Order of Truthwatchers

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

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

The Truthwatchers are Surgebinders who used the Surges of Illumination and Progression, and they are associated with the emerald polestone. Like all known Orders, they used a Nahel bond. Their spren were closer to Cultivation than to Honor, and are said to resemble the shimmer light makes on a surface when it is reflected through a crystal.

Ideals of the Truthwatchers

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. The Ideals of the Order of Truthwatchers all focus on seeking and sharing truth, as well as making sure it is not improperly exploited. However, unlike the Lightweavers, who pursue personal truths, the Truthwatchers are concerned more with uncovering the greater secrets of the universe.

The First Ideal

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

—The First Ideal of the Knights Radiant

This page or section deals with theories or speculation.

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

   From we know about the temperaments of known members, like Renarin Kholin; and "sub-members" like Ym and the Stump we may be able to make some educated guesses about the other ideals for the order of the Truthwatchers. One similarity that can be found is the tendency to learn about peoples stories or what makes them tic. this trait can be seen in Ym's charging street youths their story in exchange for a pair of shoes. This is also shown by Renarins tendency to study people (although this may be attributed to his personal disposition) and in the Stumps habit of looking into the children she takes in for signs of a faked illness or disability. Taking what we know about both the ancient and modern versions of the Truthwatchers alongside the knowledge that the Ideals are designed as a progression that develops a Radiant's character toward the central concepts of their order. . 

   In addition it can be seen that in addition to surges there is almost an overlap in "intent"(eg: similar to how the law should protect people, the orders of the Windrunners[protection] and the Skybreakers[law] share a surge [gravitation] and therefore are "next to each other"). Following this line of thought it would stand to reason that the in a sequential group of three orders the one in the middle would be something of a cross between the two. Since the orders of the Edgedancers were said to focus on humanitarian issues, and the Lightweavers "oaths" hinge on confronting repressed truths. Because Truthwachers sequentially stand between these orders we must merge these "intents" of humanitary efforts and self-confrontation/introspection to most accurately guess the ideals of Truthwachers. In addition it bears mentioning that each ideal (so far and with the exception of the lightweavers) are all "I"-statements.

   With all these things considered i present a guess at either the second or third ideal of the order of the Truthwatchers

                                      .|"I will witness the atrocities of this world"|.

(as for sourcing concerns the theory listed above primarily stems from either myself, "Oathbringer", or other articles on the Coppermind, like https://coppermind.net/wiki/Immortal_Words .

Abilities

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. Renarin uses Progression to heal Adolin’s broken wrist. He also uses it to heal those who were injured when the Midnight Mother attacks Adolin and Bridge Four. The Stump also unknowingly uses it to heal people who come under her care. 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, member of the Order of Lightweavers, to craft illusions by weaving light, sound and various waveforms. She uses this to change her own appearance for disguses or other purposes, create illusions of walls and rocks to hide behind and in, and to create illusions of herself to confuse or distract. Truthwatchers may be able to perform similar feats, however there may be differences in how they use the Surge.

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". It is implied that this ability comes from the corruption of his spren by Sja-anat's influence, and therefore might not be shared by other Truthwatchers.

History

The ancient Truthwatchers were often scientists, scholars and tinkers; this led to them being perceived as quiet and rather esoteric in their pursuits. They tended to be reserved, though a group of them was always dedicated to monitoring the actions of the poeple in power on Roshar, and making their opinions on said actions heard far and wide if necessary. They particularly concerned themselves with abuse of power, as well as finding out the truth, though what constituted "truth" was a subject of some debate.

Truthwatchers would often engage in enthusiastic discussions on the topic of philosophy, particularly concerning the truth, even if many such conversations would take place only in writing. They were also interested in the more obscure crafts and sciences, such as new fabrials or technologies.

Modern Truthwatchers are few and far betwen, scattered around the world rather than united.

Notable Truthwatchers

• Renarin Kholin (bonded to Glys) considers himself to be a Truthwatcher, though Glys's corruption by Sja-anat makes his precise status unclear.
• Ym is confirmed to have been on the path of becoming a Truthwatcher, and had access to the Surge of Progression.
• Stump, who runs Tashi's Light Orphanage, is a Truthwatcher in very early stages of the bond.

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

Notes

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