without impediment and slide across surfaces.[6]
Division gives the Surgebinder the ability to cause objects to burn, degrade, or turn to dust, likely with great control, as Malata engraves a table using this surge. Division also works on living flesh.[3] So far it is not known what other powers the Dustbringers had, although it is likely they had the ability to ignite objects.[1]
History
“And when they were spoken of by the common folk, the Releasers claimed to be misjudged because of the dreadful nature of their power; and when they dealt with others, always were they firm in their claim that other epithets, notably "Dustbringers," often heard in the common speech, were unacceptable substitutions, in particular for their similarity to the word "Voidbringers." They did also exercise anger in great prejudice regarding it, though to many who speak, there was little difference between these two assemblies. ”
—Words of Radiance, chapter 17[2]
Most Dustbringers were thinkers who liked to take things apart to figure out how they worked. They often objected the people who only focused on the destructive side of their powers, as they felt that it is impossible to create something without understanding the pieces work. The order also attracted foolhardy-but-brave soldiers who tried to control the destructive nature of war to protect innocents.[5]
Before the Day of Recreance, some of the Dustbringers preferred to be known as the Releasers because of the similarity between "Dustbringers" and "Voidbringers,"[2][5] though that name never really became widespread.[7] This naming preference may have been influenced by their spren, as Spark apparently passed it on to Malata.[8] The Dustbringers were often misjudged by people because of the destructive nature of their powers,[2] and even some of their fellow Knights Radiant felt they were "on the edge" and did not get along with them.[9] The Skybreakers, who often made sure the Radiants didn't abuse their power,[10] were particularly concerned about the Dustbringers, despite the fact that the two orders had much in common.[9]
The Dustbringers believed that great power requires a strong will to control it, and their oaths were designed to teach them control their destructive power. They could use this power to great effect, burning and destroying large swaths of land when necessarily,[5] including during the final battle of the Last Desolation.[1] However, they preferred to use their power in a more controlled fashion and often functioned as sappers, engineers, and strategists for the Knights Radiant.[5]
Notable Dustbringers
Trivia
- There will be more Dustbringers introduced in Rhythm of War.[11]
Notes
- ↑ a b c Prelude to the Stormlight Archive#
- ↑ a b c d Words of Radiance chapter 36 epigraph#
- ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 107#
- ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 59#
- ↑ a b c d e The Ten Orders of Knights Radiant
— Arcanum - 2020-06-09# - ↑ Words of Radiance interlude I-9#
- ↑ /r/books AMA 2015
— Arcanum - 2015-08-01# - ↑ Oathbringer chapter 24#
- ↑ a b Skyward Seattle signing
— Arcanum - 2018-11-10# - ↑ The Ten Orders of Knights Radiant
— Arcanum - 2020-06-09# - ↑ Skyward Chicago signing
— Arcanum - 2018-11-16#