User:Stargazer/Spren/Known types of spren

This page is an index of spren seen on Roshar.

Lesser Spren

Most spren, known as lesser spren or subspren are non-sapient.

Alespren

by Miranda Meeks

Alespren

“Test successful. Have noted spren who appear only when one is severely intoxicated. Appear as small brown bubbles clinging to objects nearby. Further testing may be needed to prove they were more than a drunken hallucination. ”

—Axies the Collector

A rare type of spren that appear only in Iri. They are occasionally seen by people who are under the influence of alcohol. They look like small brown bubbles that cling to objects close to the observer. They were given the name "alespren" by Axies the Collector, a scholar who studies spren, after considering the name "intoxicationspren". The locals refer to them as sudspren. They may also be called winespren.

Axies theorized their existence, but was only able to observe them once, leading him to doubt whether they're real. As there are other stories of people seeing them, their existence is likely.

Angerspren

“Vamah was watching them stand there, and his expression was as thunderous as a highstorm, angerspren boiling up from the ground around him like small pools of bubbling blood. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Fifteen

A common type of spren that appear around people experiencing anger. They generally, have the appearance of pools of boiling blood bubbling up from the ground around the feet of the angry individual.

Among the Parshendi, angerspren have the appearance of bolts of lightning that radiate out from the feet of the angry individual.

In Shadesmar, they have an unspecified appearance but make a loud screeching noise similar to sheets of steel grinding against each other when attracted. Angerspren are said to be "nasty" and very dangerous even to other spren. The pools of boiling blood seen in the Physical Realm are actually saliva drooling from their mouths.

Anticipationspren

“A few anticipationspren—like red streamers, growing from the ground and whipping in the wind—began to sprout from the rock and wave among the soldiers. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Six

A common type of spren that appear around people looking forward to something, or who are nervous about something. They appear as red streamers that grow out from the ground and blow in the wind. They often appear around soldiers directly before a battle.

The streamer that appears in the Physical Realm is actually the tongue of the anticipationspren. The spren itself has a round bulbous body and is about the size of a human toddler. It will open its mouth and stick its tongue in the air when near feelings of anticipation.

Awespren

“A single awespren, like a ring of blue smoke, burst out above him, spreading like the ripple from a stone dropped in a pond. Shallan had seen such a spren only a handful of times in her life. ”

—Words of Radiance: Chapter 78

A very rare type of spren that appear around people who are very awestruck. They take the form of a ripple of blue smoke spreading slowly outwards. They usually appear above and around the awed person's head, like a halo. Most of the time, only a single one can be seen at once, though a whole group of people can attract several.

Bindspren

“He thought he could faintly make out tiny spren, dark blue and shaped like little splashes of ink, clustering around the place where the rock met the wall. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Fifty-Seven

Spren that appear around objects bound with a Full Lashing. They appear as small splashes of dark blue ink. Their relationship to the Lashings is not fully understood -- Kaladin believes they are what hold the objects together, while Sylphrena disagrees, saying they could be attracted to the Full Lashing Kaladin had created.

Captivityspren

“It appears I'll have another chance to search for captivityspren. ”

—Axies the Collector

A type of spren theorized by Axies to appear around people in captivity. Despite being imprisoned numerous times he has never observed them, leading him to doubt their existence. However, while imprisoned, Kaladin sees strange spren like taut wires crossing before him, which have been confirmed to be captivityspren.

It's possible that rather than being attracted to the state of being imprisoned, captivityspren are attracted to the feelings of being trapped. This would explain why Axies, who sees being in prison as an opportunity, never witnesses any, while Kaladin's degrading mental state in prison summons several.

Coldspren

A type of spren mentioned in Navani's notebook. They can be captured in gems of a certain cut and used in fabrial machines. They look like spikes growing around the affected person's feet.

Urithiru is covered in hundreds of coldspren. It's unclear whether they're attracted to low temperatures or the sensation of being cold.

Concentrationspren

“Concentrationspren rippled in the air like waves overhead. ”

—Oathbringer: Chapter 53

A type of spren that looks like ripples in the air, similar to a drop in the pond, although without the pond. They are rare in Alethkar, but can be found in Urithiru and Tashikk. They most commonly appear around people who are deeply focused on their task.

Creationspren

“Her drawing gathered about a half-dozen of them, pulling them by her act of creation just as a bright fire would draw flamespren. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Seven

An uncommon type of spren that appear around creative acts such as painting or drawing. They are of medium-size, about finger-length, and glow with a silvery light. They take the form of objects they have recently seen, but move them in odd ways, such as a table that rolls like a wheel.

When drawing, the more skilled one is, the more likely creationspren are to appear.

Deathspren

by Ashley Coad

Syl fighting deathspren

“Only the dying could see deathspren. You saw them, then died. Only the very, very lucky few survived after that. Deathspren knew when the end was close. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Thirty-Eight

A type of spren that appears only to people near death. Very few people survive after seeing deathspren - due to this rarity some consider them not to be real. They look like black, many-legged, fist-sized creatures, with glowing red eyes that leave trails of light when the deathspren moves. They whisper with voices like paper being torn. Lirin said that deathspren are repelled by water.

It's possible that deathspren have a more direct effect on the dying than simply being attracted to them, as Syl strives to protect Kaladin from them when he's close to death.

Decayspren

“I didn't know men got this old. You sure he's not decayspren wearing a man's skin? ”

—Sylphrena to Kaladin

A type of spren referenced by Sylphrena. It appears that they are attracted to things that have been abandoned or neglected, as well as rotting food. They look like barnacles, and usually appear in large numbers, huddling close together.

Exhaustionspren

“She noticed something sweeping through the air above her. She cringed, looking up to find large, birdlike creatures circling around her in Shadesmar. They were a dark grey and seemed to have no specific shape, their forms blurry. ”

—Words of Radiance: Chapter Eleven

A type of spren that appear around exhausted people. In the Physical Realm, they appear as brown-colored jets of dust shooting up in the air. In Shadesmar, they seem indistinct yet also large and birdlike.

Fearspren

“Fearspren—wiggling and violet—sprang up through the wood and wriggled in the air. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Six

A common type of spren that appear around people experiencing fear. They look like small, violet globs that crawl up from out of the ground and gather around the feet of the fearful. They seem to be attracted to the highest concentration of fear in an area; people experiencing less fear will fail to attract fearspren. In Shadesmar, fearspren appear as eel-like creatures with stumpy legs, ridges on their backs, and long purple antennae: the antennae appear to be the part that visually manifest in the Physical Realm.

Among the listeners, fearspren look like long purple worms.. This is probably because they can see the entire antenna and not just the tip which humans see.

Fermentationspren

A type of spren related to fermentation.

Flamespren

“...instead watching a pair of flamespren dance along one of the logs. These seemed vaguely human, with ever-shifting figures. ”

—Oathbringer: Chapter Thirty-Six

A common type of spren that appear around and in fire. They look like tiny humanoid figures made of congealed light. They will often dance around, constantly changing in size, shape, and luminosity like the flames themselves.

The ardent Geranid was studying flamespren when she discovered that if she measured them, the spren seemed to be "stuck" by that measurement. This is similar to the physical process of wave-function collapse in quantum mechanics.

Gloomspren

“Long, grey, like a tattered streamer of cloth in the wind. It wound around him, fluttering. ”

—Oathbringer: Chapter Five

A rare type of spren that looks like a grey streamer, seemingly attracted to the feeling of resignation or deep sadness. Syl's aunt hunts them in a manner similar to a greatshell hunt.

Gloryspren

“Below, his men cheered, sending up calls that rose above the Parshendi war chant. Gloryspren sprouted around him. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Sixty-Five

A type of spren that appear around people when they experience pride in their accomplishments. In the Physical, they look like as golden orbs of translucent light, while in the Cognitive, they take the form of avian-like creatures with bulbous bodies, long wings, and flowing tails, with a golden ball for a head.

Gravityspren

A type of spren mentioned in Navani's notebook. They can be captured in gems of a certain cut and used in fabrial machines. They are possibly another name for groundspren or luckspren.

Greatshell Spren

A type of spren that has a symbiotic relationship with greatshells, enabling them to grow to such large sizes. They look like tiny tongues of smoke, such as those from snuffed candles, but can only be seen when they leave a greatshell's corpse after it has been killed.

The Tai-na of the Reshi Sea have an extraordinary variant of spren, referred to as the "soul" of the greatshell by the Reshi. It allows them to grow to far more gargantuan sizes. These "souls" will sometimes show themselves to people. They seem to have some measure of control over the Surge of Gravitation, letting them slow a person's fall.

Groundspren

A type of spren to which Rosharans attribute the pull of gravity.

Heatspren

A type of spren mentioned in Navani's notebook. They can be captured in gems of a certain cut and used in fabrial machines. It's unknown whether this is a scientific name for a flamespren, or a different creature entirely.

Hungerspren

“As he spoke, he attracted a few hungerspren. They looked like brown flies that flitted around the man's head, almost too small to see. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Two

A type of spren that appears around people experiencing extreme hunger. They appear as tiny brown flies that flit around the hungry person.

Joyspren

“Joyspren rose around her, like blue leaves that started at her feet then moved up in a swirl before flaring out above her as if in a blast of wind. ”

—Words of Radiance: Chapter Twenty-Eight

A relatively rare type of spren, usually accompanied to intense feelings of happiness or accomplishment. They take form of a blue leaves or petals that rise around a person in a flutter, circling them or trailing behind as the person moves.

Laughterspren

“A few laughterspren—minnow-like silver spirits that darted through the air in circular patterns—began to zip about them. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Fourteen

A type of spren that appears in the presence of laughter. They have the appearance of small, silver minnows that dart in circular motions around those who are laughing.

Lifespren

“A few lifespren—tiny, glowing green specks—floated around the shalebark mounds. Some danced amid the rifts in the bark, others in the air like dust motes zigzagging up, only to fall again. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Thirty-Nine

A common type of spren that appears around plantlife, particularly just after highstorms. They look like motes of glowing green dust, or swarms of tiny, translucent insects. In the Cognitive Realm, they look very similar, but they have tufts of white hair that ripple as the lifespren move.

Rarely, lifespren may appear in particularly populated areas.

Logicspren

“There were said to be logicspren—in the form of tiny stormclouds—who were attracted to great arguments... ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Seven

A rare type of spren that appear around good and well-thought-out arguments. They take the appearance of tiny stormclouds. They seem to be quite rare, although they can often be seen in Azir.

Luckspren

by Ben McSweeney

Sketch of Luckspren from Shallan's sketchbook

For more information, see Mandras.

A type of spren that flies around skyeels and some greatshells. In the Physical, have the appearance of tiny, blue, arrowhead-like fish that dart around the skyeel in the general direction of its travel. It is commonly believed by Rosharans that they allow the skyeel to fly in some manner, but the accuracy of this belief is not known.

In Shadesmar, luckspren are known as mandras. There, they are far larger, with long, sinuous bodies and arrow-shaped heads. They are often harnessed by various spren to pull ships through the seas of beads, as there is no wind to sail on. They have a habit of "dropping out", vanishing temporarily into the Physical Realm, and then reappearing in Shadesmar, necessitating any single ship to have several mandras hitched to it.

Musicspren

“Musicspren zipped through the air around [the drummers], the tiny spirits taking the form of spinning translucent ribbons. ”

—The Way of Kings: Prologue

A type of spren that appear around musical performances. They have the appearance of spinning, translucent ribbons that whirl around the playing instrument. A single, pure note is enough to draw at least one musicspren, if only for a short time. They also seem attracted to Ryshadiums, suggesting that they might be the spren the horses bond with.

Painspren

“Painspren swarmed the ground, like small orange hands or bits of sinew, reaching up from the ground amid the blood of the fallen. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Forty-Seven

A common type of spren that appear around those experiencing pain. They have the appearance of sinewy, orange hands. They crawl out of the ground and swarm the pained, latching on to the wounded areas.

Passionspren

“Passionspren, like tiny flakes of crystalline snow, floated down in the air around them. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Sixty-One

A type of spren that appears around those experiencing passionate feelings. This includes both intense love and more violent passions, like the Thrill. They look like small flakes of snow.

Rainspren

“[Rainspren] were said to be the souls of raindrops... ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Forty-Four

A type of spren that appears most often during the Weeping. The have the appearance of glowing, ankle-height, blue candles that, despite seeming to melt, never grow shorter, with a single eye at the top of their body. They often stand in puddles.

Rainbowspren

A type of spren related to rainbows.

Riverspren

“[The Purelake] was filled with tiny fish, colorful cremlings, and eel-like riverspren. ”

—The Way of Kings: Interlude One

A common type of spren that appear in bodies of water such as rivers or the Purelake. They are often described as being eel-like. They are among the larger varieties of spren and have the ability to mimic faces and expressions, as well as voices, often choosing to torment people while doing so.

Rotspren

“Rest... and keep that wound clean. We don't want to attract any rotspren. Let me know if you see any. They are small and red, like tiny insects. ”

—Kaladin

A common type of spren that appear around infected tissue and rotting corpses. They have the appearance of tiny red, translucent insects that gather around infected wounds.

Unlike most spren, which most Rosharans believe are only attracted to their namesake, rotspren are often believed to be the cause of sickness and infection. They are seen to be repelled by water and antiseptics such as Lister's oil, Knobweed sap, and Larmic mucus.

Shamespren

Spren attracted to feelings of shame or embarrassment. They look like red and white flower petals floating down to the ground.

Shockspren

A rare type of spren that appear around people experiencing fearful shock (as opposed to awespren, associated with pleasant surprises). The look like pale yellow triangles breaking and reforming around the person who attracted them.

Starspren

“It was the time between moons, and so he was lit mostly by the firelight; there was a spray of stars in the sky above. Several of those moved about, the tiny pinpricks of light chasing after one another, zipping around like distant, glowing insects. ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Forty

A rare type of spren that appear at night amongst the stars. They appear as small points of light that chase one another like insects.

Stormspren

Stormspren are a variety of Voidspren. They are small red spren that look like tiny lightning. Among the listeners, they are described as looking smoky, as well as giving off a "strange red light" and splinters of lightning.

Listeners can bond stormspren to attain stormform, granting them the ability to shoot red lightning. They also cause the listener to be more callous and feel superior to others, and give access to Odium's Rhythms.

Stormstriders

Stormstriders are large spren on glowing legs that are seen during highstorms. Kaladin and Shallan see one when they are in a chasm during a highstorm.. Dalinar also sees one while he is out in a highstorm traveling between stormshelters.. Brandon has confirmed that they are spren. The name "Stormstriders" is a fan given name that has not been canonized.

Windspren

“Windspren were devious spirits who had a penchant for staying where they weren't wanted... ”

—The Way of Kings: Chapter Two

A common type of spren that appear in the presence of wind. As one of the larger types of spren, windspren are able to change their appearance at will, though they often appear as ribbons of light. The leading edge of a highstorm is home to thousands of them. They are also common at the tail of a highstorm, as if chasing after it. They are a rare sight in Shadesmar, as they spend almost all their time in the Physical Realm. A windspren in Shadesmar is described as a pinprick of light trailing a long luminescense behind it, moving much like it would in the Physical Realm.

Windspren are closely related to honorspren, such as Sylphrena. This perhaps evidenced by their ability to stick things together, making use of a rudimentary version of the Surge of Adhesion. They generally use this ability to play pranks on people, doing things like sticking shoes to stone or sticking shoelaces together to cause someone to trip.

True Spren

by botanicaxu

Several of the Radiant spren

“There are no foolish oaths. All are the mark of men and true spren over beasts and subspren. The mark of intelligence, free will, and choice. ”

—The Stormfather

True spren are spren with sapience and correspond to higher concepts. Several of them are capable of forming Nahel bonds.

Ashspren

For more information, see Ashspren.

A type of sapient spren that forms Nahel Bonds with the Knights Radiant Order of Dustbringers, granting them their powers. Ashspren grant the Surges of Division and Abrasion. In Shadesmar, they have a humanoid form with ash-white skin that falls away when the ashspren moves, revealing boness underneath before quickly growing back. Their appearance is unknown, as they seem to have the ability to hide from both other humans and other spren.

They seem to be fond of destroying the things around them.

Cryptics

by Isaac Stewart, User: Awesomeness

Drawings of Pattern

For more information, see Cryptic.

Also known as liespren, Cryptics are a type of sapient spren that forms Nahel Bonds with the Knights Radiant Order of Lightweavers, granting them their powers. Cryptics grant the Surges of Transformation and Illumination. They represent fundamental mathematical laws of nature, and truths that explain the fabric of existence.

In the Cognitive Realm, they have the appearance of figures in robes that hang stiffly, as if made of glass rather than fabric. Instead of heads, they have a floating symbol full of impossible angles and geometries. There, Cryptics reside in a single city-state, and do not wish to expand. In the Physical Realm, Cryptics take the shape of a complex and constantly shifting geometric pattern slightly raised off a surface or object. They can also manifest as a floating three-dimensional mass of twisting lines.

Cultivationspren

For more information, see Cultivationspren.

A type of sapient spren that forms Nahel Bonds with the Knight Radiant Order of Edgedancers, granting them their powers. Cultivationspren grant the Surges of Abrasion and Progression. They appear in the Physical Realm as a growing vine with crystals, while in Shadesmar, they take a form of a humanoid seemingly made out of thickly-bound, thin vines and pieces of crystal. They are generally considered the spren that express the purest form of Cultivation.

Cultivationspren are ruled by a group of them called the Ring, which, among others, dictates which spren are to bond who. They also have the capacity to let their kinsmen travel into the Physical Realm without the usual accompanying loss of mental functions.

Highspren

For more information, see Highspren.

A type of sapient spren that forms Nahel Bonds with the Knights Radiant Order of Skybreakers, granting them their powers. Highspren grant the Surges of Gravitation and Division.

In the Physical Realm, highspren are described as looking like black slits in reality, with white glowing stars shining through. They seem to have their own settlements in Shadesmar and appear rather isolationistic, with none to be seen in places like Celebrant. Other spren consider them to be strict and rule-bound.

Honorspren

by Marie Seeberger

Sylphrena, an honorspren

For more information, see Honorspren.

A type of sapient spren that forms Nahel Bonds with the Knights Radiant Order of Windrunners, granting them their powers. Honorspren grant the Surges of Gravitation and Adhesion. They are said to be quite "discerning" in deciding who they would bond with. They are generally considered the spren that express the purest form of Honor.

In the Physical, they can change their forms, although in any shape, they are blue-white with a matching glow. In Shadesmar, they look like humans with blue-white skin and clothes that are part of them. They are noted to be highly warlike, with numerous cities and fortresses, as well as their own fleet.

Inkspren

For more information, see Inkspren.

A type of sapient spren that form Nahel Bonds with the Knights Radiant Order of Elsecallers, granting them their powers. Inkspren grant the Surges of Transformation and Transportation. They look like small, human-shaped figures with ink-black skin and clothing, coated in what seems to be oil, with a mother-of-pearl or prismatic quality to their look. They are capable of blending into shadows. In addition, they can change their size, but not their shape.

Keenspren

A type of spren mentioned by Wyndle, who considers 'growing a garden for keenspren' to be a comparison point for the weirdness of a conversation.

Lightspren

For more information, see Lightspren.

A type of sapient spren that formed Nahel Bonds with the Knights Radiant Order of Willshapers, granting them their powers. Lightspren grant the Surges of Transportation and Cohesion. In the Physical Realm, they appear as glowing balls of light. In Shadesmar, they appear as humans with metallic bronze skin and holes for pupils, like living statues. There, they are also known as Reachers.

Reachers are often guides in Shadesmar, as they like to travel to different places, trading and selling goods. They have ships pulled by teams of mandras, inlaid with lines of copper that may serve as a medium of communication.

Mistspren

A type of sapient spren, albeit one that is not affiliated with any order of the Knights Radiant. They have only been seen in Shadesmar, where they look like humanoid figures made out of swirling, indistinct fog. Their faces look like porceilain masks, and they wear gloves, trousers and vests that adhere to their bodies' shape despite their seeming incorporeality.

They seem to be affiliated with honorspren, working as common sailors on their ships.

Oathgate Spren

by Ben McSweeney

Uncorrupted Oathgate spren from Shallan's sketchbook

“We are apologetic. We have been… alone very long. We would enjoy granting passage to men again. But we cannot do that which was forbidden. ”

—Spren of Thaylen City Oathgate

Oathgate spren reside over the Oathgates. They take the form of enormous, statue-like humanoids, many times taller than a person, wearing armor and holding fittingly large spears. They always appear in pairs, with one being mother-of-pearl shimmering white, while the other is shimmering black. They act and speak in concert, with no visible differences in their opinions or demeanor.

The Oathgate spren facilitate transfer between Oathgates, with any pair being able to transport anything on the Oathgate's physical platform and in its control chamber between themselves and a matching Oathgate in either Urithiru or one other city. Their existence is a crucial element of the Oathgates' functionality, as an Oathgate can be rebuilt so long as the spren are left uncompromised. It appears they are bound to the eleven gemstones that are used to operate the Oathgate. While the Oathgate spren can be corrupted, this does not impact their ability to send travelers to uncorrupted ones.

In the past, those spren also allowed people without the Surge of Transportation to travel to and from Shadesmar; however, Honor forbade it to them shortly before his death. While the Oathgate spren are highly regretful about it, they are physically incapable of disobeying his orders.

Notes

{{complete}}
{{Stormlight}}
[[Category:Subpages]]
[[Category:List articles]]
[[Category:Spren| ]]