Difference between revisions of "Hoid"

|image=Wit.jpg

|groups={{tag|Worldsingers|cat=Worldsingers}}

|aliases=Wit, Hoid, [[#Known Pseudonyms|others]]

|world=Yolen

|universe=[[Cosmere]]

{{quote

| And while I am your friend, please understand that our goals do not completely align. You must not trust yourself with me. If I have to watch this [[Roshar|world]] crumble and burn to get what I need, I will do so. With tears, yes, but I would let it happen.

Hoid was involved in the events taking place before any of the cosmere's published books begin and is the second oldest character seen so far.{{wob ref|945}} He was originally human, but has changed enough that when asked, [[Brandon]] only says "It's complicated."{{wob ref|6614}} Hoid is not a [[Shard]], nor is he a [[Herald]], but something else entirely.{{wob ref|8843}} He is very skilled with disguises, and the overtness of his involvement varies from book to book. In some, he is named outright and makes references to other events and places in the cosmere, while in others he is seen only deep in disguise, almost unrecognizable. Brandon has confirmed that all of these appearances are the same individual,{{wob ref|4414}} but that he [[worldhopping|worldhops]] between planets. Hoid's motives are unknown, and most of his actions occur behind the scenes.

 

 

Hoid is neither the author of the [[Ars Arcanum|Ars Arcanum]], nor of the back-of-book blurb for ''[[Words of Radiance]]''.{{wob ref|2888}} He occasionally will show up somewhere, stand around for a while, realize there isn't a novel-worthy plot going on, and leave.{{wob ref|5821}}

 

=== Taldain (White Sand) ===

 

{{quote

| There is beauty in every disaster, friend, if you are clever enough to find it."

 

===== [[Words of Radiance]] =====

 

Hoid is also seen acting as the carriage driver for [[Adolin]] when he is visiting [[Shallan]] at [[Shattered Plains|Sebarial's warcamp]]. He speaks to [[Kaladin]] about his flute and mentions that he wants an interesting story from him. When [[Shallan]] recognizes him she happily hugs him for his advice from three and a half years prior when he encouraged her at her worst and told her to keep seeking the light.{{book ref|sa2|55}}

 

; [[Edgedancer (novella)|Edgedancer]]

 

===== [[Oathbringer]] =====

 

<gallery caption="Images of Hoid">

</gallery>

 

Hoid does not yet have the abilities of every planet he's visited.{{wob ref|2853}} Some of his powers predate the [[Shattering]], but none of them are gained through [[Hemalurgy]].{{wob ref|6658}} Hoid is concerned about opening himself up to the influence of Shards, so he only gains access to manifestations of Investiture through more conventional ways.{{wob ref|656}} Hoid has access to multiple Invested Arts, but not an incredibly large number.{{wob ref|1044}}

 

{{quote

|I see. You do not yet understand the nature of lies. I had that trouble myself, long ago. The Shards here are very strict. You will have to see the truth, child, before you can expand upon it. Just as a man should know the law before he breaks it.

Hoid's Yolish Lightweaving does not always seem to function perfectly on Roshar,{{wob ref|9346}} in fact he needs help from Shallan to fully craft an illusion.{{book ref|sa3|82}} His power is somehow limited, and he has trouble making some aspects of it work, even after multiple attempts.{{wob ref|9346}} It is uncertain why this occurs and whether or not this issue is unique to Roshar. Hoid's bonding of a cryptic will allow for some supplemental ability with his Lightweaving{{wob ref|8473}} and may allow him to overcome this issue crafting illusions, although further impacts or resonances between the two are unknown.{{wob ref|8664}} Hoid's access to Yolish Lightweaving does allow him to guide another Lightweaver's power, although this is not something he would be able to do with just any Invested Art.{{wob ref|9346}}

 

Hoid travels between various planets within the cosmere by making use of perpendicularities,{{wob ref|1472}} places usually created by the presence of a Shard on a planet where the sheer power of Investiture causes the borders between the realms to be weakened.{{au ref|drominad}} A knowledgeable person such as Hoid is able to transition from the Physical Realm to the Cognitive Realm.{{wob ref|1472}} Hoid can then travel to a different world's subastral, as the distances between worlds in the Cognitive Realm are much smaller than in the Physical Realm.{{wob ref|4132}} Hoid is very proficient at traveling in the Cognitive Realm.{{wob ref|5981}} He can easily travel to any world that has an active [[perpendicularity]], even those worlds where the perpendicularities are dangerous to pass through such as the [[Well of Ascension]].{{msh ref|2|1}} Hoid is known to be aware of perpendicularities on Scadrial,{{msh ref|2|1}} Sel,{{book ref|Elantris|part=postscript}} and Roshar,{{book ref|sa2|46}} and likely knows of Nalthis's perpendicularity as well.{{book ref|wb|32}}{{wob ref|9501}} While Hoid typically makes use of natural perpendicularities in his travels, later in life he may also have access to an ability that essentially allows him to generate his own personal perpendicularity, much like the [[Surge]] of Transportation.{{wob ref|9294}}

 

{{quote

|Other men . . . other men, as they age, merely grow stranger. I fear that I am one of those. I am the bones of a foreign species left drying on the plain that was once, long ago, a sea. A curiosity, perhaps a reminder, that all has not always been as it is now.

Hoid has lived for many more years than any mortal human would be able to live.{{wob ref|4031}} This immortality is known to have come from some remnant of the weapon the original sixteen Vessels constructed in an attempt to kill Adonalsium.{{wob ref|10439}} Additionally, Hoid has not actually experienced all those years,{{wob ref|6585}} instead making use of some time-dilation technique that may render him somehow unconscious or unaware.{{wob ref|4083}} However, Hoid does not have the ability to travel backwards in time.{{wob ref|37}}

 

{{quote

|I'd be surprised if that little knife of yours poses me any real threat, Kholin

Hoid has access to some manifestation of Investiture that allows him to manipulate the Spiritual attribute of [[Connection]]. The full extent of this ability is unknown, but its primary known use is to help Hoid speak the various languages of the worlds of the cosmere that he visits. The ability allows him to Connect to whatever land he is in, temporarily altering his Spiritual aspect to believe that he was raised in that place, allowing him to speak as a native.{{wob ref|3759}} While Hoid has learned naturally how to speak some foreign languages,{{wob ref|9012}} and is decent with languages, he desires to pass as a local oftentimes, which requires something beyond natural learning.{{wob ref|223}} Generally he makes use of the his Connection ability to communicate in foreign languages.{{wob ref|9012}} This ability is not without fault though, as when Hoid speaks naturally it will fill in local idioms and phrases on its own, but if Hoid is careless and focuses on a specific word or phrase the ability may fail and he will say the word verbatim in his own tongue{{wob ref|3759}} or it may be said in an odd way.{{wob ref|3583}} Hoid is an expert in using his Connection ability, but even he sometimes makes mistakes. This is the reason he occasionally slips up and may say words that confuse others,{{wob ref|8185}} such as coin{{book ref|sa2|epilogue}} and bunny{{book ref|sa2|59}} on Roshar. As Hoid has demonstrated the ability to fluently speak foreign languages before the knowledge of unsealed metalminds became widespread,{{book ref|elantris|58}} it is unlikely that he is making use of Feruchemical [[duralumin]] to maniupulate Connection.

 

Hoid has also gained access to Allomancy,{{wob ref|4877}} by burning a bead of lerasium stolen from the Well of Ascension.{{wob ref|1515}}{{wob ref|12210}} This grants him power equivalent to that of the ancient Allomancers.{{epigraph ref|mb3|22}} It is uncertain how practiced he is with these powers, but he does make use of emotional Allomancy{{wob ref|6933}} on at least one occasion.{{book ref|sa2|45}} He also has access to [[atium]].{{wob ref|465}} It is unknown whether or not Hoid has access to Feruchemy.{{wob ref|466}} However, he does have access to some unkeyed metalminds,{{wob ref|1571}} which would not be useful to him without Feruchemical abilities. The particular attributes that are stored in these metalminds are unknown. Hoid does not make use of Hemalurgy, to gain access to the Metallic Arts or any other manifestation of Investiture.{{wob ref|656}}

 

{{quote

|Perfect pitch makes this all so much easier than it once was....

As a Yolish man, Hoid was not himself born with any Biochromatic Breath.{{wob ref|3212}} However at some point Hoid has gained access to enough Biochromatic Breath to bring him to at least the Second Heightening.{{book ref|sa2|59}} This means Hoid has approximately two-hundred Breaths, which grant him the ability to recognize other Breath auras and judge about how much breath another Awakener has, as well as perfect pitch.{{book ref|wb|epilogue}} That is not to say that Hoid may not have reached a higher Heightening, just that the second Heightening is his minimum power level.{{wob ref|4655}} Hoid's level of skill with Awakening is still unknown, as he has only made use of it on one known occasion, Awakening a doll to allow it to walk.{{book ref|sa3|epilogue}} This makes it difficult to ascertain his knowledge of Commands or complex Awakenings. Hoid's level of control over Investiture does allow him to suppress his Breath aura, making it difficult to notice by others. However, there are various methods of detecting Investiture that could circumvent this suppression.{{wob ref|3437}} Hoid's perfect pitch does aid him in tuning instruments and making music.{{book ref|sa2|59}}

 

{{quote

|"It's either go with me now or wait it out and get captured. I honestly don't even know if you've the mind to listen. But if you do, know this: I will give you truths. And I know some juicy ones.

== Trivia ==

* The character of Hoid existed before the concept of Adonalsium was developed. He first appeared in a short story Brandon wrote long ago, going by the name Kamp.{{wob ref|7600}} He was on a planet trying to figure out how the magical system of the area worked.{{wob ref|1191}}

* Brandon may eventually write a parallel novel to the Mistborn series that chronicles what Hoid was up to behind the scenes.{{wob ref|1220}}

* Hoid loves bacon.{{wob ref|3098}}

 

{{bws ref|date=2014-03-31|name=tes-del|the-emperors-soul-deleted-prologue-imperial-fool|Deleted prologue from ''The Emperor's Soul''}}

 

</references>