Design

Design
by Aliya Chen
Abilities	Nahel bond, Lightweaver magic, Splinter, Worldhopper
Bonded With	Elhokar (formerly), Hoid
Species	Cryptic
World	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere
Featured In	The Stormlight Archive, Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

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“Design! ... What did I tell you about spoiling the ending of stories!”

“Something stupid, so I forgot it!”

—Hoid and Design

Design is a Cryptic from Roshar bonded to Hoid.

Appearance and Personality

by Elisgardor

With Hoid

“I get annoyed easily! It's endearing... to everyone but him! ”

—Design to Kaladin

For more images, see /Gallery.

Appearance

Like other Cryptics, Design is a creature with stiff robes and a shifting pattern for a head. Her head pattern is lacy and intricate, and seems to be more fine and graceful than Pattern's. She has a musical, feminine voice. She can flare out her pattern, which is her way of giving a bow.

When living on Komashi, she took the form of an attractive Nagadan woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, with a full form and long white hair. This was achieved via a Lightweaving illusion. She specifically asked for a striking and voluptuous figure, both as a way to be particularly disturbing to people if she ever reveals her true appearance, and because she likes the appearance of human curves.

Personality

Design is cheerful and energetic. She gets annoyed easily and considers that to be endearing. She does not mind spoiling the end of stories and considers surprises to be dumb, unless, it appears, the surprise is for the purposes of playing a prank on someone.

Design enjoys annoying Hoid, poking holes in his stories and tricks in front of others. She happily points out when Hoid makes a mistake. She likes getting into arguments with Hoid. She however is not a great match for Hoid and both bring out negative aspects of the others personality, she and Elhokar would have gotten along excellently however.

She dislikes people being overly formal and reverent with her, actively tells off those that try to worship her.

She does not see herself as female, though does enjoy presenting herself in a female form.

Abilities and Attributes

Being a Cryptic, Design is able to form Nahel bonds with humans. This gives the bonded human access to the Surges of the Order of Lightweavers, namely Illumination and Transformation. Once the bonded has stated enough truths to be a full Radiant, she is able to become a Shardblade. By the time she took up residence on Komashi, Design felt she could serve as "an encouragingly mediocre sword".

History

“I will give you truths. And I know some juicy ones. ”

—Hoid to Design

Roshar

In the months or years leading up to his death, Elhokar had been seeing Cryptics, in their Shadesmar form, in mirrors. He seems to have also spotted a Physical form of a Cryptic at some point, possibly Design. While Elhokar was seeing Cryptics in mirrors for a while, he only began saying the First Ideal just before he died.

Design was later rescued from the Fused in Kholinar by Hoid, who found her near the location Elhokar died. Hoid then bonded her.

Design was with Hoid when Odium took Kaladin's consciousness to Braize. Design played Hoid's flute while he told the story "The Dog and the Dragon". Design was able to play the flute despite not having lips, moving her fingers randomly and simultaneously holding a conversation with Hoid. She spoiled the ending of the story to Kaladin, which was appalling to Hoid. She argued with Hoid and provided a counterpoint to many things he said throughout the story.

Design had a conversation with Hoid in Elhokar's old palace before Hoid confronted Odium. She argued with Hoid about Lightweaving. She went away with some corrupted windspren when Hoid told her to bother someone else. She was not present when Hoid confronted the new Odium. When Hoid repeated his performance after confronting Odium, he had forgotten that Design already left.

Worldhopping

“Besides, I’m on vacation. No worshipping the bits of God when they’re on vacation. It’s a rule I just made up. ”

—Design

Eventually, she and Hoid managed to escape Roshar and travel the cosmere, with some difficulty. However, it is not known where she was during Hoid's stay on Scadrial following the True Desolation. At some point they found a way to have Design appear and interact as if she were human, using "a complicated wireframe Lightweaving with force projections attached directly to her cognitive element as it manifested in the physical realm." They went to Threnody, and later went to the planet Komashi, where Hoid found himself frozen in stasis. Design took advantage of this 'vacation' to set up a successful noodle shop called the Noodle Pupil, using Hoid's immobilized body as a coat rack.

She developed a cordial relationship with Painter, who frequented her restaurant. Later, she came to help him and Yumi with their predicament, and educated them on basic Realmatic Theory to help explain to them what was happening along with using the aura fabrial to analyze Yumi's spiritweb and Investiture. After the pair freed the hijo from the father machine, Hoid found himself restored, and he and Design plotted to escape Komashi aboard one of its spacecraft.

Notes

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