Hoid

Hoid
Abilities	Lightweaving and Worldhopping
Homeworld	Yolen

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Hoid is a recurring character in the cosmere, who has appeared in every cosmere novel except The Emperor's Soul; he was involved in events before the beginning of the novella. The subtlety of his appearances vary from book to book, ranging from him being named outright and making cosmere references to appearances where his name isn't mentioned and he's in a deep disguise. He is confirmed to be the same individual, but one who Worldhops between planets. Hoid's actions and motives are mysterious, as most of his actions appear to occur behind the scenes.

Hoid is not a Shard^{[citation needed]}, nor is he a Herald, but something else entirely.

It has been said that the origin of Hoid will be revealed in the Dragonsteel series^{[citation needed]}, and so it is commonly believed Hoid is from Yolen, the world of Dragonsteel.

Hoid has a home base somewhere in the cosmere.

History

Very little of Hoid's history is known beyond the fact that he was present at the Shattering of Adonalsium.

Sel (Elantris & The Emperor's Soul)

On Sel, as he often does, Hoid plays a role as a beggar. He helped Sarene smuggle weapons into Elantris. He also served as the Imperial Fool for the Rose Empire; he betrayed Shai which resulted in her capture and imprisonment.

Scadrial (Mistborn)

He has appeared multiple times on Scadrial:

• The Final Empire - To Kelsier he acted as an informant in Luthadel.
• The Well of Ascension - Hoid spent the vast majority of his time in this book hunting for the Well of Ascension. He had been tricked by the Lord Ruler's disguise of the true Terris homeland, so he spent much of his time in the Terris Dominance, where he got wrapped up in things he didn't anticipate. Hoid meets Elend and Spook on their way back to Luthadel as the unnamed leader of the Terris refugees follow the Inquisitor attack on Tathingdwen. He uses Worldhopping to arrive at the Well before Vin did but his reasons for going there remain mysterious.
• The Hero of Ages - Hoid again acted as an informant on the streets of Fadrex City. On the advice of Cett, Vin went to Hoid for information. She heard him humming and for some mysterious reason she was spooked by him and decided not to speak to him.
• At the wedding of Lord Joshin and Lady Mi'chelle Yomen, Hoid was seen speaking to them, once again dressed as a beggar.

Nalthis (Warbreaker)

On Nalthis Hoid was summoned to the Court of the Gods by Lightsong. He recounts the story of Vo, the First Returned, explains the origin of the Hallandren God Kings, and answers Lightsong and Siri's questions.

Roshar (The Stormlight Archive)

In a departure from his previous appearances, Hoid played a relatively major role on Roshar. Most often seen under the guise of Wit, Elhokar Kholin's court jester, he influenced Dalinar. He also met Kaladin and told him a story about Derethil and the Wandersail. During the course of the story, Hoid used a special, ancient flute called a Trailman's flute. It is also likely that he used Lightweaving to cause the smoke from the fire to take the form of various elements from his story. Hoid appeared again later on in the book, at the end, at the very same time as Taln, a Herald, who breaks through the gates of Kholinar and falls unconscious after declaring that the True Desolation is imminent.

Appearance & Personality

Hoid's appearance varies drastically from book to book. He's often in disguise which makes his true appearance difficult to ascertain. Couple this with the fact that he can most likely Lightweave his appearance in order to look however he wants, it makes it nearly impossible to know for sure what he looks like. To the best of our knowledge, his face is lined; hawk-like and arrow shaped. Hoid is tall and thin and also has a sharp nose and jaw with delicate eyebrows. He tends to cock his head to one side and has keen blue eyes. Hoid's hair is white, although he occasionally dyes it.

Hoid's true personality, while also usually disguised is more easily seen as he occasionally drops whatever part he is playing. One of his overall most noticeable traits is his sharp wit and intelligence.

Abilities

• Lightweaving, possible illusion magic from Yolen.
• Worldhopping, very good at manipulating Shadesmar.
• Limited foresight about where he needs to go and when he needs to be there.
• Extremely long life and time dilation.

Known Pseudonyms

• Roamer
• Dust
• The King's Wit
• Imperial Fool of the Rose Empire
• A storyteller in the Court of the Gods

Speculation

This page or section deals with theories or speculation.

Please read carefully and note that this is not necessarily canonical.

Trivia

• The character of Hoid existed before the concept of Adonalsium was developed. He first appeared in a short story Brandon wrote long ago. He was on a planet trying to figure out how the magical system of the area worked.
• A very early version of Hoid was in Brandon's very first written (unpublished) book.^{[citation needed]}
• Brandon has stated that Hoid is his favorite character, but he couldn't say why without giving away spoilers.