Pattern

Pattern
by Isaac Stewart, User: Awesomeness
Abilities	Nahel bond, Lightweaver magic, Splinter
Bonded With	Shallan
Species	Cryptic
Homeworld	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere

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“I know that you have forgotten much of what once was. Those lies attracted me. But you cannot continue like this; you must admit the truth about me. About what I can do, and what we have done. Mmm... More, you must know yourself. And remember. You wish to help. You wish to prepare for the Everstorm, the spren of the unnatural one. You must become something. I did not come to you merely to teach you tricks of light. ”

—Pattern to Shallan Davar on remembering the difficult truths of her past

Pattern is a spren on Roshar. He is a member of the race of spren called the Cryptics. His bond to Shallan Davar grants him sentience in the Physical Realm and allows her to use the Surges associated with the Order of Lightweavers, Illumination and Transformation.

Name

Pattern says that his real name is composed of many numbers, making it difficult to say. Shallan started calling him "Pattern" while she was studying him upon Jasnah's orders.

Appearance and Personality

by Exmakina Pattern's Physical form

For more images, see /Gallery.

In the Physical Realm, Pattern most often takes the shape of a complex and constantly shifting geometric pattern slightly raised off a surface or object. On occasion he can also manifest as a floating three-dimensional mass of twisting lines. Pattern is unable to turn completely invisible like honorspren, but he can blend in with the surface he currently inhabits such that only people who are looking for him will notice his presence.

While a Shardblade, Pattern often takes the shape of a thin, long sword with a slight curve in it.

In the Cognitive Realm, Pattern appears as a tall and willowy creature clad in a robe made of a stiff material. A complex pattern of sharp lines and impossible geometries forms his head.

Pattern is fascinated by concepts that mix truths and falsehoods, such as flattery, sarcasm, and even figures of speech like metaphors. He calls these things lies, but not in a disparaging way but rather admiringly, as if he is fond of lies. These are things that he has to learn from humans like Shallan, as he is more naturally inclined to express truths simply as they are. While he is a master of understanding patterns, he finds man-made patterns, like human languages and their social conventions, to be more of a challenge because of their inconsistencies and illogical rules, although he tries his best to learn these things anyway as they are attractive to him.

Despite being a spren attracted to lies, falsehoods, or their offshoots, Pattern is revealed to be a terrible liar himself.

While capable of silently blending in with his surroundings, which has proven useful when spying on people, Pattern has a tendency to vibrate audibly when excited or anxious. This buzzing sound tends to unnerve people, especially those unaware of where the noise is coming from.

Attributes and Abilities

As his name implies, Pattern has the ability to recognize and decipher complex patterns and codes. He often aids Shallan in her various pursuits by opening locks, breaking codes, translating languages, and mimicking voices. He is able to perfectly reproduce conversations and circumambient noise - even from a distance - using vibrations directed at the source of the conversation. When Shallan attempts to Soulcast, such as changing a stick into fire, Pattern serves as translator for the object she is trying to convince to change. When Lightweaving, Shallan can anchor her illusions to Pattern, allowing them to move and draw Stormlight even when they are not in close proximity to her.

Nahel Bond

The bond Pattern and Shallan share grants him sentience in the Physical Realm and gives her access to the Surges of Illumination and Transformation. Like other orders of the Knights Radiant Shallan had to verbally or mentally state the First Ideal to initially form the bond, but after that point the bond is strengthened by her admitting certain deep truths about herself. She has not yet stated enough truths to be a full Radiant but their bond has strengthened enough for Pattern to become a Shardblade when needed.

History

“My memory is weak. I was dumb so long, nearly dead. Mmm. I could not speak. ”

—Pattern

Early Life

Little is currently known about Pattern's time in Shadesmar and the Physical Realm before he initially bonded Shallan, except that he was a Cryptic scholar. At some point, his desire to study humans led him to transfer his mind to the Physical Realm and bond Shallan, even though he believed she would kill him, like the bonded spren who died during the Recreance.

Shallan's Childhood

Worried about the return of the Voidbringers, the Cryptic's elected to send one of their own to bond a human. Despite believing it would end in his death, Pattern nominated himself, crossing into the Physical Realm and bonding with Shallan when she was just a child. After their bond began to form, Pattern would spend time with Shallan while she sat and drew in gardens of her fathers estate. By the time she was eleven, their bond had progressed far enough for Shallan to summon Pattern as a Shardblade.

When a Skybreaker acolyte persuaded Shallan's mother that Surgebinders had to be killed, she attacked Shallan. Her father tried to intercede to protect his daughter, but was stopped by the man before he could help Shallan. When her mother came after her with the man's fallen knife, Shallan summoned Pattern as a Shardblade in self defence, killing her. His wife's lover subdued, Lin took the blade from his daughter and locked it in his strongbox. Shallan, in a state of shock, saw a glowing light seep through the cracks of the safe, from what she came to believe was the monster that had been locked away inside. Although Pattern disappeared from the safe shortly afterwards, Shallan continued to see light being emitted from the box for years after the incident.

The state of distress and shock caused by the incident with her mother led Shallan to resent Pattern and suppress her memories of him, causing their bond to weaken and Pattern to retreat mostly back into the Cognitive Realm. After this, Shallan could no longer use Surgebinding, though could still use her enhanced mnemonic abilities.

Kharbranth

Shallan fleeing from Cryptics, by Petar Penev.

When Shallan departed from her family's estate to seek out Jasnah Kholin, Pattern followed her. In Kharbranth, he and other Cryptics watched over Shallan, although she could not see the spren directly.

While sketching a portrait of Taravangian, king of Kharbranth, Shallan unconsciously drew a couple of Cryptics who had been standing in the room invisible to the humans there. Shallan had used her mnemonic ability to assist her drawing, and the presence of the Cryptics were somehow included in the Memory. It is likely that Pattern was one of the Cryptics.

Several weeks later, while Shallan puzzled over the Soulcaster alone in her room, Pattern spoke to her, attempting to obtain a new Truth. Shallan was alarmed by the disembodied voice, but dismissed the sound, reasoning with herself that it had been caused by the maid who had been cleaning in the room next door.

The day before she was scheduled to return to her family's estate in Jah Keved, Shallan again interacted with Pattern. After breaking the news to Kabsal that she would be leaving, the ardent requested a portrait as she had not yet created one of him. Like with her sketch of Taravangian, Shallan unconsciously added several Cryptics into the background of the drawing. Panicked, she fled the room, taking Memories as she went and drawing the scenes as a way to track the spren. Pattern and his associates followed Shallan to her room within the guest quarters, where she attempted summon her Shardblade to protect herself. This act of summoning her spren (even unintentionally) changed their situation somehow, and Pattern succeeded in getting a Truth out of Shallan. Their bond strengthened, Shallan used Surgebinding once again, Soulcasting a goblet into blood, and masking the act by slicing open her arm. Jasnah, upon finding Shallan, had the other women transported to hospital.

Pattern and his fellow Cryptics continued to follow Shallan while she was in the hospital. During her stay on the ward, Shallan noticed the spren several times, adding them to sketches she did of the room. Later, after she had been moved to a private room, she also found them lurking, whispering to her, though she chose not to respond. Shallan called on Pattern to help her transition to the Cognitive Realm when she confronted Jasnah about the fake Soulcaster, and confessed to him that she had killed her father. Pattern accepted the Truth and Shallan was transported to the Cognitive. After nearly drowning in the sea of beads, Shallan was saved by Jasnah who brought her back to her body in the Physical Realm.

The Wind's Pleasure

Return to the Physical Realm

Their bond strengthened by Shallan's Truths, Pattern transitioned once more from the Cognitive Realm to the Physical, losing much of his mind in the process. Several days after Shallan and Jasnah had set sail from Kharbranth, Shallan saw Pattern's Physical form while she sketched on the deck of the ship. Seeing a pattern rising like an embossment from the page of her sketchpad, Shallan did not initially understand that she was interacting with the Cryptic, thinking instead that she had done something herself or that the pattern had appeared as a side affect of drawing the Cognitive Realm. Pattern moved, disappearing from the drawing when Shallan touched the page, and caused the young woman to jump in fright. A while later he was seen once more by Shallan as she spoke with Jasnah, this time floating on a wave. Again he vanished, seen only for a brief moment.

“I thought I saw something in the water, just now. A pattern of sharp lines, like a maze”

—Shallan to Jasnah

Pattern continued to appear to Shallan, vanishing whenever she caught a glimpse of him until she finally managed to capture him in a Memory while reading in her cabin. Her subsequent sketch seemingly helped to anchor Pattern, and he was able to completely transition from the Cognitive. Like all radiant spren when they first entered the Physical Realm, the journey damaged Pattern, who lost much of his cognitive abilities becoming non-sapient and mindless. Like Syl, Pattern initially acted playfully, reminiscent of a young child exploring the world. After Jasnah joined Shallan in her cabin, the young proto-Lightweaver tried to interact with the spren, poking him with a pencil and found that he responded much like an animal might in the same situation.

Jasnah, after learning what she could from Shallan, had looked further into the symbol headed spren that had followed her ward around in Kharbranth. She mentioned to Shallan that most spren manifested differently in the Physical to how they did in the Cognitive, evidenced by the different form Pattern took after transitioning. Both scholars agreed that Pattern was of the same order as the symbol heads that Shallan had encountered previously, although later Shallan wondered whether this particular spren had been with her in the City of Bells. Pattern's childlike behaviour and lack of intelligence disappointed the women though Jasnah suggested that he simply needed more time to regain his mind. The spren called themselves Cryptics, Jasnah explained, though they would likely be called liespren if seen by other humans - a name of which they themselves were not fond. Jasnah likened the Cryptics to lighteyes, the rulers of at least one of the great cities in the Cognitive. Shallan postulated that Pattern was similar to a spren prince, though Jasnah was not sure as she had not been able to delve far into spren politics. Jasnah tasked Shallan to study her spren, pointing out that she was likely the first person in centuries that had the opportunity to interact and learn from the Cryptics. In his diminished state, Pattern was hardly impressive to Shallan, who half-heartedly agreed to Jasnah's orders to spend the next few days studying the spren.

“The Cryptics have a fearful reputation, and yet this one – the first specimen I’ve ever seen – seems . . . ‘Imbecilic?’ Shallan asked.”

—Jasnah and Shallan discussed Pattern

Initially, worried what the sailors would think of the spren, Shallan tried to keep both herself and Pattern contained to her room, though quickly abandoned the plan. Similarly, Pattern had not responded to her suggestions to stay inside and hidden and soon became known to the other occupants of the ship, who found the Cryptic discomforting. Four days after his transition found Pattern on the deck of the ship with Shallan. Using limafruit as an example, Shallan attempted to explain to him the concept of food and eating. Following her lead, Pattern tried some of fruit, and became horrified when he realized that it involved the destruction of the food consumed.

While the spren had problems with understanding simple tasks such as eating, Shallan had found him to take readily to complex thought, particularly abstraction. Even as he struggled to form coherent sentences, Pattern was able to understand the concepts of truth and lies as well as identify lies told by others. Pattern was pleased by the lies Yalb told aboard the Wind's Pleasure, deeming them to be good lies as they were based in truth. Similarly, while he himself could not remember much, he grasped the concept of memory quickly, prompting Shallan to begin to remember a time from long ago, when they had first known one another. Without meaning to, Shallan used Stormlight and turned a patch of the deck of the ship green, as she began to recreate the memory. Horrified, she pushed the memories away, unable to think on that time without panicking.

Some time later, Shallan went to find Jasnah to borrow some of the woman's infused spheres for light to read by. Surprised to find Jasnah without her mask of composure, Shallan tried to sneak away without being seen, however was given away by Pattern. Though Jasnah initially tried to placate Shallan and send her away, the young woman stayed to talk. Pattern watched over the conversation silently as the women discussed Urithiru, the Shattered Plains and the Voidbringers. When Shallan retired to her rooms to sleep, Pattern accompanied her.

Terrible Destruction

Shallan was woken by screams and the scent of smoke. When she went to see what had happened she accidentally drew the attention of several assassins after she witnessed one of them stab Jasnah through the chest. When she tried to hide in her room, Pattern pushed her to summon him as a Shardblade, however Shallan refused instead creating an illusion of herself with Pattern's help. Pattern followed the men as they gave chase to Shallan's illusion which escaped past them and moved onto the deck of the ship before jumping overboard. Above, he found the crew members of the Wind's Pleasure, one of them dead and the rest tied up and at the mercy of the attackers. Pattern returned below, leaving the men he had been following to search the water where the illusion had disappeared and joined Shallan as she moved to Jasnah's room to check on her.

by Xabi Gazte

Shallan and Pattern attempting to Soulcast a fire

They found no body within the room. In the distance, Shallan could hear the ships crew being executed and to buy them time asked Pattern for his help in Soulcasting the boat. Pattern was confused by Shallan's decision, not understanding the logic behind her actions, however helped her see into the Cognitive. She was startled to see him in his cognitive form, and for a moment did not realize that the symbol headed creature was her spren. Pattern urged her to find the glassy sphere for the boat and acted as a translator between Shallan and the object, claiming she was not yet ready to speak with it directly. She successfully convinced the boat to change and was pulled back into the physical realm. The ship collapsed into water and she was pulled deeper into the ocean away from the surface.

Pattern and Shallan survived the sinking ship, and Shallan was carried ashore by the Santhid she had seen several days prior. Unwilling to sit and freeze, Shallan moved down the coast to try and find shelter of some kind and Pattern wandered off ahead. Further up the coast, he found one of Jasnah's trunks, which had been washed ashore. Excited, Pattern raced back to Shallan to get her attention before he brought her to where he had found the trunk.

Within the trunk, Shallan found not only Jasnah's books and research but a number of infused sphere's, one of which she tried to use to Soulcast a fire. Unlike her previous ventures into the Cognitive, Shallan was able to hover between the Realms instead of falling through and becoming trapped amongst the sea of spheres. Returning to the Realm reminded Pattern that it was where he had once resided, though he could not remember much of his time there. Being in the Cognitive made Pattern anxious and he appealed for Shallan to hurry in her endeavor. As he had done previously, Pattern translated for Shallan, acting as an intermediary between the Lightweaver and the stick she wished to turn into fire. The stick refused and Shallan and Pattern slipped back into the Physical Realm.

Her attempt at building a fire a failure, Shallan decided to walk inland, Pattern at her feet and eventually the pair stumbled upon the campsite of Tvlakv and his fellow slavers, where Shallan, exhausted, collapsed. The next morning, Shallan insisted that the slavers help her get to the Shattered Plains, while Pattern watched on silently from his place unseen on the side of the slavers wagon. Tvlakv reluctantly agreed and after fetching Jasnah's trunk, Pattern and Shallan began their journey north.

Journey to the Shattered Plains

To not alert their travelling companions to his presence, Pattern stayed out of sight, hidden as per Shallan's request. When the caravan stopped for the midday meal, Shallan asked to be relocated to the empty slave cart where she could rest and relax away from prying eyes and the heat of the sun. Inside she found Pattern waiting, hidden within Jasnah's trunk which had been moved inside the empty cage.

Pattern, eager to learn more about human reasoning, was curious as to why Shallan had decided to continue on to the Shattered Plains and try to seek Urithiru. Shallan explained she had fallen into the trap of seeing Jasnah's research as a theoretical puzzle that needed to be solved, ignoring the real world ramifications that could occur if they were to fail. Her words reminded Pattern of why he had initially sought out Shallan, though his memories were vague and incomplete. The Cryptics, worried about the return of the Desolations, had sent Pattern to bond with Shallan, who had been chosen because of her lies about her family. Shallan diverted the topic when Pattern tried to have her remember her past, unwilling to think about the time. When she found one of her drawings in the bottom of Jasnah's trunk, her first drawing of the Alethi princess, Shallan broke down in tears. Pattern offered her comfort and did what he could to help her through her grief, as the weight of what she had been through and what she had lost, finally settling onto her.

“I will not stop vibrating. The wind will not stop blowing. You will not stop drawing.”

—Pattern comforting Shallan

Several days later, Pattern was sent to spy on a conversation between the Tvlakv and one of his men. Tag had worried about the trouble Shallan could cause and suggested that they should abandon her and move on, however, Tvlakv disagreed, instead seeing the opportunity to hold her hostage and earn a reward. Pattern's report worried Shallan, who was uncomfortable at how Tvlakv viewed her as little more than a slave. To preempt the possibility that his behavior would begin to match his thinking, Shallan confronted the slaver, insinuating she was aware of his scheming and reminding him of her promise of payment. Bluth returned as the exchange ended, reporting that mercenaries were in the area and prompting the group to hurried break camp to try and get away.

Their efforts were unsuccessful and it soon became apparent that the caravan was being followed. As they passed into a more frequently travelled part of the Frostlands, a second smoke signal was spotted in front of the party, which Tvlakv, reluctantly, began to head towards at Shallan's insistence. Decision made, Shallan chose to travel in her quasi-carriage so she could speak with Pattern, who had once again hidden inside, away from the slavers. Unsure of how she had been unconsciously Lightweaving she asked Pattern for his help, however in his diminished state, he was unable to give her any useful suggestions. Shallan eventually managed to inhale the Stormlight and while they talked learned that the spren was a scholar sent to study her. Unintentionally, Pattern began to mention that he only had a limited amount of time in which to learn of humans, before cutting himself off. He attempted to pass the comment off with a lie, but when pressed by Shallan, admitted he was expecting to be killed by the young woman. Shallan was shocked, not understanding why Pattern would have this idea, however related it to what had happened centuries ago with the Knights Radiant. Pattern's mention of Shallan's past oaths caused her to break off their conversation and she returned above to ride with Bluth.

Eventually they caught up to the group they had seen in the distance, and found another group of caravaners, who had recently been attacked by bandits. When the bandits returned, Shallan took Bluth and confronted the soldiers that had been following them. In exchange for their protection and help against the bandits, she promised to absolve them of their debts once they had reached the Shattered Plains. Their leader, Vathah, resisted her attempts to recruit them, however the other men did not and moved off to help defend the caravans. After the battle, Vathah - distrusting of Shallan and disbelieving of her promises - angrily confronted her. Pattern calmly interceded, hidden on the back of Vathah's uniform so as to fool the man into thinking he was hearing voices. Shallan played along, pretending that she was unaware of Pattern's presence and shortly after the soldier stormed away.

“Truth is individual. Your truth is what you see. What else could it be? That is the truth that you spoke to me, the truth that brings power.”

—Pattern discussing the meaning of truth with Shallan

The highstorm came later that night. The storm agitated Pattern, who buzzed angrily and ranted in a foreign tongue, spooking the soldiers whom Shallan had invited to shelter in her cart. None of the men, however, brought up the incident, which Shallan attributed to their expectation for strangeness during the highstorm. The next day, Pattern debated the meaning of 'truth' with Shallan, who found herself frustrated with the biases shown by past scholars. Pattern disagreed with Shallan's assessment that truth was universal, instead claiming that it was based on an individuals experiences. Shallan's questions shifted the conversation towards the existence of spren and in turn to the Voidbringers. Pattern, despite being unwilling to speak on the topic, named Odium as a third influence on types of spren, though doing so distressed him greatly.

As they neared the Shattered Plains, the group happened across a miniature lait filled with plants, protected from the storms by a rocky windbreak. Pattern accompanied Shallan as she explored the spot of greenery, occupying himself with counting leaves while she sketched. Later that night, the highstorm came again, however, unlike the last storm, which had caused Pattern agitation, this one caused him fear. There was something wrong about the storm and despite Shallan's attempts, Pattern would not stay quiet, frightening the slaves who sheltered with them.

Eventually, the storm passed and Shallan met with Tyn to learn what she could of her homeland. Within the message sent by Tyn's associates, relayed via a communication station in Tashikk, was information about the attack on Jasnah and the Wind's Pleasure. Tyn, who had been hired by the Ghostbloods to assassinate the Alethi princess, attacked Shallan when she learned of her identity, with the intention to kill her. Pattern attempted to intervene, impersonating Jasnah to try and distract Tyn while Shallan escaped.

When it became apparent that Tyn would not allow Shallan to get away, Pattern hastened to find Vathah to bring him and his men to Shallan's aid. The men did not understand that it had been Pattern speaking to them, though Shallan later confirmed his existence, however they still obeyed, attacking Tyn's soldiers who blocked their way. Pattern was pulled back to the tent when Shallan summoned him as a Shardblade, killing Tyn. When Vathah and his men reached the tent, they found Shallan, Patternblade in hand, who instructed them to search Tyn's belongings.

The Shattered Plains

Illusions and Hidden Plans

The next morning, Pattern unlocked the chest for Shallan, so she could access Tyn's outfits and dress appropriately when meeting with Dalinar Kholin. Pattern accompanied her into the warcamps, under the strict instruction that he remain still and quiet while she was around other people. As long as he did so, he would blend into her clothing, looking like no more than an odd design. Though he stayed silent during the meeting with the Highprince's, Shallan found herself having to quiet him during her ride to Sebarial's camp, to prevent him being noticed by the Highprince.

“They form groups of five... Quintets, the letters... Each message follows a pattern – first three words start with one each of three of the quintet of letters. Tyn’s reply, the two that match.”

—Pattern explains Tyn's code to Shallan

Shallan fell asleep after arriving at Sebarial's mansion and awoke in her new room to find Pattern humming to himself. He informed her that someone had been by while she slept, bringing her food and drawing the window shade. While Shallan ate, she attempted to explain the concept of taste to Pattern, who had been curious as to why she preferred some foods over others. When Shallan found Tyn's spanreed, Pattern pointed out that the previous communication had contained a pattern - a code that would be used to verify the identity of the writer.

When Tyn's contact began to communicate via the spanreed, Shallan, thanks to Pattern's pre-warning, was successfully able to pose as the deceased woman, and set up a meeting with the Ghostbloods. Pattern left with Shallan for the meeting, who had disguised herself as Veil using Lightweaving, traversing the streets of Sebarial's warcamp. After Shallan made the mistake of trying to buy candied fruit with too large a denominator of sphere, Pattern fell behind to watch and see if she was being followed. Thankfully, her blunder had not led to further unwanted attention and Shallan and Pattern arrived at the agreed upon location, being led within a building and down into a secret room below the structure's basement.

After the meeting, Pattern continued to watch to see if Shallan was being followed, and spotted Iyatil tailing the young Lightweaver. Having not understood the connotations of the meeting, he asked if Shallan wanted to speak with the other woman, having assumed Shallan and Iyatil to now be friends. Shallan informed him otherwise and then used Lightweaving to hide from the woman, having Pattern check after a time, that the coast was clear and Iyatil was gone. As the pair made their way back towards Sebarial's home, Pattern offered to show Shallan the way. Shallan, however, did not need the assistance, and drew out a map that she could use to find her way back.

A week later, Pattern decoded a few phrases of Dawnchant while studying with Shallan. The languages on Shallan's maps, though different, were derived from the Dawnchant, allowing Pattern to interpret some of the ancient language from the city names. Pattern talked with Shallan about Urithiru and how they might be able to find a path to it on the Shattered Plains. When the clock chimed, Shallan realized that she was running late, and needed to get ready for her date with Adolin. She bathed and dressed quickly, before leaving with Pattern for a winehouse near the edge of the markets. In her coach, Shallan practiced her Lightweaving, while Pattern watched. When he began to talk about her past, Shallan tuned him out, instead working on an illusion of Sebarial. Pattern stayed close to Shallan during her date, though remained hidden. As the highstorm approached, Pattern began to hum, before moving inside with Shallan when she was pulled to safety by Adolin.

“Humans can see the world as it is not. It is why your lies can be so strong. You are able to not admit that they are lies.”

—Pattern's observations on human nature

The next night, Pattern and Shallan infiltrated Amaram's home, to search his secret room and gather information to be fed back to the Ghostbloods. After entering the house and making their way upstairs, Pattern unlocked the door to Amaram's secret room and stood watch while Shallan investigated. On their way out, Pattern and Shallan imitated the Brightlord - Shallan providing the illusion and Pattern providing the voice - to prevent suspicion of their presence in the house.

After meeting the Ghostbloods to deliver the information found in Amaram's mansion, Shallan hid inside a Lightwoven boulder, to avoid being followed. Pattern approached the hired coach driver, who had been tasked to wait for the young woman's return, and, imitating Shallan's voice, instructed him to return her to the warcamps. After several hours the illusion disintegrated and the pair headed back to the warcamps. To pass the time, Pattern helped Shallan practice her accents, repeating her voice back to her, so she could gauge her progress. On the path back, they found the charred remains of Shallan's hired coach, as well as the corpses of the coachman and his parshmen. Shallan had been right to be cautious, and her decision to hide and wait had saved her life.

During Adolin's duel against Brightlord Relis and the other Shardbearers, Pattern was tasked with distracting Brightlord Abrobadar after he attacked Renarin, however, the Cryptic's appearance on the duelling ground, also drew the attention of Syl. Pattern fled, losing her when she returned to help Kaladin during the fight. Several days later, found Pattern, again, talking with Shallan while she studied. While practicing Lightweaving, Shallan noticed that Pattern could sustain illusions when she was not nearby, keeping them crisp and preventing them from fuzzing. By infusing him with Stormlight, Pattern could directly feed Shallan's illusions, and also allow them to move once they were attached to him.

“I’m sorry that your mystical, godlike powers do not instantly work as you would like them to.”

—Pattern to Shallan

This new discovery came in useful several days later, when Pattern, attached to an image of Veil, was sent to 'retrieve' the instructions left in a tree by the Ghostbloods. After confronting Iyatil, who had been watching the tree, Shallan travelled with the woman to Dalinar's warcamp, having Pattern distract Iyatil, while she gained them access. After the group reached the monastery building, Pattern explored the facility and sought out Talenel'Elin, whom Shallan had been tasked to find, while Veil and Iyatil conned the ardents. After Shallan was able to slip away, Pattern led her to the Herald, unlocking the door and allowing her to gain entry to the room. When Taln reacted violently to her absorption of Stormlight, Shallan summoned Pattern as a Shardblade, however, the Herald settled quickly, and did not respond further to her Surgebinding.

Dark Depths and Clouded Skies

In the chasms, Kaladin used Pattern in his blade form to fight the chasmfiend and allow Shallan the opportunity to escape. Instead of running, Shallan distracted the beast with Lightweaving to give Kaladin the opening needed to kill the creature. As the highstorm fast approached, Shallan used Pattern to cut out a cubby high in the cliff face, above the waterline, where she and Kaladin could wait out the storm. They arrived back at the warcamps the next morning, where Shallan and Kaladin parted ways. Shallan was taken to Dalinar's quarters where she was able to bath and relax after her ordeal in the chasms. While Shallan bathed, Pattern spied on Dalinar and Navani, who were discussing the map Shallan had created of the chasms and whether she should stay in the warcamps when the army set out onto the Plains. Pattern repeated the conversation to Shallan, who resolved to convince Dalinar that she be included in his expedition. She was determined to find the Oathgate, however she had doubts as to whether she would be enough of a Radiant to be able to operate it. Pattern did not know either, and explained that the death of spren during the Recreance had left a gap in their knowledge.

Shallan Davar wielding her Patternblade, by Sheep

Several days after the expedition had begun, Shallan switched from riding on horseback to a carriage, so that she could continue her study of Words of Radiance. Pattern helped Shallan sift through the information and offered opinions on what was more likely fact or fiction. While drawing, Pattern commented on the uselessness of creationspren, and their lack of purpose. As Shallan reflected on his comment, she was reminded of the artist Eleseth, as she had chosen spheres of only one color, to lend light while she drew. She told the story of Eleseth's experiment to Pattern, who found the story fascinating for how it reflected on human perception and the ability of humans to ignore lies.

On the day of the battle, Pattern alerted those working with Shallan to his presence, after he begun to buzz loudly in response to the storm. The scholar's were wary of Pattern, and thought he should be studied with caution, as he could be related to the Voidbringers. Pattern denied being related to the Voidbringers, and urged Shallan to hurry in her search as he could sense the changes being brought by the Listener's song. After Shallan had found the Oathgate, Pattern told her that both the highstorm and the Everstorm were on their way, and they would cause immense destruction when they clashed. When Shallan struggled to understand the mechanisms of the Oathgate, Pattern suggested that she should look at it from a wider context, as she had done during her escape of the chasms. In doing so, Shallan realized that the Oathgate was a fabrial and using Pattern, she activated the platform, transporting those outside to Urithiru and saving the Alethi army.

Urithiru

Twisted Tower

“You live lies. It gives you strength. But the truth . . . Without speaking truths you will not be able to grow, Shallan. ”

—Pattern to Shallan

At Urithiru, Pattern approached Adolin and requested that Shallan be assigned a specific room. The room reminded Shallan of her father's study and Pattern forced Shallan to admit another Truth and confront the death of her mother as well as the role Shallan had played. Shallan created a Lightweaving of the room and opened the glowing strongbox, where her father had hidden Pattern after he had been used by Shallan all those years ago. Shallan recalled that night and the deaths she had caused, using the Shardblade that she had tried so hard to forget. Pattern understood that Shallan hated him, for the part he had played and that one day she would kill him in retribution. Shallan responded to Pattern, telling him that she only wanted her family, not revenge.

“You were talking about mating! I’m to make sure you don’t accidentally mate, as mating is forbidden by human society until you have first performed appropriate rituals! Yes, yes. Mmmm. Dictates of custom require following certain patterns before you copulate. I’ve been studying this!”

—Pattern understanding his duties as chaperone

Now that Shallan had confronted the truth of her mothers death, she could no longer push aside the memories. Pattern believed that she hated him for the part he had played, and while Shallan sat atop one of the Oathgate platforms at Urithiru and drew, he tried to explain to her that he understood why. Shallan, however, didn't want Pattern to understand, and to cope she began to dissociate her spren from the Shardblade that she could summon. She tried to explain to Pattern that she didn't hate him, she hated the sword and what it represented. However, her train of thought only confused him.

In her rooms, Shallan practiced manipulating sound, while Pattern watched and commented. When Adolin arrived, bearing gifts of food and books, Shallan formally introduced him to Pattern, who was then named as chaperone for the evening. Though Pattern did not initially understand what it was he was to do, he rapidly came to understand his role, happily informing the couple. When Adolin kissed Shallan, Pattern intervened to remind them of his presence.

After they had finished dinner, Adolin suggested that he teach Shallan how to use a Shardblade seeing as she had one in her possession. Pattern thought that this was a good idea, and a step that needed to be taken, however, Shallan panicked. When Adolin left to retrieve the Blade guards, she created a new persona, that of Brightness Radiant, who would be able to handle constant use of her Patternblade. Pattern believed that Shallan's reaction was due to her hatred of him and offered to die and have the Cryptics send another in his place if that is what she wanted. Shallan ignored him, and instead concentrated on creating a persona who could wield Pattern as a blade without panicking.

Intent on helping Adolin with his investigation, Shallan slipped away from her rooms one night, to explore with Pattern. On their way to the Breakaway, Pattern mentioned his approval of Adolin, despite the fact that he had bonded a dead Shardblade. Pattern explained that he had come to the understanding that he could not hate Adolin for having a blade, as humans, he concluded, did not care about the dead. Before they reached their destination, Shallan asked Pattern to stay with her, not wanting him to die and leave. On their way to All's Alley, Pattern calmed Shallan when she panicked, who briefly wondered if she had killed her brothers and had been lying to herself about their deaths. Pattern was concerned and reminded her that Veil was only a disguise. He thought something wrong with the way Shallan was using her new persona's to hide, though he did not fully understand what it was.

The Midnight Mother and the Libraries of Urithiru

While exploring, Pattern and Shallan stumble across a theatre within the depths of Urithiru. Shallan explained to Pattern the purpose of the room, then, with Stormlight from the recent highstorm to aid her, Lightwove the tale of The Girl Who Looked Up. Shallan let her illusion fade once the girl made it to the top of the wall, and described the end of the story to Pattern. Distracted thinking about the story, Pattern failed to notice Re-Shephir, who had hidden amongst Shallan's illusionary audience. Shallan took off after the Unmade, summoning Pattern during the chase, however, the creature lost them, and escaped into the towers ventilation system. Shallan later drew out what she had seen, showing it to Pattern. He remembered little of the creature, but knew it had been of Odium.

“He came at me, in the training rooms, screaming that you’d found the killer. Said that if I didn’t come, you’d probably—and I quote—‘go do something stupid without letting me watch.’”

—Adolin to Shallan

The Unmade was encountered again, this time in the Breakaway, after it had killed another, this time mimicking an execution. Pattern and Shallan gave chase, following Re-Shephir through the halls of Urithiru, where it tried to escape, first by hiding within the shadows then squeezing through a hole in the wall. Shallan, realizing that there was another space beyond the wall, summoned Pattern as a blade and to cut through the wall to discover a dark passage down into the depths of Urithiru. Before they continued on, Pattern went to seek out Adolin, and bring him, along with additional soldiers, back to the newly discovered passage way. Pattern found Adolin in the training room and explained what they had found, before leading the prince, along with Renarin and a number of men from Bridge Four, to where Shallan waited.

At the base of the stairwell, the group found several libraries filled with destroyed records, and beyond, a room full of darkness. Re-Shephir's creatures manifested in the hallway and attacked the group, however, shied away when Shallan brought forth a number of Lightwoven illusions. They continued to move forward and found Re-Shephir, coalesced on a structure in the middle of the next room. When Shallan reached out to touch the Unmade, Re-Shephir tried to remove her bond with Pattern, to instead replace him with herself. Pattern clung to Shallan, who held onto him tightly and tried to shield him from the Unmade, imagining she was holding onto his humanoid form. Re-Shephir's attempts to break their bond failed and it fled, afraid of the damage that could be caused by Shallan.

Within the now empty library rooms, Pattern could sense the memories contained within the hidden gem archive. During a meeting of scholars he mentioned this to Shallan, who was quick to share the information with Jasnah. After the meeting, Pattern returned with Shallan to her rooms, where she found a note from the Ghostbloods. It containing information about Shallan's her eldest brother, Helaran, but also, as Pattern pointed out, lies.

Later, at another meeting in the library, Pattern reassured Shallan when she began to question her place amongst the scholars. During a break in the meeting, Renarin approached Shallan and found, to his surprise that he was able to see Pattern, who, unlike his own spren Glys, could not turn invisible. Almost two weeks later, Renarin uncovered the hidden gemstones archive. When Jasnah infused one of the strangely cut gemstones, Pattern noticed that it vibrated in a specific pattern, creating a decipherable code.

Kholinar

Shallan with her Patternblade by Kyle Pearson.

Having successfully infiltrated Kholinar and found refuge in Yokska and her husband's shop, it was decided that Shallan and Pattern would investigate the palace. When Shallan, disguised as Lyn, presented herself to the palace guard, she was attacked by the guards. After being disposed of, Shallan snuck away and escaped the palace, having Pattern draw away the guards in her path. Back on the streets, Pattern went to fetch Kaladin from near the palace, while Shallan waited for them on a nearby street.

During the robbery of Nananav, Pattern distracted a pair of guards with Lightwoven sound, while Shallan and Vathah snuck upstairs. Unfortunately for the pair, this meant that Pattern could not unlock the room containing the food, forcing them to find another way into the room. Once the food was gathered and lowered to the ground floor, he unlocked the dumbwaiter before moving off to distract Nananav's staff, disguised as a mink.

To escape Kharat during her visit to the Cult of Moments, Shallan had Pattern imitate Ashertmarn's whispers, creating an opening for her to slip away and explore. After leaving the Oathgate platform, Shallan went to visit the street urchin Grund, to drop off her excess food. When Grund was killed by the Grips, Pattern reminded Shallan of the others she had given food to, prompting her to go search for them.

The next day, Shallan and Pattern returned to the Oathgate platform to face Ashertmarn, while the others tried to take control of the palace. Although Pattern did no damage to the creature in his blade form, the Unmade pulled back from the control building and retreated. The city falling, Shallan activated the Oathgate using her Patternblade, to try and transport those on the platform to Urithiru. Instead, those within the control room were transported to Shadesmar, where Pattern, Syl and Mayalaran, took on their cognitive forms.

Shadesmar and the Battle of Thaylen City

by Joshua Carrenca

Transported to the Cognitive Realm, Pattern and the others looked through the beads near the platform to find something they could use get away from the city. Pattern tested his weight on a shield manifested by Shallan, to make sure the objects would not sink underneath the beads. As the group began to cross the beads, he helped Shallan reach the beads, steadying her when she had to lean down over her temporary platforms. Reaching the Windrunner River, Pattern lay on the ground with Shallan, where she had collapsed from exhaustion. When Syl went to talk to Kaladin, Pattern took over keeping watch, while the other humans slept.

After travelling away from Kholinar and finding the lighthouse, the group waited for Kaladin to return from scouting. While they waited, Pattern and Syl discussed their nature as spren, with Syl being curious as to how Cryptics view the world. In the lighthouse, Pattern joined Adolin and Shallan as they negotiated with Riino, making the man nervous as he loomed over the conversation. Finding out that the next ship would be heading for Celebrant Pattern explained that the they could find further passage once they had arrived.

When the group reached Celebrant they split in two, with Pattern joining Shallan, Azure and Mayalaran to try and find a ship willing to transport them. Pattern translated during discussions, however the group had no luck in finding a vessel that would sail towards Cultivation's Perpendicularity. Moving on, After getting no answer from a crew member of Honor's Path the group returned to the registrar's office. Realizing that the Fused oversaw the port inspections, Shallan Lightwove disguises to hid the group, when Kyril came to interrogate the registrar on their whereabouts. During the exchange, Pattern whispered a translation of the conversation to Shallan.

Escaping Celebrant aboard Honor's Path, Pattern and his companions were locked away by the honorspren during the first week of their journey. When it became evident that the ship was being followed by the Fused, the group escaped, while the honorspren distracted their pursuers. Initially separated during their jump into the beads, Pattern found Shallan and Kaladin in a small room on the sea floor, that had been created by Shallan. Beginning their trek across the Tarat Sea towards Thaylenah, Pattern stayed near Shallan as she struggled to keep up with their companions.

Finding the Thaylen Oathgate guarded by half a dozen Fused, Pattern, along with Syl, Adolin, and Maya, dispersed themselves amongst Shallan's illusions to distract the guards while Shallan tried to open the Oathgate. Following Adolin's lead, Pattern and Syl imitated the Lightwoven people, slashing randomly at the space around them. After being injured, Adolin was pulled away from the fighting by Shallan and Pattern, and the three of them escaped through the sea of beads using a passage manifested by Shallan. Though he was confused by Shallan's behaviour towards Kaladin after the conclusion of the battle, Pattern ultimately agreed with Shallan's choice to continue with her marriage to Adolin.

Quotes

“That’s not enough. I must know something true about you. Tell me. The stronger the truth, the more hidden it is, the more powerful the bond. Tell me. Tell me. What are you?? ”

—Pattern to Shallan

“Terrible destruction to eat! ”

—Pattern to Shallan, after learning about the concept of eating

“Know you nothing of Patterns, old human? Voidbringers have no pattern. Besides, I have read of them in your lore. They speak of spindly arms like bone, and horrific faces. I should think, if you wish to find one, the mirror might be a location where you can begin your search. ”

—Pattern to Inadara, in response to her accusation that he was a Voidbringer

“You are not as good with patterns... You are abstract. You think in lies and tell them to yourselves. That is fascinating, but it is not good for patterns ”

—Pattern to Shallan

“Good lies… True lies… Light makes shadow. Truth makes lies ”

—Pattern to Shallan

“Spren are ...power . . . shattered power. Power given thought by the perceptions of men. Honor, Cultivation, and . . . and another. Fragments broken off. ”

—Pattern to Shallan

“Sapience. Thought. Life. These are of humans. We are ideas. Ideas that wish to live. ”

—Pattern to Shallan

Trivia

• Pattern originally came from a Dark One draft.

Notes

This article is still missing information. Please help The Coppermind by expanding it.