Hoid

Hoid
Abilities	Lightweaving and Worldhopping
Homeworld	Yolen

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, 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, and so it is commonly believed Hoid is from Yolen, the world of Dragonsteel.

Hoid has a home base somewhere in the cosmere.

It is either Hoid or a member of the Seventeenth Shard who writes the Ars Arcanum.

History

Very little of Hoid's history is known beyond the fact that he was present at the Shattering of Adonalsium. The specifics of his appearances follows, but bear in mind that it is arranged by book, not chronologically. Hoid's appearance in Alloy of Law takes place after his appearance in The Way of Kings.

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 Hoid and decided not to speak to him.
• Alloy of Law - 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, going so far as to ask Dalinar if he had ever heard the term "Adonalsium". 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.

In the first Interlude, Ishikk, a man from the Purelake, spent six months being paid by three men to ask around the area after Hoid. These three men are Galladon, Demoux, and a third man from a book that has not been published, referred to as Vao or Blunt. These men are almost certainly members of the Seventeenth Shard.

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. The characters he plays often have a penchant for jokes and mockery but when he removes the facade his personality often seems mysterious and grave.

Abilities

• Lightweaving - possible illusion magic from Yolen. This allows him to create images of anything he likes, and even possibly change how he looks to others.
• Worldhopping - Hoid is very good at manipulating Shadesmar. He can travel to any world he likes, and can even use this ability to move swiftly around a single planet and to get to otherwise inaccessible areas, like the Well of Ascension.
• Limited foresight - Hoid knows where he needs to go and when he needs to be there.
• Extremely long life and time dilation - Hoid is far older then any human could really live, and he also hasn't lived through all those years. He can move swiftly froward in time, but has not yet traveled backwards in time.

Known Pseudonyms

• Roamer - by Galladon in the Purelake
• 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.

Hoid Wrote The Letter

In the epigraphs in Part 2 of The Way of Kings, there is the text of a letter. Both its author and recipient are unknown. This letter refers to all the original Shardholders by their names and begs the recipient for aid in the struggle against Rayse, holder of the Shard Odium. If Hoid wrote this letter, it offers valuable insights into his personality and goals. The author of the Letter is being hunted by the Seventeenth Shard and has set a false trail for them to follow. This provides strong evidence that the author of the Letter is Hoid, as he is being hunted in an area far from where he really is by three men who are probably from the Seventeenth Shard

Worldsingers & Worldbringers

The names of the Worldsingers, a group of storytellers on Roshar, and the Conclave of Worldbringers, the leading body of the original Terris religion, are strikingly similar. Brandon has stated that this is not a coincidence. Some believe that Hoid is a common root to both of these organizations, one of which, the Worldbringers, was very Realmatically aware.

Lerasium Bead

We know that aside from the beads of lerasium burned by the original nine Allomancers and Elend there is at least one more other bead somewhere in the cosmere. We know that Hoid was at the well prior to Vin and Elend arriving there. Also, Hoid has "metal that he shouldn't have". Hoid has also been confirmed to have retrieved something from the Well. Combining all these facts heavily hint that Hoid is in possession of a bead of lerasium.

Quotes

Warbreaker

“I only tell stories, Your Grace. They may be truths, they may be fictions. All I know is that the stories themselves exist and that I must tell them.”

—Hoid to Siri on the truth of his stories

“I learned it many, many years ago from a man who didn't know who he was, Your Majesty. It was a distant place where two lands meet and gods have died.”

—Hoid to Siri on where he learned his particular method of storytelling.

As Hoid developed that type of storytelling, it's possible that the "man who didn't know who he was" is himself.

The Way of Kings

“The foolishness of men who care, Dalinar, and the brilliance of those who do not. The second depend on the first—but also exploit the first first—while the first misunderstand the second, hoping that the second are more like the first. And all of their games steal our time. Second by second.”

—Hoid to Dalinar

“Nonsense. Balderdash. Figgldygrak. Isn't it odd that gibberish words are often the sounds of other words, cut up and dismembered, then stitched into something like them—yet wholly unlike them at the same time?

I wonder if you could do that to a man. Pull him apart, emotion by emotion, bit by bit, bloody chunk by bloody chunk. Then combine them back together into something else, like a Dysian Aimian. If you do put a man together like that, Dalinar, be sure to name him Gibberish, after me. Or perhaps Gibletish”

—Hoid to Dalinar

“I’ve abandoned my real name. But when next we meet, I’ll think of a clever one for you to call me. Until then, Wit will suffice—or if you must, you may call me Hoid.”

—Hoid to Dalinar

“I began life as a thought, a concept, words on a page. That was another thing I stole. Myself. Another time, I was named for a rock.

“A pretty one, I hope.”

A beautiful one,” the man said. “And one that became completely worthless for my wearing it.”

—Hoid to Kaladin

“What you saw belongs to you. A story doesn’t live until it is imagined in someone’s mind.”

What does the story mean, then?

It means what you want it to mean. The purpose of a storyteller is not to tell you how to think, but to give you questions to think upon. Too often, we forget that.”

—Hoid to Kaladin on stories

“People see in stories what they’re looking for, my young friend.” He reached behind his boulder, pulling out a pack and slinging it on his shoulder. “I have no answers for you. Most days, I feel I never have had any answers. I’ve come to your land to chase an old acquaintance, but I end up spending most of my time hiding from him instead.”

—Hoid to Kaladin

“Can you feel it? Something just changed. I believe that’s the sound the world makes when it pisses itself”

—Hoid to the Kholinar city guards

“What is it we value? Innovation. Originality. Novelty. But most importantly . . . timeliness. I fear you may be too late, my confused, unfortunate, friend.”

—Hoid to Taln

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.
• Brandon has stated that Hoid is his favorite character, but he couldn't say why without giving away spoilers.
• Brandon may eventually write a parallel novel to the Mistborn series that chronicles what Hoid was up to behind the scenes.