Order of Windrunners
| Order of Windrunners | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| |||
| Herald | Jezrien | ||
| Spren | Honorspren | ||
| Surges | Adhesion & Gravitation | ||
| Plate spren | Unknown | ||
| World of Origin | Roshar | ||
| Universe | Cosmere | ||
The Order of Windrunners is an order of the Knights Radiant on Roshar.[1]
The Windrunners were Surgebinders who used the Surges of Adhesion and Gravitation, and they are associated with the sapphire polestone. They absorbed Stormlight from gems by inhalation. They formed a Nahel Bond with honorspren. The combination of Adhesion and Gravitation resulted in the three Lashings. Szeth was able to use the three Lashings by way of an Honorblade, assumed to have belonged to Jezrien, the order's patron. The glow of the Windrunners' Shardplate was blue.
Ideals of the Windrunners
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.[2] The Ideals of the Order of Windrunners all focus on protecting the innocent and defenseless.[3]
The First Ideal
“Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.”
—The First Ideal of the Knights Radiant[2]
The Second Ideal
“I will protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
The Third Ideal
The wording of the Ideal can be different between each Knight Radiant, as long as the meaning remains the same. Kaladin and Teft spoke this Ideal before they were able to form a weapon out of their honorspren, e.g. Shardblade, Shardspear, etc.
“I will protect even those I hate, so long as it is right.”
— The Third Ideal of the Windrunners (as spoken by Kaladin)[6]
“I will protect those I hate. Even...even if the one I hate most is... myself.”
— The Third Ideal of the Windrunners (as spoken by Teft)[7]
The Fourth Ideal
While this ideal is unknown currently it is probable that, upon achieving this Ideal, a Windrunner gains his Shardplate.[8] It is hinted to have something to do with choosing to not save people.[8]
Kaladin almost swears this Ideal in Shadesmar, but falters, being unable to swear it.[9]
Abilities
The Windrunners use the Surges of Adhesion and Gravitation. The combination of these two Surges resulted in the three Lashings.[10][11] Someone wearing Shardplate is immune to Lashings, but any objects that they are touching can be affected.[12] Using a combination of Adhesion and Gravitation, a Windrunner could theoretically exit orbit.[13]
Unlike other Radiant orders, Windrunners will "explode with power" when they speak oaths, due to their order's proximity to the Order of Bondsmiths.[14]
Adhesion
- Full Lashing
Using the Full Lashing, a Surgebinder can pool Stormlight into an area. All objects that subsequently touch this area will be bonded to the object, sticking them there and hindering their movement. The bond ends when the Stormlight runs out.
Gravitation
- Basic Lashing
The Basic Lashing allows a Surgebinder to bind people or objects to different surfaces or in different directions, effectively changing the direction that gravity pulls them.
- Reverse Lashing
By using the Reverse Lashing, a Surgebinder can increase the gravitational pull of an object, allowing the infused object to pull nearby objects toward it. The Surgebinder must maintain contact with the object to Reverse Lash it. Items that are airborne are pulled more strongly towards the infused object.
Resonance
Due to a combination of their two surges, Windrunners have new, secondary effects, known as the Resonance.[15] The Windrunners' Resonance is strength of squires,[16][17] which allows them to have many more squires than other Orders. After Kaladin swore the third oath, many of the bridgemen who worked under him were suddenly able to breathe Stormlight and heal.[18] Later, Kaladin trains the bridgemen in sucking in Stormlight and using Lashings. However, their abilities are only present when Kaladin is nearby. Sigzil noted that they could use Stormlight effectively within thirty miles of Kaladin, and their maximum distance was fifty miles. Squires will lose access to their powers in an hour or two after the Windrunner leaves.[19]
History
The Ancient Radiants
Before the Recreance, the Windrunners primarily worked as scouts and special forces teams, and often used the Surge of Gravitation to deliver a team of Radiants on a secret mission.[20][3] Though they were very similar to conventional soldiers, and had an appreciation for command structures and team dynamics,[3] the Stonewards were generally considered the best soldiers, though the Windrunners did dispute that claim at times.[21] Nevertheless, they also focused the most on mastering their weapons. As a result of their resonance, they had the most squires of all the orders.[3]
Around the time of the Recreance the Windrunners were an Order with over a hundred members,[22] and a considerable number of squires.[23] They also reportedly had some issues with the Order of Skybreakers.[23] At the beginning of the Recreance a large number of Windrunners along with many Stonewards abandoned their Shardblades and Shardplates before the fortress known as Feverstone Keep, which was recorded in one of Dalinar's visions.[22]
The Refounded Windrunners
During the Battle of the Tower, the bridge leader Kaladin said the second Ideal of the Windrunners, becoming the first Windrunner since the Recreance.[4] After he swore the third Ideal, the other members of Bridge Four became squires,[18] and many of them eventually initiated Nahel bonds of their own.[7][5] Dalinar's coalition often uses them as guards for important people, for the transportation of people and goods, and as scouts.
As a result of both their past as bridge crews in the army of Torol Sadeas and Kaladin's military training, the refounded order of Windrunners is well organized and maintains a strong military structure.[24][5] The Windrunners' resonance has led many of the bridgemen, as well as some others, to become squires,[25][26] making the Windrunners one of, if not the, most numerous of the modern orders.
Notable Windrunners
- Kaladin (bonded to Sylphrena)
- Teft
- Lopen[5] (bonded to Rua)
- Drehy[26][27]
- Skar[26][27]
- The rest of Bridge Four and Bridge Thirteen (squires)
Quotes
“ Now, as the Windrunners were thus engaged, arose the event which has hitherto been referenced: namely, that discovery of some wicked thing of eminence, though whether it be some rogueries among the Radiants' adherents or of some external origin, Avena would not suggest. ”
“ There came also sixteen of the order of Windrunners, and with them a considerable number of squires, and finding in that place the Skybreakers dividing the innocent from the guilty, there ensued a great debate. ”
Notes
- ↑ a b Words of Radiance chapter 54 epigraph#
- ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 59#
- ↑ a b c d The Ten Orders of Knights Radiant
— Arcanum - 2020-06-09# - ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 67#
- ↑ a b c d Oathbringer chapter 121#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 84#
- ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 119#
- ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 86 epigraph#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 118#
- ↑ The Way of Kings prologue#
- ↑ The Way of Kings Ars Arcanum#
- ↑ The Way of Kings interlude I-9#
- ↑ Words of Radiance San Diego signing
— Arcanum - 2014-03-04# - ↑ Oathbringer release party
— Arcanum - 2017-11-13# - ↑ /r/books AMA 2015
— Arcanum - 2015-08-04# - ↑ Words of Radiance Chicago signing
— Arcanum - 2014-03-22# - ↑ Firefight Phoenix signing
— Arcanum - 2015-01-21# - ↑ a b Words of Radiance chapter 87#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 55#
- ↑ Skyward Atlanta signing
— Arcanum - 2018-11-17# - ↑ The Ten Orders of Knights Radiant
— Arcanum - 2020-06-09# - ↑ a b The Way of Kings chapter 52#
- ↑ a b Words of Radiance chapter 54#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 35#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 46#
- ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 122#
- ↑ a b General Reddit 2018
— Arcanum - 2018-07-16# - ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 38 epigraph#