Sleepless

Sleepless
by LittleGreyDragon
Sapient	yes
World of Origin	Roshar
Universe	Cosmere

This page or section contains spoilers for Dawnshard!

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.

Dysian Aimians, also known as Sleepless, are a sapient non-human race found on Roshar that once lived in the Silver Kingdom of Aimia.

Appearance and Anatomy

“The cook began to hum. Pieces of her broke off. She crumbled to a pile of chittering little cremlings that moved out of her clothing, leaving it in a heap. ”

—Kaza, watching the cook of the First Dreams

Dysian Aimians have a unique physiology, as their "bodies" are actually composed of thousands of small cremling-like creatures called "hordelings" that are able to function as a single consciousness. The hordelings are not limited in how they assemble themselves; with practice, a Sleepless can mimic the shape of other creatures, including humans. However, many Sleepless are barely humanoid. They refer to themselves as "Sleepless" because at least some part of the horde is always awake. Unlike Siah Aimians, Dysian Aimians cannot mate with humans.

Hordelings

Hordelings are usually about the size of a finger, and can be as large as a fist. Hordelings on Roshar often resemble native creatures known as cremlings simply to make them less noticeable to casual observers; they can take other forms. The hordelings of each Sleepless are not all identical, and often serve specific purposes. For example, because Arclo tries to pass as a human, many of his hordelings have protrusions on their backs that resemble human parts such as skin or eyeballs; he is also able to speak with a passably human voice. However, hordelings cannot actually shapeshift, so the nature of a Sleepless body is always visible upon close inspection. Sleepless therefore tend to cover their "skin" when possible, or use the appearance of older skin or tattoos to obscure their true nature.

Adaptation and Regeneration

Hordelings can be specially bred to enhance specific capabilities of a Sleepless, such as a heightened sense of smell or increased memory capacity, although this process takes some time. Over the course of many generations, it would be possible for hordelings to be bred to mimic the powers of a larkin. There is a limit on both the total mass and number of hordelings a Sleepless can have at any given time, but the maximum number would definitely allow a Sleepless to become larger than human-sized. Because they can continually create new hordelings to replace any that are lost, the personality of a Sleepless can live forever, as long as not too many of the hordelings are destroyed at once.

Reproduction

Sleepless are able to reproduce, but reproduction for them has a variety of terms. They can breed specific hordelings for specific purposes over time and can also exchange hordelings if they need to in order to improve their genetic diversity. They can even crossbreed with other species such as the larkin. Creating a new Sleepless is a different experience. They refer to this as "separating" and involves splitting off a subsection of an existing swarm and allowing it to gain independence over time.

Consciousness

In practice, hordelings function as a "hive mind", but they are not technically one entity. Hordelings have the ability to separate from the main body to act as remote agents while maintaining their mental link with the rest of the horde. Certain circumstances could lead to a hordeling being split off from the group and forced to act independently. For example, a hordeling that is physically too distant from the others can lose contact with the main mind, and this would affect its Cognitive aspect. A Hemalurgic spike would disconnect a hordeling from the hivemind. The Sleepless are not able to split their consciousness between the Cognitive Realm and the Physical Realm. They can also form multiple humanoid bodies at once, but it is difficult and risks making the split permanent, creating a new Sleepless. This is made easier if the bodies are not engaged in intelligent tasks at the same time.

History

All known Sleepless on Roshar descend from a single swarm currently named Yelamaiszin. Although not native to Roshar, the Sleepless lived in Aimia prior to the Scouring of Aimia, which has been characterized by Hessi as "total destruction". They coexisted with the Siah Aimians, but are not related to them. Despite the fact that they survived, the destruction of their home on Aimia seems to have caused the Sleepless a great deal of emotional pain.

Dysian Aimians exist on other planets in the cosmere and have traveled between them in the past. Unlike Rosharan Sleepless, they cannot imitate the human form. They also look completely different. By the time of the True Desolation, twenty-four Sleepless are known. As both Siah Aimians and Dysian Aimians are immortal, the remaining individuals seem to be aware of each other. Hoid is the only person known to use the term "Dysian," and the source of the term is unknown.

Heraldic Epochs

The Sleepless have a long history with the Heralds and Knights Radiant. Some Sleepless were once able to use the power of Surgebinding. At least some of the Sleepless, including Arclo, were allies of the Heralds and Knights Radiant during the Heraldic Epochs. Arclo tells Lift that others of his kind are particularly interested in Radiants. At least one Dysian Aimian may have fought during Aharietiam, as Dalinar Kholin notices a heap of burned, strange cremlings in one of his visions; it is not clear which side they fought on.

Modern Roshar

The Sleepless are able to monitor current events on Roshar using their hordelings, and they are particularly interested in Dalinar, Kaladin, Shallan, Szeth, Navani, Eshonai, and Venli, believing them to be crucial to the future of Roshar. Arclo believes that Lift should also be included in that group, and that the other Sleepless should not ignore her. Arclo is also aware that the Stump is a Radiant and that Nale is alive, referring to him as a "madman".

Dysian Aimians appear to be guarding several secrets from humans, including something that Dalinar seeks but "must not know". An unnamed Sleepless learns of Vazrmeb's plan to sail the ship First Dreams to Akinah in Aimia; she poses as a Reshi cook and joins the crew, later poisoning everyone else on board to protect the island. She refuses to divulge any of Akinah's secrets to Kaza even as she is dying, telling her that doing so could result in the "ends of worlds".

The Dysian Aimians were forced into conflict with humans again due to Radiant interest in the city of Akinah. Although they had managed to dissuade early patrols of Windrunners from surveying the island using specialized larkin hybrid hordelings, their vehemence in protecting the island only attracted more attention to it.

After Queen Navani commissioned Rysn's ship, the Wandersail, to investigate the oddities, the Sleepless were forced into steadily more aggressive confrontations with the ship's crew. These engagements resulted in the unmasking of one of their agents, Nikliasorm, fatally compromising the security of their entire operation.

Despite this the Dawnshard maintains anonymity thanks to Rysn's careful planning. She has agreed to keep the Dawnshard hidden and train the Sleepless to better pass as human.

Government and Purpose

“Arclomedarian is dangerous, Nikli sent. I can see this. But it is not as dangerous as the true traitors. ”

—Nikli, on Arclo

Of the twenty four known Sleepless on Roshar, twenty (including Yelamaiszin) accept the authority of Yelamaiszin, the first swarm. They vote on important matters using the rapid communication given by their hive minds. Arclo does not accept their authority, although he is not considered one of the "true traitors" and is still liked. It is unknown if the other three dissident Sleepless are in this category, though all four of the Sleepless who do not accept Yelamaiszin's authority (including Arclo) are still alive. The Sleepless defend life, although they are willing to kill in order to preserve it. Nikli states that the Sleepless have chosen to do this after seeing the destruction of worlds and have vowed to never let it happen again. Paradoxically, while the Sleepless tend to like the Knights Radiant, with Yelamaiszin even stating a personal admiration for Dalinar, they worry that the Radiants' insistence on making honorable choices is highly dangerous. Despite a willingness to kill in order to protect the dawnshard from outside knowledge, the Sleepless are also open to reason. Rysn managed to convince them to spare the crew of Wandersail in exchange for her help in safeguarding it.

Attributes and Abilities

“Beneath that skin was not blood or muscle. It was hundreds of cremlings, pulling together to form a counterfeit man. ”

—Lift, on Arclo

All Dysian Aimians have the abilities granted by their unusual physiology, including shapeshifting, adaptive evolution, and effective immortality. At least some Dysian Aimians have had the power of Worldhopping; Arclo tells Lift he once traveled to a land she will never visit. Sleepless have used Surgebinding in the past and may use it again in the future. They have some relationship to the shard Cultivation and another unnamed group in the cosmere. Arclo is able to easily kill two of Nale's Skybreaker apprentices and tells Lift that it would not have been possible for them to kill him. He notes that Dysian Aimians would have nothing to fear even from someone as powerful as a Herald, and that they know to leave his kind alone. Dysian Aimians have more resistance to Soulcasting compared to humans for various reasons.

Known Dysian Aimians

• Arclo
• The cook of the First Dreams
• Yelamaiszin first and oldest of the swarms on Roshar
• Alalhawithador, third oldest and angriest of the swarms.
• Nikliasorm
• Zyardil

Confirmed sightings

Brandon Sanderson has indicated that conspicuous appearances of cremlings may indicate the presence of a Dysian Aimian; some such sightings have been directly confirmed by him.

• Hoid delivers a monologue to a hordeling while waiting for Jasnah to Elsecall after her time in Shadesmar.
• Kaladin notices a deep purple hordeling on one of Tvlakv's carts.

Unconfirmed sightings

This page or section deals with theories or speculation.

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

• Shallan sketches a cremling in the gardens at her family manor.
• Mraize shoots a cremling on a tree while meeting with Shallan.
• Kaladin and Syl see a brightly colored cremling in a jail cell.
• Kaladin and Syl see an iridescent cremling on the Shattered Plains.
• Dalinar comes across a cremling while looking for Talenel in the warcamps.
• Kaladin notices a strange cremling on a table in a stormshelter in Kholinar.

Trivia

• The blurbs on the back covers of the Stormlight Archive books are written from an in-universe perspective and are authored by Dysian Aimians; the author of the blurb on The Way of Kings has not otherwise appeared in the books.
• The Sleepless were inspired by the Tines in A Fire Upon the Deep, but can spread their members farther apart.
• The Sleepless will play a major role in Mistborn Era 4.
• A hordeling could gain or lose something via Hemalurgy, but that would cause it to disconnect from the main hive mind.
• The Sleepless on Roshar are the only ones capable of imitating humans.

Notes

This page is probably complete!

This page contains most of the knowledge we have on the subject at this time.
It has yet to be reviewed.