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Sja-anat

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Sja-anat
The Taker of Secrets.jpg
by Miranda Meeks
Abilities Splinter of Odium
Titles Taker of Secrets
Groups Unmade
Species Spren
Homeworld Roshar
Universe Cosmere
This page or section contains spoilers for Oathbringer!
This information has the ability to potentially ruin elements of the plot for the reader. Proceed with caution if you have not read this book.

“ Of the Unmade, Sja-anat was most feared by the Radiants. They spoke extensively of her ability to corrupt spren, though only "lesser" spren—whatever that means. ”

— From Hessi’s Mythica, page 89[1]

Sja-anat is one of the Unmade,[2] an ancient and terrible spren of Odium.[3] Also known as the Taker of Secrets,[2] Sja-anat is one of the sapient Unmade, fully self-aware and responsible for her own actions.[4] Sja-anat is capable of corrupting spren with Odium's Investiture.[2] Sja-anat has expressed interest in freeing herself from Odium's influence entirely and defecting from his forces.[5]

History

Sja-anat's origin is unknown; thus it is uncertain when she came into being. She was involved in the past Desolations,[2] with her corrupted spren serving as spies on mankind.[6] In the past when her corrupted spren were seen in a village, the people often fled their homes.[2] Sja-anat herself was the Unmade most feared by the Radiants.[1] After Aharietiam, Sja-anat seems to have remained on Roshar, although none of her corrupted spren are known to have been sighted since the Final Desolation. At some point Sja-anat corrupted the true spren Glys.[7] Following the arrival of the Everstorm and the beginning of the True Desolation, Sja-anat became active again. She began corrupting spren in and around the area of Kholinar.[2] During the Siege of Kholinar, as a part of a trap for Adolin Kholin, Shallan Davar, Kaladin, and their spren, Sja-anat was forced to touch the spren of the Kholinar Oathgate to corrupt it.[5] When Shallan infiltrated the palace in the guise of a messenger, Sja-anat saw her.[8] Sja-anat attempted to reach out to Shallan and tell her that she was not her enemy while she danced with the Cult of Moments[9] and when she infiltrated the revel on the Oathgate.[10]

“Listen, Radiant. Listen to my plea. Ashertmarn fled on purpose. It is a trap. I was compelled to touch the spren of this device, so it will not function as you wish.”

—Sja-anat to Shallan Davar[5]

During the assault on the Kholinar Palace, Sja-anat spoke to Shallan and revealed to her that the Oathgate had been corrupted and that she was supposed to kill them if they activate the Oathgate.[5] When Shallan and her companions decided to activate the Oathgate anyway, Sja-anat promised that she would try not to kill them,[11] and when the gate was activated they were merely transported to Shadesmar.[12] After Shallan and her group were transported in Shadesmar, Sja-anat lied to Odium and told him that corrupting the Oathgate had had an odd effect and that the Radiants had been sent far from the point of transfer.[13] Despite this lie, Sja-anat believed that Odium still did not trust her. Shortly afterward, Sja-anat sent a corrupted gloryspren to deliver a message to Shallan. It explained the lie that Sja-anat had told Odium, as well as the fact that Odium's servants were pursuing them in Shadesmar. It also revealed that Shallan's deception had worked, and Odium believed her to be an Elsecaller rather than a Lightweaver. At some point the Ghostbloods became aware of Sja-anat's disloyalty to Odium and sent Shallan orders to either recruit her to their organization or capture her.[14]

Appearance and Personality

“ Lore suggested leaving a city if the spren there start acting strangely. Curiously, Sja-anat was often regarded as an individual, when others—like Moelach or Ashertmarn—were seen as forces. ”

— From Hessi’s Mythica, page 90[15]

Sja-anat takes the form of a jet-black[5] shadow of a person[8] with white holes in place of eyes.[5] Sja-anat has only been shown to appear within mirrors, appearing after they change and the normal reflections fade, revealing Sja-anat.[8] She can also change her appearance to make herself look like someone else, taking the image of a reflection of Shallan in ancient garb for instance.[5]

Very little is known of Sja-anat's personality. She is very deceptive, able to successfully trick Odium and aid the Radiants behind Odium's back.[13] She is also independent and earnest; she does not want to be Odium's servant anymore and desperately wants Shallan to believe that she has defected from Odium.[5] Sja-anat also cares for her children, the spren that she has corrupted, and seems to be attempting to find them a home.[11]

Abilities

“ Keep your eyes open. Once Sja-anat touches a spren, it acts strange. Call attention to anything you see. ”

Sja-anat's touch has the ability to corrupt spren that she comes into contact with.[2] Sja-anat refers to this process as Enlightening.[13] Spren affected by Sja-anat begin to carry the taint of Odium,[16] and in rare cases can even grant abilities associated with Odium's power,[17] though the extent of his influence on the affected spren is unknown. Corrupted spren take on noticeably different appearances, typically in coloration and shape,[3] although in some cases they may take on an appearance entirely different from their original form.[18]

The lesser spren that Sja-anat corrupts are capable of serving as her spies[6] or delivering messages for her.[13] Messages sent from Sja-anat are spoken by the corrupted spren in Sja-anat's voice into the mind of the person to which they are sent. Sja-anat refers to the corrupted spren as her children.[11] In the past Sja-anat often corrupted lesser spren,[2][6] but she has now displayed the ability to corrupt true spren,[7] such as spren capable of forming a Nahel bond like Glys, and the spren of the Oathgate.[13] Corrupted spren do not appear to be particularly dangerous, so it is unknown what impact Odium's influence has on the spren aside from their appearance. They behave differently in fabrials than their uncorrupted counterparts.[19]

Trivia

  • As with all Unmade, Sja-anat's name is derived from that of an ancient real-life deity; in her case, the inspiration is most likely Anat, a Semitic war goddess.[20]

Notes

  1. ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 97 epigraph#
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Oathbringer chapter 77#
  3. ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 62#
  4. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 98#
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h Oathbringer chapter 84#
  6. ↑ a b c d Words of Radiance chapter 4#
  7. ↑ a b Oathbringer chapter 117#
  8. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 63#
  9. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 74#
  10. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 78#
  11. ↑ a b c Oathbringer chapter 85#
  12. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 87#
  13. ↑ a b c d e Oathbringer chapter 97#
  14. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 122#
  15. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 98 epigraph#
  16. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 116#
  17. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 118#
  18. ↑ Oathbringer chapter 115#
  19. ↑ Skyward San Francisco signing
    — Arcanum - 2018-11-08#
  20. ↑ Unmade Name Linguistic Origins
    — 17th Shard #
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Windrunner (talk) 01:25, 24 November 2017 (MST)
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