Nergaoul

Nergaoul
Groups	Unmade
Species	Spren
Homeworld	Roshar

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Nergaoul is the Unmade involved with the Thrill. It is described as an "ancient, evil spren" in Taravangian's internal monologue.

Appearance and Behavior

“ Something came surging out. Something primeval, something Venli had felt but never truly known. Red mist. Ephemeral, like a shadow you see on a dark day and mistake for something real. Charging red horses, angry and galloping. The forms of men, killing and dying, shedding blood and reveling in it. Bones piled atop one another, making a hill upon which men struggled.

The red mist climbed up from the surging waves, rolling out onto an empty section of rock, northward along the rim of the water. It brought to her a lust for the battlefield. A beautiful focus, a Thrill for the fight.

”

— During the start of the Battle of Thaylen Field

When visible in the Physical Realm, Nergaoul appears in the form of red mist. The mist would often form images of battle, of soldiers fighting and dying, among other things. However, Nergaoul can affect people even without being in this visible state, and his influence can be felt in an area big enough to span nations.

In Shadesmar, he appears as a large dark mass of living red light.

The Thrill

The Thrill is the term used to describe the effect of Nergaoul's presence on people. It manifests as a strong competitive urge accompanied by increased focus and the ability to ignore things like pain or morality that might otherwise distract from the goal of victory. This effect can be felt during any competition, whether violent or non-violent, although it is much more keen during battle. It is a phenomenon experienced by many on Roshar, most of whom are not aware of its Unmade origin.

The Thrill is thought to generally grow stronger the closer someone is to Nergaoul's location. It could affect soldiers from both sides of a battle, whether voidish or mortal, though someone feeling its urge may choose to refuse its embrace.

Odium can more easily control anyone embracing the Thrill. This might be due to the nature of Nergaoul's Investiture being from Odium himself.

It is known that being very close to something tied to Honor reduces the effects of the Thrill. For example, Kaladin Stormblessed is immune to the Thrill, likely due to his bond to an honorspren.

History

According to Hessi's Mythica, the signs of Nergaoul's presence, namely the battle rage and the red mist, have been known since ancient times. She believed Nergaoul to still be active on modern Roshar due to Alethi descriptions of the Thrill.

In Alethkar

The Thrill caused Alethkar to become a more warlike nation. Most Alethi soldiers, lighteyed or not, felt the Thrill to some degree. Most notably, it was used heavily and quite effectively by Dalinar Kholin when he fought battles for his brother Gavilar, who wanted to unify Alethkar under his rule. Dalinar's Thrill-driven ferocity in combat earned him a great reputation. People started calling him the Blackthorn after he was seen walking with several black arrows sticking into him after a failed assassination attempt; the Thrill helped him bear the pain.

Being under the influence of an Unmade had not always been positive for Dalinar, however. At one point, the Thrill consumed him to the point that he wanted to keep fighting even after winning a battle and almost attacked Gavilar. Later on, surrendering himself to a vengeful rage stoked by the Thrill, he ordered the slaughter of everyone in the rebelling city of Rathalas, which led to the death of his own wife Evi.

This tragedy broke Dalinar's spirit. Later he journeyed to the Valley to seek a boon of "forgiveness" from the Nightwatcher, who did not know what to make of this request. Cultivation intervened and took all the memories of Evi away from Dalinar's mind, allowing him to recover. Dalinar would still use the Thrill throughout most of the War of Reckoning until he found himself more and more repulsed by the idea of senseless killing (possibly influenced by his growing Nahel bond). Later on, without knowing its origins, Dalinar concluded that there was something wrong about the Thrill.

Other notable Alethi who embraced the Thrill at some point in their lives were Dalinar's son Adolin and the Highprince Torol Sadeas.

In Jah Keved

Nergaoul moved towards Jah Keved while the country was recovering from a series of assassinations that killed off many of Veden Highprinces. It is believed that the Unmade's presence greatly worsened the civil war that broke out due to the succession crisis, causing much destruction until Valam became victorious.

Taravangian, who shortly succeeded Valam as king of Jah Keved, had been studying the Unmade and noticed Nergaoul's influence in the civil war, but decided to focus his efforts on the Unmade called Moelach instead.

In Thaylenah

During the Battle of Thaylen Field, Odium used Nergaoul to control Sadeas's soldiers and attack Thaylen City. With the help of Szeth and Lift, Dalinar Kholin managed to coax Nergaoul into King's Drop, trapping the Unmade inside the perfect gemstone similar to the way spren are caught. He did this by embracing the Thrill one last time while holding King's Drop.

The defeat of Nergaoul was ended the battle, as Sadeas's soldiers were freed from Odium's influence.

Notes

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