Ba-Ado-Mishram
| Ba-Ado-Mishram | |
|---|---|
| Abilities | Splinter of Odium |
| Groups | Unmade |
| Species | Spren |
| Homeworld | Roshar |
| Universe | Cosmere |
“ I find Ba-Ado-Mishram to be the most interesting of the Unmade. She is said to have been keen of mind, a highprincess among the enemy forces, their commander during some of the Desolations. I do not know how this relates to the ancient god of the enemy, named Odium. ”
— From Hessi's Mythica, page 203[1]
Ba-Ado-Mishram is one of the Unmade,[1] an ancient and terrible spren of Odium.[2] She is a sapient Unmade.[1] She was a primary instigator of the False Desolation, leading to her imprisonment by the Knights Radiant,[3] which put the vast majority of singers on Roshar into slaveform.[4]
She is unique among the Unmade for having two hyphens in her name, whereas others only have one or zero.
Mythology and Lore
“ There is very little information about Ba-Ado-Mishram in more modern times. I can only assume she, unlike many of them, returned to Damnation or was destroyed during Aharietiam. ”
— From Hessi's Mythica, page 226[5]
In modern times, Hessi believed Ba-Ado-Mishram to be a highprincess of the Voidbringers, and was their commander in some Desolations.[1] There was no record of Ba-Ado-Mishram in the present day, and so Hessi suspected that she returned to Damnation or was destroyed in Aharietiam.[5]
However, the reason why Ba-Ado-Mishram is absent in the modern era is because she was imprisoned during the False Desolation, around the time of the Recreance.[3] It is also possible that the reason why there are legends of her being the commander of the enemy is because of her role in the False Desolation as well, rather than actually being a commander during actual Desolations with the Fused.
History
Early History
Like all Unmade, Ba-Ado-Mishram's true origin is unknown. Her role during the Desolations is unclear, but she was said to be a highprincess of the enemy, and a commander in some Desolations.[1] Her relationship with the Fused during the Desolations is unclear.
After the Last Desolation, Ba-Ado-Mishram continued to exist on Roshar. Little is known as to her influence on events during this period of the Era of Solitude.
The False Desolation
“Ba-Ado-Mishram has somehow Connected with the parsh people, as Odium once did. She provides Voidlight and facilitates forms of power. Our strike team is going to imprison her.”
—Drawer 30-20, fourth emerald[3]
About 2,500 years after Aharetiam,[6] Ba-Ado-Mishram made an enormous splash on the world stage. Ba-Ado-Mishram Connected with the vast majority of singers on Roshar--all except the listeners. She granted the singers forms of powers--making them into Regals--and provided them with Voidlight.[3] This created a new war, and a different kind of Desolation, one without the Fused. Scholars would later term it the False Desolation.[6] It's unclear what Ba-Ado-Mishram's motives were in making this dramatic action at this time, nor is it obvious if she was acting at Odium's wishes.
The Knights Radiant of the era felt that the singers fought with zeal,[7] and did not know how Ba-Ado-Mishram could Connect with the singers.[3] The fighting was particularly during this period intense.[8] At some point, the singers pressed towards Feverstone Keep, though the Radiants did not understand why the area interested the singers--or perhaps Ba-Ado-Mishram--so much. Some speculated that it had been part of a plan to capture Rall Elorim.[9]
The Radiants sought an edge in combat with the singers, and made a coalition of scholar Radiants with the goal of denying the singers their Voidlight.[10] They had a theory that an Unmade could be captured like regular spren, but it would require a special prison--likely a perfect gemstone--and Melishi,[11] the Bondsmith of that generation.[12][13] So, the Radiants formed a strike team to imprison Ba-Ado-Mishram. Melishi was confident in the plan, but other Radiants were uncertain on the effects this would have on the singers. Still, they hoped this would finally lead to the end of the war with the singers, once and for all.[14]
It is clear strike team was ultimately successful and Ba-Ado-Mishram was imprisoned. She had not been seen on Roshar for thousands of years since, unlike the other Unmade and Hessi believed Ba-Ado-Mishram to be killed instead of just permanently imprisoned.[5]
Legacy
“We are uncertain the effects this will have on the parsh. At the very least, it should deny them forms of power. Melishi is confident, but Naze-daughter-Kuzodo warns of unintended side effects.”
—Drawer 30-20, fifth emerald[15]
Ba-Ado-Mishram's imprisonment had massive effects on Roshar. It ripped out both Connection and Identity from the singers, which prevented them from being able to act independently.[4] This Spiritual damage persisted even through the singers' offspring. The few singers that were not part of the False Desolation--the listeners--termed these singers as slaveforms; singers with no form. Humans used these singers as slaves for two thousand years, until the Everstorm arrived and healed them.[4] The singers were furious at humanity for this act of enslavement, and this became a rallying cry for them to fight against humanity in the True Desolation.
Fighting in the False Desolation occurred near Feverstone Keep,[9] and since that is the site of many Windrunners and Stonewards abandoning their oaths,[16][6] it is possible that Ba-Ado-Mishram's imprisonment precipitated the Recreance. It may have been the final thing that made the Radiants feel they were on the wrong side. The Recreance certainly happened at the same time or directly after Ba-Ado-Mishram's imprisonment.
The current location of her gemstone prison is unknown.
Attributes and Abilities
Ba-Ado-Mishram has some of the most powerful capabilities of individuals outside of Shards. She was able to Connect with singers on a massive scale, Connecting with all of them (except the listeners) across the entirety of Roshar,[3] which suggests that it was not a short-ranged, local process near Ba-Ado-Mishram--like Moelach or Nergaoul's effects--but a continent-wide display of power.
Ba-Ado-Mishram was able to supply the singers with Voidlight and forms of power, making singers into Regals.[3][17] This shows she has access to a huge quantity of Investiture on a scale other Unmade lack. This ability was compared to Odium in previous Desolations, which likely means that Ba-Ado-Mishram could not supply infinite Voidlight to the Regals, as the Fused in Desolations did not have access to infinite Voidlight either.[18] It's unknown whether her Connection let Ba-Ado-Mishram speak to singers directly as Odium does, or command the conflict directly.
The Knights Radiant did not know Ba-Ado-Mishram could Connect with the singers, and did not know how she managed to do it.[3] This may indicate that Ba-Ado-Mishram had not used such an ability in previous Desolations.
Her other abilities are unclear aside from this Connection. If she was in fact a highprincess of the Voidbringers, or a commander of the enemy during actual Desolations,[1] she would likely need to be powerful or fearsome for Fused to follow her. However, it is said that the Radiants feared Sja-anat most of all Unmade,[19] not Ba-Ado-Mishram, so it is possible she was not the biggest threat to the Radiants.
Notes
- ↑ a b c d e f Oathbringer chapter 106 epigraph#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 62#
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Oathbringer chapter 80 epigraph#
- ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 17#
- ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 107 epigraph#
- ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 56#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 77 epigraph#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 41 epigraph#
- ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 84 epigraph#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 78 epigraph#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 79 epigraph#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 58 epigraph#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 67 epigraph#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 82 epigraph#
- ↑ Oathbringer chapter 81 epigraph#
- ↑ Words of Radiance chapter 52#
- ↑ Oathbringer interlude I-7#
- ↑ Skyward San Diego signing
— Arcanum - 2018-11-07# - ↑ Oathbringer chapter 97 epigraph#